[Thursday, October 23rd. 7 PM] [After the briefing broke up, you all were given a little time to relax before heading over to City Hall, the site of the final mayoral debate in this special election.] [You're all in a small makeshift complex of tents and trailers the police have set up as a mobile command center for the event. Security is, predictably, fairly tight.] [The candidates will be speaking from podiums set on on the steps of City Hall, with a bunch of chairs set up for press, staff and a couple hundred members of the public.] [Already, supporters of the three main candidates have started showing up, both inside and outside the event.] [The Democrat in the race is the Brooklyn Borough President, who Christian helped save yesterday. As always happens in NYC mayoral races, he escaped from a bitter, racially divided primary against a black and a Hispanic candidate, and has struggled in this abbreviated campaign season to repair his fractured coalition before time runs out on him.] [The Republican is a former DA from Queens who'd be considered a pinko liberal just about anywhere else in the country. He's a bit tougher on crime and a bit more pro-business than the Dem, but otherwise they're not that far apart.] [The wild card is the independant candidate, billionaire media mogul William "Wild Bill" Graham. He's been flooding the airwaves and streets with ads, and is surprisingly competitive in the polls coming down the home stretch.] [Maybe you all know this. Maybe you don't. Maybe you could care less.] [What you do know is that you're standing with the police lieutenant in charge of security, who's just finished up taking a phone call and doesn't look too thrilled. "Sorry to keep you folks waiting. I'll try and make this quick."] [Session Start] * TheRedcoat may have flicked a half-shrug in response to that, or may have been shaking off an impudent fly. ["First off, Lt. Stone has communicated that he has full confidence in you folks, and that's good enough for me, so don't worry about any turf war pissing matches. My people are with you however you need."] * Christian nods slightly. He's listening pretty quietly to it all, but he looks slightly distracted during it. [He pauses for a moment, then continues when there's no response. "Long story short, the candidates are terrified there's gonna be another attack, and wanted some extra muscle around in case things got hairy. Thus, you guys."] * Horus shrugs. "He's got the muscle," she comments, indicating Christian. "But yeah, kinda got that." * Christian snorts. "Yeah, if you want a good sized hole in the ground. I can't be everywhere at once though." He grins. "Yet." [A scowl creeps over his face. "Now, if I had my way, I'd ask you guys to be discreet, disguise yourselves if possible, meld into the crowd and around the area. Basically be as inconspicuous as possible, as a surprise ace in the hole in case someone tries something."] * TheRedcoat blinks. "What is wrong with that?" * Jacqueline glances out of the corner of her eye at Christian and murmurs, "Slacker," to herself, as she looks away. ["Unfortunately, the candidates want a big flashy show of force to reassure the public and give them some good photo ops, and my boss wants a job when the new administration comes in. So I'm under orders to instruct most, if not all of you, to make yourselves as prominant and visible as possible." He spits that last part out like a fly that flew into his mouth.] * Abby looks at Redcoat and half-smiles. "Some of us can't do that so well without a little help anyway." * Christian sighs. "That's probably my fault." * TheRedcoat makes a terrible face. You shittin' me? I have probably the least flashy...powers...so it would make sense for at least me to, ah...be among the less prominent figures. * Horus seems surprised. Sure, she's glowing and stuff, but not very brightly yet. * Christian pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, we ain't someone's PR tool. We'll do things the way they need to be done." [He looks at Horus. "All three specifically requested you to be out and very public." He turns to Christian. "The Borough President said the same for you." And then to Jacky. "And Wild Bill wanted you someone visible."] [He nods at Redcoat. "I can probably get away with one or two of you keeping a low profile. Horus and Shockwave have gotta be out there, but other'n that I'll defer to you folks."] * Christian rubs his nose some more. "Fantastic." * TheRedcoat does a happy dance on the inside and a stoic business-like acknowledging face on the outside. * Jacqueline 's brow furrows as she bites off, "A morally reprehensible corporate monolith; no thank you. /I'll/ remain with the Redcoat." * Abby glances to Horus, then says, "I'm stuck visible either way, but I should probably stay up in the air." * Horus nods to Abby, then looks to the police guy. "Fine, I can be a target. Just means anyone who tries anythin' will be more surprised when they get their asses kicked by Redcoat and Hyde." [The lieutenant nods, and lays out a diagram of the setup of the grounds. "Okay, so two of you can fly, so we can have you up in the air patrolling. Shockwave, I'd like to have you just off to the side of where the candidates will be, if you don't mind."] * Christian folds his arms. "I don't have much of a *choice* do I?" ["Nope. Welcome to politics, kid."] [He turns to Jacky and Redcoat. "Where're you two gonna be? And how're you doing the disguise thing?"] * TheRedcoat glances at Jackie and smirks. * Jacqueline , in response to that question, is abruptly Niobe once again thanks to a deft flick of the fingers, and once her form is settled she says, "We'll be around." [He nods, glancing at Redcoat expectantly. "Nice tech. In among the crowd, I assume?"] * TheRedcoat nods brusquely. "In and around." * Jacqueline waves with just her fingers before taking a few steps away from the lieutenant to do just that. ["Gotcha. And you gonna be in disguise like Miss Hyde?"] More or less. ["I need to know what you're gonna look like so my people don't mistake you for an attacker."] * TheRedcoat frowns. [The lieutenant shrugs. "If you don't want to, fine, but don't say I didn't warn ya."] What if I keep one item of clothing the same? Say, a pair of dark red gloves, or something? ["Better'n nothing, I suppose."] If I'm spotted by potential hostiles, I need to be able to dodge them quickly and easily. [He nods. "Gotcha." He looks around. "Any other questions?"] Nope. * Horus glances at Christian, then adds, "Think we're good." Good as we *can* be. ["Okay. Good luck out there."] Yeah. Those guys fuckin' owe us for this one. * Horus walks off to distance herself a bit from the lieutenant, then bursts into brilliant gold/white feathers and stretches her wings before taking to the air. [The candidates arrive as the 8 PM start time approaches, along with their respective entourages. Both the Democrat and the Republican manage to drag Christian into handshake photo-ops, effusively thanking him for his great service to the city, joking that they hope he'll vote for them, and otherwise being really annoying.] [Finally, after the setup is finished and final prep is done, the debate starts, with the moderator giving a brief introduction for the TV audience.] * Horus flies about in semi-lazy circles overhead, patrolling over the crowd and listening in on the debate. * Abby is also in the air, like Horus, but not in her layer. Don't wanna run into her! That'd be bad. * Jacqueline is mainly just circulating through the crowd, mingling and trying to see how good of a job she can do of subversively upsetting some(if any) of the more prominent people gathered. * Christian is in position, looking around, keeping his arms folded, and generally looking like an MIB except in punk clothes. [The press, meanwhile, has been taking about as many pictures and as much video of the visible heroes as they have the candidates so far.] * TheRedcoat is on far point since Jackie's closer up. Disguise: A Reporter. By this time, complete with notepad and issue of tawdry tabloid. * TheRedcoat is also wearing a jacket and a pair of dark red gloves. [As the debate begins, the topic rather naturally turns to the issue of the ongoing siege of the city by various super-villains, most prominantly those aligned with Master Magus.] * Horus hasn't been very photogenic, being essentially a big ball of light. [The Democrat starts out by thanking the cops, particularly SPLEE-NY, for all their hard work. He then thanks the various heroes of the city for everything they're doing, giving special notice to Horus' performace against the Headmaster and Christian's efforts yesterday.] [He then calls for increased federal funding and support to beef up SPLEE-NY's tech and manpower to enable them to better assist the various heroes out on the street.] [The Republican repeats similar boilerplate expressions of gratitude to the cop and the heroes, adding in a thanks to the people of NYC for their continued bravery in a blatent, but effective, bit of pandering.] * TheRedcoat glances around the crowd and environs to gauge reactions of people whenever the candidates start talking about superheroes and such. [He agrees with the Democrat about additional funding from the feds, but also wants NYC declared a federal disaster area, and to send in the National Guard to impose a help keep the peace.] * Christian is trying not to follow along, because politics. It ain't like he's voting for either douches likely. [The crowd cheers at the various mentions of the cops and heroes, but go silent as the Republican's proposal sparks a heated back and forth between him and the Democrat. The Dem pounces on him for wanting troops on city streets, asking if he wants curfews and martial law too. The Rep says he'd rather not, but if that's what it takes to protect the people of the city, so be it.] [As the argument between the two starts to get louder, the moderator interjects, asking Wild Bill, who's been silent to this point, if he has something to say on the matter.] [He nods, and starts speaking. "I may not be a New Yorker born'n bred like my two opponents here, but I've been here long enough to know that the people of this great city appreciate a little straight talk. So I'm gonna put aside the political speak for a second here and tell it to you straight."] * Christian 's turning to the podium, just in case. Looks a little suspicious. * Horus keeps with the patrol. ["The cops? SPLEE-NY? They deserve more resources, and damn sure I'll fight to get them more. But they aren't doing enough with what they have. I know Lt. Stone is a step up from Yankees shortstop on the respect scale around here, but if one of the divisions of my company was performing like SPLEE-NY is? I'd be looking for some new blood."] ["And the heroes? I'm sure they're tryin' their hardest, but they ain't gettin' the job done either. That attack at Rockefeller Center... sure, they stopped the guy, but after how many people were killed and hurt? Big chunks of the Bronx and Harlem still have to boil their water 'cause they couldn't protect the treatment plant."] ["Not to mention all the damage all around the cities, the robberies..." He leans forward onto the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, I come from the business world. When people aren't doin' their jobs well enough, you find people who can."] * Abby stops in her patrol to look down at the guy slightly disbelievin'. * Christian stares hard at Wild Bill's direction. It looks like he's trying hard to keep his calm. And it's working. So far at least. * Jacqueline clears her throat, holds a hand up and calls out, "Have you considered, perhaps, finding a suit of spandex and giving it a try yourself?" * Christian gives that a snort and calms down a little bit. * TheRedcoat doesn't really seem to be caring about Bill's speech. She's still looking around, checking windows, checking reactions, etc. * Horus stares, then hears Jackie's question and laughs despite herself. [The crowd titters nervously, and the moderator calls for quiet, but Wild Bill just grins. "No, but I'll tell you what I am gonna do, young lady. I'm gonna go out and find us the baddest, meanest superfolks out there, and put together a team of my own to do the job our locals can't seem to do. And I'll match every dollar the city spends on it with two of my own. We'll bring in the best talent from around the world!"] You'll find a lot of that will be going to Chinese take-out for the people manning the observatory that searches for more notable talent. * Jacqueline combs her fingers delicately back through her hair, then flashes a smile way up at Wild Bill. "Something to think about." [The crowd murmurs at that, and the moderator presses for specifics as she shoots Jacky a dirty look, asking where Wild Bill expects to find more heroes.] [Wild Bill just grins wider. "Heroes? Who said anythin' about heroes? I don't care who they are as long as they like money and are willing to do a job for it!"] [Well, that sets things right off. The Republican asks if he's suggesting they hire mercs and criminals. Wild Bill just shrugs. "Sure, as long as they're willing to sign a contract!"] * TheRedcoat clears her own throat and speaks up with a dead-perfect British accent. "Mr. Graham, do I take it to mean that you will be spending this money out of pocket?" * Abby flies up nearer to Horus and murmurs, "Posing. Politics." * Horus murmurs back, "No shit. Think he's on the level?" Maybe. Any means necessary works for some people. [The moderator turns around. "Dammit, I'm asking the questions at this deb-", but is interrupted as the Dem calls Wild Bill a fascist, and asks if he really wants to have hired superpowered thugs roaming the streets of New York. "Damn right I'll be spending my own money. And it's not like we know who any of the folks we've got running around now really are? They could be worse than anyone I'm gonna bring in."] ( EDIT s/?/. ) * Horus shakes her head. "Deaths'll skyrocket. We do a lotta fuckin' damage." * TheRedcoat returns with, "Then you're saying you're using the fact that you're wealthy as part of your platform? Why not just help out as an individual contractor? Why the need for a government position?" * Christian yells out. "The fuck do you know. Least I ain't in anyone's pocket." [Wild Bill eyes Christian, then turns back to the audience. "See what I mean. Our distinguished borough president's big savior is some punk kid who can't keep his mouth shut. Don't you all think things might be going a bit better if we had some professionals on the job?"] [That sets off some murmurs of agreement in the crowd, matched by some murmurs along the lines of 'Is he out of his mind?'] * TheRedcoat looks the picture of a reporter on the trail of a real trash piece. "Mr. Graham, you still haven't answered how your willingness to spend your money makes you any more electable than anyone else." * Christian backs off and folds his arms, muttering. Kettle. Pot. Yada yada. [He barks a laugh. "Because unlike these two, I've got the spine to do what needs to be done. These two would probably get the vapors and faint if I tried it as a private citizen. But elect me... put me behind the wheel... and I'll steer this city outta this mess!"] So your position is that you should get elected because you don't think your opponents are rich enough to be, as you claim, as brave as you? So you actually believe in the power of money rather than the power of people? *Thank* you, Mr. Graham! * TheRedcoat scribbles industriously for another second, then follows her cover and slinks off into an obscure section of the crowd before "Wild Bill" can retort. [Wild Bill blinks at the disguised Redcoat, then turns back to the audience and shrugs comically. "Brits. Whacha gonna do?" The crowd chuckles.] [Suddenly, puffs of smoke pop up around five people scattered in the audience and around the area. "Or how about we don't have anybody in the driver's seat, hmm?" comes a voice from one of the ones in the audience. As the smoke clears, the speaking figure is revealed to be GrenaDeer, who, as the rest of the Kitchen Cinqo emerge, throws a grenade up at the candidates!] * Christian doesn't miss a beat and dashes on stage, yelling, "Get down!" He swings his arm at the grenade in midair, knocking it in an open area away from the candidates so that no one gets hurt. Even Mr. Big Shot McBigMouth. [Christian, in an impressive feat of hand-eye coordination and reflexes, manages not only to knock away the grenade, but knock it where it explodes relatively harmlessly.] Perhaps you could begin by hiring /them/. [Cops start to rush towards the stage to protect the candidates as a couple dozen Axe Effect goons teleport in, surrounding the area. "Oh, he couldn't afford us, lady," says Mac the Knife, idly juggling a pair of blades in his hand.] [ChakRam, Dog Pilum and Ugg The Barbarian Whose Full Name I Don't Feel Like Typing Out also ready their respective weapons as the crowd starts to panic.] * TheRedcoat glances around behind her, or rather him as she's currently disguised as a middle-aged man in a long coat, basball cap and dark red gloves. * Abby flips into dive position as they appear, ready to dive down at them. "Time to prove 'im wrong, Horus." * TheRedcoat starts to move back further, but then reverses her direction and heads back in as she catches sight of Mac the Knife. * Christian starts cracking his knuckles a bit. "Yeah. Maybe it's time ya see what these heroes can do." * Horus nods at Abby's words, eyes on the villains. "Any fuckin' time," she replies. [Session End]