The Exemplar: Engage

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[Attn: Closed]

Armada, Attack!
Warriors, Rise!
Exemplar...Engage!


I've forgotten how long it's been since my dad passed away. It feels like it's been years. God knows my sense of time is terrible. The Exemplar disbanded not a month later. That was one heck of a decision. Then again, most of them have gone and settled into normal lives. When daddy died, I guess it scared a lot of them. The chance to have a normal life isn't something to take for granted, I suppose. I still see some of them every once in a while but...I miss it. I miss going out and smashing bad guys' skulls together. Ah, come on, Polly, how would Liberty or American respond if you'd said that out loud? "It's not about that. It's about helping people and doing the right thing." They're right but...god beating up bad guys was fun.

The Exemplar, the debatable greatest superheroes on the planet, disbanded some time ago. This woman, the jovial young Paulina Powers, walks in through the front door of her large suburban home, feeling strangely empty. It was a feeling she'd hand since the day her father perished, helping to defend Earth's Greatest Champions against their deadliest foes joined under the title of "The Nefaria". She lived alone now but that wasn't it. She'd lived alone before. Now was simply the first time she actually felt...lonely.

Then, as if a star listening from the sky had heard her wish, something truly unexpected occurs. As Paulina sits at her reading desk, she sees a light approaching the window. Using her psionic powers, she wills a barrier of psychic energy into place. It helps nothing. The figure is the mighty demigod, Gladius, powerful enough to level the entire building ten times over. As he crashes through the window and the floor, Polly looks to him as he lies in the basement of her home. Forming butterfly-like wings upon her back, she floats down to him. "Gladius! What are you-"

"Mortal friend, Powers," Gladius says as she helps him up. "This world is in dire need of its greatest champions."

"So you came to ME, of all people? Not American or Liberty, or-"

"You were the nearest and know, by heart, the whereabouts of the quarters where the rest lay their heads."

Super Criminals and Villains were at large by the dozen in the bustling city of Skyline as of late. Meanwhile, more and more heroes were beginning to decline. The Exemplar, the shining examples of heroism in this city, had gone. The next best thing, the Warriors, had only just disappeared. The city was falling into chaos. But Polly hadn't the faintest idea of how bad it was until she saw this, the Exemplar's biggest gun, second only to the nigh omnipotent Number 7, battered and thrown aside. "What did this to you?"

"I am unsure. But if I were to venture a guess, they will have been the cretinous demi-devils known as the Negative. There were but three of them. They attacked, having taken me unawares. Fight, I did, but their power was great individually. When combining their efforts..."

The Negative...the Warriors tended to take care of situations involving them. They had the only usable weapon against them in the city; Scarecrow. The Negative were a high level threat. They would need to be dealt with in high level response. They'd need the Exemplar treatment. "Come on," Polly says, deciding to help the injured demigod outside. "Try not to change back into your mortal form. I have a feeling this one is the only thing keeping you alive right now. I'm getting you to some place where you can get medical attention. Then...then I'm getting the band back together," she says as she moves him toward the garage where her car sat.

[ATTN: Coir, All]

"Copy what now?" she asked, but as she saw them carrying their load in, it didn't require too much explanation. 

She reached down for her gauntlets, reattaching them and aiming one of her rockets at the truck as they brought it in. As it fell, she fired, striking the truck as it hit the ground and ducking as it exploded. "That what you needed, right?"

[Attn: All]

The intense plume of fire spews upward from the prison yard, visible halfway across the city. Every cop and hero in the vicinity takes cover as the blast rattles the island prison. The nightmarish black creatures shriek and shrivel at the touch of the light brought down upon them by the fiery explosion and they dissipate into the shadows. Officers that'd been turned are reverted back to their human form. The twenty-five foot abominations are nowhere to be found by the end of it. All that remains is a large mark of char on the ground and flames that riddle the area.

American looks up from his cover. "Good work, everybody," he says as he leaps over the railing and down to the prison yard. "It looks like that did it."

"I fear not," Man-Monster says. "The Negative treat light as a sort of...painful aversion."

"So it's a temporary weakness," American says. "Then they'll be back?"

Man-Monster reverts to his more humanoid form. "Unfortunately I believe so. The only way I know of to dispose of them is to simply send them back to the Nether Dimension from whence they came."

"And the only known portal into the Negative Zone-"

"Is Scarecrow," Polly finishes. "So I guess until the Warriors turn back up, we'll be a bit on the busy side."

The girl in green lowers herself from her searchlight tower on a line of the bio-cable from her hand and all but collapses. "How do you these people do it?" She says as she leans against the wall.

"Ah, you get used to it, newbie!" Wild-Child says, walking over to her and patting her on the shoulder.

The girl winces and her entire body jolts shortly thereafter. "Ow," she says, her muscles still aching.

Soon, the young heroes are approached by Polly. "We'd like to thank you all for the assist. Honestly, I'm not sure we could've handled this one alone," she says.

"No," American says, looking to Coir and then up to Sentinel. "We couldn't have. Not with our dwindling numbers."

[Attn: Coir, Gosalyn]

The girl waves it off. "No, no, I'm fine. Just...sore. Nothing a little rest can't fix." Some doctor YOU are, Pat.

As the young heroes interact, the veterans have a brief conversation of their own. It seemed like they were talking in circles. "I still don't like it, James," Polly says, hugging one of her arms to her side. "They were a help but-"

"I fear for their experience more than their age," American says. "I've seen what they CAN do but what they'll do on their own is something I still need to witness for myself. So far they've always had someone around to nudge them in the right direction."

"Ah. Your concerns are well founded. One cannot ride with training wheels forever but one must be ready to remove them first. Ever hear of the Junior Armada?"

"James, the Hero Armada made that team to handle lesser missions," Polly remarks. "We just fought the NEGATIVE. You know, Earth Destroying Demons? The last time their KING showed up, it took every member of the Exemplar and the Warriors to bring him down."

American thinks for a moment. "You're right, Polly," he finally says. "These guys are young and inexperienced. But that's exactly why we should do this. Being self taught is great...but it's also dangerous. The Exemplar wouldn't let a bunch of inexperienced kids run headfirst into a battlefield to get hurt. The Exemplar would make sure they had all of the tools they'd need to come out on top."

"And frankly, my dear, we are in dire need of the assistance," Man-Monster says.

Polly looks the kids over from the distance then turns back to the men. "We try them out. If they say 'no', we leave them alone. If they say 'yes', we put them on trial until Gladius is back in commission. We'll see what happens after that."

"A reasonable conclusion," Man-Monster says.

American looks up and approaches the kids. "So...do any of you know what those things were?"

[Attn: All]

"Good," American says. "And you're right. Normally the Warriors deal with this. Not only is Scarecrow the best weapon we have against them, but their king has a grudge against that specific team. Which means he tends to ignore the rest of us costumed crusaders. Big mistakes, if you ask me."

"The Warriors haven't been seen in weeks," Polly adds. "That means we can't count on them to save our bacon like last time."

"The Negative represent a considerably great threat. They target major cities for the mass amounts of hatred and anger such locations inspire, if by sheer numbers alone. They are creatures formed of the very darkest aspects of humanity. Without the Warriors, the line of defense against such a threat is paper thin," Man-Monster adds.

"Which is why you decided to put the band back together," Wild-Child speaks up, sitting Indian-Style on a barrel. "Sweet. Glad we could help."

"Actually, while you're here," Polly interrupts. "Would you like a chance to help a little more? We three aren't likely to get anything done against them alone."

"So how would you four like to join the big leagues? At least temporarily," American finishes.

Wild-Child's eyes widen. That she hadn't expected. She honestly didn't know if she was excited or scare or what. Confused was about the only word that could come to her mind. What'd SHE done to earn that kind of offer? The nameless one stares as well, more out of shock than confusion. She was just a kid from Underside Park. These were people that saved the world...on the regular. The leap was...honestly pretty sudden for a kid whose most heroic act was rescuing someone from a burning building.

[ATTN: All]

Sentinel rolled her eyes behind her helmet as Coir nearly had a stroke upon meeting the heroes. At his heart, he's still just a huge hero geek. It was almost adorable.

She clasped her hands behind her back, listening and waiting for them to finally get to whatever point they were leading for - but even ready for something, it stunned her. She glanced quickly over to Coir, taking a few subtle steps towards him in case he fainted. Things were worse than she thought, if the big shots were turning to her and Justice Boy...

"Simply the offer is an honor," she said quickly, shuffling nearer her partner. "Coir?" she asked, waiting for his input, but she could already hazard a guess to what he'd say.

[Attn: All]

"Good to have you aboard," Polly says.

"And what about you two?" American says, turning to Wild-Child and the nameless one.

The girls glance to one another. Wild-Child glances over to the officers that'd helped defend the prison. "You got yourself a deal, Mr. Blue."

The girl looks around and thinks for a moment. "Last time those things attacked, they hit Underside Park...okay, I'm in," she says. "Oh, I guess I need a name...uh..."

[ATTN: All]

She rolled her eyes, jetting forward and grabbing Coir around the waist to drag him back. "Then it's a yes, Coir, stop that," she said, hitting her thrusters to pull him back. 
 
To be honest, she wanted to talk to the heroes too. Specifically the American. Like, was he American like my country right or wrong, like patriotic, or like American as in just freedom and justice in general? Conservative or Liberal? Or neither? Moreover why am I thinking about this?

Best just to leave it while they were ahead. Sort of. Coir could be a little too enthusiastic. "Don't stress about a name," she said. "It'll come when it does."

[ATTN: Coir, open]

"We must all make sacrifices for the greater good," she said flatly, but after pulling him back a few more feet she was quick to let go.Lousy cheat...

[Attn: All]

Polly glances up at American with a look of uncertainty in her eyes but the red,white, and blue adventurer simply crosses his arms. "Mercury was only thirteen," he reassures her. She sighs as he turns back to them. "All right, let's get to Delta Tower. It's no Hero Tower but for now it'll do."

"Ah, gone are the days of meeting in the old Townhouse."

"Or the underground base. That was a run down abandoned subway station, right?" Polly says.

American clears his throat. "We're going to need a means of getting there," he says.

"OH! Right," Polly says, projecting a bubble around anyone who can't fly. "And away we go."


Shortly, the team arrives at the penthouse level of Delta Tower. "The team switched to this location not long before the Nefaria attacked," Polly says as she opens the doors. "Didn't get much use out of it then. The team disbanded shortly after that attack. Complete with a trophy room, a situation room, and a lab." The rest of the building is filled with R&D, Residencies, and a food court."

"None too shabby, I must say," Man-Monster admits. "Though I've already made myself quite familiar. When you first called on me to meet you here of all places, I was rather confused."


"C'mon," Wild-Child says with her arm over the nameless one's shoulder. "It's simplicity itself. You shoot that web from your hands, just go with Silk."

"I don't know. I mean...it's not exactly a name that'll make the...bad guys tremble like 'Man-Monster'. It's not even really symbolic or anything like 'American'."

"What's so imposing or symbolic about 'Polly'?" Wild-Child questions.

"...The point is conceded," the girl responds.


"Does anyone else know about your little campaign yet, Polly?" American asks as everyone gets more familiar with the penthouse.

"I'm holding a press conference tomorrow. And you're all coming with me. Of course, there's still this matter of organizing ourselves a bit more. Would you mind calling a meeting in an hour or two? In the conference room downstairs?"

American pulls back his mask and nods. "Sure thing," he says, turning and walking off to look around. He hadn't been here in a while. What could've changed, he wondered.

[ATTN: Open]

Sentinel spent her time busy exploring the labs. It was annoying, keeping her suit on, but paranoia won out. Maybe she should wear a mask under the helmet so there wouldn't be this awkwardness in the future. She might just run out of power wandering around before the night was over.

[Attn: All]

Later American calls for a meeting in the conference room, per Ms. Powers' request. Once everyone is seated, or standing, or dangling from the ceiling, or what have you, he calls everything to order. "First of all, I'd like to more formally thank you all for your help with that situation earlier at the prison. I don't want to keep you all for too long. I just waned to make a few things clear. American?"

"Right. In the past, the team has operated on a system of having field teams for specific mission purposes. Teams were decided by a team leader. In that past, that responsibility went out to Lady Liberty. As you can see, however, she isn't here."

"Then, of course, there was Solace and later our own red, white, and blue boy got the position. It was kind of an honor too, considering that generally this position is granted to one of the chair members, being any of the original eight members, with the exception of Pest who opted not to take the position when he was offered it. But what can I say? This guy commands respect," Polly says.

American chuckles inwardly. "Well, thanks. But complimenting me isn't getting us anywhere. Here's the point, since I can tell a few of you don't really care about the details. We're assigning the team leader."

"And I think it's obvious who deserves that title," Polly says.

"I couldn't agree more, Ms. Powers. What say you, American?"

"It makes too much sense to me, Jimmy," American says, his arms crossed. Then he turns to Polly. "I elect Polly."

Polly takes a moment before it clicks in her mind what American had just said. "Wha- ME?"

"You're the one who managed to round up the team. If you hadn't, that situation at the prison might've gone differently. Your concerns with the new members were well founded and you can still handle yourself in a brawl," American says.

"So, 'boss lady', what might this band of merry misfits be on to next?" Man-Monster says as he drops from the ceiling.

Polly digests all of it for a moment. She'd expected American to take the position. The responsibility of this was just...astronomical. It all seemed so out of reach to her. But she swallows and gets a glint in her eye before taking a deep breath. "I say we all go home and get some shut eye. Because tomorrow the world is in for a shocking revelation."


The next morning at the press conference, Polly steps back from the podium. "--Which is why, effective immediately, I am making a crucial decision, both for myself and for the city." She could see the hopeful expressions in many of the faces around her and it warmed her heart. She smiled as she would get to say this next bit. "The Exemplar is back!" The Exemplar logo designed by Aquamarine flashed across the screen and many members of the crowd began to cheer so loudly that Polly herself was almost drowned out as she read off the names and the two veteran heroes appeared on either side of her. When the crowd simmers down, she turns to American. "Now I'll just hand this over to someone who actually knows how to make a speech."

"Thank You," American says, taking the mic. "But before any of that, I'd like to start by saying that your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. A lot of us are missing. I only hope that with time we'll be able to get our full team back together. But that doesn't mean we're short. In fact, we've got a few budding heroes on the roster right now. Some you may be...familiar with, others you may not know much about. But each of these young heroes has proven that they deserve a chance to prove that they belong on this team. So now welcome Wild-Child, Sentinel, Coir, and Silk!"

Silk stands on a rooftop, looking down at the crowd of people. She was STILL sore, honestly. But she swings down and lands beside the veterans. Wild-Child leaps down from her own perch and joins them.

[ATTN: Coir, All]

Sentinel stood next to Coir, watching the others go down to join the Exemplar. She didn't like this any more than Coir, for other reasons.

"You're coming with," she commented, before shoving him hard off the rooftop. She leaped down after, and with her heart in her throat rocketed down to land near Wild-Child.

[Attn: All]

Wild-Child and Silk glance to Coir, then to one another and roll their eyes. "Well, at least we know who the comic relief of the team is gonna be."

"I thought that was you," Silk retorts.

"No, I'm the smart allec."

"Excuse me," one of the reporters interrupts. "These are your new members? Forgetting for a moment that they're all children, are you forgetting the considerably negative reception Wild-Child has to the general public."

"Ah, my fans. I love them so," Wild-Child says.

"We're perfectly aware of how they are all generally received. It is our hope that with a bit of time, they will prove to you that they are every bit the hero that we personally believe they are."

As American continues with his brief speech, Polly crosses her arms. "He's not going to," she whispers to Man-Monster.

"We should do something about this, indeed," Man-Monster whispers in response.

"Emergency alert. Scramble the jets. He's gonna forget," Wild-Child says.

As American finishes the short speech, Polly elbows him lightly. He glances to her. "All right," he says. "Exemplar-" Suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes down between the crowd and the stage. People panic as dark clouds rapidly begin to roll in, blocking out the sun. Soon afterwards, they appear. With the same unintelligible roars. "Well, at least it's more fitting this way. Exemplar, Engage!" American shouts as the towering creatures begin to come out of the woodwork.

"Not too familiar with them being able to block out the sun on their own. Normally they'd need their king for that," Polly says.

"Please try not to Jinx us, Ms. Powers. The very last thing we'd want right now is to have to deal with that abomination," Man-Monster says.

Polly thinks for a moment before realizing she was in charge. It was still so new to her. "Okay, American, Silk, Wild-Child, distraction detail! Uh...Coir, Sentinel, try and find a big enough light source to deal with these things! Man-Monster, with me! We're going to try getting these people out of here!"

Wild-Child and Silk swing off as American runs through the streets, all making sure that they were the center of attention. Polly materializes a massive broom and dust pan. "Sorry, folks," she says, sweeping them up and moving them away from the area as Man-Monster transforms into the a giant and begins scooping people up.

(ATTN: Open)
Do you ever wake up just as the sun is rising, and see the first light peak above the skyline, basking you in its light? Do you ever see that light, see the hope of a brand new day and somehow gain the will to carry on? If you do- I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are f***ing nuts.
Alex's 'morning' consists of groaning in pain from the gargantuan amount of a**whoopings he both gave and received yesterday.
He dragged himself out of bed, his eyes till heavy with sleep- before he had a chance to grab his classes, however, his food snagged on the edge of his sheet- sending him face first into the floor. A thud, a groan, cue him retreating back into bed.
'Sc*** this morning- This past week can go f*** itself.' He groaned to himself, snatching his glasses and putting them on. His hand clumsily reached for his phone, flipping it open.
32 missed Calls
'Oh sh*t.'
He checked his notifications- all of them were from Finnick, all within the the same hour.
"Ugh...this oughta be good."
-
Finnick lived relatively close by, a doughnut shop marked the halfway mark between the two apartments. Alex took advantage of this, buying a dozen in the hopes that whatever earth shattering event happened he missed wouldn't end him an earful of Trish.
That was never fun, and he always had trouble hearing for a few days.
The building itself was pretty normal, average outside of the doorman.
"Sup, Ben." Alex greeted the drowsy doorman casually.
"Mornin', Alex-" He returned. "You hear to see Finnick? I swear- when you're up there, could you tell it to keep it down up there? First it's all the guitar- and now it's just noise- all that pounding drove the other tenants crazy."
His nervousness was rising rapidly, and he began to regret not picking up and answering his phone.
"Uh-will do. Buzz me up?" Alex had the keys to the apartment itself, but not the front gate. Ben nodded, and let him in.
Alex trudged up to the third floor, keys at the ready. He almost lunged for the door, shakily opening it, swinging the door open.
And none of his suspicions could have possibly expected this.
The house was a warzone, scorched, overturned and just plain destroyed furniture was scattered about. Dishes and glassware were shattered and strewn about the floor. Alex frantically looked for the homes inhabitants, but instead, found Chris.
He was splayed across the coffee table, his eyes wide open and dilated. It was eerie, even for him. He was completely still, his jaw slack. Alex looked around a bit more.
"Finn? Trish?"
"Alex..?" A voice whispered, he turned. Under a overturned and burned as h*** desk, crouched Trisha. Her usually violent and brash demeanor gone, and her eyes wide as saucers. She looked, to put it mildly, horrified.
"Trish-" Alex dropped the box and kneeled in front of her. "What the h*** happened here?"
She sniffed. "C-chris- H-he...He..." She stuttered incoherently for a minute before Alex cut her off. "Nevermind, where's Finnick?"
Trish solemnly pointed to the far corner of the room, prompting him to crouch, and approach the area with caution.
"Finn..?" He called lowly, ready for some feral monster to come leaping out.
"Under here..." Came a weak cry, from under a couch. Alex managed to move the mutilated piece of furniture off him- and saw not the blonde, bossy boy he had left yesterday- yet *again, to put it mildly* a boy who looked like h*** had its way with him. "Ugh...You didn't pick up my calls man." He groaned, but still, his voice oozed sarcasm.
"I'm sorry- I just- I didn't-" Alex groaned. "How could I have known?" He blamed himself, if he had answered, they would have been fine.
"Nah...it's fine..Just- get us out of here, and call 911- before it wakes up again."
Alex didn't quite understand why he stared at Chris as he said that- but he was about to find out.

[ATTN: Coir]

Sentinel sighed, shooting up to race after Coir. It figured something would happen. She should have guessed.

"Would news choppers have spotlights on them?" she asked Coir.

[Attn: Open]

American leaps through the fray, ducking and dodging tendrils and claws as the devils attack him and the swinging wonders just above. Wild-Child and Silk soar through the air in various acrobatic evasive maneuvers. Man-Monster and Polly gather people left and right but the Negative never relent. One of them sees Coir and Sentinel fly by over head and gives chase, many little corrupted people trailing behind it, climbing over top of one another in stampede fashion.