"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Nov 5, 2018 22:39:58 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin had fought Villains, saved people from burning buildings, and stopped runaway semis. This was harder than any of that. The effort to not roll her eyes at Gravity Girl's obsession with the cameras and the attentions of the press was almost too much for her. She'd never thought she'd meet a Hero whose motivations were so transparently selfish. Nova definitely been too interested in good PR, but Gravity Girl's was on a whole other level.
"Hair, sure…"
She self-consciously ran a hand through her own hair. She'd never thought much about what she looked like in the moment, or indeed after the moment. Paladin had usually been too excited to see herself on TV to be bothered about how her hair looked. It was usually a mess in and out of costume. Nathan seemed to like it that way though she it only bothered her occasionally.
She glanced at the door again, willing it to open, or at least for someone to knock on it. Her fantasy saviour absolutely failed to materialise, and she looked back towards the pink clad Hero. She was surprised, when she looked around, to see that Gravity Girl's face bore an expression of uneasiness. For a brief moment she felt something like… kinship with the blonde girl.
Unfortunately it didn't last long. Unbeknownst to most people, and especially Gravity Girl, money was something that Paladin wasn't used to enjoying. She'd spent most of her childhood in and out of various foster homes, then lived in an apartment that was basically a cupboard for a year before she'd been evicted because she couldn't afford the rent. She'd been effectively homeless until the Hero Program had gone public and she'd suddenly experienced the kind of success and influx of income one associated with reality TV stars.
The temptation to simply put the other girl through the wall was real, but something stayed her hand. There was no disdain, no condescension, if anything there was genuine concern and hesitance there. Paladin felt almost uncomfortable at seeing this reaction in the other girl. It felt almost unreal.
"Look, they're just kids. What they can afford doesn't matter. They're interested in exactly the same kind of things that other kids are interested in. They can dream just the same as any of us."
She shrugged, "Besides, they'll be too busy asking you questions for you to worry about anything else, just answer as honestly as you can."
Smiling encouragingly, Paladin turned at the knock on the door, "And if you get really stuck I'll be right beside you, don't worry about it."
Whoever thought Paladin would feel Sympathy for the pink clad Gravity Girl?
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Oct 15, 2018 21:37:39 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Oct 15, 2018 21:37:39 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | The Hero Program had now been in the public eye for a little over a year, and that meant that Paladin had been one of, if not the biggest star in the country for just as long. Dominic had told her she'd get used to it. She hadn't. Paladin still felt almost unaccountably shy under the attention of so many people, and she was glad that one of the core tenets of the Program was the anonymity of their members. Being a Hero was enough pressure, doing it while dealing with paparazzi showing up at your house would have been even worse. Sure there was always someone trying to catch her in a compromising position, but no one knew what she looked like behind the mask. And even if someone found out, to reveal it would have been a federal crime.
Over a year of fame, and the public still didn't seem to have grown tired of her, that was probably something to do with Dominic's skills, but she didn't complain too much. She understood at least a little of what he'd explained to her about why she had that fame, about why the Program had even adopted the same kind of sponsorship program normally used by Footballers. It was important, and so she just went along with it.
However, there were some Heroes who seemed to be here for the fame, rather than in spite of it, and unfortunately for Paladin, they were sat in a back room, it had been intended simply as a waiting area, but somehow it had been converted into a dressing room. Paladin stared fixedly into one of the mirrors in her effort to avoid Gravity Girl's attention. Unfortunately she didn't quite manage it, and was on the edge of spluttering in the thick cloud of perfume the other girl had filled the room with.
"No." She raised her hand as if to ward away the cloud, "Thanks, but I'm OK."
She glanced at the door, praying for someone to arrive and tell them they were up. The door steadfastly refused to open, and an emergency utterly failed to appear in her ear. She tapped the side of her head, wondering if the thing had run out of batteries or something, but was disappointed when she heard her liaison.
"You OK Pal?"
Paladin shot a quick look at Gravity Girl, and as genuine a smile as she could manage when the other girl saw her looking in the mirror.
"Sure, just wondering when we're actually going to get this thing started."
"Little while yet I think, just sit tight, I'll let you know if anything big happens."
There was a note of sympathy in her liaisons voice, they knew who she was here with after all. Paladin steeled herself and turned to Gravity Girl. "So how you feeling for the opening? Good? It's pretty cool right? Getting to do stuff that actually gives back, benefits people you know?"
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Sept 29, 2018 17:18:04 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Sept 29, 2018 17:18:04 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Alice smiled ruefully as they left the offices, rubbing her wrist. No amount of kinetic absorption could relieve the strain of signing several dozen autographs. It wasn't that painful in truth, just enough to be annoying, and she didn't really mind. After all, if she hadn't been given abilities then she would be one of those excited fans too. She sort of still was, even if she got to meet other Heroes much more personally than most normal people would ever do.
It had been something of a relief to get out of the costume. She had more than one of course, they were liable to being damaged, even with her ability in play, and she always had a spare at home. The one she had been wearing would definitely need a clean, and it would probably need some repairs too. The blaster hadn't managed to hit her, but he'd come close a couple of times and she wouldn't be surprised if the suit had been singed, heat resistant or not.
Turning, Alice started heading down the street. There were a few places a little further away, and while she could have gotten there really quickly as Paladin, sometimes it was nice just to walk around as Alice.
"I know all the nice places in San Francisco. It's my real super power."
They ended up in a little café after Alice reminded Kathy that while she had promised to buy the drinks, she actually couldn't legally buy alcohol yet. It had never been an issue in costume, but people were a little less lenient when you were just a blue haired and bubbly nineteen year old as opposed to an incredibly powerful and famous Hero.
She sipped at her latte, sat across from the other woman in a soft and squishy armchair with stuffing leaking from the sides. Most of the chairs here looked the same, battered and half-collapsed armchairs. There was a small TV mounted on one wall, the exception in a room where every single wall seemed to be entirely covered by books. Some looked new, others had faded and cracked spines. They were stacked haphazardly, with no real rhyme or reason.
The other patrons had ignored the two women when they'd entered, mostly engrossed in books they had taken from the shelves, one or two typing furiously on laptops and nursing now cold cups of coffee.
"I'll have to be back in costume if you want to irish that next time." Alice nodded at the mug in Kathy's hands, smiling. She looked at the clock on the wall. "It must be in a quiet day in New York, you've been here for a few hours without being called back. How often does that happen?"
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Sept 23, 2018 19:38:09 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Sept 23, 2018 19:38:09 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | "And if you don't follow those rules, what makes you any better?"
She saw the tension suddenly build in the other woman. Clearly stepping towards her hadn't made the situation any better, even if Paladin was attempting to defuse it. She wasn't worried about what Punk might do to her, she was documented as super strong and tough, but little else besides. There was quite literally nothing she could do to hurt Paladin, unless she was hiding electrokinesis somewhere in her bag of tricks.
Paladin shook her blue haired head. "No, you just want to think that. The system isn't perfect, but it works. If I handed something like that in you can bet they wouldn't just burn it."
Idealistic perhaps, but true in a way that Paladin would likely never understand. For better or worse, she was the face of the Hero Program, and her word carried a lot more weight than that of most. After all, if she denounced the Police Force every major news station in the country would be hanging on her every word. Not that she would ever do such a thing.
Freezing as she saw Punk reach behind her back, she slowly rose onto the balls of her feet. She knew that was where the gun was, and while bullets held no fear for her now, there were people stood behind her who had no such advantages. She was poised and ready to dive to either side to attempt to intercept the bullets. Strangely though, Punk simply placed the gun on the ground, kicking it across towards Paladin. Before the Hero could open her mouth the vigilante was gone, a plume of dust rising where she had kicked off with enough force to fracture concrete.
Paladin's eyes narrowed, and she kicked off herself, with markedly different results. Instead of bursting into a run she leapt horizontally, lifting her feet from the ground as she flew on an intercept course towards the running woman, arms out stretched to seize her. Her speed proved to be her undoing however, and Punk jinked out of the way almost at the last second.
Snarling in anger, Paladin put her foot down and came to an almost dead stop, absorbing kinetic energy at such a rate that the dust around her simply fell out of the air. She stepped forwards towards the retreating figure, this time not making the mistake of a wildly uncontrolled charge. Instead she started to run. Punk might have true super strength, but months of practice meant Paladin was pretty good at simulating it. She blasted off, covering nearly ten feet with her first step, absorbing most of the impact as she landed and swinging her other leg forwards as she released another burst of kinetic energy. It was a strangely elongated, leaping run, and it didn't let her catch Punk, but she could keep pace enough until she was ready to leap once more.
Again the other woman dodged, and Paladin almost released a blast in her frustration. What stopped her was the fact that they were now amongst buildings. She might have been able to hit Punk, but with her increased toughness she likely would have been uninjured, anyone hit by her flying body however, would have been a very different story.
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Sept 2, 2018 12:35:54 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Sept 2, 2018 12:35:54 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @blackbirdfly | Alice winced, albeit with a grin, as Ashley yelled at the window. Instead of admonishing her friend however, she added her own wave to the attempt to attract Ari's attention. It seemed to work, and once Ashley and Ari were 'communicating' through two windows and across a busy street, she went back to her preparations. Her hands moved confidently and without hesitation over the counter surface, chopping vegetables with the kind of skill normally associated with cartoons as opposed to nineteen-year-old girls. It helped that she could limit any potential damage to herself by simply absorbing the kinetic energy of the blade should she slip. Not that she did, she might not work full time as a chef, but it was a rare night when she wasn't cooking, although the more advanced dishes tended to be treats now, when she hadn't had a particularly long and stressful day.
She'd just turned up the heat on the hob in the kitchen when a knock sounded at the door. Tossing some things into a frying pan she glanced over towards Ashley, a mock puzzled expression on her face. "Hmmm, I wonder who that could be, maybe you should go check it out."
Hearing Ari's words from the doorway, Alice leaned back, still holding the frying pan, to glance in that direction, seeing just a hint of the colored bubbles rising. She called out, "Hey hey! No fair, I can't come out to see what you're doing in the hall. Come in here if you're going to be making pretty things, I want to see them too!"
She returned to her cooking, although everything she'd decided to make was relatively simple, there was enough that she wasn't quite done yet. This day off was proving to be delightfully uneventful, something that hadn't happened in what felt like far too long, so she was making the most of having the spare time and trying out a whole host of new recipes she'd wanted to experiment with. The aroma of freshly cooked food already filled the flat, and was beginning to curl out of the door as well.
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Aug 27, 2018 15:07:09 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Aug 27, 2018 15:07:09 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin nodded, and I'm all for people to be their own knight in shining armor, but with powers… you can't take the risk. If you'd killed him then you'd never have forgiven yourself."
Maddy wasn't the first person to idly muse that Heroes actually went about their daily lives in costume, she wouldn't even be the first to genuinely think that Heroes just went about normal life in their costumes. Still, she had hit on a point that was often a challenge for Heroes, including Paladin.
The blue haired Hero shook her head ruefully in response to the next question however. "You have no idea, as far as a lot of my friends are concerned I am the flakiest person alive. There are a few people who know who I am though, one or two other Heroes, my closest friends, that kind of thing. It's impossible to do this job without having someone you trust to confide in. Sometimes we get lucky and we get a job like this one where no one gets hurt. Sometimes things aren't quite as easy. That and you always need someone to cover for you when there's an emergency. Otherwise I'd spend half of my life making excuses for why I had to run off."
Cocking an eyebrow, Paladin shrugged, "I suppose it's true, things can be a lot more challenging until you've really got a handle on your abilities. Especially if they're flashy like yours sounds. I know I'd be pretty pissed if you blew up my TV. Amazed that you could do it, but pissed that I then had to buy a new one. So you can't really blame people, as long as they forgive you. After all, it's not your fault. It's not like your power comes with an instruction manual. I'm still learning how to use mine properly, and I use mine every day."
She frowned, knowing there was little she could do for the girl besides suggesting she join the Program. Resources for metahumans were few and far between, and those that did exist tended to have long waiting lists.
"Look, the best advice I can give you is to find somewhere private and get a load of things from the trash. That way you aren't having to pay whenever you blow something up. You can get a handle on your ability without people judging you that way. Maybe find a close friend who can help you out. Having someone around did a lot for me when I was starting out."
She turned to watch the police officers loading the two metacriminals into the containment vans before speaking again. "If you join the Program they'll do all of that for you, but unfortunately right now there aren't a lot of resources available for people like us. It'll get better though." Paladin smiled brightly, "It always does."
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Aug 12, 2018 8:39:11 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | ”Yeah I don’t blame them. Or Tank and Glacia, this job is not good for a social life. I’m surprised there’s not more Heroes sleeping with each other. Or maybe we just haven’t heard about it yet.”
Paladin sighed as she turned back to the street, seeing the onrush of fans and reporters that naturally accompanied the aftermath of most of these situations. She had nothing against her fans, even loved them. But for her this was the hardest part of the job. Maintaining the image, going on talk shows, it was all exhausting. She wasn’t an actress like Nova, she didn’t like the attention. But like it or not, she was the face of the Program, which meant that wherever she went she could see herself plastered on billboards. She’d even seen adverts from herself on TV, endorsing various products. She just followed Dom’s advice. She wasn’t complaining, she enjoyed a much more comfortable life now than she had as a vigilante. But she wished there was a way she could do the same thing without all of the attention.
”Yeah, you sure you don’t need to rush back?”
She started walking towards the crowd that was being kept back by uniformed Officers and a hastily erected string of tape. It hadn’t taken long for the Police to realise that this was vital. Some foolish fans had tried to take selfies with an unconscious metahuman and the media backlash had been enormous. More than that, the potential risk they had run ensured that sites of metahuman conflict were sealed off as quickly as possible.
Ducking under the tape, Paladin felt the grin return to her face. It was hard to hate the fame in this situation, with all of the positive energy flowing out of these people you couldn’t help but be caught up in it.
”Don’t worry everyone, just three people who made a bad decision, fortunately Celerity was visiting from New York and was on hand to help me out.”
She gestured towards the other Hero and saw a few of the more determined Hero Spotters, faces she recognised, immediately beetle towards the ‘Knight in Shining Armour’. Celerity was a big Hero, even here on the West Coast where Paladin’s popularity held sway. Then Paladin was into signing autographs and posing for selfies. It would only take a few minutes fortunately.
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Aug 7, 2018 17:45:21 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin nodded in agreement. "I think it's hard for lots of people to do that, and even harder when you're a meta, but it doesn't make it any less important."
She sighed, "It's not about not getting in the way, it's about keeping you safe. Things are bad enough with one set of metas involved, but when powers start flying in both directions someone is going to get hurt. Just have a little faith OK."
Grinning, Paladin was pleased to hear that Madelyn was at least amused by her attempts at humour. She was trying to connect with the other girl after all. The next question was one that Paladin was used to, it seemed to come up at virtually every interview, after all, she was a common sight on the streets of San Francisco, and people must wonder what she did with her spare time.
"Yeah, I mean my identity is protected, so it's better than being an actor. Paparazzi can snap all they want when I'm in costume, but the moment I'm out, who I am is a federal secret. It's finding the time to have a private life that's the problem. Something always comes up."
Paladin nodded, "Oh yeah, your power is awesome. I'm can't believe people think it's annoying? I'm pretty much just able to punch people and no-one has told me that my power's a nuisance."
She moved back towards the door a little, gesturing for Madelyn to follow her. "You could be an amazing Hero with a power like yours. I usually have to beat people into submission, you can just lock them in place. That would be amazing. And don't let people tell you that it's a nuisance. Your power is part of you now, it's nothing to be ashamed of."
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 23, 2018 14:28:35 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 23, 2018 14:28:35 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @blackbirdfly | "Pffffft, they're both such great movies I couldn't choose between them."
Alice acted as though she'd been stabbed rather than prodded, "Hey! I'm with Ari, dorks rule, cheerleaders suck."
She stuck her tongue out at Ashley as if she was the cheerleader in question. Then it was back to the fact that they had been secret neighbours, perhaps not for that long, but definitely long enough that they should have at least seen each other through their windows and developed a music video friendship where they only communicated through written signs. Alice made a mental note to get some whiteboards so they could do just that through their windows.
Her eyes popped wide open at the thought that Ari had brought Mickey Mouse to life in her street performances. "That is sooo cool, but there' no way you're bringing that creepy guy to life in my kitchen. Someone like Rapunzel will do. Mickey's just too…"
She shuddered theatrically, then grinned, "You know what I mean. But yes! I am expecting a proper show from you in payment for my nibbles. I don't cook for free!"
Alice made sure to wave through the window when she got home, before carrying the paper bags of groceries through into the kitchen and ushering Ashley out of it. Fortunately her roommate knew to step out of the way when Alice was about to get down to business. Although she would still sit at the breakfast bar and pick at the ingredients Alice had laid out there, no matter how many knives she threatened to throw.
It wasn't long before she was nearly ready, and asked her roommate "So do you think she'll be the on-time type? Or fashionably late?"
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 19, 2018 14:39:13 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 19, 2018 14:39:13 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @blackbirdfly | "Amen!"
Alice chimed in with agreement, then paused, "Wait, isn't 'Amity' the place in that horror movie? Are you gonna chop us up with an axe?"
She put on an expression of mock terror. She wasn't actually sure what the word 'amity' meant, but she was pretty confident that it didn't mean Ari was secretly a mad axe killer. She relaxed, giggling, and adjusted the basket in her grip to ensure nothing spilled out of it. She adjusted a few of the packets slightly, they were piled a little precariously.
She nodded in earnest agreement, "Math sucks, I'm so glad I don't have to do it now I'm finished with High School."
She shrugged, "I don't know if I believe in fate, but I'm telling you to say yes. Especially if you've already bumped into Ashley once today. There's definitely something going on. Besides, if you don't get out with friends much we can be your friends who sit and veg on the couch instead of going out and socialising."
She shook the basket in her hands, catching a packet once again as it made it's bids for freedom. "We can order pizza, but I can't guarantee you'll actually be able to eat any of it by the time I've finished cooking. I've got enough to make plenty for two and then some, I usually make extra to eat over a few days anyway. I'd rather someone ate it fresh though."
She glanced at the bottle that Ari had selected for them. "You're definitely conscripted as bartender though, I can pair wines and some beers with food, but other than that I really know nothing about drinks. We could do with someone of your expertise."
Alice started heading slowly towards the register, "Are you gonna come over later then or..?"
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 19, 2018 8:42:24 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | "Y'know, having met you, I could believe that.
Paladin giggled in response to Celerity's own humour. It was hard not to, the other girl was infectious, and they both had a good deal of adrenaline surging through them. It was strange, Paladin would never claim to enjoy fighting, but the strange heady surge of energy that ran through her always gave the illusion of excitement. Particularly in the aftermath, when there was nothing left to vent that energy on.
Paladin looked away for a moment to indicate that there was someone speaking in her earpiece. Her liaison, informing her of the ETA of the imminent arrival of the detention vehicles. True to form, it was only a matter of minutes before the heavy, adapted vehicles hove into view around the corner. They were adapted from normal police vehicles, though one of the new, purpose built detention vans was with them. Each was equipped with a variety of specialist equipment, from super heavy, super dense manacles for enhanced strength, to heat retardant suits for pyrokines. For those that would be too difficult to contain with the vans normal equipment there was a drip filled with a powerful sedative. It wasn't ideal, but some metahumans were simply too difficult to easily contain in such a small environment.
Turning back to the other Hero, Paladin's face took on a look of amused surprise. "Oh my god really?"
She didn't know Tank and Glacia all that well, but two Heroes sleeping together was like any other workplace romance, not exactly forbidden, but a source of scandal and rumour when it did happen.
She shrugged and waggled her eyebrows lasciviously, "Not that I can blame her. Have you seen him?"
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 17, 2018 18:11:49 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 17, 2018 18:11:49 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin shook her head with a smile, "That's what I mean, you turned that power on him when you were angry." Her tone grew more serious, "Trust me, I know the kind of regret that can lead to, and you don't want that weighing on you for the rest of your life. He was an idiot, and desperate, but he doesn't deserve to die."
She listened quietly to the girl's explanation of her ability. "That is seriously cool. Being able to just completely freeze someone like that. It was like he wasn't even going to fall either.
It was clear that Paladin truly was interested in Madelyn's ability. Flashes of her nerdy personality showing through with each comment and question about what Madelyn had done to the man. She might have been a lot more serious had he actually been hurt, although she wouldn't have held it against someone who was, to all intents and purposes, an innocent bystander.
"Look, I'm not saying that. You were defending yourself, and I know it's hard to just stand back and let someone else handle it, but if something goes wrong, you've got nothing. The Program is here to make sure that you never need to use your powers in situations like that, because it's what we're trained to deal with. We're prepared for what might go long, and we drill with our powers to the point where we can use them in our sleep."
She shrugged awkwardly, "I just don't want you to get into trouble when you didn't need to."
Paladin grasped Madelyn's hand, shaking it. "Like I said, we're trained to deal with situations like this. People look to you for the right thing to do, and you get a real chance to make a difference. Plus…" She struck a mock pose, "The outfits are pretty sweet."
She looked out of the open doors of the bank, her hair blowing faintly in the breeze that was entering the lobby. "And we could use someone with a power like yours."
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 17, 2018 17:38:23 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 17, 2018 17:38:23 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin was already angry, and Punk explaining how she was apparently doing her a favour wasn't helping the situation. It was an insufferable holier-than-thou attitude, as if she herself knew better than everyone else. Paladin knew that sometimes she might come across like that, but she didn't make those decisions, she was a Hero, not a lawmaker, and that was the important difference between her and Punk. Paladin followed the law, she answered to the government, the people. Punk didn't answer to anyone but herself. There was no one to keep her in check if, or when, she went too far.
She didn't move, though she desperately wanted to rush forward. Paladin believed there was good in everyone, that people could make the right decisions given the chance. She listened, though she didn't want to, though there was a man shouting into her ear that she had to apprehend her immediately. She had to give her a chance.
Furious, but still stock still, Paladin didn't glance at the cop Punk gestured towards. She didn't want to let the vigilante out of her sight. "You know all this? And if I comb back through all the complaints over the last few weeks will I find any tips? Anything from you telling the authorities all of this?"
She shook her head, finally taking a step forward, though a conciliatory one, even though she was shaking with barely suppressed fury. "You can't make that decision. We have laws, we have courts, we have justice. You are not above that Punk, don't pretend that you know better."
She held out her hands, palm up in the universal gesture of 'I'm not carrying a large weapon'. Not that it made any difference, Paladin's hands were her weapons, her whole body was. She could do more with a blow than the average person could with a bazooka.
"So all of that is recorded on his bodycams? Hand them over and I will make sure they get to the proper authorities. I give you my word."
| © seadra of gs |
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 10, 2018 18:53:33 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 10, 2018 18:53:33 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin shrugged at the other woman's deprecating comments. Then raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her apparent defence of her actions. "Right, cause being caught in the middle of an armed bank robbery doesn't count as an emotionally charged state. "
Paladin might not be the mastermind that Dominic was, but she could see how things going wrong might have looked on the news. Heroes were relatively popular, but there was a lot of prejudice, and most of that focused on metahumans who chose not to join the Program. Not that Heroes were immune to all that criticism and hate either.
"Look, I can beat people up sure, but that's not that impressive, there are loads of metas who are super tough. You stopped him dead, like you stopped time or something. I've never met anyone who can do that. It could actually be a really useful ability."
She looked around at the now mostly empty bank. Emergency response was still mostly occupied with the erstwhile hostages outside, although she could see a heavy van arriving, four officers with specialist equipment clambering out of the back. Taking down metahumans wasn't the problem, containing them was. There had been no advances in research to disable abilities, and that meant that detaining them required extremely specialised equipment such as insulate gloves and manacles three inches thick. Even that came with risk if the metahuman was particularly powerful or unusually determined.
"Look, you had every right to be angry at that guy, but he was running. You wouldn't have been able to live with it if you'd killed him. You can't take risks like that. If you'd killed him then people wouldn't have seen a hero, they'd just have seen one more person with terrifying powers."
She looked back at the girl, "I'm Paladin by the way."
It was completely honest, it was unlikely that there was anyone on the West Coast that didn't know her name, but she didn't think about publicity or things like that. She much preferred just being a normal person, albeit a normal person with superhuman abilities.
"Have you considered joining the Program?"
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"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
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Jul 10, 2018 16:35:17 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 10, 2018 16:35:17 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | "See, this is why you should only date orphans from now on. Although I swear your mom was the one with the shotgun tonight. I felt like she was looking at me down laser sights."
She shrugged, "It's probably a good thing that you don't have a brother. I mean you're pretty cool, but what if they were better looking than you? I'd have to date them instead. Plus that would make your mom even more mad."
She laughed at Nate's confidence, it was true after all. He was good looking, charming, chivalrous, and the fact that he was a doctor didn't hurt. He must be the dream of everyone who had a daughter. She was decidedly not the dream of most parents. Her education was non-existent, and the only job she could announce to the world was as a part time chef in a greasy little diner. If Nate was a parent's dream she guessed she was a parent's nightmare.
She squeezed the hand that she found entwined in hers. "There's always wine in my fridge, you know that. Except when we've drunk it. But you haven't been over in a while so I still have wine."
She laughed and swung their hands together. The night might not have gone as well as she'd hoped, but it went about as well as she'd expected. She'd heard enough about Nate's parents to guess how they might react to his latest girlfriend. She was certainly under no illusions as to how most parent's might react to her. Once you took away the fact that she was a Hero things didn't seem as impressive. Some might even question how she managed to afford the rent on her apartment, and assume negatively when she revealed her part time job.
"Uber and wine, you know the perfect way to a girl's heart Nate Havelock…"
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