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[indent][sub]September 21st, 2064
Castleburg Bullet N-Train
Heading North from Watervale Central Station[/sub][/indent]

[indent][color=turquoise]Castleburg's E-Train system is operated by the Castleburg Transit Authority, with construction first beginning in the late 2040s after the original railway system was destroyed by The Conductor, a surprisingly dangerous train-themed villain. Using "maglev" technology, these trains hover above the rails using opposite magnets, and the lack of friction allows the trains to zoom down the tracks at incredible speeds. The E-Train system was a shocking success, replacing the old, slow, outdated train system with a form of public transportation that people have become to trust. From the opening of the F-Train in 2048 until the September 14th of 2064, there was not a single fatality or even injury onboard one of the ElectroTrain systems in Castleburg. 

With 19 railways (F-X) running in Castleburg, the E-Train system has been a major success. However, on the 14th of September, the Rocketeers launched an attack on the M-Train of Castleburg, destroying the entire train and causing 4 deaths and countless injuries, while also stealing an entire train car full of gold ingots. The Castleburg Transit Authority has contacted HERO to prevent another attack, which they anticipate will be on the N-Train, a train that runs from Watervale to the suburbs north of Castleburg and is transporting a train car full of weapon-grade fissile thorium to a Taurus Aerospace facility just outside the city. A group of heroes have been tasked with riding the train to its destination, and stopping any potential jetpacking pirates hot in their tracks. Pun not intended.[/color][/indent][hr]
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Miles Kadojkovic was enjoying the mission. 

The train had left Watervale Central Station about 10 or so minutes ago, and in that time, Miles had found himself quite enjoying this train. Most of the trains for public transit in Castleburg were definitely not bad. They were mostly clean, had plenty of seats, got from point A to point B with minimal delays, and did their job. Miles had expected cargo lines, such as the N-Train, to be like a cattle car, caked in dirt with patches of hay instead of chairs. The train Miles had walked into, though, was incredibly luxurious. Miles' car had comfortable gel pad cushions that adjusted to his ideal sitting position, and he was also equipped with a call button that Miles had already used twice to order several platefuls of hors d’oeuvres. Overall, pretty good experience- Miles supposed that the train was designed with the wealthy security people and company executives that would travel on it in mind. 

The best part was, though, no pirates. At least, so far.

Miles shrugged as he sat back in his luxury chair. His body was shrouded in a black body-length trench coat, beneath that a dress shirt and a red tie. To his right was a plateful of lovely canapés, and to his left was a hardcover book, divided by a velvet bookmark, that Miles was midway through. Hardcover books were mostly a thing of the past, but Miles much preferred the feel of the pages between his fingers than flipping through a holobook. The novel was titled "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." It was an old series from more than half a century ago, the type of book that would be assigned for homework, but Miles quite enjoyed it. Magic was pretty cool.

Miles finished off his appetizers and was just about to return to Harry's first challenge when a sharp crackling sound resonated in his eardrum. Miles winced and grasped the side of his head as he recoiled from the sound, which had come from the earpiece. Replacing the static sound was the voice of Assistant Director Ray Blum, who was observing the train's path in his own vehicle from a distance away. [color=SeaGreen]"Afternoon, heroes. It's a lovely Wednesday afternoon, sun is shining...anyway, make sure a few of you are keeping an eye on the safe at all times. The Rocketeers generally err on the side of loud and destructive, but they may attempt a quiet raid if they know you're onboard. That's all. Man-Titan, over and out."[/color]

Miles sighed. His car was pretty close to the storage car; he might as well check it out. Begrudgingly, he dropped his almost-empty plate into a small trashcan bot that was rolling around the ground. He then took his book, holding it in his arms like a baby, before making his way down the train. Walking while the train was moving so quickly was almost uncomfortable. It made Miles a bit queasy. He wasn't the motion-sick type, but he wasn't used wandering across a bullet train stuffed with finger food while simultaneously wondering if he was about to get blown up by pirates. This was a weird, weird job.

Miles eventually made his way over to the caboose of the train, holding his HERO I.D. card up to the keyfob. The doors to the room whirred and slid open, allowing Miles to step into the storage area. It really wasn't anything much; the room was mostly occupied by a single, long cylinder with a glowing blue stripe. This was the heavy metal casing of the radioactive, fissile material that the US government wanted. [color=D2042D]"To put in a storage facility somewhere,"[/color] Miles grumbled as he sat back against the wall, allowing his back to slide down the wall until he hit the floor. He sat there, uninterestedly watching guard over the long tube of death. At least it was going to a storage facility, and not into the hands of some crazy jetpack pirates. Or at least, that was the goal of the mission.

Miles yawned and opened his book back to the bookmarked section. There were more important things to think about, in any case.[/center]
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[indent][sub]September 21st, 2064
'Totally Innocuous Warehouse'
Brookside, South Castle Island[/sub][/indent]

[indent][color=turquoise]HERO's Castleburg division has held onto a good smattering of real-estate in the city, an example of which being a warehouse in a particularly bad area of Brookside that was formerly being used as a large-scale Nova lab. The facility was busted by a group of heroes a few years ago, and HERO decided to hold onto the facility in case it would become useful. With the mission to capture the annoying vigilante underway, the facility became useful again. 

A few interns were sent days prior to the 21st to refurbish the place and make it look like a meth lab. The poor interns then disguised them as meth makers and anonymously alerted Shadow Scythe Vengeance the day before to the presence of the facility, before returning to be a part of the massive ruse. The heroes taking part in the ambush have been tasked with bringing in Shadow Scythe Vengeance alive (unless that is absolutely impossible) and hopefully without getting any interns killed. Probably not by the vigilante, but by all the authentic chemicals in the lab.[/color][/indent][hr]
[center]"Who else was working this mission again?"

Two heroes were standing in the middle of the 'bustling' fake meth lab. A tall, 6'2" man with a strange, orange, fleshy piranha head known as Pirahna Boy spoke to a shorter but well-built woman with dirty blonde locks named Firestarter. The two were surrounded by a bunch of college-age, non-superpowered interns that had 'bravely volunteered' to be a part of the trap (in actuality, they were defintely being paid off-the-books for this gig. The risk of getting socked in the gut was too high to be working pro bono). Piranha Boy cleared his throat (gills?) before responding to his female counterpart. "Couple a newbies. One of them, the Asian girl, I've seen around Paragon before. The others, I got no clue."

Firestarter shrugged. "The more, the merrier, right?" 

"It would be even fuckin' merrier if I didn't have to split my paycheck, like, ten ways. I'm takin' my girl out to sushi after this gig is up."

Firestarted looked at Piranha Boy strangely. "Wouldn't that be cannibalism-"

"Shut your trap," the pirahna mutant retorted, crossing his arms indignantly. "You just don't [i]understand[/i] me, Lucy."

"The only thing I understand is that you need a shower." Firestarter wafted the air around her face. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take position at the lookout post. You stay here and fill the newbies in on the plan. I alert you when she's comin', and then, easy snag. Badabing, badaboom. We left an air vent half-unscrewed on the rooftop, so she'll probably come in that way." 

"Roger dodger," Piranha Boy responded as he watched his partner slip out of the warehouse, before staring up at the air vent, waiting for the Descent of Justice to come in a few minutes. [/center]
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[indent][sub]September 21st, 2064
Academy of Young Heroes
Lighthouse Island, Castleburg[/sub][/indent]

[indent][color=turquoise]Lighthouse Island was previously habitated by shepherds before HERO appropriated the entire island for their new institution, the Academy for Young Heroes. A magnet school for metahumans, the Academy of Young Heroes offers three different paths for the many youngsters that attend- a path for metahuman kids that want to live a normal life and want to learn how to control their superpowers, a path for students to join HERO at 16, and a path for students who want to wait until they legally become an adult before making that decision. The Academy has proven to be a successful project, with a dedicated staff comprised of active heroes, retired heroes, and other top personnel in the industry working together to forge a great educational experience. That being said, not every youngster gets the chance to succeed at the Academy.

The juveniles that are in need of a 'special field trip' are Ricky Sullivan, Jack Fernandez, Michelle Lewis, and Drew Reedworth, all of whom are budding superhumans and all of whom were apprehended after robbing several liquor stores and smoke shops across Castleburg in a very bad effort to look 'cool.' The Director has tasked Mr. Jeremy Lindall, a longtime instructor at the Academy, to help move these kids to the right path, with help from a few of HERO's younger and thus more relatable heroes. Sullivan's power is some sort of vibration manipulation, apparently a smaller scale version of Quake's, Fernandez's power is pyrokinesis, Lewis's power is generating and controlling electricity, and Reedworth's power is local gravity manipulation.[/color][/indent][hr]

[center]Barbara Lee strode through the hallways of the Academy for Young Heroes. Lee, a middle-aged Korean American with poofy dark hair dressed in a tan pantsuit, was the principal of the Academy, and was running the school for the past few years. Though she did an admirable job and was passionate about her position, it was undeniable that the role had certainly taken a toll on her. Principal Lee had previously been Professor Lee of the University of Castleburg in New Athens, teaching classes on superhuman psychology. She was ecstatic to have been offered the position at the Academy, despite having no superpowers of her own. Dealing with college students, however, was vastly different from dealing with the screaming demons of middle/high school aged metahumans. Principal Lee continued to shake her head as she made her way through the hallway. The Director had, very spontaneously, told Lee that she would need to hold a few juvenile delinquents in her school for a short while, something Lee was firmly against. Still, Barbara did not call the shots, so here she was.

Principal Lee entered the holding cell area, something that a regular school would never have, but was also a necessity in a school where powers would spontaneously go off. It was a pleasant enough place for sure, with the cells being made of superhardened plastic to prevent any sort of destruction or escape. Inside were four freckly kids, three boys and one girl, two of which had somehow obtained cigarettes. [i]Cigarettes.[/i] The old coffin nails that Barbara's grandmother smoked. 

"Put those down!" the principal commanded to the kids, but of course, they didn't listen to the middle-aged powerless lady on the other side of the glass. One of them made a snarky face before taking an extra-long puff of lung cancer. Barbara sighed. She loved most kids, but she wished she could drop some of them right into the harbor.

After this quick visit, Barbara Lee strode through the hallways once again, this time exiting the new, brick-built university hall-style facility through a pair of sliding glass doors. The crisp sea air filled her lungs as Barbara Lee approached a small dock at the edge of the island. Hopefully, the heroes would be arriving soon. The delinquents clearly didn't respect [i]her[/i] authority, but maybe one of these heroes would do the trick.

From across the sound, a cozy HERO cabin cruisher made its way towards the lovely Lighthouse Island, piercing through the fog to come in range of the island's academy and famous antique lighthouse. The boat pulled up to one of the docks and laid down a ramp that led right to the frazzled Principal Lee, who hid her worries away with a bright smile that she had termed her 'school day is almost over' smile.  [color=Moccasin]"So these are the heroes Director Steel told me about! If I could have the pleasure of learning your names?"[/color] she asked, her face a mix of genuine enthusiasm and total hatred of everything around her. Thus was the life of a teacher.[/center][hr][hr]