A-Plus
A-Plus is the name of a secret training program for teenage meta-humans. It is housed at Detroit Memorial High School, and receives funding from the US Department of Justice. If/when the teens operate officially together in the field, their team name would also be A-Plus.
Contents
The Team
Year One
Faculty
- Cordova, Emilio "Emil" - B.Sc. B.Ed. Former UNTIL field officer and teacher in UNRWA-run international schools.
- Mangat, Hansa - B.Ed. M.Ed. Specializing in English Language Arts and counselling.
Students
- Akiyama, Jotaro "Joto" - AKA Torchbug
- Arden, Amelia "Emmie" - AKA Stretcherette
- Berruet, Quillyn Aoife Lauren (goes by Lauren) - AKA Galvanic
- "Boston" - AKA Dynamics
- Bronson, Brynna - AKA Bluebird
- Hollis, Lamont Sebastian "Monty" - AKA Artisan
- LeFevre, Danielle Clarissa "Dani" - AKA Battery
- Schultz, Garson - AKA Granite
- Verdant, Jasper - AKA Remnant
Setting
Detroit Memorial High School
The first school was established in 2002, renamed from a 1979 high school in honor of the victims of the Battle of Detroit in 1992. The original Detroit Memorial was scheduled to be replaced in 2022 due to its age and insufficient property size. With so much of the downtown area having been rapidly developed and expensive, it was seen as cost effective for the school division to purchase an existing tower and retrofit its lower half as a school, while keeping professional offices in the upper level to help generate some revenue.
Starting in September 2022, Students moved into the new school at 2930 E. Jefferson Avenue in the downtown core, a 22 floor building of which the school occupies the first 11 floors. The school has capacity for 2,500 students.
Floor Layout
- 22 - MC Public Schools Board Room/Board Offices/Roof access/Building Maintenance
- 17-21 - Various professional offices
- 16 - Commercial lobby/professional offices/PRIMUS Field Office
- 13-15 - Offices of Millennium City Public Schools
- 12 - School administration/media arts studio
- 11 - DMHS Student Council/Student Lounge/Club Spaces/multipurpose rooms
- 10 - Math faculty/classrooms
- 09 - Science labs/science faculty/classrooms
- 08 - Humanities faculty/classrooms
- 07 - Library/Computer Science lab/Robotics Lab/school server room
- 06 - Industrial Arts/A-Plus Secret Training Facility/Split-level atrium (upper)
- 05 - Gymnasium (upper)/spectator space/indoor track/Split-level atrium (lower)
- 04 - Gymnasium (mid)/workout room/spectator space/classrooms
- 03 - Gymnasium (lower)/athletics faculty/infirmary/classrooms
- 02 - Arts studios (art, drama, music)/Arts faculty/Cafeteria/Foods labs/Theater (upper)
- Main - School Admin/Lobby/loading dock/Auto Mechanics lab/Theater (lower)
- Sub - Parkade/Building maintenance
Elevators and Stairs
There are two sets of two elevators on the northwest and southeast of DMHS to service the school for all 11 floors it occupies. Students may also use stairways on the northeast and southeast to move between levels.
Professionals working in upper floors of the tower use an alternate lobby on the north face of the tower, with its own dedicated express elevator to reach the Commercial Lobby on the 16th floor. There are emergency stairwells which go through all levels of the tower, however, they cannot be accessed without tripping an alarm, and are monitored by cameras.
There is a large service elevator on the main and second floors which services the drama department's movement of items to the theater stage. A teacher key is required to operate it.
Parking
Four sub-levels of a parkade are for professionals working in the tower, and not students. This includes the teachers of the school, though the parking rates are high enough that many choose to carpool, or use public transit.
Students have a designated parking lot nearby. It requires a visible parking pass, which can be obtained for $400 for September-June, or a 1 month rate of $50. There is a substantial waiting list for student parking passes. The wait list is cleared at the end of June, and a lottery determines first opportunity to purchase a pass the last week of August. Security routinely patrols the lot, checks passes, and will not hesitate to tow unauthorized cars.
Students can also use nearby commercial parking lots and parkades, but the costs are much higher.
Transit
Detroit Memorial is served by the 9 route of the MDOT (Millenium City Department of Transportation) system.
Students are also served by 18 school bus routes that serve the school's catchment area.
About 3% of students regularly use taxi cabs to go to and from school. The school division provides transportation funds in most of these cases for students with special transportation needs.
The A-Plus Facility
The hidden training facility is concealed between the 5th and 6th floors, though it is primarily on the 6th.
As work on the tower retrofit progressed, US government officials, in cooperation with PRIMUS and the Adventurers superhero team, quietly created the hidden facility and cleverly hid it with a split-level atrium. Being in between the gym and the Industrial Arts lab - two of the noisier portions of the school - helps conceal 'super' training activities. There is also some high-end sound baffling between the A-Plus facility and the other portions of the school.
There are secret access points for A-Plus members through stairwells, the I.A. lab, and the library above. Biometric identification is required to access the inner doors of the facility.
The entirety of staff and students are unaware of its existance, as intended. Aside from the A-Plus program teachers - Mr. Cordova and Mrs. Mangat - the only school staff aware of the program's existance is the principal, but the principal keeps out of its affairs. Students enrolled in A-Plus are screened carefully for their ability to maintain the secrecy of the program and the facility.
Athletics
All teams of Detroit Memorial are called the 'Maelstrom.' Their team colors are grey and sky blue. (The Maelstrom logo is silver and sky blue)
The school has an impressive slate of teams, including:
- Football (September-November)
- Basketball (December-March)
- Volleyball (May/June)
- Badminton (February-April)
- Track and field (April-May)
- Cheer (all year)
Clubs
The following are established extra-curricular activities students may join:
- Anime Club
- Drama club
- The d3C0d3r5 (Robotics & Coding Club)
- Chess club
- Concert band
- Economics Club (Accounting and investment)
- Marching band
- Mathletes
- RPG Club
- Running Club
Student Council
Role | Duties |
---|---|
President |
|
VP Finance |
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VP School Spirit |
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VP Outreach |
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Secretary |
|
Role | Duties |
---|---|
Grade-level Representative (x4) |
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Safe and Inclusive Schools Rep |
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Communications Rep |
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Graduation Rep |
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Athletics Rep |
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Arts Rep |
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Yearbook Rep |
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Student Elections Chief |
|
Notable Non-Hero Characters
June Valet
Role: Student Council Presidential Candidate
Year: Junior
Popularity: 6/10
Academics: 92% average
June is running for student council! She was the 9th grade rep on council in her freshman year, managed to get elected to the Student Council Executive as Secretary, and now in her junior year, she has designs on running for President.
June is popular, friendly, and very happy to bend an ear about what student council does or can do. She is also a starter on the girls' basketball team, known for excellent two-way play, teamwork, as well as outstanding individual talent.
"Rememeber: June Valet on voting day!"
@historiphile
Zilla
Role: Tough Guy; Bully
Real Name: Godfrey Antoniuk
Intimidation: 10/10
Popularity: 2/10
Academics: 37% average
Zilla is that guy anyone who remembers from middle school, remembers with disaste. He's loud, rude, and uses his size and bulk to try to get his way.
His real name Godfrey, and his 'monster' size, led to his nickname, 'Zilla.' His friends are pretty much just like him.
"You're in my seat."
@historiphile
Meghan-Nicole Greer
Role: Cheer team captain; mean girl
Popularity: 10/10
Meghan-Nicole is the most popular girl in school who's unafraid to flaunt her "power". Despite her nastiness to those outside of her circle, she's beloved by the school faculty.
Daughter of Donald Greer, prominent (yet widely despised) property magnate. Meghan is among the most wealthy of students at DMHS. Why she's attending public school and not a prestigious private school is unknown, but it may account for her bad attitude.
"Watch out, Pipsqueak."
@heavywhirlwind89
Buzz Howard
Role: Varisty quarterback
Popularity: 7/10
Athleticism: 9/10
Buzz is the star quarterback of the Maelstrom varsity football team. He puts on airs of bravado, and gets led down bad paths to fit in with the popular social set. But he doesn't talk about his family much - he's actually from a much poorer background than most of the student body.
"<quote>."
@checkmate9296
Eddie Ramirez
Role: Football player; student council presidential candidate
Popularity: 9/10
Athleticism: 10/10
Academics: 81% average
Eddie is a varsity wide receiver and a loveable meat-head. He seems easy-going and charming, but his humor often puts people on the spot. His idea of 'charm' seems to be learned from 90s sitcoms.
Athleticism and good looks have taken Eddie far. Now he's running for Student Council President. But is Eddie really all that he thinks he is?
"Hey- how you doin'?"
@historiphile
Billy Tierney
Role: Class clown; student council candidate
Popularity: 5/10
Academics: 69% average
Billy is a well-known class clown, and has been since elementary school. He is known for stunts, pranks, and comedic impressions. He has the energy of a stand-up comic. Sometimes he crosses a line, but he has good instincts about not punching down.
"Student Council is a joke, so put someone with a sense of humor in charge!"
@historiphile
Janelle Bloom
Role: Rich kid; student council candidate
Athletics: 6/10
Popularity: 7/10
Academics: 85% average
Janelle is from a wealthy family. Her house has a swimming pool, and since elementary school, tended to invite her whole class to swim there on the last day of school every year as a bit of a social flex.
At school, Janelle is a part of the Economics Club, which is a group for fiscally-minded students to discuss accounting, investment, and, with teacher guidance, buy and monitor stocks. The club is technically open to all, but has a way of being hostile to students who aren't from moneyed families.
Janelle's family owns horses. Janelle herself competes in equestrian sports, and has her eye on being an Olympic contender in that someday.
"School is important, but money is even more. Let me tell you about my stock portfolio..."
@historiphile
Joining
A-Plus was founded in spring 2024 after some generative world-building discussions between Adventurers members. Though we have RP'd in A-Plus a few times, it remains somewhat a work in progress.
As a sub-group of the Adventurers, A-Plus follows the rules and principles of its parent group. This includes the group's recruiting practices.
The characters of A-Plus will at a minimum be these things:
- A teenager of high school age (starting at age 14 for 9th grade/Freshmen); see 'Age of Characters' below.
- Either a meta-human (not necessarily a crime fighter), or a costumed vigilante
- A student, enrolled at Detroit Memorial High School
- Maintaining a secret identity, as well as the secrecy of the A-Plus program.
Slice of Life RP Opportunities
Using the Detroit Memorial High School setting, we often do RP that takes place between classes in slice of life style.
We seek "Non-Hero Characters" - similar to NPCs, RPers would obviously portray these as characters in DMHS who are not super powered, but some variety of 'normal' person. These would probably be students (feel free to dig up your favorite teen character archetype!), but it could be teachers, admin, or custodians - people who make sense to be in the school building.
It would get to be a bit of a strain on immersion and verisimilitude if every person in the A-Plus orbit were secretly super-powered, and that's why this RP isn't really the place to bring that kind of character.
If you aren't into playing a non-super character, this RP probably isn't for you - and that's okay.
If you are interested in this, please reach out to @historiphile. If you've been wanting to join the Adventurers or A-Plus, this is a great way to get known and show your RP style, which can help you in your bid to be recruited.
The high school RP is rated PG-13.
How to Gain Membership
Only current Adventurer members are adding hero characters to A-Plus at this time. There is also a soft cap on A-Plus of about 8-10 student characters per 'Year'.
For non-members, you can express interest if you want, but no promises are being made right now.
Age of Characters
Characters in A-Plus are participating in 'school years'. While our parent roleplay group, the Adventurers, have characters who age in sync with the real world, the characters of A-Plus are more on comic book time. Hence, school is always technically on! We can be doing school-based RP in real-world summer; we can be celebrating Homecoming in real-world April.
The only age consideration is what year of high school your student character in. Students should not be in the program more than 4 years, as, after 4, they should graduate. Time will advance in the group periodically, by a trigger method yet to be determined. When it does, we will hold events to mark the end of the school year (grad? a farewell dance? a supervillain attack on the school??), and when that is completed... it will be time to set a roster for the next year! New students might come in, old ones advance a year and become more senior!
Why not go beyond 4 years? The very nature of schooling is growth and renewal, and in that spirit, the idea is to keep older characters rotating out, and newer characters rotating in.