Living Megapolis: Superheroes 101

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:43 pm

Scene one – Welcome
It is a warm, sunny day near the end of summer, and you find yourself enjoying the positive atmosphere of the start of a new academic year at Megapolis University. Traveling to this ivy-covered hall, you pass many groups of students: several obvious freshmen and many veteran students sporting clothing with the Megapolis grizzly. Your classroom seems to be vintage 1950’s architecture with huge blackboards, high ceilings, and several large open windows. Besides your fellow new teammates of the Defenders, there are four other students.

A middle aged man with a suit walks in and stands at the front of the class near the desk. “Good morning everyone, my name is Ashby, Ace Ashby, just call me The Watcher, everyone else does. I am not your instructor, which believe me is better for all of us. But I do have a horse in this race, and maybe, just maybe that horse is as big as the one you have in the race."

“Part of why you are here is to learn about Megapolis, but you are also here to learn your place in the order of things, with great power, yada, yada, yada. You need to become part of the city to protect it. You need to become one of the people and they will accept you.”

“Your job is to fight the bad guys, but it is also to win the war of public relations. You need the people to be on your side just like the law. We all need it.”

There is a quick rush of wind through the room, almost like the air-conditioning just kicked on. Ashby smiles almost like he was expecting something. You notice a small pile of books sitting on the desk in front of you.

“Well the textbooks are here. Go ahead skim the book and get to know each other. Your instructor will be here shortly. Good luck, there are a lot of people counting on you.” Ace concludes with knowing nod and departs without taking questions.

Osmium and Grey Hunter sit in the class in costume and understand that the financial sponsor of the Defenders, Ace Ashby, was primarily speaking to them. An uncolored, newly minted Defender may also sit with them if he arrives by the end of the scene. Of the four other students, you recognize one from the news and two others who unsuccessfully attempted to become Defenders in the recent selection event.

Dustland · Post by **Dustland** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:16 pm

Osmium, rippling muscle and perfect tan, leans forward to listen intently to the Watcher. He nods his head dutifully and smiles a perfect white smile as the man addresses the class, eating up the brief speech like it is the most profound thing he's ever heard.

After the Watcher leaves, the paragon picks up his textbook and begins to skim through it. Suddenly he drops it to the desk and looks around anxiously.

"Notes! Crap, I forgot to take notes!" He fumbles around for a pen and paper and begins to scribble frantically, trying to recall what the speaker had said.

"Fight bad guys..." scribble scribble scribble "...war on the public..." scribble scribble scribble "no war in the public, crap! What did he say about us war and the public???"

You can see sweat beginning to bead on Osmium's upper lip as he nervously tries to recall the priceless words of wisdom he's sure he's already forgotten.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:31 pm

Osmium picks up two textbooks. The Megapolis guide appears annotated.

How to Be a Superhero
by Doctor Metropolis
Published by the Penguin Group
ISBN 0-452-28575-5

Megapolis – A City and Its History
Edited by Mark Weissburg
Published by Adam Wood Press
ISBN 9-234-12343-2

I'll email you the Megapolis Guide; it's coupled with the rules of character creation in Living Megapolis: Issue 1. Bearded, please PM me your email. cheers

BeardedDork · Post by **BeardedDork** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:42 am

This sucks, I can't believe we have to be here in costume
The Grey Hunter thinks to himself, hoping that wearing his MU Griz cap rather than having his more traditional hood up, helps him stand out less.

When his texts are delivered he begins to thumb through the Megapolis guide the other had been required reading when he was learning the Super Hero business under Red.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:03 pm

The most famous or infamous student is Battery. You easily recognize him from the local news by his surly mug, biker outfit, and his many tattoos. He is an ex-convict who survived a drug experiment that allows him to absorb and redirect energy. He relaxes in his chair staring out the window apparently having completely ignored Ace Ashby.

You recognize two of the other three students from the Defenders selection event. They both survived to the last cut but were rejected by Ashby due to not enough demonstrated talent.

The perky Caucasian girl, with a blonde pony-tail wearing a loose t-shirt and gray sweatpants over a sky blue, masked costume with white accents, goes by the moniker Jet. She can almost fly super sonic and is very acrobatic. She gets her textbooks and starts flipping through them.

The other student from the selection event became known as Tackle, because he didn’t have a codename yet. He is a large African-American who is built like a football offensive lineman and is capable of lifting hundreds of tons. He wears casual clothes without a mask. You remember him struggling with costumes during the selection event. He follows Jet and brings his textbooks to his desk.

The only student who is unknown to you is an African-American girl wearing an outfit that would be more appropriate on a rap music video. She subtly stares at Battery while fidgeting with a smart phone.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:49 pm

After a couple of minutes of continued silence, Jet looks around the room and stands up. “The Watcher told us to introduce ourselves, so you can call me Jet. I can fly really fast. Not everyone can do what I can do, so I want to use my powers for good. Some have decided that I’m not ready to be a superhero,” she says glancing in the direction of the Defenders. “But I want to decide that at the end of this class.” She sits down with a satisfied smile.

BeardedDork · Post by **BeardedDork** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:33 am

What is this Heroes Annonymous?
Hunter stands up and adjusts his cloak. "I'm the Grey Hunter, I've been doing this for a while now with my partner Red."
He stands for another second or two, hoping the girls can't see him blushing slightly under his goggles, before he resumes his seat.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:29 pm

“Hey,” Tackle begins after Grey. “My name is Darnell. I was expected to be drafted in the first round of the NFL, but my super strength showed up in the recruiting Combine and ruined that plan,” he says with a sigh. “I tried to be a professional wrestler, but they didn’t want me hurting anyone. I tried to be a Defender, but I wasn’t strong enough. Basically, I’m screwed. I’m taking this course to get some ideas for what to do with my life.”

Dustland · Post by **Dustland** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:22 pm

"I'm sure most of you already know who I am, yes?" Osmium asks as he tries to not look like he's flexing under his skin-tight paragon garb (which he is), a mix of gray and blue with the number 76 on his chest.

"Anyone? Anyone?" He smiles nervously. "Oh come on guys! Osmium, the legendary Seventy-sixer! Ring any bells?" Seeing a room full of blank stares, Osmium sits down in a huff, accidentally increasing his density a bit, causing the chair to snap. The sudden lack of a place to sit dumps the super on the ground with an "umph."

"I'll, uh, I'll pay for that," he nudges the remains of the chair with his boot, his exposed cheeks flushing red with embarrasment. "I'll just stand over here..." he mumbles as he makes his way to the back of the room, trying to ignore the snickering from the other candidates.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:00 pm

Battery turns his head toward Osmium after he hits the floor and watches him reach the back of the room.

“You know me from the news,” he starts without sitting up or looking away from the window. “I’m Battery. I gotta be here for my parole.”

Then he looks at Tackle and says, “Kid, your powers didn’t * you. You do that to yourself.” He looks back toward the window.

Tackle shows a mild reaction of surprise.

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:01 pm

After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence, the last student speaks. “Must have been a two-for-one deal at the parole board, because that’s why I’m here too,” she starts looking around the room. “They call me ATM…au-to-ma-tic-mo-ney baby,” she says with nodding smile. You don’t think she knows or cares what ATM really stands for.

Everyone begins watching the clock which shows a couple minutes after the official start of class, Cyclone suddenly appears from a blue blur in front of you dusting the chalk from his hands. The previously clean blackboard now has “Superheroes 101” and “Cyclone” written in a big block letters. “Welcome to Superheroes 101. My name is Cyclone and will be your instructor.” He says fairly quickly.

He takes a deep breath and continues speaking at a more normal pace, “You need to remind me if I speak too fast.” He clears his throat, “the goal of this class is to provide you the tools necessary to be a successful superhero here in Megapolis. How you use those tools is up to you.

Cyclone continues, “Here are your course outlines.” Course outlines appear on your desk with a little breeze as he uses Super Speed 5 to distribute them.

“As you can read, we will discuss many aspects of Superheroes. We will have at least two guest-lectures from our local URGENT team. Captain Vitality will discuss how we best protect civilians, and Black Diamond will review the legal rights and responsibilities of those with extraordinary powers.” He pauses to check his pace as he had begun to speak faster again.

“Our first topic will be to review why superheroes become superheroes.” He looks around the room and continues surprisingly slow and deliberate. “Each superhero needs to understand and to hold on tightly to their personal answer to that question, because they will be challenged. And that challenge doesn’t have to come from a super villain. No, there are plenty of bad guys out there with guns who can do a lot of damage. And there are usually innocent bystanders around who can be hurt by fires, speeding vehicles, and collapsing buildings. Superheroes need to be mentally prepared to face those challenges as much as the battles themselves. But before we continue deeper into that subject, do you have any questions about the course content?”

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Course Outline
Week Topics - Activities
1 Introductions
2 Living with the mask: Why superheroes continue?
3 Living with the mask: Metahumans & the Law - Guest-lecture: Black Diamond, URGENT Officer
4 Living with the mask: Secret Identities
5 Wearing the mask: How to assess the situation
6 Wearing the mask: How to survive with teamwork - Guest-lecture: Liberty Belle, leader of Valiant
7 Wearing the mask: How to protect civilians - Guest-lecture: Captain Vitality, URGENT Officer
8 Wearing the mask: How to minimize collateral damage and best use it as a weapon - Case Study: Titan Tower collapse of 2003
9 Wearing the mask: Combat ethics - Case Study: Vengeance and Super Lock
10 Wearing the mask: Witty banter to draw out the villain’s plans - Guest-lecture: Master Hiroshi, member of Blackout
11 Managing the mask: Media coverage and conversations Practice and recorded interviews
12 Managing the mask: Marketing and how to afford superhero insurance - Guest-lecture: Mr. Johnson, superhero insurance broker
13 Managing the mask: Costumes and capes - Guest-lecture: Ms. Mode, Professor of Fashion Design & Technology

Dustland · Post by **Dustland** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:33 pm

After scribbling down two pages of notes, Osmium puts his pencil down and raises his hand.

"Um yes Mr, er...Professor Cyclone, sir, I seem to be missing a page from my syllabus," Osmium says as he turns over the course outline, looks on the back and turns it back over.

"I don't see any information on grading, will there be a curve? Extra credit? Oral presentations? Is this pass/fail???" Osmium seems to be working himself into a panic as he thinks about all the possibilities.

"I mean, is there group work? Do we need to start nailing down a study group? What if no one wants to study with me!?!"

Saker · Post by **Saker** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:01 pm

Cyclone smiles, "Yes, of course, student motivation. The course will be marked 50% final exam and 50% participation." His eyes settling on Battery at the end of this statement.

"The final will be comprehensive on what you have learned throughout the course." He pauses to check his pace, "Participation will be assessed after every week. Good questions."

BeardedDork · Post by **BeardedDork** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:01 pm

The Grey Hunter looks up from his notepad where he was absently doodling a picture of Jet.

"Is there going to be a practical portion of this class or is it all just theory?" an edge of boredom crept into his voice a bit more than he had intended.