Mutants & Masterminds: Harmony City - First Day of Work

[Rorx]

"Well, thank you for your candour Abigail, but unless you can convince us that your primary loyalty will be to the city and/or the team, I think Dennis might have to reassess your employment."

[Dawn OOC]

Abigail looked at Dennis who said, "That is already done. You weren't part of the vetting process for the staff, but trust me when I say that you could join the CIA before you could join us. Chad has worked for The West Coast Defenders in Los Angelos for six years, and we still required him to meet exacting standards before we would consider him for hire. Abigail has satisfied me and the City Council of Harmony City regarding her loyalty."

"Not human? But..." Sam muttered, "we had a girl's night out!"

[Primax]

Charles watches the interplay with some amazement. This was more than he has forseen. After all, he had assumed that most supers were like him - normal people with extraordinary powers. Now he had ... well, he wasn't sure what he had to work with now.

At least the Brighstar chick seemed to be somewhat normal. Primax checked that thought though. He had already decided (sort of) that the woman on the team were off limits. Nothing like a crazy super-powered ex-girlfriend to ruin one's day.

He felt like saying something, so he did.

"Well, I'm glad that we will be working with seasoned hands in the super-hero biz. It isn't like any of us have much in the way of experience doing this kind of thing."

"Well, let me correct that. I haven't heard of any of you before, and I doubt you have heard much if anything about me. Let's be happy that the city has gone through the trouble of getting us the best support personnel possible, okay?"

[Vixen]

Roxanne watches the interactions with some bemusement. Christ, it's like a room full of people with self-diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. This'll be interesting, won't it? And odd.

Just then, she sniffs. And sniffs again. She looks quizzically at Silas. Now what is that smell? It smells a bit like - like - like what things smell like after I've changed them. Is he a ma - I don't even think that word, does he have powers that work like mine?

Roxanne suddenly feels a bulge in the seat of her dress, and momentarily panics. Dammit dammit calm down concentrate I am Roxanne Richardson I am Roxanne Richardson I do not have a tail let alone three, so whatever's back there can just go away. She jostles in her seat a little. "I'm pleased to meet you all. Uh, for questions, I have a couple... what are the big trouble spots we'll be expecting? And what kind of training will we be getting? I mean, obviously I'm new at this, I think a lot of us are. I'd like to know where we stand before we get thrown into anything, you know, heavy."

[Dawn OOC]

Dennis looked relieved as he replied. "The foremost concern of the city is Dread. She is a villain who claims to be the granddaughter of our historical villain, Dr. Dread. She wears an armored suit, and we're not sure what she looks like. We say 'she' because of the voice coming from the suit, and given that Dr. Dread was Jamacian by birth, we expect her to show marks of mixed heritage or to be fully African American. She's been steadily escalating her activities, and we believe she is building her capitol. We also suspect that she's been arming the Diamond Street Gangs, as we see them with more equipment than we have in the past.

"The Diamond Street Gangs, or the DSG, are our resident mega-gang. Despite having their start in the old Diamond Street area, they've spread out since and have become a concern across the city. They seem to be motivated by old-fashioned greed."

Dennis paused to take a sip of water before he continued. "The Pussy Kat Killers are a smaller gang and while they're prominent in their 'territory' they aren't a major concern.

"The Dark Ones are bothersome. They only cause trouble rarely, but when they do, it is major. We have training files of their last attack, which involved creatures from another dimension.

"There is the Black Hand Men, which seem to be people, mostly the homeless, which are being mentally controlled. While under the influence of what or whoever, they are marked with a black handprint.

"And of course, there is the Burmuda Triangle, which has a cumulating point in Harmony City's bay. That is an unpredictable, but potent issue that you might face."

[Primax]

"Does this mean we will be given police-like authority, or will we be working closely with the police on a case by case basis?"

That felt like a good question, but was police-like really the word he had been looking for?

"Also, when do you expect us to start? I'm curious how much training and team building we are going to get to do."

And he says it all with a smile and open curiousity. So far, three of the member seemed weird in one way or another, and two of them shape-shifted. How would that work out in combat? Also, he was curious to see what the others did. Hell, two of the women looked pretty bookish. What could they do that have landed them a spot here at the table? It would be fun to see.

[Brightstar]

Kallen shrugged off the insults to her intelligence. She got a little angry about Ditto heckling the help and then when the others started questioning them. What really got her mad was when Omega just blurted out the truth of what he really was. Then Primax seemed to be the voice of reason.

"Primax is correct. The city did its job, and these people passed with flying colors." She smiles to each of them. "I look forward to working with each of you."

She listens to the rundown of the city's issues.

"Primax raises some good issues. Do we have the authority to deal with situations without going through mounds of red tape?

I would also like to know what sort of team training you have in mind."

Thee military part of her mind was in overdrive, trying to assess the abilities of the others, and how to maximize effectiveness in combat situations.

It was a good exercise that allowed her to vent her earlier frustrations as she waited for a response.

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar happily listens to Dennis' explanation, "If the city was already aware of your status and passed you through there clearance then I naturally withdraw my comment."

His expression becomes rather grimmer as Dennis recounts the numerous problems facing the city.

"The role the city has for us will play a grat partin the sort of training we will need. If we are to have police powers and have to folow procedures like chain of evidence etc then we will need quite a bit of knowledge training, while if we are to be more of a super-SWAT team who leaves the evidence gather to the normal police after we have stopped an incident then we could concentrate on combat and teamwork training. So what does the city have in mind?"

He looks around the table and adds to his associates, "Has anyone had a look around at what training facilities, other than the lab and library, are here in the building? I'm sorry to say it hadn't occured to me until now to do so."

[Dawn OOC]

"Well," Dennis said softly, "I'm going to let Hammer answer that. We're modeling our system off of New York's, so I invited them to send someone to answer your questions."

Hammer nodded and stepped forward for the first time. His deep voice was eight parts Cool and two parts Awesome. "Welcome to a bold, new life. It will terrify you and inspire you. I'm here to help you, to serve as a guide and a mentor if you need it.

"The way we work it in the Big Apple is that we're an adjunct to the police, as kind of a special task force," he continued. "We're like the SWAT," he nodded at Dwarfstar, "so that we have more freedom to operate, and we leave the evidence-gathering after the fact to the professionals. Though three of our members have had the CSI training, so that they can perform those tasks in a pinch.

"The drawback is that when you screw up - and you will at some point - people scream about how you have too much power. And there'll be some talk of limitations, until the next crisis, when you'll be loved again. My best advice to you is remember what you're here for, and keep your head high."

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar nods to himself, "So we should concentrate on learning what powers we all have and our teamwork, and leave the police work to the police or those inclined to learn it in, what I believe the military call, 'their copious free-time'?"

"Is that what we should start on today, or do you already have a programme set up for us today Dennis?"

[Vixen]

"Yeah. What exactly can everyone do here that's above and beyond what most people can? I mean, I heard about some of you but if there's a way to safely demonstrate so we could, you know, get a feel for it..."

And with your luck, Roxy, they'll ask you to lead by example.

['The Apostate']

Ditto listened to everyone as he continued pondering what sort of creature Abby could be. His bet was on an alien queen set to take over the world with a host of clones taking the place of key government officials. That, or a some undiscovered favor of pop-tarts.

When Vixen started talking about power testing Ditto's attention returned to the conversation. "Oh, hey that's a great idea!." He looked to Vixen and smiled politely, he honestly didn't recall her entering the room. He must have been paying attention to something, or someone, else. "Give us an example of what'cha got. Or I could go for you, if your shy."

He smiled at her.

[Vixen]

"Me? I - "

She swallowed. And, that's my luck all right. Yep. All right. Let's get this over with.

Roxanne stood up, and exhaled. She let go of the illusion holding her to the shape of a human woman. Fur poured forth from every pore. Her mouth and nose lengthened into a snout. Her ears traveled to the top of her head, and three tails emerged from her behind. Her clothing grew a hole to accommodate them.

"Well, all right. I'm Roxanne. I look like how I looked before when I concentrate. When I'm not concentrating I look like this. Someone thinks my superhero name should be 'Vixen' which I think is cool, I guess. Fitting anyways. As for what I do... well, I change things. Or rather, it looks like I change things and feels like it and for all intents and purposes it might as well be, but... I don't know how to describe it." And I hate not knowing.

"But for an example: Coca-Cola." She points at the glass of water in front of her, which abruptly starts to froth and fills with tiny bubbles, as its composition darkens. "Also I can fly, and I can heal people by making their wounds vanish. I can throw little balls of fire, too. I think I'm pretty tough and I have a keen sense of smell, so now that that's out in the open I have to ask what the HELL is with that thing about your neck?" She points to Silas as she finishes the sentence. "It's been bugging my nose since I entered."

[SalmonMax]

Given how quiet Tesseract has been, her reaction to Vixen's ability seems even more pronounced than it would otherwise. She sits up straighter and her eyes widen. She leans over and snatches the glass of Coca Cola to peer into it, then looks up at Vixen with what can only be called a calculating stare.

"This should not be possible," Tesseract says softly. There's no hint that she doesn't believe what she's seeing...more rethinking what she used to think. "Explain how you did this."

[Brightstar]

Kallen nods and goes through a quick listing of her abilities. "I can fly, Project destructive energy blasts, and I like to think I am fairly resistant to harm. I can see in the infrared band and hear radiowaves. I do not need to breathe and can survive virtually any environment."

She looks interested in hearing the others, Even if only to to know what to expect. Her rundown of her powers was not particularly imaginative, but was very much the extent of her abilities.

[Vixen]

"I don't know. I wish I did, because there's no - I just point and think 'be this' and it is what I want it to be. I don't have to mentally rejigger a few million molecules, I don't have to know the secret formula for Coca Cola, I just think and it happens. And it shouldn't work that way, and the fact that it does..."

It's like a stain on how I've taught myself to think. I hate it.

She sits down, and winces. "Grow a hole already, will you?"

Obediently, the chair grows a hole in the back, and Vixen relaxes as she slides her tails through it. "That's better. So that's what I do. No idea how. That's partly why I'm here."

[Rorx]

"For what it's worth my abilities are partially similar to Kallen's in that I can fly, project energy blasts and am protected by a force field. However, as some of you have seen this morning, I can also teleport to anywhere on the planet I'm familiar with or have sufficient information on, I can disintegrate objects, and also reintegrate them. Lastly I cna project a static energy field that inhibits a subjects movements in order to capture them."

Turning to Vixen he slwoly shakes his head, "I'm afraid I don't hold out much hope for a scientific understanding of any of our powers, with the possible exception of Omega's."

[Primax]

Primax listens intently to the others describe their powers, but is mostly facinated by what Roxanne can do. When it comes to his turn he clears his throat and starts in.

"I'm strong - really strong, fly, and am really resistant to damage. Oh, and I don't get hot or cold and I can hold my breath for a long time."

"It seems a real advantage that mast of us can fly. If need by I could carry a non-flyer, or two to the site were we are needed."

[SalmonMax]

Tesseract looks at each person as they speak, then looks back at Roxanne before sitting down again.

"All of the abilities you have mentioned are outside the boundary conditions of this universe."

Incredibly, she then smiles...a big, guileless smile that seems completely in contrast to her apparent lack of emotion. It doesn't look fake either.

"I am in the right place. I..."

She pauses, and reaches up to touch her lips. Her brows knit towards each other in an expression of mild perplexity.

[Rorx]

Replying to Primax, Dwarfstar interjects.

"I have a flying speed of about 250mph, I'm not sure how that compares with the others of you. However, I'm not sure f I could bring someone with me or not, it's not something I've particularly tried. For a faster mode of transport I could teleport, but once again I've not really tried to bring another person with me. Something to try out in training I guess." He adds with a grin.

Dwarfstar nods to Tesseract.

"Yes you certainly are if you are interested in people whose abilities transcend known physics. Mind you, your own abilities do so as well I believe. Could you tell the rest of us what they might be?"

[SalmonMax]

Her smile fades back to its customary neutrality as she looks at Dwarfstar and nods assent.

She hesitates for a moment, then says, "I need a...a pen. Or pencil. And paper."

When provided with these things, she draws a square on the paper and places it on the table.

"I do not have words to describe in detail. Consider this to be representative of a two dimensional plane. I have been modified from my base template to be to you all what you would be to that plane."

[Vixen]

At the mention of actual science - albeit science she is not trained well in - Roxanne leans forward, staring intently at the piece of paper.

"You're a higher dimensional being? From one that sees time the way we see height and depth? Or further up than that, even..."

[SalmonMax]

Tesseract brightens a bit, but warns, "The analogy isn't exact. And time is not really a dimension. But from my frame of reference, the dimensions of what you call space can be adjusted. I can also move myself, or other objects, into higher dimensional space."

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar draws a sheet of paper and a pencil over and starts making notes.

"So lets see, for the moment I'll assume that we are all fairly resistant to damage in one way or another, and I'll concentrate on recording areas that overlap for for now. We have myself, Kallen, Primax and Vixen who are able to fly, anyone else? Tesseract and I can both teleport. Ditto and Omega can change shape, Primax is really strong. Also Kallen, Vixen and I can do some form of energy blasts."

"That seem right so far? Now, Ditto, Silas and Omega, what other abilities would you be contributing?"

[Primax]

All this talk of silence leaves Charles kind of blank-faced. Higher Dimensional beings? Was that like another flavor of alien, or an angel. She certainly didn't come across as an angel.

'Everyone has been vetted,right?' he thought to himself. A question occured to him.

He raises his hand and then addressed this questions to Tesseract and Dwarfstar,

"What are the limitations on your teleport? Were can't you pop to? And how many people could you possibly take with you?"

[SalmonMax]

Tesseract looks over at Primax curiously.

"Where can't I 'pop to'?" she asks. "Clarify. As for how many people..."

She pauses to think for a moment, then says, "Approximately five hundred, assuming an averaged mass of two hundred pounds each. Correspondence limits set a boundary of twenty million miles on a single transit."

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar nodsto Primax, to acknowledge the question.

"With my teleport, I need to have been there before or to at least get some decent data on the location. Photos and maybe a GPS/Lat/Long coordinate is workable as well, but it's not like you could just give me an Address somewhere in the world and I could jump there. Oh, line of sight works as well of course. As for distance, I'm well behind Tesseract, I can only manage about 20,000 miles, so anywhere in the world essentially. I'm not sure about how many people I could carry, we'd have to do some tests on that one."

[Primax]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

Tesseract looks over at Primax curiously.

"Where can't I 'pop to'?" she asks. "Clarify. As for how many people..."

She pauses to think for a moment, then says, "Approximately five hundred, assuming an averaged mass of two hundred pounds each. Correspondence limits set a boundary of twenty million miles on a single transit."

By the way he stares at Tesseract, it is clear that those figures boggle his mind.

"That's like ... a lot of tons," he manages to say instead of remaining slack-jawed.

[314_Omega]

Omega takes the glass of coke and tastes it. "Chemically this is water and sugars and caffeine and other organic compounds. Assuming no deceit this is extraordinary." He slides the glass to the center of the table. "I am still dete ... learning my capabilities. The accident that made me what I am turned me into a short of machine entity. I am extremely resistant to damage, require nothing to sustain myself but the periodic ingestion of metals and silicon. I am able to assume any shape including an amorphous liquid state. I am also able to break down objects at their molecular level." By way of demonstration he reaches for an grabs an orange off the breakfast platter over ten feet away and places it in front of him on the table. With a touch his hand flows over the orange which liquefies nearly instantly leaving behind a pile of powdered carbon and little else. "The hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen present in the orange were freed to their elemental state and became gasses once again. All that remains is 99% carbon."

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar turns to Tess as well,

"Is that really a mass limit or is more a limit on the area that you could do it to that the people would fit into? From the distance you mentioned I assume that you are also capable of surviving in space?"

[SalmonMax]

"Fifty tons," Tess replies to Primax, then hesitantly tries to answer Dwarfstar.

"It is hard to explain...your words are imprecise. There are a total of twenty-seven possible degrees of freedom, dimensions, but in an assymetric, low-energy universe like this most of them are..." her face squinches distastefully, "...crunched? Coiled? Inaccessible. I am able to access some of these higher dimensions, but too much mass-energy causes it to become unstable. Volume is not limited, within the boundaries of the universe itself."

Tesseract pauses, then adds, "In all other ways I corrospond to the base template." She glances down at herself and asks in a dubious voice, "Can we survive in space?"

[Brightstar]

"I know I can." Silently she prays nobody asks why she can or how she knows this.

[Rorx]

"Oh no, Tess, that's perfectly understandable. Mass and energy are equivalent so that in order to convert the mass across to a higher dimensional space, even temporarily, there would be a limit on the amount of energy that you could convert in one go, which would trasnlate into a mass limit and hence your assumption of approximately 200lbs per person to reach your 500 person capacity."

"Yeah, I just wondered about the space survival since I can reach anywhere on the planet in 20,000 miles or less, so a 20 million mile range certainly puts you off the planet somewhere. Assuming that you've tested it to that of course, or did you calculate it in some way?"

Turning to Kallen he smiles, "Yeah, one of the first things I did once I'd got some confidence with flying was to see how high I could go. So far I haven't been able to take it much over 20,000 ft before I get to lightheaded to risk continuing, but I still hope to get there one day. You were obviously luckier than me in that respect."

[SalmonMax]

"It's a...calculation limit," Tesseract admits. "In theory, there is no boundary to range within the boundaries of the universe. All dimensions intersect every point simultaneously. In practice, uncertainty principles make it difficult to resolve destinations outside of twenty million miles. As I grow more accustomed to this universe that may change."

[Silas]

Silas was almost to caught up in listening to the others, when Roxanne pointed at him.

Originally Posted By: Vixen

I can throw little balls of fire, too. I think I'm pretty tough and I have a keen sense of smell, so now that that's out in the open I have to ask what the HELL is with that thing about your neck?" She points to Silas as she finishes the sentence. "It's been bugging my nose since I entered."

Well now, I guess that's where I was sensing the other source of magic. Intriguing. Silas moves closer towards the group as he replies. "Well, Ms. Roxanne, I can tell you that this amulet is means of detecting what some people call magic." Silas looks around "And yes before you ask, I'm a practitioner of the mystic arts" he states.

"I'm here for some the same reasons that you others are, and I hope that my talents will ensure our success against stopping the dark forces of evil that walk this city."

,,

[Rorx]

"Perhaps analagous to rounding errors limiting the range to which you could calculate the probability of your de Broglie wave collapsing at a specific location at that distance? If you could improve you calculation precision or method you could improve the range and/or your mass/energy limit as a consequence."

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar picks up the list/table he was working on again and turns to Silas.

"And what Silas, can you do with your mystic arts?"

He says it perfectly seriously, with as much acceptance as he has of anyone elses powers, including his own, although he has obviously been enjoying discussing her powers with Tesseract.

[Silas]

"My dear fellow, nothing is out of the reach of master magician such as myself." As he finishes his sentence Silas traces a unrecognizable pattern in the air, and speaks the words Susurrus flabra.

The air surrounding Dwarfstar slightly picks up and a unseen force plucks the note pad form out of a very surprised Dwarfstar. Silas let's it float in the air for a moment before letting it fall.

(using Element control:Air)

[Rorx]

Dwarfstar shakes his head breifly as he gets up, retrieves his piece of paper and returns to his seat.

"So I'll but you down for everything on the list so far then shall I? Flight, Energy blasts, Teleportation, Shapeshifting, Transmutation, Disintegration, oh and the equivalent of Telekinesis shall we call that demonstration trick?"

"Speaking of Disintegration, Omega, when you took the orange apart, could you put it back together again? Like this..."

Rippling in the air gathers around Dwarfstar's right hand as he points it towards the fruit bowl. With a briefing warping in the air in between his fist and the bowl, an orange disappears. After a moments pause he repeats the action and the orange reappears, apparently unharmed.

[314_Omega]

Omega indicates the remains of the orange, "That is no longer an orange, it is materials. With enough effort I could recreate the compounds and the structure of the orange but it would require far more energy and it would not be the same orange it would only be an orange. It is easier to destroy than create."