metamemes | TEST DRIVE MEME

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!test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to

metaheroes! You do not need an invite in order to play on the test drive meme.

Test Drive threads can be used as game canon and can be treated as your character's arrival to the game. The first Arrival event differs from this Test Drive Meme and takes place a week later which also gives you the option to start fresh.

The first application round is closed to friends of the moderators. If you are interested in joining the game and do not know anyone involved, you can reach out to the mod team via here to request an invite for the February app round.

CRASH LANDING

A confluence is defined as the convergence of one or more forces. A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.

Confluences have been mild ever since the Godfall Event occurred in the 1980s. The older generations tell their children of the confluences they remember as children, the earth-shaking events that transformed the landscape of the world (and the people) every time they occurred. Now they're largely inconveniences. An explosion of experimental alien nanobots here, a magical lightning storm there, nothing particularly disruptive to day to day life.

Bad ones still occur every now and again. Something big and bombastic that shatters the peace that the world has cultivated over the years. But it’s rare. Where there was once terror any time a psychic or a precognitive seer predicted the future, people often simply shrug and make mental note to ensure they've renewed their meta-anomaly insurance.

After all, the Guilds have always been good about reporting when something big was happening well before it actually happened.

And so imagine the surprise when the sky splits open over Little Love, Kansas in the early hours of the morning on January 4th.

No one sees it coming. Especially not smack dab in the middle of Kansas.

Little Love is a small town — really more a handful of connected streets than an actual city. A gas station and a water tower proudly welcome drivers into town off the interstate, and a statue of its greatest hero, Featherweight, stands proudly in the middle of its tiny central park. Crops and cows sprawl as far as the eye can see in every direction. This is the place people go to get away from it all, the kind of place where nothing is ever supposed to happen.

Awareness hits you in a rush. So does the ground. You barely register it hurtling towards you before you make impact. Whatever surface you strike - the pavement, the frozen fields, someone's shed - is pulverized, but somehow, you're unharmed.

You're not alone, either. All around you are others who fell picking themselves up from their own craters, equally and impossibly undamaged by the impact that should have pulverized you.

Perhaps they know what's happening. The town is still and quiet, there's a chance to speak now in what is surely the calm before the storm.

As you move through the sleepy town, it comes awake. Lights flick on. Townspeople step outside in their pajamas and nightgowns to find the source of the commotion. Some grab blankets to offer to the newcomers who clearly aren't dressed for a midwestern winter, but they won't go as far as to invite anyone inside and quickly step back once blankets are accepted. They appear quite apprehensive and seem to be keeping their distance.

TOO MUCH POWER

It's nothing personal: new metas rarely have full control of their abilities. The fact that you all just came tumbling down form the sky makes it pretty clear to them that something strange is afoot. Confluences almost always make for chaos, and newly powered people don't handle that kind of stress well.

Perhaps you're one of the lucky ones, who have already had powers or who are capable of taking this in stride.

But perhaps you're not. Perhaps energy crackles within you, and before you know what's happening, your new powers are activating. You don't know how to control these. Perhaps your new eyebeams suddenly blast from previously unpowered eyeballs, destroying the water tower. Perhaps your new ability to shift density has you stumbling back and disappearing into the walls of houses or dropping through the earth.

And it's not just those of you who fell from the sky. Some of the citizens appear to be experiencing similar problems. A scared preteen phases through you. A farmer who fused with one of his bulls rampages through Main Street, destroying cars and street lights and terrifying those he once named friends.

Cause problems, or step up as a hero and help minimized the damage, or do your very best to calm down and coach these new metahumans.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

As the energies fueling this Confluence reach their conclusion, something smashes through the local library's roof, gleaming in the moonlight. Smoke chokes the air, made thicker by magic. Perhaps that is why you struggle to process the cybernetic dragon clawing its way free of the wreckage. It lets out a mindbending scream and lurches skyward, and in its wake other impossible storybook creatures follow suit. Ghosts, goblins and - Pinnochio?

The frightened folks of Little Love freeze in place and the creatures careen towards them, intent on causing mischief and mayhem.

And as the dragon soars above your heads, each flap of its wings send a shower of glowing words falling down upon your heads. If one of these words touches your skin a digitized voice begins to speak — once upon a time — and the world around you flickers like static. The town falls away and is instead replaced with a watercolor landscape. As the narrator continues, the story takes the shape of a children's book of your choosing, and you've been thrust into the role of the protagonist.

Only it doesn't seem quite right. Did Hansel and Gretel's witch always wear form-fitting spandex? Did Little Red Riding Hood always have a plasma rifle? You're fairly certain The Little Mermaid didn't take place in outer space! Yet all around you, these modified, blockbuster versions of traditional tales spin to life out of voxels. The stories each follow their own winding tale, but one thing is consistent: it's a classic you know, but with a sharp sci-fi twist.

Mercifully, you're not alone. Whatever this is seems to have grabbed people in pairs, and so you've got a partner to work through this. Perhaps you can use your knowledge of the original tale to speedrun it to its conclusion, or perhaps you'd rather just blast your way to the end using your newfound abilities.

If you were lucky enough to be untouched by those letters, congratulations: you're left watching those unfortunate enough to be touched blink out of existence. This leaves you and whoever else got out unscathed standing before a horde of cartoony sci-fi villains intent on wrecking havoc on the already ravaged town. The townspeople don't seem to have any real defense against them, leaving it up to you and your fellow fallers to protect what little town they have left.

The dragon makes its way back to the library, landing with a thunderous boom and roaring again. Clutched in one of it's mighty clawed hands is a glowing book. If fairy tales have taught you anything, it should be that beating the dragon and grabbing its mcguffin is the only guaranteed way to save the day. Go forth, heroes!

AFTERMATH

All the monsters have been dealt with. The people who were caught under the book's spell stumble free as the illusion breaks, either because they finished the tale or because the dragon was felled. Those who helped save the day are celebrated. People cheer, eagerly shake hands and embrace you, expressing their gratitude at simply being alive.

Just when you think you’ve got a handle on your new situation, there's a flash, a rush of energy. You find yourself standing in a large white room. Around you are the other fallers and the townspeople who had just displayed a sudden burst of abilities. All look equally alarmed. Anyone injured in the library fight will find the injuries tingling as energies within the space begin to stabilize you.

A robed figure slumps against the outer side of the glass doors, their hand pressed to the surface and faintly glowing. A second later, a man materializes out of thin air and bends down to check on them. He straightens up and presses the intercom button:
"My name is Atomight, and you're at Alliance HQ. You were all caught in a Confluence and as a result, many of you have developed metahuman abilities. There are power nullifies in place so please don't worry about losing control. And the space is enchanted and will give you whatever comforts you ask of it.

"We won't keep you here long. I apologize for this, I truly do. This is not at all the way we want to welcome new metas. But we need to ensure that your condition is stable, and there are far more of you than we could ever have anticipated... This one wasn't on the books. I've got to go back to help, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."
And then he's gone.

The room responds to sentient intent, materializing whatever you wish from thin air and rearranging the space to fit whatever is brought in. Before long, a massive spa-like bathroom fills the far corner. Rows and rows of doors spring up, leading to little cubbies sporting beds as soft as dreams. A chest of drawers spits out the most luxurious clothing you can imagine. Tables spring up groaning under incredible amounts of food.

Ask it and it provides. The only thing it won't give you is an exit.

The room will keep you safe from outside forces and put a cap on those new hard to control abilities. It will also stop you from killing each other, should that urge be one you struggle with. The room is attuned hostility and responds to the intent to harm. The moment you think to lash out at someone, you'll find yourself hauled away into a quiet time out corner.

Might as well grab a bite to eat and mingle a little. Ask the room for a magical puppy to pet so you can calm down a little, or ask a stranger for a nice warm hug to cope with a very strange and stressful day.

Atomight eventually returns. This time, he steps inside. Evidently, you're all safe. His smile is warm and apologetic, but he's here now to answer your questions and ask a few of his own to gain an understanding of what has happened.

WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

You're not going home anytime soon. That becomes all too clear in the hours following your arrival. Reports are coming in from across the world - dimension hoppers can't open portals back home, time travellers are temporally locked to this point in time. Something is wrong and it's going to take a little longer to fix it. A week at most, they assure you, refusing any offers for your help.

And so 24 hours after your arrival, the Guardian Alliance makes arrangements for somewhere less... well, like their gym.

The Diadem Hotel is a luxury hotel usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. It's rooms are enormous, the beds quite literally enchanted to offer the perfect night's sleep, and the food would usually cost your life savings just to sample. But given the circumstances, the Alliance feels it only fair to offer you a little comfort on their dime. Everything is complimentary, and everyone gets an alliance credit card to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards appear to have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back.

There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlets that cater to your every need. Food, clothing... and swords? If you can think of it, it's for sale. Although anything clearly supernatural or metahuman seems to be at a minimum and offered under the table. You can grab clothing made to withstand any superpower and a surprisingly mediocre Taco Bell order while you're at it. There's a Super Cinema in the shopping complex across the street that's showing the latest Mystic Mike movie, a franchise wherein a fictional male stripper gets magical powers and begins fighting crime using a pole as a staff.

Central City isn't exactly the nicest place in the world. Wander too far from the shopping district and you'll find yourselves thick into territory controlled by the local non-meta crime syndicate... but maybe that's where you want to be. Maybe you're here to see just what this world is dealing with. If you're going to be stuck here you might as well make yourself useful, right?

Or perhaps you're not the heroic type. Maybe this is simply scoping out the competition.

Regardless, it won't take long for trouble to find you. Test out your new powers, do a little thieving, stop a few muggings - this is your time to use as you see fit.

CLIFFNOTES

Your character has been dropped into the farming city of Little Love, Kansas.

Characters may lose control of their powers. You're free to destroy as much of the town as you'd like.

A giant cybernetic dragon rips out of the library, freeing a ton of sci-fi infused storybook villains. The villains start destroying the already wrecked town. Characters can step up and stop them, or take advantage of the chaos to do something nefarious.

The cybernetic dragon holds a magical book that is the key to releasing the characters trapped in those twisted tales. We won't be threading this battle out, but please feel free to assume it falls and 'powers down' multiple times.

Characters may also get pulled into classic children's stories if they are hit with the word shower from the dragon's wings. These stories have a sci-fi twist to them. You're free to choose whichever classic tale you'd like and warp it as you go along. They'll be released from the story if they reach the proper conclusion (eg. Hanzel and Gretel escape the witch's candy spaceship) or break it in a fundamental way that means it cannot continue along the intended route (eg. you shoot the witch with a ray gun before she ever gets her hands on them). They need to get to the end of the story to escape it. Everyone will be released when the dragon is destroyed.

NPCs arrive on the scene just after the dragon falls. Player characters (and the residents of the town who have gained powers) are magically transported to the Guardian Alliance's headquarters. They will be held in a magical room for a period of about a day, and then will be transitioned to the Diadem Hotel.

Characters are given luxury suites at the hotel, and a credit card with an unlimited balance. They're free to mingle, eat, shop, and check out the world they've been dropped into.

You can talk with Atomight here. While we will not be directly threading the encounters out, we will summarize any answers and responses he will give.

The threads in this Test Drive Meme threads can/will be carried over into game canon. If you do not get a chance to tag into the test drive, don't worry! The game's opening event will be a Confluence taking place a week later.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now if only he could amuse Wolverine and he'd have TWO crotchety old men amused by his statements. Guess he'll have to settle for Five and that one time he almost made Akihiro laugh himself sick.

"Fathers aren't always the best teachers. They have lessons in mind that aren't suitable, or perhaps the way they teach isn't always the most graceful," David observed.

David's own father had been a bit more on being polite, and a lot more disappointed in David's powers. Guess if you put their fathers together you'd either have one fully functional father, or one gigantic mess.

"Fathers aren't always the best fathers, either. Mine was abysmal at best." Amazing scientist. Brilliant tactician. Excellent entrepreneur. Terrible parent. Never should have been allowed to adopt any of them. Yet, here they are, 30-and-50-something years later, Sibling Depending. Strange to think they're all different ages now, thanks to the Dallas screw-up.

He's already pouring a second cup– coffee fiend? Yes, thanks for noticing. "So, what do you make of all this anyway?" he waves the hand not clutching his coffee vaguely to indicate... a little bit of everything– the room, the people, the nonsense that had happened before they turned up in this room. He could take his pick, Five certainly wasn't picky about which thing he chose to comment on.

Hey, David isn't going to judge someone else for having a coffee fixation. He would be too guilty of hypocrisy if he opened his mouth.

"I suppose it depends on the 'all this' you're talking about. Super heroes? Old hat for me, I've been more or less in the business since I was sixteen. Being secretly imprisoned by a seemingly pseudo-governmental superhero organization or super hero managing organization? About the same period of time. Thrown into a world that isn't my own for weird experiences? Since I was nineteen, but who is counting? Mostly, it seems par for a very miserable course that my life has been."

“Sixteen. That’s cute. Late start?” He smirks. “Good to know I’m not the only one who isn’t completely out of my element yet, though.”

They would probably need level heads, here. Especially if was understanding it correctly that some of the people in this room had never had powers before today. It was going to be a very long… however long he’s stuck here.

"Oh, my powers manifested like that, but mutants rarely ever come into their powers before puberty," David answered. Made it sound like this kid had experienced his own from a younger age.

That was... interesting. But hey, he'd known people like that before. Hadn't Allison mentioned her and her siblings had manifested their own far younger than he had?

"Wait, is that what you meant about your father, with the teaching?"

"Mutants." he echoes the word with a thoughtful hum, nose scrunching a little at the connotation of it. It isn't a positive thing, is it? People (Vanya. He's thinking about Vanya. And Ben) might argue their powers were nothing positive, either. Still. He doesn't like the taste of that one.

"We were more like experiments to him than students, but..." He shrugs and sips at his coffee.

Hey, David would rather call himself a mutant than use the scientific term and have people think he was trying to be a superior fuck.

"Ouch, I'm sorry. I got lucky in that I was never grabbed by any of the organizations that wanted to treat people like me in that way. At the same time we had our own problems because society didn't tend to like my people."

"People never like different. Doesn't matter where or when you are, never stops being true." He shakes his head. There's something so old and world-weary, there, just behind his eyes, that doesn't fit with the teenage frame.

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully as he finished his current cup and set it aside. "See, in my world people like and idolize people that acquire powers. But those of us born to them? Often a lack of trust and quite a bit of hatred. How DARE we not have to work for the unique ways we suffer."

And that just blew his mind. Not all mutants had control over this powers, which was a whole other thing.

"People, as a general rule, are idiots." He says it so matter-of-factly like there's no room to argue it. Maybe too much of a broadstrokes generalization, but in Five's experience, it's mostly true.

He considers it for a moment. "But we were like that, years ago... Idolized and propped on pedestals. We were just kids, so we loved the attention, didn't really see everything for what it was because we were young. The games our father was playing with us, and the rest of the world." And Five is starting to think that Reginald knew far more than he'd ever let on, too.

Well this was definitely sounding more familiar now. Part of David itched to reach out and touch Five, to know what the young man knew and see if he couldn't learn more. But that was hardly polite.

"Hero worship is a term for a reason I suppose."

"True enough," he nods and glances back out at the people milling about for a second before focusing back on the boy in front of him. "Anyone you know here?" he isn't sure if he wants to commiserate about being alone or be pissed that he has people, where Five apparently doesn't.

"I've seen a few familiar faces," David answered. "Some from the world that took me before this actually. If my experience is true, worlds like this tend to try and collect a few people from a given place more often than not."

"Time, I've traveled. Universes? Gotta admit, it's a new one on me." Which kind of says a lot, because Five has lived through an uncountable number of things between The Umbrella Academy and The Commission, little surprises him any more.

"Universes I've traveled, but I've worked very hard to avoid the seemingly normal mutant time travel shenanigans. I hate thinking that predestination is a thing. In the end you just end up creating what you feared sometimes."

That was true in his world. He didn't know how true it had been in Five's.

"Yeah, no kidding." he mutters, scoffing softly with a slight shake of his head. "Self-fulfiling prophecies are a bitch." Which may or may not be how his last two weeks had played out so well-aligned.

Or maybe there is something to say about people and destiny– but he doesn't like the way that thought leads, to Vanya being destined to break the world, so he discards it immediately. He's made his own choices, and gotten where he did because of what he changed. They could change it. They could get it right. He had to believe that, or he might lose whatever strenuous grip on sanity he had left.

Sometimes things couldn't be changed. Sometimes fate was a boulder racing down a hill and you couldn't avoid it.

"I grew up knowing a LOT of people who can tell parts of the future. I get that. A lot."

"God, I'm glad I'm not any shape or form of precognitive." he shakes his head. He would have been a whole different level of crazy if that had been the case.

Yes, David knew one precog well, and there was no denying that Ruth had been... on shaky mental ground.

"It's a hard life to live. But a lot of telepathic class gifts tend to be."

"Your world sounds like it might have things a little more figured out than mine. There aren't classifications for this stuff where I'm from." He shakes his head. Just kids with unreasonable powers from nowhere.

He wonders if Reginald ever found the thing that made them different, in the end. All of his research went up in smoke when Vanya went off the rails because of Leonard, though. Maybe, maybe, if he could get them to their proper timeline again, it could all be saved, but he doesn't hold out much hope for that.

"Mutants have so many different things they can be that you sort of need it. And then there are the mutates, and they need classifications too," David pointed out with a shrug. Still, now he finds himself wondering.

"Any chance you would share what it is you do?"

"Do they make up a decent portion of the population where you're from?" For so long, he and his siblings had thought they were the only ones, it was only since Lila came around that they realized there were others. He wonders how many more, and why hadn't they come forward at the height of The Umbrella Academy?

"Not any more," David answered. But they were fixing that.

STill, he can definitely see how easily the young man had dodged the power question. It's okay, he won't pry beyond that.

"But, given enough time, mutants will out number humans, that's just how the genetics are working out."

It's nothing personal, he's just cagey and isn't too into the 'sharing is caring' ideal. It won't be hard to figure out soon enough, anyway. Five doesn't shy away from using his powers at will.

"Really? Interesting. I'd love to see the data on that." Even if the world was different, could the genetics of it be that drastically different? He thinks that's unlikely.

Most people are either cagey or not big on sharing. It's fair.

"Well, being a mutant is a recessive gene, but studies have shown that it is more widespread in the human population than initially believed. And as it breeds true, even if a mutant has a child with a human, then you're still making people who carry the gene."

TEST DRIVE MEME

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