[Perimiter Mall, In the ATL]

Valerie walked out of the Hot Topic loaded with more shopping bags than a girl her size should have been able to handle. Not that the the six foot teenager was tiny or anything but her recent audition shoot for Southern Teen magazine had come with a significant perk; a $1500 mall gift card.

She had not hesitated to put it to good use and was currently walking in that warm fuzzy haze that her friends at Woodward Academy called "Shopping Zen".

Moments later her zen was shattered when the Molly Mirrorshades(tm) kiosk exploded under the impact of a well dressed seven foot tall black man. His wildly flying braids and long suffering Atlanta Falcons jacket identified him immediately as the ATL's resident parahuman guardian TOWER.

For the moment the big man was obviously stunned. A fact which seemed to please the three armed men approaching him to no end.

The first and largest carried a wooden mallet and was nearly a foot taller than Val. The second was armed with an axe and while shorter was far bulkier than his companion.

Lastly, and walking with a singular arrogance, came a compact ruddy brute with a knobby club and an Irish accent.

"See lads whad I tell ye? Inside the mall 'e can't get big enough to take us on!" He continued in a sing song voice, "You can't beat Tower in Atlanta...what a load of rubbish! Finish him off there Maul."

The tall hammer wielder replied simply, "Yessir mister Cudgle." and closed in for the kill.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:07, Tue 06 Apr 2010.

Val sighed as she took the shades off her face and handed them back to the girl. It was so hard to find shades that worked for her. She had been looking for something that was so very 'Horatio Cane' or 'Micheal Wheston' for the spring break trip down to Orlando with her mom and dad. She looked over to the ruins of the next kiosk she had planned to check out before turning back to the girl she was talking with.

"Be a darling and hold on to these." She said as she handed over the shades and on an impulse she handed over her bags. "Call the cops darlin and keep these for me. I WILL be back."  She motioned for the girl to dash into the Hot Topic with her stuff as she pulled out her biker's gloves and ambled in the direction of the fallen hero.

Sometimes, Val thought to herself, she got this weird sense of responsibility along with her nearly 2 feet of growth and 120 pounds of mass. She took to the air and blitzed by the men approaching the fallen hero. She scooped up the hero and aimed herself and the bulky load out of reach of the bad guys. She had yet to encounter a method of breaking her skin but most guys can't toss Tower around like a rag doll.

"Come on big boy, wake up." She said as she tried to find a fountain to fly though in the big mall to rouse the hero.




OOC:

17:00, Today: Valerie Dobson rolled 34 using 1d20+18. Grab Tower.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:18, Tue 06 Apr 2010.

[Perimeter Mall, Fountain by the Food Court]

Val blitzed past the lumbering Maul and snatched up Tower before the three villains knew she was moving.

She flew down the mall and dumped the big man into the newly built fountain.

Behind her the three armed parahumans overcame their surprise and came hurtling down the main corridor in her direction. All of them were running noticeably faster than a normal person was capable of.

(OOC: They will reach your position next round.)

[Perimeter Mall, IN the Fountain by the Food Court]

Tower sat up in the fountain and shook water out of his braids. Opening his eyes he took in the statuesque Val floating above him.

"Aw no...not again!...er.. I mean where did they go?"

Val steps into the fountain and slaps Tower on the cheeks quickly as she keeps an eye on the approaching men. She figured anyone who could KO Tower wasn't someone seh wanted to face three on one.

"Come on big guy..wakey wakey.." She says as she hefts the bigger man again in anticipation of having to run down the length of the mall to another fountain. She looked over the mall ceiling and tried to judge how much space she had to work with, as well as looking for a way to break up the trio. If she did have to take the threesome on, she'd rather split them up.

OOC: Quick 'splash the face' and picking him back up in anticipation of having to run. Looking for options and seeing how much clearance she has if she has to run past them full tilt.

[Perimeter Mall, Fountain by the Food Court]

Throwing off his (once again) ruined Falcons jacket Tower rose from the fountain...and continued to rise until he was just over nine feet tall.

He faced the oncoming para-villains he raised his fists and Val could see why the story that Cudgel had mentioned was such a widely held belief.

"I'm awake. So who will I be thanking later for bailin' my ass out?"

[Perimeter Mall, Main Hall]

The three armed para-thugs had formed up and were pelting down the mall as a group knocking carts, kiosks, and slow to move shoppers from their path.

In seconds Val was going to be neck deep in her first super brawl and the realization set in like a trip-hammer falling.

OOC: Need an initiative roll and statement of what you intend to do

"Val, Valerie Dobson. So these guys, they aren't your old frat brothers coming to hassel you?" She asked as she skimmed the area for anything to turn the odds in their favor. "We could just bail if you like.." She offered as she took in the threesome approaching them. Of the three, the guy with the axe was definitely the most dangerous.

"So big guy what now?" She asked deferring to the established hero as she considered that she could come in from above.


OOC:
15:48, Today: Valerie Dobson rolled 3 using 1d20+2. Init.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Tue 13 Apr 2010.

[Perimeter Mall, Fountain by the Food Court]

"First thing...EVERYBODY GIT THE HELL BACK!" The stumbling mall-goers seem to respond automatically and stagger/run out of the square area into the surrounding stores. In seconds the battlefield is clear of everyone but the three para-villains, Tower, and Val.

"Now I'm gonna go change Slappy's name from 'Maul' to 'Popsicle'. This marble planter here don't weigh much more than me...why don't you take it and go bounce it off smart ass Lucky Charms over there a couple a' times."

He took off down the mall, meeting Maul half way, and thundered a punch from a fist the size of a washing machine into the thugs face.

11:42, Today: GM Sunkiller, on behalf of Tower, rolled 20 using 1d20+8. To Hit Maul.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:53, Mon 26 Apr 2010.

Val nods as she swoops in and scoops up the planter in question. She grins as it comes up in her grip and she shifts to aim at the Irishman in question.

"Faith and Begora! Tis much better than practicing carrying eggs this tis." She says with a laugh before taking careful aim and throwing it at the the man with the shillelagh. "The last few weeks have been nothing but control exercises, it's nice to let loose for a change. Hey LUCKY! Catch!"

Val slings the planter like it was a drink cup.

OOC:

12:43, Today: Valerie Dobson rolled 12 using 1d20+6. Ranged Attack .

[Perimeter Mall, Food Court Battleground]

The three thugs hurled themselves into the fight running down the main corridor of the mall. Sometimes they simply smashed through the benches and kiosks blocking their way and all of them were grinning and laughing like madmen.

The laughing stopped when Tower's fist hammered into Maul and sent him hurtling upside down into a marble pillar fifty feet away.

Cudgel skidded to a halt trying to assess the situation while Hatchet leaped airborne and took a vicious slash at Val.

Val hurled her stone planter at the leader and then twisted desperately to avoid the edge of the weapon. Managing it just barely and winning a thin bleeding cut on her abdomen for her trouble (missed you by 1).

"CRIKEY!" the Irish para-criminal exclaimed as he dove aside avoiding only just the hurtling object that demolished the kiosk directly behind him. "You'll pay for that ye wee skank!"

In the background Maul groaned and began to rise from the rubble of the post.

"Crikey? What are you the Crock Hunter or a steroid abusing Lepra... HEY! Watch is with the axe bubba!" Val says as she sidesteps the axe and feels the cut along her skin. She glared at the axe man as she stepped up with fury and mayhem in her eye.

"Time to take that axe from you and play 'Whack-A-Fool'." She says as she reaches for the axe, fully intending to take it from the goon.

OOC: Disarm the Axman
23:36, Today: Valerie Dobson rolled 14 using 1d20+6. Disarm.
22:26, Today: Valerie Dobson rolled 27 using 1d20+12.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Thu 06 May 2010.

[Perimeter Mall, Food Court Battleground]

Taking advantage of Cudgel's momentary distraction Tower shot to over twenty five feet tall and stomped hard on the Irish para-villain.

When he lifted his foot the thug was out cold.

Val had no way of knowing that her attack was the perfect strategy to deal with Hatchet. No idea that is until she deftly plucked the Axeman's weapon from his hand only to see his impressive physique deflate until all that was left was a skinny unshaven petty criminal.

Realizing they had no chance Maul and Hatchet quickly threw up their hands and simultaneously shouted, "WE GIVE UP!"

Hatchet looked pleadingly at Val and begged, "Please lady don't let him step on me while I ain't got no powers! PLeeeeasse!"

"Dude! What the hell? I try to keep you idiots from killing and you ruin my new SHIRT! On the ground! NOW!" Val yells as she looks at the axe she took curiously. She wasn't too happy with the getting cut, not too long ago she'd have bled out from a scratch like that one. She liked losing her shirt even more, they didn't have that many nice tshirts in her size for girls. Most tshirts her size were 'nerd chic'. She looked over to Tower.

"So, Tower.. you got it in hand or do you want me to stick around till the fuzz show up?" She asks as she flies up to eye level with him and offers the Axe.

[Perimeter Mall, Food Court]

Tower drops back to around seven feet tall and accepts the axe from Val.

"Best you stay if you ain't the shy type. Otherwise they'll give me all the credit and I'll feel like a big ol' punk. Bad enough when Comedy does that shit without makin' a habit of it."

He moved around collecting the three weapons and dropping them into a handy shopping bag dropped by one of the fleeing shoppers.

"You two jackasses pick up your boss and sit your asses down on that bench. Get up again and I'll shout 'Aw hale sey done gots dey powuhs bayuck' and kick your slimy butts to Macon. You get me?"

The now former para-villains comply in a way that indicate they do in fact get him.

"About that shirt...I don't mean to say you a big girl or nothin' but I know a guy. A tailor so to speak. If your interested that is."

"I don't know.. on one hand, you got jumped because you're known and that would be me if I linger. On the other, it would be wrong not to stick around." Val points out as she looks at the thugs. She didn't want to draw notice to herself and her family, but she had been taught to be responsible.

"So, when you woke up in the fountain... you said 'not again' care to explain that?" She asked with a grin as she came down to the floor and landed gently on the surface.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:51, Fri 07 May 2010.

[Perimeter Mall, Food Court]

"Huh? Nah I didn't say that. Musta had some water in my mouth."

He looked down the mall.

"Being known has it's downside but stay and you can tell 'em which side you were on. You leave and the media gets to decide. Trust me when I say you do not want that."

"Suuuurree.." She says to the denial as she lands on the floor and looks around. "Tell you what, I'll go get my stuff and if the cops want me you can send them down by Hot Topic to get me.. not many 6 foot girls like me around.

[Perimeter Mall, Food Court]

"I forgot being teenaged and all that you would be highly hint resistant."

Pulling open the lapel of his much abused Falcons jacket Tower revealed a badge and ID that read "OVERWATCH" in big black letters.

"I ain't just in Atlanta because there was a shortage of handsome dudes with good fashion sense."

He let the lapel fall.

"I was only pretending that you hangin' around was optional to be polite. It ain't."

"I'm gonna need to do an after action interview with you after the cops are gone. Peoples Exhibit A my un-split wig your obviously one of the good guys. Play nice and we'll do the thing at the Spagetti Warehouse instead of Quantico."

"Cool?"

"Oh no.. it's the fuzz. Am I going to need to call my grandma, she is dating the former lead attorney for the Georgia Civil Liberties Union.." She chuckles as her face cracks up, blowing her bluff completely. "I'm all for the Spaghetti Factory.. I want to try out their cheesecake. I used to be on all sorts of dietary restrictions, all I ask is that you let me get my clothes and I'm all yours. And you can tell me what you meant when you woke up in the fountain."

Clearly the tall blonde wasn't going to let things lie on what looked to be a fun thing to tease the hero about.

"I got to get my clothes.. cause well.. I'm hard on cloth now. Be right back." She says as she dashes back to her her stuff from the girl she left them with.

[Perimeter Mall]

Shortly after Val returns with her bags the Mall is swarmed with Police and emergency workers. They handle things in an impressively efficient manner finally approaching Tower only after the safety of all civilians is established.

A stoutly built middle aged officer in a dark blue uniform and 'POLICE' baseball cap asks,"You gonna talk ta the Press?"

Tower answers in a tone that makes it clear he knows and likes the officer, "Nah that's what they pay the APD Overwatch liaison for. Me and the young lady here will be leaving by the side exit as soon as your done getting her statement."

The officer then turns to Val and speaks in a polite but strong voice.

"Howdy Ma'am. I'm sergeant William Heartwell of the Atlanta Police Department Special Crimes Unit." He extends a hand.

"So what happened here?"

Val, now with a tshirt on to replace her torn shirt, walks over. The 'Murloco's Taco' shirt does little to hide her figure as she slides her 'Westen' style shades onto the top of her head.

"I'm Valerie Dobson, I just was shopping and saw that these three fools were looking to kill someone. So I stepped in to help out when and where I could." She said with a shrug. "Besides the mayhem was going to mess up my shopping spree, I still got like 600 bucks to spend."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:28, Sun 23 May 2010.

[Atlanta GA, The Spaghetti Warehouse]

After a whirlwind of questions and shopping bag recovery Val finds her self at a very nice Italian restaurant just north of the actual Atlanta city limits.

Seated at the table with her are Tower and a small, slightly built man wearing the type of dark grey suit that only members of Federal Law Enforcement wear.

OOC: Val has been informed by Tower that lunch is on the Feds and she can have whatever she wants. This made the smaller man, who hasn't introduced himself yet, cringe.

"Relax dude, I'm not QUITE that bad." Val says with a reassuring smile as she looked over the menu. She had a fairly hearty appetite but not THAT bad. She was still learning to enjoy things that weren't on her old diet limits.

"I figure I'll take a peach ice tea, some toasted ravioli for an appetizer, a small bowl of minestrone and an order of beef lasagna please." She says to the waitress.

Tower and the agent order "Spaghetti" in stereo.

Then they both chuckle and the agent says, "...and two of your micro-brews. The Honey Brown."

Once the server has gone he turns to Val smiling.

"Just funnin' really. If we have the budget to feed Jason here when he's been using his powers I'm sure we can cover anyone...and he won't even think about using his other power to save money..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:14, Wed 16 June 2010.

Tower's face face flashes angry momentarily.

"I told you I ain't got no other powers!"

"Relax dude.. the ability to crush crime under your size 85 boot is more than enough. So, I'm here..while we're waiting on the food, you can ask the questions we need to have asked and fill out the paperwork I can. Do I need my parents here?" She asked suddenly, remembering she was a minor and they were technically law enforcement officers.

[Atlanta GA, The Spaghetti Warehouse]

The agent took what looked a lot like a blackberry out of his pocket.

"That depends are your parents Parahumans?"

"No.. but I am a minor." Val says as she takes her peach tea from the server with a smile.

"Then it's not mandatory that they be here only that they be informed."

"Your not being arrested or officially interrogated. In fact we won't even be asking for details of your origin. The truth is, off the record, what we're here to do is CYA by establishing your status with OOW prior to the assistance you gave Jason...Tower."

He makes an odd face. "You know I need to start at the beginning."

He extends a hand.

"My name is Special Agent Leroy Henderson of Overwatch. I am, as Agent Tower may have said, the Office of Overwatch liason to the Atlanta Police Department."

"You are a newly discovered, apparently white hat, parahuman with obvious and significant superhuman physical abilities. It's my job to interview you and gather some basic information."

"It is Federally mandated that you sit for the interview. Answering any questions however is completely voluntary."

"You understanding so far?"

"Sure, if you like I can get my mom on the phone and you can repeat that to her. I'm guessing that would keep you out of trouble and keep my butt protected right?" She smiles as she hands over the phone after dialing her mom's cell phone. She let him explain the situation to her and told her mom that she was okay and that she was doing alright.

"Well the hard part is done, so feel free to ask Agent Henderson I'm yours to talk to." She smiles as she nibbles on her appetizer and savors the taste. "It's so nice to not have to screen my food for all sorts of things.. these taste great."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Mon 20 Sept 2010.

The interview is fairly quick and completely painless. Agent Henderson carries everything off with a dry wit and absolute conviction that Overwatch is intended to help Parahuman not control them.

He wraps up quickly, stands up, and is about to leave when he pulls up short.

"Oh crap...almost forgot."

He looks meaningfully at Tower who pulls a "aw no you ain't" face but with little real conviction as of he knew this was coming.

"Since your a minor you'll have to have a M.R. in order to legally remain active."

The 'interview' wasn't bad over dinner but still seemed like it had taken three years in Val's mind.  She was sure she had seen the decorations change and everything but knew that was just her short attention span talking.  She did take advantage of the situation a little to get a nice slice of cake that seemed to have chocolate as it's sole ingredient as she listened, answered and and nodded. Cheeky she might be, but she knew enough to know this was not the right time for a smart mouth. This was the time for learning how the law had changed for her. Mom and Dad would have LOTS of question on the subject. LOTS. As in RIGHT as she got home, they would be asking them.

"Assume I don't speak federale yet and put that in terms that I can understand and explain to the parents. Preferably with a business card that they can use to call you for clarification. I'm good at English lit, history,and math, not so hot at legalese." She paused a moment before continuing. "On a side note.. you weren't the leader singer for 'Dingo at a Baby' in college were you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Tue 21 Jan 2014.

Agent Henderson puts on his seldom used "this is serious" face.

"M.R. means Mentor of Record. A registered adult parahuman operative that will be responsible for keeping an eye on you and answering any question that may come up."

He turns his meaningful look back on Tower and it suddenly becomes apparent what the doomed look on the big man's face is all about.

"In this case you will almost certainly be assigned to Mr. Hightower here since he is the only registered parahuman operating in Atlanta."

"Fair enough." Val said as she worked on her dessert. "I"m not pulling on tights and GOING to look for trouble though, I understand that with my abilities I have additional responsibilities, like a boxer or martial artist has with their training, and mostly I expect to be very helpful in some events." She shrugged at Tower, sympathizing.

"So you're like my training officer and such? I got a physical therapist teaching me control and restraint. It's boring, rolling eggs between my fingers and such, but it keeps me from breaking my laptop or someone's hand when I shake hands." She smiled. "What, aside from the rules, will you be teaching me Tower?" She was curious, not being pushy. Truth be told, she didn't expect to run into another fight for a while. "So, I'll stop babbling an let you guys explain what it entails for me and Tower."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:48, Fri 24 Jan 2014.

It is explained that all it means is that Val can call Tower if she has any questions about Overwatch or if she needs help. It's a bit more significant for him as he is expected to keep tabs on her parahuman activities.

End scene.