Do not seek too much fame, but do not seek obscurity.
Be proud, but do not remind the world of your deeds.
Excel when you must, but do not excel the world.
Many heroes are not yet born,
Many have already died;
To be alive to hear this song is a victory."
- Anonymous
~ Introduction ~ Make A PC ~ PCs & NPCs ~
~ Campaign ~ The World ~ Contact & Updates ~
It's been 18 years since the world was changed. So what has changed, you ask? Lots. Diseases are mostly a thing of the past, the rich get themseves cloned as their kids (or so it's claimed) and superheroes can be seen flying through the air, on commericals, and advertising for Nike. The villains, of course, are all busy plotting to take over the world (though some will settle for the eastern seaboard or, in a few odd cases, Boston Harbour.)
| Stuff To Read |
If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new.
- Voltaire
First off, there's a timeline detailing stuff that has happened since the last game. It covers stuff everyone know about.
And, as an added bonus, a pc timeline detailing PC related stuff that happened on this world. And, as part of it, a statement by Barkley to Congress following the death of Void.
Also, a list of super heroes and villains (predominantly teams) that are famous.
And the information on Haven, the city of heroes! (And the campaign setting.)
And the PCs base is added!
Also, we now have some articles, basically ideas and things too long for news and as looks at the world. Some are made by players, too!
| News |
To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods?
- Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay
This is just going to be where world news goes.
Sun. October 25th, 2020
The intellectual is constantly betrayed by his vanity. Godlike he blandly assumes that he can express everything in words; whereas the things one loves, lives, and dies for are not, in the last analysis completely expressible in words.
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh
ACCIDENT ON LAKE STANLEY - Two boats of kids crashed into each other on the lake yesterday. Constable Jefferson of the HPD says that that the children - who can't be named since they are all minors - were just goofing around and "trying to find the Revengers" when the red and blue boats collided. The kids were marooned but luckily someone on the shore saw the crash. and alerted the police. The pilot of the blue boat was mildly intoxicated, according to Jefferson.
FIRELIGHT STRIKES AGAIN! - The hero FireLight engaged another superhuman last night in battle near the Burg. The super in question was a new arrival to Haven and exercising when FireLight attacked. He managed to escape but three buildings were damaged in the fracas and he apparently ruined an apartment by crashing through the wall while aiming for a window to avoid getting burnt. Charges are pending according to Corporal Eric Clackson of the Special Investigations Unit. Clackson said the super in question - a youth called Needles - was rather shocked when the police explained what FireLight had thought he was. "It was a good laugh for us," an officer said on condition of anonymity. Clackson also revealed that the youth had been released from Purgatory recently and is currently trying to find out why the police weren't informed of his release immediately, given the nature of his crimes. He refused to elaborate, but did say that Needles didn't violate his parole but some of the apartment residents are said to be suing him and FireLight for damages.
LOCAL YOUTH FUNERAL HELD - Krystopher Taylor's funeral was held this evening. The local youth died leaping off a girder to try and save a woman falling off the new National Bank building being made in the north end close to Garvis Industrial Park. According to his father, Quinn Taylor, Krystopher "could levitate, sometimes. The government knew, of course, but he'd never been able to control it. I guess he tried to be a hero - and didn't quite make it." The woman in question, Cathrine Eghart, is reported in serious but stable condition at Haven General. Doctor Franklin Roberts said "Krystoppher didn't hold them up long before they finished falling, but it was that, and him positioning himself under her, that gave her a chance to survive at all." The funeral was well attended.
JJJ IN TOWN - J. Jonah Jameson, the owner of the Boston Sun and founder of Reveal, a lobby group dedicated to unmasking heroes, is in town until the 29th for various speaking engagements and a tour of Super U. JJJ is infamous for his stand against costumed heroes and said he was "disappointed" that the law was not well enforced in Haven. The mayor's office declined to comment but Mayor Florence Kline will be dining with him in on the 27th.
Local reaction was decidedly mixed, many of the younger children calling him an interfering old man and many older people remembering his almost prophetic Boston Sun editorials at the time of the Change (contained in his #1 Best-seller My Life In Words - A Collection of Writings During A Time Of Change) were more ambivalent. The local head of the small Reveal chapter in Haven, Chris Trape, was quoted as saying "Vigilantes and villains are the same thing - they all hide behind masks. You want to see a [censored] Vigilante not breaking the law? That is a logical thing And it does not happen. They all wear masks to hide their crimes. Some of them aren't "right" and others "wrong" - they are all wrong. This is not a real line!!!!!!! You are good or you are evil. If you are good, you don't need to wear a mask and hide. If you are evil, you need to hide. The line [between vigilante and villain] doesn't exist."
Edith Ferguson, a retired school teacher, summed up her own more moderate views by saying: "Masks just conceal the problem; they don't solve it." Summer Windchaser, wife of the lamented Super rights activist Elrond Windchaser, was in Haven to look in on her Gaia's Bounty franchise, and spared some time to say "It's not about hiding from the law, it's about hiding. Many people are ashamed of their powers, of being different, and many others just want normal live. Even Superheroes do - which is why many heroes don't like to become public figures. True insight into the problem may require people to look beneath the mask and see the super and the human. As Elrond once told me, 'We need to be careful about such things. We need to ask not only 'is this possible' but also 'can we endure it?'' Get rid of masks and you may well get rid of heroes."
Mr. Jameson is giving a free speech in Hero Park tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
LOCAL HEROES - Super U medical student Carlos Marin makes a point of taking his practicum courses in the 'Burg. Says Carlos, "I really get to help the people who need it here." Dr. Damien Vryce, who has been taking Carlos around, says "He shows good promise and he's not afraid of what he sees or to say what he means. He honestly wants to help people, and that's important. People forget the old oath said 'I will keep them from harm and injustice.' And there is no injustice like being too afraid to leave the Burg to get proper medical care. Dr. Vryce concluded by reminding people of the modern oath: 'I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.' and saying that more doctors today should abide by it. "Just because someone is considered a freak doesn't mean they don't deserve to be helped."
STUDENT PRANK REVEALED - A memo sent to Haven U faculty and students reportedly written by an AI and claimed it was 'smarter than a speeding bullet' have been revealed to be a prank by two undergrads. The second e-mail, detailing AI rights, ended with a sig proclaiming that 'sentient computers would like to be known as Silicon Intelligences since Artificial Intelligence is a pejorative term invented by humans based on the mistaken belief that computers are somehow not natural' caused much more controversy but the students - Daniel Carlos and Kim Newhart - claim they only sent the first one.
COURT CASES CONTINUE - Judge Lyam Penrose is continuing to prosecute superhuman criminals in spite of anonymous death threats, a source confirmed today. "Judge Penrose believes in justice and meting it out and won't give in to such threats," a spokesperson for the city said. "With the backlog of cases we currently have, such actions aren't helping matters at all." The press conference took place outside the judge's office, were someone had burned the words 'A lawyer is an expert on justice in the same way that a whore is an expert on love' into the wall. No one is sure how it was done, but security is being increased for the foreseeable future.
UNKNOWN VILLAIN SLAIN - An unknown superhuman was shot and killed yesterday at 1:11 PM Downtown at the corner of 20th street and U avenue. According to eye witnesses, the man began to complain his hot dog had no meat and then created a hole in the air that sucked the vendor - Tom Phang - into. Two unidentified bystanders tried to stop him and were sucked into holes as well. A police car arrived and was subjected to the same effect as the crowd panicked. 5 people were trampled but fortunately no one died, thought Greg Kinner, 84, of New York, was reported in serious condition last night.
Two more cars arrived, but the man created holes around him that held off the officers and prevented the SWAT team from getting closing. Snipers were called in as the man apparently had a conversation with some child who walked through the holes, talked with him, and left. Some officers reported seeing a woman as well, but when the snipers managed to find an opening and killed him moments later, neither the child nor woman could be found. The fate of those sent into the holes is currently unknown. the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Superhumans objected to the use of lethal force and an inquiry is being set up currently.
If you recognise the man from the staff artist's sketch to the right, please contact the police at 555-5555 with any information about him.
Mon. October 26th
This is as true in everyday life as it is in battle: we are given one life and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.
- General Omar Nelson Bradley
The News in Brief
SQUAD CLOCKED! - The Revengers (minus Metal Man, who was in Russia for unknown reasons) defeated the Demolition Squad late last night in their plans to destroy the city clock tower downtown.
POLICE CHASE CARS - A speeding car was being followed by unmanned police cars around 9 pm last night. The police aren’t sure who - or what - was controlling the cars, but they are sue it was no mechanical error. Eight cars were destroyed, either by falling rocks or a building. The Demolition Shad denies it was their work.
BURG WATCHED - Due to rumours of unrest within the Burg, the city Riot Squad has set up an unofficial detail to watch it until further notice.
JJJ MISSING! - After giving a speech last night, Reveal activist J Jonah Jameson was kidnapped from his hotel by unknown perpetrators. The police refuse to comment on whether superhumans were involved.
SUBWAY GUARDIAN? - A man calling himself Terror was stopped in his plans to blow up one of the subway cars by a mysterious masked man calling himself Subway Dragon who witnesses claimed was accompanied by a miniature dragon. No details are available yet.
LAWSUIT AGAINST HAVEN COMIX - Dark Knight, claiming breech of “trust and unconscionable slanders,” had asked that the comic book ‘The Dark Knight Retires’ (based on his joining the Revengers) be banned from publication and is suing Haven Comix. Details were not available.
SENTINELS SAVE AIR PLANE - The Sentinels managed to save an air plane from crashing last night. Flight 333 was leaving the Haven Airport when all systems began to fail, but luckily their mayday was heard. Investigations into the cause of the system failure is beginning today.
VILLAIN FOILED - Starr Chipe, a madman who was trying to destroy a Haven University biology lab project criticizing Darwin's ideas as 'Christian Victorianism writ large'. Starr claimed that "we aren't all clones so evolution is true" and tried to use a disintegrator ray on the lab personnel but was foiled by what was reported as "a small gremlin" running away with parts of his machine. Starr Chipe claimed that "Science shouldn't be restrained by doubt. The power of science is endless!" as he was taken away.
"The Power Is Yours!"
CAPTAIN INDUSTRY IN TOWN?
Rumours that the former Captain Planet, the combined energies of five hormonal teenagers, may be in the city have caused Greenpeace to rejoice. What - if anything - the city will do about this is uncertain. Once the combined energies of Kwame (Earth), Linka (Wind), Ma-Ti (Heart), Gi (Water), and Wheeler (Fire), the spirit of the earth changed as they grew older and Linka and Wheeler became an item. No one knows what happened - their publicist refuses to give information - but Ma-Ti apparently seduced everyone else in revenge at Wheeler, who had proved love stronger than heart for a time, and Captain Planet ... changed, and began to abuse his powers as Ma-Ti had, showing off as the others did, and one day was summoned and was something ... different. He has never changed back and the fate of the five youths inside him is uncertain.
DRUG WARNING
The police have issued out a warning to people to not accept a new street drug, known as Factor X. Little is known about the drug save that it seems to boost body reactions past human limits and is invariably addictive and fatal. Symptoms seem to vary, but megalomania is very prevalent among users. The drug comes in liquid form as a thick red syrup and use of it is illegal. It has yet to be used outside Haven, however. The only solution to it so far is going cold turkey, but the police admited 60% of attempts have resulted in deaths as the people aren’t able to break the addiction.
Tues. October 27th
A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.
- Margaret Atwood
The news today is taken from the Haven Examiner, a free paper published each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It's been running for about a week and earned scathing reviews from the police for it's "biased reporting". The Haven Times has not mentioned it yet.
The Burg Blockade
by Examiner Staff
According to Commissioner Gorden, the Riot Squad was deployed to “calm potential hostilities.” What were these hostilities? In a nutshell, the police don’t know. All the know is the natives were getting restless, so they clamped down with the metal armoured form of the law. Of course, no one complained. It’s not like the people in the burg have access to lawyers, or even the paper most of the time. And outside it, we were just relieved that Haven’s little “problem” wouldn’t be escalating.
However, we at the Examiner - after some heated office debate, and problems with insurance issues - sent in 2 reporters to find out what was going on late last night. The RS wasn’t happy, but the Press goes where it wants, even for papers scarcely a week old.
Very few mutants were willing to talk to two human reporters (we were forbidden to take pictures of anyone) and the humans seemed to either be very pro or anti-mutant, even in the burg. The anti-mutant ones said the Riot Squad should come in and clean things up by force, getting rid of the gangs who rule the Burg. The others sided with the mutants in not talking with the press much.
Finally we were directed to a broken fountain and some apparently appointed spokesperson, a young man named Face. (He didn’t have one. Must be burg humour.) Being talked at inside the head by someone with no eyes who is looking at you was decidedly unnerving, which might have been the point.
Face told us that children have been vanishing over the past week or so, taken outside the burg by unknown perpetrators. They’ve simply been trying to deal with it in-house, but asked some heroes to help them. When asked which group of heroes, Face replied that they were knew, and the ones responsible for saving burg citizens earlier that evening from someone on Factor X.
He refused to give names, saying they’d contact the press when they felt ready. When asked if the Burg was involved in sightings of a pretty girl and a boy who “looked like a snake” south of the Burg, Face refused to comment, merely saying that “Just because this is our home doesn’t mean we can’t leave it.” The interview ended shortly thereafter, with Face admitting that there had been no thefts he knew of since the blockade went up and, ironically, thanking the Riot Squad for it.
We also looked at the area where three superhumans, the most notable shooting fire and ice according to witnesses, stopped some kid named “Jason” from killing a lot of people. One member of the Sliders was present, and said some other kid with claws had attempted to stop Jason just before they arrived and been thrown through a building. She said they’d found no body, so he must have survived.
“Jason”, named by the fire/ice man, had seem some men harassing a girl and attacked them, smashing a few to pieces and hurting buildings. “He was nuts,” the slider said bluntly. ‘He was about to kill the girl when the first kid arrived and was looking for more victims when the other three managed to stop him with some weird scream, and a block of ice. Then he just dropped dead and they left with the body.”
She also thanked the Riot Squad - for hearing the battle and doing nothing about it.
RIOT SQUAD MEMBER SLAIN
Officer Cassius Smith was killed in the Sewers under the city while investigating “what sounded like a rat,” according to a Riot Squad spokesperson. According to the first forensic analysis, he was killed before reporting to the surface, indicating non-human involvement in his death. Tissue sample analysis is said to be “contaminated” by strange results, so they suspect he ran afoul of a shape shifter of some kind prior to his death. The funeral willl be held Tuesday Evening at the first Catholic Church downtown.
According to a few rumours, Cassius threatened whoever he found over his suit’s recorder and fired without provocation, but the RS is firmly denying this despite historical precedents.
CYWORKS STOPPED
A factory for the infamous company CyWorks, which makes armour for anyone who can pay, was stopped late Monday night by “some [deleted] woman who threw rocks at them,” according to one of the factory workers. One of the armoured men was slain by what looked like a fragmentation grenade of skin and bone, according to a police spokesperson. The other two are in critical but stable condition in the hospital. The police have been unable to determine who ran the factory and are asking for whomever stopped the armoured men to come forward with any evidence they have.
Interestingly, the link between some woman who can “throw rocks” and the weird incident Sunday night involving unmanned police cars chasing another car through Haven apparently of their own volition. The police have refused to comment on the incident but rumours of police cars being destroyed by fallen meteors might be a link between the two events.
JAMESON ATTACHE, KLINE LUNCHEON TODAY
With JJ Jameson's whearabouts unknown, his attache Jospeh ("Robbie") Robertson and Mayor Kline will be dining downtown at the Willow Inn today. Robertson has agreed to answer questions from the press and public after the lunch. The mayor’s office refused to comment on Jameson’s Monday night speech denouncing the Sentinels as “costumed criminals” and urging for stricter limits for sanctioning hero teams nor about his possible whereabouts. Commander Marth of the RS promised a speedy resolution to the case.
TEENS DIE FETCHING BASEBALL
Two teenagers playing baseball in the McCurdy Park near the Hill died last night when they leapt a fence to retrieve a baseball from the lawn of David Akers, a self-described “expatriate from Texas” according to his neighbours. The first boy - Kyle Reynolds - fell into a 30’ deep pit and died screaming, according to his friends. The second, Lyam Franklin, was apparently cut down by “lasers” and set upon by dogs. Their friends fled the park and informed the police. Two officers tried to get onto his property and were both shot by high-powered automatic weapons hidden in a statue of George Washington out front. Currently, the police have the place surrounded but have been unable to enter. Mr. Akers estranged wife, Cindy, said that “it’s how we deal with thieves back home,” when asked about her husbands security measures. The situation is currently a stand-off, with Mr. Akers playing a sing about Waco, Texas, over a loudspeaker and refusing to surrender to the police.
MISSING CHILDREN LINKED TO BURG?
Two children near the Burg have gone missing. Sidra and Paul Laine were “out exploring,” according to their mother Diane. “They did it a lot, but they always came back and phoned me if they wanted to spent the night somewhere. I knew they spent time at the old Klaus Warehouse, but so did a lot of kids wanting to get away from the world for a bit. We all knew about it. They went there yesterday and never came out.” According to the police, someone must have broken the door to the holding area and been in there, heard them out front, and killed them. Ms. Laine said her son “had a gift” for opening locks, and would have been able to stop people from getting into the main room normally. The police have no clues except some blood and are currently running tests on it.
Wed. October 28th
There are only two kinds of government: the scarely tolerable and the absolutely unbearable.
- John W. Dafoe
Taken from the Haven Times
Welcome to 33.3 FM, your Illuminati station! The hottest radio station in Haven, and the one with most lawsuits pending! Currently, we are unable to announce the weather. We depend on weather reports from the airport, which is closed, due to weather. Whether we will be able to give you a weather report tomorrow will depend on the weather. With that out of the way, here's the sequence of events in no particular order for Wednesday, October 28th.
The Drug known as Factor X seems to be taking the city by storm. It's effects seem to vary from person to person but give them all super human abilities, and drain them of energy. The FDA hasn't commented on making it legal yet as they don't have any copies. The FDA officer who was sent to acquire some was last seen flying through the stratosphere naked and quoted as saying "I'm singing in the rain."
Catholic School Children from hell - well, the school next door, but most schools are hell - were apprehended by a new group of superhumans calling themselves the Aribiters at noon yesterday. They'd apparently all had FactorX put into the cafeteria meal, killed the teachers, and went across the road to destroy a medical, clinic for offering abortions. Very few people died in the incident and the group had a 59% approval rating among parents, though some were worried that children might imitate the Maelstrom character and light themselves on fire.
In related news, the St. Ruth's is considering suing the hero known as Echo for "disturbing the dead" in calling up the spirits of slain teachers to stop the children from killing. Ok, we're kidding. We don't want the Catholics suing us, as well. or the Arbiters suing us since they seem to have a lawyer already. Wise. In even more related news, the Haven School board is asking Needles to appear on a "don't run with scissions or sharp things" commercial, Sturmguard has been invited to a spelling bee to teach him how to spell storm, and Echo is being asked to help draft ghosts for the Christmas pageant.
The Sentinels weren't seen until Tuesday afternoon, where they apparently waged an inconclusive battle against Captain Industry at the city landfill. The Revengers were busy Tuesday morning dealing with a self-proclaimed "Messiah" who wanted to douse the world in nanotechnology to free it from the "evil burden of government." The woman in question was killed during the altercation when she attempted to "turn Dark Knight into a blob of Jellyfish," according to Awesome Man. A later battle between the Iron Sentinel and Captain Planet resulted in the Iron Sentinel apparently losing, according to witnesses who claim he fell from the sky.
And for the record, the gunfight reported last night on the estaste of Christina Kray, owner of Kray Technologies (a computer game design company) was downplayed by Ms. Kray, who said she'd been forced to beef up security on her waterfront home after people tried to break in and steal some software. The police had no comments for the press, but did send out a police bulletin for Cthulhu's Wife and her pet snake. Well, maybe not, but the rumours from Kray's place were downright weird. Especially the part about the dog-raping sex demon, which we can't mention so we didn't. The part about the army of freaks we'll also ignore, because they're only in the Burg, of course.
The First Bank of Haven at the corner of 1 and 1 was robbed - again. (But the first time this week! There must have been a super villain holiday or something earlier). This time it was by some acolyte of Leet Man known as Spamma. According to the security guards, they were unable to apprehend him because their minds were filled with free offers for toys and games and prizes, some of which materialised in the air, much to the profound embarrassment of some people. Spamma made off with $10,000 in cash after using the computer system to send mass spam to every bank client inviting them to join Snutrust Bank - along with the offer of free enlightenment and a cell phone with unlimited long distance to Magonia and Fernando Poo if they did.
Speaking of estates, David Akers is still managing to hold the police out of his estate near the Hill. So far, 12 officers and at least 3 civilians have died. The Revengers have been unable to be reached to help deal with it and they and their boat seem to have vanished off Lake Stanley around 1 pm. The cause is so far undetermined.
In other news, an entire apartment building affected by ghosts recently was levelled to the ground by a mysterious woman yesterday afternoon. Armed with some very large guns, she claimed to be looking for winter (in October, no less). There have been 5 reported deaths so far. Investigators have been looking through the rubble for other bodies but so far Erma Fitzgibbon, Crystal Major and Alex Major have yet to be accounted for among the living or dead. If any of them are alive, the police would like to be contacted on their whereabouts.
A group of fanatics calling themselves the "Inquisition" and apparently a splinter branch of the Church of Eternal Truth are claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of J. Jonah Jameson. The police have just said "They're working on it."
And finally, the military was seen near Purgatory this morning in force, likely depositing political prisoners. And that's it for the morning. Stay tuned for more news at noon!
Thurs. October 29th
Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.
- Willlliam Allen WhiteSuper News From The Haven Times
Local News...
The new team known as the Arbiters and endorsed by Commander Marth of the Riot Squad following their intervention in St. Pauls Catholic School made news last night by fighting off twenty attackers in CyWorks armour. There were three fatalities ad another is in critical but stable condition at Haven General. A police inquiry is being pursued as to whether the Arbiters violated their charter or not in defending themselves. Five other local warehouses were destroyed and Commander Marth confirmed that the men were hunting for the Arbiters. The owners of the warehouses have publically stated they will not be seeking to press charges against the heroes. As Edward D'eath, owner of D'eath inc, a medical supplies company, told reporters "They're the heroes. You don't sue the good guys - otherwise they might have to become criminals just to pay their legal fees."
The arbiters also foiled a bank robbery later than evening while depositing cheques. Two of the robbers were identified as part of the Dark League, a small super villain organisation. Captured were Dart, a human who uses dart guns and Voice, who can make people do what he tells them. A third man was apparently a member but turned into some odd statuary. No one has been able to identify him yet, including the people who claimed to be his allies. The arbiters claim they didn't caused whatever effect that was.No one has sighed the Revengers ship or any member of the team since yesterday afternoon. Who or what removed them from the scene is also unknown, and the police are asking anyone who thinks they could help to come forward.
The sentinels were conspicuously absent last night, though some reported seeing the Iron Sentinel in Hero Park along Wednesday afternoon.The stand off of David Akers against the city police was ended by intervention from Maverick according to eye witnesses. She refused to answer questions regarding her looking into the whereabouts of J. Jonah Jameson or where the Revengers were.
National News...
The American Heroes were seen in Texas today dealing with the super villain who called himself Lone Star and had apparently been planning to kill the state Governor, George Bush III. :Lone Star was killed during the stand off near the Mexican border while trying to flee the country.President Taylor signed the controversial bill c-27 yesterday, allowing government officials the right to imprison any suspected super villain without rights to a trial or lawyer. the ACLU condemned the bill as "blatantly invasive" and is pursuing an injunction against it with the world court. In response to criticism, President Taylor replied that "Desperate times call for desperate measures - we can't afford to let these people continue to do the kind of damage they're doing to our world."
The super villain known as Laminant Man carried through with his threat and coated the city of Detroit in plastic. No one knows if it can be reversed or the state of the people under the coating. The current whereabouts of Laminant Man remain a mystery as does the whereabouts of the super team the Recylers, who had attempted to bring him to justice.
International News...
The People's Republic of Argentina, the last nation to resist the armies of Stigmata, fell last week to her armies. Stigmata claims to be wielding the Spear of Christ and has yet to lose a war in her battle to unite South Africa under "the will of Christ." The Vatican has refused to comment thus far and Cardinal Bethelu replied a terse "no comment" when asked if Rome believed Stigmata really had the spear that ended the life of Jesus Christ. With the fall of Argentina, the success of Stigmata's personal crusade seems certain barring UN involvement.The newly elected Prime Minster of Britain, Arnold Branco, one of the first public super heroes as "Raven", proclaimed he would lead his nation into a new age of darkness as a thousand years of bondage end and that "all holy books should burn in the fires of Hell." While his press secretary said the Prime Minster was "Just kidding around" he registered unprecedented popularity among the black minority and a spokesperson for the Centre of Religious Studies said the Prime Minster's ideas went a long way to helping separate Church and State once and for all.
When asked to explain his contradictory stance on gun control, in which he claimed abolishing gun control laws would promote freedom, the Prime Minister replied that "We are Legion." and later that "We are swine." and earning accolades from the Multiple Personality Support Association for admitting to his own disorder (and from feminist groups for admitting what they've known all along about men). His parting comments that "The great dragon who was thrown down shall rise again" led the British Bird Watchers Society to express cautious optimism that Mr. Branco plans to continue his predecessors Bird Sanctuary program.A man dubbed Egomaniac by the tabloids was arrested in Canada late last week. According to psychologists he is convinced he created the world and that if he dies his killer will take up his mantle as "global master". He seemed to possess no actual powers other than a serious ego problem and police spokesperson Franklin Kaines said that "we're just lucky Factor X is just a problem in Haven right now. Nuts like this could be dangerous if they got drugs." Egomaniac's lawyer said his client will be pleading not guilty to charges of disturbing the peace and uttering threats, saying that "my client believes that if he is convicted it's merely proof that he hates himself a lot."
A RCMP psychiatrist assigned by his lawyer to examine Egomaniac came to the conclusion that "he is actually sane, aside from his solipsistic delusions." Egomaniac's lawyer - who has reportedly had several arguments with his client - challenged the ruling and demanded a new evaluation.A Chinese woman calling herself the Mercy reportedly killed over one thousand rural farmers in the Xinjiang region near Kazakistan during the last week. All of the dead had newly born daughters, fuelling speculation that Mercy was trying to save them from death so the families could have a son instead. Government officials are offering a $10,000 (US) reward for her - dead, not alive.
Late Breaking Update!
JJ Jamesom was rescued by the police from a condo complex in the north end of the city early last night. While details are not forthcoming, Jameson is reportedly heavily sedated and in extraordinary "super human-induced" pain and babbling about demons. The police have refused to comment, only saying that whoever rescued him dealt with the guards very effectively and did not stay around to take credit for it.Fri. October 30th
He's just a hero
In a long line of heroes
Looking for action at a price he can pay.
- Liz Phair, "Soap Star Joe"The widely reported British news story from yesterday is apparently not a fake, and most people are still trying to figure out what kind of sick joke it was, and what medication the British Prime Minster was on at the time.
In other news, local self-described prophet of the new age, Emily Garret, said that the end of the world is near and, quoting Shakespeare,that proof lies in the fact that the politicians have grown honest.
HAMLET: What news?
ROSENCRATZ: None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest.
HAMLET: Then is doomsday near.The man stopped in front of Hotel 111, his expression somehow both amused and angry. Bates Motel he’s destroyed, along with the Days Inn (the latter, admittedly, because he knew what those really were and the Day they served and waited for, so it didn’t count) but Hotel 666, 555, 444 ... and now 000. he scowled slightly and it simply wasn’t there anymore. The smoking crater in the ground, however, was unintentional.
“Amusing,” a woman’s voice said.
He turned slowly, extending his voice and senses to every level. “Isn’t it, though?” in a gentle tone.
The woman was pretty, tall, blond. And completely human, which he was certain she wasn’t. He was mildly gratified when she took a step back before his gaze. ”You know why I’m here, Smith.”
“Seer sacrificed, to stop me. I didn’t know she was that strong. I assume most of this,” he waves a hand to his handiwork, “was yours?”
The woman shrugged. “She managed up to 444 alone, which impressed me. The Day’s Inn was it’s own idea, I expect. I’m glad you dealt with it.”
The man who currently called himself John Smith shrugged, then said “You’re from beyond, aren’t you? You hide even from me, which is impressive, but in this world I am stronger than you.”
The woman just shrugged. “Of course. If we fought, you’d win. Eventually.”
Smith chuckled. “I figured it out, you know. When she mentioned Winter. He’s Barry, isn’t it? Or will be. It explains how Master J died, as well. He killed one of us, and so didn’t have power enough to hurt the Entity. Earth wasn’t obliterated.” The woman said nothing, so Smith shrugged himself. “I’m saving my anger for them. I won’t waste my power on you. Somehow, he caused J to kill one of us, aided him, so the world would be saved - for himself. A powerful talent, and dangerous ...”
“You’re afraid.”
He said nothing.
She smiled slightly, honestly. “You’re right, you know. But I do know one thing you don’t - Barry died earlier.”
Smith blinked, but he’d been a power in the world for a very long time, and his voice was conversational. “I placed wards so he’d never get out, nothing get in. Nothing could have slain him, not even one of them.”
The woman just nodded, her expression peaceful.
For a moment, John Smith stood undecided, then said in a quiet, almost human voice. “The one in Haven will be a threat to both of us. Some of us get trapped in images, in myths. I was a snake once, a long time ago, and the foreman of the construction crew isn’t at work, but his Dog is on the move, the old Companion. You can’t stop me, you’re here to delay me. But I will find it. I was kind, before. Lenient. But I can feel him, even in your little trick universe here. Such power will need to be stopped, for the sake of the world.”
The woman just looked at him, then wasn’t there.
Smith stopped eight hours later, at Motel 010, and stared at it for a very long moment, then took a deep breath and went inside to sleep. He would make it. And worlds would tremble.
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