[color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Shifting[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [quote] [color=9e0b0f] “Sparky!” [/color] he sounded like an enthusiastic child calling to Lightning Girl, who was physically imposing enough to match his Olympian stature. His eyes lock for a moment on her cup of tea and he seems to be thinking for a much longer moment [color=9e0b0f]“I forgot to bring you back some Mamaki!”[/color] Where he had heard about that was anyone’s guess, as was how he would have even purchased some. [/quote] Lightning Girl smiled, shocked. She realised it wasn't THE, Phenomaman, holy shit that would be something, but his clone. And someone who was clearly in the same mould. Even if she didn't understand what the Hawaiian....was it a snack or a plant? - she still smiled with her usual glow. He was a titan, a brick shithouse, but a real hero anyone in her mould might look up to. "Fenomaman! I heard about you, didn't think you would be assigned to us....well, welcome to the team! I'm sure we'll make a great setup." And it wasn't just him. The other dispatcher had arrived too, Sophie beginning to think James had a point about him. [quote] He ignored the ceaseless scratching in his head. His co-workers were off-limits. Besides, it wasn’t his problem to judge. Yet. [colour=61DE2A]“Good morning, Lighting Girl.”[/colour][/quote] "Morning, Tyler! Thanks for staying late yesterday, I bet you were hungry to get out!" She smiled, shaking his hand, knowing yesterday with James had gone well. And not knowing anything about his.....other side. Hat Trick, well, more people knew about him. He was always a pleasure to work with. Even after yesterday's awkward dispatch. [quote]With a smile and a orange juice im hand he chuckles gently, "good morning team A. How are we all recovering from yesterdays work day?" His chiseled scarred up face split by a smile. [/quote] "Yeah, all good!" She heard Hat Trick come in, the burly, big hockey player showing his friendly side. You would have thought someone as much of a thug on ice as he was would be, he couldn't be friendlier. Typical Canadians. Then that contrasted with Asteroid's more dry sense. [quote] [color=mediumpurple]"I'm alright, gotta stop on the way home for more fish flakes for Ducky though."[/color] After it comes out he grimaces a bit, realizing just how lame it makes him sound. Perfect ammunition for a bit of bullying, but hey whatever. He has a pet gold fish, sue him. [/quote] Lightning Girl smiled at Asteroid and Blackstar, giggling. "Never took you for someone with a fish tank, Asteroid...." She shrugged, sipping down more of her tea, adjusting her strap on her mask, firing electricity at her phone that she slung out of her hip pack, before shoving her hand back into the adapted socket. "You lot all like star-gazing or something with those comments on suits?" She giggled, not a little guilty of the fact both Asteroid and Blackstar were rather cosmic. "Sometime, I'll have to tell you about how I got my powers. But you lot have got more in common with me than you think..." She smiled, sipping tea down more while staying on power, seeing Payback also add her two cents. [quote] [color=crimson]”Tell me it won’t be another double. That’s really all I want.”[/color] [/quote] Payback was quiet as ever, but Lightning Girl, was not. The darkness contrasted by colour. It was strange for two people that some might have said had similar powers, they literally repelled each other. Because when Lightning Girl walked over, it seemed to actually shove Payback away. And then Lightning Girl back. She replied nonchalantly, before going back to power, the mug put away in the washing machine. "Eh, probably not a double shift. Otherwise I'm gonna be parking myself at the nearest power station for how much caffiene I need. Also, do you mind turning your power down? I'm literally pushing you away, I think. Don't reverse polarity too much unless you can't take the power though, Payback!" Lightning Girl smiled to Payback, knowing this was far, far too many words for her to take. And probably annoying her. What was Payback's problem? Did she hate this programme? How loud heroes were? Why couldn't she embrace this all? Lightning Girl could not make sense of it. Hat Trick had at least come up with some clever idea for batteries. Sponsorship. A strange thing to say the least, but corporate stuff helped SDN pay the bills and it was easy work. That all continued as James peeked his head around the door, breaking the conversation thread, the clock nearly to 1pm. This was a hell of a break room. But, A-Team had reinforcements and he had finished his hour's prep work, and was ready to get dispatching. "Afternoon, all. Fenom, Blackstar, nice to have you joining us." James simply introduced, the grey shirt replaced with a burgundy polo, that looked just about sharp enough with his designer glasses and chinos that made him look more business casual. The kettle had hot water in it, so he poured that in, avoiding the various powers of the team. Being powerless meant any one of them could kill him. He topped up the mug with an Earl Grey teabag in it, and stirred it, looking across to them all. "Now I Won't harp on about it, but the area we're covering has grown a lot more. We'll be all busy today. But hopefully nothing as mental as yesterday." James said to the entire group, tea in hand, leaning against the wall. "I know yesterday sucked. But let's make today better. Have a good shift team. After the break, I'll need each of you with me for a 1-2-1." James added, leaving the room, and to it, the quiet awkwardness of it all. Lightning Girl had her watch beeping at her as the clock struck 1pm, and they were on shift. [hr] [img]https://i.postimg.cc/VNyFk6YD/episode-card-template.png[/img] [color=orange][center][h1][i][b] Tuesday 13:02 Claremont SDN [/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Shift Start- Tuesday[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA4y54WNchA]Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby[/url] [/b] James sat down at the desk, and exhaled. Earphone in. Cup hit coaster. Keys were slapped, getting logins, applications open, and a gentle start up. James seemed anti-social, but he was in the zone and before Tyler would arrive at the desk across from him, getting it all ready. Stapler clapped into paperwork. Slurp of tea. It wasn't his usual. But James hadn't gotten to where he was without being good at this. Mistakes got made, shit went wrong, but, that was part and parcel. Hero work wasn't about perfection. It was about dealing with everything and trying not to die. He plucked his earphone out, looing to Tyler, seeing him finish getting set. "Okay, Tyler. Let's get to it. You've got the minor dispatches. I'll keep an eye on the big stuff. Chat to me when you want to go through your paperwork." James reiterated, as he offered his pack of biscuits around the cubicle. And proceeded to get into it, assigning the first few. The early afternoon shift started nicely. So far, no drama. It had been significantly quieter than last early afternoon had been. With a team this big, Claremont was now expected to cover La Verne and Montclair completely, making the area they had enormous. Taking on elements outside of LA County was not on James's radar when he started this, but with 10 heroes at his disposal, the A-Team was doing the work. The rain began. It was a gentle drizzle, not some epic thunderstorm, Lightning Girl would have loved that, he thought to himself. It was just a gentle patter, the sky as grey as he remembered Manchester being. So, when a flurry of dispatches hit, it was a much more serious deal, as James put mug down. "Shit, this might sketch, Tyler. Bear with. I might need you to help with some camera work." He added, bringing up each dispatch, patching into calls, in a method that was insanely intense. This would hurt most people's heads. But he was wired up with caffeine and a raspberry lozenge clattering around his teeth. He made his picks. [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Assignments[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [b]"Eclipse, Payback, I've got a jewel store robbery. Civies at risk. Pin sent, need you there, now." James clattered keys, knowing that one was top of his priority queue. "Asteroid, Blackstar, I need you to help a subscriber with her vlogging channel. Pin sent." "Solaris, I've got a dojo asking for help with karate combat training. Details following, pin sent." The next one was weird. He was running out of heroes, but he had to work with the limited info he had that it was alien, it was weird, and that meant he only had two he could think of. Pizza making was easy, right? "Feno, Princess, I've got a pizza shop having issues with production. Pin sent, lend them a hand." Onto the next. "Hat Trick, I've got a car dealership in need of some marketing help. Pin is sent, should be your street." Another one out. He had Lightning Girl and Madcap left. He hoped like hell he didn't have to send Madcap alone, not after yesterday afternoon's fuck up. The job came up and he realised it was wiser maybe to maybe not put Madcap on this job in particular. "Okay, Lightning Girl, I need you to help someone get back into a house they just got locked out of." And then, the last one landed. He was glad he had Madcap in reserve. This one he couldn't fuck up, right? "Okay, Madcap, it's a subscriber with a.....what the hell is that order. I'll tell you what, she keeps changing her mind, I think it's best I send you to her to get her order."[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Jewel in the Crown[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] The other dispatch would be rather more alarming. A jewellery store heist that was in progress, and while the cops had been called, SDN was a hell of a lot faster. Inside, Queen Bitch and her goons were smashing up glass cabinets, and throwing jewels into bags, a few members of the crew armed with M4s, the villain-in-chief dressed in gaudy high end clothing and a pink balaclava. And upon seeing the heroes arrive, threw a loose pile of glitter out of the front door. The glitter was however, as they would discover, *explosive*. Which would make them rethink their approach. [b]"Okay team, let's be careful. You'll need to stop them but let's not turn a robbery into a significant insurance claim. Civilians first, then all gang members, then the jewels. Ideally all of them. Definitely the former."[/b] James spoke with authority, knowing that with lives on the line, it always felt nervous. It could be heard. Civilians being hurt was the absolute worst case scenario, and while those two weren't normally heroes, they had an opportunity to save the day. [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 4 [/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Hey, I'm....[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Upon arriving, they'd find the vlogger, a 20-something that was on a corner within Claremont's city centre, and no doubt, not a priority versus all the other crime. But it was a fun day out, as the vlogger waved to them. They weren't American, they seemed to be a tourist- it was hard to say where, but maybe from Japan or Korea? "Hey hey, I'm UltraGal! Can you help me with some filming? It's so cool working with supers, I was thinking, like, we explore Claremont, you show me all the best spots from the eyes of a super?" James heard the audio come in, as he chuckled. How did that work? Well, it had to mean they needed to be cool on filming, and on camera. Asteroid and Blackstar would be ideal for that, it felt, but they'd need to get highly creative with what exactly the vlogger wanted. [b]"Your approach, Asteroid and Blackstar. Go show them some star power, your approach on what you show them. But let's get some positive feedback."[/b] [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 3[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Karate Kid(s)[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Meanwhile, Solaris would arrive at the dojo, and the missing teacher being substituted by Solaris might not have felt very heroic, but, it was an SDN subscriber that certainly appreciated a hero coming in to cover the day. "Ah, just who we were looking for! Solaris, come with me!" The receptionist ushered, as they went through the next door, a paper door sliding open to reveal it. An entire class of kids looked in awe at the heroine in front of them walking in, as James chuckled, thinking about the prospect. [b]"Karate might not be your thing, Solaris, but I'm sure you can show them how to fight."[/b] He added, knowing Solaris hadn't needed to yesterday, but perhaps she could show a different kind of power. [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 2[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]A Slice of the Action[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] So far, so typical. Yet when Fenom-man and Princess would turn up to the pizza place, it would be anything but, walking inside of the incredibly inconspicuous "Frankie's Pizza" in Montclair. "In here! Oh man it's chaos! The machines are broken, the pact I made with the N'Seth has gone to shit!" The owner behind the counter yelled, as opening the door seemed to open.... A portal to an alien hellscape, but still the kitchen of a pizza takeaway operation. It was about as hot as hell, with conveyors out of control in a room that felt straight up not on Earth anymore, it felt like even the atmosphere was on fire. It required vigour to try and at least manage just how many bases were being sent across the conveyor. This wasn't a pizza store anymore. This was something totally weird, with the clicking noises of the aliens operating the stations more hostile than friendly. Was this a labour dispute, or something else? Either way, the portal which was a tiny window to the front was shut, and until pizzas were made, it wouldn't be opened. James's heart sank. Fuck. This was way, way more out of packet than he could imagine. This would need to be near perfect if they had any chance of getting it right. Getting reinforcements wasn't possible. It was likely a mistake on James's end, but when a pizza parlour needed support, he did not expect an interdimensional, alien-like hellscape to be the kitchen. Maybe it was best Feno and Princess were there, because even if this fucked up, which it was likely to do so, they'd probably not get hurt as a result. [b]"Okay, let's do our best. Try and figure out how to do some orders, or get them to do orders. Honestly, I....genuinely don't have a clue." [/b]James was not being helpful. He hoped they might make sense of it, even if they couldn't help. [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 5[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]The Auto-Motive[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] On the other hand, Hat Trick had an easier one, arriving at the car dealership, and the greaseball of an owner was there to greet him. "Hey, Hat Trick! Just the guy we need! Okay, we need help selling cars. Can you come up with something catchy and star in our advert?" James looked through the feed, realising this was "Benjamin Dover's Range Rovers" when he panned the camera up. And spat out his tea, laughing, realising he was still on transmit. [b]"Ah, oh fuck, I'm so.....oh never mind. Fuck that broke me! Sorry, Hat Trick, yeah, this is a simple ad read. Okay, this one is all you. Go ice this performance." James smiled, clicking fingers, looking across to Tyler.[/b] [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 2[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Re-Entry[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Lightning Girl would turn up to to the apartment, the scared looking student outside, looking up at the room that they could no longer get access to. The drizzle was turning into full rain now, and she could feel herself shorting out. On any exposed skin, like her neck and back of her head, she was literally feeling pins and needles spike. "Shit, thank god you're here! I got locked out and can't get back inside. Like there's a key for the door, a key for the elevator, a key for my room, my phone is dying, I can't...." "It's okay. Breathe. Let me have a look." Lightning Girl replied, reassuring as ever, realising this problem would require some smarts as well as her usual abilities. She put a hand on her chin, looking up at the tall apartment, and looking across at other methods in. She would have to break in. But try not to break anything on that way in. "S.....Lightning Girl, you got an idea of what to do?" James asked, as she chuckled, optimistic, chirpy, living her life as ever. Filled with enough electricity to power a house would do that. Her reply seemed to follow. "I have many ideas. I got this one, dispatch. I'll be faster than a locksmith!" [b]SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 2[/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]An Insane Coffee Order[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Madcap was not James's first choice at the moment. But at least it wasn't leading old ladies across the road. Holy shit. This was a dumb dispatch, but the subscribers was infamous for their choices. When Madcap would turn up to their very, very expensive house, they'd find a Prada-wearing, wealthy influencer lounging on their chaise, doing the square root of absolutely nothing. "What took you so long! So, I need a large macha, with extra froth, two pumps of Maple Syrup, one pump of Cherry, WITH OATMILK, AND BAILEY'S, AND, a raspberry flapjack, AND a pain au chocolat with sugar sprinkles and a raisin bake, but the pain au chocolate from Barzo's cos' ew, I'm not...." Madcap would likely be sighing. James was too from the feed. [b]"Madcap....we'll sort this. I've made some notes for you, but let's go get this order." SUCCESSES REQUIRED - 1[/b]