Verve

> "*But I AM going to stop you. Because this is my family and my friends and you're never going to hurt them ever again. Because I am here to protect them.*"
> ― Atlanta, as she drains all of Sapphomet's magic
>
>

## Verve

* Atlanta
* Hero outfit
* Chibi

### Aliases

@summerlightning on chitter (Verve's chitter)AJ Satou

### Playbook(s)

Janus (formerly) Protege (current, to Daybreak)

### Powers

Energy absorptionInterdimensional pockets

Impossible mobility (lost for season 4 but it's back again)

Heightened strength, agility, and toughness

## Biographical information

### Occupation

Tech support specialist, formerlyBaker and cake decorator at Sweet Nothings

### Relatives

Noah James (father)Jasper James (little brother)

Demeter James (mother)

Hero One (grandparent)

Clio Hikari James (little sibling)

## Physical description

### Orientation

Ace? Demi? Lesbian? Idk, feelings are hard. Definitely likes Boon.

## Appearance

In her civilian life, Atlanta is female, white, and wears boring (usually secondhand) clothing: baggy t-shirts, oversized sweaters, high-waisted pants, that kind of thing. She has green eyes, curly brown hair, and way too many freckles.

As Verve, she recently swapped out her pink cropped hoodie for a new, more official hero-y looking costume. The new costume consists of a cropped pink shirt, a hooded bolero jacket, black leggings with pink accents, a utility belt, and black gloves. She still just wears a domino mask so that she can properly sign while in costume.

## Powers

Verve can absorb any kind of energy, but electricity is easiest. Recently, she’s started absorbing a lot more kinetic energy. She wasn’t sure at first how or why she has powers, but it’s pretty cool. And when life gives you cool lightning powers, why would you question it? Now she knows that both her energy absorption and Pocket powers are, at least in some capacity, genetic on her mother’s side.

At the end of Season 3, she lost her ability to fly by turning into lightning, but gained a new ability after absorbing dimensional energy and messing with time in order to save the team.

Verve has access to a pocket dimension where she can store objects and energy (nothing alive), but only one thing at a time (at least for now). For example, she could have a single baseball OR all the energy from a falling elevator. It also gives her a place to store things she absorbs other than her body, but she can still store energy within herself like she could before.

Verve needs to touch something in order to absorb it into the pockets. Once she touches it and it gets stored, it’s easy to retrieve. These are the same kind of Pockets that Hero One, and by extension Reaper One, has/had.

## Background

### Pre-Big Team

Atlanta grew up in Halcyon with her dad (Noah, a nurse) and her little brother (Jasper, 10). Her mom, Demeter James, disappeared when Atlanta was 12 wasn’t heard from for 4 years. Demeter is Deaf and uses hearing aids. Jasper is also deaf and wants to be an architect when he grows up.

A few weeks before joining Big Team, someone was breaking into the community center where she swims -- the Niccals Family Community Center. They were doing a lot of damage. She donned a hoodie and a scarf and stalled the intruders until the police got there and arrested them. She was hooked. But, she was also caught by Mr. Crossover, the director of the community center. Turns out scarves aren’t great for concealing your identity. They slip. But Mr. Crossover helped her get a better mask and costume!

But no one else knew when she joined Big Team. And she wants to keep it that way. After all, bad guys can’t go after her family if they don’t know who she is. And, you know, her dad wouldn’t approve of her doing dangerous hero stuff, and she’d hate to see the disappointment on his face if he ever found out. He’s also not a big fan of superheroes or superpowers in general, so it’d be best if he just didn’t know.

In those few short weeks between her debut and joining Big Team, she managed to gain the ire of Commissioner Gordon. She may have accidentally taken out the electricity in a large part of the city and wrecked a police operation in the process. Despite what he thinks, she didn’t do it on purpose!

Atlanta keeps herself busy, hating to be bored or idle for long periods of time. She’s on the swim team at Big High, has a job doing tech support, and babysits for her brother a lot.

Anyway, she’s super excited about being on the team! It’s safer when you’re on a team! And it gives her more excuses to do the hero thing, and you can’t beat the rush of being a hero.

### Season 3

Over the course of Season 3, Verve expanded how she was able to use both of her powers. She was able to travel through wires before losing the ability to turn into lightning and can now absorb the kinetic energy of impacts.

While Orbital was infiltrating GAIA, he had them report that Atlanta was a member of Gambite. Thinking that no one on the team would believe her over GAIA, Verve had even more reason to conceal her identity from the team for fear that they’d think she was a spy and kick her off of the team. Verve’s identity was revealed to several members of the team over the season, and no one actually thought she was in Gambite. Gwen was the one who told GAIA that Atlanta should be cleared of suspicion.

After her father found out about her identity during a fight at the hospital where he worked, she still kept her identity secret out of fear and habit. He threatened to move to New York if she didn’t quit, but she refused, saying she’d stay behind, and he’d be the one separating her and Jasper. It was the first time she really stood up to her dad.

During the finale fight, she absorbed some dimensional energy that she used to send a warning to Cyclone to warn Big Team about Gambite’s attack, but it caused her to lose her ability to turn into lightning and fly. She was crushed by this. However, she did develop a mysterious new power, and was able to put a single object she touched into a Pocket dimension.

### Season 4

Verve learned to use her Pockets. She could only Pocket one thing at a time, and she didn’t have great control over them. Since her powers were so much like Hero One’s, and subsequently Reaper One’s, Ernest was afraid of her power and tried to get her not to use it. Verve didn’t understand why he was afraid, and that put a strain on their relationship. She sometimes would Pocket herself, which was a big problem until she got some dimension-hopping stones after rescuing her mom and grandy. She summons things from her Pockets to her hands, and so she can’t get out of her Pockets on her own. But the stones enabled her to go to a dimension she’d been to before, and thus she could get out. During the season, she also found out that when Reaper One Pocketed New England, a lot of magical people got corrupted. There is an entire wing of the Consortium library prison dedicated to people corrupted by that event. They classified the Pockets as an inherently evil power, and Verve hid her powers when around Consortium members for fear she’d be put into the library prison herself.

The consequences of keeping secrets caught up to her and almost ruined her relationships with Ernest and Tay. But slowly over the course of the season, she faced her mistakes, made up with them, and stopped (or at least tried to stop) keeping unnecessary secrets.

Atlanta and Boon went on dates, and officially started dating (Boon asked her out with a song in the park, it was the cutest thing). She helped save Boon from Sapphomet. She kept the fact that she and Boon were dating secret from Noah for fear that he’d disapprove and try to make her stop, but he found out from a gossip magazine instead, which was worse. But it helped them realize how much work their relationship needed, and they started to mend it slowly from there.

Atlanta, Boon, Melody, Tay, and Ellen saved Demeter James and Hikari Satou (who is one of Demeter's parents) from Reaper One's Pockets. With two more people there to take care of Jasper and make money, and with Demeter's guidance with hero things (Demeter took up her old mantle of Daybreak), Atlanta could focus on swim team and hero things much better than she could juggling everything on her own. She quit her job at Tech Titans, but got a part time job at Demeter’s re-opened cupcake shop, Sweet Nothings. Despite having another job, she liked this one and didn’t have to hide hero things from her boss, so it was a much better situation. All five of them lived in the three bedroom one bathroom apartment for a few weeks before the adults bought a house. Atlanta had never had her own bathroom before and cried. Jasper also got a dog with all the extra room. (Playbook change from Janus to Protege.)

During the finale, she, Kurt, and Boon stopped the Seekers and Future Kurt from using a Consortium ritual to kill high-ranking Consortium members (although some did die, but not as many as the Seekers wanted) and remove all the magic from Halcyon, making it unlivable for most people. During the climactic fight, Verve Pocketed a lot of bad magical energy and crystals, and used her Pockets as a neutral space to convert the magic back into positive magic, and released it safely. Her mask fell off in the process, however, and Conmoro found out about her powers. They didn’t believe that Verve was evil, but in order for her to stay free, she needed to agree to come to Madagascar and let the Consortium study her powers every few weeks. She agreed, and now goes to Madagascar with Kurt.

After those events, Verve could put more things into her Pockets at a time. Unblocking this part of her powers also somehow unlocked her ability to turn into lightning, and she was beyond excited to be able to fly again.

After the season finale, she revealed her identity to the team. She was still nervous about being so open, but finally realized that keeping that secret wasn’t a healthy choice.

### Season 5

In season 5, Atlanta strengthened her powers and relationships. She learned not to be scared of her Pockets, and learned better control of them (despite some...mishaps with them and a telescope). She learned she can Pocket things from a distance, but has no control over that. With Daybreak’s help, she started to be able to absorb energy from a distance, though isn’t very good at that yet.

The season had its ups and downs, but Verve grew into her own as a hero. There were times when she wasn’t sure about her place as a hero; she isn’t as smart as Daybreak and kept botching fights, but came to the realization that she fought for people. She was there for the people she cared about, and protecting people is why she's a hero. That is what is most important to her.

Near the end of the season, she held her own against Yamato, and that gave her a lot of confidence in her fighting ability. Not many people can say they’ve gone one on one against Yamato and won (well, it was a stalemate but still).

In the finale, when Sapphomet returned, she defended Boon from her and drained all of her magic. Without her magic, Sapphomet was only a snake, and she can’t hurt anyone ever again.

After the finale, Daybreak told her she was proud of her, and that Atlanta doesn’t need to be like her to be a good hero. She’s a hero exactly as she is. Daybreak retired as a hero for the second time at the end of the season. Demeter is pregnant and feels like Atlanta doesn’t need her active guidance as a hero, although she’ll still be around for guidance whenever Atlanta needs her. The baby is due May 2021.

Jasper first showed a hint of developing powers in season 3, but there were enough instances of him exhibiting powers in season 5 that Atlanta could no longer ignore it. After a good talk with Ernest, she accepted that she can’t ignore this and the best thing for her to do is help train him.

At first when the possibility of leaving Big Team came up, Atlanta was hesitant to leave. But by the end of the season and talking with her friends, she accepted that it was time to move on. Now, she’s very excited about the Vanguard and what comes next. She’s ready to move on.

## Relationships

### Family

Noah James, dad: Noah and Atlanta had a rocky relationship and a hard time trusting each other when she first started heroing, but they’ve since recovered and have a good relationship again.

Jasper James, little brother: A large part due to their mom being missing for four years, Jasper and Atlanta are really close. She was a pseudo-parent to him while her mom was missing, but they’ve quickly fallen back into behaving like siblings all the time. Atlanta is intensely protective of him, but is learning to accept that she can’t stop him from following in his family’s heroic footsteps. He recently got taller than her and is incredibly smug about being the “bigger sibling.”

Demeter James, mom: Their relationship was a little tenuous after Demeter got back, but the two of them rebuilt it on cupcakes and heroing together.

Hikari Satou, grandparent: It’s a little weird to find out that the grandparent you never knew and who was rarely around when your mom was growing up is actually THE Hero One, but now they feel like just another member of the family.

Clio Hikari James, little sibling: born May 25, 2021: This child is going to be so spoiled.

### Friends

Atlanta is intensely protective of everyone on Big Team, but has developed especially close friendships with several teammates (and not teammates). (In no particular order…)

Boon is Atlanta’s joyfriend, and the love of her life. They are obnoxiously cute together. What more is there really to say at this point?

Ellen is Atlanta’s best friend, and the first person she chose to tell her secret identity to. She wants Ellen to be happy and will support her, even if that means Ellen will leave again. At least this time, they can call each other thanks to Mel’s special watches. She treasures every moment she gets to spend with her and Tay.

Even though they had a bit of a rocky start to their friendship (making someone angry at your hero identity and then waiting way too long to reveal who you are to them will do that), Tay and Atlanta recovered and Atlanta considers Tay one of her best friends.

Melody discovered Atlanta’s secret identity after a terrible fight at the hospital where Noah works, and the two became close after that. They have pancake night with Ellen every Friday (although there was a hiatus while Ellen was gone, and then longer while Ellen and Melody figured their relationship out again). Atlanta considers Melody her sister.

Gwen also discovered Atlanta’s secret identity during the hospital fight, and the two became close after that. Before she left on her road trip in December 2019, Gwen asked Atlanta to keep an eye on Boon, which Atlanta thinks is going very well ;). Gwen is still one of her best friends.

Atlanta taught Ernest ASL for several months before realizing they were friends, and by that time, Ernest was afraid of Verve’s Pocket powers. This led to her not telling him her identity until he found out during a fight with Sapphomet, and he took it really poorly. But their relationship has recovered, and Atlanta now considers Ernest her brother. He’s one of the few people she’d trust to train Jasper with his powers.

Mel radiates so much little brother energy that Atlanta couldn’t NOT adopt him, especially after he started doing Chimera Cooking with Ernest and Jasper. Yes he’s the little brother. Yes he’s older than her. What’s your point?

Atlanta likes Aman a lot, after their shenanigans spying on Kurt soon after she joined the team, and Aman being very bad at keeping his identity secret from Atlanta. They also bonded during the three days stuck in Casper’s head together. He helped her make a new hero costume, and she told him to go for it in terms of asking Melody out.

Hana and Atlanta have shared the sacred Fist Bump of Friendship. Their bond is unshakable.

Samantha and Atlanta met at the community center and bonded over baking. The two of them sometimes make cupcakes with magic decorations. It’s a lot of fun.

From the moment she met Greta, Atlanta knew she needed better friends, and strove to be that for her. It took a while, but then they bonded at prom 2020 and Atlanta trusts her completely.

It took Atlanta longer to like Cambria than Greta, but as soon as she decided she and Cambria were friends after bonding at prom, she was all in (even though trusting Cambria at the time wasn’t the smartest move). She’s very glad that Cambria and Greta aren’t with the Black Magic Club anymore and can move on to better things.

Kurt and Atlanta started to get along because of Ernest, but became real friends along the way. This was emphasized after Kurt told her that they’d betray the Consortium if they tried to lock her away because of her Pockets, and helped her make a charm that can keep people from scrying her. Now she thinks of Kurt as one of her closest friends, which she never would have imagined back when they were in Gambite.

Ryan and Atlanta didn’t do much hero stuff together, but she respects them a lot for how they handle themself while heroing. Plus, they helped out Boon with gender stuff and she’ll be forever grateful to them for that. They’re friends, and she thinks it’s very funny that they were named after Hikari.

Faith is great, and Atlanta likes and respects her. But she really thinks Faith ought to JUST ASK OUT TONI ALREADY COME OOOOON.

Tony was Verve’s first real fan, which is always going to be special to Atlanta. Now he's her tol stronk sof cat fren who gives grrrrrand hugs. (His hugs are her second favorite, after Boon's. Shh don't tell anyone.) She’s glad he knows that she’s Verve.

Luna is an expert gift-giver, and they and Atlanta have conspired to give good presents in the past. The two don’t hang out as much as Atlanta would like, but there’s always time to fix that. Atlanta isn’t as close to Dawn or Solae.

Jenny is a sweetheart, and Atlanta has taught her how to cook. Jenny is strange and she REALLY wishes Jenny would use hot pads, but Atlanta’s learning to get over that. She loves Jenny’s enthusiasm.

Elena was Hikari’s goddaughter, and now considers herself Atlanta’s aunt. She comes over for a bunch of family things, and the two have bonded over baking. Atlanta isn’t as close to Maria or Sapphire.

Nat is a sweetheart and reminds Atlanta a lot of herself. They didn’t do much together on Big Team, but they did bond over getting donuts and then spinning donuts on Atlanta’s motorcycle, and over truth or dare.

Carmen defended and comforted Atlanta once after a bad confrontation with Kieran, and she won’t forget that.

In terms of negative relationships, Kieran Khan is the asshole who threatened Jasper during a fight at the hospital and possibly the only person Verve actively hates. She threw him off a roof once and won’t hesitate to do it again, as either identity.

## Journals

Verve's Journal: Season 3

The Continuing Adventures of Verve: Season 4

The Thrilling Adventures of Verve: Season 5

## Scenes

Secrets Don't Make Friends (10/05/2019) - Wherein Verve is very bad at explaining why she keeps her identity secret, and Carmilla is understandably upset about it.

A Super Heart to Heart (11/05/2019) - Wherein Atlanta and Boon share a bonding moment, and Boon is absolutely not suspicious about Atlanta maybe having superpowers.

Talk to the Hands (11/15/2019) - Atlanta teaches Ernest ASL after school.

Just Two Regular Unpowered Girls (11/20/2019) - Rea "Faker" Remington tries to make friends with a non-super girl she sees swimming in the pool. Just a regular, unpowered girl named Atlanta. Uh Oh, tune in to find out more!

After the Storm (11/24/2019) - Wherein Melody checks on Atlanta and Jasper after a devastating mission, and the two definitely don't cry a lot.

Dads, Am I Right? (11/25/2019) - Wherein Atlanta skips school, Gwen slacks at work, and they're sad about dads (among other things).

I went and hung out with my crush's friend without realizing it was actually my crush and then asked out the girl that I was sitting across from, light novel edition (rip verve's flight AND cognitive function) (12/27/2019) - Wherein Boon and Verve make each other's days a little better, and Boon asks for advice asking out Atlanta, who is totally not Verve what are you talking about. Ellen, help.

In for a Niccal, in for a Pound (Cake) (1/2/2020) - Wherein Boon and Verve make a cake, and Boon asks for dating advice about Atlanta, who is still definitely not Verve.

Secrets We Tell and Secrets We Hold (1/11/2020) - Wherein Boon and Atlanta go on a date, reveal some secrets, but keep others.

The Breakfast Club (1/24/2020) - Wherein Ellen, Melody, and Atlanta eat pancakes, talk about their feelings, and have a night in like they're normal teenagers.

Calm Before the Storm (2/26/2020) - Wherein Ernest, Atlanta, and Jasper get ice cream.

A Totally Not Awkward Family Dinner (3/14/2020 - 3/15/2020) - Wherein Maggie Ostenberg invites her daughter’s **girlfriend** and the girlfriend’s father to dinner and absolutely nothing goes wrong or is awkward in the slightest.

Various Storms and Saints (3/18/2020) - Wherein Ernest and Atlanta talk about secrets, promises, and the constancy of fear.

Stolen Hearts - Meanwhile, somewhere in the C-Verse, AJ flirts with superhero Barbara Ostenberg (AKA the hero Friðr), and Verve successfully steals at least one heart in a museum heist.

With Great Power Comes Great Fear of Hurting People With That Power (4/7/20) - Wherein Atlanta has some news for Ernest about Reaper One and Pockets.

Unfilled Spaces (5/8/2020) - Wherein Atlanta and Boon have some quality girlfriend time to talk about traumas, make a new one, and confess something that should surprise no one by now.

If it squeaks like a bat, it might still be your friend (5/12/2020) - Wherein Atlanta and Tay see each other for the first time in two weeks, or two years, depending on who you ask.

Along for the Ride (5/25/2020) - Wherein Ellen lovingly bullies Atlanta into no longer being afraid of her motorcycle.

The Fist Bump of Friendship (5/26/2020-5/29/2020) - Wherein Shade asks Atlanta for dating advice, and they talk about friendship.

The Weather Channel Presents: Chimera Cooking (5/30/2020) - Wherein Ernest, Bolt, and Jasper commit food crimes for Ernest's B-Tube channel, and Atlanta is forced to watch.

Now You C Me, Now You Don't - While Tay and Ellen were on their big time and space road trip, they helped AJ recover something important.

Pancake Party: 2 Flour 2 Furious (8/11/2020) - Wherein Ellen and Atlanta make a special treat for Melody's birthday, and maybe have a small food fight.

A Robot and a Valkyrie walk into a Hospital Room... (8/23/2020) - Wherein Bolt and Friðr hang out with Verve in the hospital after she was stabbed.

Two Sweet (8/25/2020) - Wherein Elena and Atlanta bond over baking, time travel, and being gay.

Shining Bright (9/6/2020) - Wherein Boon and Atlanta reflect on their relationship on their 6 month anniversary, are entirely too gay and adorable, and Boon shares some exciting news.

Blue Pumpkin Cupcakes (10/23/2020) - Wherein Jenny and Atlanta make cupcakes, and Jenny joins in the Big Team Tradition of asking Atlanta for dating advice.

The thing about family recipes is that they have extra love built in (10/27/2020) - Wherein Elena and Atlanta bake and talk about family.

Are Ewe Okay? (11/7/2020) - Wherein Boon reveals their new sheep form to Atlanta, and they talk about their families futures.

Another Day, Another Storm (11/15/2020) - Wherein Atlanta checks in on Melody at the hospital after a tough mission, and the two definitely don't cry at all.

So You Had A Bad Day (11/23/2020) - Mel, Tay, Atlanta, and Ellen have a series of perhaps overdue conversations after their day of dimension hopping. There are pancakes.

Shade and Verve in: The Super Duper Important Emergency! (11/26/2020) - Shade requests the help of her fellow super hero **Verve** to deal with a cataclysmic issue in this exclusive team up!

New Horizons (12/5/2020) - Wherein Ernest and Atlanta talk about future plans.

Four Cinnamon Rolls at Sweet Nothings (1/4/21) - Wherein Ryan asks Atlanta for advice, and they talk about cupcakes and other sweet things.

## Playlists

Season 3 Playlist

Season 4 Playlist

Atlanta Georgia, the ship of legends

Season 5 Playlist, Goodbye