Auragreedia

random fact about yourself

I like to eat cantonese/chinese pork buns cold or at room temp instead of warm. The latter is the proper way to eat it, and frankly eating a pork bun cold is kinda ass, but I enjoy it

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

Alright, I’ve been brainstorming some options. They are fairly… uncommon, to say the least.

---

Consequential Probability Manipulation: Insane luck with an increasing chance of consequence each time it’s used (starts out of a subconscious trait and the effect could happen beforehand)

Door Based Teleportation: Creation of doors to lead anywhere else, and/or using already established doors as portals to other doorways. (could be used in junction with another power)

Copycat: The ability to copy another’s power, the only downside being that you most likely won’t know how to utilize it properly.

---

I was thinking maybe a combination of the last two, because the second one on it’s own isn’t really much but I honestly love the concept, and I like the idea of Copycat.

@Bagel

I like the door one the most, but I'll run the rest by Fourty later today! You could probably run something like Fat Chance's power from Venture Bros or The Spot with the door-based teleportation one; instead of just teleportation, you can pull random objects out of your doors (which can range from either extremely useful, or extremely ass depending your luck). Seems like a fun concept!

Although, I do have an idea for how to run the first one dice-wise, but I'm not very keen on probability-based powers in general

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

Do you think maybe draining light to make shadow constructs would be unique enough to be different? Or something along those lines.

(i.e. taking reflections of light, turning them into shadows, and making pseudo-living creatures/puppets)

@Bagel

Sounds interesting, although personally I would prefer you move away from being shadow-based? I'm not against Quinn having a shadowy powerset, and the idea you have is interesting, but the cast already has a sun/light focused character along with a shadow one, so I'd just prefer something else to add more variety

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

Monday

Shipton Railyard, North Pomona

_{@SonnetNSunbeam}

---

"We all in one piece? Eclipse- that fire was real close to ya- you good?"

Eclipse looks between Asteroid and Pyress--who is now on the ground--and kicks at her face. His armor stings, and he knows for a fact that he'll feel it all in the morning, but for now? "I'll be fine," he's a super, after all; a civilian would've died in that blast, "and good work... taking her down."

If this was what was left of Red Ring, then fuck this shit, he's better off with SDN.

Before returning to base, he's tempted to take some of that acid back home for himself. Very tempted. Then he remembers he doesn't have anything to hold it, nor any way to properly hide it. "Fuck."

---

Claremont College Dorms, Claremont

_@Sadu

---

Madcap watches as Lunara takes down each and every one of the thugs. She moves elegantly, efficiently, and while she was probably getting way too violent considering the threat, Madcap was in awe! "Awesome... so... FREAKING AWESOME!"

By the end of it, he's clapping and singing her praises.

Although you'd think someone as 'heroic' as Madcap would disapprove of her obvious villain tactic--beating the kids down, sending a message, and all that, but honestly? He's too busy trying to get her to do a cheesy victory pose with him.

---

RTB

_{Today was sure a day! Bonus collab with @FourtyTwo}

---

Everyone is all grouped up and ready to go home, some looking more worn down than others. Eclipse is off in a corner, aggressively testing the knife shooting mechanic for gauntlets to no avail; Madcap is doing better than before, maybe not as enthusiastic as earlier, but still better.

Pen-like clicks fill any conversational gaps, only stopping when Eclipse is given the clear to go home. He's already halfway into a shadow, not paying attention to anything else.

"See you all tomorrow afternoon. Unless, anyone wants a lift?"

Madcap, quick to take her up on her offer, salutes Lightning Girl. “ME! I would be SO down for that. Flying home is such a classic superhero move. I NEED THIS.”

Lightning Girl chuckled, before giving a sigh, nodding. She kept her gloves on, intuitive at this point, because it was worth it.

“Alright then. Are you okay being carried? I’ve tried pulling along and it….doesn’t really work.” She motioned to him, as they headed outside, the noise of cars and streetlife lighting up the suburb’s urban core beyond the offices, as Lightning Girl turned to him, energised up, white hair brushing in the wind.

“Where we going?” She asked, realising she should probably turn her wrist over, a rudimentary smartwatch with a GPS there, with a point he could mark up.

“Anything is fine with me!” Madcap stretches his arms over his head. “I can handle just about anything. Because I. Am... WAIT, YOU NEED MY ADDRESS.” He lists off his apartment’s location: 7th floor, just drop him off on the balcony or the roof and call it a night.

Lightning Girl tried to memorise that, and gave a polite, teeth gritted nod, a “Uh-huh?” that could be seen in her eyebrows wincing inside the mask. She shrugged, and with it, knocked him gently back into her arms, strong enough to deadlift, and pushed up with an elegant shove into her left hand and fireman lifting him into her right, the static spraying and becoming gentle, loose, pouring from feet. She wasn’t exactly fully energised, at the end of a long day, she preferred not to be. The cycle was to hit the day with tons, top up as and when, and right at end, have enough in the tank to get home.

That would help her become normal again, because the last time she spat out a block’s worth of electricity into her lightning rod, it sent her flying when it broke off its stand.

But, enough to carry her and Madcap, as she still couldn’t tell how manic the hero was behind the mask, but could only guess, gaining a little altitude, but not exactly soaring into the clouds.

“First time? You handling it okay?” Lightning Girl playfully asked, as she turned, eyeballing up the landmarks, her GPS giving her a reaffirming beep to indicate she was on the right direction….just now she needed to find it.

“Flying? YES. Heroing? Nope!” He laughs. “I’ve been an unregistered hero since forever, this is the first time I got noticed by actual. REAL. HEROES. So exciting!” He kind of dangles on her, attempting to get a better look at the city below. “So freaking cool! Flying heroes get to see this every day?”

Lightning Girl smiled, drifting along below a billion stars and millions of lights in the horizon towards DTLA.

On Madcap’s question, she thought to herself. Of course they saw this daily.

“Yep, we do! You do need a licence though!” She yelled back, as the wind noise picked up, the heroine turning a little, amazingly, Madcap not the heaviest member of the team she’d carried. God, she was glad she’d stayed on routine despite all the crazy shit going on.

“How does it feel? Being a hero, and I mean, you’re like us! I mean, today wasn’t great…..but you know, tomorrow is another day, you know!” Lightning Girl had to yell over the wind noise, as she swooped down, the static quietening as she managed to find a way to almost glide on current, the wind noise picking up a tiny bit more in replacement.

“Do you need a license for everything?!” Madcap shouts back. “And being a hero…. I think it’s freaking BADASS! Heroes don’t ever let bad days get them down. Ever. And I’m a hero, so I can handle a bad job or two. I think…”

He pauses for a long while. “Do you ever like… not want to not be a hero? Like. Do you ever wanna keep the mask on forever and always save the day?” He tilts his head to the side. “Is that a weird question? I feel like that’s a weird question.”

Lightning Girl chuckled, that question coming from Madcap actually being surprising. Shit, he was down after that last job, well, he certainly had more marks on him from being beat the shit out of.

“Nah, Madcap. I’m human too. Flesh and bones. And I have a life at home. But… I guess that’s all of us heroes. That’s why we’re a team.” She smiled at him, diving down a bit more, keeping him tight as she could see in the horizon the block that he lived in. With a bit of a turn, her cape fluttered and she had to adjust hold on him, knowing that it would probably be best not to say any more than that, on that matter, for now.

“Huh. Guess I’m the only one then.” He looks back down at the city and points at a dilapidated building. “OH! THAT’S MY PLACE! I’ve been wanting to do this ever since you started flying; float over the roof. Like, really high over. This will be so fucking COOL!”

Sophie wondered about that comment. Madcap must have really, really had some demons to run away from. While she liked her alter-ego…..something else like that was odd. That was, until he yelled out, Lightning Girl obliging and picking up altitude.

“Madcap, I’m not sure that’s the best idea….” She commented, a moment of clarity, not really wanting to be responsible for him breaking himself this evening. He may have been pretty resilient, but after all that happened…

“Oh, DON’T WORRY.” He’s already halfway out of her grip and leaning back. “This is gonna be so awesome!”

… And he falls back-first and down onto the roof with a salute, and surprisingly walks it off just fine. He got a few flips and crazy spins in during the fall, too.

Lightning Girl laughed, releasing a bit of the power out of her feet and hands, gracefully turning the power down with practiced, almost masterful ease, looking at the mark he’d left, gritting her teeth, not wanting to be that person. She was a tough cookie, but holy shit, he looked totally fine. Despite having the co-ordination in the air of a washing machine that had a brick thrown into it. She seemed almost elegant, pointed, like a ballet dancer, but then again, she hadn’t always gotten it right either….

She stepped onto the concrete, smiling at him, dusting herself off as she looked at the horizon, then back to him. “Not bad. So you’re fairly invincible then? First time I’ve uhhh…..seen someone do that. For fun.” She commented with an obvious and astute eye, hoping he’d be okay from here, nodding back. “You gonna be okay getting in? Like, I hope your rooftop doesn’t have a one-way emergency door. Or I’m gonna be zapping it. And maybe annoying your landlord. Just saying.” Lightning Girl smirked, throwing a little humour in, realising her voice was significantly quieter than his.

“Oh, I am FULLY invincible. Don’t even worry.” Madcap dusts his jacket off, steps to the rooftop door, fumbles with the lock, and then kicks the door down. He leaves with a two-fingered salute as he descends the steps. “Peace!”

Lightning Girl took that as a sign to leave, bursting into laughter, leaping into the sky and wondering just how the fuck she got herself into this. She was smiling properly for the first time in a while. Oh, Madcap. You mad bastard, she thought to herself, but hey, he was trying. Not that the tweaker of the team wasn’t, but he would get that weathering she felt from being a corporate hero, one day or another, but for now, she had home to go to.

---

Home, Sweet Home

_{Same as it ever was.}

---

Madcap's--or actually Carmen's home--is suffocatingly small. Furniture is shoved close together, and Carmen is struggling to squeeze through his living room to his kitchen (although, even classifying them as being separate rooms is debatable). Furniture is in shit condition, his armor and hero outfit look extremely out of place compared to the weathered news clippings strewn about his wall. Not an inch of free space.

Carmen's hands shake as he gets into his usual home clothes; no more heroing, no more sick powers, just a booming ache in his entire body that won't go away. It hurts. A lot. Even coming inside his apartment made him fumble and cut himself on his keys.

His cup noodles burn his tongue more so than usual, his toothbrush bristles dig uncomfortably into his gums, and he's struggling to even stay awake or fall asleep as the pain from his last dispatch catches up to him.

He didn't do a good job. That was obvious. He doesn't really understand how he messed up. Yeah, the old lady might've gotten hurt, but he did the job! That was fine. Sure, he had a mental break during the whole college fiasco, but he just realized he messed up! Heroes make mistakes all the time, and he's done a lot of good outside of today! He swears!

Still, he can't stand being normal.

---

Insomnia

_{Don't sleep with the light on!}

---

Eclipse manifests in his living room; the whole house is dark as night--curtains drawn, no lights on, typical. He's familiar with the layout by now, small, somewhat cramped, but he has enough space to spread his arms and not touch either wall. Whatever the hell he prepped before is eaten immediately, still doesn't feel like enough, and frankly, the string he feels on his skin is getting annoying.

Pyress was still as annoying as ever, and as much as he hates to say it, he hopes to god she's rotting in prison. No chance at Phoenix Program, either; she's not sane enough for that.

... Although some of his co-workers weren't very sane either.

So fucking itchy. And sweaty. He's lucky to still be a super--whatever meds 'Alan of Plymouth' gave him was good shit--the burns don't hurt nearly as much as they should.

Still doesn't stop the sweating.

Red Ring, or whatever remnants were around, were moving up to Claremont. That was interesting. Definitely not here to pick him up, though... and whoever was left was likely the same as Pyress--batshit fucking crazy with no decorum. Just take the train, take the acid, get moving. The fact that they got spotted at all was a major fluke.

The fact he got spotted was a major fluke too.

Can't get comfortable at all on this couch, too busy tossing around; feels like a brick no matter what he does. Eventually, he settles on staring at the ceiling with his blankets cast to the floor. Too fucking sweaty for that, and even then, it doesn't help.

Just more problems stacked on top of each other--didn't they transfer him to Claremont specifically to get him away from reconnecting with any Red Ring remnants? What are the chances he has to go against one of his old colleagues? Drug buddy? Shroud is gone for sure, right? Would they let him back in? What would happen if they did?

He chokes on his own spit, ripping a shadowy tendril off his neck. Can't sleep like this; he's gonna die. Can't focus, can't close his eyes, he's gonna die. He despises sleeping with the lights on--makes him feel too weak in the morning, but he's going to die.

Lights come on. Doesn't make his sweating any better, doesn't help him sleep, if anything if it makes it worse, but his shadows aren't out to get him anymore.

What was ex-Red Ring doing back in Claremont?

---

Tuesday Fun Time!

_{Just barely late!}

---

Both Eclipse and Madcap clocked in late--the former accidentally manifesting under a chair, and the latter... he had his own reasons. Regardless, both seemed shocked to see Phenomaman and a new hero, though neither had enough time to react when dispatches rolled around.

---

Jewel in the Crown

_@Thayr

dice maiden results

10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 4, 2; 7 sux

---

"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.

"Understood." One final drink of fruit punch, and Eclipse gets his helmet on and rushes out.

Frankly, he didn't like being paired with Payback, if only for her powers messing with his armor. Tingly, and caused some issues that were annoying to fix. He can't get used to her talking, either, not at all. His arm still stings, a reminder from yesterday. If he's lucky, then this job will be easier than the last.

Arriving on scene shows him a motley crew of neon pink-dressed idiots. Even their guns were pink... still, it should be easy to take them down.

The glitter they toss outside at the door explodes in a burst of color, reflecting harshly against Eclipse's armor.

Right.

Maybe not as easy as he thought.

"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."

This was a terrible job to start the day with--he's too tired to deal with this, and he's running off pure sugar and whatever the fuck he cooked up for breakfast. He turns to Payback, "I'll handle the thugs, you handle the rest."

Was it a bad idea to let the former thief handle the jewels? Probably. Did he care? Oh, not one bit.

The goons toss out another heap of glitter, another explosion... "WHAT THE?!"

Another success, their explosions work against them, and he finds it easier than ever to use his powers. Their guns clatter to the floor, their bodies coiled in shadowy tendrils. Was it a villain move to slow walk towards them? Ah, who cares? He stops in front of their leader, gets an earful, and kicks her in the stomach. She'd have fallen to the ground if it weren't for his powers holding her up.

Was it unprofessional to beat her down when he could easily call it quits?

Another kick to the gut; he's tempted to use his blades, but he doesn't exactly remember if lethal force was authorized. Whatever. Just keeps kicking, and kicking, and kicking with gleeful abandon. Then the leader passes out, he gets bored and decides to slash up a few henchmen to pass the time. No one cares about henchmen like that anyway; if they bleed out, they bleed out. The Queen Bitch'll find a new one in no time.

With most of the robbers either beaten or slashed bloody, Payback should have an easy time securing the jewels and keeping the civies safe.

---

Insane Coffee Order

_{With a dash of mania!}

dice maiden results

10, 9, 8, 7, 4; 4 sux

---

"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."

"I'm EN-ROUTE!" Madcap makes his way toward the fanciful neighbor on foot. After he crashed his motorcycle, SDN higher-ups banned him from any wheeled vehicles (too expensive to replace). Regardless, he's quite literally dancing in the rain; hopping, skipping, you name it, he's doing it! "Man, I can't believe we got Phenomaman with us! We really ARE an A-Team!"

He passes a few expensive homes, wondering how they weren't completely destroyed by villains or punks, and is promptly called over to an influencer's yard.

"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...."

The bug eyes on his helmet say all that needs to be said. “I--”

"Madcap....we'll sort this. I've made some notes for you, but let's go get this order."

"What? Huh? Notes? What notes?!" He panics aloud, and the influencer shoots him a glare. That's a total villain glare! He can't let that slide... but then he'll get yelled at. Or something like that.

"Well? Chop, chop! I've been waiting all day for this!"

Madcap grumbles, fixes his tie, and dashes off to the nearest coffee shop.

By the time he gets there, he kicks the coffee shop door open, salutes a disgruntled cashier, and slams his hands on the counter. He stands up with unparalleled vigor. "Can I get a uhhh.... ummm.... what was it..." he hisses through his teeth and taps his head awkwardly. "Give me a matcha coffee... with 20 OR MORE SCOOPS OF SUGAR, AND A LOT OF SUGARY SYRUP!"

The cashier shrinks into themselves. "Would you, uh--"

"AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!!!" Madcap slams his fist down on the counter. "Oh, and give me one of those cookies! Er... and like... a raspberry flapjack, and a pain au chocolat?"

A few gruelingly long minutes pass, Madcap gets the subscriber's (and his own) order, barring some of the extra snacks and... oh. Shit. He's holding an armful of snacks and coffee in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and the worst part? He can't remember where the subscriber's house is anymore! He's frantically looking around for some kind of hint, darting between houses, leaping backyard fences, running across fancy lawns. He's pretty sure he's almost crashed into a few cars, skipping red lights, and he still can't remember where that influencer is!

What would Phenomaman do, what would Phenomaman do...

Madcap grabs one of the extremely sugary coffees, pours it all onto the floor and himself pretending to drink, and BANG! He's off. It's the exact same charade as before; messing up people's lawns, running through fences, but he makes it in no time!

The drink is so sugary that she probably can't even remember what she wanted initially. Sweet, sweet sugar rush. The influencer takes one sip of their drink, a few bites of their snacks, and looks back at him with furrowed brows. "These snacks are completely off! You're supposed to buy them from--"

He lobs a pain au chocolat at her head, only missing by a few inches. She shuts up, pulls out her phone, and Madcap looms over her shoulder to ensure a 5-star review!

"And... mission complete! I am en-route to base, dispatcher!"

The influencer tries to edit her review to be more accurate as Madcap walks away, but a chill runs down her spine. _{"Oh, god, he knows where I live..."}

(CLOSED) Avatar - Superpower RP

@Jamz All good, and same here! My availability is also super sporadic, and I might take awhile to respond LOL
Feel free to PM me for a 1x1 in the future

(CLOSED) Avatar - Superpower RP

@Jamz Glad to see you back! Although I'm gonna close this RP due to lack of interest on my end, plus work. It was great rping with you and if you're ever up for another group RP or potential 1x1, feel free to ask

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

@Sanity43217 Still accepting, yeah!

@Pragia12 Idk if Fourty already read through this, but this CS is good! The idea of Phenomaman having his own Bizarro working as a hero in Claremont is funny asf ngl. I'll run it by Fourty later in the afternoon and let you know if you can post it up in the characters tab

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

@cosmiccowgirl CS looks good, feel free to post it in the characters tab! Me and fourty will get you introduced at the start of ep2. Also, do DM me and fourty an outline (personality & looks) for the john character in blackstar's backstory; we should be able to play him as an NPC

Love blackstar's character and powers, by the way, I think she'll mesh great with the team!

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

The Dispatch Corner

^{@FourtyTwo@Aku the Samurai}

---

"Right, I'll stick around just in case. This corner is freaky." Raúl walks off for a few minutes, then rolls in an elaborate shrine of machinery and candles. Candle lights go up, Raúl hangs around in his corner, chanting in Spanish as the afternoon stretches on.

Whether the nearby dispatch terminals ran better due to this ritual is anyone's guess, but having an IT specialist on standby seems to boost the remaining dispatchers' morale.

---

Break Room Chatting

^{Nothing about drug policy yet...}

---

Apparently the kid was a dispatcher named Tyler. Huh. SDN just takes in anyone, it seems.

Still, it doesn't quell his curiosity or answer any of his questions. He vaguely knows the kid's face from somewhere, and it definitely wasn't from earlier in the afternoon. He shoves the thought aside as Lightning Girl addresses him again, slightly disgruntled by the sheer number of people crammed into the break room. This wasn't his scene.

"Eh. It will help you sleep at night then. Basically just don't do anything highlighted in bold is what James told me. The rest is....filler." She added, patting the paper, leaving a little static on it.

He stares at her awkwardly, feeling a minor jolt as he flips to the next page. Just read the highlighted parts. Okay.

"So that's why it was hard to read. Funny."

"I said it because the corporate stuff sucks sometimes. Worth calling it out when you get a chance. We're not in a work camp, they follow their own rules as much as we do. James knows it too. Just won't say it. And much as I like working alone, sounds like a lot of people could do with help. Being a hero means realising the nerds should do paperwork while you get stuff done."

"Nobody's perfect, Eclipse. But helping others helps us find our own way forward. Doing good means you're....doing something that isn't destructive. Usually. I think."

He notices the change in tone, but struggles to respond. Now that he thought about it, this was a lot of attention on him specifically. Payback, she seemed to focus on too, but their conversations were short-lived at best. Just bored? Hat Trick and Asteroid were more sociable by a long shot, Madcap, maybe, though he doubts anyone would willingly talk to that guy.

Good gift giver, though. He takes a bite out of the pork bun he was given; the flavor doesn't exactly mesh with the Cheetos he was munching on earlier, and it's slightly cold.

He used to help others back then. In a different way, obviously. Did that make him a hero? Making sure people didn't go through withdrawal after they got hooked on his product? The appeal of heroing isn't all that obvious yet, not really. Most of the earlier shift was spent tailing officers and being a narc; not enough action, he didn't feel like he was making any sort of noticeable impact, either.

Halfway through his whole inner monologue, he realizes that he's been staring at Lightning Girl for an uncomfortable amount of time before responding.

He flashes her an appreciative smile. That's all he can muster before he goes back to reading.

---

Shipton Railyard, North Pomona

^{@Thayr@SonnetNSunbeam}

roll result

"Literally cooked."

---

It's dark. He likes that. Reminds him of how it all started. Doesn't last long, obviously, not when their target is lit up like a Christmas tree; whatever operation this is, they don't understand anything about stealth.

And neither does he, it seems.

His armor reflects a bit of light from the fire. Target locks onto him instantly.

Payback whispers to him and Asteroid--she'd take care of the train. That's good. What's not good is that he's frozen like a deer in headlights as Pyress continues to shout at him.

"Back away, Shadowbitch! And your two friends trying to cosplay goths! Acid's ours, or else! We're running the drug game now!"

What the fuck was Pyress doing in Claremont? He used to work her back in Red Ring, and from what he knew, she hadn't left DTLA. Probably just missed the news, she wasn't like this back when he first saw her, either. There was no one better to fill the void he left? Really?

Pyress is spewing out fire everywhere--Eclipse is staring her down in an attempt to restrain her with her own shadow, but fuck it's too bright. And hot. He fucking hates fire.

Few years back, he would've wrapped this up in a few minutes. Her flamethrower stops for a second; he's quick to run in. One of his arm blades gets stuck in her armor. She has high quality gear. That's bad.

She starts her flamethrower up again and blasts him in the arm.

That's even worse.

"... Ridiculous!" He's gnashing his teeth together and uses his free hand to stab her shoulder with his blade. Probably didn't do anything aside from look stupid, but she's distracted, he's digging his feet in the ground to try and push his blades in further; awkward position for both of them.

"Asteroid," the pain in his right arm is getting harder to ignore, "ACT! NOW!"

Rusty. He's gotten rusty.

The itch comes back stronger now.

---

Claremont College Dorms, Claremont

^@Sadu

roll result

"I SWEAR he's not a complete liability."

---

The college is still a mess from when Brick Frog was wreaking havoc on it. The people all look the same, though, bald, shitty glasses, downright idiotic. Kevin the Destroyer looks particularly strong, but nothing the mighty Madcap and his trusty sidekick and reformed criminal Lunara can't handle!

Just beat Kevin the Destroyer and...

And...

"Urk!" Madcap feels a pang of regret hit his chest as today's events replay in his mind. He turns to Lunara first, clutching her shoulders. "Am I a bad person?!" Comms come up next; it plays in everyone's ears. "A-Team, I am a bad person?! I'm not bad, right? I'm good?"

No instant response from anyone, all the students in the room are either laughing at him or staring awkwardly.

Madcap finds himself curled up on the ground with his hands over his helmet's eye holes. Some assholes start kicking him, but he's too lost in his sadness to really notice.

"I was possessed by a villain and made to hurt that old lady, wasn't I? I hate myself.... Ow!"

Dispatch: Heroes of Claremont

Clocking Out?

^@Sadu

---

An unassuming employee is heading out, a bag in one hand and car keys in the other. They stop the moment they meet Solaris's gaze. "Oh, uh," they clear their throat awkwardly, "didn't think you'd clock in or... out? Do you need any help getting in?"

The name tag on their shirt reads Samson. They open the door for Solaris. "We, uh, weren't expecting you to come in. Heard about your drug bust thing, though. Go Solaris! Yeah.... The, uh, rest of A-team is in the break room if you're looking for them; most of the others clocked out already. _{And I should get going too, I gotta feed my cat...}"

---

Group Photos and a Surprise!

^{@BigPapaBelial@Thayr@Aku the Samurai
A little before Madcap leaves, and after!}

---

Eclipse finds himself juggling a book, a bag of chips, and two types of buns. Not what he wanted to do. What was up with people and giving him food today? Was he a stray cat or something? Was that it? He scowls as Hat Trick grabs his hand--the previous items he was handling falling on either his lap or the table. "

"Ahhh Young'un don't put yourself down you hear? There's still time." He walks over and clasps Eclipse's hand, "Give it time, give it some determination. Not everyone starts off great. I sure as hell didn't."

He grumbles. Yeah, like he wants to be a hero.

... Right.

How bad did Hat Trick start off anyway?

There's no way a guy like them, all jovial and happy, started off that bad, right? Although ice powers were a bit of a villain power, maybe not as much as shadow powers, but still. He looked like the hero type, acted like one too, he couldn't imagine Hat Trick started off that roughly. A good smile and attitude make a hero, after all.

Madcap hugs Hat Trick back with unmatched vigor, attempting to go in for an impromptu 'awesome' handshake, before quickly retracting his hand. "Oh. My. God. You are SO much cooler in real life! I'M THE LUCKIEST HERO IN THE WORLD!" He's practically jumping for joy.

Then came the photos...

Eclipse has a permanent scowl and maybe doesn't even realize that he's being photographed until it's too late. Madcap, on the other hand, manages to pose for each and every photo before promptly leaving the room.

Eclipse watches both Hat Trick and Madcap slink out of the break room, and he's half tempted to chase after them for the whole photo session (god knows he doesn't want his face on social media), but finds himself frozen as Payback speaks up about the new kid.

”When did we start having fucking kids working here? The hell’s this?”

He stares at her with uncharacteristic surprise.

"You can actually speak?"