TEST DRIVE MEME: MAY EDITION

[metamods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces. Typically, a Confluence only occurs in one place at any given time. Typically.

These are not typical times.

Most of the Starfallen will arrive in Excelsior, Washington, slipping from the sky one by one, needing to be helped as they come floating down. To many citizens in Excelsior – individuals who are far from fond of metahumans – their arrival is a sign of bad things to come. It’s always a sign of bad things to come. This time, however, the bad things don’t come in the typical sequence. Instead, they’re dealing with a problem when the Starfallen begin to unwittingly arrive. What’s that problem? Plants with a rather problematic taste for flesh.

While Excelsior is hoping for spring to actually stick on the horizon, they’re warding off plants left and right. At least none of the plants seem to be able to spit fire – uh, yet?

In the midwestern part of the country, a huge barrage of rain has begun to settle over the land. Rain like this isn’t normal. Stormfronts usually keep moving forward, but this isn’t. And while rain isn’t a bad thing, this rain … is a deluge. A flood upon floods. Some Starfallen individuals will be showing up in the middle of this, arriving in both Little Love and Central City. Hope they can keep their heads above water!

Making matters worse is that everything seems a bit – planned? No, that’s not the right word. Like it’s all happened before. Or happening again. People all over are definitely noticing a strange uptick in déjà vu. Most worrying is how it seems to be happening everywhere.

EXCELSIOR

Ah, Excelsior – the city that doesn’t ask “why” something should be explored, but how quickly it can be explored. If only someone there had developed a swift measure to deal with a sudden influx of killer plants! The good news is that these plants haven’t killed anyone – not yet, anyway – but there is all the time in the world for that to change.

As the Starfallen arrive, they’re unlikely to notice the plants, and instead will see technological marvels all around them. Although Excelsior isn’t fond of Starfallen, they like the idea of welcoming them and getting them the hell out as quickly as possible. This philosophy results in all of the Starfallen being guided down to the ground, with further instructions awaiting them once they’re on two feet. (Or four. No one’s judging!) But once they land, they’re likely to notice that things aren’t the way they’re meant to be.

After all, someone in Excelsior failed to ask “why it’s bad to create an incredibly unlikely strain of plants that is genetically inspired by snapdragons, the flowers from those plumber games, and piranhas,” and instead went ahead with “how quickly can I do it?” Their experiment proved to be far too successful, aided by cutting-edge bioengineering technology.

Even though all Starfallen are encouraged to depart for the Midwest after they receive their teleportation devices, it’s apparent that the people of Excelsior need help. Right now, their chilly reception can easily be written off as a symptom of what’s happening. Dealing with newcomers at a time like this? Preposterous! People are injured from wild, flesh-eating plants. Obviously!

So, kind Starfallen – whether you’ve just arrived or came by when you heard word of the Confluence of trouble – will you give these dour folk the hand they so desperately need?

THE MIDWEST

Elsewhere, both Little Love and Central City are experiencing a flood of problems. Most of the problems are the result of the flood. While Little Love is known to be the quieter of the cities in this Confluence-ridden world, it finds itself dealing with a torrential downpour that it’s never seen before. Meteorologists quickly note that this is unnatural. All the way from Kansas to Illinois to Michigan there is rain, rain for as far as the eye can see. Flood warnings have no end in sight, and the people in these cities have asked for help from outside. If this rain doesn’t stop, all summer crops will be at risk!

The source of these problems? A Confluence. More specifically: a five-year-old girl who was born in Little Love just got news that her father died in an accident. Combine that with the incoming Confluence and the girl unwittingly unleashed her sadness upon the land.

Anyone investigating would learn that the rain began in Little Love, right before it began to spread upward and outward from the little town. Soon, Kansas, and then the entire Midwest, would feel the impact of her grief. Even when she sleeps, it doesn’t go away – her pain is a constant, after all. Finding her is key. No one can truly prevent a child’s grief, but perhaps they can help her realize her impact on the world and get her newly-arrived power under control.

DIADEM HOTEL

Whether you’ve gone to investigate the rather moist trouble or you’re just looking for some shut-eye, you’ve got a place that’s waiting for you. Need to clean up some plant-induced wounds? It’s time to hit the LUXURY HOTEL to ease any concerns.

The DIADEM HOTEL is usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. Its rooms are enormous, the beds quite literally enchanted to offer the perfect night's sleep, and the food would usually cost your life savings for just a small taste. But given the circumstances, the Guilds feel its the least they can do to aid your transition into this world. EVERYTHING is complimentary, and everyone gets an ALLIANCE CREDIT CARD to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back... though if they catch you abusing it, their accountant will be coming for your head.

There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlet shops 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 a film called BARKS OF THE DEAD, a story about a zombified dog who protects a small family during the zombie apocalypse. Despite its taste for other dogs’ brains, this dog is fiercely loyal and will do anything for its owners.

EVERYWHERE: DÉJÀ VU

Less obvious and more innocuous are the strange stints of déjà vu all over. At first, it might seem like it’s a familiar thing you’ve seen before, but then you’re certain that you’ve ordered those chicken tenders before. Wait, you haven’t even been to this city before, much less this restaurant.

The feeling of déjà vu isn’t just that. Whole days will begin to feel like they’re repeating – surely they’ve solved that rain problem? Or the plant problem? Didn’t you hear that it happened?

Anyone keen to take notes might want to – assuming you haven’t just gotten that you did and they’ve been lost to time.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ New arrivals will be appearing in Excelsior, Little Love, or Central City – with the bulk of them arriving in Excelsior. Their arrival will be expected and handled by a number of odd pieces of technology that help them as they fall from the sky itself. None of the locals will be happy to see the arrivals, but they’ll be so frazzled that they won’t be able to give them their usual chilly welcome. Vicious plants are on the loose and it’s not a meta’s fault. This might be meaningless to newcomers, but anyone who’s old hat at this will know that Excelsior can cause its own problems just fine, thank you.

➢ Arrivals who land in Little Love or Central City will arrive to a lot of rain. This much rainfall can impact the climate, daily life, crops – you name it. Arrivals will also be very, very soggy. If they’d like, they can ignore the trouble in favor of getting answers or heading to the hotel. No one’s obligated to lend a hand.

➢ Current Players are welcome to treat this as a bonus event. These events are canonically happening within the game but can be largely ignored if you'd prefer to use the month for personal plots. You can tag into the TDM, reference these prompts in network posts, or use them in your own logs.

➢ As for the time stuff, feel free to treat it as a wobbly time event! Mess with memories, get a character caught in the same day, or even just make someone feel like they’ve suddenly acquired precognition as a power. The sky’s the limit!

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.

Comments

Dr. Rebecca Holiday | Generator Rex | hope im doing this right

[threephds]

excelsior

[ Holiday opened her eyes - shocked and in awe at the technological marvels around her. Where the hell was she? When she last closed her eyes, she'd just laid down in bed after returning from a long trip to Egypt. Now she was...where, exactly? ]

[ Her feet hit the ground and she immediately reached for her communicator. ]

Six? Are you there? Six?

[ She pressed a finger to the comm several times. ]

White? Rex?

[ With a sigh... ]

...Bobo?

[ No response. ]

Shit.

[ She was surveying her surroundings as she tried to get in contact with her allies, quickly noticing the flesh-eating plants fighting random people all around. Must've been EVOs - she had her guns with her, but definitely not enough to deal with a swarm of this size. Holiday noticed some strangers being herded to the west and decided to follow, guns in-hand just in case she needed to defend herself. ]

[ As she walked, she started to look at all the technology around her once again. She considered the possibility that the futuristic tech combined with her inability to get ahold of her allies meant that Breach had launched her into the future like she'd done to Rex. That would not bode well. ]

[ She continued hitting her comm, trying her hardest to reach someone, anyone. ]

Six? Holiday to Six. Please respond.

[sixthdeadliest]

[It was a good thing that Six had insisted his communicator still be outfitted for Providence signals or someone contacting his old "number" in addition to connecting it to his phone and his Alliance "number". Otherwise, Holiday wouldn't have gotten through to him.]

Six here. Good to hear from you, Doctor. What's your current position?

[No flirting. All business.]

[threephds]

Six! Thank God, I was worried I-

It doesn't matter. I'm not sure. There's too many EVOs to count, all of them look botanic and deadly. There's some civilians on the ground here and I could use some help keeping them safe.

[ What even is flirting? She hasn't thought about Six that way in months. Too much going on. ]

[sixthdeadliest]

[Honestly, he doesn't notice because Holiday doesn't flirt in the middle of firefight on the rare occasions she's out in the field. It's one thing he appreciates about her.]

[The "killer plants" thing...that's Excelsior. Damn. He's supposed to stay away from that area in case the nanites are triggered by them. But given the situation...]

Understood, but those aren't EVOs. I'll explain once I reach there. For the moment, do not let any of those plants touch you. We don't know if they can force nanite activation.

[Going to get into his shiny used truck and start heading towards the teleporter.]

[threephds]

They're...not EVOs?

[ At least he seemed to know where she was. Maybe this was some new Providence experiment gone wrong - courtesy of Caesar, no doubt. ]

I'll keep away, but I've only got so many bullets with me - so you'd better hurry up and get me out of here.

[ She was lucky to not be a target for the not-EVOs at that very moment, but Holiday was ready for anything. ]

[sixthdeadliest]

Already on my way but I'm going to need some landmarks. I don't spend a lot of time in Excelsior.

[And pulling into the transporter. He absolutely hates this thing, but this is an emergency.]

I'll explain once I've extracted you.

[threephds]

Uh-

[ She looked around, feeling nervous. She wasn't familiar with Excelsior, but Six clearly was so that eased some concern. But he hadn't mentioned Rex yet and she was starting to get a little worried - she needed to compartmentalize and focus on one thing at a time. ]

[ Holiday noted the biggest skyscraper in her general vicinity and started moving towards it. ]

Not far from a building that says Adaptech. It's huge - you won't be able to miss it.

[sixthdeadliest]

Understood. I'm going to lose you for a moment, but I'll call you right back. Six out.

[And through the teleporter he goes. As soon as he's out the other side and regained his bearings, he's hurrying towards Adaptech. He sends a quick message to the Alliance to alert them to a second nanite-infected person as per pre-arranged protocol for if anyone else from Six's world showed up.]

[He would've preferred Rex just in case his nanites activated, but Holiday at least knows what she's doing.]

[threephds]

[ Holiday hummed softly for a moment as she waited for Six to call back, stepping closer to the Adaptech building. She was unfamiliar with this company, which was strange considering how significant it seemed to be. ]

[ Maybe it was new. She hoped they weren't allied with Providence somehow or she'd be making a mistake getting so close to their security cameras. ]

[sixthdeadliest]

[There's the sound of a motor as a motorcycle comes into view.]

ETA five minutes. I'll be on a motorcycle. Be ready.

[As annoying as being a part of the Alliance is, at least he has access to equipment. It would've taken too long to drive his truck out here.]

[threephds]

Just hurry it up.

[ She puts one of her guns away, hoping Six wouldn't be delayed and she wouldn't have to waste any bullets. ]

[ Only a few minutes later and she hears a motorcycle coming her way. On it she spies the familiar green of Six's suit. ]

[ ...wait, his suit? ]

[ As he pulls up, she puts the other gun away and looks at him like he's done something wrong. ]

What are you wearing that for? What's going on?

[sixthdeadliest]

This is my usual suit, Doctor.

[He jerks his head to indicate she get on behind him as he draws a magna blade and slices neatly through one of the plant creatures.]

Right now, we need to leave.

[threephds]

[ She hops on and briefly considers whether or not she should wrap her arms around his waist - didn't want him getting the wrong idea. Instead she just grabbed his shoulders, hoping that'd be enough to stay steady. ]

Right, sorry. Let's go.

[ The suit was weird, though. Did he and Knight go to some kind of meeting without telling her? If Six had met with Providence, she'd kill him. Her anger towards Black Knight was still at the forefront of her mind, even with this strange situation around her. ]

Where's Rex?

After Six has Holiday taken to safety.

[contocricket]

[Lots of people coming to the Diadem after getting dumped off in the middle of a new world. Archie had been studying for the exam in case his license to practice was rejected on the grounds that he'd earned it in a different world.]

[Well, that and it technically was forged because of the Curse but details.]

[But with Pongo around, he needs to step out on occasion. He nearly bumps into a man in a green suit leaving the room across the hall, both apologizing before the man continues on his way.]

[Archie pauses to make sure the door is shut, Pongo stepping a bit closer to the still-partially-open door across the hall, as far as the Dalmatian's leash will let him.]

[threephds]

[ Holiday has a massive headache. ]

[ Why wouldn't she? Six had just unceremoniously dropped her off after telling her some absolutely insane things and she didn't know what to believe. He was acting so strange and...and it felt like they'd gone back two years. Everything felt strained and awkward. ]

[ She spies a little face peeking in through the door and raises an eyebrow. Dog? ]

Hi there.

[ She gives the dog a little wave. It's kind of cute. ]

[contocricket]

[Look, he's getting you some food to help with the headache. He isn't ditching you.]

[Pongo wags his tail at the wave. The Dalmatian is incredibly smart, far smarter than a normal dog because, well, he's not from a normal world. (He's from a different story than his pet, Archie.) He immediately takes her wave as an invitation. He's trained as a therapy dog, and it looks like this lady needs some of that.]

Pongo! Stop!

[Nope. Ignoring you for now, Archie. This lady needs help. Priorities. Just gonna yank you on the leash in behind him while your insect wings buzz in agitation.]

[threephds]

Oh! Um...

[ Holiday didn't expect the dog to come in there and just stared at it. It was cute, sure, but she didn't have a lot of experience with animals. ]

[ Besides chimps, of course. ]

[ She crouched down and held out a hand, looking up at the sound of someone clearly talking to the dog. Must've been the owner. ]

[contocricket]

[Archie stumbles into the room as Pongo eagerly approaches, the leash taut between them. The dog sniffs the new lady before placing his head gently in her lap. Pet him, lady. It always makes his pet's patients feel better.]

I am so sorry. Once he's got his mind fixated on something, he's stubborn.

[Archie gives her an awkward smile, still holding the leash tightly with one hand as he slips his keycard into his pocket.]

[threephds]

[ Holiday didn't expect the dog to get so close, but stayed relatively still to let it settle in her lap. ]

[ She reached down and pet it gently, looking up at the man who just entered. ]

It's fine. He seems friendly enough.

[ The cute, friendly dog was a nice change of pace. ]

[contocricket]

He is. And since my last neighbor left about two days ago, I'm guessing you just got here and are having a bad day. [Archie nods to the dog.] I had him trained as a therapy dog, so he picks up on that pretty quickly.

[His wings buzz again with agitation, the large insectoid appendages appearing from behind his back for a moment. He approaches and holds out his hand, swapping Pongo's leash to his left.]

I'm Dr. Archie Hopper. You can just call me "Archie".

[If she shakes his hand, she'll realize that it's too smooth. It's clearly still flesh but there's just enough chitin in it to smooth it out and prevent any callouses.]

[threephds]

Second worst day I've had this week, actually.

[ She is being SO polite by not reacting to the wings and appendages. Or maybe she's just so used to this kind of thing that it doesn't even phase her anymore. ]

Dr. Rebecca Holiday. Nice meeting you, Archie.

[ Yes, she absolutely notices his weird-feeling hand, even under her glove. She was going to ignore it simply because she already had too many questions about what was going on. ]

[ She reached down to give the dog another few pets. ]

[contocricket]

And I thought I was already having a bad day before I first got here. Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Holiday. Medical specialty or something else?

[Pongo leans into the pets, giving her a polite lick on her gloved hand.]

I am so bad at present tense I wish I could edit old comments and FIX IT

[threephds]

[ She makes a little bit of a face when the dog licks her hand. Good thing she was wearing gloves. Now she needed to wash them, though. ]

Nanotech, biotech, and mech engineering. And I'm guessing from the therapy dog that you're a psychiatrist?

You're good!

[contocricket]

[He gives a little laugh.] That obvious? Yes, I am. Though I'm still trying to figure out if my license is valid here.

[threephds]

Ah, so you're also from another...version of Earth, then?

[ She's starting to get used to this. Just a little bit! ]

That's an interesting thought. I don't have any ID on me, and even if I did it's not like I'd be in any databases here. There's no way for me to prove my doctorates.

[ If only she was still wearing her labcoat! That wouldn't prove anything but it'd be more convincing than her current outfit. ]