Search the Community

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.

(GM Post) Late November, Early December, 2024 Atlantis Casino The sights and sounds of Atlantis were going. It had always struggled on the Boardwalk; it attempting to portray itself as a blistering summer paradise when it was in New Jersey was constantly a source of trouble. They had to spend a lot of money, especially in Winter, to keep the temperature in the building at the climate of a tropical vacation. They had to import sand, exotic plants, have fire dancers and hula parties, all things that were simply extremely expensive when it was freezing cold and snowy out in New Jersey, and it meant people staying often had to bring two sets of clothes, one for outside and one for the casino, or be miserable in one environment or the other. It would, ideally, be used to corral people into staying specifically in the Casino, but given that it was Freedom City, the City of Tomorrow, that wasn't something that was reasonable most of the time. But they were running a special promotion now. A treasure hunt for 1 million dollars; claiming for it to be the treasure of the cursed Captain Carver, the deadliest pirate Freedom City ever saw- existence unverified-. That it had been hidden somewhere in the Casino, and all one had to do was follow the clues and solve the puzzles, and they could inherit the treasure of Captain Carver. It was a type of promotion that casino's often ran, usually resulting in more visitors. And more visitors were coming to visit Atlantis, hoping to find Captain Carver's treasure and finding the fun in the paradoxical tropical paradise casino in the middle of freezing New Jersey. It was one fine day in Atlantis, the air filled with tropical music; waiters in hula skirts and coconut bikinis delivered drinks in tiki containers. There was sand scattered across the 3rd floor's slot area, with visitors forgoing their shoes to wander on the sandy 'beach', filled with slot machines. Then the rumble started. Quiet at first, low and slow. People didn't notice. Especially as someone had just gotten a massive jackpot, and the dancers and lights and sounds were going wild. But then it got too large to ignore, strong enough that people were shaken entirely off their feet, falling to the ground. The elevator opened, and a flood of water poured out of it, soaking into the sand, frying the jackpots. Riding the waters was a ghostly pirate; pale, wrapped in seaweed, swinging a cutlass. "YO HO! I BE CAPTAIN CARVER, AND I NOT BE LETTING ANYONE ELSE BE HAVING MY TREASURE!!!!" ----------------------------- One Week Later Lulu Beaumont and Niki Dee have both been hired, requested, and paid well to come and visit Atlantis; to try and come to understand why there was a haunting going on at Atlantis. They had been invited to a meeting in a beautifully decorated office; filled with tiki masks and other culture artifacts, and fish swimming in a tropical tank. The chairs were comfortable, but for the moment, the desk was empty, waiting for the person they were supposed to meet.

Freedom Hall City Center Freedom City, New Jersey Friday, December 13, 2024. 5:37 PM The holiday season had fully settled over Freedom City, with much of the city covered with lights and other decorations. The City Center was no exception, with dazzling light and holiday decorations covering the surrounding buildings and the massive Christmas tree that stood in the heart of the park at the center of Centennial Circle, just out in front of City Hall. One section of the park was not an open-air ice-skating rink, filled with people enjoying the clear (if cold) evening. Freedom Hall, the world-famous headquarters of the Freedom League, was no less festive. The multi-story, tiered building was covered in lights, as were many of the pine trees on the grounds. The high walls that surrounded the property were also festively decorated, with lights and other decorations spaced around the entire perimeter. Tonight, the building was hosting the Freedom League’s annual holiday party, open to heroes from across the city (and far beyond). Unsurprisingly, the larger lobby and reception area had been virtually transformed for the event. A fifteen-foot-tall Christmas tree had been set up to the right side of the lobby next to the grand staircase to the second level balcony that led to hallways to other areas of the floor. It was covered in shining silver ornaments and multicolored lights. Near the tree were several gathered sofas and chairs, arranged in small groups to provide comfortable seating for guests. On the opposite side of the lobby were more sofas and chairs, this time set up near a working fireplace (which had been put in place for the event by Dr. Metropolis). Along the wall was a long bar (where Protectron was again serving as bartender), next to an open door to a large conference room which had been set up tables covered with refreshments. Megan Howell-Harrow stood near the entrance to Freedom Hall, looking back in at the decorations, making one last check to ensure everything was in place and ready for the guests to start arriving. The blonde woman was wearing the iconic yellow costume (with the checkered flag patterned stripe down the sides) that she wore as Velocity. However, she did not have her mask, goggles or wig on, having revealed her identity at last year’s holiday party. Satisfied that everything was ready, the Freedom League member let herself relax a bit as she waited for guests to start to arrive. Similar to last year, Megan found herself filled with some mixed emotions. On one hand, Christmas time had always been one of her favorite times of year and she was looking forward to celebrating the season with her friends, teammates and other heroes. However, she was also cognizant that this could be a difficult time for the teenage girl she had adopted, Lynn Conners, the daughter of an alternate timeline version of Megan. This would be the girl’s first holiday season since she had lost everything in the destruction of her timeline. While Lynn was making new friends and Claremont, she still was dealing with a lot of trauma and depression, so Megan was planning to keep an eye on her tonight to make sure she did not get overwhelmed. Letting out a deep breath, the speedster turned away and prepared to start greeting guests as they arrived until some of her other teammates arrived. Holding up her phone, she activated the Christmas themed playlist she had put together, with Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree being the first song to play through the Hall’s sound system.

GM Evening, March 22nd, 2024 A local, somewhat small, but still with plenty of room, show stage Tokyo The music is loud, and so are the fans, as Multiplicity has taken the stage. Normally, they would be playing back home in Freedom City, but ever since Neko had started helping build their social media presence, the band had started to gain a massive following in Japan. More than enough to get an invitation to go there to play, taking the stage together with Neko. Both Neko and Bernadette and Neko has both brought their boyfriends along, and despite their somewhat strained relationship, both Charlie and Leon had come along. Despite Charlie's offer of taking the Young Guardians' jet, they had traveled commercial, which had been quite an experience, but now they were here. The lightshow that illuminated the hall turns off, and the crowd goes quiet, waiting for Multiplicity and Neko to start the show.

GM December 24th, 9.30PM, 2024, Christmas Eve Emerald City, OR, Emerald Tower, Christmas Complex As it had for many thousands of years, a gentle, steady rain fell onto the mist-shrouded shore. Where once it had fallen only on rocks and trees, then glorious techno-sorcerous towers, then rocks and trees again with some humble wooden longhouses and skin tents, it now fell on two vast and dazzling cities. In those cities was a celebration that had demanded a new structure, one linking the downtown Emerald Tower of MarsTech with the nearby headquarters of Grant Conglomerates, KessKorp, Atlas Mountain Sports and Nova Communications. The so-called Christmas Complex, a flattened red-glass dome supported by spiderwebs of metal struts and columns at key points, had flown up and been completed at a pace even supporters called "unsettling." Its span was in the thousands of feet and it soared high above the city below. And inside was the biggest party in the world, the All-Heroes Christmas Bash. Music thudded through the floor, though only people actually in the various mini-venues would have heard the various acts performing. Automated food carts prowled the seething crowds, wearing friendly robotic faces and greeting guests in their preferred tongues with unerring accuracy. A tree of lights like a nebula come to Earth floated in the centre of the Complex, brightening up a vast stage dominated by a big red present marked "From: Max To: Everyone." People from across the world milled through the central hub, or gathered in smaller nooks, all invited because of some conspicuous act of heroism. Standing almost a head above everyone there walked the flying phaser Wyt Sky, Singapore's greatest hero since the third Merlion perished fighting the Katanarchists in 2008. Laughing awkwardly in a circle of adoring fans, Marie Dulent of Louisiana explained again how her rescue of an elderly couple in a flood was simply the will of La Sirena. Dr. Phil Pech, who'd been working on flu vaccinations his whole life and didn't entirely understand the point of the event, sat in a corner with some colleagues to quietly drink. Much more conspicuous and surprising were the guests of honour: the Gardner family. Both Raymond Sr., the Freedom League's former Captain Thunder, and Raymond Jr., the energy-being hero Thunderbolt, wore sky-blue suits, though of course the son "wore" his regular containment apparatus underneath. Much-reduced since his days as an active hero, the father still cut a commanding figure, and despite their advancing years he and his wife Nancy scoured the floor, warmly greeting old friends (or even just mildly-familiar faces) and eagerly hatching plans to connect again soon. Ray Jr. was occupied on an upper balcony, talking emphatically with a serious-looking spectacled blonde woman in a Christmas-y coloured dress patterned with interlocking Penrose triangles. The corporations that had funded and organized the event weren't left out in the cold. At each "corner" of the Complex, the company building it was attached to had their own entourage and proffered spectacles. At the southmost point, industrial giant KessKorp's newly-invigorated management had put together an expo on protective equipment for the discerning consumer, MC'd by a polished and professional gentleman whose nametag identified him as "Joe." After their automated car scare earlier in the year, it might have been in poor taste, but seeing what the portable (and affordable!) field-generators and near-super-tech armor weaves could stand up to was unquestionably impressive. Notable by his absence was the man of the hour, Max Mars. In fact, his company had no clearly-signposted presence at all. But the press and guests buzzed on excitedly over one thing Max had pledged shortly before the party began: he would be revealing the future of heroes.

Mid October, 2024, Emerald City There had been a rash of car crashes and accidents on the road lately. Over the last week, it had happened enough that news was reporting on the sudden surge of automobile accidents. The police were repeatedly reminding people to be careful when driving, basically every news program included a five minute speech from the police chief. Look both ways, don't look at your phone, keep the radio turned down, always be aware of others. It didn't really seem to be helping though. Crashes were still constantly occurring, hourly or even faster. Heroes around the city were going almost from accident to accident, as much as EMTs, trading shifts to constantly make sure none of the crashes got out of hand. It had been almost 8 days of this; exhaustion was nearing it's peek. And then the Kessler Industrial Technology Building that the Emerald Spider had been in a few weeks ago, repaired and functioning, replaced all it's adds for a few seconds with a blinking green spider symbol. It went back to adds for a moment, then flashed with the spider again. Someone was requesting a meeting with the Emerald Spider on top of the skyscraper.

GM Saturday Afternoon in November 2024 Outside Pizano's Pizzaria, Grenville Owen was the first to the pizza shop, and he sat nervously on the curb. Despite his roommate, his sister, and Gookgak not having a phone, he was able to arrange a time to get pizza with them. Joining them was Luke, also known as Nightscale, a Claremont graduate he met recently. Owen was dressed in a solid color maroon T-shirt and jeans, and his new Converse sneakers tapped a relentless rhythm against the pavement as he bounced his knee. He was a bit nervous, not just about being out in the city for the first time, but hanging with his new friends. His first few months at Claremont had been a whirlwind of classes, training, and meeting new people. This was really the first chance he had to get out into the city and not worry about what was coming up with his classes, and he couldn't help but keep his head on a swivel as he took in the new sights and sounds. Speaking of new sights, Owen had to constantly remind himself that Riel and his twin weren't from this dimension, and nor was Gookgak. Maybe Luke would be able to balance the group out... The restaurant they were meeting at was a small, family-owned pizza shop called Pizano's. Owen had never been there, of course, but their online ratings were stellar. The shop had seating for around 50, with a red-and-white checkered tile floor and photographs on the wall of celebrities that had eaten there. The prices were reasonable too, something that Owen was definitely aware of. I'll really need to get a job soon...

GM Bedlam City September 28th, Late Evening... It was a brave man to store Gold anywhere in Bedlam, at least anywhere that was not behind six feet of solid steel. Things tended to go missing in Bedlam City, and Gold tended to go missing a lot. But a rumour had circulated that one of the dozens of corrupt business and officials that infested Bedlam had sequestered a ton of cash - in the form of gold bricks - in the basement of... ...a discoteque. Yes, thats right, a discoteque. It was called THE BASS BEAT. Although both "B"'s tended to flicker on and off, sometimes for several seconds, much to the amusement of everyone. Probably a bad bit of wiring. Probably a bad bit of wiring nobody was inclined to fix. NIghtscale had arrived, his Dragon-senses acute to the fact that there was an incredible amount of gold - possibly cursed gold - stored here. And that was something a dragon could not occur. And Rosa Thorn, Occult Investigator? Nobody had there nose to the ground more than Rosa Thorn. She had caught wind of the number of cursed artifacts pouring into the States like a trickle that was threatening to become a river. And apparently some ancient Chinese Gold, cursed to bring fire and disaster to whoever owned it, had been siphoned off by some crooked pharmaceutical company. And presumably was going to be siphoned off by some crooked official in that crooked company. That was the way of things. Rosa knew the flow of such things, and had managed to find out (via various means and loose tongues) the location of the cursed gold. The Bass Beat!

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 the heart of the faire was the town square, an open courtyard like area with side streets that led to the other areas of the faire. Several seating areas for guests were set up in sections of the square. From time-to-time various performers moved about the open spaces entertaining small groups of guests. Off to one side of the square was a small stage, which was the site for several scheduled performances throughout the day. 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.

(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."

(GM Post) A video recording. It's a heavily defended, heavily prepared research station in a frozen area of Norway. The kind surrounded by chain link fences with cameras on every inch of the perimeter. The recording is splicing several different video feeds at once, too fast for a human brain to check. No one enters through the perimeter. Suddenly, there's a portal of reddish pink energy inside the first door. The guards are immediately on alert, but people quickly move to attack. A man, shaved head, summons an energy shell of the same color around him; a giant, vicious octopus that grabs and slams the guards with great force and vigor, the shell protecting him from bullets and shock staffs. The second is a woman, clearly the leader, who walks with the gait of someone who feels invulnerable. She weaves between bullets, demonstrates amazing strength and endurance even without a shell of energy. When confronted by a squad of guards, she paralyzes them in place; overwhelming their minds and causing them all to collapse. She's accompanied by the third; a woman almost hiding behind her, coward and avoiding the conflict. When someone tried to sneak up behind her, she suddenly turned, finding them and- with a wave of her hand in defense-, sends the guard tumbling through a portal that opened at their feet, disappearing from those cameras and reappearing buried in a snowbank at the perimeter. The carnage continues; doorways are ripped away, eye checks and finger checks are opened using unconscious guards. With each flicker of the screen, with each reset of the camera to show more visual data, they proceed deeper and deeper into the faculty. They finally reach the end. A massive room filled with a thousand drawers set into the wall. They check a computer, then retrieve one of the boxes. Their exit is much less spectacular. The cowardly one summons a portal, and they leave. The video ends. The member of the SOG (Swedish Special Operations Task Group) was a model soldier, if a bit young, dark haired and sunken eyes. He hadn't been able to keep up with the video, but he'd gone over it before. The high speed video play- a 15 minute insertion played back over just a single minute- had been intended purely for Angelic, sent directly to her as members of the SOG and other governmental military bigwigs were in the room. Angelic had been called specifically by the SOG. She'd been relayed most of the information, but this was the first time she was seeing the video. She had been asked, simply, to volunteer her time and expertise. There hadn't been a discussion of her acting as a Superhero and stepping in to stop the issue (yet. But it was definitely coming), but they had been clear they wanted someone from Sweden, a national, to assist, as this was a matter of personal national security, not just world security; it was their vault that got broken into, their sovereignty being abused by these mercenaries, their country being threatened. "Their name is MEDUSA. We don't know what it stands for yet, but we know what they stand for. Metahuman superiority. They're highly trained, powerful terrorists, going by Gorgon, the Leader, Typhon, the Muscle, and the teleporter named Charybdis. They're dangerous to engage with, remorseless and violent. We don't know where they got their powers, and we're not sure where their base is. So we're working pretty blind here." the member of SOG explained. "But we know what they took. That was an infectious disease laboratory, and they took a highly contagious strain of Tuberculosis. I don't know how that gets them to their metahuman superiority, but I think we can generally put the dots together that they're intending to modify the disease and create another pandemic. Our hope is that you'll help us deal with them, and maybe return the disease to the vault, if you can manage it. We'd at the very least hope you can help us figure out what they're going to be doing for their next steps. We're not necessarily asking you to fight, just...to help in some way, especially if they're going to be operating here for the foreseeable future, and we have no reason to think they're moving on yet."

GM Afternoon, November 17th Traveling across the North Sea, heading for Norway Once again, a rescue mission. The members of Rex Atom's Atom Academy squad has spent the time since the group formed on a number of smaller and large scale missions, but now, they are joined by the newest member of their squad: Levity, gravity controller and pilot extraordinaire. A student at the Atom Academy noticed some strange readings caught by a satellite they had helped send into orbit, which seems to originate from the mountains of Norway. Exotic energy pulses from deep within the mountains, that spell out the morse code .../---/... , but their point of origin should be solid bedrock. A mystery, just the kind that the Atom Academy specializes in. They will reach the site soon, but they have time for the final preparations.

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.

Mid October, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada WELCOME TO THE CITY OF LIGHTS welcome to the city of lost hope WELCOME TO THE SILVER CITY welcome to the tarnished land WELCOME TO THE CAPITAL OF SECOND CHANCES welcome to the kingdom of despair WELCOME TO THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD welcome to the capital of broken dreams The orb was advertising a magic show. The monorail sped by it. The convention center was hosting a MLM conference for make-up sellers. On the Strip, in every casino, in the capital of glamor, under lights that never dulled for even a moment, people gambled away fortunes. In the MGM Grand a UFC fight was being broadcasted around the world, men putting their bodies on the line to prove they were the best at fighting. In the Paris, in a small stage underground, just off to the side of the underground casino area, someone else was preparing to try and prove they were the best at something. Luther Earl LeGrasse had a small stage off the underground; only a few dozen people- maybe 50- could cram into the felt seats tucked away in a corner. Luther wasn't performing for a huge crowd tonight, he wouldn't be at all in Vegas. But it was a crowd, and the money was good enough. He was crammed into the back room of the stage in a dressing room maybe a bit too small, but there were people alive who would kill to play in Las Vegas, and Luther Earl LeGrasse was going to get to do so. In Vegas, happiness and despair flowed in equal measures; someone won a fortune the same time someone lost one. Good for the Void, bad for the world, most likely. But right now, the most pressing thing was the performance, ready to begin in just a few minutes, to a handful of bored retirees who wanted to rest their arms from pulling the machines- though most of the machines were buttons now, not levers- to listen to someone play some Jazz music.

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.

GM 17th October, Early Afternoon Freedom City Zoo Arctus and Slipstream had formed a friendship of sorts, and had, on a brisk and cloudless afternoon, found themselves in Freedom City Zoo for fun, japes, and perhaps even entertaining the chimpanzees and gorillas (of which there were both). Halloween was still a week or two away, but the hints of festivities to come were there. Adverts of special halloween events, pumpkins on sale, and so on. And, with this being a full moon night on a cloudless day, there was a certain ambience. The sun was low, and setting. In a half hour the stars would be twinkling. The moon was already in the sky, and full to the brim. The mysterious spirit Sunshade, a shadow who fed on repressed anger, had not bothered Jack since their first encounter, with Jack leaving him bloated and obese, so stuffed he could hardly move. And yet, like an itch, or an inkling, Jack knew the spirit was there. Sunshade himself had said that he had never, in centuries or millenia, had such a feast as Arctus - who was repressing the bear rage within. But! for now, the snakes were hissing, the wolves were howling, and the chimpanzees were going "ook" in a delightful way!

GM 3:30 PM, Friday April 12th, 2024 City Center, Freedom City Powers Holdings Office Building It started innocently enough. Parker had been to a family dinner, his family had asked him about his friends and students, and he had mentioned a few of them. When he mentioned Iris and Daniel and their telepathic powers, Tracy, his older sister, had perked up and asked more about them, how powerful they were and so on. Apparently, one of the R&D teams under her is working on a device that should, hopefully, be able to expand the scope of telepathic powers, potentially allowing a telepath to aid rescue efforts in a much wider area in terms of catastrophes. So... Parker had asked Iris and Daniel to come with him, explaining things as well as he could, and when Michael had overheard, Parker invited him along as well. The weather is nice for mid-April, as the group exits the car that had been sent to get them once classes were over for the day, once it has stopped in front of the Powers Holdings office building in Midtown. The building doesn't particularly stand out. Sure, it is tall, but so are most of the buildings in midtown, and the area is dominated by Freedom Hall, City Hall and the DuTemps Building, so, it doesn't particularly stand out. Still, there is a big POWERS HOLDINGS INC. name plate over the revolving glass doors, and on the window next to them, the large P with an explosion inside the upper part of the letter that makes up the Powers Holdings logo, which makes it easy to identify the building, at least.

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.

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…

McGinnis Tech January 2025 A brand new year meant a brand new expo for McGinnis Tech. People in suits, rich people with badges. This was life for the rich and well made McGinnis family. And of course Tyson and Cameron were out there schmoozing, leaving Oz to his own devices. Poor little Oz, always left out. Tyson and Cameron were meeting with share holders, shaking hands, and generally being the most visible part of the McGinnis clan. But what was Oz doing? In this building, 20 stories high and gleaming, while everyone was off for today or gathered in the main lobby, with all the biggest, fanciest prototypes that the company was working for out in the main area.

(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.

GM Kirby Art Museum Parkside, Freedom City, New Jersey December 17th, 2024, 11 AM It was a balmy morning in Freedom City. The Kirby Art Museum was just about to open for the day, and there was a small line to get in. There was excitement in the air as museum attendees jammed their hands in their pockets and breathed into clasped hands to keep warm. Their newest exhibit, "Freedom City in Popular Culture" opened that day, and everyone was excited to see it. Paintings, advertisements, rare comic books, and movies, all made by Freedom City locals would be on display. Reporters from local newspapers waited impatiently, clutching their cameras and sound equipment, eager to be the first inside. The museum, two stories tall, is a work of art in and of itself with a beautiful crystal spire atop it visible from miles around. Having suffered from super-battles in the past, security guards wearing Kevlar vests with futuristic-looking pistols in their holsters patrol up and down the line, occasionally talking into their earpieces. They weren't about to have another incident on museum grounds: twice was quite enough. Everyone in line had to wait a bit longer, as the security team was taking every precaution to ensure the valuable exhibits remained where they belonged. Finally, the doors opened, and a slow trickle of attendees were allowed inside. Owen was waiting at the back of the line, looking around for his friends. "Are you guys on your way?" he sent via group text.

GM February 1st, 2024 The Digital Den, a hip and happening cyber cafe Emerald City The Digital Den is new, but not exactly well known. The owner doesn't advertise it. They serve a more exclusive clientele than the regular cyber cafes, not just gamers that want the latest fix for the newest online game, but hackers and crackers alike. White, grey or black hat, it doesn't matter. If the mysterious owner M has heard about you, you will receive an encrypted invitation. All activity is rerouted through a multitude of constantly randomized VPN connections to numerous off site networks owned through various shell companies spread across the globe. M claims that it is secure, that no one will be able to track you while you are there. All that he asks in return for patronage is that you share. Information should be free. Haven has found himself part of the Digital Den's clientele. The current location is in a basement in the industrial district. Computers line the tables, with people sitting in front of them, typing away. The lights are somewhat dim, techno jazz is playing. M has spread a rumor that MarsTech is up to something. Maybe that is something worth looking into.

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.

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'!"