[IC] Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

[ThatDeercat]

I S S U E #001
I S S U E #001

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**WARNING: External breach detected. Life support systems operating at 58%.**

The deafening sound of alarms drowned out almost everything as the red alert lights bathed the corridors of the citadel-class ship Wundagore in a violent hue. To Koriand’r, time seemed too fast and too slow all at once. Maybe it was just the feeling of the hyper-dense restraints around her hands impeding her flight speed.

”Keep going, Kori. Don’t look back,” Komand’r insisted behind her, seeming attuned to her little sister’s minute deceleration.

A stunner ray buzzed as it just missed them, a tingle spreading across Kori’s skin as her hair stood on end at the static feeling getting closer as their pursuers adjusted their aim. Dipping her shoulder, she rolled under the beam and pulled up on the other side with expert precision. It was just like tactical flight training, but in tight quarters.

A yelp and the sound of a limp body tumbling behind her had Kori digging her heels into the metal floor, screeching to a stop to see Komand’r trying to push herself back up with limp legs. She’d ducked a moment too late, and the stunner had caught just enough to leave her lower body temporarily paralysed. While Komand’r was the better fighter, Koriand’r was the more agile flier.

Further down the corridor, their handlers and the delegation sent to retrieve one of the Tamaranean girls for Mongul were practically tripping over themselves to get to them first. The High Evolutionary wouldn’t risk losing either of them, but the delegates were unmoved. If one had to die for them to get the other, then so be it.

Koriand’r pushed off hard, intending to reach her sister first and drag her to the escape pods if necessary.

”NO!”

Kori froze, hovering mid-air between her sister and freedom.

”Sister-“

”I’m too much dead weight; you have to go without me. One of us needs to survive. For Tamaran.”

”Komand’r I can’t leave you!“

”I’m not asking, Kori. That is an order from your queen.”

Komand’r never pulled rank on her sister, and to hear her do it sent a chill down her spine. Komand’r was the rightful heir of Tamaran, and by all accounts the population had been so thoroughly decimated that it was unlikely their parents survived to retain their titles. Even without a planet or a proper coronation, that still made Komand’r queen, and to disobey her would be treasonous even for a princess.

She hesitated, even as another beam from the stunner shot down the passage. Komand’r’s eyes began to glow violet and she turned her head down the hall to blast their assailants. Metal withered and sparks flew as electrical parts were fried by the heat, and the targets dove out of the way into a connecting corridor.

Whipping her head back around, Komand’r looked at her sister with a mix of emotions that ranged from anger, grief, and maybe even relief that her baby sister would be free even if she wouldn’t.

”Go NOW,” she bellowed before reaching up and smashing her restraints into the wall to trigger a security door’s emergency protocol, locking her on one side and Koriand’r on the other.

Kori’s feet touched the floor and she stumbled in her haste to reach the door. Banging her restraints against the metal, she cried out, ”Komand’r please don’t do this!” It was an irrational waste of time, but Kori couldn’t stop herself. Her sister was the only family she had left.

A plasma bolt hit the door next to her head and sizzled as it burned the metal. It was a precise miss, a warning shot meant to stop her from going any further. “That’s enough, Koriand’r. This has been a fun little experiment to test our security, but it ends now. Turn around slowly and come with me,” the voice of the High Evolutionary rang out.

Koriand’r paused, tears heavy in her eyes. She had a choice to make: she could go quietly and perhaps the punishment for her rebellion would be mild, or she could risk everything and make a break for the escape pods. She could just barely hear the commotion on the other side of the thick security door - the clamouring of voices and the sharp, high pitched ring of Komand’r’s starbolts until suddenly it all stopped. He stomach dropped as she feared the worst. Resting her forehead against the door, she took a slow breath. If they had killed Komand’r in the scuffle, that now made Koriand’r the rightful heir with a duty to survive. Even if she was alone, even if Tamaraneans had been pushed to extinction, she had a duty to carry on for all of Tamaran.

Turning slowly, her eyes lit up bright green, ”I will not be your laboratory rat any longer.” She punctuated her sentence by drawing a line with the beams from her eyes, cutting across the floor, up and over the ceiling, and back down damaging the ship’s integrity and causing the High Evolutionary to fall as he stumbled backward.

Kori didn’t hesitate, pushing off the ground and darting around the corner into another passage that would lead straight to the escape pod bay.

**WARNING: Multiple structural failures detected. Life support systems will fail in T-minus three minutes. Please proceed to your designated escape route.**

The tinny, automated voice of the computer rang out just as she reached the rear bay. It was small - there were only a few ejection tubes for the handful of engineers that worked on the aft engines. Electricity was already being siphoned away from that portion of the ship; all that remained operational were a few dim emergency lights leading to the escape pods and the external launch panels. She froze as she approached, finally getting a look at the tiny ships for the first time. They were barely large enough to fit an adult of most humanoid species, and her skin crawled at the thought of squeezing into the tight space voluntarily.

**WARNING: Multiple structural failures detected. Life support systems will fail in T-minus two minutes thirty seconds. Please proceed to your designated escape route.**

The drum of heavy bootfalls running toward the bay urged her forward. She couldn’t wait, it was now or never.

Clambering clumsily into the pod, the door closed automatically as she situated herself. It felt like a deathtrap squeezing in tighter around her as her breaths came anxious and heavy.

“Please enter launch authorisation code,” a gentle female voice surrounded her in the small, padded space. Kori cursed under her breath; she didn’t have the launch codes. Her designated escape route was supposed to be on a ship with the High Evolutionary, not a pod. With her hands encased in metal, there was nothing she could do except keysmash and hope for the best.

“Invalid launch authorisation code.”

She tried again.

“Invalid launch authorisation code. Emergency launch override initiated for default coordinates.”

That sounded promising. The compact accelerator engine hummed to life behind her back, the soft vibrations transferring through the minimal shielding.

“Brace for launch in 3…2…1…” The computer counted down until there was a sudden jolt that had the ship been designed to restrain the passenger by pressing them into the mouldable padded interior would have thrown her.

Through the small porthole window of the spacecraft that now encased her like a coffin, the bay dropped out of view as it slid out of the ejection tube and into the vastness of the cosmos beyond the confines of Wundagore. She stared out at the emptiness pinpricked with the twinkle of stars in awe. For a moment, she forgot she was claustrophobic.

She was free.

“Estimated travel duration is two years, six months, and eight days. Initiating stasis protocol.”

”No, no, no, no, no!” Kori panicked, hitting the panel with increasing desperation until one hit landed too hard and caved it in completely.

“Damage detected. Initiating automatic life-preservation protocols.”

The life support vents hissed briefly, and a dizzying fatigue suddenly came over her. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she was keenly aware of a wet feeling creeping up her legs, her stomach, her chest, her neck, until finally it covered her head, but there was nothing she could do about it. The control panel was beyond repair, her hands were still useless, and she couldn’t muster up the energy to blast her way out of the pod and take her chances alone in space. Kori tried to hold her breath, sustaining her body on stored radiation alone, but as her eyelids slipped lower and lower, it was impossible to concentrate on not taking a breath. As she opened her mouth to inhale, exchanging air for the oxygen-rich liquid, her body twisted and thrashed, fighting on instinct alone until her lungs were fully adjusted to the breathable substance. Exhausted from the turmoil of the day and anaesthetising gas, her eyes finally closed completely and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**********

It only felt like a minute had passed when she started to rouse again. The small computer screen on the pod door indicated she was entering the upper atmosphere on final descent to the mysterious default destination. She peered through the liquid that still filled the compartment, the blurry vision of a planetary horizon like a slice of blue against the endless black perfectly cut the view in half. Kori blinked, trying to see more clearly as the friction of the atmosphere caused flames to lick up the metal and obstruct her view.

The whole craft shook, the roar of the reverse thruster kicking in rattled the metal dangerously. An escape pod was not meant for a long journey like this, and she feared the force of landing would tear the whole thing apart. Koriand’r closed her eyes, trying to make herself smaller as anxiety crept into her throat. She needed to get out. She had no choice but to survive. Activating her powers failed, though. She was too terrified to centre herself or her emotions; there was no crackle of energy in her, just the dull ache of grief as she remembered just how alone she was rocketing toward an unknown planet.

As if to answer her silent prayer, the metal creaked and ruptured as the escape pod crash landed on the planet’s surface. The liquid had helped her absorb the shock, but was now rapidly leaking out and there wasn’t enough air coming in to replace it creating a very unpleasant semi-vacuum. Kori wasn’t waiting around though, she needed out.

She rocked herself forward and back, shoving her shoulder full-force against the crumpled door. It creaked open first only a sliver, liquid spilling out as Koriand’r dented it with each successive blow, forcing it wider and wider until she could get her knees up to kick out completely. As the ruined metal flew across the crater where her pod had landed, Kori tumbled out into the fresh air hacking and choking as she readjusted. Her head was spinning, and she felt like she was going to explode if she didn’t get the restraints off of her hands immediately.

Kori sat up, still kneeling on the ground, and slammed the metal down again and again against the rocky dirt.

FUMP. FUMP. FUMP. FUMP.

It wasn’t hard enough; all that she managed to do was fill the air with dust as she pounded the rocks. Stumbling up to her feet on unsteady, disused legs, she turned and tried using the ship to crack them open.

CLANG- CLANG- CLANG- CLANG!

Over and over again, more and more desperate with every blow until she was practically screaming in frustration. Anger simmered in her chest like a burning heat, and her eyes flickered brightly before she concentrated on using the beam to slice through the metal. She didn’t know why she thought that would work - they were specifically designed and fabricated to withstand her powers.

Frustrated, grieving, exhausted, scared… Koriand’r crumbled to the ground and sobbed. She wanted her sister. She wanted to be free. She wanted to go home.

[King Kindred]

---

Metropolis
Jackee's Apartment
_@ThatDeercat

Things had changed for Donald Blake ever since his return from New York. He finally got his own apartment after his settlement from the Toyman incident and he and Jackee grew closer. Whenever they met up he preferred to do so at her place so that he wouldn't risk eyes on his apartment with Lionel's bounty still in effect. He was glad that Lionel lost the Mayoral election, but that didn't stop the elder Luthor from holding a vice grip over the city with his acquisition of the Daily Planet. Press was no longer free here and Thor's name was no longer ran through the Planet's papers unless it was to remind the readers that he was still wanted.

Donald and Jackee were currently laying on her couch watching the Metropolis 8 News. He was lying underneath her with his arms wrapped around her. They had been silent for a while and he could tell that something was bothering her. Before he could ask she spoke up to release her thoughts.

"I think I'm going to leave the Planet." Jackee said. She felt a weight being lifted as she finally spoke those words.

"Are you sure?" Donald asked. "You told me you've always wanted to work there. You love it there."

"I loved it there. That was when the Daily Planet was an institution of integrity. It hasn't been that since it became a Luthor property. We can't even write what we want to. They even fired the reporter who wrote about the new hero that helped you in New York. If Perry isn't fighting this dictatorship what's the point?"

"The point is that someone has to fight for a free press." Donald answered. "Otherwise, if all the good reporters give up then Lionel wins and he'll do even worse with his control over the paper. No one's even been talking about his criminal ties to Edge since he lost the election."

"It's not like I'd give up on reporting entirely. The Planet's not the only paper in Metropolis. I have been getting offers. The writing's on the wall."

"It's not the only paper, but it's the best one. Well, used to be. But it can be again. Everyone looks up to the Daily Planet, including me. That's why I gave you my first interview. It's always been the source that people can trust. Don't let that slip away without a fight."

Jackee sighed in defeat. "I hate that you're right. Fine. I'll see if I can rally the troops starting with Lo---."

Jackee was interrupted by the sudden change in broadcast on the news revealing the BREAKING NEWS Bulletin. "We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring our Metropolis viewers breaking news from our eyes in the sky. A pod-like object has fallen from the sky and crashed in Metropolis! Diane, can you help us out here by explaining what you see?"

The screen shifted to show the view from Metropolis 8's Chapter Cam. "Yes, Eve. I can tell you this. It's not a meteor. It looks like a small spacecraft. Hold on. Whatever's inside just sent the door flying open. It's a... It's a woman with orange skin and fiery orange hair. She's now smashing the ground trying to get what appears to be some kind of alien restraints off her hands. Who is this strange alien woman and will there be others in pursuit? Has Metropolis just become Ground Zero for an alien invasion?"

Jackee leaned up before standing to get off Donald and the couch. "You have to go. Whether she's a threat or a victim Metropolis needs you out there right now."

Donald stood up after her and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back." He walked over to the fire escape and opened the window. He turned to Jackee and gave her a smile before launching himself out of the window.

"Be careful." Jackee said as she walked over to the window.

---

Crash Site

Thor landed in a bolt of lightning, fully transformed into his costume. He didn't have Mjolnir with him. He didn't want to approach their strange visitor as a threat.

When he approached he heard the sound of tears. She was crying. She wasn't here to invade the planet. She likely didn't even intend to crash her, but was escaping something or someone. The latter worried him though. What was out there that could possibly be headed to Earth to look for her? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. That wasn't the primary concern right now. She clearly needed help and he was there to be that.

He approached her slowly as not to startle her or be perceived as an enemy. "Hello?" He asked, trying to get her attention. He wasn't even sure if she spoke English. In fact, he doubted that she did. She was an alien, so why would she? When she looked up at him from her sobbing he'd give her a welcoming smile before saying. "I'm Thor. I saw you were crying. I'm here to help."

[ThatDeercat]

I S S U E #001
I S S U E #002

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The uncontrolled crash landing didn’t go unnoticed for long. Above her, the whup whup whup of helicopter blades cutting through the air got closer until they were hovering only a few hundred feet above. A spotlight traced over the crater like it was trying to make out what had happened until it landed on her. It felt invasive and unfriendly, and while she wanted knock them out of the sky to demand they leave her alone, that didn’t seem like the best way to introduce herself.

As if the universe had heard her prayer for help, for a kinder hand to reach out to her, there in a strike of lightning appeared a man. Koriand’r lifted her head to get a better look at Thor as he introduced himself, her face wet with tears and her still-wet hair sticking to the edges of her hairline to make her look far more weak and pitiful than she truly was. He looked to be about her age with all the familiar features of humanoid beings. He was even handsome - bright hair and brighter eyes that reminded her in a way of her baby brother.

But then he spoke, and all thoughts of comparison and trust burned away in an instant. He spoke in a language that was all too familiar. Without a coordinates or a proper destination, the pod had taken her to the planet she had least wanted to visit. Thor spoke with a gentle tone and an offer of assistance, but then so had the High Evolutionary when he approached Koriand’r and her sister for the first time. Barbarous sadism went down much easier with a spoonful of sugar, after all.

“You speak the tongue of the High Evolutionary. Is this…Earth?” Kori queried hesitantly. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously; she had no reason to believe others from Earth were any different than the man who had raised her. If they were a singularly cruel as he had been, she was better off abandoning the planet and finding somewhere else more favourable. She cautiously pushed herself back further away from him until her back hit the ruined side of the escape pod. At least that way no one could sneak up to her, even if it left her cornered she was not defenceless. She was prepared to fight for her freedom again, if the situation called for it, but she kept as level a head as she could as she felt the fear rise in her chest again. She would let them prove themselves monsters first before she chose to become one herself to secure her freedom.

“I would not have landed here if I had any other choice, but I am...limited by these,” she held up her hands to show off the connected restraints that encased her hands and most of her forearms in a unique alloy capable of withstanding her powers. “I wish only to be free.”

[Azure Bubbles]

Suburbs outside of Metropolis

LIVE: ZATARA MAGIC HOUR — 72,483 VIEWERS

“Alright, ZataraFam,” Zach grinned into his webcam, spreading a deck of cards between his fingers with practiced flair. “Tonight’s feature: The Infinite Card Cascade. A tribute to the one and only Giovanni Zatara. Don’t blink.”

The ring light glowed softly, illuminating his top hat, silver eyeliner, and the thrift-store stage jacket he insisted gave him “main character energy.” His chat exploded across the screen:

> Don’t mess up this time, king
> ooooo fancy
> backwards spell time LETS GO
> do NOT catch your room on fire again

Zach smirked. “Have a little faith. I’m a professional.”

He absolutely was not.

He tossed a single playing card into the air, letting it turn lazily above him. His wrist flicked to prepare the hidden stack he’d palmed…

-and it slipped.

The extra cards scattered across the floor like confetti.

Chat immediately pounced.

> LMAOOOO
> PROFESSIONAL BTW
> REVERSE IT ZACH
> SPEAK THE WORDS

Zach huffed, cheeks flushing. “Fine. You want backwards? You get backwards.”

He snapped his fingers at the lone card spinning above him and spoke with all the dramatic flare of a boy desperate to reclaim his dignity. “Edivid dna ylf sdrac”

The card froze.

Not fell.
Not fluttered.
Froze.

Then it glowed.

“…uh,” Zach whispered, leaning back.

The single card split—once, twice, ten times—until dozens of identical cards orbited him in a ring of violet energy.

His heart stopped.

Chat lost its mind.

> THAT IS NOT CGI
> WTF IS THIS
> META AWAKENING LIVE ON STREAM
> BRO WHAT DID YOU JUST DO

Zach didn’t know, and that was the terrifying part. A buzz built under his skin. The lights flickered. The air around him hummed with an energy he’d never felt before.

Then some stuff in his bedroom started floating

His chair levitated, his desk lifted three inches off the ground, the curtains billowed without wind, and every object, including Zach himself, rose weightlessly off the ground.

“NOPE. NOPE. NOPE! THIS IS NOT PART OF THE TRICK!” Zach yelped, grabbing for something solid. The cards spun faster and faster. Encircling him in purple energy.

His cheap plastic wand, lying forgotten on his desk, also started glowing.

Then the cards caught fire. Purple fire no less. It didn’t burn. It just shimmered.

And then…

THUD.

Everything dropped at once.

The wand rolled on to the carpet. The cards vanished in a puff of smoke. The ring light flickered back to life with a sad electrical whine. Zach lay sprawled across the floor, hair sticking up like he’d stuck a fork in an outlet. His chest heaved. His hands shook. His mind raced.

Chat was going ballistic.

> IS HE ALIVE
> ZACH WHAT WAS THAT
> NOT CGI. NOT CGI. NOT CGI.
> MOM GET THE CAMERA
> bro is a wizard

“…okay,” he whispered, voice barely audible above the ringing in his ears. “That… was new.”

A knock slammed against his door. “Zachary!” his mother shouted from the hallway. “What was that noise? Did something break?”

Zach scrambled to mute the stream. His heart was racing. His room was still vibrating, just slightly. It was like the aftermath of an earthquake no one else felt. He stood there in the ruins of his bedroom studio, surrounded by props, singe marks, and a wand that absolutely should not be glowing. “Uh… It’s fine mom! Just livestreaming!” He called out, desperately trying to sound normal.

In fact, it was not fine. Everything in his life had just changed, and he had no idea what to do next.

[Stormyx]

My Hider

.

[Ezekiel]

---

The Solar System

---

The sudden outburst of the boy in blue was of concern, but only for a moment, as she spoke with the pair. Their manner, in entirely different ways, expressed emotions similar to those she felt. The relief and rush of a battle when one has little experience of such things. Either they were excellent actors, or they weren’t another insidious alien threat.

“I’ll let you know if I have any further wars with aliens planned.” Carol replied with a brief laugh, “I think that will do, no need for me to - ,” Her words were abruptly cut off as a sudden flash of light burst across her vision. It was deeply unusual for such a thing to have such a direct blinding effect on her, but it did all the same. By the time her vision had adjusted, the pair were both gone.

That was a little more concerning

She took a moment to ensure she wasn’t about to vanish from reality herself, before allowing her words to once again transmit back to her handlers on Earth.

“This is Operative Warbird, all hostiles have been neutralised, no prisoners, I’m afraid. The two unconfirmed friendlies just vanished before my eyes.” Even over the modulated nature of her communication, some frustration was clear.

“Received, Operative Warbird, on return, you have been requested to fly by Boston. Make a show of it.”

“Well, if I must.”

---

The Pama Star System, Hala

---

The vast distances between where she stood and the receiver of her communication provided the briefest of delays to even the highly advanced technology of her people. Some devices would be more clear, but none that would not also be traceable in their power.

“It has been some time since your last report, Mar’vell.”

“As the Supreme Intelligence decreed, I was to not distract you with details.”

“That is not what the Accusers believe, Mar-Vell. I cannot convince them without evidence for eternity.” She paced back and forth before the device which transmitted her image to the far flung star. Her view of Mar'vell was flickering at best, but she could make out the concern upon his features.

“She is not ready Mari-Ell, her life has not been easy in your absence.” The human features of the Kree being on the other end of the call had become more familiar than his true form, and she could read the doubt across his features.

“This was as we were commanded.”

“Then perhaps our orders were wrong. The Girl needed her mother.”

“You question the orders of the Supreme Intelligence itself?” Her question had the edge of an accusation, but something buried within sounded like a desperate plea. A forgotten hope that someone else might see the madness of what they had been forced to do.

The figure of Mar-Vell paused for longer than could be explained by the communication delay, his grainy eyes fixing on hers across the great span of the cosmos.

“Perhaps.”

Those were the final words on the call before it was cut off, allowing Mari-Ell to slouch slightly in place, the pressure of deception washing off her to be replaced with the far more easily dealt with sensation of dread.

“It was decreed that whichever of you was left behind would fail in your duty.” The words were military and clipped, belying the vast frame of the being who spoke them, stepping out of the shadows within the communication chamber. “I wonder what is is about this Earth which breeds such weakness of purpose.”

“Mar-Vell is a loyal son of the Kree Empire, Accuser. He still performs his duty.” She kept the quivering from her words, but as Ronan towered above her, she could not hold his gaze.

“Be weary, Mari-Ell, and remember well the name of our order, lest our attentions fall on you.”

[Half Pint]

Steel - Part 1.02 - Shout

---

"-And news of a new hero appearing in Metropolis has sparked new discourse around vigilantism in the city. The anchor continued, the studio lights gleaming off her papers. "Eyewitnesses report that the armored individual dubbed 'Steel' by bystanders, prevented a violent bank robbery and rescued multiple civilians from a car accident shortly afterward. Authorities have declined to comment, but public sentiment appears overwhelmingly positive for the mysterious figure."

The report played over shaky phone footage of Steel lifting the overturned sedan above his head, the crowd scattering around him in awe. Then the screen cut to a wide shot of the bank: shattered doors, police lights strobing against glass, and a line of stunned robbers kneeling in zip-ties.

The footage froze as the segment ended. Her suave co-anchor shifted in his seat, one eyebrow raised and a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I've gotta say," he began, leaning an elbow on the desk "Between Steel over here lifting cars and Thor throwing lightning around Midtown, Metropolis is starting to look like the world's most dangerous gym membership. Say, you think Thor spots for Steel? What do you think his bench is?"

She stifled a laugh. "Are you suggesting a team-up, Eric?"

"I'm just saying!" he replied, hands raised in mock innocence, "You put a guy with a magic hammer next to a guy with a giant metal one, and I start wondering if we're looking at the next great superhero team-up - or the world's loudest construction site."

She shook her head. "So you are predicting friendship?"

"Oh, absolutely not!" He said with theatrical certainty. "My money's on a good ol' fashioned rivalry. Two hammer guys? That’s asking for trouble. Next thing you know they're arguing over who’s got the better swing."

"Very professional analysis." she said dryly.

"Hey, it's what the people need! Hard facts."

Their laughter faded as the broadcast transitioned into the next segment, but the image of Steel with the car held overhead like it weighed nothing lingered on the screen behind them, framed in bold red letters:

WHO IS STEEL?

John clicked off the small TV mounted in the Irons family kitchen. "You guys actually watch this trash? Whole lotta noise over nothing."

"'Nothing' he says!" Clay Irons called from the dining table, laughing as he set out four plates. "Johnny, people are losing their minds over this guy. Did you see that car he lifted? Man's built like a tank."

John tried to keep his face neutral. "Yeah, yeah. The guy got lucky, if Thor had got there first you can bet not one bullet would have been fired."

"Lucky?!" Natasha piped up as she bounded into the room. John smiled as he did the obligatory 'secret handshake' he had practiced with his neice upon seeing her. Her braids bounced as she plopped into her usual chair. "Uncle John, he lifted a whole car. Like, it was nothing! Everyone at school's talking about him. Steel is so cool."

Her father gave a mischievous smile, placing down a set of cutlery in front of her. "Say, Natasha - who do you think would in a fight Thor, Steel or...hmmm" He thought for a second. As pervasive as superheroes were in culture, Clay made a concerted effort to avoid any news of them as much as possible. Not many appeared in 'Technology Monthly' anyway. "Who's that guy again, green guy? And the one the pentagon made the announcement on-"

He could barely get the last word out before his daughter interrupted. "Ahem, his name is not Green Guy! If you must know he doesn't have an official name yet, but I call him the Martian. Aaaand-" She began punching the air in front of her. "Her name is Warbird! And for your information she would definitely beat up those knuckleheads - she stopped an alien invasion all by herself!"

John laughed, shaking his head. Natasha spent way too much time browsing online forums and fangirling over superheroes, it was official. "Hey, hey, hey. Just who says they gotta fight? Who says they can't be friends?"

Natasha grinned. "Yeah, well, if I ever get to meet any of them, I'm getting a selfie, whether they're friends or not."

John took a seat in front of her, comically rolling his eyes. "Let's start with your geometry homework first. Selfies can wait until later."

Clay's wife, Leila, nudged her husband with a smirk. "You hear that, hun? Your brother doesn't think selfies are dignified. Who could've guessed?" She plated up dinner and took a seat next to Clay as the family began to dig in to their food.

"Oh, he's always been like that." Clay said through a laugh. "You should've seen him in college. Star batsman on the Metropolis State baseball team - stands there after hitting a home run, all apatehtic like it was just another day at the office. Y'know, John I really think you could've given Marcus Aurelius a lesson in stoicism!"

Natasha gasped, her eyes rapidly shifting from her father to her uncle. "Wait what? Uncle John played baseball?!"

John sighed into his hands. He was never one to take a trip down memory lane. "Clay..."

"He did!" Clay said proudly. Revelling in his beloved older brothers discomfort. "Guy was a machine. Coaches practically tried to adopt him. Could've gone pro if he wasn't such a geek!"

John shook his head, half-embarrassed, half-laughing. "It was a long time ago. I still had hair then!"

The table laughed. "Can you believe this guy? Future lined up as a batsman for the Metropolis Meteors and he quits to build robots!" Clay added. "Nerd."

Leila laughed. Natasha pointed and joined in "Nerd!"

John raised his fork at her. "Careful, kid. I still know my way around a bat." He swung an invisible baseball bat in her direction, adding sound effects when it would have hit her.

"Pfft, yeah right, you'd need to catch me first!" She called back.

He couldn't help smiling now. For all the weight in his life, all the responsibility and the guilt. This place, sitting in this kitchen with the people he loved most in the world made it all feel so light. Like just being within these four walls made the world stop collapsing, even if only for a few hours.

Clay leaned back in his chair, fixing John with a look he'd worn since they were kids. The kind that every loving brother wears on the regular - a mix of concern and brotherly prodding. "Hey, speaking of robotics...LuthorCorp's hiring in Applied Systems. Good pay, good team. You'd fit right in. With my recommendation they'd make you team leader like that." He snapped his fingers.

John's smile faded. "Clay, no. We've talked about this. I appreciate the offer, but no. I'm happy where I am now."

"It's a different division." Clay insisted. "Nothing to do with weapons. Not the stuff you walked away from. Just R&D. Civil tech. Infrastructure systems. Robots to rebuild, not to break down."

"Clay-" John warned.

But Clay pushed on. "Come on, man. Just go to an interview. Do it for me. I put in a good word already."

John frowned. "You did what?"

Clay shrugged innocently. "Hey, what's a younger brother for if not to look out for his big bro?"

John rubbed his temples. "I don't want to get pulled into that world again, Clay."

"It's not that." Clay said gently. "Look, I just want you to have something stable, Johnny. Something good. You deserve that. You're wasted anywhere that isn't a lab."

Natasha chimed in. "You'd be awesome there, Uncle John. And the labs are so cool. Dad took me there for my work experience last summer!"

Leila lifted her wine glass. "Three against one, John."

John exhaled, staring down at his plate. "I'm sorry guys, I just can't. Not again. Not after last time."

The three each shot each other a look that expressed disappointment but understanding at the same time. His brother clapped a hand around John's broad shoulders. "Ah well, it was worth a try. Anyway, think we're just in time to catch the Meteors beat the Knights, right?"

A few hours had passed since their dinner and both Leila and Natasha had retired to bed. Or at least, Leila had. Natasha was still up, sitting in her dark room with her computer monitor shining a silhouette of her against the wall.

John and Clay were sitting out in the back garden, basking in the hot night. John gazed up at the stars and the endless sea of black above them. When he was a young man he dreamed of interstellar travel, with every science fiction book or movie he consumed this love for the unknown only deepened. In recent memory though this was replaced with fear. A fear for what was out there, and who if anyone could protect them if it came knocking at Earth's door.

He was snapped out of his thoughts with the noise of the back door slamming shut - his brother taking a seat on the deck chair next to him and handing over an ice cold beer.

"Cheers." Clay said, lifting his bottle.

John clinked his against it. "Cheers."

For a moment, neither spoke. Crickets chirped. A warm breeze rustled the hedges. Somewhere down the block, a dog barked at nothing. Clay took a pull from his beer, gazing out at the yard. "Natasha's getting sharp, isn't she?"

John smiled faintly. "Sharp? Kid's already smarter than the both of us put together."

Clay chuckled. "Yeah, she's got that spark. The way she talks about science, engineering...hell, even superheroes. If she finds something she likes she's bound to research every little bit of knowledge about it." He nudged John's elbow. "Wonder where she got that from."

"I dunno." John said, hiding a smile behind his bottle. "Her dad's a pretty smart guy."

Clay barked a laugh. "Oh please. She got my charm. All the clever stuff? That's you."

"She adores you, Clay."

"And she idolizes you!" Clay countered. "Kid practically lights up like a Christmas tree when you walk in the door."

John exhaled, looking up at the stars once more. "She deserves a world better than this one."

"Maybe." Clay said. "But she's gonna help build it. You see how she talks about the future? How excited she gets? She’s not afraid of it like we are."

"I just want to make sure she’s got every shot possible. That she never has to choose between doing the right thing and surviving. Not like we did."

Clay nodded. "Exactly. And having you around more? In the labs? Mentor her from up close, show her what's possible?" He shrugged. "That'd mean the world to her. To all of us. The boss already told me she's got a lab assistant job waiting for her when she gets into college."

John didn't answer right away. He never let an expression pass over his face, refusing to take the bait.

Clay leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Look, I get why you walked away from the old job. I honestly do. But this isn't that. LuthorCorp isn't perfect, but the team? The division I'm talking about? It's clean. Real science. Real good. Call me crazy, but I think Luthor is one of the good ones."

"Clay..."

"No weapons. No politics. No shady contractors. Just tech that helps rebuild the city. Bridges, power systems, rescue-bots, stuff that makes life better."

John rubbed the back of his neck. "I dunno, it still feels dangerous."

"Everything worth doing is." Clay said gently. "Hell, look at Natasha. Girl's already outpacing half her class. She's gonna outrun us both someday soon. Might as well have something solid to leave behind for her, right?"

His brother knew exactly how to play on his heart strings. His walls were beginning to break down. Clay noticed. He always did.

"Just an interview, Johnny. That's all I’m asking. Go in, listen to what they have to say. If you hate it, walk away. I won't push again. Scout's honor." He held up a scout salute.

"You were never a scout."

"Damn right!" Clay said, grinning. "I was cool in highschool!"

John snorted, shaking his head. "Oh yeah? What happened?"

They both laughed. Another long silence passed between them. Finally, John sighed. "Fine. One interview. Just one. But you owe me one."

"Hey, I owe you about a hundred by now."

They clinked their bottles again, the simple sound echoing softly into the night.

[mattmanganon]

C A P T A I N M A R V E L
C A P T A I N M A R V E L

^{"I'm Bailey... This is Christina and i've got a REALLY weird story to tell you."}

The first few nights were the weirdest. Bailey had woken up in the familiar room surrounded by unfamiliar things, remembering quickly that things had taken a turn for the freaky. He looked down at the poorly fitting pyjama's he'd gotten from the donations box. He then looked over at his costume he'd taken off. The first day, he'd taken back that Gotham Knights hoodie. And after the Centre had gotten less busy, he and Christina had finally made their way to one of the abandoned warehouses down by the waterfront. Bailey put his Spider-Boy costume on, just in case. He wasn't quite prepared to end up naked if this costume was the only one capable of surviving the process

"Ok, Captain. Let's see what you can do." Christina said.

"Alright..." He shook himself off.

"SHAZA-"

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" Christina said, shaking her hands. "You know how this goes. You should like... You know, have a catchphrase!" She beamed. "Like." She walked into the middle of the room next to him. Before striking a heroic pose, pointing to her head. "WITH THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON!" Then flexing her muscles. THE STRENGTH OF HERCULES!" She then to her feet "THE SPEED OF ACHILLES!"

"No, first A is Stamina of Atlas, second A is Courage of Achilles, it's Speed of Mercury." He corrected her.

"Sorry, yeah." She quickly thought. "Ummm..." She then snapped her fingers, then held up the sky "THE STAMINA OF ATLAS!" Then struck a pose of throwing the Thunderbolt. "THE POWER OF ZEUS!" She then struck a salute. "THE COURAGE OF ACHILLES!" She then struck a running pose. "AND THE SPEED OF MERCURY!" Rolling her fists from side to side, then striking a last heroic pose. "I AM SHAZAM!!! And then you do the big flashy transformation."

"No, i'm Captain Marvel." He replied. "The Wizard is

Shazam!"

As the bolt of lightning came through the open skylight and in a flash of light, he was in his powered form now. He looked down at his body. "See, this is why i needed a different name. I'm gonna transform every time i say it." Christina looked him up and down again.

"Damn..." She tutted. "If you were, like, 7 years older..." She said, looking at his perfectly chizzled pecks. Bailey blushed profusely as she said this. "Calm down, Briggs. You're just a kid. You'll find a girl your own age who looks at you like that one day. And so will I." She giggled, imagining herself as the big, buff, red-clad heroine with the girls and boys fawning over her. "Oh yeah, baby, they're real. And so are these hot lips" She whispered to the hot imaginary friends, smooching the air. Bailey shook his head. He could never understand why Teenagers were so obsessed with kissing and stuff.

"Yuck." He grimaced.

"Hey, give it 4 years and you'll be in the exact same boat. I thought that way when i was 10 too." She growled, pointing accusitorily at him. "Alright, you said Shazam wanted you to figure out your powers as part of your training. So, let's figure them out." She walked over to a large, rusted boiler, before flicking out her phone and looking over it, then typing some numbers into it. "Ok, so this is a Humac P8-61. The internet says it weighs about 195 tons all in all. Now, it's a bit old and some people have scavanged parts, so let's say, a third that which is..." She was about to put it into her calculator when Bailey responded.

"130 Tons"

"Nobody likes a smart... Solomon... Ok, fine, now, let's see if you can lift it?" She slapped it, letting out a dull clung that echo'd through warehouse. Bailey looked it up and down.

"No." He responded. A sinister smile crept across Christina's face.

"Brrrrrrk... She began. "Brrr... Bruk... Bruk! BWAAAAAALK!!!" She cawed out loud and annoying chicken sounds, continuing while tucking her hands into her armpits to flap her elbows and strutting around to add to the illusion. As she did so, something twinged in the back of Bailey's head. But he didn't know exactly what, but this was INCREDIBLY disconcerting... He didn't know what it was, not like his Spider-Senses. That was more a tingle than a twinge. More like, he'd heard this sound before.

"No, i'm not afraid i can't." He pointed to the roof and to the fact that it was clearly helping to hold up the roof. Christina looked up.

"Damn, ol' Solomon never misses, does he?" She asked. She then looked around, taking a great sniff, then coughing due to the acrid smell in this place. "Ok, i have no idea what to do around here."

"Then why are we even here?" He asked, frowning. Christina looked around.

"Look, you ever seen Rocky?" Bailey looked a little sad.

"Mom showed me the films once..." Christina put her hand on his shoulder

"Hey." She looked him in the eyes. "Real men can cry when they miss their mom's." Bailey perked up a little, laughed.

"Well, yeah, but i was more thinking of..." He sighed. She put her finger on his lips

"Shhh-" She whispered and closed her eyes knowingly. "We ALL cried when Mickey died... It's ok. It's the 3 scenes in movies we're all allowed to cry when watching. When Mickey dies in Rocky 3, when the Ant dies in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and when John Cofey dies in The Green Mile. Only reason Achilles didn't turn into a blubbering baby is because they didn't have a good cinema system on The Argo." Bailey was about to correct her that Achilles wasn't on The Argo, but remembered that nobody liked a Smart Solomon. He simply shook his head and thought for a second. As he did so, Christina was already back on her phone looking up something "Alright, next move, we go down to the beach-front, probably a few old ships you can lift for us to get an idea of. They'll have an official tonnage registered somewhere in public record." She groaned, tapping furiously. Meanwhile, Bailey came to the sudden realization.

"There's one place we can go." He said. Christina looked up at him. "Maybe. Depends entirely on if he even exists here.

"Oh boy, more temporal shenanigans?" She asked.

"Maybe... Do you know if a guy called Ezekiel Sims exists here?" He asked. Christina looked at him, stiffled a condescending laugh, coughed, and then replied.

"Yeah, the billionaire philanthropist head of General Techtronics Corporation? Heck, he's one of the biggest donors to F.E.A.S.T." Chrisina said. Bailey sighed a breath of relief. Honestly, he was a little afraid that in this timeline, he'd be some crazy psycho-killer or something else ridiculous.

"You wanna fly?" He smiled... Then realized he still hadn't gotten a handle on that yet. "Actually, let's get the bus." He replied.

"SHAZAM!"

After about 2 buses that Christina had managed to convince the drivers to let them drive for free, by pretending to be taking her homeless kid brother to the doctors, they arrived at a small, unassuming appartment block in Hell's Kitchen. The acrid stench of the inner city really helping to sell the vibe that this place was not the most welcoming part of The Big Apple. Walking up the stairs to the door, Bailey looked at the names on the door bells.

"Um, Bail. I appreciate you knowing stuff from some other time and place, but let's face facts, we don't even know he lives here. I mean, why the heck would he? He's got that dolla-dolla-dolla. Nobody lives here that doesn't have to." Bailey shook his head as she told him. He then saw it. "JMS"

"An alias he uses when he needs to go unnoticed." He pressed the button, holding it for a few seconds as the faint buzzing of the low-quality, super-loud alarms from from upstairs could barely be heard in the distance. A few seconds later they heard it.

"Pizza Guy?" Came an older, slightly haggard voice.

"Ummm, no. My name is Bailey Briggs, i need to talk with you." He replied. The pair of them stood there for about a minute while no response came. Christina then pressed the buzzer again several times.

"If you haven't gotten a Pizza Delivery job and got my pie in the last 81 seconds, there's gonna be hell to pay." The response came.

"Look, ya old fart, this kid needs to talk with you, because he knows things and you are gonna want him to keep quiet about it." She gave Bailey a thumbs up and a smile, meanwhile, Bailey looked horrified. Sims was a great mentor and a good man, but he didn't respond well to threats. Frankly, he had seen him leave people webbed to poles for MUCH less than that. "About a little Spider-related matter." Bailey at this point was trying to push her away from the comms, but now being an unpowered child came with it's own set of drawbacks. He instinctively reached out to shoot some web across her mouth to prevent them from being killed, but again, no shooters.

"Just a minute." The voice sighed. Christina took her finger off the intercom button and looked down at the child that she was holding back with her free hand.

"What's he gonna do? You're Captain Marvel." She asked, before a second later, all she could back her claim up with was a muffled scream as she was catapulted into the air, from a load of webbing wrapping around her back, arms and mouth, Bailey looked up.

"SHAZ-

MMMPH!!!" He tried to call out as a second web wrapped around his mouth and shoulders, yanking him up into the air and the pair found themselves quickly dangling from the ceiling of a dingy little appartment.

"Not the brightest bulb in the drawer, are ya?" The voice came. Bailey struggled, desperately trying to get free to explain why he was here. But since he couldn't call the words and he wasn't a Spider anymore, he was no different from most of the usual crooks. "Yer tellin' me that you found out about my secret that i'm able to bench-press 20 tons and have spider-powers and instead of calling that ass Jameson or any of those other jerks, you thought you'd just show up to my appartment?" He then took a proper look at them. "Yer just kids... Who do you work for. Fisk? Don't tell me that old bastard Silvermane found out." He sighed, clearly contemplating his next move. Bailey was thrashing about, desperately trying to get a lip free, but to no avail. Sims looked at Bailey. "Boy, you are hard to look at." He slowly walked over, his bare feet making little noise on the creaky floor. "I see you... I..." He poked Bailey's forehead. "I can touch you... But it's like... Yer not even there." Bailey nodded and continued his muffled explainations. Sims rolled his eyes, before turning around and grabbing a knife. Both of the kids immediately started thrashing around wildly. Bailey's foot went straight at the knife, but was easily batted away by the old man's much stronger hands. He grabbed Bailey's face with the free hand. "Hold still, or prepare to go to the dentist to fix this." He said, before with a swift motion, he cut away the webbing around Bailey's mouth.

"PLEASEMASTERSIMSIMHEREFORMORETRAININGIMNOTAVILLAINISWEAR!" He managed to blast out as the last of the webbing fell away, but the face was grabbed again by the free hand.

"Slow down. Use words." He growled.

"Please... I'm Bailey... This is Christina and i've got a REALLY weird story to tell you..."

[King Kindred]

---

Metropolis
Crash Site
_@ThatDeercat

When the stranger from the stars lifted her head Thor was able to get a better look at her. She appeared to be human, but her ears gave away that she wasn't. They were almost elfish, but not quite. They were closer to that of Vulcan from Star Trek. But more than that he could see the desperation, fear, and sadness in her eyes. Just what had she gone through? He was taken aback when she began to speak in English and knew that she was on Earth based on the language. "The who?" Thor asked in genuine confusion. He had never heard of anyone calling themselves the High Evolutionary. And here he thought that Toyman was a terrible name. "I don't know who that is, but this is Earth. The city you landed in is Metropolis." He finally answered. But that answer seemed to make things worse as she backed up until her back was against the shuttle that brought her here. This High Evolutionary seemed to give Earth a bad name. Considering the space shackles around her hands she was his prisoner until she was able to escape.

"I'm sorry your first impression of Earth was ruined by this High Evolutionary and for what he put you through, but we're not affiliated with him. At least I'm not." He stepped back a bit to help her feel more comfortable. He lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger to the sky. "I can help you remove those restraints, if you'll allow me to. I don't have to move from this spot." If and only if she gave her approval he'd manipulate the electrical energy flowing throughout his body and focus it on his pointed index finger. He charged the electricity before aiming his finger at the center rod keeping the restraints connected. "I'll release my energy at the count of three." He said, wanting to give her time to prepare herself mentally and react if she believed he was attacking her instead.

"One... Two... Three." He released the charged electricity and it hit its mark spot on. The electricity worked through the locking mechanism and deactivated it, releasing the restraints from her arms. "You're free now. No one's going to lock you up here. You can even leave if you want if that shuttle still works."

[Pacifista]

---

Where is the soul located? The layman need not concern themselves with the nature of their very beings. The philosopher postulates and pontificates but can never reach an answer. Masters of the arcane know they exist, tied to life, more malleable then one might expect but also deeply resilient. Wade’s current stance on the matter was inconclusive, naturally, because at the moment he was only a severed finger sitting in a yellow mop bucket in a janitor’s closet in Silicon Valley. He rested in the bliss of nonexistence, as a finger cannot think without a brain to transmit its signals too. In some minutes it would be a hand possessing nearly an eighth of the bones in his body. Give it another few hours and most of the torso would be complete, propped out of the mop bucket like some Jack-in-the-Box fished from the garbage of a pet shop of horrors. But the time the work day was over, Wade would once again be granted the natural suffering of existence, head lolling as he tried to excise a fresh migraine without the substances he so heavily relied on, his body cleansed in its reconstruction (for all the good that did him). Once he was able to stretch his newfound legs, he left the closet cock first, echoes of merriment abound.

-----

Braced against the couch, Jack sat alone. He leaned against gravity, which was now slanted in the red tinted world he inhabited. He was currently studying the table while running his hand across his stubble, observing a speckling of various substances that should not be mixed, Jack’s concern more being with the fact that they remained on the relatively smooth surface without falling. He was waiting, waiting for it all to tumble down, as it was not prediction but inevitability. Hand reaching out for some of the pills and an opened pale ale, he made motions for his mouth, only to go stark still as a flayed stripper walked in, flesh scarred beyond human limits, entirely naked except for a tight pair of neon pink hot pants shining through his world of red, black, and white. Approaching, the gnawed human thumb grabbed Jack’s black MIT hoodie off of the empty chair, muttering, “I’m borrowing this, thank you very much.” Eyes moving with an odd typicality under the mask of a face glanced between Jack and his table, before a hand reached out to pull some of the pills out of his hand. “I’ll take those. What are they?”

“Downers. I’m about to fall off this couch and would rather not feel it.”

“Awesome, cool, very specific.” Taking a seat, the pills were scattered to the floor behind him as he whipped up the bong and a lighter as though he’d been in this exact position a million times before, shaking his head before putting it back down. Flicking the lighter on and off, he asked, “What’s your name, buddy?”

Sure, I’ll humor this steward of my fresh hell. “My name’s Jack. Jack Hammer. My parents thought they were funny, and my life turned out to be one big cosmic punchline, so I guess they were right. I graduated at the top of my class in MIT, got with my friends and hopped into the generative AI model business. We got the grant and I was able to realize my concepts and create the first AI that has the potential to outsmart humans. After debating with my friends about the ramifications they sold it to outside parties under my nose. In the best case scenario, every job that can be replaced by AI will be, leaving the world in its largest Great Depression ever while those at the top continue to reap the benefits. In the worse case scenario, the AI uses all computer systems to proliferate and push humanity to a point where it either lives under its technomonarchy or abandon our entire tech infrastructure. Tonight’s the last night it’s ours, and tomorrow the contract goes into effect and we give my little STD out to the rest of the world, so we’re celebrating our emancipation from wage slavery. You know, I envisioned myself like an internet superhero. I used to track down pedophiles and animal abusers on the internet to report them to their local authorities, and then rat on the local authorities so the public would rightfully turn on those pig bastards when they were playing in the slop. I was so good at breaking into systems I called myself the Penetrator. My friends called me Weasel since I was playing both sides. At least, they did until they found out about my preferences for anal sex, then they accepted the name Penetrator. Of course those weaselly, talentless bitches are the ones who fucked me in the end.” The hallucinogenic specter’s brow shot up, and he scrambled about, looking for something. “I’m currently debating whether or not I should just kill myself, or if I should live in the hell of my own making. What do you think, gross blood zombie from Mohg’s Palace in Elden Ring?”

Ass sticking out from under the table before he resurfaced with a pen in hand, the flesh colored avocado man said, “I was following up until the Anal Ring stuff. I don’t watch superhero movies.” Pulling up a scrap of paper, he went to scrawling as he explained, “I go back and forth on the death thing. The empty void I wake up from when my brain regenerates itself leaves me with an even deeper emptiness as I yearn to go back. Do you yearn? Nah, you’re just trying to run. See, the thing that scares me is that the comforting embrace of death is just an illusion, a deep sleep as my consciousness waits to wake up on this shitty rock of a world again. In my nightmares the real death is an eternity of pain and suffering that makes anything we can imagine here look like the tip of an earthworm’s dick.”

His still slanted world seemed to shift more as he felt sick to his stomach. “Fuck.” His eyes ached with tears and he leaned over, slipping from the couch in his unequilibrium. The physical pain of the impact compounded his mental, and he trembled with sobs, each one wracking his torso with a pain of living. He became numb to the world around him, shy of a few comforting coos and the sound of crumpling paper as something was slipped into his pocket before the comfort of the void took him.

[ThatDeercat]

I S S U E #003
I S S U E #003

^{_{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

Thor’s confusion seemed genuine, and that eased the tightness in Kori’s chest slightly. The High Evolutionary had talked about Earth quite often, about the supposed zero-sum nature of the universe and the necessity of evolution to ensure human survival against aliens who were stronger, more advanced, older, greedier. Koriand’r had long believed there was no species in the universe more greedy than humans - the High Evolutionary gathered a menagerie to use for experiments, stealing their powers for his own horrible human amalgamations, experiments made under the guise of survival and superiority. There was nothing superior about what he was doing.

While she couldn’t yet speak to the rest of humanity, Thor was certainly making a much better first impression than the High Evolutionary had. He reached out with kindness despite the uncertainty of the situation. To land on Earth and find that perhaps the High Evolutionary was the exception and not the rule of human ideology, that humankind was perhaps just that - kind - left her at a loss for words for a moment. If Thor was telling the truth, the High Evolutionary was seemingly not as high in rank upon his home planet as she had thought. It seemed she had nothing to fear here.

Kori relaxed her body more and stepped away from the pod, trusting Thor’s offer to release her from the restraints. Nodding affirmatively to him, she offered them out in front of her. This time she watched him with more curiosity than suspicion, breathing out a soft noise of surprise as the electricity arced toward her in such a perfectly controlled, unnatural manner that touched only the locking mechanism. She didn’t feel even the slightest buzz, there was no tingle of hairs standing on end. It was impressive, and wholly contradicted the image of human weakness she had been provided.

It felt like time slowed as she watched the metal crack open and fall away, hitting the ground at her feet with a soft, hollow thunk. For a long moment she just stared at them; it seemed too easy. She was free. Just like that. The moment dizzyingly unreal. Kori had imagined it over and over in so many different ways, but never this exact scenario. She looked down at her hands, stretching and flexing her stiff fingers open then closed over and over again.

”Thank you,” she said quietly, relieved.

When Thor prompted that she was truly free to choose her own path - even if that meant leaving - Koriand’r finally turned to take a good look at the escape pod and frowned. It was beyond repair, and frankly she didn’t think she wanted to even if it wasn’t. Not only did she hate small, enclosed spaces, but where would she even go? Tamaran was a wasteland, and she couldn’t imagine returning home without her sister. The heavy slide of metal of the security door, the buzz of projection ray weapons hitting to metal, the heavy thunk of a body on the other side - the sounds still echoed in the back of her mind on repeat. Her sister was gone and she’d hardly had a moment to actually process that loss and the fact she was now heir to the throne of Tamaran. Kori’s eyes watered - the weight of duty and loss both heavy on her shoulders - but she blinked back the tears and scrubbed her face with her arm.

Turning on her heel, she announced to Thor, ”You have my gratitude, Thor. My name is Koriand’r, Second Princess of Tamaran. I am…heir to a throne that no longer exists. My home world is gone, my people have been scattered to the stars - I have nowhere else to go. I humbly request a grant of asylum on Earth.”

[King Kindred]

---

Metropolis
Crash Site
_@ThatDeercat

The news chopper watched from above as Thor released the alien woman's restraints. They weren't sure what to make of it. The blades of the helicopter was too loud for them to get an exact reading on the conversation that led up to this. But they could tell that before this happened she was afraid and crying. Now she was neither. "Could Thor be an alien himself?" Diane asked both her pilot and Eve back at the studio.

"That could explain his powers." Eve answered back at the studio.

"Or maybe he's the god he claims himself to be." Diane responded back. "He has the benevolence of one. But if he is, how will that change what we know about the universe and the gods of religions?"

Meanwhile, on the ground, Thor listened as Koriand'r introduced herself and her story. Despite her no longer having a throne, Thor placed his right arm in front of his stomach and bowed out of respect. Even if she didn't have the respect and authority of a throne, she had his respect for surviving all that she had gone through. He lifted his torso before responding to her at last. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness, though I wish the circumstances were better. I'm sorry for all you and your people have experienced and I hope that you, your sister, and your people can all be reunited one day. Thor is my superhero name. My real name is Donald Blake." He wasn't concerned with revealing the latter to her or about the chopper in the sky being able to hear him. "I have a place in the city that I don't use much. I mostly just go there to feed my cat. You can stay there until we figure out more for you."

Thor brought his thumb and index finger to his lips and blew a whistle through it. He then extended that hand out waiting for what he called to arrive. Mjolnir arrived almost in an instant whizzing right past the News Chopper to give them a bit of a show before landing firmly in his hand. He twirled the hammer with immense speed before a portal formed in between he and Koriand'r. "I just found out I could do this." He said with a smile of pure joy. "You just walk on through and you'll be there."

Diane couldn't believe what she was witnessing. First Thor bowed to the alien woman. Was she some kind of space royalty? A royal in chains. She was starting to be reminded of her fantasy love novels at the reveal. Then Thor's hammer, Mjolnir flew right by them, narrowly avoiding a crash. This had officially become the best news day of her life. But it was finally topped off by Thor revealing a new power of his with his hammer by opening a portal to an unknown location. "Are you all seeing this back at the studio?" Diane asked.

"If I didn't see it I wouldn't have believed it." Eve answered as she continued to watch with great interest.

[mattmanganon]

T H E L A N T E R N S
T H E L A N T E R N S

^""

The Bus, 30,000 feet above the Rockies

Hal, Sinestro and May sat around the meeting table with Dexter sitting in the middle of it in his loaf position. The Conference TV turned on and the mysterious leader of their organization appeared, blacked out silouhette. "Good work in Saporo. Deaths Head is being moved to The Green Rooms as we speak." He replied.

"Don't know what those are, but i assume they're in that packet i still haven't got. So, Director, what's the next move." The Director brought up a picture of several things happening simultaneously.

"Currently unfolding situations include an alien landing in Metropolis. Thor seems to be dealing with that, though." Hal sat, arms folded, looking at the talking cat, then the man on the screen, then the Alien and then back to the screen with the picture of the orange girl with the long red hair and the cute tushy being talked with by a man claiming he's an ancient norse god. He had to say to him self. "Wow... This is life now..." Every day, he had to remind himself that this wasn't just a leak in his air supply and the last moments of hypoxia giving him an AWESOME high before his plane smashed into a mountain. "One thing that we believe that you can help us with, while we attempt to track down the next Ring." An image appeared on the screen of a large lump of metal in space. "This entered the atmosphere a few hours ago. Most of the satilites missed it due to the more pressing matter, but it seems to be mostly inactive. A preliminary examination has revealed an energy field surrounds the craft. None of our probe attempts were able to penetrate it, but our scans of the energy it's giving off shows something striking. A series of waves showed up in the bottom corner. Sinestro's eyebrow raised, while Mae simply looked taken aback. Hal looked around at everyone else.

"So... I'm not like a scientist or genius or anything. Care to explain this?" He asked. Sinestro rolled his eyes and then looked at Hal.

"That, Hal Jordan, appears to have the same wavelength and energy pattern as your Green Ring." He then looked at it. "It's not unheard of for other societies to discover the different emotional power sources to power their vehicles. This might be some kind of Willpower based power source." He explained.

"Very well, we will be deploying your team to recon and potentially recover the ship for study. The director ordered. Hal looked at Sinestro, he clearly didn't appreciate being ordered around by the Director on a mission unrelated to the Rings, but had a quiet resignation.

"If that is a willpower based shield, then it will take considerable force to break through. We will probably damage the ship gaining entry."

"That is unacceptable. A ship with that kind of power would be of paramount assistance to S.W.O.R.D., especially in the event that you should fail in your ultimate mission and we are forced to fight this Despero character, armed with all 8 Rings." The Director grunted. "This would also allow us to better assist you in your mission." Sinestro rolled his eyes again.

"If you insist... Whilst Agent May and myself will continue searching for more Ring. In the meantime, Hal Jordan, with your energy field being of equal wavelength and energyform, you might be able to penetrate the crafts shields without damaging them, simply walk through them, as you would."

"And in the highly likely event i run into something that's going to lay eggs in me?" Hal asked. Sinestro looked at Dexter.

"Although he harnesses the Rage emotion, he is small enough to be able to fit inside of your energy field to pass through with you." Hal looked at Dexter who was now licking himself. Hal smiled a frustrated smile.

"Oh boy..." Hal said. Dexter looked Hal in the eyes.

"You will hold me correctly or you will never hold anything again, cultist." The cat growled.

^{________________________________________________________________________________________}

As Hal floated next to the ship, hlding Dexter close to his chest. The cat growled annoyedly at him. "Look, i don't know what you want from me."

"Hold me correctly, Cultist, or you will regret it." the Cat growled at him. Hal gulped, shifting his hold of Dexter a little, before slowly floating towards the Ship. He held out his ring as the green shield appeared in front of him. Floating forwards, he seemed to phase straight through the shield. Dexter immediately jumped off of him and into the space between the hull and the shield. Hal looked over the hull of the craft, floating around it. He then pressed his headset that he had brought with him.

"Tower, this is Highball, Highball calling tower, over." He said into it.

"Highball, this is Mae, over. I'm here with Sinestro. What's your situation? Over." She asked. Hal looked around the craft.

"Well, i'm not dead. And i can officially tell Mrs Pirchard, my 7th grade teacher who said my grades weren't good enough to be an Astronaught that she's wrong." He said, looking over the hull. Dexter following, slowly floating through the air in loaf-mode. "Dexter is doing... As well as could be expected. He said. He spotted something that looked like a door. "I believe i'd found an entrance. Moving to examine now. Over." He floated towards the door, before putting his hand on the door. His ring reacted and the door opened. "Tower? This is Highball. It seems as if the door has reacted to my ring and has opened up. I'm entering now." He waved Dexter to follow him. The cat floated in and Hal created a lantern construct to shine light around. The inside of the ship looked very spartan. There was also signs of obvious battle. Floating through several corridors, the pair looked around, until Hal rounded a corner, only to come face to face with a human-looking man with large wings on his back and a bird-like helmet. "Wow, Tower, this is Highball, i've found a body. Appears to be human... Has a bird-like helmet and large wings.

"Thanagarian. The line said. "They're a warrior race, but the shape of that ship doesn't resemble any kind of Thanagarian i've ever seen. The Thanagarians have been at war with a number of different powers recently, so there's a number of races it could have been. Hal pushed the body to one side. "With no air aboard that ship, that could have been last week, or hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago. Space is big."

"Really big." Hal replied

"Yes, we all know how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is." Mae replied, sounding slightly annoyed "Continue the sweep, over." Dexter floated towards the body and looked it over.

"I would like to sample the alien meat." Dexter growled.

"That's... Disgusting." Hal grimaced.

"Have you seen the things you put into your body? Those Twinkies you eat are barely even food." the cat growled back. The pair then continued to move through corridors.

"Maybe we're on the wrong deck for it, but this place doesn't seem to have any crew quarters. No signs of a cafeteria or anything like that. Looks like no homely comforts." Hal said. "Maybe it's like Alien where the crew are all in cryostasis. I'm seeing a lot of alcoves in places. There seems to be some kind of control panels next to them. Over."

"Less civilized species that haven't developed FTL make use of sleeper ships. Thanagarians shout about honour, but to be honest, they don't have many qualms about punching bellow their weight limit. Hmmm... I've never heard of a civilization discovering how to harness Willpower before FTL." Sinestro sighed.

"Alright, who's gonna say it? Over." Hal asked as he continued to float along.

"Say what?" Sinestro asked.

"S.W.O.R.D. Directive 21-17, anyone caught repeating tired, hackneyed, movie cliche's will face a court-marshal. Over." Mae replied through the radio. Hal was pretty sure she was making that one up. But right now...

"I've got a bad feeling about this." The cat growled. The pair continued to float through the ship until they made it to a large room with a central computer console.

"Alright, i've got to some kind of computer room, or maybe a command center. I'll try to access the computers now." He approached the computer, he pressed buttons, shone the ring on it, but nothing really happened. Looking around the room, he spotted something. "Highball to Tower, i've got something new now." He floated over to what looked alike a large, metal body on the floor. "Looks like... Some kind of robot." Hal began. "Red body, only one arm, looks like it's rather battle damaged." As Hal shone his ring across it, the Robot twitched a little.

"Does it have a blue face?" Sinestro asked, sounding very worried now.

"Yeah, it-" Before Hal could say anything else, Sinestro butted in.

"GET OUT OF THERE, GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!!!" He roared into the mic. As the green light shone across the robot again, suddenly, Hal would feel some of the green energy being pulled out of his ring and into the robot. The eyes slowly opened, glowing green. "GREEN LANTERN!!! HAL JORDAN!!! THAT THING WILL KILL YOU! GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!" Hal began floating backwards as the robot slowly picked itself up.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-" It jerked awkwardly, circuits pulling themselves back together as Hal backed away, holding up the Green Ring, he created a Chainsaw construct and tried to decapitate it. The teeth ground against it's neck, but the hand reached out, gripped the chainsaw in its hands and crushed the construct, the green energy from the broken construct disappearing into the robot, more of its systems being brought online as it absorbed more will. It's eyes glowed brightly as its neck damage finally mended. The mouth opened and in a monotone, robotic voice it gave it's announcement to the world.

"NO MAN ESCAPES THE MANHUNTERS!"

[ThatDeercat]

I S S U E #004
I S S U E #004

^{_{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

For all her meagre understanding of Earth’s politics, Koriand’r believed Thor was surely of some high ranking class. It was the same on so many worlds: strength was a divine mandate. So for him to bow in respect to her, a royal with a hollow, empty title, was shocking. She stared at him, trying to process what she was experiencing emotionally. She must have been a small child the last time anyone showed even a modicum of deference toward her. Koriand’r was well aware of the treatment refugees often faced even on their home planet, and she hadn’t expected much of anything different as an alien refugee on this planet.

A small part of her screamed to run, that he was only doing this in order to gain her trust. The High Evolutionary had been like that - kindness was a means to an end; it always came at a cost. Her suspicion was a learned response perfected over years, but her gut told her there was nothing to worry about. Thor- Donald Blake had given no evidence to the contrary. He had come to her with a gentle tone, given her space, freed her from her restraints, and even given her the opportunity to leave.

Blinking rapidly to clear her shocked stupor, Koriand’r smiled softly in acceptance and crossed her fist over her heart with a small bow to return Donald’s gesture, ”Thank you, Donald Blake. Your kindness is well received.”

She watched him with confusion as he let out a whistle short and high, his hand held at the ready to catch something invisible. Kori peered around curiously, wondering if he had signalled others to join him. When no one appeared she wracked her brain for some other reason until as if from thin air a metallic hammer appeared flying toward Thor, whizzing past the helicopter in a frighteningly-near miss. He wasn’t even looking at it! She opened her mouth to warn him only for it to nestle perfectly into his outstretched hand, his body barely seeming to flinch with the force. There was a joyful, excited look on his face as if he was proud to show off. If situation were different, she might have joined in on the seemingly playful posturing, but the timing seemed wrong. Kori recalled the High Evolutionary telling her about the rarity and reception of aliens on Earth, and she worried the exposure of her powers so immediately after her mysterious arrival could jeopardise her chance at freedom on the planet, and what better place to hide from the High Evolutionary than right under his own nose on his home planet

What truly wowed her, though, was the way Thor swung the heavy hammer as if it weighed nothing. It was effortless, leading her to believe he was impressively strong and certainly not a someone to be trifled with. Kori was glad he seemed to be on the side of good; she imagined he would be a force to be reckoned with in battle. She leaned in to get a closer look at the portal he had created, hesitant to walk into the unknown. He said it lead to his home, but it could conceivably lead anywhere. It could have all been a ruse, and on the other side was the High Evolutionary waiting to condescendingly congratulate her for a circle well run. And yet a voice in the back of her mind reminded her that life is a series of choices, one leap of faith after another.

So, she stepped through the portal not into a trap, but an apartment. The sunlight that streamed through the windows made dust specks in the air into glitter as a ball of black fur unfurled itself from a nap and yawned, showing off an impressive set of needle-like teeth. Koriand’r was immediately enamoured with the small creature, ignoring everything else around her - including Thor - to greet it. She took her time, coming down to the creature’s level to seem less threatening before she reached out and paused when it hesitated before leaning in for a thorough sniff of her hand.

”My, you are a handsome thing,” Kori crooned as she stroked gently over the satin-soft fur. She turned to Donald, delight sparkling in her eyes, “Is this the “cat” you spoke of, Donald Blake?”

[King Kindred]

---

Paris Island, Dakota City
The Big Bang

Virgil stood outside of the fence surrounding the Paris Island docks. He couldn't believe he was here. Larry told him about what was going down here tonight and how he'd help him with his Frank problem. But he wasn't this kind of person. He wasn't a banger. He didn't even like fighting despite knowing how to. Part of him felt like if he didn't go through with this he'd never rid himself of Frank's consistent bullying. The other part of him knew that if he went through with this there'd be no going back. Virgil was about to turn and go home when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"I didn't think you'd actually show." Larry said as he patted Virgil on the shoulder.

"I'd hate to defy your expectations of me. I could go home and pretend I wasn't here." Virgil responded with the glimmer of hope that he'd actually let him leave.

Larry laughed as if they weren't about to enter a gang war. "Too late for that, Virg. Everyone's already here." He walked over to the gate and opened it before pushing Virgil through. When they got on the other side they approached Larry's crew. They were antsy and didn't have time for introductions, making Virgil even more nervous. Larry pulled out something wrapped in a cloth. "I got something for you." He said as he handed it to Virgil.

Virgil reluctantly took it and pulled the cloth off to see a glock pistol. Everything popped off before he could protest and return the gun. As the others ran towards battle he ran in the opposite direction to throw the gun in the water. He didn't even want to be perceived as a threat by anyone. He was in way over his head and needed to get out of here now. He ran towards the exit but stopped in his tracks when he saw Frank.

Frank finished stomping someone's head into the pavement when he looked up and noticed Virgil. "Oh, it must be Christmas already. I can do what I want to little Virgil Hawkins without any stupid teachers or friends getting in my way."

Virgil was frozen in fear. He was telling his legs to run but they wouldn't. Frank was inches away from him when he was saved by the sound of police sirens. He never thought he'd ever be thankful for that sound.

The police charged into the area firing off cannisters of some strange green gas into the crowd of bangers. One landed in between Virgil and Frank causing them both to step away and cough. Virgil took this as his chance to escape. He dashed to the nearest fence and saw two shadowy figures on the outside. When he got closer he could've sworn they were his friends Richie and Daisy. What were they doing there? Oh right. Richie had his location. At first he didn't understand why they needed to share locations, but for once he was grateful that they did.

He hopped over the fence and before he could thank or confront them for being here in the first place he passed out in their arms.

---

Daisy's House

Virgil felt like he was sleeping on cloud like pillows. They were so soft he almost didn't want to wake up. He opened his eyes slowly adjusting to the light in the room. So he wasn't resting on clouds and he definitely wasn't in his own room. His eyes fully adjusted to the light and saw above him the face of Daisy Watkins. The pillows he was laying on? Her lap.

"Oh, good. You're awake." She said with a sigh of relief before smacking him on the forehead. "What were you thinking!?"

"First off, ouch. Secondly, I wasn't. I was going to go home when I finally did start to think, but by then it was too late."

"You would've been hurt a lot more than that if we didn't rescue you."

"Or dead." Richie said as he entered the room.

"Richie!" Daisy yelled. He was right, but it was a bit too much.

"No, I mean it. Look." He said as he turned on the TV to show the news broadcast about what's being dubbed, "The Big Bang." Most police officers and gang members were killed from the gas that they released. The few survivors either escaped or were brought to the hospital. "It's a miracle you managed to survive."

A miracle. Virgil wasn't sure that was the right word. He shouldn't have even been there in the first place. "What about Larry?" He really wanted to ask if Frank survived as well, but deep down he was hoping that he didn't.

The two had solemn expressions on their faces unsure of how to answer at first before Daisy spoke up. "I'm sure Larry's fine. He's stronger than he looks and is way too stubborn to die."

"Yeah... You're right." Virgil said as he continued to watch the news broadcast.

[Half Pint]

Steel - Part 1.03 - Shout

---

The armored truck rumbled through midday Metropolis, its dull-blue frame sweating under the beating sun. Inside, the two guards treated it like any other shift. Complaining about traffic, sports, and the way their sandwiches always got soggy no matter what. By lunchtime they'd be out of food and scavenging among the city's food trucks like clockwork.

They'd just finished their last morning pickup at Metropolis Central Bank, the rear compartment now packed full of cash bags stacked to the ceiling. All that was left was the drive back to headquarters, unload the haul, and drown in the mountain of paperwork waiting for them. Not exactly thrilling work, but it paid the bills.

As they rolled past a construction site, the passenger frowned. It was unusually quiet for this hour - no drills, no shouting, no clanging metal. He checked his watch. Lunch break, maybe. He muttered something about unions, earning only an eye-roll from his partner.

Then a massive cement mixer suddenly lurched backward out of the construction lot, its engine growling as it swung wide into the road directly across their path.

"Whoa!" the driver barked, slamming the brakes as hard as he could. The armored truck screeched, tires biting hard into the asphalt, coming to a jolting stop just inches from the mixer's hulking metal side.

The passenger's sandwich slid off his lap. He didn't even have time to curse before his partner muttered, "That's not right, what kinda asshole just pulls out onto the road like that?"

"I dunno, but whoever he is he just cost me my lunch." He said, opening the door to the truck and hopping out onto the street below.

As he approached the mixer he habitually adjusted his belt, pulling the weight of the revolver in its holster up like he was John Wayne.

"Hey, what's the big idea?! Move this thing we got a schedule to keep!" He called out. His answer was silence, he called again - this time with far more explitives. The man in the mixer finally got out, he was wearing a blue jumpsuit and a mask.

"Hey, buddy - halloween's not for a few months, now are you going to move that thing or am I going to have to make you mov-"

A tire iron whistled through the air and slammed across his jaw, folding him to the pavement like a sack of grain. The world went white around the edges as he dropped face-first into the dust.

"Son of a!" the armored truck's driver cursed, reaching for his radio.

Before he could grab it, the construction-site fence to their right erupted with movement. Four more figures poured out wearing the same blue jumpsuits and cheap masks. Two armed with crowbars, one with a pistol, and the last with a sawed-off shotgun held at his side.

The shotgun wielder tapped twice on the armored truck's window with the barrel of the gun. "Alright, sweetheart." he called in a sing-song voice from behind his mask. "Get outta the truck and unlock the back. No one else needs to get hurt today."

The driver froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't paid enough to pretend to be. Still, for a moment he thought about grabbing his revolver and making a move. Common sense overtook bravery though, and he slowly and cautiously exited the car, the barrel of the gun still pointed at his neck.

Their slow movement towards the back of the vehicle was interrupted by a mighty thoom followed by the noise of concrete raining down on the ground. They both turned in time to catch Steel sending a mighty punch to the gut of the tire iron wielder.

The impact sent the masked man sailing backward into a stack of rebar with a metallic crash, bending the rods like matchsticks around his unconscious body. The other robbers jolted in shock, stumbling back from the scene as dust rolled off the crater Steel had just formed in the pavement.

Steel straightened, the afternoon sun gleaming off the brushed metal of his armor. He didn't speak as he gazed at the startled robbers. He let out a sigh, lazily swinging his hammer into a rest position against his shoulder as he surveyed the situation, his eyes finally resting on the shotgun user.

Great, John thought behind his visor, another detour. And I'm definitely going to be late now.

The shotgun-wielding robber recovered first, jerking the weapon up. "S-stay back! I swear to God I'll-"

Steel swung his hammer and threw it in the air, catching pretty much everyone off guard as they traced its trajectory. It sailed into the sky, higher and higher and didn't seem to be coming back down anytime soon.

The robbers looked at each other - obviously confused about this turn of events. "Are you - are you kidding me?!" the one with the pistol yelped, fumbling with his weapon.

His hands shook so hard he nearly dropped it, finally he raised it just in time for Steel to deftly swat it away with a metal hand. It spun into the air, bounced off a traffic sign, and skittered across the asphalt.

The other two robbers looked at each other, then turned to run. From the looks of this guy their puny melee weapons would barely make a dent in his armor. Steel raised his fist for a moment, feeling the jet boosters in his shoes begin to fire up.

No. Focus, John. No broken bones. No hospital bills. You're here to stop them, not kill them. He shot over and grabbed a length of rebar from the collapsed stack, bent it around his leg with a single motion, and hurled the newly shaped metal hoop like a discus. It caught both fleeing men at the knees, taking them down together in a graceless tangle of arms and legs.

"Hey, asshole! I've still got a hostage!" Steels attention was brought back to the man with the shotgun, aiming a fraction of an inch away from the drivers neck. "And I'm gonna get my money and you ain't followin' or this guy gets it!"

He grumbled, absent mindedly glancing down at the clock on his HUD. He was later than late now.

Finally his hammer shot down from the heavens. Calculating the most optimal path to fly behind the robber as Steel targeted him through his visor. It zipped back and forth in straight lines, finally arriving behind the man and barrelling towards him, cleanly knocking him out and sending him skidding along the ground on his face as it returned to its masters hand.

The scene settled, only the noise of pained groaning and engines running breaking the silence. The armored truck driver stared, stunned, his hands hovering in surrender even though the threat was long gone.

Steel turned to him. "You alright?" His voice came out modulated. Enough that it sounded something like the human inside, but not so much that he could be identified.

"Y-yeah, I guess so." the guard managed, nodding rapidly. "Jeez, I thought I was a goner there!"

Steel gave a small nod and scanned the area for more threats. None left standing. His boots began to warm up as he prepared to fly off. Maybe he could make it just in time, if he left now and got changed quickly he might only be fashionably late rather than just normal rudely late.

A tiny voice echoed through his advanced hearing equipment. His visor triangulated it a few streets over, "Excuse me! Could someone please help an old woman!"

Steel flew over to find an elderly woman standing at the crosswalk, clutching her grocery bag like a shield. She looked shocked at the sight of the metal man, but sensing he wasn't a threat managed to squeek out "Are you...? Could you maybe help me across? The light's been broken all morning and those cars just keep barreling through..."

Steel blinked behind his visor. The interview was in forty minutes. He didn't have time for this at all.

But what were heroes for if not this?

He sighed quietly and holstered the hammer.

"Of course, ma'am." he said, stepping to her side. "Let's go."

Her arm looped around his huge metallic one, and together they walked across the street as the drivers on both sides screeched to abrupt, terrified halts at the sight of an eight-foot armored figure escorting a grandmother through traffic.

"Such nice manners!" she said sweetly. "You remind me of my Harold."

"Thank you, ma'am."

When they reached the other side, she patted his gauntlet. "You be safe, dear!"

"I'll try!"

He launched himself skyward a moment later, boosters flaring as he arced over the city.

He was definitely late for the interview now.

---

Clay frowned at the sight of his brother, rushing out of the taxi and pulling on his blazer over a black turtleneck and running up the stairs two at a time to the Luthorcorp building. At this point he might've prepared him to not show up at all for how late he was.

John slid his glasses on and made some small attempt to explain himself. "I know, I know, I'm late-"

"Save it." Clay interrupted, holding up his hand. "Let's not make ourselves any later than we already are. Hopefully I know the guy doing the interview."

The two entered the lobby. It was huge, modern, and abuzz with activity. Men in suits carrying briefcases passed side by side with scientists in labcoats. Important looking businessmen sat on luxurious chairs, impatiently tapping their feet as they were forced to wait.

Clay approached the receptionists desk. "Hey, Tracy. This is my very inconsiderate brother John - could you please call up and let the team know he’s here for his interview and deeply, profoundly sorry for being late?"

John shot him a harsh look. Tracy laughed into her headset as she dialed. "Of course, Mr. Irons. They were expecting him a little earlier, but...oh." Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, he's coming down himself."

Clay blinked. "He? Who's 'he'?"

Before Tracy could answer, the elevator doors behind them slid open with a soft chime. A shock of red hair exited - Lex Luthor himself.

"Clay!" Lex greeted smoothly, extending a hand. "Always good to see you. How are things on the fourth floor?"

Clay shook it a little too eagerly. "Mr. Luthor. Appreciate you taking the time, really didn't expect-"

"And this" Lex said, turning his attention to John with a smile that could've lit the whole lobby, "Must be the older Irons brother I've heard so much about."

John felt a flicker of instinctive discomfort. Not exactly intimidation, just that uncomfortable sensation of being too closely evaluated. The kind of feeling you get in your gut when you know something's wrong but can't place what it is.

"John Henry Irons, sir." he said, offering a handshake. "And again, I apologize for being late. Something unexpected came up."

Lex chuckled lightly, waving it off. "If I held lateness against brilliant men, I'd have no scientists whatsoever. Come, let's talk. And please, call me Lex."

His tone left no room for disagreement as he gestured toward the private elevator. Clay mouthed good luck behind him as John followed Lex inside.

The moment the doors slid shut, Lex clasped his hands behind his back. "So." he began, "I've read your file. MIT. Honors. Your patents on modular magnetic propulsion. Your work on advanced kinetic dampening. And of course..." He paused almost as if to add effect. "Your time with AmerTek."

John felt a wave of stress wash over him. AmerTek was bound to come up at some point during the interview, but he thought he'd have more time to mentally prepare. Lex noticed and smiled gently, trying to relax him.

"You're worried we'll want you for weapons manufacturing." John didn't speak. Lex continued anyway, his voice softening as if confiding a secret. "I run a corporation, not an army, Mr. Irons. The world has more than enough men building better bullets. I am far more interested in men who build better futures." His gaze turned to the elevator doors as though addressing the entire city beyond them. "Metropolis deserves infrastructure that doesn't crumble every decade. Energy solutions that don't depend on foreign markets. Clean, safe, advanced systems. That is what LuthorCorp will create."

He turned back to John with a small, earnest smile. John knew better than to comment that the business wasn't in the young entrepeneurs hands - yet at least.

"And that is why I want you here." Continued Lex.

The elevator opened onto a pristine white hallway, all glass partitions and chrome accents. Scientists, engineers, and analysts moved with purpose in every direction. That feeling in his stomach was fading away, Lex had a natural talent for disarming people's suspicion with words.

"And as luck would have it" Lex continued, "Your orientation will begin with someone far more pleasant than I."

A woman approached from the opposite end of the hall. She was in her late twenties, with red hair tied back in a neat ponytail, and striking green eyes. She wore a slim-fit suit and carried a digital tablet under one arm. When she saw Lex, she smiled in a way that was felt genuine, one shared between friends rather than an employee and a boss.

"Mr. Luthor." she greeted. "You wanted me to assist with the Irons interview?"

Lex stepped aside. "John Henry Irons, this is Lana Lang. Head of Public Communications and Special Projects. She'll be joining us today."

Lana extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Irons. Clay talks about you all the time."

John shook her hand. "Only the bad stuff, I hope."

She grinned. "Mostly embarrassing stuff."

Lex clapped his hands together lightly. "Shall we begin?"

He led them into the first lab: a spacious workshop filled with prototype drones, robotics, and half-assembled exoskeletal rigs. There wasn't a weapon in sight, or even anything that resembled one.

"Here at LuthorCorp-" Lex said as they walked, "We're not trying to control the world. We're trying to improve it." He gestured toward a group of engineers working on a luminous energy coil. "Clean power. Safer transportation. Urban solutions that could transform every major city on Earth."

Lana watched John carefully out of the corner of her eye, as if she was measuring his reactions. John's gaze was firmly fixed on the numerous inventions littered throughout the workshops. He was trying to spot any slip-up, any sign that Luthorcorp was up to no good.

"And this-" Lex added as they approached another glass-enclosed lab "is only the beginning. Mr. Irons, I'd like you to consider not just a job here, but a legacy. Something worthy of your mind."

John stared through the glass at a towering array of industrial stabilizers and magnetic containment fields—technology far beyond anything AmerTek had ever dreamed of.

He had sworn he'd never step back into a lab like this. And yet, he felt a calling within him. Maybe for all the good he could do as Steel there was a greater good he could do here. Maybe the worlds problems could be solved a screwdriver rather than a hammer.

"What's the catch here, Lex." Finally the ginger haired man was taken off guard. "This all feels to good to be true."

Finally he replied. "No catch." He shook his head. "None at all. Your brother has spoken highly of you and by all accounts my research tells me any lab would be lucky to have you. I'm writing you a blank cheque, John. With my money and your brain I think we can change the world. I'm just glad those dogs at Hammer Industries haven't got to you first."

John's gaze swept back through the lab, staring past the machines and out the window to the city below.

"Look, just give it a try. The money's good and you have my word your work will never be twisted into something you'd be ashamed of. Not here. Not under me."

John didn't answer immediately. He stood there, arms crossed and deep in thought. Lana stepped closer and broke the silence. "Mr. Irons" she said gently "We know you’ve had bad experiences with corporations before. But this place is different. I've been here four years now. If there was something dark or shady behind the curtain, trust me - communications would be the first to know."

"You saying that as a PR professional or as a person?"

"As a person." Lana replied without missing a beat. "One who believes you could do a lot of good here. More than you realize."

John met her eyes. She didn't flinch or look away. He could feel sincerity in her. Unless she was the worlds best liar, he felt he knew she was telling the truth.

"You're really making this hard for me to refuse."

Lana smiled. "Is that a no?"

He shook his head, unable to resist the grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "No. That's me admitting I can't say no to a pretty face."

"Flattery already? You’re going to fit in just fine."

Lex clapped his hands once, delighted. "Excellent! John Henry Irons, welcome to LuthorCorp."

He extended his hand again. This time, John shook it without hesitation. "Alright." John said, straightening his back. "Let's see what kind of future we can build."

[Ezekiel]

---

The United States of America, Washington DC

---

“On behalf of my administration and the American people, I thank you for your service to both our nation and the world in halting this latest threat to our way of life.”

“Just doing my duty, Mr President. It's an honour to be here.”

The first time she'd heard his name was in one of her dad's more targeted rants, positive this time. He said he'd vote for him three times if he could. She hadn't brought this up; in her mind, it wasn't a compliment.

Her time back on Earth had been a blur so far. As instructed, she'd flown through Boston on her way back to Project Base. A particularly well-timed photo of the Warbird soaring through the air above Boston Common was already being plastered across the Internet and print media alike. It was being sold as candid, but she was fairly certain they'd paid someone to camp out the angle. It was an exceptional shot; she was almost tempted to ask if they could sneak the same guy in for Prom photos.

The official meeting with the President wasn't meant to be her first meeting with the man, that would have suggested the President had little and less to do with America's new, deadliest weapon. So they feigned a false sense of professional familiarity for the cameras. She got through it well enough. A brief burst of mental communication from Mar'vell informed her that the Director had even smiled for once.

She promised to look out for any flying pigs.

The private meeting afterwards was something of a different story.

“Jesus Christ, Oliver, you didn't tell me she was this young.”

The President directed his question to one of the suited and booted individuals who followed them into the Oval Office. No press this time. She was stunned for a moment, but Mr Suited replied in her stead.

“It wasn't a matter of choice, Sir, we’ve been told she has characteristics that make her a unique candidate for the program. One of one.” It wasn’t spoken in a tone that could be considered supportive of her, even if the words were making her case. Everything about the men in the room with her currently reeked of derision, enough to make her wring her fingers together as she felt the familiar creep of anxiety down her spine and into her gut.

“I suppose that accounts for the apparent delay I am supposed to anticipate when calling on her … abilities.” The President continued to speak as if she wasn’t there, but it compelled her to answer, even if she almost immediately stumbled over the words.

“I do everything I can to ensure my sch- personal life, doesn’t delay my response in times of emergency.” She caught herself, but not quite in time, the dismissive look on the President’s face deepening as she spoke.

“Indeed, how generous of you.” He moved around to the other side of the Resolute desk, taking his seat with almost a slump as he leaned down to pour himself a drink from a concealed shelf. He didn’t offer her one, but then, he didn’t provide one to anyone else in the room either. “We should probably find a way to extract ourselves from this situation before this turns into a disaster.” It was very much as if she wasn’t in the room, he even seemed to look through her to whichever of the various experts he was talking to.

There was a momentary deluge of conversation around her as they all looked to present either their opinion on the matter or their strategy.

Carol froze in place, her fingers wringing together ever more tightly on her own digits. Her fear bubbled up only more so, burrowing into her chest with a cold grip on her lungs. She could feel her breathing start to shallow, growing more frantic.

Focus

Breathe

The conversation continued to dance around her for a few moments as she tried to bring her breathing back under control. Lessons learned in school counselling sessions, and far more helpful ones from Mar’vell, played across her mind. Eventually, it was her turn to speak and remind those in the room with her that she existed.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Excuse me?”

It wasn’t the President who spoke, one of the other suits in the room replied first, but the sudden forcefulness of her tone brought the attention of the room back around to her.

“All the ICBMs in the world aren’t going to help you if those who just saved New York decide ‘you’ are the new problem. What’s the largest military in the world going to do for you when the God of Thunder lands in the Oval Office?” Her arms moved behind her back as her confidence returned, the easy kind of flippant charm she managed when she knew she held the cards. “I’m the only thing that can help with that, so I’d think twice before deciding on any reason why you’d want to wrap up Project Warbird.”

“And how are you any different from them?”

“Easy, Mr President. Right now, I work for you.”

---

Oh God

She’d flown off in just about the first direction she picked as soon as she’d made it out of the White House. Her thoughts pounded in her head all the way.

She’d made it to this random diner in the middle of who knows where. She had almost dived straight in, but thought better of showing up in her costume. So now she was standing on the flat concrete roof, desperately trying to not throw up over the edge.

Did I just threaten the President?

She hadn’t meant it to come out like that, but the energy in the room had gone ice cold. She preferred that, though, to before. At least they respected her.

There was a brief buzz from her communicator before she heard the voice in her ear.

“It’s manic here, Carol.”

Jim’s voice, one of the few to check in with her over the last day or so. If it was him on comms everyone even slightly important was clearly very busy.

“OhmygoshI’msosorrytheywereignoringmeandIpanicedhowmadishe?” She unleashed a stream of vocal anxiety, entirely forgetting to keep her voice down in case someone noticed the pacing blonde superhero on their roof.

“Mad? The President’s staff are on the line, they’re demanding all sorts of testimonials and assurances. Probably a written apology.”

“I’m going to be sick.” In truth, she was going to be sick again but Jim didn’t need to know the details of her panicked flight.

“But, the Director’s over the moon.”

“What?”

“Carol, the President of the United States is concerned enough to actually care who everyone is on the Program. Whatever you said to them worked and the Project has never been more important.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve been told to call you to let you know your first bonus is being paid out, enjoy Uncle Sam’s dollars. Just not all at once.”

“Oh.”

With a notification, her phone registered a new banking balance. One that had at least another zero than it had before.

“Ooooooooh.”

[King Kindred]

---

Metropolis
Crash Site
_{@ThatDeercat@Cyrania}

Thor stepped into the portal after Koriand'r made her way through to the other side. As soon as he entered the portal would close behind him so that no one could follow them to his apartment. When he entered his apartment's living room he watched as Koriand'r immediately went to Sir Midnight. If he had known women loved cats he would've gotten himself one a long time ago. He smiled at the scene, genuinely happy that she found herself comfortable and at home already. This was a complete one eighty from the moment she arrived.

Sir Midnight almost blew his cover when the strange woman came out of a portal. He at first assumed she was an enemy of Thor's encroaching on his territory, but then he sensed his brother on the other side of the portal and relaxed. She must have been one of his new paramours, but if she was he was surprised that Thor would reveal his powers and residence to her so quickly with the bounty on his head. He could tell immediately that she wasn't a human. Loki had traveled the stars many times in his boredom over the years. When he sniffed her he had confirmed his suspicions. She was of Tamaran. He hadn't been there in such a long time but given the distance from Earth it was certainly strange to see one here. He was glad that he knew of their kind before he went snooping in her mind. She would've detected the intrusion and exposed him. Great. Another nuisance and obstacle in his plans of bringing down Thor.

Sir Midnight's frustration faded as she rubbed his skin. Those soft, but firm hands did well at smoothing out the stress in his body. He could get used to more of those. He nuzzled against her hand and circled around her legs before walking out of the room.

"Yes, ma'am." Thor answered. "His name's Sir Midnight. I'm surprised he opened up to you so quickly. It usually takes him a bit more time to open up to strangers. Also, you don't have to say my full name. Donald or Donny is fine."

Donald walked over to the table in the living room and picked up the card that Phil Coulson gave him after the Fire Trolls incident. He honestly wasn't expecting to ever use this, but now seemed like the best time. "I have a friend, well not really a friend. Someone that I trust who'll be able to help you get the things you need to blend in as a citizen of Earth and Metropolis if you choose to stay. His name's Mr. Coulson. When a man running for office tried to make me out to be a villain and set a bounty on my head, he approached me like the hero I've been trying to be. He told me to call him if I ever needed help."

He took his phone out from his boot and dialed the number on the card. They answered almost as soon as he pressed the call button. He barely had the time to lift the phone to his ear. "This is Thor. Get me Mr. Coulson."

[ThatDeercat]

I S S U E #005
I S S U E #005

^{_{____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

Koriand’r felt a swell of pride that Sir Midnight seemed to greet her favourably. She found herself immediately enamoured with the petite predator, but as with so many creatures of that sort, its interest waned and it wandered off. It was a sort of comfort to be around a pet like that again. Though the High Evolutionary had never stooped to that level of sentimentality, he never explicitly discouraged it when Kori had grown fond of a carnivorous dog-like hybrid experiment that had turned out to be a failure by his standards. It had turned out rather dull-but-excitable and despised to be left alone, so much so that it would yip and cry until someone came to get it. He allowed her to take responsibility for it knowing that its life would be tragically short due to the mess of genetic complications, but believed it to be a valuable lesson about attachment or death or self-sufficiency or something. She couldn’t really remember; she was still young and too busy mourning the loss of her companion. Kori had always been a bit soft, and that hadn’t changed much with age.

“I’m honoured he warmed to me so quickly, then. One can learn a lot about a person by the way animals act around them,” she proclaimed. “I trust the opinions of beasts over the words of men. Men lie and cheat and steal; they can be blackmailed and bribed, but a beast suffers no greed or shame. Even a beast well-fed knows to duck the raised hand of a cruel master.”

When Donald reminded her that it wasn’t necessary to use his full name, Kori’s expression turned sheepish, ”I am sorry - it’s the custom on Tamaran as a sign of respect; greetings and introductions can get quite wordy if a person has many honours or accomplishments. Shortened names are for more familiar companions. Even the High Evolutionary was always Dr. Wyndham to me, never Herbert and Goddess forbid I ever call him Herb.” She punctuated her sentence with a small, humourless laugh at the thought of calling her captor by a nickname. ”I think I will stick to Donald for not if it is not some great disrespect to do so.”

She watched him move through the space until he was further away from her before she pulled her gaze away to look around the apartment more. It seemed nice enough - comfortable at least, if not a bit dusty in a few corners from neglect. She wondered why he kept such a large space for only the small cat, but she knew so little about them that perhaps they simply required living accommodations that seemed far too spacious for their small stature.

Koriand’r snapped her attention back to Donald as soon as he spoke again, brandishing the small card he’d picked up from the table. She didn’t even try to make out the tiny print of the minimalist design. What really caught her attention was his communication device. It seemed some things were universal; the design of it was quite familiar. Perhaps not everything on Earth would be new and foreign to her after all. She waited quietly while he spoke with the people on the other end of the call, drifting over toward a seat and settling down. She did still lean in a bit, trying to hear the other side of the conversation with little success. As he sat there, she realised she might not have made the best first impression by starting her time on Earth with a temper tantrum, but she needed somewhere safe to call home at least while she figured out what to do about the displacement of Tamaraneans from their home world, and Earth was as good a place as any to do just that. Koriand’r just hoped she could overwrite her first impression with a better one now that she was calm. There would be time enough for grief later when she was alone. For now, she needed to put on a brave face until she was officially granted permission to stay.

[Azure Bubbles]

Suburbs outside of Metropolis

Zach’s phone vibrated nonstop.

98,412 unread messages.
#ZATARAMAGIC trending.
Clips from his stream had been turned into memes. The internet worked fast.

Zach closed his eyes and groaned. “Great. I finally go viral and it’s because I accidentally reenacted the opening scene of a horror movie.” He picked up his wand. A cheap, black and white magician’s wand he bought for the aesthetic. Now it was glowing with purple energy. Very much unlike a two-dollar party prop. “Okay,” he whispered, pacing in a circle. “Okay okay okay. So… that wasn’t CGI. That wasn’t a trick. That was…” His voice cracked. “…real magic.”

As if offended by the weakness in his tone, the wand flickered brighter.

Zach jumped. “Excuse me? I’m working through something here. Chill.”

This wasn’t a prank. This wasn’t a bit. This wasn’t him trying to emulate his uncle in his bedroom with dollar-store props. This… whatever it was… is something bigger than him.

His laptop pinged. A news alert lit up the screen:

“MYSTERIOUS FLYING MAN SAVES HUNDREDS — MID-AIR PLANE DISASTER AVERTED.”
Daily Planet Exclusive
Eyewitnesses report a man wielding impossible strength and flight pulling the aircraft to safety.

Zach blinked hard. It was an article from a month ago. Zach had no reason to pay attention to this stuff before. But after this incident, he had reason to now.

A flying man? Like… actually flying? Not a drone, not special effects, not a publicity stunt? His heart raced. If other impossible things were happening… publicly, visibly, then what happened to him wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a hallucination brought on by stress or sugar-free energy drinks. It meant he wasn’t the only one changing.

The wand warmed in his hand again. Almost like it agreed.

Zach swallowed. “…okay. So superhumans are real. Cool. Awesome. Not terrifying at all.” But his voice trembled. “I need answers,” he whispered. “Someone out there knows what’s going on. Someone has to.” He took one last look at the glowing wand. “I’m going into Metropolis.” Then, after a beat, he added quickly. “And I am absolutely not telling my parents.”