Dedonus

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

Aubrey Adkins

“Speaking of baseball, I’ve heard that Aubrey here has quite the swing.”

Was he trying to blow my cover? Sure, I might have opened myself up to his snark, but at least what I said was somewhat public knowledge. Unless he was referring to something other than our little incident during D-Day, although I’m not sure how he would know anything else without doing some internet stalking (or using any dirt that STRIKE might have dug up on me before those Hounds of Humanity terrorists blew them to kingdom come), he was putting my secret identity if anyone were able to put two and two together. If this were not a formal event staged for remember the deceased, I would totally show him how my swing looks.

“You played softball, Aubrey?” Emily asked me, which at least showed that she was not privy to the fact that I was Arachne.

“Well…” I was lucky that Chris prefaced his “swing” remark with some comments about baseball so that it would prompt questions about that sport rather than my status as a metahuman. “I was on my high school’s varsity team.”

“You should SO sign up for the annual Celebrity Charity Softball Game!” Emily told me.

“I would not be surprised that game would have its best TV ratings ever. I’m sure the sight of you scrabbling around the outfield would get a particular demographic glued to their televisions.”

“I played catcher in high school.” I glared at Chris as I responded to his comment. “Anyways, I think I need another stop at the open bar. Need something, Emily?”

“Sure. Just get me the same thing that I just had.” Emily handed over her glass to me before I began to weave my way back to the bar across the room. Although it seemed like Emily was trying to end our conversation because of the hostility between me and Chris, she was more than happy to keep chatting with him when I stepped away. I have no idea what’s up with her.

Once the bartender had finished Emily’s and my drink orders, I took a sip from my glass before I turned to head back to where Emily was, hoping that she might have moved on from Chris by then. However, when I turned around, I found Maya standing a foot or two behind me. Since I was not expecting her to be so far away from Chris, I almost spilled some of the alcohol in my hands.

“What’s your beef with Chris?” Maya demanded. She had her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

“Can’t a girl just hate someone’s guts for no reason?”

“No.” Maya answered. God, am I going to hate this girl as much as that Archangel bitch? Archangel had such unwavering and naive dedication to Chris that she believed that I was the one in the wrong for decking Chris, while he was in his armor, instead of Chris, who had previously kidnapped me along with those two Albany kids on the behalves of S.T.R.I.K.E. Sure, you shouldn’t be going around punching people and two wrong don’t make a right, but I am pretty sure that kidnapping is a more severe crime than punching someone. I have this feeling that Maya might have this same mindset. Great.

But the real problem is how am I going to explain my grievances with Chris without exposing my identity as Arachne? All my problems with the guy stem from our interactions in our superhero alter identities. Besides the whole kidnapping thing, which is probably my biggest gripe, there is also that one time when Archangel trapped me under some sort of electrified net for decking Chris. Athena had to bail me out by nullifying the device that was holding me down! Plus, he sent War-Pulse to recruit me for the Pax Metahumana crisis. War-Pulse of all people! And don’t get me started with that elevator in Sherman Center. Searching for silicon-based lifeforms. What a load of bull crap.

However, before I could even begin making some sorry excuse so that I would not have to reveal myself as being Arachne, I heard some screams come from the general direction where Chris and Emily were standing. When I got a glance at what was happening, I saw a man, who was dressed up like the servers who were catering this event, was standing close to Chris. He worn a mask over his face to conceal his identity and he held a gun up to Chris’ side. I didn’t need to hear what he was saying to know he was agitated, since his body language jerky and skittish.

Then, I felt myself being yanked back away from the commotion. Behind me stood Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. However, after seeing her, I suddenly realized that I was no longer holding onto the drinks that I had ordered for myself and Emily. Why didn’t I hear some sort of crash from the broken glass? I then discovered a few feet away from me why I didn’t have the drinks anymore. Where I had been standing, beside Maya, I saw a woman who looked identical to me.

“Athena.” Alright, I know I should not be that freaked out by this, since those Pax Metahumana villains had a shapeshifter, but I cannot lie. This feels extremely uncanny. “If I’m here, then who’s that!”

“That is a nephic apparition.” Athena cleared things up in a matter of fact way. And when I say ’cleared things up’, I mean that it did not help at all.

“English please?”

“I was speaking in English.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Oh, you mean dumb people speak.” Athena cracked a smile at my own expense, “It is a cloud that has been transformed into a duplicate of yourself. I use them all the time to run Chris’ company, since the pathetic role of a glorified secretary is beneath me. But that’s enough about the apparition. You need to change.”

“Wait, why haven’t we used these things more often?”

“Because there has not been a need until this moment.”

“I beg to differ…”

“So, you would rather have a petty argument with a goddess while Chris is in a position where he might get shot?”

“Now that you say it in that way…”

Athena glared at me, knowing that I was inferring that I would actually continue what she called a petty argument and let Chris get shot. However, since I assume that she probably would put me through the ringer if I allowed that to happen, I guess I probably should help. But while I distracted by this, Athena reached over and deactivated my power nullifier, causing my drider appearance to reemerge and my Arachne costume to replace my dress.

“What the hell?!?” I yelled at Athena as I glanced around, looking to make sure no one saw my transformation. “We’re in public! I might as well go around and introduce myself as Arachne!”

“My powers have shrouded us from human sight. No one can see us.”

“How convenient.” However, when I began to take a step towards Chris and whoever was threatening him, I heard some more remarks from the peanut gallery.

“You can’t just jump into the fray.”

“And why not.” I said, turning towards Athena and place my knuckles on my hips.

“You would seem as if you had appeared out of thin air. Instead, you need to make an entrance, such as from that balcony over there.” Athena pointed at a balcony behind me that led outside.

Why me? Just why?

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

Christopher Arthur III | Maya Hoffman

An expensive sports car pulled up in front of the red carpet that acted like a crimson road to the Roy Walley Convention Hall. From the driver’s side door, Christopher Arthur stepped out. Dozens of camera flashes sparkled in his direction, just like fireflies blinking in the night. Even though it was long past dusk, Chris had sunglasses on and the reason for the shades was obvious to anyone who observed the camera shutters clicking away.

“You do realize that you went around the block three times, right?” The valet told Chris as he approached towards the car in order to open up the passenger’s side door.

“Well, I had to give this bad boy a spin.” Chris pulled off his sunglasses and slip them into a pocket in his sport’s jacket. He then tossed the car keys over to the valet “But don’t get any bright ideas.”

Chris circled around the car to help Maya out of the vehicle. Although Chris almost seemed to enjoy the limelight that came with being both a celebrity and a genuine superhero, Maya was entirely unaccustomed to the attention. As they walked down the velvet carpet, she clung to Chris’ torso, as if she were shrinking away from the attention. It did not help that it took the two almost an hour to get inside the convention building due to the paparazzi’s excessive desire of information and exclusives.

Even Minerva was even there, waiting to bug him with ‘official’ business. Ever since the Hounds of Humanity severed the head of S.T.R.I.K.E., their core leadership, the spy organization was thrown into chaos and its secrets became instantly vulnerable.

“A word, Mr. Arthur.” Minerva commanded him with her usual cold tone.

“Oh, come on! This night has once already been interrupted by supervillainy, twice if you count the whole Hounds of Humanity thing!”

“Are you not the least concerned?”

“Nah. They’re big boys. They can handle it. And I’ve put into place some safety features just in case things take a turn for the worst.”

Chris was referring to the database of metahumans and other persons of interest that S.T.R.I.K.E. had been compiling for the last several months, if not longer. Chris knew that this sort of information would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Therefore, he embedded deep in the system’s code a kill switch that would wipe the system clean if anyone ever tried to access it remotely or if S.T.R.I.K.E. Before Chris had left for this event, he double checked to make sure that his kill switch had worked as planned. The only copy of this information that remained was in Chris’ possession.

“But go ahead and alert some of those nice agents that I might be hiring soon.”

Chris and Maya finally walked into the convention hall, where they were first greeted by Daniel Emerson. This fundraiser was organized to commemorate those who had recently died and to help support their loved ones in this dark time. Although he had plenty of resources to cover the expenses for his diseased relatives, unlike many of the other families, Mr. Emerson made sure that his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were recognized, just for commemoration.

“Chris, I’m so glad you were able to make it.” Mr. Emerson offered his hand to Chris, which he immediately shook. “It really means a lot to me. And I’m sure it means just as much to them, too.”

Mr. Emerson then turned towards the display that had been set up for his deceased relatives. There was not a jar set up in front of it, since Mr. Emerson did not require the financial support, as I have already mentioned.

“Oh, it was nothing. You were there when my parents died, so it just seems fair to repay the favor.”

“Well, we can talk some more later. I still need to do some more rounds about this place and I don’t want to keep you social butterflies from the party.”

After Mr. Emerson strolled away to greet some of the other guests, Chris and Maya began to weave through the crowded reception hall. Unbeknown to them, two women, one dragging the other behind her, were fighting against the mass of guests to get to Chris. The first women, a brunette, who was in the lead, had a nature beauty that was perfect for a model from the 40’s and 50’s. The girl who she was dragging behind her, a blonde, was more focused on not spilling the drink in her hand.

“Excuse me. Mr. Arthur?” Chris turned around to find the brunette woman standing there. When he saw the second girl, he immediately recognized her. In fact, he had forgotten that she was living out on the West Coast.

“Yes?” The brunette held a small book in her hands, holding it out in front of herself.

“Could you sign this for me?” The woman asked him. Chris agreed and received the book from the woman. When he flipped it open to find an empty page to sign, Chris noticed that there were several signatures from the various members of the Avenger’s movie cast.

“You do realize that I’m not Iron Man, right?”

“Of course, I know that!” The brunette rolled her eyes, “I think people can easily distinguish you from Robert Downey Jr.”

“You would be surprised.” Chris then pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and scribbled his signature inside the small book that belonged to the brunette women. “So, do you want me to write anything else?”

“Oh, just put down ‘To Emily’, or something.” Emily replied.

“Do you want me to also include Aubrey over there or just you?”

“You know Aubrey?” Emily gestured to the blonde girl standing behind her.

“Well, I have dated some Viera models in the past.”

“In your dreams.” Aubrey took a gulp from the drink that she had been holding onto for this entire time.

“You can just put my name down.” Emily tried to quickly switch the subject because the tense situation that was developing because of Aubrey’s obvious dislike of Chris. She then turned towards Maya, who had been standing beside Chris the entire time. “But who’s your date? That’s a beautiful dress.”

“Thanks.” Maya blushed as she replied to Emily.

“This is Maya Hoffman.” Chris quickly interjected, since he assumed that she was being a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the entire event.

“So, what happened to the armored chick? Just the flavor of the month?” Aubrey chimed in on the conversation. While she was waiting for Chris’ answer, she took a sip from her drink again.

“Um…” Chris pondered on how he should respond to that answer. Aubrey had made her question vague enough for everyone else not to guess that she is actually the metahuman known as Arachne, but since Chris knew this information, he understood that she was referring to Archangel. “She kind of turned out to be a killer robot.”

Aubrey had to cover her mouth with her hand to make sure she did not accidentally spit up her drink. She almost laughed at the absurdity of that idea that Archangel was a robot. However, when she noticed everyone else was not taking it as a joke, she made sure to repress any urges to laugh at the irony.

“Wait, you’re serious?”

“In the world that we live in, how is that surprising?”

"But still, you got cat-fished by a computer? And I thought you were supposed to be smart or something."

“Well, thanks for the signature!” Emily finally told Chris. After seeing the hostility building up between Chris and Aubrey, she knew that she had to cut the conversation short lest the tense moment escalates any more than it already had. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Pacific Point.”

“We’ve been meaning to watch the local baseball team play, but things have been so hectic around here that we’ve have not had a chance to do so. But at least it is not like Lost Haven, where it seems like a world-ending crisis is just the average Thursday.”

“Oh, the Pacific Point Pythons are quite fun to watch. Aubrey and I went to a game a few weeks ago. For some strange reason. baseball is so much more enjoyable in person than on television.” Emily noted.

“Speaking of baseball, I’ve heard that Aubrey here has quite the swing.”

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

<Snipped quote by Hound55>

Everyone, QUICK, spam the IC!!!

@Fallenreaper

I will hopefully have an IK post up tonight. So I'm doing my part!

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

I was getting a 505 error message, but it seemed to be fixed now. I was starting to get worried when I was getting an "cannot reach this page" error for RPG.

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

Is Discord down? I'm getting an error when I try to get on.

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

Kelly Brown | Samantha Kadowsky | Zac Wilson

Zac, Kelly, and Sammy gathered up their dinner plates while they listened to the evening news. They each took a different task so that they could get everything put away in a quick and orderly manner. Kelly took care of pots that they had used to cook dinner and set aside any leftovers for a future meal. Meanwhile, Zac first began to wash their dinner plates and then the pots when Kelly was through with them, while Sammy got the easy job of drying the tableware off. Working like a well-oiled machine, the three young metahumans were whipping through the dishes.

“The Albany Police Department is still trying to get to the bottom of the attack that happened yesterday at Washington Park. Local doctors have tried to administer the antidote that was used three months ago during the Pax Metahumana crisis, to the few effected individuals brave enough to search publicly for treatment. However, the antidote was not effective and doctors and patients alike are still scrambling for a cure, if one exists.” The news anchor reported. “The Hounds of Humanity has leaked information that claimed that supremacist metahumans and witches were responsible for yesterday’s incident and that it were events like these that have forced their hands to orchestrate numerous terrorist strikes this evening. The APD has stated that they will not confirm or deny this theory until they have conducted a thorough investigation.”

“I feel so sorry for those victims.” Kelly told the other two while she put away some pots in the kitchen cabinets. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to experience that transformation alone. Maybe we should do something, like a support group? “

Before either Zac or Sammy could give their opinions on Kelly’s idea for helping out the people who had been affected by the incident in Washington Park, the three of them heard the doorbell ring. Neither Zac nor Kelly were expecting a package, so it could not possibly be the mailman or a delivery service. Who could be knocking at their door at this hour of the night? Most people by now would probably be home, finishing their dinner, if they had not already done so.

“I’ll get it!” Sammy volunteered herself, tossing onto the kitchen counter the towel that she had been using to dry off the plates that the three of them used for dinner.

While Sammy hurried over to the front door of their apartment so that whoever was there would not be waiting forever, Zac finally gave his opinion on Kelly’s idea.

“While I don’t think that your idea is bad, I am a little worried about it potentially ousting me as a metahuman.” Zac admitted his concern to Kelly. He was hesitant at first to even bring this issue up, fearing that it might make him seem selfish. Nevertheless, Kelly’s response showed that she didn’t see it that way.

“Well, you can always be the supportive, unbigoted boyfriend who loves his girlfriend despite her insectoid appearance.” Kelly suggested while trying to convince her boyfriend into supporting her idea. “Or you could dress up in your superhero costume and we would have to come up with a story on how we met so that it’s not obvious that we’re a couple.”

“Either of those would work. We can pick one whenever we decide to actually set one of these meetings up.”

This moment, however, was spoiled by a terror-filled scream and the heavy thud of a door slamming. Everything seemed to Zac and Kelly to have happened so fast that, before they knew it, Sammy was sprinting away from the door and back over where they were standing in the kitchen. Her face was pale, almost as if she had seen a ghost.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked her best friend.

“It’s after me!” Sammy told Zac and Kelly while she cowered behind them.

“What thing?” Zac inquired.

“The goo that I step in the park!” Sammy then turned her attention back toward the door. "It was just an accident! I didn't mean to step on you!"

“What?”

“It probably was just a prank in the front of our apartment. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Really?” Sammy questioned Zac and Kelly’s good-intentioned attempts to calm her down. “If it was just a figment of my imagination, then what’s THAT!”

Sammy then pointed towards an apricot colored blob clumsily sliding across their apartment floor. When it bumped into the coffee table that was in front of the couch, the gooey mass climbed up the leg and side of the furniture. When it reached the surface of the table, it knocked over a half-full glass of water that one of the three young metahumans had left there and had forgotten to take it over to the sink. The water spilled over the table, although the blob absorbed most of it, which seemed to have increased its size.

“Zac, do something!”

“Like what?”

^{_{“Need water”}} The three young metahumans suddenly heard a faint voice plead. A cold chill ran through the spines of each of their backs when they heard that voice.

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

Aubrey Adkins

Emily and I finally gained entrance to the Roy Walley Convention Hall where the fundraiser event was being held after we were stopped out front by the paparazzi. No doubt they wanted to get snap shots of all the celebrities and millionaires who were attending this event. Once inside, we saw an expansive reception hall that was filled with a sea of people. In every direction, there were arches that lead to smaller rooms could move around and view some art exhibits that were rented for the fundraiser. While the two of us headed toward one of the several open bars in the reception hall, we pasted a small orchestral band that was providing some instrumental music as background noise.

While we were waiting for our drink orders to be filled, we briefly took a look at the nearby displays. The fundraiser organizers had made little memorials for the men and women whom the world prematurely lost. Each one had a bowl where people could leave donations to help out the families of these men and women. The contents Inside these glass containers ranged from dollar bills to personal checks. When we finally got to Helen’s display, I decided to throw a few bucks into the jar. Whether I did it because it was the right thing to do or that I felt guilty replacing her, I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe a little of both.

After I had tossed the money into the jar, the bartender called out our drink orders, which we promptly picked up. Since my superhuman physiology breaks down alcohol at a faster rate than a normal person, I would have to hit the bottle extremely hard in order to get drunk. The unfortunate side effect of this is that I’m now limited to fruity or good tasting liquor. It turns out that a third or fourth beer doesn’t taste quite as good while sober.

Anyways, once we had our first round of drinks, Emily and I began to wander around the convention center. Part of the time, we were just people-watching, which can be quite amusing when you’re bored (and sober). The rest of the time, Emily dragged me around while looking out for any famous celebs.

“I almost have the signatures of all the Avengers.” Emily mentioned as we weaved through the crowd at the charity event. “I just need Robert Downey Jr. and I’ll have a complete set, or at least until they introduce more Avengers in the movies.”

While Emily was scouring the place for ‘Iron Man’, I felt my phone vibrate, alerting me that someone had sent me a text message. One of my old roommates from college, Felecia had sent me a text with a link to an article.

You might want to take a look at this. Her text message read. Once I clicked the link, which pulled up my phone’s web browser, it brought up an article about this terrorist organization called the Hounds of Humanity who claimed responsibility for several bombing attacks that were reported that night. These terrorists had declared a war against anyone who wasn’t normal, anyone who was not purely human. But what was the most shocking thing that they claimed was that they took out S.T.I.R.K.E.”

After I thanked Felecia for the heads up, I immediately texted Kyra. The irony, especially since we thought that this was going to be a slow night.

I’m calling the others Kyra texted me back. We can handle this situation for now. You don’t need to run out of the charity. Might cause some suspicion.”

While my eyes were glued to my phone’s screen, I suddenly felt someone yank on me. Since I was taken by surprise by this sudden motion, I almost splashed someone in the face with my drink. That would have been awkward Thankfully I was able to keep all the liquid in my glass. Emily had grabbed my arm and started pulling me.

“What now?” I asked, still a little embarrassed by almost throwing my drink in another person’s face. “Did you finally find RDJ?”

“Oh no.” Emily shock her head, “But I found the next best thing!”

Oh joy.

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

Undisclosed S.T.R.I.K.E. Facility in the Atlantic

Agent Banks strolled down the prison corridor, examining the cells on each side of the hallway. Although S.T.R.I.K.E. had numerous containment facilities for dangerous individuals, whether metahuman, supernatural, or otherwise, around the United States, this one was considered the hole where no one ever saw the light of day again. Some of the most notable and notorious inmates at this facility were some of the culprits of the Pax Metahumana who had been captured after that coalition of heroes successfully put a stop to Doctor Diplodoc’s plans.

Banks was the faculty’s head medical advisor. It was his responsibility to ensure that any of the inmates with powers had their abilities negated. If this was not possible, then he would have to turn to other methods to pacify the prisoners. The Silver Sorceress posed a real conundrum for Banks. Unlike the other collaborators of the Pax Metahumana crisis, her powers did not have their origin in Doctor Diplodoc’s serum. While S.T.R.I.K.E. did develop a proto-type device that acted like a lightning rod to magical energies, Banks was not comfortable relying on a proto-type that could fail at any moment. Therefore, he turned to more conventional methods. If she was drugged with enough sedatives that would put an elephant out, the Silver Sorceress would not pose a problem.

At the end of his rounds, Banks would always check up on the Silver Sorceress to ensure that the facility staff made sure that they were keeping her on the meds that he had prescribed. When he examined the sign-in sheet next to Silver Sorceress’ cell, the complexion of Banks’ face changed to a ghostly white. Either the last shift was careless enough to forget to document their arrival and departure or they failed to show up in the first place.

“Code Red!” Agent Banks shouted into his two-way radio. “Repeat, Code Red! The Witch is off her meds! I repeat, the Witch is…”

However, Agent Banks did not have an opportunity to complete his distress call, since the glass that contained the Silver Sorceress within her cell suddenly was shattered by a blast of magical energy. This wave of mystical energy, along with the shards of glass, slammed into Banks, knocking him unconscious against the wall, along with inflicting countless lacerations from the glass.

The Silver Sorceress stepped out from her cell. The ground began to shake, while the air within the prison started to swirl around, which tossed the Silver Sorceress’ hair about. A silver aura eradiated from her body, with her eyes glowing like two silver suns.

A dozen or so S.T.R.I.K.E. agents decked out in tactical assault gear hurried to the scene where the Silver Sorceress had broken free from her cell. They unleashed hell upon her when they let thousands of bullets rain out of their semi-automatic assault rifles. However, with one wave of her hand, the Silver Sorceress turned these bullets into dust.

Then, it was her turn to retaliate. The gear and weapons that the S.T.R.I.K.E. agents had suddenly transformed into venomous snakes and giant insects. Some men were quick enough to toss these creatures off themselves and flee in terror. Others, who were not so lucky, squirmed on the floor as they were overrun with these animals. The Silver Sorceress casually strolled past the leftover men, since any other onlooker would have seen men rolling on the floor with helmets, protective vests, and firearms scattered on the floor, revealing that the snakes and insects that the S.T.R.I.K.E. agents saw were just illusions.

Once the initial response force had been dealt with, the Silver Sorceress used her magical abilities to shatter the glass containing the rest of those who were involved with the Pax Metahumana crisis. Leo and the Silver Sorceress’ sister, Sumac, were the first to depart from their cells. With a flick of her wrist, the Silver Sorceress disintegrated the wristbands on Leo and Sumac that were suppressing their powers.

Her sister rushed over to the Silver Sorceress, embracing her with a hug. This caused the Silver Sorceress to suppress the rage that caused the silver aura to appear around her. The last time the Silver Sorceress saw her sister, she had been severely burned by one of War-Pulse’s attacks during the heroes’ invasion of their base in West Virginia. After several months in the infirmary, Sumac had finally made a full recovery. However, even though her sister was well now, the Silver Sorceress still swore that she was going take vengeance on the heroes. Her rage would not only be focused at those who had hurt her sister, but against all the heroes.

The Silver Sorceress, still in an embrace with her sister, then turned her head toward the cell which had housed Doctor Diplodoc. Despite the chaos that had been happening in that prison corridor, the doctor still sat in his cell, sipping on a cup of tea.

“It’s time to go.” The Silver Sorceress barked at him. She was not so amused that he was taking his jolly old time.

“You worry too much, Victoria.” Doctor Diplodoc told his associate, “Everything is going according to plan. Effigy was able to infiltrate the staff at this faculty so that you might coincidentally miss a regiment of the sedatives that S.T.R.I.K.E. was using to keep you down. And I have the same faith that Jaws and Black Widow are gathering up more followers as we speak.”

After he took one last gulp of his tea, Doctor Diplodoc stood up from his cot and walked out of his cell. When he had joined his three associates, the security monitor that was located nearby suddenly turned on. For the next few minutes, they watched the Hounds of Humanity introduce themselves and announce their crusade against all non-human entities; metahumans, supernatural beings, and anything else unnatural were all fair game. When the figure on the screen mentioned that they had taken out S.T.R.I.K.E., it suddenly made sense why they faced so little resistance. It is hard for the body to act when the head is severed.

“Interesting.” Doctor Diplodoc muttered before the four of them made their escape out of the S.T.R.I.K.E. faculty.

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

Kelly Brown | Samantha Kadowsky | Zac Wilson

Taylor basked in the summer’s warm rays of the sun. Due to the nice weather, she and her friend decided to head out to Washington Park and set up a little picnic together. They also knew that there would also be other food options there, since some vendors were offering a fish fry and other summer meals. The two girls had found a nice spot in the middle of the green where other like-minded individuals gathered to enjoy the weather and the food. They gossiped about all sorts of things, ranging from college to boys to even politics.

While she was taking another bite out of her fish sandwich, Taylor felt a sudden burst of heat surround her. She turned to her friend, who was snacking on some food that she had brought with them, and asked her whether it was just her or that the temperature went up dramatically in a span of a few seconds. Her friend shook her head. Although it was hot outside on that summer day, the temperature seemed the same as it had been when they got there.

Then, Taylor discovered that her body was beginning to profusely sweat. Her arms were coated with a layer of water, while her clothes began to be soaked. She tried to wipe off the sweat from her arm, but the liquid accumulated faster than she could remove it. While she was occupied with this bizarre situation, Taylor felt something fall on her shoulder. To her horror, she saw an ear, or what looked like an ear, since it appeared to have been melting, lying on her shoulder. She was even more terrified when she could not feel her left ear and, when she examined her hand, it was covered with a goo that had a hue similar to her own skin.

Her friend watched in dismay while her friend appeared to melt away. Just like an ancient marble statue, anything that was suspended from the core of her body slowly dissolved away. Her nose slide down her face and landed down into her lap. Whatever bust she had, since she didn’t have much of one to boast about, disappeared, making her flatter than most men. Even her arms began to descend down the sides of her body.

However, Taylor was not the only person suffering. All around Taylor and her friend, dozens of people were undergoing transformations similar to those that some had endured during the Pax Metahumana crisis back in February. Panic began to set in, both in the people who were undergoing a metamorphosis and those who could only stand helplessly and watch their friends, family, and strangers suffer. Inevitably, the panic caused the people in the park to scramble out of there in a hurry.

---

The epicenter of this incident was cordoned off with police barricades and tape. However, this did not stop Zac, Kelly, and Sammy from taking a peak at the scene of the crime. Since the transformations that happened there seemed like the calling card of Doctor Diplodoc, who had bestowed Zac and Kelly, along with hundreds of other individuals across the United States, with metahuman powers, the three young metahumans had to investigate.

Since it was already dusk, the three of them only had to sneak past a small skeleton crew that was keeping a watch on the area. Garbed in their superhero wardrobes, the they made their way towards the park. So that they could get in and out in a timely fashion, the three metahumans made sure to move at a brisk pace. Although a light drizzle impeded their ability to hurry through the park, it also made sure that no one else wanted to be out about at that time, either. When they finally reached the epicenter, Zac briefly split off from Kelly and Sammy when he noticed a marking on a nearby tree.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Sammy approached one of the abandoned picnic sheets that was lying on the ground. However, when they got closer, Sammy heard a strange squish noise under her foot. When she looked down, what she had first thought was just some waterlogged grass was actually soaked with some sort of semi-transparent goo. When she saw that there was a trail of this same substance leading to a pile of abandoned clothes, Sammy placed her hands over her mouth.

“Did I just step in someone’s gooey remains?” Sammy asked her best friend as she began to run her foot back and forth through the grass in order to get it off. “Because if so, I’m going to be sick”

“I wonder what happened?” Kelly pondered aloud, “No one, even the worst of people, deserves this kind of end.”

While the two girls were investigating what had happened to that person, Zac was checking out the markings on the tree. He discovered that someone had carved a pentagram on the side of the tree. Then he noticed another mark on a different tree. This time, it was an upside down cross. Other trees bore similar crude carvings: snakes, bull heads, etc. However, Zac noticed that each of these symbols had an ‘H’ incorporated into the design. While one possible guess at what it meant was ‘hell’, due to the satanic icons, but Zac could not be entirely sure.

Once he had finished taking a look at these carved images, Zac walked back to where the girls were.

“We better be heading out now. We don’t want to still be here when the enxt patrol comes through here.” Zac suggested to the other two metahumans. “Also, Sammy, you need to be a little more careful next time. We can’t be contaminating the crime scene.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Sammy defended herself, although the voice of her voice made it obvious that she was still embarrassed that it had happened in the first place.

“Don’t worry, Sammy. We’re all pretty green at this gig. Live and learn.” Kelly then turned to Zac. “I can airlift Sammy out of here. You’re okay getting out of here by yourself?”

Zac nodded before dashing off away from the park back towards their apartment. Then, Kelly began to beat her wasp wings, which allowed her to float above the ground. After she secured Sammy in her arms, Kelly began to fly up above the park so that they could bypass any sort of patrols that were on foot. However, as they departed, none of them realized that something began to follow them. The goo that Sammy stepped in started to slowly inch away in the same direction in which the three metahumans had departed.

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

Aubrey Adkins | Kyra Muller

I shuffled the seven square tiles to figure out what word I could spell with the letters that were written on them. The Immortals do not typically go on patrol, since the Son of Osiris wanted to stay on good terms with the Tri-P department by allowing the police to handle the regular crime and we would only interfere when something like the Game Genie occurs. However, we still usually have two or three people on standby just to make sure there is a first response team if something happens. While some crazy stuff does happen in Pacific Point, it’s no Lost Haven. Some days, nothing will happen. During the wait, we usually have some sort of board game to pass the time. Kyra chose Scrabble for tonight’s game. Once I figured out my play, I placed down the tiles S-O-F-T next to the word ‘ball’.

“You’re turn.” I told Kyra as I retrieved four replacement tiles from the small, felt bag. The Immortals has their headquarters in a hidden portion of Ithakan Innovations, the corporate office of Odysseus’ company that kind of allows him to be a badass normal amongst all of us powered metahumans. We had a table set up in the center of the room, with several computer monitors, which would send an alert to us if something needed our attention, located to the side. Due to my drider anatomy, I couldn’t really use a chair without deactivating my powers, so Kyra and I found a large bean bag chair that I could use so that I wouldn’t need to stand for the whole time.

“I’m so glad Talus isn’t here.” Kyra told me as she peered at her tiles.

“Sometimes I just want to deck that tinman. That seems to be a common reaction of mine towards high-tech heroes now a days.”

“I didn’t quite mean that.” Kyra tried to elaborate on what she meant. “Normally he wants to play some complex game, like Axis and Allies”

“What?”

“You’ve played Risk before, right?”

“Sure.”

“Well, it’s like Risk, but a hundred times more complex. Sometimes we have to pause the game so that we can actually go to bed!”

Kyra then pointed to another table that was set up in the same room. There was a board on it that had a map of the world printed on it. And on the board there were countless plastic miniatures.

“We still have to finish that game.” Kyra complained as she rolled her eyes.

“Looks like it’s only five players, so thank goodness I’m the sixth person on this team!”

“Don’t get your hopes up. Talus probably would just break out the deluxe edition and have you play Italy or something.”

Kyra then placed down the tiles B-Y-R-I-E-N-D onto the board, spelling out ‘boyfriend’ with the f in ‘softball’ and the o in ‘omit’, which was two tiles above ‘softball’.

“50 point bonus.” Kyra smirked as she acquired a new set of seven tiles from the felt bag. Kyra’s play reminded me of her peculiar response to the mention of my own boyfriend. I almost entirely forgot about it.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” I asked Kyra while glancing down at the word she spelled out. “You made a weird remark back when that Game Genie guy attacked the city.”

Kyra’s face immediately turned a bright shade a red. “No.” She quickly replied, although the tone of her voice revealed that something was on her mind.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, when I went back home a few weeks ago, I met with my boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend. Ever since the dome that appeared in Atlanta gave me fox ears and tails, he kept being harassed because, well…” Kyra turned her head away from me, as though she was embarrassed to say the rest. “Because people think I’m a furry and that he’s sinning by dating me. We decided to break off the relationship mutually.”

“What?” I honestly cannot start to comprehend what Kyra was feeling. Sure, we’re both in the same boat as being animal-themed metahumans, by I have the luxury that only a select few people know about my powers. “Sure, you have the ears or tails, but we’re still human. It’s not like we’re a different species or something. You’ll eventually find someone who doesn’t mind a girl with nine fox tails.”

“What about your boyfriend? Have you ever wondered whether he’s only dating you because he has a thing for spiders?”

“Sure, but he has liked me long before I got my superpowers, so he obviously sees something in me other than my powers.” While we were talking, I finally realized a move that I could play. “Speaking of spiders, that’s a 50 point bonus, plus points for making boyfriend plural.”

While Kyra was scribbling down the points that I earned from that round, my phone began to buzz. Before coming here, I made sure to set an alarm to remind me to head back home to get ready for that charity event I and the other girls had to attend.

“Well, looks like that’s my cue to get out of here.”

“Do you want me to set the game aside for next time?” Kyra asked.

“Nah, we can just call it a draw or something. Are you going to be fine being here alone?”

“Of course.” She told me. “Nothing will probably happen tonight. Are you going to that fundraiser for the families of those people who have disappeared this year, like that singer in Lost Haven?”

“That’s the one.” I got up onto my eight legs and pushed the bean bag the side of the wall so that it would be out of the way of the walking lanes.

“Well, that’s nice. Hope you have fun.”

“I’ll try, but when some people might see you as the girl who replaced one of those missing people, things get a little awkward. Plus I have to deal with that Iron Knight jerk. I would almost rather put up with Talus and his board games than enduring a night at an event with that guy.”

“Well, I guess I’m the lucky one, then.” Kyra smiled as she saw me out of the Immortals’ base.