The scene on Main Street somehow became more chaotic as the ASA and police moved through, bustling from building to building and checking for injured people. Each paramedic and police officer was accompanied by an ASA security officer, yellow rifle in hand. Several firetrucks pushed through the rubble and began fighting various car-becues along the street. A fire had started in Mooncash as one of the espresso machines ignited, but it was small and took mere seconds for the pressurized hoses to extinguish. People were pulled out of damaged vehicles and out from under rubble. A triage was set up and injured folk were shuttled to the Leesburgh General ER for care. Dexter Quinto and Evelyn Noblezada were both amongst those taken to the emergency room. Evelyn, of course, was first and those looking on could [i]swear[/i] her ambulance was just a little nicer and the stretcher just a little more padded for extra comfort. All in all, twenty-seven people would be taken to the ER for treatment. Three would stay in the ICU with severe injuries. There were, miraculously, no deaths. 

Titus MacArthur laid on the ground for a long time as he saw the lead iodide paintball hit the golem and said golem collapse. He looked up at the sky, once sunny and clear but now clouded by smoke and concrete dust. He coughed, shaking the rubble around him a bit, and looked down at his arms. Titus was a hairy man, but now several patches of bare, red skin dotted his forearms, leftover from the concrete golem attempting to swallow him. As he watched, the redness faded a tad, though it would be a few minutes before it vanished for good. The hair did not regrow- Titus' powers didn't work on hair or nails, much to his chagrin. Slowly, he stood up and surveyed the area around him, watching as paramedics and security officers bustled this way and that. He looked down at Henry, lying wounded next to him. Henry had fought the golem much longer than Titus had, and Henry didn't have the added benefit of being able to heal broken bones in a day. Several paramedics had crowded around Henry, clearly unsure of how to get a lizard the weight of a small car onto a stretcher designed for normal sized humans. Nearby, an ASA security agent looked on, the yellow rifle in his hands lowered, but his finger near the trigger. Just in case. 

Titus bent over and grabbed Henry carefully by the back and tail. Effortlessly, he picked Henry up, careful to avoid his visible wounds. He stood up with Henry overflowing from his arms, one hand dangling. The scene looked a bit like if the La Pieta had been remade in the image of Godzilla and King Kong. The paramedics marveling at his incredible strength, Titus began to walk to the ambulance. The entire time, Titus' eyes never left the ASA officer, whose eyes never left Henry and whose finger never left the trigger of his rifle. They reached the ambulance, where Henry was loaded onto a bariatric stretcher and, with assistance, lifted into the ambulance. 

While the security officers flitted about with their rifles, several other folks in suits moved about the scene. Each held a clipboard and they milled about the crowd, stopping at various people and taking down their names. Each of our intrepid heroes was approached, with generally the same formula. One such agent came to Helen where she, Elle, and Willow stood in front of the wrecked Mooncash Coffee. She was a short Latina woman with strong cheekbones and shoulder-length hair. She spoke to them the same as the rest of the agents spoke to the rest of the crowd. 

"I am Agent Sophia Chavez of the ASA Enforcement Division," she said. "Is anyone in need of medical attention?" Helen wordlessly looked down at the boy next to her, who was crying and hopping on one leg. Sophia shouted back to the crowd of officers and several paramedics approached and began to take the kid off on a stretcher. Sophia continued to speak. 

"I will need to take down each of your names and phone numbers," she said. "You aren't in trouble, but after the scene is cleared and some research into this event is done, we would like to speak to each of you individually to take eyewitness accounts." Each of them gave their names and phone numbers, and the agent walked off, commenting "I like your sweater" to Lloyd as she passed.

[hr]

[hider=X Men Theme][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIRcZCvUR8&t=40s[/youtube][/hider]

As we leave the wrecked Main Street behind, where much more work has to be done, we notice other people who witnessed the events. From each busted shop front and wrecked car, people look out from their hiding places. They see Henry, Titus, and Chris, who traded blows with the monster head-on, kids who risked their lives to defend the street. They see Evelyn and Dexter, who ran into harm's way to rescue the trapped and deafen the monster with bad dubstep. Both leave the street on stretchers, injured in the line of a duty no one asked them to perform. They see Helen and Elle, who escorted the wounded to safety, though they never engaged the monster directly. They see Willow too, but the onlookers, of course, don't know what Willow has learned.

The minds of each of those onlookers get to thinking- when tragedy struck, they ran for their lives, to protect themselves while others suffered. Yet, these teenagers, none of them old enough to drink a beer, ran to fight a monster they had no chance of defeating, risking everything to protect those who couldn't fight for themselves. In the minds of those onlookers, they don't see a group of teenagers in front of them anymore. They see heroes. No, not just that. Normal heroes are firefighters and paramedics and school teachers and bus drivers. These kids are something altogether different, not just people who can respond to tragedy and save lives, but people who can confront tragedy directly and prevent the brunt of its harm. 

For the first time in the history of the world, a group of onlookers watch as superheroes walk off from the battlefield, nursing their wounds from a fight to save the town of Leesburgh. 

[hr]

[i]Sunday, September 5th, 2010

8:00 PM[/i]

[hider=Jaaayyson Deruloooo][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bd7d_0CGMw[/youtube][/hider]

On the edge of Leesburgh, atop a hill in a community of reasonably nice houses, sits the house of the Charles family. It is a monolith of white plaster and glass, geometric and colossal and bizarre to behold even in a neighborhood of large homes. The Charles family are lawyers, and corporate law has been good to them. Richard Charles defended coal companies, primarily, though he also defended Tom & Nuss Horizons Fulfillment Center during several landmark cases in the disassembly of labor rights movement. The money Richard made off of his cases, he poured into his home, making it not just the largest in Leesburgh, but the largest in York County. 

It happened that Richard and his wife, Patricia, were spending the Labor Day weekend lying on a private beach in Hawaii, being served drinks by people who made less in a year than Richard Charles did in a day. As such, Chad Charles, only son of his parents, was having a party, and basically all of Leesburgh High was invited for a night of dancing, music, and underage debauchery. Let's go over the floor plan, shall we? 

Past the foyer of the house is a spacious open concept living and dining room. A large white-leather sectional sits across from am 85 inch plasma screen TV. The walls are covered with painting and family photos arranged by a professional interior designer, though Chad covered them all up with tarps to prevent damage. A fireplace sits in the family room and a beer pong table has been set up between the couch and TV. Titus MacArthur and Mateo Ramos are playing currently, and Mateo just hit the bitch cup on his first shot and so, naturally, is no longer wearing his pants. In the dining room, the table has been scooted to the side and a DJ has set up. The large white dining room table is laden with all sorts of snacks, from Doritos to salmon and caper crackers. There is a large water fountain, but, curiously, no alcohol. 

...until you enter the kitchen. Here, the kitchen island has been buried by a verifiable Christmas tree of alcohol. 60% of that tree is Natural Light, and the other half is split between Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and, Modelo Especial. Chrissie Wong is standing in one corner, deepthroating a beer bong full of just the most disgraceful alcoholic rubbish imaginable while several girls cheer her on. An orange cooler sits on one of the counters, filled to the brim with jungle juice. Several empty bottles of vodka and rum lay nearby like spent shells left from the alcoholic explosion. 

There's a rec room with a pool table, several arcade cabinets, and a dart board. There's a balcony off of the dining room that hangs off of a cliff and overlooks most of the rest of town (several people are, of course, smoking weed on said balcony). There is a garage of classic cars, though the door is locked and everyone attending has been told on no uncertain terms that entering the garage means death. There are several smaller sitting rooms around the house, each just as opulent as the main family room, though with slightly smaller TVs. Upstairs, lines of offices and bedrooms and bathrooms larger than some people's apartments can be found. A jacuzzi sits in one of the bathroom and several people are relaxing in it as the jets massage their worries away. The smell of weed pervades the whole house like a ghost, and the sounds of moaning and shaking bedframes reveal just how many students of Kirby High are desperate to lose their virginity before they graduate. 

Above it all, on a widow's walk on the third floor of the mansion, Chad Charles leans against the railing and overlooks his kingdom. He is a tall, athletic, attractive man, and a yellow glow can be seen around his black sunglasses. His perfect blond hair ripples in the wind, and his perfect white smile shines brighter than his eyes. He shouts down as cars pull up to the mansion: 

"Hell yeah bro! Welcome to the party!" 

"Looking good babe! Come inside! Grab a beer!" 

"Brianna! Is that a new haircut? And a new boyfriend?" 

And that is how the party of the king of Jack Kirby High began. 

[hider=picture of the Charles Estate (Warning: Large)][img]https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5af4a6415cfd797f48e18511/1542650375102-TKHSDW38FJWWCJIAJEDR/001+Front+View.jpg?format=2500w[/img][/hider]