HcH - Vol. 1 Issue 1

It has been almost a month since the battle with The Doctor and life for most of the city has resumed back to normal. People went to work, the infrastructure around the battleground was rebuilt and tempers had cooled. Life goes on...

But for a select few young citizens of Halcyon, their lives would never be the same. In the time that has passed, Mister Phase had gotten together with some of his contemporaries and convinced them it was time to move forward with their plans. What's left of the Halcyon City Heroes (The Doorman- the man listening at every door; Azimuth- the woman at the height of human evolution; Mister Phase- none of the teens really remembered his sobriquet except Second Phase; Tempest- The Supreme Sorcerer of Halcyon) had long been discussing passing the torch and uplifting a new generation of heroes with their mentorship. With Mr. Phase's endorsement, it was decided that now was the time. The Hall, one of the meeting places for the Halcyon City Heroes when they deigned to work together, was cleaned up, refitted with equipment, and gifted to the Team.

Today is the third meeting for the Team. The past meetings were kind of a meet and greet and introduction. This time, they've been told to handle some organizational issues. Who is in charge? Will they be proactive and look for trouble or defense and used mostly for protection? Who will be the spokesperson? Who is on active duty and when? and other organizational things like that. The way that the HCH sees it is the heroism is adult work, so the kids need to prove themselves as adults by taking care of this kind of business themselves.

You're seated around a round table in The Hall. The flourescent lights above hum and pop and one or two flicker in the corner.

OOC:

Alright guys. Take it from here. Use this as an a place to get us introduced to your characters thoughts, appearance, goals, etc... I'm imagining The Hall as not rundown... but it's not the bastion of high technology and gleaming steel and chrome you'd usually see on the shows and comics.

Oct 20, 2023 8:25 pm

Dreamweaver Inactive for 2 months

To an observer, the metallic girl near the head of the table would appear proud. She is sitting upright, her legs crossed, her arms leaning easily on the armrests of her chair. She looks like the picture of confidence.
But it's an act. Alice Farran, the Alloy Angel, is anything but proud and confident in who she is. She is ashamed, embarrassed, scared. She doesn't understand what she has become and she mourns what she used to be and has lost. She's not one to show those feelings, however, except in her weakest moments.

Pupilless white eyes scan the other gathered teenagers, their unsettling differentness hiding the jealousy as she looks into human or human-looking faces around the table. "We are supposed to discuss the future of this team," Alice says. Her voice has a tinny tone to it, like an old recording on an even older radio. "Who is our leader, who speaks for us, who works with whom in what patrol routes and times." Her scoff sounds more like a mechanical click. "How are we supposed to decide these things when we haven't worked much together yet? We should be out on the streets right now. Not in here."

Solstice (Aria King)

Oct 20, 2023 8:59 pm

Second Phase (Michelle Hayafu)

Aria listens to Alice and nods in appreciation with her sentiments. "I too am eager for action! But studying the wars of my home planet has taught me to also appreciate strategy and the need for leadership."

With a -- perhaps flirtateous? -- smile at Alice, Aria twirls a strand of her hair, her radiant pearl-white eyes twinkling with both mischief and genuine curiosity. After an exaggerated stretch of her neon blue arms, she gazes around the table, sizing up Alice and her other teammates.

"You know," she begins with a smirk, "given my occasionally... 'extraterrestrial' understanding of Earth customs, maybe it's best I'm not the face of our PR campaign." Floating a few inches above her chair for emphasis, she continues, "However, I've got the sky covered. Patrols from above? Consider it my specialty."

Gently settling back into her seat, Solstice tilts her head, studying each of her teammates with playful intensity. "So, brainstorm time! What makes a good spokesperson, apart from a stellar understanding of puns? And who thinks you've got the chops to lead our motley crew?"

OOC:

Most of you have likely noticed that Aria seems to flirt with just about everyone. An aspect of her alien culture? You likely don't know what to make of it.

Last edited October 20, 2023 8:59 pm

Chloe Inactive forever!

Oct 20, 2023 9:23 pm

At the table sat seemingly a normal girl of Asian origin.
She was wearing a similar same sort of red and grey costume as Mister Phase. On her chest was a badge, a clever mix between a Roman II and letter P. She didn't really wear much of a mask. More like a visor to protect her eyes when running. Regardless of the outfit, she looked quite more normal than some of the others at this table.

She looked awkwardly at everyone. Clearly not feeling very confident about what she was about to say.

"I don't know what makes a good spokesperson... I could do it, I guess. People might recognize me through my dad. That might kinda be a good thing... or not... But leader or not, spoke person or not. None of those matter all that much..."

she hold quiet for a moment, looking at everyone.

"Until we have a name where people can remember us by. We have to think of a team name too... PR is kinda important."

LightOfMidnight

Oct 20, 2023 10:31 pm

Lex leans against a wall with her arms crossed rather than sitting down, even though she probably should still be rest her leg from the injury she took a month ago. Any mentions of it just got ignored or grumbled at however.

'Surprisingly I'm with Alice, we should actually be doing things rather than just sitting around and working logistics. Do we even need a leader?' From the few interactions with the girl the others would have had it is unlikely she would listen to one anyway. Reckless and acting in the moment she was still getting used to the whole 'team' thing. Even the hero thing was still new.

As Second Phase looks up she furrows her brows. 'Is it? As long as we do the job surely it doesn't matter?'

Oct 21, 2023 5:06 am

amymist Inactive for 4 months

"I do think a name would be useful," Alice says in her tinny voice. "But it has to be catchy, evocative. So we are not letting the girl who named herself Second Phase choose it." She smiles an unsettling smile at the speedster, though to be fair, almost all her smiles are unsettling, owing to her creepy eyes. "It's just a shame that we do not function on a coherent theme. I am full of technology, Lexie here is some kind of nature guardian. Then we have an alien, a girl with goggles, a teleporter, a biker and someone who's way too secretive to function in a team."
She shrugs. "We can always call ourselves The Trashpile. Or Assorted Oddities."

Mirage

Oct 21, 2023 5:43 am

Second Phase (Michelle Hayafu)

Mirage sat at a corner of the table, glad not to be the center of attention. Their helmet was sitting in front of them, and they rested their hands lightly on it. Even though these people were meant to be their teammates, they felt exposed and vulnerable, out of place among the group.

They did their best to will themself to speak, though doing so did not come easily.

"Some people will probably judge us no matter what... We don't need to make it any easier for them."

They averted their gaze, their unease showing plainly on their face.

Chloe Inactive forever!

Oct 21, 2023 7:05 am

Dreamweaver Inactive for 2 months

"Hey!" Second Phase says a bit offended to Alloy when she commented about her name "It's a family thing!... And I like it.... so there. And our name should be more heroic. We're not just some oddities."

She gave it some thought.

"Halcyon's Next Hopes?"

Last edited October 21, 2023 7:05 am

Solstice (Aria King)

Oct 21, 2023 2:46 pm

Solstice perked up, her pearl-white eyes shimmering with excitement. "Oh, team names? I've been playing around with a few ideas during my sky patrols." She paused for dramatic effect, floating slightly above her chair again. "How about Starlight Sentinels? It has a certain celestial flair to it." She landed softly, leaning in with a sly grin, "Or Luminary Legion? Gives us a bright and shining touch, don't you think?" She paused, looking around the room, trying to gauge reactions. "And there's always the simple name of Halcyon Heroes. A nod to our beloved city and the peace we aim to bring." She folded her arms with a satisfied nod, eagerly awaiting feedback from her teammates.

Oct 21, 2023 3:07 pm

Alice winks at Second Phase when the speedster expresses her displeasure with Alice' comment, then listens to her and Solstice' suggestions for names. "Those all sound too fancy for us. We beat up one wannabe Mr. Hyde and suddenly we're the Solar Soldiers or something?" She shakes her head. "I think we need something more grounded." Referencing Solstice' ability to fly, she jokingly adds, "No offense, Aria."

She leans back in her chair, trying to come up with something. "The Patrol, maybe. Or The Watch." She shrugs, then turns to her helmeted teammate, who seemed to have some thoughts on the matter but is maybe too shy to express them unprompted. "Did you have any suggestions, Mirage?"

LightOfMidnight

Oct 21, 2023 9:54 pm

amymist Inactive for 4 months

'It's Lex...' Gets muttered under the girls breath as she is called Lexie. Annoyingly though Alice was still speaking the most sense.
'They sound.. very flashy. Not sure they suit us. We are a very...diverse group. If people insist on a name I vote something like the watch, the guard. Something simple.'

Oct 22, 2023 1:48 am

Dreamweaver Inactive for 2 months

Mirage wilted a bit at being addressed directly. They tried not to fidget as they replied,
"No, er... nothing specific. Simple is okay with me. I just... " they trailed off, scrambling to collect their thoughts. "I just want to give this hero thing a real try. I don't want to blow it off."
They winced, afraid they had said too much, or been too earnest. They were afraid of sounding desperate, even if it wasn't all that far from the way they were feeling.

Solstice (Aria King)

Oct 22, 2023 2:33 am

Aria cups her two hands to her eyes and pantomimes using imaginary binoculars to look around the room. "The Watch," she says with a coy voice. "I like that."

Oct 22, 2023 5:29 am

Jerry "Nightfly" Steinbeck - The Janus

Alice turns her blank, white eyes to Mirage again and tries to smile in a reassuring way, something she used to be much better at, before she became part machine. "We're all just figuring this out," she says. "And nobody here thinks you're not serious about this."
She doesn't comment on the name currently going around, but the fact that people seem to like her suggestion feels good.

BeardHare Inactive for 4 months

Oct 22, 2023 6:15 am

Nightfly has been keeping out of the contention and conflict around this meeting - ze finds it really hard to control her behaviour when ze gets upset in arguments. So instead of joining in, ze has been playing with a stick insect ze brought into the meeting - talking with it, making friends with it, distracting zirself from the arguments.

But ze forces zirself to speak up and engage - maybe ze can bring tempers down a bit, bring some levity to the situation?

"I don't think it's easy to agree on something as important as a name with so many people involved - and I agree with Second Phase, the name we go by has an impact - it effects how we think about ourselves, and what other people think of us.

I like "The Watch" but also, thinking about how that might sound to the people of Halcyon City - do they WANT to be WATCHED by us? Is that what we want them to feel, or even that we want to be doing?

I like keeping it simple - even though this job is gonna be far from simple..."

(Ze pauses to ask the stick insect - turns out it's name feels a bit like "Linda" if it were spoken in English - to make her way out into the middle of the table, turn, and look up and around at each of the team in turn - which it does, feelers waving slightly.)

"Maybe we want to help defend our city? Would "The Defenders" work? Although I feel like I heard that name used somewhere else before. Although, hey, we can be our OWN version of the Defenders!?"

timplausible

Oct 22, 2023 6:28 pm

Jerry "Nightfly" Steinbeck - The Janus

Through all the conversation, Leo says nothing. He appears engrossed in a game on his Steam deck. He's not dressed in his "costume" (even though his costume is barely a costume to begin with). He's dressed in jeans and a black hoodie sizpped all the way up, hood pulled up. He sits in his chair with his feet propped up on the table, leaning the chair backward on its two back legs.

"I still like Trashpile," he says without looking up from his game. "And I'm not sure how many of us will actually listen to a leader. Maybe what we need is just a mascot. Someone to smile for the cameras and say 'Please don't lock us up. We're heroes, we promise.'"

BeardHare Inactive for 4 months

Oct 22, 2023 6:59 pm

"What's Leo's problem?" Nightfly asks zirself. "Like, what the hell is his deal?"

"We're never going to get anything done together if he keeps sulking and sprawling and being too cool for school like this all the time".

Ze watches Leo - trying to get some kind of a fix on where his attitude is coming from, if there's anything ze might be able to do, that could encourage him to work with the others a bit more.

OOC:

Going to try using the PIERCE THE MASK move

OOC:

On the mixed success I rolled I'd go for "How could I get your character to (take this meeting seriously, work with us to find a reasonable Team Name for example?")

Last edited October 22, 2023 7:04 pm

Rolls

Pierce the Mask on Leo - (2d6+3)

(15) + 3 = 9

LightOfMidnight

Oct 22, 2023 7:08 pm

'If we want our enemies to laugh themselves into submission.' Lex growls at Leo's suggestion. It had been a while since she had worked with him, and back then circumstances had been very different. 'Defenders, guardians maybe instead of watch. Then the princess can just wink at the reporters occasionally if image is 'so important'.' She gestures to Second Phase. ' I'm definitely not speaking to any. '

She'd got an earful from a lot of people, mostly the adults but not just, regarding the doctor fight and the amount of damage there had been. She.. they had got him in the end. Surely that was what mattered.

Oct 22, 2023 7:27 pm