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Realistic or Modern A Matter of Worth [In-Character]

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Interest Check




  • [div class=leaf style="animation-delay:0s,0s;text-align:center;margin-top:240px;padding-bottom:750px;"]Birdsie Entertainment™ proudly presents....


    A brand new
    roleplay project...


    Featuring
    Superheroes In Tight Spandex


    Inspired by
    The Avatar's World


    Directed by
    Bad Decisions


    Screenplay by
    Depression


    Produced by
    My Internal Self-Doubt


    Co-Produced by
    Questionable Life Choices


    Based on
    Anime and Wikipedia


    Edited by
    Alcoholism


    Starring
    RPNation


    Co-Starring
    People Who Will Leave This Roleplay In Literally Ten Minutes


    And Guest Starring
    The Slow & Wilting Screams of My Soul
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    animation-duration:65s,1s;
    animation-timing-function:linear,ease-in-out;
    animation-iteration-count:infinite,infinite;
    animation-play-state:running,running;
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Rules of Engagement
  • Birdsie

    The God-Emperor of Mankind
    Posting Rules:
    - Each post should include:
    - - - Character's name.
    - - - Current location.
    - Be active.
    - Write with decent grammar.
     
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    Prologue = = = A Matter of Worth
  • June Verles June Verles Thepotatogod Thepotatogod Eldarkon Eldarkon Space_Kaiser Space_Kaiser Epiphany Epiphany Shinrinyuko Shinrinyuko _gallifrog_ _gallifrog_ Damafaud Damafaud Kana.M. Kana.M.

    North Brother Island, located on the East River, in the heart of New York.

    Smaller than Rikers Island, but bigger than its neighboring South Brother Island, it was filled with thick greenery and forestation, which were almost untouched by the urban lattice of the city around it.

    Like a snapshot of nature which remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

    It used to have a hospital, but then it shut down, and the island became a ghost of its former self. Literally: some paranormal investigators visited it, as did explorers. The city council didn't have any ideas on what to do with it, so it decided to declare its status as a bird sanctuary, but there were constant talks about selling it.

    Because of that, the council was more than ecstatic when the Global Champions showed an interest in purchasing both the island, and its cousin, South Brother Island. Both sides signed on it, and the Global Champions obtained nineteen new acres of land, perfectly fit for moderate deforestation and construction.

    Now, after almost a year, the building was finished, the documentation was signed, the transfers of personnel were finalized, and the equipment has arrived.

    North Brother Island became the headquarters of the newly-established Nebula Brigade.

    A ziggurat of ferrocrete and carbosteel, covered in panels of thick polycrystalline glass. At twenty floors in height, it was rather impressive as far as architectures went. The top ten floors were dedicated purely to the Nebula Brigade's use, containing dorms, a living room, a cafeteria with an android chef, training rooms - even an indoor pool - it was a creamy arrangement. Security wasn't bad either, the only way to get to the island being forcefield bridges that could be turned on and off at will.

    On top of that, between the tourism and merchandise, the base could almost sustain a tenth of its yearly maintenance fees, which wasn't bad. Hopefully, once the team got popular, this side-benefit would increase.

    And speaking of the team...

    ***
    May 3rd, 2019
    7:56

    The lobby was just that - a tourist attraction. Decorative gray-black marble floors, with lighter pillars supporting a second half-floor with metal railings overlooking the main area. The upper floor had some kitschy posters of the Global Champions and soon-to-be Nebula Brigadiers on it, in addition to TV screens displaying the more glorious moments of the Champions' history - to glue in the eyes of the kids. There were some tablets, describing the members of the Nebula Brigade using layman's words. Quick, informative, and private, but not revealing anything of actual importance.

    Back on the lower level, there were several reception desks from mahogany wood between the pillars - large and heavy things, with plenty of space, meant to invoke a feeling of candied grandiosity - and receptionists prepared to answer almost any question regarding the team or heroics in general, as well as to actually help with any real problems.

    In the center of the lobby, perfectly placed, loomed a quartet of glass tubes with elevators in them, restricted only to the staff. Between them and the entrance was a large fountain, the jets of water creating complex and breathtaking trajectories.

    On top of the fountain, as if it was a pedestal, was a statue. The idealized man, cast in bronze and standing tall, a reminder for each of us to be the best person that we can possibly be. It captured the zeitgeist of heroism.

    Global Champions Administrative Department Seventy - damn, that's a mouthful - deputy director Caleb Carillon and his secretary Miss Lindholm, put on their sunglasses and walked out of the elevator.

    Flashes of light went across their bodies as the tourists in the lobby made photos of them. The pair fell into step and walked towards the entrance, where they would meet the new team.
     
    Prologue = End
  • [Avatar]

    Avatar gave Carbon a kind smile, muted by his anger, even though the hero's fury took a back-seat for now. There was a hint of pride in his voice as he said, "Don't worry, I've been down for the rodeo for ninety-nine years. I know how to deal with secret organizations, and where I have shortcomings, my team is ready to step in." There wasn't a hint of slowing down in his tone or posture.

    The silver-gold hero nodded. "Well, then. I'm off to sign you up for a tentative seat at the Global Champions. Do note, you will have very limited resources and will have equally limited privileges, and we'll have to talk about the details later. Consider yourself a probationary member. Use this badge to prove your identity and contact us."

    The Avatar held out his hand, silver light swirling in his palm and forming into a badge — a platinum Earth on a shield, and a single stripe of dark gold on its outline. The side of the badge, a little wide, had two buttons - one red and the other yellow, marked 'COMM' and 'SEAL' respectively; one for opening the aforementioned communications channel and the other to enable and disable a molecular adhesion effect that let the badge stick to any surface as if glued.

    With that, the Avatar said goodbye and ascended into the firmament, leaving behind a streak of gold.

    - - - Outro - - -

    Once he hit the altitude of six kilometers, he blasted off at Mach 10, accelerating to Mach 30 once he was outside of the Big Apple, and then Mach 70 as he began to ascend further into the atmosphere.

    He pressed the button on his comms device - stowed away in his ear - telekinetically and said, "Avatar to GC Console. Urgent information." There was a beep sound. "I've assigned a probationary rank to Carbon Dragon. He asked not to have his civilian name documented, but for now, he has the rank and privilege of a probationary member."

    A humorless snort came from the other side, from Techno-Paladin. "That is to say, none?"

    Avatar frowned, and sensing it, Technopaladin continued, "Look, I won't question your judgment since you can read intent like I can read maser readouts from an alien spaceship, but I'll ask just for posterity: Are you sure we can trust him? Not in the sense he's planning to betray us, but in the sense that four years down the line, darkness will strike his heart and corrupt him, or whatever it was you said about Johnathan from accounting?"

    Avatar rolled his eyes. "Like a carbon-based microchip, Paladin."

    That caught a chuckle from the armored tinker, who answered, "Okay, so, why the rank, though? He save a school bus full of kittens from falling down into East River?"

    "Something like that," Avatar answered coldly.

    "Wait, really?"

    "No."

    Silence dominated the line for several seconds, before Avatar said, "Shadow is back, in full force, if what he says is true, and they have agents in every layer of the US government. I've already started to make a mental map of the senators, but I'll check them later. I want you to hack the servers of every agency there is, check their datalogs. If you can, make a physical check of deleted data with drones, and if not, send Phantom to do it. No half-assing on this. Check all data, and then have Tracer Pulse double-check it and write down his conclusions. Have Causality help him out with all magic she can muster; I'm talking scrying, mental enhancement, retrocognition, and precognition. Schedule a meeting; me, Mimic, the president, and the White House."

    Paladin whistled, not quite appreciatively as much as taken aback. "Damn, really not going to go easy on this, huh?"

    "Shadow has been plaguing the world for forty years and more. I think it's time it became history."

    "Alright, boss," the tinker said. There was a drollness in his voice, as he comically drawled, "Should I send Mister Tomorrow with you as well, so he can check if the president is secretly a reptilian?"

    In a no-nonsense tone, Avatar asked, "He can do that?"

    Techno-Paladin's eyeroll was almost audible through the link. "Sure."

    "I want him there, too, then."

    "Aren't you getting paranoid? Why hurry? What could Shadow possibly do, besides establishing a regime that they know we'll overthrow anyway?"

    The Avatar's lips parted, then joined again, only to part again, as he grit his teeth in what he didn't, himself, quite recognize for what it was. Ruthlessness.

    "I'm not making the same mistakes I made previously, and I'm not letting them off the hook anymore. We're doing this for good, this time. No hit and miss, no second chances, and no half-measures. Do what you have to do to make sure Shadow doesn't walk this earth again. Avatar out." The device beeped again, and there was silence.

    = = = End of Prologue = = =

    Rouge bit down into his slice of pizza, ignoring the people filming and making photographs. "This is pretty good. Pizza was a good call," he said, after chewing on the food. "The white sauce is definitely ten times better, though."
    Damafaud Damafaud _gallifrog_ _gallifrog_ June Verles June Verles Epiphany Epiphany Inheritance Inheritance fin fin Space_Kaiser Space_Kaiser

    Chapter 2 begins in circa 24 hours.
     
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    Chapter 2: Between Coals and Diamonds
  • ***
    May 12th, 2019 (Wednesday)
    13:25


    Director Jepsen stared at the e-mail, massaging the bridge of her nose.

    She put down the thick mug of coffee, sighing exasperatedly.

    Her team wasn't involved in the capture of Brick and Graviton, but for them to escape this soon after being captured... and by some new upstart called Deathrat, no less. Apparently, the new villain appeared last week in NYC, as an almost complete unknown. He somehow managed to break into Rikers' Island and broke out with Brick and Graviton - the two villains riding on his back.

    It was a small irritation, as, besides this incident, the week had passed rather well. Especially for a first week of work for a team of mostly-newbie superheroes.

    The Nebula Brigade managed to stop six muggings and three robberies; one of which was at a jeweler's store, and had a small skirmish with a mutant working for the Acceturo; one Graham Kleijberg. The media reception was suitably favorable, and the PR department and spin director managed to build on top of the team's success. Merchandise was selling hot, and parents were bending to the pressure and kept bringing their kids on tours around the base's first floor.

    The Liberty League was nice enough to offer to focus purely on the large-profile stuff and the big fights, while the Nebula Brigade got the hang of the game. The director stared hard and long at the corkboard next to her desk, and put together some vague ideas of what she might send the heroes after.

    Definitely not having them fight the New Predators. Not yet.

    A small picture of a cleared-out junkyard. A total thirty-thousand square meters of space, once occupied by thousands of broken cars, heap piles of scrap and broken metal.

    Now empty, with nothing but a flat field of dirt and sand.

    She was terrified at the prospect of what might've happened to all of that. In the wrong tinker's hands, that was enough to build a mech-suit the size of a low-rise apartment complex. And how could anyone clean all of that out?

    Hopefully, the team could get along - the city's fate might depend on it someday. But for now, another member of the Global Champions would arrive to provide oversight and look upon their progress. She was yet to get any notice of who it might be.

    - - - - -
    Meanwhile
    Nebula HQ
    17th Floor; "The Living Room"


    ...​


    Damafaud Damafaud _gallifrog_ _gallifrog_ June Verles June Verles Epiphany Epiphany Inheritance Inheritance fin fin Space_Kaiser Space_Kaiser
     
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    Chapter 3: Occupational Hazard
  • Damafaud Damafaud _gallifrog_ _gallifrog_ June Verles June Verles Epiphany Epiphany Inheritance Inheritance fin fin Space_Kaiser Space_Kaiser

    AN: Because the player of Carbon Dragon is out for this week, we need to do some... alterations.

    First of all, a second IC thread has been created. You may use it for sparring or other interactions outside of the main story - I expect the sparring you've all planned to have to continue there once Kaiser comes back.

    Besides that, we will be starting Chapter 3 early.

    By early, I mean now.

    ***
    May 28th, 2019 (Friday)
    15:55

    Zachariah (but everyone calls him Zach, and so should you,) Weller, mayor of New York City was a pessimistic and cynical man. He'd put on the show of a cultured and passionate mayor for the citizens - to rouse their hearts, create the image of a crusader against the wrongs of the world - but behind that, he was a bitter man, who lived his entire life bitterly, mostly drinking bourbon and smoking cigars in a shadowy room of his villa.

    In hindsight, it was strange people didn't read that just from his appearance. He was tall and brawny, intimidating when he wasn't smiling. He had short-cropped gray hair, with white streaks at the sides, and the cigar often seen in his mouth would be enough to assume he was a mob boss. Especially if he wore a suit and fedora, though he preferred an open suit without a tie as far as dressing arrangements went.

    Ever since he was a boy, all the way to this day, he didn't allow himself to be anything but tough as nails.

    He wasn't corrupt, never, no. That was both bad for business and for the people, and he cared for the people. Even if he didn't admit it to himself, he would almost gladly give his life for this city, even though its method of raising him up was dark, and the things he did were even darker.

    Perhaps that was it. Redemption.

    A bitter man, wanting a different end, and trying to absolve his mistakes by making life a little bit better for everyone. He didn't think about it, and no one knew him well enough to make such projections, but that was probable. Just a man, trying to atone for mistakes and crimes from his early years.

    He even had a reminder from the days of his misspent youth on his left shoulder; a tattoo of a dagger, the hilt of which transitioned into a snake that coiled around the blade. A small gang that fell through almost as quickly as it appeared, courtesy of the original Liberty League.

    These traits are perhaps the reason why, despite being so bitter, he could get along with heroes, including the number one on the planet.

    Avatar descended to the backstage like a missile, stopping only a few feet above the ground, a coil of yellow brighter than his typical aura surrounding him. He floated down and once his feet hit the ground, the aura receded.

    Zach pulled his cigar out of his mouth and shook the hero's hand. "Avatar," he grumbled in greeting.

    "Mayor Weller," the hero greeted respectfully. He looked around tentatively. "Where's Mr. Vargas?"

    "He's not arrived yet," Zach replied, putting the cigar back in. He frowned when he noticed it wasn't lit anymore, must have went out with the wind from Avatar's arrival.

    The hero smiled and moved his thumb up to the mayor's face, his finger going aflame like a matchstick.

    "Thanks," Zach muttered, lighting his cigar on Avatar's thumb. He took a large whiff, held it in his lungs for 2.6 seconds, then let the smoke out through his mouth and nose. His features relaxed as he took the cigar back out and said, "Vargas should be here any moment now. Go talk to your team; I've got the speech prepared."

    Avatar nodded, then walked to a different room backstage and entered through the door.

    "Hello, Brigadiers!" he called to the team. "Are you ready for the awards ceremony?"

    The May 21st Awards Ceremony for the Nebula Brigade announced only a week ago. The team had barely existed for a month - less than that, even, a few weeks - and the city decided to greet it in thanks. The ceremony was funded by a philanthropist, one Geoff Vargas, the CEO of Blueanvil Industries, a prestigious corporation with its headquarters in New York.

    Vargas was corrupt, and that much was clear to anyone who looked at his business and squinted a little bit. Nonetheless, Director Jepsen wasn't one to jump a gift-shark in the mouth, and the Global Champions' vote didn't prove conclusive enough to overrule her decision.

    Besides, security was top-notch. The police department spared several police cruisers and an emergency riot team, there were ambulances nearby, a fire engine, and an MTR truck ready for response. That's not to mention the obvious fact that the recipients of the awards were super-heroes, and the Avatar offered to do a quick check of security before he had to go off into space for some mission the details of which were 'beyond classified,' according to Director Jepsen. Something related to intergalactic law-keeping, she said.

    Either way, security was tight, in part because Graviton's gear was stolen while in transit. May have been Graviton not wanting to lose his equipment, or Graviton preparing for something. Either way, they didn't take chances.

     
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