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[b]Sherman Square, Lost Haven[/b]

[i]Several days after the Umbraxis Incident[/i]

Some time had passed since the riots plagued Lost Haven's streets, but the city was still feeling the effects of the attack. Laura pulled her dark polyester blend military coat tighter around her body to protect herself from the biting, chilly winds. The coat had belonged to her great grandfather during the First World War; she hadn't been born yet to ever meet the man herself, but her dad and grandpa had spoken very fondly of him. She was ecstatic to receive the coat as a gift for her eighteenth birthday. It would have been given to her brother, but Harvey was a couple of inches too tall to wear it comfortably. Now that he had grown to 6'2, it certainly wouldn't fit. Neither would any of the rest of the guy's clothes. Which was where Laura and Harvey had been that afternoon...Shopping. Laura glanced to her left at her brother, who was decked out in his new jeans and a rather fashionable grey overcoat. He was still wearing that stupid grin on his face, too, that he had on since they left for the mall earlier. [color=f26522]"Would you stop smiling? You look like an idiot."[/color] She hissed. Shopping was one of the woman's least favorite activities. She hated wasting money on new clothing; after all, what did she need a dozen different pairs of shoes for? In Laura's mind, all she needed were her sneakers, some all-purpose hiking boots and a pair of slippers for nights out. That was it. Harvey wasn't a shopoholic by any stretch. He was indifferent to the entire affair. What he really liked, however, was spending time with his younger sister. 

Harvey continued to smile, despite his sister's complaining. [color=6ecff6]"Ah, come on. Lighten up! We beat Umbraxis; he won't be back for a long time." [/color]Harvey paused, a mischievious look crossing his face. [color=6ecff6]"Are you just jealous that I'm faster than you?"[/color] Laura scowled and immediately put up her defenses. [color=f26522]"Pfft! Like I care about your speed. I just think we should be trying to track down the origins of this Umbraxis creature and find out where it came from and why its so interested in earth. Not wasting our time buying you new clothes because you're suddenly six foot two."[/color] The Smith kids turned the corner and stopped in front of their apartment building. Harvey pushed the double glass doors (now covered in metal reinforcement) open and waltzed into the lobby and toward the stairs. [color=6ecff6]"How do you propose we follow Umbraxis' path to his origin point, oh master detective, hmm? You get access to the hubble telescope recently? Or did your boyfriend build you a spaceship?"[/color] Laura followed after her brother, picking up the pace and climbing the stairs alongside him.

[color=f26522]"How many times do I have to tell you that nothing is going on between Terry and I? We're just partners. Guy's a dork anyway. He's not my type."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Who said anything about Terry?"[/color] Harvey grinned. Laura gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. [color=6ecff6]"Hey, you brought him up."[/color] Laura pushed past her older brother and pulled out her house key, stabbing it into the lock and turning the bolt. The old door creaked open, allowing the two to enter their apartment. Harvey headed towards his bed room to put his new clothes away. At the same time, Laura crossed into the living room and took a seat on the couch. A small scrap of paper sat in the center of the coffee table, next to a pile of files and a half empty mug of old coffee. Laura raised an eyebrow and picked up the paper, glancing it over in a microsecond. She didn't recognize the hand writing. What was written upon it, however, scared her.

[i]Greetings, hero and heroine,

My employer, Christopher Arthur III, wishes to officially invite you to a meeting with other metahumans in order to discuss recent events.  Please meet us at Settler's Clearing over in Royal Park.  We look forward to meeting you all and we hope you all will come.

Sincerely,

Minerva[/i]

[color=f26522]"Harvey!"[/color] She called frantically. The speedster appeared in a blur of blue and silver light, standing behind the couch and looking over his sister's shoulder. [color=6ecff6]"What's up?"[/color] He said calmingly. Thunderbolt could tell his sister was distressed. Her voice had a way of going up a pitch whenever she was scared. [color=f26522]"Read this."[/color] She said, and shoved the paper into his face. Harvey read the note at the speed of an SR-71 Blackbird. [color=6ecff6]"What the hell?"[/color] He muttered. [color=6ecff6]"Someone knows. They know who we are."[/color]

[color=f26522]"It's a trap. Has to be. We should call May. Or Icon."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"They might already be going. It mentions other metahumans. Heroes, presumably."[/color]

[color=f26522]"Who's Christopher Arthur III?"[/color]

Thunderbolt suddenly disappeared before Boom's eyes. He reappeared a moment later, jumping over the couch. He placed his laptop on the coffee table. Harvey's fingers raced rapidly over the surface of the keyboard like lightning. Their 200 down internet connection was having trouble keeping up as Harvey Smith combed the internet for information on the name. Less than five seconds after he began, he pressed the computer towards Laura and told her what he'd read. [color=6ecff6]"Playboy billionaire. Spends a whole lot of money on archaeology. Has a thing for ancient Greece. Inherited the Knight's Corps from his parents. Apparently, his dad cheated on his mom, who later killed him out revenge and then herself."[/color]

[color=f26522]"A bit dark. Sounds like a super villain in the making."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Or a super hero. Look at his company's financial history. He's been sinking a major portion of his profits into some secret project for years now. But the spending has tripled in recent times. The same month Chris was rumored to have been visited by officials from STRIKE."[/color]

[color=f26522]"You said he was into the ancient Greeks, right? Look at this. STRIKE's  Daedalos project cropped up on various conspiracy theorists just a year after Arthur allegedly met with STRIKE. He received his Masters degree in Robotics at the age of [i]eighteen.[/i] Giant flying robot inspired by Greek culture working for STRIKE, that just so happens to have appeared soon after Chris here was seen with STRIKE? Can't be a coincidence. Chris must have secret contracts with STRIKE that he isn't telling anyone about. This guy's developing world-level weapons for a clandestine intelligence agency and nobody knows about it!"[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Let's not jump to any conclusions. We filled in a whole lot of holes with complete conjecture. We'd need more than two minutes of web searching to find anything more than these cursory similarities." [/color]

Laura closed the laptop. [color=f26522]"You don't think I know that? Who's the journalist here?"[/color] She stood and raced to the back of the apartment, rummaging through her closet. [color=6ecff6]"I'm a cop, Laura. I know a case when I see one; but there must be a reason that no one's made the connection before now. The path either fizzles out or it leads somewhere too dangerous to go. We shouldn't go messing with STRIKE, or some billionaire."[/color] Laura emerged from her room, dressed as Boom. [color=f26522]"We're going to talk to the guy ourselves, then. He gave us an invitation. Let's take him up on it."[/color]

Boom sped out of the apartment building, making a beeline for Settler's Clearing. Harvey groaned and tossed on his own costume, running after her.