Thevshi

Valparaiso, Chile [11] Megan skidded to a halt along a street on one of the hills overlooking Valparaiso, Chile. The air here was cooler than it had been in Rio, but not so cool that Megan needed her micro-fleece. Her white T-shirt, which smelled of champagne now, was back in her backpack. Taking out the last of the bottled waters she had brought with her, Megan took a drink as she looked out over the city below. From what Megan had read about the city when she had researched it, over a hundred years ago it had been a major stopping point for ships traveling between the Atlantic and the Pacific by way of the Straights of Magellan. It had nicknames such as "Little San Francisco" and "The Jewel of the Pacific," but had long since been eclipsed by its nearby neighbor to the south, Santiago. But, despite that, it was known for one of the larger New Year's celebrations in Chile. Though its population was only around a quarter of a million, the New Year’s celebration along Valparaiso's waterfront attracted more than a million people from around the country. Well, add one more from even further away. Megan thought with a small smile before she started off again to make her way down into the city and to the waterfront. As Megan made her way down, she passed near one of Valparaiso's funicular, a cable rail car designed to operate on steep slopes. From what Megan had read, the city had about a dozen of them still in operation, providing rail service into the hills surrounding the city. The people in the city had certainly used the space they had available, as Megan passed more than a few houses that were built directly up to the edges of steep cliffs. And in many places the old buildings had been painted bright colors, giving the town something of a festive appearance. In fact, the entire city had been declared a UNESCO world heritage site almost ten years ago in part because of its unique architecture and unusual urban design. With a bit of time before midnight, Megan took a little time to zip around the city and visit some of its landmarks. The first was Iglesia de La Matriz, a church that stood where the first chapel in Valparaiso was built in 1559. She also stopped by the Plaza Sotomayor, and thru the Concepcion and Alegre Historic District. Eventually, Megan made her way down to the waterfront, where the streets and beaches were crowded with people. Even after the massive crowd in Rio, the crowd that had gathered her was still quite impressive. This time, Megan stuck towards the edges of the crowd, which helped her avoid too much attention. Soon enough, the final countdown had begun, this time in Spanish. Megan once again joined in the countdown and soon was yelling "HAPPY NEW YEAR" along with the million other people gathered along Valparaiso’s waterfront. It was only moments later that the fireworks display began, the crowd cheering as the sky flashed with the explosions. The display, lasted for about ten minutes. As soon as it ended, Megan was off, speeding down the waterfront until she was able to find a ramp down to a dock and head out onto the water. She had a good bit of distance to cover before her next stop, almost all of it traveling north.

"Yes, you're probably right." Megan said in agreement when Kristin teased her brining the tabloid attention on herself by dating Robert. When Jen joined in, Megan gave a sly smile. "Oh right, that. We were really just having some fun with the tabloids by that point. We figured they would be following us when we went on holiday, so might as well give them something to focus on in the story. It worked. I think at least one of the tabloids accused me of trying to corrupt Robert into a cast member from the Jersey Shore." While Megan did not really mind the teasing she was getting from the two younger women, particularly when she had opened herself up for it, the discussion was bringing back memories of Robert, which was still something of a painful subject for the young blonde. She took a bigger drink from her glass of champagne, finishing what had been left. Luckily, Angus and Amir provided something of a distraction from thoughts about Robert, as Angus dashed Amir’s hopes of an easy time in paying her back for attending the party. She chuckled slightly as Amir made an overly dramatic reaction, falling to the floor, which certainly drew looks from many of those gathered nearby. Looking over at the other woman, Megan gave a small smile. "While I would normally say 'show no quarter' Angus, in this case I would kind of like to have a boss when I start my internship at Summit Transnational after the New Year."

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [10] Megan skid to a halt at the peak of a mountain along the southern coast of Brazil. Off to the west were more mountains and hills, rising up like dark spires. Running between them, like a river of light, was the city of Rio de Janeiro. After leaving England, Megan had set out across the Atlantic. She had made a brief stop in the Azores, where she had stopped to rest a bit and eat another energy bar and drink one of her water bottles. She then started off once again on the longer leg of her journey to the coast Brazil. She had skipped over a time zone between London and Rio, but from what she understood, the scope of the celebration here would warrant the extra time she had before midnight arrived. Excitement was building in Megan as she focused in on a particular section of the coastline below her. Copacabana Beach was world famous, and it was one of the most popular sites the city for New Year's celebrations. Though she could hardly wait to get down to the beach, Megan had one small stop to make first. Zipping off, she found herself a public restroom where she stopped to change into the last clean costume she had brought with her. In addition, Megan put a white V neck T-shirt on over her costume, as she had read it was tradition for revelers in Rio to wear white to bring good luck in the New Year. Satisfied that she was ready, the speedster was off once again, and within a minute arrived at the north end of the beach. The crescent shaped beach stretched for more than four kilometers, and was lit up by street lights and other temporary lighting. There were a number of stages set up along the beach, and hundreds of small pavilions. At the south end of the beach, by Forte de Copacabana, a giant Ferris wheel had been set up, with digital effects in the center and a massive screen showing images of Rio. Everywhere, like a sea of white, was a crowd that number as many as two and a half million people. Out in the water, no more than a hundred meters from the beach, were about a dozen barges, from which the fireworks would be launched at midnight. Further out to sea, a number of large cruise liners were moored, providing their passengers with a different view of the city’s festivities. Wow. That is some party. Megan thought to herself as she looked out over the beach and the crowd. Music filled the air, along with the sounds of the crowd, which combined to make a festive atmosphere that was almost euphoric. A wide grin on her face, the speedster zipped closer to the edge of the beach, eager to begin mingling with the crowd down on the beach. On her way, Megan stopped by a small street vendor set up near the beach to purchase some flowers. With her flowers in hand, she zipped over to the edge of the crowd at the beach’s promenade. As had often been the case elsewhere, the sudden appearance of someone who clearly had superpowers caused a bit of a stir with the immediate crowd. Many took pictures of the young speedster, while others came over to talk with her, though more than a few only spoke Portuguese. Megan maintained a friendly smile, as she spoke briefly with those she could and began making her way out onto the beach and into the thick of the crowd. Soon she had moved far enough in that she was getting little more than stares as she passed by. The diversity of the crowd certainly impressed Megan, it seemed to truly be a party for everyone in the city. Among the crowd she saw teenagers and seniors, and every age group in between. There were people who clearly were financially well off, and many who were obviously less so. But they were all out on the beach together, mingling and enjoying the various styles of music being performed at the many stages set up around the beach. And everyone of them were in white. Once among the crowds on the beach, Megan’s first destination was the edge of the water. The trip took a bit of time, given the number of people out on the beach, but soon she had joined hundreds of other revelers down by the surf. Like the others around her, Megan cast the flowers she had bought out into water, an offering to Yemanja, the deity of the seas. There were thousands of flowers out in the surf near Megan, and hundreds of other people were making their way towards the water’s edge up and down the beach to throw in more. With that local tradition taken care of, Megan then headed back up onto the beach to taken in some of the various performances taking place. Her first stop was a stage where traditional Carnival music was being performed, along with dancers dressed in colorful and elaborate costumes. Megan stopped there for awhile to enjoy some of the performances. Eventually, the speedster had to move on, as she wanted to see more of the celebrations. The scale of the celebrations was overwhelming. While Megan could likely see everything there was to see in about ten minutes if she wanted, that would hardly be very satisfactory. She would see as much as she could, while taking the time to actually enjoy and appreciate what she was able to see. Megan stopped to watch performances of traditional African folk music and dancing, Latin music and even rock and roll. Along the way she talked with dozens of other revelers, posed for the occasional photograph, and even stopped a couple of pickpockets. Eventually Megan ended up in the crowd near where pop/dance music was playing, with the beach serving as the dance floor. She was generally dancing with a large group of twenty-something revelers who included some pretty amazing dancers. While there was certainly no shortage of beautiful people on the beach, this group seemed to have a greater than average ratio. Of particular interest to Megan was a really cute guy who had been dancing not too far from her for a little while. Megan had thought she had seen him looking her direction a number of times and had just been planning to work her way over closer when the music suddenly stopped. Glancing down at her watch, Megan realized it was almost midnight. Most everyone on the beach had turned to look towards the giant Ferris wheel set up at the south end of the beach. A sixty second countdown had begun on the giant screen in the center of the wheel. Many in the crowd were getting out bottles of champagne for the arrival of midnight. As the countdown passed thirty seconds, someone handed Megan a glass of champagne and she noticed everyone else around had a glass as well. Soon the final 10 seconds of 2012 began to tick away, the crowd spread out on the four kilometers of beach counting off each second. Megan joined the countdown in English, though she could barely hear herself over all the other voices. Finally the countdown reached zero, and the cheers and shouts of the crowd were deafening as Megan’s cry of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" was lost amongst all the other cries. Megan toasted her glass with several of the crowd around her and took a drink. Bottles of champagne were being opened everywhere, with the people holding the bottle spraying them all around them. Out on the water, the barges began the fireworks display, which only lead to more cheers and shouts from those gathered out on the beach. Megan turned away from a nearby spray of champagne only to find herself face to face with the really cute guy she had been watching while dancing. He was looking down at her and Megan suddenly found herself lost in his dark eyes. Megan was about to try to say something when he leaned down slightly and kissed her. As their lips met, Megan's sense of time was completely thrown off. She had a faint sense that the fireworks show was still going on, and people were still spraying champagne around as part of the celebration. But right now all of that was the last thing on her mind. She was returning the kiss, reaching her hands up behind the cute guy's neck and could feel his hands around her waist. When their lips finally came back apart, Megan was not exactly sure how much time had passed. The fireworks display was still going on, so that was at least a good sign that it had not been too long. Looking back into the dark eyes above her, Megan could see that he was interested in continuing, and perhaps more. She was tempted herself, the kiss had been very nice, and he certainly had a great body, but she had more stops planned and had not really been looking for anything like that. Slipping free from his embrace, she gave him a smile as her hands came down to take his. "That was really nice, but I am afraid I can't stay." She said. "I know you probably don't know what I'm saying, but maybe I'll see you again sometime." Stepping in again, she gave him a quick kiss and then was off in a blur, managing to slip among the crowd that was watching the fireworks display. Megan stopped again more than a kilometer down the beach, finding a place near the edge of the crowds. Leaning up against a palm tree, she took a deep breath as she watched the rest of the fireworks display, reassuring herself that she had made the right decision. When the fireworks display finally came to an end, Megan glanced at her watch and saw it was nearly twenty minutes past midnight. As the crowds continued cheering and the musical performances started up once again, Megan was speeding along the city streets away from the beach. I think I might need to come back down here sometime soon. Megan thought as she weaved amongst the traffic. Maybe during Carnival.

More New Year's fireworks in Rio.

New Year's fireworks in Rio.

Cute Brazilian guy.

Some revelers in Rio, wearing white, of course.

New Year's crowds at Copacabana Beach.

London, England [11] Megan was speeding across the surface of the River Thames, rapidly drawing closer to London. After leaving Karkow, the speedster had stopped by Berlin to see the revelers still gathered at the Brandenburg Gate. She had then continued on into France, and the across the Strait of Dover and up the eastern shore of England until she reached the mouth of the Thames. It was only moments before she reached the City of London, its distinct skyscrapers appearing along the northern bank of the river. Up ahead was Tower Bridge, and not far beyond was the City of Westminster. As had been the case in the Maldives, the familiar sights of London served to stir up memories of Robert and trips she had made to the city with him. But Megan did her best to push aside those thoughts, focusing instead on enjoying herself as she once again greeted the New Year. Passing the Tower of London, Megan ran up onto one of the docks along the waterfront and was soon up on street level. Dodging around the crowds that were gathered for the midnight fireworks celebrations, Megan was soon speeding down the streets of the city. She weaved around traffic and through the streets, until she reached Soho, and was soon at her favorite coffee shop in the city. Having been active in England and Europe only six months earlier, Megan found herself having to shake hands, sign autographs and pose for pictures as she tried to get to the counter to order her coffee. As short while later, coffee cup in hand, Megan was speeding down the city streets once more, making her way towards Westminster bridge and what would be one of the major locations for greeting the New Year in London. She passed by Trafalgar Square, where thousands were gathered, but continued on towards the banks of the Thames, and a more unobstructed view of the London Eye. Reaching the banks of the river near Westminster Bridge, Megan found the area to be crowded with people, but was still able to find a place among the crowd where she could await for the arrival of midnight. She could hear music echoing across the water, and crowd certainly seemed in a festive mood. Once again Megan had to deal with people stopping to talk with her, get an autograph, and perhaps have a picture taken alongside the attractive superheroine. Megan took it all in stride, glad to have the distraction to keep her mind from trying to delve into memories of Robert. Between the people stopping to met her and all the other activity around her, time seemed to slip by for Megan, and before she knew it the final countdown had begun. The speedster joined the crowd in counting down those last few seconds of 2012. Though she shouted out as loud as she could, Megan's voice was all but lost amongst the cries of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" As the crowds cheered the New Year, the fireworks displays began around the city. The London Eye served as the focal point for one show, with dazzling fireworks flashing all around the massive Ferris wheel. On Megan’s side of the river, Elizabeth Tower was thelaunch platform for more fireworks, which exploded in the air around the tower and over parliament. Back down the Thames, fireworks were erupting over the Tower Bridge. Megan cheered along with the crowd around her as she watched the spectacular displays. After about eight minutes, the fireworks finally stopped, and the cheering began to die down. Though some of the crowd began to disperse, there were still many who appeared ready to continue on celebrating until the later hours of the morning, be it on the streets or in a pub. But for Megan, it was time to be moving on, and she was soon speeding off down the streets, heading away from the city and towards the southwestern corner of the island.

New Year's at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Fireworks near Tower Bridge.

More London fireworks.

Fireworks show at the London Eye.

Krakow, Poland [11] The calm night air was just below freezing in the city of Krakow. But despite the cold, close to two hundred thousand people were gathered in the Main Market Square in the center of the city, enjoying an open air concert as they waited for the arrival of the New Year. A streak of yellow appeared along one of the edges of the square, as Megan came to a halt near the massive crowd of people. After leaving Athens, Megan had not taken the most direct route to Krakow, instead making a few stops along the way. First she had gone through Budapest, Hungry to see where some of the New Year's gatherings in the city. Then she had made a wider detour, stopping in Prague, the Czech Republic, where the fireworks shows had started before noon and had been steadily increasing as midnight drew closer. Once again she had on her yellow micro-fleece to help with the cold night air. Smiling at some of the nearby crowd who notice her sudden appearance, Megan gave a small wave as a couple of people took her picture. She then started off along the edge of the square, moving in among the crowd as she listened to the music that filed the square. While Megan did not recognize the singer who was currently performing, she sounded pretty good. The people in the crowd certainly seemed to be enjoying the performance, which helped Megan appreciate the experience as well. The young speedster's passage through the crowd often resulted in stares, but for the most part those she went by simply focused back on enjoying the concert and waiting for midnight to arrive. Occasionally some in the crowd came over to confirm, often in halting English, that she was a superhero. Megan posed for a few pictures with some of the crowd, but for the most part she was able to just make her way along the square without much trouble. Before too long it was almost midnight, and the music stopped as several of the performers gathered on the stage to prepare to lead the crowd in counting down the last moments of 2012. While Megan could not understand the crowd, the numbers that flashed up by the stage were easy enough to recognize, and she joined in the countdown in English. As they reached the end of the countdown, Megan joined the crowd in cheering the arrival of 2013. The cheers continued as several loud bangs echoed over the square and fireworks began to lite up the night sky over St. Mary's Basilica at one end of the square. The display lasted for several minutes, the crowd continuing to cheer and shout throughout. Once the display was over, the concert resumed, with the crowd showing little sign of being ready to call it a night. But Megan began working her way back towards the edge of the crowd so she could start towards her next stop. Soon she was moving quicker, zipping through the thinner parts of the crowd and then out into one of the streets leading from the square. As she got further from the square, the speedster continued to accelerate, until she was barely even a blur as she raced along the roads from the city towards western Europe.

New Year's fireworks in Krakow.

New Year's in Krakow's Market Square.

Athens, Greece [11] After leaving the Carl Vinson, Megan's route had taken her up through the Red Sea, then across the Sinai Peninsula. She had then crossed the eastern end of the Mediterranean, making landfall in Greece not far from Athens. Her first stop in the city was Klafthmonos Square, where an open air concert by several classical ensembles was already underway. Tens of thousands were gathered in the square, braving the cold night air to attend the concert and be on hand to welcome in a New Year. Megan stayed along the edges of the crowd, as she intended to move to another location in the city just before the arrival of midnight and the New Year. The classical music provided a nice change of pace from several of Megan’s more recent stops, allowing her to relax for a little while. Megan allowed herself to spend about a quarter of an hour listening to the performance, drinking one of the bottled waters she had brought with her as she did. Then she was off again, zipping down the streets of the city, making her way towards her final stop before the arrival of midnight. It did not take her long, even at only a couple of hundred miles an hour, before she had joined a crowd of people gathered at a small city square that had a clear view of the Acropolis. Atop the summit of the Acropolis, glowing orange in the artificial lighting, stood the Parthenon. Scaffolding was visible around its exterior, a sign of the massive restoration efforts to reverse more than two thousand years of damage to the structure. It was not long after Megan had found a suitable vantage point when the crowd around her and elsewhere around the base of the Acropolis began the countdown to the New Year. At least, Megan thought it was the countdown, as it was in Greek, but it certainly had the rhythm of a countdown. Soon the crowd appeared to reach the end, as they began cheering and shouting (again in Greek). The dull BOOM of firework explosions echoed over the cheers of the crowd, as the night sky above the Parthenon was lit up by the exploding fireworks. Megan joined the cheering of the crowd around her as she watched the fireworks display above the ancient building. When it finally came to an end, the speedster slipped away from the crowd and began speeding off down the streets of Athens to start her trip towards her next destination.

New Year's fireworks over the Parthenon.

The Gulf of Aden [11] Megan streaked across the surface of the Gulf of Aden, which she had been searching for about the last three minutes. Once again, Captain Thunder had helped to arrange this stop with the Pentagon, and while Megan had been provided the general area where she would be able to find the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at this time tonight, it was still a rather large area to search. But finally she had spotted the dark form of the Nimitz class supercarrier. With a crew of over 6,000 sailors and Marines, the Carl Vinson was like a miniature floating city, and Megan would be on hand as they welcomed the New Year in this part of the world. Speeding over to the carrier, the speedster slowed some before running up the side of the ship in a blink of an eye, weaved across the flight deck and then over to the central tower and up to the bridge. The yellow clad speedster’s sudden appearance on the bridge cause a number of the sailors there to start slightly with surprise. Focusing on a junior officer in his mid-twenties who appeared to be the officer on duty, Megan flashed a wide smile and gave a small salute. "Velocity requesting permission to come aboard sir." The young officer recovered his composure as he returned the salute. "Permission granted." With the formality out of the way, Megan turned to regard the various sailors currently stationed on the bridge. Zipping over to the nearest, she greeted him, shaking his hand and thanking him for his service before moving on to the next. It did not take long before she had spoken with all the sailors on the bridge. At that point, the junior officer led her off the bridge and down into the lower levels of the carrier, taking her to the ship's captain. The captain was in his quarters, finishing up some of the endless paperwork that went with operating the massive carrier. The captain was a rather unassuming man in his early fifties, and he thanked the young superheroine for taking the time to visit with some of his crew. After sending the junior officer back to the bridge, the captain led Megan the rest of the way to where the ship would be having its New Year's celebration. The word of Velocity's arrival had apparently spread from the bridge, as they found a number of sailors gathered in doorways and side passages along their route to catch a glimpse of the superheroine. Soon they arrived at the hanger beneath the carrier's flight deck. A section of the hanger had been cleared and turned into an impromptu dance floor. At least a thousand men and women, sailors and Marines, were gathered there. Some were dancing to music being played by a crewmember on a small stage who was acting as the DJ. Others were clustered in groups around those dancing, chatting or enjoying some of the food that was set up along one of the walls. As the captain led Megan around the periphery of the crowd, many of those near the edges noted their passage and turned to tell others near them. By the time the captain and Megan had reached the stage, the DJ had stopped the music and now everyone gathered in the hanger was focused on the captain and the yellow clad speedster. Taking a microphone from the DJ, the captain walked out to the center of the small stage, as Megan stopped next to the DJ's table. Already flashes were going off among the crowd as some of those gathered took pictures with cameras or phones. The captain greeted the gathered crew members, who responded with cheers, and then introduced the yellow clad speedster. Stepping back towards the DJ's table, he held out the microphone for Megan as more cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. Great, no one said anything about having to give a speech! Megan thought as she took the microphone, managing to keep a broad smile on her face. Okay, just relax, it can’t be any harder than cheerleading. The young woman thought as she made her way to the middle of the stage. As the cheers subsided there were more than a few wolf-whistles, which caused a round of laughter among the gathered crew. Megan played along with the mood, striking a sexy pose for a moment, which generated more cheers and whistles. When the crowd finally calmed back down, she took a deep breath. "Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I want to say that I am honored at this opportunity to be able to get to met so many brave service men and women and spend a bit of time with all of you. Every day, each of you, along with a million other members of our armed forces around the world, put your lives at risk for all of us back home. Even us superheroes." Megan paused for a moment as cheers came from the crowd. "You do so without superpowers, without the ability to pick up a bus, or run faster than a bullet. You do so only with your courage, and your skill, and the courage and skill of those beside you. That you continue to do so, regardless of the odds, day in and day out is awe inspiring." There was some more cheering, and applause, and then the superheroine continued, "I know Captain Thunder, Lady Liberty and the rest of the Freedom League would all agree as I say thank you for your service to our great country!" More cheers and applause erupted from the crowd, and Megan had to wait a few moments for it to subside some, but then yelled out over the noise, "now I am going to do my best to try and met each and every one of you, but in the meantime, I have a question. Are you all ready to welcome 2013?" The cheers in the affirmative were almost deafening, the sound echoing within the massive hanger. Megan pointed over to the DJ, who began the music once again. As many in the crowd began dancing once again, Megan dropped the microphone off with the DJ before exiting the small stage to one side, immediately to be greeted by the nearest members of the crowd. From then on everything seemed to be something of a blur of activity, as Megan shook hands, signed autographs and posed for pictures. Someone brought her a cup of coffee and a plate of food, which the young speedster somehow managed to eat while making her way through the crowd. By the time music stopped again for the arrival of midnight, Megan was in the middle of the crowd on the improvised dance floor. Energetically joining the countdown of the final seconds of the year, her voice was lost among the rest of the crowd as everyone gathered down in the hanger yelled "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" when the last second ticked away. Megan hugged the nearby service women, and kissed several of the male sailors and Marines who were around her, allowing her kiss with one particularly cute Marine to last a second or so longer than the others. Soon the music started up again, and Megan and the crowd around her resumed dancing once again. Megan allowed herself to spend another quarter of an hour dancing with the sailors and Marines gathered in the Carl Vinson's hanger. Then she began to make her way out of the crowd, saying goodbye to the service men and women as she went. Stopping by briefly to say goodbye to the captain, who once again thanked her for making the appearance, the speedster was then off, zipping back up to the flight deck of the carrier and then down its side and back across the surface of the water.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates [11] Megan was skimming across the surface of the Persian Gulf, following along its southwestern coastline. Up ahead she could make out her destination. Dubai appeared as a glowing oasis of light against the empty darkness of the desert around it. Glancing down at her watch, she saw she had a considerable amount of time before midnight, so she could do a little bit of sightseeing at a rather leisurely pace of a couple hundred miles an hour before stopping to watch a celebration. Her first stop in the city was, perhaps unsurprisingly, Burj Khalifa. Looking up at the towering building that reached over 2,700 feet into the air, the young speedster could not help but feel a sense of awe. "Wow!" She muttered quietly as she stared up at the tallest building in the world. For a brief moment she considered zipping up the side of the building to see what the view was like from up by the base of the building's spire. But Megan resisted that urge, knowing that one of Dubai’s major fireworks displays centered around Burj Khalifa, and a number of fireworks launchers had been affixed to the outside of the building. The last thing she wanted to do was to accidently do anything that would mess up the display, let alone cause a possible fire hazard. So, she satisfied herself with zipping around the base of the massive building, viewing it from several different angles. After spending a few minutes marveling at the massive skyscraper, the yellow clad speedster was then off once again, a blur speeding down the streets of Dubai. Megan next stop was the Khalid bin Al Waleed Station for the Dubai Metro rail line, located next to BurJuman shopping mall. The interior of the station was very sleek, with lots of reflective surfaces and neon lighting that made Megan feel as if she was in a nightclub instead of a rail station. As Megan was making her way through the extravagant metro station, she happened upon a directory for the BurJuman mall and decided to take a glance. Her mouth dropped open slightly as she saw the extensive list of high end women’s fashion stores. Channel, Dior, Prada, Versace, and many, many more. They even have a Valege lingerie store! She noted. Why don't I just come here to shop? There is pretty much everything I might want to look at! Managing to pull herself away from the directory, the young woman zipped out of the rail station and back into the city for a little more sightseeing. Her next stop was the Palm Jumeirah, the first artificial archipelago created along the Dubai coastline. Speeding along the central tree truck of the palm tree design for the archipelago, Megan reached "crown", which consisted of 16 "fronds", each covered with large villas and exclusive apartment complexes. Though quite a few of the villas seemed to be hosting large parties, Megan continued by, coming to a stop at the top of the crown and looking across to the center of the large, central crescent island which capped the palm tree design. Situated in the middle of the crescent was the Atlantis Palm Resort. Though Megan did not doubt that there would be some sort of New Year's celebration at the Atlantis Palm, she had a different venue in mind for watching the celebrations in Dubai. Turning to retrace her steps back to the main coastline, Megan then turned west, following the coastline. Her route took her past the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which was located next to a water park. It was only a short ways further down the coastline that Megan reached her destination, the private curved bridge that connected the Dubai mainland with the artificial island on which stood the Burj Al Arab. The towering luxury hotel with its curved exterior, built to resemble the sail of a dhow, was quite impressive. Thousands of people were lined up on the bridge leading out to the hotel, waiting for the fireworks display that would come with the arrival of midnight. Thousands more were lining the coastline. Megan joined that later group, taking a positing near the beginning of the bridge. One of the advantages of the location, was that in addition to the Burj Al Arab, the technology in her goggles also allowed Megan to see the not too distant Burj Khalifa as well. It was not too long after Megan had found her spot that the final moments of 2012 began to tick away. The young woman joined the chanting of the crowd as they counted down the final seconds. As the cheers and cries for the New Year sounded out, the fireworks displays began around the city. The Burj Al Arab's included a laser light show on its "sail," along with fireworks launching all around the building. Meanwhile, at the Burj Khalifa, the massive tower itself was used as a launch platform for horizontal fireworks along with vertical launches from areas around its base. There were a number of other fireworks displays around the city, but Megan did not focus on them much. The displays lasted for about ten minutes or so, before the final fireworks exploded, the night sky darkening once again to the faint orange glow generated by the city's lights. As the cheers died down and the crowds began to disperse, Megan knew it was time to move on to her next stop. With a burst of speed, she weaved through the crowd and down to the nearby beach and out over the waters of the Persian Gulf. Accelerating as she pulled away from the coastline, she headed back towards the east, to make her way out of the gulf.

The fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa.

Fireworks show at the Burj Al Arab.

The Burj Khalifa at night from two diffrent vantage points.

Kuda Huraa, the Republic of Maldives [11] Megan streaked across the surface of the Indian Ocean as she ran past the southern atolls of the Maldives, each consisting of dozens of small islands. The country was made up of almost 1,200 islands, gathered into a number of atolls that stretched over 500 miles from North to South. The young woman knew from experience that during the day and from the air, the lush islands looked like small emeralds spread out across an azure field. Almost nine months ago, she had been here on vacation during Easter Holiday with Robert, the son of an English Earl she had dated while studying at Cambridge. That trip had been part of the reason she had thought to stop here tonight to see the arrival of the New Year in this time zone. But now that she was here, and memories of that trip (and their subsequent breakup only a little more than a month after) were coming back more vividly, Megan was regretting her decision. A part of her wanted to keep on going and pass this stop by, but Megan resisted that urge as she arrived at the location she had planned to visit. The young speedster came to a halt along a stretch of beach on the island of Kuda Huraa. Up ahead of her, further down the beach, could be seen the dark shapes of the thatched roofs of the Four Seasons Resort. This resort had been where Megan had spent the first half of her vacation with Robert, with the second half being at the resort's sister property on Landaa Giraavaru. Megan could hear music and voices from one of the resort’s beach bars, likely where it was holding its New Year’s celebration for its guests. The young woman stood there a few moments, looking at the lights of the resort. She had intended to join the celebration being hosted but the resort, but now, she was not certain she was up to socializing at the moment. And why should I have to? Megan thought to herself. I’ve been on the go for over nine hours, seen the arrival of the New Year in nine other time zones already, and I am not even halfway done! I think I deserve a little time to myself for this turn of the New Year. Turning away from the resort, Megan faced the opposite direction on the beach. A quick scan of the area with the nightvision technology in her goggles satisfied Megan that the beach was deserted. Reaching up with one hand, she removed her mask, goggles and brunette wig, shaking out her long blonde hair as it came free. She also removed her boots and socks, and then started off down the beach, walking along the water's edge, the waves gently washing up to her bare feet from time to time. As she walked, Megan could not help but have her thoughts drift back to Robert. Even eight months and a couple of less serious relationships later, her break up with Robert still generated a lot of raw emotion for the young woman. The six months Megan had been with Robert qualified as one of her longer romantic relationships. While such a poor relationship record normally might be something Megan should be concerned about, she also knew that root cause of the relationship problems was anything but normal. I'm a superhero. She thought, as she glanced down at the mask, goggles and wig in her right hand. And the desire to keep that identity a secret tended to result in Megan being secretive with boyfriends, and often having to lie about her whereabouts at times, which caused trust problems with some of those past boyfriends, Robert included. Many times Megan wondered if telling someone, like Robert, about her identity as Velocity would have helped deal with those trust problems. But she had never been able to quite figure out at what point she could trust someone enough with a secret that she had kept from even her parents for the last six years. And therein lies the Catch 22. She thought to herself, as she came to a stop out on a sand bar she had followed off the main beach. How do you keep a relationship going long enough to feel you can trust someone with a secret without them deciding they can’t trust you because of the secret and the lies you tell to keep it. Turning back to face the direction of the resort, she sat down in the sand. As if trying to find the answer to that problem was not difficult enough, it was further complicated by what had led to a number of her other relationships ending quickly. On the occasions where her boyfriends were either oblivious to, or just did not care about, Megan's secrecy and lies, the young blonde had found herself growing bored with the relationship, and ended things herself. A number of times Megan's boredom had been for the best, as the boyfriends in question made it rather inevitable that the relationship would not last. But in a few cases, the boyfriends in question had been perfectly nice guys. This had Megan occasionally wondering whether the same sort of feeling might eventually set in even with guys she really liked, such as Robert. Yeah, wouldn't that just be great, the young woman thought to herself, I decide to tell a guy my secret identity in order to save the relationship, only to later get bored and break up anyway. She let out a small sigh as she blew a lock of blonde hair out of her face. Of course, the seemingly simple solution would be to give up being Velocity and just try to lead a normal life. But Megan had tried that during her second year at Yale, and it had only lasted a few months. While the attempt had been while she was in her longest relationship to date, Megan had also felt as if she was going to go crazy from boredom and lack of activity. No amount of exercising, partying or spending time with her boyfriend had been able to fully alleviate the restless feelings. Megan may not have ever needed to use her powers to be a superhero, but now, whether it was because using her powers was addictive, or just something natural like breathing, being Velocity was part of who she was. Looking at her watch to see how close it was to midnight, Megan was surprised to see it was still twenty minutes till. The blonde young woman let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. Figures! I can't even soul search at a normal speed. Looking back across the water towards the resort, she could still hear the faint sounds of music drifting down the beach. Well, I’m here, and there is still time till midnight. Might as well join the party. She thought, and in a flash, she was back on her feet, her mask, goggles, wig and boots all back on. "Okay, I’m here to have fun, so forget about Robert and all that other stuff." She said to herself. "After all, it’s the start of a New Year, so who knows what can happen!" Taking a deep breath, the speedster zipped back up the beach and towards the resort. Drawing on skill she had perfected as a cheerleader, Megan had a smile on her face and a bubbly attitude as she joined the part being held at the resort's Reef Club. Her cheerful attitude, fake though it was, quickly overcame the surprise caused by her sudden appearance, as she chatted with revelers, posed for some pictures and then joined those dancing to the live music. The festive atmosphere was rather contagious, and it was not long before Megan was not having to fake her smile. The memories of Robert, and the painful emotions associated with them, receded into the background, and the young woman began to feel excited again about the prospects of the New Year. It was not long before Megan was once again counting down the final moments of 2012 and joining the resort guests in shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" After watching the brief fireworks display put on by the resort, the speedster was off again, ready to continue on to her next destination in order to welcome the arrival of the New Year yet again.

The Reef Club at the Four Seasons Resort on Kuda Huraa.