cosmiccowgirl
RPM
PrinceAlexus
VeyrinDay
esqueleto
xVampire3go
SonnetNSunbeam
RisingRobin
GuntherFriday
12:45
James's Desk
SDN Claremont
12:45
James's Desk
SDN Claremont
Paper Trail
@SonnetNSunbeam
It had been a long morning. And the lunch was still continuing, not that James had stopped. Not since he had two jobs to do and his pay to get. James was typing away on his personal consultancy laptop, but his thoughts were interrupted as the black-suited, gravity controlling hero caught him by surprise, a moment of panic.
”What’d Martha do to you? He’s smirking, but he’s wearing his mask so what does it matter?
James sighed realising who it was, turning in his chair, trying to keep his serious face on yet releasing a chuckle as he seemed to release. Ah, yeah, it was Asteroid. Ah, of course. He was meant to bring his timesheet over, that was way, way overdue. That would be it.
"Oh, hey, Asteroid. Holy shit you caught me there. Forgot how light footed you can be. Well, I think it's more what I've done to her. I think she wasn't expecting me to put her through this many forms after the Carnival. Which we're still doing. Copious amount of paperwork for a mass casualty event. It's not just you."
James chuckled, shaking his head seeing Blackstar about to draw his own papers, leaning forwards, his tone of voice dropping in volume.
"And between us, I think she mindreads. Nod twice if I'm thinking of cats, Martha....." James peered over the parapet, seeing Martha do nothing at all bar stay buried at her PC, as he sighed, shaking his head, wondering if that trick would ever work, looking back at Asteroid with a certain look of disappointment. "Never works."
Jet pulls out his paperwork from under his arm, and sets it in what he presumes is James’ incoming mail slot. ”I put the values in too- but I know they like to have paper copies of stuff, so I just hit print while I was standing there.” It’s an overexplanation. A desperate plea to be taken seriously by the person who was the first line of defense for his job.
James peeled his hand across and skimmed, shrugging.
"Eh. It'll be fine. Paper is helpful though for Phoenix Programme stuff. You really don't want to know how painful timesheets are. We all have to do it though...." James seemed almost nonchalant, as if he was thinking on what Sophie said earlier this morning. Blackstar had been nice the other Thursday, before all shit hit the fan. And they were nice people. But he had to be professional. Keep his distance, even if that meant sometimes pushing away when someone was pushing in. He could be polite, at least.
He did glance at that leaderboard behind him. And the names on it, the A-Team doing well for Claremont considering, well, it made sense given they were the premier team of this suburban, boring branch. One of the few things Kat and James had argued with management over, it was stupid, a piece of 70s tech that needed to be ripped out, that served little purpose other than ego. But they insisted, James admitting, hey, for some people, that stat was important. A-Team were doing good, very well, all things considered. They were up against the rest of LA, and while the results were promising, thanks to James's knowledge, it wouldn't last forever. And especially not when the team was chopping and changing. Altering. Shifting like sands. Ikret seemed to be quite a metaphor, as James looked back at Asteroid, watching as the hero was eyeing him up. Sizing him up.
Wondering who was in there. James knew they must have had their questions. Why was a consultant in charge of the team's dispatching? How was it he didn't have powers? And really, James should have been developing them out. But James took him in, in reverse. He was clearly confident, had something about himself, had a swagger, but that amount of prison time and still being normal, damn, it was impressive. But he had that fear. That slight nerve. That and coming out swinging in all of this. He really wanted this, he had to have a reason. Whatever that was, James didn't want to read too much into it. His KPIs were keeping crime low and non-compliances that way too. Asteroid was ticking that for him.
Even if the astral hero might not have known that entirely, as James leaned back, nodding in a confident pose, knowing he was trying to strike conversation over something even he found mundane.
"Appreciate that though. Gets it all clear for the weekend. Means we can do our actual job. Just a thing SDN insists upon rather than trusting any of us that we're productive." James chuckled, knowing that it certainly would leave a mark on them both- in rather differing ways. If Asteroid was trying to keep this job, trying to keep his career on the line, so he didn't end up back in prison, then James was just trying to get paid, and stay in his too, without any more fuss. And speaking of fuss, well, James didn't really think much on the question Asteroid had next to ask, as he adjusted his glasses.
”What’s the- mask situation for the gala? I wasn’t really sure how that would go-” Jet trails off awkwardly. He knows that a lot of guys would look at him sideways for worrying about something like that so far ahead of time. But there was something about the way that James dressed himself that made Jet think he might not even blink twice at the question. Plus- this is the kind thing you were supposed to ask your supervisor- right?
James shrugged, looking at Asteroid's mask, looking around, seeing how it worked. It was part of his suit, less cowl, more just.....part of it as a component.
"Ah, yeah. Yours is.....quite covering. I think it's fine. Or you could use a different mask. Weirdly, I have a lot of Lightning Girl's lying around with lots of other generic mask templates made, just in case. Carbon black as it turns out is quite easy to batch print at a 3D printer." He replied, a nonchalant response, as if this was normal small talk. Conceal yourself in front of the power brokers of LA, and well, some very important people. He hoped that was enough, and it seemed like that as Asteroid was about to go, before he turned and looked back to James with one final question.
”You meet Ikret yet? She’s got a really interesting- look?” He very nearly says costume, but then becomes immediately worried disrespect like that would cause a smiting of Jets of sorts.
James turned his head, chair having already been turned, as he shrugged, knowing her backstory. He'd already read her file. Known the reason she had no need for an induction, no introductions needed. A fallen star from the land of Downtown, and her name wasn't Blackstar, but oddly, one from the Middle East and the Mid-West. Asteroid was worried, he could already tell that. Fear about what Ikret was? Or just fear he had comeptition?
"Not just yet. But she's.....quite different, yeah. Famous as anything too. I'm surprised she's on our team. But I'll take reinforcements. Especially given we're being asked to cover more ground lately." James seemed nonchalant, knowing more than he would let on, but not letting it slip to Asteroid, knowing the pause was awkward.
And before he turned back to work, another thing did pop into his mind.
Something Asteroid did need to know.
"Oh, and Asteroid? I did get some forms from Head Office the other day. Pascal wants to talk to you next week. Liaison guy, at the start of the process to get you off Phoenix. Since you'll continue to work here throughout parole. Not sure if I'll even see it to completion to be honest, as it takes time. But I hope it works out for you. You seem like good people." James said, knowing that Asteroid might not have known who that was. Pascal Florent was SDN's Phoenix Programme Liason. Snakebite, of all people.
And well, what that meant for Asteroid was he might be coming closer to the end of the line. That maybe meant he was closer to the end of the line, but as close as the end of the line was, James knew that for any criminal, that was easier said than done. Committing a crime, doing time, that was easy. Trying to avoid doing it again was harder than your first time as they said.....and James didn't want to think what ocean of problems Asteroid had, but right now, it was at least something for him to look forward to.
James seemed genuine in that moment, nodding to him, as his phone buzzed....."Shit, sorry, I need to get to that."
And with Asteroid walking away, James had a line to take.
"Hello, James Speight, Speight Con....I mean, SDN, how can I...."
Friday
13:01
Break Room
SDN Claremont
13:01
Break Room
SDN Claremont
New Blood
James had headed out of the room soon enough, already back to his desk, but Lightning Girl had managed to continue fiddling with her llama, seeing Asteroid and Blackstar sitting there being all, cute and everything.
Her brother had talked about how the team was coming together, as Lightning Girl looked across to Hat Trick, rolling her eyes. Wondering if he knew about a certain two of them really coming together in a certain way. But he was stretching instead.
@BigPapaBelial
He groaned and stretched in his seat, tensing up then trying to stretch his body from head to toe. Until a rather audbile pop in his shoulders and back, "Ohhh hell yes."
Then asked, "So, half a shift of Dispatches then? or just go running off to the Gala?"
He nods, "Fine, but the Gala ought to be fun. Black Tie huh? Let's see how many people actually show up like that. I can wear one of my "Power Suits" Hat Trick laughed then skipped to his feet, "Oh damn I need to go and stretch, still so achey!"
"I don't think they meant super, super formal. But something that doesn't make you look like you got dragged off the street. I'm sure it'll be fine." Lightning Girl definitely wasn't going for a black dress, that much was for sure. Quite the opposite.
"But yeah, lucky us. Half day, some dispatches, then big fancy gala. Woo." She smiled, trying to hide her excitement for actually not working and instead, preening for camera and in Hollywood. Now that, that was something. Finally, after weeks it felt like of anticipation, the day could not be delayed, not by logistics, operational rearrangements, or motherfucking clowns. But that thought was interrupted entirely by the sound of wings beating, and a mug falling down, and a silhouette that dominated from the moment she entered.
@Ezekiel
So much as came in like a bird of prey resting talons into a branch, so much did Ikret catch Sophie's eye.
Like a counterpoint to all those thoughts. Ikret was suddenly catching all the light that Sophie thought she might have had.
Oh, she'd heard, and seen, all about her. Everything. But why here?
"Sup." Punctuated suddenly by the 'pop' of the bubblegum she began to work on purely for dramatic purpose.
A hello was needed first, so Lightning Girl stopped biting her tongue, realising she should probably fill silence, as what felt like one of the longer serving members of the team. Sophie expected to see her, but in person, oh, shit, the winged woman was all presence, in person, very different to just what she may have imagined. Smooth as absolute butter, there in her white suit with her teal and red, with that mask of hers. It couldn't be anyone else. And Lightning Girl had a funny feeling that the mythical winged woman knew it.
"Oh, hey Ikret! Welcome to the A-Team! Pleasure to have you with us, saw nothing but good stuff of you on socials." Lightning Girl was already far too excitable as she replied to the American-Egyptian's simple introduction, letting Asteroid get in first. No handshake, a simple wave, as right now, she was still drawing power and would therefore likely taze the newcomer.
Ikret felt immediately larger than life than the image that Sophie tried to project. More like she was in limelight. Of course Ikret was. She had so, so many followers on Instagram. And the other platforms. An Egyptian half-deity? Or whatever roots she had to it? Well, of course, falcon lady was all about her image. She was a hell of a heroine, and had been kicking a ton of ass from the few reels that she'd been seeing around socials. Popping her bubblegum, there was like an almost.....art to what she did. Lightning Girl had never been that. She had just looked nice for photos, in reels, in anything. Ikret took that to another level from what she'd seen. Made the world bend to her look. Like she knew the way to be in it.
So why was she in Claremont, not Downtown? Had she made a mistake that bad? The transfer was one thing, when she saw it on Slack, but this was still hard to comprehend in person. The white-haired Brit seemed to be rather matched by the black-haired Horus-like woman, perhaps more in some areas. Why here though?
Perhaps mistakes just happened. Sophie thought about that a lot, what with the Carnival, the door, Tsunami, among the others. The many many other things that she's rather not let her mind palace float into, as the white-suited heroine adjusted her cape and her mask, clearing her throat.
But Ikret had too? Nah. Or at least, well, this wasn't going to last long. Ikret was a big deal. A serious deal. Phoenix Programme maybe? But even then, what had she done, murdered a bunch of guys?
”Must be quite strange for your first day on the team to end with a Gala dinner?” It’s genuine- he’s pretty sure he’d have had a heart attack if it were him. He’s sure he would have shown up out of costume, and that makes him sweaty.
Lightning Girl had absorbed far too much electricity. She was far too chatty, looking to Asteroid and Ikret.
"I mean, she's as famous as anyone there so she'll be a natural fit. And I mean that suit.....wow. It looks so much cooler in person. If that's the sorta stuff they get in DTLA, call me envious. Anyway. Welcome to Claremont, and I am sure you'll do amazing here, like your socials say." Lightning Girl paid a compliment, almost coming from her place of wonder, that and having millions of volts running inside of her, turning her vision from colour to almost an oversaturated, contrast turned up to max, kind of mess.
"So, I'm Lightning Girl, and yes, the accent isn't from around here. That's Blackstar, and she wields cool dark energy blades." She notioned, knowing Blackstar was shyer than Felix, but, she was going to shout out her work bestie. Not talking about her own powers but the accent was getting odd. But hey, it was self explanatory. Mostly.
"Then there's Hat Trick, who has cryokinetic powers. And the power of calling hockey plays really loud." She chuckled, arms wide as if she was introducing, before nodding back to Asteroid.
"And Asteroid, who can manipulate gravity, and his own." Letting them all speak for themselves, but, of course, bigging up her co-workers. As cringe-y as one would, filled with lots and lots of potential energy.
Maybe the opposite of a person that Ikret would have enjoyed being around, or maybe enjoying the same airy celebrity, as Lightning Girl stuck her comms in her ear, hearing James call out the first dispatch. Blackstar was up, just a simple welfare check. And then the next, for the electricity-based Brit. Lightning Girl stood up with two-thirds of crocheted Highland Cow in hand as she put it by her bag, marked up "LG" with a sticker on the top of it and with her gloves back on, sighing, looking across to Ikret. Lightning Girl might have been more of a classic, the white-haired, black masked, white-grey suit and white cape combo something of a vintage, but Ikret looked eternal. Probably because she was, too. That was always the thing about mythical beings, she could never tell just how old they were. Her height, and well, her volume implied she wasn't any old bird-person, but definitely of Egyptian myth. A myth translated different across Instagram.
"You are a lot taller in person, not gonna lie.....shit, I'm up. Anyway. Shout if you need anything!" She was still going, shaking her head and laughing as she put her contraption to drag power out of the socket nearby, and with it, broke into a gentle jog, cape billowing behind as she left the team behind, no time to waste for work.
Before Ikret would leave the room, the others thinning out for dispatches, James would find a moment to catch her, dispatch headphones around neck.
"Hey up, Ikret. I'm James, the Dispatcher from the Slack channel. Before you go, mind sorting this paperwork before you go? Admin stuff. And I believe you're still on standard SDN comms and tracking, right? If so, I've already got you on the line." James put a clipboard in front of her, with the transfer forms, the last bits he needed to get her onto the system, tapping his headset as if to indicate what he meant.
Ikret was quite the hero, but in Phoenix Programme, well, that painted a very different picture of what had gone down. But it was enough to know a profile of her, from the reports, the homework he always did.
And how to hack someone who loved their own ego. Someone who was used to worship and praise, and well, that took a totally different approach than to say, Blackstar, who needed encouragement. Asteroid who just needed a little quiet reassurance. His sister, who he still did not know how the fuck worked. So he was going to take a punt at Ikret.
He had no powers, but his power was knowing how to nudge those with. Not always successfully, granted, but the team worked because of it, well, so far at last. It kept him out of trouble, in paycheck, and most of all, with a vested interest to make sure everyone on the team did well. It came from being a Development Consultant. There was no project too big. Well, Madcap might have been his match, but he was reassigned after all.....
The American-Egyptian heroine was next on his list, and well, he thought now was probably as good as a time as ever to discreetly lay the cards out.
"I know this wasn't what you expected. But look after the branch, I'll look after you. We can see about when we get you back to DTLA if you behave on the Phoenix Programme;, the results should come easy for you, yeah?" James was ready to take her paperwork back, knowing full well that while that stick approach wasn't always gonna work, being super sincere wasn't either. But a little bit of carrot? Perhaps, maybe that would do it. And later, things might clear themselves up.
"So don't worry, plenty of room for fame here. Clean start and everything!" James tailed off, as another call came through his ear from the call handlers, making him jog away before Ikret could get a full response in to that last sentence, aware that things were certainly getting going, James heading to the dispatch station filling up with tasks.
Friday
13:20
James's Desk
SDN Claremont
13:20
James's Desk
SDN Claremont
Cue the Montage
It didn't take long for the computer to log all heroes online, and for the mug to hit the tray next to it. The papers to be signed off.
James clattered away at keyboard, sipping down Earl Grey and lifting the SDN branded mug, the heat of the sun still beating down. Fuck, it was hot here. The air con wasn't doing shit.
The day had so far been a chill one. But with an earbud in one ear, the scene was set, as he started to receive the first calls.
Soundtrack: The Last Dinner Party- Call Me
From some of the heroes going to a fair and giving out leaflets about SDN, to telling off kids spraying graffiti, AGAIN, on the Wal-Mart, to regular neighbourhood patrols. The map covered La Verne to Pomona, and inbetween, was their little slice of the San Bernadino Valley.
As far from the glitz and glamour as someone like Ikret could be, she was still getting attention wherever she swooned around, on the minor dispatches to help the subscribers of Claremont. So was Lightning Girl, posing with a group of schoolkids at a meet and greet, to Asteroid and Hat Trick, out on a job to go move some soil for the Claremont Botanical Gardens, to Blackstar, out and about as a background figure at the opening of a new shop in the City Centre.
James sipped tea, as he called in more, the hours clocking by, occasionally taking off his headset to grab a glass of water, before sitting back down. Another call. Another dispatch. It was a steady day, a standard kind of thing. Heroes coming and going in his office. Lightning Girl giving Felix a pick-up and a scruff, to Matthieu throwing Felix some tuna, to Kat coming by and leaning against the office cubicle, sizing up each of the heroes, to Martha reluctantly collecting the tray of papers by his desk.
From Blackstar to Asteroid, to Ikret and Hat Trick, to Lightning Girl, who rambled away about something or other, before heading out again, running off the balcony, and into flight, the montage continuing with heroes doing what was their 1-5 shift today. Mundane, boring, nothing exciting that wasn't a mass casualty event, but sometimes, the rent needed paying and not having to stretch legs too much helped.
Call Me? James certainly felt like half of Claremont was giving him a ring via the call handling team that managed the subscribers, but the heroes that were on his dispatch were getting it done, and well, it was seamless. Mostly. Every now and then a minor issue, a discerning look from James, but, you could almost imagine it, but he kept drinking tea to push the pain away in getting it done. They were back out, and back to work, points hitting leaderboard, as the office ticked away.
From 1pm to 3pm, the clock ticked on by, almost like a blur. A lot of teas and coffees drank by the team, a lot of small dispatches, a routine, standard sort of day at the office.
Yet it had been a day without any actual, serious, unhinged violence. How serene.
But, a few bigger jobs had come back up and come in at the same time. Compared to the insanity of the clowns last Thursday, and okay, a few big jobs in the week where some criminals had to be taken down a peg or two, that trend of lacking violence seemed to continue, as the next jobs seemed to all have one common thread.
Lots of people needed lots of help, and only heroes could save the day, as James leaned up, adjusting his headset mic.
Rescue Team
"Okay, Blackstar, need you on a Search and Rescue mission. Somehow, some hiker has ended up being teleported into the San Gabriel Mountains, no idea how he got there, and he needs saving. Can you go look for him? Gonna patch you into Los Angeles SAR, they'll have more info on the situation. Head north towards the San Gabriel Mountains and standby for further info." That was the first. Okay, that made sense. Flying hero, someone to go explore a lot of ground. Her or Ikret made sense, but James had a certain trust with Blackstar that she would live up to standard.
Next up, a physical job.
"Hat Trick, I've got a crash on Interstate 10, lotta traffic. Driver is okay but PD can't seem to shift the obstacle. Think you can free that up?" That one also made sense. Someone who could . Now, what about....okay, that one? Shit...
"Asteroid, Claremont Zoo are calling and uhhh...they have a bit of a situation. They're reporting a lot of cougars are on the rampage. And they lost their tranquiliser gun. Reckon you can sort this situation out?" James put him to it, thinking that the animal lover may not have been ideal to sort out a bunch of big cats, much, much bigger than Felix, but gravity might be a good tool there. Perhaps. And that left two more on the deck. One which was fairly serious, all things considered, and either of his two remaining heroes would have fit.
"Ikret, got a fairly urgent one. Light aircraft in distress, track east of Ontario International Airport, looks like it's got failed landing gear. Sending you a pinged location. See if you can save the occupants, and ideally, not crash the plane into any urban areas."
Then the last job.
A shit one, quite literally. But one he needed a hero maybe a little more well rounded for, and that happened to be his sister.
"Okay, Lightning Girl....I've got an incident at the local sewage works. Power's gone down, can you hold their manual pumps up until the backup unit comes back online?"
He didn't want to take any bias for looking like he was sending his sister to certain jobs, but in this instance, the sad truth was, it might have actually have been the one he would have had to pick out.
The daggers that were shot from Sophie back at James as she jogged out of the break room and out of the balcony to catch flight felt like they said it all, as she left the building, shaking her head in thinking that of all days, all the fucking days, why today?
Into the Wild
@cosmiccowgirl
Blackstar's comms would be filled by the sounds of the Search and Rescue operator, who was managing this particular incident. Odd as it was, but then again, a random guy on the street being dropped into the middle of the mountains, far, far from any road, was extremely not in their wheelhouse. SDN's though, maybe. She would have likely been heading north, and while it was out of Claremont's usual zone, heroes joined SAR missions whenever they were needed beyond their borders- particularly when things turned out this way.
"Blackstar, thank god you're on the line! Okay, we've narrowed it down to four grid co-ordinates from his phone call, but we can't still see him.....can you look around for him? If you find the guy, he's in an orange shirt, sounds like he's quite hurt because he fell into a tree....if you can pull him out, get him to hospital as soon as you can!"
It wouldn't be much to go on, but Blackstar was an eye in the sky, and she had wilderness to cover in the big mountains north of LA.
A Sticky Situation
@BigPapaBelial
When Hat Trick would turn up to Interstate 10, in the blazing heat of the late sunshine, he'd find out just what was causing the issue.
A semi truck had turned over, and was leaking no end of yellowy-gold substance across the road, with the silver tanker jack-knifed at a complete halt, blocking two lanes. The truck driver sat dazed, a bit banged up, but fine, and in no need of urgent medical care. The police seemed to have that handled. The tanker wasn't completely blocking the road, and while traffic was gonna be bad, it could have been much, much worse. Clearing the trailer would be hard, but wasn't the main problem it seemed.
What the police didn't have handled, was the massive silver tank that was turning the concrete highway into a sticky mess second by second as honey turned to crystal, and the car on its side next to it that had been sloshed and covered in it when the tank started leaking out that had been hit by the truck. A couple of civies were stuck comically in what looked like the sweetest substance known, and nobody knew how to get them out. And their car too, now getting embalmed in sticky honey. That seemingly, was attracting a lot of bugs, pests and unsurprisingly, bees that were feasting on nectar.
One of the traffic officers waved to Hat Trick, and pointed it out, the cryokinetic hero now growing in recognition around these parts.
"Hey, Hat Trick! Over here! Can you help us get those guys out of the sticky stuff, and the car too? We'll get traffic moving through once ready!"
Rumble in the Jungle
@SonnetNSunbeam
When Asteroid would turn up to the situation at Claremont Zoo, what he would find was not wild animals on the rampage.
It was not wild cougars that had been unleashed, chasing women and children, though they were running away, as were terrified looking zookeepers.
Instead, it was about six or so older women, brawling with a group of what looked like teenagers with cameras, who had realised they'd fucked with the wrong group of people. A prank gone very, very wrong, and it would be hard to tell who was in the right, and who was in the wrong.
"Dammit! You promised there would be men in heat here! Not just some crappy lions!" One of the older women slapped what looked like a prankster with a video camera with a bag, another hurling a porcelain tiger at one of them as they ran away, but at this point, the red mist had all but descended.
James wanted to laugh at the sight on the CCTV, he really did, but being the serious dispatcher he was, pressed his hands into his face, realising what they call meant.
"Cougars. They meant that kind of cougar. Asteroid, up to you, mate. You're an expert on this sort of thing, aren't you? See if you can bring this one to a peaceful end. Or at least, bring some order back to this chaos so everyone can enjoy the zoo again." James finally cracked, shaking his head, knowing the grannies he'd dealt with before were probably beyond that definition.
But, at this point, James wondered if maybe, in a strange way, the universe delivered a funny comeuppance in this sort of situation to the pranksters, and maybe, even Asteroid for getting stoned a few weeks ago. Not that James would have known, of course, but karma was a hell of a cosmic thing. A few of the gamekeepers were running past the gift shop, which only left Asteroid against many angry people on both sides that he had to defuse somehow.
Air Traffic Control
@Ezekiel
Ikret's comms would be updated as she would head towards the airport, James keeping her patched in.
"Got a track on the aircraft, looks like a couple inside. Up to you how you handle it, try and avoid bringing the plane down over any populated areas, but fuel will be running low." James looked on at the aircraft track, this one quite a real threat. Shit, this one had potential to go sideways. But same time, Ikret was capable. She hadn't been on DTLA's roster for nothing. And while James had lost Fenomaman, and a few other heroes from the roster, gaining Ikret had been a serious reinforcement to the team's capabilities. The light aircraft was in a slow orbit around the airport, and with fuel running low, Ikret would have her pick of choices to get occupants down to safety.
