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GM There are very few people at Claremont aware about the danger that the Totality imposes. There are probably fewer or none who know that the Yellow Sign are using the eclipse's weakening of The Pact to summon their maddening god. Right now, the moon is about to crossover the sun. Even though it's only 70-something percent in New Jersey. Ah, the opportunists. Though some students may be occupied by it, some are not. Erebo, the living darkness. Salvo, the genius machine girl. Gauss, the master of magnet. These three students are taking it easy today. Are they watching the three quarter eclipse?

March 24, 2017. Freedom City. Various places. Mid-Afternoon. Six heroes. Varying ages. Varying skillsets. Varying modus operandi. All of who sudden vanished off the face of the earth. There was no flash of light, no psychedelic tube of travelling. It was simply six people who were one place and then suddenly not. But from their perspective, they had not moved. The world had suddenly become different around them. And yet much the same. What had happened wasn’t hard to figure out. This was not their world. ***************** It had taken Terrifica moments to figure out she wasn’t on her Earth anymore. The lack of tailpipes on the cars was one big clue. Another was the lack of trash on the street. A dozen subtle things that simply were wrong. Fear and curiosity mixed. Her motorcycle was a dimensional wall away, and it was highly unlikely even cash would be of any assistance. So, she was walking. It was indeed The Fens, but..not. The signs of poverty and desperation were…gone. There were people around, of course, but they were moving with a purpose in mind. No loitering on street corners, front stoops, or building lobbies. She fought back anxiety at being stranded. Away from home. From family. First things first. Find a library. Assuming they hadn’t been banned in this dimension, clues would be easy enough to find in one. Newpapers, history books, geography, even encyclopedias could be useful in getting her bearings. ***************** In her chambers, the Empress, her Imperial Majesty, Savior of Humanity & Mother of The Modern World, was kind of annoyed. “So. You’re telling me either the dimensional transporter I designed and built failed to function, or that you are the kind of idiot who can’t read simple information displays.” She waved her hand at an apologetic courtier. “No, don’t strain yourself trying to answer. Like always, I already know what happened. There was a flicker from the Terminus. Slight, but enough to throw off the location calculations. it wasn't unexpected.” She pulled back a sleeve and pressed at the flexible flatscreen on her wrist. “I’ve just uploaded the tracker program. It’s based on a combination of their dimensional and super power energy signatures, which were recorded during transport.” She saved her hand at the courtier, dismissing him. “Go. Find them and bring them to me. Gods know I can’t trust you to explain the problem to them.”

GM Bayview Mall Bayview Freedom City, New JerseyThursday November 19th, 2015 6:00 PM Cathy's attempt at a shopping excursion found itself short lived. Before the albino looking girl could even step inside the mall she was sprayed by water. Nearby police cars raced by the teen, their sirens blaring, without so much as an apology. The cold water soaking her body made the umbrella in her hand feel like a seemingly useless accessory. As she looked out into the street, Cathy could tell the police were erratically racing in the same direction. Hinting to some sort of trouble in the city. If not some sort of rain caused traffic accident. If she were so inclined, the moisture in the air could make following after the police an easy task for the ice controller. But, the option of leaving it to the FCPD and going inside for a change of clothes was also on the table.

GM Date: Unknown Location: A prison "Do you know the history of Ethiopia, 'Weekend'?" It was the first time the man in red had spoken, his face hidden behind a dizzying shimmer of digital distortion. The voice was deep, yet soft and mild, accented with the rolling vowels and curt consonants of another country. He smelled faintly acrid, like dusty books and ruins. He dressed finely, with an air of not just wealth but aristocratic and elegant bearing. The others hadn't said anything, but even so Roland could feel their presence. That is, they were tightly clustered behind the chair Roland was tied to, thick, gem-studded manacles binding his hands and feet together and behind the chair legs. He could feel and hear their breath, the slight shifting as they adjusted their feet, the rattle and clatter of something metal all of them carried in their hands. All of them started fidgeting the moment the man in red started talking. "Once, the kingdom of Shewa was a power that could defy even the Emperor. Even when Tewodros the Second defeated their Negus the region rose again and again in revolt. The Emperor settled their capital at Barara, the Negus' old seat, to claim that man's power and legitimacy for his own. The prince of Shewa, Menelik, became Emperor of Ethiopia in his own turn, a final insult to the pretender and his brood who thought they could take power with fire and sword." "I tell you this to remind you, sir, that what you have taken from us will soon be returned. My wise sister says "Wait." I say "Now", and no stripling boy untried by arms will defy me, not even in this, the seat of your pallid, wasting, leprous might." "In a few minutes our getaway vehicle will arrive and you will accompany me back to Africa. I cannot promise you such charming accommodations as this, but in time you might learn to accept gnawing, endless hunger and the surety that every chance to escape is a sham of my creation." The man in red held up the suitcase Weekend Man had, seemingly moments ago, been taking from the hands of a bunch of animal-themed robbers who had snuck into an ASTRO Lab wing. "Are you aware of the significance of daka crystals, Weekend?" This time, he paused and waited for an answer.

GM Thursday, April 13th, 2017 Claremont Academy, Bayview, Freedom City 12:31 PM Some of Claremont’s students fit in better than others. There were some who almost entirely disappeared, who didn’t get much attention from anybody beyond their direct circle. There were some that were (in)famous around the entire school grounds. And there were some who, simply through their appearance, stood out. Jann Fa-Re was one of the latter. And even if he hadn’t sported feathers for hair, and huge wings on his back, there’d be a fair share of school-wide attention on him. Rumours, gossip, stuff only said behind his back. He was out on the grass training at almost any time, during all kinds of weather (some rumours about him doing it a 4 AM during a snow storm had been spreading around the school earlier this year). Added onto that the fact he had scars all across his body (and added more seemingly by the week), and his general friend circle, and most people didn’t quite know what to think of him. And more rumours started brewing, when during the lunch period, he approached another one of the teens known all around the campus. Riley Smith. “Hey. Heard you are the most skilled hunter here, correct?”

GM Monday, January 30th, 2017 The Boardwalk, South Freedom, Freedom City 11:05 AM Leeroy Street was one of the less nice places in The Boardwalk. It was still nicer than many places further down south, but to people that knew the place, it stood out. Refuse Collectors generally had a pretty good idea of what happened in various places, how businesses were doing, where parties happened, and so on. Sometimes, it was still surprising just what the latest trash could tell about a place. Today, Winter Snow, alias Synth, was once more assigned to the area including this street. At least it never got boring. So, after a while, the truck had arrived at the small street, lined with the less fancy establishments that somehow existed everywhere. A run down bar, an old movie store, and a few others, in similar condition. This was the third week in a row that she’d been assigned to this area after the weekend. Perhaps it was starting to be a routine of some sort? Either way, everything went as usual, until she got to Scrapper’s, a bar of some sorts. They always had a fair bit of trash, and for the last two weeks, something had stood out. The first week, there was a slight hint of blood in the trash’s smell. Nothing too strange, bars had accidents (and fights) too, so she had just noted it down as something that happened occasionally. Last week, the smell also was there, slightly stronger even. But this week? This week was different. It was still there. But it wasn’t a hint. It was more. The smell of blood was, at least to her, noticeable. Something was in these bags.

GM Friday, June 9th, 2017 Caniff Street, The Waterfront, Freedom City 6:21 PM Summer break was rapidly approaching. Which meant a few things. Lots of tests, and lots of people getting ready to leave Claremont for a while. Jann Fa-Re was amongst them, summer break being the only time of the year he had enough time to head home. The fact the dates coincided with Sun-Stay, the Avians’ largest holiday, certainly were a factor too. There still were a few things that had to be taken care of in Freedom City. Jann had known that Corinne, one of Claremont’s most recent students, had been trying to learn more about locations in the city. So he’d simply dragged her along. That was two hours ago. Ever since, the two of them had worked their way northwards from Claremont Academy, with Jann mentioning and pointing out all sorts of places, from stores, to a goth club/bar that looked like an old church, to places that were easy to hide in. Some had taken up only a few seconds (a small park not too far off the road (“difficult to find, keep it in mind”), some had taken longer. The mall had taken quite a while, with Jann buying all sorts of assorted things, but specifically not heading to the supermarket yet (“will be too much weight, on the way back home”). Right now, the two of them were sitting in a small Mexican themed café/restaurant, Jann surrounded by, at this point, quite a few bags. He’d specifically ordered multiple glasses of their special salsa, and was now waiting for the waiter to deliver them, all the while looking over a list on his phone and drinking some soda.

GM Waterfront July 10th, 2017 9:30 PM The sound of automatic weapon fire had driven most people away from the docks. It was one of those noises that the people of Freedom heard from time to time. But the circumstances of this fight seemed a little different. It seemed fairly unclear how the ordeal had started but the news report was showing two sets of people with automatic weapons. One set was in a pair of speedboats firing on another set of thugs on a dock. They had taken cover behind a large pick up truck they had apparently arrived in. The fighting had been going on for almost a minute and SWAT was on their way. However it seemed that there would be heroes who would arrive at this before they would. And in fact two were already in the water.

May 15, 2017 Austin, TX Austin's Lone Star Bank is located near the edge of the city proper, about halfway down 290 towards Dripping Springs. The distance means that it usually caters to patrons who live in western suburbs and bedroom communities and don't want to drive all the way into Austin to do their banking business. Of course, that also means it's prone to robberies. The bank has security and security cameras - but sometimes all that does is pick up what's happening. "All right, yew varmints, we warned you!" The lead outlaw, like her confederates, looked like a character from a movie - her black bandanna, cowboy gear and hat, and twirling six-shooters, belonged to the crime of an entirely different era - as did the half-a-dozen horses she and her gang had tied up outside before bursting into the bank with mayhem in mind. The guards were disarmed now and scattered among the bound and gagged patrons, her confederates were either guarding the door with their pistols or applying the dynamite to the door, everything was going well. Even the one guy in the middle of the floor, blood pouring from the six shots blasted in his shirt, was all part of the plan. Stupid bank manager had tried to play hero. Gotta make sure the people know who's really in charge. "C'mon, boys, hurry it up!" she called.

GM February 6th, Monday, 11.57AM, 2017 Kokinos' Greek Restaurant, West End, Freedom City The bell on the door chimed pleasantly as Moira walked in, the music cutting through the cacophany of conversation bubbling throughout the bright and crowded room, alerting the burly, bald and mustached Michel Kokinos behind the tall counter. Pausing briefly to smile in welcome, Michel marched out onto the floor to a corner table where two men in suits were chatting. One was bursting with confidence and intelligence, a handsome and bearded devil with mocking green eyes. The other had leonine hair, they were lean with hungry grey eyes that darted longingly between the enormous meal spread before him and those at the other occupied tables. Settling the plates of steaming fish and piled greens before what looked like a military couple off-duty, Michel stomped up to Moira, nodding in recognition as he said briskly "G'noon, Moira. What'll it be today, enh? Old Sean doing well?"

Beneath Claremont Academy 8:42 AM July 10, 2017 By design the impervium cell was nearly empty. The front wall was transparent due to a process that Winifred would have usually been much more interested to learn about and the cube was large enough to pace about comfortably but the only furniture was a smooth bench large enough to also serve as a bed, constructed from the same material as the walls. There was a television set outside the transparent wall, featuring rather clever motion controls so as to forego the need of a remote control but the young alchemist didn't want it even for the white noise just then. Instead she sat on the bench beside the pillow she'd brought with her, wearing the oversized flannel shirt she'd adopted as sleepwear. She hugged her legs against her chest and pressed her face into her knees, letting out a long, weary sigh as she continued silently reciting the elements.

GM Claremont Academy, Headmistress's Office Approximately 4:30pm, May 18, 2017 Four students had been called into Headmistress Summer's office, by way of notes handed over quietly early in the day (so as not to raise a fuss about the matter): Riley Smith, Winifred Wei, Matthew Rivera, and Raina Sanderson. Miss Summers sat behind her desk, typing away as the students filed in, a couple of quick clicks closing whatever she'd worked on, before she turned and faced the students. She sat back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap as she calmly regarded each of them for several moments. "To begin, understand that none of you are in trouble. Instead, this is me presenting you all with an opportunity for...let's call it something of a work-study program. I believe that, between your individual skills and your friendships with each other, you are well-suited to this task. I can't make you do this particular assignment, but you all do have hours and credits and the like to finish, so if it's not this particular assignment, it will be another. And unfortunately, I can't guarantee another opportunity that's as..." She paused and thought over her words for a moment, apparently quite conscious of some of the strong personalities in the room. "I can't guarantee you won't end up being forced to complete an assignment while working with one or more fellow students you do not get along well with. And don't think your companion's skills would let you bypass this requirement, Miss Sanderson; I'd know if he tried. Still, I have faith you all will be interested in this particular project."

GM Disclaimer: this thread will have politically incorrect white 'nationalist' villains that get punched in the face. No one writing here agrees with the very few things these idiots will be spouting. DJ Eclectic's concert was in need of a venue and Moira loved the idea of live music. Especially when it helped the local talent out! So posters were plastered all over the city. Every pole had at least one. Friday, June 16th. 9PM. Morley's pub. West End. Free admission." Below that was in a smaller font was the address. Blow that in the same sized font was Two Drink Minimum. White Knight II (Aidan Miller) looked at the poster with a sigh, letting out some curse word when he saw the poster with DJ Eclectic's face on it. "Like why do they even let people like her even work here?" His bodyguard, Big Girl (Mary Forth), and his yes man, Southern Charm (George Kent), nodded in agreement. "I don't know about you two," Aidan said scratching his chin, "but maybe we should make an appearance." George beamed, "like our constituents did with the park play. We could reach a lot of people." Mary grinned and nodded silently. "So, all for one and one for all then," Aidan checked his watch, "we have about four hours. Let's go plan out speech." Later That Evening, 15 minutes before the show DJ Eclectic's crew was setting up the equipment, and there was quite a crowd coming to see her! Moira was tending bar. DJ Eclectic was tending to set up, rehearsing while doing a sound check. Spitfire was conversing with folks in the crowd, being part of the crowd himself.

Freedom City, New Jersey June 20, 2017 Afternoon The man at the big board tapped a button on his control console and spoke into his microphone; on the other side of the soundproofed glass his voice was the only thing that could be heard. "Could we get a sound check, Asli? Just need to check some levels." Asli Saddik stepped up to the mic hanging in the middle of the chamber and licked her lips, leaning in close. "Check check Cyril, one two three four. Seven sniping snakes slipped and slithered up sinuous stairs while Sally and Susy sang stucco shanties. Kill Craig's cat and cripple Katy's kibble caboose. Tip toe and take two tables to taste Tali's tippled tacos." She stepped back and stretched, long arms almost reaching the top of the recording studio. "Those levels look good, Cyril? I don't want to be futzing with equipment all day." Cyril tweaked some knobs and bobbed his head as jerking lines on the screen leveled and smoothed out. "Looks good on our end. Ready to start when you are." He looked reached his hand out to a particular button and then paused, looking over at the other man seated at the big table. Joe Macayle wasn't a regular feature at the Stone Soup recording booth but at least he was smart enough not to touch any of the intimidating array of sliders and knobs on the board that seemed to stretch for a city block. Cyril caught his eye and gave him a mischievous wink. "Ready to see the magic happen?"

GM A few minutes away from FCPD Precinct 13 West End Freedom City, New JerseyThursday, December 28th, 2017 6:00 PM It was a cool, wintry night fast approaching the end of the month. Despite the old joke about police officers handing out more tickets near the closing off the month to meet some sort of quota the local police station in the West End had not seen a noted increase in traffic. In fact, the night was so quiet it was hard to miss the expression on a young Japanese woman's face as she exited Precinct 13. Pure dissatisfaction, clearly still distraught over whatever occurred in her meeting. In fact, her exit seemed to attract the attention of two heavily tattooed men who made no effort to hide the fact that they were following her. The woman appeared to be in her late teens with a fair complexion that felt right at home in the winter. Her long, straight, brunette hair almost blended into the leather jacket she was using to keep warm. A jacket that was apparently a size or two too large for her frame, indicating that it belonged to someone else. Her pursuers had bright green hair, and tattoos that showed affiliation to some small time local gang. She sped off to try and shake her pursuers. Unfortunately, they were quicker than her. Manhandling with ease they pushed the woman into an alleyway were there were two more men waiting. Only these men were each holding a sword in each hand. As if prepared for her arrival, they each tossed one of their swords to the men who pushed the woman inside of the alleyway.

Election Day It was early yet, and Ditra Fifty-Five wandered out into the Main Plaza feeling sick to her stomach; she'd just voted in the Republic Election, and part of her thought it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference who won. The green-skinned Nameless agent wandered over to a public bench and plopped down on it, still with her arms wrapped protectively around her belly. Like many of her more 'humanoid' behaviors, it was partly programed and partly legitimate, but it meant something a bit different when a Nameless did it. The lower abdomen is where a unit's pilot rested, safely coiled up inside an armored 'womb', so the gesture was really one of protection towards the bug that was the living core of cyborg. Ditra sat there for several minutes, watching the crowds line up outside the polling place. Street vendors began to set up their carts to serve the voters, and soon the smells of grilled meats and hot drinks wafted her way, and her pilot shifted and wriggled inside her, filled with pangs of hunger. I guess I did forget to have any breakfast before we left... And with that, she hopped up off the bench and strolled back across the street towards a Gandari noodle seller, his head wreathed in steam. "Good morning, young lady? What can I get for you?" "Good morning! I'll have a deep bowl of the ghat soup, with extra noodles, aaaaand a bottle of Triple-V." "Very good, miss! Coming right up!"

GM 10:27 PM, July 12th, 2017 Center For Disease Control and Development: Atlanta, Georgia Most of the time, epidemiology needed to be public in order to work properly. People needed to be made aware of the disease. They needed to be educated on what they could do to prevent it. Public awareness was one of the greatest tools in the arsenal of epidemiology. This was not one of those times. "We don't know what's causing this?" Hyperactive looked at the "vector" as it banged against the glass. He was working on his second two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. This was gonna be a long night. "No and we felt that it was better to get some support before heading out into the field." Replied Dr. Yang, the epidemiologist in charge of the crisis. "President Cahill has you on his list of heroes to call when we find ourselves up a creek without a paddle." "Sure, this is exactly what I signed on for. I'm gonna call in a little help, I promise they'll be discreet." Hyperactive was already feeling well out of his depth here. He grabbed his phone and hammered out two quick messages. "Woodsman, have a situation that may require some stealth and discretion. I think you may be able to help here. I have a situation in Georgia. I can pick you up." The scatterbrained Speedster sent. "Mr. Daggers. Names Hyperactive. Druid gave me your number. Got a situation in Georgia, could use some help. Drop your location, I can be there, fast." "Give me a few moments to retrieve some friends Doctor." Hyperactive said as he waited for a reply.

July 21st, 2017 8:30 PM The Southern Queen Restaurant Hyperactive had found that heroes played all sorts of roles. He liked to think of them as body parts. His father had been a powerful set of fists and his eyes cast tremendous vision. His best friend Druid was a heart that guided the Waco Warriors. And Hyperactive? Well he was almost always a pair of feet. Running around and kicking bad guys. But today was different. Today Hyperactive was a mouth. Hyperactive arrived in a blur of motion. He had on a simple black suit with a silver shirt. His green tie had his "H" in a pattern on it. He had opted for the visor that just went over his eyes and ears. This wasn't a combat mission, but it was a mission all the same. He strolled up to the entrance. The large briefcase with the congressional seal displayed hung at his side. "Hello Miss, table for two please." Hyperactive smiled at the hostess. "And tell Cheff McQueen that Hyperactive is here to see her."

GM Radiodeum The West End, Freedom City, NewJersey Friday, January 2nd, 2015 11:15 PM The Radiodeum is a theater infamous for its former tenants being the Toon Gang. Long evicted from its beautiful decor, the wooden framework is still looked on fondly by its many patrons. A far more impressive feat on any other night. Business had not resumed to its usual splendor after the Communion invaded. The annual monster movie night in preparation for the pending school season hadn't attracted much attention. In fact there were only two patrons in the theater. Daphne Celeste and princess Thaelia or as they are otherwise known Miss Grue and the Glamazon two teens associated with the Claremont superhero group known as Next-Gen. The Atlantean was as pop culture blind as one could be. And you couldn't fill anymore pop culture inside the Grue's mind. Making it easy to figure out who had picked their evening plans Both had decided they needed to kick back and relax after the busy month they had. Defending the city from an escalated amount of criminal activity in response to a majority of the local heroes leaving the city. Now a new year had come to pass, and the two outsiders at heart wanted to do something mundanely normal to relax. At the moment finding themselves halfway through a Wolfman movie. "Why does the small one not simply stab creature?" Thaelia asked Daphne. Leaning over in her seat with a tub full of popcorn bouncing around as they stared at the black and white flick.

GM May 1st Chicago, the Seasonal Enter: Zyte Guyst (aka Alvin Gaye) Zyte Guyst was a short guy, with a mop of unruly dyed red hair and and an artistic beard. He just about pulled off being cool and trendy without turning himself into a pastiche. Zyte was a bit of an artist, a multi-media film maker who had seeped into the internet and film festivals. He liked making in-ya-face, provocative art house films and investigative journalism. Truth was often bent, but as Zyte always said "what is truth, anyhowways?" With a portable camera by slung over his shoulder, and his favourite entourage of Zane! the cool stuntguy / bodyguard and Michelle Hill, ex-actress, now sensible aide, he proudly pressed the knocker. "Unanounced is best, huh, Hilly?" he asked his aide. "Uh-huh, sure, Zyte, always the best..." she sighed, and examined her nails. They were well done, and whilst they could be admired, didn't need examining. She just didn't want to be there right now. Her job was to curb Zyte's excesses. She didn't feel like she was doing a good job...

Claremont’s Infirmary GM Post Claremont’s Nurses office was like most schools you would find, except you wouldn’t find some of the injuries in most places. Today there was a minor plasma burn from an experiment gone wrong and a phasing accident that looked more painful than it apparently was. Compared to that Possie Park’s broken arm seemed pretty mundane. Of cause this wasn’t a place that Casey seemed often, if at all really, with an almost indestructible body wounds and breaks were thankfully very rare. Unfortunately her brain hadn’t got the memo and she was here for a really intensive headache, bordering on a migraine, that even caused her vision to blur a little on the edges.

Content Warning: Cussing June 18, 2017 5:35AM Bedlam City, Wisconsin Fast-Forward skidded to a halt in the middle of Hardwick Park. Not bothering to take off his helmet, he looked around wildly before declaring "...what the hell?!" 5:37AM Chicago, Illinois Millennium Park Fast-Forward stared up at the statue of the Barnstormers, ignoring the few flatscans in the park this early. "WHAT THE HELL!?" This time he did take off his helmet, never mind the risk when he was away from home, and cast out with his psychic connection to his wife - finding her in Freedom City of all places? She'd probably felt that but she was just waking up - and he didn't have time for her to catch up with him. "Come on, man, wakeupwakeupwakeup-" He ran in a little circle, hitting himself on the side of the head, using the psychic feedback Paige had taught him to break out of an illusion. Nothing. Motherfucker! Finally deciding it was worth the risk, he put his helmet back on and girded his loins for the run into Freedom City. 5:38AM Freedom City In front of the Cline household Staring up at flatscan suburban hell for a long moment, Richard Cline took off his helmet in honest bafflement - and decided to leave it off since whatever was happening had evidently happened right through the helmet's psionic bafflers. He tried the door, found it locked, and banged on it - surprised when what looked like mundane wood didn't immediately shatter under his fist. "Hey!" he called, both out loud and psychically, hot anger and bafflement turning to fear loud in both voices, a second before winding up for a blow that would have knocked a regular door out of his hinges entirely. "What the hell is going on!?"

GM June 4, 2017 The New Beginnings Ranch wedding venue. Outside Abilene, Texas The story had been on all the news channels in Texas. It was both very strange and not so strange at the same time. The not so strange part was that a disgruntled ex had crashed a wedding. Which in and of itself was not newsworthy. What was strange, and newsworthy, was the rest of it. The disgruntled ex had high tech weaponry, from the few wedding guests who had managed to flee, they had what seemed like sci-fi plasma rifles. The whole situation had gone bad fast. Hostages were taken and the police had cordoned off the venue. One psychotic screaming ex with a plasma rifle would have been more than enough for the Abilene police department. But there wasn't just one. There were three. One man and two women with high tech weaponry who had taken hostages inside of the ranch. "Listen just let us go!" One bride cried. One of the crashers responded by smacking her across the face. "Home Wrecker!" She snarled back and waved the rifle, discharging a few shots over the heads of the very terrified hostages.

GM Maybelle McQueen, Queenie It had been a long trying night. The Moore family reunion was one of the most trying ones. Sure, the guy who made Freedom City hell in the late 80s and early 90s, but he had a family. And money. So, a labor of love of your job was. Franklin was all talk surrounded by people. He knew of Queenie's heroics. If you weren't one of the best chefs in town for impromptu large gatherings he would have went elsewhere. After the restaurant was clean and the employees gone, you took to the sky. It was clear and refreshing. When you got home, there was a light on in the kitchen. As you called out, you heard a voice you hadn't heard in a long time. "Yeah honey," your deceased husband said, sitting at the kitchen table in the work clothes you saw him last in, "don't worry about... where am I?" Lynn Epstein, Grimalkin You were alone, looking through orders, just before the store opened. Lady Liberty merchandise was flying off the shelf ever since that biopic was made. In a world full of superheroes, people had their favorites. You got a text from Gretchen, as you were just about done and the doors were open. "Who's this?" Followed by a face that you knew Instantly. It was Ren. Nanowire. Alive. "I walked in our home to find him. Said he wanted to see you. Know where you were." A quick message followed, "Is there something you want to tell me?" Robert Spalding, Vita Nexus "Son," you heard you father for the first time in a long time. It was a questioning. he saw you using your powers to dispatch a bunch of hooligans trying to rob a parts store late at night. He seemed to come from absolutely out of nowhere. "You, you have it? That explains a lot now that I think about it." Your father smiled, healthy as the day is long. A quick scan revealed that it was a person, and it was alive. But something did not match up with 'being alive'. Mechanical wasn't the term for it, but He was running on human interaction. But for all intents and purposes, this was your father. Dr Dmitri Ivanovich Peshov, Comrade Frost "Champion," you heard Hel's voice from beyond. "Do not be alarmed, I'm here to deliver to you a task. People from the realm of the dead are coming up missing. I want you to investigate. Find out who's taking them." And that's the command you were given. No other words were spoken. Your investigation lead you to many different people with seemingly returned friends and family. Though they knew nothing of being dead.Just remembering their last healthy moment before dying and showing up in their family's home. Leilani Keli'i, Volcanic Unfortunately not all people coming back were nice and/or good people. Villains, yes. But abusive and alcoholic relatives also. Some ran for cover, others had their past to deal with. Still, there were protectors looking to do good in the world. Alive or dead they weren't going to get a free walk. Still, you heard the pleas that the dead had come back to life. That something was very very wrong.

Emerald City, United States Saturday, May 27, 2017 Afternoon The sun beat down on Emerald City, reflecting off the Albian River in all shades of navy and cobalt and sapphire. It was the first wave of spring on the West Coast and the city was enjoying it. Families were playing out in Magic Hill Park or Elysian Forest. The campuses of Arcadia College and ECU were crowded with coeds studying or playing on the grass. The streets of Southern Shore were crowded with people enjoying the bright day. Tona Baudin reclined in a chair outside a coffee shop, tight trousers and a tee giving her the chance to show off her definition. It wasn't just because she enjoyed the warmth as much as anyone and enjoyed showing off the results of her exercise. She finally had a chance to show off Emerald City to her girlfriend; Sam wasn't around nearly as much as Tona wished she was, but now that she was here Tona intended to make up for lost time. "It's called Ghost Sightings," Tona said, frowning as she hunted for something on her phone, "but it's not all about ghosts. It's about a lot of stuff happening around town, like fishermen down the coast turning up monster-sized lobster shells or a rash of disappearances among the homeless. It's a really fun read and a good source of information. I just wish I could find the damn site on my phone..."