The network had bought out the Grand Hotel in it's entirety for the next month.  They hotel didn't really have much of a choice, given that the entire island was under lockdown.

It had been some time since they'd first awakened, and some of them were better adjusted t the sudden shock of their new reality than others.

The network legal team had cleared much of the hotel, shuffling guests off to the Grand Hotel or to the Stonecliffe.  The sheer expense was exorbitant.  Those who remained in the Grande Hotel had had t sign legal waivers allowing them to be filmed while on-site.  They weren't told all the details of why, except that it was a reality-show in progress.  many knew and had actually booked suites at the Grande to have their little sneak-peek at the Supermodel Shakedown while in progress.  They were surely going to be surprised.

But that morning, it was a closed-door meeting in the Gerald Ford Conference room--a small white-washed room with gold-colored chandeliers and a deep blue carpet.  There were tables and chairs set out in a rough semi-crcle, allowing folks to sit inside or outside the circle  as they preferred.

There were five people present, two men and two women.  Marion St James and Dylan Liu represented the Production, Doctor Snow represented the medical team.

there was a well-dressed man with silver hair brushed back, showing the unfortunate signs of male pattern baldness. He wore an expensive blazer and comfortable jeans.  His shirt was heavily starched and the french cuffs fairly gleamed.

The young black woman at his side was probably an athlete.  She was of average height but had a powerful build with shoulders that seemed just a little too big for her.  She wore dark glasses, even though they were inside.  She wore a conservative black suit that looked light and probably very easy to move in.

Along one side of the room was an extended buffet of food, with a very wide variety of different foods--everything from breakfast to salads to fresh meats.

Doctor Snow stood a little aside, her concentration keenly on her cel-phone as she went over the biometric data from the previous night.   She had concerns about this meeting, btu Swift had insisted that there should be no security.   They weren't there to threaten the girls and boys--but to convince them to sign on.

Sure, what they were going to do would probably make them all filthy rich.  But, more importantly, it could set the stage to start training newly erupted metas to be the next phase of Project AEGIS, the UN super-team...

--

No, it's not a bait-n-switch.  Swift is responsible for the formation of AEGIS. (which is substantially different from the M&M spy organization of the same name).  His involvement here is potential planning for long-term returns.

OOC:

• Marion St James - the executive producer, the face & lead star
• Dylan Liu, the producer & show-runner
• Sebastian Swift, a politician and billionaire industrialist
• Lizette Thibodeaux, an unknown (but will be introduced as a practicing meta)
• Doctor Snow - you've already met

It is entirely my intention to break up this meeting with something stupid.  Just so ya know...  The game isn't going to be all emo.  I want to get to the silly stuff!

Matt's last night had been a bit... unusual.

Attempting to climb the social and economic ladder had been a more trying and tiring process than usual. In addition to needing to invest in himself to ensure that both his body and mind were on point (as his strongest asset was his person, which was his brand), there was all the chaos involving the production of a show. Contending with writers who had simply camped out in the backroom (and whose knowledge was largely about those people, or what they had seen on television about anyone else) and informing that as kindly as he could that no, actual people did not talk like that, to entertainment reporters who were desperate for any nugget of information and what was his opinion on this or that. Let alone the horrible articles the latter wrote about him, and the production in general.

They had only got two episodes done before Matt had gotten sick with... something. He had felt miserable, able to do little aside from snatch what moments of rest he could in between the head splitting migraines and other head pains with no real explanation. All the medical team had done is increasingly isolate him and hook up more testing apparatus as sounds of contemplation and 'interesting' had been thrown around a few times. But an explanation hadn't been forthcoming then, other than to say that he was a 'meta', nor had he received one yet as to precisely what was happening inside his head.

He hadn't been up for that long, and he was still mostly in the dark as far as what they had been testing for, because he didn't feel different. They told him that he had powers, but he didn't feel anything. He wasn't any stronger, or more fit, or anything that one might generally associate with some marked difference as compared to who he had been before. So whatever... this was all covered by his contract, and so let the poke and prod. He was still being paid, after all.

After he was done with being sick and all the medical examinations they cared to put him through, there had been a ton of coursework, calls, and other such business to catch up on. Not to mention a thorough washing and restoration of his general appearance. He hadn't had time to sleep (he rarely did), but he had felt fine. Better than fine, really. His mind, as opposed to some unruly pack of wolves that he needed to cow into submission, was almost like a neatly harmonious dog team working in concert with him.

As it should be, to his way of thinking.

---

A production assistant had knocked on his door a bit loudly, and after Matt had answered the door, informed him that his presence was required down in the Gerald Ford conference room in about an hour. Matt's reply had simply been that he required a stylist and some fresh clothes, now should they want him there. The production assistant had simply arranged for both, and Matt had showered before the items had arrived.

Aside from that bit of firm behavior, he was perfectly pleasant to the stylist and person from wardrobe who had shown up, asking them about how the crew was handling everything, and if there was any point he needed to raise about their treatment. Having been a nobody, he was always conscious of their needs, as it was a mutually beneficial partnership.

That conversation had carried the rest of the hour, Matt departing his room in just enough time to be perfectly punctual to the meeting. Matt's eyes widened briefly at the sight of Sebastian Swift, the billionaire industrialist, waiting on their arrival. Matt did briefly make the rounds, introducing himself and shaking hands, delivering some canned line about how "It's nice to meet you." before going over to the buffet and getting something closer to the heartiest fare they had. If they had steak, no matter the form it came in, he would take some, and some breakfast beverage, before finding a seat and waiting for either Swift to introduce a topic of conversation, or whoever else they were waiting for to show up.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:54, Sun 28 June 2020.

Exactly one thing surprised Laura: the presence of Sebastian Swift.  But when she got over her shock, her rational response was positive.  If Swift was here, he was in charge, and that meant that Marion St James wasn't.  Swift wasn't entirely a known quantity, but the man who had helped the UN form AEGIS seemed unlikely to be worse than a glory-seeking professional celebrity.

Laura chose reserve instead of charm: she smiled her professional smile, offered polite greetings, and made small talk as necessary, but volunteered nothing.  She did indulge in some of the buffet's fancier offerings: this seemed like as good a time as any to start testing her new metabolism.

A barefoot feline woman enters, wearing low cut exercise shorts and a fitness bra. A tail slashes the air behind her as she moves. Her brown fur has a mottled pattern of white, black and orange patches across her chest, down her tail, and across her bare stomach. She seems unfazed by any looks she receives, and simply heads toward the buffet. Two men follow her in, and take up positions at the entrance. Without a word she grabs a plate and begins to pile it high with various meats. Last she grabs a bottle of water with her tail. She turns around smiling showing of small fangs. Her golden cat's eyes flash about the room as she finds an empty seat.

 Anyone sitting next to her can hear a low growl as she begins to shovel fork fulls of food into her mouth. Only stopping to take a drink from the bottle held by her slowly swaying tail.

As dramatic entrances went, Alexey's left a lot to be desired.  His unruly gait was somewhere between 'walking on the beach in flippers' and 'first time in heels.'  Wardrobe was going to eat him alive; all Alexey could scrounge up had been some cheap plastic sandals, grey sweatpants, and a whiter undershirt with the sleeves cut off, all of which were sized far too small for him.  The shirt barely reached the tall man's naval, and he regularly tried to tug it lower.  The contrast to all the folks in business attire was glaring.

As he entered the room Alexey ducked under the door frame, even though he had plenty of clearance.  The room was a sea of faces, most of whom Alexey didn't recognize.  His gaze averted every time he caught someone looking at him, red creeping deeper and deeper into his pale cheeks.  Trying to make himself small, Alexey made his way along the edge of the room to the buffet, and randomly filled a place up.

Jana was one of the contestants from Eastern Europe.  Tiny and lithe, she'd had almost no figure to speak of.  Apparently, she was a former olmypic gymnast who's big claim to fame was placing fourth in uneven bars and earning a bronze medal for her floor routine.

In the first two weesk, she'd most kept to herself, bu then came the famous cat-fight with Olivia Stone on catwalk etiquette, and that was that.  Olivia had thrown the first punch, scratched Jana across her chest, and Jana had ended it.  They didn't see precisely what she'd done, but it involved some sort of wrist-twist that had Olivia screaming.  Jana simply sniffed in disdain and sashayed away.

The woman who walked in wore her face, but the body just wasn't right...  She was taller, bulkier... she wasn't voluptuous by any stretch of the imagination but she had curves now where she didn't less than a week ago.

She wore lululemon leggings and a loose white top.  Clean lines that hid her figure more than showed it, but still suggested enough that she actually had a figure now.

She gazed around the room, her nose lifted arrogantly, and her eyes widened at taking in the cat-girl.  Which one was she?   Jana had thought she'd changed, but her transformation was nothing compared to that.   All of a sudden, it really came home to her just how real this was.  It wasn't a stunt and she'd really better watch her step.

Then she saw Alexey.  The big Ukranian boy.  And he was a much bigger Ukranian boy now.    That was all sorts of... tasty.

"Did you jut grow a foot and a half?" She asked him.  "Is it confusing?  I can't seem to find my balance.  I donnt dare wear heels now."

Poppy decided she wanted to look casual yet dramatic, and had chosen a tunic-length scarlet cotton dress that bared her shoulders, arms, and much of her legs. With flat gladiator sandals, it was a comfortable outfit for a warm day.

She walked in and picked up a coffee and a pastry.

Whatever her transformation had done, it didn't seem to have outwardly changed her. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the others, particularly... Was that Maria?! And Alexey?! Even Jana looked different.

She took a seat. Most of the others she knew; Sebastian Swift was new, but so well known. Poppy guessed he was a silent partner in the show.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:23, Mon 29 June 2020.

The flush of Alexey's cheeks turned to fire as Janava took an interest.  He recognized her as a model, and that generally meant he would have preferred to steer clear.  Even off-screen, he'd gotten more than his fill of diva drama, mostly in the form of screaming and drinks dumped on him because the model decided she had actually wanted chipped ice or because she forgot to specify soy milk for regular.  Given a choice, he would have steered clear and gone to check on something with lighting.  Instead, he tensed up in expectation of the worst.

"I, um....  Yes.  Is difficult.  Is very better today; yesterday I many fall, but today I not fall."  He responded, nervousness dragging out honesty in badly mangled English. "Is nice to meet you.  I am Alexey."

Matt was quietly consuming his food, simply trying to figure out a few things. A lot of information had been thrown at him, and around him, so he didn't quite know what to think yet. He didn't necessarily buy anything about him being a 'meta' yet, simply because he'd read a few of the pulps and European comics a kid. Powers usually announced themselves via an alien presence announcing themselves, something about the latest generation of a long line of chosen _____ , some energy beam from the sky, or usually something to herald the birth of a hero.

Not being more sick than he could ever remember for a week or so, given that a lot of the other members of the cast and crew caught it as well. Then being subjected to a lot of medical exams... he didn't really have grounds to object to them taking his blood, or his temperature, but he flatly turned down any of the really invasive exams.

As some of the other members filed in, he didn't really give much thought to them, truth be told. He tried to be fairly humble himself, but he'd heard the stories and encountered the types. The last thing he needed was some reporter getting a shot of a judge talking with the contestants out of turn to go wild on the internet.

Until the catgirl walked in. He tried to count heads, realizing that Maria was the one missing, and so tentatively walked over to the catgirl with a "Maria? Is that you?" The scope of the changes to 'Maria' were enough to at least convince Matt that something had happened to some of them. He noticed the tail, cat eyes, and the fur everywhere and simply asked, "Just to confirm, that's not like some costume you put on? All of... that," He said, kind of gesturing to her entire body, as seemingly no part of it escaped some change, even if it was just cosmetic, "is the new you?"

Then showing a little concern, "How are you holding up, given all of that?" Matt did care somewhat, just because modeling was a very image conscious industry. He couldn't imagine what was going on inside her head, with all of those changes having occurred, and while he wasn't big on being the 'shoulder to cry on', he was still human, and she wasn't anymore?
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:59, Thu 02 July 2020.

She stopped for a moment cocked her head to one side, then arched her eyebrows, reappraising things.  "At least we don't have fur.  Can you imagine seeing that in the mirror the first time?  I'd have thrown a fit!"

The black woman moved from Swift's side, crossed the small room and made her way to the buffet.  She picked a couple of small yorkshire muffins and a slab of roast beef, then made her way over to Maria and Matthieu.

"You're going to have a harder time than most."  she didn't even start with an introduction. "The more drastic the change, the more you have to fight for basic acceptance. "  She  glanced down at her plate.  "I'm Lizette.  No codename.  Never saw the point.  My changes were all up here."    she tapped her head.

"Okay, listen up everyone."  Marion St James clapped her hands twice.  I've been in discussions with the network and despite recent setbacks, we're still moving forward with the show." she said.

"Obviously, there needs to be some changes," because well, look at you!  You're even more gorgeous!

But, seriously.  Being a model or an actress is often just the thing that all little girls want at some point.  Some move on to other things, but there's always a part that wonder if they could have had what you have...

The one thing that's even more of a draw?  At some point everyone wonders what they'd do if they were to wake up with super-powers.  Your fame quotient has gone up by a few exponents.  You're going to be superheroes!
This message was last edited by the player at 23:28, Thu 02 July 2020.

the well-dressed man coughed politely. "We don't actually use that term.  'super-heroes'.  It puts too much of an expectation.  And there are... legal entanglements."


St James nodded her head deeply.  "Ladies & Gentlemen, this is is Sebastian Swift.  He's the force behind the the AEGIS metahuman group in New York and the formation of the United Nations Council on Metahuman Affairs.  The network has agreed to keep the show on the air if we use you to present what the real life of a metahuman looks like."

Swift  stepped forward and leaned against the desk, clasping both his hands in front of you.  "I know this is very sudden.  We have outreach program that work with newly erupted metas.  and most take several weeks to acclimatize to the basic changes in physiology.    You folks are in a unique position to be able to shed a spotlight on the reality of the process.  My hope is that people will learn that even with amazing powers, you still occasionally put the wrong shoe on first or can't get the clasp on your necklace to close.  You're still basically human and not some other.

Maria nodded to Matt confirming his suspicion that her changes were not a costume. She tilted her head towards Janava as the other woman spoke. Before she could respond, Miss St. James and this Swift person took the floor.

Maria stood and walked over to put what was left of her plate in the trash. Her tail slashed angrily back and forth through the air as she sauntered purposely past Janava. "I did. Two men got emergency airlifted out because I lost my temper." She said quietly as she walked past. A mischievous feral grin played across her lips showing the barest hint of her new fangs.

She dumped her refuse as she asked the hosts her question. Not bothering to look at them as she spoke. "So you want us to go from a daily snap shot of the life of a model to being an after school special on being meta human?" She turned to face the hosts before asking. "But what about a cure for those of us that don't want to be," she jestered at her altered body. "This?"

Swift nodded.   "I can't speak to the dynamics of the show.  It's not an area I've a lot of experience with." he said.

He took a few steps forward.  "But there's an increasing number of eruptions every month.  We've fore-casted that the number of metahuman manifestations will double again within five years.   Virtually every network is fielding some sort of 'superhero' show.  But few of them deal with the real, every-day life of those.


"So... After-school-special?" he offered a deprecating smile.  "Yeah.  It fits.     'superheroes' are two-dimensional.  It's fiction.  I want to see a movement to humanize the metahuman people.  to show that we have more in common than we have differences.   You folks had already signed on for a glimpse into your lives.   I'm just hoping to be able to use that to help others."

Lizette leaned toward Maria.