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160 years later, the time portal no longer absorbed or radiate visible light. But it glowed like a torch at the higher and lower end of the spectrum - standing out like brightest day to Miss Americana and Dragonfly on their arrivals, and in fact putting out so much radio waves that the former couldn't get very close without the risk of losing connection to her controller. For those with normal eyes, the strip mall parking lot in the West End was quiet and still - any eyewitnesses to any recent events at this location had either fled the premises or were in hiding.

Claremont Academy 9/18/2015 (three days post Lets get it started), 10:30AM Sunny with light clouds If Huang had been raised in circumstances less bizarre the trek down to the boiler room adjacent janitorial office would have been downright creepy with the poor lighting and strange sounds in the distant subterranean halls echoing like something out of a horror movie. As it was however event the more familiar environs could not improve his mood much. Not only detention but detention wasted on menial tasks for the mundane staff of the not so mundane school. He arrived a few minutes later than he had been ordered too outside the door to Basil Faulks 'office' and paused with a smirk listening in for the mans famed odd mutterings, if there was truth to any of them they could after all be useful and if not they certainly sounded hilarious from the poor attempts at being scary the upperclassmen had made regarding the strange groundskeeper.

October 2015 Riley sat alone under the tree, methodically field-stripping his crossbow, his physics textbooks tucked away in the thick grass at his feet. So Headmaster Summers, after a serious conversation with him and promises of a serious conversation with his instructors, had set up a meeting with a famous superheroine. He'd heard of Erin White, of course, and the students of Young Freedom who'd helped save the world so many times. He didn't really care about most of them, half of whose names he didn't even know, but Erin White was someone whose name he knew very well. Alone in isolation in the Goodman Building, Riley ran his hands across the words carved into the bathroom wall. My name is Erin. He'd heard plenty about the dimensional refugee, or at least enough to know he wanted to learn more. But she's prolly gonna talk with me about not shooting anyone in the damn head, he decided gruffly. Like I haven't heard enough of that already. No one looked his way as he held his impervium bolthead up to the sunlight - something which didn't surprise him a bit after that damn accidental video had gotten around. Everybody knew the story. Bolt in hand, he judged the bolt by the way it reflected the light, the glow showing how unmarred the surface of the bolt was. Impervium could be a tricky thing, especially when you were working with scraps.

(Takes place directly after events in "Let's Get It Started.") By the time Raina and Anibal walked into the cafeteria, the lunch rush was long over, but the dinner crowd had mostly not begun to arrive yet. Raina'd made good use of her time in the locker room, changing back into civilian clothes that were considerably more flattering than the workout uniform and doing something to her hair that made it shinier and more wavy than before. She smiled at Anibal as she took a tray from the pile near the door. "Looks like they're just finishing up the first batch of burgers, our timing's pretty good."

Robin waited until Fred was out at the lab as she didn't want to worry her roommate with the implicit rulebreaking that was about to occur. Briefly, she felt guilty for leaving Fred behind but the young woman was still adjusting to life in this century and Robin thought that taking her to what was sure to be a rather sketchy - and probably illegal - venue was not likely to help matters. She paused to leave Fred a brief and uninformative note before she headed for the door on quiet feet. Robin fished the tattered flyer out from her pocket - having snagged it during the last weekend in the Fens and began picking her way through the hallways towards Raina and Cathy's room. Glancing up and down the hall to make certain there were no lingering RA's, she knocked on the door. "Hey, we should go if we want to make it. Also before anyone catches us heading off campus." As this was so very not a sanctioned field trip.

Between working at the dojo and... other things, Talya was clocking an awful lot of hours at the Espadas School of Self Defense and Swordsmanship(!). Today was no different, except that the dojo was currently empty of students - and most other bodies - save for the blonde currently standing in the main work out area with a decent size ring in hand as she examined the ceiling. Talya was almost always in the 'do what you want, beg forgiveness after the fact' mindset so this indecision was new. New and unpleasant! It was a good idea, Talya told herself firmly. One couldn't have students practice hanging upside down and doing things without having something sturdy to hang FROM. If Erik had only been her employer, Talya would already have had this installed in a joist and been ready to smile prettily when asked about the new addition to the workspace. It was even designed to fold up when not in use. It was a good plan. Muttering under herb breath, Talya resolutely turned towards the wall and within a few seconds had scaled the wall to balance with one foot on top of the stand of practice swords and her palm flat against the ceiling as she began running the stud finder over the ceiling. She was going to be perfectly normal, darnit!

It took two passes over the West End for Raina to find the Espadas School for Self-Defense, mainly because the first time around, she'd discounted the building covered in plants without a second thought. Why would a dojo have a rooftop garden? On the second time around, Merlin and the GPS colluded to convince her to at least make a landing and check it out. With a much put-upon sigh, Raina landed and dropped her invisibility as she slung her broom over her shoulder, not willing to admit aloud that Merlin had been correct. The laughter coming from inside her backpack was galling enough. The school looked sort of like a business and sort of like a house, to the point where Raina wasn't sure if it was okay to just go in or not. Better safe than sorry when it came to just barging into somebody's house, she decided, with only a thick hint of bitterness, and knocked loudly on the front door.

Pushkin’s Restaurant, West End, Freedom City Friday 3rd October 2015 5:30 pm The last dregs of Summer had began to peter out and the sky was overcast over Freedom City, whilst most of the Restaurants had chair set up outside few bothered to sit outside. A few stubborn souls were however “enjoying” the weather, being use to much worse this time of year. “I do not know why I miss this food at all, it’s nothing like the sweet food or Ayrag of home.” Klara spoke between mouthfuls of Shchi “Maybe because you love all food even my feeble attempt at cooking and I’m no Mary Berry.” Tracy still had a strong Lancaster accent even after all these years At first glance it looked like a, admittedly tall, daughter was taking her mother out for a meal. Tracy looked about twice Klara’s age, and was in fact even older than that. But if you watched closer you could see that there was something else there, from the little looks they gave each other to way they would softly touch each other hands. “You are beautiful tonight my darling and you grow even more so with every passing year.” “You a lying old bugger you know that Klara, but I’ll take the compliment as it was intended. Now the kid are left we need to have that talk you know, unlike you I’m not going to live forever.” “You know there are ways around that, people and places that grant eternal beauty and life.” “Seems to me that immortality more of a burden than a blessing, look at that bitter old man you use to work with in the People’s Heroes. I ain’t planning to end up like that, rather go now.” It was an old conversation that Klara wasn’t keen on having right now, she just wanted a nice quiet night out with her wife, so she subtly changed the subject. “I can’t tell if it’s from living among the Russians or the English's but when someone mention him I can’t help but assume the worst is about to happen...”

Of course, she was sleeping. Sure, it was the middle of the day, heading towards afternoon, but contrary to the image Talya tended to put out into the public realm, even she had to rest sometimes. Thankfully, part of what she paid the unholy rent for was to have doormen that notified her when people were in route. So, when the phone rang, Talya reached out a hand to try and turn the alarm off only to eventually grope for the phone. She answered in a cool, crisp voice that sounded nothing like she was currently buried in layers of bedding and gave permission for guests to come up just as smoothly, despite the reality that she'd not yet gotten both eyes open. After she hung up, Talya laid there for a long moment before kicking the covers off. The woman who answered the door, however, showed none of the signs of having just rolled out of the bed. From her on point pin curls to the peep toed shoes, Talya was in full hostess mode when she walked to answer the door for a 'Dimitri and guest'. "Dimitri, honestly, I know it's hard to fathom but I really am a mere mortal that actually sleeps sometimes, and--" Talya broke off before she could get to the point where while the vodka really was very good, sometimes one needed to recover to stare delightedly at Set, "This is Set. The Set. Well, the latest incarnae. You Egyptians and your reincarnation. Come in. Do come in."

On her way out of the awful test from hell, Robin hesitated in her blue and yellow uniform, debating for a moment whether she out to give Riley a bit of time or head directly after him. She could pause and change, but the memory of Riley's stricken expression decided her. Pausing only to grab her worn leather jacket, Robin headed up from Claremont's underground tunnels until she could reach a level where there was window access. There were many weirder sights than a student in a training uniform sprinting through the halls and diving out a window so Robin only garnered an occasional look as she ducked outside and scaled up the side of one of the dormitories to reach the roof. She wasn't trying for stealth although her boots weren't all that loud as she landed on the shingles. "Riley?" Robin's voice floated out as she straightened up, her concern apparent in her tone.

Something had been playing on Cathy’s mind all day, well several things sometime it felt like all the things. Life in the big city was certainly a confusing mess for a girl from a tiny village from Scotland. For most people this wouldn’t cause much problem, just a quiet little girl with a wide eyed looked at everything, but when Cathy was nervous she lowered the temperature around her making it pretty obvious to anyone around her. She’d managed to keep herself busy for a while sat on her bed doing her school work in her carefully neat handwriting, she wasn’t the smartest in a school with literary geniuses but she was diligent in keeping up with her school work. Finally she could bare it no longer and worked up the courage to say something. “Erm Raina you okay there?” it wasn’t the smoothest of opening lines.

Kestevan 79 Coalition Victory Station October 1, 2015 (Terran Calendar) Less than a year ago, most major space faring races gave little thought to Kestevan 79, a system generally avoided due to its nebula, neutron star and magentar companion causing problems with navigation systems. But that had all changed with the conclusion of the Communion Incursion and the defeat of the Communion mothership in the system by Coalition forces. Now, Kestevan 79 was an important location within the neutral zone between the major space powers, with the derelict Communion mothership being renamed Coalition Victory Station and millions of sentients from hundreds of species from across the galaxy living aboard the repurposed vessel. As a true neutral ground, the station provided an opportunity for the various space powers that had formed the Coalition against the Communion to try to form a lasting peace between them as they sought to rebuild in the aftermath of the Incursion. Large sections of the station had been rebuilt by the various Coalition members to provide housing, business, spaceports and other facilities for those relocated there. But even with these city sized settlements in place, vast sections of the former Communion vessel stood empty and unexplored, often without life support systems in place. It was in one of the larger inhabited sectors of the station that the Praetorians had chosen to establish their new headquarters as they began to carry out their new role as galactic protectors. The outsider status of the ancient protectors of a long gone empire provided the Praetorians something of a unique position between the governments that had formed the Coalition, even as the group formed close bonds with the Lor Republic and Star Knights. Over the past few months, Aya K'zan had become familiar with parts of the station, having joined the Praetorians as the official Lor representative and liaison for the organization. Of course, given the current state of the galaxy, she and the other Praetorians were often away on some mission or another. Her current assignment had her down in a lower level of the section that held the Praetorian's headquarters, to a sector inhabited primarily by independent Grue. During the chaos of the Incursion, large numbers of Grue drones had been separate from the Unity hivemind of the Metamind, gaining independent sentience and leaving the Unity join Coalition forces fighting the Communion. Given the callous disregard the Metamind had shown for drones and even Unity worlds during the Incursion, the vast majority of the independent Grue had chosen not to be reincorporated into the hivemind. But the shift from being independent of the Unity was not easy for many, and given the distrust many races felt for Grue, the majority of independent Grue had become roaming vagabonds, unable to find any place to make a new home and life. One contingent of the independent Grue, referring to themselves as the Grue Individuality, had established a delegation on CoVic Station, and a number of other independent Grue eventually followed. While the communities of independent Grue were normally left to themselves, a recent string of murders in this sector had prompted the Grue Individuality to request the assistance of the Praetorians in investigating the matter. Stretched out before Aya was a larger cavernous space that descended downward hundreds of feet deeper into the station. A maze of structures and passages snaked along the sides of the space down as far as the Lor officer could see through the misty haze filled the humid air. Hundreds of red skinned humanoid figures could be seen moving about, mixed with the forms of other species, though whether the later were truly members of those species or independent Grue that had taken that form was impossible to tell for certain. "How do you suggest we proceed Officer K'zan?" Asked the hulking figure that stood beside the Lor in accented GalStandard. Seresk, an enormous reptilian humanoid over eight feet tall, was one of the original Praetorians that had been sent to assist Aya in the investigation.

September 2015 Bereft of his crossbow, Riley sat in the infirmary waiting room, reading a technical manual. He'd already filled out his paperwork, showed his student ID, and made sure Nurse Joy knew that he was there and was patiently waiting for his next turn. At least in theory. When he wasn't in a blind with a bow in his hand, or waiting up a tree, Riley had never been very good at patience. So instead he buried himself in stories about the construction and care of wind power plants, all the while making the usual adjustments for whatever tools and other equipment would be missing back on his own Earth. Raymond couldn't keep running forever, he knew from lessons drilled into his head by his mother, and by the time he was an adult his community would need some other source of power to survive. He was going to make it back there. He was sure of it.

The South River, near the Pramas Bridge Thursday September 17, 2015 12:14 PM local time It was a warm September day for Freedom City, the weather already in the mid 80's and rather muggy. Some might have believed that the larger than normal mid-day crowds along the city's waterfront were because of the weather, but that was likely only one reason. The other was the scene playing out on the South River just west of the Pramas Bridge. Out in the river was a massive, 380 foot long multipurpose icebreaker and platform supply vessel, the Horizon, which had been undergoing repairs at one of Freedom City's dry ocks further up the river. Now it was underway to return to the Arctic and resume operations in support of a major oil company's exploratory ocean drilling in the region. But currently it was holding its position in the middle of the river between the Mona-Glen and Pramas bridges, unable to continue forward. This was due to close to a hundred brightly colored kayaks and canoes that were in the water underneath the Pramas Bridge, effectively blocking the vessel's path towards the bay. The small boats were filled with protestors from various environmental groups protesting the drilling in the Arctic, many of them holding signs denouncing the damage to the region. In addition, about a dozen other protestors had suspended themselves from the Pramas Bridge, with ropes and banners between them, making it all but impossible for the Horizon to proceed forward without hitting or entangling some of them with its tall central tower. Several police boats were out on the water, trying to get protestors to move, while a number of other police officers were up on the bridge, attempting to get the protestors suspended from there back up and out of the way. The traffic jam this created on State Route 4, which crossed the Pramas, only made the scene all the more chaotic.

September 12, 2015 Cline Building, Freedom League Special Circumstances Housing "I do not care what thy do," Sekhmet growled irritably, pacing to the far end of the small apartment she shared with her ofttimes irritating charge and rubbing either side of her head. "Merely cease wringing they hands as though a smitten scribe initiate!" Perched with his feet on the armrest of their couch, Set sniffed the air with a frown. "I'm hardly wringing my hands, Sekhmet, I merely wish to observe to correct etiquette. Our previous encounter ended... less well than I might have hoped. I'm unsure of the proper waiting period before tis proper to reopen communications!" The lioness goddess snorted. "Praise Ra should today be that day. I cannot stand to sit through another week of thy pouting over the boy not contacting thee first." "Set does not pout, Mistress of Dread," the godling protested, looking back down to his phone with a glower. "Nor does he sit idly! I shall message Huang forthwith!" Sekhmet waved a hand over her head in sarcastic celebration while the redheaded Heliopolian typed. Heeeeeey handsome ;p How fare you??? >

The blond slipped in as the most recent class was just starting to wrap up, rather like she'd timed it that way. Talya had paused outside to admire the facade and the rather bold sign choice. Of course, she really hadn't expected anything less. Letting the door shut behind her, she glanced at the front desk before slipping between the students currently filtering out towards the entrance. Crowds were really always the best cover one could ask for and old habits died hard. Although, Talya really wasn't up to any nefarious purpose today. The students didn't spare her a second glance, really, not beyond the occasional appreciative glance an attractive twenty-something blond might usually garner. Perhaps her boots fell a little too softly on the ground as she skirted the training area, working her way around to the professor. "Uh, Mr. Espadas?" She pitched her voice higher, the accent soft and vaguely mid-western. Hesitant, apologetic. "I was wondering if you might have an opening in one of these classes?" The woman asking the question was blond, pretty - certainly, but Talya was well aware that with softer, subtler makeup and her hair pulled back up into a loose ponytail, she presented a very different picture than her normal attire. That, really, was the point. Gone was the tailored 40's clothing in exchange for a soft turtleneck and a pleated skirt and tights that would have looked entirely normal on a woman her apparent age. The only real give away was Talya's laughing blue eyes, which crinkled around the corners as she added, still in the softer American drawl as there were still students about, "Hullo, Erik."

Ellis stared into the mirror comparing ties, which he rarely wore outside of work functions to start with, and let out a heavy sigh, "What am I doing?" he mused under his breath as he quickly and methodically tied the hunter green silk in place. He looked up at the sound of a muffled laugh behind him turning to fix a long suffering look on his younger sister, "Getting ready for your daaate." she teased with a smile as she stepped forward and somewhat needlessly straightened the tie with his collar. "It is not a date." he countered perhaps too quickly, "She's a parent at the nicholson school and it may be a good match for the kids." he pointed out not for hte first time since he'd broached the subject of the coffee, meeting, with his sister. He looked down at her sternly, "That is all. I don't have time for dating, nor," he cleared his throat, "Inclination." he rushed a bit belying the little white lie. "Sure sure of course not." Grace replied with a smirk her tone thick with a younger siblings biting sarcasm, "Just two single adults taking time out of their day to meet one on one and consume beverages and possibly food." she posited with an arched brow, "That sounds nothing like a date at all to me." she added with a faux authoritative nod. "Exactly." Ellis confirmed with a smart no of his head, "Just two people meeting for coffee to discuss prospects for hte children." he said almost more to himself than her. Grace was unable to hold it together any longer and barked a sharp laugh as he ran the lint roller over his shirt clearly not for the first time this morning. "What exactly do you think dating in your forties is Ellis?" she countered tilting her head to fix an incredulous look his direction, "You look nice." she complemented tapping his shoulders and let out a small sigh, "You're allowed, no you deserve, to be happy." she said quietly, "Even if you are absurd." she added with a smirk, "Barbara would want you to be happy." grace whispered barely audible drawing a stern look from her brother. "I am not having this conversation." he said sternly, "No it is hackneyed narrative right out of a lifetime movie and I won't have it." he said firmly though with a hint of a smile, "Thank you for watching the kids." he said finally as he headed for hte door shutting the heavy oak front door to the sing song, "Have fun on your daaaate." *** Elis arrived a bit early, perhaps intentionally though he'd blame light traffic over the bridge certainly. He kept a brisk pace as he walked first past the agreed upon coffee shop, the cheekily named Neutral Grounds, glancing in the windows to see if Stesha had already arrived before turning and with a deep breath entering the shop and ordering an oversize black coffee and taking it to a table with an indirect view of the door trying his hardest not to look like he was watching the door avidly and the handsome doctor earning his fair share of whispers from the barristas over who he might be waiting for. A slow tuesday morning perhaps not the best choice if one strived for anonymity in a coffee shop one did not frequent, live and learn.

Eric had been out of prison for over well over a week by this point, and he was still staggered by how much the city had changed in his absence. Not only were entire buildings simply not where they once stood, it seemed like everything that stood in the same spot was different. And the cellphones were everywhere. Sure they had been popular before he was locked up, but not every 5 year old had to have one. He didn't recognize anything on the radio anymore, and he certainly knew nothing about what was on TV anymore. In short, he felt old and out of place. The constant death threats didn't do much for his self esteem either. Now it would be rather in keeping of character to just bottle up those emotions and deal with it, but Eric had been down that road before, and frankly no one wanted that to happen again. So he made a few calls to try to see if there was someone who he could talk to, who had gone through this before. Turns out there was. And so Eric had donned his finest suit (at least of the variety that didn't come with a power supply), and invited his guest of honor to a rather swanky restaurant. He was initially surprised he got a reservation so quickly, but he figured the owners might feel that he would take vengeance if they were to snub him, an opinion Eric felt no immediate need to correct. He had arrived early, getting a requested table in one of the darker areas of the restaurant, his mechanical fingers idling drumming on the table while he waited.

September 2015 It was a fine September morning when Tarva surprised Kimber in her bedroom - or rather, Kimber entered her bedroom and was surprised to find Tarva there. Tarva lay stretched out on her bed, wearing a short black dress that showed off her long, muscular legs. She'd been cutting back on the black in her wardrobe since their return from Thunder Bay and replacing it with acres of creamy-pale skin, sometimes just hidden beneath sheer black hose, other times hidden beneath nothing at all. "Why hello, Kimber," she said, sitting up on the bed and smiling brightly at her. "You're looking lovely this morning." Tarva had certainly been much more affectionate since that visit to the north as well, and her manner with Kimber these days seemed to lack the artifice of times past. Though as ever, it was hard to tell with the shadow-witch from the Terminus. "I've been down in the towers below today, doing necessary things. How was your night?" She folded her hands on her lap, shadow wrapped around them like yarn, looking Kimber up and down with frank interest.

'The Shops' at Midtown sunday 9/13/2015 afternoon cloudy and cool 'The Shops' at midtown plaza were bustling despite the nip of the seemingly sudden turn to fall, shoppers weaved in and out of the high end boutiques and went about their shopping oblivious of the chaos soon to erupt. Despite the pricey nature of hte merchandise the Shops central location and friendly browsing policies made it a popular destination for window shoppers as well. In one sprawling outlet a somewhat out of place appearing group in beaten military surplus urban camo and black hoodies as they browsed the high end electronics on display. Those with sensitive hearing could make out the conversation and it didn't take much to notice security closing in. The smash and grab seemed a bit brazen for the locale certainly but from the taunting way one of the toughs held aloft the device as the sales person reached for it it seemed to be the goal.

Location: Claremont currently, later ???? Date: 9/21/15 In addition to the school's regular curriculum of classes taught by the stable of professors, there were the occasional guest lectures that were, perhaps, more akin to a college than a traditional high school. Of course, no one had ever accused Claremont of being a traditional school ever. Typically, from what the upperclassmen said, the guest lectures were for the one-off classes that the headmistress could rope active heroes into 'giving back' to the school. They were typically optional, although the staff wasn't above exerting pressure when they felt the topic was necessary for one of their students in particular. The blurb for this one had read: An afternoon lecture in magic and the greater worlds beyond. Most people will never end up trapped in an entirely different dimension but it happens to super heroes far more often than one might think. For those who signed up, they had a pass on their typical afternoon classes to attend the guest lecture right after lunch. School gossip whispered that the elusive Eldritch might have been tapped to make a rare appearance. As the students headed towards it, post lunch, it was in a small classroom located far from most of the currently active classrooms. Likely, because, magic was more of an art than a science and the headmistress was hoping any incidents would be contained in a more manageable locale. Encouraging! The room itself was small, currently empty, with a loosely arrayed ring of desks in no particular arrangement. The lights were off when the first student arrived.

Location: Currently Claremont, later the Fens Date: 9/19/15 It had taken minimal cajoling, surprisingly to Robin, to coax extra bread and peanut butter from the staff that handled Claremont's dining service. It had been worth the somewhat sad-eyed look she'd gotten for the small trash bag of sandwiches she had slung over her shoulder like an odd Santa's sack. Ho ho ho. Robin wasn't quite sneaking out of Claremont. It was the weekend, after all, and they were allowed to leave and return home. Of course, Robin's home was more of a zip code than a street address but nonetheless, she was antsy to get back to it. The Fens needed her, Robin was convinced of it and nothing, likely including an act of God, could probably sway her from that opinion. Robin shouldered her backpack onto her shoulder, trash bag of sandwiches in hand. She was about to head out towards the gate when she paused at the Lost and Found box to poke around in it. She never took anything from lost and found that was important or valuable, but when she found two sweatshirts with logos plastered across them, she collected those too, bundling them under one arm and heading for the gate directly, clearly not making eye contact with anyone on her way on foot towards the school gate.

Location: Freedom City Museum of Fine Arts, Liberty Park Date: September 23rd, 9 PM Museums, in Bombshell's never to be humble opinion, were best enjoyed after hours. It really was the best. No crowds. No rules about getting too close or not touching. And no security guards giving you suspicious looks when you stepped out of line. At this point, Bombshell had memorized the guard rotation of her favorite haunts to enjoy them at her leisure. Sure, sometimes she might have had to disable the alarms on a window or two - like tonight - but she always put them back. "Hello, beautiful," Bombshell murmured from where she dangled upside down, eyeing the John Collier painting with a judicious eye. Glad she'd caught the exhibit before it was cycled out, Bombshell moved to unwrap her leg from her swing-line to drop to the ground when faint noise caught her attention. Noisy. That was never a good sign. Dropping soundlessly to the floor, a little tug released the hook on the edge of the line and it coiled back into the hilt of her baton. Stealthy and silent, Bombshell went to see what sort of ham-handed smash and grab might be in progress. No one has any appreciation for the art these days, I swear. Bombshell rounded the corner quickly, but not as quickly as the underpaid security detail arrived on the scene. She, after all, had made it a point to be on the opposite end of the anticipated route so her boots hit the doorway just as the nervous, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" echoed out. As her gaze swept over the scene, Bombshell had enough time to notice the five masked men speedily dismantling an exhibit of some sort between her and the security guard detail. Not masks. Gas masks! "No, get back! They've got-" Whatever else Bombshell's warning might have contained, it was lost in a fit of coughing as several canisters opened with several respective bang-hiss sounds around the room. She might have been able to come back from a bullet to the head but her lungs needed air just like anyone else's. Worst. Bloody. Luck. Wa-THUMP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Freedom City National Museum of Art was situated right along the scenic Liberty Park and abutted affluent Parkside. Which is not to say that Freedom City's finest responded quicker, per say, to the wealthy areas than the poorer ones - but the response tonight was both swift and plentiful in the amount of black and whites that drove along 64th street with their lights blazing. In their defense, though, it had been a rough month for the museums along Liberty Park what with the cultists and the monster-statue. Situated where it was, Grimalkin and her assistant and sidekick were just finishing up another relatively quiet but rewarding day at Silberman's when the first cop car streamed past. When Shrike went to turn the lock, the second and third followed shortly their after, heading towards Liberty Park. Crimson Tiger had already been on patrol and from her rooftop vantage, she could see the flashing lights of the cop cars converging on a small museum abutting Liberty Park. Turning her patrol in that direction, it was clear from her vantage point that one of the skylights was sitting open. As for Jack of All Blades, he had been enjoying a relatively pleasant evening at home when Vince's smooth voice spoke up into his ear, "Ah. I think you might, perhaps, want to hear this..." before relaying the most recent chatter on the police radio bands from the ongoing situation developing at Freedom City's Museum of Fine Arts.

Danger Room, Claremont Academy Wednesday 9/15/2015 Early Afternoon When they were pulled from afternoon classes for a special assessment and Team Building Exercise Riley, Raina, Robin and Anibal were not precisely sure what that would entail though doubtless they each had ideas of what to expect. Few of them however were likely to expect what they found when they reported as directed to the athletic fields where in the distance they could make out Coach archer drilling a class of freshmen in a rather expansive obstacle course. Other than the distant coach and students there wasn't much to see other than each other for several minutes before a large man emerged from a nearby stand of trees and strode out toward them. Upon closer inspection the students could see he seemed to be made of or coated in some kind of silvery metal and from the way his footfalls left impressions in the ground it looked like he had the heft to back it up. Some of the more social students might have recognized him as Coach Capote, Archers younger larger assistant, while those with an interest in millennial supers might recognize him as the hulking powerhouse Dauntless who occasionally made the news though less so of late.

Jordan International Airport 9/19/2015, 10:15 AM, Partly Cloudy Spend enough time around airports and one grew accustomed to the dull roar of distant jet engines and the skipping skreech of landing gear hitting the runway. The endless ballet of the airspace over a busy international airport had it's own rhythms and meter to those familiar. Thus it was the change in that rhythm that first would clue in Casey Blankenship of something out of the ordinary, something hard to place in the ordering of landings and take offs, a change in the dull background signals of busy radio bands, then a series of encrypted signals and the sign of sure trouble as she picked up the command from flight control diverting all aircraft from Jordan International where she sat trying to concentrate on her homework whilst she awaited her father finishing whatever business it was that had brought him here this morning. The signal, tight beam and encrypted, could be felt moments before his communicator trilled in the briefcase he left behind, "AEGIS Calling Vigilant, Suspected 7500 need eyes on." *** Inside the Airport there was little to indicate the drama unfolding in the skies above, people slowly made their way through security, passengers awaited flights in uncomfortable seat occasionally checking departure or arrival times. An alert patron might have heard the a distant scream, or noticed uniformed TSA officers rushing to the restrooms near an empty gate. But for most no sign of trouble was likely to be noticed until the boards suddenly refreshed and all flights were marked as delayed, a sure sign of trouble. Those sitting close enough to the gates boarding desk might have heard the whispered supposition that air traffic lost contact with a plane above or that it had broken its flight plan. Neither a good sign to be sure. *** In the skies over Freedom Archtech test pilot Naomi Baines testing the latest adjustments to the flight pack her employers were developing would hear some of the chatter as planes were grounded and military escorts mustered. Given the dangers in the skies Archetech protocol would be to land unless called in by authorities of course. Then again Archtech protocol wasn't exactly designed with a nigh immortal hero in mind. There certainly was an argument to be made that Jordan International was the closest safe landing area after all. *** On board flight 1200 Freedom to London there was little to indicate anything amiss. Regular travelers if they were paying attention might notice they didn't seem to be traveling east as one would expect, but for most in the skies over freedom there were few enough clues as to where they were that it was unlikely to take anything amiss. The Flight attendants began to walk the aisles taking drink orders and all seemed normal until a child gleefully pointed out in a staccato squeal, "Look Mamma the Sentry Statue again We passed it three times now!" Why would the plane be circling Freedom city and why hadn't the flight crew alerted the passengers?