The Heroes of Tomorrow Initiative(CVU Team Location IC)

Hero Mountain

Hero Mountain was originally a cold war bunker located near a small town off the coast of LA known as Jolly Harbor. It was designed to house countless residents of the harbor in the event of well, a bomb strike. That's where I come in, I bought this bunker about six months ago when I decided I would start my campaign as an Earth hero. Originally it was supposed to be my base of operations but, it became a bit of an inconvenience to keep my stuff here and it's incredibly difficult to store my suits in this small space. Instead I stay on Phobos-2 most of the time. So I got to thinking, why don’t I re purpose this into a base for my new team. Now we have what I’m calling Hero Mountain, let's begin the tour.

Mission Room

Welcome to the Mission Room, she's the biggest room in the entire building and the first place you’ll see when you walk in. Don’t mind the stone walls and stalactites hanging from the ceiling, it helps with the aesthetic of the place. Now the first thing you probably noticed is the giant white circle in the middle of the room, that's the holographic computer. It’s running an algorithm that has it search major police and military scanners in search of any major threats.

The large area around the holo-pc can be used as a training area, hence the dummies and hard light targets. Feel free to beat on them as much as you like, just try not to break all of them in the first week.

To the right you’ll find a Z-Stabilizer. This bad boy lets me move from Phobos-2 to Earth in a couple of minutes. Best part is, I’m the guy who invented it. That also means that I installed a DNA locking mechanism so, anyone else tries to use it and it wont work. Consider it a safety mechanism until I’m ready to show you guys the big leagues of bases.

Off to the left you’ll find a nice big metal door. That bad boy leads to the more living associated areas, so if you’ll please follow me.

The Lounge

Here we have the Lounge; consider this your living room equipped with a full set of couches, an 80 inch wall mounted flat screen, a full suite of video games systems since I know you Terrans love to play them, and about forty bookshelves packed with whatever reading material I thought you might like as teenagers.

Off to the left we have the kitchen which is fully stocked and I will be stocking on a monthly basis. It’s all health food and items fit for your personal diets since not everyone can eat what the other eat. Just a heads up breakfast is at 8 a.m., Lunch is at 1 p.m., and dinner is at 7 p.m. Feel free to snack in between.

Recreational Wing

Down the hallway to the right you’ll find the recreational areas. You have your workout rooms, your locker rooms(boys and girls), medical bay, basketball court, indoor soccer field, and really any other recreational activity I could think of. Chances are if you want to have some good recreational fun it’ll be that way.

Living Wing

If you go through the hallway straight ahead you’ll encounter the living wing. There are a few sets of rooms but, given your light numbers there are enough for you to split rooms or share. You’ll also find the showers and bathrooms. Of course they are split between the boys and girls, I know enough about your culture to know that much.

Hangar

Head through the door on your left and you’ll find yourself in the Hangar. In there you’ll find your very own team VTOL. It’s piloted all by itself but, should the need arise you can manually take the controls with the override command. That command will be revealed to one of you who will be decided later on.

Pronto

Oh I forgot to mention, I’m not leaving you here unsupervised and since I lead a very busy double life I have set you all up with what a caretaker. Say hello to Pronto, your robotic guardian. I programmed him to take care of you all and act as a sort of nanny. He cooks, cleans, and can help you through any emotional troubles you encounter. I’ve programmed him to be as human as I could so, lets hope I did a good job.

OOC

• This is the Official Location Thread for the Heroes of Tomorrow Initiative team. Those who are members know who they are.
• Standard CVU rules apply.
• For anyone outside the team you are not allowed to enter. If you want to enter PM me with an RP idea.
• Destroying this location is strictly prohibited without prior authorization from me.
• I know its not the best location thread but, it gets the job done.

@the_custodian@joey_destroyer_of_worlds@a-friend@stella_star

They were coming

The team should be on its way, the letter should have arrived three days ago and now they would all be on there way. Rather then be there to greet his team Ronald Larson was stuck in a meeting discussing his plans for Mars's newest military innovation. Of course it was exciting to make strides in innovation for ones people and emperor but, as of right now he really just wanted to meet his new team. It was a big day when a Hero started their first team and especially when it was one filled with young minds he could shape into the Heroes of Tomorrow. He would still get the chance to meet them but, he wouldn't be able to make a stunning first impression, instead it would have to be an average one.

Inside Hero Mountain awaiting the new arrivals was their robot guardian, Pronto. The children would arrive to meet him and a standard message before they were given the tour(the above stuff is the tour).

"Welcome young ones, I am Pronto your robotic caretaker. Unfortunately Master Neuromind is unable to join us at the moment. Feel free to mingle about and get to know your new comrades until he arrives."

Following that they would be allowed to have a mingle and greet each other until Neuromind was able to escape the clutches of his job.

@neuromind:

"Hi!" Stella said to the mechanical host absentmindedly with her hands gracing her hips. Ignoring the caretaker, she stood on her toes, leaning to the right to try to get a less obstructed view of the mission room. "Uh, robot tour, right. Um. No. I'm faster. I'll just check things out myself." Stella let her arms drop from her side, and started to run to the opposite end of the room, narrowly missing the robot guardian, whose actions began to look as if they grinded to a halt. Stella's crystallized finger allowed her to alter time around herself, granting her, in a manner of speaking, intense velocity and a great amount of time to process information. She explored the entire hangar and all the rooms before a second passed, and found her way into the lounge's kitchen. In an instant, every cabinet was open, and the exact ingredients necessary to make macaroons were sitting neatly on the counter.

Stella returned to the mission room, to abruptly announce to her teammates "Food's this way! I'm making cookies!" before vanishing into the kitchen again, where she would be tending to her culinary art.

@stella_star: @the_custodian@joey_destroyer_of_worlds@a-friend@stella_star

CHK CHK CHK CHK CHK

The sound of massive metal blades chopping through air filled the ears of Jolly Harbour residents. The sun’s light glinted off of two large orange wings as they moved through the air towards the old defense bunker. These wings belonged to one of the newer heroes on the block, Rhys Eichner or as he called himself, Bust Boy. Black framed orange lensed goggles covered his eyes. Two black earbuds sat in his ears blaring the sweet synthpop sound of the Eurythmics. He circled around the mountain looking for a hangar of some kind to land in, luckily they were expecting him. Near the middle of the mountains water facing side two large chunks of stone slid aside allowing him to direct his flightpath inside.

His rotors gave him a peaceful descent through a long tube, when his feet touched down on solid ground they seemed to implode into his body. He slid his goggles up onto his forehead and moved through the base, just in time to hear the call for cookies.

“Oh hell yeah.”

He took off towards the living room. He grabbed a handful and then proceed to start scarfing ‘em down. His feet brought him towards the green couch where he very promptly parked his posterior.

“Ya wanna know something hot stuff, if this whole hero thing doesn’t work out you could be a cook.”

He popped his earbuds back in, threw his legs up, and started jamming out. This time to the sick guitar rips and soaring vocals of Dragon Force.

(Will reply to this tomorrow morning)

The meager adolescent navigated the skies, Gallivanting the soaring winds with the velocity of her jumps. Civilians saw a rapid little green flash and an acute laughter that accompanied in her wake as she promptly made her way after accepting the message. That message was an invitation, not like the one of her previous meta academy that only sought high potential students, this was a step forward! An actual team! It fantasized her mind with adventures and future companions. Such a trance of eagerness to arrive told her it was a dream come true. It was too good to be true in fact.. Green had to see it for herself and the weird sensation that her smile gave off has confirmed it as she looked at the awaiting mechanical butler..

“You’re like..an actual robot? Right? Like those robots that suddenly came out of the ocean!” She was too excited and didn’t even give the caretaker a chance to reply back “They were massive! Except you’re not. Don't get that wrong, you’re still impressive BUT THEY WERE MASSIVE!” Her reach raised to the air gesturing how big the titans were. “Like way high!”First impressions. Nailed it. “Cool..cool” She was still trying to keep her deamenor, this was still serious stuff so she would hastily head to where the others were. Taking off her coat she gave it to the..what was his name? ProC3PO? Nevermind that.

“Ya wanna know something hot stuff, if this whole hero thing doesn’t work out you could be a cook.”

Examining the silly boy, he had silly looking armor, he gave a silly compliment. -Flirting?WERE TOO YOUNG TO BE FLIRTING! “So uh..Hi..Cookies...” She was a little shy, but attempted to taste one of the.. speedsters cookies? Was it made really fast? Would that affect the flavor? COULD IT POISON ME?!..Whatever. Couldn't hurt to try. She would of used her elongated tongue as an extra and easier way to access the consumables, but she didn't know if they would be comfortable with that. So she ungloved her hands and took a bite. "Hey! these are pretty good! No wonder he awkwardly tried to flirt with you."

@rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds@a-friend@stella_star

The Custodian smiled when she entered the base and thanked their robot guide. "Thank you Pronto." She told him and patted the robot lightly on the shoulder. "It's good to have a place to go again." She added. Since voices were coming out of one particular room she made her way there and slipped inside. A slight wave of her hand caused the door to close behind her, a simple manipulation of the door frame's gravitons to increase it's gravity pull until it pulled the door closed.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late." She smiled. "Awkward flirting and cookies? Sounds about right." She smirked as she overheard Little Green's last comment. She crossed the room and put a hand above the cookies. One of the freshly baked items floated up from the counter into her hand. "So..." She turned around so she was facing everyone. "My name is The Custodian, what about you guys?" She knew of course that most people expected her to have some other name but as a Binary she had only one, the one given to her by her creators to depict her purpose. She was a guardian, someone who watched over others. Specifically she was a custodian of worlds and she had worked with her brother, The Monitor, to identify troubled worlds and protect them. He was gone now and there was only The Custodian. She hoped that now she could begin to work with others again. For a Binary it was not just difficult, but emotionally painful to work alone.

@a-friend: @the_custodian: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @neuromind:

Marie receives a letter, but that's odd because she never gets letters. Making a slight frown, she opens it and she cannot believe what it says. She has to re-read the whole letter three more times in order for it to sink in. She checks with her sources and they confirm it's legit.

For the next three days, Marie thinks long and hard about the contents of that letter. Finally, she made up her mind because maybe this would be her chance to show the world she's not some filthy freak of nature. She may be a mutant, but perhaps by being a Hero of Tomorrow, she would be able to make her family proud of her and be accepted. Aside from that, it would go a long way towards helping other mutants worldwide. And so, Marie decided to go to Hero Mountain.

Marie goes under her own power of flight, dressed in a style that was entirely gothic or something very close. She takes off her hood and glances around, noticing the others are already here. Before she can speak to anyone, all of them are greeted by some kind robot that looked like it was straight out of a Star Wars movie. Marie liked Pronto already and she smirks at him even as the mechanical humanoid gave them a tour of the place.

But one of them, Stella, took her own tour. Talk about hyper active. Marie thinks to herself, but hey, no harm in that. Someone with that kind of speed probably can't sit still for more than a minute before going crazy. Hero Mountain was pretty big with plenty of room and lots of things to do. Depending on what the other teenagers are like, Marie could actually come to like it here.

After the tour, Marie sees Stella again with the announcement she was making cookies. Just then another Hero of Tomorrow arrives, late, and goes for the cookies. Marie supposes Bust Boy could always take his own tour later.

And then another one was late, but this one seemed to be...a little too polite? But who was Marie to judge, maybe they could become good friends. Who knows? Marie wants to make friends with these people, they'll be working as a team after all.

Finally, Marie took a deep breath, not used to socializing with others when it didn't come to helping them find a safe place, such as Noc Haven. Even in the underground Mutant group, Marie felt isolated and alone. So, she comes in where everyone else is at as silently as she can. She snatches a few cookies before they could be scarfed down by Bust Boy and sits down in a corner somewhere. Tasting one of her cookies, she noticed it was pretty good. She'd have to thank Stella later.

@neuromind: @the_custodian@a-friend@stella_star

"Woah, a robot!" A booming voice said, as gliding down from the skies came Joey Beckham. Now a man, the boy-god stood taller than all the rest of the would-be team, eyes shimmering with electrical energy, hair slicked back like a greaser. He turned to look at the others, before summoning the power of Zeus to strike down a bolt of lightning upon him- changing him back into his child form. Cracking his neck, Joey looked towards the robot, Pronto, and folded his arms across his chest. "I always wanted a robot."

The team concept was sketchy to Joey. He had attempted joining teams before, until it turned out that the teams in question were filled with losers, or phonies. At first look, it didn't seem like the team was anything special. Bunch of losers, he pondered. Or phonies.

OR LOSER PHONIES.

True, Zeus, they very well may be loser-phonies.

"My name is Joey Beckham, The Olympian, Destroyer of Worlds, Bringer of Justice, God of Wreckin' Plebs, Puncher of Exemplar, and Heir to Olympus." With a thumbs up, he soon after extended his hand to shake the robot's. "Now, fetch me a burger, with fries and a coke!"

@stella_star: @a-friend: @the_custodian: @renegade84: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

Pronto's mechanical head whirred as it bowed to all the children that had arrived.

"Dinner is at 7 Master Joseph, I will record your food order for then."

The robots head perked up, his eyes now glowing bright white and all other functions seemed to shut down. When the light faded his prerogative seemed to shift from dinner orders to something else entirely.

The sound of motors whirring outside the massive doors that lead from the mission room into the rest of the base seemed to be the cause. The mechanical guardian turned towards all of them, everyone seeming to go about their own buisness. It was almost chaotic the way the humans behaved, all the things going on at once and yet they stayed somewhat together as a race.

"Young Masters, it appears Master Neuromind is making his arrival. If you would all please follow me into the mission room."

Inside the mission room the massive Z-Stabilizer filled with a bright yellow light, stray beams shot out from behind the plexi-glass pannel that kept the z-particles inside. As the light and the sound began to die down the once empty chamber was now home to a bronze colored machine. Its metal boots made loud stamping sounds against the solid floor as it moved towards the group. It's green eyes stayed perfectly still yet, would feel as if they were scanning the room. It's movements stopped directly infront of them and the light sound of motors moving came from his now disassembling mask.

"Hello children, I'm Neuromind."

His hair fell from the confines of his helmet, long red strands landing atop the shoulders of his suit. His expression was kind and his tone was nice but, his face was still one that had seen war. It was very obvious that as a being Neuromind had been through more then anyone should. Still he kept a smile underneath his long red facial hair, his green eyes conveying nothing but joy.

"I'm glad to see everyone is here, the selection process was long and hard but, you were all chosen for one reason. You are some of the strongest and most dedicated super powered youths. Now you are a team and I hope you will all learn to work as one."

He outstretched his hands, he had read that this was a common gesture on Earth to convey a large area.

"This whole base is yours to use just make sure you don't trash the place. You can live here if you need to live here, if you don't plan on living here you will be issued a communicator. I will not personally be here most of the time and as such I would like to handle a few things while I have the time. Firstly were going to need a team leader, until you guys have worked together enough to decide who you think is best I will be personally choosing The Custodian."

"Second thing I would like to handle are questions. Any questions you have, now is the time to ask me."

@neuromind: @stella_star: @a-friend: @the_custodian: @renegade84: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

The Custodian followed after their host and witnessed the actual arrival of their host. Teleportation played crazy havoc with gravitons and it was a sensation that she knew none of the other students would feel or understand. Gravity hated teleportation, it hated the sudden appearance of something that suddenly demanded an alteration to the flow of its precious gravitons. She smiled a little as the sensation was created and then fled, it was like walking into a field of pure static electricity, minus the hair standing on end thing.

She listened intently, snacking on the cookie she'd taken earlier until he was finished. She floated the crumbs as they fell away from it so they wouldn't dirty up the floor any. She smiled when he selected her to lead the group, not entirely surprised given her level of experience compared to their relative ages. As a Binary, The Custodian was not particularly power hungry, but she was pleased that her abilities were recognized. "I appreciate the chance to help out." She said. "I think there's one question we should get out in the open immediately. Are we a no kill team? My preference would be yes, but it's your team sir."

@stella_star: @a-friend: @renegade84: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @the_custodian:

Bust boy's eyes rolled farther then human eyes should have when that random alien chick got chosen as leader. I mean yeah she was hot but, could she turn her hands into bigger hands NOPE. In his mind his powers were way cooler and when you couple that with his amazing leadership skills, Rhys considerd himself the most obvious choice. Obviously fire head over there didn't think so but, at least he would get the chance to assume his rightful position once he showed all these guys what he could do.

The chosen leader brought up a good question though, were they supposed to kill or just seriously mame. When it came to powers Rhy's were very hard to limit the power of, he was an asset best used for punching the crap out of big things that can tank hits rather then other people.

"I also agree that we shouldn't kill people but, what if it just happens. Sometimes when you hit a sack of flesh and bone with a big metal fist it doesn't make it ya know?"

@a-friend: @renegade84: @rhys_eichner: @the_custodian: @neuromind:

Stella pulled out the last batch of cookies when Rhys came in. In response to the compliment, she put her hands flat under her chin as if for a glamour shot, and said with a cheesy smile "Thanks!" Then abruptly losing that smile, she added "But if you call me hot stuff again, I will break your arm." Then came Green, who was equally enjoying the cookies, and to her remarks, Stella said "Dad's recipe, except I'm the one who made them taste good. These babies can make a man do unspeakable things."Another girl came in, and took a few cookies, but she was strangely silent. Stella didn't think about it much, but it did make her feel like there might be something more she could do to be hospitable. After that, the Custodian came in, a name that seemed odd to Stella, but not particularly unsettling. "Stella Johnson! Nice to meet you!" she responded.

It wasn't long after that, their leader arrived. Stella listened to his welcoming words, and when the discussion about killing came up, she opted to stay out of it. However, this was more out of embarrassment than respect, as her opinion was far less merciful. She instead had a question for Neuromind. Unsure of what was and wasn't too much to ask, she was rather hesitant and vague when she asked "Yeah, I have a question... Do we... have ways to find... people?" She didn't want to add who it was she was looking for, for fear of seeming selfish.

@stella_star: @rhys_eichner: @the_custodian: @neuromind:

Marie looked at Neuromind, barely paying attention to the other students at the moment even as she nibbles on her cookie. She briefly glances at the Custodian, glad that the team has a leader now. Not that Marie herself wanted it, because she didn't. She's more of a follower than a leader, she just hopes the rest of them can act like a team. More importantly, become friends.

The question the Custodian asks is a good one and regardless of the answer, Marie is not an assassin. She won't kill anyone if it's not necessary and she would prefer no killing at all. That's not what heroes do. The Custodian already has scored points with Marie.

Marie listens to the others asking their questions. After they have asked, she asks hers, speaking with a distinctive southern accent which is a give away as to where she's from, "With a team, we'll have disputes and arguments. That goes with the territory. Will you be handling them or the team leader?"

@a-friend: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @renegade84: @stella_star: @the_custodian:

Questions came in about killing, what to do in the event of emotional turmoil, new technology, and there was obviously a lack of a team oriented mindset from the one who was known as Bust Boy. It was to be expected that they wouldn't be able to work together from the start but, what struck him the most was that he had forgotten to cover the basic rules. Of course the children wouldn't know about them, he hadn't even brought them up. It was strange, he could multi-task and control a small army of machines but he forgot to tell them the basics. It was funny how the brain worked.

"Your questions have brought it to my attention that I forgot a quintessential part of having a team. I built the structure without laying the foundation, I forgot the ground rules. There are only a few but, following them will increase your chances of living by a very large amount."

His expression hardened, changing in a near instant from one filled with joy and happiness to one tarnished by war and sorrow.

"The goal of this team is to help alleviate some of the stress placed on the bigger heroes. You will handle terrorist organizations, criminal organizations, and villains that attack. In the event of any major incident your primary objective will become civilian casualty prevention and rescue. Following that, depending on the threat level being faced, you may be allowed to join the major fights. Now don't be mistaken, your not sidekicks, your heroes doing the jobs many costumed crusaders forget about. Now for the rules

Rule Number One, All orders from the team leader are to be followed.

Rule Number Two, my orders override the orders of the team leader.

Rule Number Three, you will not intentionally kill any threat, no matter how evil. In the event that lethal force is necessary the choice falls upon the team leader.

Rule Number Four, all internal team disputes will be solved by the Team Leader. In the event that she cannot handle the issue it will fall upon me.

Rule Number Five, striking a team member with intent to severely harm or kill them will be grounds for suspension from the team and possible eviction.

As for your question Stella, we do possess such technology however it is not an all seeing eye. We could not just randomly locate criminals that haven't been detected."

His helmet began reconstructing itself, the green eyes flaring to life as he turned towards the Z-Stabilizer. He stopped before getting in.

"I apologize that our visit had to be so short but, I have a lot of things to attend to. I'll be back when I can, please make yourselves at home."

The plexi glass door slid closed behind him, a loud thunk echoed through the room. A vacuum sound roared to life before the chamber was filled with a blinding yellow light. When it dispersed he was gone.

@neuromind: @a-friend: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @renegade84: @stella_star

"Huh...he sure does seem busy." The Custodian mused as their leader left almost as quickly as he'd arrived. "Alright, so everyone heard him I think. Accidental death happens sometimes so try to avoid it but I think everyone understands if you can't." The Custodian said, her gaze lingering for a moment on Bust Boy as she spoke. "So I don't think I caught everyone's names before except for Stella's. I'd like us to kind of introduce ourselves a little, I know it's cliche but it's hard to work with someone if you don't even know their name."

The Custodian smiled, a genuine and warm smile. "As I was saying before, my name is The Custodian. I'm a Binary and I can manipulate gravity and light. I used to work with my brother all the time, his name was The Monitor but he fell in love here on Earth and because of that, he lost his immortality and was eventually killed. I've come here because he loved this planet and I want to try and help protect it...because when we worked together, he identified places that needed protecting and I protected them." She tried not to let sadness creep into her voice but it was there in her inflection.

"I want us all work well together and if you guys have any questions or concerns we need to air out now I think this is a good time to do it."

The guy that showed up looked like some Fabio of machines as the helmet was taken off. It was majestic really. Maybe the gravitons still floating things..maybe it was the lighting..Whatever it was, it simply fabulous in her eyes. A real live hero! She was the type to be easily impressed even by such simple displays as her mind always looked for the good in things and this acceptance was almost like a buzz to her. It made her hyperactive in excitement as Neuromind began to talk down to them, not as little kids, but as genuine heroes of the future. Nobody ever did that and it only brought her more confidence. His tone was mighty and demanding, It made Little Green listen in amazement as the Fabio lectured them. Their bronze titan was stern and ruling that only the ascendancy of his role could acquire. No wonder people would follow him, he's kinda cool.. Taking out her notepad and started doting down the notes, she was a goody two-shoes who had always listened to her authorities, especially one as epic looking. As she understood it, they were to be labeled as a B-Team. No matter what it lacked in the eyes of the public, it was still an honor.

Then the recommended leader took the front and started to speak, no wonder he wanted her to be the captain. She took charge of the situation rather easily. Introducing herself she stated that 'her name was Custodian..or maybe it was Binary..No that's her race..Her name is janitor? No no. It was Croutonian like the salad..No that's stupid. It was Custodian..yeah!'' Listening to her back story, it was sorta like that movie Hancock. The film was cheesy but her situation was a lot more heartwarming, It showed the vulnerability and potential of what we were trying to protect. What we were called here for. It was an actual purpose that contrasted compared to hers just wanting to be like her childhood role models that inspired her. It made her feel a wee bit obsolete. Every big league champion that the world has known had a complex backstory about how they earned their prestige. Custodian was already well off on her way but Little Green? Just another good willed person I guess.

"I- I'm uh.. Nana Green..Translates to vegetable green.. Think my parents were trying to set me up for failure..aha. I guess I just got too much media attention and.. now i'm here." She gave a coy smile of invitation to another persons introduction. The spot light was a bit too much to handle for her.

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @a-friend: @the_custodian: @neuromind:

This Neuromind seema genuine enough, though he seems burdened by other cares and duties. A man who has definitely seen war, but not afraid to show that he cares. The man was honest and Marie liked that, but he sure didn't stand still for very long before leaving. The rules he mentioned will be remembered, Marie is good at remembering rules. Marie glances at Stella, wondering if there was some hidden meaning in what she asked. Then she watches Neuromind leave and finally takes the time to finish her second cookie. She will have to thank Stella later for them but not while everyone seems to be talking.

Then the fearless leader speaks. Strange names her race has, but so long as the Custodian can do her job, then Marie doesn't care what the woman calls herself. And then Nana speaks and introduces herself. Ah, yes. Marie had nearly forgotten about Ms. Hyperactive. The girl seemed to ooze out the goodie two shoes type, not to mention being positively cheerful. Nothing wrong with that, girls like her can become good friends.

Marie decides to speak up, "First, I'd like to thank Stella for the wonderful cookies." Marie offers the speedster a genuine smile, then she looks at the rest of them, "I'm Marie Taylor, some call me Renegade. It's not something I picked, but that's a story for another time. My power is Tactile Telekinesis, with it I can fly, simulate super strength, I'm bullet proof and I can fire telekinetic force blasts from my hands. Before this, I helped other mutants find a safe home. Yes, I'm a mutant and it's nice to meet you all."

Rules schmooles, Rhys was a free spirited type. The only rules he followed were the ones that stopped him from ending up dead and even then he barely followed those. While Neuromind was talking, Rhys was thinking of cool new machines he could have his nanomachines build. Well it was more like names for the machines, he had plenty of awesome creations floating around in his noggin just not enough names for all of em. Like the awesome idea to turn his hands into giant nunchucks and then hit people with 'em, or the otherone where he makes on hand into a big axe and the other into a shield and hits people with 'em. When the time came for their humble leader to finaly ditch the group of kids Rhys let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank go that guys gone, seems nice enough but WAYYY to many rules for me. Since were doing the whole name things I guess I should introduce myself, names Rhys but you can call me Bust Boy."

As he spoke his superhero code name his arms flexed and began to morph. His skin became metal, his blood replaced with oil, his hands shifted into giant orange and silver blocks. Each possessing two fingers and a thumb. He opened and closed the mechanical appendages before they morphed back into his regular gloved hands.

"My power involves taking the countless Knightfall Industries Beta Nanomachines that are fused with my body and making them do cool stuff like that. Those were my Knockout Knuckles but I got plenty more stuff in my arsenal."

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @neuromind: @the_custodian: @a-friend: @renegade84: @rhys_eichner: (On mobile. May edit later)

"Well, that wasn't much of a welcome." Stella mumbled, almost inaudibly to herself. In most cases, Stella would be the first to talk, but as she was still unsure if she really belonged here, she was hesitant to join the team's discussions. She did however find comfort when she heard Marie's undeniably southern voice speak. Stella spoke up finally, and said to Marie "Girl, are you from the south too? I think we'll get along just fine. Just as long as you ain't from Arkansas."

Having found her usual courage to speak, she said to the leader "Custodian! Is there something shorter? Like Todi? Nah that's weird. Custo? Nah, we'll work on it." She turned to Green, and tols her "Hey, Nana is a cool name if you ask . But if you like, we can just call you Green." Rhys' voice was one she'd only heard a couple times, but it was already getting on her nerves. If one were paying close attention, they would notice Stella inhaled sharply before she put on a fake smile when she spoke to the nanomachine wielder

"That sounds nice, Beans. Wait. It's Rice, isn't it? My mistake." She cocked her head to the side with her signature attitude, clueing Rhys in to how their future interactions would go. She glossed over the room again, and who would she see but Joey! She never forgot a face, and she definitely wouldn't forget a hero she worked alongside. even if it was only once. "Joey, what is up!" she said, right before pretending to punch his gut a few times, and holding a hand up for a high-five.

As the robot and his dapper creator left the group of youth, Joey turned around to them, grin almost as bright as the sun. Hands clenched into fists that rested on his hips, in a most super-heroic posture, he stood with the pride and defiance that came with super human physiology, despite how he lacked such now. He flexed, quickly, striking a pose. Glancing around, he noted each person's presence, with their strengths, backstories, sob stories, so on and so forth. After a while, it all seemed to blend together. With a finger gun, he addressed each member of the party, starting with the alien life form of the Custodian.

"That's a depressing story," he turned to Nana, finger moving with him all the while as he continued. "That's weird, that's dope," he stressed, speaking of Renegade now. "You're cool too, Ricecakes, and you are..." He waved an idle finger at Stella, not fully remembering her from their previous encounter. As someone who frequently dealt with metahumans, eventually they seemed to blend in with each other. "Ah, I'm drawing a blank here." He let the high five go unanswered, and turned back to the team, crunching into one of Stella's cookies mercilessly as he did so. Joey's eyes darted across the group, wondering exactly how useful they would be.

"So listen, I'm not entirely sure if you guys are necessary. Now don't get me wrong, teams are cool and all, but I'm sorta a god, in the polytheistic sense... So I vote me for team leader, as I'm naturally the ultimate choice." With that, he summoned a blast of mythical lightning, which transformed him into his adult, Olympian form, electricity harmlessly surging through him and around him, like a mystic aura. Joey grinned once more, his voice now echoing with the voice of Zeus.

"If it's ok with all of us."

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @neuromind: @the_custodian: @a-friend: @renegade84: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star

@renegade84: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @a-friend: @the_custodian: @neuromind:

"We're not selecting new team leaders until we've worked together long enough." The Custodian reminded Joey gently. She only smirked at Stella's attempt to come up with a nickname. "Sorry, but that's my actual name, not my nickname." She rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment and determined she needed to address Joey a little more completely.

"Joey I'm sorry, but you're not ready to lead a team yet. He chose me because he knows I have experience working with teams and I'm able to see the abilities of everyone here and how they could be useful in a situation. Joey, you were chosen because you're an obvious power house, something every team needs. I was selected for my experience and my ability to detain and restrict enemies, Stella was chosen because she gives us speed, a weapon a lot of bad guys can't cope with, Bust Boy here is a nanomachine swiss army knife, Green provides us with a moral compass and a unique power set that won't be accounted for in the plans of most villains, Renegade's powers make her a natural wingmate for you Joey or if needed, the ability to have power house type abilities in a different area of the battlefield."

She turned to Joey more fully, looking up at him for a moment. "You're a good guy and your powers are impressive, but you're not so powerful the rest of this team isn't necessary. In fact, they haven't made someone yet who's strong enough to never need help. So everyone, please remember that each person of this team is here for a reason and that more importantly, we need to have each other's backs. A skilled enemy will try to break us apart, fight us one on one and make us fall back on our egos rather than our allies."

@neuromind: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @the_custodian:

Rhys has some pretty cool powers, Marie had to admit. But it looks like he wasn't really a team player. She hopes that changes over time, he seems like a cool guy. Green was hyper, but in a good way. Marie likes her already. Stella looked to be the best potential here for a fast friend. The Custodian seemed to have her head screwed on straight with another possibility of beings friends there too. Joey seemed a little arrogant, but looked to have the true heart of a hero. Definitely the most powerful out of any of them. Even though Renegade could not sense the power within Joey, the moment he changed into his super powered self, she almost could sense the phenomenal amount of power coursing through his body. She makes a mental note never to get on the guy's bad side.

Marie smiles at Stella, "Yeah, I'm from the south and I think we'll get along just fine."

Marie covers her mouth to hide her smile, trying to hold in a giggle as Stella called Rhys beans then Rice. It was a bad pun, but funny. Soon, she successfully fought off the urge to laugh and managed to keep a straight enough face to take her hand away from her mouth. If Rhys caught her in the act, Marie looks away, "Sorry."

Then, when Joey calls her, Ricecakes? She hopes he doesn't call her that for now on. But, it's not like she can stop the guy. But at least he considers her cool. She has to admit, despite everything about him, he's cool too. And secretly, she admits, that his adult version is...wow...pretty hot... Is it getting warm in here?

And then Custodian makes a good case with a great speech. Marie nods in agreement. "For now, I agree with you. So, what's next oh fearless leader? Training before dinner, throw a party, order pizza? Wait, not sure we can order pizza. Not unless one of you has any money. Wait, maybe Pronto can make us pizza?"

"OH HELL TO THE NO"

Rhy's words exploded from his mouth like a gun with a stuck trigger, in his mind he had just been insulted and spoken down to by a kid like 8 years younger then him. His mind was angry and his mouth was even angrier. His massive mechanical hands shot outwards, one lone metal finger pressing against Joey's massive chest.

"You wanna get big kid cause I can get BIG. I hate to say it bud but, I refuse to take orders from a 10 year old."

With each word he jammed that lone metal finger against the large bolt of lightning on the kids chest. At the end of the day Rhys wasn't much of a team player and it seemed like this kid wasn't either. That was a step into his territory and now he had to assert his dominance as the teams number one not team player.

"Now, I agree with the pizza idea. Just make sure he gets baby boy here a bottle and a fresh diaper."

Rhys turned and made for the bathroom under the guise of having to wash his hands. Once he was safely inside and out of earshot he exploded with laughter. That was a diss he would have to put in his diss vault.

@renegade84: @neuromind: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @the_custodian:

To say The Custodian was not impressed with Rhys' reaction to Joey would have been a traumatic understatement capable of leveling entire mountains. "Allow me to make something very clear. No one uses their powers to threaten, rebuke or otherwise endanger another member of this team."

As she spoke, all pleasantness drained from her voice, replaced with cold ice from the depths of space. This was not a statement she thought was a suggestion, it more like a law, a statement that would be followed or there would be consequences. The Custodian had understated her powers since her arrival, gravity and light manipulation could mean any number of things. She'd left it out the details precisely because she wanted everyone to listen to her not because of her powers, but because of her ability to interact with each of them. When she saw the two boys blatantly displaying her powers, it only made her believe she'd made the right decision even more.

"Now, please everyone let's go to the training facilities. I don't want to jump head long into training but I would like to see everyone push their abilities a little bit, so that we can all see exactly what we're all capable of doing." She glanced over at Joey. "Joey, would you be so kind as to walk with me for a moment? I'd like to hear your thoughts on something." She'd already rebuked him once, she didn't want him to feel as if she were picking him out. She was well aware of how school teachers would sometimes tell a kid to stay behind to have a serious talk with them and how that was perceived by the other children. So hoped that by stating she wanted his thoughts on something it might instead make the others view him in a more positive light.

"I'm 15, and can throw North America into the sun. Lay off." Joey snapped at Rhys, as he walked off. What an asshole, he thought, as he turned back around, hands across his chest. Joey didn't need Rhys' approval. Joey wasn't even sure if he needed to be here. The team was composed of weirdos and assholes. Usually not the most stellar mix, especially for an A-list godly figure like his self. Running a hand through his greased black hair, he nodded as Custodian gave some brief directions. The training room should be fun, he thought, as he began to walk that way. However, suddenly, he was halted by the Custodian, who called out to him.

"Uh... Sure," He shrugged, walking over with her. Did he already get in trouble? I swear, if she starts lecturing me, I'm flying to the god damned Moon. "What's up?" Joey put on a smile, eyes glancing over to the group as they departed. He considered killing Rhys with a bolt of lightning, shrugged, and looked back once more.

@the_custodian@rhys_eichner

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

She motioned for him to walk with her and moved the two of them out of the room to make sure no one was around to listen. "You're really powerful" she started "and you've been around the block more than anyone here except for me. I could really use your help in getting everyone to work together as a team. I know you don't get along with Rhys right now and I know also that you aren't sure why you're here, some of these guys must seem pretty important up there on your mountain." She carefully wove a gentle rebuke into a request for aide, making it, hopefully, seem more like a friendly conversation than anything. "You know more about what's out there than anyone else, that could be really valuable to the team and to forging everyone into a cohesive unit. You're the kind of guy I'd like to see taking point but to do that you're gonna need to earn their trust." She touched his arm lightly. "That means a little more Joey and a little less big man on campus, you know what I mean? The more time you spend in your adult form on this base, the more they'll see you as an outsider."

The Custodian smiled a little. "Be one of the guys, talk about how much of a jerk I am in the break room or something, I dunno, whatever kids do these days." She said, intentionally acting older just to separate herself from the others a bit. She was technically older but at heart she was much as a teenager as the rest of them. She stopped walking and turned to face him completely. "We need to bond, we all do and we're all going to have a little bit of a hard time doing that. The only person I was ever good at bonding with was my brother and my perspective here is literally alien. I'm not going to be without fault in trying to get along with everyone, but I'd really like everyone to try to do it anyway, even though maybe some people are harder to get along with than others." She looked up at him and extended her hand for a handshake. "Help me out?"

Celestial forces summoned the marveled presentation. Instantly it had impede her thoughts, what she saw almost made her excitement peak and unleash a girly-squeal out of fandom. The champions well-polished personality had mounted the room in a bodacious tone. “Oh my god, he’s like that one guy who punched that other guy in the face!” She didn’t recognized his entry before, he was just a scrawny boy before with a cocky quiddity, but now? Standing before her was a well-known titan whose face had been imprinted into her mind.

Her bedroom before she moved in was filled to the brim with posters of role models and other heroes that inspired her. Pictures and articles that showed their defiance against the world’s villainy. Just on the tip of her memories she recalled the God boy having his very own poster betwixt the propaganda of the patriotic last guardian and the Gun hoeing, porn producing, mace smashing news articles of Luna Hawk.

In between such remarkable superstars was Joey. He had his very own place on her bedroom wall, a civilian camera picture that had the perfect still frame of a boy being imbued with lighting right before battle. A little boy just like her rushing into battle with no fears, absence of failure and amassed theatrical heroism that only the bravest of people had ever shown. 'Had they really compared me with him? Had they really chosen me to team up with someone so famous? All I did was show up on some national death arena and showed a little spunk, but did it really give me that much rep to bring me with his league?' She took off the metal shield off her back, it was hand painted just like Last guardians shield but with her signature, the color green. Looking at the little green reflection of her she answered her thoughts with a smile. 'Just maybe it’s a sign I’m going in the right direction'

She took this chance to be the academic. Writing off notes about the characteristics they represented.

Joey. Dramatic. Cool. totally not a leader tho'

Marie, Quite Polite, Telekinesis, can blast stuff, cool. Maybe our leader?

Rhys. Not a leader. Hah.

Stella. Fast or something. I think she was at the Gothic Invasion, but she was merely just a literal blur. She wants to call me Green. Cool. Maaaaybe a leader?

Now this Croutonian chick is all supply and demand. Most likely our leader. She was even recommended by our fabio, Neuromind.

"Now, please everyone let's go to the training facilities. I don't want to jump head long into training but I would like to see everyone push their abilities a little bit, so that we can all see exactly what we're all capable of doing."

"I think our scout here can show us the way" She remarked at Stella who has already explored the entire base.

@stella_star: @rhys_eichner: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @the_custodian: @a-friend: @neuromind:

As Marie watches Joey walk over to the Custodian, she thinks, Hmm, maybe he'll get his chance to earn his place as our leader. Could I be wrong about him? Ah, oh well. Time to find that out later. Rhys wasn't doing anyone any favors by getting angry at Joey, the guy has already proven he is not capable of leading this team in Marie's eyes. Jerk alert! Marie thought. Suddenly, Joey doesn't seem so bad in comparison.

When Stella failed to show them the way to the training room as Marie had hoped and upon Green's suggestion, Marie starts floating in the air, "I took the tour, so I know the way. Follow me!" And she takes point, leading them to the training area and goes in for a soft landing. Out of all the things Marie can do, flying is her favorite. Oh, the feeling of freedom she gets from flying!

Marie turns around and faces the group, "Just a suggestion, but let's wait for our fearless leader before we do anything." Then she walks up to Stella and offers her hand for a handshake, "So, what part of the south are ya from, sugah?"

"Excuse me but, last time I checked Mr.High and Mighty over here started it. Besides if I wanted to hurt him, I would've done it already ok madame president. Good to know that our 'leader' likes to play favorites. Lemme guess I can't step to him because I'm not a real hero right? Or maybe because, as this kid over here so aptly stated, I can't throw North America into the sun I'm not allowed to tell him off after he just brushed us all off...."

From the mass reactions of fan girling, idle staring, and friendly conversation starting Rhys was the only one who was offended. His nanites started to shift, his cells shaking as his body got angry.

"So I'm the only one whos upset that this kid just walked in here and brushed all of us off because he's a 'god'"Rhys threw extra air quotes in there to ensure nobody would miss his sarcasm."Nah right, I stand up for myself and get a lecture from our leader. So sure, lets train. But when you and Mr.I can throw North America into the sun get back, I got dibs."

Rhys fingers furled into balled fists and his black boots slammed against the stone floor as he stormed off. It made his blood boil that guys like that got to get away with whatever they wanted just because they got a bit of spotlight. Not to mention the nerve it struck when they underestimated him, for his whole life he had never gotten credit, never gotten respect, and he was always stuck on the sidelines. His mom treated her work as a child and Rhys as a thing she had to take care of and his dad took off before he was born to go bang some model from France. Now he had powers, he was a hero but, still everyone underestimated what he could do.

"Okay then, who wants to go first. I need to warm up.

DISCLAIMER: MY OPINIONS ARE IN NO WAY CONNECTED TO MY CHARACTERS. I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH ANY OF YOU OOC THIS IS JUST HOW HE WOULD REACT TO THOSE SITUATIONS.

@the_custodian: @a-friend: @renegade84: @rhys_eichner:

"Alright, listen. You're not my mom. You're not even an adult. And I'm not an idiot." Joey said, gruffly, crossing muscled arms across his chest. His eyes glanced past the Custodian, and then back to her, noting they were still alone. "But you have a point. So here's the deal. I'll bend over for you so that you can wear the Captain's hat and bring order to the team or whatever the hell you want to tell yourself. On one condition." He turned and started walking towards the training room, Zeus telling him what to say as he did so.

"Cut the crap."

Drawing his phone, he plugged in earphones, and put some rap on shuffle, stepping into the training room as he did so. A lightning bolt struck him, and once more, he was Joey the boy, not the man. Walking up to Rhys, he looked him dead in the eyes, Zeus' voice thundering in his mind, guiding his every step. "If you can't accept the fact that somebody on this team is better than you, then you don't deserve to be on the team. Learn your team's strengths, then their weaknesses, and then take the high road- and move on."Letting a bit of himself shine through once more, his smile came about once more. "Team strength. I can do just about anything better than anyone. Team weakness, I gotta take care of all y'all while I do it."

Teasingly, Joey tapped the center of Rhys' chest, and stepped back, summoning a blast of mystic lightning once more. Now a man again, he grinned broadly. "Now, you mentioned training?"

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds:@a-friend: @renegade84: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star:

The Custodian sighed after Joey entered the training facility. Great. So much for a first among equals happy time. Apparently I'm just another authority figure everyone can hate. She shook her head and headed for the restroom. There she changed out of her clothes, no longer feeling optimistic and eager to try and associate with everyone as just another one of them. Instead she pulled on her Custodian clothing and settled her visor into place. If they were going to train, she was going to be dressed for the part.

The Custodian walked into the training room in style, her eyes scanning over the room from behind her tinted visor as she entered, going over each individual member of the team, and the two...surprise...arguing boys.

I should invest in tape measures, these two are going to need them.

"Girls, these two are going to give us a show." The Custodian said.

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

Once again Mr.Big Boots thinks he runs the show, last time Rhys checked he wasn’t wearing the team leader badge. His mind was in the process of thinking up a witty retort when a bright flash of light engulfed his field of view. So not only did this kid insult him, he tapped his chest like he ran the place. Well not today he didn’t, Rhys didn’t even need the go ahead from The Custodian to throw down with this chump.

He didn’t wait for him to finish talking, he didn’t wait for him to get ready. Instead he jumped straight into the fray, his arms began to morph. Their color changed from his usual caramel to shiny silver. They grew in both size and length until he was standing with his Knockout Knuckles in full bloom.

“Punch Delivery”

His legs exploded him forward, his massive arm pulled back, and in a show of brute power and strength it flew forward. He aimed at that smug little lightning bolt on his chest, some dumb sign of power he wanted to extinguish. This was sparring so normally you hold back but, from the way this kid talked if he couldn’t handle the full force of his Knockout Knuckles he didn’t deserve to have a rib-cage.

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @a-friend: @the_custodian: @rhys_eichner: @renegade84:

Though the group had wanted Stella to lead them to the training room, she'd already vanished back into the kitchen. She could tell something was about to go down with the two testosterone tubes, so she'd gone to make popcorn for the girls. Placing the bag she found in the pantry into the facility's microwave, which was quite fancy, she closed the door, pressed a button, and watched it pop. hrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......... It was really quite boring. Like watching paint dry, except not. Finally, it was ready, she pulled it out, and zipped over to the training room, standing right next to the Custodian, where the first thing she heard was "Punch Delivery"Shoveling a handful of popcorn into her mouth, she asked the leader "What'd I miss?" speaking her mouth obnoxiously full. Remembering some of her manners, she tilted the top of the bag toward the Custodian, and said "Want some?" with food still muffling her voice.

@the_custodian: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

The question Marie tried asking Stella was left hanging in the air. So, she shrugs her shoulders and walks to one side of the room. Looks like she was wrong about Stella being a potential friend. Maybe she didn't want to be friends with a 'filthy mutant'. Fine, her loss. So, Marie walks to the far side of the training room, puts her back against the wall, plants her right foot against the same wall and crosses her arms as she watches the testosterone between the two boys in their pointless fight of dominance. Joey, who thinks he's better than everyone here and Rhys with Beans who is unwilling to be a team player. His obvious anger issues make him unsuitable to be a leader in Marie's mind.

Marie makes a bet with herself that Mr. Rhys with beans will last only a week and Joey, Mr. I can do everything better than you can, will last two weeks before he gets tired of babysitting everyone. But then again, with this turn out of events, Marie doubts she'll last that long but she's willing to give this a chance. They haven't even gone on their first mission yet and Marie wants to see how that will go before she decides to stay or leave.

(OOC: Thanks for the disclaimer Rhys. ^_^)

@renegade84: @the_custodian: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

"You missed her question." The Custodian answered with a bit of a smile. She floated some popcorn from the bag into her hand. "Don't get too relaxed, if the boys are going to test their mettle then so are we." She said and walked over to the center of the next combat arena. She stood quietly and ate the popcorn she'd levitated from the bag. The Custodian almost donned a different attitude when she was in her customary outfit. While many saw it as a costume, it was in fact a uniform and until she had come to Earth it was what she had worn exclusively. In her civilian clothing she would often drop the sass but not so while behind the visor.

"So let's go girls." She said with a smirk as she made a 'come at me' gesture with her hands, the palms already glowing with light. "Who wants to take the first shot? If you land one I'll tell Stella to make cookies again." Gods knew she wouldn't make them, no reason to show everyone just how incapable of cooking she really was. Despite her attitude it was clear there was no malice in her tone, nor any indication of anger. This was just who The Custodian was when dressed.

A sudden flash. The pitched clink of her camera went off as the delivery was announced. 'Oh good pose!' Her camera as the conductor saved the portrait of the teams first fight, a special picture of two boys testing their brawn while the girls ate popcorn and watched. It presented the typical fair of a teenage environment. They had powers, they were aliens, gods and mutants but that didn't change the fact that they were still kids. Perhaps this picture would have symbolism in the future, but at this very moment it was just fun, the extemporaneous event of playful jousting. Through the perspective of her innocent green eyes it was nothing short but the analysis on how this wonderful world worked. A summary of challenging yourself against something bigger than you, the test of grit, to achieve greatness in a spar against a god and the element of gravity.

But it wasn't the time for that. Green was an academic, analysis then react. Her power set didn't allow her to go on head strong she was malleable. Soft.. but flexible. "Not it!" With a finger on her nose and her spare hand in the sky, she declared the childs game of declining. As if it were a game of tag. She was no coward though, but a playful mind. Watching most of the bat hero vigilantes, they were detectives and eagle eyes in battle and had to adapt with the enemies tactics. This was no exception.

@rhys_eichner

Joey watched as the lame pun was made, and in the next moment, Rhys' fist was slammed against his chest, a punch that would obliterate any average human that felt it. Even the slightest metahuman would be decimated- there was no holding back. Narrowing his eyes, he stood unfazed, hardly budging as the fist continued to attempt to send him back. Slowly, he took a step back, just to get Rhys off of him, and reevaluated the situation swiftly, arms across his chest once more. "That was pretty good. But I don't think you're ready for this. Not built for someone like me." He flexed his hands, and then, Joey proceeded to zoom towards Eichner, fists raised.

Just short of the fellow teen, he halted, not going any further, fist centimeters away from Eichner's face. "I don't want to fight you. Because I don't want to kill you." With a brief nod, he lowered the fist, and turned around, uncaring if Rhys decided to strike again.

"Also, 'punch delivery' is kinda weak."

@stella_star: @a-friend: @the_custodian:

Marie waited for someone else to answer the Custodians challenge. Stella perhaps? The one who missed, or ignored, Marie's question? Surely, she was fast enough to land a blow. Green looked like she'd rather not try at all and that was fine. But seriously? No one took up the Custodian's challenge?

Tired of waiting, Marie rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath, "Oh for crying out loud..." So much for watching. Ms. Fleet of Foot would rather munch on popcorn than answer a challenge, or Marie's question, and Green didn't even want to try. Maybe Joey was right about the team after all...

Marie suddenly started flying at the Custodian, launching two TK force blasts to the right and to the left of the Custodian. The blasts were not meant to hit the fearless leader, but merely dissuade her from dodging to the left or the right while Marie played her next card. For all the world, Marie looked like she was headed for a head on collision with the Custodian. If her plan works, then the two TK blasts she just fired would mean that the Custodian has only one place to go to avoid being hit. Up.

If Marie's plan works and the Custodian flies up to avoid being hit by either the right or left TK blasts flying her way, then Marie would fly under her fearless leader, then perform a sharp turn and try her level best to slam the Custodian from behind and score a hit. Hopefully, this works, Marie hoped, but that depends on how good, and how caught off guard, the Custodian would be. Marie did try and launch herself at the fearless leader without warning.

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

Confidence, his massive orange fist soared through the air. Pride, the Knockout Knuckles made contact with that smug lightning bolt on his chest. Victo...no wait that's defeat. His fist came, it saw, and it failed to conquer anything really. He kept pushing, trying to at least get him to slide back. Try and wipe that cocky smile off his face, instead he just took a step back. At the moment, Rhys was pushing forward with all his weight. Joey's unmoving body inevitably, and unknowingly, became the object supporting the body of Bust Boy. When Joey took that casual step back he also unknowingly threw Rhys off balance leading to one of the funniest and most deserved face plants in the past 24 hours.

Now Rhys was pissed, he was mad before but at this point you could almost see the smoke rising from his ears.

"You think you can just pull that sh** and get away with it. No, I'm gonna show you..."

His massive hands planted themselves onto the hard stone floor, with a mighty heft he was on his feet, already in attack position. His arms began to shift, swelling and compressing as they warped from the two handed Knockout Knuckles to the right arm exclusive battle blade. It's edge gleamed in the fluorescent light.

"my cutting edge jokes"

BOOOM a powerful rush of wind slammed into the Beta Nanite Manipulator's body, his balance was thrown off once again and his ass met the floor in a hurry. His construct shifted back into a regular hand, saddled with the anguish of loss and defeat. He didn't stand a chance, Joey didn't even have to touch him to knock him down. Overwhelmed with emotion and regret Rhys brought and open palm against his forehead with a big sigh.

"Hey Joey, what I said earlier, I guess it was a little out of line. It's just that you came in and were all like 'I'm better then all of you' and I hate being underestimated so I got a lil upset ya know. You seem like a cool kid so maybe, we could be friends at some point."

He held out a fist gesturing for the customary signal of peace among teens, the fist bump.

The Custodian was impressed with her speed and the fact her attack wasn't telegraphed. Her options were quickly limited and the Custodian did just as Marie expected, she levitated herself up quickly so that Marie would have no choice but to go under her. It was here the Custodian's experience came into play. She anticipated an attack from behind and swiftly spun to face it. The Custodian's natural ability to read gravitons informed her of the attack at the precise moment it was beginning, it was not quite precognition but it was very, very close. It gave The Custodian the kind of reaction time necessary to make it seem as if she knew the attack was coming before it was launched.

Ordinarily there were a number of attacks she might have used, but she wanted to test Marie's strength as more than she wanted to avoid being hit, so she resorted to the method that would tax the other girl the most. The Custodian remained in position and reached out with her mind. Gripping the localized gravitons she suddenly increased the gravity of the area immediately surrounding both The Custodian and Marie. The increase in gravity was localized to the floor and with the intent of making Marie's flight extremely difficult.

The world would suddenly feel much heavier to her, it would take four times the effort to continue keeping herself off of the ground as the Earth's gravitational pull suddenly multiplied in strength significantly. Marie's body would feel as if it weighed four times what it weighed now and the pull would result in a corresponding need for more strength to even throw the intended punch, let alone move forward or stay off of the ground. As for The Custodian, her finesse with gravity was sufficient to leave herself a little bubble of normal gravity and thus allow her to continue levitating with ease. If Marie proved strong enough to overcome the sudden change in the Earth's pull she'd be pleased, yes it would result in her loosing the challenge and being hit, but it would tell her just how strong one of her team members was. This is about testing our limits, not bragging rights.

@the_custodian:

Marie grinned to herself as the first stage of her attack worked, but then quickly grew dismayed when she saw the second stage of her plan failed and Marie slowed down dramatically as the gravity around her started increasing. Knew this was too easy...wait, what is she is doing to me?! I feel like I weigh 50 tons! But Renegade began to feel even heavier as the gravity increased even more. Clenching her teeth, she tries harder and harder to stay in the air, her fist pulling back for a punch but it was like moving through molasses.

Marie began to sink as the gravity begins to pull her down slowly towards the floor, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead as she pushes against the graviton field now with everything she has. If she were flying without this gravity field hindering her, she'd be flying at Mach 5, which is her absolute maximum speed that Marie can fly. But as Marie was sinking, she was also getting a little closer to the Custodian. Slowly, however. Marie starts stretching forth her hand, wanting so much to touch the Custodian's leg. But still she was sinking through the air, slowly sinking.

Suddenly, Marie gets an idea. Her TK force blasts aren't limited by Graviton fields, they are a power of the mind. The Custodian couldn't manipulate that. At least, I hope she can't. Marie thinks to herself. Opening her eyes and looking straight at the Custodian, Marie fires off a blast of pure Telekinetic force and as close as Marie is to the Custodian, it was at point blank range. This was the last move Marie had to score a hit, otherwise, she'd better hope she was lucky enough to get in close enough to touch her fearless leader.

@renegade84: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

Telekinetics as pure energy was harder to manipulate, over a longer range she'd have been able to warp its path with extensive gravity but at this range there was simply no time for it. She had only time enough to brace herself as the blast struck her in the chest and sent her flying backwards. She slammed into the wall and dropped to the floor.

The Custodian pushed herself to her feet after a moment and wiped a bit of yellow blood from the corner of her mouth onto the back of her hand. "Good." She smiled, apparently neither significantly hurt nor upset at the loss. "It's thinking like that we're going to need in the field." The gravity began to gradually let up on Marie, allowing her to reduce her efforts to fly so she wouldn't go suddenly crashing through the building. Hoping to lead by example rather than make another speech she walked over to Marie and offered to help her up off the floor with her gloved hand. "I like your style."

@the_custodian: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

YES! Marie had done it! As she watches the Custodian fly back from the hit, Marie couldn't stay aloft anymore. She landed on the floor as she watched the Custodian wipe...yellow blood from her mouth?! Huh. Interesting.

More satisfaction came when the Custodian praised her for a job well done. Marie was getting tired of resisting the gravitational pull and was about to ask for relief when she felt the gravity around her gradually decrease. When it did, Marie let herself fall completely to the ground and on her chest. It was tiring work to resist such a force and her whole body felt strange. But soon enough, the gravity was gone and Marie felt like she weighed as much as a feather.

Seeing the offered hand, Marie takes it and stands to her feet with a smile, "Thanks, sugah. I like your style too." And Marie knows now that this is the beginning of a friendship between her and the Custodian, regardless of what happens now. Marie also hopes that she has been an inspiration to Green and Stella to step up to the plate next time and give it a try.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Rhys offer a hand to Joey for a handshake in an offer of friendship. She hopes Joey has some modicum of sense to accept it.

@renegade84: @a-friend: @rhys_eichner: @stella_star: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

(I'll give it one more day before I make another post, I know some of you are busy at the moment)

"Yeah, whatever. Just know who does what on the team, knowwhati'msayin?" Joey shrugged, as he shook Rhys' hand lightly. Now, turning away, he said one more remark- "We're not friends though. You're an asshole." With another shrug, he transformed to his smaller self, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"So are we gonna do hero stuff, or am I wasting my time here?" Narrowing his eyes, Joey glanced around, eager to do something. These people were ok, but Joey couldn't handle having idle hands.

@renegade84: @the_custodian: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds: @stella_star:

(Im currently in the process of planning our first real mission. Just gotta get some details worked out.)

@neuromind: @the_custodian:(OOC: Plus, Puppet AKA Stella Star tells me they are dropping everything but the tournament. No idea if he/she plans on coming back soon)