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Countryside near Hetfordshire, England Monday March 9, 2020 3:02 PM local time Dee Farrington walked down the hallway of the second floor of the countryside estate where she had lived with Erick Sloane for the past four years. The attractive woman was barefoot and wearing a pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt. Her shoulder length hair was black, with two green streaks along one side. In just two months Dee would be turning thirty and she still was sometimes a bit surprised where her life had taken her over the last slightly more than half a decade. For one, she would never have expected to live in countryside home such as this again. Erick had purchased the home when he have moved from Freedom City to England to be with Dee and to join Vanguard. Dee had to admit, there was much to be said for the privacy, given the pair’s involvement in the superheroing world. And the large home certainly afforded them each with plenty of space for their rather varied hobbies and interests. Coming to one of the many rooms along this hall, Dee passed through the open doorway to where Erick was busy working on assembling a new piece of furniture that has arrived that morning. She glanced down at the tablet she was carrying in one hand, scrolling through several bedding options from an online store. But then Dee paused, glancing up from the screen and looking about the recently repainted room and the new furniture that was now starting to fill the room and let out a small sigh. "How did this happen?" She said aloud. "I feel so bloody domestic."

January 2020 Just after "One by One" When Lulu arrived back at her dorm room after the meeting with Orange Squad, she knew Eira was in there - and in a mood. They'd only been sharing the same space for a few days but she knew what the loud music meant when the door was closed; and that Eira would be perfectly content to listen to it for hours at a time unless she was asked to stop. The sound vibrated through her hand as she opened the door, and she was bombarded by a guttural German voice singing a song that had been five years old when she was born, playing at a volume that pushed the limits of Claremont's policies without actually breaking them. "Du! Du Hast! Du Hast Mich!" Eira was standing at her desk-turned-lab-table, violently banging her head and thrashing her limbs, mouthing along to the song. She'd taken off her hoodie and was down to a black halter top that set off sharply against her pale skin, exposing what looked like deep scars over her shoulder blades as she danced. Eira was not by any means what Lulu would have called a competent dancer, but she was certainly aggressive about it. She looked Lulu's way as she came in; but didn't immediately stop.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 2:04 PM, August 10, 2019 Meta-Naut They were only ten minutes out of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, but after a whole third of a day spent in the sky on her private jet, even ten minutes seemed like a lot to Raya Wells. It helped that she had been waiting on this purchase for months now, and there had already been a few delays. The chance to buy a cabinet of the infamous Polybius, perhaps the only cabinet in the world, was something she never expected to have. That was, until, someone had contacted her with an offer. They had found her through some forum posts a few months back, and there had been a back and forth ever since. But now, it seemed like she was going to have it. It was a bit strange, honestly. She had checked through multiple dimensions, and never found any indication that any such models still existed. It had taken some time travelling to even confirm that the thing even ever existed, and even that, multiple trips since they were hidden back in some pretty low-key arcades in 1980s Portland. There were all sorts of myths around the cabinet. That it gave kids seizures or changed their behaviours, that it was strangely addictive, or that somehow it was connected to MKULTRA and government research into mind-control. Well, if the last was true, the USG was saying absolutely nothing to her. Which, given, wasn’t all that unusual. If it wasn’t them, they wouldn’t want to reveal they were testing mind control on kids, and if they weren’t, then they were just as in the dark as she was. A voice crackled over the intercom. “Alright, buckle up, we’re landing.” Raya did as she was told, and watched as the ground grew ever closer through the window. When they touched down, it took a bit of willpower to not immediately stand up even though the plane was still rolling into place. Once it stopped, she could not get her seatbelt off fast enough. She rose to her feet, moving to the door, pulled on a baseball cap and sunglasses, and headed out. Only to find a bunch of reporters standing at the bottom. She frowned, pulling her cap down, and moved quickly, not even looking at the reporters as she descended the steps. “Excuse me!” one called “We heard you were buying a Polybius cabinet for $6 million, can we borrow a moment of your time?” She ignored that comment, and simply kept moving into the airport. She hated talking to reporters. Raya had earned a reputation as being rather mysterious, avoiding contact with the media where she could and doing what she could to keep a low profile. The main factor was mostly anxiety - those cameras freaked her out. But also, the fact that any records before a few years ago were fabricated helped make her nervous. She didn’t want to draw too much attention and get people investigating her too much. As she made her way inside, her first thought was getting something to eat. She was thinking burgers. Yet she was interrupted again, this time by a grubby looking man with a long, dirty blonde beard and wild eyes, wrapped in a long green coat that was definitely too warm for the weather. He looked like he had really been through the ringer. She would have felt bad for him, if not for the giant sword he held in his hand. “How did you even get that in here?” she asked, confused. “YOU!” he rasped. “You threaten to truck with dark forces. Turn back, and return from whence you came!” She stared at him. “Uh… Right.” She looked around. “Security?” “They cannot see me,” he said. “I have been disconnected from this realm, and it takes all my strength merely to reveal myself to you. Turn back, Raya Wells! Seek not Polybius! ‘Tis an evil game! I was once like you, and it ruined me! RUINED ME!” With that, he seemed to fade from existence before her eyes. She looked around, confused, and frowned. “Oh, this is going to be stupid, isn’t it?” she asked rhetorically.

March 31st, 11.45PM, 2019 Dressing room, Crown Tower Hotel, 2nd floor ballroom, Emerald City(OR) ITEM: Robbery planned at your show tonight. Be ready. - G The note had been slipped into Dalir's back pocket. It had been printed, not written, and aside from the 'G' there was no indication who had made the white card with grey text. In the press and crush of the crowd milling in the lobby, anyone could have done it, and people touching his butt on the sly was an all too common occurrence. Still, there was an audience on the other side of the door, and an announcer hyping the audience, and a world of stress on the shoulders of the announcer hyping the audience on the other side of the door.

January 2020 Eira sat in the library meeting room, staring at the closed door. The lights were off and it was quiet, and she had arrived several minutes early for the Orange Squad meeting. She was wearing an oversized blue hoodie and jeans, a concession to the relative cold that her robotic nature didn't actually require. This would be the first time she'd met most of the Orange Squad, the team to which she'd been assigned upon her admission to Claremont - an admission made possible by her parents connection to the hero community and substantial wealth. It was team-building day.

GM September 3rd, 2019 9:30 PM Greely Point 'Screwtop' Igglioni had disappeared. A week ago, he had simply stopped returning home. The Scarpias were mum on what had happened when his wife tried to find out. No one were to share anything. Couldn't look weak, after all. Behind the scenes, they were fighting an uphill battle. Screwtop Igglioni might have been an Igglioni, but he was one of the Scarpias now. If nothing else, someone disappearing him off the street could not stand. Rumor was that he had last been seen at Greely Point. But of course, Screwtop had someone other than the Scarpias and his wife that might be interested in finding him. A certain young would-be AEGIS agent, and part time car. And Chromium would have heard of his disappeared father, at least.

Claremont Academy, Kord Dormitory. Sunday, October 6th, 2019. 11:00 am Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Lulu were not joined at the hip; sure, they had a very close relationship, but they didn't actually do everything together. For instance, this particular Sunday Adam was planning to work with some of his classmates on a science project, which was very cool, but not quite his girlfriend's cup of tea. She decided instead to head on over to the Bayview Mall to maybe do some shopping, or at very least check out the cool Halloween costumes and scary props for sale. She and Davyd had both expressed an interest in doing something fun for the holiday, so maybe she could- And then the idea hit her, and she loved it. Dressing up in a red jacket, green sweater and burgundy slacks, along with some black riding boots, she headed down to the second floor and knocked on Room 213's door. "Hey, Davyd. Do you have a sec?"

Claremont Academy Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday November 27, 2019, 11:00 AM "I appreciate your willingness to mentor another student Giang." Headmistress Summers stated as she and an Asian young woman walked down the path from the administrative building for Claremont Academy towards the Roberta Isley Gardens. "I believe Heroditus could benefit from being able to talk to someone who had a similar experience as something of the outsider among the other students. Your familiarity with Atlantean culture will be an added benefit." "As always, I am very happy to help Headmistress." Giang Trang replied as she walked alongside the older woman. Giang stood about five foot three, with a lithe build and moved with an easy, fluid grace. Despite the cold of the late November morning, she was not at all dressed for the cold, wearing a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt and a red windbreaker. However, the Asian young woman did not seem bothered at all by the cold. "Although I am curious why you thought of me and not Thetis or Thelia?" Callie Summers gave a small chuckled as she glanced over to Giang. "Well, certainly either has had a similar experience as Heroditus. However, both are also members of the Atlantean royal family, which could make it more difficult for him to fully feel comfortable expressing concerns to them." "I see." Giang replied simply with a small smile and a nod as the two continued toward where Heroditus would be waiting.

GM Riverfront August 9th 2019, 4 PM The Riverfront district was as busy as ever on the Friday afternoon. City officials trying to get the last bit of work done before the weekend, locals and visitors starting their weekend in the nearby culture centers and the Yellow Brick Row shopping complex. Traffic had slowed down considerably. Everyone wanted to go somewhere. All in all, a typical Friday afternoon in Emerald City. Peace and quiet, as you would normally find in a city without super villains. Until, suddenly, several men and women stopped what they were doing, and exited their cars. A young man, maybe in his early twenties, stood nearby, appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. He was dressed in a costume with dark and light blue stripes at a 45 degree angle all over his body. He wore light blue boots and small gloves in the same color as the light blue stripes, and had a hood pulled up with the same striped pattern. His eyes were hidden behind a light blue domino mask. One could just spot his short blonde hair at the edges of the hood. His eyes seemed to be glowing white as people left their cards, starting to walk after him and towards the government buildings. Then came the sound, a loud crash as someone big came barelling through the traffic, flipping the cars out of the way while laughing loudly. The ones that caught a good look at him could see a large man, standing at least 10 feet tall, clad in what appeared to be grey armor, stylized like a triceratops, including a large helmet that mimicked that of a triceratops' head: A large flat shield, a pair of horns at his forehead, and a small horn on a part of his helmet over his nose. His eyes were hidden behind black lenses that connected directly to the helmet, while his mouth was left visible. The rest of his armor was the same dull grey as the helmet, consisting of several armored plates interconnecting along his body. He seemed to be running with little rhyme or reason, instead seeming to cause just as much chaos as he could. He didn't seem to care if he hit already empty cars, or cars that still held passengers. Moments after the man had begun his rampage, a bright light illuminated the sky. A woman in a red costume flew from the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind her as she moved. A white sun symbol at the center of her chest seemed to glow as she sent streams of fire flying randomly across the area around her. The yellow goggles that protected her eyes seemed to reflect the light from her flames as she set whatever random targets caught her sight on fire. The goggles were held in place by a heavy leather strap that went over her short black hair. Fire burning in her hands, she came to a stop, hovering above a rather large group of people. "Listen up! I'm Sunburn, and we're the Upstarts! I don't know how a city like this have been this quiet this long, but that's gonna change! This is our city now! So all of you better start handing over everything you got!" Smart phones were capturing everything already. What better place to attack than a city with no other villains? Nowhere to step on your toes or take your score? But the Upstarts had made one mistake: While Emerald City was a city without villains, it was not a city without heroes.

February 17, 2020 15 minutes before the first class of the day Her face a picture that might have been captioned "Soon!", Eira Katastroff leaned back against the wall, a lazy smile on her face as her internal clock ran down. The halls were full of people in their lockers, heading to and from class, chatting and texting to each other, but as usual she seemed to be an island unto herself amidst the other teenagers. Smirking, she leaned back against the wall, her blue hair visible inside the yellow hoodie she'd pulled up over her head, and watched the other students go by, her head rocking slightly to the beat of an inaudible melody.

GM Early December 2019 Claremont Academy Early Afternoon It was still during the school day. Students at the Claremont Academy should really be in class. After all, they were all good little students that did as they were told, even in early December, before their break during Christmas. With most students in classes, the grounds were mostly quiet. A few students running late for their classes, some working on art projects. Yes, it was all very quiet, all very mundane and as normal as a day could be at Claremont Academy. But we can't have that, can we now? One Mia Mustafic-Markov had found a note suddenly in her pocket after she had passed a group of students just before. The message was simple, even as it was written with beautiful, flowing letters: Do you want to have some fun? Meet me outside in 10 minutes. She could probably come up with an excuse to get away from the class. A bathroom break, having forgotten a book, a visit to the nurse of an emergency. After all, it had been a dreadfully boring day so far.

Persephone Vibora Bay, December 2019, A a chilly Thursday evening Camellia Blume lounged on her living room couch, pulling a quilt tighter around her shoulders despite already wearing a heavy sweater. Occasionally she jumped when she caught the flicker in the corner of her eye of the flames dancing in the fireplace. Since her transformation, fire was one of the few things that could still seriously hurt her, and she knew it on a primal level. She'd never been particularly afraid of fire until she'd bonded with the plant-symbiote. But the house she was renting was old; that's how she got such a good deal on the rent in the first place. It didn't have central heating, and, paradoxically, her transformation had also heightened her sensitivity to the cold, so during the winter months, the fireplace was essential. She only half paid attention to the Hallmark movie playing in front of her while she thumbed at her smartphone. For once, Camellia seemed to have a real weekend ahead of her. No supervillains were brawling in the streets or taking the mayor hostage. She didn't have any familial obligations or conferences to attend or new treatment options to research or backlogs of notes from patient sessions to review. No appointments with the accountant or the lawyer she'd had to retain to make sure all the "i"s and "t"s were dotted and crossed for her practice. "Without them, how would I know PRECISELY how much money I'm still losing on it?" She laughed, then mumbled to herself some more. "Maybe I should go up to five session days a week...or would that just make me lose more money faster?" She pulled up her calendar and wrote herself a reminder to email her accountant. She didn't actually write the email; that would tip the scales of work/life balance she was trying so hard to maintain for once. When the movie reached the high point of the lead couple's courtship, Camellia got caught up enough in the moment to open the ErosUnlimited app again. She hadn't known that he was on EU until The MatchMaker recommended his profile to her. In fact, she hadn't checked the app since she'd met him. During the following weeks, she'd gone back and checked his profile again, more times than she'd be comfortable admitting to anyone, least of all to him. But she hadn't messaged him yet. She was hoping he'd reach out first. Maybe he'd recognize Persephone despite her flimsy disguise, or maybe he'd just be drawn to Camellia on her own merits. She kept going back and forth in her own mind. He had me at "Bonjour", but he's movin' about as fast as a herd o' turtles. It's not like I've been subtle. Maybe I came on too strong and scared him off? Or maybe he's just worried about making me uncomfortable. After all, in a way, we are coworkers. Maybe he's just busy. Sure, but so am I. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part and I'm not his type and he's trying to be polite by ignoring it when I throw myself at him. No, there's something there. It can't just be all in my head...can it? Her finger hovered over the "MESSAGE" button hesitantly, then withdrew, then hovered again. "UGH!" Her head snapped back and she rolled her eyes. She typed up a message and sent it quickly, not giving herself enough time to talk herself out of it again. Marcus Dumont received the following message from Camellia's profile: Rapunzel's waiting up here in the tower, ready to let her hair down, if only a knight in shining armor would ride by... ? The woman in the profile pictures looked familiar to Marcus. He'd definitely seen her before, though he couldn't remember where.

February 2020 St. Thomas Chapel basement "Thanks again for chaperoning us!" said Judy cheerfully, addressing Father Guimont with the familiarity of the student who probably worked with him more closely than anyone else. "This is gonna be a great night." Enthusiasm for "Ben-Hur Night" had not been what she'd hoped, even in youth group, but that was okay. _Yes we can watch movies that aren't about Jesus even though we're Christians, Karen_ she thought back, briefly distracting herself with the argument from last week, _but not when we're in church!_ But there was no reason to worry. She and Leroy were going to enjoy themselves, Ashley had settled into her usual spot in a corner of the basement, and..."Ashley, you're not going to read through the movie, are you?" "No," said Ashley, stuffing the Lor-English dictionary back in her jacket pocket. "Trust me, my eyes will be where they need to be." She was the only one in the room not in costume - well, she was in her Watchdog gear, anyway. One thing had turned to another and they were all wearing her best costumer's attempts at togas. If Mia could dress up for her movie, it only made sense they dress up for theirs! Father Guimont, an older man getting well into middle age, had conscripted Leroy to help him get the big screen TV programmed and hooked up to his new sound system. "Just plug that in there, and oop, I think he needs to get that in," Judy had joined them while they worked. "It's gonna be great!" she said with a wink Leroy's way. "I think Micah must be picking her up right now..." The double-date had been her idea - as for that matter had been Micah 'bringing' Mia to movie night at all.

GM Lightning struck in Vibora Bay. At least, that's what it seemed like at first. There was a sudden flash of light, a great rumble echoing across the harbor, and then there was fire. The coast of Vibora Bay never sleeps. The beaches and waterfronts are active year-round. The water in Vibora Bay was warmer in the winter than it was during the summer in some other beach towns, and even when people weren't swimming, there were still picnics and barbecues. It never got cold enough on land to discourage tourists from all over the world from seeing what the shops and restaurants and nightclubs had to offer. For natives of the Northeast or the Midwest, Vibora winters weren't even jacket-weather. And shipping had always been the life's blood of the Queen City. It was one of the most active ports in the world. This weekend afternoon was no different. Ships had been coming and going constantly, an even mix of cargo freighters, fishing vessels, and pleasure craft. A bulk carrier ship had left the Easton Shore just a few minutes ago. It was about a mile into the water, still a couple more miles until it would have reached the place where the Bay became the Gulf. Now it was on fire, and the flames burned so brightly that, even a mile away, it was difficult to look directly at them. It was like looking into the Sun.

Greely Point Docks Bedlam City WisconsinMonday, November 5th, 201811:02 PM Greely Point was one of the few areas of Bedlam experiencing a period of economic growth. Of course at the center of that upturn were the docks controlled by the Gorganzua crime family. At any given if you knew just were to look the family could be making a "move" on behalf of anyone willing to pay the right dollar. Of course that took knowing where to look. The police didn't have to look the other way, as a majority of the trade in the docks were legitimate. The Gorganzua golden goose only laid an egg when it needed to. Vincent Elizalde was a straight C student who worked hard after school on the family business. Of course that family business just happened to be working for the Scarpia crime family. Vincent was a courier for the family. Too young to get his hands on "real crime" but old enough to know where his future was headed. College was out of the question, and since he wasn't Sicillan but Basque being a made man was out of the question. But, he could live comfortably if he showed his worth to the family. That ambition led the teenager and four of his closest friends to the Greely docks. Square in the middle of Gorganzua territory. The teens were planning on robbing a Gorganzua shipment that was arriving shortly. It was rare for the Gorganzua to let slip that they were expecting a shipment. But, even rarer for them to actively send an armed escort to meet the freighter. Whatever was inside was sure to make someone a lot of money. Which in Bedlam could only mean the locals were going to pay a heavy price.

December 2019 Dutemps Tower I AM GOING UNDER THE SEA. I WILL BRING YOU A FISH. Aquaria considered what else to say, then added HAVE FUN AT THE ART GALLERY! It was only a day trip out to the art museum with the glass with her other friend, but Jessie had been looking forward to it and that was good. She didn't want to spoil her good time, so she added a note on the refrigerator that said CALL HELP IF I AM NOT BACK SOON. With her job done, Aquaria headed to the closet where she kept her armor. She climbed inside and throbbed with satisfaction as the space-metal closed around her, the warm liquid that emerged from every crevice inside immensely more satisfying than the cold, dry air of their apartment. She and Jessie had special windows that actually opened, something Eve had said was the "superhero" model and because sometimes the claustrophobia in this little dry space was terrifying. With her armor on, she hung her trident over her back and began climbing the sides of the building, up towards the castle. Was anyone home today? She certainly hoped so. December 2019 "Would Heroditus Stylianos please report to the headmaster's office? He is being picked up." The rather odd PA announcement seemed to make Heroditus' art teacher very worried, and right in the middle of watercolors no less. Heroditus had never actually heard that particular phrase said over the intercom before, at least not when it came to him. "Oh dear, oh dear, well, ah, Mr.Stylianos, we'll take care of everything," said Ms. Zinzendorf. She walked him to the door, a sympathetic expression on her face. "Don't worry about a thing."

January 2020 Claremont Academy Amid all the hubbub and bub of learning the secrets of various friends, and going on cosmic adventures with other friends, Crystal-Gazer had almost (but not quite) missed the fact that she'd technically been without a room-mate for the entire fall semester. There'd been a conversation before break about how she was going to have a new room-mate after the Christmas holiday, a girl from Sweden named Eira, but that was about all she'd heard. Now it was move-back-in day after the break, and she was set to meet her new room-mate for the first time. She was on her way down the hall to her room, the hallways full of students, parents, and even the occasional friend, when she overheard an argument coming from her open door - an argument that she couldn't understand. First came a man's voice, an older one. Someone not quite yelling but certainly speaking with authority, in a language that she couldn't immediately understand, a feminine voice about her own age. Then another voice, a woman's, as upset as the man's. It wasn't quite loud enough that people were coming to investigate but they were certainly listening. Turning the corner and stepping into her room, she was confronted with two people, no - three? The first two were easy enough to understand. A man in a shirt and slacks that were too expensive to be as casual as he wanted to look, the sort of middle-aged that's beginning to turn into a paunch, a blonde mustache turning to grey on his face. The woman next to him looked much the same, her blonde hair cut short in a pageboy, jewelry on her neck and hands, looking more like a college president than anything else. At Lulu's arrival, they turned to her and smiled politely. "Hello," said the father, "you must be...Lulu?" his accent in English was distinct, but his command of the language fluent. The third occupant of the room stared at Lulu, her pale cheeks flushed from anger. She looked like a punk, hair dyed blue and face pierced, and the only piece of furniture she'd brought with her was a single valise she'd left on the vacant desk on the other side of the room. She said nothing...and thought nothing. As far as Lulu could tell, there was nothing there at all. "Aren't you going to say hello, Eira?" asked her mother. Eira rolled her eyes and fired something off that made her parents glare at her. With a sigh, she turned her attention to Lulu. "Hello. What are you in for?"

Theater District, Freedom City, New Jersey Tuesday, November 11, 2019 10:16 PM A cold mist hung in the air of the Theater District in downtown Freedom City as moon rose up into the night sky. Despite the cold, there were still a number of people out on the streets, making their way to some local or another. But the scene quickly changed, as people began to exit the grand Beaudrie Opera House. A few at first, then small groups, and finally a large crowd, as an evening show of Hamilton had come to an end. Megan Howell-Harrow and Lulu Beaumont were part of the crowd of people exiting the show, stepping out onto the sidewalk and into the cold air. It did not take too long for the crowd to disperse, as people began to scatter in all directions. As they walked in the direction of where they had parked, Megan looked over at the teenager with a small smile. "So, did you enjoy the show?"

Vibora Bay January 2020 Lavelle, WInifred's Uber driver took her as far as her GPS allowed, deep into the San Sebastian Swamp just to the north of Vibora Bay. It was hard to believe how close they were to a major city here, with even the skyscrapers of Vibora's highest points lost amid bare mangrove trees and pine forests that seemed to go on forever once you'd been inside them more than a few minutes. It was colder than Florida had been described to Fred; not quite a London spring outside but certainly nothing she'd have wanted to spend very much time in. "Welp, here we are!" The road had converted to gravel some time back, and the tires of the old black van rumbled slightly as they parked. GROCERIES declared the sign on the store that Fred's knowledge of architecture told her was built in the "Carpenter Gothic" style. There were only a few cars in the lot, and the odd dirtbikle which made sense given what she'd heard from Smith of the local travel conditions. "They don't get many folks here in the off-season, but you should be able to get some lunch if'n ya want it," said Lavelle, a cheerful woman in overalls and cap who looked old enough to be Fred's grandmother. Well, looked, anyway. "Ah'm sure yer friend'll be here, we just ran a little early on account of the bridge being open sooner than Ah thought." She cleared her throat meaningfully at that.

GM Z-Space The AnneX August 20th 2019, 5 PM, Earth Prime Pacific Time Zone Z-Space was quiet, as it usually was. The sky and almost everything that could be seen were swirling patterns of randomly intermixing colors, each heralding its own universe or dimensions. Stray bits and pieces of known and unknown universes, giant rocks with strange architecture floating through the sea of color, everything appearing close enough to touch, no matter where you stood. Everything that had fallen between the cracks of its own reality or out of its own broken reality were here. High above, but still seeming so close, a giant derelict vessel drifted by, pushing by multiversal waves, buffetted between the emissions of energy released by cosmic destroyers and defenders of each individual universe. This was Z-Space. Chaos and peace at once. A window in to all the universes that were, could be and might be. And on a particularly large piece of rock, perhaps one quarter the size of Manhattan, in a structure that had been dubbed the AnneX by its occupant, a purple portal appeared to lead Justice and the Meta-Naut into Z-Space.

GM North End, Freedom City Saturday, October 26, 2019 11:05 AM Dr. Martin Meyer was having a rough day. First, his five year old son had come down with the flu unexpectedly, meaning he had to watch over the poor kid who was busy puking his guts out. Then, he got a call from his job at ASTRO Labs demanding he come in. They weren’t particularly sympathetic when he told them his kid was sick, so he had to scramble to find his son a babysitter. Now, he was running late and getting a million angry texts because some lunatic super had melted the asphalt on the road, causing a jam. “Metas…” he hissed under his breath, trying to ignoring the vibration of his phone in the seat next to him. “Oh, doc,” came the voice of a young man that made Dr. Meyer jump. “I would say I’m disappointed you seem to hate us meta-people, but I’m not really surprised.” Martin wheeled around, eyes wide, to see one of his charges, Gabriel Napolitano, sitting in the back seat. “Why aren’t you at the lab?” Martin asked, his throat suddenly running dry on him. Slowly, his hand began drifting toward the glovebox. “The lab? Why would I want to be at the lab? They’re gonna take my powers away there,” Gabriel said. “You’re going to take my powers away. I don’t think I want that.” Dr. Meyer slowly popped the glove compartment open, one eye settling on the gun inside. “Gabriel, you’re sick. The source of you powers is unstable, you could…” Gabriel barked a laugh. “Oh, yeah, that’s what you keep telling us,” he said. “But somehow, given that you’re reaching for that gun, I’m starting to think you’re just scared of us.” Martin stopped, his hand drifting back toward himself. “Us?” Just then, a terrible screeching noise came from above him as molten fingers dug into the hood of his car and began to peel it away. Within moments, Martin could see her standing above him, her skin glowing like molten steel: Angela Ruiz. “Hey, Dr. Meyer!” she said, still visibly smiling despite the brilliance of her molten skin. Martin, realizing he was in serious danger, quickly grabbed the gun and let loose a bullet right into her midsection. She cried out, and Gabriel rose up to to try and help her. Martin used his chance, and threw himself out of the car, running through the cars to try and find a way to safety. “Help!” he cried. “Someone help me! They’re going to kill me!” Gabriel watched as his girlfriend reverted to her normal form, clutching her stomach and groaning. Despite the residual heat, he threw his arms around her. “Angela!” he cried, realizing then that he might be about to lose her. Gently, Angela pushed him away, and pulled at the bullet hole in her suit to reveal that there was no actual damage. “…I think I’m really durable,” she said with amazement. “…Yeah, there’s no damage. Hurt, though.” Gabriel’s eyes lit up, and he kissed her furiously on the lips. “Oh, honey, I love you.” “Aw, I love you too, Gabe,” Angela cooed, her voice sickly sweet. “Do you wanna go and melt Dr. Meyer’s skin off?” Gabriel grinned ferally. “Yeah, I sure do. Let’s go make him die screaming.” With that, he dissolved himself back into toxic smoke, and rose up into the air, looking down over the maze of cars. “MEYER!” he roared. “COMING FOR YOU, BUDDY!”

GM October 4th, 2019 10:30 PM Betlehem Heights A lot had changed on the streets of Emerald City. Things had changed since the events of late August, and something had slipped into the city during the confusion. During the month of September, something new had started spreading through the city. A new drug, something simply called Power. Small white pills with a capital P. Swallow, and two minutes later, you gained random super powers for fifteen minutes. It was a rush, it was exciting, and it was of course completely destabilizing. Street fights evolved into super powered brawls. People fell from the sky, the rush running through their heads. And sometimes, the sheer power simply burned them out, like a candle that burned too bright. At the docks, Magh'kee witnessed a fellow worker swallow a pill, then, with his brief surge of super strength, he did the work of ten men, before the heavy blocks he was carrying fell on him, crushing him. At Compass Rose International, Raya Wells saw a security guard shoot lightning from his eyes at a man that triggered the metal detector. Turned out he had a metal plate in his skull. At Elysium Academy, Elliot Elijah Elder saw other members of the Omega Squad suddenly showing all kinds of different powers that they never had before. To call it strange would be weird, and then one of them offered him some of the Power. The school shut it down as soon as it was discovered, but Elliot grew curious. However they got on the track, all three would eventually end up in Betlehem Heights. The only place to get Power.

February 2020 Art Class A Day Before The Eagle Flies Alone The argument with the teacher had not quite been loud but it had certainly been heard across the class. Eira Katastroff had let her know in tones of offended dignity that forced collaboration was a patently failed pedagogical technique that did not actively promote learning. But when faced with a threat to the headmistress's office if she didn't follow instructions, Eira had backed down, just in time to find herself sitting opposite the leader of Orange Squad, who by the grim logic of an odd-numbered class had found herself without a partner at a critical moment. The assignment was to "create a representation of each other" - and as Eira glared at Mia, her arms folded across her chest, her blue hair a striking contrast against her button-down white dress shirt, she was certainly a striking picture. The teacher was on the other side of the room and the studio space was big, and the two of them had privacy if they were willing to talk quietly.

January 2020 Claremont Cafeteria Eira sat alone at lunch, not seemingly bothered by the fact. Her plate was full of the vegan lunch specials of the day - a cup of tomato basil soup, a curry-spiced sweet potato and wild rice burger, a pesto chickpea salad on the side, and a slice of coconut yogurt cheesecake topped by a few raspberries. Those passing close to the blue-haired teen could faintly hear music as they went, the strains of some half-audible rock music playing, but she wore no headphones. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a basketball jersey over it and sweatpants, her facial piercings glinting in the light overhead as she tilted her head back to eat, the soup briefly a red stain on her blue-painted lips before she dabbed it away with a napkin.

Fennic Town, Temuera II, Lor Exlcusion Zone 13.0.7.1.0 The planet Temuera sat on the edge of the Lor Republic, a blasted rock that was barely able to support life. It would probably have been of no interest to anyone but the Science core if it wasn’t for the deposits of Tepeyoite a glassy mineral with numerous uses in high tech equipment. Hence places like Fennic Town had popped up around the more generous veins of the mineral. With so many credits changing hands the worst scum of the Republic, and surrounding interstellar nations had congratulated to fleece the miners of the hard worn Tepeyoite. One place was Fennic’s best, or at least cheapest Cantina’s where someone arrived that wasn’t here for such things in the slightest.