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In this world, there are unexplained mysteries. There are powers beyond human comprehension, knowledge beyond what people can learn. But there is also curiosity, that attempts to forever shine a light on those mysteries and curiosities. But what happens when curiosity turns beyond acceptable? What happens when Curiosity becomes Obsession, when Obsession becomes Hunger? The sparks of knowledge- the fire of Prometheus-, fall where they may. That others might be burned by them is of no consequence to the man whose only desire is to Know. Early September, 2024. The Fens The Fens could never catch a break. Sure, there wasn’t a Doomforge hanging above it like Kingston, but no one had ever really tried to make The Fens into a more respectable place; the same seedy porn stores, the same waterfront houses, barely hanging above the marsh that continues to threaten the city. Once, the Alien Gator had wrestled with Freedom Eagle in this area. Now, The Gators- a gang from the most mosquito filled, marshiest area- and the Eagles- a hispanic gang seeking to take over the waterfront bars- exchanged fists and gunshots between the streets. When the Theater District ended, so did the funds, so did the care. The Beaudrie Opera House was refurbished, recreated, and remade. But Tucker’s Theater, an arguably just as historic movie theater that had shown movies for 70 years, was left to dilapitate, the side of the building graffiti’d back and forth as a spot of territory the Gators and the Eagles fought over. Whenever one group was pushed back, the other would quickly paint over the previous tags, declaring it their own. When that group was pushed back, the tags would be replaced, repeated every few weeks. But now Tucker’s Theater was burning in the early evening. Wooden beams twisted under fire, splintering into ash. The brick facades were licked by flame, turning a sheer, burning black as they were charcoaled. Plastic melted and bubbled on the front, still showing the times for the last few movies the theater showed before it closed down a few years ago. It was brighter than the setting sun, illuminating the nearby blocks in the darkness. And outside it, the Eagles sat in or on cars, watching the blaze, laughing and jeering at the members of the Gators that were trapped in the burning building. Had they set the fire, or were they lucky bystanders? It was unclear at this moment, but one thing was sure; they were not helping the situation, and the fire threatened to roast those alive and even spread. To them, if they couldn't have it, it seemed they were fine with no one having it.

There are things that are unfortunate in this World. Not everyone always gets what they deserve, and not everyone always gets what they want. It is not the fault of those who had unfortunate situations happen to them that those things did happen, and often their consequences are, regrettably, not just upon the individual. But there are also those who have no compunctions about what they do, and benefit from those consequences. Compassion and Conviction must be handled in equal measure. Early September 2024, Midtown: Champion's Restaurant It was getting close to closing time at Champion's. Attached to the Super Museum, it needed to close when the museum did, so it often ended up closing a little earlier than a traditional restaurant would. They had stopped taking orders a little bit ago, and were just closing out the last checks. The entertainment tonight, or rather, the special thing that had drawn a larger crowd than usual, was a special yearly retirement ceremony. Several Heroes who had either finished their careers or had trained up successors to take their place were officially hanging up the cape, and the Super Museum was taking in several pieces of their costumes, equipment, and the like. In addition to this was a small telethon for the children's hospital. The retirees had been at Champion's most of the day, taking it in shifts to donate their gear, give speeches, and be interviewed about their old days; many would have private retirement ceremonies or more grandiose ones later, this was often only one stop on the retirement tour. Buddy Brand, the popular news anchor of WCZA 7, had been handling the last portion of the telethon. He'd interviewed Hot Streak and Cold Rush, a pair of speedsters with hot and cold based powers, respectively, who were gladly retiring together now that their child had graduated to a full time hero herself. They'd talked at length about their battles with various villains and how they ended up starting their first teamups and then dating, but it was all in good fun- they enjoyed talking about the not so friendly rivalry they'd had when they were younger-, but they'd ended up packing it in themselves. There were only a few people left in Champion's, and they were heading out, leaving just Buddy and a couple of members of the crew to finish packing up the Telethon gear and get out of there; time for them to head home themselves. It had been a successful day, with no major incidents, which often meant problems were just around the corner.