Arc One: Genesis
June 2nd, 2024
New York City was a pretty grim place. Maybe not at first glance, but it certainly was for someone that had been on the streets for a long enough time. Underneath the bright exterior of “I love New York” shirts and pictures of Times Square and the Statue of Liberty, the city definitely had a problem. Not a normal problem, either, but a problem with villains. For whatever reason, maybe it was just because there were a lot of people here including both metahumans and regular humans, the place seemed like it attracted villains like lamps attracted moths. There were plenty of heroes too, but the numbers just seemed unbalanced and in the favor of the villains. Then again, that was how things were around the entire world these days.
For every one person that put out the proverbial fires, there would be another person starting new ones. In New York, it felt like three new ones were getting started for every one that was put out. Why did they keep conducting their activities in a city that was full of heroes? Networking was likely one factor. Another factor was that other cities didn’t have the same fame factor. Everyone wanted a piece of New York. And every villain wanted to be able to say they could go toe to toe with the heroes there. That way of thinking was maybe a bit unintelligent, but the effects of it really showed.
The more obvious villains were a good thing for the man, Kinsey Hill, that was walking the streets of Long Island, away from the bright lights of the main part of the city. The conditions were about as grim as the way the city felt, with rain beating down and the sun all but completely covered up by the clouds. Kinsey was hardly paying attention to it, though. That was one of the least important things to think about right now. The high crime rates in the city and the number of villains that were constantly doing things to attract attention for whatever reason meant that the heroes and the DRMA would be busy with other things than looking into threats which hadn’t showed their head in awhile.
So Kinsey was free to work in the shadows. He walked unharassed down the street, although his face wasn’t one that would be famous anyway. Not yet. Eventually, he arrived at the warehouse which was normal in nature, but the contents of it were anything but normal. Well, the contents of the basement were. The warehouse itself looked like it was just filled with ordinary cargo, but those who unlocked the stairwell to the basement and headed down there would be in for the shock of a lifetime.
Kinsey flipped the light on in the basement and looked to the scene at the far end of the hidden workshop, where there were a number of beings that were restrained. Beings was the only appropriate thing to call them. They sure as hell weren’t regular people, even if they had been that at some point. They were completely covered by something abnormal, a thick layer of muscle which encased them completely like a suit of armor. Except it wasn’t made from metal, it was made from what was definitely organic material, and it looked like what someone would find under the skin, not above the skin. Still, Kinsey wasn’t even the slightest bit disturbed, and actually smiled slightly upon seeing the figures that was tied to the wall.
He reached for his phone and called some number in his contacts, waiting a few moments for an answer before speaking. “I can now say that the mutagen is a success. At least, the first strain is. The others have yet to be tested but the results here are… Very promising. I believe the next stage would be testing in the field which I can handle. I’ll report back, of course, when I’ve seen how that turns out,” he said, before pausing to listen for a response. “I can practically guarantee success here. We couldn’t have asked for things to do much better.”
June 6th, 2024
There was nothing quite like being on a speeding aircraft as it flew over the Hudson at hundreds of miles per hour, the engines of the VTOLs shrieking as they flew in formation and made their way to the home of the Guardians, the place that was called Angel’s Village. Named after the supposedly angelic nature of the Guardians, it was a sight to see for anyone who considered themselves to be a fan of superheroes. Those on the flight weren’t just headed to this place to look around, but they would get to live there. It was more than just something that many people wanted to do. It was something that was practically a dream, and all of them had managed to earn it through their talents and their potential. They’d all been taken to New Jersey first, but after two days of staying there, they were finally out of the hotels and on their way to the place that would serve as their real home.
The view was great too, with the sun setting as they advanced at rapid pace towards the shore. “You should be entering Brooklyn right now. Pretty soon, you’ll pass that city and you’ll arrive at Angel’s Village,” said the voice that was speaking to all of the passengers of the multiple VTOLs over the sound system, Sason Bastani. The one that was the director of this program. In a way, Bastani would have to be like a parent to all of them over the course of the next years. A daunting task considering the numbers, especially considering this was only one section of the program, the newest one. Sections A and B had been deemed a success. Now, another one, Section C, was being opened up and filled with recruits that the Guardians believed were showing promise.
“Please make sure that you’re strapped into the vehicles. The pilots may make some high G turns in the final approach. Please hold onto your luggage, too,” the voice continued. And that was exactly what happened. Suddenly, the VTOLs broke from formation and they turned sharply to head to the final destination, picking up even more speed and flying high above the brownstones that Brooklyn was famous for. The harbor was visible too, and the rest of New York City in the distance, and it was all generally quite the scenic view. Finally, the planes slowed down and started their descent as they pulled their noses up to cut the speed, triggering their airbrakes at the same time and coming down as gently as a small bird would on the massive lawn in front of the Guardians Building.
The building was about as modern looking as a building could be, having been renovated within the last decade. The outside paneling was white, but that contrasted with sections where there were clear windows, and with the blue Guardians logo that was displayed on the side of the building, lit up from underneath. With the sun going down around this time, that logo on the side of the building was perhaps the most notable part. The lawn that the VTOLs had landed on was quite large, with a small forest of trees behind it on either side of the main path leading up to the building, and directly underneath the building, there were gardens filled with lush plants and fountains that arced water high into the air. The area was obviously well tended to, but that made sense considering how much the Guardians were worth. Spending on the headquarters was basically a drop in the bucket compared to their profits.
This wasn’t the building where they would be staying, that one was in another part of the Village, but it was a good spot to give them their introduction to the Guardians. Most who had been brought here like this found themselves starstruck immediately after. It was one of the things they remembered about first arriving, most times. As the VTOLs unloaded and allowed the new recruits to take in the scene in front of them, the doors at the front of the large building opened and a party exited, heading towards the recruits. Bastani was with them, as well as Li Guan and Ainsley Easton.
“Welcome to the Guardians, everyone,” said Bastani. “As the newest Section, you’ll be joining the Young Guardians Program and will be under the instruction of myself and my colleagues, who I’m sure you’re already familiar with, as well as other part time instructors. You will live a little bit away from here in the housing area, but I think you’ll all end up spending quite a bit of time around this building for various classes and events. I’d like to know right now if anyone has questions about anything, and if not, you’ll be taken by bus to the housing area.”
