( broadcast ) stand up and be counted

[mmnpcs]

[ At 8 PM, a gruff, nicotine-hardened voice can be heard broadcasting over the intercom system hung up a little halfhazardly -- clearly meant as a temporary function -- around downtown.

It's a man's voice, not one imPorts have yet been subject to. ]

Attention imPorts. My name is Captain Holiday. I've been assigned to be your liaison for matters of communication between you and the government; you need something, you come to me and I'll see about making it happen.

You probably have a lot of questions. [ There's a pause as he takes an unseen but possibly heard puff on his cigarette. ] And we want to do our best to answer them. If you'll allow us to escort you to the seashore we'll get started and then you can all go on to your new homes and sleep in your new beds. Been through a lot, we know. We won't keep you long.

[ And at 8:30 PM, at the Canaveral National Seashore, imPorts will see them: a stern looking man leaning on a cane and smoking a cigarette, and the soldier -- Lt. Ananke -- who drove them here. Holiday puts out his cigarette and immediately lights another. ]

This won't take long. We know you're all probably tired. Don't want to hear a lot of bullshit, am I right? Me either. Luckily this is pretty simple.

We know what you've been through. We want to help you. And we'd like it if you'd help us, too. It's not easy being displaced in another world and another time -- hell no. In exchange for helping us keep the peace around here -- there's trouble wherever you go, figure I don't even have to tell you that -- we're offering you all free housing, healthcare, and job placement. If you don't like your job you can come to us and we'll give you another one, we can't get it right all the time. Same with your house. We've got plenty of places to put you.

This ain't a draft, and you don't have to put on a costume to work with us as a hero. People serve their country in all kinds of ways, you don't have to be a fighter. Help us out when we ask you to, we'll help you out, it's that simple. If you don't like it, you don't have to take it, but you'll have to forgive us for not putting you up in that case. The benefits have conditions like benefits always do, but we're not asking you anything unreasonable.

Think about it. Are you with us?

( NOTE: This post will default to action for the sake of ease. Captain Holiday will reply to all questions, but other NPCs will also be tagging around at random unless a player requests one in specific in their subject header. Please do so if you'd like! Please also note REGISTERED or UNSETTLED in your subject line to indicate your character's choice, or UNDECIDED if they're still mulling it over. If the latter, they will be contacted by Holiday within the week for a decision if they don't contact him first. )

Comments

REGISTERED

[slightlyoffchilt]

[At 8:45, standing among his peers, Frederick Chilton kept glancing sidelong at the group gathered, his hands continuously clenching and releasing. He had yet to fully process the past week, what with the obliteration of his transient universe (second universe, perhaps? He was still uneasy about such nostalgic claim). Chilton faced no dilemma: he wanted to register, he wanted to be accepted into the sound structure of this new world.

He craved stability.

But stability couldn't be achieved without answers.

Chilton raised his hand along with his voice:]

What -- ah. What do you require from people who aren't especially keen to enlist as a soldier? Who here is aching to fight, after what we've just been through?

[Unhinged people, he thought.]

[mmnpcs]

You might be surprised.

[ The cigarette doesn't leave his mouth but instead is jostled to the side of it as Holiday speaks. ]

You don't have to be a soldier. Public service is still service. Doctors, lawyers, deliverymen, secretaries and everyone in between can still make their contributions. Get what I'm saying?

UNDECIDED

[smarterthandad]

[Valeria thinks this is all high-test crap, but she's decided not to be public with that opinion just yet. Butter won't melt in this child's mouth, so when she looks up at the adults, it's with an expression that's some entirely feigned mixture of innocence and uncertainty.

She is not hiding her intelligence, or at least not all of it. No reason to come off as smarter than your average genius, at least until someone lets on that they already know.

Peter, Tony, you'd better not blow this for her.]

I have questions about my legal status.

[She needs to know just how much law-floutin' she'll be doing.]

[mmnpcs]

[ Ananke's gaze softens and she takes the moment to kneel down so they can carry their conversation without the other towering above a child. ]

Yes, young lady?

REGISTERED

[ecphrasis]

[Molly is not sure about any of this. They've told her she'll be able to work in a lab again, that she'll have a place to live, that she'll be able to start a life here too. It sounds too good to be true, and she knows that there has to be some kind of catch. But, unlike certain people she knows, she is not immediately able to see it.

This does not comfort her. But after surviving the end of one world and being thrown into another, a little security is what she needs.

And so it is that she stands with the rest of the imports (is that what they're even called anymore?) and registers herself. It doesn't feel entirely right, but it's what she thinks is best for the time being. As she shuffles around the waiting area, she murmurs under her breath:]

I hope this all turns out alright...

[mmnpcs]

[ He's not the type to reassure by patting someone on the shoulder -- particularly not without permission -- but after she registers Holiday offers Molly a smile around his cigarette and leans his weight on his cane. ]

Nothin' to worry about, sweetheart. You're safe enough now.

REGISTERED

[waiting]

[ He's already made his choice, more or less, because he's always known he's more comfortable when he knows where the lines are drawn than when he has to guess them himself. He can't have gotten much sleep in the last couple of weeks, and it shows, and right now that bed's looking pretty damn good right now.

Something in Holiday's speech catches him, though. ]

How the hell do you know about us? [ His tone is sharper than it tends to be, more confrontational. He's reminded uncomfortably of New Vesuvius, where they seemed to know an unpleasant amount of information about them, and he's not entirely convinced it's not similar yet. It just seems simpler to play along than rock the boat. ]

[mmnpcs]

[ Holiday blows some smoke out through his teeth, turning his head toward Bradbury. ]

About imPorts, you mean? That's a long story. But what's in those files-- [ He points. ] Lachesis passed it along.

REGISTERED

[demonspawn]

Because registration always goes really friggin' well for me.

[ that would be sarcasm. but as much as he resists figures of authority -- much like many young people, especially the kind that like to wear their hair shaggy and paint their nails black like he does -- he knows with his powers, it's better to have someone keeping track. someone to hold the leash, so to speak.

anyway, he had decided to try being as normal as possible before the whole apocalypse thing, right? this could be his chance. maybe. no need to be too optimistic about it though, not where the government's involved anyway. ]

At least you guys aren't forcing a costume.

[mmnpcs]

Well now you're just making them sound like perverts.

[Peter grins, clearly enjoying the insinuation about Ananke and Holiday.]

[mmnpcs]

Now this here is a free thinker! Praise be.

[Quite obviously, he's relieved to hear Renee's skepticism.]

UNDECIDED

[wisecracked]

[Kenzi stays to the side as she watches, listening to any conversation she can. She's still not sure what to think of all this and wants as much information as she can get before she makes any decisions. Who's to say these guys are just another Vulcanus?

Once again she has Sir Apple with her, the little dragon wouldn't let her leave the house without him. He's coiled around her shoulders and appears to be asleep while Kenzi does her snoopy thing. Of course, even that grows boring after a while.]

Well, if that's all I guess I'll jet. I'm not gonna get shot out of the sky for flying am I?

[mmnpcs]

[ The wariness hardly comes as a surprise after what these people have been through. Still, Ananke carves a path toward Kenzi, when she catches her keeping to herself to the side.

Hearing Kenzi wants to take off gets an arched brow from her. ]

No.

You've made your decision?

UNDECIDED

[centurybaby]

[ jenny assumes if the adults are smoking, they won't care if she enjoys the same vice. she stands apart from the other imports, puffing away on a cigarette. daddy taught her never to trust the man, and she thinks she knows better than to trust people who come off as entirely too welcoming. strangers with candy, or something like that.

still, she's without the carrier and her powers are untested in this new universe. now isn't the time for a riot. she's not that eager to return to a prison cell.

finally, she speaks up a bit dryly: ]

So, what, you don't really care what we did before this, as long as we wanna hold hands and sing fucking Kumbayah with you?

[mmnpcs]

[ Holiday may raise an eyebrow, but he's not going to tell her to put her smoke out. Not while he's lighting up another of his own. ]

Crude way to put it, kiddo. The place y'all came from is in pieces, what good would it do to harp on somethin' that's a dead world away? We want to help. Don't think it's asking much to ask the same of you folks.

REGISTERED

[heartlessglitch]

[ registration is a matter of being strategic more than it is about being compliant, or even helpful. the value of resources, material or otherwise, can't be underestimated in situations like this. and she's capable enough of playing by the rules, when need be-- if the gains are appropriate. for the moment, they are.

cooperation is a sufficient plan, a way of biding her time. ]

I trust there will be no issues if I should choose to operate in my mechanical container.

[mmnpcs]

[ Now that's the spirit. Ananke doesn't hold back her smile, even as she shakes her head. ]

If it's what makes you comfortable, none whatsoever.

REGISTERED.

[gandere]

Job placement? Shouldn't I be focusing more on my studies to be a wholly productive member of society?

[ If they really knew Rin, they might be able to catch her in that bit of a lie. Still, she's a bit unnerved as she's here alone save for the one ally she was able to confirm over the network. ]

I suppose you'll want me to come up with a super heroine name for myself as well now, won't you?

[mmnpcs]

If ya want one, but we won't hold it against ya if not. They're not for everyone, we get it. Ya can stay a student if you wanna, we got good schools around here. Do both if it floats your boat.

[ She's got her hands on her hips but a friendly enough expression on her face. ]

UNDECIDED

[breakyou]

I am unconvinced.

[ Bane stands with thick arms crossed over his broad chest, and his face unmasked: revealing just how much of a scowl he maintains.

However, he is a strategist. He will not refuse outright in a strange place where he has no bearings; he must know more before attempting to break loose. ]

I have judged the supposed 'heroic' quality of many from the City and found it lacking. [ He means both in their morality and their capability. ] You are offering much for the employment of strays.

[mmnpcs]

But not any sort of strays. Ones with phenomenal power and prowess, ones who could be a boon to the right -- or wrong -- people.

I don't fault you for skepticism.

REGISTERED

[viced]

[ Showing up in one alternate universe was bad enough the first time, and the second, third, or fourth -- it got worse and worse as time went on. This time, there was no promise of going back home -- the City, home.

Hell, there was nothing to go back to. Which meant it was time to roll with the punches, and do what he'd been doing for over three years in the City, just not with a title attached to it. ]

You've already got a hell of an infrastructure put together for this. Did you have something like this happen before, or do you just know how to roll with the punches that fast, or was there forewarning, or...?

[ The touch of skepticism was clear. Governments didn't work that fast. Period. ]

[mmnpcs]

[ Holiday looks at him, shifting his cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other. His response is casual enough: ]

We've had it happen before. And we got forewarning. Not all that much, but soldiers are used t'working with short notice.

REGISTERED

[nitidus]

[Rose registers in silence. She listens in silence and she looks around her fellow ImPorts with a subtle crease in her brow. She's tired, that much is obvious. But she's alert enough to know that the smart decision is not to knock a gift in the mouth. Stability is the smart thing right now. Recklessness can wait until she's sure she knows exactly all she needs to know.

She raises a hand, when she's done. Wryly: ]

Will you also be providing the costumes?

[And then: ] What about those of under the age of eighteen?

[mmnpcs]

What about ya?

[ She shakes her head. ]

Costumes and uniforms are you're own business. We can get ya something if ya want it, but we don't hold ya to a dress-code. Under eighteen ya can work part-time and focus on your schooling, too -- the registration's a safety issue.

REGISTERED

[glowsferatu]

[ play along, that's rule number one. the choice laid before them is hardly any choice at all, the way she sees it. she doesn't say a word for most of it, but she does listen. understanding will be the first important thing.

the idea that what they need will be provided sticks in her mind. even if the blood's been cleaned off her chin today, there's no telling when she'll get her next meal now. ]

How do you handle unconventional diets? I had a...prescription before, but obviously that's well past expired.

[mmnpcs]

How unconventional? We can work something out no trouble if ya need something special. Just let us know. It's the Captain's job to make sure ya got everything ya need.

UNDECIDED

[shutterbugged]

I just have one question.

[Seeing as how he's still alive, Spidey wants to do nothing more than make sure Valeria's safe, shower off the dust and dried sweat, and then sleep for a year. Instead, it's apparently time for Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo. Because that went so well the first time around. Perfect. Just -- perfect.]

Actually, I have bunches of questions, but we'll start with this: what's the catch?

[mmnpcs]

I didn't say anything about a catch, did I? We like to keep it simple. We want to help you, but we need your cooperation to do so. Imagine what sort of hell we'd catch if we was harboring criminals instead of heroes. We only ask loyalty and a little help now and then in exchange.

UNSETTLED

[boobwindow]

[ She had been hoping for more information in light of recent events. Instead, Power Girl, still with the angry cat in her arms, stands there looking severely irked and unimpressed. None of this sits right with her. ]

Thanks but no thanks.

[mmnpcs]

[ She raises her eyebrow. ]

Go figure. But I guess there's one in every crowd. Plenty of hotel rooms downtown if ya need a place to sleep.

UNDECIDED

[corviform]

[ If this is another temporary relocation via Lachesis, he's conflicted. ]

There's definitely been some kind of mistake...

[mmnpcs]

No mistake. The place you just came in from's gone, son. We think the least we can do for y'all is welcome you in with a purpose and a place to stay.

UNDECIDED

[crab]

[ He'd had a lot of questions stored up. A lot of frustration, too. He'd arrived at the seashore with intent to give everyone a very big, very vocal piece of his mind, but once there, the first thing out of his mouth is simply: ]

What happened to Lachesis?

[mmnpcs]

[ Ananke's brows knit closely together with a touch of somberness.

There's no concealing the concern in her voice. ]

Unknown. She made contact once, to inform us about your arrival, and hasn't made contact with us since.

REGISTERED

[kegflipped]

Okay, but I'm still really confused. Are we staying here? What about the people that didn't make it over?

... And I do air conditioners. Not cars.

[mmnpcs]

[ Her voice is soft. ]

The world y'just came from don't exist anymore. I'm sorry, kid.

Unfortunately, we can't do anything for those who didn't.

REGISTERED

[detriments]

Right. [What's done is done.] Now point the way.

[mmnpcs]

No trouble, m'am. Want me to escort you off to one of our cars, have them take you home? You can have them pick you up something on the way if you ain't had dinner yet.

REGISTERED

[thanatophobias]

What happens if you're a kid?

[mmnpcs]

Do ya have a guardian, hon? [ She pauses. ] Registration's a safety measure above all. For kids under 16 especially, we don't wanna lose track of you. We'll make sure you're put someplace safe, 'kay?

UNDECIDED

[enigmaestro]

You'll want us to commit one way or the other soon, won't you?

[mmnpcs]

Soon as you can. Better for everyone that you do, for the sake of gettin' everything in order.

UNDECIDED

[topslug]

[ She's lingering at the edge of the crowd, listening intently to Holiday's speech, but she doesn't seem particularly moved by it either way. She does, however, have one clarification to make when he's finished. ]

The jobs we've been assigned -- if we choose not to register, will we still get to keep those?

[mmnpcs]

Yes, you may. Alternatively, if you find your current employment difficult or unsatisfactory you're more than welcome to seek out another.

But we won't be able to help you so much if you remain unregistered and search for a new job, unfortunately.

UNDECIDED

[gevurah]

[ The tattoo on her arm reveals they have a "real" soldier amongst the imPort crowd.

The expression on her face conveys conflict and uncertainty. Skepticism, too; she's processed the information over and over in her head, but Kate still can't make up her mind. A secured job with the military, registration... does she want to enlist after all this time? ]

"Won't keep you long"? That's a riot.

[mmnpcs]

[ Eyebrow raise. He gestures to the cars waiting to take them to their houses. ]

How's that? You can get a ride whenever you feel like.

UNDECIDED

[auntyquated]

( There's always a benefit to an extra set of ears, or the ability to hang back and listen before figuring out what questions she wants to ask. The tattoo makes her skin crawl, for a variety of reasons she doesn't name in the moment. Her apparent age, versus her actual age, sits as it's own ongoing mystery; she'd been through the paperwork registering Gil as her legal guardian on a world that no longer existed (the Abyss, what they were moving against elsewhere) , and now there was this file, its own brand of unnerving.

She skims through the contents, pausing every so often to listen to the people around her. When Sharon closes her file again, she carries it neatly against her front, arms down low enough to not give her the immediate appearance of someone on the defensive. It's not the image she wants to project to the world. Her smile seems warm enough, while her eyes are clear and the traumatics of the last few weeks carefully bundled in different parts of her mind. )

Have you been through all of our files personally, such as it is?

[mmnpcs]

[ Ananke nods, surveying the young girl before her briefly. ]

We have in order to determine job suitability. [ A pause as she considers her words. ] Figuring out who can do what, essentially.