Mutants and Masterminds: Freedom City

[Keia]

Cosmo will take a business card and review the details. He nodded his head at the 1:00 pm meeting time, but internally he was a little upset about missing his afternoon relationship and history shows. Cosmo flew off looking for another party to wile a few hours away, then returned to his apartment to sleep.

 

[Vardeman]

Tauro takes the card and looks it over. "Well, if my job here falls through, maybe..." he says. "I guess it can't hurt to come see what it's about."

V

 

[maddmic]

Leech too will find a place to quietly take off his mask and then gets to the car and ride quietly home. Once at Jack's place, he will go to his room and fall asleep without a word.

 

[bkmanis]

North Freedom City
Hanover
May 3, 2003
12:55 P.M.

The next day each of you head off for the meeting, the address leads you to north Freedom City to an area called Hanover. Much of Hanover consists of small high-technology businesses, the address on the card leads you to a small office building. Being that it is Saturday the area is quite deserted. As you approach the building you see Mr. Benson waiting for you at the front door.

“Good afternoon gentlemen, if you would follow me.” He says when you all arrive. Holding a badge in front of a proximity sensor the door swings open. He leads you down a hallway to a large conference room. There is a large conference table in the room surrounded by chairs, on one wall there is a large plasma screen.

“If you would take a seat gentlemen we can begin.” Says Benson. He then moves to the head of the table and opens what appears to be a small laptop computer. Once everyone is seated he taps on a few keys and activates the plasma screen. A handsome man appears on the screen, he appears to be in his early 30’s and is wearing a very expensive business suit. Those of you that keep up on current events recognize him as Dominic Fortune one of the richest men in Freedom City.

“Good afternoon gentlemen, I hope you will forgive me for not meeting you in person but there is a reason for that which I will explain later.” Mr. Fortune says, there must be cameras in the room because it appears he is able to see you. “As Mr. Benson explained to you I am concerned about the increase in paranormal crime in our city. With the Freedom League and Atom Family busy elsewhere I believe the city lacks the protection it requires.” He says appearing genuinely concerned. “I believe the few independent heroes are not enough to affectively protect the citizens of our city. So I have been sending out people, like Mr. Benson, following up any report of new heroes. I hope to fine individuals who would be willing to form a new hero team to help protect Freedom City.” He seems to look at each of you for your reaction. There are of course certain criteria that must be met for potential members. Such as a willingness to protect the citizens of Freedom City, obeying the laws and the ability to work well in a group of course. So Gentlemen, what do you think of my idea?” He waits for any comments or questions.

 

[maddmic]

Leech waits for somebody to speak up. Since nobody has taken the opportunity to this point, he looks at one of the cameras and speaks up. "Benson here mentioned something about compensation? I'm all for doing good for the people and stuff, but what about compensation? We can't run around saving every person in the city and not have our needs filled. Did you have something in mind concerning that?"

 

[Keia]

Cosmo was rathe deep in thought, concerned that this might tear into his time exploring this wonderful culture. Obeying the laws and working as a team were fine, but Cosmo didn't want a 'full time job.' The problem was, he wanted to help the people behind this culture as well.

Cosmo does look with interest at Leech's comment.

 

[Toric_Arthendain]

Velocity "listens" carefully to what Fortune has to say.

"Interesting proposal," he says when the man is finished. "But have you done any research on each of us? How much do you know about us? Because frankly, other than Leech here, I know nothing about anyone else gathered here other than what little I saw last night. Do you have anything else to tell us to help us with our decisions?"

 

[bkmanis]

Leech waits for somebody to speak up. Since nobody has taken the opportunity to this point, he looks at one of the cameras and speaks up. "Benson here mentioned something about compensation? I'm all for doing good for the people and stuff, but what about compensation? We can't run around saving every person in the city and not have our needs filled. Did you have something in mind concerning that?"

“Ah the minor Mr. Benson mentioned.” Fortune says with a slight smile. “As for compensation I offer a package deal. All medical and legal expenses will be taken care of, as long as you don’t knowingly break the law. All your needs will be taken care of, within reason. There will also be an allowance for cash needs, all this will be handled by an accountant.” Fortune then looks directly at Leech. “Your compensation will be handled by your parent or guardian if they allow you to join the group at all.” He then turns to Velocity. “From what information I have this young man works with you, are you his parent or guardian? Are you willing to take responsibility for his actions if he is allowed to join this group?” Fortune continues with your questions.

"Interesting proposal," he says when the man is finished. "But have you done any research on each of us? How much do you know about us? Because frankly, other than Leech here, I know nothing about anyone else gathered here other than what little I saw last night. Do you have anything else to tell us to help us with our decisions?"

“A reasonable question.” Fortune says. “I have people research all reports of new heroes, they gather all the information they can. I then have experts go over the reports and separate them by who was involved in the incident. We then check with police and FBI to see if there is any warrants out for these individuals.” He looks to each of you. “As far as we can determine none of you have any wants or warrants for your arrest. You all have been active in Freedom City for only a few weeks, and all reports indicate that you try to help the people of Freedom City.” He pauses for a minute to collect his thoughts.

“You must understand I am not doing this out of the kindness of my heart, I’m doing this because our city needs protection. Individually you can do much to help the city, but combined into a group you can do much more.” Fortune takes on a serious look. “And this is not a free ride, you will have to follow the rules. You will train to work together effectively, and you must take responsibility for your actions. Furthermore you are not the only heroes we are making this offer to, membership will be handled through Mr. Benson and a few others. All new members will be placed on probation for one year. On a regular basis your actions will be evaluated, not to tell you what you did wrong, but to see if there is anything that is needed to improve your performance. It could be anything from training to improve your knowledge and use of your abilities to training to give you better public relations with the people.” Fortune nods to Mr. Benson who passes out some papers to the group.

“There are some legal issues that need to be discussed, these papers are ‘non-discloser’ contracts. It basically stats that you will not discuss or in any way reveal the groups connections with Fortune Corp. or myself, in other words we never met.” Fortune leans forward towards the camera with a look of concern on his face. “There is a reason for this, through the years I have made many enemies in business. And it is no secret that I have political aspirations, I believe I can do much to help the citizens of Freedom City. These business enemies will do almost anything to discredit me and prevent my political ambitions. They will make this team look like a publicity stunt by me to increase my chances for office. I want the team to succeed by it’s own actions not because it is associated with my name.” A look of sadness crosses Fortune’s face. “It is unfortunate that most of my peers use their money to throw elaborate parties to impress their friends, I choose to use my wealth to help my fellow citizens. I hope you can understand my reasons for this secrecy.” He pauses for a moment then looks at all of you. “Are there anymore questions?”

 

[Vardeman]

Tauro listens quietly to the proposal and discussion for now.

V

 

[maddmic]

Leech listens the the man as he rambles on. At one point, he almost speaks up on his behalf when the man asks Velocity for his permission. Instead he holds his tongue trying to figure out what his guardian will say. As the meeting progresses, Leech visibly relaxes a bit and is actually beginning to understand Fortune. Upon mentioning his aspirations for public office, Leech feels a small tug to do what's right for the city. After Fortune seems to be done speaking, he decides it's time to speak his mind. "Ok, I know all of you probably think I'm some punk kid who is a pain. But I think I now understand what this guy's saying and why he's saying it." With a pause, he looks at Velocity and continues, "So, should my guardian 'choose' to let me join in you're all's reindeer games, I'm in. In fact, I think I'd be a valuable part of the team as I'm probably able to get into places that some of you wouldn't without causing some uproar." That being said, he looks at Tauro and Hell.