Issue 1: Origin Stories

[Deadman]

COMMERCE CITY.....the modern day, except it's mid June.

The sky overhead is lustrous blue, and ice cream trucks are recording record profits. Sunlight glistens on the busy harbor, and lights up the streets between the skyscrapers on Tammany island, heart of Commerce City. Many transactions and deals are taking place in the countless busy offices throughout the borough but the offer most crucial to the metropolis' future is about to be made in historic City Hall, just a few blocks from the waterfront.

Over the past few days the Mayor's office has been subtly contacting various newcomers to the heroing scene. After handing a bound criminal off to the police each of the assembling supers was passed an envelope stickered shut with the city seal. Inside those envelopes awaited an invitation:

Dear Valued Voter and Superhero,

You are invited to a complimentary continental breakfast at Commerce City Hall, this Friday at 8:00am sharp. Please arrive in crimefighting attire.

Sincerely,
The Honorable John Quincy Public
Mayor, Commerce City

Heeding the mayor's mysterious summons, or perhaps lured by the offer of a free breakfast the invited vigilantes have come, and are ushered by aides, one by one as they arrive, through a doorway into a second floor antechamber. Sunlight pours in through the windows facing City Hall Park, illuminating a pleasant yellow room with blue carpeting. There's a couch or two, several oil paintings showing notable figures from CC history, and in the far wall the shut oak double doors leading to the conference room being used for the breakfast. A gangly red headed intern blocks that exit, politely but clearly indicating the guests should wait here until led further.

OOC

Welcome to Commerce City! Please file in and introduce yourselves. None of you really know much about each other, other than the brief and vague bits that have appeared in the metro section of the Commerce City Chronicle. The mayor naturally is running late so you should have a little bit of time to chat before meeting and eating.

[Nate]

The Blue Boomrang shuffles his way into the room, glancing around at the other Hero's in the room. As he enters the room he notices the floor, and respecfully nods at the red-haired boy at the other end of the room.

"Nice shade of blue on the carpeting, I'll have to commend the Mayor when I see him."

[Deadman]

The Blue Boomerang's eye catches the various heroic bureaucrats from Commerce City's history staring out sternly from the various oil paintings (currently he and the intern are the only ones present in the room).

The intern nervously nods back. "Th-th-the mayor will be here in a mO-" his voice cracks, "-Ment."

[Amaris]

The elegant calligraphy on the invitation sparks Charades interest. Being rather mistrustful of the company she will soon meet, she pulls up her hood and wreaths her face in shadow, and steps into the tastefully decorated room. "Not much different since Dad brought me here," she thinks settling into the nearest couch. She tilts her shrouded head twice in faint recognition of the other two beings in the room, and waits patiently almost expertly, in the manner that a savvy subway traveler gains over the hundreds of miles logged under the city streets.

[Vardaen]

There is a shadow cast over the door way that leads out of the ante chamber back to the stairs. Standing in the doorway now is the young man known as Billards Boy. He is in his mid twenties, but his true age is hidden by the chalk blue mask that he wears covering his eyes. Hung around his belt is a small collection of pool balls, ranging from 1 to 16 in a rainbow of colors. He holds a leather case in one hand, inside is the pool cue unscrewed and resting comfortably. His felt green suit is newly dry cleaned and not a wrinkle is visible on the tightly worn suit. "Let the games begin!" He flashes the woman on the couch a cheesy smile as he struts into the room walking the perimeter of the chamber inspecting the pictures and the window, pausing to look out at the park. In one hand he suddenly produces the invitation, "I was summoned by the mayor himself, John Q Public, and I'm here to answer his call." Flipping his case around he sets it on the nearby end table with a thud. He winks at the woman, "I am Billards Man, and who, my fine looking lady, are you?" His cheese factor is starting to grow.

[JohnnyWeird]

The bus is never an easy proposition for the Butcher; in addition to the somewhat imprecise schedule, the public so often seems put off by his costume. Not that he hasn't tried variations - a smiling yellow face on the mask, an apron that humorously advises others to Kiss the Cook, pastel colors for his bandolier of knives - but somehow they so often get bogged down in the stereotypes of his situation. He tries to smile whenever he can, but his entirely obscured face makes that unproductive.

His invitation gets him past a mildly incredulous security guard, and soon he is in the same room as the others, admiring notable bureaucrats' faces and savoring civic history. In his alter-ego he is often found at city hall, asking hard-hitting questions of the Municipal Works Commissioner, Raymond Ghastly, or covering unveilings of new public programs. To finally walk these halls in the comfort of anonymity is a blessing for the sometimes-harried hero.

[Deadman]

A black cat casually waltzes into the room like it owns the place. It leaps onto the couch next to Charade and begins to loudly scratch the white cushion. Little bits of fluff start to float around the room.

The intern stammers in concern. "Uh-m-ma'am, your cat..."

OOC

Please feel free to socialize with one another while we wait for our other players to arrive. This is a chance for you to roleplay and start defining yourself to the other supers.

[Grimbold]

A loud flash alerts the others: A window breaks and there is the sound of thunder. A man has flown thorugh the window and into the opposite wall. He gets up, dusts himself off and looks around confusedly. He is wearing a blue and orange costume and has a pink fender stratocaster with him. He has long brown hair and an orange face-mask.
"Hoho, here I am, where's the food? Ah, yo bro, I'm THE SPARK. Is there any beer left?"

[Deadman]

The intern is horrified by the extensive damage to city property, but on the bright side the couch is safe from further harm. Hernando leaps up with a terrified MREEEOOOW and clamps himself firmly to Charade's face.

A lamp on an endtable next to The Spark suddenly glows brightly and explodes, setting its shade on fire. "Aaaaaagh!" screams the teenager.

He runs to the fire, hurls the lamp on the floor and stamps the flames while the nice blue carpet browns beneath it.

[JohnnyWeird]

The Butcher, ever conscious of safety, looks for the closest fire extinguisher; in a civic building like this one, such a device is surely present and functional!