[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/klHHPfB.png?1[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xQRVOpA.png[/img][/center][center][b]Pacific Point[/b][/center] [center][b]A Few Days After [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4788569]Icon and Iron Knight Talked[/url][/b][/center] Christopher Arthur made himself comfortable in his limousine as he waited for his driver to begin their short journey. After Chris had discussed the idea of forming a permanent superhero team with Icon, he had flown out to Pacific Point. There were two heroes there that was on Icon and Chris’ radar: Slipstream and Voyager. Therefore, Chris decided to kill two birds with one stone. Although Icon could easily have flown out to California, but there was no good reason to have both of them traveling out there when Chris could just as easily cover both recruits. Voyager was going to be the easiest of the two for Chris to find. Chris did not even need to lean on his company ties to S.P.A.R.K., as it had diverted some of its resources to help Poseidon Energies set up this organization. S.P.A.R.K. had publicly announced Voyager’s involvement in their team. All Chris had to do was show up at the main S.P.A.R.K. facility and work his magic. Slipstream, on the other hand, would be a little more difficult. Although Chris knew that the speedster superheroine probably lived in Southern California, as they teamed up right before the Hounds reared their ugly faces, he did not have an exact location for her, unlike Voyager. He was tossing some ideas around in his head and the one he was thinking he would pursue was to use skywriting to get Slipstream’s attention. Chris was of course going over the top to recruit these women. After waiting several minutes in the Pacific Point traffic, Chris had finally arrived at the main S.P.A.R.K. facility in Pacific Point. Once Chris had stepped out of the limousine, he made sure to straighten out and neaten up his nice dress suit before he entered through the front door. He strolled inside the building and looked around for the first person he could find to point him in the right direction. “Hey Jordan, the shop was out of bratwurst so I-aaaah!” Gabriella Muniz stopped dead as she almost walked right into the resplendently dressed superhero, the color immediately draining from her face and her mouth opening and closing of its own accord. [color=c0c0c0]"From the sound of it, I don't need to introduce myself,"[/color] Chris said as he turned around to face the woman who had also just entered the building. He pulled off his sunglasses, clicked their temples closed, and stowed them away in a pocket inside his coat jacket. [color=c0c0c0]"But I'll do it anyways. Christopher Arthur, playboy billionaire philanthropist. I’m here to meet one of your resident metahumans.”[/color] “Haa...hello…” Gabriella managed to stammer out, her eyes darting back and forth to try and find an escape route, if needed. Easier said than done; since Briley Patton got the S.P.A.R.K. bandwagon rolling, this facility had been busier than ever, with scientists and staff milling about and interacting with newcomer heroes looking to get a leg into the game. Needless to say, with so many heroes around, the arrival of a particular famous one like Iron Knight was causing quite a stir; more than a few conversations ended in a hushed gasp when they realized who just walked in, with a few personnel desperately searching their persons for something that could be signed. The heroes especially were quite star struck, with one girl dressed like a magical princess looking faint at the sight of him. “Oi, fancypants!” Less star-struck was Jordan Fletcher, dressed in her new uniform with the S.P.A.R.K. patch on the shoulder, who stormed in from the security office to see who was causing trouble. Looking at her clipboard, she didn’t notice at first who she was talking to. “I don’t have anyone cleared for visiting today, and we don’t do walk-ins!” she said importantly, looking up at Arthur. “You need to call in advance and we’ll send you ah...haa!” Fletcher nearly dropped her gear out of shock as Gabriella subtly scooted behind her girlfriend, not so subtly hiding her face in her hands. [color=c0c0c0]“Interesting, I could have sworn I made an appointment. Let me look at my calendar really quickly,”[/color] Chris said as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. For a second or two, Chris swiped and tapped the screen of his phone until he got the information he wanted. [color=c0c0c0]“Well, as of two seconds ago, I am officially on your schedule. You guys should upgrade your security. You never know when a supervillain might try to break into here.”[/color] Gabriella squeaked and ducked down behind Jordan, who didn’t look at all amused with this suggestion. “You’re hilarious,” Jordan quipped, rolling her eyes as the crowd inevitably began swarming in. “What are you even doing here anyway? Not like you don’t have your own equipment to use, I’ve seen the news lately.” [color=c0c0c0]“Well, I was recently talking with Icon,”[/color] Chris started to explain, while at the same time he was signing whatever the other heroes, who were present at the time, were handing to him. [color=c0c0c0]“He wanted me to come to Pacific Point and talk with one of the heroes employed by S.P.A.R.K. I can’t quite remember her name. She’s kind of squidlike with blue skin, if I’m remembering correctly.”[/color] “...what exactly do you guys want with Voyager?” Jordan said accusingly. [color=c0c0c0]“That name kind of sounds familiar,”[/color] Chris replied to Jordan. The crowd of heroes all sighed in disappointment when they found out that they were not the hero Chris was looking for. [color=c0c0c0]“Well, I have some things I must discuss with Voyager. If you guys have any private conference rooms at this facility, that would be fantastic.”[/color] “Well we would have if you scheduled AHEAD of time,” Jordan said with a bit of sarcastic emphasis. “But if you want to talk with her she’s in the Juno Assembly Lab. It’s down the hallway, head three doors down and follow the letters, can’t miss it.” “Do you need me to take you there, Mr. Iron Knight?” the magical princess heroine asked, fluttering her eyelashes, prompting Jordan to roll her eyes even harder. [color=c0c0c0]“I appreciate the offer, but I think I can manage getting there on my own,”[/color] Chris answered what seemed like a die-hard fan of his. [color=c0c0c0]“But thank you all for the warm welcome.[/color] [color=c0c0c0]Keep up your good work and stay safe and try not to break [i]too[/i] many laws.[/color] He then said to all the other heroes who had gathered up around him. After also thanking Jordan for her help, Chris left the crowd of heroes behind him as he walked down the hallway and looked at the labels on the doors until he found the Juno Assembly Lab. He then pushed the door open and entered the room. [color=MediumOrchid]”-and this will seal against unpleasant environments?”[/color] Voyager said nervously. “Absolutely, just want to run the auto-seal and see if it functions properly and you should be spacefaring in no time,” Dr. Martel explained. Not making his presence known just yet, Chris approached the scene cautiously, as it was a rather unnerving sight, seeing the squid-heroine seemingly trapped inside of a glass box. She seemed to be wearing a new, more armored version of the costume he’d seen before, with a standard breathing apparatus hanging off of her hip for some reason. The scientist nearby, who he assumed was this Dr. Martel, started to work on his console quite cautiously. “Alright, I’m lowering the breathability of the air gradually, Riley,” he explained. “The seal activates when it drops below 50%, if you’re not comfortable or something goes wrong the shutdown trigger on your mask will flood the chamber and bring things back to normal. You ready?” Voyager gave a thumbs up, and Martel began twisting a knob slowly. Chris watched a meter on the side of the tank slip lower and lower, until… *SNAP* Voyager gave a start as a helmet sprung seemingly from nowhere, sealing tight and hiding her face behind a glass, opaque visor, with her eyes being visible as colored eye-shaped symbols behind the glass. She stumbled a bit to find her bearings, running her hand over the glass surface. “Everything okay in there?” Martel asked into a microphone. [color=MediumOrchid]“Yes! I am getting air in here…the pressure level is normal as well...”[/color] Voyager reported, regaining her senses a bit. [color=MediumOrchid]”It just feels...what is the word where its a tight space again?”[/color] “Claustrophobic?” [color=MediumOrchid]“Yes, that is it!”[/color] she said. “Well at least it is safe. Why don’t you give your powers a shot while you’re in there, make sure they work alright?” [color=MediumOrchid]”Okay!”[/color] Raising her hand, Voyager extended her psionic abilities and lifted a stapler sitting next to Martel into the air, letting it hover slightly before flinging it where Christopher Arthur happened to be waiting patiently. Chris immediately regretted not making his presence known sooner, as a stapler was now soaring towards him. Initially, he was going to try to catch the stapler, but he soon decided to step to the right to just dodge it, as he did not want to get staple in the hand or anything like that. [color=c0c0c0]“Excuse my interruption, but I have things to discuss with Voyager,”[/color] Chris said so as to make his presence known, if they had not already noticed him. Martel raised an eyebrow, recognizing the flashy superhero. “Well, this should be intriguing…” [color=MediumOrchid]”But...do I not need to finish the suit to save the space dragons?”[/color] “Well if Mr. Superstar can just barge in unannounced I assume he has something just as important, hm?” Martel said, whether it was with sarcasm or not, Chris couldn’t tell. [color=c0c0c0]“Oh, it [i]is[/i] really important. I would tell you all about it, but it’s top secret superhero stuff. So, if you don’t mind, after you help her out of there, we’re going to need some privacy.”[/color] “The lab should do fine, I think,” Martel suggested, turning the knob back. “Stand back, I’m unlocking the vacuum tube.” Chris did so, and there was a hiss of air as the tube unhatched from the floor and ascended into the ceiling of the lab. Voyager activated a button on her wrist as the air around her went back to normal and the helmet snapped open and folded backwards, hiding itself and leaving Voyager to blink the sudden brightness out of her eyes as she removed the back-up breathing mask. “I’ll be right outside then. Don’t worry, the doors are soundproofed,” Martel said, striding past the hotshot hero and shutting the door behind him, leaving Voyager to stare at Chris curiously. [color=c0c0c0]“Alright, before we begin, let’s just make sure nobody is eavesdropping on us,”[/color] Chris said before pulling out a small, circular device, that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. He placed the device down on a nearby desk and activated it. If someone were listening on them, his ears would soon be screeching in pain. After he finished these precautions, Chris removed his jacket and slung over a nearby chair and turned to Voyager, who seemed to flinch when the device activated. [color=c0c0c0]“You’re probably wondering why I’m here. Well, I’ve met with Icon and we both agree that we need to assemble a team of heroes. Since the year began, there had been several crises: D-Day, Pax Metahumana, Nightmare, and most recently the Hounds of Humanity. Each time, all the heroes were being reactive. We would gather up a rag-tag group of heroes and save the day. But how would these events had played out differently if we already had a team ready to meet the next crisis?”[/color] [color=MediumOrchid]”I suppose...”[/color] [color=c0c0c0]“Icon and I have discussed potential members for our team. On Icon’s recommendation from your assistance with destroying the Finger of God, we have decided to reach out an invitation to you to join our team. We believe you would be a valuable asset to the team. So, what do you think?”[/color] Voyager stared blankly for a millisecond before she suddenly gasped. [color=MediumOrchid]”Y-YOU WANT ME TO-”[/color] *SNAP* Voyager was immediately cut off as the helmet suddenly snapped over her head again, accidentally triggered when she threw her hands over her mouth. Chris waited patiently as she flailed around from a mixture of panic and excitement until she finally remembered how to turn the helmet off, leaving her gasping for breath, her back against the command console. [color=MediumOrchid]”You…[i]pant[/i]...want me...on team?”[/color] [color=c0c0c0]“We would like you to join, but if you don’t want to be part of this monumental milestone, we would understand.”[/color] [color=MediumOrchid]”NO WAIT!”[/color] Voyager practically shouted, zooming up to the hero with a burst of psionic flight. [color=MediumOrchid]”I WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF THIS TEAM GREATLY, I LIKE TO HELP AND SAVE PEOPLE AND IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD WORKTOGETHERANDHELPLOTSANDLOTSOFPEOPLEALLAROUNDIHAVEBEENWANTINGTOWORKWITHOTHERSEVERSINCETHESTRANGEVIDEOGAMEMANCAMETOTOWNANDITSBEENSOEXCITINGWORKINGTOGEHTERAND-”[/color] [color=c0c0c0]“Okay, okay. Slow down, there, before you give yourself a heart attack or something,”[/color] Chris tried to calm Voyager down. He definitely was not expecting that type of reaction. [color=c0c0c0]“Let me give you this.”[/color] Chris pulled out yet another device out of his pocket and handed it over to Voyager. This device was rectangular in shape and was slightly thicker than a driver’s license. The top had a small screen embedded into it. [color=c0c0c0]“We’ll contact you via this neat gadget once we have assembled all of our recruits and figured out our team’s name. We would like to keep things under wraps as much as we can until we are ready to make ourselves publicly known. Might be a little difficult after I just waltzed right in here, but that’s nothing I can’t handle. Do you have any questions?”[/color] [color=MediumOrchid]”Yes! I mean, uh...no! I mean….aah!”[/color] Voyager snatched the device and jumped on top of Chris, giving him the biggest hug she’d ever given someone before. [color=c0c0c0]“Um...okay,”[/color] Chris mumbled as he patted Voyager on the back a few times before trying to pry himself out of her vice grip. [color=c0c0c0]“Well, if you don’t have any questions for me, I guess I’ll return you to your tests. And welcome to the team.”[/color] [color=MediumOrchid]”I will not let you down!”[/color] Voyager said proudly, springing into a salute before- *SNAP* [color=MediumOrchid]”Gyaaa!”[/color]