testrun_box | (no subject)

[Earlier this morning, you were asked to show the new addition to the group around one of the bases. What you probably didn't expect was a small fourteen year old Asian girl with a distant expression and a tarantula the size of a fist clinging to her shoulder. If you've been following the teen magazines, the face will be undoubtedly familiar - this girl is a famous genmod idol with a lot of often rather creepy fans obsessing over her "aloof charm". The girl herself simply bows respectfully to you though.]

Hello. I'm Peni Parker. My aunt told me you would show me around.

2)

[Peni is sitting down with you for lunch at some secluded place: a rooftop, a bridge, an empty park... She's been gloomy and untalkative all day, and even now she's barely eating, only taking the occasional absentminded bite out of her sandwich while she stares off into space and Sp//dr skitters up and down her arm.]

Hey... do you think people can really be heroes?

3)

[There's some sort of emergency going on. A fire, a flood, the building's coming down... either way, there's a lot of innocent bystanders panicking around and crying for someone to do something.

And, surprisingly, after an instant of panic, notorious wallflower Peni Parker's expression hardens as she raises an arm slightly and her spider skitters to her hand and tenses. She starts shouting at people to follow her, but the panic is too great, so she turns to you]

We have to move quickly. He knows a way to safety. You have to help me get through to all these people, they won't listen!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It was always nice when the weather was accommodating for Mizuki, hence why she had decided to join Peni on this little outing. The girl certainly seemed to have something on her mind, the question had just been what it was and when she'd say it. And when she'd asked that-]

Of course I do. I wouldn't be with the Unity Group, with the Savior Team, if I didn't.

Really?

[Peni sounds like her mind is very far away from here]

...what do you think you'd be doing, then? If you weren't in Unity group, I mean?

Well, I'd have a few choices to work with. A lot of them would still wind up being some version of "help people in danger". I don't know how far I'd get, but it wouldn't feel right doing anything else.

So it's sort of what you "are", right? You just couldn't do anything else?

Depends on what you mean by "are". If you're talking about any kind of divine driving force that wanted me to be something... if that had gotten its way I would've wound up being a really terrible person.

But from what I've experienced in life, and what I've taken from those experiences gave me a lot of food for thought. So I took steps to help my extended family, to make sure we'd all still have a place in the world.

That and being an entity of pure darkness isn't easy in a world that caters to life born and sustained through the Sun.

Being a what?

[The whole "entity of pure darkness" thing is sort of a sudden trainwreck to the teenager's mind. Peni is used to genmods, monsters, and such, but normally when something is "born of pure darkness" that usually means boss fight, not a chat]

You're asking me?

[Calvin's giving Peni an incredulous look, moreso than anyone else would have if they pointed out the fact that she was asking them to take directions from a spider. Still...]

I'll give it a shot... but no promises... if anybody here even knows about my rep we're sunk...

[Either way he turns to address the crowd with his badge out.]

EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN! MY NAME IS CALVIN ELDRED EDWARDS! I'M AN OPERATIVE OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS! WE'VE FOUND A WAY TO GET OUT OF HERE SAFELY!

JUST CALM DOWN AND EVERYTHING'LL BE FINE!!

[This was the voice of someone who was way too used to yelling.]

Edited 2014-11-06 16:34 (UTC)

[That actually works, mostly. People are always happy to see someone taking charge in these situations. It will almost certainly go back to panic if Calvin doesn't do something in the next ten seconds though. Thankfully, Peni gestures towards one of the doors]

That way. He says the fire hasn't blocked the fire escape on that side of the building yet.

Everyone, follow me and keep your head low!

[Peni does not command a lot of authority, being tiny and not having much of a loud voice even when she tries to shout, because unlike Calvin, she is not at all used to yelling. People doubt and waffle as she leaves the room and gestures to follow, looking more at Calvin, who after all is an adult and has a badge]

Edited 2014-11-06 17:43 (UTC)

[Calvin nods, then gives the crowd an irritable glare.]

WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND FOR!? DON'T YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE?! YOU HEARD HER! LET'S GO! AND REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR DAMN HEADS DOWN!!

[He shoves his badge back into his coat and moves after Peni as confidently as he can manage. No missteps. If he shows even the slightest bit of hesitation he'd lose the crowd.]

This many people on a fire escape's going to be tricky... we're going to need to make sure they don't all rush it.

[Peni nods]

It's wide enough for two rows of people to go out if we can get them to walk calmly...

I wish D was here. He always knows how to deal with this stuff.

And I wish the people I work with didn't treat me like a joke. But I don't think either of us are going to have those wishes come true.

[Calvin wipes some sweat off his brow as they kept moving to keep ahead of the fire before it got to their escape route. He gives the people following them a stealthy glance.]

We need to figure out a priority. The people we need to make sure get out safely first.

The children go first. [That was not a suggestion. That was a thing that is happening. Apparently, for a girl who practically never speaks up unprompted, Peni can be rather assertive]

Edited 2014-11-07 19:37 (UTC)

... I'm not arguing, but sending them down on their own might be a bad idea. Scared kids going down a fire escape in a large group sounds like another disaster in the making.

You'd better lead them down when we get there. I'll try to keep the rest from getting to panicky.