ic Storm and Star

[Poncho]

Early January, 2024, Location: Sampson's Sodas, Riverside district of Freedom City, Early Evening

 

 

Sampson's Sodas was a store operating out of what had once been some sort of warehouse. The warehouse portion was old, charming red brick, giving it a rustic atmosphere that nicely complemented the remodeled and added on front end, an open frame wood and brick affair with woooden decour. The entire building's front was set with windows for patrons to look out of while sitting at raised tables lining it, with the counter and the series of soda taps nestled in the back of the room. The walls were pictures of current trending bands with tour dates, or signed photos from them. Some popular teen heroes had pictures and autographs on the walls as well; this was a place for teens to immerse themselves in their culture. 

 

This late at night, it was getting close to closing, and only a single person was inside; Michael, wearing dark slacks and a lime green polo that announced him as an employee. The polo almost strained against the hero's sportsman frame, but he was leaning on the countertop and flipping through math homework while he waited for the store to close. Or more correctly, he was waiting for his visitor. 

 

After the party, or during it, Michael had only had a few moments to catch up with Charlie, as busy as they both were, but they had managed to exchange numbers for a chance to meet up later. Or maybe he'd asked Bernadette for the number and she'd gotten permission to share it, but it wasn't at all surprising, one way or the other, that Michael had sent Charlie a text a few days later and asked him to come to his work so they could talk. Michael had, after all, been very clear he had as much hero worship for the former Nevermore, now Stormcrow, as he did for the members of the Freedom League or Dead Head. 

 

That he was doing this at his work- even on a slow day when no one was in the store and he was about to close up-, in his civilian identity, indicated that alongside that Hero worship was a person who had a reasonable understanding of what he could and could not manage; a statement that he knew that it wouldn't be any work at all for Stormcrow to figure out who he was, if he somehow didn't already, and he had no intention to try and hide it from him anyway. 

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

The door opens, and a young man with red hair steps in. He is wearing a heavy black winter jacket with light grey trim. He is wearing a darker grey beanie over his head, with a little bit of red hair peeking out from under it. Charlie is smiling, as he usually is, while he shakes some heat into his body. He is wearing the same pair of glasses that Michael saw him wearing at the christmas party.

 

Stepping closer, he unzips the jacket, revealing a black dress shirt and a light blue tie with stylized white birds printed on it.

 

"So... I guess this is where you work?" 

 

As he walks closer, he pulls out a small device, a little ball with a button, and presses the button. Any cameras or the like inside the shop starts looping the footage from just before Charlie entered.

[Poncho]

"Yeah. It's cool...I don't really like the uniform though... I don't like green as a color." He admitted, frowning momentarily at his shirt. But then he's back to normal and is clesrly impressed by whatever the little gadget is doing. "Man your gadgets are so cool. Do you make them yourself? It's so cool when someone makes their own devices and gadgets." With the conversation began, he put his pencil down in his math book and wandered over to the fountains behind him. Showing the showmanship and presenter's manner required to be a sodajerk, he manipulated the big machine, pulling out hoses and tossing them from hand to hand as he filled up a set of 4 sampler cups in a wooden holder that he put in front of Charlie.

 

"So this is Dragonfruit Honey, which is our big seller." He pointed to an amber concoction. "The blue one is a sour blue raspberry soda, sugar free. The green is Melon Cream, and the last one is actually a clasic grape soda. Let me know what you think." He placed a glass of water next to the snaller cups.

 

He may have questions to ask but he would never be rude and not treat Charlie like a new customer.

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Some of them," Charlie says, still holding the small ball in his hand. The Ravens, past and present, had made plenty of gadgets themselves. No reason to reinvent anything they had made, after all, but that is a little tidbit that they would probably prefer he not share. Especially not this little gizmo, which Ms. Summers had made. 

 

Drinks placed in front of him, Charlie eyes them for a moment. Michael is clean, as far as he has been able to find out, so, why not? "Sure," he says, reaching for the Dragonfruit Honey and tasting it, before emptying the cup. 

 

"It's good," Charlie says with a grin, before placing the glass down. "But, as much as I enjoy free soda, I'm guessing that's not the reason you wanted to meet, right?"

[Poncho]

"Nah, but my dad always opens meetings with a drink, so I wanted to try it out, it really adds an air of comraderie to the meeting, I think." he explained. He looked at that little ball again, then at Charlie. Curiosity was clearly bubbling up, but if Charlie wasn't offering to explain, he was not going to ask about it; he was the polite sort of guy like that, and his first day he learned that there were questions better not asked involving Supers and their powers, and that went the exact same for the gadgets they created, in his mind. 

 

He took one of the other sodas out of the holder to drink as he thought about how to phrase his question. Judging his words was important here. He looked back at the orb again.

 

"How did you...form your club?" he finally asked. He said it in the way that a kid whose never had to hide anything in his life was now trying to be vague to be secretive; it was clearly a skill he was still learning.

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

So that was what this was about? Charlie looks at Michael over the glasses for a moment, a grin playing over his lips. 

 

"I'm guessing you mean the Guardians?" Straight and to the point. No need to play coy here, as long as he keeps certain secrets about the headmistress to himself. Not that he has told any of his friends, anyway. "Through trial and error, mostly? It didn't really start out as anything intentional. There was this group of students that called themselves New Young Freedom, led by Sebastian Shields, or Casanova, and they went around causing trouble." It wouldn't surprise Charlie if Michael had heard other students talk about Casanova and his gang. They hadn't exactly been popular, once Charlie and his friends started messing with them and revealed how they caused the crimes they stopped. "I decided to make them myself their problem, grabbed some friends, and we went to stop them when they caused trouble."

 

It is most of the truth, at least. Ms. Summers had asked him to continue keeping an eye on New Young Freedom after the first time, but that isn't something that he shares with Michael. Raven family business and all that.

 

"Shifted a bit around who came along and who didn't, depended on who was around and who wanted to help. We kind of ended up with a set group a while before I left." 

 

It was way more intentinal than Charlie lets on. He wanted to work with friends, people that he could trust, but also some that filled certain powersets. He needed a diverse team, after all.

 

"Why do you want to know?"

Edited January 8 by RocketLord

[Poncho]

"Troublemakers at Claremont, huh. I could see how that could be difficult." he mumbled. "...Sebastian Shields. Yeah, I saw him in some of fthe older yearbooks. I went through the collection on campus not too long after I got there, but I've been going through them more and more often lately, especially after the party. There's things you just don't see on the first go round, things that become more obvious or important that come to light as you understand your posistion more." he scratched his chin a little. 

 

"I don't think there are troublemaking students at Claremont...well not right now anyway. I guess there's one girl who has..problems. But I don't think she's intending to be a troublemaker." The way he said it makes it clear he's trying his best in that situation, but finds it outside his grasp a little. 

 

"The truth is, I've always been a person who does his best work with others. I don't mean to mention this to brag, because that's not really the idea, but I won the state championship with FDR High's football team as their quarterback. And now that I've had to transfer, I'm sort of out of that aspect; no Football, no Hockey. I've got some new friends, but it's different when you're playing a sport together versus just hanging out." he explained, hoping that Charlie can understand where he's coming from here.

 

"So I was thinking, well. I'm still getting used to this. I've got the desire to be a part of a group, the drive to set it up, but I don't have the experience of someone whose spent their whole life in this hero stuff like Lawrence has. So I figured, if I wanted to ask for advice, why not Stormcrow, the guy I've been jealous of ever since I heard of him, who did something the same way." He doesn't have negative feelings in his jealousy; there's no sour grapes. It's a wish-fufillment aspect of Charlie having gotten to accomplish a dream that was, at the time, utterly out of Michael's reach. And that now Michael has a chance to take that dream again.

 

"I figure I can get a few like minded classmates, and we can help each other out; studying, stopping bad guys, preparing for college, whatever."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Yeah, Shields and his crew were a bit beyond troublemakers," Charlie says, the grin gone from his lips. Especially with what the whole New Young Freedom team would eventually lead to. "Casanova mind controlled people to commit crimes they could stop, Stinger turned out to be a super villain spy and part of the reason that Casanova turned that bad, and, well... at some point, he started taking control of at least some of his teammates too."

 

No reason to get into the exact details. Not yet, anyway.

 

Charlie's grin reappears as Michael lays out his plans, and the reason that he asked him there. He wants to make a super team. Alright, that they can do.

 

"Y'know, it wasn't exactly easy to get to work with the Raven, so don't worry about being jealous. Can't really share any of the details, but trust me on that. Anyway, got anything to write with? Any paper?"

 

He gestures to a tabel and sits down, taking whatever Michael hands him and starts writing.

 

"You wanna do the new new Young Freedom? You'll want to plan some stuff, if you want to make this work. Getting a bunch of friends together is good, but you gotta make sure you can all work together. So... who do you got? Who do you want for your team? What are they like? What can they do? How do they feel about each other?"

 

As Michael starts talking, Charlie starts writing names and notes for each of them, eventually drawing a circle around each as Michael finishes talking about them.

[Poncho]

"Ooh, yeah. That sounds like nasty business. I'm gonna hope none of that is going on at Claremont, no spies, no mind control, none of that if I can have my way about it." He said seriously. "I wanna make sure I don't do anything like that; I know I can be forceful and the last thing I want is to be dragging people along because they think I've got hooks in them or something. Not that I have any mental powers." He clarified. He handed over the pad he was doing homework on and joined Charlie at the table, placing his elbows on the table as he thought.

 

"Who I got, hrmmm. This is still early planning stages, but there's a handful of people my age that I like the idea of teaming up with. Some of them I've done stuff with before, others I've spent some time in class with, stuff like that. I just as much would like some people to help study with as much as help stop supervillains." He was quiet for a moment.

 

"I don't want to give their identities out to you; I don't care if you know mine and it might not be hard for you to figure out theirs, but it's not coming from me. So codenames only." He said seriously, the first time his expression or demeanor had changed from his cheerful natural state, even when talking about serous things.

 

"Spaceman is my first thought. He might be the strongest guy at school if you're talking about just lifting things up. And he doesn't even have to touch someone to lock them up, he's a real bruiser, a great Center, if you know what I mean? He could lock up an entire D-Line." This is coming in football terms apparently. "He thinks fast too, isn't the kind of person who rushes in; he gets all the angles and can catch changes before they overwhelm everyone else." he said approvingly; he was in awe of Parker's strength and his gentle demeanor, the guy was a great gentle giant.

 

"Timeout...he's next. He'd be a star Wide Receiver. He's fast and can get out of situations easy. He's got the charm and the looks to sit on the post game conference, but the wits to memorize the routes and the speed to run them and leave the coverage in the dust." He nodded to himself. "He could easily be a snooty guy relying on his legacy, but he's down to earth and humbled by it. But he also doesn't let things phase him either; he executes with precision from everything I've seen." He liked how calm Lawrence was; he felt more confident whenever Lawrence was around to back him up.

 

"No one ever relies on just one receiver, and La Puma Negra would be the other." The girl Michael had danced with at the party. But he'd danced with many people, he'd danced with Owain too, and any other boy or girl around his age that had wanted to. So maybe it didn't mean anything. "She isn't fast like Timeout, but she's agile; she'd run circles around anyone trying to lock her down, and she'd know what they're thinking before they do. She's got some confidence problems I think, but all the greats are unsure if they're great; part of being skilled is realizing how much you're still lacking, I think." This one wouldn't work out, but he wouldn't know that at this time, so it was mentioned anyway.

 

"Then on the line, I think Torpedo Lass would be great. She's tough and strong, and has experience on things the rest of us wouldn't. That's great for a Tight End; the ability to adapt, have some unique stuff that sets you apart, keeps others on their toes; that you can catch a pass or block a blitz at the same time, that's what you want for a versatile position like that, the adaptability, and she has it in spades. She's got her own legacy and stuff to try and live up to, figure out where she is, and I can get that being difficult for her. But she's got confidence at the same time, and while I don't know her as good as the others, her and Lawrence were hanging out, and I think they'd work better together." He didn't know her very well, but he wanted to be supportive, and he wasn't the kind of person who'd just leave someone out to dry if he thought he could help them.

 

"The next one is...well she goes by Rot. She'd probably be an Offensive Tackle. She's got some sort of aura around her that makes people like her less, they act crappy to her...it works on me too, I constantly have to fight it and well, I'm not always successful. Which is frustrating to me. But she seems to take it in stride. But you need someone who can get you riled up, get the adrenaline pumping when you need to make a second-half comeback, or a fourth quarter push. And every team needs a trash talker. And she's got powers too, she can disintegrate things. She could probably turn me to ash. It's a hell of a power; she could throw down with some heavies with that sort of effect, so it's not like she's just got the aura working for her." He was the least sure about Consuelo, but it was something he wanted to do; he wasn't going to let her aura beat his desire to be friends with everyone, and Consuelo was an 'everyone'. He would fight tooth and nail to try and be pleasant with her.

 

"And last, but definitely not least, there's Gamma Buzz. He's a radioactive cockroach, he shoots laser beams from his eyes. He's tough and strong and can regenerate from injury. But more important than that; he's positive, always trying to look on the bright side, I think, and quick with a joke. You need a guy like that. A Running back a lot of the time, but really any position; the team needs a heart, a soul, a joker who keeps spirits up even when things are looking down; when the snow is coming down and you're on your last drive and you need the touchdown, you need a Gamma Buzz to make everyone laugh so you can knuckle down and finish the drive." he pressed his fingers together. He really did think that Baz's biggest asset was his heart; he wished he could have that sort nature.

 

"That's probably all I can manage, but I think there's a few others I wouldn't mind having come in from time to time or maybe see if we can fit them in at some point, but that'd probably overwhelm me at this point."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie writes the names and a few notes about each down on the paper as Michael rattles them all off.

 

Yeah. He can figure out who they are if he wants to. Claremont is, if anything, one of the easiest places for the Raven family to get information about students, if the principal deems it is for a good cause. He doesn't feel the need to do that, though.

 

"So, seems you've got it all thought out. Got your power houses, a speedster, blasters, some that can do it all."

 

He draws a circle around each name.

 

"How do they feel about each other, then? Any personality conflicts?"

[Poncho]

"Hrmm." he folded his arms over his chest.

 

"Timeout, Buzz, and Spaceman hang out a pretty good amount, they've got a little trio thing going on. I wouldn't want to disrupt the triangle, you know what I mean? At the same time...hrmm. Rot sort of has problems with everyone, even me. But I don't think that's intentional; I think it's something about her powers that people sort of...work around. If that makes sense. So I could see trouble coming form her maybe, but that's part of why I want here there in the first place; even if she has issues with the other students, being able to be supportive can still be helpful to her." he explained, reasoning it out. "Torpedo Lass II and Timeout have some connection from being legacy heroes. I...am not sure where I stand with Puma honestly. It's strange to say. So there's a few friend groups in there I think. Maybe enough to form the basis of a larger group. I'd like to say I'm friends with all of them, but you know how being friends is a two way street where you can't see what the other person thinks sometimes; I've at least never put my foot in my mouth around them, mostly."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie continues to draw, making lines that connect the people that Michael says are friends, and drawing squiggly lines between Rot and everyone else.

 

"Friends are good, but honestly, Rot sounds like she might be trouble, if her just being around makes people irritated."

 

He nods, seems to think about it for a while, before he smirks.

 

"But yeah. Work around that. A power like that can turn someone bitter, so better to have her on your side and help her out."

 

Charlie turns the drawing around so that Michael can see it. It has the notes of what they can do, some potential roles as muscle, blasters, support and so on.

 

"Alright, so here's what you want to do: Try and set up some sitautions where you can hang out with some or all of them. It doesn't have to be something big. Go to the movies, do homework. Build some relations. Maybe float the idea that you should go out and try to fight some crime or something like that. Sneak out and look for trouble. Be up front about what you want to do. If you got a power trio like that, then see if you can build on that. It's good to have a core to the team, and then build out from that. You with me?"

[Poncho]

"Yeah, I'm following." he nodded seriously. "I was thinking something along those lines myself. We're still in school, we've got stuff coming up in the future, more than just being Super Heroes, we've gotta look at what we're gonna do as adults. And good grades are a part of that. Claremont might be a very prestigious school, but Ds at a prestigious school are still Ds, so some help with homework and making sure everyone gets a good placement in college and can go from there." He said, suddenly animated about that. "It's hard to be a superhero when you're going home hungry every night! And if I can help with that, that's just as important as helping people with superheroics, when you're talking about supporting others." he nodded to himself.

 

"But I see what you mean; keep the foundations and build on them, rather than trying new things, at least at first...I've got a few ideas, then. Some extracurricular lectures and some homework help, start there before we go out doing major super-heroics. That way we can have an idea of what each other is capable of, and be comfortable helping each other." he said, agreeing whole-heartedly.

 

"So this is basically what you did when you were setting up yourself?"

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Michael has given this a lot of thought. Maybe as much as Charlie first did, aside from the bit about doing something else. The super heroics is what he wants to do, but of course, it's not like everyone can have the kind of backing that he does.

 

"Pretty much. Having something or someone to rally against can help with team cohesion too. I'd say we were lucky to have Casanova and his team around, but that would be morbid." 

[Poncho]

"We actually already had something like that." He noted, thiugh he seemed a bit less happy about that one. "This little...extra dimensional being? His name was Quirk. He kidnapped a bunch of us to compete in games. Me, Spaceman, Gamma Buzz, and Puma ended up on a team together fighting evil, nanomachine infested versions of heroes, sort of. It was pretty out there, especially because most of what I did before that was stopping guys on drugs." He said.

 

"Not that I want trouble to happen, but I get what you mean about using events like that to increase connection. I'll try to make sure we end up doing group projects together too, that should he helpful."

 

"Casanova, huh? Tell me about him. If you want to, I mean."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Yeah, Bernie told me about that. Can't say I've had the pleasure of meeting Quirk, but I've looked him up. Seems like he's been more active lately." 

 

Quirk is not someone that Charlie would like to face, if he can help it. Impossible to plan for, you just have to play along until he's satisfied.

 

"But Quirk sounds more like a short term problem. You unite, deal with him once, then you're done, right? Something ongoing helps, some kind of mission, right?"

 

Casanova, though? That was something more. Charlie grows more serious, at least for a moment.

 

"Casanova's name is Sebastian Shields, he used to be a student at Claremont that started the year before me, and he really wanted the spotlight. Started a team with some other students and went around fighting crime. Only thing was, Casanova got mind control power, so he got people to do the crimes they stopped." Charlie pauses. That's probably the extent of what he should share. "So, he went out and caused more trouble after leaving Claremont. Once I got back in town, I got everyone together again and we stopped him."

[Poncho]

"I really have no desire to end up involved with him again. I try to look on the bright side of everything, but even my enthusiasm at Superheroing was tested during that; fighting a nanomachine infested Lady Liberty was a bit spooky even for me, honestly." He sighed. "I was concerned about Buzz and Puma during that too, and Spaceman died for a second, it was rough. I'm not the strongest, but it was clear I was out of my league."

 

He stood up at that and paced around for a moment, like remembering the situation had agitated him a little. He walks back and forth, throws some garbage into the bag he was going to take out later, a little set of motions that soothed him.

 

"That's funny to think about. Finding a consistent, recurring villain to bring the group together is a good idea, but obviously you can't force something like that, because then you're the villain." He shook his head. "I'll have to look through the old yearbooks for Sebastian Shields. It's good that you've handled him though, mind control powers really seem like a difficult thing to deal with. I don't think I have mind control powers, at least. So I shouldn't have to worry about that too much."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie grins at Michael's comment about a consistent villain.

 

"Exactly. Then you end up like Shields, instead of just trying to stop him. If it happens, it happens. If not? Then don't try to force it." 

 

Look at him, giving sage advice here, when he's still just learning how to do everything himself. 

 

"And, y'know, I should probably tell you something like making sure to not overdo it, and not get into more trouble than you can handle and call for help and all that, but... it's not like that's ever worked for any teen heroes, has it?"

[Poncho]

"I think that's just about impossible, to not overdo it." he grinned back. "You may not know this, but I'm the kind of guy who never sits still. I've got quite the list of accomplishments behind me you know." he shrugged.

 

"I'll figure it out. If anything I'm more worried about burning out others and making them be unable to continue." he shakes his head at that. "I'm kind of the excitable type, if you haven't noticed, so I guess I'm a little concerned about being too annoying or something..." He sighs. "Well, you showed up so I guess at least in this case I'm not doing too bad, but I mean the fact I went to the trouble of hunting you down just to have a pow-wow like this probably also indicates that I'm the kind of person that should probably be worrying about that."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie raises an eyebrow to the statement about what he might or might not know. Of course he knows. He did say that he had looked into Michael, and most of accomplishments were public knowledge, after all.

 

"Don't push it, then. If you're in doubt, back off. See what happens. Or, better yet, talk with the people around you. Consider what everyone else is feeling, too. I've done plenty to hurt my friendships, whether I meant to or not, so if you push them too much? Apologize, and do better. It's a learning experience for all of us, y'know."

[Poncho]

"Good point, good point." He agreed. "Knowing when to let things be is a pretty major skill." He admitted. "It's been...weird. Getting powers. I'm in a brand new place, a new world even though I'm not anywhere different. Adjusting to new things and new responsibilities without forgoing the old ones. The world's opened uo in a whole new way and I feel like I'm just strapped to it. It can be hard to calm down and take a second to just breath it all in, especially when I think so fast now." He shook his head.

 

"Thanks Charlie. You've been a great help. I know it's not much, but if you ever need anything from me, or somehow I do end uo with a little study group and you need help from one of them, you let me know, alright? I don't want to steal your thunder or replace what you've got, but if you need me, give me a call." He smiled

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"I wouldn't know about powers and how they change things, y'know, but I'm sure it can't be easy." 

 

It must be hard work to learn how to use powers. Not that Charlie doesn't know about putting in hard work, but that's a bit less about control.

 

He grins at Michael as he stands up. "We'll see what happens. It's always good to have contact info if you need it, but gotta establish the Guardians a bit on our own, and besides, you should listen to the headmistress and stay in school." He says the last bit with a grin. It's not like Michael has any idea who the headmistress really is. "Any last questions, then?"

[Poncho]

"You don't think you have powers?" Michael said incredulously. "That's funny." he could only laugh at that, a cheerful and good natured sound. "You do have powers, even if they're not Powers. Bringing your own team together, stepping up to make your own path, that easy confidence you have. You can't fly, or shoot bolts of lightning from your eyes, but you've got way more heart than anyone else your age from what I've seen, and you came down here to talk to me for no reason other than you wanted to, and answered all my ridiculous questions. What's super-strength to someone who has that sort of strength and character?"

 

"I may not have anyone alive that, right now, I can think to follow in the foot steps as a flying golden boy, but if I want to be the kind of person who brings people together, I'm pretty sure you're the person I should be taking notes off of. So no, I don't have any questions left. But I'm gonna be watching you with excitement in the future."

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"That is not powers," Charlie corrects, though he smiles. "That is skills, and trust me, you wouldn't believe how hard I worked for this."

 

Charlie wouldn't give up his training working with Alek and the rest of the Raven family for just about anything, but to say it was anything other than incredibly hard work? Now that would be almost insulting. Not that he really cares about something like that.

 

"Anyway, don't worry about following in anyone's footsteps. I was trained by the Raven." Charlie is, as ever, careful not to mention any of the other Ravens, not it's a mystery that there has been more than one. "That doesn't make me the Raven. I'm doing my own thing, and you should too. It's fine to look up to others, but don't try to be the Centurion. Just try to be Golden Star."

[Poncho]

"Oh I'm sure you worked hard, it's not like...powers can't come from hard work too. Well, maybe you don't like the way I say that, so I'll just agree. You worked hard to get where you did and that's really impressive; I wasn't attempting to try and dismiss your achivements, so I'll apologize for that, I'll be more careful in the future." he said, trying to make it clear he wasn't dismissing Charlie's talents by saying he had powers. He would have to remember for the future that using the 'p-word' around the highly skilled heroes might not go over well...which was at least something Charlie had now taught him in a non-threatening environment!

 

"But yeah. I'm gonna find my own thing. It's a big world, and there's even more beyond that, so I'm gonna cut my own path through it." then he grinned. "Just remember to vote for me when I'm running for Mayor, huh?"