Divinely Queer First Mission

GG was possibly the only man in the world who could look so happy, holding a case which described gruesome murders and villainous terrorists.

"A killing spree right in the middle of the city! This is great!" Then he added hastily, realising that there may be cameras present, "I mean, it's great that you guys are here to stop them! Finally you will get to see some action! I hope you settled in on your first few weeks here~"

He babbles on a while longer about the mansion and the show and hospitality, and finally their mission. It sounded like a simple enough case - group of villains banding together, extracting revenge for the Meek and all that. They were all unpowered, so Joule did not particularly heed much attention to the briefing.

This would be a walk in the park.

Rachel listened intently at GG's debriefing on the mission. Meek remnants, huh? Being that they were unpowered it seemed like it would be easy enough- but Rachel knew that even unpowered villains could lead to a hero's early death. Hell, she was a living testament to that. She'd have to keep her guard up- and especially make sure to keep an eye out for her teammates. SOME people were a little overconfident in their powers, it seemed.

"Do we know what weapons or tools this group is using? Maybe any particular names or criminal histories of note?" Rachel asked. She doubted it, but it could be possible that at least one of these guys were from the group that killed her mom- the M.O. seemed to fit. Still very much a long shot.

"All that information is in the file. Each and every one of you will be provided with a folder. In fact-" GG began to hand them out to every hero.

"But the important thing is, we know they don't have any depowering tech."

Joule felt a shiver run down his spine. Depowering. He often had nightmares about it. It was something he would not wish upon anyone, for any reason.

"Alright then!" He spoke up, not really bothering with the file. "What are we waiting for? Let's go kick some butt."

"What, right now?" GG raised an eyebrow. "I suggest you discuss the information together and form some kind of plan--"

"Yeah yeah whatever. So shall we go beat them up? Who's in?"

Rachel frowned at Joule, "GG's got a good point- we need to at least come up with some kind of plan of attack first. Avoid civilian casualties and plan around exactly what and who we're dealing with," she said, and flipped open her file, taking a look at the contents. A hero's gotta be smart about these things, and not just rush headlong into danger without even an idea of what to do. People die that way.

"I have a plan." The grin on Joule's face widened, overjoyed that he would finally get to use one of his favourite lines in the history of superhero cinema. "Attack."

He got his sunglasses out and popped then on for effect. Oh yeah. He was cool. He was so very cool. Everyone else just couldn't handle how cool he was, he was sure.

Kade had hardly been paying attention at all, rolling a pen back and forth over the table in front of him out of boredom. Something about unPowered villains. Ridiculous. Who the hell ever heard of villains like that? Fucking joke. It was only when he heard the word 'depowering' that he actually suddenly started to listen, giving GG a sharp look.

No depowering tech, he'd said. Oh, okay. Panic over. This would be a piece of cake then.

"Tch, this will be easy," he said, rolling his eyes as Rachel and GG suggested they review the information. "Point us in the right direction so we can kick their asses." Standing around talking about it was a waste of time.

And then Joule made the reference. Kade immediately got it, and burst out laughing. He laughed even harder when the man put on a pair of sunglasses. "Oh shit, Joule," he said between giggles, "That was so great, I could kiss you."

"I think GG and Rachel have a point here," Nathan said as he idly adjusted his black, fingerless gloves, making sure that the Velcro strap was tight enough so they wouldn't slide off. "This is Meek remnants, and so we need to be prepared as possible. There may not be any proof of depowering weapons, but that's just from what we know of. If we go in blasting our powers off blindly, we'll have no idea what to possibly expect, and give them the advantage, because they probably do have a plan for situations like this."

Nathan fidgeted slightly as he continued to fiddle with his suit, always thrown off by how strange it felt. He had never actually worn it enough to get used to it, and the tight feel of the fire proof material rubbing against his skin always served to aggravate him. He hadn't even picked the costume out himself, otherwise it just would have been a t-shirt and some sweat pants. He had an old friend to thank for this annoyance.

"References won't do much if they corner us."

"If you could kiss me, darling, then why don't you?" He lowered his sunglasses to give Kade a flirty wink. "It would certainly be a pleasure."

"Right well how about this plan: us brave heroes go ahead and kick their butts, and you can sit on your butts here and make your little plans and strategies. You can come join us whenever you're done~"

This mission didn't sound luck much. Joule wanted to get it at of the way as quickly as possible, to make way for more important, interesting missions with a bit of real challenge.

"Thank you, Nathan- at least ONE of us seems to be taking this seriously," Rachel said, giving Joule a withering glare. These heroes that were all for show were bad news. The title of "hero" wasn't just a convenient moniker- it actually had a meaning, you know? Someone who saves people- not a blasty, spotlight-hogging wannabe celebrity.
"So we know they're hiding out in the city somewhere, right? I say we have Kade try and take out any surveillance with an EMP, and Joule manipulate the light around us to keep us cloaked as long as we can. I'll be on barrier duty and we try and catch them by surprise. If things get too hot, Nathan Kade and Joule can get all blasty- but let's try and get these guys alive. They might have information on other Meek remnants that we can act upon and stop further murders from happening," She looked the rest of the group over, "We're heroes, guys- let's focus on the bigger picture of helping people, alright?"

"Saving it for later," he said with a wink, before turning his attention to Nathan and Rachel. God, how paranoid could two people be? These were Meek remnants, sure, but just that- remnants. Nowhere near as serious a threat as they used to be.

He rolled his eyes as Rachel started up with a plan. "Sounds pretty over cautious if you ask me. And that'd take up way too much time- time that could be better spent on actual threats. I say we just go in there and knock them on their asses. Meek or not, they're not that much of a challenge."

He didn't comment on the 'let's try to get these guys alive' part. Because he disagreed. Very strongly. But he couldn't exactly voice the fact that he was okay with killing murderers- especially Meek ones- on live 3V.

"Better to be cautious than reckless- it's that kind of thinking that gets heroes killed." Rachel said, trying to be the voice of reason. She wasn't gonna have their first mission be a flop- they had to do this right.
"So would you rather stick to a good, solid plan or look like fools- or worse, get killed- on live 3V?"

Killing people was not allowed. He understood that much. It made sense. Why in earth would it be okay to kill an innocent? There were of course casualties but that was different. Killing villains though? That was a different matter entirely. It's not as if Joule had the urge to go out on a killing spree and murder every villain out there, but he didn't care much for their lives either. It made sense to kill them. It was the logical thing to do. Still, the law said no, and even more importantly, the audience said no. And wasn't that the reason he was there? His goal was to be even more famous, even more loved, and if that meant letting some villains live, so be it.

If they went in, powers blazing, the truth was that there was no telling who would live and who would die, at least as far as the villains went. That would have been fine on a solo mission but on national 3V? No, it would be best to please the crowds.

"Okay, okay, whatever. Let's just do what you said. In, boom, catch them, out. Quick and clean. Let's just get it over with."

Nathan hummed softly, continuing to fiddle with his costume. Rachel was going to be in for a shock if she really did expect him to get 'blasty'. Fire burned and killed people, and considering that they didn't want to kill anyone, it was a bad idea. He didn't even use his powers. That was the one, most memorable thing about him; Nathan absolutely refused to use his powers until it was absolutely necessary.

It would be easier to lure the Meek remnants into a trap and take them by surprise that way. It was a lot easier and a lot less riskier.

"If we want to do this quick and thoroughly, we should lure them into an area where we can have a field advantage," he said softly as he finished messing around with his costume. He could lure them out personally. He could regenerate, and nothing could kill him, so it made him the perfect man for the job. Everyone else could hide until they had to spring the trap, and it would be faster to incapacitate them. It was a lot easier than wandering around trying to knock them out like that.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Joule waved his hand, clearly losing interest. "Just make up your minds and decide on one thing. It shouldn't be so complicated."

He expressed no concern over Nathan being used as bait. If the man wanted to do it, it was his choice. What difference did it make to Joule, if one more hero lived or died? Hell, if someone actually died on national 3V during their show, it would probably just get them even more exposure and attention.

Rachel looked over at Nathan, "That's a pretty solid counterpoint- you sure you're willing to risk being bait? I've got the barrier skills- maybe it's better we use a defensive power set in case the bait gets shot at with anything beyond street market weapons."

Nathan shrugged his shoulder, smiling lazily. "I'll be fine. It takes a lot more than a handful of Meek remnants to do any damage to me," Nathan said, avoiding the fact that the chances of him dying were none. They didn't need to know just how far his regeneration powers went. No one but him needed to know that. "They can fire at me as much as they want. I'll be fine. You guys will just need to jump in so I don't have to take them all on by myself once I get them to the area of the trap."

Kade rolled his eyes as more planning started to happen, seriously considering just leaving to go and deal with this himself- until he heard the word 'weapons'. He fidgeted nervously in his seat. That normally meant guns. He... wasn't good around guns. But he'd probably be fine if they could take these guys out before they got off a shot. There was no reason to start getting anxious now. None at all.

It'd be totally fine. Easy. These guys had nothing on him. Er, or everyone else.

He tapped his hands on top of the table in front of him impatiently. "Okay, we've got a plan, good, can we go now? Before they fall asleep waiting for us."

Rachel nodded, "Alright everything sounds good. Nathan will lure them out in the open, Joule and Kade will incapacitate them while I work barrier and restrainer duty," she grinned at the rest of the group, now a little more confident in their capabilities as a group, "Let's go, team!"

Joule was already in his costume, ready to take off, when he suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, aren't some of you incapable of flight? How are we all going to get there?"

The Meek remnants were using an abandoned part of the subway as their base, but getting to the other edge of the city from the mansion was not something that could be done by foot.

"I'm not carrying anyone. Unless they're hot. Then I'll carry you as much as you want."

Rachel flashed Joule a grin, "I've got that covered- if you'll follow me to the garage."

And with that, Rachel strutted out of the room, emanating a mysterious coolness. Presumably with the other heroes in tow, they entered the garage and she produced a set of keys.

Pressing a button, there was a clearly audible "Woop-woop" and Rachel's vehicle of choice autopiloted up to the curb.

"Ta da!"

A motorcycle- done up in the same bronze and steel colors as Acrylic's outfit. It was... decidedly clashing with her usual responsible motherly thing she had going on. But hey- a hero's gotta have at least ONE badass bit to them- why not her ride?

A motorbike. Somehow, a motorbike didn't exactly fit Rachel and her 'Mother of the Mansion' persona. Still, it was kinda cool.

"Awesome," Kade said with a chuckle, pulling his hood up and his goggles down. He had noticed by now that he kind of stood out within the group, at least when it came to hero outfits. Everyone seemed to have specially designed suits, and here he was looking like he'd just thrown his clothes together this morning. Whatever. At least he looked cool.

"Think you can keep up on that thing?" he asked with a smirk, heading for the garage doors and already hovering slightly off the ground, anxious to get going.

"I guess we're gonna have to find out!" Seeing that Kade was already hovering, Joule also reversed gravity on himself and pushed off the ground. "But we aren't waiting around, so do try to keep up and not get too lost. And really it would be best if you didn't fall off either. I don't go back for anyone - hero policy~"

Well, Rachel drove a motorcycle. Nathan could put that down on the list of things he never thought could exist in real life, nor did he expect it. But it looked like they were going to go now, and suddenly his gloves felt awkward on his hands, and his mask was sliding down his face. Or he was imagining it. Nathan started to fiddle with his costume again.

He loved teams, he loved working in teams, he had loved his rugby team, but now this was a hero team. A hero team who would be around him when he was using his powers. There was a lot of anxiety bubbling in Nathan's stomach. The voice seemed to take delight in it.

"I'll stick with you, Rach," Nathan said, offering her a smile because she was nice, and they both had mother hen tendencies. Also, he got a good feeling that neither Joule nor Kade were team players, so it was a lot better to stay near the people who were.

Joule knew they should probably arrive at the scene as a team. Team plan. Team motivational speech. Team spirit. All that ridiculous crap. Still, he was just itching to go.

"Let's do this then!" He gave a wink to one of the cameras as he shot higher into the sky, making his way to the exit.

With a small "Hup!" Rachel jumped onto the seat of her bike, and patted the space behind her for Pheonix.

"All aboard the train to justice city!" She said, making a whistle-pulling motion with her arm, "Choo-choo!"

And there goes any illusion that Rachel was ever cool. What a dork she is.