[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

"MCV is enroute Paladin and Menagerie, ETA is 5 minutes." At least they wouldn't have to wait too long for someone to show up who could deal with the two metahumans who had been disabled, and the third that Paladin could hear Menagerie talking to. An MCV, short for Metahuman Containment Vehicle, was a heavy truck retrofitted to accommodate metahumans that would be otherwise difficult to restrain. They had a variety of specialist equipment including super-heavy manacles, insulated cells and sedation drips for metas that even those pieces of equipment couldn't deal with. While Menagerie is gone, Paladin walks over to the recumbent form of the unconscious teleporter. He shows no signs of coming round any time soon, and she simply settles for picking up his gun. Kicking it away would do little good if he's still capable enough of teleporting when he comes round, but she doubts he would want to fight her for it. Eventually the MCV arrives, escorted by two patrol cars. The uniformed officers look on as the MCV officers climb out of the back. Under Paladin's watchful eye two men clamp the super-heavy manacles around the brick's unresisting wrists. It's clear when the two men let go just how heavy they are, and the man groans as his arms are dragged towards the ground. He certainly won't be able to do much damage with those on. One of the officers escorts the man towards the truck while the others lift the teleporter. Paladin comments, "He's a teleporter, Menagerie got him with a squirrel so it looks like he has to take things with him when he goes. I'm not sure if that extends to handcuffs though so you might have to be careful." One of the officers nods, and Paladin takes a step back as she leaves them to do their jobs. They have all sorts of tricks now for containing people, but it seems there are still very few ways to contain a teleporter short of simply keeping them unconscious. Of course it depends on the nature of the ability. The uniformed patrol officers head in the direction of Menagerie and the explosive striker. Paladin would have gone with them but preferred to stay here and keep an eye on the loading of the MCV. Menagerie should be able to explain that the girl had surrendered to the officers.

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[Megan Daniels]

Unfortunately the woman knew next to nothing about the people who had come after her, in fact she hadn't used her power in over a year she claimed, and Menagerie had no reason to disbelieve her. As she willingly cooperated in the hand-off to the police, which certainly was going to make her self defense claims easier, Menagerie had a troublesome thought; either these metahumans or whoever they worked for had been stalking her for well over a year, or they had some way of determining if a person was Metahuman or not from a distance. 

The striker smiled as she was fitted with a pair of what Menagerie had to assume was a striker restraint method that looked like giant metal and plastic mittens handcuffed together "Thank you so much uh..." the armored Hero grinned "Menagerie" the woman nodded "Menagerie. You and Paladin have my thanks" with a chuckle Menagerie responded "It's sort of what we do, you're absolutely welcome. I wish you the best of Luck, and while this sounds kind of terrible... I hope I never have a reason to see you again"

With a wave of her hand, which wasn't strictly necessary but was a useful focusing tool, all of the skeletons save Frank seemed to vanish into black mist. Menagerie had quickly realized there was some element of teleportation to her powers considering any skeleton within four miles could be brought up in any spot she wanted, so it made some sense that when she dismissed them the bones returned to where they had originally been. She kept Frank on her shoulder for the time being though.

Returning to Paladin, Menagerie wiped more plaster from her hair. Ash and soot showed up very obviously on the chalk white armor plates but there was a small enough amount of it that it didn't do anything to subtract from the look. Watching as the door to the MCV is closed slowly, she stretched slightly turning to her fellow Hero "Damn, not entirely what I was expecting on my first day out but it certainly was quite something. Do we need to like do paperwork or something or is our bit done?"

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

Paladin's face fell. "You had to go and say it didn't you?" She steps down from the piece of rubble she'd been perched on, landing with barely a sound and nary a puff of dust. The white of her suit is definitely decidedly dirty now, the dust clinging to it despite her ability. She can absorb kinetic energy, she has very little power over friction, and the clouds of dust are still hanging in the air. The visibility is better though, and Paladin's disappointment is clear on her face. The voice of Paladin's liaison sounds in both of their ears, only the barest hint of amusement in her tone. "Speaking of paperwork, I'll send the report template through to you Menagerie, you should be set up on the system already. You already have the template right Paladin?" Paladin scratches her head, "Uhhh… I think I lost it?" "Already sent you a new one." "Damn." Paladin mouths, before speaking loudly enough for the earpiece to pick her up. "Thanks! Appreciate it!" Clicking the earpiece off, she turns to Menagerie. "Yeah. We get looooaaads of paperwork." Her tone is reminiscent of a high school student who's just reminded they have homework due in for tomorrow. It makes sense. Heroes, in many cases, wielded incredibly destructive powers, and the Program always wanted to make sure that they had done their best to keep destruction to a minimum. "We can go back straight away to do it, or keep going with the patrol. Either way we have to do it pretty quickly though."

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[Megan Daniels]

Just about nobody in the world liked filling out paperwork. This was a simple and well known fact, but for Menagerie, the mere fact that the government was involved in the Hero Program suggested that there would be plenty of it. After all while the exact nature of the job was different in many ways, the Heroes are in essence a specialized type of Law Enforcement, but their public notoriety had made it easy to forget they were Federal Employees- at least until the paperwork was right there in front of her.

"I am mostly sure there would have been paperwork even if I didn't mention it. Mostly". She took a look around, the building was utterly trashed to the point that it was entirely unclear what it had been before, but apart  from some broken streetlights and buried or burned up plants the surrounding roads and buildings mostly just had the same singular issue that everything within a block had: they were covered in dust and flecks of drywall and plaster. Considering it hadn't been them who broke the building in the first place Menagerie figured they were fine as collateral damage went.

She was interrupted by the chirp of a voice directly into her ear, something Menagerie still was not at all used to. Before deactivating it she spoke "Alright, thanks" into it. Narrowly resisting a chuckle at Paladin's claim of having lost the template. Perhaps she had in fact lost it but it wasn't hard to tell what she was trying even before her mouthed comment. At the next comment Menagerie actually did let out a slight laugh, once again rather bemused by the reminder of the fact that one of if not the most physically powerful as well as one of the most influential people on earth was about her age, and not only that but she was very familiar in attitude. It certainly made it way easier to ignore the name Paladin and just to interact regularly.

"I'm thinking go back myself, if we need to do it quickly it makes sense. As boring as I'm sure it will be I could certainly use the wind down of it all, you wouldn't think it would be all that intensive when I'm not the one doing the fighting but not exactly it's... it's like trying to play chess in the middle of a firefight" knocking one last bit of plaster from her hair Menagerie asked "So which way back?"

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

Paladin looks at the rubble around them, blowing her cheeks out. "Yeah, there's always more paperwork when there's property damage though. This wasn't our fault, but we've got to make sure we record it for insurance purposes blah blah blah."   She shrugs, grinning, "I really did not think that I was signing up for more homework when I became a Hero, but I guess nothing is ever what you expect it to be."   Pensively, she watches as the MCV roars to life and pulls away. There are three metahumans locked up in there, but possibly only two that deserve it. Maybe Megan is right, filling in that paperwork quicker will be the best move, partly because it might lead to the woman's progress through the system going faster.   "You're right, maybe it'll help that striker if we get the paperwork filled in and sent off quick. I think her life is about to change, a lot."   She doesn't look back at the dusty haze of the collapsed building. There had only been one explosion, what kind of power was that girl wielding that she could do this with one blow? Paladin des not envy her situation one bit. Maybe she'll drop in on her later, check that she's doing OK, she knows what it's like to lash out with an ability you don't have full control over.   "It's probably about a ten minute walk for us, and I don't know about you, but after that fight I'm starving, I know a great little street meat guy that's usually on the route back. Fancy something?" She starts to lead the way down the street. Pausing only a moment as the MCV pulls around a corner and out of sight. She frowns. "Come on, lets go."

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[Megan Daniels]

Menagerie had never been in a fight with other Metahumans before and it was very different than she would have assumed; even though she fought through her skeletons and not directly it still was exhausting, so much so that for a moment the explosion striker had slipped her mind. A wave of emotions hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, so mixed together it would be difficult to name what she was feeling but it wasn't especially pleasant.

Still, she and Paladin had won the fight and most likely prevented there being a great deal more damage, so there was something at least. However Menagerie kept remembering how it had been to be frightened by her powers, and hers were merely disquieting to most people and not so inherently destructive. She could certainly get what it was like to have a power that just seemed villainous, but she wouldn't kid herself into thinking she understood the situation entirely. "It should help at any rate, I'm not an expert in the legal system but I plan on doing what I can to help the situation. I mean.. helping people, that's really the whole point isn't it?" she let out a long deep breath. Standing around doing nothing wasn't going to be any good for her or anyone else right now. "Yeah I'm definitely hungry so that sounds great to me. Glad to have somebody who knows the area since I have no clue where anything is unless it's within three blocks of where I live" she gave Paladin a weak smile, following her down the road and leaving the ruins behind.

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

The smile on Paladin's face is fainter this time, as her eyes take on the glazed, far away look of memory. "Yeah, the whole point." She snaps back suddenly, looking guilty. "It's the reason I still do it." Paladin is not enamoured of her role as the face of the Program, she never wanted to be famous, her desire to be a superhero had always been born from powerlessness and the way she identified with the characters in her comics. Now she's one of the most well-known figures in the world. "I do sometimes wonder if I'd do it all again the same way?" No, she wouldn't. But she'd still be a Hero, even if she had to go on talk shows and appear at galas. The street meat van is indeed on the way back, and Paladin points him out as they approach, as well as giving him a little wave. "I grew up here, so I really know the city well, if you ever want a tour out of costume just let me know, I'd love to show you round some of my favourite spots." The man behind the counter is very tanned, with thick black hair and an immaculately white apron. The scent of spiced meat is emanating from the window as they arrive and Paladin grins. "Oh so good. Hey Nicos." The man has a New York accent as he responds "Paladin, always a pleasure to see you, and a new Hero? I don't know you!" On the walls of the van are numerous photos, posters and designs associated with the Hero Program. On the back wall of the food truck, in about the only spot there is space for such a thing, there is a framed, signed photograph of Paladin. Paladin gives him her order, lamb gyros with all the trimmings, then hands over a few bills. The swarthy chef accepts them gratefully, then gives Menagerie a pointed look, "Yours is on the house, the first taste is always free for a Hero." He winks good naturedly, then busies himself about the cart preparing the food for them. While he does so Paladin turns to Menagerie. "So did you manage to get a place near the Program building? I've heard rents have gone sky high there since everyone reckons it will be safer to be closer to us."

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[Megan Daniels]

Menagerie nodded quietly along with Paladin's moment of introspection for a while before saying "I've quite enjoyed talking to you Paladin but I have no illusions about the fact that I don't know you very well but I feel I kind of get what you're saying" she stretched as they walked, pulling herself out of the melancholy. The world needed people like the two of them right now, people with the ability to help and the desire and will to actually do so. Each Hero meant more incidents that could be dealt with, and every one would make a difference in the case of a truly monumental threat.

"A tour sounds great. I could probably use it" Menagerie said, approaching the van with a smile visible in the gap at the bottom of her mask as she was hit by the scent of cooked meat and spices. It seemed Paladin and the chef new each other quite well, which made some sense but it still felt a little juxtapose to see Heroes doing something so normal. Nodding to the man she said "I'm Menagerie, pleased to meet you" her brain seemed to pause for a moment at the free food. Somehow it was that and not the battle that got her brain to finally internalize that she was a Hero now. Then retaining her smile she responded "Greatly appreciated"
 
Menagerie turned back to her partner "Close might be overstating it, but I'm within a few miles. Absolutely tiny place but rent isn't too horrible and the utilities are pretty reliable compared to a lot of the places I've stayed. Though I can see why people would feel safer. I'm not used to living in a city where metas are such an integral part of the local worldview" 

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

"Careful." Paladin winks, "Don't let him get too generous, or he'll be demanding autographs." She reaches up as the swarthy New Yorker leans down from the hatch of the truck, passing her a wrap in thick paper. The heat of the fresh food is already penetrating the wraps, though she can't feel much of it through the gloves of her costume. They're custom made though, and well fitted, so despite the high performance and resilient fabric they are made of, she doesn't lose much in the way of dexterity. "I know what you mean. Before I was a Hero I used to live in a hole, there was literally enough space for my bed and a hotplate. And I struggled even to afford that for a while." She'd actually spent several months on the streets, though mostly she was camped out in the warehouse Dominic had leased for the six of them. He'd put her up somewhere once he'd found out that she was sleeping there, promising that it was just an advance on the life she would have when she was a Hero. He'd been right. Money was no longer the uncomfortable topic it had once been. Although it was uncomfortable in a whole other way now. Nicos leans down from the hatch with Menagerie's order, handing it to the bone clad Hero. "You can give me and autograph next time eh?" He grins and pats the counter of his truck, then looks about and scratches his head theatrically. "Though I don't know where I will put it." He laughs as the two Heroes walk on, Paladin picking carefully at her overstuffed lamb gyros in an attempt to eat it without the whole thing exploding in her hands. "It's good here, people like seeing Heroes around, at least mostly. It helps that the MNRU is here too, so even when unstable metas do show up usually there is someone to help them." Pausing and looking back at the distant haze that was their battlefield only a few minutes ago. "It's just hard work making sure that people stay positive about it." She glances sideways at her companion. "I guess you've had to deal with that more than I have?"

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[Megan Daniels]

"Honestly for the area I think I got a pretty decent deal. Everywhere seems to be getting progressively more expensive like every week" Menagerie said with a slight chuckle. It was something most young adults had trouble with at some point but the prices were most definitely higher in San Francisco than she had seen before, especially considering that voice acting had per-job payment so the cash she had on hand could vary wildly. She gratefully took her food, thanking the chef with an impish grin still on her face, the heat of it evident even through her gloves elastic and vaguely cloth-like material she couldn't really identify with any confidence. He was certainly right that there wasn't really a lot of room for more things on the truck's walls, though she also would have said that if it was far less full yet more room had somehow been found. 

Nodding along with what Paladin said Menagerie noted "Seems a little odd that a neurology lab would have that large of a effect but it makes sense I suppose. I get that it's a high-population city and all but it feels sometimes like there's a really proportionally high number of Metahumans here" she shrugged. Her smile faded at Paladin's words after that though. "I mean... I haven't been out doing heroing for long of course so not... quite, but the reason I haven't been is in part because of that very thing. I never really figured myself as Hero material for a few reasons" there was of course the obvious fact of her powers nature, as well as the fact that he wasn't very good at following orders and just barely passed the program's physicals, and even that she couldn't so much fight very well herself as much as create others to fight for her.

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

Paladin shrugs. "Maybe, but at least with metas that struggle to control their powers they have somewhere to go. Some cities it's much harder." Like New York. The city was now so hostile to metahumans that there was little option for a meta other than to hide their abilities, and if that wasn't possible, to leave. Somehow there were still metahuman crimes there, which hardly helped the situation. Paladin was bright enough, and certainly well meaning, but she didn't understand a lot of the deeper things that she left to people like Dominic and Claire. They understood that San Francisco was a hotspot precisely because she was here, metahumans that looked up to her and wanted to be like her, and those who saw her as a rival and wanted to prove their strength against her. All she knew was that she seemed to be dealing with a different Villain every week, each more arrogant than the last. "There are loads of metahumans here, and I don't really know why, you'd have to ask Dom, I mean, Mr Weaver, about that sort of thing. He understands the statistics and things, I just fight crime." She glances sideways at the bone clad Hero as she sucks another piece of lamb from her fingers, relishing in the juicy flavour of the meat. "I always wanted to be a Hero, even before well... The powers and everything. I just loved that shit, y'know, and seemed like something that would always be a dream. Then obviously I got my powers and the rest..." Paladin was one of the few documented metahumans that predated the event. Half a dozen blurry videos exist in a thousand places on the internet, with even more theories about why it was that she had exhibited powers before the clouds of biochemical agents had appeared in the sky and changed the world. She licks the fingers of her gloves, before turning her attention back to her gyros. Now that she has picked out a lot of the filling it's actually possible to eat the meal as originally intended, and she takes a bite from the wrap like food. Chewing thoroughly, clearly enjoying the intense flavours, she swallows before continuing. "What made you change your mind? About being a Hero I mean."

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[Megan Daniels]

Menagerie nodded along with the explanation of the MNRU's psychological effects, though she was thinking of a different sort of city where it was challenging to be a metahuman that she was more familiar with, ones that simply had not yet caught up to their existence and had no visible local presence of them in heroes or criminals. It made it easy to feel alone despite the likelihood that hundreds of other metahumans were in the city too. She carefully started on her food as they continued on, it was certainly delicious though it was the kind of food she usually wouldn't have elected to eat while walking, and while her mask left more than enough mouth exposed to eat it was a task that would take some getting used to (not that it was difficult, Menagerie just felt strange doing it).  

The sheer earnestness of Paladin's explanation of her motivations caught Menagerie's attention, and she pauses to consider after being asked for her own. "I feel like I ought to be able to give a definite answer to that, you know? But really it wasn't a thing that made me change my mind so much as a bunch of different things that caused me to reevaluate my thoughts". she chuckles "Not very dramatic or motivational as origins go but things just sorta happen that way. Few years ago there weren't Heroes and a few before that the very idea of actual Superheroes would have seemed crazy and yet here I am working as one. What I'm trying to say is that I did nothing to help people for most of my life because I couldn't, now that I could what the hell was I doing still just twiddling my thumbs? I was waiting for a miracle I had already received." she smiles sheepishly.

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Megan Daniels + wearing

The offices of the Hero Program loom before them. San Francisco is full of tall buildings, and that leased by the Program doesn't really differ all that much from the rest physically, but it carries a certain aura lacked by the sort of office block that contains call centres and tech companies. There is a certain power that seems to make all other buildings lean imperceptibly away from it. Probably because it is the only building in San Francisco that contains enough destructive force to level the city. The Hero that is responsible for a good portion of that destructive power wipes meat juices from her chin. "I like that... Waiting for a miracle you'd already received." It strikes a certain chord in Paladin. Of the six survivors of the accident, she had been the last one to realise her abilities. She'd thought that she'd been passed over in the super powered lottery, then discovered she was one of the most powerful of all of them. She grins at the macabre Hero. "Got to say though, you've definitely made the best of it. It's pretty easy for someone like me, with my power. It's got to be hard work to be recognised as a Hero when your ability is raising the dead. Cool though it is." She reaches out one gloved hand and scratches the skull of the squirrel on Megan's shoulder. Once again she marvels at the way the small skeleton seems to react in exactly the same way as a live mammal. It is simultaneously unnerving, and amazing. "I bet you'll get loads of fans." Had Paladin still been in school, she definitely would have been buying a Menagerie lunchbox.

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