Heatwave 9.8
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] Tickets to Gangland, Part 2
-[] Ambush Vista
Heatwave 9.8
Thursday, June 9
"I can't decide if the PRT moved quickly or slowly with this."
Samantha slows down and spins around, drifting backwards through the air. "Oh?"
"Yeah. I mean, sure, they didn't have absolutely confirmation that villains from other cities were invading until a week ago, so I can't hold the time before that against them. It's what they've done since that has me on the fence." You wave at the crowd on the ground not too far from where the pair of you float. It isn't just civilians there, either; there are a few local heroes in costume scattered around, too. "Setting up a full press conference like this in a week is probably pretty quick, I would think. But wouldn't it be faster just to pull in the heroes they're about to introduce and tell them what's going instead of making this into a three-ring circus?"
"Maybe they want to do it this way so the independent heroes don't assume they're new villains? Or make the villains who know about them quiver in their boots?" It's clear she is fishing for a reason that doesn't make this one giant waste of time, and she helplessly shrugs when you shoot her an unimpressed look.
The Protectorate is moving some of their capes around to deal with this chaos. That's the only part that matters in the end, you suppose. It helps that you recognize a few of the capes onstage— "Sam, get back here!"
The irrepressible Guardian Beast darts away and shifts into her unremarkable raccoon form. She is not capable of true flight like that, but with all the momentum she had just built up, a controlled fall is well within her skills. It just so happens that said controlled fall is taking her towards a pair of Wards, one of whom is extremely familiar. Before she hits the ground, she is back in human form and grabbing the young teen in both arms.
"Gahh! Lemme go!"
"Don't complain too much," you tell Vista as you land beside her. "It's better than being picked up in her mouth again." Turning to the other Ward, you hold out a hand. "Calamity Witch, and this is my partner Samantha. I don't think I've had the opportunity to meet you before."
The boy grasps your hand in his own dark glove, its color a contrast to his pale grey bodysuit. "Flambé. Nice to meet you."
Ah, now you recognize him. He's the Ward who creates and controls constructs made from ash. And here is the hard part about meeting new people: coming up with something to talk about. With Vista it was easy. You were a newbie, she wasn't, there you go. You have too much experience behind you to pull the fresh cape card, and from what Vista told you and the way Bouncer acted when you met him, the Wards here have even less practice in fighting crime than you do. If anything, it should be you giving him advice, but doing that out of the blue is way more arrogant than you are or want to come across as, especially on the first meeting.
Samantha takes the opportunity or dilemma, whichever you wish to call it, out of your hands. Literally. "Nice to meet you too," she says, grabbing his hand with her own and pumping it enthusiastically. «We need to get you more comfortable with meeting new people, but maybe not today. Just go over there and chatter with Vista.»
Good idea. Sending your Guardian Beast a quick telepathic thank you, you definitely do not scurry towards the hero you actually know. From the way Vista's lips quiver, she sees through it anyway. "Oh, bite me," you mutter when the battle against her giggles is well and truly lost.
"Are… Are you sure you want me to do that… with so many strangers around?"
You flick her forehead, and she loses her balance and slumps against the wall, still laughing at you. "Just for that, you can forget about coming with me the next time I do something fun."
"Something fun?" She takes a few deep breaths to rein in her laughter. "What were you planning to do?"
You rewind the last couple of seconds and curse in your head. That was an empty threat, but you can see how she might have gotten the impression that you had plans and were willing to bring her along. And now you feel like a jerk because she looks almost excited to go off and do something, in that faux-stoic way of hers. "Uh…"
Quick, Taylor, think! Samantha had joked a couple of days ago about how different vacations could be if everyone involved could teleport, hadn't she?
"Well, it wasn't anything definite, but I figured, um, maybe we could go globetrotting for a bit?"
"…What?"
"You've seen my teleportation before. It isn't limited just to places nearby." You swing your arm open to encompass the whole globe. "If I can find coordinates for it, I can go there. Anywhere, everywhere, wherever. The world is my oyster."
Earth Aleph and maybe undiscovered worlds, as well, but that is something you haven't tried yet. It would also overload poor Vista's brain if the look in her eyes is any indication.
Eventually her mind reboots, and to your amusement it goes straight into greedy five-year-old mode. "You know I was just poking fun at you, right? I didn't really mean it," she says in a wheedling voice.
"I hope not. I only take good little girls on vacation." You snicker at her rolling eyes and dodge her attempted shove. "Where would you want to go, anyway?"
What comes out of her mouth is less a planned itinerary and more of a slew of major cities and attractions all over the world. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!" you tell her, cutting off her word-vomit with a laugh. "This isn't a once in a lifetime, miss it and it's gone kind of offer. We don't have to go everywhere at once. And," you add as you think about her previous reluctance to unmask herself a month or so ago, "this wouldn't be a Calamity Witch and Vista outing. It'd be Taylor and Missy. Think about it and let me know if you're interested in doing something like that sometime."
"Well, I don't have anything to do Saturday?" she says after a moment's pause. Her tone turns a little mocking as she explains, "Director Paulson is a big believer in the idea that being a Ward is a part-time job. It's… frustrating and boring. This sounds a whole lot more fun."
"And you'd be okay with going around out of costume?"
Her hesitation is more obvious this time, but she rallies herself nonetheless. "Yeah. Yeah, why not. We'll just be two white girls traipsing around all over the world. It's not like costumes would make us any more recognizable."
While you were talking, the press conference had started, and already the first speaker is stepping aside to make room for Director Paulson, an older man who looks like he would be more at home in a library than leading a law enforcement agency. It makes you glad the Wards weren't expected to do guard duty, because that would be a little awkward. "—vert," he is saying as the thin man in uniform moves back into position in front of the column of dressed up agents. "In addition to reinforcements from the Chicago PRT office, several heroes have also volunteered to stay here until this influx of criminals is over. Protectorate heroes Anomaly and Assault are here from Chicago, along with their Wards, Tecton and Clockblocker. From Boston, we are also hosting Glory Girl and… Mouse Protector."
If he hoped to keep his disappointment hidden, he has failed horribly. The well-known and only occasionally beloved heroine hops in front of the lectern nonetheless. As distracting as her antics are, you can't help but look at Glory Girl instead. You're a Brockton Bay native; you know all about the shining star of New Wave. You wouldn't say that her expression right now reflects that reputation. If anything, she looks morose, her attention only half on the press conference and half on playing with a bracelet around her wrist.
Your elbow lodges into Vista's ribs. "You're the queen of PHO info," you tell her when she glances over. "Do you have any idea why Glory Girl looks so down?"
"No, I don't." She frowns and tilts her head in thought. "If I had to take a guess, though, I would expect it to have to do with her probation maybe? What those details are, I couldn't tell you. The normal sources all moved on to other topics was the news was broken."
Her eyes turn towards Assault and Clockblocker now that the official announcement portion of this dog and pony show is over and the meet and greet has begun, and you give her a little nudge in their direction. "A blind girl could see you want to talk to them. Get a move on." She rolls her eyes, but if the way she warps space to take her closer to the pair is any indication, she appreciates the nudge.
Meanwhile, you suppose you should go out and introduce yourself to a couple of people, too, if only so you can rub it in Samantha's face later. You can meet new people without her help if you want to!
You swoop over the crowd toward your chosen victim. The ex-Brocktonites are busy either catching up with Vista or being herded around by Mouse Protector, so you go after the Chicagoans. "Hey," you tell the Ward in dull brown power armor. "Welcome to Philadelphia. I'm Calamity Witch."
He gives you a nod. "Tecton, though I want to say we've met before. You look familiar."
What? «Storm, a little help please.»
«Searching memory… Match found. Brockton Bay, when Mistress returned to fight.»
Now that you think about it, it could have been. "Were you at Brockton Bay during the breakout? Went after the Nazis?"
"Yep. I was." He snaps his fingers. "Right, you're the one who took everyone into some alternate dimension. I was part of the Brute force." You nod your understanding, and a frown crosses his face beneath his helm as he points into the crowd. "Since we're talking about our bad memory for faces, do you know who he is?"
Following his fingers leads your eyes to an all-white figure edging away from the crowd. "That's Shard. Local hero, creates sonic blasts. I don't know much else about him."
"Odd. He looks familiar, too, but I can't place him at all." Tecton shrugs. "Oh well. It's probably nothing."
It's funny, I was thinking about where Vista would want to go (I was a weird kid and my idea of fun is probably not the best baseline) when I realized, hey, let's make the players do the legwork for me.
Vista requests to go to
[ ] Write in
You can vote for as many places as you want, and I'll take the top, hmm, three or four choices. That's not to say they'll all be seen on-screen, but they'll be mentioned at least.
-[] Ambush Vista
Heatwave 9.8
Thursday, June 9
"I can't decide if the PRT moved quickly or slowly with this."
Samantha slows down and spins around, drifting backwards through the air. "Oh?"
"Yeah. I mean, sure, they didn't have absolutely confirmation that villains from other cities were invading until a week ago, so I can't hold the time before that against them. It's what they've done since that has me on the fence." You wave at the crowd on the ground not too far from where the pair of you float. It isn't just civilians there, either; there are a few local heroes in costume scattered around, too. "Setting up a full press conference like this in a week is probably pretty quick, I would think. But wouldn't it be faster just to pull in the heroes they're about to introduce and tell them what's going instead of making this into a three-ring circus?"
"Maybe they want to do it this way so the independent heroes don't assume they're new villains? Or make the villains who know about them quiver in their boots?" It's clear she is fishing for a reason that doesn't make this one giant waste of time, and she helplessly shrugs when you shoot her an unimpressed look.
The Protectorate is moving some of their capes around to deal with this chaos. That's the only part that matters in the end, you suppose. It helps that you recognize a few of the capes onstage— "Sam, get back here!"
The irrepressible Guardian Beast darts away and shifts into her unremarkable raccoon form. She is not capable of true flight like that, but with all the momentum she had just built up, a controlled fall is well within her skills. It just so happens that said controlled fall is taking her towards a pair of Wards, one of whom is extremely familiar. Before she hits the ground, she is back in human form and grabbing the young teen in both arms.
"Gahh! Lemme go!"
"Don't complain too much," you tell Vista as you land beside her. "It's better than being picked up in her mouth again." Turning to the other Ward, you hold out a hand. "Calamity Witch, and this is my partner Samantha. I don't think I've had the opportunity to meet you before."
The boy grasps your hand in his own dark glove, its color a contrast to his pale grey bodysuit. "Flambé. Nice to meet you."
Ah, now you recognize him. He's the Ward who creates and controls constructs made from ash. And here is the hard part about meeting new people: coming up with something to talk about. With Vista it was easy. You were a newbie, she wasn't, there you go. You have too much experience behind you to pull the fresh cape card, and from what Vista told you and the way Bouncer acted when you met him, the Wards here have even less practice in fighting crime than you do. If anything, it should be you giving him advice, but doing that out of the blue is way more arrogant than you are or want to come across as, especially on the first meeting.
Samantha takes the opportunity or dilemma, whichever you wish to call it, out of your hands. Literally. "Nice to meet you too," she says, grabbing his hand with her own and pumping it enthusiastically. «We need to get you more comfortable with meeting new people, but maybe not today. Just go over there and chatter with Vista.»
Good idea. Sending your Guardian Beast a quick telepathic thank you, you definitely do not scurry towards the hero you actually know. From the way Vista's lips quiver, she sees through it anyway. "Oh, bite me," you mutter when the battle against her giggles is well and truly lost.
"Are… Are you sure you want me to do that… with so many strangers around?"
You flick her forehead, and she loses her balance and slumps against the wall, still laughing at you. "Just for that, you can forget about coming with me the next time I do something fun."
"Something fun?" She takes a few deep breaths to rein in her laughter. "What were you planning to do?"
You rewind the last couple of seconds and curse in your head. That was an empty threat, but you can see how she might have gotten the impression that you had plans and were willing to bring her along. And now you feel like a jerk because she looks almost excited to go off and do something, in that faux-stoic way of hers. "Uh…"
Quick, Taylor, think! Samantha had joked a couple of days ago about how different vacations could be if everyone involved could teleport, hadn't she?
"Well, it wasn't anything definite, but I figured, um, maybe we could go globetrotting for a bit?"
"…What?"
"You've seen my teleportation before. It isn't limited just to places nearby." You swing your arm open to encompass the whole globe. "If I can find coordinates for it, I can go there. Anywhere, everywhere, wherever. The world is my oyster."
Earth Aleph and maybe undiscovered worlds, as well, but that is something you haven't tried yet. It would also overload poor Vista's brain if the look in her eyes is any indication.
Eventually her mind reboots, and to your amusement it goes straight into greedy five-year-old mode. "You know I was just poking fun at you, right? I didn't really mean it," she says in a wheedling voice.
"I hope not. I only take good little girls on vacation." You snicker at her rolling eyes and dodge her attempted shove. "Where would you want to go, anyway?"
What comes out of her mouth is less a planned itinerary and more of a slew of major cities and attractions all over the world. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!" you tell her, cutting off her word-vomit with a laugh. "This isn't a once in a lifetime, miss it and it's gone kind of offer. We don't have to go everywhere at once. And," you add as you think about her previous reluctance to unmask herself a month or so ago, "this wouldn't be a Calamity Witch and Vista outing. It'd be Taylor and Missy. Think about it and let me know if you're interested in doing something like that sometime."
"Well, I don't have anything to do Saturday?" she says after a moment's pause. Her tone turns a little mocking as she explains, "Director Paulson is a big believer in the idea that being a Ward is a part-time job. It's… frustrating and boring. This sounds a whole lot more fun."
"And you'd be okay with going around out of costume?"
Her hesitation is more obvious this time, but she rallies herself nonetheless. "Yeah. Yeah, why not. We'll just be two white girls traipsing around all over the world. It's not like costumes would make us any more recognizable."
While you were talking, the press conference had started, and already the first speaker is stepping aside to make room for Director Paulson, an older man who looks like he would be more at home in a library than leading a law enforcement agency. It makes you glad the Wards weren't expected to do guard duty, because that would be a little awkward. "—vert," he is saying as the thin man in uniform moves back into position in front of the column of dressed up agents. "In addition to reinforcements from the Chicago PRT office, several heroes have also volunteered to stay here until this influx of criminals is over. Protectorate heroes Anomaly and Assault are here from Chicago, along with their Wards, Tecton and Clockblocker. From Boston, we are also hosting Glory Girl and… Mouse Protector."
If he hoped to keep his disappointment hidden, he has failed horribly. The well-known and only occasionally beloved heroine hops in front of the lectern nonetheless. As distracting as her antics are, you can't help but look at Glory Girl instead. You're a Brockton Bay native; you know all about the shining star of New Wave. You wouldn't say that her expression right now reflects that reputation. If anything, she looks morose, her attention only half on the press conference and half on playing with a bracelet around her wrist.
Your elbow lodges into Vista's ribs. "You're the queen of PHO info," you tell her when she glances over. "Do you have any idea why Glory Girl looks so down?"
"No, I don't." She frowns and tilts her head in thought. "If I had to take a guess, though, I would expect it to have to do with her probation maybe? What those details are, I couldn't tell you. The normal sources all moved on to other topics was the news was broken."
Her eyes turn towards Assault and Clockblocker now that the official announcement portion of this dog and pony show is over and the meet and greet has begun, and you give her a little nudge in their direction. "A blind girl could see you want to talk to them. Get a move on." She rolls her eyes, but if the way she warps space to take her closer to the pair is any indication, she appreciates the nudge.
Meanwhile, you suppose you should go out and introduce yourself to a couple of people, too, if only so you can rub it in Samantha's face later. You can meet new people without her help if you want to!
You swoop over the crowd toward your chosen victim. The ex-Brocktonites are busy either catching up with Vista or being herded around by Mouse Protector, so you go after the Chicagoans. "Hey," you tell the Ward in dull brown power armor. "Welcome to Philadelphia. I'm Calamity Witch."
He gives you a nod. "Tecton, though I want to say we've met before. You look familiar."
What? «Storm, a little help please.»
«Searching memory… Match found. Brockton Bay, when Mistress returned to fight.»
Now that you think about it, it could have been. "Were you at Brockton Bay during the breakout? Went after the Nazis?"
"Yep. I was." He snaps his fingers. "Right, you're the one who took everyone into some alternate dimension. I was part of the Brute force." You nod your understanding, and a frown crosses his face beneath his helm as he points into the crowd. "Since we're talking about our bad memory for faces, do you know who he is?"
Following his fingers leads your eyes to an all-white figure edging away from the crowd. "That's Shard. Local hero, creates sonic blasts. I don't know much else about him."
"Odd. He looks familiar, too, but I can't place him at all." Tecton shrugs. "Oh well. It's probably nothing."
It's funny, I was thinking about where Vista would want to go (I was a weird kid and my idea of fun is probably not the best baseline) when I realized, hey, let's make the players do the legwork for me.
Vista requests to go to
[ ] Write in
You can vote for as many places as you want, and I'll take the top, hmm, three or four choices. That's not to say they'll all be seen on-screen, but they'll be mentioned at least.
) Like literally, has Taylor done anything nice for herself since her and Captain started heroing? What are the Herberts finances like (how does one monetize cape-ing, besides looting enemies...are we doing that?)
