Mutants & Masterminds: Heroes United - [Heroes United] Issue 2: Rising Stones

[Slither]

Slither was squeezing herself into a building with a collapsed roof, but she took the time to press her comm and offer a greeting to the new fellow.

"Hullo to the Indestructible Gabe! Slither here, down in the bowels of the earth." She grunted as pulled her torso through a particularly tight spot. "If your mum ever lets you out of the house again, we'd be happy to have you along for any future adventures; can always use a strong pair of arms, eh?"

With a thought, Izzy activated the low-light lenses in her mask to get a better view of her surroundings. "By the by, if we have any super strong folk free, we could really use some muscle down 'round my end; 'Atlas to support the world on his shoulders' sort of thing." She squinted into the gloom. "Structure seems to have stabilized, but you never know."

[Scout]

"Um, we don't need to wait for the Paladin guy, dude." Gabe said to Scout. "If your uncle is trapped down there I can just as easily carry you down then to wait for some guy create some rope ladder system. I've got X-Ray vision, man, whether I'm up here or down there with you, it's all the same transparent, see-through world."

He sighed a bit. Planning and tactics were not Gabe's strong suit and these seemed to take forever with the 'figure it out' portion of the process. "I mean, tell y'what, just gimme a flash light and I'll go take a look myself. It's no big deal, I'm already grounded, I'm sure my mom'll give me another hour or so to help out the clean up effort. Good cause n' all that. Might even help me get a week or two knocked off my time, so to speak. If I see your uncle, I'll make sure to bring him back, don't worry."

After Gabe received the flashlight, and Slither pointed out that there were still people to help out, Scout stood and shook his head. "I didn't mean my uncle specifically. If you really want to win points with your mother, you'll stay topside and help out slither. It sounds like she's identified some civilians trapped under some rubble. You and MO are needed here. I'll go down there. I am called Scout after all." He held his hand out for the flashlight. His demeanor wasn't unfair, or patronizing. Rather, he spoke from a position of strict responsibility. He knew what was most important here. The lives of these people. It they sacrificed that for a simple recon mission, what kind of heroes could they hope to be?

"I want you and MO on rescue duty for now." Scout reaffirmed, "If I see the need for any heavy lifting down there, I'll give you a hollar on the com system." He tapper the device at his ear. "Doctor Northlight should also probably come down with me. She can better identify and record anything we find. Gatekeeper, you should help get the survivors of of trouble as well, but standby to provide an evac in case we run into trouble down there."

[SalmonMax]

"Scout," Fulcrum said, "I think the point is that this guy can see through rock. He can see what's going on down there in like...a tenth the time it'd take you two to do it. Meanwhile you could BOTH be up here, helping twice as many people as him."

,,

She shook her head. "Whatever. I'm going to go help the emergency crews out."

,,

Her chunk of crate wobbled a little as she pivoted around and headed off towards where the sirens were loudest.

[z-Jael]

Jael sat on the banks of the bay and whined sadly. It was gone. She’d barely gotten to fight and it was gone. What was she supposed to do now? Go back and help fill in the hole? She wasn’t very good at Search and Rescue; she was too big for that, and she sure as shit wasn’t going in here as a pathetic human. She also didn't care about rescuing people; Andery cared but it'd be really risky to herself if she went in there in her human form. She didn’t mind dying but it was lame to die for stupid reasons.

,,

She could go back to headquarters and face Andery. She didn’t want to start that process yet and heaved a despondent sigh as she turned and walked back toward the disaster site. She moved into a trot and finally a long-legged run that got her back to the site rather quickly. As she neared it, a thought for how to have some fun came to her. She slowed down, using buildings as cover to slip in really close. Then she changed back to human and walked barefooted into the mess.

,,

“Ma’am, you can’t be here,” a cop said, interposing himself in front of her.

,,

“But I’m with them,” she protested innocently, gesturing to the heroes.

,,

The officer frowned, looking down her body and back up. There was nothing in his gaze other than cool assessment, and Jael pouted a little at his boring professionalism. He turned away from her to look for the nearest of the heroes, and in that moment, she shifted upwards again into her little wolf. The cop keyed his mike and spoke into it as he turned “Hey, can one of you guys tell me if—Shit!” He staggered backwards, his hands going for his gun, even as she laughed.

,,

“Told you I was with them,” she purred as she loped past him, still chuckling. Her glowing silver eyes scanned the area, taking in Scout about to lower himself in the hole, as well as the various rescue efforts. Yawning, she stretched like a dog and shook herself, then sat down to watch everyone.

[Scout]

"Perhaps, Fulcrum, but he can't see in the dark." Scout signed, "I don't just do things for no reason, you know." He noticed her flying away and didn't bother with the rest of what he was going to say. Rather, he turned to Gabriel, "Look, we can both explore down there, that's clear. But you can lift heavy objects, I can't. So, you're choice." Scout folded his arms, waiting to see if the team would follow his direction, or not.

Scout wasn't unaware of the wolf sitting behind him. While she was content to sit and watch, so was he. He'd wait until she offered a solution before interacting with her further. Besides, he had his hands full trying to knit together the personalities of the current team without throwing a magical shape shifting wolf into the mix.

Alhough, touching base couldn't hurt things, he thought, "I've seen you get bigger, so I don't suppose you have a less fearsome form?" He asked over his shoulder, "It would sure help with the team's PR."

[Gabriel Stone]

It was a lot like high school football, they were a team, and sometimes they didn't always agree, but they were still a team. Gabe had this problem all he time back home. He'd make a call, no one would would think it was the right call (and some times it wasn't), but it was his call to make and he had to live with how everyone reacted to him afterwards. He could sympathize with the Scout dude, somewhat, being a shot caller wasn't always easy and Fulcrum's obvious disapproval was evidence f that.

,,

Gabe pointed into the hole then spread his arm wide as if following it underground. "It's dark, but about a half a mile down there is a plug in the tunnel, I don't know it looks like dried black pudding. Cooled lava maybe," He shrugged. "I don't know." He hovered low to Scout and relinquished the Flashlight of All Seeingness. "I'll go help Floaty-Girl, good luck guys."

,,

Gabe was all meat n' potatoes in the way he spoke and addressed people. With a pat on Scout's shoulder that was as good as a firm handshake, he was off. He'd already forgotten Fulcrum's name with as much that was going on around him but it wasn't long before he caught up with her hovering off. She seemed irritated and something to told Gabe he should try and lighten the mood. "You know... some spinners, maybe a blaupunkt... and that pallet would be pretty beast." His peace offering took the form of a friendly smirk just below to gorgeous and naturally blue eyes. The kid was handsome, but those eyes were just not human. "Just sayin' y'know?"

,,

Several farms away from Gabe's farm in Montana...

,,

Cassy chewed on the eraser of her pencil. Algebra wasn't too hard for her but she'd been stumped on a few of her homework problems for quite some time. Curled up on her bed she investigated the notebook resting on her knees with the school book sitting to her right when she was suddenly pulled from her studies by her vibrating of her cell phone. She sighed. Whether it was for the interruption to her studies or the frustration with them, she wasn't quite sure.

,,

The screen on her phone introduced the caller as Stacie MacIntyre, one of Cassy's best friends. "Hey, what's up Stace," Secretly thankful for the break in her homework Cassy kicked back comfortably against the headboard of her bed.

,,

"Oh my god, you don't know? Gabe is on the news!" Stacie seemed a mixture of excited and astonished.

,,

Cassy rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. Gabe was in trouble for something every other day. They'd been best friends since kindergarten and if she had a dollar for every time someone had called her about something stupid Gabriel had done, Justin Bieber would be calling her up wanting know her secret for being rich at such a young age. "What now," she inquired, already assuring herself that it was nothing at all as bad as what Stacie was about to make it out to be. "Did he try jumping Culver's Creek again on his four wheeler? I swear his luck is going to run out one of these days and he's going to finally break something. His dad was livid the last time he wrecked and Sheriff Grix said the next time he was going to pre-"

,,

"Cassy, for Christ's sake, shut up and put it on channel twenty eight."

,,

"Channel twenty eight? CNN? He's on CCN news?" Thoroughly confused Cassy flipped her television to CNN. She pushed her dark hair back over her shoulder and switched which ear she was using to hear her phone, mentally hoping it was just bad reception. What's 'Bastian done now? she wondered, using his middle name in her thoughts like she'd done since they were kids. Only two people used Gabe's real name, his mother and Cassy. Cass just thought it sounded nicer than 'Gabriel' who she'd not liked ever since watching The Prophecy movies.

,,

Her eyes widened in shock and she dropped her phone into the fluffy blankets, Stacie was reduced to a muffled echo in the land of cozy bed spreads. There was Gabe on the news in the war zone of New York, hovering in the sky and then flying along side some other super powered girl...on a pallet? They replayed footage of the battle that took place. All of the heroes were portrayed valiantly protecting the people of New York, but Cassy didn't know those people, as impressive as they were she knew Sebastian and just couldn't believe what she was looking at. Falling from he sky like meteor, crushing rock with his bare hands? Flying!?

,,

"...although the identity of the heroes has remained mystery, we have received a positive identity on one of them." Sid the anchor as Gabe's high school photo from last year appeared in the small box just to his left on the screen. "This hero, seventeen year old Gabriel Sebastian Stone of Hardin Montana and junior at Hardin High School. We'll fill you in as information becomes available."

,,

Cassy buried her face in her hands. She scooped up her laptop and was already clacking keys with lightning speed. She'd known his Facebook password since she was the one who had to set up his account and already there was over a thousand friends requests from complete strangers from all over the United States. "Oh, 'Bastian... you idiot. Your mom is going to kill you... then I'm going to."

[darksol-aeternium]

"X-ray vision...yeah there's power perversion potential there..." Gatekeeper thought to himself. Past the blockades he could see the media beginning to swarm the area now that all the immediate danger was past. It hadn't occurred to him until Scout mentioned it, but someone was going to have to act as the face for the assembled heroes, and he was glad to let someone else do that job. When the wolf came sauntering back he was the last one to notice, and his surprise got to him before his common sense.

,,

"Whoa! You come in regular, party, and Super-sized?!"

[SalmonMax]

"You shoulda seen my last ride," Fulcrum replied wryly. "It was all vintage. Pink with smooth curves. Classy. So I heard you're Gabe. I go by Fulcrum when I'm on-duty. I figure you should take the big wrecked buildings, since you can just look right through them to see if there's trapped people. Call Magnum Opus if you find anyone. I'll do flyovers of the ones that aren't so bad off, farther out, and radio in if I see anyone. I about blew a gasket trying to throw that thing, so...probably can't lift buildings up off of people at the moment."

,,

Her voice turned sour at the end, grumbling. Fulcrum clearly wasn't happy about her weakened condition.

[z-Jael]

Although, touching base couldn't hurt things, Scout thought, "I've seen you get bigger, so I don't suppose you have a less fearsome form?" He asked over his shoulder, "It would sure help with the team's PR."

“You’d think it would.” Jael grinned not-entirely-pleasantly, considering that she revealed massive teeth with her ‘smile’. “Sure, I look really nice, but then I open my mouth.” That inhuman grin widened uncomfortably as the line, “My, what big teeth you have, Grandma!” came to mind. “You can ask Andery about that.”

"Whoa! You come in regular, party, and Super-sized?!"

Something profoundly unhappy flickered through those monstrous silver eyes when Gatekeeper asked his rash question. “Actually, I come in small, really small and normal sizes,” she told him coolly, her black hackles bristling slightly. Then she blinked and lifted her head as she laughed, her mood shifting with chilling swiftness. “But I’m always party-equipped, Gate-boy.”

Turning her head, she watched the kid walking next to Floating-Bitchy. Andery really needed to tell her some names; it wasn’t a great idea to let her make them up for her own reference. She’d been a bit busy when he’d made his big entrance but she’d noticed him. She also had no idea who he was; Andery had never mentioned that he was recruiting a teenaged boy. “So, who’s the young latecomer?” she asked casually, sure that Capt. Awesome-Ass would tell her. He seemed the type who liked to be helpful. She would have to test her theory about his willingness to please later.

[Justin OOC]

Andery cringed within the Oracle Room, The last thing they needed was a positive ID on someone.It was going to force his hand a great deal earlier than he wished. The Lad was a hero, and he would need help. And I didn't forsee him, for either group. That bothered him but he wasn't all knowing, and was willing to accept Gabriel on the basis of his actions.

"Everyone, assist The Emergency Response teams to the best of your abilities. Focus on stabilizing the damaged structures and evacuating any civilians trapped inside. Gabriel, I need you to listen to me carefully. The Media has your identity, and even now the whole world is ablaze with your actions. You just became the first metahuman to openly, if inadvertently, reveal yourself to the world. Stay with the team and do not under any reason speak to the media. Once the situation is stabilized, I would like to meet you in person, and perhaps we can help each other deal with the can of worms that's been opened."

,,

"Gatekeeper, if you can I need you to warp the egg to the bottom of the bay for now. it will be impossible to salvage for anyone else, and there currently are no safe facilities for it. After the situation is stable, Warp everyone back to the penthouse of Unity building, where we all first met. This includes the She-wolf, though ask her to go in her smallest form. If Gabriel doesn't wish to go, then do not force him."

,,

On a private com to Scout he sent. "I have Gatekeeper set to warp you all back to a Rendevous point, do not speak to the media at all and ONLY use your codenames. We may already be in enough trouble as things stand."

Okay guys, I am looking to move forward with this one.Please post if possible, by Sunday whatever part in the cleanup you choose to play. My next post, tentatively scheduled for Monday, will move us past cleanup and on to the personal fallout for this.

[darksol-aeternium]

Gatekeeper was inwardly glad for the mask he wore when the wolf suddenly spoke perfect English, that saved him from looking like a complete noob when his mouth dropped open in surprise. Andery's call probably saved him from saying something else stupid by changing the subject for him.

,,

"Roger HQ, I'm on it." he said into the mic. Then he gestured in the direction where Magnum Opus had the handy egg-carrier Paladin materialized around the dead monster, opening a gate to the point in the bay where the other creature was not. "Just drop it in Magnum Opus and we'll get it later. I'll setup the extraction gate soon as we're all done, till then just direct me to anyone trapped in a building and I'll warp them to the medical tents outside the blockade.

[Doctor Northlight]

Everyone was a blur to Rachael. Even after she offered up her assessment of the situation, everyone moved on with their own agendas.

,,

"No need to warp me, Mr. Focht. I'm heading back to base, I'm going to monitor communications and see what the deal is with the media. At this point I don't see what sort of use I am to the team or here."

,,

Rachael hovered up, turning towards the Unity Building, then flew off.

,,

...No one knows what the hell they're doing. Just doing their own thing. I don't know if I want to stick with these people or not now that I think of it... She thought before speaking further. "In fact... I'll just wait for everyone there. Hopefully with enough organized information as to how screwed we all are."

[SalmonMax]

Fulcrum glanced back over her shoulder at the departing Rachel and shrugged.

,,

"Someone gives up easy," she remarked, then got on with the business at hand.

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin emerged from where the second big hole had been; now it was the prettiest patch of pavement anywhere in the city. Hey keyed on his mic, "It took me a while, but I did the best I could. The bottom is a little rough, but I tried to match the layers up as best I could. I make no promises if a geologist comes and takes samples though..."

,,

He looked around at the rapidly disintegrating group. "Ok guys. We have marching orders from Scout and on high. I suggest we follow them, clean up as efficiently as possible, and clear out. So I'm going to go help Slither over at her building. If anyone sees any more holes or structurally compromised buildings shout out and I'll get to them when I can."

,,

So he headed over to where Slither had previously requested aid and shored up that building, releasing pressure and giving her more room to work, and then did the same to holes or other buildings as he saw them or they were pointed out to him.

[quotemyname]

"Roger that, sir!" Scout spoke into his earpiece. He stowed the flashlight in his belt, and made a mental note to return it to Fulcrum when she flew by next. With that, he effectively abandoned the search of the underground hole. He motioned to Paladin that this hole could be filled in as well.

,,

"You heard the man, people! Clean up, and get out! I'm no good at the heavy lifting bits, so I'll run interference with any pesky reporters that try to work their way onto the scene."

,,

He turned to the wolf once more, "We're not entirely sure yet who he is. His name's Gabriel, though names don't always fully explain people. Speaking of names, anything you'd like me to call you? I'd think that she-wolf isn't as respectful as you'd like."

,,

OOC

Scout's basically ready to be warped back. He'll handle any camera crews off screen. Otherwise he's going to play nice with Jael because he's ill equipped to help the rescue efforts

[Justin OOC]

Andery quickly saw what was happening. He quickly dialed a private line to the Doctor "Rachel, do not come directly to the building. Allow Gatekeeper to transport you here. We must maintain some degree of secrecy for however long we can."

[z-Jael]

“I didn’t want an explanation of him – I can see everything I want to know about him: nice body, good teeth, attractive features. It’s… all good.” Her pause hinted that she wasn’t used to the slang she was trying to use. “I just wanted to know what name to call him by, Galahad.

,,

“She-wolf is something I’ve been called many times before but I do have another if that bothers you.” Jael continued to give that Grandma’s teeth smile, her silver eyes glinting with delight. “In this time, I’ve been using the name Jael.”

,,

She walked past him to stare down into the pit. “So a bunch of people that no one’s ever heard of before appears out of nowhere and leaves behind no clues. It stinks of magic to me.” With a shrug of her black shoulders, she laid down on the ground, her head on level with his now. “Not literally. I can’t smell magic,” she continued conversationally. “But I can make assumptions, based on what I see. Say, give me a holler if you want some help with those reporters. I have a… way with people,” she added with a dark chuckle. “Otherwise, I’m sawing some logs.” She put her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

[Doctor Northlight]

Stopping in mid air, she observed the city...

,,

"I can't even keep a secret right..."

,,

Flying back to the location near the main emergence hole, she just waited. Waited for the call that there was a gate ready. Making sure to stay out of everyone's way.

[Slither]

Izzy was glad for Paladin's help; not only did it make things easier and much faster, but a little company was always appreciated. She visibly winced when she heard Gabe's identity had been compromised, and chimed in on the comm.

"Sorry to hear 'bout your cover being blown, Gabe; been in that situation myself. If it's any consolation, you have my sympathies, and if you ever need help setting up a new ID, I'm your girl, alright?"

Slither followed Paladin and helped him with the rest of his efforts, acting as another pair of eyes to help guide his work.

[Doctor Northlight]

Doc decided to keep her distance, but follow Paladin and eventually meet up with slither. Then she spots something out of the corner of her eye, hanging from a damaged section of building, a I-Beam, attached to some electrical wiring, and the wiring was starting to come loose.

,,

Doc reflexively turned to the emergency workers as she quickly dashed over in flight grabbing one just as the girder came down. In another universe that girder would have crushed him head-first.

,,

"Okay... this building is compromised. Get everyone out!"

,,

"What makes you think that?"

,,

"Simple, that girder came from an internal support and slid out into the precarious position it was in, that suggests several floors have been compromised, and the central supports are damaged. Do you want a repeat of 9/11, ladies and gentlemen?"

,,

They shook their heads and their captain barked over her radio. "Alright I want everyone out, this building might come down!"

,,

Rachael turned to Paladin. "Paladin! I suspect floors 23, 24, and 25 of this building are compromised and may cause a cascading collapse! Can you re-enforce it?!"

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin had just finished what he was doing with Slither when the call from Dr. Northlight came through. He responded as he started flying over to her. "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. If I can see the damaged section, I should be able to completely recreate it, good as new!"

,,

With that he started surveying the damage and recreating the damaged sections as best he could see.

[Magnum Opus]

During the cleanup, Magnum Opus tried to be there for everyone, prioritizing lives that were in danger, then exploring the tunnels as needed, then checking to see what she could find out about the rock people.

,,

She mentally recounted the problems - no clear leadership or plan were the biggies. She made a note to establish in the future who was commanding what. She'd taken charge because someone had to, but Scout, with his training, might have been a better choice than a strongman/strongwoman who flew fast and was tough.

,,

Well, water under the bridge. For a team that spent five minutes together before heading out we did okay.

[Justin OOC]

When it was clear that Emergency Services ad Civil Service had things in Hand, Andery sent the recall order. Despite what Andery wished, Gabriel wouldn't accompany them. He didn't force the issue. Once everyone was gathered up, they warped to the Penthouse.

,,

Andery was there to greet them. "Welcome back, all of you. I would like to debrief you all now, but I think it may be best for us to disperse, at least a little, and let you all rest so we can look at things with a fresh outlook. The three floors below us are lavish penthouses. I know you all have homes of your own, but feel free to use the penthouses, and know that you're safe, as are your secrets. We will discuss this first battle tomorrow. I'll make the footage available to you, if you wish to watch."

,,

His eyes met each of theirs in turn, Jael was last. There was most definitely more to be said there.

[Magnum Opus]

Magnum Opus was covered in soot and ash and dust, and looked quite relieved at the news about the penthouses. "Thank you, Andery. I appreciate it. I could use a hot shower. How many penthouses are we talking here? Are we going to have to double up?"

[SalmonMax]

"I, uh..." Fulcrum shook her head, then pried her fingers under her mask to wipe at her mouth. Even with that stupid filter mask, some dust got through after awhile. "I can't. There's going to be people who're worrying. And honestly...people I'm worried about. I have to get home. I'll come back tomorrow, but if I don't start making some calls I'm going to be in a hole that goes way deeper than those pits the creatures opened up."

[Magnum Opus]

MO nodded to Renata. "Okay. Take care of yourself. If you need an alibi, you've got my card. That goes for anyone else here trying to maintain a secret ID, too."

[Doctor Northlight]

"It's not unusual for me to disappear for days, personally, so me being here or anywhere else isn't strange." Rachael said, opening her helmet and pulling back her goggles. "If it's alright I'll be monitoring things here over the next few. To be honest, I'd rather be alone to analyze things."

,,

"Quite frankly, I got a lot to think about."

[darksol-aeternium]

"Well, my original excuse to be here was that I was going to a job interview and doing some apartment-hunting. I can cover the long time I've spent here with the disaster we just averted, but I still probably need to get back home. Actually the time spent just makes it seem more plausible that I took a bus."

,,

Gatekeeper checked his coat for any significant damages, it would only complicate matters to show back up looking like he'd been in a warzone, then he'd have to answer a lot of questions. Luckily he'd managed to avoid anything too damaging.

,,

"Since Mr. Andery has all our contact information, getting a hold of me is easy, and I negate travel time. If you need me before we get started tomorrow just gimme a call or text." He half-turned to warp back home but stopped, "Anyone need a lift to wherever before tomorrow?"

[Javier Duncan]

The Paladin nodded at the offer and everyone else's reactions to it. Then he added his own, "I have my own place. I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to debrief myself, in private, first if you don't mind. I'll be back first thing... maybe second thing tomorrow, but I need some time to myself." He then turned to Gatekeeper.

,,

"Gatekeeper, if you could make a portal, pointing straight up, above the city, about a quarter mile that way," he pointed over his shoulder, "I'd be ever so grateful. Once you get a chance, if you feel like it."

[darksol-aeternium]

A portal opened next to paladin that showed the shy over his chosen location, it closed seconds after he stepped in.

"Anyone else heading out?"

[SalmonMax]

Fulcrum shook her head and took her mask off. Her goggles were still on, so her face wasn't exposed. Her cheeks were ruddy and she had a little cut on her upper lip right under her nose.

,,

"I drove out here," she demurred. "Car's a ways south of here so it should be okay. Thank God I didn't come in from the north end." After a second of thought she added, "I'll walk. I can find a place to get dressed then call me folks on the way over. Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, 'Keeper."

[Slither]

Slither was also covered in grime from head to toe, mostly from the rescue work her and Paladin had undertaken towards the end of the op. She allowed the mask to peel away from her face, and ran dirty fingers through her dusty hair as she wobbled a bit where she stood.

"God, a shower sounds just brilliant; I wouldn't say no to few days sleep, either." Izzy shook her head to clear out some of the fatigue. "Most of my worldly possessions are in storage back in London; other than two cases back at my hotel, I'm more or less unencumbered. Perhaps we can send for them later?"

She blinked as she noticed most of the others heading out. "Right then, see you all tomorrow!"

Not half an hour later, she was passed out in a bed downstairs.

[Doctor Northlight]

As one of the few staying, Rachael decided to find some time to get clean, followed by a actual lunch/breakfast outside the chili dog she had earlier.

,,

"You know... Breakfast... That sounds good... a actual meal. Well for whoever stays. Let me take a shower here and I'm making it."

,,

She sighed. "You'd think I was tired of seeing water and all by now, right?"

,,

She grinned, through her frustration. She was lying, she didn't think anyone here was on any page outside of MO and perhaps Slither. She just couldn't trust the others. But she was stuck in. She knew too much about this whole project. Who knows what Mr. Andery would do if she decided to change her mind.

,,

She was going to keep her distance and see who would start to get things organized.

[Scout]

Scout nodded. He definitely wanted to be here for this debriefing. Though, like the others, he had family to check on first, "Keeper, I'll take a ride if you don't mind." He fed Keeper the address of where his mother lived. He didn't have time to bother keeping secrets from those that fought beside him. "If you could leave the portal open for about ten minutes I would be grateful, I plan to come straight back here after making sure my family is okay." They discussed the logistics and decided it would be best to have the portal open up in the house, or on the fire escape. That way there would be no risk of anyone else on the street utilizing it.

,,

Scout took a few moments to check on things with his family, then returned straight away. All was well at home.

,,

"Scout here, reporting for debriefing, sir." Unlike the others, he showed no desire to bother with food, or even a shower. He was used to having a few grains of sand in his boots, and having a superior metabolism meant he was capable of going without food. Though, in the event that Andrey wanted to debrief them as a team instead, he was prepared to suffer through another round of steak and eggs if necessary. After all, a good soldier like Scout needed his protein after a good workout.

,,

Scout was proud of how the team had operated in the field. They were a little rough around the edges, and their communication skills needed work, especially in the case of Gatekeeper and Magnum Opus. As usual, some of the more capable members of the team were used to operating solo, as expected. They'd need to be more willing to work like a cog in a machine if the team was to tackle any truly threatening scenarios, but that cooperative strength could be built with time.

,,

Many other thoughts played through Scout's head as he investigated his new surroundings. Perhaps he'd take the time to speak to those team members that remained. Though, Slither seemed to be out like a light, and Doctor Northlight seemed to want some space. Nevertheless, he was there if they needed him.

[darksol-aeternium]

After Scout returned, everyone else had either retired the their apartment area or gone home to settle personal business, so having no further shuttling to do, Gatekeeper turned to say, "I'll be ready, and back here by tomorrow morning. You got my number if there's an emergency." With that he vanished.

,,

[spoilertag: OOC] He can hold open this portal and still send other people where they need to go, he just can't move or talk while doing it. Whenever you give him an address he punches it into his smartphone and pulls up the googlemaps pic of that place to send you there. [/spoilertag]

,,

He materialized in his apartment bedroom, pausing to make sure everything was still there, and there were no break-ins or nosy college apartment managers snooping around. Hearing nothing of the sort, he set about sending his family the message that he'd finally been hired for a decent wage, and things were finally looking up.

[Justin OOC]

With everyone heading their own ways, the debrief was scheduled for the following day, in the afternoon. Each part of the battle of the damage, and the costs were examined and brought out. There were critiques, but also praise. Training working together was most assuredly needed, and would be their focus for some time. At least four hours a day spent training together, not in just the usage of powers, but in tactics in the field, wargames of various scenarios, all meant to help them work together.

,,

When questioned about Jael, he replied simply. "I was not sure she would fit well with the team. You aren't the only heroes out there, and not all are going to be comfortable with this. If she wishes to join you all, then I will not deny it. I'm trying to put together enough of us so that we can have several teams, so that we can all still have our own lives, and I have this feeling, that we will need them all before it is done."

,,

He didn't train with them, preferring to run and compose the training tests.After the first week, he knew they'd need a break, and felt that a slight roadtrip was in order. He'd finally managed to get his friends in congress onboard with the beginnings of Metahuman auxillary Bill. It was all going according to plan.

,,

(end chapter 2 3 cp to all players. Fulcrum and Gabriel, each gain 1 HP)