@Azure Bubbles @Hope Lover @Floofenstein @Scarifar @IAmTheIsland

A Home In Ravenbrook, New York

It was early in the morning, and Kaine was preparing for his morning. Floating above the ground so as not to wake up his wife and daughter. He was in the kitchen preparing his breakfast and coffee when he heard his wife. She was standing in the kitchen doorway, having woken up a couple of minutes after Kaine arrived. “Morning.” She walked over to kiss Kaine on the lips.

She started making their daughter’s lunch. Kaine quickly started making both of their breakfast. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” He asked while frying some eggs and bacon.

She shook her head with a smile on her face. “No, just didn’t get much sleep.” Laura was finishing up packing their daughter’s lunch, as Kaine finished their breakfast. He didn’t like hearing his wife’s lack of sleep.

“I’ll go wake up Shelly. You sit tight and enjoy breakfast.” Kaine gave her a reassuring smile before making his way upstairs. Sitting on his daughter’s bed, taking a moment to watch her sleep. He felt joy as he watched his kin sleeping peacefully. Without worrying about being beaten brutally to death.

“Shelly, wakey wakey eggs and bacey” He said in a sing-songy voice while gently shaking her daughter awake. For the next couple of minutes, he was helping Shelly get dressed and brush her teeth. Larua had just finished making Shelly’s lunch and was now eating breakfast with her daughter. Kaine was sipping his coffee when he heard his Guardian’s comm going off.

Setting down his coffee cup, he rushed over to his bedroom, where it was located. He picked it up, and elsewhere the other Guardians could hear the comm alerting them. A general message was given to them to head to The Guardian’s HQ for a mission.

While Kaine would like to go to work, he shouldn’t shirk his responsibility as a Guardian. Moving to his closet and pressing a button to reveal a secret pedestal for his outfit. But his outfit was not there. Kaine poked his head out of the doorway of his bedroom. “Honey, where’s my supersuit?”

“Oh, I washed it yesterday, and it wasn’t drying in the dryer, so I left it hanging in the laundry room.” His wife’s voice responded, which made Kaine groan in annoyance. Speeding to the laundry room and using his super speed to try to dry out his outfit. Getting into his outfit and left the house. But before he left, he said goodbye to his wife and daughter. Giving them both a kiss on the cheek.

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York. An Hour Later.

Kaine arrived a few minutes later. After going through security, he was seated in the conference room. As he was waiting for the others, he saw the janitor washing the floor. He was a caucasian male in his mid or later fifties. His white hair was swiped upwards, and the sides and back shaved. The hair alone reminded me of some kind of poodle. He was wearing blue overalls and black sneakers. An eyepatch covered his left eye, leaving his other blue eye to be quite striking. A cigarette was barely being balanced between his lips. White earbuds were in his ears. And by how loud it was, it was obvious he was listening to some sort of classic rock.

Utopian soon came into the room, sitting across from Kaine. “Hello, are you the first to arrive?” He asked, looking over to the door of the conference room.

“I think so. I don’t know if the other’s arrived yet.” Kaine responded, now also looking at the doorway. As soon as the others arrived, the janitor was asked to step out for a moment. The man looked up at Utopian and gave him a thumbs-up. To which he returned the favour by giving the janitor a thumbs-up back. Kaine looked at the janitor with an expression of indifference. Calking it up to this being a strange human interaction.

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

The conference room doors slid open with a small chime.

A soft glow came in first, then Julian Mercer walked through. His white-and-gold suit caught the overhead lights while his cape settled behind him. Glowing in an effortless way because he had perfect lighting.

His eyes moved around the room: empty seats, tension, that heavy serious vibe. “…Wow,” Julian said quietly, straightening up a little. He gave a smaller smile than usual. “Okay, so this is the serious meeting room. Honestly, I expected moodier lighting, but this works too.”

His gaze shifted to Kaine, then Utopian. “Julian Mercer. Spotlight.” Instead of his usual dramatic intro, he just gave a small nod. “I got the message. Figured if you’re calling people in this early, it’s probably not for a team photo.” He paused for a second. “…Although, for the record, I do take a really good team photo.”

He glanced over toward where the janitor had been, then headed farther inside and took a seat, sitting upright as the glow around him faded a little.

27 St. Gelsey Avenue, Ravenbrook, New York

Developing a power that helped Frank predict motor reflexes from his opponents turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, his already present knowledge of aikido, karate and kickboxing, finding an opponent's weakspot was all too easy. On the other hand, if he used his power too extensively, his right eye - which had now turned green instead of natural brown - stung with intense pain and momentarily darkened at the moment.

He didn't know what was to come, but he wasn't going to risk permanently losing that eye, or worse. The power he had was, for the time being, still unpredictable and unknown to him.

After hours of moving through rancid sewer tunnels, Frank emerged from a manhole, careful not to climb out into the headlights of an approaching vehicle, and made his way back onto the street. He had to stay hidden before he reached his family home. There was no way he'd be getting Melanie and Spencer into trouble because of this. He was grateful that it was raining, so that the stench could be washed off at least a little bit.

He rapped fiercely on the door - his own belongings having been stolen and confiscated from him.

"Frank?" Melanie opened, aghast at her husband's appearance.

"Get Spencer and pick up your things. We can't stay here anymore," Frank urged.

"But Frank-"

"Do it!" Frank gave her no time to respond. "InGenIous are after me."

With little choice but to completely leave their old life behind, the Richardsons packed up in the family car thanks to Frank's spare keys in the home, and started driving. Anywhere. Far from the city. They knew that InGenIous would be on their tail if they didn't hurry up.

Beep beep beep was not the best way to wake up. It was marginally better than a buzzer and being tilted out of her bed, of course, but it wasn't pleasant, all the same. For a moment, she debated using her new-found powers of laziness to ignore it, but a mechanized voice, feminine this time, sounded in her head: "That is the ringtone I assigned to your Guardians alert. You should move, Aria." and, well, great, she couldn't. But it was also an opportunity. Pushing herself up, pushing the covers off, and reaching to the wall to unplug herself from the outlet (dragging her bed over to it had been a pain, but worth it), she let the cord retract, and stood. A quick run to the bathroom to brush her teeth, a glass of water, and she was ready. More or less.

Step into the middle of her room, close her eyes, and focus. Replace her sleepwear with her combat armour, skipping the wings for now (They were a hassle, indoors, and as modular as her suit was, she could leave them behind), and...."Ah, coordinates, please?" she asked aloud. A moment later, the mental link provided her with the location and...It wasn't quite what other people would find useful, really, which also meant coordinates others sent her weren't quite useful to her, either, her targeting was rather unique to herself. A hassle, really, but...

No time to think on it. Deep breath, and then she was there.

...Er, kind of. Blink, look around, and "...this is a supply closet." she breathed. Shaking her head, she almost laughed at the apologetic feeling her AI sent her, the mechanical voice about as sheepish as she had ever heard it "Apologies. We are close, however, follow the map." and there it was, on her visor. Push the door open and glance around, then go down the hallway and into another door and....

Oh, she's here. Others had already arrived and she fought down the shyness and fright at having attention on her, setting her visor to opaque from the outside and taking some solace in not being as seen. She put a hand to her chest, and bowed, just a little. "Arsenal reporting for duty." Falling back on, well, duty and obedient, she kept her tone even and even a little cold, which was...marginally better than letting them know how much turmoil she felt, right. She stepped around to a seat, and pulled it out, then sat, prim and proper, and awaited the briefing, eyes going over all of them, letting each scan and diagnostic run, gleaning whatever information she could. Spotlight, Kaine, Utopian....Known figures, much more known than she was, at this point. Hopefully not ever going to be a problem. Still, she couldn't quite curb the instinct to be as prepared as possible, and the voice in her head was always far too eager to assess everyone's abilities, to see how much of a threat they were.

Too much, obviously, it'd be better to flee than fight if things went poorly.

Clickclickclickclick… click… click… clank.

The four‑inch‑thick transparent containment wall shuddered, locks disengaging one by one with mechanical reluctance before it finally rolled aside. As always, the opening revealed a semicircle of watching faces—stern military personnel, clinical scientists with tablets poised, and at the centre of them all, the immovable presence of Agent Baker.

“Donald! How marvellous it is to see you, darling.”
Solace’s voice flowed out smooth and warm, a practiced melody of charm that only made the Agent’s jaw tighten behind his dark glasses.

“I’ve asked you not to refer to me like that, A‑0.” Baker’s tone was clipped, his gaze flicking toward the woman beside him as if confirming she’d heard the insolence. Then back to Solace. “You’ve been briefed on what’s happening. Don’t make me regret it. One misstep and you’re back in here. Do you understand?”

Solace held his stare, unblinking, the silence stretching just long enough to make the room shift uneasily.
“…Absolutely, Agent. We apologise. Please, proceed. I am… eager.”

The way Solace shaped the word eager made Baker’s brow crease, but the wheels were already turning far above his pay grade. He no longer had the authority to halt what had been set in motion.

The journey to the Guardians of Earth HQ was, surprisingly, comfortable. To avoid drawing attention, the agency responsible for housing Solace had decided that a nondescript black sedan was the safest way to transport a potentially catastrophic alien organism. Solace, of course, did not complain. Even filtered through pitch‑black tinted windows, this was the most of the outside world they had ever been permitted to witness. Shapes of buildings, the blur of trees, the faint glow of daylight—muted, distorted, but intoxicating all the same.

Their arrival at HQ carried a strange ceremonial weight. Solace was ushered through immaculate corridors, guided with precision toward their destination. To an outside observer, it might have looked like a VIP being escorted by an elite security detail—an entourage of protectors shielding a dignitary from unseen threats. The truth, of course, was the inverse. If Solace had harboured even a flicker of desire for destruction, these agents could not have slowed them, let alone stopped them. Their presence was symbolic at best, performative at worst.

At last came the moment of entry.

The double wooden doors of the boardroom swung open, and Solace stepped inside with a fluid grace that made several of the seated veterans stiffen. Agent Baker followed, posture rigid, eyes scanning the room as though handing off a live explosive.

Solace paused only long enough to receive Baker’s curt nod—permission to sit—before gliding into a chair with careful, deliberate poise. Baker, in turn, gave the assembled leaders a look that said, without a single word, They’re your problem now.

Solace beamed at him, lifting a hand in a cheerful little wave as the Agent retreated and the doors shut behind him. Then they turned back to the table, smile still perfectly, serenely fixed in place.

And they waited. Silent, but patient.

@Azure Bubbles @Floofenstein @Scarifar @IAmTheIsland @Silver Carrot

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

Kaine looked over at the other recruits. Looking not impressed with them. Especially with the hero named Spotlight. A social media influencer is not very helpful with their organization. And some of the others, he was unsure how effective they would be for the group. But he would need to be open minded of their potential. He leaned forward with his large hands folded together.

“Not yet. That “might” be done later on.” Utopian said, giving Julian a nod. Watching the other heroes coming into the room.

As the other heroes arrived at the conference, Utopian started speaking. “Well, I am glad that everyone whom I invited arrived. Firstly, I want to welcome our new recruits. I called you here about your first mission. There is a villain named Weeping Willow who is planning to commit Eco-terrorism by poisoning the city's water supply. She was last seen escaping an EDEN Chemicals laboratory with what we assume is some sort of chemical weapon. She usually has a large group of her goons, but I don’t think they will be a problem. However, Willow might give you a bit of a challenge.” Utopian said as he was going through the slides.

He took a moment of silence to wait for anyone to ask their questions. After the round of questions, they were told to head to the abandoned atrium near the docks of the city.

Sarah King’s Apartment. Ravenbrook, New York.

Meanwhile, Donald had just arrived at the hero known as Stryke’s home. Upon opening the door, he assumed she was waiting for him. But she wasn’t home, and he didn’t know how long she was going to be. So for the time being, he made himself a cup of coffee. Sitting down on the chair in the living room while waiting for Stryke. As she entered the room, threatening what she assumed was an enemy, Donald quickly spoke up.

“No need to bring out the claws, kiddo. Sorry for barging in, but your apartment door was open. You might want to have that looked at. But I ain’t a bad guy, I’m with The Guardians. My name is Donald Baker.” He clicked the light near the table, illuminating the living room. “As you know, The Guardians are looking to recruit some new blood, and I was told you’d be a good candidate.” He placed his coffee cup on the table beside him.

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

Julian caught the look from Kaine. He knew it well. He had seen similar looks every time he showed up anywhere. People hear he has a follower count, and assume he must be unserious. He was used to this nonsense.

Instead of arguing, he leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table as Utopian finished the briefing.

“Okay, wait,” he said, enough to cut in naturally. “If she’s planning something that big… people are going to notice something’s off before we even get there.”

He glanced between Utopian and the others.

“I mean, docks, chemicals, weird activity. In this day and age, someone’s filming that. Or posting about it. Or complaining about it. People don’t just quietly watch something sketchy happen near the water and keep it to themselves.” He gave a small shrug.

”I can check what’s already out there,” he added. “Posts, hashtags, what’s trending, anything near the docks in the last few hours. If she’s setting up, there’s a good chance someone’s already caught a piece of it without realizing what they’re looking at.”

He leaned back slightly after that, like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Could give us a better idea of what we’re walking into.” He shrugged. “Perks of being terminally online.”

The old man didn't seem to like what he saw, but that mostly just got him labeled under potential threat, the metallic voice in her head announcing 'Target: Carnage. Scanning, internet search forthcoming..." and...there, a scrolling list of powers in her vision, plus...known history, and weaknesses. Weren't most people weakened by a lot of electricity? That's more a strength than anything. And radiation. Certain sound frequencies, eck. 'We shouldn't be looking for the weaknesses of our allies. Yes, I know you're doing that for all of them' she saw the lists. If there was one new-ish trait her AI companion had taken on since the fight against it's maker it was the paranoia. New-ish because it had always been alert and ready for anything, but now it had extra distrust for anyone she thought of as an ally. It might save them one day, of course, but...'Keep it to yourself, for now I guess. she told it, hopefully placatingly and at least she didn't get the listing....

She decided to focus on the words, instead, and silently agreed with her AI about the lack of a briefing. Goons and nothing else, assumptions, eco-terrorism by poisoning the water supply no actual info on the villain, which, yes, already with the internet search, but...hm? Her head turned, towards the blond man, who...Seemed to be more with it than expected. Yes, yes, 'Adjusting expectations', hush. That was useful.

So she nodded, and opened her mouth (hidden as it was by her helmet) to speak: "please do. I would like to know the enemy's assets...And powers." A name like Weeping Willow....Implied some sort of plant-like powers. But was it poison? Growing plants? Turning into a tree? Her flamethrower fuel supply was actually doing well, such a weapon was seldom a wise thing to use, after all, but if she had to burn down some trees or clear foliage, well, better that than a defoliant. Especially since she had firefoam popper rounds, too.

Oh, right. Her hand raised. "I would like to know if we are to keep fatalities to a minimum or if we should go expecting violence and aiming to kill." she...stated, more than asked. She wasn't keen on actually going in with lethality in mind, if only for the infamy such a thing would generate. But if the situation was dire enough (And was poisoning the city's water supply that much of a problem?...she didn't know, plainly, but she knew her home had a water filter, so...), then she would do as they asked.

---

Daniel opened the door to his home and walked in, immediately heading to the beaten-up couch and dropping his ass straight onto it. He slung his arm across his eyes, a long, exhausted sigh escaping his lungs. He had woken up early to do a job, and not only was he tired, he was starving. He reached over to grab a nearby cereal box and flipped it upside down, only to see a few grains and crumbs tumble onto his hand. As he set it back down, a familiar voice rang out in his mind: You have the potential for so much more, and I know you know that.

The Speed Demon, which Daniel affectionately nicknamed 'Speedy', was frustrated with Daniel's commitment with performing mundane tasks. Why do you insist on keeping up this charade of mundanity? With the abilities I gave you, this poverty-stricken household should be a thing of the past. You're running yourself ragged for next to nothing. Well, it wouldn't be fair, you know? If I do all the jobs, the others won't get any, Daniel responded in his mind. And besides, you know it will be a 'thing of the past' now. That new hero job's gonna do wonders for us. Speedy harrumphed and was going to make another rebuttal, but noticed that Daniel had fallen asleep on the couch. He would have to keep watching over Daniel, and hope the man lasts long enough for his own soul to sufficiently recuperate.

---

Daniel was awoken by a tap on the face. He blinked the blurriness out of his eyes and looked up to see his sister Sasha standing above him with a large plate full of toast and eggs. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead." Sasha said, a smirk on her face. "You're gonna be late." Daniel was puzzled at first, then realized that he was due to arrive at the GoE HQ soon. "Aw hell!" Daniel exclaimed, then proceeded to stuff his face with the contents of the plate. It was wiped clean in seconds, with Daniel sucking each of his fingers. "My compliments to the chef," Daniel said, patting his sister on the head. "Now, gotta run, bye!" With a blur, Daniel got his costume on in a second and was out the door, racing towards the building as fast as he could safely run.

Daniel made some turns and traveled through less crowded areas to mitigate the risk of accidents. It cost him several seconds, but he eventually made it to the HQ. Running through the front door, he quickly noticed that he was one of the last to arrive, and the group was already in the middle of a briefing. He did his best to appear inconspicuous, acting like he was here the whole time. All he got out of it was someone called "Willow" and something about a chemical weapon. Going over to Julian at the mention of searching through social media, Daniel chimed in, "Better than nothing, I guess. Cameras are everywhere these days. Speaking of which, aren't there any security cameras around that caught sightings of these Willow goons around town? You'd think a dangerous weapon like that would be hard to hide."

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

A young woman in a bomber jacket with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder managed to sneak in moments before Utopian began his briefing, and found a seat. She was out of breath, had a red face and her hair was a mess. Her makeup was very light today. All of this would prevent all but the most observant from recognising her at a glance from the military recruitment advertisements featuring Shock and Awe. Plus they were always a duo, in matching makeup with mirrored styled blonde hair that had seemed to be almost glowing. Today, Heidi Williams was a far cry from her best self.

She took a seat, thankful that she wasn't late. The bus had been cancelled, and lacking any other method of transport, ran the whole nine miles from her rented apartment to the Guardians of Earth HQ. It had taken her just over an hour and ten minutes. She listened to the briefing. It was brief, but truthfully, Heidi didn't have many questions. She was used to following orders, in a job where asking more questions than the bare minimum was frowned upon. The one thing she was most curious about quickly got asked, which was Weeping Willow's powerset. While she waited for an answer to that, she asked her own question.

"Is the Abandoned Atrium merely acting as our checkpoint or do we have reason to suspect the enemy's operations are nearby?"

---

Uploaded to the wizard7342 Youtube channel

The video opens to 10 seconds of legacy hero, Wizard, staring blankly at the camera. After this time, he realises the camera is running and speaks.

"Good morning all, good morning all, the sun says hello. It is a sunny morning in California, and the waves are looking good. It has been quite a ride, hasn't it? But I drew a Tarot card today for the world and it seems I have drawn the Fool, the card of starting all over again. Many people see the Fool as a bad card, that all their progress has come to nothing, but I think it's just neat. You see, it is also the card of bright horizons and great opportunities. We were in quite a dark patch before, quite a lot of dark alleys and nasty business. I can't think of a better thing the world needs right now than the Fool."

"Remember always the bright things in life. Nuclear weapons may still be here, the world may still be warming, but at least the latter makes the waves that little bit better. There is a bright side to every step, you see." With that, Wizard raised both hands in peace signs. "Now let me recite the mantra. Peace and love, peace and love, peace an-"

This needless repetition is interrupted by a clatter of something off-screen. This disrupts Wizard, causing him to frown at something to the side. Soon after, he is seen stumbling out of his bean bag and scrambling to gain footing, then dashing into the camera. The camera falls and the video grows staticky.

"Rupert! Get out of the jerky! How many times to do need to tell you? Mice don't eat meat."

---

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to. In this case, from the view of all respectable authority, Wizard was very late to the meeting. He sauntered into the conference hall as if time were an illusion, which it is not. Then, he twirled a pirouette to the heroes and bowed toward Carnage in particular.

"Apologies, for my rudeness. But you won't need to catch me up on matters." He rose. "I always have an ear to the ground." He took a few steps to the table edge, then squatted down where the heroes could now see a human ear affixed to the flooring beneath it. Wizard took great care to peel it off the tiles before rising and holding it up to the side of his head. When his hands let go, they unveiled the ear was not perfectly returned to the side of his head. Wizard's stance said 'ta da!!!'.

Then was the matter of the task at hand, which caused the mage to stroke his beard in contemplation. "An eco-terrorist who wants to save a river by poisoning its waters. These youngins have some strange ideas, don't they Carnie?" He clicked his fingers before he got a reply. "Regardless, I say we move quick. I have space in my van if anyone needs a ride."

@Azure Bubbles @Floofenstein @Scarifar @IAmTheIsland @Silver Carrot @Jumbus

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

“Some sort of recon on the situation would be highly recommended. We don’t know how soon she will go through with her plan. And I would like to try and get the drop on her before then.” Utopian gave Juilan a nod of approval. Then started flipping through some papers before handing them out to the other heroes. “Here is more information about Weeping Willow.” On the paper was a quick summary of her life and her criminal career. Weeping Willow was born Wilhelmina Willow in San Diego, California. Her parents were environmentalist hippie parents. Growing up with this belief while also realizing her powers, she joined environmental groups protesting oil and tech companies. Eventually, she rallied with other like-minded people to create Weeping Willow and her goons. Her powers allow her to control and grow any kind of plant.

“I would like to keep any kind of fatality to a minimum. I know, since this is your first mission, and you’d want to be gun-ho on getting into the action. But keep in mind, we are trying to maintain the law, we are not judge, jury, and executioner. And if you think that is what our job is, then you can leave now because that’s not what we do here.” Utopian looked over at the others, specifically at Kaine. Kaine stared back at him with daggers, knowing they had a conflict about how brutal Kaine is when dealing with villains.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kaine responded in an emotionless tone. His arms are now crossed against his broad chest.

Utopian then turned to Daniel to answer his question. “They were last seen leaving the scene of the crime. We just need to find them before they go forward with their plan. Which is why I want Spotlight and Aria to use cameras and any tech to try and track them.”

Now he addressed Shock’s question. “We suspect that they are located in the Atrium, but like i said, I’d like to do some more background checks to make sure.”

His questioning was interrupted by the arrival of the hero known as Wizard. “Glad to see you. And you're not late, in fact your just in time for what your first mission will be.” Utopian gave Wizard the folder of information. Kaine, meanwhile, rolled his eyes at the little show the old man did with his ear.

Utopian smiled and nodded his head. “I agree, Winfield. You have your briefing, i assume all of you will not disappoint me.” And with that they would quickly start with their first mission.

Guardian Of Earth HQ. Ravenbrook, New York.

Julian took the folder and flipped through it once. “Plant control. At the docks.” He chuckled “Real subtle.”

He dropped the folder onto the table and pulled out his phone. “Let’s see who’s posting before they start running.” His thumb flew across the screen. The usual glow around him dimmed as he focused on his task. “Local tags. Livestreams. Anything pinned near the waterfront.” After not long scrolling. “There you are.” His eyes saw something on the display. “Couple posts from around an old warehouse. People are calling it ‘weird vines.’ One genius thought it was an art piece.” He snorted. “Not for long.”

He looked up at Aria. “I’ll follow the digital breadcrumbs. You pull traffic cameras, security feeds, floor plans. We compare notes and pin it down.”

Julian leaned back, phone still in hand. “Crowdsourcing and surveillance. Beautiful partnership.” Then, with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, “And if somebody’s already taking selfies with it, we don’t have long before this becomes everybody’s problem.”

Aria let out a sigh of relief. Expected to be nonlethal, that was good. She really, really, did not want to kill people. So! Focus. Listen. Be thoroughly weirded out by a man who had...ear? Uhm. Also they expected her to do recon, which, fine, she could hack local cameras and if her drones were working (they were soooooo busted and fixing them was presently beyond her means and skill) she could scout much more effectively, but...well, she could do that. She nodded to the showy hero, and found she liked him, actually, more than she thought.

Well, one thing to do. Nudge the AI in her brain, and Julian would be receiving a text from it, featuring her helmeted visage, a message pertaining to "I'll keep in touch." and with that...

Oh, right, words.

"I'll go and get in position." His words were...scary, and very, very, true. If people saw it, they didn't have long. So...Ah. 'Coordinates sent' from her AI, and Aria vanished in a soft blue light, reappearing near the target location, perched atop a building and hopefully out of sight of any goons. Stepping up to the edge of the building, carefully, scanning...

Traffic cameras, security cameras, and more. Oh, the building...Sure looked like an Atrium, or some sort of A-building...Look on the 'net, hack-hack-hack, floor plans, feed what she got through to Julian, it'd probably be better to get actual comms gear but that was an issue for future Aria.

For now, she settled in to let the AI in her brain do it's looking, and wait for others to get here the slow way.

---

"A briefing that is actually brief. Hah! I've never been a fan of big hero*, but you're winning me over, man." The old man gave a bow and was quickly out the door unto the pursuit of justice.

Wizard's grand enclave, his Sanctum Sanctorum, was a beat-up Volkswagen bus sticking out like an entirely unimpressive sore thumb in the headquarter's parking lot. It did have a new paint job, and someone seemed to have attempted to get the dents out. But the wear and tear of yesteryear had hardly ever faded. Someone, in the kindest of outlooks, would say it had soul. A sane person would question whether it's road legal. Wizard was a reputable hero, surely he wouldn't ask the others to join him in an impending road side disaster, right? The display made that answer questionable.

Upon stepping into the back, Wizard's skeleton separated from his body. This didn't have nearly the grotesque display one might expect comes with such a process. It was more akin to a prop skeleton from Spirit Halloween emerging from his back, and the floppy Wizard draping himself over a bean bag by his bed. "It's quick of the dead around here. Get on the wheel, bonehead, and I'll try to whip up something to get past the Brooklyn-Queen's," he ordered while his head lulled limply about the comfortably large cushion.

'Bonehead' followed orders wordlessly as he stepped to the front and into the drivers seat. The skeleton made a point of putting on round-rimmed sunglasses, as if he had eyes to protect, then took five tries at the ignition before the ancient vehicle kicked up.



*For wizard, this is said in the exact same breath as 'big pharma' or 'big tech'