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Skaw, Unst, The Ice Maiden December 30, 3:00 PM With nowhere to go for the holidays Phaedra visited with Cathy and her family in the Shetlands. The visit wasn't unpleasant, time spent with Cathy was never unpleasant for the young half-angel, but it did leave her questioning her place in the world. Now she was sitting by herself in a pub halfway around the world, gazing down into her untouched drink and hoping her uncle--of sorts--got her message. And until--or if--he showed up Ms. Morningstar was left alone with her thoughts, in the dead of winter, halfway around the world she doesn't belong in.

October 22, 2015 Heyzel's years among the mortal had taught him many things - that the Angel of Freedom preferred to be active at a global level rather than a local one, that he preferred the work of peace to the work of violence, and that there was indeed more in Heaven and Earth than had been written in his philosophy. It had also taught him, among other things, a love for the dramatic. So it was that when he brought his sister-daughter Phaedra to Freedom City to begin her time with at Claremont Academy, he chose to arrive in the style of his people. Not in a vision - but from the sky. From a height above the clouds, he gave Ardent a reassuring smile. "Come. Let us introduce you to your friends." He worried for the young celestial, as did all those of his kind who did not condemn her for the circumstances of her birth. Angels have this greater than mortals. We need not pray for mercy - we can BE mercy. Convincing his fellows of that had proven a difficult task; which was why he was here to begin with. - Claremont students saw their headmaster walk into the middle of the quad and look up - and a moment later, like a bolt from above, two figures came down out of the sky like twin bolts from the blue and the distant but unmistakable sound of thunder! The first was instantly recognizable for who he was; Heyzel, the Angel of Freedom, reserve member of the Freedom League. The other was entirely new. "Callie Summers," said Heyzel, bowing his head low to her, his great white wings spreading wide behind him and his flaming sword at his belt. "It is a pleasure to visit your campus again." "You certainly are as subtle as ever, Freedom Angel," commented Summers dryly, looking him up and down. "The Lord will provide for your security," he told her with perfect faith. "Come, meet my niece."

September 21, 2011 Freedom Hall Under normal circumstances, Freedom Hall might be evacuating through the teleporters rather than through the garden, but then it was only recently that Freedom Hall had gained the services of the famous Fleur de Joie. Lacking the power to journey into space, and having freshly returned from his unsuccessful visit to Heaven, Freedom Angel was focused on the people now, moving through the small crowd of citizens who had been called up as part of the League's emergency evacuation program: there were heroes' families here and dependents, a sampling of survival experts and doctors, anybody who could help set up a camp on an alien world and maintain it long enough for the heroes of Freedom City to save the day. "God is watching everything we do," Freedom Angel assured the small group of families; mostly Navy families from Lonely Point, who were next on the list, "and He watches over us even now. Have no doubt that with His guidance and with the courage and skill of the Freedom League and the other heroes of the world, we will save this planet and everyone on it." "So why do we have to go?" asked a combative-looking girl of about 12, giving the angel a suspicious look. "If everything's going to be okay, why can't I stay with my mom?" Her dad was holding her, hands on her shoulders, but it looked like he had questions for the angel as well, and even as he heard the little fwoop that signaled a successful transfer of the other group, the angel knew he had to say something to satisfy these frightened people. "Because we need your mom to help save the world," replied the angel seriously. "The base at Lonely Point is helping coordinate the League's war with the Gorgon and her creatures in the depths of space. And if your mom knows, and if all your families know," he added, speaking now to the larger group, "they'll be able to concentrate on helping save the world, not just worrying about the ones they love. It's a tough duty," he added. "I know you would rather stay here with the ones you love. But this is a sacrifice we have to make the world that we know and love can be guarded. Sanctuary is a fine, green place," he promised the others as he opened the garden door. "You will love it. Fleur, are we ready for the next group?" he called.

September 20-27, 2011 Fleur, Freedom Angel, Psyche, Phalanx, Dark Star deal with the evacuees to Sanctuary

June 3, 2011 9 AM Secure in his locked-down office, Warden Drummer stared at the broadcast again, his mouth a tight line of pure rage. "When I find out how he managed to build twenty robot bees in solitary in my prison, I will find whoever is responsible and I will murder them. I have been in the corrections business for twenty-five years. I know how to make it look like an accident!" He sighed, looking again around his office. Too bad there was no one around to hear it; that had been one of his more satisfying rants. With a curse, he picked up the secure landline on his desk and dialed the Freedom League...

5/16/2011 Midtown His mother didn't complain, of course she didn't. There was no hiding the extent of her wound, though; the long, deep gouge of burning acid that had cut across her armor and into angelic flesh beneath, inflicting a wound terrible enough that surely any mortal would have died of shock at least. As it was, she simply bit her lip and stared wordlessly at father and son, the harsh reality of the material plane both dulling the agony of her wound and making its treatment all the more urgent. "CALL YOUR FRIEND," said Heyzel's father in that deep, booming voice he used in the material world. "BEFORE WE HAVE TO GO EVEN FURTHER BELOW TO FIND SUCCOR." For his part, the angel of Freedom was worried. He hadn't expected to find the place nearly deserted! Fleur de Joie was on patrol, or at least garden patrol, when her phone rang. Things had been quiet for the League in the last few months, quite a blessing with her baby growing closer and closer to fruition, and calls on her special League line hadn't come in that often. What was really peculiar, though was the caller ID that told her the call was coming from her own apartment. "Hello, Fleur? It's Heyzel." The Angel of Freedom had been out of town for much of the last few months, but she'd caught occasional glimpses of him on the international news. "I'm sorry to call you," he said, urgency in his rich, warm voice, "but I have a wounded soul who needs your help. Please come back to your apartment as soon as you can."

Erik Espadas tugged uncomfortably at the collar of his dress shirt as his sister helped their mother wheel herself off of the bus and onto the sidewalk. "Is this really necessary?" he grumbled as the trio started off toward St. Stephens. "What, running around in tights makes you too good to go to church with your mother?" Gina Espadas countered from her wheelchair. A dark haired woman in her mid forties, she's made a point of maintaining her athletic build regardless of early retirement. Though her features weren't quite so angular as those of her two children, it was clear where they had inherited their mannerisms. Her son winced. "Jeez, Mamá, trying to keep somebody out of the loop on that, y'know?" The young swordsman was still adjusting to the new situation with his family and secret identity as Jack of all Blades. "Nobody's around to hear," Ellie countered, stifling a yawn and absently smoothing a crease in her black pants. "Everyone else is asleep at this hour." With her hair cut shorter and dyed dark, the resemblance to her mother was considerably more pronounced. "You'll live, dear," Gina opined wryly, easily rolling herself up the church's ramp. "Late nights," Erik stated, holding the broad door open for the ladies. "One more reason to rethink this 'sidekick' thing, hermanita." Ellie responded with a snort as the family entered the building. "That's 'partner', hotshot."

Every now and then people wake up with that feeling in their stomach that the day is going to suck. They’ve got no reason for that belief. As far as they know, this is just another ordinary day, and most of the time it really is just a normal day. Other times however... you wish you had stayed in bed. Today will fall into the latter category. The early morning passes just like any other day. People get up, say good bye to their families and head off to work or to school or run some errands. But then, right before 11 o’clock things turned real sour, real fast. Monsters were lose in the streets, seemingly appearing out of no where. Heedless of the danger, the heroes sprang into action as the first explosion broke the early morning silence. The scene before you was one of wanton destruction. It was a rampage, nothing but the after effects of brutal savagery. And judging from the roars and shockwaves, there was still something out there hell bent on destroying everything it came across. Smoke was already billowing high into the sky, and you could taste the ash in the air.

Lent came sooner than usual this year, what with Easter set as early as it could possibly be. St. Stephen's was decorated for the season with a purple altar cloth and sextet of taper candles, a far cry from the opulent preparations of the Christmas season. The smell of burnt candles and old incense hit Erin first as she pushed open the heavy front door of the church, late one evening at the end of February. She'd half-hoped that the church would be locked and dark, but with one of the heavenly host in residence, it appeared that visiting hours were extending later than usual. Despite wishing for the confidence boost she got from her uniform, Erin had come in street clothes tonight, and she stuck her hands in the pockets of her puffy blue jacket as she walked into the sanctuary. The conversation had ended... poorly last time, but after a lot of arguing with herself, Erin had to come back to the church eventually. She still had questions that needed answers. This time, though, she hadn't brought James. He was a good friend to have at her back, but she suspected that there would be no productive conversation with him around. Her footsteps echoed off the vaulted ceiling, each creak sounding loud in the silence.

The snow had hit Freedom City hard. Not quite as badly as some cities further south, but they'd gotten a few inches dumped on them, enough to make the roads treacherous and hero work a misery, even for those who were immune to most weather effects. It wasn't easy to fight crime you couldn't even see. But with the snow still falling quietly outside, it was a good night to snuggle in under the covers, or, for those who weren't sleeping types, to hole up indoors and try to relax a little. James hadn't had as much time to relax lately as he was used to, with all the extra work he was doing outside the school, but he managed to make his way to the common room tonight, as he still did a couple of times a week. Erin was there already, like she usually was when she wasn't busy with her own training. From the look of her windburnt cheeks and hands, she'd been training tonight already, and had likely only avoided frostbite thanks to her healing abilities. She looked up from the Sunday newspaper she was reading and gave him a nod of greeting. "Hey, I see you're staying where it's warm tonight. Smart," she added with a wry grin.