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[quote][sub]
Approximately Noon
October 8th, 2029.
Conference Room 1A
HERO One
Savior's Island, Castleburg NY
[/sub]
[/quote]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]Conference Room 1A was an extremely spacious room, though it wasn't a very complex one. It was simply a long room with stark white walls and a large, sleek conference table in the middle of it. The ovular conference table was extremely oblong, more closely resembling a dining room that you would see in a castle than a conference room in your average building. The lights in the room pulsed a baby blue glow that made the glacier-white room look like the inside of some type of spaceship.

Every seat at the very long table was currently being filled by some hero, from some disdainful-looking aged Junkers like Toreador to some of the younger teenage heroes. At the other side of the room, a laptop was currently sending a live feed of the meeting to every hero that was not currently in Castleburg, or couldn't for whatever reason squeeze inside the conference room. It was immediately clear that this was not a jovial atmosphere, and outside of some hushed whispers, there wasn't a lot of chattering going on in the meeting room. 

Standing at the head of the table was a very curious cadre of strange people. Well, mostly curious, because one of these people was Director Hugo Powers, who looked even more uncomfortable and frustrated than the gathered heroes. He was currently strapped to the max, with an assault rifle hanging off his back and several combat knives sheathed on pouches that were sewn into the black combat bodysuit he was wearing, though this was not particularly unusual attire for the combat-focused veteran, even for a Monday noon "business" meeting. No, what was most strange were the three other people present at the table.

One of them was a tall, well-groomed blonde man, currently wearing a pristine navy-colored three-piece suit. The man, out of every person in the room, seemed by far the most comfortable in this environment, just by body language alone. He was smiling and looking over at one of the other unusual people, a shorter young woman with shoulder-length, curly brunette locks, warm beige skin, and currently wearing a cream-colored blouse and tan skirt. While the taller and slightly older-looking blonde man was grinning and talking to her, she didn't seem to be moving her lips to respond, and she seemed to also hate the environment. The last strange individual was an average-height, bespectacled woman with plain brown hair currently tied up in a bun, wearing a gray pantsuit and pressing a clipboard to her chest. 

After he finished whispering whatever he was saying, the blonde man scanned the room and turned to the Director. [color=SlateBlue]"Are we all set, Hugo? I don't want to waste too much of your subordinates' time here."[/color] As soon as the man spoke, it was evident by his accent that he was British, and those with a little more familiarity with language (or who have ever seen My Fair Lady) could tell from his clipped and precise manner of speaking that he was very much an upper-class Brit at that. 

Before the Director could even respond, the blonde man gave a loud cough into a gloved hand. [color=SlateBlue]"Alright, let's begin. Thank you all for coming, and thanks to all of those who are tuning in remotely."[/color] He gave a charming little wave at the camera. [color=SlateBlue]"Now, introductions are in order. My name is Inspector Q. Spencer Randolph, or Magician, if you'd rather. Joining me to my left is my partner, Inspector Marisol Perez-"[/color] He gestured to the shorter, grumpy-looking woman to his left, [color=SlateBlue]"...-and to my right, the esteemed Dr. Sabine Reininger, psychologist extraordinaire. We are a contingent sent from ICOSA to accompany you for a while."[/color] 

As soon as he mentioned the word "ICOSA," there was some audible grumbling and even a few boos. Many heroes were unhappy with the power structure at HERO as is, let alone the elusive mega-bureaucracy that operated from a different continent. The women standing next to him seemed a little put off or surprised, but Randolph kept going, completely unphased, as if he had done this exact song-and-dance routine several times before. [color=SlateBlue]"Now, as I'm sure you're aware, at this point, HERO- particularly in Castleburg- has documented a well-above-average rate of villainous encounters. Especially recently. We've seen a number of recent Leftover attacks, combined with your recent battle with, what were they called? The Fiendish Five?"[/color] Randolph glanced over at Powers with a taunting grin, before clearing his throat once again. [color=SlateBlue]"That, combined with some pretty substantial reported damage totals and, err, how should I say this? [i]Extraordinary[/i] new recruitment choices by the administration. Yes, let's go with that. Combined with those extraordinary new recruitment choices, the brass at ICOSA has asked us to come take stock of the situation and, if necessary, make and implement recommended changes."[/color]

The blonde man gave his necktie a tug. Though he wasn't reading off a script, it was pretty evident to anybody who was paying attention that his speech was prepared, if not fully memorized and recited. [color=SlateBlue]"Of course, it is not the goal of either me, or my partner, or anybody else, to totally take over HERO from the top-down. ICOSA believes in and emphasizes the importance of individual company independence. We're just going to enjoy a little East Coast vacation, watch some action, ask a couple of questions, and if all goes well, be on our merry way."[/color]

[color=SlateBlue]"So, that's what we plan on doing. We're going to be supervising and taking notes on some of the more important missions, reviewing some case files, and most importantly, conducting some interviews to make sure that everybody here is, well, qualified to participate in hero activities. Dr. Reininger is a very experienced psychologist who will be sitting and chatting with a few of you. We've actually prepared a shortlist of names."[/color] The suited man removed a folded piece of paper from one of his suit pockets, handing it to Powers, who hastily unfolded and squinted at the paper.

[color=lightslategray]"This page has 107 names on it."[/color] 

Randolph shrugged with a crafty smile. [color=SlateBlue]"That's how the process works, Hugo. But once we get through that, we'll be out of your hair and leave a cleaned-up HERO with no liabilities and perfect organization in our wake. Really just some minor changes,"[/color]  he said, looking over at his two partners. [color=SlateBlue]"Anything either of you want to add?"[/color]

[color=F52A23]"You covered it all, I think,"[/color] the young lady named Marisol said, her arms tightly folded in front of her. 

[color=SlateBlue]"Then that's settled. Meeting adjourned."[/color] The blonde man said, as some grumbling heroes stood up and prepared to take their leave. [color=SlateBlue]"Oh! And before you go, just a forewarning. We do hold some pretty rigorous standards here at ICOSA, so I expect that you all will be honest and truthful during your evaluations. I would really hate for us to have to detain heroes for intentionally deceiving us, but we have to do what we have to do, you know. Now, we have an interviewing area to set up."[/color]

The group of ICOSA intruders walked past the visibly-angry Director Powers and made their way into the hallway, where their work as a thorn in everybody's rears would soon begin. 

[center]¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤[/center]

Over the next couple of days, a cold war between the ICOSA invaders and the top brass at HERO silently lit off. Powers was rightfully not amused with the idea that the superhero apparatchik would be commandeering one of his buildings, having psychological deep-talk with his agents, and tagging along for missions in the city, even if these bureaucrats were metahuman ones. As such, Powers made sure to do as much as possible to slow Randolph’s process down.

Powers had vehemently insisted that he needed as many of his heroes to be, well, protecting the city. He noted that it would make very little sense for ICOSA to investigate HERO for the number of suspicious events and then tie their heroes up and prevent them from solving those problems. ICOSA retracted a number of the names on their interview list, instead requesting some old interview tapes and reports, but they still demanded to meet in-person with [i]some[/i] of the more suspicious and/or interesting heroes, and Powers acquiesced to this modified demand. And so the agreement was set. Some heroes lucked out of the psych eval, some didn’t. Truth be told, the ones that still got roped into the ICOSA session were the people that even Powers himself was most suspicious of. Maybe something good could come out of this intrusion for him, after all.

But just because Powers won one battle didn’t mean his fight was over. ICOSA only had to know about some things, not everything. 
[/color][/indent][/indent][hr]
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[quote][sub][color=lightgreen]
7:19 PM.
October 10th, 2029.
Peterson Estates
Passenger Island, Castleburg
Status: Getting inside the building.
On a mission with: Wireframe [@Silver Carrot], Bastion [@Infinite Cosmos], Dahlia [@baraquiel], Gematria [@Scarifar], Alchemist [@Duoya]

[/color][/sub][/quote]
[indent][indent]Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes were busy fighting villains, some were busy fighting Leftovers, some were recuperating from injuries, but Blast was...arguing with a doorman in front of a massive, neoclassical mansion. 

[color=lightgreen]"Invite? Yes, of course I have my invite! You're telling me you know who I am, and yet I'm still not allowed inside? That's ridiculous."[/color]

Jake doubled back, giving his best 'too rich for this impression,' before turning around, grabbing his suit jacket and complementing his impression with his best haughty suit tug. The hero known as Blast looked quite different from his usual, casual look. He was wearing a sleek, jet black suit with a matching tie, and his blonde hair had been carefully coiffured and gelled into an Ivy League part. He had done his best to create a convincing 'upper-class hero' persona. He kind of hated it, but it was important for the mission. And maybe his attendance at such a high-society function would get him closer to being a Junker or something. That would be good for his career. At least, if he didn't get caught doing this breaking-and-entering thing. 

Jake brought his elbow to his mouth to mime a cough, though in reality, he was pressing a finger to the transparent high-tech earpiece that had been given to those being sent to the Peterson Estate. [color=lightgreen]"Alisa, this is Blast. What's this about needing an invitation? Didn't you set me up?"[/color]

A moment, then a reply. [color=turquoise]"I specifically custom-printed everybody an invitation. Including you. My informed guess is that you rushed out the door, thus forgetting the invitation, and are now here well-before everybody else because you used your powers to speed over. Is my assessment accurate?"[/color]

Jake made a face behind the shielding of his elbow. [color=lightgreen]"Listen, can you get me in or do I need to waste my energy running across the city again? I'm kind of tired as is. You know it's-"[/color]

[color=turquoise]"So yes, my assessment is accurate. And yes, I can make something happen. Get inside quickly, though, your role is important."[/color]

That was true, as Jake was currently hoisting, via a shoulder strap, a black satchel bag, and inside that black satchel bag was a certain important doll. Gematria. Jake found it a little freaky to be carrying a 10-inch tall doll/person around with him, but it was no doubt an extremely useful power to have, especially in this context. Even somebody with silver tongue couldn't move about the massive building undetected in the same way a toy-sized person could. 

The entire group, Jake had to admit, made sense for this mission. There was the aforementioned Gematria, who could stealthily move around in her small form and gain access to any type of computer files that Peterson had effortlessly. Blast, of course, had his rapid speed and (what he considered) his great charm as well. Wireframe and Bastion practically lived and breathed this type of lifestyle and would fit right into this party. Dahlia, as far as Blast knew, had also spent her life in this type of company, though in a very different context than the others. And Alchemist...well, truth be told, Jake didn't know much about Alchemist, outside of the fact that she was a couple years younger than him, apparently almost got somebody killed in her first month or so on the job, and somehow had Powers' phone number. Maybe her ability to sneakily get phone numbers would come in handy or something. Still, it was a good group. 

Jake turned back around to see the guy that had rejected him earlier now speaking on the phone. Jake picked up the tail end of the conversation- something about a woman named Svetlana and a romantic date with his online girlfriend from Moldova- and then saw the man walk around the corner of the building, still looking down at his phone like he was a teenager looking at one of those new social media apps. Some things you don't grow out of, apparently. As the man momentarily deserted his post, Jake used a small burst of his powers to quickly walk up the front steps and into the building.

The mansion was quite massive. The first room that Jake had walked into was some type of entrance room with a large, red carpeted spiraling stairs leading to some upstairs level. The entrance room was connected to a massive ballroom, where most of the well-dressed guests were gathered, and that connected to the outside gardens, an extensive area with a number of hedges and open areas for Peterson's horses to run about. The sweet, lilting sounds of a string quartet filled the air. Jake nonchalantly reached a finger to his ear, whispering softly so as not to be overheard. [color=lightgreen]"Alisa, what's the situation here? Game plan? And where's everybody else?"[/color]

[color=turquoise]"Everybody else should be there momentarily. And hopefully with their invitations, unlike you. I can't pull the same Svetlana stunt forever. This guard is stupid, but he isn't that stupid."[/color]

[color=lightgreen]"OK, the first part of my question. What's the plan?"[/color]

[color=turquoise]"I believe the Director's explanation was very clear. Scope the place out, talk to guests, find anything you can get on Peterson. Outside of satellite photos, I can't obtain a good layout of the place, and my guess is that a good chunk of the mansion is restricted, but I'm sure you can find your way around. Reminder that you're still carrying Gematria."[/color]

[color=lightgreen]"Roger,"[/color] Blast said, having [i]totally[/i] remembered that part as he removed his finger from his ear, smiling and waving at a few tuxedo-wearing men before immediately dipping off to the nearest bathroom and stepping inside. The bathroom was, as expected, very fancy. Jake had never seen a golden toilet until now. Sick. The hero lowered the satchel bag to the floor, opening it up. [color=lightgreen]"You good in there? Is this a good spot? Also, you OK from the speed-running thing? I don't know if you being tiny makes you, like, extra vulnerable to high speeds or something. I tried carrying somebody on my back once and they totally yakked. Can robots yak? No, right? Well, you're not really a robot, though...anyway, any ideas? I can, like, throw you into an air vent or something."[/color] Jake looked up at an air vent on the ceiling. [color=lightgreen]"If you have a plan, shoot. I don't really know anything about, like, how your powers work. Outside of the toy robot stuff."[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr]
[quote][sub]7:19 PM.
October 10th, 2029.
Outside Fixeon Municipal Recycling Plant
Brookside, Castleburg
Being observed: Crane [@Zoey Boey], Lab Rat [@Silver Carrot], Blur Rabbit [@DClassified], Ardent [@manythings], Terraformer [@shylarah], Freakshow [@Crusader Lord], Mire [@Blizz]
[/sub][/quote]
[indent][indent]All the way across the city, another group of heroes was being watched.

The watcher was a young Hispanic lady, perched on the edge of a tall observation tower, overlooking the massive Fixeon Municipal Recycling Plant. The plant was in a primo real-estate area, right on the coast, overlooking the beautiful Atlantic Ocean south of Castleburg. However, it was in absolute ruin. The massive facility itself was beaten-down and in obvious dereliction, with broken windows, holes in walls, massive overgrowths of weeds and ivy, et cetera. The facility was situated a good distance away from most nearby buildings, outside of the observation tower, leaving a massive field of dying grass and dirt that was covered in stacks of crushed plastics and other recycling materials. It looked a bit dystopian, even moreso than most of Brookside. At least Brookside had some rustic charm to it, and some culture and history. This section near the recycling plant was just bleak and dead. And most importantly, it was now infested with Leftovers. Never a good sign.

The watched were a group of heroes that the Inspector Marisol Perez had memorized. One of them she was acquainted, though not particularly familiar with: a woman named Lab Rat, who was previously a member of ICOSA's Research Corps. The Research and Inspector Corps didn't intermingle too much, so the young ICOSA operative hadn't really gotten herself acquainted with the more senior individual, but she did have some background knowledge about her. Not that the background knowledge was very important: Perez had been told not to worry about analyzing the former ICOSA operative. 

Terraformer was another hero that Perez was only keeping a cursory eye on. A young hero that had graduated from the Academy. Had a good record, seemed like a good kid, albeit a bit quirky and with a propensity for technology. Still, by hero standards (and more importantly, by H.E.R.O. standards), fairly regular.

Then there was Crane, a giant woman from fairly far away that moved to Castleburg. Seemed like a regular person, but ICOSA always kept tabs on all individuals with particularly pronounced size such as Crane. What if they go full King Kong, after all? You can never be too careful.

The really important individuals that Mari was watching were four that the HERO Director Powers had somehow gotten out of psychological evaluation. Ardent, Freakshow, and Blur Rabbit. All suspicious to the ICOSA top brass for varying reasons. Ardent was a former vigilante that had, in the past, publicly defamed the very organization he was now working for. Strange. Freakshow was a former big-time criminal and gang member that was now part of a superheroic organization. Very strange. And this Blur Rabbit character was almost a total enigma. Apparently, ICOSA's executive authorities were not exactly satisfied with the files and answers that Powers had given on this hero. Very, [i]very[/i] strange. And so while they had miraculously gotten out of getting their brains picked apart by ICOSA's top psychologist, they were going to be under the watchful eye of the Junior Inspector.

And that wasn't including the mind-boggling strangeness that was Mire. Mari couldn't even conceive what the fungus Leftover thing [i]was,[/i] let alone what to think about it. That's what she was here to do, anyway. To watch and learn. 

Mari adjusted herself on the ledge of the water tower, holding through the scope of a large, glossy-looking sniper rifle. Mari generally wasn't much of a gun person, but in case things went south on this mission, she needed to be able to respond and take out the threat. She wasn't planning on shooting any of the heroes, and the heroes had been informed about the Inspector sitting on the water tower ledge, watching their every move through the scope of a sniper rifle. It was probably disconcerting, but Mari didn't pay it too much mind. She had a job to do.

She scanned the area, the scope of her rifle picking up on a large group of Leftovers that were wandering out of a large hole in the wall of the facility. Terrazards. Dangerous lizard-type leftovers, like monitor lizards but much faster, much stronger, and much, much smarter. Mari resisted the urge to start picking them off immediately. She was only authorized to use force in case of risk of serious injury or death. Her goal here was to observe and report the heroes.

And speaking of the heroes, Mari saw through her scope that they were now arriving. A large, jet black van with the HERO logo on the side rattled down the beaten path, before stopping in the middle of the field of recyclables, maybe 200 or 250 yards away from where the Leftovers were now congregating. Behind the black van (which Mari assumed was self-driving or, more likely, being driven by HERO's apparently genius AI), another black vehicle came up behind, this one a truck that was pulling a platform that carried the giant heroine, Crane. Apparently this was the modification that HERO made to accommodate people of Crane's size. Mari didn't know what the deal was with the fungus Leftover. They could probably just...come out of the ground. Or something.

Mari rested her eye against the scope as her finger wrapped around the trigger. She had done plenty of analysis on HERO from paper. Now, it was time to see how they fought in person. What made them tick?[/indent][/indent][hr]
[quote][sub]7:19 PM.
October 10th, 2029.
HERO Three
East Flank, Castleburg
In waiting: Rune [@rabidporcupine], Wiseman [@Blizz], Backup [@Zoey Boey], Fallout [@Aku the Samurai], Oracle [@shylarah]
[/sub][/quote]
[indent][indent]HERO Three's staff room was a pleasant enough place to wait around. For a facility that was generally only used by heroes for temporary storage and pickup of equipment, or as a place to crash when you get locked out of your apartment, it was actually pretty nice. There were a couple of comfy leather sofas, a foosball table, two arcade machines (one with Pac-Man, one with Space Invaders), and a wall-mounted TV. It was a fine place to sit around, though what the people gathered there to sit around [i]for[/i] was positively unpleasant. ICOSA, as part of its evaluation, was conducting some deep interviews with both Magician, their ace investigator, and Dr. Sabine Reininger, a world-renowned psychologist from Germany, in order to make sure that HERO's operatives were up to their standards.

Powers had come to the rescue of some of the people on ICOSA's interview shortlist, but he couldn't do everything, and ICOSA had demands. And so the remaining people that they had called on this Wednesday evening to get interviewed had no wiggle room out of the evaluation, lest they get fired and possibly even arrested. ICOSA took this stuff seriously. Way too seriously. 

Rune, Wiseman, Backup, Fallout, and Oracle. Five very different people, but for one reason or another, ICOSA was particularly interested- or perhaps, particularly aggrieved- by their presence at HERO. Maybe the interview was a chance to get to know them better, or maybe it was a trap to get them fired. One or the other, most likely.

Either way, the door to a connecting office swung open, and out stepped the duo of Magician (wearing a dark gray three-piece suit this time around) and Dr. Reininger, the psychologist (who was wearing pretty much the same clothes). While Dr. Reininger's demure appearance and weak but friendly smile gave her the appearance that she was nice enough (or perhaps easy to manipulate), Magician had an aura about him that screamed both condescension and arrogance. He was a frustrating character.

[color=SlateBlue]"Glad you all could make it! Let's try and get through these very quickly so we can save time. Any volunteers to go first? The sooner we finish the interview, the sooner we can fi-...err, complete your performance evaluations. Did I say something else? Anyway, brave volunteers?"[/color] The cocky British man raised an eyebrow. [color=SlateBlue]"I assure you, the good doctor here is in a very good mood. Perhaps going first will spare you her fury later on!"[/color]

The psychologist, Dr. Reininger, laughed, one part embarrassed and one part disappointed that she was here, doing this, instead of writing a book or doing research or teaching (or really anything else). "Oh, Mr. Randolph, don't make those kinds of jokes," she said with an embarrassed flush. "But yes, if anybody has anything [i]particularly[/i] important they need to attend to, please go first. I want to make our interviews thorough and productive, but as painless and time-effective as possible too. So, either way, this shouldn't take long."

[color=SlateBlue]"Oh, not long at all! So let's get at it."[/color][/indent][/indent][hr][indent][color=turquoise][sub]Pertinent update made to Leftover Files.[/sub][/color][/indent]