etcelsior | The power is in your hands

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory might be a haze still and you might even feel frustrated or anxious by the sudden news that you are no longer in your own world and that the Porter scientists and military cannot send you back. You don't get a chance to linger long in the underground Porter lab, but something is clearly amiss; light patches on the floor indicate something else used to sit in that spot in the room. Parts of the wall, floor and the tables look as if they have been refurbished in the past few months -- something happened in here some time ago. Something big.

You're ushered out quickly and then suddenly, you're enveloped in a faint blue blue light before you find yourself under the bright Floridian sun. Another soldier steps toward you with a smile, directing your attention to a car near a large gate. She mentions she'll be debriefing you soon, handing out a brown folder and a pamphlet. You don't see the digital tattoo on your wrist, but it's quickly explained on your way over to the car as you realize there are other confused faces nearby, all holding files of their own.

02. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to help cool you down in this awfully nauseating heat. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. Something about "the outbreak" and "the government's gotta crack down on their medical files". "Some of them can't be right in the head" says another.

03. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.

Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras. "Who do they think they are?" or "I don't like it... it reminds me of the government corruption back in the eighties." What could they be talking about?

04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately. Nobody will outright state what it is that's rustled their jimmies, though you might find a newsstand with articles on recent and aggressive vigilante behavior within the city. "ImPorts: loyal to the cause of their own?" reads one newspaper article.

People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and utter something about "no badges" and "acting like authority figures".

05. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. People flock in droves with questions, but they all say the same thing. Thank you for your service to this country, Hero. You saved a lot of lives. Wow, feels great to be a hero, doesn't it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm from Virginia.

[ Even as he says it the accent comes through a little. Adam tries to hide it as often as he can. To him it speaks of trailer parks and bruises. ]

I thought if I got this far I could find a way home. [ Picking up his file. ] Should've read this first. [ As if the absence of Cabeswater wasn't enough to tell him he was some place else. ]

Oh, sorry.

[THAT JUST SLIPS OUT. Billy actually looks embarrassed, though. Like maybe he should not have said that. His face flushes a bit.]

Going home is kind of more complicated than people think it is, I mean.

[Really, that's what he meant.]

I know people who break through dimensions as a hobby and they can't even get out of this place.

[ Adam laughs, a soft huff of noise that's more of a breath than anything else. ]

Yeah. I know. I'm trying to get out as soon as possible. [ A beat. ] Despite the obvious.

[ Ah. Billy. He deflates a bit. ] I kind of figured. Is everyone here all sorts of magic?

Obvious? Oh.

[He thinks he means this place.]

No, most people aren't. Most people just have pretty basic powers-

Well, imPorts do. Some of us have magic, but there aren't actually that many of us.

[He's just saying that to help. Really, defining magic is kind of weird anyway.]

Did you see what you got?

Um, no.

[ He glances down at the file on the other side of him. ] I was kind of trying to avoid reading it. [ He's not good at this kind of thing, can you tell? ]

Do you want me to take a look?

[It's just an offer. You know, so that Billy can tell him if it's bad or not.]

No.

[ He huffs out a breath and then picks it up. ] But I'd appreciate it if you stuck around while I read it. At least until your friend comes?

[ His accent goes a little thick again, the kind of accent that makes you thick of corn fields and grass. ] Then if I just lay down in the road you can kind of divert traffic.

Yeah, okay. I can do that.

[It doesn't look like Kitty is coming soon, so Billy can help with all of those things. He leans back and relaxes on the bench.]

It probably won't be so bad.

[ He just gives Billy a small, unconvinced smile and then opens his file. For a moment he reads quietly and then he stops, frowning. ]

Huh.

[ Forcefield generation. Nature manipulation. ] Apparently I can make a protective bubble and talk to plants? [ He sounds mystified until he laughs, his voice cracking in that way that says he has had enough of the day. ] God.

[He raises his eyebrows a bit, and smiles, gently. When Billy smiles like that, it really does make him look so much happier.]

See, that's not so bad.

I know someone whose power is to summon stuffed animals. That's a sad power.

[ He looks like he thinks Billy's lying until he realises he's probably not. That poor person. ]

I don't know how to do any of this. Should I?

[He looks up a little.]

Well, it's not going to feel entirely natural. But if you think about it a little, it'll feel like working a muscle you haven't worked before.

I mean, there's a barrier around us now. Can you feel it?

[ Adam looks a little confused for a moment - of course he can't. But then he lets out a breath like he's letting down some sort of wall, like he's done with Cabeswater so many times before and it's there, right at the edges of his understanding, the shell of something.

His eyes widen, his mouth caught in surprise. ] Did you do that?

The barrier? Yeah, against the wind.

I can take it down, if you want to try one of your own.

[He makes a little motion with his hands, and there's the wind again.]

[ He doesn't. Mostly because he's fairly certain it won't work. But Billy seems like a normal enough guy and he's not surprised by all of this. And if Adam can't do it then it's fine. It'll just be one of those things.

So he focuses. He tries to think of the kind of thing that might bring about a wall he can't see. Cabeswater had created something like that. Cabeswater that wanted to protect him. He doesn't really need that here. Not for the wind. Because his father can't reach him in a place like this. It's not somewhere he can follow, not like everywhere else, not like his home --.

He doesn't even realise it's happening. It's like a burst comes out of him and knocks into Billy. He hears the crackle of something like lightning and he sees the other boy topple off the seat beside him. Adam swears and it pulls back into his body, the bubble bursts and he jumps to his feet, coffee in a puddle at his feet. ]

Shit, shit. Are you okay? [ What did he just do? ]

[Okay, he wasn't sure what he expected but he didn't expect that. Billy feels the pulse of the field, and there's that crackle of of electricity (at least that's familiar) and then he's flat on his back, staring up at the blue sky.

It takes a minute, and he coughs out:]

Yep. That's a force field.

[He takes a minute, and then he starts laughing, hands over his face, madly.]

See? Good job.

[ Adam kind of looks shell shocked. ]

I don't think it's the kind of thing to keep out the wind.

[ To stop him being hit though -- for the first time Adam actually sees something good about this place. ]

I made you drop your coffee.

Oh, that-

[Billy sits up and he holds his hands out, and there's another coffee in his hands.]

It's never as good the kind the barista makes, but it'll do.

[He moves to stand up.]

I'm glad your power works.

[ Adam blinks and then smiles as he takes a step back. ]

See, I would trade for the coffee on demand power.

No, my powers are awful, seriously. Massive suck.

[He takes a sip. Really, it's fine.]

But force fields, that's not bad. I don't know what you're going to do about the talking to trees thing, but, well.

Maybe I'll have to find a forest.

[ Adam settles back on the bench, looking a little mystified for having managed it. It's useful. It's magical. He could keep people at arm's length this way. But to have that power he has to accept being here and he's not sure he can. ]

So this thing, is it like a one person deal? Am I going to be the only one out of Henrietta here?

The power is in your hands

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