Forums » General Roleplay » Official Event: Spring Masquerade

For weeks, the airwaves had been filled with ads. TV spots, radio spots, even a holo-billboard in Times Square. The gist was --

Are you a SUPER problem solver with lots of experience?
Just discovered that you have powers and are afraid to use them without training?
Want to tackle problems too big for one super?
Everyday citizen who has questions about what it means to have a super in YOUR family?
Come to the spring SUPER POWERED OPEN HOUSE for the all new Super Group HQ!!!
(Please wear a mask whether or not you have a secret identity so as to normalize mask-wearing for those who need them for safety)

That morning, many citizens, super and non-super alike, woke to find a package at their doorstep, containing a small wrist-watch with a single button. A tag in the shape of an arrow declared with neon-excitement: "PRESS ME FOR TRANSPORT"

And indeed, the transporters in the newly built Super Group HQ were wide-open and ready to bring visitors from all over the world - perhaps even the multiverse?

Kavita - better known by her super-psuedonym Datura - waited anxiously in the middle of the gleaming chrome lobby, giving her mask one final adjustment. She'd been working for years to make this center for supers a reality, and now, it's finally here. Think of all the difference that could be made in the world!

The real question now was... would anyone come?

The massive lobby is octagonal in shape, with a sky-light dome and a large garden/koi pond built right into the center. The walls flash with high-tech holo displays, boasting information on match-making for super teams, finding the perfect villain or problem for your super-team to tackle, and emergency coping techniques for when your newly manifested powers are just getting to be too much to control.

The western side of the lobby sports two state-of-the-art training bays for testing super powers and honing instincts under safe conditions.

Green, yellow and pink balloons are doing their best to make the space look festive despite how out-of-place they obviously are next to all the high-tech kit.

"You really think we're going to find the guy we're looking for.... here?"

The young woman seemed to be speaking to no one in particular as she stepped out of one of the transporters, quickly analyzing the lobby from under the glimmering turquoise mask she wore. The rest of her attire didn't match so well, consisting of an open leather jacket over a teal t-shirt bearing the logo of an unfamiliar band, dark jeans and tall dark brown boots.

"Of course." A small voice spoke, presumably coming from an earpiece. "This is supposed to be a gathering for anyone and everyone who might have inhuman abilities--your specialty."

"Not much of a gathering." she commented, looking around at the near-deserted room.

"Oh nonsense, it's still early. There's plenty of time for others to show up so you can mingle."

"Oh, great. Mingling. My favorite."

"And besides--you might find the seminar interesting." the small voice continued. "You know, perhaps you'll even find a partner who'll be able to keep up with--"

"I don't know about that." she interjected quickly.

Datura started as the transporter suddenly activated, catching her mid-munch on a little piece of cheese stuck on the end of a toothpick. Hurriedly, she swallows, pockets the toothpick, and hurries forward with a grin. "Welcome, welcome! You have the honor of being the first to arrive. I'm known as Datura. I'm the founder of this facility. What should I call you?"

The girl didn't say anything right away, her raised eyebrows giving the impression that the woman's sudden appearance had surprised her. She played with the aquamarine-set ring on her finger for a few moments, trying to come up with the right words.

"Er... Zyn. I go by Zyn." she said. "Nice to meet ya."

"So, ah... fancy place you've got here, huh?" she said a few moments later, vaguely waving an arm at the facility. "Mind giving me a bit of a tour? Know it's a bit much to ask, but I've never been great at navigation."

Datura nods, repeating the name to herself to remember it better. "Zyn. A pleasure to meet you, Zyn." She glances around herself, unable to suppress her grin of pride. "Yes, I suppose it is a bit fancy! I would be well pleased to give you the visitor's tour. May I ask, what brought you here today? That might help me to better focus what we see."

"Oh... er..." The girl trailed off for a moment. "...Guess I'm interested in knowing if you have some sort of index of information on the different types of superpowers people can have? I'm... not one myself, but I run into lots of those types on the job."

"...And I've heard you have a VR training room? Been dying to try one of those." she added, a slight grin appearing on her face.

Datura raised an eyebrow beneath her pink mask, a wry smile of amusement twisting her lips. "Superpowers people can have? I'm not sure a comprehensive list of what powers can be had exists, or could exist, as new ones could crop up at any time. But known super powers that have been identified in the present and past, yes, those exist, and we have several. What sort of job do you have?" She pauses, "Yes, we do have training simulators! They're still all shiny; hardly anyone has used them yet. Would you prefer to start there, or with the information?"

Sylyntz was more than a little unsure as to the extent of their usefulness in their current mission; after all, they were not exactly designed for social interaction. Still... their creator was awfully busy. And their creator had assured them that the need to attend the event and record the proceedings for future review was important enough to at least attempt. Thus, here they were, strange wrist device fastened to their belt, ready to dive into the unknown.

Sylyntz coaxed the small laboratory helper robot closer through their mental interface, then aimed its little claw toward the button on the device, and...

And here they were. Disorientated by the sudden change in environment, they shuffled from paw to paw as though regaining lost balance. Behind the camera recorder 'mask', their singular eye darted around unseen, taking in as much of the surroundings as they could. At the very least, this looked to be the place. But arrival was just one step in what was a rare lone excursion. The distorted whirling pattern on the lens of their mask swirled as though changing focus in a test of the camera's functionality. So far, so good...

"My job?" she echoed. The traditional excuse jumped to mind, but there was no way that would work here. She was standing in a building for superheroes, for goodness' sake.

"I'm sort of a.... detective." she commented. "It's my job to protect those with supernatural--er, 'superpowers' from those without, more or less. There's a high concentration of them where I come from. And quite an unruly few."

"Info would be great, but..." her grin grew a little wider as she looked over to the training simulators. "I've got to take a whirl on one of those."

Her gaze shifted from her host to the transporters as they glowed brightly, admitting a small, furry, robot-alien... thing.

She didn't exactly notice she was staring, but she couldn't help it. She'd seen some weird stuff in her day, but... nothing like that!

As one teleporter flashes on for Sylyntz, a second turns on almost simultaneously one to the left. From this one emerges what appears to be a camera-ready teenage girl. Her costume is white-silver, with bright pink accents, and there's a large pink V emblazoned on her chest. Her blond hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, every strand seeming to gleam, the ends curled into absolutely perfect ringlets - not so tight that they look created with a curling iron, though surely coiffes so artistic must have been done by a stylist. Behind her mask, her eyes have perfect winged eyeliner and a dusting of eyeshadow, a swipe of perfect mascara. Her lips have juuust the right amount of lip-gloss to enhance without looking too immodest to be becoming of a teen star. She projects an air of being just about to burst into a pop song, or perhaps lead a perky cheer. She looks around with a smile that's half shy, half eager, carefully slipping the watch device off her wrist and into a pouch on her pink utility belt - the watch device clashes with her outfit, and she can't be photographed that way! Almost by instinct, she gravitates toward the camera strapped to Sylntz' face, giving a cheery wave.

Datura glances back toward the teleporters as they go off, her grin widening as she realizes that she has even more guests arriving. "You protect superheros from non supers? That's an extremely worthy service that you provide. Not everyone who manifests a special talent is capable of self-defense, and it's true that there are those who are frightened by what they don't understand. Who employs you, or is this a more... personal calling?"

With a wave, she beckons the two newcomers over to join them, "Hey there! Come join us, we were just going to do a bit of a tour."

“Hey, am I too late to get in on this tour?” April asks as she stumbles in while trying to get her mic turned on. “I heard there were going to be some interesting people and happenings here.”

The distraction of the camera-fond fellow guest almost made Sylyntz miss the words aimed at them. It was with luck, then, that a quick stock-take of the currently present guests caught the visual of lip movements and allowed the genetically engineered helper to read the bulk of the sentence. Before they moved, however, their attention briefly returned to their arrival buddy, for whom they considered activating their hand drone to return a wave, but thought better of spending precious battery power so early in the day. Thus instead, they wiggled their antennae in an emphatic manner, then stepped away from the teleporter and toward the other occupants of the room. Though they made sure as to keep their eye on as many of the individuals here as possible, their attention gravitated primarily to the one who had addressed them, assuming they were the authority here. That was not to say their attention could not be diverted by one who sought it, of course. But they did not want to miss any important information. They were thankful that their creator did not share their own sensory limitations, however, and were glad that their recording equipment was - hopefully - recording sufficient sound for their boss's future evaluations.

Finding the weird... camera drone furry creature mute but friendly, the teen tosses a dazzling smile toward it, striking a bit of a pose as if she's only too aware that she's being recorded, and she knows exactly what to do about it. Then, with a perky toss of her hair, the girl saunters over to Datura and Zyn. She appears to be... slightly sped up as she does so. Not a blur of speed, no, but as if one is watching a recording of her that has been sped up by half. "Hi! You probably know who I am, but just in case, I'm Vector. Nice to meet you all."

"No, of course you are not! Welcome, miss... ?" Datura lets the sentence trail off, allowing the newly arrived woman to insert her name. Then, she blinks, realizing that April must be with the local news. "Oh! What a pleasure! What station are you with? Are we live right now?" Datura glances down toward Sylyntz, nodding encouragingly to him as he approaches. To Vector, she gives an arched eyebrow. "Oh! Yes, nice to have such a big name with us. I go by Datura."

"Ah... no one you've heard of, I'm sure." she began, fidgeting with her ring a little more at this statement. "It's a local joint. If they think you've got what it takes, they just... kinda show up and give you the job offer."

The woman's questions were oddly direct, and Zyn had probably already said a bit too much--thankfully, that's when she beckoned others to join them.

"Vector." she echoed, giving a friendly nod to the girl. Truth was, she had no clue who she was, but she had heard a rumor that there would be guests from other dimensions here--that had to explain it. "I'm Zyn. Pleased to meet you."

Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the news reporter--the idea of being on television made her a touch nauseous. She cleared her throat and turned her gaze slightly, not wanting to look into the camera face-on.

Teleporter definitely saved them the walkover they supposed, not that they were in much of a rush anyway. The only reason they were here was that there was a bit of a drought of crime back home. And thus they found themselves with all sorts of free time to attend this rather unique party the voices had been talking about for a while now. It is rather hard to forget something when you're consistently reminded of it. "Not really my taste-" he spoke as he first appeared and took in the high-tech decore "But that might simply be me being old fashioned in the way I prefer things. The press is already here even, best make myself known then before a quick slide into irrelevancy."

Vector glances over toward the new arrival, giving Seraph a wave. "Hey, you're just in time. I hear there's going to be a tour."

As Sylyntz reached the location the gathering was seemingly emigrating to, they released the hand-shaped robot holstered in their belt, sending it rocketing into the air above the other guests. There, it slowly rotated in a manner that would make little sense to those unaware that it contained a camera within its palm. Thankfully, Sylyntz had the mental capacity to simultaneously observe from both perspectives, making sure to get a good look at the contents of the room whilst also eyeing the other occupants for any signs of important conversation. Once they were satisfied, the drone returned to its holster with all the footage of this particular room that Sylyntz really needed.

Zyn hadn't heard the words of the newcomer, but irrelevancy sounded pretty good to her right now. She cleared her throat again softly and took a few steps back, intending to make her way to the back of the crowd but instead nearly bumping into Seraph.

"Ah--sorry. I'm a klutz." she said, with a slight laugh.

She was quickly distracted by the little robot Sylynth held, watching it fly into the air and spin before dropping back down to it's owner.

"That's pretty cool." she commented, to no one in particular.