Hero Journals

Miyoko told me to meet her at 9:00pm at Paragon Dance Party. That gave me a couple of hours to get ready. I phoned ahead to Icon to see if they could work me in, and they said they could, as long as I kept it simple. I bounced over to my apartment, took a quick shower and threw the uniform in the laundry. Donning another, identical set of clothes, I headed to Icon.

Icon is where heroes get their uniforms. I went to the one in Steel Canyon, mostly because it’s least out of my way. I braced myself when I went in, as I’m never quite prepared for Serge. Read the rest of this entry »

We took another cab to my apartment – the address was in the paperwork Ms. Moreira had given me. It was in Kings Row, and smelled of soot from the factory down the block and old cabbagey cooking smells. A small studio apartment for me and my worldly goods!

I put the entirety of my worldly goods – spare uniforms, and a thick folder full of papers – in the closet, and looked around. One empty room with a kitchenette on one side, and a little cubby of a bathroom next to it.
Read the rest of this entry »

We arrived in Steel Canyon, and Mr. Marcus got us a taxi. I didn’t fit well in the back seat, but it wasn’t too long a trip. The cab driver talked constantly, leaning around to look at us. I wondered how he drove without wrecking the car, but the trip was really without incident. A man in a dark suit and a large tigery man didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. He agreed with Mr. Marcus that a cab was a good idea because the Tsoo were really working that part of town hard.

He dropped us off at Icon. I saw what he meant by the Tsoo. Tough looking men with tattoos and plainly visible weapons stood brazenly on street corners. They harassed people and mugged them, right on the street corners. Heroes repeatedly came by and rousted them, but there always seemed to be more.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a murky day today, raining and wet. I don’t wear the cape on rainy days, it gets waterlogged and heavy, and makes leaping strange.

I called a contact, and he told me that I was the focus of a bunch of precogs’ dreams. That never bodes well. They see me stopping a war, and some vortexy things, mages, undead, and a sewer. Whatever. It’s not Freaks, and it’s not those horrible plant things, so I’ll take it.
Read the rest of this entry »

It took another hour in Ms. Moreira’s office to get the paperwork done. Mr. Marcus came down and helped, and they took care of a lot of things. Most of what I had to do was listen and agree sometimes. It was easy, and I hoped things would continue to go so well.

We finished shortly after 11:00am. Ms. Moreira handed me a large file folder full of papers, and made sure I knew they were important. I understood. I even knew what most of them were. We also went up to a room in the back and they took my picture for my hero license.
Read the rest of this entry »

Lately it seems everywhere I go, there are members of the Freakshow. It also seems they usually want to try and hurt me.

If you haven’t heard of the Freakshow, consider yourself lucky. They’re nuts. And dangerous. And destructive.
Read the rest of this entry »

Brighid Moreira took me to her office. We sat down and she told me about heroes. I listened. She is quite a storyteller, when she wants to be, and I was captivated. She talked for most of an hour about what heroes do, and why Paragon City loved them.

She told me about Mr. Marcus’ work with the State Department and how they often had a difficult time finding a place where unusual people would be accapted, much less wanted for their unique abilities. It was about then that I began to understand.
Read the rest of this entry »

We arrived in Paragon City late at night, after a delay that slowed us down for several hours. At first, the city did not look much different than others, and I was a little downcast. I was expecting another set of worried and distrustful looks at a hotel, and then to be, at best, ignored.

Until we arrived, it hadn’t occurred to me to wonder what I would do in the future, but I started to be concerned as we drove through the darkened streets. I was remembering the wary comments, of, “No pets!” and the unpleasant reactions of the people at the airport, and wondering how I would get along here.
Read the rest of this entry »

Paragon City is a big place, full of all sorts of crime. I’ve met a bunch of big-time heroes who are fighting giant robots and saving worlds and things. Some of them are really nice people, and some are… not so nice. That kind of work isn’t for me, though.

I’m here to get the kids on the street to behave! What would their mothers think, to see them out here robbing little old ladies, stealing cars, and breaking in to flagpoles?

Well, I’ll have no more of it!
Read the rest of this entry »

((Originally posted 21 June 2005, on the City Of Heroes forums in the “Are you talking about U-Mann? I know U-mann …” thread.))

An amazing man, our Ultraamann.

Have you met Velvet Sheathe? You know, the seven foot tall, fearless, mostly naked sword-wielding blue cat-girl who claims to be his queen, yet is never seen in his presence? Have you heard the story of how she came to be here and why?
Read the rest of this entry »