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  1. GM April 20th, Wednesday, 2022, 11.30AM Guthrie Gallery of Energy Innovations, Freedom City University, Freedom City, USA Adorning the Gallery's entrances were banners inviting readers to "SEE THE FLYING ALIEN PYRAMID!", strategically augmented with "Free food!", "Live music!" and "Meet Max Mars!" Whatever else could be said about him, in this case all those things were true. Inside was an extravaganza of Max Mars' usual levels. The austere and functional layout of the Guthrie Gallery, a rotating exhibition of various energy sources from steam engines to a replica Omegadrone Power Pike, was coated in glitz and excess. On one stage, up-and-coming rock sensation Frank Larrabee sang about the misty forests and mountains of his hometown, Emerald City, and of the unsolved mysteries they hid from wondering eyes. On another, acoustically-isolated from the rock balladeer, metal band Spydor acted out the War of Taranok and Scorvicious, and on a third pop idol Silvia "Silver" Moon and the Moonlites danced through a confrontation with hereditary illness and the stigma against the chronically-ill. The technology making it possible for all three acts to be on at the same time without their performances interfering had its own mini-exhibit, replete with attractive salespersons. Booths pertaining to other recent inventions, including the Phobos V utility-phone, and advertising positions within MarsTech itself, packed the halls. The free food ranged from buffet-style steam trays to onigiri to fresh-baked pretzels, in quantities sufficient to feed even a crowd of university students and guests with families. And in the center, visible from all the arms of the Gallery, was the huge floating, pulsing nightmare of metal and stone that was the alien pyramid. A suite of technicians kept a careful eye on read-outs behind the cordon set up around the pyramid itself, a cordon guarded by smiling and uniformed representatives of Brande Mangement, a company so mysterious that all anyone really knew about it was that it hired superhumans as security personnel. In the shadow of all this, Max Mars, standing proud in his five-nothing frame cloaked in a resplendant red suit, held court and eagerly explained what the strange machine was and its ramifications. The crowd that had gathered filtered in and out, kept up to date everywhere in the Gallery on Max's endless patter through the P.A. system. "This is better than gold, folks! A working alien spacecraft! If you think anti-gravity is for your grandkids, you're in for a shock! With this baby we've picked out planets NASA wouldn't have found for another 80 years, at least! A food replicator, a database of languages we've barely begun to scan, and this ain't even it's full size! Before we dug it up, the people in that Mexican village thought it was just another hill! This is our ticket to the stars, people! Without having to wait until Americatech deigns to grace us with the answers, we'll make our own!" That last hit more of a sour note with the Freedom City crowd than it might have back on the West Coast. But Mars' other words, and the various gizmos around the central hall demonstrating the applications of this alien super-tech, left a much more positive impression. "And best of all!" Max's grin seemed barely able to fit on his red-bearded face, "We've found the space jockey who piloted this thing! He's been trapped inside, for thousands of years, and you'll be here when he says his first words to us! So stick around, folks, enjoy yourslelves, and get ready for an outta-this-world encounter!"
  2. GM Rath & Stromberg Plaza in Wading Way, Freedom City October 24th, 2021 3:32 AM The doors to Rath and Stromberg caved in, a group of four standing in the entrance. A tall man in a trenchcoat and welder's mask stood silhouetted, an enormous rifle smoking in his large, gauntleted hands. The red lenses of his mask were glowing red. Behind him stood a titan of a man, ten feet tall and plated in armour from head to toe. On his shoulders sat a small, brunette woman with a vulpine grin and a fluffy mane of hair, a domino mask covering her eyes. Finally, there was another woman, surrounded by soft green light, who didn't seem to be very interested in the events unfolding. Those who'd been paying attention to their phones would have seen the clips caught on phones of this group doing a series of smash and grabs across Freedom, sometimes teleporting in, others simply running or driving across the city. After a short dramatic pause they started marching inside, the lead man talking as he walked. "Everyone on the ground, and hands where we can see them. Don't try to be a hero, I'm sure the professionals are on the way. Just stay down, we'll take what we're after and be out of your hair. Stay quiet and none of you will be in any danger." The words were calm and measured. Clinical. The grinning woman laughed slightly before speaking up. "Come on Shadey-" "Don't call me that." " -we're robbin' a bank! You can live a little! Have some fun! Come on, back me up Anarchilles." The large, armoured man, Anarchilles, laughed. It was a sound like a volcano erupting. "I wouldn't mind having some fun." The glowing woman just mumbled something unintelligible. Ignoring them Steel Shade just marched forwards, knocking out a pair of security guards who tried to intercept him and striding past the reception desk. Just as he was about to head through a Staff Only door, he turned to the trio. "Keep the heroes busy for the next two minutes. Non-lethal only. Don't hurt the civillians." To the tones of some more mumbling and a cheery "You gots it boss!" He disappeared through the doors.
  3. Burnham Military Camp Near Christchurch Aotearoa/New Zealand July 3nd, 2021 On the first day of the Matariki celebrations an army of giants appeared from the Southern Alps, marching upon the city of Christchurch. With no time to respond the New Zealand Armed Forces had to turn to other sources of help. And so, the day after Matariki the government of Aotearoa put forth a call for heroes. At Burnham Military camp a liaison waited for the heroes to arrive, smiling when relief when the four heroes were assembled in front of the building. "Thank you all for coming so swiftly."
  4. Spring 2022 HAX When she was in America, it was not unusual for Eira to stop by Mara's place to collaborate with Ryder, or just to carry a message from Miss Americana to her erstwhile colleague. But Ryder wasn't at work on the April morning when Angelic landed on HAX's roof, her blue and gold cape flying behind her in what was actually a raging storm. She was tall and blonde in her adult body, looking a bit like a Viking warrior, a bit like her biological mother, and if you looked closely quite a bit like Miss Americana, right down to a costume in Swedish patriotic colors. Showing unaccustomed hesitation, she stood there in the driving rain, carefully clutching a plastic-wrapped box under her arm that bulged about the size of a loaf of bread, before she strode for the elevator down into the main body of the building.
  5. January 30th, 2022, Sunday, 3PM Harold Hitspike's panic room, Hitspike Heuristics, 27th floor of 1386 Pittsburgh Ave., Freedom City, New Jersey, USA, Earth "So as you can see, Mr. Daye," bluff, red-haired young Hagar Hitspike nodded at the charred skeleton in the centre of the pentagram, surrounded by an otherwise spotless and undisturbed steel panic room, "this is a little outside of our understanding." Despite being a good foot shorter than Christopher and swathed about the middle in a long bath towel, the man looked both composed and solemn. His brother and sister, standing nearby, nodded vigrously. The towering, gaunt-faced, gold-haired woman who'd introduced herself as Hildegard wiped a tear from her eye with her green silk dress's sleeve, adding in a voice trembling with dismay "Yes! Father never trafficked with the hellish forces of the underworld! Me and Baby Harry knew all his business dealings. This is all some terrible frame-up job!" "Yes, uh...ah...hm..." White-haired, portly Harold Jr. was too stunned to say anything intelligible, and the man stumbled to his father's desk back in the rich wood-paneled office to sit down. "Now I understand this has been a little disorienting," Hagar said with an apologetic look somewhere under his dripping hair and beard, "seeing as we have for some unaccountable reason all stepped into this room at the same time from different places. God knows I didn't expect to come out of the shower and see my father a charred-black skeleton. But we can pay handsomely and the police stopped taking our calls years ago. So, well..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. His sister stepped around the puddle forming at Hagar's feet to seize one of Christopher's hands with her own, her long nails and tough skin creating the effect of being grasped in the talons of some huge bird of prey. "I can't think of anyone else who could get to the bottom of this, Mr. Daye! Please, if you possibly can, find out what happened! What killed our father, and why?!"
  6. GM The Painted Desert, Arizona October 4th, 2020 10:00 AM "Sorry kids, grandpa wasn't kidding about this desert being hell during storms." Blue Squad had been told that they would be going on a field trip to Arizona, to the painted desert, to meet up with a Doctor Macedon for a survival class. Leon might have heard about his friends' trip the year before, and how the aging Doctor Macedon had decided to swear off any and all future field trips after yet another trip to the past through the Magic Mesa, but maybe this time would be different? The whole thing had started out pretty well. Doctor Alexandra Macedon had picked Blue Squad up at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with an off-road van with enough space for the entire crew, their luggage and Danica's ride. It turned out she was the previous doctor Macedon's granddaughter, and she had been more than happy to take up the task of leading another squad on a survival class. They had reached their dropoff point and then proceeded out into the desert. A few hours later, a sandstorm had started kicking up, slowly growing in strength and intensity. "We gotta find shelter! Anybody see anything?" Doctor Macedon's long brown hair was kicking around her in the wind already, while she fought to keep her stetson secure on her head. Up ahead, the group could see a mountain that just so happened to have a cave.
  7. Winter 2021 The interview location had not been the Patriot's idea. Showing the Christmas lights of the reclaimed Ashton Community Center behind her, symbolizing a city's victory over the Terminus and the holiday season, was certainly festive and even appropriate for the brand-new Danger News Network's interview with the Patriot. But the air here still felt wrong, buzzing with alien energies and danger, and it had her on edge as she paced the small trailer where she was waiting for her interview to start. Her makeup was done, her costume was on, and Daisy her night assistant was doing her best to keep both of the former under control. Daisy was a Claremont alum too, a flighty blonde who had gotten into some serious trouble after she'd left the school, but damn if she hadn't already proven her efficiency running the evening shift. It was the evening shift now; cold enough in the New Jersey darkness that the Patriot's interviewer was probably going to be dressed to his or her best. "I still can't believe they switched out interviewers at the last damn minute," Ashley was grumbling. "I knew we should have gone with an established network." "It'll be fine," said Daisy warmly, smiling with her darkly painted lips. In her drab brown pullover and skirt, she practically blended in with all the DNN staffers scuttling about outside as they made sure the lights were on and the season festive outside. "Making friends with the Dangers is good business in Freedom City, even if they do make life more complicated sometimes." She shook her head, checked her buzzing phone, and said, "Listen, I just got a text that the new interviewer is here. I'll go get them, bring them here, and then you can check them out for yourself before you start. You're going to do fine," she added, leaving Ashley sitting in the trailer's swivel chair. Ashley took out her own phone to make sure her sister was watching the show tonight, and Daisy headed out into the chill to see if she could spot the new interviewee, making sure to take frequent sips from the heated, sealed mug she was carrying so that her breath would stay foggy warm outside.
  8. GM An afternoon in the middle of July, 2021 Claremont Academy For whatever reasons, a group of students had arrived early at Claremont this year, before the classes were even about to start. They came from very different lives, and had very different powers, but for whichever reasons, they were to stay at Claremont, along with a few others, during the summer months. And, despite the summer vacation, they needed someone to show them around, and that job had fallen to Luke and Leon. They had probably complained, but headmistress Summers had promptly shut them down by reminding them about some of their misbehaviour during the past school year. They four new students, Onyx, Effigy, Invisigirl and Freedom Eagle were all ready in normal clothes, waiting for Nightscale and Paper to show them around.
  9. GM Smoke and Mirrors Abandoned Casino Midnight La Puma Negra and Nightscale Once as glamorous and luxurious as the other casinos in the renowned Freedom City Boardwalk, the Smoke and Mirrors have been abandoned for ages. In fact, Nightscale couldn't remember a time when the large lot hadn't been left to disrepair. It's halls only occasionally disturbed by Southside teens testing their bravado, Luke himself having spent 'almost' an entire night there in his younger years, struggling to put up a mask of courage while twitching at every moving shadows and unexpected creek in the dark. Where once music boomed, spectacles reigned, fortunes were won and lost now only silence and rats reigned and it had been so for year. Not that night though. Something... well something had changed. Nightscale had been warned by his friends that unmarked vans now frequently stopped at the casino in the wee hours in the morning for mysterious deliveries and that new locks had been installed at the windows and doors, the place now the province of some unknown buyer. Now perhaps there was nothing sinester going on, maybe someone was just planning a grand reopening in secret, but even at his young age Luke had been a superhero for long enough to grow at least a bit suspicious and besides, it was not like that taking a look wouldn't hurt. Perhaps in a rare bout of foresight, or maybe just due to the memories of that frightful nocturne exploration a few years before, the Southside Dragon had decided that not to go alone, instead asking Carmen to join him in this mission, and so there they were, on a rooftop nearby studying the darkened building from above, planning their next moves. Mirror Knight The two teenagers from Claremont however were not alone, as another hero stalked the streets. Mr Jonathan Rorrim had been drawn to the Smoke and Mirrors, not by rumors and mysterious dealing though, it was something more primal, a dimensional disturbance of sort that he had registered at the site, one that at the same time was unknown and yet dreadfully familiar. He could not tell how, but he was certain of a presence hiding within the bowel of the building, one bearing a nefarious intent.
  10. Spring 2022 Eira spent an unusual amount of time crafting this message - the twenty or thirty minutes she'd spent on it had been nearly an eternity for an artificial mind such as her own. Various versions of it were going out to certain people, albeit with certain edits. The gist of the final paragraph was this: "So anyway - it should not be surprising that a mind like mine would experience emotional upheaval in a child's form, having by then rapidly moved beyond such things given my rapid development. I would not claim dysmorphia for myself - I am Swedish, not English - but surely it is an inevitable consequence of uploading such as mine. Naturally even with an artificial brain, some emotional control would be compromised. Since uploading into my adult body I have had a chance to think more carefully. I have been reviewing my past conversations with you-" which was easy enough since she had perfect recall of all of them, in all forms, and would until she chose to delete them, died, or the stars went out - "and I at times allowed the anger I was feeling at myself to speak instead of my real feelings for you. You are my friend. If I ever gave you cause to think otherwise, I apologize. Yours, Eira Katastroff Natt och Dag." When the message was done, edited for its various receivers, she sent it out with a nod - and then with a sigh, raised her eye protection and reactivated the plasma torch. This probe wasn't going to cut itself open; and maybe today she didn't want to see her messages right as they came in. She signaled the player in the room to get back to Deceiver "louder!" and smiled as plasma hit super-tough metal.
  11. October 2021 Southside Serbian Orthodox Church (formerly) The Southside Serbian Orthodox Church had been a center for the Serbian community in this part of Freedom City since the turn of the last century. But though the Southside was still the working-class neighborhood it had been in 1900, now it was a neighborhood full of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, immigrants who had their own community centers and own churches. The SSOC (or St. Stephen's if you wanted to get technical) had stood vacant and abandoned for over a decade, a remnant of what had once been a thriving place. But now good times had come. The long-abandoned building had been sold to a local organization and was about to be refit into a community center and skatepark. In a few months, skilled artisans would come in and carefully remove the art that long-dead craftspeople had laid down on the walls and ceilings to a Serbian-American museum across town. But in the meantime, ten years of neglect means plenty of time for a lot of cruft to accumulate, cruft that a group of young metahumans were just right to handle discreetly. So it was that early one Saturday morning, the teenagers had been dropped off outside St. Stephen's with empty dumpsters, gloves and cleaning equipment, and all anyone could need to clean the place. They had permission to use their powers, even wear their costumes, albeit discreetly. "This is such a shame," said Owain, his usually-jovial face solemn as he stood outside the church's side entrance. "A house of God left abandoned for so long, and to lose what it was even if they save the bones of the place. I wot not wither to go with such a task," he admitted. "At least you don't have to smell it," commented Neko in Japanese, wrinkling her nose as she looked at the long-abandoned church. She had actually fallen asleep leaning against Owain on the ride over, which meant her ears and tail had been visible the whole time as they were dropped off and given their instructions.
  12. GM January 12th, 2022, 4:30 PM Bayview, not too far from Claremont Academy The doors to a bank exploded outwards, smoke pouring out into the street, quickly followed by four people in respectively red, yellow, blue and green suits with chaotic white triangle patterns rushing out of the building at great speed, all carrying heavy back. "Come on!" the man in green yelled, waving for the others to follow. "Let's go!" The women in blue and yellow and the man in red all seemed to agree, and they all started running down the street, while behind them, people started moving out of the bank, coughing through the smoke. But, as luck would have it, these dastardly villains were not alone on the street, and they would soon be met with the awesome might of heroes-in-training!
  13. GM Afternoon, September 25th Millennium Mall, Midtown Freedom City It was raining, hard. Like so many other teens, young adults and older, Muirne, Luke, Leon and Charlie had found their way to Millennium Mall to have something to do now that classes were out for the week. Something somewhere dry, hopefully. Bernadette, for her part, happened to be in the mall at the same time. Maybe just a single her, maybe several, or maybe it all depended on the moment. As one would expect on a day like this, the mall was absolutely packed. People everywhere, in stores, in the food court, well... everywhere. The PA system routinely mentioned events like clean up to the toilets on the 2nd floor, a missing child near a toy store, lost phones and the like.
  14. Southside, Route 6. HoN&Y Research Facility. 11 AM. "It seems like the lab has been engulfed by wax-like structures. It's incredible Kent." The journalist stared at the camera, her voice almost drowned by the incessant buzzing that had engulfed the small private research facility. "Freedom City PD had blocked the main road to the laboratory, but so far we don't have any information of what might have been transpiring inside." The man continued, as the camera panned toward a small army of cops, that were trying to do their best to keep a crowd of people away from the chain link fence that blocked the road leading to the laboratory itself. The structure, a simple tree story cement building, as the journalist had just described was almost encased in strange towers made of a wax-like substance and surrounded by what looked like swarms insects. "Hey! Are you seeing those?" Suddenly, four large objects emerged from the facility. "They are like? Robotic bees..." Indeed they were, pony-sized replicas of metallic bees, impressively detailed and surrounded by a small swarm of more traditionally sized drones. They flew at a speed that vastly surpassed the one of their natural counterpart. "They are headed toward us... They are... They are..." The image of the reporter was replaced by buzzing static. Although, with some effort, one could almost hear a chorus of voices underneath all the droning. "What was. Will Bee."
  15. Freedom Hall New Jersey January 2022 When the wormhole opened up on Freedom Hall's lawn, just outside the protective technology that thwarted actual invasion, it was cold outside; enough that there was an actual coat of thin snow and ice on the ground this close to the Atlantic Ocean. But it was warm inside; the blaring alarms interrupting what had otherwise been a very interesting New Year's Party - albeit one with at least one important absence from the League's main roster. The Patriot, who had volunteered for monitor duty so that other people could enjoy themselves downstairs for a little while, took one look at the monitors and said "Goddamit," and thought No space-date tonight! as she moved from her position upstairs for the elevator. The first figure through the portal was a dark human outline, a uniform deep black with glowing white eyes surrounded by a circle of glowing black balls of anti-light. He, it, was followed closely by a gigantic, amber-skinned woman a good eight feet tall, wearing the gold and blue of the Centurion himself! More came behind them; a man with spiky hair wrapped in a tight black uniform with dark horns just visible above, accompanied by a glowing blue feminine form; and following them all was a sturdily-built figure in patriotic red, white, and blue, moving with the speed and grace of a panther. The team fanned out quickly and began talking among itself, some pointing at Freedom Hall, others at the street. The one in black called WE MEAN YOU NO HARM!
  16. Claremont Academy Fall 2021 The members of Red Squad had been told their special weekend project was quite a doozy, and they were right - though perhaps not in the usual superpowered way. Escorting selected structural supports and architectural plans from the Centurion's Sanctum to the National Building Museum in Washington was a high honor, even if by all accounts it was just going to involve a trip in a private jet and a short car trip to the NBM. Waiting for them as they reported for their bus ride to the airport was their escort for the day; a woman none of them had met before, not to speak of, but who all of them had heard of. The Patriot, second to bear that title, was a solidly-built Asian woman who looked to be maybe thirty (though really, who could tell the ages of adults well) her face partially obscured by a dark red and blue armored helmet complete with chin guard, eyes hidden by white reflective lenses over the eyepiece. Her armored costume consisted of a blue Kevlar tactical shirt, white stain-repellent trousers, and maroon gauntlets. It's a look obviously inspired by the previous Patriot, with a few upgrades. She was waering a brown leather bomber jacket over the top of the costume with an American flag sewn on the back and white star over the heart. Her tactical boots didn't add enough to her height to make her 5'10" but she's close. Inside her helmet, Ashley was already dreading this, even as she was reminding herself to stow it. You volunteered for this job. That means keeping an eye on the kids, especially the ones Callie is keeping a special eye on. You spend a day with them, talk about working for the government and not hiding in the shadows, it's great. Her red white and blue bike was parked nearby the bus, whose driver was inside grabbing breakfast before they all hit the road. It was early morning for teenagers; Ashley had been up for hours. She stood with her arms folded over her chest and greeted the first student with "Morning. Just wait right there till everyone's here, I don't want to talk over the engine."
  17. GM January 5th, 2022 Claremont Academy For almost a full year, Matt Wagner had been held at Claremont Academy's medical wing. Few knew that he was there, and fewer still seemed to pay him much mind. Luke Landers' friend-turned-cyborg had been quiet since the encounter with Nightscale and Watchdog, kept stable by the medical staff at Claremont, yet remaining unconscious and unmoving. Luke had been told that he was stable, at least. The second the day turned from January 4th to January 5th, Matt opened his eyes and smashed his way out of the room. The next morning, Luke was called. By the time he arrived, the headmistress was already in the medical wing, her eyes scanning the scene. "Your friend woke up, Mr. Landers." It sounded almost like a question.
  18. RocketLord

    REDLINE

    GM A Place Beyond Time and Space Early March 2022 The Judges had come to them all. They had told the runners that they were among the fastest beings on this world, and this would be the race to determine the fastest being. A great title to be held, for sure. And the price would be great, one wish, to be fulfilled by these perfect beings, almost nothing would be impossible. As long as they ran. The runners that had accepted the race now stood in a wide open area, a barren wasteland with a dark red sky above. The moment they had acccepted, they had simply disappeared from where they were before, and now they were here, suddenly dressed in whatever they prefered to wear while running. The hard ground under their feet were paved with dark asphalt, and the road stretched as far ahead as any could see, right from the glowing white starting line. The Judges hovered above. Flowing dark grey robes, with glowing lights in vaguely humanoid shapes underneath, shifting across all colors of the spectrum. Heroes and villains from across the world mingled or kept to themselves. The heroes that had arrived would perhaps be able to recognize some of them, among the dozen or so runners. Get-Away, of Larceny Inc., a middle-aged woman with short black hair in a primarily white costume with purple shoulders and outer arms. Gumball Rally, a former intern to the Atom Family and super hero, now a member of the Candy Crew, wearing an Ultra-Speed Harness. Speed Freak, Johnny Rocket II's brother-in-law and Rocket's father, in a full body black suit with chaotic yellow and red lightning bolts, all features obscured. Faster Pussycat, the high profile thief in her skin-tight cat-themed costume. Johnny Speed, of the Tyranny Syndicate. He was older than when he had last fought Velocity, but his glare as he stared at her easily told her that he had not forgotten her. The only prominent speedster that seemed to be missing from the crowd was Johnny Rocket.
  19. GM Late November, a few weeks after Silver Screen Dreams A Tuesday evening At the roof of a random rundown apartment in the Fens It had taken Ghost a few weeks to realize that Grimalkin might actually have been flirting with him during the whole deal at the movies with Silver Scream. It probably wasn't that, but talking with someone else with experience. Besides... it had been a quiet day. Not even a single thug to stop or anything like that. So, he'd reached out through HeroHouse (after working out how to recover his accoun), and now he was waiting on the top of a rundown apartment building in the middle of the Fens, on a clear November night.
  20. Spring 2022 They had all said she was crazy at the school. Oh no one had said it in so many words, but Neko knew what they meant when they spoke about transference and false memories; false memories when she knew what she had seen and heard, with eyes and ears better than most of them put together. But who could she tell? It was a thorny problem. While Danica was a good friend, the tortoise kami in human flesh was someone Neko talked about the future with - not the past. Owain was a good friend too, to whom she owed a debt she could never repay, but at the end of the day, Neko knew she couldn't add to his burden. Erik and Talya and Min were all fine people who had taken her in when they never had to, and truly seemed to want nothing in return for the boon - but in the end they were not like her. A year in the Hinomaru, maybe more, maybe less, and sometimes it defined her as much as being a girl from a village so isolated that it had only ever been "the village" to her people. And besides, they had babies to deal with now, and needed nothing from the past. And so it was that one Sunday night, when neither she nor Raina were on babysitting duty, Neko presented herself at the older girl's door with a firm knock. She'd been here before, mostly to talk about computers with Merlin, but today she had come just for herself, tail puffed behind her and ears pointed high, wearing a purple and red dress she'd found at the 'second-hand store.'
  21. GM Just past midnight March 6th, 2021 In the shadow of the Doomforge The House of Usher had returned. The Raven had been after them for months at this point. He had researched the old Ushers that the previous Ravens had fought. He had been following any leads, stopped any of their operations he could find. All that he had learned was that they were back and their influence on Freedom City was growing. They had yet to meet another Usher directly. A recent operation had uncovered one new piece of information, at least: The Ushers' base of operations were somewhere in Kingston. And so, Raven and Nevermore headed towards Kingston, in the shadow of the Doomforge...
  22. GM Afternoon, Feburary 21st, 2021 The 7th day of the 7th week, in the 3rd 7th year of the 21st millenium Oxford Street, London The teleporter between the British embassy in Freedom City and Haven made it easy enough for Muirne to come visit the rest of the Vanguard, but that didn't mean that she always had the time. Things were busy at Claremont, after all. Between classes, time travel adventures, training and the random super heroics and super villain attacks, she was busy, so when she let Vanguard know that she was going to visit, Mette managed to bring Dee and Karla along for a shopping trip, just the four of them. They had reached Oxford Street, had gone through shops and had now just left Laksamania after finishing lunch. The sky was clear. And something seemed to glitter in the sky, reflections of what came below, every now and again. One would have to be incredibly lucky to look up in time to see the distorted reflections of London above. But no one seemed to notice or care. The sky was clear.
  23. "Mia is in a mood." Eden's voice carried through the house, half warning and half exasperated eldest sibling just before the front door was slammed shut by Mia, hot on her sister's heels. "I. Am. NOT." The response was belligerent on it's surface but bubbling below was the threat of angry tears. Fortunately, since Erik owned his own business; he could really set the hours of the classes as he needed to. It was much easier if all three parents were on deck when the elementary aged kids got home from school. Today, Min had been shooed off to take a nap while Erik puttered in the kitchen and Talya sat cross legged on the floor with the twins as they played. As Eden opened her mouth to point out that clearly Mia was NOT fine - and likely get the twins to start in on taking sides unintentionally - Talya rose to her feet to gently redirect Eden towards her father and the kitchen. She exchanged a quick look with Erik as she suggested gently, "Why don't you help your father finish making up snacks for everyone? Maybe Daddy can also put on some tea for us. It seems like we could all use a cup." Tea, after all, cured a great many ills. Once Erik had the other three children wrangled, Talya turned her attention to coaxing Mia, "Come on, sweetpea. I think you could use a bit of quiet time in the garden, hm?" Mia huffed another frustrated breath but her hand slid into her mother's trustingly. "M'not in a mood, Mum! I'm just- it just- Today just... SUCKED." Mia spat out the word, as children will often do, with all the invective she could muster. It was clearly the very worst word she could think of to use to describe just how awful a first grade day could be. Her little feet stomped along side Talya's, hitting each step like she was trying to punish the floor boards. "First, the stupid bus was late so I missed the morning circle. I love morning circle and it wasn't my fault. There was a de-tour and so we had to go all the way around and there should be something that tells the school to not have morning circle until EVERYONE gets there. It's not fair! Some people really like morning circle. I like morning circle and I missed the first half. And when I got there, Laura was showing off her new powers. She makes things sparkle and float. Ugh." Mia's nose scrunched up, the words just pouring out of her as they reached the garden, full of seven year old woe. "RAINBOW sparkles. It's not fair. She's mean and she got powers and they're pretty. We're not supposed to use powers and everyone knows that. Mr. Albright makes sure everyone knows that even when you're little kindergarten kids. Laura KNOWS BETTER. She kept giggling and saying 'sorry' but she wasn't sorry. She was showing off! She's a jerk." Talya settled on a bench, nodding gravely as Mia huffed and stomped and finally worked her way around to what was really nagging at her. "It's not fair. Why don't I have powers yet? What if I never get any powers?! Laura says that some people just never get powers and I shouldn't be sad about that." When Mia's lower lip trembled, Talya had to tamp down the urge to find this 'Laura' and see exactly why she was such a tiny jerk. Instead, she held out her arms for Mia to bury herself in a tight hug. "Sweetness," Talya said, resting her chin on top of Eden's head, her arms warm and comforting, "I don't know if you'll inherit your father's gifts, or your mother's. You might not get any powers. What I do know for a fact, however, is that you are extraordinary, Mia. And your life is going to be anything but ordinary or boring." Talya pulled back a little to look at Mia's tear stained face. With a gentle touch, Talya brushed the tears away with her thumbs, "If you want to grow up and be a hero, then that's what you'll be. Powers, or no powers. I bet Laura can't pick a lock hanging from her knees, can she?" Talya was finally rewarded with a little giggle and a soft. "She can't even do the monkey bars..." "Well, there you go, then," Talya smiled back at Mia, scrunching her nose up to make the little girl laugh. She pressed a quick kiss to Mia's brow and released her. "I would be very surprised if you didn't have some magic in those hands, sweetheart, but all things come in their own time. Now, why don't you take a little bit to try and get yourself centered and I'll see if your father has finished with the tea."
  24. Silberman's Books 2021, Mid-November (not long after Spies Like Us and Friend Like Me), a weekday afternoon Davyd Palahniuk had graduated from the Claremont Academy some five months ago, yet was still unsure what to do with his life. He'd sought out advice from family and friends, and friends of friends -- including some rather (in)famous folks! -- and was getting a better idea of what he'd wanted to do with himself. (At the very least, he'd learned some harsh truths which made him rethink and discard some ideas.) There was one more stop he wanted to make on this quest, two women who'd already offered him an immense amount of guidance and assistance, who he'd come to view as surrogate aunts: Grimalkin and Miss Grue. The silver bell above the door jingled merrily as he entered, just audible over the few customers in the store. In one spot, two young men were arguing by the comics section over which writer "got" the Raven better. Elsewhere, a woman was looking at dice sets, waiting for her daughter to pick out her first one. And over at the counter, chatting with one of the store's regulars, was Lynn Epstein. Davyd waved at her, then slowly began walking around the store, waiting until the owner was free to talk. Ooh, the new Best Horror of the Year anthology is out!
  25. Claremont Academy Grounds, Bayview Area, Freedom City Sunday, January 7th, 2021, 12:43pm La Puma Negra, otherwise known as Carmen on campus, didn't feel like going to church today, instead having spent the day lounging on a low branch that was part of a tree between the Athletic Field and the rest of the campus. It was a colder day, being mid-winter as it was, with snow melting in some shaded corners from a few days before. Even with these conditions she didn't wear a jacket, the feline young hero was warm enough with the black fur that covered her body, her regular uniform just enough just enough to provide her warmth beyond what her body gave. Here in the tree, it was just dry enough for her, and high to where she felt comfortable from the vantage point. The feline young woman had not felt well, a textbook resting on her stomach. She wanted to rest but couldn't, something bothering the back of her mind, but she couldn't put a pin on it, every time feeling she was catching up to it before the thought swam away deeper in the back of her mind. Carmen thought that it could be her test scores, but even being somewhat uninterestingly average, she was still passing comfortably. At the least not drawing the ire of counselors or teachers for them. With those thoughts, she simply lounged above in relative peace for the time being.
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