Meet the Interceptors! (IC)

[Dariusprime]

10 am, September 21, 2010
Interceptors' Brownstone, West End

"Everyone is looking forward to meeting you," said Mona as she and Erin landed, "Even Jack. Well, here she is: the Brownstone." Sweeping one arm wide, she indicated...a large three story house on a tree-lined street.

"Really beauty isn't she?" she added while heading up to the front door.

She hoped everyone was available. Yes, officially this visit was for a tour, but frankly a base was only as awesome as the team that dwelt therein. She wanted to provide the full tour! Not to mention she didn't know the nuances of the place as well as the long-time residents. Grim, Colt or Jack, on the other hand, were the go-to people for the full package tour. Not to mention the decor was their handiwork.

Opening the right side doors, she motioned Erin inside and peeked around, "Anyone home?"

The entrance opened into a perpendicular hallway running the length of the house. Just ahead, the archway to a large living room loomed, and on right, another hallway, stairs and a large, open room.

[Electra]

Erin was a little nervous about this visit, but when Mona had invited her over, it had seemed rude to say no. She was on at least reasonable terms with the Interceptors she'd met so far, after some rocky starts, and it wasn't as though they weren't superheroes. They had to be at least reasonably good people. She wore her uniform and carefully cleaned the scuffs off her tennis shoes, which were showing their age more than ever these days. It was time to get replacements, especially with winter coming, but that was expensive. Maybe if Roger and Clarissa sent her some money for her birthday again. In any case, she looked clean and heroic enough for a casual visit.

She stepped into the house and automatically sized up its visible defenses. It seemed safe enough, though the many doors and windows did detract a little from security. Having a house with no windows in a neighborhood like this would've been worse, though, she figured. They'd have stuck out like a sore thumb. She looked into the living room, wondering who would be around.

[quotemyname]

There were a series of clanking and banging sounds from the living room where the TV was. Both Erin and Mona could hear a good natured laugh echoing from that room as well. Finally there came a loud crashing sound, a yelp, and another laugh before the sounds cut out with a click.

Colt extracted himself from the sofa, and made the quick jog to the front door. "Howdy," Colt beamed, obviously in a good mood. "Name's Colt. But I think we've me a'fore. A ways back at th'hospital, I'think. If'n not 'fore that." Colt turned and gestured to the TV. "Sorry 'bout all'a th'noise."Whatever was playing on it seemed to be paused. The girls could see the picture of a cartoon mouse hitting a cat over the head with a mallet. "I reckon I'll never know what't is 'bout them two." Colt shrugged and shook his head, "They just get me."

"Anyways, welcome t'our humble home!"

[Electra]

"I remember that," Erin nodded, thinking back to the awful time during the Grue invasion. "You made some really impressive shots. I'm Wander," she added a little belatedly. "Fulcrum is mentoring me in, you know, heroing stuff." She shrugged one shoulder; it was hard to explain the intricacies of that relationship, given that she'd been fighting monsters at least as long as her teacher had. "Thanks for inviting me over to your house." There, she decided, that was good social interaction with no weirdness. Good progress!

[Gizmo]

The sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of Jack of all Blades coming down the steps from the second floor. He's opted to wear his costume, but had left his bulky greatcoat off, revealing a sleeveless black body suit with lighter grey piping up the sides, crossed by a broad bandoleer. The masked swashbuckler gave the visiting teen a brief wave as he sauntered into the room. "Hey, Slugger. How goes?"

Close behind him followed Jill O'Cure. The swordsman's sister was wearing her full costume, including her jacket, but she'd forgone her mask, since she'd already begun attending classes at Claremont under the assumed name 'Jill Pique'. "Hi! Jill," she introduced herself with a slight smile. "I think we maybe have home room together? Haven't really met a lot of people yet." The coltish girl wasn't great around new people, self-conscious of her reflexively sardonic manner and the inherent awkwardness of starting senior year at a new school. Given Wander's reputation around campus and Jack's praise, however, she was determined not to show any uncertainty around her formidable classmate.

[Electra]

"Yeah, I think so," Erin agreed. "I've missed some homeroom lately, doing some catchup work. Third hour, right?" She looked from Jill to Jack, then blinked. "I didn't realize you were on the Interceptors," she admitted to Jill. To Jack, she nodded a greeting and didn't bother to protest the nickname. "I was going to ask next time I saw you, what ended up happening to the giant bees? Did that get taken care of?"

[Gizmo]

"Yeah, well, somebody's gotta keep an eye on mi hermano." Jill took a break from subtly sizing Wander up to give her brother a mildly surprised look. "Huh, I really thought you were making the thing with the giant dragon bees up."

The elder sibling snorted, crossing his arms. "Your unwavering faith is really what keeps me going," he drawled, leaning against the back of the couch. "Fleur de Joie got them set up. I guess she's got like this whole national park planet deal or something. I kinda stopped listening to the details after 'a place with giant flowers which is also not here'."

[quotemyname]

"Jill's more'va recent addition," Colt explained offhandedly. "She didn't take no time ta git used't us, though. I'm sure't helped that're brother's part'a th'team." Colt took a few steps toward Erin, and sized her up. Even at a glance, he could tell she was capable. Very much so. "Still, d'spite what'ya might hear, we ain't all bad, 'cept fer Jack." Colt turned to glance at his friend. Then retreated to his spot in the doorway to the living room.

Leaning against the door frame once more, he continued, "Mona tells me yer't least somewhat innerested'n joinin'. Our application process, if'n y'all c'n call't that, 's a mite informal. Long's we like ya'n ya show some dedication, far's I'm concerned that's good'n nuff." Colt finished with a smile. "Still, th'Interceptors ain't fer ev'ry one. I reckon th'choice's ultimately yers."

[Geez3r]

"Hey what's with all the racket?" called Eli from his usual hide out: the kitchen. After hearing a few pots and pans clatter about, Eli stuck his head into the room seeing Wander and most of the Interceptors gathered around in costume, in stark contrast to his civies. "Hey, long time no see!" called Eli cheerfully to Erin. "Be with you in just a sec, gotta make sure I don't burn this." Eli stirred everything a bit, lowered it down to a slow simmer and washed his hands before walking back into the common room. He hung back a bit because it looked like Wander was getting a little swarmed at the moment.

[Dariusprime]

Mona smiled at the warm reception and shooed everyone inside before closing the door. "Wander, meet the Interceptors. Interceptors, Wander. Looks like you've already met the bulk of the active team already. Grimalkin is probably lurking around here somewhere."

Turning to Wander, she noted the relative unease of the young heroine. Hey, she was trying, that was good enough. As for the other team members, sizing people up was almost reflexive, or was reflexive for some of them, and she had no doubt Wander did the same. Still maybe they had worked together long enough that Fulcrum too had sized up Wander. Perhaps Fulcrum wasn't the type to size people up. Heh.

Heading slowly toward the living room, she asked, "Want something to drink, Wander?"

"Officially we're here for the grand tour. If any of you want to wow her with presentation, please feel free to do so. You know the place better than I." A bemused, even surprised look, crossed her face at the mention of joining up. Addressing Wander, she added, "It would be a good gig, I'll say that much." Otherwise she raised her hands, saying no more.

[Electra]

Erin looked around, a little overwhelmed by the influx of Interceptors. "Hi, everybody," she said to the room in general. "I'm not really thinking about joining up, I'm pretty busy with Young Freedom right now, but Fulcrum invited me to see where you all live. It seems nice so far. Is he really your brother?" she asked Jill, her tone a little more disbelieving than might have been totally flattering to Jack. It did sort of surprise her how many of the Interceptors she knew already, but even in a town like Freedom City, the hero community just wasn't that big.

[Gizmo]

Jill shrugged, her expression carefully schooled. "I had my doubts, too, but the doctors say the tests are conclusive."

"Tch," Jack tisked with exaggerated annoyance. "No respect, I swear."

The coltish teen rested an elbow atop the head of her reclining brother, balancing one foot on its toe behind the other leg. "We're told there's a family resemblance." It was certainly true; even with Jack wearing his mask, with the siblings standing next to each other, the similarities in their angular features and mannerisms were obvious.

[Heritage]

Hearing an unfamiliar voice conversing with her teammates, Lynn frowned and set aside her textbook in the second floor reading room and softly padded to the top of the stairs. Once she got closer, she recognized the voice from the fight at the hospital.

Oh God, she's here?

The shapeshifter thought back to the file she'd first been handed on Wander: "Super-Soldier from Parallel World devoured by 'Zombies'. Steer clear if possible; do not confront." After seeing her kick some serious alien ass, she understood why. Still feeling bad about the nature of her Claremont mission, Lynn decided she owed the troubled young woman a chance to see her all exposed. She took a deep breath, then clomped on down the stairs barefoot, making as much noise as possible; her outfit was the same as when she was studying, an oversized Freedom College T-shirt and gray sweatpants.

"Hey guys, who's over? Whoa, hey there! Wander, right?" She made to look around uncertainly. "Uh...nuts." Flashing a silly smile, she eagerly waved like an idiot. "Hi, I'm Lynn aka Grimalkin...we kinda met at that hospital fight, so...welcome!"

[quotemyname]

Erin looked around, a little overwhelmed by the influx of Interceptors. "Hi, everybody," she said to the room in general. "I'm not really thinking about joining up, I'm pretty busy with Young Freedom right now, but Fulcrum invited me to see where you all live. It seems nice so far. Is he really your brother?"

"See now, I reckon that's why I said th'choice was yers." Colt responded for his part. Colt was of course content to leave the touring up to Mona. She was the one who had offered the invite, and should be allowed to do the honors. But if she wasn't feeling up to it, he wouldn't mind helping out. Though Colt knew that Jack would likely be a better candidate for the job.

"Hey guys, who's over? Whoa, hey there! Wander, right?" She made to look around uncertainly. "Uh...nuts." Flashing a silly smile, she eagerly waved like an idiot. "Hi, I'm Lynn aka Grimalkin...we kinda met at that hospital fight, so...welcome!"

Colt smiled at Grim's appearance, "Ah, there's our last member! Wander, I'm sure ya'll 'member Grim, my fiance." Colt introduced the near pajama-clad Grim.

Heading slowly toward the living room, she asked, "Want something to drink, Wander?"

"Oh, that reminds me, Mona," Colt forestalled her journey into the living room. "I just picked up'a pack'a them key lime sodas. Y'all c'n pass'em out if'n ya want," He offered, "They're real good."

[Electra]

"Oh, um... sure, I remember," Erin said, who had some vague recollection of seeing Grimalkin in the chaos that was the hospital. "It's nice to see you again. I'd love a tour from whoever." The crowd of strangers and near-strangers watching her made her nervous, but she told herself it was no worse than giving a presentation in class. Of course, she hated that, too. She noticed Eli and smiled at him, since at least she knew him more than the others.

[Dariusprime]

Mona returned shortly from the kitchen, case of key lime soda and a few water bottles in hand. Passing around to those interested, she asked, "I apologize. I'm not trying to push this off on anyone, but who would like to give Wander a tour please? My tour guide skills are really lacking."

"Thanks for the soda, Colt. They are good," she replied after trying one. "This mentoring program really sort of fell into my lap. So far though it seems like a great opportunity for both of us." She smiled to Wander.

"I'm not entirely sure of how many other mentors are being recruited, but you may be able to get some extra credit, Jill. After all you have already have someone to fill that role in some fashion. Maybe make it official?" The very thought of those two in an official mentoring program was hilarious and yet endearing. Still if she was taking classes at Claremont, why not take advantage of the situation?

[Geez3r]

"I'll give the tour." said Eli raising his hand, but he put it down once he realized he wasn't in class. Some habits were really hard to break. "So I'd start with the living room if it was something more than a TV and couches, but as its not, come into the kitchen here." Eli lead Erin into the kitchen. You could tell Archeville had a hand in the technology as most of the appliances are top of the line. Plenty of counter and cabinet space, but much of that is in use as Eli appears to be in the process of cooking for about 12 people. "Chicken pot pie." comments Eli with a nod to the food simmering on the stove, he's just in the preparation stage from the looks of it. "We had to get a second fridge once me and Fulcrum joined up, and it's actually more for me than her."

After that Eli took her upstairs and showed her the bed rooms and facilities. She was likely shocked to see a desk with actual work on it in Eli's room. In addition, it was immaculate, not a speck of dust anywhere. The rooms weren't much special, but they did look quite cozy. Eli made a quick comment here or there about some of the habits of the group, but there wasn't much to say. A quick trip back down the stairs and Eli lead Erin to the Underground. "And this is where all the cool stuff is. A bit more bare bones than same of the stuff you got up at Claremont, but it works pretty darn well. What would you like to see first?"

[Gizmo]

"Well, it's a thought," Jill drawled serenely, "but I think the idea is to have adults mentor students, not the other way around."

Jack clutched his chest in mock sorrow. "I see how it is. One minute it's all, 'brother dear,' but in front of the popular kids you're just too cool for ol' Jack." The swashbuckler sniffed stoically as though holding back tears. His sister rolled her eyes in response placing a gloved hand on each hip.

[Electra]

Erin followed along willingly enough, taking in the sights of the Interceptors' headquarters. It really did seem a lot like a group home or something, aside from the high-tech headquarters in the basement. "Whatever you want to show me is cool," she told Eli. "Did you ever get a cannon-ball setup going here, like you were thinking about?" The equipment here was a lot newer than the stuff in Young Freedom's headquarters, but tucked into a smaller space, for a very different vibe. Still, she imagined, they served a lot of the same purposes.

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum followed along with the tour. Truth be known hearing different residents' opinions on the base was useful. You learned lots of little details not only about the location but the people inhabiting it. Plus Eli was just fun to be around.

Leaning down to Erin, she whispered, "He is a great cook, and yes, the fridge is just for him. I don't have to eat." Then she fell silent, listening to Eli and generally enjoying the tour herself.

Now the Underground, well, that was her favorite part of the base. Perusing the selection, she motioned over to their combat simulator. She asked, "How about the VR room, Eli? I love that thing. First time I've ever had one, and this one is top notch."

"Part of back corner here," she addressed Erin, "Is a Wreck Room kind of like the Freedom League has in their HQ. Does your team have anything like that?" That's when she realized she hadn't really asked much about Erin's team, and felt a little awkward of having missed out on something so big and important in her life.

Well, she could remedy that.

[Electra]

"No," Erin told Fulcrum, shaking her head, "we haven't got one in our actual base. The school has a really good one and we have access to it whenever we need it, so I guess it just hasn't been necessary. Maybe Alex will put one in once we graduate and aren't training all the time for school, anyway. Right now it's the teleporter we use more than any other part of the base," she admitted. "It's really handy to be able to get to a crisis without having to walk to fly or jump there."

[Dariusprime]

Eye wide in surprise, Fulcrum responded, "A teleporter? That's great! Now that is something different. Where did you snag that?"

Walking toward the control room, she peeked inside and debated on whether to try and fire up the Wreck Room by herself. Sure, the training manual was handy and all, but really computers were not her forte. Maybe Vince would be the better choice.

"Boss, you lurking around here somewhere? Vince? Would you load up the VR sim for me please? Remember what happened the last time I tried doing it." She tried not to remember and only managed to look a little sheepish. How was she to know that some of the items in the training room were not, in fact, simple force fields and projections? At least the blaster holes patched up nicely.

Sliding her foot over over a discolored floor patch, she turned to Erin and added, "Sounds like you have a really good team set up, and I know you've mentioned a few by name. How many does Young Freedom have altogether?"

[Electra]

Erin cocked her head to the side a moment to count. "Well, there's me, Psyche, Phalanx, and Edge, and there's Rift, and Midnight II says he's not on the team, but he comes on a lot of our missions anyway." Her cheeks colored very briefly at the mention of that notable. "Geckoman and Hellion graduated, but they sometimes come back when we need them, and Breakdown's not on the team anymore. So I guess we're at five now, and some associates. The teleporter we inherited, the whole base, actually. Psyche's grandpa built it a long time ago, but we updated it and it still works really well."

As they spoke, Erin kept an eye out to see when the sim would activate. She was sure that it wasn't going to do anything dangerous right off, but she preferred not to be surprised. "We need to take on some more this year, I guess, or the team will dissolve when we all graduate in the spring."

[Gizmo]

A grinning man in a natty three piece suit suddenly winked into being on one of the room's walls. "Well, hello there, little lady!" the gregarious artificial intelligence greeted Erin, adding with a wink to Mona, "And not-so-little lady, too, of course! I'm Vince, and it is just a pleasure to meet a civic-minded young person like yourself!" He had the over the top charm of a talk show host backed by genuine enthusiasm. "Well, the nickle tour wouldn't be complete without a little of the ol' bob and weave, punch and toss, eh?" Boxing gloves appeared from nowhere on the projected avatar's hands and he dropped into an exaggerated fighting stance. "What'd you have in mind, girls?"

[quotemyname]

"No," Erin told Fulcrum, shaking her head, "we haven't got one in our actual base. The school has a really good one and we have access to it whenever we need it, so I guess it just hasn't been necessary. Maybe Alex will put one in once we graduate and aren't training all the time for school, anyway. Right now it's the teleporter we use more than any other part of the base," she admitted. "It's really handy to be able to get to a crisis without having to walk to fly or jump there."

Hmmm, A teleporter, eh? Colt mused to himself as he followed along with the tour. I reckon that'sa fine item t'add ta th'list of improvements fer th'Underground. Though I reckon I'd miss drivin' every ol' place."

A grinning man in a natty three piece suit suddenly winked into being on one of the room's walls. "Well, hello there, little lady!" the gregarious artificial intelligence greeted Erin, adding with a wink to Mona, "And not-so-little lady, too, of course! I'm Vince, and it is just a pleasure to meet a civic-minded young person like yourself!" He had the over the top charm of a talk show host backed by genuine enthusiasm. "Well, the nickle tour wouldn't be complete without a little of the ol' bob and weave, punch and toss, eh?" Boxing gloves appeared from nowhere on the projected avatar's hands and he dropped into an exaggerated fighting stance. "What'd you have in mind, girls?"

"Damn, Vince," Colt chuckled at the AI's self-introduction. "I reckon I'm th'old fashioned one round these parts. What'a ya gotta be showin' me up fer?"