[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c70ed-a5ad-738b-aa6c-3b18f815bfb7.webp[/img][h2][color=#FF69B4]GIGGLE'S PLAYGROUND FOR LITTLE HEROES[/color][/h2][sub]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06LNBK4ZfWM]Warped Carousel[/url][/sub][/center][hr]
[center][CARNIVAL LOGO OVERLAYED ONTOP OF A CARNIVAL BACKGROUND. THE LOGO IS A CLOWN BALLOON AND SPEAKS TO THE VIEWER.]

[color=#FF69B4]"Are your kids [b]BORED?[/b] Do you have [b]MONEY[/b] to [b][i]SPEND[/i][/b] on [b]OVERPRICED DRINKS[/b] and [b]FOOD?[/b] Do you like losing rigged [b]CARNIVAL GAMES[/b] for 2-dollar [b]TOYS[/b] and [i][b]PLUSHIES?"[/b][/i][/color]

[THE SCREEN FLASHES BETWEEN RANDOM CARNIVAL VIDEOS OF CHILDREN PLAYING, RUNNING AROUND, AND HAVING FUN. THERE ARE HEROES IN THE BACKGROUND SUPERVISING THE WHOLE EVENT.]

[color=#FF69B4]"Come to Giggle's Playground for Little Heroes for fun in the Thursday SUN, and let your [b]KIDS[/b] be [b][i]HEROES.[/i][/b]"[/color]

[A MULTITUDE OF SAFETY WARNINGS FLASH ON SCREEN.][/center]
[hr][center][h2][color=dodgerblue]THURSDAY - California Dreaming[/color][/h2][sub]Welcome to My MTV Crib[/sub][/center][hr]
[i]Carmen was walking home that night. He took the bus. It was cramped. Someone got mad at him; a lot of people got mad at him. He doesn't remember why. His front door feels cold, and his vision is blurry.[/i] 

[i]Why is the room sideways?[/i]

[i]Why...[/i]

What was he dreaming about? Carmen wakes up on the floor, passed out beside pairs of spare shoes. His suit is caked in dirt, and his clothes are still damp with rainwater. His helmet is still on--actually, his whole hero uniform is on, but he doesn't remember sleeping here. He doesn't remember walking home, either; his head aches as he tries to recall yesterday's events.

He tries to get up, but he's glued to the floor. Every muscle aches and cries out for it all to end--every limb broken and battered. [i]No, no, no.[/i] This isn't a hero's death. He's not supposed to die in the suit and at home, of all places. That's not how a hero dies. 

It's Carmen who has to inch forward and into his living room.

It's Carmen who has to ignore each and every shooting pain in his legs as he hobbles upward.

And it's the [i]Mighty [b]Madcap[/b][/i] that has to decide his new outfit for work 'cuz showing up in a dirty suit and messed up boots is nasty! The helmet and tie are an easy wash, though.
[hr][center][h2][color=gray]SDN CLAREMONT OFFICES - MARTHA'S OFFICE[/color][/h2][sub]Early Morning
Mentions: [@FourtyTwo][@Thayr][@SonnetNSunbeam][@cosmiccowgirl][@Pragia12][@BigPapaBelial][@Redking0380][/sub][/center][hr]
The sound of the clacking keys fills the room. Martha's office is painted a dark green, and stacks of files are piled neatly on the corner of her desk. Most of them are about HR violations: stinky cat, inappropriate workplace behavior, workplace policy... that stack is high. Martha grabs a nearby document, an SDN training program to boost hero performance.

"Hm." She adjusts her glasses as Gayatri enters the office, gracefully setting a cup of coffee down on her desk. "Morning, Gayatri."

"Good morning, Mrs. Baxter." Gayatri smiles, her eight-arms filled with office and cleaning supplies as she begins to clean Martha's office. "How is A-Team doing? Is James OK?"

Yesterday's events. It was slow, and Tyler had to pick up the slack. How Kat thought it'd be a good idea to let A-Team drink at SDN's expense on Tuesday was beyond her, especially not with the... incident that Martha had to manage--Tsunami's transfer to Hollywood and all.

"He met with Alan yesterday for pain meds and whatnot."

"Ohh."

Martha isn't exactly sure how Gayatri does it--cleaning, chatting, and somehow refilling staplers at the same time. "Solaris and Lunara were transferred out to Pasadena, too, you know how the situation is there." 

"First Riley, now those two." Gayatri shakes her head. "I hope the rest of the team sticks around. They're very sweet."

"The heroes are great to work with, Blackstar especially. I'm surprised it took so long for Mayors to find her." Martha sips her coffee. "Phoenix Program is surprisingly well-behaved, too, even after their little pub stint. There's just one problem."

Gayatri tilts her head, busy dusting off a shelf.

"The bug one, Gayatri. The bug one." She begins to type faster. "We're lucky he couldn't clock in yesterday; he's a ticking time bomb. "

Gayatri pauses for a moment. 

The rest of A-Team was doing amazingly; Blackstar, Asteroid, and Princess were all surprisingly sweet, especially considering the latter's criminal history. Hat Trick was amazing for PR, and Lightning Girl was still Lightning Girl, the shining star of A-Team. Payback, Fenom, and Eclipse were also strangely easy to work with, even if the former seemed to have some kind of compulsive stealing habit. She swears that Payback has tried to steal some of the newly reloaded office supplies whenever she wasn't looking.

But the bug one?

"Oh! Hold on, I'm sorry!" A jumble of sound erupts in the quiet office as all eight of her phones go off. "I have to take these, I'll come back to chat later!"

Martha waves Gayatri off and continues her work. She'd find that woman an assistant or two someday.
[hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/3NhTdsYR/eclipse-banner.png[/img][h2][color=gray]SDN CLAREMONT OFFICES - Rooftop[/color][/h2][sub]Early Afternoon[/sub][/center][hr]
Eclipse arrived earlier than usual, maybe by a few minutes, or maybe the others were just late. He shrugs and rips open a bag of Cheetos. It didn't really matter what they did. He finds himself sitting on the edge, overlooking the parking lot, as the others begin to clock in. Sometimes he throws a few Cheetos down at people to annoy them. 

It's fun.

Tuesday drinking was fun too, but he'd never admit that outright. Even if he... can't really remember what happened outside of being on the rooftop with Lightning Girl and that Tsunami chick crashing the party.

He does remember some of the dispatches that he went on... the balloon kid's birthday. Did he still have that balloon? Did it fade away already? And the school kids from his first dispatch, were they doing fine? Would he have to come back and put on another show?

He scowls at the thought. 

[i]No more kid missions.[/i] He hoped the dispatcher would listen to him.

Speaking of, what was James's relationship with Lightning Girl anyway? Co-workers? Both from the UK, at least, that's a mighty coincidence. But it doesn't say much, considering A-Team is a motley crew of heroes and villains. Hell, he doesn't even know where Princess is from.

Eclipse's eyes stay on his hands, a bit warmer from the sun.

Lightning Girl was a nice character. She just seemed to be that way, really, so why... was [i]he[/i] the first one to help her that night? Tsunami wanted her dead, almost killed her, that's reasonable. He sighs; he's done far worse in Red Ring--allies and enemies all blur together in his head. If someone almost kills you during work, then you stab them in the back and leave them behind to send a message.

Apparently, heroes did that too, considering Tsunami's attack on James.

If getting revenge for Lightning Girl's sake is what gets him a better rapport with SDN higher-ups, then so be it.
[hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/x8G7CTpZ/madcap-banner.png[/img][h2][color=dodgerblue]SDN Break Room - Clocking In[/color][/h2][sub]Early afternoon - choose how you arrive![/sub][/center][hr]
The break room smells of citrus today; the counters are quickly wiped, and a vase of flowers is set in the middle of the table. The AC hums, the vending machine is completely emptied--no one's gotten to restocking it, somehow--and some SDN employees come and go to grab their things from the fridge.

Someone took the time to add a small TV to the break room, planted firmly beside the vending machine on a dinky stand.

"And for today in Claremont, the long-awaited [i]Giggle's Playground for Little Heroes[/i] opens to the public!" The news broadcaster gestures to the screen behind them. "Similarly to last year, SDN heroes will be making an appearance at the carnival to teach your kids all about heroing..."

[color=dodgerblue]"SORRY I'M--"[/color] Madcap kicks the break room door open with unmatched vigor, a fluffy slipper nearly falling off his foot. He hits the ground and gawks at the empty break room. [color=dodgerblue]"Early?"[/color]

Where was everyone? Did he actually make it early? No way... was everyone just hiding from him because of his super awesome superhero aura?!

For anyone arriving after Madcap, they find him glued to the TV. His usual bug helmet is on, along with his signature tie, but the rest of his outfit? Walking fashion disaster. He fumbles with the hem of his pink fur coat's sleeves, a black unitard underneath. If questioned on what happened to his usual suit, he chirps a quick: [color=dodgerblue]"laundry,"[/color] and continues staring at the TV.

[hr][center][h2][color=gray]Dispatching Corner[/color][/h2][sub][@FourtyTwo][/sub][/center][hr]
"Hey, James," Raul turns from the terminal screen, "was just fixing up your account a bit and doing maintenance. I'll be moving soon, just give me a moment or two."

There's a large display of candles and flowers littering James's cubicle, no doubt put there by Raul, considering the cart of various tech and decor beside him. Raul kneels down and begins to pray a bit more before smacking the terminal on for James. "One warning, though, keep the candles lit, it's what keeps the machine spirit in there happy, 'nd don't go tampering with the flowers either, same reason." His voice takes on a sterner note, but dissipates the moment he notices the cat.

The cat from Tuesday is well-taken care of now, cleaned, and fed, but still scrawny. It sniffs Raul's shoe curiously. 

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't know you had a cat!" He remarks, backing away slightly. "I know Samson brought in his today. Think you two should meet? Anyway, no touching the flowers or the candles, and keep cat hair off the keyboard. Your machine is sacred like a temple, and if you anger it, I'm gonna be the one fixing it."

Raul begins to take his leave, hands on his cart as he prepares to make it to the next cubicle. "Before I go, Kat wanted me to tell you this: she signed up your team to show up at Giggle's carnival, playground, or something. Your team's gonna be holed up there all afternoon just making sure the kids are safe and entertained."

And it's a great PR stunt.

The cart is hauled off, and James is left alone at his cubicle, cat hanging around his feet. Strangely, on his desk, he finds a small box of Fisherman's Friends with a post-it note over them, just signed by Eclipse, nothing else. 

Regardless, work was going to start soon, and he'd have to break the news to the team somehow.