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It had been a wild night. Moira spent her New Year's Eve with Ace Danger at the Pyramid Plaza penthouse. By the time she woke up he was already gone. She looked over at the clock. No wonder he was gone, it was noon already! She only hoped she gave him what he and she wanted. Speaking of wants, it was New Year's Day... time for New Years resolutions! Yeah, those silly little things that were either dirt easy to keep or that she never followed through on. Still it was fun to have goals, no matter how easy or hard they were. She thought for a bit; was there anything she wanted to do this year? Might a well start off with the easy ones first... 1) I will follow my deams. That was simple enough! Now to expound. What were her dreams at the moment? Did she have any aspirations? What would she accomplish in 2010? 2) I will do something creative. She had really got the idea to sing or write or something within the past month or so. If it were writing it'd have to be fiction. based off her life. Her real life was already fantastic as it was. Why would anyone want to read about a boring ivincible heroine? Starting sometime within the next month or so she would sit down and think about it. 3) I will be a better superhero. Her meeting with Captain Knievel and The Emissary last year taught her a few things. Anyone couldfall off the wagon. She didn't want to believe what Captain Knievel did was real. He was just a fun guy... then to fall so far? She went to The Emissary for some counselling. It helped some, but she learned you can only count on yourself. The hero inside. Her hero inside needed a jumpstart. 4) I will get more friends. Another no-brainer. Her phone list was still growing. It was almost at the point where she thought she was going to have to cross-index. 5) I will be a better friend to my current friends Last year she did a few rotten things in the name of friendship and love. While it was good for some, it hurt others. She only hoped that she would make the right decisions this time around. If she followed her heart, she knew she would make the right choices. Then again... 6) I will try to be a better person HA! Now she was just musing. She wasn't going to be a worse person, but she was grasping at straws now. She got up and walked towards the bathroom. She had things to do today. Things to do this year.

Ace stepped out into the chill winter air of the observation deck. The noise of the celebration muted by the double paned glass door and even the traffic noise and revelries in the street nearly silenced by the sheer height of the building. He walked to the railing his gloved hands slowly folding around the icy metal as he stared off into the night. Another year gone, the endless cavalcade of the immortal. Behind him the vibrant celebration of Freedom City's elite. Below him the city of Freedom, the streets and homes filled with those joyously ringing in the coming New Year. Ace took a deep breath of the icy air and looked out over the city he loved, thinking back over another year gone. Criminals captured, Villains vanquished, Friends made and Friends lost. Times unerring march forward. Ace had greeted the new year in many places and many ways, from posh parties like this to silent and alone hidden in the loft of a resistance supporter. He had partaken in the Dakanan rituals of the suns rebirth and prayed forgiveness of the Holy See for his many sins. None of it however really mattered in the end. Ace had seen the malaise of the ageless in his travels. Ancient powers lost in their dreams of forgotten times. Obsessed immortals seeking some glimmer of meaning in their unending existence. He had even done so himself for a time. Lost himself among the celebrations of a thousand lands, warmed himself in the embrace of companions unnumbered. He had hoped to stave off the inevitable realization of his extended life. But even comparatively young as he was he knew, for the likes of him a year was no more meaningful than a decade, a century, or a day. So why mark a new one with such fanfare? “Because it is life.†He intoned to himself. A life that continued where others may not was not to be regretted it was to be put to use. He had sworn to put the immortal terror behind him years ago. To live each day to its fullest. For all of those who didn't get the chance he would live his life for all of them. And so he came to it, his resolution. Not the ones he would share with those inside, but the same he had made every year. Live life and never forget for all of them, and he silently listed them all; For Rex, Raj, Ace, The Colonel, … Ten minutes later Ace returned to the party eyes dried and a smile on his face, joining in the revel, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot ...â€

The penthouse had always had more room than they'd needed. Even with one room serving as the bedroom, there was plenty of space for Jack's office and Taylor's library with more to spare. The room that Taylor had currently opened had mostly been used for storage. The furniture from Taylor's sparse apartment had been hastily stacked in one corner. Boxes of old text books were shoved up against them along with a little bit of extraneous clutter that always came out during any move. In addition, there were the few things of Jack's that had been misplaced or replaced by her permanent arrival into his home. It had been a gradual thing, really. They'd never sat down and talked about it. One night had just turned into three, then five, then forever somewhere along the line. And slowly, this room had filled up with the things that didn't fit into a newly shared life. Shutting the door behind her with a quiet click, Taylor stepped into the room on bare feet. With her dark hair pulled up into a tight pony tail and dressed in ripped jeans and a tank top, she'd dressed for a hands on cleaning that didn't really match the actuality. She moved through the room, moving things back and forth with crackling eldritch energy. Keep. Donate. Donate. Ask Jack. Keep. Eventually, everything that had to be donated had vanished into her pocket, and the things to keep or question had all been shoved out in the hallway and Taylor was left in a pleasant if empty room. Like many of the rooms of the apartment, the few windows had thick drapes blocking the sun. Eventually those would have to be replaced but for now, Taylor spent the few minutes wrestling them all down to the ground and shoved them out in the hallway as well. It wasn't as mindless a task as Taylor had hoped it would be. It certainly allowed her thoughts to wander and considering she was working on clearing the spare room for a new and rather unexpected occupant, it was inevitable what direction her thoughts would take. Like marriage, children were something Taylor assumed were off her plate after accepting her duties as the Chosen of Heshem. In the act of ripping the drape off the wall, Taylor paused to stifle a snort of self-mocking laughter. At least the addage of 'plans in the face of the gods' held true. Taylor wondered if Heshem was in stitches at her Chosen. It was an image she had trouble forming. With a thump the heavy velvet floated to the ground and with a flick of her wrist, Taylor sent it floating out to the hallway with the rest of the 'things to get moved'. She rested her fingertips on her hips and frowned at the bare four walls and floor. She couldn't picture the room as a nursery. She couldn't picture herself as anyone's mother. She was still getting used to the whole 'being someone's wife' part. There was still graduation in the spring. Technically, she hadn't even finished college yet. Ruthlessly, Taylor suppressed the rising tide of hysteria. Cream. She would paint the walls cream and then decide on the carpet. Even if it was all too big to tackle at once. She could do one little thing, and then another. No, it wasn't going to be *normal*, but they'd manage it all somehow. She could deal with it, and she would. One step at a time.

Stesha walked into her apartment and dropped her carry-on bag onto the floor with a weary thud. Two of her hyacinth forcings opened up to drop her suitcases as well, and even they sounded tired as they thumped onto the living room carpet. It had been a long, long trip. She'd been very happy to get a chance to go back to Chicago for a week, see her family and spend the holidays, but Christmas at home was always chaotic, to say nothing of the plane trip. Her powers had spoiled her for easy travel, but with her dad accompanying her to the terminal to say goodbye, she hadn't been able to figure out a way to go through security and still miss her plane without losing her luggage or having anyone looking for her. Flying coach was quite a let-down after teleporting or flying with Derrick, and she was sure her elbow was black and blue from her rather aggressive seatmate. She didn't need to sleep anymore, but she was exhausted. When she was honest with herself, though, Stesha knew her weariness didn't come from the long flight from Chicago or a busy holiday week. She was desperately tired of having to lie to her family. Keeping secrets didn't come naturally to her, and after the invasion of the demons this past fall, strangely dreamlike though it seemed now, she'd known she had to tell the truth. She couldn't face the thought of something happening to her and her family never knowing, or knowing why. It wasn't fair. And it wouldn't be fair, either, to take Derrick home to meet everyone while making him participate in her deception. Even if he wouldn't have been utterly incapable of pulling it off. He was a secret she desperately wanted to share and show off, but she couldn't until she came clean about the other. She'd planned to do it at Christmas, she really had. She'd even worked out what to say, more or less, and when, and how to maybe do it without ruining the celebration. Then the thing with Jack had happened, and Taylor's wedding, and she'd just been so tired and afraid in the days following the invasion. Even though everything had seemed to go back to normal, she still remembered how bad it was, how much worse than she could possibly have imagined. For awhile, she'd thought about giving up, going back to being just a florist who was really good at growing things. She didn't have to keep putting herself in danger and watching people she liked or loved endangering themselves. Her powers weren't that great or indispensable, and she didn't have a charge from a god or a commission from the Freedom League to worry about. It wasn't like she'd signed a contract when she'd started visiting parks in the dead of night last summer. If she gave it all up, she could go home, back to Chicago, with no one the wiser, and everything would be the way it was, more or less. Simple and safe, even satisfying to a certain extent. She'd never have to watch anyone she loved die violently, ever again. She couldn't do it though, and some part of her knew that the whole time. Stesha liked who she was when she was Fleur de Joie, and she liked what she could do for people. Maybe it was mostly small potatoes, no pun intended, but it did make peoples' lives better, and every once in awhile, when the stars were aligned, she could do bigger and better things. Giving up on superheroing would mean giving up the whole life she'd found through it, all the friends she'd made, the confidence she'd gained. And it would mean giving up Derrick, who she was sure would never understand such a selfish decision. She couldn't do that, either. Eventually the memories had started to fade a little more, and her resolve had grown a little more, and the immediate fear began to recede. Even so, she'd scrapped her plans for Christmas and had simply gone home instead, talking about her boyfriend without mentioning anything particularly unusual about either of them. It was a copout, and it had colored her time with her family. Leaving her suitcases where they were for the moment, Stesha went to her front window. It was pretty enough outside, with Christmas lights still up even on the day before New Year's Eve, but the second floor didn't offer a lot of perspective. Making resolutions, especially big ones, called for a little of that. Touching one of her bromeliads, she transported herself through a little dwarf maple in the rooftop garden on one of the city's tallest buildings. That was better, though it was bitter cold even through her jacket. Stesha walked to the edge of the roof and looked up at the faint stars, then down at the bright lights of the city spread out beneath her. She would come clean this year, and she would do it soon. No more secrets, no more lies, not to the people who meant the most to her. This was the life she wanted, even the dangerous parts, but to keep it, she had to be good enough to deserve it. And her family was going to love Derrick, just as soon as she plucked up the courage to introduce them. "Soon," she promised aloud, her voice snatched away by the wind. "Very soon now!"

New Year's Eve, around midnight. ------------- Resolve Nothing changes on New Years Day. – U2, "New Years Day" Matt had intended to watch the usual New Year's Eve celebrations on TV, but the forced jubilation and banality of it all just made him depressed. There was always work to do with the Madcap outfit, so Matt made his way down into the lab and rolled up his sleeves. He'd spent the remainder of the evening cleaning the residue from the adhesive delivery tubes. The build-up of gunk in there bothered him. The tubes were lined with Teflon, but the stuff was still sticking. Matt starting making notes about milling his own tubes, and coating them with a new anti-adhesive. A swarm of molecules and diagrams consumed his attention… When Matt had moved into his father's old front business, he'd installed microphones by the door, so he'd know if customers entered the storefront while he was upstairs or in the lab. Sometimes, sounds from the outside filtered in, and it was such a sound – the blaring of a party horn – that let Matt know it was midnight. Happy New Year, I guess, he thought. He sat back from his scribbling and drank some water. With a stretch, Matt got up and wandered over to the rack holding the Madcap outfit. "Happy New Year, dad," he said, toasting the costume with his water bottle. He pulled over a chair and sat down. "Like what I've done so far? Me neither. I busted some of your old gang – which was dumb, because I should have been playing to them, getting more information about their activities, and not just getting them tossed in jail. I fought a couple of punk supervillains, in the middle of the night, where nobody could see, or care. The only thing I've done is to get on the radar of every super-hero who's aware of what you did. They think there's some sort of gang turf war going on. "And that's it. Pretty thin scrapbook so far. I'm trying to make Madcap a hero, and I can't even get on the front page." Matt sighed and spun the seat of his chair around. "So what do I do, dad? Can you give me a clue? How do I show the world that there's a Madcap - a Wyman, a you – out there who isn't a complete piece of – " Through the loudspeaker, a woman's scream of terror from outside interrupted him. Shoving the chair away, Matt scrambled into the Madcap costume, chuckling as he did so. "Subtle, dad, real subtle. I get it. Don't try to be, just do. Sounds like a resolution to me." He paused a moment before a mirror. "Look out, 2010. Here comes Madcap." With a grunt, he sprinted up the stairs, preparing to drop from the roof onto whatever assailant menaced the screaming woman.

Mike wasn't generally much for the resolutions thing. His father usually gave a toast for new years resolving to cut back on the coffee or whatever other minor vice Mikes mother was trying to put an end too. His mother usually made more sweeping resolutions about buying only organic or free trade or what not that would last for a few weeks then be forgotten. Perhaps that was the root of his disagreement with the whole practice. They always seemed so empty if not downright selfish and generally didn't last much past February. But when he really thought about it, it was more than that. Really deep down he'd never had anything that seemed worth making a resolution over. It seemed to him that if you were going to make a promise, to yourself or others it shouldn't be frivolous and really his middle class suburban wasn't long on the non-frivolous. If anything had occurred to him that wasn't it seemed silly to wait until the beginning of a new year to make such a resolution. He wasn't exactly sure what was different about this year but he found himself hovering far over the city of Freedom and pondering the new year and what it would bring. More than that he was pondering what he would bring to it. His newfound sense of responsibility for his fellow man was perhaps the cause of his musings, or perhaps his new friends. He certainly had learned a lot from each of them about what was really important after all. For all their foibles Eddie and Chris and especially James understood the value of living in the moment. Letting the past be the past. He certainly did want to be more like them in at least that. Learn from it don't dwell on it as Eddie had quoted from some song. And Mark of course had really taught him what friendship meant. Being there one hundred and ten percent for someone just because they were your friend. Of course he had kinda understood that before but Mark really lived it. Some might call it silly or naive but Mike had come to understand how valuable that simple trust was. He really had come far. From really knowing no one but Alex to all the friends he had. Beyond just being glad to have them though he had come to know just how much he valued them. Not to mention how he feared losing them. He didn't even understand how Erin managed as well as she did with all she lost but he was glad that he and the others could be, if only in some small part, a surrogate family to her. Family. Wow. He thought. Zoe and really Alex definitely were that. Alex always was in a way he supposed but that had definitely changed, and for the better at that. He still didn't know exactly what to do about Zoe. He could tell she was hurting, he wasn't blind after all. He wanted nothing more than to smash whatever it was that had done that. On a purely visceral level of course, he didn't even really know how to talk to her no less try and be anything like what she had lost. He didn't even know if that was what she needed now but he knew he'd be there when she did. Perhaps that's my resolution then, and not just for Zoe for all of them he thought. Simply to be there for his friends. As he pondered it faint cries of distress drifted to his ears, from far further than he could normally hear so clearly. But that too was forgotten along with his musings on resolutions. Some one needed his help. Phalanx shot down from the sky towards the cries in a flash of blue and gold, it was a bad night to be a criminal in Freedom City.