Search the Community

Hanover, Freedom City June 22, 1:26 AM It was the dead of night, which only increased Serena’s dread as she approached the abandoned building just off the corner of Raleigh. Despite being far from Kingston, the damage was apparent in the stones. They’d paved over most of it, repaired as much as they could, but you couldn’t hide wounds as deep as these. She looked up at the building, watching it rise many stories in the air, the boarded up windows kindling old memories in her. But it wasn’t what was above that she cared about. It was what was below. She walked up to the glass doors, now covered in graffiti, and placed her palm on the surface. I shouldn’t be here, she thought to herself. Could just turn back now. But she couldn’t, not really. Something told her that she had to be here, had to make sure everything was still the way she left it in 1995, when the police raids came down and broke up Dr. Wu’s little experiments. Why now was she so concerned about it? She had gone 23 years without coming here, and yet now she was unable to get it out of her head that she had to come here. Back to the Lab, back to the Delinquent HQ. Looking down at the door handles, she saw that they had been locked tight with some chains and a padlock. She considered just melting them, but that’d leave too much evidence. She freed the lock release gun from the inside of her leather jacket, and inserted it into the keyhole. Within a moment, it popped up and dropped to the concrete. With that settled, she removed the chains and made her way inside. For a moment, Serena felt her breath catch in her throat. This was, technically, trespassing. She steeled herself. She would just be in and out. Make sure nothing was out of place. Then, the alarm started screeching into the night. Serena cursed loudly, looking around for the source of it as fast as she could. Her eyes settled on a red bell contraption, looking conspicuously new. She gritted her teeth, and charged up a blast with her free hand before firing a beam into the bell and melting it into slag. She took a second to hiss more curses to herself, before moving inside. She had to be even quicker now, before anyone noticed. She stowed her lock gun, and pulled out the flashlight she kept with her. Flicking it on, she drew the beam of light across the room in front of her. It revealed the lobby that helped keep the masquerade that the building was for nothing nefarious, but now it was a shell of its former self. The ground was littered with trash and rubbed, and the walls were covered in graffiti. The front desk was barren, missing the secretary - Ms. Chatham, right? - she remembered so well. An ancient, dust-covered PC lay on the floor, its monitor shattered and its tower pried open and stripped for parts. There was no sign of the mouse or the keyboard. The swivel chair Chatham had sat in was long gone. She paused for a moment. Wouldn’t they have seized the PC for evidence? Her eyes narrowed. Something to check in on later, she thought. She made her way through the lobby, the rubble crunching beneath her boots. She stopped in front of the elevator, fingers running over the up and down buttons and moving to the secret third button that blended in seamlessly with the rest of the panel. She pressed down, but nothing came. Somehow, that relieved her. The power was still off. Still, that meant she had to find another way down. @Exaccus

Zebulon System Along the reaches of the Scutum-Centarus Arm Oskar struggled with the controls of the Xeno as the ship spun out of control into the upper atmosphere of the system's second planet. It was impossible to tell when the ship's power would completely give out, but with a bit of luck it would not be before he was able to get it down onto the ground for at least a controlled crash. This was supposed to have been a simple survey expedition, with Oskar and the Xeno hired to survey a few planets far from the outer edge of the Lor Republic. Getting out this far had been no small task, with Oskar having stopped at a few other locations along the way. But shortly after he had reached the Zebulon system, the Xeno had come under attack by pirates. Unable to outrun them, and with the Xeno taking heavy damage, Oskar had tried heading towards the most habitable planet in the hopes of losing them closer to the surface. That was until the last hit which had damaged the ship's engine and power grid. "I cannot do anything about the failing power grid while we are spinning around out here!" Called out Soreen over the Xeno's intercom system from the engine room. The pale blue skinned female humanoid was one of the crew that had accompanied Oskar on this job. She was a talented engineer who helped keep the ship flying, but there was only so much she could do in the middle of a firefight....

July 23, 2019: Late O'Clock at night (morning?) Janus Danger There were many common rooms, and certainly one closer to the dorm room that Janus shared with Veronica but this one had the advantage of line of sight to the door of Kam's dorm room. Janus was bored. Frightfully bored any time that they weren't training at the Espadas dojo but finding out exactly what could encourage Kam - the most rule abiding person that Janus may have ever met - to break curfew. Janus was almost entirely certain that it was a girl at this point. They'd been back for less than a week for the late summer session and by Janus' count, this was the third time that the prince had snuck out. Really, it was a time honored Claremont tradition to sneak out and do a bit of vigilante work on the side... just not one that Janus thought Kam would take part in. They were pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. Janus stretched out on the couch, long legs dangling over the arm and absently scrolling through the phone while they waited. It wouldn't be long now. Janus bit back a yawn. Being tired through classes in the morning was absolutely worth it. When the window creaked open, Janus shifted to eye the Red Lynx from their position dangling upside down on the couch. "Welcome to the hallowed fraternity of Claremont rule breakers, your highness. So, who is she?"

Friday, June 21st, 2019, 6:23 pm Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship The West End, bustling and chaotic, was winding down for the evening. While still short of sundown, the cooling day drew people to porches and cafes and away from the daily grind. The weekend was at hand, and the weather was lovely. It was at this moment, a warm breeze whistling between the buildings, that something odd happened. In the alley behind the Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship a series of rents opened in space. Or more specifically, five thin, two-dimensional lines, spaced like vertical claw marks, split open space. The lines widened, drawing back reality to reveal two figures. The tall one stepped through the portal followed by smaller. "Good girl, Penny. You're improving every day," said the larger figure: Mona. The smaller figure, a Siamese mix the size of a giant bobcat, meowed her reply. Mona was expected. Word travels quickly in the West End. Especially when Gina "Nana" Espadas was Mona's first visit. There was catching up, pictures of grand kids, and the general goings on in the neighborhood. Then Gina put the word out that Mona was back in town. Not that she was really ever gone. You see, Fulcrum had gone globe. But she was always in contact. Video chatting from an art exhibition in Berlin. Seashells from the Seychelles. Pictures of sushi from Tokyo. Boxing footage with a mutated Tasmanian devil (no one was hurt). Postcards from Dakana. Lots of pictures of rampaging, giant robots. A surprising number. And from time-to-time, she'd fly home to provide her famous Mona Bear Hugs and all sorts of eclectic presents. Recently though...she'd been going silent for longer periods. Months at a time even. Today that ended. Before the portal swirled closed, Mona plucked out a large steamer trunk and hoisted it over one shoulder. She smiled as she knocked on the back door. Home sweet home.

The Harris Family Farm was not normally the kind of farm to rent out it’s barn and pasture for a wedding. It was a working orchard after all, but for today no crews moved through the trees about the business of the farm. Today, at long last, the youngest scion of the Harris family was finally to be wed and where better than the farm where he and his bride had spent many happy if too brief summers in their youth. The old barn had been emptied of its equipment, fresh hay laid on the floor and rustic tables and chairs brought in and dressed in classic country chic. Strings of looping LED lights coiled the pillars and rafters of the barn and the center was cleared with ahastily buts sturdily constructed plywood floor to serve for dancing in the midst of it all. Under the old oak in the pasture stood an arch of multi hued roses that looked grown in place, it helped to have talented friends after all and one made all sorts of new acquaintances teaching in a school for the ‘gifted’ such as Nicholson. Benches draped with gauzy linen were arrayed for the small group of friends and family in attendance. Mike stood nervously at the altar in a bespoke tuxedo that managed not to constrict his broad shoulders. He pulled his glasses from his face and absently cleaned them just to keep his hands busy as he waited, tucking them in a pocket with some trepidation instead of returning them to the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need them of course and he knew fully from the chiding voice in the back of his mind his young bride wanted to see his eyes today. *** A few weeks earlier Mike sat over his Saturday breakfast while he waited for Alex to come down from the room they shared going over his prepared speech in his head. Doubtless unintentionally echoing it in her own mind despite his intent to do this verbally and face to face. He looked up as she floated down the central column in her brightly colored dressing gown and smiled as he stood and pulled a seat for her. “Ah Alex?” he nervously began, “I’ve been thinking … and uh well…” he broke off losing his train of thought and looking down to the table where he had cleverly tucked his notecards under his plate. He hadn't had a chance to take advantage however before Alex let out a musical laugh, “Oh Mike, I agree of course!” She sprung up wrapping her arms around his neck to nuzzle his jaw catching his thoughts before he’d even had time to form words, “And yes a small ceremony at your Grandparents farm would be perfect. *** The music started up the soft tones swelling as the first groomsman and bridesmaid began their march up the aisle. It wasn’t a large wedding party. Erin was Alex’s maid of honor and Mark was Mike’s best man. That made up the entire wedding party and there were only family and very close friends on the guest list. Alex didn’t wear white and she didn’t wear a veil. Her bright red curls were pinned up with barrettes that sparkled and caught the light, tossing off brilliant rainbows along the barn roof but none of those matched her smile. The sweetheart gown that Alex wore started at the neckline in a blushing pink but the skirts turned from deeper pinks and reds to the midnight of a sunset. It might have been a modern trend of dip-dying the hems into ombre but no one who knew Alex was surprised that she’d found a way to wear all the bright colors for her wedding. Alex beamed at Mike when she handed over her bouquet and slipped her small hands into his much larger ones. The words their officiant said were lovely but really didn’t matter. It was clear that the groom and bride communicated silently through their personal psychic rapport in addition to offering their vows when prompted. Alex’s smile was brilliant as Mike slipped the simple band on her slender finger. It had taken all of Alex’s considerable resources to find a material that was almost as hearty as Mike’s impervious skin but she’d managed with a little bit of help. The band she slipped on Mike’s finger was duller than gold but Alex was reasonably confident that it would survive the majority of Mike’s adventures without having to be replaced. The ceremony was both short and sweet before they were presented as Mr. and Mrs. Albright to their nearest and dearest.

Mali loved the castle kitchen. It was big enough to move around in, had all the pans she might need, and a commercial grade dishwasher. True, she had to go perusing various Asian markets to get the supplies she liked, but that was fine. Nobody minded if she added a little spice to the pantries. Her mis en place was already in place. Pans, pots, spices, herbs and knives worthy of a chef. So there she was, rocking to the music in her headphones while her knife slid effortlessly through the vegetables. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a rock band logo on it, swaying to the beat. Tofu pad thai, with varying levels of heat. She herself could handle a lot, others not so much. She had bowls set aside and the best rice noodles she could find. She mused, more than once, that if she hadn't been a superhero, she likely would have been a chef. Not that she was as good as a chef, just that she had the passion and drive to become one. She sure hoped people liked dinner, she was told they'd have guests.

Claremont Academy, Room 301 Just after the Krampus Incident "We might have some," Abigail answered Elizabeth as they both stepped clear of the portal in their dorm room. "We can always go out and get more, if we need to." The young mage dismissed her portal with a flick of her hand and hopped up onto her bed, sitting cross-legged in its center. Her eyes unfocused for a moment and her Arcana regalia began to unmake itself and reform into a more sensible slipping off of school grounds after a protracted fight while everyone else is stuck cleaning up afterwards outfit. She was also very much trying to not stare at her roommate who was suddenly very distracting and Abigail didn't understand how, or what, or why that was or what it meant. Instead she just felt her face heating and she kept her eyes down, which in the small room meant she was watching her roommate's legs.

GM December 1st 2018, 3 PM Emerald City Ever since Oz had arrived in Emerald City, rumors had started to reach him through the magical community. Bits and pieces, hints of a story, someone that claimed that their friend's cousin's uncle's grandchild had seen it. A collector of the strange, a man who sought out magical beasts and creatures, collecting them in his own private zoo. Somehow, its true location was kept hidden, somewhere within Emerald City. And on this day, the very first day of December, he had heard one more rumor. Something concrete, something that might actually lead him to this mysterious menagerie of monsters: There was a man that had actually seen it, and right now, this man was in the Eastern District. He had no name, he had no appearance. All he knew was that the mysterious visitor was a man. Perhaps, that would be enough.

Citadel Lor Timemark 1792.4 [March 4, 2018 (Terran Calendar)] The planet Citadel was perhaps among the most unique in the known galaxy. The world had long ago been terraformed so that is contained dozens of different biomes and even atmospheres, many sealed off from one another to prevent contamination. All of this was possible thanks to Mentor and incredibly advanced technology that made the division possible. The various biomes and atmospheres allowed for the incredible variety that made up the membership of the Star Knights, providing barracks and recreational atmospheres as well as training grounds for the Knights and its potential members. On the largest continent of the planet stood a massive fortress consisting of a ring of a dozen towering spires. Each spire was the width of several city blocks of a major Terran city and rose up well over a mile in height. From this inner ring, dozens of smaller buildings, each no more than ten stories high, extended outward like spokes for several miles. These reached out to connect to some of the major atmosphere sectors of the most unusual planet. This was the central headquarters of the Order of the Star Knights, the interstellar guardians of freedom and justice. Within those walls were the vast processors which contained Mentor, the enigmatic cybernetic computer network that contained the knowledge and experiences of thousands of individuals. There were also training facilities, living quarters and various administrative and support offices for the Order. As the sun rose in the sky over the headquarters of the Star Knights, many members of the Order and its recruits were just beginning their day. For the group of recruits that were recently officially given the title of Star Squire, today would mark the first day they would be leaving Citadel to continue their training working alongside current Knights, undertaking the sorts of missions they would one day be expected to carry out on their own.

May 27, 2019, 12.47PM, a lovely warm late spring day Emerald City, Oregon, waterfront, annual MarsTech Science Fair "Wow, Meridian! Amazing! If you hadn't stopped those robot ninjas, my MarsTech Olympus-class air-scrubber would be in the hands of evil! Our ozone and oxygen are safe yet again!" Max Mars, standing beaming like a happy child while surrounded by smashed bits of cyclopic glossy-black robots dressed like ancient stage hands, seemed for once even smaller than his five feet next to the towering heroine. His curly red hair, peppered with grey, had caught plenty of the debris from the magnificently-staged mock-combat, and his lovely deep-blue suit and bearded face had caught a full blast of smoke from an all-too real electrical fire, but the grin on his face wasn't damaged or dimmed in the least. The West Coast's favorite source of super-science had been urging for something like this ever since meeting Sophie Powers, and evidently it had lived up to all his dreams at once. The rest of the dock had been cleared and meticulously calculated to allow for the fight to happen without causing any real harm, while the stands stood close enough to the action to let the Emerald City munchkins feel the vicarious thrills. The platform Max and Meridian stood on was two-level, letting the real point of the show make an imposing backdrop-a monolithic black wall marked out with the red planet logo of MarsTech-keep up a presence. The Olympus was some kind of greenhouse gas-condenser, and had been busily proving its worth since its unveiling. By processes Max had been very happy to explain, but which relatively few people understood, it had been drawing carbon and other heat-trapping airborne substances from the air and converting them into other, less harmful solid forms. To hear Max talk, one could be forgiven for thinking the entire ecological crisis was solved for all time. Emerald's favorite son swept a hand to the crowd "A big hand, everybody, for Meridian, today's greatest hero!" The request wasn't necessary, since Emerald citizens weren't yet jaded enough to not be amazed by the sight of people punching robots in front of them, but it did get a standing ovation going! The only less-than-enthralled response was from the Emerald City South Girl Scouts box, in which several hundred uniformed girls busily scribbled notes onto tablets or inspected fragments of metal that blown their way, the wall of uniformed older women around them clapping politely but with veryobvious skepticism. By tradition, the Emerald City North Girl Scouts box was as far from the South's as reasonably possible, and was resolutely and coolly silent. The flying news-drones swept closer, circling to capture the moment, their human counterparts chatting with the MarsTech company reps and snapping photos. Except for the skinny, greasy woman in the grey 50's suit and 'PRESS'-carded trilby who'd been politely put behind the security line after trying to reach the stage and ask questions. She just scribbled and glared from time to time.

Kembel Outer length of the Perseus Arm, former Khanate Space Lor time mark 1482.4 [April 2, 2016 (Terran Calendar)] Kembel was a lush, mostly tropical world that rotated around a blue giant star. With more than half its surface covered with relatively shallow seas, the continents that extended out from the planet's equator were covered with thick jungles. Despite the seemingly inhospitable terrain, Kembel had been colonized centuries ago, and quickly developed into a rather thriving world with dozens of species from around the sector within its small cities. Its location along the outer edge of what had once been part of the Stellar Khanate meant that it had been fortunate enough to be bypassed during the Communion's initial advance. The tide of refugees from many other Khanate worlds had only swelled the planet's population, a situation that had not changed much since the Communion’s defeat. With the chaos that had gripped the Khanate in the aftermath of the Incursion, Kembel had been one of the worlds that had taken the opportunity to establish its independence from the Khanate. It was here that a small group of Praetorians made their way through the crowded streets of one of Kembel's major cities. Cavalier and Moon-Moth did not have to worry too much about being jostled by the crowds, as Seresk's massive presence just behind them tended to cause the crowd make a bit more space for them to pass. The old buildings of this part of the city were covered with trees, vines and other planets that had grown up along the walls over the centuries, making the city itself seem like just another part of the jungle that lay around it. The three had been sent here to meet up with Traveller, who, since the incident involving the two Terrans that had been caught up with the Spectrum Knights and pursued by the Lor military, had officially been disavowed by the Praetorians, and had headed off into the border regions of Khanate space. Of course, this had been a planned by Paradigm and Traveller, to provide Traveller the appearance of being an independent, as she made her way out into Khanate space to see what sorts of information she might be able to gather about the state of things.

Wednesday, June 19th, 2019, 8:39 PM Mona missed the West End. This was her old stomping ground. She knew the place like the back of her hand. Friends, family, neighbors. Memories. The riot of life made her smile: the smells from the restaurants, kind words in dozens of languages, the old cobblestone side streets, the "newly" planted trees now soaring above the row houses and shops. Despite all that Freedom City had experienced, the core character of the neighborhood remained. But the West End wasn't perfect. Not by a long shot. Heroes were still needed. Which meant this particular evening, Fulcrum decided to do something she hadn't done in years: patrol. Or more specifically, patrol here. So as the lights blinked out in the businesses, and tired West Enders hurried home, Fulcrum jogged through the streets. Oh, sure, she could fly, but jogging was more fun, and pun intended, kept her grounded. She was in costume though. She was "on the clock" as it were. Thus a giant in a white bodysuit with gold wristbands, belt, and anklets passed under the street lights of a quieting West End. Except of course for a rhythmic thud, thud, thud of her 600+ pounds hitting the pavement.

April 20th, 10.25AM, 2019 The paths around Lake Mackenzie The sun streamed down through the trees, its light glinted across the silver-blue surface of the lake. The air was fragrant with flowers, the rich scent of warm earth, and the far-off food carts. Birds sang in the trees, boats plying the lake roared or burbled or splashed, depending how they were being pushed, and the park was thick with barking dogs, yelling children and dancing cherry blossoms. On the far side of the lake and muffled by ancient trees, a fairground had sprung up like a pale echo of Port Regal's Ocean Heights Amusement Park. "Amazing," Leroy stared wide-eyed from his and Judy's vantage point up the hill, hugging her a little closer as he looked down at the scene, "playing on the surface like this...nobody without a dragon would risk it back home." He smiled at Judy "You are a brave people, Dee!" For the hike Leroy had worn the plainest clothes he had, a short olive-green tunic with black piping and the minutest little golden embroidered foxgloves at the neck, and short grey trousers with generous pockets. The thicker sandals laced up his calves looked like they had never once been used. For Pulse the air tingled with the shuddering waves of electromagnetic energy. Phones, satellite dishes, radio antennae, a raging sea of information and raw power blistered the air. ------------------------------------------------------------------- They had started the hike an hour or two ago, Leroy largely drawn by a performance his father's high-school orchestra was putting on that afternoon. "He will be absent and his pupils are magnificent," he had explained gleefully, reading from the pamphlet in the mail, "and walking to the lake would be lovely this time of year." He had turned over the pamphlet, regarding the elegant signature on the back. "Lavernius never sends me these. I wonder why he did this time. In any case, why not make a day of it? A little change of pace for us devoted scholars of heroism." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Leroy scanned the lake as they went further down. "Boats, the park, I believe that is a Carnivalé...so much to do! Where first?"

Deep Space, Lor Border Zone 14th Jyeshtha 2075 "I did not know that Terrans still had a nudity taboo!" A bemused Sitara walked back into the cabin of the Kavaca zipping up her freshly donned jumpsuit, the ships proximity alarm providing a well-timed distraction. The voice of Akazavani spoke as soon as Sitara entered the cabin, she could speak where she wanted in the ship and even had a holographic image for just such occasions. But she was being well behaved today, obviously, she understood Terran behaviour better than Sitara did. "We're picking up a distress call from a Lor Navy ship, the Glorious Exploration of the Unknown."

The West End Silberman's Books June 14, 6:00 PM …For a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself Phew, for a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself The smooth sound of Thom Yorke’s voice filtered through Serena’s car speakers as she pulled up onto Pratt, looking for Silberman’s Books. As she spotted the store-front, she sighed to herself in relief. This was her last delivery of the day, and she was looking forward to the chance to finally relax after this. Normally, she engaged in superheroics after work, but today had been a bit of a mess and thus all she wanted to do was get in the shower and sleep like the dead. They sell coffee here, she thought to herself. Maybe I should pick one up. Pulling to a stop next to the store, Serena compulsively double-checked to make sure there wasn’t “no parking” sign to saddle her with a ticket she couldn’t afford. That’d really mess up her week. Safe. She disconnected her phone from the blue-tooth, and stuffed it into her front-right pocket before twisting the keys and yanking them out of the ignition, then headed to the back. The first thing she grabbed was her collapsible dolley, kicking it down to its full size before she loaded the three boxes down onto it. The delivery was a bunch of copies of some weirdo French, In My Name or And Numina or something. Not really her wheelhouse. Her ex, Pete, was into that stuff but he was never really able to get her into it like he was. The moment the math started, she was off into her own little world. Slamming her trunk shut, she locked the car - three times just to be safe - and began wheeling the dolley up the very convenient wheel-chair ramp and into the store. She looked around, seeing the magic posters, and whistled to herself. She used to spend more time in bookstores, back when Mia was younger, but these days she never had time to read. She kind of missed it. Used to be she’d never miss a Stephen King, but these days she wasn’t even caught up on the movies. She headed toward the front, wanting to get things done quickly. She was dressed in a baby blue blouse with the sleeves rolled up, showing off her colourful Bosnian flag wrapped around her right forearm and the cut-off depiction of a fanciful battle on her left. Her jeans had a tear in the right knee, but this wasn’t a fashion statement so much as a reflection of the fact that she needed to make every pair of pants last as long as possible, while her worn Docs had seen better days. She had made the decision to mostly eschew make-up today, wearing only some winged eyeliner, while her hair was tied up in a messy bun. “Hey, I got a delivery for a… Lynn Epstein?” She said, her voice a rough contralto.

GM There are few things one needs in life. To live, of course. Eat, sleep, repeat. That would get boring. So we find other things to occupy our time. Action, adventure. Though some use this as an excuse to be dreadful. Luckily there are people who will stand up and protect the less fortunate. The days are long and hot in the summer, but nothing is left to chance. Or is it? Immortals hiding from society, treating humanity like a chess game. Or just the causality of the universe. You could ask this group of youth in ski masks and nondescript clothing, but they really don't care. They're using what minimal power they have to ransack a row of businesses in a mini mall. Cops are on the scene. Pedestrians are freaked out. The kids are high on a cocktail ZOOM and MAX. Guaranteed not to kill you or you money back. Suckers.

West Gables Housing Unit, North End After the holiday's thing were settling back to normal at school, thanks to so many heroes around Freedom kept running despite the cold weather. And whilst some liked the dark and gloomy weather many in the House had decided they need do something to brighten up the winter and raise some money for those struggling in this weather. So after a quite enthusiastic night of discussion, it was decided to do a fashion show to show off some of the Colleges best designers. The show had been going stunningly well and many of the tickets had already been sold. Casey was in her room one dark and wintery morning when there was a knock on the door and Lola stuck her head around the door, not even waiting for a response. "There a woman in the Common Room to see you, says you know her." from the sound of this mysterious stranger had caught Lola attention.

Summer 2019 London Sea Devil had invited Singularity along on her trip to London, but Jessie had been decidedly uninterested. Aquaria had tried to assure her that her social plans for the trip were only a small part of her agenda, but Jessie had started covering her ears and singing, which is what she did when she really did not want to hear things. So Aquaria had flown out to London in a Freedom League jet, safely ensconced in her armor, so she could tell what she knew about life Below to the heroes who lived on the tiny island where Sgt. Shark made his home. The members of Vanguard hadn't betrayed Shark's trust by telling her where she could find him, of course, but they had been willing to tell her how to contact him. She didn't like the way Surfacers talked on telephones much, but she'd been introduced a few years earlier to something that conveyed messages but didn't make her feel like she was talking to a ghost. And so it was, as Aquaria perched by the Thames, safely wrapped in her armor, that Sgt. Shark's phone buzzed with a message. IT IS I. THE SEA DEVIL.

GM December 12 2018, 11 PM Local Time Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean The A.E.G.I.S. vessel that had carried the heroes so far was finally beginning its descent. They hadn't had long to prepare, but now they were almost at the destination. Asad, Sgt. Shark and Sea Devil. An unlikely group, perhaps, but they had been the ones available that would actually be able to participate in this mission. The A.E.G.I.S. commander was a frail little man, with thinning grey hair. He was reading from a tablet, looking over his bottle cap glasses, explaining the situation to the three heroes. "Err... yeah, so... A company that I'm not legally allowed to name was drilling for oil here. And, err, they kinda hit something." He fidgeted a bit with his glasses, adjusting them, before scrolling further down on his tablet. "Turns out that some, errr, aliens had crashed under there. We don't know how long they, err, have been there. But, they're rather annoyed at being woken up, so, errr... They threatened to basically flood the Pacifim rim and the rest of the world?" He looked up, a little smile on his lips. "So, please go stop them, and save the world?"

1959 Conway & 25th, Lincoln, Freedom City 7 am 18th June 2018 It didn't matter how quick you were breakfast was still a flurry of activity, cat and child to feed and get and superspeed couldn't make water boil any quicker or toast to brown perfectly. And of cause when Dancia was meant to have her new Intern and superhero colleague of several adventures, she was of cause running late. She was quite proud that over the last couple of years that she'd earned enough cache at the Ledger that she was able to convince them to let her take on an Intern, even if it meant she'd have to do all the related work. not that she minded, in fact, she was looking forward to the challenge. Even with all her enhanced senses she was distracted and didn't notice her new Intern imminent arrival, some in the house had and just before they arrive at the door it was opened. "Hi there I'm Katie Melitta Devons-Leeds and I'm eight years old!" With a smile, the young girl offered out a hand. She looked very much Dancia, except for a head of extremely blonde hair.

April 13th, 11:30 AM It was a crisp New Jersey morning, and Adam was dressed for the part. He didn't enjoy the cold much. He could handle it, but he wasn't fond of it at all. He imagined Lulu would be less so. However, he wanted to get out and stretch his legs a bit, especially since they were close to Spring break. He hadn't been able to get out much, recently. He wore a jacket, jeans and long-sleeved shirt, along with his wig and false eyebrows. Like usual, he covered his entire body. He hated his scars and didn't want to be gawked at. At his height, that was already hard to avoid. "Shall we explore the mall a bit, first? Our show isn't until 12:30." He asked, smiling

Headmistresses Office, Claremont The office of Headmistress Summers was quite a stark and bare affair, just a simple desk and a monitor, with no really nicks nacks to suggest the owner of the offices. The only real decoration in the room was a portrait of Duncan Summers, which had survived several destructions of the office. Rumour had it was that the picture was as indestructible as the former headmaster himself. Even with the starkness, it wasn’t a place you’d want to be summoned to without good reason. So for those of you summoned it was good to know that it was to meet the newest arrival to Claremont Academy...

2019 May 17th (Friday). Evening. Cloudy, temps in high 60s/low 70s. On Shelley Road, in one of many squat gray buildings that dotted the neighborhood, was the Southside Family Medical Center. It was several blocks from the middle-class safety centered on Freedom College campus or the Jordan International Airport, and primarily served the far too numerous amount of uninsured people of Southside. They received some funding government grants and local charities, but it was not nearly enough to give adequate care to all who came through their doors. And many did come through their doors: college kids who partied too hard and didn't want any records, victims of gang shootings, and perfectly law-abiding citizens stuck in hazardous low-income jobs, whose poverty charged interest on their bodies. There was always some shortage or other of supplies, though most days they managed to make things stretch. Equipment too worn out even for West End's Trinity Hospital often wound up here, juuust functional enough to not be complete scrap. For the past few days, a "freelance technician" had been coming by to see about keeping their gear in functional order. He'd simply appeared on day a few weeks ago, in dingy overalls and a large tool belt, working at several such clinics throughout the area. The first few clinics were initially skeptical of this "Patch Menderson," but a lack of references or papers (and obviously fake name) were far from unusual in these parts, and his skills and oddly charming nature spoke for themselves. And so it was that on a May evening, as he left the struggling medical center, the path of "Patch Menderson" -- in reality Herr Doktor Viktor Archeville, working incognito and trying a new method of helping others -- crossed with one of Southside's more unusual defenders...

Mühlenplatz, Lucerne, Switzerland Saturday, April 21st , 2018 2:23 PM It was a beautiful day on Lucerne’s Mühlenplatz. People from both near and far enjoyed the sudden sunlight after a long winter by sitting in the restaurants outside and browsing through the various stores. There were travel groups, locals, and Swiss from other parts of the country. And there was Auguste Zoss. He’d not been in Lucerne for a while, there honestly weren’t that many reasons to visit the city. But today he was, thanks to an invitation by an old friend earlier in the day. He didn’t have anything else to do for the rest of the day, so it felt only fair to spend some time in the sun, amongst all the others. People were walking down the streets en masse, and Auguste was enjoying his coffee, occasionally peeking over at a man on a nearby table who was holding the most recent newspaper. But then, the occasional superhero noticed something. A glint, up on one of the roofs. A closer look revealed something quite disturbing. A man, set up with what quite clearly was a sniper rifle.

GM Dec 10th, Hong Kong Agent Sunny Fields had almost tore her hair out trying to track down the stolen daka weapons that she had the Scarab had dealt with in Cairo. Yasser, the Daka-powered gun runner had already started dealing, and with a good bit of old fashioned detective work, they had found that the destination was Hong Kong. W.E.S.T was still on the case, but the matter was now more about intelligence and investigation than exotic science. Still, the weapons were clearly dangerous, and W.E.S.T had asked the Scarab to help. And detective Jackie Wu was her contact. A short, strong man in his fourties who liked dark suits and dark glasses, and clearly knew what he was doing. "Pleased to meet you" he bowed, with good command of English and a professional handshake as they met on the HK airstip that had flown the Scarab in. "Things are going crazy in Hong Kong. Dr Sin has been arrested in Holland, and all the gangs and right hand men are stepping up to try and make a power play. They are going to be fighting over those weapons. And probably fighting with those weapons. I'm no scientist, but from what I understand if they go wrong they could level a block...." Meanwhile... Club Immortus, Hong Kong Who had arrested Dr Sin? Why, The Immortal trio of Comrade Frost, Voin, and Dreadnought. And whilst an apparently great success, Dreadnought and Voin had been called away to baby sit a wild card, the ancient immortal called Morgen they had found from that adventure was causing rumblings in the green fields of Wales. And meanwhile, the mysterious Mr. Murk had asked Comrade Frost and Tsunami to see what the fallout in Hong Kong was. He was rather concerned, and felt responsible. But Mr. Murk operated from the shadows, and this needed someone who could walk in sunlight. Sonny Cho, an immortal who lived in Hong Kong, greeted Comrade Frost and Tsunami. He knew the former, of course. And Sonny Cho knew the streets of Hong Kong like nobody else - he was well aware of Tsunami's connections...