maskormenace | VIDEO | JUSTICE LEAGUE RECRUITMENT

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VIDEO | JUSTICE LEAGUE RECRUITMENT

[ When the feed turns on, imPorts will see two people: first is Jaime in the foreground, in his full Blue Beetle costume and Batman - a smaller person, different from the version some may expect - standing silently beside him. ]

Hey, everyone. Blue Beetle and Batman here -- we’re the new representatives of the Justice League, and we figured it was about time that we say hello to everyone - including you newbies - and talk a little about what we’re all about. Like I said, we’re the Justice League. We’re a team of imPorts who’ve volunteered our time to work together to help out in times of crises and to keep as many people as possible safe… kind of like we did after the nukes last year. We’ve got the power to make a change, so that’s exactly what we try to do.

If you want to join up and be put on active field work, you’ve got to be Registered. [ Jaime shrugs. ] That’s just the law. But if you’re not Registered, it doesn’t mean you can’t get involved - there’s plenty to do behind the scenes and for outreach work. More importantly, you don’t have to be registered if you’re new to having powers and all you’re looking for is someone to help you control them. We figure that’s just as good community service as anything else, and we’re here to help you as best we can.

Now… this isn’t a job. None of us get paid. We’re just people who have the resources to do what we do, which means that if you’re interested, maybe we can help you too. [ Jaime glances behind him at Batman, then turns back to the camera. Batman nods, finally speaking up. It’s a low-pitched and distorted sound, run through a vocoder.]

Not 9-to-5 like Aegis. We’re superheroes, not police. Registered trainees can do field work, but not as full members. Separate team we supervise. [ And she gestures for Jaime to go on, now that she’s said her elaboration. ]

Field work’s a pretty flexible term. If there’s a natural disaster, we’re there. If something goes buggy with the Porter, or if an imPort, I dunno, does something and everyone suddenly goes crazy and starts doing crimes - something that’s happened before - we’re there too. Like Batman said, we’re not military, and we’re not the police - but if something goes wrong, we step in. Registered trainees are people who just join up and the people who are too young to know the ropes yet. I won’t lie. Fieldwork is dangerous. Really dangerous, depending on what it is. And we want to make sure that everyone’s ready for it. But if you’re gonna do it at all, you might as well do it where you’ve got other people watching your back.

Let us know if you’ve got any questions or if you’re interested in joining up. It’s a serious commitment, but it’s one we think is worth it. [ He pauses, then gives the camera an awkward little salute. Batman just. Presses a hand to her forehead, and flicks a quick wave with the other. ] Um, yeah! That’s about it.

[ … ]

Bye.

[ He cuts the feed. ]

[ OOC: The Justice League is a player-run organization made up of volunteer superheroes! If you’re interested in having your characters join/gain mentors from the senior members, please sign up HERE or feel free to contact Zero or myself for further details! ]

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Don't worry about it. This place can be a lot - and so can powers. I'd be happy to help train you.

[ Even behind the mask, Jaime's smile is warm, sympathetic. ]

Some of the greatest heroes I've known have had destructive powers. It's not about what you're given. It's about how you use them. And training's the first step to learning... not how to be strong, but how to draw back.

You should learn how to control them no matter what. But if you just want to live a normal life, that's okay too. I'll give you a hand regardless.

Thank you. Uh, where do people interested in training go, by the way?

Oh, it's not my powers that are terribly destructive - fire aside - it's my skill set. I'm definitely going to need to be taught what acceptable force is, because I get a feeling it's a lot more subtle than I'd be able to pick up on my own. [ There's a small pause, as if she's considering her words carefully ] I've spent a lot of my life fighting to stay alive, so the amount of force I learned to use was the amount needed to ensure I was the one that made it out of an altercation in one piece.

Uh, my powers. I should probably tell you what they are. I can communicate with animals, I always have been, though it's more of an emotional link than anything. I'm also limited by the animal's intelligence. I won't be able to explain the concept of entropy to a momonga, but I can get stray cats to act as watch. ... If they want to.

Then is the fire. I've only had it about three months. Basically I can start fires. It works best if there's something to fuel them. I've got a lot of the basics down control wise. I got that crap down as fast as I could because I prefer any buildings I burn down to be buildings I intended to burn, and as I don't intend to burn any buildings, you can probably imagine the worry of my 'burned out buildings' count going up was notable. Holding a flame without any fuel is exhausting. I have yet to find any non-destructive ways to use it that don't cycle down to camping.

And, uh, the last one. I got it when I came here and I've only done some mild playing around. Limited teleportation. Basically I can jump through one flame and come out another. That's all I know about it. Well, that and the amount of energy it takes is like a punch to the gut if you're running on six cups of coffee. I-

[ There's the sound of a deep breath, and a slow release, as if she's only just realised she was rambling at the speed of light. ]

Maybe I'll up and decide some day I want a normal life. But right now I want to be useful. I figure that the more useful I am, the less reason there is for the being who brought me here to send me back.

This is just a general interest check for now - once we get everything sorted out, we'll be letting everyone know where to go so we can learn more about you.

So basically... you've got aninmal telepathy, you've got fire, and you've got teleportation. We can work with that. And the better you can control your powers, the better you can have a normal life too - it's not like it's gotta be one or the other.

The biggest thing when it comes to force is that we don't kill. Not if there's any other option available to us. And we especially try to keep casualties low, so as you've figured out? Burning buildings is a no-no.

Alright. I'll keep an eye out for any messages. Thanks.

Yeah. The teleporation is listed as 'limited teleportation' on my files, if you need the specifics there. Better control is just a win-win all the way around.

What qualifies as unreasonable damages? To individuals causing hell, I mean. And yeah, if I burn down any buildings it would be the end result of a comedy of absolute horrific errors, since I actually know a decent amount of information on how to limit fire damage.

It means don't cause any more harm than is strictly necessary. It's all about context, you know? You don't hurt people for the heck of it. You do it when it's the only way of getting the job done.

Breaking the arm of someone who's on a murderous rampage is way different than breaking a shoplifter's arm, for example. Not that we go after shoplifters, but you get the picture.

That makes sense. Where's the line though? Theft of property being 'don't break someone's arm' makes sense, unless they're trying to steal a weapon of mass destruction - which I think is safe to assume breaking a few limbs would be justified. That's a real basic mental equation. The harm done by shoplifting is relatively negligible. However, does that line change when they're just trying to murder a single person instead of multiple people? Or is it still appropriate. For that matter, is it okay to break a limb if someone wants to cause non-deadly widespread harm?

... I'm not making fun, for the record. I'm genuinely trying to figure out the basic parameters for acceptable force. The extreme cases seem easy, but it's figuring out the middle ground that I need more data on.

Tell me what you think.

I think... I think ideally one would do the best they could to avoid serious harm to the perpetrator. However, if it was the only real available option at the time, if someone were doing it to save a life, it would be acceptable. Just not as a go-to method.

Then it comes to stopping wide-spread non-lethal harm, I'm really not sure. I know I'd do it if need-be unless told otherwise, but if someone's causing widespread non-lethal harm - not like starting random fights, like, going around and shooting people in the knees and then doing to the next person - that's probably likely to cause some near-death situations, because there are very few things that can cause serious harm without risk of death, and I think in such a situation the safety of many is of higher priority than the bones of the person putting that many through intentional harm. In lesser situations where it's just someone going around macing everyone they see, that might be an overreaction, however, as mace is not often a murder weapon, whereas guns? Yeah those kind of are.

Then it sounds like you're well on your way to figuring it out.

See, figuring this stuff out isn't, like... we give you contingency plans for everything we could possibly think of. It's about training you in how to think. That's part of what being a trainee is about. It's not about people's physical ability, or how much they want to do good - it's to show them how to operate in a pinch, and how we do things. Sometimes that's more important than anything else.

Worst case scenario? You have back-up. You can always just ask.

I suppose that makes sense. And it seems like a good thing to learn. It's easy to make these equations out of battle, but in a pinch having training to make it easier to come to these decisions is going to be really useful.

Having backup that's more experienced than me is kind of an amazing thought. And you're sure it won't be out of line to ask questions?

Oh god, no! Where did you get that idea? Asking questions is good. It means you're thinking, not just doing. That's exactly what we're looking for.

That's a real change of pace from my previous experiences is all. In my experience if I wasn't doing exactly as trained, or better, there would be a lot of disappointment from adults, and asking questions about things I'd already been taught to do meant a failure on my part. It's good to hear that won't be the case here.

Then I guess the first thing you'll have to get used to is that we're a totally different thing. You'll get the hang of it eventually. And I've got a feeling we're not much like the people you've worked with in the past.

I mean, for one thing you're clearly not trying to take over the world with a scheme that wouldn't really work anyway but would still cause a lot of damage and loss of life in the process, so I think you're on a way better road than the people I was with before. Nor are you secretly a mafia - I hope - so you're better than the people I was with before that, so honestly improvements all around. [ Her tone implies this is supposed to be amusing. She might need to work on her sense of humour. ]

But, really... If you were anything like the people I've spent my life around, I would be running the other way.

Uh huh. [ Well, he's heard weirder. ] Well, we're none of the above, so we're all clear there. And tell you what: if you ever wanna talk about it, I'm right here - so long as I'm not on-duty like I am now.

Oh yeah. If there's anything you need to know before letting me train I'll tell you. I'm not really keeping things secret.

[ The idea that he was offering to talk with her for her benefit instead of his own went clear over her head. ]

Think less need to know, and more if you wanna talk about it. We don't demand people tell us all about their pasts. That'd be a real long session.

Oh! [ There was a bit of surprise in her voice. ] I don't think anyone's ever offered to listen just to listen? I'll think it over.

Yeah... One thing I'm getting is that I don't have the weirdest past here, which is... Well it's kind of a big relief...

Heh. Tell me about it. When you're here, nothing you say is that weird. But, um... yeah. Just tell me when. You can contact me on either the Blue Beetle ID or the Jaime one; either work.

Thanks. I've added both to my contacts.

Um.. Thank you again.

You're welcome. I'll see you later.

[ Click! ]

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VIDEO | JUSTICE LEAGUE RECRUITMENT

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