Thevshi

"Front page blub and headline on the sports section? That certainly sounds like an accomplishment to celebrate." Megan replied with a broad smile. As Kyle continued to talk about his friends a bit more, and mentioned his "career ending knee injury," Megan suddenly realized why he had seemed familiar. "Wait, your Kyle Conners right? My older sister once told me about how easy you made it look to score touchdowns when you were in high school during the game against North Bay Academy the year your team won the state championship." She paused a moment, then gave him a more sympathetic smile. "I also remember reading about your knee injury. I'm very sorry." When Kyle shifted the subject back to Megan and what she was doing, the young blonde understood that he likely did not want to dwell on the issue of his injury. "I'm interning with the economics group at Summit Transnational." She replied. "It's part of my final semester for my economics degree."

Megan noted Kyle's comment about his right knee causing him a bit of a problem, so she made a mental note to keep that in mind while they danced. A few moments later, they were out on the dance floor, with Megan quickly finding the rhythm of the music. Her smooth, graceful motions the result of years of dance and cheerleading. As Kyle moved a bit closer and leaned in slightly to try to talk over the loud music, the attractive blonde slowed down some to stay facing him so she could hear. At his question, she gave a small grin. "I wouldn't say that gimpy," she glanced down a moment before looking back up, "certainly fit." "But I just started an internship and am here with some co-workers, and this is the place for young professionals." "How about you and your friends?" She then asked, nodding slightly in the direction of the table where Kyle and his friends had been gathered. "It looked as if you might have been celebrating something."

Megan watched as the guy who asked her to dance made his way over to meet her halfway. He was certainly good looking, with a muscular build of an athlete. There was certainly something familiar about him, but she could not quite place what it was. "Only one dance?" She replied as she arched an eyebrow slightly. "I'd say were not being presumptuous enough." She then gave a broad smile of her own. "Thank you for the drink. I'm Megan." She then turned back towards the dance floor, as she added, "I certainly hope you're ready to dance.†"

By the time Megan had finished her first drink, the young blonde was catching Lin up on some of their mutual acquaintances at Yale. Hakim and Alan had gone over to talk to some people from Rath & Stromberg who they were working with on an acquisition. Karina had spotted someone she knew from Dartmouth, and had gone over to talk to him as well. When the drink was delivered to Megan, along with a note from the sender, Teresa perked up an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, who's attention have you attracted Megan?" Megan looked up in the direction that the waitress had indicated as the source of the drink. "One of the group over there." She replied, indicating the table where some of the guys she had pegged as ex-jocks were still gathered. Taking a large sip from the new drink, she then stood up. "I was ready to get out on the dance floor anyway, anyone else interested?" "Not just yet, I'll be out in a bit though." Teresa replied. Lin and Halim both also declined. Taking off her jacket and placing it over the back of her chair, Megan glanced back over towards the ex-jocks table and nodded towards the dance floor with her head as she started in that direction.

After the toast, the group went back to socializing, with the others each sharing a humorous story or two about the beginning of their time with Summit. But it was not long before the main focus of the conversations turned back to Megan. As the new one to the group, save to Lin, who had been a year ahead of Megan at Yale, the others wanted to get to know her better. The nightclub continued to get busier, as more and more young professionals arrived from work. During one of the moments when the conversation was not focused on her, Megan took a moment to glance around the club at some of the other patrons. There were quite a few other groups that looked like the one she was with, if not always as diverse. In one group, she thought she recognized a few associates from her father's law firm. At another table there was a group that stood out slightly from most of the others in the club. The guys in the group certainly looked to Megan like athletes, or at least former athletes. The dance floor was starting to get a bit more crowded, and the beat of the music was certainly making Megan want to get out there as well. But there is no rush, it still early, so plenty of time. She thought as she focused back on the others' conversation.

Okay TK, Voltage easily hits Mindfire, and she only makes a 21 on her toughness save, so she is bruised and dazed. So yeah, he easily figures out who Mindfire is, and information on what her abilities are. She is wanted for a number of murders in Emerald City, and even more assaults. She is high on AEGIS wanted list in Emerald City, and has hospitalized and/or tortured a number of their field agents. Voltage is also able to locate a report by a AEGIS field analyst that identifies her true name to be Emma Jeffries and that she appears to have spent some time in some exclusive psychiatric hosptials for most of her adolescence and early adulthood paid for by her deceased father, former mob-lawyer, Michael Jeffries. You also get info on Bonebreaker (the big guy), who is also wanted for a long list of crimes. He is known to be superstrong (able to lift over 300 tons) and very, very tough. (I will think up some more information on him as well to add).

Okay, thanks for the clarification, wanted to be sure what he was using. In any event, you have initaitive for the first round :)

Megan's outfit.

OOC for this thread.

Friday, January 4th 6:32 PM Megan Howell stepped through the entrance of the Millennium nightclub alongside several of her co-workers from Summit Transnational Group. Today was the end of the first week of her internship with the international equity firm, short though it was, and she was out for a bit of socializing with some of the other twenty-something members of the Summit economic team. Having come straight from Summit's headquarters in the Wading Way, the seven young professionals were all dressed in business attire. Megan was dressed in a black St. John Collection shimmer boucle satin dress, with matching jacket. The club was filled with the heavy sound of base from the latest dance music, though the dance floor was currently almost entirely empty. The interior was futuristic, sleek and stylish, with green, red and blue neon lights throughout, which bathed the smooth lines of the décor in a wild pattern of colors. The bar and lounge areas were currently quite busy, and Megan knew that it would only be getting busier as more young professionals made their way in for drinks to end the week. The new arrivals looked around for a moment, before heading over towards an open table near the dance floor. They had not been seated long before a waitress came over to take their order. "This round is on me." Stated one of the group, Hakim Samid. After ordering her drink, Megan took a brief moment to consider her companions. They were a rather diverse group. There was Hakim, who was from Saudi Arabia; Karina Romankow, from St. Petersburg, Russia; Teresa Johnson, an African-American woman from Atlanta; Lin Zhang, who hailed from Beijing; Halim Raviraj, from Mumbai; and Alan Lee, an Asian-American from San Francisco. Like Megan, Hakim and Karina came from wealthy families, while most of the others were from more middle class families. However, despite these differences, they also had similarities. Each had attended Ivy League schools, or their UK equivalent. They were also all highly motivated success driven individuals. Megan was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Teresa's voice. "So Megan, you grew up in Freedom City right?" Looking over at the slightly older young woman, Megan gave a small nod. "That's right. Lived in North Bay my entire life." Megan talked a bit about herself, answering some questions about what it was like to grow up in a city where superheroes were so prevalent. It was not long before the first round of drinks arrived and the group was toasting the start of Megan's time with Summit.

Velocity (70 total) Whirlwind New Year's (16) This Will Do, For Now (1) Midnight Society Holiday Party (10) Happy Hour (7) Date With Destruction (12) Time and Chance (9) Playoff Pot Luck (10) Just a Taste (2) Lunch Time Meeting (3) Tsunami (23 total) Danger in the Lost World (8) Ace in the Hole (3) War of the Worlds (6) Disco Inferno (4) Red and Blue, water and fire (2) GM (63 total) [Okay, if my counts have been correct above, I will add 27 of these to Tsunami (giving her 50 posts) and 30 to Velocity (giving her 100) and, I don't really need the rest. If something is off and I can't reach that level for both, I still want Tsunami to get 50] Date With Destruction (5) Stop the Presses (11) Sifting Through the Ashes (45) Just a Taste (2)

Vancouver, British Columbia [11] Megan skimmed across the surface of the Strait of Georgia as she approached Vancouver, British Columbia. Soon she was passing through English Bay on her way to False Creek, the inlet right next to downtown Vancouver. That was where she would find the Granville Entertainment District, and her destination for this stop. Megan had initially struggled a bit when she had tried to decide where to stop here in the West Coast time zone. There had been a number of choices, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Los Vegas. But Megan had really wanted to visit at least one place in Canada, and this was her last chance for that, so it had not been hard to settle on Vancouver, BC. But then the question had been where to go in the city. There had been a number of choices there as well, but then Megan had happened upon the Republic Nightclub's Masked New Year's Eve event. And that ended any uncertainty about where to go to ring in the New Year. Speeding through the streets of downtown Vancouver, the young speedster soon arrived at the Granville Entertainment District, the seven square block section of Granville Mall that was known for its bars and nightclubs. As Megan came to a halt in front of the Republic, she could hear music echoing from inside the club. Luckily the event required tickets, or Megan would likely have found a line to get into the popular nightclub. Her ticket had been rather reasonable, even though she was only going to be here about an hour. The main floor of the club was a large room with soaring ceilings, a large dance floor and a bar that ran almost the entire length of the room. Megan smiled slightly at the sight of all masked revelers who were crowding the areas around the bar, or packed together on the dance floor. Up on the second floor was the lounge area on balconies overlooking the main floor. Megan had read that there was also a glass enclosed patio overlooking the street on the upper level that had its own dance floor, bar and DJ. After taking a moment to take in the venue, Megan moved her way into the crowd, barely getting a second look from the other masked revelers she passed. It was not long before she was out on the crowded dance floor. As tired as Megan had been starting to feel, the energy of the club helped reinvigorate her, as her movements quickly matched the music's rhythm. Time slipped by for Megan as she let the music guide her, and forgot most everything else. Before she knew it, the DJ had stopped the music as glasses of champagne were being passed to toast the rapidly approaching New Year. Megan took one of the glasses, as she waited for the start of the final countdown. She did not have long to wait, for soon the DJ was leading the club in counting off the final moments of 2012. Megan yelled out each of the final ten seconds, her voice lost among the hundreds of others in the room. As they reached zero, the crowd yelled out "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and the room was filled with confetti and a laser light show began as the DJ started the music back up once again. Out on the dance floor, Megan joined those around her in downing her glass of champagne. She was then dancing once again, ready to spend a bit more time in the festive atmosphere of the club. However, she was a bit more careful to keep an eye on the time, as she did not want to stay so long as she would miss the arrival of the New Year in the next time zone. At about thirty minutes past midnight, the speedster reluctantly maneuvered herself off the dance floor and began making her way towards the exit so she could continue on to her next stop.

Internet flier for the Republic Nightclub's Masked New Year's Eve event.

Yuma, Arizona [11] After leaving New Orleans, Megan headed west, crossing the southern part of the United States until she reached Arizona. Her destination was in the southwestern corner of the state, not far from California. It was not long before she had arrived at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. This was the last of the destinations that Captain Thunder had helped arrange with the Pentagon. While located near the town of Yuma, the air station was otherwise rather isolated. Because of this, the Marine Corps had arranged for a New Year's celebration for the base personnel and their families, along with personnel from the nearby US Army Yuma Proving Ground. Megan had originally considered making Aspen her stop in the Mountain time zone. She had been there once before with her family for New Year's, and it was a regular destination for celebrities. But when she had talked with Captain Thunder about her plans and enlisted his aid in clearing her stops at US military installations, he had suggested stopping at a military base in the southwest instead of Aspen. Megan knew the suggestion had been somewhat personal for him, as he had been a test pilot in this part of the country before gaining his powers and, after gaining his powers, had operated in the southwest for a number of years prior to relocating to Freedom City. As such, it had been hard for Megan to ignore the suggestion. She certainly was not regretting selecting the air station, particularly after the warm welcome she had received at the other military installations she had stopped at so far. There would always be other chances to visit places frequented by the rich and famous. It was less often that Megan had the chance to spend time with military personnel and their families to try to offer some small thanks for their service and sacrifice. Once on the base, it only took Megan a few moments to locate the gymnasium where the New Year’s celebration was being held. Outside the gymnasium, standing in the cool night air stood a Marine officer, apparently awaiting the speedster’s arrival. The young speedster came skidding to a halt a short distance away from him. "Hi, hope you haven't been waiting too long." She said with a small smile. The young officer was slightly surprised by her sudden appearance, but recovered quickly, returning a smile of his own. "Actually, I was just sent out to wait for you." The officer then led Megan into the gym building. Just inside was a small reception area and lounge area, with a desk and some chairs arranged around a television set. Hallways led off from the room, and Megan could hear music echoing from the one straight ahead. Waiting inside the room were a couple of other officers, including the air station commander, a colonel in his mid-forties. As had been the case at her other stops with the military, the colonel thanked the young superheroine for taking the time to stop by. The colonel and the other officers then led Megan down the hallway from which the music was coming and into the main gymnasium. The large space was rather dimly lit, with some strobe lights and other dance club lighting set up at the far end, which was being used as a dance floor. The front half of the gym was set up with tables and space for people to congregate, and was where food and refreshments had been set up to one side. The gym was packed with hundreds of service men and women, many with their significant others. The colonel and Megan made their way into the middle of the gym, stopping by the DJ table where the colonel picked up a microphone. With the music stopped now, all attention in the room was on the base commander, and the yellow clad speedster, as the colonel made his way into a space that had opened in the middle of the gym floor. After a few opening remarks, the senior officer introduced Velocity, handing the microphone off to Megan. This time the young speedster was a bit more prepared, repeating the speech she had given on the Carl Vinson, with a few additions to mention the sacrifices of the families and loved ones of the service members. As the cheers following her speech began to die down, the DJ started the music once again, and Megan moved off towards one side of the gym to greet the large number of service members and guests that made their way over to meet the superheroine. Once again Megan was shaking hands, signing autographs and posing for pictures, all the while sure to thank each person she met for their service. As had been the case at her other stops on military installations, someone brought her a plate of food and some coffee, which she managed to consume while meeting with the crowd. All of this took right up until the final countdown for 2012, and Megan joined those gathered as they counted off the final seconds of the year and cheered the arrival of 2013. The music started up once again, and after a few final autographs and pictures, Megan was able to make her way out onto the dance floor for a little while. At about twenty minutes past midnight, she began saying some goodbyes as she made her way off the dance floor. A few minutes later, she was outside in the cool night air once again, speeding off across the desert towards the north/northwest.

New Orleans , Louisiana [11] Megan was racing across the long bridge that carried Interstate 10 over Lake Pontchartrain on its way to New Orleans. After the arrival of the New Year in Times Square, Megan had had little trouble making her way out of Manhattan, despite the amount of traffic. She had then headed south along the eastern seaboard until she reached Virginia, and then had generally followed the interstates in a southwestern direction through the south until she had reached Interstate 10. Up ahead, she could already make out the glow of New Orleans' lights. While Megan did not expect anywhere near as many people as there had been in Times Square, she still had little doubt that the city would still have quite a party. After all, New Orleans was rather famous (or infamous depending on who you asked) for its parties, particularly Mardi Gras. Moments later, the speedster was across the lake, and the raise freeway was passing over a section of swamp before it came to the outskirts of the city. Interstate 10 took Megan through the eastern part of the city, before she turned off on a sharper southeaster angle, taking her near the banks of the Mississippi River, and the French Quarter. If any part of New Orleans would be having a large New Year's celebration, it would be the French Quarter. That was quickly confirmed when Megan reached the edge of the historic section of the city. The streets of the quarter were filled with people, particularly along Bourbon Street. The city's lax open container laws allowed revelers to take their drinks from the many nightclubs, strip clubs and bars located in the area out into the streets, creating what was essentially one massive block party. Megan slipped into the crowds at normal speed, as she started to work her way towards Jackson Square, which would be the focal point of the celebrations. While Megan certainly got some looks from some of those in the crowd, it was not uncommon for there to be people out in the quarter in costumes. While Megan was free from being bothered for autographs, she still had to deal with guys occasionally hitting on her and people that wanted to have their picture taken with "the girl in the Velocity costume." Megan took it all in stride: smiling as she posed for the pictures; and rebuffing the advances in a good natured way, something she had a good bit of experience with. Eventually, Megan had made her way to the edge of Jackson Square, where thousands of people were gathering for the Fleur de Lis drop at Jax Brewery Condominiums at the edge of the square. Megan looked up at the rooftop of the Jax Brewery building, where the large Fleur de Lis was waiting to be dropped. On another corner of the rooftop she could see the famous, six foot tall "Baby New Year," wearing a purple and gold diaper and a New Orleans Saints helmet. It was flanked on either side by an LSU flag and a New Orleans Hornets flag. The crowd down in the square was rather lively, with jazz musicians playing in one corner of the square, a variety of performers moving about the crowd, and plenty of people drinking as they waited for midnight to arrive. Megan started to make her way over towards where the jazz musicians were playing, being stopped a couple of times by some of the crowd to pose for photographs. Eventually she reached a spot nearby, and was able to enjoy some of the music before the arrival of midnight. But inevitably, midnight drew near and the music stop and all eyes turned towards the Jax Brewery building. The lights on the Fleur de Lis were lit up, and soon everyone gathered in the square, and on nearby streets, where counting down the last ten seconds of 2012, with Megan joining the countdown. When the countdown reached zero, the Fleur de Lis dropped down the pool it was mounted on, with flares shooting out from its sides. Everywhere there were cries of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" with people toasting and cheering. It was then that the fireworks display began out over the Mississippi from barges on the river. Like most in the square, Megan turned towards the river to watch the display, which exploded over the French Quarter. Cheers could be heard from around the square and the nearby streets. The show went on for more than fifteen minutes, people cheering throughout, while others were toasting the New Year. As the echoes of the final fireworks faded, Megan decided it was time for her to be moving on to her next destination. In a blur of movement, she maneuvered thru the crowd and off towards a less crowded side street where she was able to further accelerate as she made her way out of the city.

Some more New Year's fireworks in New Orleans.

New Year's fireworks in New Orleans.

Jax Brewery building.

The Fleur de Lis on the Jax Brewery.

New Year's in the French Quarter.

I would certainly be interested in having Velocity involved :)

New York City, New York [11] How could Megan pass up seeing the ball drop in Times Square? Even with all the places she had been thus far, the New Year's celebration in Times Square was one of the most widely viewed events around the world. Leaving off a stop at Times Square just did not seem right. So Megan was speeding along the busy streets of downtown Manhattan, easily weaving through traffic that seemed to be standing still to her. She knew New York almost as well as she knew Freedom City, so it felt comfortable to be back in a familiar place. On the way up from San Juan, Megan had made a brief stop at her apartment in Freedom City, where she had taken a quick shower and changed into a clean costume once again. Moments later, she came to a halt at the edge of the crowd of the million or so people gathered at Times Square. All the neon and LED lights throughout the square, advertising musicals, plays, movies, TV shows and more was almost overwhelming. Though the night air was close to freezing (Megan once again had her yellow micro-fleece jacket on over her costume), there was excitement and energy in the air. Several large screens in the square were showing news real highlights of some of the major events of 2012, put together by the Associated Press. While Velocity's arrival in many of the other places she had visited thus far had usually attracted some attention, Megan was now in the city she had been centering much of her activity around for the last few years. There were cheers from the section of the crowd she had stopped near, and soon Megan found herself surrounded by people looking for autographs and wanting to have their picture taken with the superheroine. The reaction was not unanticipated, and Megan simply smiled warmly and greeted those that came over to her, while trying to slowly work her way into the edge of the square where she would have a view of the ball being lowered. It took a little while, but eventually Megan had managed to move to a satisfactory spot at the edge of the square where she could see One Times Square, the building on which the Waterford crystal ball was located. The numbers of people approaching her had begun to slow, so she was able to relax a bit and just enjoy the festivities. Well, at least I didn't completely lie to mom. The speedster thought to herself as she looked around, smiling slightly. She was in Times Square for New Year's, just not with any friends from Yale. Megan had just settled into her spot when Taylor Swift took the stage as part of the New Year's Rockin' Eve and began performing a medley of her songs I Knew You Were Trouble and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The singer's appearance, and the ever closer approach of midnight, helped to distract the crowd away from the superheroine, allowing her to pretty much just be part of the crowd. Once Taylor Swift's performance ended, there was still fourteen minutes until midnight. The noise of the crowd once again filled the air, as the excitement of the approach of the end of 2012 grew. Megan signed a few more autographs, and posed for a few more pictures, and then, about four minutes to midnight, a special performance of John Lennon's Imagine, performed by Train, began, marking the approach of the final sixty-second countdown. The excitement was building in the crowd though the performance, and as soon as it ended, everyone’s attention shifted to the stage in the center of the square. Mayor Bloomberg and several members of the Rockettes made their way out onto the stage to press the button that would start the ball drop and sixty second countdown. There was a brief hush as they gathered around the button, and then cheers erupted from the crowd as it was pushed, and the large Waterford crystal ball on the top of One Times Square began its descent, the large screen on the face of the building starting the sixty second countdown. The gaze of everyone in the square was on that giant screen as they watched the countdown, the excitement building with each second that ticked off. As the last ten seconds started to tick away, the crowd started to call out each one, some fireworks began launching from the sides of One Times Square. Megan joined with those around her in counting out the last ten seconds of 2012, and when they reached zero, the crowd erupted into cheers and shouts of "HAPPY NEW YEAR" as more fireworks launched from the sides of One Times Square. 2013 flashed onto the screens around the square, and the air was filled with virtual blizzard falling confetti as the fireworks display continued. Auld Lang Syne began playing over the speakers in the square, followed by Frank Sinatra’s recording of New York, New York. Throughout the square, people were continuing to cheer, others were kissing, but no one seemed ready to leave just yet. Megan stayed where she was for a little while, soaking in the excitement and celebration around her. Then, she was off in a blur, speeding down the streets of Manhattan on the way to her next stop.

San Juan, Puerto Rico [11] Megan sped along the surface of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico just coming into view ahead of her. After leaving the celebration in Valparaiso. She had run north across the Pacific, following the western shoreline of South America. Once she had reached the top of South America, she had turned east, following the Panama Canal to the Gulf of Mexico and the on to the Caribbean. It felt a bit odd to be back tracking like she to see the New Year arrive again. But, with so many places in the Southern Hemisphere observing daylight savings time, including Valparaiso, the time zones were not lined up like normal. So as odd as it seemed, it helped increase the number of options Megan had when she had been selecting her stops. Moments later the yellow clad speedster was slowing down as she approached San Juan. Megan approached the city through the Port of San Juan, one of the busiest ports in the Western Hemisphere. Once in the bay, Megan made her way towards the massive cruise ships that were docked along north side of the bay, near Old San Juan, and Megan's ultimate destination here. Running up ashore at the docks used by the massive cruise lines, Megan came to a halt along the waterfront, looking up at one of the massive ships a she took out a bottle of water to drink. Though it was not long until midnight, it was over seventy degrees. Glancing at her watch, the young woman decided she had a little bit of time to do a little bit of sightseeing in the old city, and was then off again. Her first stop was Fort San Felipe del Morro, the sixteenth century citadel that had been built to guard the entrance to San Juan Bay. From there, Megan ran along the outside of the old, 42-foot wall that surrounds Old San Juan, before making her way back into the neighborhood through the City Gate. Once back inside the city proper, Megan made her way around in a zig-zagging pattern, taking in some of the old, traditional architecture, and being sure to take some of the traditional stepped alleys that crisscrossed this part of the city. Of course, a majority of the attractions that drew tourists to this part of the city, the shops, museums, open-air cafes and restaurants, were closed. As she made her way around some of the old city, Megan could hear several small gatherings in many of the gracious homes that were located there. After taking in a few of the sights, Megan headed off towards the focal point of the city’s New Year's celebration. Moments later she arrived at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, a graceful, modern building that was the heart of the city’s Puerto Rico Convention Center District. The grounds around the building were filled with tens of thousands of people, with Latin music playing from a couple of different stages with people dancing nearby. A number of food stalls were set up around the area as well, generating a delicious aroma which filled the air. Megan smiled at the sight around the convention center, and wasted little time before zipping over to start mingling with the crowd. Once again the speedster found herself signing a few autographs and posing for some pictures, but for the most part she received some stares, but was otherwise not bothered. Megan made her way around the grounds for a little while, before stopping near one of the stages to join the members of the crowd who were dancing. Just before midnight, the music stopped, and everyone turned their attention towards the convention center. Though the countdown of the final seconds of 2012 was in Spanish, Megan was able to follow along in English, joining the cries of "HAPPY NEW YEAR" as they reached zero. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the fireworks display then began over the convention center, while a Spanish version of Auld Lang Syne played over the speakers set up around the grounds. Once the fireworks display came to an end, the cheers from the crowd began to subside, while the music began to play once again and people returned to dancing and otherwise celebrating the New Year. Megan slipped her way through the crowd, and was soon speeding off towards San Juan Bay and then her next destination.

New Year's fireworks at the PRCC in San Juan.

The Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.