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WHO: Mike Peterson and OPEN
WHERE: Around Heropa
WHEN: July 1st to 4th
WHAT: A little happiness for Mike. Also, night time vigilantism
WARNINGS: None

A) [July 2nd, day time: a new job]
[Mike hasn't expected to land the job he has now. It happened a week ago when he chanced upon a woman collecting donations for an orphanage. He donated and they struck up conversation. From there, he finds himself suddenly saddled with the new task of entertaining children by being a heroic role model. It's a job he feels utterly unqualified for but it's also one he finds difficult to refuse. (the woman has been very persuasive)

So today, he's effortlessly carrying a big box as he strolls down the street. There's a white half-mask covering the right side of his face; his cybernetic enhancements are all on display (the chest piece, his back, his right leg, and left forearm), and he even has a cape on. He can't help but feel self conscious though. Up till now, he's been nothing but ashamed of the changes done to him. But children can be honest and affectionate despite all the ugliness he sees in himself. Long story short, he's fallen prey to the cuteness of children and now he's on the way to a birthday party.

He's doing his best to watch where he's going but the size of the box makes it so that he is still a walking hazard no matter how careful he's trying to be. Watch out.]

B) [Any day, night time: vigilantism]
[Mike isn't quite able to be the sneaky hero with the way his cybernetic leg whirrs and clomps when he moves, so he settles for wandering the streets at night in his trench coat - he waits in alleyways, strolls past them, strides openly in the street, or waits on rooftops. He sticks around Heropa for now but when he's saved up enough, he'll frequent the other cities by train. (He still distrusts the Porters).

Whenever he sees crime, he strides close and uses the noise his cybernetics make to intimidate crooks. When that doesn't work, he faces them straight on. His armor is practically impervious to bullets so it's not like he has that to worry about.

Usually the criminals will be chased down, tied up, and left for the police to clean up while Mike walks away with more dents in his armor.]

C) [July 4th, day time: at the park]
[The event today involves him giving away balloon animals at the park. He gets to hide his cybernetics with his trench coat (he has bought a lot of them by now. don't question it) so no dressing up for him. Come get a balloon from the man with healed burn scars on the right side of his face]

D) [July 4th, late afternoon: cleaning up]
[By the time the event ends, Mike can be found near the fountain trying to wash out his face. He's been sharpied on by kids by request and he's having trouble getting rid of the red and yellow marks on his face. He scrubs furiously then stops to look at his reflection to see the marks still bright as ever. He sighs]

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[Jaime had known that there would be a lot to get used to here in this new universe, but one thing he's found surprisingly difficult to remember is that he's no longer living in a one-hero city. He had just been swooping down from a nearby rooftop to apprehend a criminal when he sees that someone's taken care of things already.

He's not what you'd call a subtle sight, yellow lenses glowing in the darkness and bright blue bugsuit sticking out like a sore thumb, but he's never been one for stealth anyway.]

Huh, [he says, wings snapping back into the bugsuit as he looks between Mike and the poor criminal who had the ill judgment of attempting to commit crime in a city absolutely crawling with superheroes.] Looks like you beat me to the punch.

[Mike lifts his eyebrows at the sight of wings. It looks like there are quite a number of people with flying abilities. He's almost jealous. Why make a supersoldier if you don't add flying to the list?]

Nice suit.

[he finishes tying up the criminal, leaving him sprawled unconscious on the ground]

Thanks! Nice coat. Very classic.

[Jaime gives him a thumbs-up, then glances down at the criminal, looking rather blasé about the whole thing. If you had asked him a year ago whether or not he'd be used to looking at tied up criminals, he would have looked at you as if you were crazy, but now...

Anyway, it certainly isn't an uncommon sight, not in this town.]

So what'd he do, anyway? I just came over 'cause I heard the commotion.

[Mike turns to a nearby car with a crack in the driver side window]

Tried to steal a car. Other than that, it's been a slow night.

[considering how many heroes there are out here, it shouldn't be a surprise]

Huh. That's pretty small time.

[Jaime tends not to punch guys like that, guys that have a tendency to run away with their tails between their legs once confronted. Then again, most of his teammates don't have the same belief in talking things out, so it's not a shock to see that sort of attitude around here too; regardless of the criminal's reaction to confrontation, he'll heal in time.]

So is walking around at night punching criminals a new thing for you, or did you take it up here?

[It only took one punch to take the man down. That and it was mostly because the guy tried to fight back when he saw him.]

I just started.

[his tattoo is glowing slightly under the darkness, marking him 'unsettled']

I've been thinking about taking it up to the other cities.

Not a bad plan. I don't only stick around here either, but -- [he jerks one thumb back, pointing at his wings] -- it's a little easier for me to get around. There's only so much we can do in this one place, yeah?

Especially here. Heropa's the main hub. [he flicks his gaze over to the wings] You don't trust the Porter either?

[Mike has some major trust issues when it comes to the government]

Well... I wouldn't wanna use it if I didn't have to. At the rate that they claim that thing malfunctions, it's easier just to get around on my own.

[Jaime may be registered - something that doesn't show through the thick carapace of his suit - but that doesn't mean he trusts the government one bit.]

Besides, the Porter only goes to three cities. Where I'm from, practically every state has its own superhero hanging around.

I agree.

[It's nice to know he's not the only one out there who distrusts the Porter for what it is. It piques his interest when Jaime mentions his home.]

Sounds crowded. I'm guessing the criminals only got more creative.

You could say that, yeah. [He's heard the theories that superheroes help encourage the loonies - of course he has. It's one of those things that always comes up, making everyone just that more uncomfortable.

He's not sure how much credence to lend that theory, though.]

They've got superpowers too, so it can get kind of... messy. I don't deal with them so much, though.

[villains with superpowers. He's seen how bad that could go. Though he's also seen how they can be defeated]

What do you do then? How long have you been a hero?

Not that long. A little over half a year, I guess?

[It feels like he's been doing this gig for a lot longer than that, somehow, and it feels like he's just started. He's not sure if he'll ever truly get used to being one of the guys he used to only read about in the paper.]

I still deal with criminals and alien invasions and junk like that, don't get me wrong, but this government seems to forget everything else. We do a lot of normal things too, like relief for earthquakes and hurricanes and fires and stuff.

Longer than me.

[Mike's only just started]

I think we're expected to do something about those situations too. I haven't seen something like that happen yet though.

I think I've been doing this longer than most people here - which is just weird. [It's weird not being the newbie, and it's weird that superheroes aren't the norm in most worlds that he's heard of. He's so used to there being this huge institution of heroes to look up to, and he's not entirely sure to do with the gap that they've left in this particular community. They're a disjointed bunch, to be sure.]

But yeah, you got a point - they don't ask us to do it, but they kinda expect us to deal with natural disasters, so long as they're in America.

[He's only heard of the rule against roaming outside of the country from a few people, but it still puts his teeth on edge. He hasn't had any cause to leave the country yet, but he's sure he will at some point. Back home, he's used to going back and forth across the Mexican-American border freely for some reason or another.]

We dealt with a small earthquake a couple months back, but that's about it.

[Mike nods, filing the information away]

How bad was it? [the earthquake. He wasn't here at the time.]

Not that bad. It was at one of the swearing-in ceremonies.

[Big surprise there.]

It looks like it might have been caused by someone with, I dunno, earthquake powers. They were targeting the new monorail they set up over there.

That's a strange thing to target. Was there anyone important on board?

Well, yeah, but nobody that someone trying to get a message out would find important. It was more trying to make a point to us than the people on board, I think. [He frowns, clearly unhappy with the concept.] Everyone else was just treated as collateral.

[that's the important he's looking for]

It's one way to make a point. Did anyone find out who's responsible?

Nope. Whoever did it had the right idea -- everyone was too busy trying to get everyone out safely to notice anyone shady looking around.

[It's one of the more frustrating parts of doing what they do. Jaime used to think that superheroes could just effortlessly save the civilians and catch the bad guys in one fell swoop, but it seemed to him that more and more often, they're forced to choose.

And it has to be saving the civilians, every time.]

Anyway... you got a name? I'm the Blue Beetle.

[A silly name for a rather silly costume, as has been frequently pointed out to him, but hey, it could be worse. He could be Bug Man.]

[Mike hesitates. He's still not all that comfortable with giving out his real name but he's equally reluctant to tell people his code name is Deathlok]

Mike Peterson. [still, he does have the sense to look Jaime over. He's judging him really. Just silently. He looks down at the tied up criminal at his feet]

We should go before the police arrive

Why? All you did was catch a...

[He trails off, eyes dropping down to where Mike's tattoo proclaims him as unsettled, and frowns.]

Shoot, you're right. They're really serious about this whole registration thing.

[It just doesn't seem right, seeing people get dinged for doing the right thing just because they didn't decide to register.]

I don't care what they label me as. I just want to avoid the trouble.

[His tone and body language just seems to be one of someone resigned to being given the short end of the stick.]

Edited (hope this works better. we can discuss by pm if needed?) 2014-07-22 15:20 (UTC)

[Even if Mike doesn't care, the authorities sure do. Jaime's not entirely sure what they'll do if they actually catch someone at it, but he doesn't care to find out.]

Have you been doing all... this long enough for you to get on their radar?

Not yet but I wouldn't be surprised if I am soon.

[he looks at his tattoo]

To be honest, I am curious about what they'll do.

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Option B!

hi!

hello to you too! c:

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