The Create-A-Hero RPG Season II IC Thread

[NiteMare Shape]

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Ravage!
Beginning​

For Bianca Klemens, it is just an average night. She is tired after working an eleven hour shift at Tony's Italian Bar and Grille, but she reminds herself that she asked for the extra hours. Things have been hard for the last few months. First her boyfriend was injured on the job, and now he can't work, but his disability coverage hasn't kicked in yet. She has to support him as well as herself on her meager salary at Tony's. She had to drop out of college in order to accommodate more hours for work, but the extra hours haven't helped much...it's hard to make ends meat as a waitress when there aren't a whole lot of customers.

She's been looking around for another job, but hasn't really had all that much luck, the only thing that looked somewhat promising was at the Pink Banana, a local strip joint in a more than seedy neighborhood. But she's getting desperate, and she's willing to do whatever she has to in order to make some money.

She takes a shortcut to her apartment, turning off the main street she heads down a small back alley, the same back alley that she has traveled down every night since she first started working at Tony's. But something is different tonight, tonight she can feel someone, something in the alley with her. She looks around quickly as she speeds her pace to a brisk walk, almost on the cusp of a light jog through the alley.

CLANK!

She hears the sound of a can being kicked, followed by laughter. Bianca stops in her tracks and looks around the alley, still not seeing anything in her vicinity.

"That's enough whoever you are, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away, I've got mace."


"That's enough whoever you are...I've got mace!!" a strange voice calls out from somewhere in the alley, followed by more laughter.

Bianca turns to run, but something reaches out from the shadows and grabs her. She turns back to see who has grabbed her, and is met by something out of her worst nightmares. Against the wall, a creature is standing where there was nothing just a moment ago. It is tall and lanky, and its face...it almost resembles the villains from the "Alien" movies, no visible eyes, and an elongated jaw with rows of razor sharp teeth.

She tries to scream, but no sound comes out.

In a flash, the beast, which has the same type of coloration as a great white shark in upon her, slamming her hard into the wall. It brings its face close to hers, so close that they are nearly touching.

"Boo." It says, as it opens its jaws,a long red tongue slithers out and licks her face as she begins to cry.

"Please, you don't have to do this."

"I know I don't. But here's the thing sweetheart...I want to."

"Why? Why me?"

"Why you? Because you're here."

She struggles to get free from the beast, but realizes that it is futile. The monster has her, there is nothing she can do. She realizes that she is at the mercy of a creature that doesn't seem to have any.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can."

With that, the beast raises its hand in the air, and Bianca watches the beast's long fingers change, morph into five long, razor sharp blades. Her eyes grow wide in terror as the inevitability of the situation dawns on her.

"Please darling...feel free to scream."

And as the beast begins to cut her, starting first at the hips, and slowly moving up...she does.

 

[Matt Murdock]

Last Time...
And now...

IC: Bennie Farmer Part I

BUNK

Bennie Farmer sat quietly on the floor of his cell in the hospital. A rubber ball had just bounced off of the wall, and was headed straight for his open hand.

KA-THUNK
He closed his fingers as it fell into his grip.

He reared his arm back, and threw it again.

BUNK

The sound of the ball had become a constant in Farmer's life, as he sat, day after day, throwing it at the wall, watching it land on the ground, and bounce back into his hand.

KA-THUNK

An IV had been placed in his arm, held in place by several skin grafts and electronic tags that prevented Farmer from touching it.

BUNK

In short, the people at the hospital had been dosing Farmer ever since he was captured by the Blue Blur during a bank robbery.

He hadn't had any human contact in months. He smiled to himself, though.

He had a secret.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, the door to his cell opened.

First, came the bottom of his cane. Then, the Nikes.

"House." Farmer grunted.

"How sweet." The embittered doctor muttered. "You remembered."

"What do you want?" Bennie asked, eying the ball as it rolled to his side.

"Just checking in. Can't a doctor take the time to see his favoritest patient in the whole, wide world?"

"You shouldn't have come." Farmer's tone was cool, collected.

House arched an eyebrow.

"And why's that?"

"Your drugs?" The teen said, finally looking upwards and meeting House's eyeline, "They're not working anymore."

House's jaw dropped.

"What're you sa-- GLLK!"

Farmer had already lifted a hand, clutching House's throat with his mind.

"I'm no doctor, but I think my body's built up a..." Farmer said, as he rose to his feet, clutching the crippled doctor's throat. "Resistance."

Farmer reached out with his mind and eased the needle and electronic circuitry out of his arm.

"See, doc?" He chuckled. "I'm all better."

Farmer placed his free hand in the air, and watched as House's eyes welled up with tears.

"Sorry... but I have places I need to be."

Farmer pinched downwards with his fingers, and watched blood seep out of House's skin.

"Pathetic." He snarled, dropping the corpse to the floor unceremoniously.

The door was still open, and Farmer quietly made his way out, heading straight for the exit.

He was finally free.
​

 

[Spike_x1]

Getting through airport security was a joke. Aside from the whitish-gray hair that he had tied in a ponytail that accompanied his youthful face, Alexander Templar bore no unique features that would make him stand out to authorities.

On the surface, that is.

Underneath of his pinstripe suit, Templar had technology that was illegal in any number of countries making up a recently upgraded chest harness. You see, Alex Templar was born with one of the rare genes (which are becoming more and more common these days, it seems) that enable that person in particular to wield abilities that were once thought to be beyond mortal men. Templar's gene, however, caused severe vibrations that reverberate through the immediate area directly around him. When this condition first manifested, Alex was only in middle school. His uncontrolled power caused the building around him and his classmates to collapse on top of them. Thirteen kids died that day as a result of Alexander's freakish ability, and Templar himself suffered severe organ damage and had all of his ribs broken. Afterward, when his condition was properly diagnosed, a series of doctors and scientists crafted a type of vest for Alex to wear that would protect him and the world from any future outbursts of his power.

Unfortunately, Alexander Templar caught a taste of raw power on the day of his accident and never forgot that feeling, even twenty years later. It was true that he couldn't use his unique ability before now, if he chose to remove his old harness, as it could just as easily harm or kill him as it would other people. However, since dropping out of school years ago, Templar had traveled the world, studying a number of martial arts and combat tactics, and finally found a scientist who managed to build a new chest harness for him that would offer him complete protection from the shockwaves of his ability, but would allow him to concentrate and focus the vibrations outward at will. The harness was invisible to metal detectors, waterproof, lightweight, and resistant to extreme temperatures and magnetism.

Now, sitting in his hotel room, Alex brushed his teeth and quickly went over the dossier on his target one more time. His mob employers warned him that the Survivor seemed practically unkillable, but Alex felt like taking up the challenge. After all, a five million dollar payoff for the Survivor's head certainly wasn't chump change.

Finished in the washroom, Templar walked back to the bedroom and opened the suitcase containing his uniform. He pulled on the all black bodysuit and put the dark brown trenchcoat over it. The nightvision lenses gave his eyes an eery glow, leaving them, his exposed white hair, and the focal point of his vibrational powers: his chest harness, as the only parts of his body that would be clearly visible on a dark night like tonight. Strapping a utility belt to his waist, containing grappling hooks and a 1911 colt pistol, Tremor leaped from his balcony and made his way into the night.

Meanwhile...

The Survivor sat at a small diner in the slums of Central Island, his mask pulled above his nose and eating a chili cheesedog as the other patrons of the restaurant quietly tried to ignore the dark superhero of their city and continue with their meals. "Damn, I love these things."

 

[NiteMare Shape]

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Everything was going so well...

The club was rocking, packed house enjoying the musical stylings of an up and coming local band. Before the band got on stage, Eric had gotten the crowd warmed up from behind the DJ booth. And I had been enjoying an evening with Lisa up on the catwalk.

Like I said, everything had been going so well. That is until I heard the screams coming from the alley behind The Hub. I excuse myself from Lisa, and head out to the back not knowing what to expect, but not being prepared for what I found.

I see a young girl running toward me in complete hysterics. I stop her to see what is going on, but then I see it.

A leg sticking out from behind the dumpster. I make my way over and find the body of what had been a beautiful young woman, she had been cut open and completely disemboweled.

I've seen alot in this city, but the sheer brutality of this crime shook me to the core. Even after the police detectives and the crime scene investigators have left, and the body was taken by the coroner...I still sit in my favorite booth in the corner of the club, fuming...seething. This happened right below my doorstep, right under my nose, and I wasn't able to do anything. I wasn't even aware.

Then I begin to dig, and I find out that there have been half a dozen muders with the exact same M.O. Some maniac calling himself Ravage seems to be responsible. No witnesses, none that are still breathing anyway. The only reason they even have a name for him is because he's "painted" his name on the wall at some of the crime scenes with the victims' blood.

Not anymore. I was told early on in my career that you can't save everyone, and that may be true. I wasn't able to save the victims of this madman, but his time is running out. I will stop him, even if it's the last thing that I ever do.

 

[Blacklight]

N i g h t m a r e s:
Act I​

Chapter 41: The Descent, pt.6...


It was unlike anything I ever felt before... The sword's power. Every time I had it with me I could feel my power growing. Absorbing more and more strength like a sponge. It made my crimefighting so much easier. It was amazing! I didn't even have to unsheath the blade to feel the energy coursing through my veins. Just having it on my back was enough to take down the worst of criminals and the more powerful of supervillains. I felt strong, confident, rejuvenated...

Powerful...

Anyways, a couple days after I found the Descender, I was patrolling the Vernova skies. To be honest, for no other reason besides the fact that I had an itch. An itch to fight. And I think pounding on some bad guy would scratch that itch really well...

Wow, Jonathan. You have done extremely well in maitaining this city's tranquility...​

Thanks. It's nothing really...​

Nothing is a tad understating yourself, isn't it? I mean, it's not like fighting evil is a cakewalk...​

No... I guess it's not...

WEEWOOWEEWOO!!

"Sirens..."
​

I guess tranquility only lasts so long in this city...
​

You have no idea...

I then followed the police car in haste. Something was going down...

TATTATTATTATTAT!!!

Bullets then rained from the car the cruiser pursued, at which time I realized I just landed right smack dab in the middle of a high speed chase.

I increased my flight speed to catch up with the other car, lowering my elevation to the same height as the vehicle. The punks inside feaked out at the sight of me flying next to their window, so to scare them even more, I grinned and waved at them.

"Holy crap, dude they sicked the capes on us!"

"Like I care. The Blacklight ain't gonna stop me..."

Oh but were they wrong...

After hearing their poor choice of words, I decided to skip over the offer to surrender peacefully and just get to the part where I kick their ass. I elevated my self higher until I was above the roof of the car, and with just a portion of my strength, I ripped it off. They began to shoot at me, but I quickly flipped over the roof to sheild my body from the bullets, and hearing no forseeable end to the spray of lead, I pulled the Descender from my sheath and swung it at their guns, chopping off the barrels. They then continued to drive, but I was getting pissed off. Something I don't usually get when doing something like this, but pissed nonetheless. So I flew foward to the hood of the car, where I lunged the emerald blade through the hood and into the engine, and as the roofless car began to swerve, I pulled the criminals out of their seats and into the air...

"Thank you for choosing to ride Air Blacklight. Although expect to experience some turbulence!" I growled, dropping the criminals from three stories up, before flying down after them and catching them. i have to say that usually i'm not the fear-preying type of superhero, but that tactic was quite useful. Not to mention... fun.

"Now. I'm going to tell the both of you this once, and I'm not going to repeat myself... I'm going to hand the both of you over to the police, and you're going to let them cuff you peacefully and quietly. And chances are, you'll be out after a decade or so, and when you do... You're going to leave Vernova. This is MY city, and I'll be goddamned if I let vermin like you ruin it! Do you understand me!?!"

They both nodded in fear, at which point I heard the car they were driving crash into an alley driverless. From that point I flew towards the police officers investigating the car-wreck, looking for the crroks, and I handed the rats to them before flying towards the wreckage, and reclaiming what was mine. With all my concentration, I held out my open hand and focused on the sword, and watched it dissapate from the car's front, feeling it materialize in my hand. Man did I love the power surge I felt every time I put my hand around the handle. It was just as exhilirating every time, especially with every victory. Like the one I just experienced. But I couldn't help thinking to myself...

That was completely reckless leaving the car driverless. It could've hurt somebody or killed them...
​

T'was a simple mistake, Jon. It wasn't your fault...​

What are you talking about? Of course it was! The first thing I should've done was stop the car, not fool around with the criminals!
​

Why is that, Jonathan? What you did was quite possibly the smartest thing you could've done! By scaring the punks the way you did, you've probably ensured that they won't cause harm to Vernova again! If you did that with all the other criminals you've faced, then Vernova would probably become safer in the longrun...​

I...I guess that's true.. But at what cost? Innocents could die if I pull a stunt like that again...
​

Sacrifices can be made for the greater good...​

Not on my watch they don't...
​

Right. What was I thinking? But don't be afraid to go the extra mile for the safety of this city, because all it could do is help...​

Okay, but there's limits...
​

Of course, Jonathan. As you wish. After all, I'm here to help you...​

So then I took flight towards home, and resheathed the blade, thinking about what had happened that day, and I felt for a brief moment that things could get worse from there...
​

 

[NiteMare Shape]

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No matter how hard I try, I just can't focus. Normally sitting in a dark theater watching some cheesy zombie flick with an extremely hot girl that I've had a crush on for months would give me the warm and tinglies.

But not tonight. Tonight I just can't get my mind off of the dead girl in the ally behind my club....or the other victims of this lunatic calling himself Ravage. Nearly a dozen or so.

Lisa knows something isn't right, and I feel bad for not being able to tell her the truth. But after the mess with Nicole, I decided that I can't put anyone else through that.

So I sit in silence, not saying a word. Pretending to watch the movie. Some buxom blonde wandering through the halls of an abandoned high school...makes a wrong turn and finds herself face to face with a pack of snarling zombies. She didn't have a chance.

Lisa grips my arm tightly as the zombies disembowel the young woman on screen. Instead of getting a rush of adrenaline from the entire thing, my mind wanders back to the girl behind my club.

I tense up a bit, and Lisa can feel it.

"What's wrong?" She asks me,looking up with those big doe eyes she gets when she can feel something's wrong.

"Nothing." I lie.

I can tell that she doesn't really buy it, but she accepts my answer, and she goes back to watching the movie, while I continue to stew over Ravage and what he's been doing in my city.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Icon

​

It doesn't take me long to find the madman calling himself Ravage. After I take Lisa home, I take to the skies, heading east. I'm not sure how long it took to be exact, 5, maybe 10 minutes, but soon after I begin my search I hear the screaming.

It only takes a moment to pinpoint the exact location of the source of the screams, and I make my way there. And that when I lay eyes on the maniac for the first time. I'm not sure what to make of him, he looks like something out of a horror movie, from what I can see "he" seems to have an elongated jaw, and is colored like a great white shark. And I can hear him taunting his victim, a girl who looks to be no more than 15 or 16 years old.

"Now, I would love to tell you that this will be over quick...but I'm affraid that just wouldn't be true. You see, I like to take my time, and do it right. Afterall, if you don't take the time to do the job right, what's the point. If you just lay back and accept it, it might go easier for you, but to tell you the truth, it's more fun when they struggle." The maniac says to the girl as his fingers change...into sharp talons. He begins to run them down the front of her chest, almost teasing her.

"That's enough Ravage. No more of your 'games,' this ends tonight."

Without saying a word the monster turns and bounds towards me. His speed surprises me, and he takes a swing at me with his talons, but they shatter on impact. He steps back, holding one hand in the other, and just looks at me.

"Ouch. That hurt. But don't worry, it won't happen again."

With that Ravage's hand changes into one big blade, and he again swings at me, catching me on the cheek. I feel something warm and wet running down my face, I touch my cheek and upon pulling my hand away I see blood. My blood. This thing, whatever it is just cut me as if I'm just a normal person.

Somehow Ravage can actually cut me, hurt me...which means that he can kill me. I can honestly say that I have never been affraid for myself, until now. I don't know what Ravage is, but he is nothing like anything I've ever faced before.

But whatever it is, I have to take him down tonight, or god only knows how many more this lunatic will kill.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

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I fly at Ravage, ramming him hard in the midsection, driving him into the exterior wall of a nearby building. Upon impact, I land several hard shots to the madman's head. It seems as if I have him on the ropes...I wind up to deliver a big knockout punch, and a tendril shoots from the monster's shoulder, wrapping itself around my neck, and hurling me to the side.

"Nice trick." I say as I get to my feet.

"You'll find that I am just full of them." He replies while several small projectiles are shot from his hand. Two of them missing me, imbedding harmlessly in the building behind me, the third however nearly found its mark, grazing my shoulder.

I grimmace in pain, feeling something warm and wet running fown my arm. He cut me again.

Ravage runs toward me, sending more of his projectiles in my direction. I dodge them, managing to avoid all of them, firing back with a heat blast of my own.

My blast his the mark. Upon impact Ravage's body lurches back, and his skin seems to "ripple" in a way, and the beast lets out an agonized cry.

So, heat hurts this thing. I think to myself. And fire several more heat blasts at him in rapid succession. Though, it seems that each impact does less and less damage.

Somehow he seems to be adapting to my attacks, nevertheless I press forward. I concentrate my heat blasts into a single, steady beam and make my way to where he is kneeling, trying to get to his feet. As I move closer, now standing nearly on top of him, I intensify my attack, hoping to put him down for the count.

Suddenly his arm reaches out and grabs me by the throat, alifting me as he gets to his feet.

"Nice try hero, really it was. Unfortunately for you....I just keep getting better and better."

Then he tosses me skyward, I feel myself hit the side of the building behind me, then continue going, out the other side and down to the street below where I finally crash land. As I lay there trying to gather my bearings, all I can hear is Ravage's maniacal laughter fading in the distance.

 

[Spike_x1]

The Architect

Zaine Black had never been a greedy person. At least not in the material sense, anyway. He had never really cared too much for the company of women, or for money. All that Zaine, the Architect, had ever really desired was glory and recognition. Having been taken away from his family at such an early age because of his apparent genius intellect, Zaine had grown up in the care of S.T.R.I.K.E., where the development of his superior intelligence took precedence over his happiness and well being.

Since his resignation from the agency, however, Zaine had taken every opportunity to make a name for himself. The Architect was known in the circles of the supervillain community, and Zaine thought that he had finally found his calling. "Evil Genius" may have sounded more than a little cliche', but the title did seem to fit, and Zaine couldn't exactly argue with the results that it got him. He had outfitted Crosshairs and Quickfire in the Blitzen District, and Capture down in Miami. He hadn't gotten around to Tremor's newest weaponry order just yet, but Zaine was planning to be on it by the end of the week at the latest.

Sitting in the abandoned underground S.T.R.I.K.E. station, Zaine leaned back in his chair and looked intently at the many monitors that made up his large computer system. He had cloaked hoverdrones keeping an eye on a number of heroes and villains in the country, from safe vantage points high above their targets. In Lost Haven, Icon was engaged with an unknown adversary, the Survivor seemed to be taking a break and eating at a diner on Central Island, and Lyle had finally managed to get back to shore (seemingly having walked all the way on the bottom of the ocean) after Pulse and Survivor blasted him over the horizon and into the ocean. In Blitzen, Pulse was in the middle of ending a street brawl with ease, while the Blue Blur in Chicago was shooting another product commercial.

"What a boring day."

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Icon
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I get to my feet, wiping the blood from my face and take off in the general direction that Ravage had gone in. It doesn't take me long to find him, all I had to do was follow the path of destruction that he has left in his wake.

I catch up with him at the Lost Haven Power Company's auxillary plant just a few miles outside of the city. I'm too late to save the station's skeleton crew from this maniac, but if it is the last thing I do, I will make sure that nobody else shares their fate.

He hears me coming, but is just a bit too slow. I fly into him, hitting him with the force of a freight train, at the same time I hit him with rights and lefts, reinforced with heat blasts as I hit him. He tries fighting back, but he isn't able to land any blows. We hurddle toward the plant's offices, I hit him once more, and I suddenly bull back and at the same time I push off, sending Ravage crashing through the office, out the other side.

He tried to get to his feet, but I'm on him, continuing my attack. He takes a swing at me, his arm morphing into an axe in mid swing. I duck my head just in time, and hit him with a hard punch...but I feel something. My legs go weak, and I look down only to see blood rushing out of a wound in my midsection. His other arm had changed into a dagger, and it had been inbedded just to the inside of my rib cage.

I can feel my strength seeping away as Ravage taunts me.

"You see hero, you just can't beat me. I give you credit though...you've given me a run for my money. You're the only one who has ever really tested me, and I really do have to thank you for that. But the thing is, I'm just better than you. Nobody can stop me, I am going to continue doing my thing...and there isn't anyone who can do anything about it."

"I'll stop you Ravage, I wo-won't let you...I won't let you..."

"Ever the optimist. Oh Icon...I am going to miss you."

Ravage stands over me, his right arm again forming an axe. He raises his arm over his head, but before he can bring his arm down, I dig down deep and hit him with another heat blast, this time giving it everything I've got. The blast is so powerful that it takes Ravage off his feet, sending him crashing into the auxillary power plant's main generator. Ravage lets out a horrible shriek as millions of volts course through his body. Then everything is silent, except for the sound of sirens in the distance.

Epilogue​

I sit in the back of the ambulance breathing through an oxygen mask as one of the paramedics tends to my stab wound. The paramedic makes some comment about the wounds already starting to heal, but I didn't catch what he said because I was too busy watching someone walking toward me. He looks familiar, but it takes me a moment to realize where I know him from.

"How are you feeling?" The man says.

"I'll be alright Agent Harrison." I say to the STRIKE agent.

"What about Ravage?"

"Don't worry about him, we'll take care of him."

"I take it he's one of yours."

He pauses for a moment.

"Let's just say that we...have the means to contain him."

With that Harrsion walks away, motioning to his men to finish loading the mobile contaiment cell wholding Ravage into the STRIKE vehicle. He looks back to me as he climbs into the vehicle, he hesitates again, then takes his seat in the truck and slams the door. The truck drives away as the paramedic continues dressing my wounds.

 

[Spike_x1]

The Architect

"General, I'm already well aware that you know who I am, despite all of the evidence pointing towards the fact that I am dead." The synthetic voice of the Architect buzzed through General Taylor's war room as he and his staff stopped pacing around, no longer wondering why they had been summoned there. "However, my saying that I'm Zaine Black doesn't mean that it's true. I could be lying, and that's why your superiors aren't going to accept your opinion on the matter. They are going to pursue the investigation of my activities and identity how they see fit. Of course, we both know that it won't do any good. Too bad."

"What do you want, Black?" growled Taylor. Not a single member of his staff dared to speak.

Silence came from intercom for a few precious moments. Finally, "All I wanted, General, were my files. See, I'm an engineer, chemist, biologist, and geneticist; astrophysics weren't my expertise - just a hobby that I was only beginning to become familiar with when I left your organization. As such, I hacked into your computers because I wanted to review my old notes."

The men and women in the war room could swear that the vein on the General's forehead was about to explode. "So why round us up in here? You didn't need to do that to get your files, you little punk!"

"True," admitted the Architect. "The reason that I've gathered you all there is simply to show that, whether you know it or not, I can control your every movement if, and when, I want to. I also got a chance to look at the algorithm for the codes in your keycards as you used them to gain entry into the war room; so I guess that means that you'll need to come up with a new set of unbreakable codes to replace the ones that I just compromised. Sorry about that."

Not a word in response from the General as he popped open with bottle of blood pressure medication and swallowed a pill.

"Anyway, I've got my files and have finished humiliating you. With that, my work for today appears to be done. It was good talking to you, Gramps."

 

[Pulp]

PSIVOX

Dawn, July 4th 1953. Captain John "Vox" Hudson climbs aboard the B52 bomber converted to take the Douglas X-13 on a high altitude test to 75,000 feet. The bomber takes off. As usual the chase planes take off and follow. The lead pilot, John "Jack" Duluoz, watches the customary dixie cup fall out of the bomb bay, he knows this ritual of Hudson taking a drink before strapping into the X13. The second chase plane, piloted by Daniel "Trashcan" Adams watches the bomber achieve operational level, and readies his camera. Hudson is waiting, thinking about his girl back at the base, silently muttering a prayer to ensure his safe return. The cockpit is tight, confining, snug. He looks over the controls and waits for the go. The green light appears and with a sickening pull to his stomach, Hudson's X13 drops from the bomb bay. Once clear of the B52 mothership, he flips up the cover protecting the rocket motor ignition and mashes the button with this thumb.

The two chase planes go to emergency war thrust, "thru the gate" just to keep up. Seven and a half miles below, in the Nevada Desert, a similar go code is received. The US Army are testing a battlefield nuke, the intention being to simulate use of a tactical nuke on the battlefield. Below Hudson, about three miles below a jet carrying the H-Bomb flies toward the release point, however something is about to go wrong.

The X13 motor cuts out suddenly. There is a blockage in the fuel pipe that supplies hydrazine to the rocket motor. The X13 noses over.

Below the jet bomber makes its delivery. The intention was to achieve an ground burst at zero feet, but as the bomb drops, it suffers a malfunction. The jet bomber screams away at full power, but heading right towards the point of release is the X13, Hudson still frantically trying to radio the mothership: "I'm going down. X13 fuel pipe blocked, lost main power, trying to deadstick. Christ what was that?"

The X13 flies straight thru the mushroom cloud of the exploding 20 kiloton bomb. Hudson is bathed in atomic radiation. However, unknown to him, during the course of his high altitude flights he has also been bathed in cosmic radiation. The manmade radiation acts as a catalyst upon him.

The bomb however is not done, a second even more powerful detonation occurs which throws the X13 forward in time to the present day. Hudson now unconscious wakes to see the ground rushing up at him. In a last desperate attempt to save himself (he cannot eject) he thinks how wonderful it would be if the X13 leveled out, allowing him to drop the undercart and land on the desert highway below him.

Then it happens, the X13 begins to level out. Hudson utters a prayer and drops the undercart, but nothing happens, he is going to bellyland the X13. Again he thinks how wonderful it would be to land without crashing. The X13 slows, it drops below the stall, slowly it sinks and then SUDDENLY Hudson is back on terra firma.

He pulls loose the straps, unlocks the canopy and scrambles out. He is down, miles from anywhere but safe.

In the first major town he comes across he finds he has been blasted forward 55 years, making his official age 80. He takes a room in deserted motel, long abandoned by the owner, in a derelict town and ponders his future...

Morning

The mornings sucked, but not as much as the nights. I woke up screaming. Outside the sun was still rising, the air had a cool chill ammonia smell to it. I really needed to fix the air conditioning unit, but it was like everything else, far too much time to waste. I pulled on my leather jacket, and went outside to breathe in the dawn.

The desert stretched in each direction for miles. In front of the motel I had walked to, two maybe three weeks or was it months previously was the highway that stretched black, motionless in each direction till it vanished. Behind the motel was the greatest find of all. An honest to goodness fallout shelter.

I went over to the entrance, and thought it open. I was getting better at it now. Sometimes I could make cans march like Mickey did. I felt in my pockets and found my smokes and zippo. I lit a smoke and dragged down, letting the smoke assail my lungs like coffee would hit my stomach and wake me up. Then the sound. A car. A car heading this way.

The oddly shaped pickup truck drew up outside the motel. "Anyone home?" a voice said. "Just me," I replied, walking over. "Don't get anyone using this road, except at night, and then they never stop." The truck driver climbed down from his cab. "You got any pancakes?"

I nodded. "I may have. It depends. It'll cost ya." I wondered if a short stack would get me to McDade Air Force base.

The truck driver gave me a funny look. "What's your name, bub?" He asked, as he walked over to the door to the diner. I had fixed the diner part of the motel up just to give me something to do, and to practice moving a variety of objects about. "John Hudson, but people call me Vox."

"Vox?" the truck guy said. I figured I may as well make him a short stack while his brain coped with names other than "Joe" or "Bob". "Yeah, Vox, people say I talk too much." We went inside. The guy who hadn't given me his name - maybe he was more secret than I was - examined the menu. This guy was either very slow or very hungry. I made coffee and pancakes. Even superheroes have to eat sometime.

I had come up with a nickname for myself I thought would work, given my new found powers: psivox. It seemed slick and fit well with a few ideas I had. I read the comics as much as anyone, and every superhero had a name that you remembered. But for now I stuck with Vox. Keep it simple, John, I thought.

The truck guy wiped his mouth on a paper napkin. "D'ja mind if I smoke?" He asked. I shook my head, no. He pulled out a pack of smokes and lit one. "Kinda empty here, this place, isn't it?" I agreed by waving a hand around the diner. "My grandpa left the place to me." "That so?" The guy stood up. I wished he had given me his name, and I hadn't thought to ask. Except...

"Be seeing you Joe," I said as Joe threw down five bucks and left. He didn't hear me, probably already thinking about the long trip to Fresno, the girl he had back home, and the money he'd make this trip. I'd have to watch the mind reading trick, some people get kinda bent out of shape about that.

 

[Spike_x1]

Getting through airport security was a joke. Aside from the whitish-gray hair that he had tied in a ponytail that accompanied his youthful face, Alexander Templar bore no unique features that would make him stand out to authorities.

On the surface, that is.

Underneath of his pinstripe suit, Templar had technology that was illegal in any number of countries making up a recently upgraded chest harness. You see, Alex Templar was born with one of the rare genes (which are becoming more and more common these days, it seems) that enable that person in particular to wield abilities that were once thought to be beyond mortal men. Templar's gene, however, caused severe vibrations that reverberate through the immediate area directly around him. When this condition first manifested, Alex was only in middle school. His uncontrolled power caused the building around him and his classmates to collapse on top of them. Thirteen kids died that day as a result of Alexander's freakish ability, and Templar himself suffered severe organ damage and had all of his ribs broken. Afterward, when his condition was properly diagnosed, a series of doctors and scientists crafted a type of vest for Alex to wear that would protect him and the world from any future outbursts of his power.

Unfortunately, Alexander Templar caught a taste of raw power on the day of his accident and never forgot that feeling, even twenty years later. It was true that he couldn't use his unique ability before now, if he chose to remove his old harness, as it could just as easily harm or kill him as it would other people. However, since dropping out of school years ago, Templar had traveled the world, studying a number of martial arts and combat tactics, and finally found a scientist who managed to build a new chest harness for him that would offer him complete protection from the shockwaves of his ability, but would allow him to concentrate and focus the vibrations outward at will. The harness was invisible to metal detectors, waterproof, lightweight, and resistant to extreme temperatures and magnetism.

Now, sitting in his hotel room, Alex brushed his teeth and quickly went over the dossier on his target one more time. His mob employers warned him that the Survivor seemed practically unkillable, but Alex felt like taking up the challenge. After all, a five million dollar payoff for the Survivor's head certainly wasn't chump change.

Finished in the washroom, Templar walked back to the bedroom and opened the suitcase containing his uniform. He pulled on the black bodysuit and specialized chest harness, and put the dark brown trenchcoat over it. Strapping a utility belt to his waist, containing grappling hooks and a 1911 colt pistol, Tremor leaped from his balcony and made his way into the night.

Meanwhile...

The Survivor sat at a small diner in the slums of Central Island, his mask pulled above his nose and eating a chili cheesedog as the other patrons of the restaurant quietly tried to ignore the dark superhero of their city and continue with their meals. "Damn, I love these things."

Just as the Survivor had finished his meal and pulled his mask back down to cover his mouth, Adam suddenly stopped and looked around the diner. Something was off. Someone was watching him; the Survivor could feel another man's eyes digging into him.

And then the entire building collapsed into rubble, dust, and glass. It was so sudden and unprecedented, the Survivor didn't have time to rescue any of the restaurant's patrons, except for the few that were already next to him prior to the building's demolition. Underneath of the wreckage, Adam was holding up several tons worth of rubble, while four innocents cowered at his feet in the small pocket of safety that the hero had created.

"Stay close to me," he ordered. Waiting another moment for the rubble to settle a little more, the Survivor finally pressed upwards, ignoring the glass and metal shards that sliced into his hands and arms. In moments, he had dug himself and the people he had saved free from the totaled diner. Rescue workers were already at the scene and waiting to escort them to an ambulance, but the Survivor waved them off, declining medical help.

As his wounds and the tears in his costume mended themselves, Adam studied the rooftops around the neighborhood. Someone had taken a shot at the restaurant to initiate its sudden collapse, killing everyone inside except for the Survivor and the small group of people that he had managed to save.

There!

On the roof of one of the smaller buildings down the street, a vague silhouette was standing and watching the scene from afar. "You're mine, punk," Adam whispered to himself as he took a long jump, scaling the nearest building and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, chasing after his would-be assassin.

 

[Byrd Man]

The Blue Blur

My heart's beating so fast that it's close to ripping of my chest...literally.

I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my life. Not when I was playing wide out in high school, not when I thought my life was ruined by my busted knee, not even when I went toe to toe with a mutated dinosaur-man. I'm scared to even move. And it gets worse when I hear those 7 little words.


"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

Why in the hell did I let them talk me into doing this? I'm not a comedian! I'm just a dummy who lucked up into being a superhero. I don't deserve this....


"And now here's your host, Matt Byrd!"

Can't think about that now.

I walk out from the backstage area to face the small crowd and the millions watching live on the air. Johnny and Bruce were betting to see if I'd puke on live air. From the way my stomach feels, Johnny just may win the bet.

"Welcome! Welcome!" I say a bit nervously as I smile and wave. I pull on my collar and tie, since its SNL, wouldn't be right to wear my superhero suit. I opted for the suit and tie instead.

"Thank you, voice over dude. I am Matt Byrd, better known as the Blue Blur and-"

I stop mid-sentence as people clap and cheer.

"Thank you, thank you. Please, don't clap. I'm not that great at being a superhero. While I know I am nowhere near the level that Superman is. I know I could kick Aquaman's ass!"

The audience laughs and whistles as I nod and smile.

"You know, lot of people always ask me 'Matt, Mr. Blur, what makes a superhero super?' Well, I just say..."

"Freeze!"

I feel a gun press against my temple and I look out the corner of my eye.

"Wait, I know you. You're from Halo!

"No, I'm not, I'm here to kill you!"

"Gotta catch me first!" I say as I zip around the video game character.

"Where's Game Genie at? That loser usually loves to play with his own joystick!"

I appear in front of Master Chief and send a superspeed fist through his helmet visor.

The hologram cracks and shatters into light particles.

"Oh, Game Genie? I know you're here."

With the cameras still on me, I speed around the studio for a few seconds before I appear back on the stage with a skinny man in black robes in my arms.

"Game over." The whole crowd goes wild and starts to cheer and applaud.

They probably think the whole thing was rigged, but who cares?

"The Rolling Stones are here tonight! I'm here! The Game Genie is here!...well, he's here until we get him back to jail. Stick around, we've got a great show!"

And with that bit of icebreaker, I'm sure live comedy is going to be a breeze.
​

 

[Catman_prb]

A Shadow Over Haven: Part 1

Some dark lonely nights, I look back at how I came to be. How I was born. Immediate images flash into my mind. A young girl screaming in the night; a murderer laughing as he hacked away at her; myself standing and watching in silence, too shocked to move; the screaming ending, but the laughter continuing; the sound of sirens, far too late. But that is not the night I was born.

No that was a night much later, after the police had finished asking me questions. That night I put on a ski mask, put leather gloves on my hands and walked out into the night. I can't remember now how I tracked him down. But I did. It probably involved breaking someone's leg. No real worry.

He was in a construction site, as far as I recall. His goons all pulled their guns on me the second I walked in the door. I was unarmed. They laughed. There was a crowbar nearby. They didn't laugh for long. Then they bled. People don't know how to fight a man with conviction. They can shoot at him but he wont die. They can punch him, but he'll headbutt you then stamp on your face.

I dropped the crowbar after the goons were left moaning on the floor. The blood made it too slippery to hold properly. I picked the man up by his designer shirt and I slammed him down on the machine they used to cut wood. If he was lucky he would've been knocked out then. But he wasn't lucky. So I turned the machine on. The saw went up through his legs and cut him right in two. I was worried that he'd pass out when the saw first started cutting up into his genitalia. But he didn't. He screamed. And that was a good sound. It was the sound of justice. So he died. Painfully. And there was one less piece of scum on the streets of Lost Haven. And that's how I was born.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Icon

​

The Hub: Thursday, 8:47PM

Tonight is a rare night that I can actually relax. Ravage is off the street, locked away in STRIKE custody, which for some strange reason...is of very little comfort. I'm still sore from the fight, and my wounds are healing quite well. Which brings me to another question...why was Ravage able to cut me the way he did? For the most part I've been rather impervious to injury. Knives tend to break against my skin, bullets bounce off me, hell, I've even had a bus thrown into me. None of that ever so much as caused a bruise. But for some reason, this madman was able to cut me, deep.

Eric is doing his thing in the DJ booth, pumping some dance tunes throughout the club. Lisa and her friend Keira are dancing on the floor, having entirely way too much fun...and starting to draw a crowd. But at least they're having fun, god knows Lisa deserves a good time, because with everything going on lately I haven't been around to show her one. And it gets me to thinking, maybe I should just tell her...everything. Tell her that I'm Icon, tell her exactly why I've stood her up at least a half a dozen times over the last couple of months. Why I've been so distant lately.

Maybe she'd understand. Maybe she wouldn't. Then my thoughts drift to my ex Nicole. She understood....at first. Then it didn't matter, she couldn't handle it. She left. I've talked to Eric about it, he told me flat out that I should just come clean with her. He said that she's one of those girls that come along once in a lifetime. And I think he's right. But I just haven't been able to get up the courage to tell her the truth.

I watch as she and Keira come off the dance floor, obviously satisfied that they have worked the group of guys who surrounded them into a frenzy that nothing short of an ice cold shower is going to cure, and they start heading straight towards me.

Maybe I will tell her...

Just not tonight.

 

[Pulp]

psivox

Noon

I watched the clouds gather. They told of a storm further wast heading my way. In the distance, flashes of lightning, began to show at an increasing rate. I shrugged in my leather jacket as the first raindrops fell heralding the oncoming storm. It was time to go.

I lit a cigarette and trudged through the empty streets of the town. I was heading towards the library, my favorite place during storms such as these. Usually I studied history books to learn what had happened to the world since 1953. Other times I explored.

The library faced a dried up fountain in what was once the main square. To one side stood F.W.Woolworth, to the other, opposite, was a picture house that still showed the last film it ever showed: "The Day The Earth Caught Fire". I had watched the movie more times than I cared to remember, at first from the Projection Booth till I learned how to change the reels while watching from the stalls. F.W. Woolworth supplied my need for writing materials. And candy. Beside the store was a tobacconist. It was there I kept my supply of smokes.

I walked up the steps of the library, and paused as I always did before the plinth that read: Fairchild Library, Built 1918. It was built the year I was born. My father had returned from Europe in February 1918 to marry his high school sweetheart, my Mom. I appeared on the scene on Armistice Day.

But that was so long ago.

I opened the main doors and crept quietly inside as the rain lashed down outside, and thunder and lightning crashed and bounded overhead. My footsteps echoed behind me as I walked to the staircase that led to the first floor. On this level was a room of donated artefacts and other ephemera. When I wasn't reading history books, I read diaries and journals and letters kept in the Archive Room.

I lit another cigarette and entered the Archive Room. On a lectern stood a very large and heavy book that I had been reading on and off. It was almost as old as me. Well, the me that would have been had I not been propelled forward in time by the atomic explosion. But today, I was looking for something else. A diary. A diary by a lady called Emily.

I found Emily's diary on the shelf next to the cookie tin I used as an ashtray and sat down in a chair facing the big window that looked west, so I had a grandstand view of the storm as it continued to pass Fairchild. I had marked the page, and dropping ash on the floor in my haste, I turned to the page in Emily Fairchild's diary and began to read.

 

[Lord Doom]

ic: the nobody

FIVE YEARS AGO

​

"Well, young man," the large, disfigured crime boss, known only as The Scar, began. The former Lord of Crime was now a shell of man. Broken and beaten by some punk who had gotten lucky and pushed him into a vacant elevator shaft, The Scar now lay in his expensive hospital bed, close to death.

"It's time for you to discover what the world is like on your own."

The young man at his side (who, even then was refered to only as "Nobody") merely nodded his head. He stood, wearing a drak-green sweater and blue jeans.

"There is nothing more this old bastard can teach you. If you decide to become a super-villain, great. If not, that's fine, too. My advice: do what feels right. See ya in Hell, kid."

And with that, the villain died.

Nobody just stood there. He felt no sorrow for the loss of his only father figure. He sighed and left the room.

It was easy (too easy, in fact) to... "convince" The Scar's former crime connections too work for him. The Scar never had any real powers, he was just a major a$$hole. Nobody, on the other hand, DID have special abilities and he used them to great advantage. Nobody, while not the most handsome guy in the world, was definitely one of the smartest (not SUPER-smart, mind you, but still pretty damn bright).

The Nobody wanted more than just a city to rule, he wanted to inflict fear. To establish terror in the hearts of all who would oppose him (and so forth). To Nobody, super-villainy was more than just a career, it was a way of life. And he loved everything about that life. From the endless monolougues, to the fantastic "BEHOLD! The walking Death-Ray!" speeches. It was just too much fun.

​

That was five years ago.
This is now.
​

The Nobody sat alone in his office (deep beneath the Earth's surface). He stared at the mask that was displayed on the wall across from where he was sitting. It was a plain, white ceramic mask with a steel reinforcement. On it's face was a large shatter-mark that spread out across the mask.

"I need an Arch-Enemy."​

 

[Blacklight]

N i g h t m a r e s:
Act I​

Chapter 42: The Descent, pt.7...


The previous day still left me with doubts about how the new partnership with the sword was working out, but something inside me told myself to kepp faith. After all, it could've been my destiny to keep it at my side for the rest of my life...

The day after however turned out much differently. It was just another patrol, and like most of the time, I actually managed to do some good.

While I looked over Vernova from above, I happened to hear ringing. Bank alarm ringing, which meant the Vernova Public Trust was most likely being robbed, and how luck I was that day. I was right...

"Everyone dow on the ground! Toss over your cell phones! And don't try to be a hero!"

Just after he made the demand, I flew in and landed before the robbers, staring at them through my color-shifted eyes.

"Really? No being a hero, eh? Well... That's gonna be a difficult habit to break... For me anyways."

"Dammit! Ronnie! Drop the kid!"

"Kid?! Who are you calling a ki--"

BANG!

Instinctively I sidestepped the shot, and looked at the gun and the lackie who fired it.

"Damn, dude. You need to work on your aim a little..."

Then the time for fooling around was over, and I felt the sword on my back energizing me as it had before, and I rushed o the shooter, and quickly disarmed him, following up with a point blank blacklight-bolt to the chest that had sent him careening across the lobby.

That was quick... I thought. But then I remembered that it was the sword's power that partially helped me to dispose of the guy so quickly, with very little effort on my part. Now for the other guy... I reminded myself as I scanned the area for him.

Before the other man holding the cash could reach the exit, I grabbed my trusty yo-yo from one of my belt pouches and whipped it at the man, aiming for the sack of cash.

SWISH...

The yo-yo spd past the theif and the body looped around the sack a few good times before I was able to pull it, and him, towards me. The sack reached me first, my yo-yo with it, and I caught both in my right hand. Next the theif spun around in mi-air so his face was heading straight to my left hand, now a fist. Soon enough they collided, and needless to say he went down... Hard.

"And the judges give BL a 10 out of 10!"

Although when I basked in my victory, I looked down at the man and noticed something familiar about him. He looked like someone I knew. I didn't know who, but he looked like he could eb their dad or something... oh well. He's going to prison anyways, and he's probably just some random guy anyways...

So when the police cruiser closed in on the bank, I flew out the front entrance with the two men in my hands, and left them on the steps for the cops, before taking off into the sky. I had homework to do...

* * *​

Why did I not interfere with the boy's thoughts? To help lead him in the right direction?

Because, he needs to still think he's in control. I'm only here to help him, remember?​

Ah yes. But still, I do not understand...

Do not fear, for soon I will make my plans come to. All shall be mine.​

Yes. It all shall be mine...

So for now, I'll leave him be, and only help him when he doubts, and allow the power I provide him to slowly cloud him until he see's thing our way...​

Yes... He will be mine...

Yes. Yes he will...​

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Icon
​

This is liberating.

Flying over the city, the wind in my hair, feeling completely free as I look down on Lost Haven sprawled out below me.

Up here I'm alone, just me and my thoughts. Just as my thoughts again turn to Lisa, I hear sirens.

It only takes me a moment to locate the problem, a tanker truck appears to have lost control and broke through the safety barracades on the bridge leading out of Central Island. I don't have much time, the truck is wobbling, and any sudden moveents could send it off the bridge.

I lower my head and make a B line to the truck, grabbing it by the grill and pshing against it. It takes a moment, but the truck begins to move back, away from the edge of the bridge.

Another disaster averted, I head back to the skies.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

Icon
​

She's going to kill me.

And I can't blame her one bit. I deserve it, I really do.

Lisa has been very understanding, she's accepted everything I've told her, every excuse I've come up with, every lie that I've told her. She's taken it all at face value, and she's dealt with it, even hough deep down she knows that I'm not being honest with her.

The look on her face when I ran out on our dinner date tonight was too much for me to bare. When I told her that there was an emergency at the club I had to take care of, she knew I was lying, the hurt look on her face couldn't hide what she was feeling. And that was it, I left.

I left her sitting in the restaurant all alone so I could go and put out a fire in an apartment building.

And now here I am, standing outside of her apartment...my heart racing, it feels like it is going to explode out of my chest, but I just have to tell her, everything...she deserves that.

I knock on her door, and after a moment it opens, and there she is, standing there, staring me down with a cold look in her eyes that sends shivers down my spine.

"Scott, really...what?" She says, her voice letting me know just how angry and annoyed she is that I'm here now.

"Lisa, I am so sorry."

"Look Scott, I don't want to here it. Not tonight."

"I know, you have every right to be angry...you have every right to hate me...to tell me to get lost, slam that door in my face and never talk to me again. But I sort of hope that you don't...."

She shoots me a look that I can't quite figure out, it's somewhere between wishing death on me, and wanting to invite me in...but something tells me she's still closer to wishing death on me.

"We need to talk. Can we get out of here for a minute?"

She slams the door in my face. I was half expecting that. Can't say in was totally uncalled for. But I'm shocked when the door opens again, and Lisa comes out with her coat on.

"You've got five minutes."

Several Minutes Later

As we walk along the pathways through Anderson Park, I try to explain everything to her. I fumble with my words, I nearly trip and fall on cracked cement, but I am able to steady myself. I try to explain to her that I have certain responsibilities, and I can't always be there when I should be.

That really impresses her. She is about to tell me to get lost when I grab her by the arm, pulling her close to me. I give embrace her, and begin to whisper in her ear.

"Look Lisa, I don't know exactly how to tell you what I'm trying to say. I've gone over this moment in my head a hundred times. And it's never been this hard. So I'll just say this: I know I've screwed up, I know that you deserve so much better than what I've given you. Half the time I don't know what the hell I'm doing. But what I do know is that everyone else is right, I should have told you a long time ago...I love you. Now look down."

She does, and I feel her grip on me tighten as she looks down at the ground, about fifteen feet below us.

"This is what I've been trying to tell you all night long. Lisa, I'm Icon."

And I kiss her.

She looks down again, still amazed that we are currently floating fifteen, maybe twenty feet off the ground...then she looks back at me.

"Oh."

 

[Andy C.]

WONDER BOY: SIDEKICK FOR HIRE

O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN:
PART ONE​

"Allright, allright, find the lady! Find the lady, right here! Free to watch, a dollar to play! C'mon, find the lady, find the lady!"

Three-Card Monty is one of the easiest hustles in the world, and a good way to pick up a few bucks for lunch. Three cards on the table, swap them back and forth, and the mark sees if he can pick out which one is the Queen of Hearts. A little sleight of hand, and even the most hawk-eyed of them gets it wrong, even if they would've actually gotten it right.

I don't consider it a con, really. Anyone who's playing knows from the start that it's a hustle--it's one of the oldest in the book. They play because they think they can trick the trickster, con the con-man...or just try and figure out how the heck I snuck it past them. There's an old saying: the smarter you think you are, the easier you are to fool.

I've been in Chicago for the last six months or so, and while the Windy City's been good to me, I can't stay. It'd be wrong for me to stay, after the things I've been seeing on the news lately.

Things that take me back to the old days...

************​

It's twelve years ago, and for the first time in my life I find myself switching the channel away from the ball-game to catch the news. I still can't believe what they're saying. This stuff belongs in a comic book, or some corny movie--nobody would be crazy enough to try it in the real world!

But there he is, plain as day on the screen.

A shootout between rival gangs is stopped by a big man...in a cape and tights. Maybe they stopped shooting to laugh at him for a second, but they sure aren't laughing by the time the cops and news-vans get there. Twenty-some-odd ruthless, bloodthirsty gangbangers all hog-tied on the sidewalk, and there's the big guy, smiling through his red cowl and extending a gloved hand to the officers on the scene.

"No way..." is all my eleven-year-old mind can manage.

My dad scoffs, says it's all some kind of ad campaign or something, before settling down in the recliner with the paper. But I know better. The look on those scumbags' faces, the surprise from the cops and the news...

...this guy's for real.

The caped figure pulls some gadget out from his belt, and begins to walk away from the scene, when the local reporter asks for his name.

"The name's Captain Wonder, and you'll be seeing a lot more of me soon!"

With that, the gadget from his belt fires a zip-line to the nearest rooftop...and he's gone.

The news anchors don't really know what to make of it, but me and every kid in the city would tell you the same. He's for real.

"...Captain Wonder..."

************​

"Oh, sorry, friend, the lady was right here! Don't worry about it, third time's the charm! C'mon, find the lady, find the lady..."

For the forty-third time today, I show a customer that he's unfortunately picked the wrong card, though for the fifteenth time today, we both know it would've been the right one if I were playing fair. Still, like everyone else, he pays up, grumbling on the outside, but on the inside his wheels are still turning on how I did it.

Another day or so of this, and I'll be able to afford that bus ticket. But first, I'm going to find myself a diner and eat a sandwich that's really bad for me.

If what I've been seeing on the news is true, I can afford it. Because once I get where I need to be, business is really going to pick up.​

 

[SuperBoy-CK]

Origin

I sat there in my chair just playing with my pencil waiting for the bell to ring to let out school. It always seems like on every Friday the last minute to 2:35pm wants to take forever and a day to come.

Then out of no where the bell finally sounds. RING! RING! RING! Thank god I thought to myself as I grab my things and head out of the door. While walking down the hall heading outside I look around trying to find my friend Sergio. Usually he is outside the class room waiting for me to come out of class. Once I get outside of the school I hear my name being called.

“Hey Sam, dude guess what?”

I look ahead of me to the right and there Sergio is running towards me with some news to share. Could be about the dance we’re having Saturday tonight he must have a date.

“What’s going on man?”

“I got a date but wait that’s not the good news, guess who the girl it is?”

Normally I would love to play this game with Serg but unlike any other normal person Serg wouldn’t tell me who it was till I got the name and I don’t have the time.

“Serg I’m a little press for time my friend.”

“That’s cool you would have never guess any ways. But FYI it is Irene dude!”

He has to be kidding. “Are you serious? How? What did you say? What did she say?”

Sergio then leans in close to me as if he is telling me a big secret. “Okay so I go to her and I say. Look here Irene baby me and you is going out on a date and that’s that.”

He then pause and take a breath and finishes his story. “Get this she then says Yea sure. It was simple as pie.”

Wow how slow can you be Serg. “Dude she was just being sarcastic and now that I think about didn’t that came from a movie?”

“Yeah I watched Tropic Thunder last night. I figured since it worked for Kirk Lazarus it would work for me to.”

I couldn’t do nothing but laugh as he finishes his sentence. One thing I can say about Sergio is I can always count on him for a good laugh.

“Forget about the honey dips, so tell me anything new happen?”

As we began to walk towards the bus I knew from the way he asked me if anything new happen he was referring towards my powers. Sometimes I can’t tell if he asks me because he worries of just want to know what cool new thing I can do.

“Nothing really, I just been trying to figure out how to control this speed thing.”

“You just don’t run and it happens?”

“It more to it then that, I mean sometimes it's like all I have to do is just run at full speed and at other time its like my top speed is just average. Its like its here one minute then gone the next.”

As we get on the bus we both notice that all of the seats were taken but one.

“Guess we will walk home together huh Serg?”

As I look to my left I notice that Sergio was already sitting in the last empty seat.

“You’re on your own my friend.”

“Dude you not walking with me?”

“Hey see it like this practice makes perfect.”

I then notice the bus drive turn around in his seat. “Look im sorry son but the bus is full you are going to have to get off.”

I then look back at Sergio and he looks back at me with a smile. I then turn around be start to get off the bus but stop once I hear Sergio call out to me.

“Hey Sam. Like your Nikes say You better just do it!”

I smile then walk off the bus and watch as all of them pull off. This is just great now I have to foot it all the way home. I look on the ground and see a near by soda can and kick it with all my force. As the force from the kick lifts the can in the air out of no where it freezes.

“What just happened?” I say with a confused look on my face not understanding what is going on.

I walk a little closer to the can that is pause in mid air and notice that its not staying still but moving extremely slow to the point it looks as if it not moving. I look around the area to see if anyone else sees this but I notice that not only the can is like this but everything else around me is as well.

“You have to be kidding me.”

Before I could move fast but now this is something totally different and way cool. Like Sergio said.

“Practice makes perfect.”

I then took off running in super speed.​

 

[NiteMare Shape]

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The Hub

Lisa and I sit at my favorite table toward the back of the club enjoying the night. Eric is in rare form in the DJ booth, reading the crowd perfectly, playing the right songs at the right time to keep the dance floor packed.
Things have been great with Lisa since I told her the truth. She is very understanding and supportive of my exploits as Icon. She just wishes that I told her sooner, and to tell you the truth, I do to. I don't know why I waited so long, I guess I was affraid. But Eric and Jenny were right all along.

Speaking of Jenny, she's really adjusted well to the hustle and bustle of Lost Haven. Right now she's tearing up the dance floor with a bunch of people that she's become pretty good friends with. I'm glad things are going well for her. I admit it, at first I wasn't thrilled with the idea of my little sister moving in with me, but she had to get out of our parents' place, things do tend to get alittle...intense there. But it's been good for both of us, we've been able get alot closer than we have been in the last few years.

Just as Lisa takes my hand in hers, my attention is drawn to several people moving toward us from the entrance. Two of themI don't know, a blonde girl, probably about Jenny's age, and what I assume is her boyfriend, a tall, dark haired guy. But the person who seems to be leading them...I can't believe that she's here...walking straight toward Lisa and I. We have a bit of a history.

"What's this Scotty, new girlfriend?" She says in that voice of hers that is both friendly and borderline mocking.

"Haze...What are you doing her?"

"Look, I hate to interrupt...whatever it is you're doing here, but we need to talk."

I look directly at her, still shocked to see her here in my club. Still shocked that she called me by my real name. Then the fact that she did call me by my real name hits me like a ton of bricks....I never told her who I am.

"I'd say we do."

 

[Mercy]

Siren

Origin Part One

I sat back in my hospital bed, i felt like I'd had the biggest hangover yet, but of course i hadn't.

My creepy science teacher from collage turned out to be a rogue FBI agent working with his lover and did experiments on me, since then I've never been the same, really. But it got worse, believe me. The only memory of family i have left is of Haley, i don't know her last name. After i ran away from the collage, i confided in her. I wanted to look for my mother who i never knew. But then it's all a blur, it's all sudden. I will never forget the first time i heard a gun shot and i can assure the person who killed Haley will be hearing plenty more gun shots. A chill shot down my spine.

Suddenly, the door burst open, i turned my head to face a nurse,

"A visitor is here to see you"

I got out of the bed and walked into the toilets, grabbing my clothes and shoes. I slipped on the last thing i was wearing six months ago. My white dress and boots. I threw my hospital clothes on the floor and walked out the toilets, feeling fresh. It seemed that the nurses had washed off the blood stains of Haley.

The visitor then finally came in, it was a woman who looked about fifty years old. Her name tag read "Rosie Dayle".

"And you are?"

The woman smiled and sat on the stool beside the bed i was in, she patted the bed. I walked over to the bed and sat on it.

"You didn't answer my question"

I could feel the blood pumping inside me, my abilities were back.
The woman continued to smile, like i was joking, but i could assure that woman i was certainly not joking.

"Oh Lana!"

The lady flung her arms around me, i immediately pushed away

"How do you know me?"

"Lana you and your tricks, I'm Rosie, your 'mom', silly"

"NO YOU'RE NOT! WHO ARE YOU?"
I shot up

Nurses ran into the room, panicking,

"Lana Dayle, calm down, i have some news to tell you"

"DAYLE!?"

My head then buzzed, i screeched, i fell onto the bed, memories were crawling into my brain, Dayle....Haley....Jamie......
Nurses shrouded over me, i looked at them and sat up again, i pointed a 'Rosie Dayle'

"Get her out!"

"But Lana, she is your mother"

I turned to the nurse, i grabbed her shoulder,

"You shall remove this woman instantly"

"Yes, i shall right away"

The nurse grabbed Rosie and slowly moved her away,

"LANA DON'T DO THIS! IT'S YOUR FATHER, HE'S DEAD!"

More memories hitting me, i can see Haley, poor, innocent Haley, she's running towards me, crying with joy, we hug. Then... it fades, i don't see her anymore...

"FATHER!? YOU EVIL WITCH!"

I flung for Rosie, she was covered in tears, i grabbed her and shook her, i felt so mad.

"Lana! STOP, YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

Rosie didn't get it, that was the idea. I then grabbed a pen from the Nurses pocket and jabbed Rosie with it, anger had taken over me.

In that very moment, the world faded around me, i looked around to see what i was destined to see....the killer of Haley.

I was hugging Haley, we talked at the airport, we stood at the doors before we walked out the airport....this was the moment. I pierced my eyes to the sharpest bits of the airport, where is this killer, i scanned until i eventually spotted a gun poking out from the top of the toilet roof. I looked closer.....

BANG

I saw myself, catching a bloody Haley, falling into my arms, getting blood everywhere. I watched as the people screamed and ran over to the scene, but i watched and i saw, it was

the assistant of Tom Smith, Karyn Jones

.

Then everything faded again, i was back. I was outside the Hospital, round the back.




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