Dedonus

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Christopher Arthur III

Suddenly, Chris saw the woman who was attacked by the behemoth of a man jump to her feet and dash towards her attacker. However, he could only see a purple blur racing around the man. The only time when he was able to see her was when she would momentarily stop to complain to him about his own inaction.

“Then you better step out of the way. I don’t want to get a reputation of hitting pretty ladies like you.” Chris told the speedster as he sized up the man charging towards him. With his sword in hand, Chris took a swing at the behemoth of a man. However, his opponent caught the metallic portion of the blade. A stalemate ensued, as both men exerted their strength to overpower the other. One had superhuman power on his side, the other, the marvels of human ingenuity.

Chris needed to think fast. While they were currently in a stalemate, he did not know how long his armor could keep it up. Obviously, he could not brute force his way to victory. So, he needed some other alternative. However, after only a moment of pondering over this problem, he finally came up with a solution. He first deactivated the external speakers so that his enemy could not hear what he was doing.

“You might want to look away for a moment.” Chris warned the speedster before he had turned off his external speakers. Once those were off, he began to give orders to his armor. “Computer, activate the energy pila.”

WARNING: Object is in hand. Do you want to proceed? Chris saw on his internal interface of his armor.

“Affirmative” Chris said, “Set type from projectile to burst. Also, deactivate visual display and set arm to be in front of hostile’s face when the energy pile is ready.”

Everything went dark as his external video feed cut out. Right before the burst of energy went off, Chris could feel his opponent getting the upper hand as he began to drive him back. But then, he heard the man cry out in pain. When Chris turned his visual interface back on, he saw the man grabbing at his eyes as if he had been dazed by Chris’ attack.

“Hey, Speedy. You can mop things up here.” Chris told the purple speedster, “This guy here has a date with the Pacific Ocean.”

Chris shot a grappling cable around the man’s ankles before he took off. However, when he tried to take off, he discovered that the behemoth of a man was so heavy that Chris could only get him a few feet off the ground.

“You really need to cut down on the late night snacks!”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

I'm about to head to class, but I'll be around later tonight.

Absolute Comics: A Brave New World

@Sep: Sad to see you leave, Sep. It was an honor to work with you on a variety of projects here on RPG and I wish you luck on your next endeavors.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Christopher Arthur III

Isaac was abruptly jolted out of his sleep from the blaring noise of his alarm clock. Instinctively, he reached over and slammed the snooze button on the clock. Once his wake-up call had been silenced, he closed his eyes for a few moments before he tried to place his arm around his wife. However, as he reached over where he thought his wife was sleeping, Isaac suddenly felt his hand brush against a wall. Since he was startled from this, he immediately sat up in his bed and was shocked at what he saw.

He was sleeping in a full-size bed instead of a king, as he had remembered. He also could tell that he no longer was in the quaint home where he lived with his wife and daughter. Instead, he found himself in a cramped apartment. It was furnished in a Spartan style, since there was barely any furniture. In his confusion, Isaac threw off his covers and searched around the small abode, calling out his wife and daughter’s names, although in vain.

Thinking that he might have gone crazy, Isaac went to the one place that probably had all the answers: the internet. However, when he booted up the laptop in his apartment, he was surprised that the operating system was Windows 10 since he knew that it was several years old now. Once his desktop had finished loading up on the screen, the date at the bottom right corner seemed impossible. Although he did not believe it, the computer said that he was a decade in the past. Either the computer’s internal clock was just ten years slow or he had somehow gone back in time.

Next, he typed his wife’s name, Caroline, into the search engine. He was horrified at the results. He knew that in two years, Caroline and he were married and had their daughter, Lizzy, only a year later. But if what Caroline’s obituary said was true, she somehow died in a demon invasion of Lost Haven. Denial began to set in as Isaac came to terms with what he saw. This could not be true. But what could explain this? Could he had slipped into a parallel universe or something? But was that not just a fantasy made up by fiction writers?

Isaac’s mind raced in his head. He wondered how he could fix this situation, if it was even fixable in the first place. He racked his brain in hopes of thinking of anyone would could possibly know how to fix it. Finally, he found one name: Christopher Arthur. He remembered that Mr. Arthur was a technological genius and, if anyone could help Isaac get home, it would be him. After he learned about Mr. Arthur’s whereabouts for the night, he scavenged around his apartment for his costume and equipment. He had not donned those tights for almost a decade. He promised Caroline that he would give up the mercenary work, especially when he had a daughter to take care of. Normally, his wife would have been furious if Isaac had taken up his old job. But since he was doing it to get her and his little girl back, she would just have to allow this one to slide.

---

Chris stood in front of a mirror while he finished adjusting his bow tie. He, along with many other people of great importance, had been invited to a private event in Pacific Point. Although he was socially obligated to make an appearance at the event, it never specified when he had to do so. Sure, there was an official start time, but who arrives at parties right when the doors open? Chris indeed had other plans in mind for his arrival time.

“So, how do I look?” Chris turned his attention away from the mirror towards Maya. She wore a red dress that matched her fiery hair, along with the ruby that hung on a necklace around her neck.

“Words cannot describe how magnificent you look.” Chris sweet talked Maya. “I guess that’s why people say that a picture is worth a thousand words.”

“So, what thousand words would you use?” Maya joked with Chris.

The luxury hotel where they were staying in Pacific Point not only had a beautiful view of the city, but also the sea front, too. Even though it was already growing dark, Pacific Point was still bustling with activity. This, however, was not a surprise to Chris and Maya, since they were going to a party latter that night. The dazzling skyline was just a marvel to gaze at. It seemed the two were having a moment together, until George, Chris’ butler appeared.

“Master Christopher. You have a call from S.T.R.I.K.E.” He interrupted Chris and Maya.

“I swear they always come crying for my help at the most inopportune times.” Chris sighed, knowing that he needed to ditch Maya for a while as he dealt with whatever S.T.R.I.K.E. wanted. He could tell from Maya’s sad expression on her face that she knew that he was going to be busy for a little bit. However, he tried to console her for this inconvenience. “Don’t worry. While punctuality isn’t my strong suit, I am a man of my word. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With a kiss goodbye, at least for now, Chris went with George so that he could make his way to the local ST.R.I.K.E. headquarters, leaving Maya behind.

---

For the last month or so, S.T.R.I.K.E. had been trying to track a new speedster on the West Coast. Not only are speedsters difficult to track, but they are also potentially dangerous too, especially if they’re not playing for the good guys. The effectiveness of the process that S.T.R.I.K.E. used to follow this new hero could be likened to the technique that astronomers used to discover exoplanets. Since you could not see the exoplanet with one’s naked eye, astronomers have to rely on the miniscule dimming of a star to locate one of these extraterrestrial planets. In the same way, since this speedster was moving so fast, S.T.R.I.K.E. could only see short blinks of where this metahuman was.

But tonight, STRIKE seemed to luck out this time. Through their massive intelligence resources, they learned that this metahuman was in Pacific Point. Agents on the ground was able to quickly confirm the sighting and call in for backup. Regular agents would be no match for a lot of metahuamns, let alone one who can run at supersonic speeds. This was where Chris came in.

When he arrived at the scene of the sighting, Chris discovered two peculiar individuals next to a large, white van: a girl wearing a neon-purple wig and a giant of a man who probably would put the Kingpin from Marvel comics to shame with his muscle mass. He made an educated guess that the man was probably not the speedster.

“Heh. Too easy. I’m embarrassed for you sweetheart, but the Hounds are just gonna love you.” The burly man taunted the girl, who was lying on the pavement of the street.

“Hey, haven’t you heard? I get first crack at the ladies around here, so get in line!”

“Finally, a real challenge.” The man boasted.

“Actually, can you just surrender now and go quietly? I’ve got places to be and stopping street crimes is a little overkill for me. What do you say?”

Instead of saying anything, the man instead began to charge towards Chris. Although it took him a little bit to get to running speed, Chris could tell without all of his technology in his armor that he had quite the weight behind his momentum

“Well, I guess that answers that!”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@Alternax: We also have a Discord channel, which is linked in the OP (just FYI).

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Kelly Brown | Samantha Kadowsky | Zac Wilson

Zac collapsed face first onto the couch in their apartment since he was relieved that they were now home. Not only did they had a five-hour drive from Crown Ridge to Albany, but the escapades of the previous night would have worn out almost anyone. There was the robbery at the art museum. Then the three of them ran into Lyger and had to escape with him from both a local criminal organization and the city’s police force. While they did reach the safety of Lyger’s home, there was always that annoying fear that the criminals might have discovered their identities and therefore would have been able to attack them when they were least expecting it. Luckily, that never happened.

“What’s this?” Zac heard Sammy say. He sat up from his reclining position and glanced over the back of the couch to see what Sammy was referring to. In her hand, Sammy was holding a black ring that had what looked like a tiny diamond attached. “I hope you were not intending to propose with this thing, because that rock has ‘cheapskate’ written all over it.”

Zac stared at the ring with a befuddled expression for a few moments. He knew that ring was not his. However, he also did not want his response to come off sounding as if he was not interested in marrying Kelly someday.

“I cannot comment on the whole proposing thing, but I definitely did not buy that specific ring.” Zac finally made his response.

“Then whose is it?” Kelly took a closer look at the ring that her best friend was holding.

Sammy then noticed a small note on the countertop that she had first overlooked. Her eye naturally gravitated directly towards the jewelry instead the small sheet of paper. On that note, Sammy saw her name written on it and signed only with ‘from a friend’. She immediately guessed that this gift was from Lyger, who had promised that he would try to find some sort of device that would hide Sammy’s cat ears and tail. She first wondered why he would leave it her instead of her own apartment. However, she quickly concluded that Lyger probably did not know where she lived and therefore only could leave it at Zac and Kelly’s apartment.

“Don’t put that on.” Zac said as he jumped over the back of his apartment’s couch when he saw Sammy begin to slip the ring onto her finger, “We don’t know where that came from!”

However, Zac was just too late to make an objection. Sammy already placed the ring around her forth finger. Suddenly, all three of them heard something clank against the floor, as if it had been dropped. They discovered that it was the small device that Sammy (and Kelly) used to allow their animal-like tails to fit their clothes without cutting holes into their entire wardrobe. Sammy instinctively reached back to check what had happened to her tail. However, she was shocked to find that it was no longer there. Her hands then reached up to the top of her head, where she also learned that her cat ears were gone, too! Sliding her hands down the side of her head, she felt her old human ears for the first time in months.

“Kyle did it!” Sammy shouted in joy, “He got me something that can hide my powers!”

“I really need to get a security system installed in this apartment. Everyone and their brother has broken into this place now.” Zac whispered to Kelly as they watched their friend prance around the living room, as if she had just won the lottery.

“And it’s a ring, too!” Sammy blurred out as she held out her hand with the palm of her hand facing the floor. “Isn't that romantic?”

“I knew he would screw this up somehow.”

“What?” Sammy snapped at Zac when she heard his comment, wondering what he meant by that.

“He didn’t mean anything back that, didn’t you.” Kelly tried to save face with her best friend, although from the expression on Sammy’s face, she was not buying it.

“You two told him to tell me that we couldn’t be together, didn’t you!” Sammy yelled at her two friends. “You didn’t believe I could handle the situation, didn’t you! Well, I hate you both!”

Sammy then stomped out of the apartment and slammed the front door shut with a crash. Zac and Kelly just traded glances as they wondered how the situation could have gone even just a little better. However, they were surprised when they saw that the door creeped open again and Sammy’s head popped through the opening of the door.

"Alright, I don’t hate you two.” Sammy apologized. “I kind of need a ride home.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Aubrey Adkins

9:32 AM

One of the perks that comes with the apartments that Viera provides for their models is that there’s an on-site exercise facility located inside the complex. And it’s not crammed into a hole in a wall, either. While there isn’t enough room for an indoor track, this private gym does have a variety of machines and equipment. Emily and I always try to make it over there at least a couple of times each week. Sure, having superhuman strength and enhanced metabolism kind of makes exercising pointless, but I still have to keep up the appearance that it does. Plus, I’ve found that exercising can give you some other benefits other than losing a couple of pounds.

After I took a sip from a bottle of water that I normally bring along with me while exercising, I headed towards the leg extension machine and inserted the pin on the appropriate weight. While I worked out my legs, Emily stood beside the machine and chatted. She had a habit of doing more talking than actually using the equipment when we come here. Not that it distracts me or anything, so it doesn’t really bother me that much. Plus, I suppose she's exercising her jaw muscles, so there is that.

“Have you picked out a dress for the party this weekend?” Emily asked. She was referring to this event that we’re expected to attend. Since Pacific Point is only about a little more than an hour’s drive from Los Angeles and Hollywood, apparently, there’s supposed to be a much of famous people attending. I guess meeting, or at least seeing, some celebrities could be interesting.

“I’ll probably just pull something out of my closet. I’m sure there’s something in there that’s appropriate for the event.”

“Have you seen who’s rumored to be attending?”

“No.” I responded without turning to look at Emily.

“Apparently, Christopher Arthur is supposed to be in attendance.” Emily announced to me. When I heard that name, I immediately stopped what I was doing and gave her a concerned look. “He’s supposed to be really brilliant.”

“I’ll pass.” I told her as I got up from the chair that was attached to the exercise machine. I grabbed a disinfecting tissue and swept over the pairs of the machine that I touched.

“I guess you’re not a fan of his.” Of course I’m not a fan of his! He kidnapped me after I had been kidnapped by that Doctor Dip-whatever his name was and given my powers. And that bitch, Archangel. I hated her, too. Probably even more than Arthur. I’m so glad I’ve haven’t heard a single thing about her since the whole dome crisis last February.

I then retrieved a medicine ball and headed over to the next exercise station. At this station, there was a raised bench that was elevated a little on one side. Resting my stomach against the elevated side, I began what were essentially upside-down sit-ups with the medicine ball in my arms, since I would bend down my upper body towards the ground and then straighten myself out again.

“Well, hopefully you’ll meet at least someone you don’t hate.” Emily encouraged me, probably to make sure I’m not a total Debby Downer during the party.

While I continued this exercise, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of two other models heading towards the exit of the gym. Although it seemed like they were not trying to make their conversation heard by the two of us, the volume of their voices still carried all the way back to where Emily and I were.

“I can hardly believe that Double A needs an additional medicine ball when she already has two attached to her.” Whitney told Nicole as they walked towards the exit. However, before I could hear what the other girl had to say, although I can’t say that I really wanted to know, they had already gone through the door and out of earshot.

“Well, I guess that’s at least three people who are going to be at that event who I totally cannot stand.”

“Hey, at least I’ll be there. That means something, doesn’t it?” Emily tried to show the bright side of the situation. “Also, we don’t have to meet them for lunch if you don’t want to. No need to spending more time with them than you need to.”

“No, it’s fine. I guess a promise is a promise.” A few days ago, Whitney and Nicole asked us if we wanted to join them for lunch sometime this week. Although I would have loved to turn them down, since we all are going to be living in close proximity of one another for the next five or so months, I might at least learn to endure them.

Oh, I did mention my enhanced metabolism, didn’t I?

---

Noon

“Here are three salads.” The waitress said as she slid the three bowls filled with colorful vegetables in front of Emily, Whitney, and Nicole. She then placed my dish in front of. “And a cheeseburger with everything on it, with a side of fries and a strawberry milkshake. Do you girls need anything else?”

“No thank you.” I told her with a smile. When I turned back to the other three girls, I saw them all peer down at their own tiny bowl of vegetables and then glanced up at the plate that sat in front of me. Emily was the first to speak, scooting her chair closer to mine and placing her hand beside her mouth as if she was trying to prevent Whitney and Nicole from hearing what she was about to say.

“Aubrey, you’re not anorexic, are you? I know that people in our profession don’t always follow the healthiest practices, but that’s not healthy for you.” Emily told me out of concern, as a friend.

“Of course not.” I tried to talk her out of that idea that I’m somehow anorexic. Unfortunately, I cannot just say that I have an enhanced metabolism and it allows me to eat this food without weighing 400 lbs. “I wouldn’t stoop to those extremes just to stay inhumanly thin.

“Then where does all those calories go?” Whitney asked, a confused expression stuck on her face. “What, do you have a hollow leg?”

“No.” I told Whitney, looking her in the eyes. “It obviously goes into my medicine balls.”

And that is my middle finger to you, Whitney. That's why you should be careful about what you say aloud. You never know who might hear you.

---

Later That Night

On the outskirts of Pacific Point, at a private pier, several men gathered around a metallic box. These men belonged to a minor crime organization located in Pacific Point. Their operations were not as large as those of the Shroud Syndicate and most people did not even know that they even existed, let along know their name. Or at least they were not yet as large. This anonymity was actually quite a boon, since it allowed them to small, yet decent profit without the feds or caps sniffing around.

“What’s in the box, boss?” One of the henchmen asked.

“It is what will even the odds between us and those capes.” The Ringleader told his men. He then bent down and flipped up the latches that secured the lid of the metallic container and threw open the lid. The first henchman who had asked about the contents of the container peered in. However, he was quite confused about what lurked inside.

“Fish pills?” He said. “How is that going to help us? Prevent us from getting heart disease?”

“These are not just any ordinary omega-3 supplement pills.” The Ringleader explained to his men, “These capsules contain the oils of fish that were exposed to the device that would have created a dome around Lost Haven if one of the heroes had not dropped it into the Atlantic Ocean.”

“So, does that mean if we take these that…” Another of the Ringleader’s men started to say.

“Yes.” The Ringleader confirmed his man’s speculation. “While we don’t want to stoop to those monsters’ level, there’s nothing wrong with using them to cause some chaos in the public sphere and turn the public’s loyalties against those caps! They’re nothing more than abominations wearing a sheep’s wool.”

But suddenly, the men gathered at the pier heard the engine of a motorcycle nearby. The Ringmaster signaled to his men to go deal with the intruder, whoever he or she was. He sent all of his men except for one, who he ordered to help him carry the metallic container to a boat at the end of the wooden pier. As the Ringleader and one of his henchmen hurried away from the action, they began to heard the crack of gunfire and the barely audible clang of a bowstring being released. When they were only a few feet away their getaway boat, the two men found out that someone was standing in their way. Since it was nighttime, the two men could not really see much of the man besides his silhouette. However, when electricity began to spark from his hands, they began to get a better glance at whoever it was. The man was wearing a dark blue bodysuit that covered his entire body, insolating it from the temperature of the ocean’s water.

“Out of the way, creep!” The Ringmaster yelled at the man. He drew a pistol from his jacket in order to show that he wasn’t messing around. However, the Ringmaster soon found out that he brought a gun to a superpower fight. The man in the dark blue costume took the electricity that was building up around his hands and sent out a shockwave towards the Ringleader, blasting him off the wooden pier and into the water.

The henchman, who was already freaked out by what happened to his boss, dropped the case and ran back towards where everyone else was fighting the first intruder. That intruder could not be any worse than the electric-based metahuman who stood before him, right? However, as he dashed back towards the mainland, several giant, octopus-like appendages burst out of the water and wrapped round the wooden pier. These appendages then pulled down on the wood planks, dragging them down to the ocean floor.

“Leaving so soon? The party has just started.” A sultry voice called out to the panic-stricken man. From beneath the surface of the water, a woman arose. The octopus-like tentacles obviously belonged to this woman and they were attached to her where her feet would normally be. And around her waist were the heads of feral dogs, snapping their jaws at the man. That man had already gone ghostly pale and was not sure what to do now. He finally decided to make a jump for it, over the broken pier that the woman had destroyed. However, when he tried to make it across, the woman’s tentacle snatched him out of the air and flung him into the water.

“Let’s get out of here, Hydro Shock.” The woman barked at the man wearing the dark-blue colored costume.

“Working on it, Scylla.” Hydro Shock called back as he checked the metallic container. In the distance, a shark’s fin broke through the surface of the ocean. It came closer and closer to the pier until it was right next to the wood columns that held it up. A muscular arm reached out of the water and pulled the shark-man out of the water, along with a water-proof container. Hydro Shock and Jaws quickly poured the items contained in the metallic box into the storage unit that they had brought with them.

Once they closed shut the lid to the water-proof container, the three of the aquatic villains were preparing to depart back into the ocean, when suddenly an arrow plunged itself into the shoulder of the giant shark-man. He roared more so in rage than in pain, since his tough skin prevented the arrow tip from penetrating deep into his body. With his massive hand, Jaw yanked out the arrow and tossed it into the ocean. On the opposite side of the pier stood Odysseus, with his bow in hand.

“Let’s get out of here.” Hydro Shock yelled, “We’ve secured what we wanted.”

Therefore, Jaws and Hydro Shock dived into the ocean’s waves, while Scylla sunk down beneath the water’s surface. The darkness of the night and of the ocean concealed their whereabouts and prevented Odysseus from pursuing them any further.

“This town is getting weirder and weirder every day.” Odysseus said aloud. He then heard someone trying to pull himself out of the water. The henchman who Scylla had tossed into the ocean, was catching his breath as he tried to get himself back on the pier’s deck.

“Were those freaks your friends?” He asked Odysseus.

“Sorry. I only work with land animals.” Odysseus told the man before he planted his boot into the man’s face, sending him back into the water.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Character you have created: Celeste Santos de Rosa
Alias: Rosa dos Ventos (Cardinal Rose)
Speech Color (Actually say what you're using): 1a7b30
Character Alignment: Walking the Line

@KaiserElectric

REJECTED!!!

Lizard girl is not cute enough. New image please.

j.k. Accepted

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Kyle was alone in the master bedroom getting his gear on as he prepared to head back out into the city in pursuit of the Winter Park Gang’s hired thief. In the time that he’s spent in Crown Ridge, he’s been able to put together a list of leads on the organizations whereabouts as well as their network of hired goons. He planned to sneak out while Sam kept the others company in the living room, and hoped that by the time anyone noticed that he was gone, it would be too late.

“Going somewhere?” Sam’s voice came from behind him.

“Yeah, I’m going to see if I can track down the thief from the museum or the guys who got the jump on us...or both.” Kyle said as he stretched the cowl back over his head and face.

“No, you’re not.” Sam shot back in a tone that surprised Kyle.

“What?” Kyle asked, with a noticeable amount of surprise in his voice.

“We’ve got a house full of guests that you brought home, why don’t you take the night off and spend it here?The bad guys will still be there tomorrow.” Sam said.

“I need you to keep them company while I’m out.” Kyle told her. “They aren’t prepared for what this city can throw at them.”

“Do you really think that they’re going to be okay with that?” Sam asked him as aggravation began to grow within her.

“They don’t have a choice.” Kyle told her.

“And do you honestly think that Sammy will just sit here with me and her friends?” Sam asked. “The girl is absolutely in love with you. She’s not going to let you go anywhere without her, and to be completely honest with you, I wouldn't be able to stop her.”

“You noticed that, huh?” Kyle asked, somewhat embarrassed by the situation.

“Please. Ray Charles could see what’s going on there.” Sam said with a smirk. “Not that I can blame her, but you need to do something about this before it goes too far.”

Unbeknownst to Kyle and Sam, someone was standing within earshot of their master bedroom. Before Kyle’s girlfriend left to find Kyle, she had given Sammy one of Kyle’s t-shirts, which almost looked like a dress on Sammy, and a pair of shorts. While Sammy did have her superhero threads to wear, they made her look too conspicuous and that costume could endanger the identities of the others.

Just a few minutes prior, Sammy was wondering whether they could get some refreshments. Since it would have been rude for the three metahumans to just scavenge through Kyle’s refrigerator, Sammy tried to find her two hosts. Although Kelly suggested that she wait until they came back, Sammy ignored her advice and went looking for their hosts. That was when she discovered that Kyle was trying to skip out on them and that even Kyle’s girlfriend could tell that Sammy held a giant crush on Lyger.

After overhearing Kyle and his girlfriend speaking about her, Sammy tried to sneak away so that they would not know that she was eavesdropping on their conversation. However, her feline abilities did not seem to include an uncanny amount of luck, or at least not in that moment. For when she tried to slowly creep away, the wooden floors beneath her feet creaked, betraying Sammy’s presence just outside of her host’s bedroom. When she heard the noise coming from the floor, Sammy froze in place, not quite sure whether she should just make a break for it back to where Zac and Kelly were.

“Maybe that explains it. I’m not blind, or de…” Kyle stopped mid-sentence as he heard the sound of the floorboards outside of the bedroom creaking.

“What was that?” Sam asked as Kyle was already halfway across the room heading towards the sound.

Kyle opened the bedroom door and much to his relief; found Sammy standing in the hallway, her face turning a slight shade of red from embarrassment from being caught in the hallway.

“Hey Sammy, do you need something?” Kyle asked, equally embarrassed. Neither he nor Sam were used to sharing their home with others, and thus had grown unaccustomed to the sounds that come along with having a full house.

“Um…” Sammy stumbled with her words because she was paralyzed out of embarrassment, “Could we get some drinks and snacks?”

“Oh, of course.” Kyle said, almost kicking himself for being such a bad host. “Follow me.” Kyle told her as he lead her back down to the kitchen, with Sam also emerging from the bedroom and joining them.

Kyle and Sam let the others help themselves to the contents of their fridge while they heated up a frozen pizza in the oven. While the pizza was cooking, Kyle joined Sam, Sammy, and the others in the living room and they talked. Although Kyle had been on edge at first, his desire to rush right back out and track down the Winter Park Gang began to wain. Instead, he found himself doing something that he hadn’t done in months: Having a genuinely good time. Eventually, the pizza had finished cooking and Kyle went back out into the kitchen to get it ready to serve, and moments later came back with the pie sliced up and ready to eat.

As they ate, they talked about a number of subjects. They talked about their exploits in West Virginia during the Pax crisis, a conversation in which Kyle deliberately avoided the topic of how the Silver Sorceress had enchanted him, causing him to have visions of Sam’s death. Zac and Kelly told them about their abduction and subsequent rescue, as well as their reactions the first time they saw Sammy after her transformation. Although Kyle was familiar with their stories, hearing them tell the tales gave him a new insight into them as people, and not just files on a computer. Not only did he learn about them as people, he also learned that he actually liked them. Although he and Sammy had bonded in West Virginia, he had never really cared for Zac all that much. Kyle thought that he came off as being a bit arrogant, and carried himself with an air about him that Kyle just found off-putting. However, after actually getting to spend time with the three of them, Kyle found that they actually got along quite well.

Then there was Sammy. She was a nice girl who had performed well under pressure. However, she seemed to allow her feelings for Kyle to distract her, and that had almost gotten her killed tonight. Although he was very fond of the girl, he was with the love of his life, and he knew that he had to get this thing with Sammy settled, and quickly. He looked over to both Zac and Sam, who had each spoken to him about the need to quash this, and to do so in a way that wouldn’t crush the poor girl. Then he looked to Kelly, who like Zac had an air about her. However, with Kelly it was more of a “hurt her and I will kill you” sort of vibe. Kyle knew that he had to talk to Sammy, and that it was time. He just had no idea how he was going to do this.

“Hey Sammy, come for a walk with me.” He said as he got up from the chair he had been sitting in and motioned for her to follow him upstairs.

Sammy’s heart leapt inside of her. She was slightly surprised by the offer to get up with Kyle alone. She wondered what was up. It almost seemed as if everyone except for her were in on something. However, undeterred by being kept in the blue, Sammy hopped up from her seat and followed Kyle up the stairs. While they ascended the stairs, her heart began to flutter at the uncertainty for Kyle’s invitation. Before she had met Kyle’s girlfriend, who happened to have an almost identical name as her, Sammy thought playing the role of “Black Cat” or “Catwoman” would be a piece of cake. However, now that she finally seen Sam with her two eyes, things all the sudden became real.

Kyle led her through the house until they came to a doorway down the hall from the bedroom. When Kyle opened the door, it revealed a narrow stairwell which was reminiscent of something you might expect to see in a home built in the 1700’s. At the top of the stairs was another door.

“I know it doesn’t look it, but it’s safe.” Kyle said to Sammy as he led the way up the old staircase, each step creaked under his weight.

Once at the top of the stairs, Kyle opened the door and stepped out into the brisk night air onto the widow’s walk on the roof of the house. This place was at one time his sanctuary. When he was a child he would spend hours up on the walk where he would play and daydream. After the death of his mother, Kyle found the solitude offered by the widow’s walk refreshing.. He would spend hours up there alone, looking out over the city while he talked to his mother, and imagine her response.

“You know, when I was a kid, I’d come up here and read comics and pretend I was a superhero protecting the city. I never thought in a million years that I’d actually be doing what I’m doing now.” Kyle said with a lightness in his voice. “This city might have a lot of problems, they always seemed to go away when I was up here. In a way, it still seems like that’s true.”

“I guess we’re in the same boat there. If you would have told me just a few months ago that I was about to be transformed into a cat-like person, I would have laughed them straight out of the room.” Sammy told Kyle as she stood next to him. “And yet, here we are.”

Kyle smiled at the statement. There was something about the way that Sammy carried herself that Kyle found refreshing. She was fun loving and had a great sense of humor, even if she did seem a bit innocent at times. He gazed out at the street as he tried to figure out exactly how he was going to approach the real reason that he brought her up to the widow walk.

“Sammy, I like you. You’re a great person and I think that you’re going to be a great hero.” He told her. “I get the feeling that there’s more to this whole thing than just wanting to come to Crown Ridge to take in the sights. Look Sammy, I do care about you, and I’d never want to see you hurt. But I have to be honest with you...I’m with Sam, and I do love her.”

When Sammy heard what Kyle had to say, her cat ears began to droop as she sighed, looking over at the skyline. “A lot of heroes have it easy: they can just hang up their tights and blend in with everyone else. And if they can’t simply do that, they have some other way to bypass the issue. Zac and Kelly can hide their powers with those wristbands. And even without those devices, they still had each other while getting adjusted to their new powers. How else could you explain them sleeping together when Zac is terrified by wasps and Kelly is basically a human one!”

Sammy then turned her head towards Kyle and continued. “But I don’t have that luxury. I can’t just hide who I am with some gadget. Even though they tried to make me feel comfortable with my powers, it just never been enough. And that’s saying a lot since Kelly and I have been friends since elementary school! I always felt as if I was the loose end that could accidentally reveal Zac’s secret identity. When people start seeing the publically known cat and wasp-girls with a male hero, the math isn’t that hard to do.”

“I was just hoping that I could bond with someone in the superhero community other than my friends. Normal people just don’t understand our lives. How crazy things get. When the average person sees me, they might only see me as some weird furry or something. But I was hoping that someone who has seen the bizarre things that happen in our lives could see past that. Sure, I might have cat ears and a tail, but that doesn’t make me any less of a human than anyone else.”

Kyle listened to Sammy, and as she spoke it was if someone had kicked him square in the gut and knocked the wind right out of him. He completely understood where she was coming from, and he sympathized. He had never considered exactly what it must like to be her, being unable to hide her powers, or even just take a break for just a minute. Every waking moment was a reminder of what had been taken from her. She hadn’t asked for these powers, and she wasn’t born with them. They were forced on her, and as these thoughts went through his mind, a renewed anger swelled inside of him.

“Sammy, I’ll always be here for you. If you ever need anything…” He paused for a moment as he reached for her cell phone that was hanging out of her pocket. He quickly went into her contacts and entered his personal number. “Call me. I mean it, we’re friends and you’re stuck with me.”

Sammy just stared with amazement at her phone. It almost did not feel real, but right before her eyes was Kyle’s contact information, including his phone number. “I promise I won’t bombard you with texts! We don’t want people growing suspicious about why you’re texting another girl named Sammy.”

Then, Sammy momentarily thought about what Zac and Kelly would think about her having Lyger’s personal number. She thought that they might try to convince her to delete the contact information because they might believe being able to contact Kyle whenever she wanted would only be enabling her.

“We might want to put this down under a pseudonym.” Sammy then told Kyle. “Zac and Kelly might freak out if they knew I had it.”

“Forget about what Zac and Kelly might think. This has nothing to do with them. We’re friends, and I’m always there for my friends.” Kyle said as his posture changed slightly. He looked down to the ground and a frown involuntarily crossed his face. “Or at least I try to be.” He finished his thoughts momentarily drifted to Ronnie and Addy, both of whom he felt that he had let down. For a moment he let the silence linger in the air before he returned his gaze to Sammy and forced a smile.

“Look, you’re an awesome girl, and someday you’re going to make somebody a very lucky man. But I want you to know, that we….Sam and I, will always be here for you.”

“Thank you!” Sammy lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Kyle. Her cat tail was swaying back and forth behind her hugged him. She then peered up at Kyle. “It really means a lot to me.”

“Hey, no problem.” Kyle told her. “And I meant what I said in the car. I can get you something that will help you with that.” Kyle said as he motioned to her ears and tail. “Not that there’s anything wrong with them, they suit you. But I know people who specialize in just that sort of thing, and they owe me.”

“Well, I guess it could be worse. For a little while, my head was stuck on a cat’s body. And let me tell you, it sucked!” When Sammy heard Kyle bring up the possibility of him getting her something that could hide her catlike features, she squeezed her arms around him for a second time. “That would be wonderful. I hope you won’t have to go through too much trouble to get them.”

“Nah, it won’t be a problem. I just have to make a couple of phone calls.” Kyle told her as she released her grip on him. “You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have the chance at a normal life...and I’m going to do what I can to help you with that.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Aubrey Adkins | Will Grant

What a day. At first, I thought that the whole ‘help cleanup Pacific Point’ would have been quite a chore. However, it has kind of given me a different perspective on this whole superhero thing. Punching bad guys in the face and hoping they don’t cause any more damage isn’t the only thing heroes can do. I felt like giving back to the community was going that extra mile. Sure, we do help save citizens from superpowered nutcases, but no one likes to see the repairman leave all his tools scattered around and a mess of oil on the ground. It just helps keep the goodwill with the average person so that they don’t think we’re only in this for adrenaline rush.

Once I got back to my apartment (I always change back into my regular clothes long before I get anywhere near my home. I’m sure the paparazzi would have a field day if they saw Arachne crawling into this place), I immediately turned on the shower. They always say that you will always be sore the day after you had done any sort of strenuous activity. Combining the fiasco that was yesterday with the cleanup we did today, I was exhausted, despite my spider strength. Besides getting cleaned up from working all morning, the hot stream of water felt fantastic on my sore muscles.

After I had finished my shower and dried myself off, I wrapped one of my towels around my body and then took a second one and covered up my wet hair. Once I had taken the short walk from my bathroom to my bedroom, I started to look through my closet for something to wear. Since I was exhausted and therefore didn’t want to go out anywhere today, I just pulled out one of my t-shirts that I would wear around my apartment and a pair of shorts from my dresser.

Right when I was peeling off the towel that was wrapped around my body so that I could pull on some clothes, I heard the doorbell ring. Someone would be at the door right when I did that. Well, since I wasn’t going to deal with anyone for the rest of the day, unless it was an emergency and kept ringing the doorbell, I was just going to let it go. Once I pulled on my shirt and the rest of my clothes, I plopped myself down on my couch and turned the TV on. While I was channel surfing for several minutes (sometimes there is never anything on TV), I noticed that whoever was at the door didn’t ring the doorbell or knock again.

Out of curiosity, I got up from the couch and checked the peephole in my front door. I didn’t see anyone standing in front of my apartment. Therefore, I quickly opened the door and peered around. Still nobody. However, sitting in front of my step was a brown shipping box. At first I didn’t want to touch it because I wasn’t expecting anything in the mail, especially something that came in a box. When I first checked the box, I was a little hesitant because there wasn’t a return address. However, when I saw how the package was addressed to me, I immediately know who the sender was. If I were to tell you that ‘Vol’ was placed between my first and last name, I bet you get guess who it was with one try. What was Talus up to now?

Therefore, now that I knew who sent the package, I picked it up and brought it into my apartment. After I found a pair of scissors and sliced open the packing tape that held the box shut, I pulled open the box and found, besides some sheets of paper (probably directions, but who read those?) and the packing peanuts, one of the Game Genie’s miniature cubes. I guess Talus was serious about helping me out with that cosplay photoshoot that was going to take place later this month.

Once I had set the loose sheets of paper aside and placed the cube on the coffee table that was located in front of my couch, I pulled out my phone and dialed Will’s number. I’m sure he could help me brainstorm an idea, especially since now my imagination was the limit considering what those cubes that the Game Genie had made. While my phone was dialing, I quickly got up from the couch and grabbed my laptop. More likely than not, I probably wouldn’t recognize many of his suggestions, so I wanted to be able to look them up so that I could give them either the thumbs up or down.

“Hey. What’s up?” Will greeted me over the phone as I set my laptop on the coffee table and took a seat on my couch.

“Do you have some time to brainstorm some ideas with me for that video game costume thing?”

“Sure.” Will said. I heard the clicking of keys on a keyboard over the speaker of my phone. “Do you have any ideas or preferences yet?”

“Not yet.” I told him while I examined the cube in my hand. “I’m not really sure where to start.”

While Will was pondering about some suggestions, I discovered that there was a button on the side of the cube. I guess my curiosity got the better of me, so I pressed it. A small flash of red light was emitted by the small device. For a moment, I thought that I was going to take another visit to that virtual prison where I was teleported to the first time I got zapped by one of these devices. However, nothing happened, which was quite surprising. But right before the red light went off, I heard Will begin speaking and when the light did go off, Will’s voice suddenly was cut off.

“Will?” I turned my head towards the the hand that was holding my phone. However, I discovered that, even though my hand was in the same position that it had been just a few seconds ago, my phone was no longer in my hand! What’s more is that I noticed a all too familiar black and gold armor on my arm (and on the rest of my body, too. Also, my hair had changed from my natural blonde hair to a lavender color that I had when Talus first freed me.

“Damn it, Talus.” I then found my phone sitting right next to me, as if, when the cube changed my appearance, I had disappeared momentarily and the phone fell right down to where it was.

“Everything alright?” Will asked, probably since he did not hear we respond for a few minutes and since he heard me curse.

“I’m fine,” I told him. “One of the other heroes I know made an annoying practical joke at my expense.”

I then turned my attention towards the sheets of paper that Talus included in the package that he sent me. And this was what the first page said.

Vol. If you are reading this and you currently look like Camilla from Fire Emblem: Fates, that means you didn’t read the instructions. As a courtesy, I made that character the default setting. If I had not, you probably would be trapped in that device without any way to escape. So, you’re welcome. Now, please read the instructions before you do anything else. Also, I have included a list of video game characters if you are not sure where to start. Good luck! Joel.

Figures. In order to give Will some more time to brainstorm some ideas, I asked him to call me back in a few minutes. Although I have to be honest, I also needed some time to read through these instructions and figure out how to turn myself back to normal. Once I had finished going over the pages that Talus sent with the cube and finally figured out how to make myself look normal (I had to use a USB cord to plug the cube into my computer and some sort of software popped up on my screen), I then did some quick Google searches on the names that Talus provided. Once I was almost through the list when Will called me back.

“Ready to compare notes?” Will asked.

“Alright” I turned my attention away from my computer screen for a moment. “One of the other heroes tried to give a helping hand by offering a list of potential characters. However, they fall into three categories: either I would never be caught dead in the costume, my body would make it look like some weird “sexy” Halloween costume, or it is a spider-themed character. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why the last one is a problem.”

“This certainly narrows down the options.”

“I’ve been just Googling these characters and right when you called, I was about to look up someone called ‘Spider-Gwen’. That’s not some sort of superpowered version of Emma Stone from the Amazing Spider-Man movies, is it?”

“I mean, that’s one way to put it.” Will responded to my question. As he answered, I began to type the name into the search engine, just out of curiosity. And the search results made my jaw drop.

“OH. MY. GOD.” I vented my frustration at what I saw on the computer screen. “Marvel has the guts to steal my likeness after they handed me a cease and desist order! I mean, if you were to give her a pair of backbreaking boobs, she’s basically me in all but name. And some of the fanart that I’m seeing now has already done that. What hypocrits!”

“Yeah…” Will said, “Marvel made that change two or so months ago.”

“You’re not reading it, are you.”

“Um…” Will paused. “Maybe…”

“You are!” I accused him. “My own boyfriend paying money for stories about a knockoff version of his girlfriend.”

“Wow, that’s harsh.” Will tried to defend himself. “Does it make it any better that I image that you’re the protagonist?”

“Will. You might want to stop talking while you’re ahead.”

“Alright…” Will sighed. “What would be a good character for you to dress as. Hmm...How about Samus Aran?”

That name sounds kind of familiar. After I typed her name into my search engine, I responded to my boyfriend. “I know that Iron Man has kind of popular in the last couple years, but I don’t think that’s what my employers are looking for.”

“I meant Zero Suit.” Will corrected me. As I added that phrase into my search engine, he continued to talk. “I mean, she doesn’t wear anything more revealing than you already do as a superhero. You should be able to look the part. Plus, Samus isn’t a spider-themed character, so that should fulfill all three of those requirements.”

“Hmm…” I pondered for a second. I guess there are worse choices out there. “I have to put the phone down for a moment. Just letting you know that I’m not hanging up on you.”

After I had set my phone down next to me, I turned back to my laptop and pulled up the window that had first appeared when I plugged the cube into my computer. In the center of the window, there was a heading that was labeled “character” and next to it was a rectangular box where you could type in a name. At that moment, the name “Camilla” had been entered into the box. I took my mouse, highlighted the text, and then used my index finger to click the backspace button. Then I filled in Will’s suggestion in its place, making sure to type the entire name. It would suck if that cube would create that entire power suit and the weight of it sent me falling through the floor. That would be terrible.

Once that was finished, I turned back to the cube and clicked the button for a second time. The same red light flashed again. One moment, I was sitting on my couch wearing a t-shirt and shorts. The next, I was dressed in a light-blue bodysuit that this character was accustomed to wear. When I got up, I was surprised that I had some sort of heels on.I have to qualify that by saying they weren’t stiletto heels, but it kind of weird for someone who’s supposed to be athletic. Once I got to my bathroom, I checked myself out in the mirror. I have to say, it does look like a professionally made costume, as if it were made for a movie or something.

“So, do you think you’ll stick with her?” Will asked after I brought my phone back up to my ear.

“Well, unless we can think of someone better, I guess so.”

Well, at least I got that out of the way.