On a pristine island off the coast of Crantel, a tall white castle stands towers in the distance. Surrounded by lush forest and trees, with sunlight glinting off its worn, peeling walls, the building is a magnificent piece of architecture that seems almost otherworldly.
To the world, this building belongs to a rich magnate who remains anonymous. It is well-known to be a choice location for the wealthy who want to host parties and social gatherings in an... appropriately expensive venue. Bookings are made only exclusively through phonecalls. No visits are allowed until the day of the actual event.
Beneath this facade however, lies a secret unknown to the rest of the world:
Sidekick Academy.
No one knows it is there until they receive The Invitation. It could come in many forms, sometimes an email, a letter, a text, and occasionally even a personal invite by one of the inhabitants.
1. History 2. Environment and Interior 3. Staff and student population 4. Admissions 5. Timeline and OOC Notes
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 2:00 am
HISTORY AND SECRETS our glorious past and bright future
Sidekick Academy was the brainchild of three of Megapolis's (arguably) most famous heroes: the Captain, Binary and Phoenix.
To understand how they came up with such a messed-up idea to train kids to throw themselves into battle, look no further than under the spoiler.
A shadow. That was what he was, blending with the darkness, creeping around corners undetected, slinking around the streets, inconspicuous, quiet, a shadow...
"Hey! Fancy meeting you here!"
And of course, where there were shadows, there had to be a light source. In this case, this was practically the sun. Binary scowled up at the blinding source of his annoyance.
"I'm trying to work here," he muttered with a pointed glare. The Captain had the decency to look apologetic before he ducked down next to the silver-haired grump.
"How'd you find them?" he questioned casually as one would the weather. "Have you been tracking them for weeks? Oh you probably have, knowing you," the Captain answered his own question. Binary resisted the urge to decapitate... something.
"If you don't mind," he gritted to the brunette hunched next to him, "I'm hiding."
"Oh, sorry," the Captain whispered. "I thought we could just go right in and take them out, you know, now that there's two of us."
"You were going to do just that even without me here," Binary deadpanned. The taller man considered this for a moment, and shrugged.
"Yeah."
The techie resisted the urge to sigh. They were supposed to be "colleagues" in a matter of speaking, two men fighting crime for whatever personal reasons they might have. For the longest time, it'd been just Binary, working under the cover of four walls, a roof and the night, only venturing out when necessary. He had thought he was alone in this pointless, neverending pursuit of justice.
Until a month ago, when this... this flying man with super strength, this Captain, as the media had dubbed him (most adoringly), had appeared. The crowd loved him, lapped up his escapades and mega-watt smile with relish. He struck fear in the hearts of would-be villains and crime rates effectively fell ever since he was plastered all over Megapolis's TV screens. The shining beacon of Crantel, they called him. Cheesy, but most apt.
Of course, it was nice to know that there was more than one vigilante out there, but Binary despised the fact that everywhere the Captain went, the cameras were sure to follow like flies to food. If Binary was caught on camera... well, he didn't want to be caught. He liked being unknown. The Captain was a known. The more distance he put between himself and the known, the better his chances of remaining unknown.
"You can go," he said quietly while he adjusted some equipment. "I'll be fine here."
He felt breath tickling his neck and sensed the Cap's bright eyes on his tracker screen.
"Is that where they are?" the brunette whispered, pointing at the red dot on the graph. It took all of Binary's self-control to not punch the other man's face.
"Yes," he managed with visible strain, and shoved the Cap away brusquely before deftly placing a communicator in the brunette's ear. "I'll direct you from here."
The red-caped man positively beamed. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, and without further ado swooped into the building.
Binary allowed himself to relax slightly. Finally.
"Uh, do I turn left or right here?"
"Left," the masked man replied curtly. For the next two minutes, he fed instructions into the Cap's ear; avoid flying too near the walls as they are electrified, keep in the air as the floors are booby trapped, guards to the right, guards to the left, keep your head down...
"Alright Cap, this is it. The ringleader's behind that door."
The Cap was breathing so quietly, Binary thought for a minute that the man had lost the communicator until he heard a reply.
"Thanks, I'm going in."
Binary heard the door bang open. There were yells, sounds of fists meeting faces, bones breaking, scuffles, muffled shouts, a yell of surprise... and then silence.
"... Cap?" Binary murmured. "What's going on? Did you round them up?"
"Who're you?"
Binary stalled. Did someone clock Cap a good one in the head? Was he suffering from amnesia? "You don't know who I am?" he demanded urgently. "I'm --"
"I've never seen you before. Are you new in this business too?"
Oh, he was talking to someone else.
... Someone else in which business?
There was an answer, but it was too soft to be heard clearly.
"That's interesting," the Cap said with genuine interest. But there was an odd tone to his voice... what it meant, Binary could not quite place.
Another muffled reply, to which the man on the other side of the communicator laughed. "That's just what the media call me. I don't actually have a title or anything." Binary tutted as he began packing his equipment. Right, no title whatsoever. Not a shining teeth on a toothpaste ad or anything cheesy like that.
"What do they call you? Or haven't you been picked up yet? I bet the people would love you."
Ah, another one like the Cap, it had to be. Although this odd lilt to the Cap's tone was starting to bug Binary slightly. It was almost like... like the Cap was waaay too interested in this newcomer.
"Oh, I'm nothing. But you're really good! There were two of us here and you beat us both to these thugs, which is quite remarkable, if I do say so myself."
Binary froze for about 2 seconds, and then resumed packing at twice the speed while cussing under his breath. There goes his anonymity, that man and his big fat mouth...
"Hey Binary c'mon, don't use words like that."
And he still had the cheek to tell him off! Captain or not, no one was the boss of him, and he was getting out of here before the cameras got wind of what had happened.
"We're in the presence of a very capable lady. You should come meet her!"
Pfft. Right. Like that was going to happen. Nope, he was going to --
"Hello, Binary."
He froze again. One eye twitched in response. Apparently the Cap had given the lady in question the communicator. Great. Should he reply? Not reply?
"... Hello."
There was a pause in which the silence stretched awkwardly.
"Um," the lady finally broke the silence hesitantly. "I would like to meet you, if that's alright?"
"I'll introduce you two!" the Cap interjected enthusiastically. Binary was starting to wish someone HAD clocked the other man a good one in the head.
"Rooftop," Binary replied shortly and emerged from his hiding spot behind a clump of trees. Through the communicator, he could hear the Cap babbling excitedly about "the gathering". He was going to regret this...
---
"I think we should start a school."
Binary turned on the brunette like a hawk. Five years after their first ever get-together, the Cap still came up with The Most Ludicrous Ideas. The man in the red cape was currently relaxing on a couch, a drink in one hand and a book in the other. They were in Binary's hideout, it being the most convenient place to meet with little risk of being discovered.
"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you were joking," the masked man said slowly. He was, of course, still hoping against hope that it was a joke.
"I think it's a good idea," a woman with flaming red hair chimed in. She was seated at another chair, eyes bright with interest. Binary would never forget his first meeting with her. Dawn was breaking, and the sun had been rising just beyond the horizon, tinging the dark purple sky with rich oranges and pinks, lighting up the rooftop where the three of them first gathered together as one group. With her long red hair in the wind, she'd looked magnificent against the backdrop of that sky. And not only was she capable, she was intelligent, humorous and very kind. The name the press gave her could not be more appropriate: Phoenix.
"You think so?" the Cap said brightly. Binary scowled at Phoenix; that sort of idea didn't need encouraging. It needed to be snuffed out, and fast. The woman just rolled her eyes dismissively.
"I thought it'd give us a chance to impart what we know to up and coming youngsters," the brunette continued earnestly.
"That's what I thought too," Phoenix agreed, leaning forward with interest. Her hair was shorter now, but its scarlet shades had not faded in the least. "Where'd you get the idea? From that book?"
"Yeah," the Cap replied, flipping the pages to show her the cover - Generations and Beyond: Leaving your Legacy in Capable Hands.
Binary snorted. The other two ignored him.
"We're not going to live forever, and I just figured that, you know, maybe we could do something about that before we left."
He beamed at Phoenix, and then at Binary. The woman was nodding in ponderous agreement. The shorter man flinched as though the Cap had brandished a knife at him.
"You're on your own," Binary said without further comment and turned back to his tinkering. School... he hated school, and he hated kids. There was no way in hell he was going to be involved in this ridiculous project.
"Oh, come on sourpuss," Phoenix cajoled. "John has a point, and you'd be so popular with the girls."
Binary made an odd "hrmph" noise but refused to say anything more, other than "no real names". The Cap shrugged, and continued right on discussing his plans with Phoenix.
Construction of the school began in earnest a few months later. Binary never thought he would be involved, but somehow, John and Amelia always managed to get him to participate, by means of trickery at first, and then honest persuasion. It was mostly Amelia who did the (successful) persuading, and John who did the tricking.
By the time the school was finally up, Binary finally realized at last, that this horrific white castle-like building, this abomination of a plan, would never have come into being without his help.
"The school looks marvellous."
"It does indeed, well done boys."
"... I hate you two."
So now that you know what happened, what remains to be explained is after the building's completion.
The Trio started by recruiting "staff", who would then in turn keep their eyes peeled for promising youngsters. It was not as easy a task as one would imagine. There was much resistance at first, caped crusaders being a naturally loner type of species. They eventually warmed up to the idea when the Trio recruited their first student.
To ensure the safety of its inhabitants, a cover was necessary to keep prying noses out, lest any villains try to attack while the academy was still not fully fortified. Thus, the cover of the castle being an event venue was born.
It was a simple enough story: the caste was built by some crazy millionaire who only used it occasionally and throughout the rest of the year, others were free to book it for parties and whatnot. Not only would that mask the building's real purpose, but also generate a very generous amount of income (rental fees include top-grade security and an excellent selection of food); it was the perfect cover-up.
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Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 2:08 am
ENVIRONMENT AND INTERIOR know thy enemy
Main building floor plan Notes: Imagine something similar to Xavier's school for the gifted in X Men
『Watchtower』 The Watchtower is where EVERYTHING happens. It looks kinda old and rundown from the outside, but it's really heavily fortified beyond those old bleached bricks, built to withstand anything the enemy can possibly throw at it; bombs, grenades, bullets, you name it. Incidents like that rarely happen of course (please, which villain would have the balls to try and attack a tower FULL of heroes), but students who look up sometimes have sworn that they saw turrets and cannons being deployed from those very tower walls...... (HOW???)
『The School 』 The campus is pretty much your standard university/college campus. Spacious courtyards with that nature-y grassy feeling greet you at the gate along with oddly costumed people strolling around the grounds. To the right is the main building and the Front Desk is manned by the one and only Nurse Drew (usually, don't be too frightened if you see Alex instead). Classrooms are located in the right wing of the building and dorms are to the left, nearer to the Watchtower. Little shops manned by enterprising students can sometimes be found selling amenities along the corridors (the school is not liable for anything that may happen to you should you purchase these items)
『Training Grounds』 The Training Grounds is a building with four floors of wide open empty space, each with a different environment within. It's been programmed to simulate a different environment every day so you never know whether you'll be in a desert oasis or a rundown alley. There's also a gym on the first floor if you fancy old school training. The top floor is always nature-y, much like the hanging gardens of Babylon. Bridges connect the Training Grounds to the Watchtower and from the Watchtower to the main building.
『Smaller Isles』 Welp... They're just isles. With a lot of jungle, and hidden defenses. There're rumors that they're also filled with exotic aliens creatures who're seeking refuge on Earth but no one really knows...
『Jungle Area』 Still a lot of jungle... They're teeming with trees and wild animals and poisonous man-eating plants. It's the island's natural defense against any outsiders, meant to keep out the ordinary stranger or daring villain. If you're an aspiring hero though... surely all this should be a piece of cake? Occassionally, you might happen upon some weird tech-y looking devices. They're usually Binary's minions, or tech gone wrong and wild. We advise that you run if you see the latter. How will you know? They'll attack you, violently of course.
『The Pathway』 Also designed to deter the random person or weak-willed from strolling in, this innocent-looking path is chock full of booby traps. Potholes that are actually several feet deep, trigger traps, flying shuriken, rabid plants, you name it, they got it. And to make things even better, the sequence and variety is ever-changing. Many rarely get past The Path on their first try. It takes considerable skill and wits to even get to the halfway mark. Not for the faint-hearted.
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 2:29 am
STAFF AND STUDENT POPULATION teachers and kids
The SA community is a small and cosy (debatable) group. Condemned confined largely to the school grounds in their early stages of training, the students usually recognize each other over time, even though they may not have spoken in person.
The student population number around 60 over every year, it usually varies depending on casualties and dropouts. The alumni account for possibly another 60, although this figure is lower than projected since the school can't track them all.
SA boasts a small, but kind and friendly (sometimes) staff team who will be there to assist with your hero-ing needs when they can. Occasionally, part-time staff who are regular heroes will drop in to conduct a practical session or bring students out on a field trip (ie. they need help with something).
At SA, there are no application deadlines or graduation ceremonies, only survival. You get in, you manage to stay alive, you rise to become one of the best, and then you get out there and do what you were meant to do.
Because the academy is secret, recruitment is usually by invitation. Once in a while however, word will travel in hero circles and somewhere, somehow, an aspiring youngster with potential will discover its existence and attempt to journey to the island to apply (not like you can look up the academy in Yellow Pages, can you)
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 2:45 am
TIMELINE AND OOC NOTES does this all sound whacked-out or what
Time in the world of Megapolis runs at 1 RL day = 2 SA days. We know the math isn't quite exact, but let's try to keep it more vague than specific.
In this case, the process of ageing should be more or less clear cut.
1 day RL = 2 days 43 minutes 12 seconds SA 1 week RL = 2 weeks SA 1 month RL= 2 months SA 6 months RL = 1 year SA
Please feel free to invent how your baby got to SA to suit your needs. If you think a personal invitation from one of the existing members would add to your character's background, please do contact one of the staff or the mule by PM and we'd be happy to work something out!
