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Liberty Park Freedom City, New Jersey Friday February 21, 2025. 5:30 PM During the recent long weekend trip to Fiji with their friends and classmates, Lynn had told Jack that her adopted parents (in particular her adopted mom) had wanted to have him over for dinner. Apparently, it was part of Megan Howell-Harrow's desire to get to know the significant others of her children (adopted or otherwise) a bit better. Lynn had tried to assure Jack it was not because of the number of times their dates, or just other time spent together, had ended up in some sort of super battle (again emphasizing how her adopted mother was well aware of how frequently that could occur). The blonde teen had also insisted it was not because her adopted mother questioned Jack's intentions with her sixteen-year-old adopted daughter (though Lynn had reluctantly admitted it might be a small part of it). Lynn had even noted that her parents were doing the same thing with Lawrence's girlfriend. Of course, it was hardly uncommon for teenage boys to be somewhat worried about spending time with their girlfriend's parents. The fact that Lynn's adopted mother was the world-famous superheroine Velocity and member of the Freedom League, likely did not make things any easier. So, to try to help with the anticipation, the couple had planned to have a little date before going to dinner. A little after classes ended for the week, Lynn had driven them over near Liberty Park, parking the BMW SUV in a parking structure near Millennium Mall. They had stopped briefly at the Liberty Perk coffee shop across the street from the east side of Liberty Park to get some coffee and then continued over to the park. They had briefly stopped outside the park, near the Southern entrance next to the grand lawn, to have a kiss at the spot they had first met eight months earlier. They then continued into the park, taking their time to follow the paved roads that wound through the park to eventually reach the northwest corner of the park, where the botanical gardens were located. The gardens were located among a series of smaller paths that radiated out from a central area like spokes, the rows of plants and trees set out between the many paths, although most of the plants were currently dormant for the winter. At the center of the gardens, next to the large greenhouse building for more exotic plants, was a large circular reflecting pool. With the cold winter weather, the shallow reflecting pool had been frozen over and was being used as an open-air ice-skating rink, which was operated by the City to help provide some of the funding for the gardens’ operation. The setting did feel rather special, being out the cold night air. To the east, across the north end of the park, could be seen the skyline of downtown Freedom City. To the west were several tall, high-end condominium buildings. To the north was the south edge of Freedom City University's campus, most prominent being the large stadium for the university's football team and other outdoor sports teams. Lynn skated out onto the large frozen reflecting pool with graceful ease, her superhuman agility and balance making her movements seem effortless. The blonde teen casually turned so she was skating backwards as she looked back with a small smile. "Come on Jack." She said as she continued to skate backwards. Tonight, she was wearing a pair of dark navy jeans, a white puffy winter jacket, along with a red scarf and gloves.

Small island on the outer Wakaya atoll, Fiji Saturday, February 15, 2025, 10:12 AM local time The last hour and a half had been somewhat hectic for Lawrence and Mizuki back at the Harrow estate, as Lawrence had been busy playing host and helping make sure everyone was set with whatever they needed. Even after his adopted sister Lynn arrived, there still had been a lot to do, as another group of students had arrived with her in one of the Freedom League’s spaceplanes. And while Lynn was technically helping host the group of Claremont students, she had only briefly been to the estate before, so was not as familiar with where everything was as Lawrence. But finally, things seemed under control, with their friends and classmates either deciding to relax by the pool or heading down to the beach. So, the couple were free to head out on the adventure Mizuki had planned out for them. A flash of temporal energy momentarily disturbed the white sand of a beach on a small island just to the northeast of Wakaya Island as Lawrence and Mizuki appeared. The blond teen looked over to his girlfriend after they arrived with a small grin. "Well, here we are."

Rai Ki Wai Estate Wakaya Island, Fiji Saturday, February 15, 2025, 8:45 AM local time The sleek form of a Pegasus Spaceplane soared through the sky above the waves of the South Pacific. Seated in the pilot’s seat of the Freedom League supersonic aircraft was Lynn Conners, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans shorts as she continued to descend in altitude towards the eventual destination in Fiji. Over the last couple of months, in addition to classes, homework, violin practice and just spending times with her boyfriend and friends, Lynn had also logged the necessary hours to be cleared to pilot a Pegasus. Less than half an hour ago Lynn, along with her friends and classmates that had opted for a different means of transport for this weekend’s getaway, had departed the Lighthouse, having teleported up to the League's space station from Freedom Hall. After a short orbital fight and re-entry, they were now quickly approaching the island nation. As she reached about a thousand feet of altitude, Lynn tilted the aircraft slightly to the right, allowing those in the back a better view out the right side of the Pegasus at the clear blue waters and green tropical volcanic islands that made up Fiji. Slowing their airspeed some, Lynn began a gradual banking turn as the spaceplane circled over the northern islands on an approach toward a private island at the eastern end of the chain of islands. Glancing over toward two seats to her right, the blonde teen gave Mattie and Jack, a small grin. "Told you I learned to drive in a flying car back in my timeline." Lynn commented, although she did not really believe either had never doubted any of the things she had told them about her original timeline. Although the blonde teen’s demeanor seemed generally more cheerful than typical, that outward appearance masked the emotional turbulence she had experienced over the last month. While Lynn had made many positive strides at the start of the school year, last month she had suffered a serious setback after being forced to vividly relive many of the events that had led to her timeline’s destruction and her narrow escape. Of course, these setbacks had been tempered some by the presence of Jack, Mattie and many of the other friends she had been making. So, Lynn was hopeful that she would truly be able to enjoy this trip and not be a burden on anyone. Focusing back ahead as she finished the turn and leveled the aircraft back out, the island that was their destination was in view. The small island was on the western side of an atoll, with dozens of narrow 'islands' scattered about its perimeter among visible coral reefs. Lynn activated the microphone of the headset she was wearing. "Flight Control. This is Pegasus Zero-Five, beginning final approach, initiating landing sequence." The blonde teenager flipped a few switches as she continued to descend in altitude and further reduced their airspeed. Up ahead, the buildings making up the Harrow compound could be seen among the jungle on the island; however, Lynn was steering the spaceplane towards the small private airstrip located next to the southwestern shoreline of the main section of the island. Dropping down to barely a hundred feet above the sea level, Lynn smoothly brought the aircraft over the airstrip, bringing it to a complete halt as the VTOL system engaged, causing the Pegasus to hover for a movement, before it slowly started to descend the rest of the way to the tarmac. Those aboard felt only the slightest jolt as the landing gear connected with the ground. "Flight Control, Pegasus Zero-Five has reached its destination, landing sequence complete. Signing off." The blonde teen reached over and flipped a switch before taking off the headset and hanging it next to her. The Pegasus started moving forward slowly as Lynn turned it slightly to the right, turning towards a small hanger located at the end of the airstrip. "Okay, will be just a few while we taxi into the hanger then we can debark and get this vacation started." She said to the others on board. It was only a few minutes later that the Pegasus came to a complete stop and Lynn activated the ramp to allow the others to start exiting while she began powering down the aircraft.

Beaudrie Opera House Theater District, Freedom City, New Jersey Tuesday November 12, 2024. 10:20 AM A couple of weeks ago Headmistress Summers had spoken with a few her students about an opportunity to assist a field trip for several of the youth attending the Nicholson School to attend a performance by the Freedom Youth Philharmonic for several area elementary schools. Michael Adon, Sarah Thatcher and Jack Davydov had volunteered. Earlier that morning, the trio had been transported over to the Nicholson campus in nearby Port Regal, where they had met the teacher leading the field trip (Ms. Houston) and the group of forty some students that were attending the performance. They had then loaded onto a school bus and made the trip over to the Theater District in downtown Freedom City. The level of excitement for the students varied considerably, ranging from very excited for many of the younger students (those nine or ten years old) to a more resigned indifference with the teens in the group. The area around the Beaudrie Opera House had been rather chaotic, with more than a dozen school buses all dropping off loads of elementary school students to attend the performance. Michael, Sarah and Jack had managed to help keep all the Nicholson students together and guide them into the building, making a stop by the restrooms for any that needed to use them, before heading off to find the groups seats in large venue. It was perhaps even more chaotic inside the building than out, as hundreds of students were gathered, many chatting away as they waited for the performance to begin, teachers and other chaperones keeping an eye on them and making one last headcount to ensure everyone was present. Sarah found herself sitting near some of the thirteen and fourteen year old students, many of whom were focused on their cellphones or otherwise looking around for distractions. One of the older girls looked particular bored and restless, Sarah thought she recalled her being introduced as Victoria. Jack was seated among some of the ten-year-olds, his gentle nature having won them over on the bus ride, despite his imposing height and frame. Among the group were two twin girls, Madison and Mary who seemed very excited to see the performance. Backstage….. Lynn Conners stood among the other members of the Freedom Youth Philharmonic as they waited for the que to take the stage. The blonde sixteen-year-old was wearing a long black evening dress with sleeves that went to her elbows. She was holding her violin and bow in her hands (her sheet music already out on a music stand by her chair) as she took a deep breath to try to steady the many emotions she was feeling. Although she had been part of the youth orchestra for a couple of years back in her timeline, it felt so very different here. For one thing, all of the other performers were unknown to her, as this timeline’s versions of any that she had known in her timeline being six years younger, and thus not yet in the orchestra (if they were even learning classical music here). Even the conductor was different in this timeline. As if that were not enough, there was also the fact that Lynn had managed to gain a spot in the orchestra outside the normal tryout process (in no small part due to her adopted family’s support of the orchestra over the years). The blonde girl let out a sigh as she opened her eyes again but did not focus on anything in particular as she continued to wait to go out to her seat…..

Rai Ki Wai Estate Wakaya Island, Fiji Saturday, February 15, 2025, 8:34 AM local time With Freedom City New Jersey facing another cold winter, Lawrence Harrow (along with his adopted sister Lynn Conners) had once again arranged for a trip for many of his fellow classmates to his parents’ estate on private island in Fiji. This time they would take advantage of the long weekend with President’s Day on Monday the 17th, to give them a little extra time. Given the increased number of students that would attend this year, the logistics of planning the trip had taken a bit more time than the prior year. This included an alternate form of transportation to the island for those that were leery of risking a long-distance portal, which had proven dangerous on the trip back last time. But for those willing to take the risk, they had gathered in the Main Quad at school with their luggage, and Lawerence created a portal in time and space which instantly took them from the east coast of the United States to the small South Pacific Island in an instant. The blond teen was already wearing a t-shirt and board shorts, along with a pair of aviator sunglasses, as he exited the portal, a small duffle bag over one shoulder. Although still relatively early in the morning, the air was already at least a warm and humid seventy degrees and getting warmer and more humid as the sun continued to rise into the sky. The teens that emerged from the portal found themselves on a massive wooden deck, with several small tables with chairs scattered around it. There were also multiple lounge chairs around the deck, many of them near the long pool that stretched along one side of the deck, separating it from a large, two-story building. The upper floor of the building had a covered balcony that stretched around the visible exterior and led to covered walkways that connected to smaller nearby buildings. All in all, it looked like a high-end resort but appeared completely empty save for the group of Claremont students. Around the exterior of the deck were palm trees and other tropical plants, which gave way to a large well-manicured lawn that gently slowed down hill away from the deck. About a hundred or so yards the law ended at jungle, with a couple paths visible in the tree line. And further out could be seen the clear blue waters stretching out as far as could be seen. "Welcome to Fiji, or for some of you, welcome back." Lawrence said as he turned to the gathered teenagers that had emerged from the portal. "For those that have not been here before, this is obviously the deck and pool." He stated as he gestured around them before pointing towards the large house opposite the pool. "That is the main house pavilion, which is, along with the two guest suite pavilions on the opposite side, where the ladies will be sleeping while we are here. The boys and I will use the three bungalows that are a little way down that path." he added, pointing to a path to the left of the main house. "Again, the only area off limits is the master bedroom pavilion," he continued, pointing to the visible small building connected to the main building by a covered breezeway. "Also, no messing with the security systems and if you want to leave the compound, please do so by one of the gates, either on the main road or along a path, so that you won’t trip the security and thus us having to end up with my mom dropping by in a minute or so to check on us." "The beach is down that way," He continued, turning away from the house and pointing across the groups towards one of the paths that seemed to lead towards the water beyond. "Over that way is a tennis court, which can be lit at night. The staff has the weekend off, so will not be bothering us, but they have stocked everything up for us. So, settle in, relax and the others should be arriving in not too long."

Port Regal Freedom City, New Jersey Friday January 10, 2025. 7:30 PM It was a cold, overcast late evening in Freedom City, a faint trace of snow from earlier in the week still visible in places on the ground. Out on the tip of the furthest small peninsula into the Century Narrows the most prominent feature was Ocean Heights Amusement Park. Of course, this time of year the large amusement park was dark, closed until late-Spring, its rollercoaster, Farris Wheel and other rides dark shadows against the lights of North Bay on the opposite side of the Narrows. But the presence of the amusement park meant there were other businesses that were located nearby to try to draw some of the crowds that came. Once upon a time, one such place was Pete E. Popcorn's Family Funhouse, a circus-themed family restaurant. But years ago, the business had shut down and been just generally abandoned. Growing up in Freedom City, Renee King had heard stories about the creepy abandoned location, but never really had an opportunity to try to visit. But recently, in the library at Claremont, she had come across a reference about some mystical incident at the restaurant, reviving her interest. So, she had gathered a couple of her fellow Claremont students to go with her to explore the location. The first was Riel Estime, the dimensionally displaced pirate captain, the second, Harper Hale, who as always had her trusted camera with her. As the three teens made their way down the dark street, the dark shape of Ocean Height's rollercoaster just visible in the distance, they saw a dilapidated building with a roof shaped like a circus tent. However, something was off, for some reason, the large sign on the building reading "Pete E. Popcorn's Family Funhouse" was flickering with light (although some letters remained completely dark)…

(Count as King Cole Post) January, 2025 Claremont was preparing for it's first play of the New Year. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was a 2005 Broadway production, and Renee had taken the reigns of showrunner- with a few changes appropriate to Freedom City-, to have some fun with it. She wasn't making any drastic changes, but she did want to at least make it fun. Of course that also included inviting the entire school's students to participate however they wanted; designing the stage, joining the production, helping with the back end work. It was organized chaos, because the swaps between Renee and King Cole would always cause at least a little chaos. It wasn't that they disagreed with each other, since they were the same person, but while Renee kept the process running with a steady- if anxious- hand, the King was more prone to just let chaos reign and pull it all together later, so it was a bit like having two different show-runners who had the exact same final goal but totally different processes. The star of the show, taking the place of William Morris Barfee, was Daniel Evans. William was the kid who won the spelling bee, and Renee had cheerfully placed Daniel in the lead role- the person who was also invested in becoming a famous star, he was quickly put in a major role since it was important for him-. Other students had taken other roles, while Renee hadn't taken a role this time; she wanted to focus on show-running. The play had taken over the auditorium, with chairs set up, the stage pieces being painted, the musical accompaniment getting their locations settled, mics being run, electrical lines and decorations being thrown around. Excluding when the musicians were practicing, there were small laptops or phones playing music around the area; using it to help them work. Paint was being placed on wooden backdrops, which was being hefted onto rollers. The sound system was being tested, and specific songs and moments were being rehearsed as everyone got prepared. The play was starting on the weekend, so it was the last few sprints to get everything ready, with people going in and out during free periods in school and the afternoon. Right now, class had just gotten out, but Renee had been in the auditorium for a few hours already, working to keep things set up. The King Cole, or rather, Renee, was sitting in a rope swing above the stage while pecking away at her laptop. It let her see everything, looking down over the stage, as it slowly rotated around. It was something Cole had put up, but that Renee had taken to sitting in, even though there wasn't really a use for it in the play; Cole liked to be above everyone, Renee liked to be aware of everything. "...Is everything actually going to turn out okay for once?" she asked in confusion as she surveyed the area. "...No one's sick. No one's forgetting lines...maybe everything's going to work out?" she asked. "Daniel?" she called to the other theater kid, the main star of the show. "Are you ready? And how is our stage work going?" she asked someone else, twisting around in her seat. "Music's good? Everything's working? This is actually going well? I think I'm going to lose my mind that everything is working well."

Kestevan 79 Coalition Victory Station Lor time mark 2269.1 (Friday January 10, 2025, 3:35 PM (Eastern time)) There had been numerous conversations among many of the Claremont Junior class about space and CoVic Station over the last year since Lawrence had talked about his trips there and Michael had had the opportunity to meet Paradigm (as did most of the rest of the class during the trip to the pocket timeline last February). During the League holiday party, several of the class had talked with Paradigm and the new Star Khan and the idea for a trip to visit the station by several of the Juniors, as well as Carmen had been brought up. So, in the weeks following the holiday party and even into the start of school after the winter break at the start of the week, there had been discussions and plans being made for a trip to visit CoVic Station. Those plans had been finalized by mid-week, and just after the end of classes, a group of Claremont students and Carmen had met down in the Doom Room with small bags for an overnight stay at the Praetorian headquarters on CoVic. Once everyone was gathered, Lawrence had had them gather close and then raised his hands as a wave of temporal energy swirled around them and they were gone from the school and from Earth. As the Doom Room disappeared around the teens, it was almost instantaneously replaced by a large open area as the gathered Claremont students found themselves in vast, spacious plaza. All around the edges of the plaza were various low buildings spreading out almost as far as could be seen. Off in the distance they could see what appeared to be walls, going up higher than the buildings near them. All around the plaza could be seen hundreds of figures moving about like normal pedestrians in Freedom City. However, not only were here numerous human looking individuals in utilitarian jumpsuits, but there were aliens of all types, including reptoids, felinoids, insectoids and even a few that appeared to be amorphous blobs moving on several pseudopods. Overhead was a massive domed ceiling, on which massive sections had been replaced with some sort of translucent material. Out beyond that, they could see the vast blackness of space, though half the "sky" was filled with a bright blowing cloud of various gases that formed a nebula, along with a small, brightly shining point of blue light that seemed very different than any star. Some distance away, silhouetted against the glowing gas could of the nebula was a large vortex of slowly spinning cosmic flotsam, with light ending in unnatural angles around the outer edges of the massive, semi-circular singularity. Dozens of objects, which were soon identifiable as spacecraft of all shapes and sizes could be seen moving toward, into and out of the singularity with regular frequency. "Well, welcome to CoVic Station." Lawrence said with a slight grin, though his face showed a slight bit of exhaustion from the effort to transport them around 25,000 light years from Earth. "Indeed, welcome young Claremont students." Came a deep, gravelly voice from behind the teens, speaking English with an unusual accent. Turning around, they found standing in front of the nearest building the massive eight-foot-tall reptilian Praetorian many of them had briefly met in the pocket timeline or at the League holiday party. The Praetorian had a powerful, stocky build, with green and brown scales and a ten-foot-long tail that ended in a spiked ball. "It is good to see you Seresk." Lawrence said with a smile as he stepped up to hug the massive reptoid, who gently returned the hug. "It is very good to see you as well Lawrence Harrow, you have grown since last I saw you."

Rai Ki Wai Estate Wakaya Island, Fiji Saturday, February 15, 2025 A little under half a mile to the west/southwest of the main house began a long stretch of white sandy beach that stretched over half a mile to the south, before coming to a corner. A path led downhill from the main house through the jungle down to the beach. Near the entrance to the path were several deckchairs, which could be adjusted to sit upright, or laid flat to lie down. A short distance from those was a small building, containing a number of water sport equipment, boogie boards, some windsurfers as well as a large assortment of mask, snorkels and fins. The water off the beach was crystal clear, revealing shallows that stretched out hundreds of feet before reaching coral reefs, beyond which the water darkened quickly, as the depth dropped off rapidly. The waves along the beach were low and gentle, the reef taking the brunt of the ocean tides.

Early to Mid October, 2024 It had started with a complaint to Parker and Michael while they were helping another student. Thomas- a student at Claremont with limited magnetic manipulation powers- had complained that he had been suddenly accosted by Dr. Metropolis one night while he was off school grounds. He quickly realized it wasn't Dr. Metropolis when the Hero had attacked him, displaying all the usual powers of Dr. Metropolis. But Thomas had escaped before suffering serious harm. A further investigation- and telling the teachers- had revealed more incidents. Not always Claremont students, but always superpowered people, Heroes or not; a member of the Freedom League appearing suddenly and attacking them, then leaving just as quickly. Quickly after, there had been a decision made for Claremont students. No one truly believed that the Freedom League would attack Claremont students or other super-powered individuals with no cause; not just because it was quite easy for some students to simply call their parents or guardians and confirm that-, but if someone was pretending to do it, the students of Claremont needed to be careful. And that was why they mostly now were required to travel with their teams, or with other students, to rely on safety in numbers. Call for help, don't engage if it's a bad idea, all the usual precautions. But for Heroes, and those who wanted to be Heroes, could they really stay on the sidelines when duty called? When people's lives were in danger, could they sit idly by and allow others to risk themselves, or let civilians be hurt? The question was about to be answered in the middle of Freedom City. Vueriz, Parker Powers, Lynn Conners, and Diego D'Angelo had just dropped off some archival books to the Freedom Public Library for storage; older versions of text books and spare yearbooks and copies of the School Newspaper- all stored in the public library archives-. But while they were preparing to head back to Bayview and Claremont, the Freedom Monorail passed above them, and then let out a loud groan. The front car shifted as if it's alignment had been broken. Then the second car jackknifed, bouncing violently up and down and then swinging left and right. Each car after swung even more violently, then as the fourth car hit the problem spot in the rail, the entire rail snapped; the three cars in front continued careening forward wildly, even as sparks flew from them with the emergency brake activated. Meanwhile, the fourth car was falling straight down, heading towards a congested intersection of cars and people, who were screaming as it fell towards them. Meanwhile, the metal bars and gears of the destroyed monorail line was also falling towards other people, threatening to crush them under the mass of metal. And above that, on the destroyed monorail line, bolts of lightning were striking nearby buildings as a blur of black and green sped across the shiny faces of the large buildings of Freedom's City Center, avoiding the bolts that were blowing out windows and twisting metal in the buildings.

(GM Post) Mid November, 2024, After Classes While Michael and Baz were fighting Pavo While Carmen and Mizuki were fighting Grus There were other things going on, and none of the three groups knew that the other two were also engaged in a fight against Sola's Dark Commanders. Sola and her Dark Commanders did not stop at a single action, they were always plotting many things at once; a variety of schemes and plans to attempt to reclaim the Umbra Star, to reclaim the powers used by the Sentries, to reclaim the might of Asterim so Sola could rule as the queen of a Netherworld. So while Pavo was in the middle of a brawl in Southside, and Grus was being hunted in Lincoln, Lawrence and Parker- the last remaining members of the group that had gotten into a fight with the Starblights at the start of the year- were not left out of the loop. It had been a request to Parker's phone from Estelle Jones, the individual with the power of Sentry Orion, who had been the first to be on the side of the Claremont students when Ashley and Felix had taken control of her friend group by force. She'd kept in contact with Parker, even if the group as a whole had repeatedly avoided 'going straight' as it were. They weren't actively doing bad anymore, but they had been non-committal on doing any more than that. The text was fairly simple; to come to the same theater where at the start of the year they had fought the draconic Ashley as Sentry Draco, because she needed their help with something. She knew Lawrence could teleport, at minimum, so she didn't figure that'd be too much of a problem for them to come pay her a visit.

Midtown Freedom City, New Jersey Friday January 10, 2025. 7:30 PM Lynn Conners guided the grey BMW iX electric SUV she was driving through the somewhat busy Friday night traffic of Midtown. The blonde teen was thankful that the snow that had fallen earlier in the week was gone from the streets, even as traces of it could be seen around the city. Inside the vehicle with her were Jack Davydov, Owen Akerlund and Kadene Estime, the four teens out on a double date for the evening. "This would have been so much quicker if we had a flying car." Lynn stated with a hint of a smile. "Could have avoided all this traffic and been there already." Even as the teenage speedster spoke, she pulled into the parking garage located a couple of blocks from the seafood restaurant where the four teens had a reservation for dinner. With the night air still a bit below freezing, Lynn was dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of dark, form fitting jeans, a soft red sweater and a pair of warm boots. She had a winter jacket as well, but it was folded up on the console beside her for the moment, as the inside of the SUV was a comfortable temperature. Overall, the blonde teen had seemed in a generally better mood so far this evening that was normal. After the Freedom League’s Holiday Party, Claremont's winter break had begun. While Lynn's adopted parents and brother had gone to England for the holidays, Lynn had gone with her maternal grandparents from this timeline on a ski trip to the Italian Alps and then down to Venice to spend some time with them. With classes having started back up earlier this week, this was her and Jack's first outing after they decided to start dating (as opposed to having just gone on some dates back in the fall), so there was certainly amount of excitement and nervous energy behind the blonde’s outwardly collected demeanor.

Bayview Freedom City, New Jersey Friday January 10, 2025. 7:30 PM Winter had come to Freedom City, with the weather getting much colder. This Friday night was no exception, with some traces of snow from earlier in the week still visible throughout the city. As it was the start of the weekend, that meant many students at Claremont Academy finding time to go out and try to find a fun way to spend a bit of free time away from schoolwork. One such student was Mattie Hopper. With her roommate out on a double date, Mattie had gone around their floor to find some of their friends to head out with her to see what there might be to do down near the Bayview Mall. She had managed to get Sarah Thatcher and Daphne Celeste to join her. The trio had caught a bus down to the mall, but as they drew near, their attention was drawn to a location nearby the mall, a large building with a sign that read: Ker-Pow! Amusement Center. Getting off the bus, the three teenage girls made their way back towards the building, finding a crowded parking lot and dozens of people making their way into and out of the building. Inside was large open space with bright florescent lights, pictures of members of the Freedom League (both current and former members) were everywhere inside. From what they could see, there was an arcade, a laser tag arena, a mini-golf course and even a go-kart track!

GM Afternoon, Wednesday November 13th,2024 The Schuster Auditorium, Hanover, Freedom City Now, as far as coach Armstrong is concerned, Violet Squad is in for a treat, being chosen to be the squad to join him for an incursion to Schuster Auditorium to the Ultimate Wrestling League exhibition. The somewhat rough and tumble coach, not always a hit with the students, though he proclaims that he is only acting as he is to toughen them up, is, of course, not using this as an excuse to have Claremont pay for his ticket, no. This is all for the sake of the students. "Now, isn't this excitin', kids?" he proclaims, as he stops near the entrance after having lead the squad inside the auditorium, which is filled with a people watching a number of exhibition matches between the league's super powered wrestlers. He is clad in a black jacket with the UWL logo proudly emblazoned on the back, his large blonde moustache neatly trimmed for the occasion. "See over there? And there!" The coach is excited, and the atmosphere is frankly infectious here. "Take it all in, kids. Today we're gonna learn all about the sweet art of wrasslin'!"

Dr. Charles Claremont Building, Second Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 7:12 AM Things had been somewhat chaotic after the events of earlier that morning, with the headmistress and some of the Freedom League getting involved, including going to check on the Nicolson student, Victoria, to confirm neither she nor her foster parents were in any immediate danger. Eventually Iris Miller had been able to go back to bed, though the rest of the early morning had not been the most restful sleep, as it had not been too long before she had to get up for classes for the day. As the seventeen-year-old was walking up to the second floor of the Dr. Charles Claremont Building (where many of the main classrooms were located), she heard the sounds of a violin echoing down the currently empty hallways from the direction of one of the music rooms. Inside the music room, Lynn Conners was currently playing the serenade from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1st Movement. The blonde teen was dressed in a blue and grey plaid skirt, white button-blouse over which she had a light blue sweater. She was tired and her cheeks were red from crying most of the remaining morning after she, Mattie, Iris and Carmen had finally gotten out of her nightmare. Having not really been able to sleep, Lynn had come to the music room early, to practice various pieces in the hopes that playing her violin might distract her from the memories of having to relieve so many of the terrible moments of her timeline’s destruction. However, it was not going as well as she had hoped, as in the middle of the current piece, one of her bow strokes slipped a few cords, breaking the relaxing rhythm of the music. Lowering her violin and bow, the blonde teen closed her eyes and took a deep breath, even as a new tear rolled down one cheek…

Rita Kord Dormitories, Third Floor Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 1:32 AM Over the last several months, Mattie Hopper had generally gotten accustomed to her roommate Lynn Conners having trouble sleeping. There were days where for whatever reason, things just got too overwhelming for Lynn, and she would cry herself to sleep or have to take some medication to help her get to sleep. It was also not at all uncommon for Mattie to be woken up in the middle of the night by Lynn having a nightmare. Sometimes, Lynn would toss and turn a bit, but rollover and settle down without ever waking. Other times, she would be jolted awake in tears, often taking some time to settle down and be able to go back to sleep. Tonight was completely unlike any of those other times. Mattie was jolted awake by the sound of Lynn screaming at the top of her lungs. The blonde sixteen-year-old was violently tossing in her bed, almost as if struggling, and continuing to scream so loud Mattie was sure others in nearby rooms could hear. Unlike other times Lynn had a particularly bad nightmare, this time she did not seem to be waking up. A few doors down on the floor, two of the upper classmen on the floor were indeed jarred awake by what was going on in Room 306. To Carmen Alvarez Arrache, Lynn's screams were as ear piercing as if she were in the room right next to her. Meanwhile, Iris Miller was awoken by a completely different stimulus. The young telepath felt the feelings of terror that were gripping Lynn's subconscious mind in her nightmare, ringing out as loud as any auditory scream…

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. One of the areas available was the "Royal Court," a pre-fab structure made to look like a small castle which sat at one end of the fairgrounds. The interior of the building was designed to resemble a throne room, where there were various staff acting out various court functions and interacting with visitors. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours. Lynn Conners had made her way down the main street to the Royal Court, walking along with her roommate Mattie Hooper. Like several guests at the faire, the blonde teen was in costume. In this case it was a dark green dress, with a corset, under which she wore a white blouse with somewhat billowy sleeves and brown leather gloves. The last few weeks since classes had started at Claremont had been a bit of a whirlwind. At times Lynn had almost felt a bit overwhelmed, by things, but had generally managed to keep herself from having a breakdown. Mattie's regular presence had been a big help with that, as well as her weekly counseling sessions. "There it is up ahead." The blonde said to her roommate, noting the small castle ahead of them.

(Golden Star Post) November, 2024 Doom Room, Claremont High Baz and Michael had been practicing in the Doom Room on one day. Michael had recently learned how to shoot his own type of laser beams, similar to Baz, and he had been getting help from the Insectoid student to learn more about how to use them, since he hadn't figured it out. As always, Michael was willing to ask for help when he needed it, and he'd paid for Baz's time in pizza and soda for the bug kid to eat while he tutored Michael in how to shoot laser beams. He had helped with studying too, but he knew when he needed to pay someone actual things for their help, and this was one of those kinds. His beams were golden blasts of light that erupted from his eyes or fingers, and while he had first few had been quite inaccurate, under Baz's help he was slowly becoming more and more accurate with them. He at least wasn't scorching the walls or floors as he was trying to practice. When a handful of new targets came down, floating on little drones, he focused his energy, making a glowing star on his index and middle finger. With his index finger extended, he took careful aim and blasted through a handful of targets one after the other while Baz watched. When he finished, he brought a smoking finger to his lips and blew it out like a candle with a grin to him. "...Like that, right?" he asked Baz, checking for confirmation. "You're way better at this then me, so I'm hoping I can figure this out."

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. At one end of the faire was a mostly open area set up for a number of events and activities that were more physical in nature. This included a jousting list with regularly scheduled jousting exhibitions. There was also an archery and axe throwing range, among other activities. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

Sub-Basement of Claremont Academy Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 13, 2024. 10:00 AM (Counting as GM Post) A spooky day! In theory. Friday the 13th, the day of horror and spooks. Especially one getting so close to Halloween. It was that day when the student listing of Renee Cole King, Vanya "Jack" Davydov, Harper Hale, Daphen Celeste, and Sarah Francine Thatcher were requested in a room with a very exciting name. It was noted to show up in either their uniforms or costumes and expect strenuous activity. In the case of the last group of the week, it was likely they'd already heard rumors either from other classmates or their Sophomore classmates about what to expect; that they'd get a chance in the 'fabled' Doom Room, to test their mettle and powers against some of the creatures cooked up in the complex and effective simulator. Some of the tales their upperclassmen and fellow sophomores had said about what they would encounter had been clearly exaggerated, likely in good humor for the newer students; a particular Upperclassman had regaled several students with a tale that she'd had to fight The Centurion. She'd later been sternly lectured by another Upperclassman about scaring the new students. So they probably weren't going to fight The Centurion. But others had suggested encounters that seemed more than possible; The Maestro, Dinosaurs, Orion the Hunter, just to name a few. While the stories varied in the specifics, the overarching details did indicate there was probably going to be some sort of fighting or other conflict for the students to navigate to get a hold of their powers and learn how to work as a team, and for the faculty themselves to be aware of those same factors, because nothing beat a first hand test. In that way, you could in fact take it as the first test of the new school year. The large room was mostly white and grey, covered in hexagons, and gave no indication as to what the group would be facing as they entered, heading down the stairs from the student entrance to the building. They couldn't even tell who was going to be administering the test, as the black windows in one side of the room were one way, letting the instructor see but not the students. All they had been told was to get into costume and get into the room, and the test would begin soon.

Midtown Freedom City, New Jersey Tuesday October 8, 2024. 4:45 PM The members of Red Team had been on a field trip to Freedom City University to attend a lecture on campus. After the lecture, they had returned to the school van for the trip back to Claremont Academy. Apparently, something had caused a major traffic jam on State Route 6, so the driver had tried to take them through downtown over to State Route 4. While the plan had initially worked reasonably well (even with the normal early rush-hour traffic), they were in the heart of Midtown when traffic became totally gridlocked and they had come to a complete halt. It had not taken the students long to learn the cause. The police had blocked off the street a few blocks away in response to a bank robbery that was underway. Apparently there was something else taking place in the city that had the attention of most of the police and some of the city's heroes, so there were not enough resources to respond to the bank robbery right away. After a brief call back to campus, the Headmistress had given the students permission to intervene and assist the police. So they had exited the bus and made their way to where the police blockade was set up. While the officers had initially been a bit skeptical about a bunch of teenage superheroes intervening, they had quickly realized there were not a lot of other options at the moment. The officers provided the Claremont students with what little information they had. Apparently there were about 10 or so armed men in ski masks who were being lead by Wildcard from the Crime League. They had taken several hostages in the Freedom City Trust building, an old, two story stone structure that dated back to at least World War II. It was a strong, sturdy building, with a large lobby area on the main floor and an open atrium to a balcony on the second floor around which were various office and conference rooms.

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. One large area of the fair was the market. It was a collection of pre-fab buildings designed to resemble European buildings from the Renaissance as well as stalls and carts set up to create an almost maze-like series of alleyways among them. Contained within were various shops that offered all manner of themed goods and gifts, as well as a number of food carts, stalls and even a couple of buildings set up to resemble taverns. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

Bayview Mall, Early October, 2024 October was getting started early at the Bayview Mall. A legion of 12 foot tall Skeletons guarded the entrance to the Mall. In the open planned courtyard of the mall, you could take pictures with cut outs of Freddie, Jason, the Predator, and other horror movie icons. For kids, Scooby-Doo and Freddie Fazbear and the like offered much more sanitized versions of spooks and scares, all alongside the classic witches and goblins and ghouls. Carmen Alvarez Arrache, Harper Hale, Katherine "Kate" Melita Devon-Leeds, and Alden Underwood were also at the Bayview Mall. There was an overarching reason for this, alongside a few specific individual reasons to draw the Claremont Students to the mall. Harper Hale was getting pictures for her first article in the Claremont school paper; an article on the Halloween decorations going up around town, the new Halloween activities at the Bayview Mall included. The current fun was getting a special set of commemorative stickers if a young child in question went to all the special zones set up and got signatures from the Head Witch of the Coven, the Skeleton King, The Zombie Lord, The Werewolf Pack Leader, and Frankenstein. While Halloween wasn't for a few weeks yet, it was nice to get out and do stuff like this early, especially when many stores were offering Halloween discounts and stores putting up early Halloween costumes- the Freedom League was a popular as ever-, so a family could do a lot of their Halloween shopping very early in the month. Meanwhile, Carmen as a Senior had been given her own mission; to get some decorations that were going to be going up on Claremont's Campus for the month. They'd run out in the middle of putting up decorations, and Michael had begged Carmen to take his (mother's) card and go pick up some more Halloween stuff; another few skeletons, some witches and skulls and jack-o-lanterns. Due to certain other issues going on, Claremont students were expected to go out with their teams as much as possible, and as such Kate and Alden had, additionally, been asked by Claremont's local super-powered Golden Retriever to go with her and help her carry back the supplies. So the 4 members of the Green Squad were currently in the Bayview mall, carrying out their specific tasks and keeping an eye on each other to make sure that no one got concerned. Accompanying them- partially to help Carmen as well, but also as an adult figure in charge-, was the new School Nurse, Anna-Marie Delgado. An older woman in her mid 50s born in Mexico, like Carmen she was a native Spanish speaker, a handsome older woman with dark hair and eyes. She was content to let Carmen handle the transactions of business, working purely as a social support, since the school wanted Carmen to get a little more comfortable in her own skin as she got closer to graduation. Everywhere in the Bayview mall, young kids ran about watched over by their parents as the Claremont students carried out their tasks. It was a nice day, and it seemed like nothing was going wrong.

Fair Grounds (near Ocean Heights Amusement Park) Port Regal, Freedom City, New Jersey Friday September 27, 2024. 3:00 PM As had been the case for well over a decade, the last full week of September had the fairgrounds near Ocean Heights Amusement Park was host to the Freedom City Renaissance Faire. The faire was spread out across the grounds, with various areas each offering a different experience. With a variety of events that required horses or other animals, one area of the faire was comprised of stables and animal pens to house the various animals when they were not needed. Also included in this area was a small petting zoo to allow for children to be among some of the animals. With the faire soon to wrap up at the end of the weekend, Claremont Academy had arranged for students that wished to attend to be excused from their last class of the day and had provided buses to transport the students to the fairgrounds. After the buses arrived at the parking area, the students were free to go where they wished for the next several hours.

Sub-Basement of Claremont Academy Bayview, Freedom City, New Jersey Monday September 9, 2024. 10:00 AM The start of the school year had been Monday, which had brought with it all the chaos of the first day of school, figuring out where all the classes where, making last minute changes to schedules, and more. Given one of Claremont's unique (and secret) purposes was helping teenagers with meta-human powers learn to control and better use their powers, this included time being schedule for new students to have some time in the Doom Room so the staff could get some baseline readings on their abilities. Six of the new class of Sophomores had their sessions scheduled for mid-morning on the second day of classes: Kate Devon-Leeds, Lynn Conners, Gookgak, Owen Akerlund, Reil Estime, and Kadene Estime. As they had been told to be ready for combat simulation and other strenuous activity, the teens had been told to wear the Claremont school uniform, or their costumes (if they had them). So Lynn and gone back to her and Mattie’s dorm room and changed into her costume before making her way down to the Doom Room. Once in costume, the blonde teen had felt a bit more comfortable at moving at full speed, so had been one of the first to arrive. She was dressed in a skin-tight black body suit with red stripes, gloves and boots, along with black goggles with red lenses. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail to help keep it out of her way. Lynn looked about the large room that was located with one of the sub-basements beneath the school's grounds as she waited for some of her classmates to arrive. The room was rather Spartan, with smooth white and grey walls, a floor that had a hexagon pattern and a high, almost cavernous ceiling. Along one of the walls, a couple dozen feet above the floor, there was a dark set of plexiglass windows. While she had never been in the Doom Room before (either here or in her original timeline), Lynn had trained some in the Freedom League’s Wreck Room, so she had at least had some understanding of what to potentially expect from this session.