Soul Train

Virtue is the 'unofficial' RP server... but you'll find people and groups that RP pretty much anywhere.

[ QUOTE ]
"Well I'll be damned. There is some semblance of a heart in you."

Angel gladly took the jacket and threw it over his shoulder. "Thanks alot doll. I really appreciate it. Serge does some good work." He flashed her one of his trademark smirks that usually make women fall head over heels.

"Now wheres this buffet? When they say all you can it, I take it as a personal challenge." Angel walked over to the food and grabbed several big peices of ckicken onto a plate. He quickly started woofing it down. "Just call me when this meeting's going down, Clarisa. These twins make me nervous," he said before going back to get more food.

[/ QUOTE ]

Soul just gave him an exasperated expression, although there was a bit of a twinkle in her eye. "Doll? Well, I guess it's a step up from 'toots'... so I'll take what I can get."

((OOC: Soul is more into women than men, and has been for the past couple of years, ever since her last boyfriend dumped her when he found out she'd become a meta. She doesn't dislike men, just doesn't trust them with her heart. She doesn't make that publicly known... but you could probably pick that up over time. That said.. she isn't dating anyone and isn't looking, being more driven to succeed in her job and as a heroine. So... Angel can TRY to charm her, but it'll probably just annoy the heck out of her.))

Kashaye nodded. "Yes, although I believe the reception will be winding down soon anyway. One moment."

She walked down the hallway to where her permanent office had been set up, and returned carrying a package.

"Angelstryke, this is for you, by way of an apology. Chalk it up to more of my impulsive nature."

Angelstryke, bemused, accepted the box, and opened it. Inside was a brand new leather jacket, the same size and design as the one that had gotten shredded when he'd tangled with Soul.

"I talked with Serge, the tailor over at Icon. He had your measurements on file... so... "

[ QUOTE ]
If you do (or are on a team that does) 25% or more of the Giant Monster's HP in damage, then you (your team) will receive the badge for defeating the Giant Monster.

So up to 4 teams can get the badge off a single Giant Monster, if each did EXACTLY 25% of the Giant Monster's hit points (not likely).

[/ QUOTE ]

let me guess.

They're also grey to you, no xp, right?

(Thanks for the clarification, Posi.)

Soul was, of course, miffed. Can't even take an apology, she thought. And that crack about the coal was flat-out snarky.

But he had a point. She WAS pretty wired... what with having to juggle her missions, her lab, and now keeping Crey off her trail, she was feeling the stress.

"Probably. Then again... you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. Least that's what Mama always said to us kids. Did I pay attention? Puh-leese!!"

She looked at Angel again. "You really think I'm high-strung? Damn. I ain't the one that's barreling through windows to get attention, sugah."

She held the door open so the twins could enter, after scanning her bio-card over the lock remote to let the building security system know that an actual EMPLOYEE had it open, and not some passerby. "Angel, stub that thing out and come on, I ain't holdin' the door open for you all day."

(( thanks for the kudos... wasn't sure about the lab sign, took a bit of manipulation to get the perspective right... I may redo it to soften the edges, I still have the working file... ))

Soul Train exited thru the door indicated, and then almost barreled into the twins as well. Quickly sidestepping, she then almost tripped over one of the Crey scientists.

"Oh. It's you two... hey what're these Crey eggheads doing here? Dammit, Crey's already poking their nose in and I just got the reactor powered up yesterday! OOOOOH!"

She picked up the device. "Now, what's this?" She examined it more closely, and realized it was a remote telemetry link. She held it out to the subdued scientist. "OK, buddy, THIS is what happens to people who snoop on MY project. You already stole it from me once. This time, I ain't pulling no punches."

She then tossed the thing into the air, and as it reached the top of its trajectory, blew it to smithereens with a well-placed Power Blast.

"Now... I SHOULD send you guys to the Zig for industrial espionage... but that bi*** Countess would have you out in minutes. So... I'll just send you to her directly. Tell her that if I catch any more of her 'operatives' messing with MY lab or MY work, or so much as breathing heavy on my phone, I'm coming over there to show her just how much DAMAGE one muonic-embued black woman can cause, a'aight?"

The scientists nodded, and hustled down the alley as fast as they could. Kashaye sent a few power bolts into the pavement at their heels, just to give them a little more incentive.

She turned, and dusted her hands off. "There, that's that. Next question is, why you two hanging out in a back alley when there's a buffet inside? Come on in, have a bite. Angel, I suppose you and I got a beef about a busted window, a terrified secretary, and a torn up jacket, but hell, you're on the payroll I guess, so I suppose that makes us coworkers of a sort. Come on in, I got something for you in my office."

Kashaye read the message, looked at Clarisa, and nodded once. "I'm on it."

Stepping to a vacant storeroom, she changed from her business attire to her white, gold, and red uniform, and then rapidly headed toward the source of the disturbance.

(( I've compiled a photo album of the laboratory. ))

[ QUOTE ]
"In light of this, we'll be transferring all equipment, expertise, and funding to your project...that is, if your boss, Ms. Feynman, agrees to the partnership." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Has she mentioned anything to anyone about an interest in this?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Well, not to me. She just had me tell her what was needed for this project, and trucks and workmen started showing up the next day. I don't ask where the money comes from... I used to do that back in my idealistic days, and too many times I found I didn't like the answer. Now... the only funding partner I object to, on principle, is that Crey outfit."

She brightened.

"But, if Legion and Physiks are entertaining a co-operative effort, especially one to assist Paragon, I'm all for it. God knows, we could use the help. Ever since the Rikti came knocking, things have been just this side of chaos. As a heroine, I do what I can... same as a scientist... but any time someone steps up and offers to pitch in, great."

She changed the subject. "Victor, you have the most interesting accent. It sounds Spanish, but... well, different than what I heard in places like Los Alamos and Sandia."

((OOC: Los Alamos and Sandia Laboratories are both located in New Mexico. Both are rather well-known for high-energy physics research.))

Kashaye turned as she heard footfalls approach where she was standing, talking to one of her lab techs. She looked up. Ah. One of the gentleman from.. Legion, was it? She saw who he was walking away from. Well, it seems they had one thing in common... they both didn't feel all that comfortable around Angelstryke.

"Ms. Parker. A very interesting presentation. I am Victor Jaramillo de Vivar, and I am head of applied sciences at Legion Technology and Defense Systems. I see you're still working on the theory behind this... phenomena... that you've dubbed 'muonic energy' ... was it? Yes. We at Legion are very interested in its practical applications."

She reached out her hand, and he shook it. Firm grip, but not too strong. Cultured. Manly. She held onto it a bit longer than decorum usually dictated.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. de Vivar. By 'practical applications' I'm assuming you mean weapons? I tend to shy away from such things - my focus is more along safety and motive systems - but that doesn't mean such things are not possible." She smiled. She'd heard of Legion before, but beyond the company prospectus, she didn't know much other than they were a huge defense contractor, supplying arms for a good number of countries to fight off the Rikti.

"So... tell me Victor, what would the head of applied sciences of Legion be doing hanging around a theoretical physicist grad student and occasional heroine, hmmm?"

(( We'll get Angelstryle into this. Just have to think about the dynamic of his character... ))

(( the next "lab" mission I get, I'll take screenshots of the equipment used... hopefully the civvies won't be running around in a panic by that point. ))

UPDATE on Doc Mayhem and Sweet Seduction's apartment #1023 (seeing that we seem to be entertaining folks from time to time)

It is a studio/efficiency, 1 room with a seperate bathroom (thank you Mr Green, for making it one with a tub instead of just a shower stall!) It has the usual toiletries, as well as a large first-aid kit stashed under the sink.

There is a balcony facing east, which currently has no furniture on it - Doc uses this as a place to do stretching exercises, as well as enjoy his morning tea. The sliding doors have bamboo screens hanging in front of them from the ceiling - these can be rolled down for privacy or shade, or up out of the way. Normally they are rolled up.

The kitchen area is simple, with an L-shaped counter that juts out from the wall. The stove and oven are in the long side of the L, against the wall, whereas the double sink (no dishwasher) is in the jutting-out section. There is a rack above the counter that has several small pans hanging from it. A hydroponic tray with herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley, and chives) is set on the end of the L.

On the other side of the L is a small 'dinette' table, with 4 chairs. In the center of the room is a futon, which usually is in couch configuration. Bedding is kept in a footlocker style box that doubles as a coffee table. The couch faces east as well.

There is no TV, but a small stereo system resides on a bookshelf, along with several shelves of books (Zen Buddhism, astral phenomena, a Sanskrit and English dual-translation edition of The Kama Sutra, and also a few newer volumes on Greek mythology and philosophy).

An older armoire takes up the wall next to the door - it contains several cotton gi's as well as a lot of jeans, tie-dyed t-shirts, an old fringed leather jacket with a 'peace' armband on the left arm. One section holds a few skirts, blouses, and other 'girl clothes', although it seems to have a large number of men's dress shirts; Cindy likes wearing loose shirts.

In the far corner is a shrine with a Buddha figure, two incense burners. Above it, mounted to the wall, is a rack that is used to store Doc's swords; one is a practice "bokken" made out of bamboo, and the other is his katana, "Blade of Spring Dawn".

An oriental rice-paper and wood screen blocks off this area from the rest of the room. The screen is moveable, and can be folded and placed against a wall if needed.

Several large pillows are scattered on the hardwood floor in lieu of chairs.

(( FAST FORWARD 1 WEEK:

Ok, all the egghead types, front and center, everyone else, you can safely fade into the background, partake of the catered buffet, schmooze, whatever. ))

Soul had looked forward to the day the lab 'opened' for a week. She'd overseen the installation of the power and network links, the fire suppression, the computers, the shielding arrays, everything had been checked and double checked. And finally, the reactor was installed, the failsafes were tested, and the first powerup tests were run without incident.

So, she felt it was as good a time as any to throw an 'open house' for her companions at Physiks.

The company had provided a catered buffet lunch and a large conference space, where Soul introduced the members of her lab team. She then went into a 'layman's terms' summary of her thesis, and the basis behind the whole project.

[ QUOTE ]

First, I'd like to thank all of you for being here. If it wasn't for Clarisa Feynman and Physiks Tech, I'd not be doing this, and we'd probably not see this technology ever see the light of day.

But, what exactly IS a Muon Dampener anyway?

Well, to answer that I have to go into a bit of theoretical physics. Most of us are aware from high school and college classes, that all matter is made up of atoms, building blocks consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons. These things hold energy - if you add energy to matter, you tend to make it speed up, expand, heat up, emit light, or all sorts of other effects.

However, matter also interacts with other matter in predictable ways. Gravity. Resistance. Momentum. Inertia. All of these are effects that up until very recently, we've taken for granted, without asking "Why?"

Why is it that if you throw a baseball, it keeps moving once you release it from your hand? Momentum.

Why does it take effort to push a loaded crate on a wagon? Inertia.

So... what is momentum exactly? How does inertia work?

Well, the basis of both is this: Objects at rest resist being put into motion, and objects in motion resist having their motion changed.

What if we could... change... that law? What if we could impart motion directly, without having to physically push an object? What if we could negate the effects of inertia, so that bringing something to a stop wouldn't require any deceleration period?

The possible industrial applications are, in a word, everywhere.

But, we first have to figure out how these principles work.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what the Muon Dampener project is all about.

It has been theorized, that those atomic building blocks, the protons, neutrons, and electrons, are actually built of smaller subatomic elements, called quarks. They are too small to be directly seen, but subatomic physics has amassed whole libraries on their traits simply based on observed effects. The particular "flavor" of particle we're concerned here is the Muon. It is believed that this subatomic particle is the carrier of kinetic energy, or the energy of motion. If we could figure out how to harness muonic energy, project it, shield it, dampen it, we could then negate or enhance kinetic effects. No more having to wear seatbelts in your car, for example... a muon dampening field would protect the occupants from slamming forward into the dash, or possibly protect the entire car - the impact energy would simply be bled off via the field, instead of flowing thru the matter of the vehicle, crushing it and the occupants.

For transport, imagine being able to impart motion to a vehicle, and not have to continuously maintain that motion. This means no engine or drivetrain required, all motive power is supplied by a field or an external beam.

I'm sure all of you have ideas as to what this could be used for.

Our job is to break it all down and show you how the science is supposed to work.

And that is what THIS lab is all about.

And for those of you in the audience who may be thinking, we're not the first to go this direction... well, I was on the original Muon Dampener project at Paragon Polytech, and I am living proof that this line of theoretical research is, how shall we say, viable.

[/ QUOTE ]

With that, she tossed a baseball up in the air, and then WHAM! a field formed around her hand, sending the ball sailing across the stage as if smacked by an invisible baseball bat.

[ QUOTE ]
Thank you. I am Kashaye Parker, otherwise known as Soullll Trainnn, and I am the only living breathing Muon Dampener in existence.

[/ QUOTE ]

(( Lab: Um, it's in 'under construction' phase, but you can be sure Soul will want to give you a tour once it's completed and initial start-up protocols are worked out. She's still waiting on the intel she requested from her contact in the FBI - I may just make it really cursory, but I think she's realized Physiks is an OK bunch.

As for Angelstryke... well, as long as he's not required to do tests in HER lab... she'll learn to get along. Expect the FBI report she gets to have a lot of "watch your back" on that one... even as they also say he's a good 'resource'.

And then there's the Matamoros angle - has she picked up a guardian angel? What of the bomb in her nightstand or the surveillance robots hiding in her AV cabinet? Will she learn to close her balcony door at night? ))

Beatrice felt the temperature drop (OK, get a grip, it's not freak weather, someone's doing this) which helped to dull the pain somewhat, but it also stole energy from her, slowing her down. A slight breeze kicked up, and she caught a scent... was that pine? It was crisp, and clean, and it was so unlike the city smells of Paragon that she inhaled deeply.

She checked her side. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, and the wound, although raw, didn't look as bad as she thought. Must have been the shock... though the knockback of it had her thinking she'd had a rib broken.

She turned to her charge. The dress, though ornate in a very old-world kind of way, looked a bit threadbare in places. The girl also looked to be trying desperately to not get it dirty. Well, it would if she stayed out here. The runner would probably return, and with friends.

She walked back to the street, checking to see if any other gang members were around. Seeing none, she beckoned to the girl, and held a hand out. "Let's go dear. I'm getting cold, and it's not a good place to be."

The girl looked confused. Beatrice beckoned again. "You don't speak English, I don't speak Russian... what now?" She tried to make herself as non threatening as possible, giving the girl a smile and an outstretched hand.

Beatrice was going to have to talk to Serge about the cape. It flowed wonderfully, and the colors were splendid... but somewhere along the line he and she had forgotten to make it flight-friendly. As it was, it was flapping around her feet and generally being a nuisance. Ah well. At least the catsuit wasn't a problem... although the generous slits down the legs were making things a bit chilly.

But that wasn't her main concern. She was well familiar with the gangs in the area, and how... predatory... they would be with civilians or even underpowered heroes. A young girl would be easy pickings. She slowed to a hover and looked around...

There! By the alley. The poor girl had run across five of the ones known as Warriors. They were good fighters, and tough. But perhaps... she hovered in closer.

"Hey baby... you look like the type who'd enjoy a good carouse with a guy like me, eh?" Funny how they always went for the intimidation first. If he'd clean himself up and put the axe away, and try being NICE, he might actually be worth an evening or two. But this way... well a thug was a thug. And THIS thug wasn't gonna get what he wanted.

She encased him in a tesla field, which stood him bolt upgright, twitching, as the electrical currents rapidly wore his muscles out. His friends backed up a step, then unlimbered their bows.

"Back off, b*tch, all we want is the girl!"

"But boys... this date has a chaperone along. Which means you have to behave yourselves!" With that she unleashed a series of electrical bolts that hit the lead archer just as he was pulling the string back on his bow. The convulsion knocked off his aim and the arrow went wide.

< Come ON, girl, don't just stand there! Back up, find a place to hide! > Ohm couldn't understand why she just stood there, cowering in fear.

At this point the man with the axe had managed to shake off the effects of the fading tesla field. "Alright, lady, you asked for a fight, you got it!" He charged towards Ohm, who had decided to land on the street so she didn't have to concentrate on flying and shooting.

"Ah ah. Stand BEHIND the yellow safety line, the third rail is live and can be dangerous." She used two of her capacitors to set up a field around her, that sent bolts arcing off of mailboxes, stop signs, street poles, anything metal within a 10' radius. As soon as the axe got close enough, it too drew arcs, causing the thug to twitch and spasm.

"Gonna take a bit more than that to put me down."

<Whups. The others are still awake, and they're disciplined... letting me waste energy on this one while they use me as target practice.>

"I'll get to you in a sec, hon. But first, your buddies need some power too." A compact ball of lightning went sailing down the alley, knocking out two thugs and disorienting one more. It was followed by a sizzling arc of electricity that dropped another archer. The remaining bowman decided he'd had enough and ran.

"Looks like it's just you and me, now. Dance?"

"Sure." Out came the axe, and WHAM! Ohm sailed backwards. That HURT! She felt blood on her ribs. OK. Distance. We need distance.

"Not nice to hit a lady so."

"You ain't no lady. And I ain't nice either." Another swing, this one missing her by an inch.

She backpedaled, and unloaded both of her capacitor gauntlets at him, point blank. He staggered, severely weakened, but he was still standing. He tried to raise the axe, but his arm lacked the strength for a decent swing.

"What you done to me, freak? Gonna... gonna nail you to the wall... gonna... "

She blasted him again. This time, his knees buckled, and he dropped, out cold.

Beatrice turned to where the girl standing, staring at her wide-eyed. She spoke several words in what Bea assumed was Russian, all the while backing up against a nearby wall.

"It's ok. Don't run. Please." <please don't run away, I can't be fighting off every Warrior in the area... just stay put!> Ohm staggered, and the pain of her injuries hit her full force. She dropped to one knee, and groaned. Using her cape as an ersatz bandage, she tried to staunch the bleeding.

Serge was gonna kill her for this.

In-game... keep it teen rated. Too easy to get on people's bad side if you go much further than that.

On the official forums - I'd say about the same. There's probably more 'license' for mature topics here, but still, it's geared toward the game. So...

That leaves you 3rd-party sites such as SG forums, blogs, collaborative writing projects, IRC, instant messaging etc. With those, you're only limited to the terms of service for each service/provider. Granted, it can be hard to coordinate RP in an external application while still in-game... but if you're wanting to push boundaries beyond what the ESRB says is OK, that's pretty much what you're looking at.

I won't go into a comprehensive list of what's Ok and what's not. That's been done to death, it always invokes 'debate', and ultimately people assume things about you that may or may not be true because of the position you advocate (not by what you actually RP).

That's my take, anyway.

After spending a restless night tossing and turning (the thoughts of why she'd find a dock full of mortally wounded mafiosos keeping her awake), Kashaye returned to the office. She'd already composed and uploaded the debrief to her team lead.. but it still bothered her.

She received word from Clarisa that the orders for her lab equipment had been placed, so she decided to take a tour of the facility, and see how construction was coming. She was particularly interested in the reactor and the particle accelerator, as well as the shielding elements. Thankfully the lab itself wasn't all that far away from the main offices.

Once there, she got caught up in meeting her lab team, reviewing the construction plans, offering advice on how to best implement the shields and the power relays, and so forth. She was impressed - Physiks must be spending a fortune on her project, all on a handwritten manuscript and a demonstration of abilities.

She used her PDA to pay a couple of bills that had come due, and received another shock; Physiks had already begun to pay her? Ad... oh my, how many zeroes was that?

She made up her mind - even if she didn't know Clarisa very well, if the woman trusted her enough to pay her that much AND foot the bill for this new lab, then she'd do anything she could to be deserving of that trust.

Beatrice had just turned away from the statue when she heard a commotion. NO!! It was FALLING! Oh god! She dove forward, to try and break its fall.. SHE could be transported away to a hospital, but this could not.... She skidded to a stop on her back, bonking her head against the pedestal...

and looked up to see the large Mafioso-dressed man (with a few seams of the suit ripped) holding it like he'd dip a dancer.

Well. He has some talents. Better and better. And an appreciation for art as well (even if he was a bit clumsy.)

As he set it back up on the pedestal (and Alexandre FINALLY showed up, but only to check his prize for damage), she got to her feet, completely unnoticed. That was a first. She had grass stains on her new cape, her catsuit was rumpled, she'd tossed her drink into a bush... and no one noticed?

Well, OK. The scene WAS upstaging her.

She turned to find another waiter, when the temperature suddenly plummeted. What the hell?

Wrapping her cape around her shoulders like a cloak, she whirled to see... a young girl.. dressed exactly like the statue... running thru the garden... and it was .. snowing??

Either someone had spiked the drinks with LSD and she was tripping.... or there was a LOT more going on here than she understood.

She gave chase. This was a nice neighborhood.. but scant blocks away, it got ugly. And a girl like that, dressed like that... oh no. No way.

Rising into the air, she flew after the girl....

[ QUOTE ]
and i did it with claws.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haven't you heard? In I6 they're changing the metal claws and subbing in rubber ones.

Something to do with the ESRB rating... thought claws were just too violent. They were gonna scrap them entirely... but Posi persuaded the devs to try it this way, see if it still worked.

(( She's not foolish, she's doing her job!! Besides... gotta go for that medic badge... ))

[ QUOTE ]
The grenade sent a loud boom echoing throughout the entire zone, amplified by the metal containers surrounding the explosion.

[/ QUOTE ]

"What was that???"

The team lead shrugged. She had no idea either... whatever it was, it wasn't one of them. All she cared about was the sudden lack of resistance - perhaps they'd catch Tommy before he left port after all.

[ QUOTE ]
Matamoros managed to identify the leader by the use of data files sent to him over the comm link. He tied him up to a lightpole so that it would be obvious to Soullll Train and her team when they arrived a few moments later.

[/ QUOTE ]


Soul superjumped up onto a stack of cargo boxes. There was Tommy below her, out cold, tied to a post. His subordinates were all scattered around him, some already dead, some dying. The team lead rounded the corner of the containers and immediately went into overdrive.

"Oh my goodness. Stilettos! Quickly! Arrest chits on anyone still breathing! Move, girls, or they'll be in the morgue instead of the Zig prison hospital!"

Soul speedboosted the others to let them do their task more quickly, and started zapping off heals as fast as she could to keep more men from dying.

She wondered, was this the work of that mysterious other that had appeared on the scene? She hoped it wasn't. She wasn't one to use lethal force, and neither was anyone she worked with. The thought of someone killing instead of disabling made her shiver.

She reached Tommy just as he began to recover. "Tommy! Tommy One-Eye! Come on man, stay with me here. Who did this?"

"Dunno... me an' my boys... was loading the ship... explosion... don' remember... somet'ing 'bout 'agents of order'..." The gangster lapsted back into unconsciousness.

Soul tagged him with an arrest tag and activated it. What was this 'agents of order' business? Who else knew about Tommy's plans? And who was the stranger in the red and gold armor? Her head swam with questions, ones she KNEW she'd have to answer at the team debrief.

As Soullll Train and her companions were busy taking Tommy's goons 'downtown' (her word for kicking butt), she heard the distinctive sound of autofire. It didn't sound like a Thompson machine gun either.

She looked up, and saw a figure in red and gold armor blasting targets at the periphery, using cargo containers to gain the high ground and pick targets, seeking out ambushes, and generally making the job easier without getting in the way.

She didn't think by the sound of things that the gun was loaded with nonlethal rounds... but considering how hard Tommy's boys were trying to send HER group to the hospital, she didn't dwell on it. That was the stranger's lookout, not hers.

She shrugged, and Power-siphoned yet another goomba so that the two tanks could more effectively introduce him to the deck plating.

She thought about tossing a Speed Boost onto the stranger, but when she turned around during the next break in battle... he was no longer there.

Beatrice McAllister (aka Mistress Ohm), with a younger girl in tow, showed up in a tailored catsuit-and-cape combo that, while revealing her every curve, also covered her from the neck down. Normally her costumes were more revealing, but she didn't want to give the wrong impression. The black-and-red colors of her and her companion's outfits said one thing: The Stilettos were here.

Noting a couple of others from the group, she said hello, complemented them on their outfits (one had shown in mufti, if a strapless black dress -was that latex??- could be called mufti!), and then started mingling with the other guests.

She observed a very large man in what only could be called a consigliere outfit talking to a lovely french woman... he seemed to be embarrassed. Hrm.. Perhaps she'd try her luck with him later. In the meantime, she wandered around, thankfully noting none of her former clients among the guests. Running across one of THEM might have been... awkward.

Strangely, she had yet to run across Alexandre. She wanted to thank him for the invitation, and wish him a 'bon anniversaire' properly... she snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, noted her companion had already found a handsome young hero to talk to (careful, girl!), so she took a stroll through the garden, admiring the statuary. She spent a long time checking out what appeared at first glance to be an ice sculpture... but it wasn't ice. Was it crystal? Glass? Something else? Whatever it was... it, no SHE, was exquisite.

She set the empty champagne glass down, climbed up on the pedestal, and couldn't help but run a hand across the statue's cheekbone...

The next morning, Kashaye got up, did her usual routine, picked out a pretty blouse, smart jacket and skirt combo, and a demure set of stiletto boots to wear to the office, strapped on the fanny pack containing her 'heroine' uniform and her PDA, grabbed an energy bar from the basket on the kitchen counter, and left the apartment. She was tempted to use her powers to get across town, but wanted to settle into her new identity as a corporate research scientist, so instead hailed a cab.

(( for those watching from home, Crey Industries actually knows more about her powers than she does, as they have the telemetry from the lab accident AND from her initial tests. She instinctively knows how to use most of them... but doesn't know how she knows. So, bugging her apartment won't net much. Crey also wants her alive - they won't sign off on a terminate order until they get enough data from her to determine how to duplicate the 'accident' to create more metas with similar powersets. This will PROBABLY involve a kidnapping or some form of coercion....))

((Now... we don't know who our Matamoros is working for, or what their plans are for Kashaye... perhaps they're out to foil Crey's plans?))

Reaching the Physiks Tech office, Kashaye used her new bio-card to gain entry, gave a cheerful "good morning" to Jane, and headed down the hallway to her new 'office'... where she spent a good 3 hours reviewing corporate policies, reading up on company background, and weeding through what seemed to be a small flood of HR-related email (hardly any of which applied to her directly, so she created a folder to 'send' it all to for later perusal.)

She then composed an e-mail to Clarisa:

[ QUOTE ]

Ms. Feynman:

I hope you've had time to review the requisitions that are needed to set up the new lab. I'd like to get a timetable set up, from initial planning on through lab start-up. Please advise as to a good time for this meeting. I will probably need an hour, perhaps two.

Kashaye Parker
Research Lead
Muon Dampening Project


[/ QUOTE ]

(( No need to roleplay this out - she just needs to figure out how long it'll all take to accomplish, as she's champing at the bit to get the research portion started. ))

Around 11am, she received a page on the PDA - seems Tommy One-Eye had been spotted in Striga, looking to leave the country with a fortune in contraband. Three members of her supergroup had already responded, but she knew they'd need help. She sent a page to the supergroup dispatch captain advising she was on her way, then, ducking into the restroom, quickly changed into her uniform, advised Jane she had been tapped for an urgent mission, and super-jumped her way across two zones to reach the Striga entry point.