metalogs | CONFLUENCE 25

CONFLUENCE.

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.

Whoever you are, whatever you had been getting up to - it doesn't matter, because suddenly you're falling. The sky opens up, and out comes you. You tumble towards the ground above the city of Little Love.

Something ancient and alien hums underneath the Earth. The spells in place Summoner vines that snap up to catch you catch you just before impact, carefully binding your limbs before easing you carefully down to the ground in front of a sign that proudly proclaims this to be Little Love,Kansas. Welcome to the world of Metaheroes.

ALIEN ACTIVITY

Little Love is the kind of sleepy little town where nothing is really meant to happen. It’s the kind of town where people go if they want to start over. With space faring possible again, the population is notably… nervous.

Old technology appears to be coming to life. The moment the new arrivals touch down, they will hear the hitch-pitched hum of something dangerous coming alive beneath the Earth. Something golden glows dimly in the middle distance, and suddenly a fist is punching up and through the Earth.

A massive terraforming machine in the shape of an enormous scorpion has come back online. And it is intent on making this alien world more habitable for its long gone owner. The machine sets eyes upon the new arrivals and any who have come to greet them, throwing its arms out wide. The magic that set them down onto the Earth oh so gently turns in on itself, vines becoming thorny and lashing out at all present. The machine itself attempts to scan and douse any creatures that get too close with a mysterious chemical compound.

The machine might be attempting to destroy the crops and all life-forms, but that fluid has a shelf-life that is well past… mostly. Getting splashed with it has an immediate strengthening effect rather than a weakening one.

Fight to bring the machine down, and then get whisked off to the wonder of Arcadia.

The strengthening effect from that chemical soon fades… however, it isn’t without side-effects.

While the effects aren’t immediate for those doused, there are some… after effects. Throughout the next two weeks, you will find yourself surprisingly sensitive to different minerals. Some augment your strength and some weaken it. ARCADIA, WASHINGTON

Upon arrival, all newcomers will eventually be directed to Arcadia, which is located near Excelsior. This community has an unusual history for some of the Starfallen, but for the wider world, it's simply an AI-generated, AI-run community put together to offer metahumans a place to call home. Unconditionally (for the most part). There are two ways to get to Arcadia: through a building designated as a transport/teleporting point in Excelsior, or through the front door off the outskirts of the city proper. Either way is acceptable.

All newcomers will be greeted by an AI named Virgil. Friendly and welcoming, Virgil will do everything they can to help someone adjust and feel comfortable. Their goal is to help metahumans and Starfallen alike have a place to stay, and their housing complex acts as that for many. Always adjusting and always changing, Arcadia is an important resource, and it's helped along by funding from Winters Industries.

Virgil will provide everyone the rundown they might need, as well as their new living quarters. These quarters are fully adaptable to the needs of its occupants — aesthetically and otherwise. If someone needs special conditions to live, Virgil will work alongside the AIs that directly run Arcadia to help someone find what they need.

Arcadia offers additional resources to its' Starfallen occupants. If anyone's eager to brush up on their knowledge of this world, they can sit through a bunch of (only a little boring) informational videos. For anyone unused to powers, Virgil has designated training centers. However, all training centers are unavailable to metas who aren't affiliated with a Guild. All newcomers are recommended to join a Guild as soon as possible to receive additional support beyond what Virgil themselves is able to offer.

After settling in, all Arcadia occupants receive a credit card to manage their expenses (this card is typically intended to help someone buy food, clothing, and other necessities). It's very apparent that these stipends are provided by Winters Industries and not Virgil.

MISSIONS

The headquarters of the Guardian Alliance are easy to find. It’s located in one of the taller and more ornate skyscrapers of Central City

The first floor is something of a public space. There’s a small museum dedicated to the Alliance’s most famous exploits, standees of famous heroes for tourists to snap selfies with, and even a little gift shop! For metas, though, the real business starts upstairs. You’ll have to check in with a receptionist, who will unlock the elevator to HQ proper. There’s not a lot of visible security beyond that, but you still get the feeling that any kind of trouble here wouldn’t end well for the troublemakers.

The Guardian’s Club is the central hub of the headquarters. It’s an open and sunny lounge area with shining white walls and floors. The furniture is modern, in bright primary colors, and there’s a high ceiling that allows for people of any size, or those who just want to fly around for fun. Off to one side is a large games area - the main attraction is the large pool table, but there’s also some board games, co-op video games, a snack bar, and even a DDR machine. Bonding with your fellow heroes is a great thing!

Outside of this area is where you’ll find the mission board. It’s a modern touchscreen display, on which Alliance members can tap their member ID, input mission preferences, how many they intend to take out with them, and receive a mission.

Where the Guardian Alliance’s headquarters gleams, The Society’s headquarters is much darker. The two buildings are actually quite close to each other. Entering here, you’ll find a similar reception desk where your credentials must be verified before going into the headquarters proper. Security here is far more visible, with clear cameras on the walls and buff guards, often with visible powers such as rocky skin or hands that crackle with lightning, posted nearby. You have to imagine, though, that the real safeguards here are the ones you can’t see.

Inside the Society Lounge, the furnishings are classy in a far more toned-down sense. The furnishings are dark wood, with chairs and long couches upholstered primarily in reds and violets. Here, there’s a full bar! According to the sign posted above it, however, any disorderly conduct within the Lounge will be swiftly dealt with.

The mission board is a sleek electronic display posted on the back wall of the lounge. It’s quite high-tech, updating itself regularly. You can use the touchscreen to request a job. After inputting one's member ID and the amount of people they intend to take along with them, it will assign out tasks based off of what it thinks they will be able to handle. But be careful; who gets assigned what is all public information, and it sure would be a shame to fail.

Please fill out the form and post it below our MISSION REQUESTS header.

CHARACTERS INVOLVED:

GUILD: What guilds are the characters affiliated with?

REQUESTED DIFFICULTY: Easy/Medium/Hard

REWARD REQUEST: Is your character after money, or a specific item?

LIMITATIONS: What do you not want your character to get assigned? Please note we are happy to offer new missions if our initial offer doesn't work!

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ New arrivals land in Little Love, where a terraforming machine comes to life and begins to terrorize the town. It douses anyone it can in a terraforming fluid which enhances their strength for a total of two hours, before leaving them with some strange sensitivities to earth's minerals. Line the colors of your favorite precious stones up with Kyrptonite for some fun effects.

➢ All Starfallen will be granted a place at Arcadia, though no one is required to take that spot. Everyone who decides to live there will be provided with a stipend, as well as fully customizable living quarters.

➢ Guild members are expected to participate in missions at least once monthly. However, this does not have to be the missions offered on this post and can be handwaved. PCs are also welcome to switch missions between themselves for one that better suits, if their monthly assigned one won't work for them.

WILDCARD.

Metaheroes takes inspiration from all walks of comics. Take a look at the CITIES to get an idea as to what day to day life is like in the other cities. Perhaps you've encountered a supervillain (or hero) who needs to be thwarted, or a metahuman with unusual powers creating bizarre effects.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It would be a great opportunity to further hide your identity, though.

[ He hums. He likes this idea. It might be time for some creative writing. ]

I’m … it’s what I’m used to. Maybe your world is better than mine. Better than this one, too.

[ That’s a warning. He doesn’t dare say more here. Corn has ears, and that he personally helped break Atomight out of prison is not common knowledge. Rook didn’t join the Alliance because he trusted them. ]

Everyone in my world wears a mask one way or another. You should consider it, or invest in glasses.

( if he really thinks about it - a lot of mutants he knows don't have families anymore. teddy's mother died shortly into their superhero stint, kate's dad tried to kill her, eli and cassie were a legacy hero, noh-varr is from another earth entirely, david. . . has his family, somewhere? he's got a sister and his parents, but he's fairly certain david's been on his own for a bit too. loki's loki.

maybe it's less about being better and more - not having much to lose. )

I don't think people would really care about who I am anyway. At least not here. ( because he doesn't have much to lose, does he. ) I could add one though, like - ( hand across his face, and a mask very similar to tim's own settles over billy's eyes. he shakes his head, and the lenses dissipate while the fabric shifts, little stars outlining the edges. ) but I don't think it makes much of a difference.

They care about who you are. There's an entire subdivision summer camp they built to house the Starfallen. There is heavy investment in the Starfallen.

[ And not all of it is in the Starfallen's favor. Like anything with money, the deal benefits the money.

Besides, he likes the mask that Billy comes up with. Maybe he just likes the aesthetic of a dark mask. Maybe it's vanity, that it's shaped much like Tim's, and he does think he looks cooler in the mask and has usually been the one making design choices. ]

You'd be surprised. A mask pulls focus - people see it and not so much you. It won't save you if someone runs you through facial recognition software, but eyewitnesses? Only if there's someone who really looks. Besides, it looks good on you. Who doesn't love a good domino mask?

You'd think the uniform would be enough to pull that kind of attention, then. ( rook made the glasses comment. billy's familiar with heroes who do just use that to get away with keeping their secret id. he supposes the domino mask'll help, if it's something to actually be concerned about. there's time to run over that later, he guesses. different place does mean different rules, and if this isn't just a stop on his multiversal journey, he should be a little more careful.

and there's a smile, spreading slowly across his lips as he looks to rook. )

But who's going to catch me and make cute dorky comments about my eye color if they can't see them?

[ Rook almost says something incredibly dumb, so dumb that he chastizes himself hard.

(It's not loud enough to pull attention from that face, who does Tim think he is, Superboy?)

The growing smile is met with a spike of sheepishness, a flash of a smile that's as much about reassuring Tim himself that he's still got this under control as it is for Wiccan. ]

I'll still catch you, but I've never made dorky comments.

You did, but it was cute, so I'll forgive it.

( his own smile grows--sheepish, a little softer. )

I never said dorky was bad.

[ Are they... flirting?

...

Oh god. They are. Maybe. Probably. And if they are (they are?) it's Tim's fault.

This is not the place. Nobody flirts in Kansas.

It's not flirting. They just met, and nobody's kissing anybody.]

Most people say dork like it's a bad thing.

I'm a dork, too. It's not a bad thing to be.

( nerd might be a more accurate word to go with, but he's sticking with this one currently for the sake of the argument.

billy stops in place, wraps an arm around his midsection. )

Thanks. For the multiple saves and--everything else.

You? Nah. I don’t buy it in that suit. But thank you. You saved me, too. You took down that scorpion like it was nothing. If you hadn’t, who knows where we’d be?

[ For a hero, Wiccan’s very willing to give the credit away, and Rook’s not going to let him. It’s hard enough to be dropped into a new universe without minimizing yourself. Whatever Wiccan decides when he meets with the guild, he should go in with confidence. They’ll sway him otherwise. ]

I’d be out of explosives. You can’t fight giant robots with a bo.

[ His eyes linger on the arm around Wiccan’s stomach. There’s some hesitation, but -

In at least one universe, he’s Prodigy and Loki’s friend. Tim’s hand twitches towards him. ]

Are you hurt?

Just because my uniform's cool, doesn't mean I'm not a dork. It just means I can usually dress myself mildly decently.

( a talent he didn't have a few years ago, but billy's starting to get his sense of style down. also: it's magic. nothing's cooler than that.

rook's eyes lower, and billy follows their trajectory after a moment. notes where they're focusing, and - unfolds his arms. )

No, I'm fine. Nervous habit.

CONFLUENCE 25

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