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The Amber Lantern Sunday, December 1, 2024 The repurposed beer mug-turned-light fixture that served as its primary signage was the bar’s only real distinguishing feature. Not old enough to be historical, no novel gimmick or theming, The Amber Lantern was nothing more nor less than a place to get an anonymous drink in Freedom City’s west side. Being a few blocks out of the West End proper and into Lantern Hill was another point in its favour in this case, so far as Erik Espadas was concerned. A bit petty, perhaps but he felt justified as he stepped inside the dimly lit watering hole. He wore a weathered jacket with a wool lining over a plain white shirt, dusty brown hair a little longer in the colder months, blending into a neat beard. He took in the other people in the room with a carefully casual glance before heading to a booth in the far corner and silently sat down across from the man waiting for him.

"Mia is in a mood." Eden's voice carried through the house, half warning and half exasperated eldest sibling just before the front door was slammed shut by Mia, hot on her sister's heels. "I. Am. NOT." The response was belligerent on it's surface but bubbling below was the threat of angry tears. Fortunately, since Erik owned his own business; he could really set the hours of the classes as he needed to. It was much easier if all three parents were on deck when the elementary aged kids got home from school. Today, Min had been shooed off to take a nap while Erik puttered in the kitchen and Talya sat cross legged on the floor with the twins as they played. As Eden opened her mouth to point out that clearly Mia was NOT fine - and likely get the twins to start in on taking sides unintentionally - Talya rose to her feet to gently redirect Eden towards her father and the kitchen. She exchanged a quick look with Erik as she suggested gently, "Why don't you help your father finish making up snacks for everyone? Maybe Daddy can also put on some tea for us. It seems like we could all use a cup." Tea, after all, cured a great many ills. Once Erik had the other three children wrangled, Talya turned her attention to coaxing Mia, "Come on, sweetpea. I think you could use a bit of quiet time in the garden, hm?" Mia huffed another frustrated breath but her hand slid into her mother's trustingly. "M'not in a mood, Mum! I'm just- it just- Today just... SUCKED." Mia spat out the word, as children will often do, with all the invective she could muster. It was clearly the very worst word she could think of to use to describe just how awful a first grade day could be. Her little feet stomped along side Talya's, hitting each step like she was trying to punish the floor boards. "First, the stupid bus was late so I missed the morning circle. I love morning circle and it wasn't my fault. There was a de-tour and so we had to go all the way around and there should be something that tells the school to not have morning circle until EVERYONE gets there. It's not fair! Some people really like morning circle. I like morning circle and I missed the first half. And when I got there, Laura was showing off her new powers. She makes things sparkle and float. Ugh." Mia's nose scrunched up, the words just pouring out of her as they reached the garden, full of seven year old woe. "RAINBOW sparkles. It's not fair. She's mean and she got powers and they're pretty. We're not supposed to use powers and everyone knows that. Mr. Albright makes sure everyone knows that even when you're little kindergarten kids. Laura KNOWS BETTER. She kept giggling and saying 'sorry' but she wasn't sorry. She was showing off! She's a jerk." Talya settled on a bench, nodding gravely as Mia huffed and stomped and finally worked her way around to what was really nagging at her. "It's not fair. Why don't I have powers yet? What if I never get any powers?! Laura says that some people just never get powers and I shouldn't be sad about that." When Mia's lower lip trembled, Talya had to tamp down the urge to find this 'Laura' and see exactly why she was such a tiny jerk. Instead, she held out her arms for Mia to bury herself in a tight hug. "Sweetness," Talya said, resting her chin on top of Eden's head, her arms warm and comforting, "I don't know if you'll inherit your father's gifts, or your mother's. You might not get any powers. What I do know for a fact, however, is that you are extraordinary, Mia. And your life is going to be anything but ordinary or boring." Talya pulled back a little to look at Mia's tear stained face. With a gentle touch, Talya brushed the tears away with her thumbs, "If you want to grow up and be a hero, then that's what you'll be. Powers, or no powers. I bet Laura can't pick a lock hanging from her knees, can she?" Talya was finally rewarded with a little giggle and a soft. "She can't even do the monkey bars..." "Well, there you go, then," Talya smiled back at Mia, scrunching her nose up to make the little girl laugh. She pressed a quick kiss to Mia's brow and released her. "I would be very surprised if you didn't have some magic in those hands, sweetheart, but all things come in their own time. Now, why don't you take a little bit to try and get yourself centered and I'll see if your father has finished with the tea."

November 2021 Houseboat life wasn't always the most comfortable thing on the East Coast in November, especially when your lizard-brain was forged in the fires of New Orleans summers. Ashley woke up early on the hallway side of the bed, spooned against Fa'Rua's back, and decided it was too cold to get up. But of course she had to anyway so she reluctantly slipped out of bed, wrapping a button-down shirt around her torso. She'd gone to sleep in pajama bottoms, a habit she'd picked up at Claremont and never actually gotten away from. You never knew what you were going to wake up to. She took a moment to study Fa'Rua, hair dappled in the light of the Freedom City dawn, and smiled goofily before she turned to get herself cleaned up. This was going to be a big day, and not just because she was actually going to be going around town with her girlfriend when neither of them were working. Figuring Fa'Rua could get herself out, she fished leftover Chinese out of the fridge and parked herself by the side of the boat, away from the city where you could see the sunrise over the water. Damn. It really had been a good day. Nobody had wanted anything from the Patriot, or Special Agent Ashley Tran, or for that matter the lovely guest she'd been escorting around the city. And that, at least, was perfect.

The Espadas School of Self-Defence and Swordsmanship! Afternoon of Friday, October 22, 2021 Erik Espadas reflected that secret identities and half-truths had seemed a lot less bothersome when he hadn't been the one having to juggle them between other people. It was straightforward enough to respect the privacy and often complicated circumstances of the young people who came to train with him or his wives at the dojo but it was entirely thornier when those circumstances started to intersect with each other. Trickier still with a significant language barrier. He'd been putting it off for that reason but Utsuwa Ranaga has a session scheduled in about half an hour and when it came down to it he wasn't willing to let the quiet girl staying with his family get walk in on a reminder of her long dead abuser without fair warning. "Damn creepy tattoo sword," he muttered under his breath as he walked from room to room in the second floor apartment above the training space looking for Neko.

Fall 2021 The Espadas School of Self Defence and Swordsmanship! Things were changing in the Espadas household this year between Min's twins, Raina's recent 21st birthday, and now the arrival of the two timelost teens from Burma. Owain and Neko had, in their first weekend, been consciously perfect guests - both ready to volunteer for any task around the house that was asked of them, neither of them in much mood to get into detail about their lives before they came here. (Neko had her own obstacles there, for that matter.) When they returned, they had a little more to say; or at least Owain did. "And so between the two of us, James, and Simon, it seems fele of the class is from some age other than this one!" He was gesturing with his knife as he spoke, thrusting vigorously and speaking loudly. "Who knew this would be the year of people wrested from another age to come to this one? Withal, to answer your question, sir, it goes well. Haven't seen any carrying any particularly fine weapons, but when I do, I'll see what fires their heart." For her part, Neko simply nodded, catching the buckwheat soba noodles around her chopsticks and popping them in her mouth. These were a fair approximation of the food she'd eaten back home, but not quite the same. Her ears and tail were seemingly out of view at the table, though the hair on her head was still a mixed patch of white and brown and was obviously cat hair rather than human. It was nearing the end of dinner; it was almost time for the younger children to head for bed. "It is okay," she agreed after Owain was finished speaking. "My roommate is very nice."

The Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship! "Ha, making me work for it today!" Erik Espadas called across the length of the training mats while he intercepted a pingpong ball-sized fiery projectile a hairsbreadth from his nose with equally fiery rapier. The flame wrapped around his hand in an elaborate guard and the light of the deceptively delicate blade was picked up in the sheen of sweat across his chest. Where his shirt had gone and why he had bothered to wrap a dark blue bandana over his eyes when they both knew he was using his metamagi sixth sense to anticipate the incoming bolts of fire were questions his training partner had learned not to waste energy asking. Instead another flurry of little fireballs forced him to flip backward and contort his wrist to catch before they could hit him or the flame retardant tarp they'd hung up on the wall behind him.

April 2020 Two weeks to prom ...Det, sa Peter till Wendy, var vägen till Neverland; men även fåglar som bär kartor och konsulterade dem i blåsiga hörn kunde inte ha sett det med dessa instruktioner. Peter, du förstår, sa precis allt som kom in i hans huvud... ...Jag avvisade dessa svar; istället valde jag något annat. Jag valde det omöjliga. Jag valde ... Rurland. En stad där konstnären inte skulle vara rädd för censuren. Där forskaren inte skulle vara bunden av små moral. Där det stora inte skulle begränsas av de små!.. "Yes, I, hmm, know people at Archetech. And HAX." said Eira archly to Kam, turning from where she sat besides Pan to speak clearly to the Dakanan teen. "Archetech gives you the strength and power of a great corporation, with a mastermind as its leader, while HAX has a more...intimate atmosphere. Fewer limits at one, more good friends at the other, yes?" She smirked at that, leaning back with her hands on her lap as if she'd said something very clever. ...of course - I am not a fool. But still - just imagine what it would be like. We are here - I will see you soon VINCE... When the Claremont van stopped in front of the dojo, Eira stepped out, duffel bag slung over her shoulder, in her grey sweats and white sneakers looking ready for an informal workout. This was technically a gym elective, something that got them all out of playing "Quidditch - but with POWERS!" - and it promised to be an interesting evening.

Life as a spy meant keeping parts of her life in neat little boxes. It was surprisingly useful in superhero work as well, it turns out. Talya had her life as the costumed crimefighter Bombshell and the domestic side of her existence with Willow and Erik. Unfortunately, though, there was a third box to keep up in the air; Bombshell was known as Talya Browning, after all, which meant she had a public persona to keep up appearances for as well. That's where things got tricky to juggle. While Talya didn't mind making those necessary appearances alone - it certainly was in keeping with the public perception of Natalya Browning, thief - it was a rare treat to have one of her spouses on her arm for an engagement. "Should be a relatively boring evening, really. It's just a fundraiser with some of the more... ah, well let's go with 'shady' upper crust of Freedom City. I know, you'd think with so many heroes, they wouldn't be nearly so blatant but they're not super villains. Probably. Most likely," Talya offered over her shoulder as she finished her makeup in the mirror. "Super villians have their own secret identities so while I wouldn't be terribly surprised if one crops up, I don't know of any who have RSVP'd." A masquerade, however, meant that she had a little leeway in keeping the boxes separate which meant she had a date for the evening. Willow was content to stay home with the children; a boring evening party with potentially rude people she wasn't allowed to smite was not high on the dryad's list. Honestly, she had to remember exactly how she did her makeup to go with this outfit. Talya hadn't worn this costume since the nineteen sixties after all. Hard to believe that she'd made a name for herself scaling buildings in a black minidress and go-go boots. It had really been a different era. At least the hollow heels had space for lockpicks and a few other emergency odds and ends. The black domino mask still sat on her vanity as Talya stood up and slipped the dress over her shoulders before padding out barefoot to find Erik. She turned around, presenting her back to be zipped up. "You truly don't mind coming with me? Your reputation is far more sterling than mine. Being on the same team is one thing but fraternizing is another." It was a testament to how much their relationship had grown that rather than cavalier, Talya's tone was at turns wistful and sardonic. That she made no effort to hide her emotions, at least in their bedroom, was real growth on the part of the former spy. That she both wanted the company and that she worried for any gossip or rumors, entirely on his behalf was quite clear.

Friday, June 21st, 2019, 6:23 pm Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship The West End, bustling and chaotic, was winding down for the evening. While still short of sundown, the cooling day drew people to porches and cafes and away from the daily grind. The weekend was at hand, and the weather was lovely. It was at this moment, a warm breeze whistling between the buildings, that something odd happened. In the alley behind the Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship a series of rents opened in space. Or more specifically, five thin, two-dimensional lines, spaced like vertical claw marks, split open space. The lines widened, drawing back reality to reveal two figures. The tall one stepped through the portal followed by smaller. "Good girl, Penny. You're improving every day," said the larger figure: Mona. The smaller figure, a Siamese mix the size of a giant bobcat, meowed her reply. Mona was expected. Word travels quickly in the West End. Especially when Gina "Nana" Espadas was Mona's first visit. There was catching up, pictures of grand kids, and the general goings on in the neighborhood. Then Gina put the word out that Mona was back in town. Not that she was really ever gone. You see, Fulcrum had gone globe. But she was always in contact. Video chatting from an art exhibition in Berlin. Seashells from the Seychelles. Pictures of sushi from Tokyo. Boxing footage with a mutated Tasmanian devil (no one was hurt). Postcards from Dakana. Lots of pictures of rampaging, giant robots. A surprising number. And from time-to-time, she'd fly home to provide her famous Mona Bear Hugs and all sorts of eclectic presents. Recently though...she'd been going silent for longer periods. Months at a time even. Today that ended. Before the portal swirled closed, Mona plucked out a large steamer trunk and hoisted it over one shoulder. She smiled as she knocked on the back door. Home sweet home.

The OOC thread for here.

Winter 2018 It wasn't exactly the Interceptors' Christmas party - but there was a tree up and lights in it, and there were children watching Christmas movies, eating cookies, sword-fighting with boffer weapons, or truly doing all of those things at once. It was a well-spent afternoon, anyway. Steve was sitting by himself on the couch in one of the upstairs bedrooms, just having finished a discussion with Yolanda about how these movies were just for babies that had left him feeling pleased at her emotional progression, when Erik entered the room. Despite the half-dozing children on the carpet by the couch (Yolanda on her phone) and the Santa hat perched incongruously on the Omegadrone's bald head, his face was serious as he asked "Does the evening go well?"

Saturday September Eighth 2018 10:00 AM Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship But for the low hum of an electric motor and the tinted windows the Danger International fleet car that pulled to the curb a few car lengths from the Espadas Dojo was nondescript and would hardly elicit note from passer by. This was perhaps slightly less true about it's occupants. Before exiting the car Ace turned to his niece. "Alright so, as I said, he's the best, but also a little touchy about keeping a low profile." which was to say had a standing threat to stab Ace should he descend on his home with reporters again. "So uh, casual is hte rule I guess?" Low profile was really no more in Aces vocabulary than his companions, luckily this was actually nothing but a legitimate visit for the establishments actual purpose. That said the immortal adventurer hopped from the car and strode confidently up to the doors to the dojo slipping inside to await the proprietor, he'd even done the due diligence of arriving between scheduled classes.

Location: Just a few wrong turns from the Downtown strip of the West End Date: 9 - 23 - 18, 9:15 PM GM Post: Claremont Kids It certainly wasn't a date-date, but a 'lets check out the game store in the West End' had turned into a quick dinner and an involved discussion of the recent tabletop game shaping up for the latest crop of Claremont kids. It should have been a few quick turns to get back to the bus stop that would take them back to the safety of Claremont's dorms but a right instead of a left (or two), and the pair were decidedly nowhere near where the bus stop should be. Instead, they'd crossed the border into a dark and poorly lit Greenbank where more buildings were abandoned than not, especially at this time of night, and the rail yard loomed in the distance. They were absolutely and certainly lost. It seemed entirely deserted, at least, at first. After a few moments. Then, the faintly audible murmur of voices talking caught their attention. Peering around the corner, there was a small knot of shadowy looking individuals apparently intently arguing in low pitched Russian. At their center was a woman dressed in all black. More disconcertingly, there were certain ominous and unmarked crates sitting out. To Lulu's mental senses, the woman at the center didn't even seem to exist but she was absolutely there plain as day. Something shady was going on! GM Post: Interceptors When Talya had gotten a bit of intel on a possible S.H.A.D.O.W. cell operating near the West End, she hadn't kept it to herself. Such growth, really! Her plan, however, to infiltrate the group and ferret out the ringleader had gone over like a sack of bricks. Min, especially, hadn't been too keen on the 'I'll just let myself get captured, then we'll have plenty of information' solution of the former spy. Relationships, after all, were all about compromise. Months of work, though, and it had finally led to tonight. If everything went well, they'd finally have the information for who thought operating on the Interceptors territory was a good idea. Dressed in all black, Bombshell stood disguised in the center of some very, very dangerous people and their even more dangerous weapons, haggling for a 'good deal' for missile launchers and cluster bombs. Somewhere, out of sight, Jack of all Blades waited. She'd dropped enough hints that S.H.A.D.O.W. agents should suspect her real identity. It was a trap. Bombshell and Jack knew it was a trap, and the intended to spring it on their own terms. Everything had been accounted for. Everything, but a pair of Claremont students. Even the best laid plans...

The Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship! September 29, 2017 Whump. Whump. Whump. Erik Espadas' fists impacted the punching bag suspended from the dojo's ceiling over and over, hard enough to rattle the chain and give him time to switch up his footwork between strikes as the bag swung back toward him. It wasn't rhythmic exactly, as his attacks varied staccato triplets of quick jabs to single heavy swings with the entire weight of his body behind them. Even so their was a somewhat hypnotic quality to the overall pattern, his steady breathing framing the train of percussion while a light sheen of sweats showed on the skin exposed by his light tank top. He'd been at it when Raina had decided to set up in one of the stackable chairs lying against the back wall and he'd kept at it for at least ten straight minutes since, gradually picking up speed and punishing the bag more and more severely. He'd definitely seen her come in but hadn't said anything, expression focused and uncharacteristically severe. While the teenager knew the swordsman wasn't baseline human she was pretty sure he didn't have any measure of super strength and wouldn't be punching the bag clean off of its securely fastened chain. He certainly seemed to be making a go of it nonetheless. Whump. Whump. Whump.

It was a small list - the friends that Talya still had from her time among the Allies of Freedom was a small list that grew smaller yet every year. Most of them - all of them, really - had public personas just as flashy as Natalya Browning's public facade. They were also well aware that Talya's actual private life was something she had always kept decidedly so, so the understanding that discretion was expected was well understood alongside her invitation to visit the recently renovated apartments above the Espadas' School. Well, to most of them, it was likely well understood. For Ace, she made the effort to include a pointed phone call alongside sending a private town car - lest she get the damn Dangermobile hovering outside a window just because he wanted to tease. It might have been any other cheerful weekend afternoon at the rather noisy home of four very young children. That Talya was tense was only clear to those who knew her very well - and those who could compare her usual level of tidiness to the current downright sparkling level of cleanliness in an apartment with very young children. It was, frankly, unnatural to see the living room looking like something out of a magazine as the blonde Brit frowned before going to rearrange the art fully folded quilt on the couch's arm for the third time.

GM A few minutes away from FCPD Precinct 13 West End Freedom City, New JerseyThursday, December 28th, 2017 6:00 PM It was a cool, wintry night fast approaching the end of the month. Despite the old joke about police officers handing out more tickets near the closing off the month to meet some sort of quota the local police station in the West End had not seen a noted increase in traffic. In fact, the night was so quiet it was hard to miss the expression on a young Japanese woman's face as she exited Precinct 13. Pure dissatisfaction, clearly still distraught over whatever occurred in her meeting. In fact, her exit seemed to attract the attention of two heavily tattooed men who made no effort to hide the fact that they were following her. The woman appeared to be in her late teens with a fair complexion that felt right at home in the winter. Her long, straight, brunette hair almost blended into the leather jacket she was using to keep warm. A jacket that was apparently a size or two too large for her frame, indicating that it belonged to someone else. Her pursuers had bright green hair, and tattoos that showed affiliation to some small time local gang. She sped off to try and shake her pursuers. Unfortunately, they were quicker than her. Manhandling with ease they pushed the woman into an alleyway were there were two more men waiting. Only these men were each holding a sword in each hand. As if prepared for her arrival, they each tossed one of their swords to the men who pushed the woman inside of the alleyway.

January 13, 2017 3:45 PM Even in a city that catered to as many esoteric subcultures as Freedom there were only so many places a teenager might go to improve their skills with medieval weaponry. With the faculty of Claremont Academy in something of a restructuring period - and portions of the student body's faith in the combat training there having suffered somewhat - Cathy Clouston had suggested the next best thing to her girlfriend: a privately run dojo in the city's West End that had been introduced to her by her roommate. Said roommate had continued to receiving mentoring of her own there, albeit in the form of classes not openly available to the public at large. There were certain skills painfully absent from a young lady's usual education these days: picking locks while hanging upside down, disarming an attacker while wearing heels, disarming an attacker with a pair of heels...

Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship! December 16, 9:07 PM "Alright, we're locked up," Erik Espadas confirmed as he rounded the gap in the wall between the dojo's entryway and the training space. With the blinds drawn over the big front windows and a few more sophisticated measures in place the small group gathered were ready for their planned after-hours class. Unlike usual the mats were littered with piled weights, cardboard boxes and anything else that had been handy and looked like it might make for an inconvenient obstacle. "Remember, we're working on mobility tonight," he reminded the deceptively lanky man and the woman with short black hair in front of him, folding his bare arms across his plain white workout shirt. They could have easily been a pair of the college students who frequented his intermediary self-defence classes. "That means something a little different for you two than the rest of us so I figured it was past time you compared notes." The fencer let a lopsided grin split his businesslike demeanour as he stepped back toward far corner where Talya and Steve were watching. "That said, loser has to mop the footprints off my ceiling." In the apartments up above Ellie Espadas held her breath as she tip-toed out of the nursery, hoping against hope that her newest niece and nephew would stay asleep at least long enough to get back to the kitchen. Either one of them crying inevitably woke the other and even with three pairs of hands helping she wasn't sure how their parents were coping. Making it down the hallway and all the way to the kitchen table the med student silently raised a pair of crossed fingers as she sat down between Min and Mara. "And I thought pulling a double at Trinity took it out of you," she drawled just barely louder than a whisper. "Please tell me there's coffee or tea or something."

Content Notices: Violence, Birth Scene Location: Espadas School of Self Defense and Swordsmanship! Date: July 19, 2016 Talya was very good at suppressing the potential consequences for her actions. Leaping off buildings, after all, was much easier if one didn't think about what missing a handhold might mean. Unfortunately, ignoring the eventual ramifications of the biology of how a baby (or two. Two!) would enter the world did not actually prevent the event. The cramps and back ache had only gotten worse despite her refusal to acknowledge that it might not just be late term pregnancy aches and pains. Although, she'd not admitted (and likely never would), it was fairly clear to those closest to Talya that the ex-spy was at least unsettled by the impending birth. Perhaps even frightened. At the moment, though, she was mostly just holding up the relocation to Sanctuary as if not stepping through the portal might some how prevent the next several hours. "I've changed my mind," Talya announced mulishly, her arms crossed over her chest. "Perhaps I could just be unconscious for the entire thing, after all. They still do that, don't they? If we went to the hospital instead, could they just knock me out?" Unlikely to say the least with her magical ability to shake off most things mundane and Talya's mystical biology did not often play well with other magics. Intellectually, she knew that but at the moment, logic was not high on the spy's list. "I'd bounce right back from a c-section. Probably. Almost certainly."

GM post Sunday, February 28th 2016 10:30 AM Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship, Private Apartments "It is still early for a Sunday Ma'am." the personal assistant suggested quietly, the protest fell however on deaf ears. "Marjorie, If this was not time sensitive I wouldn't be bothering the poor woman." came the reply clipped but not cold, "Besides they have children and I have raised enough of those to know late mornings are likely the least of their concerns." She added a bit more warmly, "Make the call please." Thus on the crisp february morning the phone in the apartment housing the ever growing Espadas family began to ring. The number was blocked, and at a very high level though expertise such as the household AI like as not could break it in short order and reveal the call as originating from Danger Internationals sprawling Hannover Campus. When the phone was answered Marjorie spoke in a bright and clear tone, "Good morning, I'm trying to reach a Ms. Rebecka Danvers." she requested politely, "Is she available?"

Alright, let's get some initiative rolls out of the way to start with. Jack of all Blades - Initiative: 1d20+9 28 Hooks -Initiative: 1d20+7 19 Katar - Initiative: 1d20 18 Kopesh - Initiative: 1d20+5 18 Butterfly - Initiative: 1d20+7 25 Shadows - Initiative: 1d20+5 19

Monday April 25 Trinity Hospital After the events in Ocean Heights, Rhode Island, and Mexico, the heroes of Freedom City (and indeed the world) are aware of the global threat of the Makot Mitzrayim - the Plagues of Egypt. The threat isn't just the Plagues, of course, but the people driven to hysteria (one way or another) by an apocalypse that seems ("but only seems" Seven stressed in her briefing sent to the major superteams) to correspond to that of the three largest religions on Earth. The Interceptors in particular, thanks to Harrier and Echo's report from down in Mexico, have gotten a strong picture of what's going on. But with only one attack in Freedom City proper, it's easy for most people to let life go on. In the West End in the last few days there's been a freakishly rare flu epidemic, one of those bizarre moments that can happen in a city full of people and exposed to all sorts of exotic chemicals, viruses, and other ailments over the years. Things are bad enough that the hospital is nearly full, getting them to send non-emergency cases home, and they've called out volunteer doctors from other hospitals to help deal with the crisis. The flu can be a scary disease for parents, the elderly, the unlucky - especially when it turns to pneumonia. So if the hospital chapel is particularly packed with people praying for their families and themselves, well, maybe it has nothing to do with the Plagues of Egypt. At least until you turn on the news - and catch the continued cleanup elsewhere in the city, the nation, the world. But the heroes of Freedom have dealt with worse than this...right?

"Is there room for one more in that box?" Gina Espadas asked, wheeling herself backward in a tight arc with one hand and holding up a framed photo with the other. "It's one of the bigger ones." The retired police officer and single mother of two was in fully serious organizational mode partly in deference to the task at hand and partly to sidestep some of the lingering awkwardness that resulted from being left alone with the other woman in the room. Talya Browning - Gina had enough aliases to keep straight these days without worrying about whether that was the correct civilian identity for this apartment or safe house or what have you - was on the nearby couch with the last new open cardboard boxes, rearranging pictures to pack them as efficiently as possible. The renovations of the apartment Talya shared with Gina's son and daughter-in-law were close enough to completion to move most of her personal effects over but unsurprisingly there was some last minute packing left to do while Erik retrieved the borrowed truck. That left the two of them to sort things out between them in more than one sense.

Date: 2/18/16 Talya was down in the dojo, neither teaching nor working out. No, today was more of a maintenance day - ensuring that everything was in working order, taking inventory, and all the so-very-dull minutiae that kept the business running. Ostensibly, Talya was down in the dojo to help but the ex-theif was really as much hindrance as she was aid. Boredom was not something the immortal handled well and she was certainly not above trying to distract Erik into more entertaining endeavors. At the moment, though, Talya was vaguely on task as she was double checking to make sure that the rings she'd set into the ceiling months ago were still holding up after the use they'd seen in class. Since there were no classes at the moment, she'd discarded the extra layers that were doing less and less to conceal her pregnancy to scale the rope with a power drill in one hand to tighten the bolts, with the rope caught between her knees. "I shall never complain about teaching classes again," Talya commented, which was most likely entirely false. Oh, she liked teaching but every now and again, everyone had a day where the last thing they wanted to do was crawl out of bed in the morning.

Date: January 25, 2016 It wasn't until after winter break that Raina could round up a small cluster of fellow students to come along to extra curricular training. On the bright side, it meant she'd had several weeks of one on one classes to be confident with both the workings of the school and the general format of the training. Always nice to be the expert in the group, after all. With a large enough group, Claremont sent the teenagers to their extra credit activity in one of the few vans for such purposes rather than letting the students make their own way. The unmarked school van pulled up to let the students unload directly in front of a well kept building in the middle of the West End. A sign proclaimed 'The Espadas School of Self-Defense and Swordsmanship!' (Exclamation mark included), and through the front doors was a small lobby and receptionist desk before the dojo itself. As they had forewarning that there was going to be more than just the one student, Talya had come down early to straighten things in the lobby and keep an eye out just in case the school van had trouble finding a good drop off point. Rather than standing behind the desk, the attractive blonde was perched on top of it, seated on the surface as she sorted through papers. Lately, Talya had taken to wearing a loose cut tanktop over her formfitting practice wear and today was no different. As the students disembarked she shifted the paperwork to one side to welcome the knot of teenagers. "Come on in and pick a cubby for your shoes and anything else you want to put away," Talya invited in a clipped, British accent. She flashed Raina a smile as the young woman stepped in, "Hullo, Raina." She added before raising her voice slightly, "Erik, the students are here."