Tonda
The Magical Hero Girl: Heartthrob! Had just gotten off the bus from Downtown and politely waved to the driver. She had went into the mall with her costume fully on and mask concealing her identity. She stood near the entrance in her pink dress and boots, with her domino mask on. She looked, for lack of a better word, extremely silly as twirled her wand in her hand absent-mindedly. 

She had considered this meaning important. Firstly, it helped another cape. Always good right? It offered a chance to mingle with the other locals! Very important. And lastly? She was bored. She didn't have the resources to tinker right now and fiddling with her wand really wasn't helping. She had changed the casing like ten times already! And if she wasn't careful, she'd break the illusion. People might catch onto the whole 'magic' shtick covering up tinker-tech. Very bad.
Antonio
Misinformation of power was of course a very important stratrgy when it came to the begining of a cape's career. The thing for Andromeda has been that she's already blown one of her powers to the public with her part of evacuation during the end bringer attack. As such, she didn't feel the need to hide it, warping carefully across the streets of the tower district until she'd made it to the mall. She could spot the pink hero from just a hundred feet away. What a costume and theme, she thought, marching down the sidewalk. Her dark outfit with spikes on her guarded joints probably made her stand out even more against the bubblegum esq colors of Heart Throb's. Costumes on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum (or maybe just on wildly different parts of a kind of some political chart of cape outfits).

"Heart Throb" Her voice spoke from under her mask, dull and a bit muffled. The pattern on it was like circular blackhole, with two white lenses that obsured her eyes in the abyss part. 

She lent out a hand, gloved with that rugged combat tested material "The name's Andromeda. Good to see you."
Tonda
The small hero was forced to look up a little as she tried to look at the lenses of the mask. Her costume didn't give her much in terms of height and Andromeda was taller than her by no small degree anyway. She did long bow as she took the hand and pressed a kiss to the knuckle. Her costume giving her a sense of courage to be this sort of flirt. She is a Heartthrob, is she not? Love's is the name of the game. 

"Wonderful to meet you mask to mask, Andromeda!" Her accent was played up to be a bit more posh sounding and her voice was tooth-rottingly sweet in tone. A real character played up. "What can I do for you, My Spacey Friend?" She stood straight and seemed to bounce a little on her toes. Her wand held in two hands behind her back as she did so.
Antonio
Andromeda stood in silence for just a moment. Had that really just happened? She knew some capes really played the part, some were serious, and some either didn't care or swayed. Perhaps this was to be expected, she thought. Of course, from the outside it seemed as though Andromeda was giving heart throb a long, cold glare.

"You can come for lunch while we discuss matters. I am rather hungry, and the mall food court has the best food in town by far." Her tone was deadpan, but she meant every word of it, including the bit about how the food here was better than some of the fancier restaurants in the same district. Under all of that though, she had another reason for not getting straight to business. This was her first time getting to chat with another cape, in a calm, safe situation. Andromeda wanted to enjoy it, and use it as a learning experience for meetings like this in the future. But mostly she wanted to enjoy it.
Ruben
Being the centre of commerce and catalyst for social interaction that it was, the Mall was often bustling with people. The same could be said of the area immediately surrounding the mall, as smaller businesses and public services took advantage of the vast footfall the Mall itself attracted. Though, even this effect had its ebbs and flows. While Heartthrob and Andromeda made their introductions, the bus on which the former had arrived would be steadily emptied of its passengers; filing around or past the pair of capes to begin shopping inside the Mall, and taking with them much of the noise their idle chatter caused.

In this relative quiet, a _CLUNK_'ing became more obvious, the dull thudding of metal on linoleum followed by a jangling highly reminiscent of a sack of loose change. Muffled at first, but growing louder by the moment until the Mall's doubledoor'd entrance seemed to swing open under its own power and out strolled a grumpy-looking young man. No more than fourteen or fifteen, arms crossed in a strop and eyes affixed to the ground ahead by a not-insignificant amount of shame.

The boy was immediately succeeded by a towering figure, ducking through the doorway as it approached seven feet in height. A mass of of junk and scrap warped into a functional protective costume: lengths of chain pressed and rivetted into a suit under lengths of rebar, drill bits, and chucks of I-beams flattened into overlapping scales of plate armour. One of its hands rest atop a pommel and from it, extending toward the floor from the figure's hip, about four feet of gleaming steel blade. The ensemble didn't literally weigh a ton, but it certainly looked like it could. 
⠀

"Return home, knowing you are fortunate to have been given time to reflect upon your misdeeds. They could have pursued legal action." The voice which left the suit was deep, but hollow, as if echoing out of the large helm, as it chastised the would-be shoplifter and sent them on their way. Some capes really _did_ play the part.

One good deed seen to, the armoured figure turns to return to the Mall's interior - pausing as they do so, spotting the two masked individuals milling about, talking, outside... It was something of an awkward standoff. Unsure if they were off-duty heroes, or villains yet to begin some plot. Pendragon found the latter unlikely, in the middle of the day with a colour scheme like Heartthrob's. 

Thinking it best to introduce himself before his staring approaches the border of creepy behaviour, the figure's free hand rises into a wave. "Salutations!"
Tonda
The small tinker would watch the extremely armored new comer with interest as he spoke. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with fascination as her full attention briefly flickered to the knight of rebar and scrap. Her attention going to the sword, to the armor, the helm, to the shoplifter, in rapid succession. She wondered if, maybe, she could subtly ask to scan his armor? No there's no way to do that, even if she went with the 'Trump-Blaster' Shtick. She'd out herself too fast.

Her attention shot back to Andromeda briefly to note the attention on her. "I do like the food here." She nodded rapidly, bouncing between heel and toe. She tried to keep her attention from bouncing back and forth but quickly failed when she heard the metal clang closer and waved to knight man.

"Wonderful day, m'lord, isn't it?" She giggled, actually fully giggled, as she bounced to her toes. "We were just having a chat!" She waved her wand vaguely towards herself and Andromeda. It sparkled a little. "Care to join us for lunch? If my starry beauty is alright with it." She internally, though not visibly cringed at herself. Too much? Too much.
Antonio
Andromeda's head turned sharply to meet Pendragon's gaze. He was a bit taller than her, hulking massive armor around. There was almost no way he wouldn't have caught her attention. She also didn't seem to mind the compliment from HT, though her flush was hidden behind her mask, the same mask with arm angled lenses that looked at times like this, like they were staring daggers into people.

"I suppose I'm amicable to the idea of him joining, So long as he promises not to disrupt the conversation at the least, when it gets serious." Andromeda folded her arms, standing a hair taller to bolster herself along with the statement. Like with her reason for not getting straight to the action, she actually was sort of happy at the thought of another cape joining the table on this- if she could convince more than one to help her, things would go a lot smoother.

"To the food court, then?"
Ruben
Inwardly, Pendragon was amused by these circumstances. Looking from Heartthrob to Andromeda and knowing that the latter was at least attempting to look him in the eyes. He was trying to do the same, but between her sharply angled lenses and the artificial gloom within his helmet he was sure neither of them were actually getting anywhere. Nevertheless he lowered his waving hand, offering it to each of Hearthrob and Andromeda in turn.

"In that case, I, Pendragon, would be honoured to join you both for a repast. I appreciate your invitation." The knightly figure accepts graciously, "I shall endeavour to maintain a demeanour befitting the gravity of our discourse." He says in an attempt to reassure his new acquaintances, hand sweeping to the side as he reaches out with his power - pushing on the steel in the door's locks and hinges to push them open ahead of Andromeda and Heartthrob. 

"Of course. As is the noble custom, I shall defer to the fairer sex." _Ladies first_.
Tonda
The small pink bundle's attention seemed to bounce between the two. One moment her eyes seemed to watch Pendragon's movements like a hawk, studying him, before the next she seemed to become extremely fascinated by Andromeda. Her eyes were hard to track with the domino mask and contacts but she seemed to be paying attention for now. She bounced into movement as the doors opened and strode with a confidence only someone with theatre experience could have. She did, have experience that is.

"Why, thank you Sir Pendragon. Let us endeavor towards the Court of Food." She really laid on the knightly bit thick. Her voice breaking into giggles. Internally there were a lot of nerves. "I am The Magical Hero Girl known as Heartthrob! But please, Heartthrob is much shorter!" She bounced to the knight. Her movements were hyper-active yet very conscious of herself. She was careful of her hand placement on her Wand and made sure to twirl it to make it hard to make out the seams of where the case opened. "I don't often eat here. I don't shop in this mall often. The clothes don't fit my style."
Antonio
Andromeda stood there, watching the both of them for a moment as the theatrics grated on her. Okay well, they'd grated only slightly, mostly on pendragon's part, Andromeda didn't like being treated as dainty. If her lenses could express anymore weariness and thin any more than they already were, They likely would be pencil thin, staring him... Up.

Right, Pendragon was still taller than her. Eventually Andromeda marched through the door, looking straight past the hulking knight. She contemplated using her powers to drag him along, across the mall's shiny floors, dissuaded only by the idea that it might cause more damage than it was worse, and she'd end up with some kind of debt from the scratched or cracked linoleum.

She paused and turned back for a second, realizing she'd forgot to introduce herself. Standing beside Heartthrob with a hand on her hip with her weight on the opposing leg, she addressed him. "The name's Andromeda. Don't fall behind, Wouldn't want to miss you at the round table, Pendragon." With her piece spoken, she lead the assumedly lost Heartthrob through the mall, slow enough that she could sight see as they passed the shops and kiosks, and subtly so that Pendragon would have no such trouble actually keeping pace.
Ruben
Pendragon watched on, quiet inside his armour, as he expected one of the pair of capes before him to take the lead. He assumed there was some degree of looking back and force, but Heartthrob's mask and contacts did make it difficult to track her eyes' exact focus - and Andromeda's lenses convinced him not to try at all to follow her gaze. Pendragon's own was just as inscrutable, really, the way to truly guess at which direction he was looking in being the general position of his helmet and its vision slits. 

"Heartthrob it is," Pendragon is all too happy to use the shortened title, it _was_ a mouthful after all. "Indeed, this galleria is not one I oft visit either. It lies beyond my typical haunts." He speaks, only beginning to move when Heartthrob and Andromeda had begun to make their way into the mall itself—an echoing chuckle loosed at the latter's jab at his Arthurian theatrics. "I would not forgo this occasion for all the world, mighty Andromeda."

Curiously, Pendragon's clunking footsteps would not return as he joined the pair inside. The heavy stomping of steel-booted feet seemingly a deliberate affectation to intimidate the earlier ne'er-do-well, and put aside in favour of gliding an inch of so over the ground to reduce any disturbance to the peace in these casual times. Similarly, Pendragon would remove his sword from his shoulder - compressing the steel into a shorter, stubbier, gladius-like form factor that could sit neatly at his side, a hand rest upon its pommel to deliberately maneuverer it out of people's way. 

"Pray, what doth the agenda hold for your meeting?"
Tonda
Heartthrob would continue to follow Andromeda with a spring in her step. She made a show of her distraction as she 'wowed' and 'ooed' at the various shops. In truth she's been to the mall, obviously, but it was not her go to place. She's rather lazy in her fashion and rather anxious in crowded spaces without her tech on hand. She was definitely loss though without these two.

"Our agenda, Sir Pendragon, is helping out Dear Andromeda with.. Something!"

She twirled her wand with a shimmer before stuffing it into a hidden pocket in her dress skirt. She sewed that herself. It took several hours- tinkering doesn't make you very good at that, apparently. She looked up to the two larger heroes and asked "How long have you two been at this whole... Cape-a-roonie thing?" She waved vaguely at them "I'm suuppperr new!"
Antonio
When finally they reached the food court, Andromeda had led them into a line for A family run italian place. She tried not to mind the stares they got while waiting inline, and answered. "A few months. Not exactly hero work, but nothing illegal." She muttered. _'Nothing you could prove illegal'_ she thought. As they approached the counter, the bucktoothed man at the counter with curly hair and olive skin smiled at her. He went to greet her it seemed, but she waved him off. Did the two know each other? She said this place had the best food in town, maybe she was a regular.

After she made her order, Andromeda continued, answering Pendragon next. "It's in regards to the local drug rings and dealings. The Tophats, specifically. I need to go after them, And i have my reasons for it, but as far as the work is concerned, Getting them off the streets, even if for just a bit of time, sounds good, no?"
Ruben
"Ah, _something!_"

Pendragon nodded sagely in response to Heartthrob's profound council. He brought up the rear of the group as they traversed the mall, not wanting to lose sight of either of his fellow capes amongst the relatively dense crowd and knowing that his suit made himself quite hard to overlook regardless of where he was positioned in their marching order.

"Like Andromeda, I have only trod the path of heroism for a span of a few months... Alas, my deeds have remained shrouded in obscurity, for the Vanguard doth seldom cast their gaze Riverside." Pendragon would elaborate as they filtered into the Italian eatery's queue. There was a subdued clank as Pendragon touched down on the floor here, stepping out of the line but remaining beside his companions as it dawned on him that he was not in civilian guise and as a result was not carrying any kind of cash or card. Food would have had to wait in any case, there was no way to get anything edible under his helmet without removing it and revealing his identity in the first place!

"...Ah. The Top Hats are a scourge, whatever your reasons may be; our goals are aligned in scouring them from the face of our fair city."
Tonda
"Something!"

She repeated with enthusiasm as she walked. Her masked face scanned the crowd as she carefully maneuvered behind the much taller Andromeda. "So I only debuted like. Today? But I've been doing a few attacks on the Imperium while I was getting myself set up! They, for some strange reason, don't seem to like me." There was a mischievous grin on her face as she made that comment. Shooting a glance around to make sure the two got the comedy of it.

As she stepped into line and shuffled along, she would reach into the ruffles of her dress. Withdrawing her hand she would pull out a small clutch coin purse and draw a few bills from it. She'd stow it once more in a hidden pocket and pay for a slice of Pizza. "Not run into many tophats! I don't think at least."
Antonio
Andromeda waited beside the place where ready orders were waiting for their respective customers to pick them up. She folded her arms and glared at the both of them. "So we've got at least some experience between us. Good. The thing is, are you two willing to get A little dirty about it. I'm not talking anything criminal, but rougher than normal. You know they won't pull their punches, so we shouldn't pull ours, to some extent."

She picked her food up off the table and guided them both to a booth seat closer to the entrance. " If that doesn't bother you then... We still ought to get to know each other A little. Cape wise, I'm not expecting identities, not here atleast. But, I can tell you why specifically I want to do this, if it bugs you not to know."
Ruben
Despite their surroundings, Pendragon adopted a somewhat somber tone as he joined Andromeda at the very end of the counter. "I do not carry my blade for the mere aesthetic." He would remark, hoping that would convey the severity of the violence he was willing to engage in. The knightly-figure's fingers flex, squeezing, around the hilt of the short sword the currently resides at their hip.

Pendragon's demeanour returns to normal steadily, following the pair to their chosen table and—hm. He looks over the booth for a moment, before deciding that squeezing his steel-carapace'd form into a soft, upholstered, seat is probably not the best idea. Instead he turns, stepping away momentarily to drag over a loose seat from another table arrangement and sit in that.

"...I think sharing our motivations would be prudent; after all, it is in understanding one another's purpose that we may yet forge a steadfast alliance. My resolve is born from an unyielding desire to protect the innocent and uphold justice, to ensure that the weak find solace and the wicked are held to account."
Tonda
There's no change in volume or tone but a flash of a vague emotion goes through Heartthorb's demeanor before she adjusts herself. She put a big smile on her as she attempted to hide it. "I never go easy on criminals! But my power does not yet deliver lethal blows, if that is your request. Not unless I spend a lot of time focusing on it." She mentioned her power with a half-truth. Her tech simply wasn't designed to kill.

Heartthrob sat herself down with a plop and carefully pushed her ruffled skirt together to keep herself neat. She placed her food on the table and looked up to the two with a curious look. She was fascinated by meeting other capes. She hadn't really gotten a chance so far and she had built her identity with lots of care and time.

"My motivations? I am, for one, a hero of love and justice! I aim to pull the desperate and helpless up from their spot and give them somebody to rely on! I am fight to make sure that love is free and none shall harm those who seek it." It's a pretty generic magical girl speech. Something based on a Aleph Japanese Cartoon. But she did want to help the people who had no where to go, people who were like her, and the free love thing was sort of an excuse to say 'I hate nazis.' "I pursue justice for the people!"
Antonio
Wicked held to accountability, justice for the people. Andromeda couldn't claim her reasoning was as noble or virtuous. She became a hero because it was all she could do to start her search, to use the power she was given without destroying her own life in the process. 

"I put in the mask, I fight, because I have someone I need to find. Someone I need to protect. If doing that means busting drug deals, tackling gangs, saving other in the process, so be it."

Sitting down now, she stole a glance at her meal. Andromeda was hungry, but for more than just the delicious italian cuisine in front of her. She wanted answers, some feeling of closure, or vengence- no.. Retribution? She wasn't entirely sure. She struggled to get the next words out as she slowly lifted her mask, enough to take a few bites of her food, not enough to reveal her identity.

"...I don't think that's enough to make me a hero, like you said, heartthrob, but I can't say I mind it."
Ruben
Defending the innocent, holding the wicked accountable for their actions... Pendragon had maintained his flowery, pseudo-medieval court vocabulary while speaking about his motivations, though it was ultimately simply a very fancy way of vocalising the fact that he felt he now harboured something of a _noblesse oblige_. His power gave him the ability to intervene where most couldn't and where the police wouldn't. It was fulfilling to save lives and fight exploitation, Pendragon would as quickly stab a union-buster as he would someone pushing drugs on the street corner.

That was a much larger mouthful, however, and there was no guarantee anyone operating as a hero would be willing to agree that their duty extended beyond simple criminal acts and the schemes of supervillains. "...You needn't fret, Mighty Andromeda. In the annals of history, it is actions, not intentions, that etch the legacies of heroes and shape the fate of kingdoms. So long as your search sees lives saved and villains thwarted, you are without doubt an ally of justice."
Tonda
She leaned forward and took a bite of her pizza- cutting it with a fork and knife like a psychopath so she didn't drip anything onto her dress or make a mess of her makeup. She looked between the two as they spoke with no small amount of interest. Differing motivations are so fascinating to her. She thought of herself as a decent person but she knew the second guessing of one's motivations.

"You know, many of the best capes started because it was fun or they were desperate. I think you'll find that you aren't so bad for having less grand motivations or less directly good motives but you should think less about why you started and more about what you've done." She grinned wide at Andromeda "Don't worry your pretty head about it. You are may look scary but I think you are gonna come out to be a superstar of a hero." She winked at her as she sat back, leaving her plate cleaned. "Trust us, we're the heroes."
Antonio
Andromeda was about to shove another forkful of Alfredo rigatoni into her mouth before she stopped, halted by their words of.. Support? She didn't quite understand. The idea that she really could be a hero didn't exactly settle in her mind, she knew she was in this for just one reason, and whether she failed or succeeded, she wouldn't know what to do with herself after.

She stuffed the pasta into her mouth, chewed rigorously, and swallowed hard. 

"Thanks, the both of you. If anything comes of this, you'll have my backing when either of you need help. If not... Who knows. I still might show up, if it's convenient. Now, let's finish eating, can't exactly discuss strategy here. Anybody have a hide out?"

Once more she began shoveling the delicious Italian cuisine into her mouth, not eating rudely, but clearly enjoying the meal like she'd not eaten all day.
Ruben
"...Alas, I lack a steadfast bastion which to sallyforth." Pendragon would admit somewhat sheepishly, though it was difficult to tell when a change in tone was unintentional given the echo of his voice out of the helmet. "Heretofore I have allowed the winds of duty to carry me where they will. The labyrinthine network of disused subways and steam tunnels, shrouded in shadow, provide a shelter under which I find both the solitude to hear cries for aid as well as the swiftness to respond immediately; but they are no replacement for a permanent fortification."

While Pendragon speaks, he does not move much if at all. In theory he could express and gesture as much as anyone else, but his armour was heavy and he was reluctant to expend the effort it took to move such as colossal suit around for the mere ability to more finely articulate his meanings in conversation. Eventually, however, his right arm does rise to wave toward Andromeda and Heartthrob. "Yourselves?"
Tonda
There was a pause as Heartthrob considered the question. A frown forming before sinking into more of a cutesy pout with some effort as she thought about how willing she was to provide information about her place of residence. She could hide any information about herself, not exactly any photos and she had hid most of her legal docs anyway. The problem was the tinker station in her bedroom. And the parts scattered around the living room. "Well..."

She hummed as she thought it over "I only have my home, though my identity would not be truly revealed by the place, I am unsure if it should be the first place to go." She slumped, lost in the ruffles of her dress, and sighed. "It's really expensive to build a hideout!"
Antonio
"Fine" She spat out, finishing her meal. Her hands crackles with the green energy of her power and in a half second, the disposable bowl and fork are envelopes in a green flash, warped to the trashcan ahead of them.

"I hate to say it, but we'll have to find or commandeer an abandoned building. At a later date. For now, talking over PHO, in a group DM, should be fine. I think it's best we part ways, and keep in contact. My handle is CassiopeiasFallGirl. You two?"

She folded her arms after slipping down her mask again, eyeing them both with that trademark thin glare of hers.
Ruben
Pendragon's junk armour gives a slow creak as he manipulates it, easing the neck-joint to turn the head. His gaze tried to follow the vibrant green blur, only the otherwise inexplicable noise of trash landing in the rubbish bin denoting to him that Andromdeda had teleported the waste from her meal away. It was one of the more impressive powers he had personally witnessed, and a part of him was fiercly curious about the exact material properties of such weird esoteric energy...

Alas, Pendragon couldn't allow himself to remain distracted by that haunting pull of power for too long. He had to keep up with the conversation! His helm creaks back into a front-facing position, once more regarding his new companions. "Caution and discretion are amongst are most stalwart of allies in this clandestine world." He reassures, not wanting to know where Heartthrob set up shop in the first place. Nothing good came from learning about each other's civilian identities, after all. "Correspondence will reach me at the handle _BalinTwoSwords_, I look forward to being able to discuss out future endeavours at length."
Tonda
"I wonder what I could.." She muttered the sentence before it became nearly an incomprehensible babble. She wanted to scan Andromeda's power- maybe make some sort of spatial warping that let her shrink her batteries? Or light refraction that bent the dimensions of a room? Extra dimensional space? A light breaker state using a battery tech? There was a light breaker in Brockton, wasn't there? She was muttering under her breath again, she had to stop herself. She was going to give herself away at this rate.

"MakeYourHeartFlutter on PHO." She forced herself to pay attention. No need to reveal her true classification. That's dangerous. "Of course, while I have nothing to hide as I mentioned, I must keep my place of rest safe." She reached forward and placed a business card with her contact info on the table. It was pink with white text and had her title on it along with her handle and 'PATROLLING THE TOWER NOW.' It also had a little doodle of Heartthrob's wand on the back of it.
Antonio
Andromeda saves both the contacts on her account, and stows her device away, along with the card Heartthrob handed to her.

"Well, Pendragon, Heartthrob? Be in touch soon, garther any information you can on the top hats until I message again. I'll work on finding us A hideout. Andromeda _out_." She broguht a pair of fingers up and gave them a salute as she was enveloped by that energy they were ever curious about again, and was gone in a bright green flash. 

Andromeda now was outside of the mall, having seen a clear path through to the glass doors, and began to continue warping away, a hope growing in her heart.
Ruben
As the others recount their Parahumans Online handles, Pendragon's fingers squeeze and flex around the hilt of his sword. He didn't have a card to offer, or a convenient place upon which to scrawl the information, and so in an effort to ensure he did not forget how to contact these new compatriots of his — he molded his armour. Two small lines of lettering, Andromeda and Heartthrob's PHO handles, physically engraved onto the inside of one of the many plates of his formidable suit. 

Having recorded the informaiton as he could, Pendragon would stand and bid his farewells much as Andromeda had, though with a less impressive lightshow. "Fare thee well, dear companions." Pendragon spoke as he pushed his pinched seating back to its proper placement at another table. "Until our next meeting, may fortune favour your noble souls. I must be off to Riverside." With that, the hero rose a few inches from the ground, maneurvering upward until he were clear of most people and furniture, flying at speed toward the mall's exit.