[Deleted]

The skies between Los Angeles and San Francisco was always busy, planes both civilian and military soaring to and fro, but if anyone was paying close enough attention as they flew they may have noticed another figure, blazing red hair flowing behind her in her dazzling red-and-white costume. Francine Bell, TV star and rising actress had loved none of her powers as much as this ability to free herself of the ground and meet the clouds in the sky. Here, high above the world where cars and congested roadways looked like tiny strings of ants, she was free from everything. It was like driving one sixty down the highway with the top down, but so much more exhilarating. Here above the clouds she didn't have to worry about anything but her destination, the wind in her hair and the warm sun caressing her skin. It was nice to get away from things.

But this wasn't an idle flight to San Francisco just to visit the beach or be seen, Nova was on her way to an official meeting with one of the more veteran heroes, if you could call Paladin a veteran. She was to meet the other woman in the lounge of San Francisco's federal hero HQ, presumably just to meet and chat a bit or something, but she wished it was at a less boring venue. Like maybe... The two of them shaking hands or embracing om the steps of city hall, or visiting one of the many parks to encourage the little kids who looked up at them with wonder. But no, just some boring old office. That said she couldn't pass up the chance to network with another super hero, if the two worked together then that would build the Program's, and their own, reputations even higher!

Nova entered the facility through the hangar, twirling over the private jet used to quickly move the non flying (which honestly was almost all of them) heroes to other cities quickly and wondering what a good paint job could do for it. She'd been given brief instructions by one of the waiting guards and quickly found her way to the lounge. It was roomy and decorated with comfortable couches and a TV, but it was sorely lacking in aesthetics. That only just registered on her radar though as her fellow hero was already waiting. And she was right on time, perfectly punctual as always!

Nova wasted no time in floating right up to the shorter blue haired woman and wrapping her in a quick, friendly hug before drifting backwards to beam a wide grin at her. "Paladin, hey hey! Looks like we're both on time! I have heard so much about you, gosh, it's great to finally meet you in person!" Said Frankie, her natural valley girl accent strong as ever. She put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, crossing her feet in a proper heroic pose for her introduction. "I'm Nova, LA's very own ray of sunlight! Are we doin' real names too? I don't care if you know mine, I'm Francine, call me Frankie, and I gotta say I like that bright blue hair! It's a real attention grabber, an' it ain't that bad but I know the perfect stylist back in Beverly who can fix that thing up right, why, just the other day he cut my hair and he is just flawless! And I'm hoping you heard about my latest headline here in San Fran! 'Nova Saves Studio 6 from Rampaging Rhino-man! Golly if only I brought my clippings, the picture they took was just amazing!" She said, quickly moving from her heroic pose to a much more relaxed stand, setting down to chatter cheerfully at the other hero. Today was a good day!

"It just warms my heart that you wanted to meet me, we're gonna be great friends, I just know it!"

[Alice Morrow]
[ESTABLISHING CHARACTER MOMENT GO!]

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

This time the new Hero was visiting San Francisco. THe last time Paladin had gone out of their way to meet someone they had been the one to travel. This made sense however, Nova was gifted with flight, and there was no faster way to travel between LA and San Francisco than through the air. Paladin was almost jealous. Her ability made her virtually impervious to damage, but she had harboured secret dreams of flying through the air like the heroes in her comics had. It seemed leaping tall buildings in a single bound was her limit however, not that she was complaining. The press loved Nova apparently, or so Dom had told her. Paladin was glad for her. About the only part Paladin enjoyed of being well known was that some criminals simply gave up when they saw her coming. There were always a few who didn't believe the hype, and she took no great pleasure in putting them down. Still, it was fun to be the kind of Hero that she'd always read about, one that actually wore a costume and was impervious to bullets. And sometimes it was fun being the centre of attention, even if her patience for it was limited. She was fully suited and booted as the other woman entered, as was expected from the Hero Program, apparently she'd been sold as some kind of veteran, which was a stretch, so she had to look the part. "Hey Nova, it wasn't hard for me, I do live here after all." The other Hero was bubbling over with energy, even more so than Paladin normally was, and she found it a strange experience to not be the most excited person in the room. She couldn't help getting caught up in the enthusiasm though, and a wide grin spread over her face at Nova's, Frankie's, antics. "I guess you can call me Alice then, just Alice, no nicknames there I'm afraid." Nodding, Paladin recalled the news story, the metahuman in question had some unnamed grudge that they had intended to settle by reducing the building to rubble before the red-haired heroine had showed up. Her bubbly personality had been as clear on the TV as it was now, although the news report hadn't quite done it justice. "That was... totally awesome... it was just like reading it in a comic book or watching a movie. I couldn't believe when he nearly got you. Like, my heart was going so fast." Paladin hadn't taken to the idea of preserving evidence of her exploits. But she couldn't blame the girl for doing it herself. It was a heady feeling becoming a super hero, having people looking up to you. And Nova was very much the quintessential image of a heroine, tall, elegant and with long red hair that looked too natural to have come out of a bottle. She was almost a little jealous. "I thought we could walkabout together, there's been some unrest in the city, some gangs duking it out now that they've got meta muscle, and it makes people feel better to see Heroes out patrolling instead of just showing up when there is violence. Remind them that we're there to help as well." That was a big part of why Paladin enjoyed her job so much. She could walk around the city meeting people. There was still a big rush of people asking for autographs and selfies, but things had been calming down and she was usually only asked by obvious tourists. She imagined there would be some more excitement if she was patrolling with Nova. The Hero was new but she already had a dedicated following.

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[Deleted]

Never in all her life had Francine expected to get a thrill put of beating up losers like that rhino-guy, but wouldn't you know she did? It was new. It was dangerous. It was exciting and most of all, if you picked your fights right, then the people loved you. It helped that she had the power of the sun on her side. She'd only been working for the Program for about a month but she was already turning heads. She returned Paladin's greeting with a nod and committed the name to memory. Alice. Plain, but still pretty. Then they were on to talking about the super fight.

"Oh, yeah, he was pretty tough! He was always a block head, I worked with the guy when he was an extra on some show and I swear he picked fights with the director every day. But it turns out laser beam beats rhinoceros. I'm glad I don't have a bruise from where the jerk hit me, but I guess that's just part of the fun right?" Frankie prattled on, failing to recall his name again but who even cared about the name of some asshole rhino guy? He was locked up now and Nova didn't spare him another second of her thoughts. Instead it went straight to the fact that Alice was offering for the two of them to basically do a super hero team up!

"Getting right to business, huh? It's cool! Who wants to hang out in this ugly lobby when we could be out there being seen? People love a hero with a presence! Do I have fans this far South? I bet I do, and just think, Paladin and Nova, the heroes of the Program standing tall together, that's gotta inspire some more new metas to sign up right? Don't worry, I'll try not to steal too much of your thunder," The redhead replied, lifting back off the ground with a cocky grin on her face. LA had its own problems, but having somebody in the business to rely on could only be a good thing! "So let's get at it! The bad guys won't know what hit 'em!"

Nova followed after Paladin once the shorter girl took the lead, but that didn't mean she was going to quit talking. She was quiet for a bit while they navigated the halls, but chirped up quickly with "You know I can't believe there's not more of us, there's so many people out there who got super powers like us and they just go right to robbing banks and killing people, can't they just like get jobs with those skills like a normal person? Like rhino dude, he could work construction like all day and I don't think he'd even be tired! They pay you to put your name in lights and help people!

Maybe it's just because you n' me are the only ones with really flashy powers? I mean, you've been working here longer than me, but I haven't seen anybody else who can shoot laser beams. Not that there's anything wrong with punching people."

[Alice Morrow]
[No, she won't stop talking if you just ignore her.]

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

"Huh, probably not the best guy to get powers then." Paladin was referring to Nova's ex-co-worker turned apparent nemesis. She was pleasantly surprised by the red-heads continued excitement, even while discussing the risks that came with being a Hero. Paladin was fortunate enough to be impervious to physical damage, if she was careful, but that didn't make her immortal. She hadn't quite learned that the hard way, although she'd had a close shave with an energy protector just a few days ago. She'd had to ditch the suit after that, wearing her spare and ordering a half-dozen more. Hopefully she wouldn't need them, but his crackling blades had made short work of the fabric it was made of, and nearly taken her arm off. That had been too close. She was curious how her power might interact with Nova's. Most of her beams seemed to have an actual physical force, but she'd seen her produce actual heat as well. Perhaps they could spar another time. It might make for an interesting experience. She laughed, "Go ahead and steal all the thunder you want. People will be pretty excited to see you here. All this stuff is new so I doubt many of them have seen a Hero other than me and the other San Francisco Heroes." It didn't take long to make their way through the halls of the building. It wasn't much, a few floors rented from an office building in central San Francisco, but it had a terrace, which Paladin particularly enjoyed the use of. She answered as she stepped out onto the narrow concrete walkway. "I don't blame people for not signing up. This isn't for everyone. It's dangerous, and scary and unless you get sponsorship deals there isn't a whole load of money involved. Add that to the sudden ability to melt steel with your spit and robbing a bank or a store is just easier." She climbed up and swung her legs over the railing, swinging them over the street far below. "And for some people it's an accident. They just need to learn to use their powers." Looking back at Nova, she smiled, "But we can help them do that right?" Shrugging, she looked out again, then tapped the bud in her ear, bringing it online. "I happen to think I'm particularly good at punching people. But then I can also do this…" She stood up, letting herself fall forwards with arms outstretched before pushing off the edge of the building, pouring energy into and out of her feet to send her soaring out above the city. She landed perfectly, as if she'd simply stepped onto the building. It had taken her months to get that right. Even absorbing all the kinetic energy of her movement didn't make it look good without some practise.

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[Deleted]

Alice seemed a lot more serious about this super hero thing than Francine really had thought in to it. Maybe it was just in her personality to leap blindly in to danger, or maybe the idea of her name on the front page of the LA Times instead of one of those movie stars was just blinding her to the risks. The idea that her encounter with rhino guy would have been a fatal one she hadn't even really thought of, and even as the other girl explained why other people wouldn't be so willing as she was it still mostly went in one ear and out the other. She just shrugged her shoulders and drank in that hot San Francisco sunlight as they stepped out on to the terrace.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to work harder 'til then!" Frankie replied, untangling her visor from her hair and pushing it over her eyes to conceal her identity. She was sure anyone who actually knew her wouldn't be fooled by her hiding her cheekbones but hey, it worked fine on TV. And then it was Paladin's turn to show off, leaping to the top of a nearby building like Superman in a single bound. And here she'd thought the girl must have had trouble getting around!

"Wow, an' I thought your super powers were just punching people hard! Where'd you learn that? My turn!" Not one to be shown up, Nova made a running leap off the balcony, flipping gracefully in the air before catching herself in a corona of sunlight and twirling in to the air with ease. She didn't set foot on the building, but floated above the rooftop with a heroic pose. She laughed and flashed the other hero a dazzling smile, looking back over her shoulder and waving to the pedestrians gawking up at them.

"So, metahuman gang busting right? You point me at 'em and I'll shoot. I'm guessing the beach is probably not gonna have any bangers running around so I think you should take the lead," Nova followed behind in the air, enjoying the atmosphere but actually thinking about her career for a change. Alice had hit on some things that she hadn't paid any attention to, like the idea of training other metahumans or just how dangerous and low pay ot actually was. She'd only been working for the Program for a month or so, and she might not have been paying as much attention as maybe she should have. But after another bit to process it, and crossing a few more rooftops on the way to their destination, she picked back up.

"I don't think I'd be a good pick to train anybody. I just kinda get my powers, and I don't think I'd make a good teacher. Unless, maybe, we get someone else who can fly. You've met some of the other guys right? You're the first other hero from the program I've met, I only ever talked to the suits and the scientists back in LA. Do they want us to do this? I mean, I don't see why they wouldn't, I dunno, I guess I haven't thought about this stuff much. I was just an actress, you probably know more about all this than I do."

[Alice Morrow]
[Alice will get bonus points if she has seen a TV show Frankie is in and names it.]

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

"If we see anything we need to stop then we stop it." Paladin shrugged, "Most of them know better than to start something when I'm about, but you never know, there's always someone with more balls than brains. So maybe we'll get lucky." She winked from behind the mask, then turned away, facing towards downtown San Francisco. "I mean, you haven't got any sort of resistance have you? You just stay out of reach right? Might be best if I go in front then, I don't exactly have the right kind of power to just stay back." The earbuds, hooked to a small pack at the base of her spine (they had promised they were working on a better solution) enabled them to keep in touch easily. Otherwise it would have been awkward for them to communicate, what with Nova's smooth flight contrasting with Paladin's bounding leaps. As she leapt she wagged a finger in Nova's direction. "Don't be like that. If you think you just 'get them' I guarantee that there's something you don't know about what you can do. I thought all I could do was take punches and then give them back, but there's so much more to my power that I still don't understand, and probably never will." She soared down towards an alleyway, kicking off the wall as she entered to absorb almost all of her momentum and push her forward and down into the street. She landed right next to a young couple who jumped in surprise, then smiled and produced phones when they realised who she was. They grew even more excited as Nova hove into view. "I was a cook in a diner, trust me, I am no expert at this kind of thing, I'm just kinda obsessive about it."

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[Deleted]

The little communication earpiece the suits had given her sure were handy! Paladin, even though she was doing that jumping thing, would have been hard pressed to yell loud enough for Nova to understand her in the air. With these she came in crystal clear, and Nova giggled at the thought of them getting to bust up some brave and powerful supervillain. She could see the headline in her mind's eye.

"Resistance? Um, I don't think I do, but being in the air saves me from having to get punched in the face by some asshole so that might count? I'm not that great up close anyways, I'd rather fight at a distance," She replied, twirling past a satellite tower set atop one of the buildings. She already had her eyes out down below, but the streets of San Fran looked normal today. Everyday people doing their everyday routines. She almost didn't catch Paladin wagging a finger at her.

It made sense though. Nova had tested out her powers, but up until a few months ago she'd been convinced her power was just being a handy flashlight. Maybe she was still charging up or something? "Well, I guess you're right, but it can't be that complex can it? I mean, I just fly and shoot lasers. But hey, maybe we can practice together and try to come up with some new stuff? It's worth a shot. Or maybe the lab dudes can keep looking in to it and give us some ideas. I dunno, this is all Greek to me."

Nova followed suit when Paladin decended to the street, dropping down in a swan dive to catch herself before she faceplanted in to the pavement. Flashy was what she was about, no doubt about it. And she got up close with the other hero as people pulled their cameras out, flashing a dazzling smile and a 'peace' sign and, just to make it clear she was a meta, floating instead of standing. "Hi folks! Y'all enjoy that great sea breeze!" She called out to the pedestrians. She already knew this was gonna be fun.

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

"Yeah… I don't have that choice, getting punched in the face by some asshole is pretty much my job as a Hero. None of them have hurt me yet though, so it seems to work. You feel free to stay back if anything does come up." The last time Paladin had let someone else in front of her they'd taken a bullet for her. She couldn't allow anyone else to do that for her. Heroes might have signed up for a potentially dangerous career, but that didn't mean they should take risks when there was someone like her for whom it wasn't a risk. "I mean they've helped me a lot with my power, and there's all sorts of new stuff I'm trying, it's difficult though, it's not like there's a lot of places built for us to try out what we can do. And I don't exactly want to experiment when I'm on patrol." Dominic had warned her that Nova was perhaps a little less than camera shy, so Paladin wasn't completely surprised by the other Hero's call to the people watching them. She smiled with the other woman for the camera. She wasn't that bothered about it, didn't mind posing for photos, but it wasn't why she was doing this. Nova seemed a lot more outgoing than she was. It was a pity for the other girl that she hadn't had Dominic for an agent, maybe they would be the other way around now if that was the case. It seemed like things in this area were quiet, not that San Francisco was normally crime-ridden. Not as bad as some others, LA in particular, but it had its own fair share of problems, and more since The Event. A number of new gangs had sprung up, using metahumans as muscle and enforcers. People were more likely to pay protection money when the person demanding it could blow up your store with a click of their fingers. That in itself had led to a destabilisation of what Paladin had come to understand as her city's criminal underground. Most of the crime had been controlled by a gang known as the Spades, but the arrival of metahumans had led to new groups coming up. The Spades hadn't been too happy with that, and there had been a number of confrontations on the streets and the abandoned areas of San Francisco between gangs. Paladin was about to suggest that they should move on when an explosion suggested it for her. A plume of smoke arose above the buildings on the other side of the street and she glanced at Nova. "I guess it's time to go."

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[Deleted]

Nova and Paladin must have been there getting pictures snapped for about a minute, the previous conversation about their powers falling by the wayside in favor of signing a few autographs. It was something to think about at least, and more powers would mean an easier time stopping the bad guys that were ruining her home city. Their photo op came to a quick end when an explosion went off up the road, black smoke billowing up over the cars screeching to a halt at the sound. Paladin shared a look with her, and Nova grinned at her super hero co-worker.

"Lights, camera, action! You guys get someplace safe, we'll handle this," She said to the crowd, shooting up in to the air to get a good look at what was going on. A bank down the road from where they'd been had its front blown wide open, but even in the clearing smoke she couldn't see through to any immediate criminals. Already radio chatter from the SFPD was starting up. Armed robbery at such-and-such bank, apparently the Sharks gang was getting tired of not having enough cash cause their super powered boss was busy making a distraction farther downtown. And it seemed like his flunkies didn't take long to spot the colorful super hero in the sky, the sound of gunfire from a handful of men in front and to the side of the bank drew a beam in response from Nova as she got in to gear, tapping her earpiece again.

"How come all the guys with cool names like the Sharks have to be bad guys?" Nova asked almost idly, a thick crimson ray blasting one of the men with guns in to the concrete while another beam shot a second back inside the building. She accelerated in the air, corona of light training behind her as she use a sweeping ray to dispatch the other two. And it looked like nobody outside had been hurt, thankfully, so they just had to worry about the guys inside. And whoever their boss was, but Francine was at a loss for which to go for. Paladin had more experience.

"What's the plan? Go in guns blazing with the bank first, or stop their boss? Should we split up? Have you fought these guys before?"

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

It seemed so clichéd to Paladin, a long time veteran of comic books, that metacriminals would try to rob a bank. It almost inevitably involved bystanders. She'd had a soft spot for the classic villain of the week approach of early Spiderman and the like, but it had always been the criminal masterminds that had been more interesting to her as nemeses to her favourite characters. And Magneto, but everyone loved Magneto. Especially since Michael Fassbender had been cast as his younger version… This train of thought passed through her mind as she soared up into the air, instantly spotting the source of the smoke a few streets away. She landed on the roof of a building, barely even flexing her knees with the landing and running forward, inexplicably gaining momentum with each step until she was going fast enough to leap from the edge, landing effortlessly before the bank. "You're not bulletproof, it doesn't make sense for you to go in here, can't stay out of reach when there's a roof." She started forward into a building, "Once we know this isn't a hostage situation you should head downtown. Sharks are new, so I don't know what their boss can do." As she spoke a voice came in over both their earpieces. "Jaws can change his size, and apparently that comes with some sort of increased toughness. Police Officers on the scene are reporting firearms as completely ineffective." Paladin hesitated, then made a snap decision. "You head downtown, see if you can take him out, and if not at least slow him down. I'll handle this." She walked into the bank and was greeted by the sight of three thugs clutching machine guns and a variety of scared looking hostages. She frowned. "Now guys, you know how this is gonna go." She tapped her face. "Bulletproof skin remember, so I'll give you a chance to surrender." She was pleased to see that two of them listened to her advice. Although the third man was obviously disappointed in his compatriots, shooting them a dirty look as they dropped their guns and knelt with their hands on the back of their heads. And that was what Paladin had been hoping for. What should have been a slight step forward turned into the Hero blurring across the lobby. She hit the thug with an uppercut from her reinforced knuckles. He bounced off the ceiling and fell to the ground with a groan. She put a thumb up at the doors. "Get outta here." The people that had been held at gunpoint only moments ago started scrambling for the exits as Paladin headed deeper into the building.

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[Deleted]

Nova kept forgetting that there was always somebody listening in on her little earpiece when one of the suits buzzed about this guy's super powers. The ability to grow and super tough skin. Totally shark themed, she guessed? Still, Paladin down on the ground was already calling up with instructions. She'd handle the bank, Nova should go tangle with the bad guy. Definitely the scene that would have more people watching, a showdown between two metahumans downtown!

"Okay, I'll see what I can do! He won't know what hit him," Nova replied, sounding a whole lot more confident than she really felt. She'd always been good at putting on a smile for the camera, but these big actual super hero fights were a bit out of her experience. She'd thus far been directed mostly at thugs and low level stuff, guys with guns that had a hard time hitting a fast flying moving target and went down when you shot them in the face with a laser. But that was probably all this was, I mean, growing in size and having tough skin it wasn't like he could get her in the air either right?

She flew between the tall buildings as quickly as she could manage, and really they weren't too far away from where shark guy was terrorizing the city. Just a couple blocks over, and thankfully Frankie had been a frequent enough visitor to San Francisco to figure it out without needing any directions! The guy was standing atop an overturned police car and laughing and having the bullets fired at him bouncing right off his rubbery looking grey-and-white skin. He certainly looked the part of a supervillain named Jaws, and she figured she might as well make her presence known with a laser to the back of his head.

"Hey, tall grey and ugly, how's fried shark? Never had it before!" That wasn't her best quip, but it got the guy's attention. He whipped around, unmoved by the blast and snarled up at her.

"Who the hell? You ain't the cape I'm after, piss off!" Replied the eight foot monster man before ripping a tire off the car and throwing it at her with enough force that it zinged in the air. If her aim were good enough she probably could have blasted it out of the sky, but she elected to duck beneath it instead, responding with another, thicker laser that struck him right in the chest. With him just bracing and eating it. Oh boy.

"Well tough, I'm here to stop you before you hurt somebody!" Nova shot back, hoping Paladin was faring a bit better than she was so far. If she didn't think of something, this might very well get ugly...

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Francine Bell + wearing

The man's abilities had posed some challenges, but they hadn't granted him any increased resilience, and applying his face to the wall at some speed had soon put him out of action. It was interesting, the Sharks were a relatively new gang, pulled together around some guy who called himself Jaws. He must be potent if he'd managed to pull together a job like this, and more meta muscle in the short time since they'd arrived on the scene. She'd zip tied the man to the broken door of the vault. He might have been able to blow it open, but she doubted very much whether he'd be able to carry it away. He was unconscious anyway, and probably would be for a while. He'd had some sort of ability to generate explosive energy, but he'd had to use both hands to do so, mixing two strange coloured energies until the resultant concoction created a massive blast. The singes on her suit attested to their strength, he hadn't even landed the damn thing close to her and she could already feel the skin on her nose beginning to peel as if she'd been sunburned. She stepped to the window, putting one foot up on the window sill. The glass was long gone, scattered about on the road below her vantage point. From this angle, way below the level of the roof, she couldn't see much of the other fight, although she could hear it in her earpiece. It sounded like Nova was giving a good showing, but this guy must be powerful. She'd watched the clip of her putting down the rhino guy. The solar-powered Hero had some serious firepower. She leaned forward out of the window, then pushed up with one foot, helping herself a long with a generous amount of kinetic energy. She would have to be careful on the way over. She'd expended a lot of energy taking out the meta in the bank, and hadn't really had the opportunity to replenish it. It would suck to run out halfway there and having to throw herself in front of a bus to get it back. "I'm on my way Nova. Might take me a couple of minutes though."

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