Scene 1: Busy Night in the Big City

Evening approaches, the sun sets over Nova Gail City. As street lights spark to life, the people of Nova Gail crawl through the urban landscape. Some headed home for the night. A long day of work behind them, they look forward to a quiet evening at home with family or recreation as is their want. Others are just beginning their day, the night shift setting out to enter the grind that keeps the world moving in this modern age.

The city is bustling with noises. Cars honking their horns, people talking on their phones or shouting insults for both real and imagined slights. All in all most would call it peaceful despite the cacophonous din of it all. It won't stay peaceful for long, though most may barely take notices.

Nova Gail City is home to the highest concentration of powered individuals in the hemisphere. With 50% of the world possessing some sort of extraordinary gift, it is common place to see a woman float rather than walk down the street, or a rat faced messenger scamper up a telephone pole and tightrope walk over a crowded intersection rather than push his way through the crowd.

The Garment District. A man with bulging muscles and a single bulls horn sells newspapers and other periodicals from inside a newsstand on the corner. He shouts at a passing speedster who's wake disrupts the front covers of his magazines. The speedster smirks to himself, taking a wry, slightly perverse, pleasure in the chaos he is causing. He gets so frustrated by the tediousness of dealing with customers at the computer outlet store he works at that these little rebellious acts have become what he lives for. Besides he's not really hurting anyone, just a little inconvenience is all he's causing, his revenge against the world that can't keep up with him. He considered trying the hero thing, or even the less glamorous life of police work, but he couldn't cut it. The studying at the academy was more than he could handle, and despite his remarkable speed, others were faster and braver than him. So he lived the normal quiet life of a 9-5 geek squad. "Computers were more his speed." he liked to say to his coworkers in the break room.

His speed wasn't the only advantage he had. His brain worked faster than most people too. It made sense to him, if you move fast you have to think fast, but retaining information he wasn't interested in was his issue, why he had failed the academy exam when though he finished it in record time. His perception was sped up to. That was what allowed him to side step the tear in space before he ran right through it. No telling what it would have done to him if he had toughed it. Often enough teleportation attempts that intersected anything other than air would fizzle out. Sometimes they didn't though. Those times got messy. Nobody like cleaning up from a teleportatoin accident. That was one reason why teleporters were supposed to use the legally mandated landing pads found every few blocks in the city. Or if you couldn't reliably get to one, you just weren't allowed to use your powers.

So that meant this teleportal that the speedster had just avoided was likely a villain. It might be an origin, some kid just coming of age who wasn't in full control of his power yet, but those were rare with all the monitoring people did these days. Villains though, they were relatively common, especially in Nova Gail City. The speedster considered stopping for a moment to see if it was anyone famous that would draw out one of the Top 10. Maybe he could get an autograph, or if he were really luck it could be Gun Bunny or UFO Girl that showed up, he might get a chance to ask one of them out on a date. All this flashed through his mind in a nanosecond, then he noticed the armored car across the street. It was transferring money back to the central vault it seemed. That meant the villains were heavy hitters, ready to deal with an armored truck. Figuring this could get dangerous, the speedster opts to move on. He does give a warning shout though, "Incoming teleporter folks, take cover!" so he feels like he's done his part.

Seconds later, the other people on the street figure out what the speedster was talking about. They see the blue and white light that is ripping a hole in the fabric of space-time. They see the three large, armored men that step through it and realize they need to make themselves scarce. It takes a few seconds more for the security guards loading large bags of money into the truck to notice the developing issue. The loud 'THUNK' on the side of the truck clues them in though. They look out and see super villain team "The Fanatics" staring down.

Fastball


Blitzer


and

Slapshot


The two guards in back scramble to get inside the truck and slam the door. The driver initiates the lock down procedures just as the team of villains begin their attack. Fastball takes of on his Hovering Homeplate and launches his signature baseball bludgeons at one of the guards. It knocks the unfortunate man out cold. "Beaner!" the roughen shouts excitedly as he whizzes around the truck. Blitzer moves preternaturally fast to position himself in front of the truck. The driver has just manages to get the truck in gear and slam on the accelerator, but the hulking machine lowers a shoulder and halts the escape in its tracks. Slapshot skates forward on his zero-point energy skates and brandishes his hockey stick against the rear door. The weapon makes contact with the metal and lets out a wretched hiss as it starts to burn and cut through the metal hinges.

The heroes get the call. They are the closest to the scene. It seems many of the Top 10 are in other parts of the city dealing with other issues. This is a great time to shine.

Campaign Aspects: Nova Gail City of Heroes
Scene Aspects: Dusk in the City, Evening Rush Hour, Eyes all Around

Vitrius is doing a charity dinner in costume nearby when he gets the alarm. Though he's not yet in the top 10, his events still draw a bit of a crowd. Making his excuses, he steps outside and takes off. On the way he gathers his materials, broken bottles and other glass detritus, forming his wings that have become his signature. However, other glass he moves to other caches, ready to come at an unexpected angle if necessary.

Vitrius arrives first on the scene, taking a vantage point from the top of the four story building across the street from the bank. He looks down to see the three criminals still working to get into the truck. The engine is giving off a strained whine as the driver does all he can to bowl over Blitzer, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Across the way, Echo arrives. She deposits a small bag on the roof of the four story office building and takes an athletic leap down to street level walking up behind Slapshot. The buzz of the camera drones comes to Vitrius's attention just as she delivers her quipy line. That will go over well with the audience.

Slapshot stops cutting into the truck and slowly turns around. "What's this now, eh? Sending out the second stringers? Hurts ma feelings that we don't even get to tussle with a starter. Shouldn't a wee lass like you be at home puttin' dinner on the table or somthin'? Not out here gettin' it ta trouble." His Canadian accent is heavy, he might be playing it up a little, but with that he swings his laser hockey stick at Echo who can feel the heat of the blade as it veers for her head.

Fastball positions himself over the truck and is winding up to bean Echo the moment Slapshot gives him an opening.

Fastball looks up as Vitrius launches his attack. He swings around trying to use his hoverboard as a shield while extending his armored "mitt" hand out to catch the incoming projectile.

Vitrius's shards strike their target true enough. One lodges itself in the base of the hover board, another shatters against the output of its engines. The third is caught by the cybernetic mitt.