Friday
18:59
The Grand Cayman Hotel,
Hollywood, Los Angeles
”I find it a bit loud. What are we doing other than spending enormous amounts of money, anyway? Feels like we're showing off here.” The next sentence is trapped behind his teeth. Something this, something that, sins, greed. Jet had only had the displeasure of saying it a few times. But it was there on the edge of his tongue, unsaid, but also not forgotten.
Besides, he still means it. But, not remotely in the same way. Instead of searching for an admission of their sins. Jet's thinking about all the kitchens he scrubbed dishes in to feed himself after he got out the first time. Very different motivations.
He tilts his head at Lucas, the light striking his features differently. Maybe he and Lucas had met before. It’s that realization that gets him to pivot the conversation to something a little less personal, away from something Lucas could connect more dots on. ”Where'd you get that suit?”
Technocrat laughed, riffing on the Phoenix, knowing he would want to get out of this conversation soon, but not before he talked about himself more. And marketed. Maybe Asteroid would be useful someday. Maybe he wouldn't.
But spending money and showing off.....was the point, he wanted to say out loud.
"Spending enormous money and showing off is the point. We are marketing, after all, my friend. That's how you get billions. SDN spends a relatively little to get a lot. It's not what you know." He clinked his champagne glass against his fancy, very, very expensive Richard Mille watch.
"It's who you know. Your net worth is your network, Asteroid. I talked about that on my podcast. If you haven't heard it, I would recommend it for a hero like yourself making a name. Stop thinking small game, because if you want to hyperscale your brand, your very existence, powers only get you so far." Lucas smirked, the fact he had a podcast now just magnifying all of this bullshit.
Flattered by that next comment of his, not even giving a thank you for that. It was a question, not a compliment, Technocrat believed.
"I had it custom made on Saville Row, using fabrics they're still working on in DARPA. Spidersilk nanite enfused with wool from sheep they can only find on a remote Tibetian mountain. It costs thousands for just the seams. Trust me. I ain't walking around without a statement, this baby is near indestructible and looks good." Lucas enjoyed a little flex every now and then.
Walking away, as if to grab Liberty, Technocrat, he did have one last thing come to mind as he caught a glance.
"Oh, and Asteroid? Keep out of trouble. It's hard getting stakeholders when you're a felon, so don't add to the charges. And someone of your talents might be useful to someone like me when you clear the programme." He would utter back to him, the fact he was even giving advice, almost showing some level of attachment. It was fucked, maybe because Asteroid seemed to be interested, challenge him. He liked that. But he always pushed back.
Walking across, Lucas would find a glance at Calliope, who was currently in the trenches with Ikret. He tended to keep out of the beefs of Gods, and their relations. That wasn't his sorta game.
“Oh you see, you’re wrong there. How are you supposed to get an invite to the after party if you aren’t at the party?” Ikret smiled, all teeth with their slightly too sharp edges. “I’m not here for anyone, everyone is here for me.” She winked, not quite defining if she was joking or not.
Calliope seemed the usual amount of disgusted she could be, trading social punches with the rather brave Egyptian demi-goddess. Like any good cross-pantheon antics, she had her feelings.
"You come back different every time, and yet, you don't learn. Careful not to overinflate your head. Or is this as good as it gets?" Calliope was blunt back to her last comment, a dry chuckle forming, somehow still impressed by how little the Egyptian seemed to care.
"It is a good after party though. Blazer is coming. But after your antics.....I imagine you'll need to use all of that famous charm of yours to get in. The road back is a longer one than the one that you took leaving." Calliope's words were veiled, yet more direct, the Muse putting silver straight to tongue with that tone.
Watching her part, Ikret was already off to catch Lady Liberty, Calliope herself feeling her heart thrum a little seeing Blackstar. Something about her was odd. Something strange. Like the harmony in her head was all over the place. She wasn't a mindreader, but that aura, that feeling of people when they spoke, she could pick them apart. Calliope looked at Lucas, with a resounding sigh, before looking at Lady Liberty.
Who speaking of...
"This is, uh -- this is my first hero job," she replied after another brief pause, choosing to take that as the question Liberty had been asking. The gold chain of the bracelet was digging into her skin. "I haven't been anywhere else. Oh -- I mean, I did a little, um, promo? Practice? In some of the northern counties. Shasta, El Dorado."
Lady Liberty smiled back, as if to magnify that awkwardness, the copper-haired heroine not backing down on socialising.
"Well, You take to it as a natural if you went from Shasta to Claremont and did....this. I suppose I see a bit of myself in you." She smiled, not revealing her own path, while knowing that she could tell that Blackstar was still terrified. A glance at Calliope all but confirmed it, because that Greek Muse could read people like the thousands of songbooks she'd gone through, watching Calliope glance a look with Technocrat, having wrapped up things with the other two Claremont heroes.
But Liberty didn't seem to too obviously hint at it, replying back, still wanting to engage. Prod a little. But ultimately, reassure. Blackstar was a normal person, not some freak from another planet, that at least was Liberty's read of it. She wasn't sure if that would have made her feel better, but then again, Blackstar was also, really nice.
"I guess it's new to you, so yeah, keep it up. And Lightning Girl is a good as a lead for the branch goes. But word to the wise. She ain't putting up your numbers. You do you if it works." Liberty seemed genuine, but that advice in itself, well, that would strike deep at the heart of Blackstar. LG was not around to hear nor see that, still chatting to Quickdraw, laughing at one of his jokes, clearly, absolutely, getting on like a house on fire. And speaking of fire here, Ikret decided to pull Blackstar out of hers...
“Liberty! If it isn’t the second best rack in the room.” Ikra beamed with enthusiasm that was all Hollywood glamour and not much sincerity.
Lady Liberty folded her arms under said rack, turning her head, the Americana-like heroine glancing up at the figure she didn't quite expect to see here. She had of course, always been here, but fate had been cruel to someone she'd trusted back in Central.
"Ikret. I didn't think they'd have you back." A grin formed on her face. "I'll have you know that Vogue think it is the best rack in America. That's all that matters, honey." She licked her lip and gave a grin, coming up close to Blackstar, as if to keep on that quasi-mentoring look, still on Blackstar, despite Ikret's best attempts. Her charisma was good, but Liberty still had the last of what she wanted to chat about.
@cosmiccowgirl"See, this is what I mean. You build up the confidence with time, like her. Who knows how good you'll be then, so long as you don't make deals with the wrong people...." The jab was pointed at Ikret even if it was for Blackstar, and it was a little clear that Liberty had that edge on her, right when she needed it. She was friendly, but there was that underlying feeling that she could absolutely turn people into goo if she felt like it, and well, that meant flexing back on Ikret. Fastlane passed on by, chuckling with only the hearty baritone a sprinter like him could have.
"Go easy on dem, Liberty. You seen Quickdraw? Dat ras is...."
Lucas would interrupt, the tech-focussed hero resting a hand against Fastlane, looking at his group in particular.
"Hey, you three, we're needed for the pre-brief. Blackstar's not taking your jobs, so quit trying to find out about her. I'll get Quickdraw." Technocrat's dry charm was perhaps veiled as to what was going on, though the implication seemed more of sarcasm, rather than actual cold-blooded corporatism. Though you had half the feeling he could do that at any point.
"And also, Claremont, you are all talking with the Muse when you go up. Best of luck. Don't say anything I wouldn't." He would leave with that utterance.
The Hollywood Six the team had met would drop back, away from where they had come over from, and in that moment, were left to it. There was no doubt Asteroid, Blackstar, and Ikret would have mixed opinions to that realisation, being left as a three to themselves, Technocrat / Lucas backing away as quickly as he had arrived with that bombshell.
Walking across the crowds with Quickdraw, it seemed the Brit and the Texan had rather charmed each other. Lightning Girl had an arm around his, as James realised precisely what the fuck had gone down. Ah, that was why she was so smitten. And well, she'd gone off on her own galivant rather than socialise. Wanted her in with Hollywood....and she had found it. She wasn't stupid, that much James knew, but even so, he didn't think this would come about quite like this. She was grown up, sure, and mature, making her own calls, but this felt higher brow than any other fling. How many people must have fell for Quickdraw, how many fans did he have, and yet his sister just waltzes back?
And yet, James kicked his own ankle over that thought. Stranger things happened in the city of lights. And his sister, to her credit, was a charmer. Someone who actually liked this. James just tolerated as best as he could, as Lightning Girl came close in, out of the crowded noise, flute in hand.
"James, no need to make any introductions.....Quickdraw, this is James Speight. SDN Claremont's new dispatcher. My boss."
The two smiled, as if the charm that had happened was instant, whatever had happened away from it all. Quickdraw put out a hand, and James took it, speechless.
"So, you're their dispatcher. Damn. Lightning here was telling me it's all change in East LA since you turned up, dealt with some serious shit. Impressive." Quickdraw took the redhead dispatcher in, as James chuckled, just wondering about all of this.
It wasn't the first time Sophie had dated a hero, or, for that matter, had a one night stand. It wasn't going to be the last.
Lightning Girl....or Sophie.....well, her own person, and James did not get in the way of that. She'd ended up in situations where she needed help, and sometimes, in situations where she needed a hug. And in any case, being the older brother, James would like to ask what Quickdraw's intentions were, but part of him now understood that it was probably the poor guy, or girl dating that would be probably under Lightning Girl's spell. She was able to look after herself, and did not need some guy to tell her what she'd want. She knew what she liked. And while James would pull her out of the shit, James knew sometimes, she'd find that one time to pull him out of his mess too. Like the spare room he lived in. A different dynamic, sure, but they respected each other because of it.
Yet this time around, this was one of the Six. And James was realising, Sophie wasn't just excited to head to Hollywood because of getting in and networking....she'd found her in. And that was the six-shooter. He found the words eventually when he realised he had to keep his cover here, at this party in particular, and say nothing stupid.
"Yeah. Yeah, you could say that." James replied, as Lightning Girl chuckled, Quickdraw pulling away seeing that Liberty had her hand up, and wanted Quickdraw over.
"Quickdraw was just telling me about the work they get up to in Hollywood. And it's exciting! Meet and greets, meeting VIPs, it's super cool. And the after-party that is on too sounds like it might be pree-tee, awesome....." Lightning Girl beamed with her usual Britishisms, excited, fascinated, all high on his energy.
"Not for me. But, you two knock yourselves out." James replied, as Quickdraw looked bemused.
"Well, I ain't keen on...." Quickdraw would reply, as James corrected his Britishism.
"It's a phrase." James cleared his throat, realising he shouldn't confuse Quickdraw. And Lightning Girl was staring him down, as if to say 'do not fuck this up', the Texan jumping in first.
"Ah. Right......right. Two British people in East LA, huh. What are the odds...." Quickdraw observed, both siblings trying to avoid any more talk on that. For now.
It was getting more awkward, as Lightning Girl clutched him tight. Trying not to taze him.
"Oh, yeah it's crazy! But I guess since London we made a good team. And yeah, crazy that one thing led to another....here we are, working together again! It's such a small world isn't it!"
Quickdraw chuckled, sipping down the glass of Bourbon a little more, opting for that over a nice glass of champagne.
"Ain't that right. Listen, babe, I gotta run. Technocrat will kill me if I'm late. We'll talk about the after party. They'll have all eyes on you, Sparky. But me more than anyone. You are somethin' special." Quickdraw was like gooey Jack Daniel's as he walked away, giving a finger guns back, Sophie replying with a teethy smile, and a light chuckle, sneaking in a "You too!". Leaving a moment's quiet as she sighed, breathing out, finally back to earth, turning her head.
Lightning Girl and James would look at each other, the former with a "don't" , the latter with a....
"What the fu..."
And James's swear would be broken as Salem would turn up, a new figure, right in the midst of things, with Riley still observing.
Salem walked right up to the Claremont table, black dress shimmering in the ballroom lights. She sat down with feline grace and addressed the table with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Good evening, folks. I'm your security for the evening tonight. Salem. Starting tomorrow I'll be your partner in crime at Claremont. We'll be getting to know each other VERY well in the coming weeks."
Riley fought off a blush of embarrassment as he watched Lightning Girl give him a confused look. "New recruit for an experimental team I put together. None of the branches wanted her on Phoenix Program so I took her along with Tsunami and Brick. We're set to be returning to Claremont and resume working with all of you." As eyes around the table started looking his way, Riley offered a curt wave.
"It's like the cat-girl said. Some of you may have heard of me. I'm Riley Ryder and I'll be returning to assist with dispatching at Claremont. Tonight however my team is working Gala security. You've all met Tsunami. Meta-Man is around as well." Riley gestured to Tsunami as he spoke. "If Kat hasn't told any of you. She's like that. Needless to say, I've been briefed on your recent... escapades, and I'm proud of the work you've been able to do. We look forward to joining the team, and hopefully..." His gaze went back and forth between Tsunami and Salem before he continued, "We are going to try and move on from any past incidents and work together as a team."
He didn't expect much of a response, but it seemed like most of the table had either moved on or simply didn't care. He cleared his throat before raising a glass of champagne, "Corporate BS out of the way... We need to get back to work and we can get hammered when this gala is over!"
"You would think a bunch of supers would be all the security....safest place outside of a bank vault to be. You'd have to be an idiot to do something here with the cleverest, most talented, strongest people in the world. Keeps the job easy, right?" Lightning Girl chuckled, feeling that was a valid statement, James thinking less that it was valid. At least her and Tsunami weren't gonna kill each other. They didn't have much to say.
"Good to hear we're moving on. Welcome to the team. I would shake your hand, Salem but.....I know your game. Guess we'll have a new play when we go back in on Monday." James replied, showing he probably knew more than he liked to admit. Or at least, had access to a lot more files on heroes in the area, given his role as a Hero Consultant before all of this. Developing heroes meant knowing them. That was his power. And Excel, as Lightning Girl chatted more.
"Welcome to it. Guess our escapades got us here. Though, I ain't looking at clowns the same way again....anyway, good to meet you Salem. You probably know about me. I'll let the others introduce themselves." Lightning Girl tailed off, not wanting to dwell too much on that, letting the others, including Ikret, Blackstar, Asteroid and Hat Trick, return back to the table and occupy some limelight.
@RisingRobin@cosmiccowgirl@Ezekiel@SonnetNSunbeam@BigPapaBelial
As the team introduced themselves to Salem, Riley and Tsunami, James would lean over the table, catching Sophie between manically chatting away to anyone and everyone that passed by.
"You got a second?" He asked Sophie, as Lightning Girl stared into the distance, seeing Quickdraw. Damn, what a figure he had....
James leaned forward, as Sophie muttered...
"Not now, if you're about to talk about Quickdraw, listen to me...." She seemed distracted, like she didn't want to hear it, and was thinking it was that.
"No, not that, it's serious. Someone's clo...." James tried to get out, as suddenly, the spotlights came on as the internals dimmed, and the stage was lit up. The applause grew as Valerie stepped in, and right on schedule, the Gala's presentation was underway.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the SDN California Gala! I'm Valerie Halliday, and with me, is Calliope, your host for the evening. In the....."
James would look over as Valerie would talk about SDN's achievements, the hard work of the branches, everything inbetween. The Governor attending tonight, the star studded heroes that had turned up, and everything inbetween. James wasn't interested. He leaned in close, muttering into Lightning Girl's ear.
"Someone clocked us." James uttered, as Sophie's eyebrow raised.
"You sure? What, like, who they think I am without a mask?" She said, muttering back, still not wanting to hear it.
"No, the other.....fucking, thing. Positive. Really strange."
"You sure you're not anxious, or had too many? Listen. I get it, lot of eyes on us. And you're being paranoid."
"I'm not fucking paranoid. I saw this weird guy say he knew about us.....trust me."
"Shit.....what did he look like?"
"Weird. Black hair. Didn't make him out because I was pissing at a urinal. Had a really fucking strange aura. Then said that." James was worried. Panicked even, as Sophie leaned in.
"There's a lot of people here. They won't try anything more, so we'll figure out who it was. And Salem's got enough aura about her, so has Calliope to mess with your mind. So has everyone here to fuck up anyone who is getting weird. We'll sort it but not right now." Sophie replied in confidence, though still worrying a little.
James wanted to say something more, say that the guy made his skin crawl. And they needed to be careful, tell Salem and her team what was up, but....
The spotlight turned to them. And Calliope's voice would hook everyone back into the room.
"We have so many heroes on our roster, but for tonight, let's talk about the heroes that saved hundreds of civilians at the recent Claremont Carnival, valiantly putting their lives on the line to protect others. We'd like to invite them to the stage first, to talk about what it's like being frontline heroes, and being the backbone of what makes SDN so great. Everybody, put your hands together for SDN Claremont's A Team!" Calliope's voice was enticing, as from that conversation, everyone would bolt to hearing it, and likely, follow on command to come on up.Shit. James immediately thought this was way more than what Valerie had said. This wasn't a meet and greet. This was a grill. The A-Team might have known that, but bar Riley, Salem, Tsunami and Meta-Man, the team were about to be put up on stage.
The crowd would clap as the music played them in, and well, for some of the team, this was going to be the worst five minutes of their lives, for LG and Ikret, probably a pretty positive five minutes. Like stepping into an awards show, given the aura of what this part of the Gala entailed
Walking up, James glanced over his shoulder, and saw the guy. The black-slicked hair, bushy beard, it was hard to place, but he seemed like a Peaky Blinder, but even then, like he absolutely didn't fit the place. He was hiding in plain sight like Zach Galifrankis, but surely that wasn't how he remembered him.
But as they went on stage, the Governor, Valerie and Calliope there, the rest of the Six looking on from their table, it would have felt a bit like the crowd was a blur.
Behind the stage, footage would play of what they did at that Carnival. Framed as significantly more noble. A significant amount less violent for certain, but heroic shots. Each of them curated to an inch of their life, showing off their best side. Maybe even one or two were edited.
It was strange. To almost everyone in that audience, the Six included, this was a peak, crowning moment, an example of heroes in the field in adversity, saving people. It was pure, perfect, the kind of thing any hero dreamed of.....and yet none of the A-Team ever wished they had seen.
For Sophie, it was a snap moment of hurt, that she had to bottle down and smile through, Lightning Girl of course being so brave, bolting the absolute shit out of a guy into a barrel. Calliope held the mic out, as the A-Team would be on stage, spotlights direct, crowd murmurs dying down.
Valerie would look at each and every one of them, a small grin on face, but more of a look of "do not fuck this up", even though in the public image, she could not give that away. It was a SDN-thing, to make people good look, after all, as Calliope walked on over, a mic to be put in front of each.
"What a team! We chatted to you earlier, and well, you are all rather impressive. Let's start with you, Lightning Girl. We saw how you dealt with the clowns as you came up to the stage! Tell us all, how did it feel responding to such a terrible event in the city?" Calliope would ask, Lightning Girl digging into that memory. As uncomfortable as it was, best to start things strong.
"Uhhh, yeah, it was a really tough day, but again, we just did what we all knew and followed our training. But so many other first responders were so helpful too, so we just did what we could to give them time. But yeah," She stammered, clearing her throat, "It's what we do. Saving lives.....keeping people safe, like we do in Claremont and beyond, everyday." She smiled, the marketing line holding nicely there. The Governor even smiled at that, which meant Valerie would be at the least, content.
That was enough, Soph. That was a nice, wordy, easy reply, the team can hide behind that answer, and most importantly, Valerie won't remove your lungs through your ass.The penny would absolutely drop on Blackstar. It would likely fuse her apart, in this moment, with spotlights, as Calliope turned to her next. With that voice of hers, put on stage, the charisma would extract what it needed from each hero. It was an odd feeling. Calliope's voice was beautiful, but what it also was, would be extractive. Depending on your outlook, of course, it required a suggestive mind, but like a siren on a rock, it would make you focus.
@cosmiccowgirl"Thank you. Blackstar, you've recently joined the Claremont team, and wowed the SDN leaderboards. Tell us, as one of SDN's up and coming heroes in LA, how do you feel like you're making a difference in the community?"
James piped up. He could tell, Blackstar was terrified. He was just angry at himself, why the fuck did he not just tell Valerie not to bring her up on stage? Why on earth did she come in the first place? Couldn't they deploy her? The answer, no, Blackstar was now more vital than him, and realistically, he was too busy. In his haste, he'd missed people. Misread something. Fucked up.
So here he was, doing something now. In front of maybe a crowd of a hundred.
"She's still getting used to all of this, yeah she's...."
Valerie would clear her throat, and looked at Blackstar to reply. She was not getting a cop out.
@SonnetNSunbeam"Asteroid, you're also proving yourself in Claremont. For those who don't know, tell us, what's the SDN Phoenix Programme, and what's it like for your future prospects, putting your powers to good rather than villainy?"
Valerie would stare quite intently at Asteroid on this one. She wasn't actually that happy that Calliope had gone off script. But Calliope was choosing to scalpel more than what was agreed, but if that was the way it was, Asteroid had to answer. Calliope's ability to force truth was not being applied, but in other ways, it felt rogue.
It felt like with responses on each, it would move smoothly in the next.
@BigPapaBelial"Hat Trick, you're not just a hero but one of the team's Social Media liaisons, bringing the team to our attention. What's SDN like in giving you new opportunities alongside hero work?"
And last but not least, Calliope knowing she was impatient, had left her to last. Like a real bitch. Ikret.
@Ezekiel"Ikret, we heard about the plane rescue this morning! I guess SDN offers a place for a diverse group of heroes, including old-timers like us!" Calliope was making an old-person joke, with a few laughs in the crowd who may have known the meta. "How does eastern LA compare to DTLA?" Now that one was a harsher point.
The pointed focus was on those on stage, and for now, the forum-like / interview like format was a smaller piece of a larger show, to really demonstrate and flex SDN's capabilities. So that the Governor and powers that be would like them, find a humanised, impromptu, normal set of heroes to relate to.
As normal as the A-Team could be, for a bunch of superpowered individuals.
@RisingRobinBut beyond the spotlights, another social occasion was being played.
This was a message. A point to prove. And unlike other villains, he didn't really have to make it all about him. No pomp and circumstance. Just a reminder of the people flying a little too close to him, that he had the upper hand. Plant the seed, sow the discord, let the weed root all in. Then rip all of it apart, back to size.
And yet, he was in plain view. He was surprised the running order had changed. But unsurprised now everything had worked now he had gotten in.
And in the ears of Salem and Riley, perhaps Tsunami and Meta-Man depending on where they were, likely watching on as the Claremont A-Team would be on stage, someone else had been watching, as she fumbled out of the toilets. Headset back in, Black Rose could already feel something was up. Clock this, after puking up her guts.
"Salem, Riley, if you're hearing me, we have a problem. Security breach, left side of the crowd. Black hair, Caucasian, beard. Not on list. Wearing a white dress shirt and black tie. We need him gone, ASAP. Grab and escort him out to the entrance. Leave him for me to deal with. Do it without raising too much attention." The tone of Black Rose would be strange to hear, given she wasn't on security, but despite the best efforts to disorient and confuse her, coming back out of the toilets from being sick had made her clock a face in the crowd she was certain she didn't recognise. And from walking around, eavesdropping, doing her thing, it had started to come together. What the man's play was, she wasn't sure, but it had to go down without drama.
"Definitely not a hero. Watch yourselves." Her tone turned to granite, knowing that while it wasn't her job, her eye for details, from a lifetime of spying and hunting, meant she knew how to find a spider of her own. Counter-espionage. And this one, even by her standards, had done a hell of a job in getting this far. He must have been brave, or incredibly stupid. Or, had an endgame planned.
