Toric
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2019
- Messages
- 508
- Reaction score
- 504
A city of several million people always has something going on and New Hope is no exception. Sometimes it seems as if there is never a dull moment, never a lull in the action. The city rarely sleeps and when it does, it sleeps lightly. Of late, several issues are especially plaguing the city and its inhabitants.
Gang activity over the past several weeks has spiked to an all-time high. Harrison Park, the center of much of this activity, is all but locked down by the New Hope Police Department. They've set up a perimeter around the troubled district and have urged most residents to stay clear unless they have a legitimate reason to be there. The police are hard-pressed to really do much about the problem and have shown reluctance to even patrol the district.
Devastator, once a protector of New Hope, seems to have gone bad. When he appeared on the scene back in 1994, shortly after the Terranar attack on the city, many thought his choice of name was more appropriate for a supervillain but he proved time and again with his actions that he was indeed a hero. The seven foot tall creature with bright red skin and leathery dragon-like wings struck fear into the hearts of villains. Immensely strong and tough, able to breathe fire and fly, he took the city by storm. Within a few months, it was discovered he was not an extra-dimensional or alien being, but a human man who had been transformed into the creature that he had become. He has never confirmed it but most believe he was transformed somehow by the Terranar bomb. By 1995, Devastator toys, comics, books and other merchandise were being sold in every department and specialty store in the city. Devastator became the face of New Hope and its biggest hero. Sadly, two weeks ago, Devastator attacked an armored convoy that was transporting a mysterious alien artifact to an undisclosed location, and succeeded in stealing the artifact. A week ago, along with the supervillain Shard, Devastator broke into the offices of Stone Enterprises and stole an experimental bio-medical device prototype. He hasn't been seen in the past week.
June 3rd, 2019 is just two days away and marks the 25th anniversary of the detonation of the Terranar bomb. The Terranar have not made an appearance since they retreated back underground all those years ago but the city is nervous. With gang activity out of control, and Devastator seemingly turned to the side of villainy, many see this approaching anniversary as ominous at best. City officials are doing their best to maintain calm but it has been a struggle.
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Despite the overall mood of the city, the afternoon of June 1, 2019 is bright and sunny, with just a few wispy clouds listlessly floating through the sky.
Tony Tallarico sits at a small table outside a French cafe called Pretentieux in the Beacon Heights district of New Hope. Nicolette Kidder, his current girlfriend, had asked him to meet her here for lunch. She is almost fifteen minutes late and there is still no sign of her.
Just a few tables over, taking advantage of the nice weather, Courtney Grayken sits with Morgan Crier. Morgan chose the restaurant as it is in close proximity to her office at the Tribune, and had told Courtney that she couldnt go far from the office today as she had to be back on time due to a story deadline.
Nearby, Evan Williamson has just finished up his first class of the day at his Ookwo Martial Arts Center. Located on the west side of Beacon Heights, the studio takes full advantage of the large student populations of New Hope University and New Hope City College. Malcolm Rivers, one of the more promising students at the studio, is spending a little extra time working with Evan before heading back to his apartment.
David Layton had ditched school at lunch to head into Beacon Heights to see Professor Brewster. The professor regularly scheduled appointments with David to examine him and see how he was doing. Today wasn't a normal appointment but David had wanted to ask a few questions and since school lunch tended to suck, he hopped the monorail and headed into the city.
Farouk ibn Hassan still didn't usually wander around outside, especially during daylight hours. But today he had decided he was bored and wanted to explore. He left Katherine's apartment on the eastside of Beacon Heights wearing his raincoat and hat and started walking. He was getting plenty of strange looks, either because he was wearing a raincoat and hat in bright, sunny weather or because despite the disguise he still looked strange enough to garner plenty of attention.
The relative calm of the early afternoon was soon shattered by the sounds of police sirens. First one and then another and another and then another half dozen passed Farouk screaming down a main thoroughfare. A minute or so later, they passed Pretentieux where Tony and Courtney sat at separate tables, then passed the monorail station where David was just disembarking from his ride, and finally roared by the Ookwo studio where Evan was working with Malcolm. Something big was going down.
Gang activity over the past several weeks has spiked to an all-time high. Harrison Park, the center of much of this activity, is all but locked down by the New Hope Police Department. They've set up a perimeter around the troubled district and have urged most residents to stay clear unless they have a legitimate reason to be there. The police are hard-pressed to really do much about the problem and have shown reluctance to even patrol the district.
Devastator, once a protector of New Hope, seems to have gone bad. When he appeared on the scene back in 1994, shortly after the Terranar attack on the city, many thought his choice of name was more appropriate for a supervillain but he proved time and again with his actions that he was indeed a hero. The seven foot tall creature with bright red skin and leathery dragon-like wings struck fear into the hearts of villains. Immensely strong and tough, able to breathe fire and fly, he took the city by storm. Within a few months, it was discovered he was not an extra-dimensional or alien being, but a human man who had been transformed into the creature that he had become. He has never confirmed it but most believe he was transformed somehow by the Terranar bomb. By 1995, Devastator toys, comics, books and other merchandise were being sold in every department and specialty store in the city. Devastator became the face of New Hope and its biggest hero. Sadly, two weeks ago, Devastator attacked an armored convoy that was transporting a mysterious alien artifact to an undisclosed location, and succeeded in stealing the artifact. A week ago, along with the supervillain Shard, Devastator broke into the offices of Stone Enterprises and stole an experimental bio-medical device prototype. He hasn't been seen in the past week.
June 3rd, 2019 is just two days away and marks the 25th anniversary of the detonation of the Terranar bomb. The Terranar have not made an appearance since they retreated back underground all those years ago but the city is nervous. With gang activity out of control, and Devastator seemingly turned to the side of villainy, many see this approaching anniversary as ominous at best. City officials are doing their best to maintain calm but it has been a struggle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite the overall mood of the city, the afternoon of June 1, 2019 is bright and sunny, with just a few wispy clouds listlessly floating through the sky.
Tony Tallarico sits at a small table outside a French cafe called Pretentieux in the Beacon Heights district of New Hope. Nicolette Kidder, his current girlfriend, had asked him to meet her here for lunch. She is almost fifteen minutes late and there is still no sign of her.
Just a few tables over, taking advantage of the nice weather, Courtney Grayken sits with Morgan Crier. Morgan chose the restaurant as it is in close proximity to her office at the Tribune, and had told Courtney that she couldnt go far from the office today as she had to be back on time due to a story deadline.
Nearby, Evan Williamson has just finished up his first class of the day at his Ookwo Martial Arts Center. Located on the west side of Beacon Heights, the studio takes full advantage of the large student populations of New Hope University and New Hope City College. Malcolm Rivers, one of the more promising students at the studio, is spending a little extra time working with Evan before heading back to his apartment.
David Layton had ditched school at lunch to head into Beacon Heights to see Professor Brewster. The professor regularly scheduled appointments with David to examine him and see how he was doing. Today wasn't a normal appointment but David had wanted to ask a few questions and since school lunch tended to suck, he hopped the monorail and headed into the city.
Farouk ibn Hassan still didn't usually wander around outside, especially during daylight hours. But today he had decided he was bored and wanted to explore. He left Katherine's apartment on the eastside of Beacon Heights wearing his raincoat and hat and started walking. He was getting plenty of strange looks, either because he was wearing a raincoat and hat in bright, sunny weather or because despite the disguise he still looked strange enough to garner plenty of attention.
The relative calm of the early afternoon was soon shattered by the sounds of police sirens. First one and then another and another and then another half dozen passed Farouk screaming down a main thoroughfare. A minute or so later, they passed Pretentieux where Tony and Courtney sat at separate tables, then passed the monorail station where David was just disembarking from his ride, and finally roared by the Ookwo studio where Evan was working with Malcolm. Something big was going down.
