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September 14th, 2029.
"H.E.R.O. Day"
Castleburg, NY
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[indent][indent][color=lightgray]New Athens was absolutely abuzz with excitement on this windy September day. The weather wasn't even all that great: the temperature was just chilly enough to make the skittish want to go fetch their coats, and a noticeably constant breeze was sweeping through the river-encircled city. The sun hadn't even bothered to make an appearance, being mostly hidden behind a thin layer of gray clouds. But despite the not-so-great weather, the turnout in Castleburg was exceptional. People lined the streets, which were decorated with all sorts of streamers, banners, and (unfortunately for the plastic-averse) balloons. Street lamps and telephone poles were decorated, storefronts had large cardboard cutouts of some city-wide H.E.R.O. favorites, and copious amounts of confetti covered the roadways and sidewalks alike. The chattering of Castleburg's residents, who were enjoying conversations with their neighbors about the weather ("Gee, it's colder in September than it's ever been, huh?"), politics ("That new Mayor Cohen really has done a bang-up job so far") and, of course, H.E.R.O. ("You know, I just saw Shark Attack at a bar last week! Got an autograph on my arm and everything. No, of course I haven't showered!") were loud and drowned out only by children, playing in the streets thanks to the city-wide day off. 

This festivity was all throughout the city, from Kingsdale to Watervale, but the [i]real[/i] jubilation was taking place in New Athens. The people of Castleburg were gathered en masse to watch a thundering parade stride down 5th Avenue. The parade was very, very loud and complete with a marching band, floats, and even a couple of large balloons, one of them that resembled a badly-drawn Hugo Powers. The procession was a little weird, yes, but it was sweet in a way. For the professional heroes that protected the city, it was a pleasant reminder that, despite their occasional gripes, the people still very much appreciated them. 

The epicenter of the excitement was the Johnstone Convention Center, located right off of 5th Avenue in New Athens. The massive building, though notable for its sheer size, was not interesting in and of itself; it resembled a massive warehouse, with gray tile flooring and steel trusses along the ceilings. However, the Convention Center was notable for what it could [i]become,[/i] and on this occasion, the Johnstone Center was packed with people as it was filled with H.E.R.O.-related exhibits everywhere. Large displays of superheroes, tables with current and retired heroes giving out autographs and taking photos with fans, and a large stage with plenty of hastily-arranged seating. It was like Comic Con, except the comic books were real. 

It was a fun day for the city of Castleburg, both for the regular civilians who got to meet and admire their heroes, and of course, for the heroes who got to see the full force of the city's appreciation of their presence. It was a truly fun day, and [b]absolutely [i]nothing[/i][/b] could ruin it.[/color][/indent][/indent][hr]
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12:49 PM.
September 14th, 2029.
5th Avenue, New Athens, Castleburg.
Status: Moving quickly.
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[indent][indent][color=lightgreen]"Sorry, 'scuse me, coming through, watch out, sorry, look out, sorry, coming through!"[/color]

These abbreviated exclamations were only barely audible to the gathered people on the streets of New Athens, as what appeared to be a green blur expertly weaved through the thickly-packed avenue, zigging and zagging through the crowd like a human pinball. The fast-moving blur zipped through a few more people and barreled out onto an empty street corner, quickly slowing down to reveal a grinning, blonde-haired young man. This young man, of course, being the hero Jacob Fleetwood, AKA "Blast."

Jake was wearing a sleek, sporty black tennis jacket, a t-shirt, dark cargo pants and sneakers: a perfectly average get-up for the festivities. Dangling from his neck was a pair of goggles that Jake had just yanked down from his face, and around his wrist was a gadget that most members of H.E.R.O. had: the custom HERO smartwatch. The watch was issued to all members of the HERO organization upon joining, from interns to top brass, and contained all sorts of important information on it, including messages from the Director on missions. Jake held up his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and tapped the watch. In a faint blue light, the shimmering visage of a dark-skinned bald man was projected in front of Jake's face. This was Director Hugo Powers. His mouth began to move as the hologram re-enacted a pre-recorded message.

[color=lightslategray]"Attention, heroes. I need a group of you to assist me at the Johnstone Convention Center. If you are available, please come and meet behind the stage. You will be rewarded for your time."[/color]

The mini-Director hologram then shimmered away, much to the amusement of Jake. The high-tech smartwatches had been around longer than he had been around at HERO, meaning he had interacted with them for nearly a half-decade, and yet he was still impressed with the technology. Jake looked back at the now-dormant watch. The Director was not very forthcoming with information about whatever was needed at the Convention Center; indeed, Powers was the type to give out information strictly on a "need-to-know" basis. Jake pondered the request as he tapped his foot against the sidewalk. Whatever was going on at the convention center sounded very boring. That being said, Jake had spent much of the day zipping around the city and had already seen the entire parade, blitzed around all the interesting events, and even signed an autograph. This couldn't be much worse. Plus, Jake did want to get on the Director's good side after the "Fine China Incident" the week prior (a failed pursuit of a villain that ended up in a home goods store which involved, you guessed it, a lot of broken china). Answering this stupid call to action would certainly help in reversing the damage that had done. 

So, Jake lifted his watch, pressed on the screen, and speaking into the device like he was James Bond, he said, [color=lightgreen]"This is Blast. I'm en route. Give me 60."[/color] And with that, he quickly lifted the goggles back onto his face and zipped off, darting past the parade (which was still in full swing) and bolting right up to the front of the convention center. He looked down at his watch with a slight smirk. 54 seconds. He had outdone himself. The hero muscled his way through the crowd, entering the area where the exposition was  taking place.

Jake did not care to look at the heroes signing autographs, some of whom he was likely to at least be familiar with, nor hang around in the crowd. This entire affair felt a bit too nerdy for him. So instead, he once again cut through the crowd using his superpowers, and within another handful of seconds he had effortlessly made it across the entire center and behind the large stage, an area which was filled with what looked like lighting and sound equipment and was...devoid of all other people. Jake looked at his watch. Sometimes, he forgot how fast he moved in comparison to the rest of the world. The young hero quickly hopped onto a tall black chest that likely contained fragile and expensive equipment, tapping his feet against the side of the box as he waited impatiently. [color=lightgreen][i]If nobody else shows up at this thing, I'm going to look so dumb. Is he going to pay us? I hope he pays us. Why am I even here? This is stupid...[/i][/color]
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[quote][sub]12:49 PM.
September 14th, 2029.
H.E.R.O. One, Savior Island, Castleburg.
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[indent][indent]Across the city, on the pleasant island called Savior Island, the Assistant Director of HERO, a certain Ms. Emily Duff, was trying to collect her papers.

Almost all of the heroes in the city were not at HERO One on this particular afternoon. Most of them were enjoying their day off: maybe relaxing at home, maybe watching the parade, maybe hanging out in the park, and some hopefully responding to the Director's call for assistance at the exposition. Emily Duff would've loved to have been doing any of those thigns. However, the Assistant Director of HERO was  instead running around outside of the massive HERO HQ, trying to collect papers that were blowing away in the breeze.

The scene outside HERO One was certainly lovely. Savior Island was quite small, but there was still a decent swath of land to walk around on outside of the massive skyscraper that dominated the area. On one side of the island was the dock, where boats could come and go, but on the other side there was a pleasant little beach, rife with tall grasses, large rocks, and lavender plants, all of it partially shadowed by the massive presence of HERO One. 

Emily was out here to give a little "Welcome to Castleburg" speech. Just a short presentation for the new heroes that were either brand-new to the city or maybe living on their own in the metropolis for the first time. Emily would have preferred to give the speech indoors, but the meeting room was apparently "undergoing maintenance." (She also would have preferred to be where her boss was: giving a big speech in front of a big crowd in the heart of the city, but that's besides the point). So here she was, standing near the water, trying to catch the papers that were flying out of her hand. This was quite difficult because, first, Emily was wearing heels and a dark gray pantsuit, making it difficult to track down the papers on foot. Second, the wind, which was already quite strong in the rest of the city, was even stronger on the small island that was much farther out in the ocean, so while the rest of Castleburg was dealing with a windy day, Emily was dealing with quite the strong gust that was blowing her long, cherry-tipped blonde hair all over the place. 

Emily sighed and acquiesced to the wind as her papers fluttered out of her grasp once again and drifted away lazily. She considered using her powers to stop them from flying away, but if she had done so, they likely would not be very readable. And plus, she didn't really need the papers anyway. The Assistant Director sighed. Hopefully somebody showed up to this event. Emily always enjoyed being of service, but with how much fun there was to be had at the festivities, what type of socially-inept superhero would want to attend an optional seminar on "how to adjust to your new hero life?" There was no way anybody would [i]actually[/i] show up, right? [/indent][/indent][hr]