CITY 47: Guard Dog Society (Massive Superhero RP Universe) (IC THREAD)

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D-DAY: Initiation
GM POST

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Cameras shutter. The slick marble clicks with every heel contact. Her tiara flashes with every shot. Two porcelain hands grip the rich mahogany podium cluttered over the top with microphones. Covering her eyes as they darted around--ignoring the constant swarming barks of the Metropolitan reporters in front of her.

"Sigh" her breathe showed.

"I thought this this was an audition not a press release."

"It's both" he replied "It appears like we have brought the center of Metropolis out here to the Hall."

A shadow covered the now hushed mob from above. A green man in velvety blue. His toes kissed the marble as he landed, untying his cloak to hand it over to the Princess.

"Thank you, J'onn."

"We will be taking questions for about an hour and a half before the auditions," he paused " but where are our heroes?"

"Maybe they're in the crowd, they could be late."

"We will be taking your questions, starting from the front."


_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bat Boy
City 47 to Metropolis
Before D-DAY

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Laughter made the night more tolerable than the day time. Sisters had filled the halls, splashing water over their bodies to wash up. Their breathe showed with every cackle. Old bread and butter collected somewhere on the pews they used as tables, candlelight keeping them warm from the invading specks of winter that made its way into cathedral through the roof's gaping holes.
Klein walked over to his mother tending to rations of food.

Klein stared at the food in concern. His face covered by his mask as he walks down the hall to the flickering light. She stared at the light hauntingly, almost in a dreamlike state.

"When are you leaving?" she said

Klein said nothing.

"You don't need a mask to hide from your old Mother."

"I can see what's bothering you."

"Don't worry about us Klein. We'll be fine."

"Please." she held back

"Don't cry before the big day."

She peered over at her silenced Bat Child. Her veined hands reached over to his gloved ones. She held his hands. Almost looking through the boy's mask, she stares at him.

"You were meant for something special, Klein." she paused "Do you believe in miracles?"

"I want you to have this, remember me on your journey. Come back often to visit your family. Don't forget who you are okay?"

"You are the hope of this church. You are this cities' guardian angel. These people. They curse people like "

Folded into his hand, a locket engraved with intricate designs and a folder filled with memories. Klein gripped its contents and held his mother close. Behind her, he'd raise the locket to the moonlight. It shined--it must have been bought new. Letting his mother go, holding his head to her lips, he gave her final blessing.

D-DAY: Initiation

Bat Boy's suit clicked and clanked as he walked boldly out the cathedral--his sisters giving their final farewell. With his face hardened under his mask, his suit tore open with the expanse of his wings and took off into the night sky.

"W-what the hell is that!?"
"Bat Boy is real..." people sighed in shock.

His breathe blew from the cloth of his mask, heaving as he launched his body over the quarantine wall of City 47 at full speed.

"Dead zone, do not enter." he read

Klein was afraid. Below him, a a burnt lifeless wasteland. No roads. No houses. Just burnt, damaged earth. Hours would pass before Klein arrived to any sign of life--much less a "Welcome to New Metropolis" sign. He flew carelessly over the distant farms and suburbs before finding the city.

"Oh my god..oh my god. Help!"

His heart pounded, staring down at the festering city streets. Hands in a fist, the bat takes a deep sky dive to the city near a young girl being robbed. His inky silhouette shadowed over him, his wings casting over the alley's crime scene. His claws tore deep into the robber's arms as he dived and abducted him into the sky. Screaming and yelling began.

"I need information and I need it quick."

"W-what do you want with me. Who are you!? Some kind of demon!?"

"I need to know where the New Hall of Justice is."

"L-let me g--"

The robber began to free fall for ten feet.

"I don't have a lot of patience."

His arm's flesh tore some more when Bat Boy caught him. Unable to talk without stuttering, the robber pointed over to the bright beacons in the sky--the Hall of Justice was light extravagantly at night.

"You'll let me go right?" he cried

Klein's claws dug deeper into the boy's arm, diving dangerously between buildings and alley ways before dropping the assailant into a nearby alley way. The momentum of flying was enough to knock him out, slamming straight into the wall before the Bat flew away towards the lit beacon, stopping a few miles away a top an apartment building nearby to rest for the night.

Klein woke up wrapped in his leathery, fuzzed wings to the sound of helicopters blindly flying over his resting place back to their stations. His mask was wet, not remembering if he cried last night. His suit was torn where his wings and claws had extended from his body. It was 10.35. Cars and news vans were pulling out and a smaller group of people gathered near the Hall's doors to enter.

Klein's feet tapped the marble at the Hall's doors, his wings retracted easily into his body. He stumbled into the door, opening it with his weight by pressing his bloody exposed fingers up to the glass.

"Sigh."

"I look like a mess."
 
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Dawn Rose Lovell
Metropolis, entering press conference/auditions


Late, late, late. It was all Dawn could think of as she rode the public transit and watched the streets pass by. Well, if you hadn't stopped to help that woman you would have caught the early bus and not been late. She chided herself and thought back to the morning. Rushing out to get to the bus stop but hearing a scream and turning to find out what was happening. She had only just reached Metropolis the night before, selling off everything and putting her faith in what was to happen today. Now this woman's scream and she turned away to go and stop the male from hurting her.

Stopping the thief had been simple enough, teleporting a loose brick over him so that it hit his back and made him fall was both a way to stop him and a way to remain anonymous. Teleporting the woman's purse had been more noticeable, but she had still remained out of sight and watched the woman grab it and leave quickly. Going to tie the man's hands then place the anonymous call to the police had taken the most time, and she had just missed the bus, having to wait for the next one.

Now here they were, letting out less than a block from the conference. She looked like a normal girl with a backpack but wearing a dark suit, everything she owned now in the bag on her back, including the sign-up papers. Quietly, she joined the crowd, staying to the fringes and looking around curiously even as she edged closer. Where was she supposed to go now that she was here? Do I dare to ask someone, or will they turn on me? Wait, was I supposed to be in costume for this? All I have is my suit...
 
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Runa Yggdrasil
New Metropolis; The Night Before JL Press Conference


For the past week, every news outlet in New metropolis had one thing on their minds: the return of the Justice League. The distraction from the usual news of crime, death,and war was quite welcome, and the cloud of hype surrounding the event was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. To one young woman, the entire situation was absolutely maddening. She'd had an entire week to stew in worry about personal inadequacy and how the make a good impression. And fighting her parents over the whole thing.

"For the last time, Dad," Runa retorted to the latest parental attempt to bar her from getting anywhere near the new Hall of Justice, "I'll be just fine! I've done this sort of thing before, haven't I?" At this point, it was hard not to raise her voice, and she would go even if she woke up handcuffed to the bed. It was a matter of principle; a stubborn daughter's personal defiance.

"Whether or not you'd be fine is beside the point," her father replied, doing his level best to remain calm, though the facade was cracking faster by the day. "You're lucky to have gotten away with playing hero this long. I'm not going to let my daughter go running around in one of those ridiculous outfits and risk her life day in and day out. Your mother and I would both be worried sick."

"What would you care? You're not my real father!"

"That's enough," the man cut Runa off, raising his voice to easily drown her out. He knew how to handle teenage children, whether or not they claimed to be his own flesh and blood. The girl's shock at the sudden change in tone was enough of a break to allow him to keep going in a calmer voice, colder and dripping with disappointment and disapproval. "I will not tolerate that sort of behavior, young lady. My wife and I took you into our home and raised you long before that. Maybe you can't appreciate it, but you are our daughter."

"s....Sorry..." It was barely above a mutter, but audible. Runa couldn't look her dad in the eye, and instead focused on the ground in front of her. She missed his softening expression, and nod.

"Look," he said, beginning to calm down himself. "It's a dangerous path you want to take. You wouldn't be able to to avoid the limelight, and you're still in school. It's a lot of risk for a...job, if you can call it that. I can't actually stop you even if I wanted to, you know that. I just don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm doing it anyway." The reply was blunt, stubborn, and unwavering. Runa went up to her room, and tried to sleep, but it was a long time in coming. Too much excitement, too much to worry about. Like the day before a big trip. She just had far too much on her mind for it to shut down, and she stared at the ceiling, waiting.

Meanwhile, her father made a phone call.
"Hello? ...good, you're there. No, there doesn't seem to be anything we can do. Yggdrasil's going public, like it or not." A long pause. "So, everything's in order, then?" He sighed. "That's a relief. I'll trust you know what you're doing."

The next morning, D-Day
Hall of Justice


The young woman running through the Metropolis streets continued to vent her panic with a string of muttered swearing. She'd overslept, then she almost forgot what day it was until the press conference plastered everywhere on TV and the radio reminded her. She was going to be so late. ...So much for making a good impression. She could already feel any chance she had slipping away, even after rushing out so fast, she must have forgotten her jacket. Even if she wasn't high on adrenaline and panic, the cold wouldn't have concerned her, but Runa would have at least remembered to pretend that she cared about dressing properly, if she wasn't in such a hurry. She might have remembered she could fly, too.

On foot, the girl didn't arrive until the conference had wound down. Reporters were packing up their equipment and filing back toward their TV stations' vans or other vehicles. The sight caused Runa to momentarily slow down, a look of utter woe stretching her face into a frown. "Awww....I missed the whole thing," she somehow managed to whine, before shortness of breath robbed her of the ability to say any more. She wasn't there for it in person, so unless she knew someone who'd taped it, she'd never know what happened. She dodged past the reporters, completely ignoring any brief questions directed her way. Was she going in for the auditions? Did she know any of the other potential new heroes? It wouldn't fool anyone, but pretending she was just an ordinary girl was totally the fastest course of action, while she was in a hurry. Just an ordinary girl, with golden eyes, bits of metal growing out of her face, and the sort of jeans and a t-shirt outfit that stopped being sufficient for the weather months ago. ...Her parents would kill her if they spotted her on TV. She just knew it.

The young woman mounted the steps toward her destiny with as much confident swagger as she could muster, while still catching her breath. When she finally did pass the hall's doors, she doubled over, sucking in deep breaths as her chest worked like a bellows. The warmer air felt so good in her lungs, after the long run through the cold. Her eyes hastily cast around for a clue on where to go next. It couldn't be that hard to find wherever these auditions were taking place.
 
Cy/Kate
Training grounds - Underneath New Metropolis - Six hours before D-DAY.


The clash of metal against metal echoed around the large, lofty room. An older man's voice chimed against the flurry of sounds, arguably louder than everything else. "Hit Harder! Show no mercy!" He yelled, although if he yelled so his voice would be heard, or if he yelled to prove the point, Kate did not know. The smaller girl was in a battle against an older, stronger and more adverse opponent. The purpose of today's lesson would be to use intelligence to overcome an opponent of larger means. It had been drilled into her head from the moment she got there -- She had talents, and so did everybody else. What defined her from the ones who never got back up is the way she used that talent.

Swords were never Kate's strong suit, but she would use what she was given, as she had been taught. With a battle cry, Kate ducked from her opponent's shimmering sword and lunged, plunging the silver metal straight through her sternum, and out the other side. Her opponent's sword dropped, her body falling limp, eyes closing in defeat. Before the older girl's former body fell, Kate ripped her sword from her chest as her body fell to the floor with a loud and reverberating thump.

But this would not be a sad day. Moments later, Kate's eyes watched as her opponent's body disintegrated into a million pieces, and a moment later Kate's would, too.

She opened her eyes as the man who had been shouting commands stood over her. Kate removed the blinking headset and got off of the table that was used for fights, and then shook the hand of her opponent. "Good job." For a teacher, the older man rarely issued congratulations, but Kate was one of his favorite students -- and the whole class knew it. Although, the 'training grounds' were not a classroom. It was an underground building that housed about twenty teenagers and young adults, hand-picked by their Teacher, Ajare.

"Thank you, teacher." Kate said, turning to face him. He had ging hair and wrinkles that gave off the illusion of old age, but he was anything but. She had once asked him who he was, and how he came to teach the way he did, but he did not give her the answer she wanted. Of course, she could always find out through.. other ways, but respect was the first thing he drilled into her, and it took more than a year for her to finally accept him as someone who deserved her respect.

He nodded once and turned the other way, taking a step forward and walking into the hallway. She had also learned to follow him, and that is what she did. Hands clasped in front of her, she dared a glance over at the man she had come to have a soft spot in her heart for, someone that had taught her how to get up and make a situation hers, how to create something better than herself, and to never take what she didn't deserve. "Teacher.." She started, then turned her head back. With a sigh, she began her well-rehearsed speech. "In the past four years, I've learned a lot from you. You taught me how to control my abilities.. how to make myself better. But now.. Now I think there are more things I can do. Things to help others, not just myself. I've learned a lot from you. You've taught me things I never thought I was capable of.. and I thank you for all of that. I just.."

He held a hand up, to silence her for the moment. "You're repeating things you've already said, child. In the past, that meant you had something important to say. Tell me, child."

She let out another sigh. "I just.. I heard from a friend that there's going to be a conference in Metropolis.. You know.. for auditions. For the Justice League. Before, I never thought of myself as that kind of material. But I want to be better, and I want to help others." She had heard about the Justice League even when she was still living with her father. But every time she talked about heroes, it seemed to send him on another rage road. She learned quick that talking about them would send him off.

Ajare looked at her with a stern face. "You trust me, don't you?" She nodded. "Then don't go. Only bad things can happen by aligning yourself with them. You have better things to do with your time." She was shocked. He always told her to strive to be better, to fix problems others couldn't. To hear him say those words... "But!" She was cut off quickly. "Katelyn Rain Monroe!"

She immediately quieted down. He had never used her full name before. Come to think about it, he had never called her by her name at all, so this was new territory. Ever since the beginning, it had been 'Child'. No 'Kate', no 'Rae', heck, not even Cy, as she called herself sometimes. It was always Child, even when he was counseling her.

"You will not go, and that is final." He took a breath, then reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, you will understand in time." The corners of his mouth pulled up in a satisfactory response, and then he left. She pulled out her key card and scanned it over the scanner next to her door, then walked inside after a momentary beep. She walked over to her bed, sitting down on it and glancing around her room. Her room was fairly clean, a nightstand and desk occupied most of the space, and a few books stand atop her desk. Those were her studies, although she had read the books all the way through in the first few months. She had two boxes in the corner of her room. One contained robotics and electronic supplies, the other, gadgets she was working on prior to coming here. She sighed softly. She wasn't allowed to have any electronic supplies, but she had stolen the boxes back from the supply locker. Teacher knew that she had them, but instead of take them back, he let her rebel in her small ways. She would go insane if she didn't, and he knew that.

Glancing back over to the door, she thought back to the discussion they first had when she joined him.

"What do you mean I can't use my abilities? You told me you would help train me! Teach me how to use them, not how to turn them off!" He looked over to her with a warm and comforting expression. "Child, I promised that I would help train you. But to be trained, you have to have focus. Your ability, sadly, leads to being distracted, and if you want to excel, if you want to do things better and be better, you must first learn how to focus and become at peace with yourself. I will teach you how to use your abilities, but if you do not have focus first, you will not survive training. I will teach you, but only when you are ready."

She blinked out of her reverie and looked over to the box of electronics. For four years she had not used her abilities. For four years, she had to adjust to being normal. Being special was all she had before, and now.. She shook her head. Four years ago, he had promised her that he would teach her. Teach her to use her abilities in time. But time had long since passed, and she was ready. She had been for a long time. She didn't know what was the hold-up, but one thing was certain; she wouldn't wait anymore.

Getting up, she walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer. She had since made a craft of Jewelry making, and many of her tools would be perfect for the job. She pulled out her long-nosed pliers and the precision knife box, and sat back down on her bed. Zipping open the make-up bag she kept under her bed, she pulled out the mirror and situated it in a way she could see the back of her neck. It was now or never. Grabbing a shirt, she rolled it up and stuck it into her mouth, biting down on it. Opening the precision knife box, she extracted one of the knives and cleansed it with some alcohol. Holding the knife in one hand and the pliers in the other, she reached up to the back of her head and started getting to work.

Two months after she had been situated in the compound, Teacher had approached her with another man. He told her that to achieve her goals, she would need something that could put her mind at rest, and remove the complication of her powers. He explained that a simple implant would cease function of certain areas of the brain where her powers come from. First, she was opposed to the idea, but after talking with the other students, and seeing how it had helped them, she agreed to the procedure. She felt in a daze for weeks after, but she slowly recovered and moved on, leaving her powers behind.

Coming back to the present, the information she had read in her advanced science books gave her a good understanding of the veins, arteries and nerves around the back of her head. It would be enough to reverse the procedure, even though it held great risk if she did something wrong.

A half hour later and several towels later, she had located, found and removed the implant, and since stopped the bleeding. She was not a doctor, but she had a very good memory and knew a good amount about medical procedures, at least enough to avoid any irreparable harm. However, she would need to be fixed up by an actual doctor later. Dropping the implant chip on her bed, she stared at it for a moment before something flooded her senses. Words, sounds, feelings, memories, all overpowered her to the degree in which she blacked out hard for several minutes. When she awoke, things floated in the air like a HUD, words and messages hanging in the air, lines of red, blue, and green going through the wall and coming out from all directions, most probable the way they were coming from. She hadn't seen this in years, and she hadn't realized how much she missed it until now. Just thinking of something caused it to appear, right in front of her. At the moment, it was the blueprints for the compound. Several unidentified areas she had never been to appeared, and she was confused by them, but they weren't her main goal. Her goal was the exit.

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Cameras popped up in little circles around her, and it was then she realized that she was being watched. She saw herself on her bed, and also saw many other students doing activities in their rooms or sleeping. She also saw Teacher watching a feed of the students, however for the moment he was not focused on her. If she turned the cameras off, he would definitely be alerted. However... Her camera went off for a moment before it re-appeared, showing her reading one of her studies books on her bed. But, that was not what she was currently doing. She had set her feed on a loop of earlier today, before training. Standing up off of her bed, she pressed her hand against the scanner and it made a little clicking noise, before turning green and opening the door. She had overloaded the circuitry and opened the door, while locking everyone else - including teacher - in their rooms. They would not be alerted unless they tried to leave, but Teacher was the only one she was concerned about. Everyone else had curfew. Walking down the hall, her HUD-lit vision provided light in where there was none. She turned right and proceeded to the route the information and signals gave her, and suddenly she heard Teacher's voice. She gasped and pressed her back to the wall, before she realized she was picking up on a call he was making. She let out a sigh of relief, but instead of turning it off, she curiously listened in. "Ajare, long time no see. Is there something the matter?" She heard a man's voice she didn't recognize, then Teacher responding back. "Yes.. One of my students, She seems to be pulling away from me. She wants to join.. well, I think you can guess who." A chuckle was the response. "Ah, the Justice League. Should I take care of her? I can send someone out soon enough." She sucked in air. Did he mean what she thought he meant? Take care of her certainly didn't sound good, or maybe that was because of the TV shows she had watched when she was younger. Teacher wouldn't hurt her, right?
"No, no, I have it under control. I just thought I should alert you, certainly after all the effort we've put into her."

"Yes.. I can understand. You did well by telling me. Let me know if anything progresses.." Teacher answered quickly, then ended the call. "Will do."

She didn't know who he was, or what he meant, but she was getting a bad feeling in the back of her head. She needed to go.

It took ten minutes to get to the surface, including climbing up a series of twelve stairs. She had no idea they were twelve floors below ground, but on the scale of surprises, this was near the bottom.

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Taking her first breath of fresh air in four years, she arrived on the surface of New Metropolis via a subway access floor. Taking a look around, she walked up the subway stairs to the Metropolis road. Walking around the streets for a bit, she entered a Internet Cafe using her newfound abilities and sat down at a computer near the back. Logging onto an offworld bank, she entered her passcode and logged into her account. Looking at the amount of money she had stored sent her into a bit of a shock. Who knew four years of interest could amount to that kind of money. Of course, she had to have a substantial amount in there to earn enough interest, but that was when she was robbing criminal strongholds for fun. At fifteen, she felt like she could do anything, which is why she turned to bad activities. To escape reality and go a little wild. She didn't condone what she did, but she didn't think she was honestly doing wrong. Stealing from people who had already stolen wasn't wrong, was it? Besides, if she had found out where the criminals stole from, she gave it back. Most of it. She ended up hacking criminal bank accounts and stores that were actively doing bad stuff. Like doing experiments, killing innocents, funding villain sprees. She was a modern robin hood, and that's exactly what she felt like. However, now? She wouldn't do that anymore. She didn't feel it was right. But she did need money.

She deposited some money into a local bank and logged off the computer, exiting the shop and heading towards the bank. Twenty minutes later, she had a credit card and a practically invisible limit, so she could buy what she needed. First stop? Electronics store.

Cy/Kate
New Metropolis City - Three hours before D-DAY.


It was complete. It wasn't great, but for the meantime, it would do. She visited ten stores and bought supplies over two thousand dollars worth. She had visited a warehouse she had been using as her shop four years ago, and grabbed her prototype - her original design. Sure, an Exosuit required hundreds of dollars and a good design, but Kate had been practicing on this for a little over half a year. Using her abilities, she could create technology years ahead of her time, and understand it completely. Looking over the black exo-suit, she made little fixes to it and installed extra parts. It was bright silver, and several parts of the suit incorporated Nanotechnology. Fortunately, she had a dealer that exclusively dealt with tech that was incredibly hard to find. Nanotechnology and offworld metals being one of them. Her suit incorporated insulation, a shock-to-absorption ratio for nanotech, and completely water-resistant. The suit was capable of flight, but that was still experimental. There were a lot of problems and possible needs for upgrades, but it would work. After donning the suit and the helmet, she set out with a backpack full of what she needed to audition for the League.

Cy/Kate
New Metropolis City - Hall of justice - Ten minutes before D-DAY.



Showing up in her silvery exo-suit, she swung her backpack over her shoulder, pushing past the reporters and standing there, looking up at the Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. She gazed over at them before looking around. Where would Auditions be? That was her question.

She supposed that she could enter the hall.. but she didn't know if she could go right past the reporters and the two members of the justice league. What if something important happened? What if she needed to hear something? She didn't know, but excitement was bubbling up in her before she could contain it.

She didn't know where to go, who to meet, or what to do, but she knew one thing. This was going to be awesome.
 
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GUS MAINS | MERCURY | CURRENT THEME SONG
COAST CITY | TECHNOLOGY LABS | SIX AM

Gus jabbed the up button again. It stayed lit, bright green and searing its way into his retinas. Yet, no elevator dinged. It was early, and he’d been up late the night before making sure everything was perfect. He had in his hand a manila envelope with all the forms typed and neatly formatted. Everything was provided and everything was readable. He let out a long yawn and then rested his head in the spot between the two elevator doors and just pressed the up button in metronomic intervals.

“You know that’s not going to do anything.” a voice behind him chimed.
He turned his head an iota to the side to see Missy Chang standing there, arms crossed and face dower. If she had any emotions that weren’t “I’m pissed” and “I’m slightly more pissed,” he’d never seen them. Today looked like the “I’m slightly more pissed” variety.
“I’m aware,” he said, pulling his head from the wall. He ran a hand through his short, blond hair. “I just hate waiting.”
“You could always take the stairs.”
“To the twenty-third floor? No. I’d rather not have my heart burst through my chest like in that alien movie.”
“So, your heart is a parasitic space creature?” Missy snorted. “Everything makes sense now.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll regret saying that when we take over your sad, human race.” Gus smiled afterward, pulling away from his spot against the wall and joining her a few feet from the elevator doors.
Missy turned towards him. “Do you want to know something?”
“Is this actually something I don’t know, or is this an attempt at a veiled insult, because I’m running on coffee and vitamins right now and—“
“Nevermind.”
“What?”
Missy shook her head. “It isn’t important.”
Gus didn’t know what to make of that. He pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. About that time the elevator dinged and they both entered the small box of claustrophobia. Fortunately, it was early enough that it wasn’t the small box of claustrophobia AND accidentally brushing someone inappropriately with your elbow.

The rest of the ride up was quiet, and they both departed on the twenty-third floor. Gus and Missy worked in the same department but on different projects. Their colliding trajectory was always quaint elevator trips and the occasional breakroom snafu.
Today, Missy hesitated from her usual aggressive departure. “Goodluck today.”
Gus hesitated. “On what? I have today off, I was just coming to get a few things.” He may have said that too quickly, but he hated lying. Yet, he couldn’t quite say: “on my superhero exam? Thanks!”
“Uh-huh,” was all Missy said before she walked off.
Did she know? He’d done his best to be as discreet as humanly possible. He had access to a lot of schematics, tools, and leftover resources here. Some he had to purchase himself, and most of it he made by hand. Unfortunately, these delays and expenses had put him behind on his student loans. So many student loans. He wondered if the Justice League paid those off. Did they have any sort of health benefits or dental? He’d been so excited at the prospect of being some world-renowned hero that he’d forgotten all about the basics: health, home, and making-sure-the-collection-agency-doesn’t-find-him.

Gus pushed that from his mind and entered the lab. No one was here at this hour, which was great. Usually, he didn’t keep his Mercury suit here. But he wanted to make sure everything was in tip-top shape, and he didn’t have the sort of thorough diagnostic equipment to do so at home. So, he’d deposited the suit here late last night after everyone left, and now he was retrieving it before anyone came in.

He pressed his hand against biometric scanner that served as the lock for the panel holding his suit. No one could get into it, or even try to. Why? His hand fried the biometric scanner every time. It only opened because it had no idea what else to do. It was looking for patterns of veins coupled with fingerprints. All he had was metal, interlaced with circuitry, upon more metal. The panel attached to that scanner revealed the Mercury suit. No one knew this panel was here. Everyone just assumed the biometric scanner was broken, and that the requisition to fix it was so far down the line it never happened. Well, that was all a lie.

The suit stood before him. It was gunmetal with deep red trimming. The Mercury symbol was painted on the chest. The visor was the same color red as the tinting, and there had been a splash of gold added here and there for accent. Gus was usually not that accent sort of guy, but he’d gotten overly inspired by some artwork he’d seen in a local art museum.

Wasting no time, he placed his hand on the suit’s chest and it opened. It was large enough to house him and whatever clothing he was wearing at the time. As long as there weren’t too many layers, he didn’t have to hop into anything special. Currently, he wore a nice long-sleeved blue shirt, gray slacks, and black boots. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but he didn’t plan to take the suit off. He dropped the manilla folder and climbed inside of it. The suit sealed shut and diagnostics began to run. Everything was running at 100%, which was awe-inspiring considering that technology had a penchant to fail. Ah well, he still had quite a distance between this place and New Metropolis. It would have plenty of time to lose its effectiveness.

Gus stepped out of the panel where the suit had been hidden. He picked up the manila folder and neatly deposited it in one the thin opening he had in his leg panels. The HUD in his helmet gave a sweet ding, and he was ready to go. Fortunately, there was a balcony attached to this lab. So, there was no need for awkward shuffling around. Thank goodness, because he picked up soft chatter emanating from the elevators. The panel snapped shut when he exited it, and with a few quick steps and push of the balcony door, he was off.

NEW METROPOLIS | HALL OF JUSTICE | NINE AM

Gus arrived rather early. The crowd had just started gathering. He was quite a sight to behold, landing in his dark armor, jets of energy billowing out of the back like wings. Unfortunately, he couldn’t land in front of the Hall of Justice. There was a quarantined flight zone due to all the helicopters. So, he landed outside the perimeters and worked his way in with the crowd. There were quite a few stares. A few early bird reporters went to interview him but found their mics squealing when they got close to all the metal and circuitry.

He hung in the crowd during the press conference. He considered asking a questions or two, but he was afraid that if he turned on his comms that he would murder all the sensitive equipment that the reporters had. Instead, he listened to their questions. A few asked about if this Justice League would work like the previous incarnation of it. They tried to poke holes at the foundation of the new League. There were a few xenophobes that probed about the inclusion of different species given the past “history” with them. Then there were a few that stressed that they didn’t trust this. That this was a way for them to seize power now that it moved from the hands from the superpowered. During those questions, Gus received a few pointed glares. He wasn’t a metahuman. Well, he didn’t think he was, anyway. His condition was clinically diagnosable.

When that section was over, Gus would head into the Hall for auditions, having retrieved all his paperwork and totally prepare to handle any challenges that he would face.
 
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rat T. Mouse[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Night Before D-Day[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rant was relaxed in his sewers with a box of doughnuts and an FM Radio to keep him company. He had made a pit stop out of most of the sewers, he wasn't too fond of staying in one place, blame could be pinned on his coding, past, or even present. Wherever blame was due it led him to setting up multiple areas along the Gotham sewers for him to gather materials or thoughts. Weapons stashed within walls, simple wooden tables, miscellaneous papers, and doughnut boxes littered these hideouts hidden underground.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Going through these hideouts you could tell it was made to be disposable and any documents left were public or irrelevant by the time they were found. You'd also note that the person who lived there had an obsession with a certain type of dessert. However, hidden well within the sewer, a project still unfinished, was Rant's true base. This one was made to be permanent and well concealed by a decoy room leading to, as of now, just a hole filled with tech run off a generator.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]However, Rant didn't need this area at the moment. He was tracking a drug ring. He had told himself to stay out of the super hero business when he learned of current events, but learning of the initiation occurring the next day he had been inspired to take on the role of hero again if not just to get his legs again. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]Anyway, the drug ring was in constant motion, an idea actually taken from a movie. Money and merchandise never stayed anywhere for too long. After a run in with a couple goons in charge of shipping some loot Rant had acquired the information he needed to catch the Gotham shipping and stall the loop.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]However, this was all he could do, but it didn't mean it was all he would do. When he caught wind of the next clue he would track this drug dealer down. With an excellent sense of hearing and smell he noticed cars flying overhead and picked up on some information that let him know his current info was not mistaken. Standing up and tossing his treats aside Rant punched his hand into the wall and pulled out a bag full of ammo, grenades,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] and two guns.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"I'm feeling a bit flashy today." Rant said as he threw two ammo belts around his shoulder.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Taking his two guns out of the bag they would reveal themselves to be lever-action shotguns.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]Goin[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]' down?" Rant questioned as he pulled one last thing out of the bag: a [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]detonator[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit].[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Pushing the button there was a loud boom and the ceiling came crashing down taking out a portion of the cars coming by. Rant didn't stay to greet his new friends and made his way to the next manhole to sneak out onto the surface. He could hear the men shouting at each other and the metal of their guns clanking as they swung them around.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"Too easy." Rant said as he pulled a bullet from his ammo belt.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]The bullet Rant held belonged to weapons of the low tier assault rifle class, meaning it would not work with his current firearm. Rant knew this, but brought the bullets intentionally.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"Alright, just fix it on there nice..." Rant said as he fiddled around with the bullet in his hand. "There."[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]With a flick the bullet was launched and ricocheted off the nearby metal of the two cars stopped before the giant chasm [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]simultaneously[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] ripping through the men below. Rant then dropped down using an injured man as his cushion. The thud of his body attracted some attention and others came to investigate.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]Unnecessary[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] killing is not my cup of tea. I'll just take what I came for..." Rant said as he pulled out a grenade a chucked it into a truck trying to make its escape. "...and take my leave." And just like that Rant had destroyed several pounds of an unknown liquid drug, made his getaway before he was noticed, and took a hostage.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"This is the not-so fun part..." Rant sighed lifting up the man he fell onto. "...I mean it all really depends on you. So, tell me everything you know. We have time."[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Underground Burrow Near Hall of Justice[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rant could hear the faint ring of a clock. In its sound alone you could tell it was cheap. Rant blinked a couple of times and then opened them to recognize his surroundings. He tried to stand to his feet, but had difficulty and then soon noted how cramped his hole was. He also lacked ammunition and a weapon.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"Ah, man. My head... what a nuisance. Can't even remember what that guy said." Rant said rubbing his head and climbing to his feet. He then proceeded to climb out of the hole. "Great. Well, one thing is obvious... I was hit with some serious heat."[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rant's eyes were fixated on the edges of his hole. Burnt, really burnt. He then tried his best to recall last night, but got nothing except static.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"And a little bit of hocus-pocus." Rant said shaking his head and standing to his feet. "Now [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]wh[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]- The hall. Must've dug this for [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]convenience[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] sake while it was still fresh in my head."[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rant took a step forward, but stopped immediately. A smell began to fill his nose. An extremely odorous smell.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"This is very annoying." Rant said as he shook the soot off his brown coat of fur. "I'm going to personally shove the bullet through the guy's head that did this..."[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]Rant lifted his arm and took a whiff. He flinched from disgust and dropped his arm sighing. He then felt around his utility belt for his paperwork. It had been folded quite a bit and was a little dirty, but still legible. He fixed his stance in relief and went to check in on this Hall of Justice. Conscious of his smell and appearance he watched the meeting from afar. He could see Bat Boy and that put him at ease. He would not be the only freak to show his face.[/BCOLOR]
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[BCOLOR=inherit]"… though, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]I'd have to survive this ordeal first."[/BCOLOR]
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