---

It was a fair assessment that things have relatively changed for the better in the last ten years. With money being thrown out of politics, with healthcare becoming increasingly effective and affordable, with technology allowing people to enjoy themselves better and businesses to thrive, and with sources of energy that could give more output than that of fossil fuels. Nations all around the world have changed for the better, including that of the United States, where the citizens of the world have better access to the commodities that they so desperately have been trying to get under the harsh systems of capitalism, facism or communism. Things were looking great, and the people were happy.

But not everyone was happy. Not everything was great. While money was thrown out of politics, its finding its way back in with other places. While healthcare was more effective and affordable, that only applied to those in Western Nations. While technology helped people enjoy themselves and businesses thrive, people became dependent on this tech and even addicted to it, and many competing businesses were snuffed out due to lacking said technology. Alternative energies were great, efficient and reliable, but they costed a whole lot of money to implement. And as a result of climate change, resources were harder to get as a result of shifting weather conditions in various nations, causing instability at best, and chaos at worst, allowing oppressive regimes to take control of governments and terrorist groups to run amuck. Things didn't work too well, and the world needed heroes. Superheroes.

Oh yes, Superheroes do exist. So do angels, demons, aliens, monsters and other such beings. We lump them all together under the term of Supernaturals... as they aren't normal in any way, shape or form. Their existence was hidden over the course of hundreds of years, ever since events like the Salem Witch Trials killed many Supernaturals that exposed themselves to the public. Many Supernaturals since then have hidden themselves into isolation or amongst others, but there are still those who help, and still those who harm. One of those groups that do help, is called the Powerbound Alliance.

The Powerbound Alliance has been around for years, ever since the end of World War 2, where it was formed by many Supernaturals who heard about, witnessed or experienced the atrocities the Nazis have committed against both Supernaturals and humankind. The Powerbound Alliance was formed among good and neutral supernaturals as a solution to help stop things like that from happening again, whether it would be fighting evil-aligned supernaturals or evil-aligned humans. However, that's what their mission statement was, but they were really just an alliance of supernaturals who bickered about how they would stay hidden. Nothing really happened for the longest amount of time, as the Powerbound Alliance never exposed themselves to any human being since its formation. As many generations of supernaturals rotated through the Powerbound Alliance, its size dwindled, and it became smaller than it normally was. The Powerbound Alliance never acted, until recently.

It wasn't until 2014 that the Powerbound Alliance actually did something. In the past, they were afraid of exposing themselves to the people, and allowing themselves to be hurt or killed by the people they saved, but at this time, many of the older supernaturals (who lived through Nazi Germany) saw what was going on in Syria, how ISIS was massacring many innocent civilians, and were killing off the people that defended them. The Powerbound Alliance moved into Syria, and fought against ISIS in secret, until they were discovered by the 32nd YPG Unit, who was led by Commander Daran Soraw. The Powerbound Alliance tried to explain themselves, and wanted not to harm the YPG, but instead of harming the Supernaturals, Daran insisted to the other YPG soldiers that they were sent by God to help them fight the terrorists and rescue their poeple. And ever since then, the Powerbound Alliance and the 32nd YPG Unit have worked together, even after the Islamic State was defeated and Kurdistan was independent. The 32nd YPG Unit became the 32nd Peshmerga Unit, and the Powerbound Alliance acted in Colombia, having taken down an entire drug cartel, using the mansion owned by the Cartel Leader as their own headquarters, and using the massive amounts of money as funding, giving the massive amounts of weapons to the 32nd and destroying all of the drugs in the process. And at that time, things were going well.

However, on January 1st, 2026, almost the entirety of the Original Heroes, the large majority of the Powerbound Alliance, disappeared without a trace. Those currently in the Powerbound Alliance, including Vance, Lisa, Amado, Kelsey, Esperanza and Manuelo, were left behind with no notes, no clues, or anything. Not even anyone in the 32nd, who were stationed in Syria at the time, knew anything either. Since then, the world was in need of new heroes. And the tale of these heroes begins here.

---

Lisa stood in her business suit, looking around through the darkness. The dock she was on, Dock 32A, was a large one, complete with shipping containers as cover, a small cargo boat tied up nearby, a large open space for many people to stand comfortably in, and plenty of space for a helicopter to land. Behind her, a grey Sikorsky S-92 passenger helicopter, capable of carrying up to 19 passengers, was parked and empty, ready to fly again. Right beside her was Amado Cortez, a decent-looking hispanic man wearing a black hoodie, and some camoflage cargo pants. Both of them stood in front of the helicopter, waiting, looking amongst the darkness.

"What time is it?" Lisa asked, continuing to scan across the docks ahead of her, as well as the city skyline.

"Its..." Amado checked his watch, pressing the button to make it light up. "... 1:56 AM." He said, his accent just a little heavy.

Lisa nodded. "Alright... do you see any unique energy signatures of any kind? At all?" She asked, looking to Amado.

Amado shook his head. "Quite a few, but I can't make them out. They're too far away." He said.

Lisa looked to Amado. "Alright... did you go over the list on the way here?" She asked.

Amado nodded. "Yeah." He said. "There is Lucifer, a chick who can... uh... manipulate light, I just hope she doesn't burn anyone else on this list; there's Iron Hand, a... uhm... guy with a cyborg hand... I hope he doesn't masturbate with that hand; Terror, some kind of half-ghost dude whatever, I hope he won't stalk people in the restrooms; and uhm... Echo? Some... alien type of girl who can absorb sound or something... she's gonna piss off the 32nd once she absorbs all of their Kurdish rap music; there's The Kraken, some chick with tentacle arms or whatever... I hope she doesn't piss Manuelo off by making the whole damn place slimy; uhm... Masquerade... some type of Shadow Wraith guy... he gives me the creeps; Fenrir. the guy who's both a vampire and a werewolf... that's gotta fuckin' suck; Decoy, a guy who can multiply himself... I really hope to Christ that he isn't one of those annoying Vlogger types; Mass Jennycide..." Amado nearly chuckled at that one. "... a woman who just cant die, we need someone like that; and we got two without aliases... some frog-man from South Africa and a fucking cartoon." Amado said. "I'm pretty sure there's more but that's all of the ones I can remember."

Lisa nodded. "Yeah... about the cartoon... I can't tell whether or not Kelsey was joking with that entry. If she isn't kidding, I don't even know how to handle it. I just hope to god that she'll be on our side."

Amado looked to Lisa and nodded. "Yeah. I lost my sense of reality ever since I got hired by you guys so I'll be good." He nodded.

---

Nyt nervously chewed on her lower lip as she steered with one hand behind the wheel of her beloved Honda Civic affectionately named, Crichton. In her other hand, she brought a trembled cup of coffee she grabbed on her way out the door to her mouth and she silently cursed when the hot espresso hit her chewed up lip. "Aw, ship," she said to herself, "I should’ve just stayed home.". She craved the comfort of her home on her parent’s ranch, with the packs of dogs waiting to be loved on by all sorts of people. But her mother was right: she had a calling; she wasn’t a regular human trying to pay bills and co-exist with the rest of the population in a lull of quiet security. She was Nyt Årud, beloved daughter of a former NASA employee and a mother who wanted to show her the world. This was it.
As she drove around the dark parking lot dimmed by the street lamps, she absorbed the last few seconds of what would be “normalcy” in her life. No longer could she hide away in her room, binging on the Gilmore Girls or streaming endlessly through gifs of endearing animals. She was here for herself, now, to make something of the powers that once scared her. "It’s all or nothing," she convinced herself and parked her car farthest away from the other cars. She set up her windshield sunshades and cracked the windows one last time. Keys in her left hand, she opened the car door and grabbed her coffee with her right hand as she exited. She clicked the remote to open the trunk and before she pulled herself away, she looked into her car one last time: the most comfortable home she’s ever known and she was leaving it behind to her brother to pick up later that day. "I’m sorry, Crichton, but you’re safer here. Be a good boy and let me know if Xavier drives you too fast."
After retrieving her items from the trunk of the car, she looked over at the lit up buildings and made a note of the signs that would lead her to Dock 32A. Slowly, she began to make her way, hoping she wasn’t the first one among the team to show up. She cupped her coffee in her hand almost as if she were afraid to lose that too, but the warmth of the tasty vanilla-sweet espresso soothed her. She began to spot two lone figures on a dock far down the runway and she smiled. She might have been utterly terrified, but under all that she was most of all excited.
"Excuse me," she called out to the woman and man talking among themselves. "Is this where ‘we’ gather?"

---

Jackson was silently floating over towards the docks with nonchalance, his dark clothes and the cover of night kept him virtually unseen unless light glinted off one of three chains that were hanging from his belt and shone beams down below. Being a ghost was kinda fun when you could more or less fly with enough concentration. He stayed the hell away from the road to keep people from noticing him and promptly wrecking (which has happened before), but close enough to follow the street lights to his destination. The lights were kinda pretty from the side of the road on a night this clear, he should come on floaty strolls like this more often.

Jackson was kinda getting bored with how long he was taking to get to this damned place, but he saw the small lights of the dock just a little ahead and figured it wasn't going to be boring for much longer. He silently fell from the sky when he hit the side of the docks and covered himself behind some of the storage containers spread about and slowly made his way to the pier in which he was set to meet up with people. Previous experience told him that he had to make sure it wasn't a trap. There was this one time he was taking down this big ass kingpin who was screwing over people through offering to pay for their child's medical bills, and, long story short, he almost got blown to bits in the middle of a cemetery... That was a fun day, decayed flesh everywhere, and dogs. Dogs like burying bones... Oh god that hurt his insides thinking how funny that night was.

Jackson came out on the other side of of one of the storage containers and saw the pier in which he was supposed to go. Only two people were standing there and they seemed kinda stuffy. "Ah come on, I bet they have ice cubes stuck in their asses," he told himself jokingly to try and sooth the nerves of his that were going out of control. "Butt fuck it, let's get this show on the damned road."

Without further adue, Jackson floated up into the sky once again and turned upside down so his head was facing down. He crossed his legs and acted like he was sitting down... upside down in the air. His chains kinda came lose and dangled about as he made his way over to the pier silently giggling to himself. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yo." he said from quite a far above their heads with a smile on his face. "Sup, sluts." He wore a goofy smile on his face and just kinda sorta waved. Birdseye views were fun... why didn't he float more often again?

---

Mercury had gotten off the plane still staring over a map he’d bought of the San Diego area. He blew through security checks, and went straight outside. Seeing as he didn’t have a bag to grab. Seeing as he didn’t have whole lot on him to worry about. He just had a single change of clothing which he could easily fold up, and stick into one of the pockets on his belt. Along with a wallet with a couple hundred dollars which he’d taken from a rich guy he’d eviscerated for someone that wished for revenge. Once outside he walked a fair distance away making sure he was in the shadows before switching his mask from his daily for his Sly mask which took no more than a minute. His yellow eyes scanned the area one last time making sure no one saw him. Then Jumped into the sky in a flutter of feathers, and shadow he’d turned into a crow. Which quickly took flight following the route he’d memorized.

It didn’t take very long before he smelt the scent of the ocean. "Mmm, I love that salty smell reminds me of saltwater taffy, and hawaiian caramels with that bit of salt on top…. Great now I’m hungry blast it all. I knew I should’ve grabbed something in the terminal." *exasperated sigh~* ”No point in dwelling on that now. I mean I’ve got a friend waiting.[b] With that thought he flew even faster catching an updraft. He quickly saw the docks coming into view.

Mercury glided for a while looking at all the dock numbers ”30… 31… AH! Here it is, Wait no that’s 32B, god dammit this place is like a maze. He flew up high, and looked around then spotted a gathering of people what really attracted his attention was some strange guy floating upside down. So in his curiosity decided to check it out, and flew straight at Terror like an arrow. ”JERRANAMO!! At the very last second he pulled up flying over Jackson, and did an almost inhuman flip in the air as he shifted into humanoid form. Then landed on his feet then quickly shot his hands up into the air like a gymnastics athlete sticking the landing. ”And the judges gives me a?” He then looked over at Lisa, Armando, and Nyt for a rating of tens or nines.

---

Kores wiped the sleep from his eyes and sighed, the flight from Northern Ireland to California was a nightmare. All that time spent on the airplane had stiffened him up, his body was feeling an overwhelming groggyness. Unfortunately he couldn't just check into his hotel and collapse on the bed, the letter said he must be at the dock at 2am which was not far from now. Kores pulled a flip phone from out of his pocket, most people now a days wouldn't be seen dead with one of these relics but it was a rare piece of tech that he actually knew how to work, with his phone was a scrap piece of paper with a few incoherent scribbles and a jumble of letters, he had made sure there was a few taxi companies he could call and decided to just make his way down the list. He pressed the numbers into his phone forcefully before holding it up against his ear as it rang. "Hello I would like a taxi, I am at the airport right now." Kores said politely as he could, he was told that a taxi would be dispatched soon.

While waiting for the taxi Kores sent a text to his family, saying that he travelled safely and that all was fine, also that he was looking forward to his time in America. However soon after sending the text he put his phone back into his pocket red faced, a few people passing by gave him very odd looks, to be fair he was wearing shades at night and loudly texting on a flip phone. When the taxi arrived Kore's put his rucksack with all the things he brought with him in trunk, he then opened the taxi door to sitin the back seat. He retrieved the letter that caused this journey of sorts from his inside jacket pocket, quickly scanning over it for the exact location of the meet-up somewhat nervously, he had made simple mistakes in situations like these before that ruined his night but he was determined that tonight was not one of them. "Would it be possible to get dropped off near dock 32A sir? Got some friends I am meeting." he added the little white lie to simply create a good mood between the two. "No problem man, quite late already, make sure you and your friends stay safe." the taxi driver responded, Kores gave him a grin and and before he fastened his seatbelt, once the car started moving he rolled down the window to enjoy a brisk breeze against his face. The taxi driver had some obscure radio station on but Kores managed to block out most of it as he looked out of the window at the city of San Diego, it was quite different from the small town he was used to.

It was almost 2am when the taxi stopped, the driver explained to him the directions for the rest of way and Kores payed him along with a bit extra as a tip. He slung his rucksack over his shoulder and began to walk towards the dock in a stride. Upon reaching the dock a few were already gathered, some rather peculiar ones at that too but he had been expecting it given the circumstances he waved his hand in greetings. "Pleasure to meet you all, was worried I was being tricked for a while there."

---

Nyt took a spare moment of time to properly introduce herself to Lisa and Amado before the others arrived. "My name is Nyt Årud, but I think you know that from those stack of papers in your hand," she said with a smile, gesturing at Amado’s clipboard. ”Is there anything I need to sign or go over?” she started and then saw something out of the corner of her eye. ”Sup, sluts.” The voice startled her enough to momentarily lapse her control of her ability: a melody seemed to come from her hand as she tried to touch Jackson, thoroughly confused about everything.
”Have I lost it?”
She smiled at Jackson’s response and was about to comment on his interesting ability until a crow practically assaulted the ghost. ”JERRANAMO!” it cried out and then immediately took form of a humanoid shape. Her smile fell from her face and she found herself mesmerized by the mask with her eyes widen beyond belief. ”And the judges gives me a?”
”That was a solid 8.9!” she breathed. Then she realized she probably sounded like a geek without an inhaler and she began to subconsciously laugh at herself before the others did. She turned to look at the incoming man with an embarrassed smile on her face.
”Pleasure to meet you all, was worried I was being tricked for a while there,” he commented. Nyt hadn’t even considered it all could have been a cruel joke to end these gifted peoples’ lives. Her heart sank and she solemnly nodded.
”I really hope not. Otherwise, I’d hate to have to defend myself against people who I thought were supposed to help me…”

Marcus sat atop a cargo crane, a short distance from Dock 32A. He'd been there a while, since the helicopter landed, in fact, but he'd yet to approach. As of yet, Marcus had gone to quite an effort to keep even his travel back to the United States as under wraps as possible, but he was still paranoid, he had to be sure the entire thing hadn't been some form of set up. As the sun set, and the city was plunged into darkness, he brought the night vision scope up to his eyes, peering through and down at the dock itself, just waiting. He took a moment to adjust the gloves on his hands, better covering up his cybernetic under the glove itself and the longer sleeves of his jacket, in the event that he was spotted, he'd just appear a curious bystander.

Then people started to arrive, a young woman first, there wasn't anything abnormal about her, at least not that Marcus could see from this distance. He could have assumed she was with the two who were waiting, but considering her nervous stance and cautious approach, he figured she may have been someone else called to the meeting. The presence of just one other person was enough to calm his nerves, at least a little bit, knowing that the meeting was legitimate. He spotted something moving up into the sky again, and adjusted his sight, it looked like another normal man, but considering the fact he was sitting in mid-air, he assumed he was anything but, and more importantly, Marcus assumed he wasn't with the two who had been waiting.

Another flier arrived, this one seemed to be much more for making a show than the previous. Watching as the figure made his flip over the sitting floater and landed on the ground, Marcus couldn't help but give a quiet scoff at his showy attitude, perhaps this wasn't as serious, or rather as dangerous of a meeting as he'd presumed. Finally, another normal-looking person showed up, Marcus was already beginning to assume that he was likely not normal, considering what seemed to be the pattern of the evening, but at least from here he looked it as he walked toward the dock and the group. Sighing, Marcus lowered the scope in his hand, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness again as he contemplated what to do.

"Oh, to hell with it." He muttered as his mind was made up, moving to stand. He tucked away his scope and adjusted his cap as moved to the zipline he'd set up a few hours ago. Taking the glove off his cybernetic arm, he reached up and took hold of the zipline firmly before jumping, beginning to slide down with the quietest whirr of his arm, hitting the ground softly as he quickly moved to replace his glove. Tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he slowly began to stroll toward the dock, looking as inconspicuous and average as he could, eyes shifting between those already at the dock before he finally reached them.

"Evening, sorry i'm late." He didn't bother to clarify exactly why he had been late, he figured they didn't exactly need to know that.

---

Receiving a letter from what she would describe as a 'secret agent' or something (considering how he approached her unflinchingly unlike many other people who she had met alongside having an aura of mystery about him, much to her amusement), Light was on route to the location specified in the letter. After all, she didn't really have much else to do, and she smelled adventure around the corner. "If anything it'll be a nice story to tell people. Well, tell those who don't run away at the sight of a cartoon lady anyway." she thought to herself, traveling in the air.

Of course, being what people called a 'toon', Light had a different way of doing things. So as to not bother people on airplanes or alongside roads or anything, she kept to herself while traveling. To do this she kept pulling out and entering wormholes she could grab from inside her dress that looked akin to a pure black hole, and coming out at higher and higher altitudes from the exit. (Sure this method was much slower than riding in an airplane, but considering she was only going from Los Angelis to San Diago, it was faster than having to deal with airports.)

She reached the docks around 2AM, although she was high in the sky over them unlike the others who mostly arrived by ground travel. Trying to remember which dock she was supposed to meet the rest of this 'Powerbound Alliance' Light stopped pulling out holes and instead rummaged inside her dress and pulled out the letter. Of course she didn't really pay much attention to the fact she was falling at an alarming speed as she read the letter. "Dock 32A? OK... thats..." she thought to herself as she looked down at the rapidly approaching docks. As she fell, she saw a group of strange people, one of them floating in the airs with chains like some sort of demon! But before she could yell hello, she hit the water with a loud wet 'SMACK' sound, not breaking the surface of it in an epic bellyflop.

After a little bit of groaning and laughing at herself for being so careless, Light pulled herself out of the bay water and onto the dock. Making her way to the group, noting some masked guy had just landed that she didn't notice while she was falling, she called out. "Hey! Is this that group thingy the letter talked about? Or am I walking into some gang dealings?" she said, waving excitedly at the group, a large grin on her face.

In the pitch darkness of the early morn, standing against the backdrop of the inky-black sea, Fenrir watched and waited. His plane had touched down sometime in the early evening, and he had come here as soon as the sun had fully set. His journey to America had been... less than pleasant. Airplanes gave him an unbelievable amount of anxiety; something about being trapped in an airtight container with dozens of other people, thousands of miles in the air for hours on end did not agree with him. Security had been utter suffering to go through; people of Fenrir's description set off quite a few red flags when trying to board planes, as it turned out. However, the greatest struggle had been his decision whether or not to show up at all. What was he to make of a mysterious letter from an American, somehow tracking him down as he hid out in the Bavarian backwoods? In his experience, situations like these were almost always traps. Never once had anyone genuinely offered to help him; not without asking something in exchange, at least.

Still, the plane ticket to America seemed legitimate. It was a place that had always interested Fenrir, and he could use the change in scenery. Europe, though a big place, was beginning to shrink under his feet. The old castles and forests no longer sheltered him as they once did, and the remaining supernaturals looked after their own kin and none else. Hardly hospitable for a kinless outcast such as Fenrir. He arrived at the rendezvous point well ahead of everyone else, and scouted it from a distance. His senses were sharp enough that he would know all that went on at the meeting, without being anywhere near it. Fenrir had no thought that he would be spotted; he was a shadow in the cover of night. Night was home to him, it was mother and father at once, it would not betray him to these daywalkers that merely waded in its shallows.

Surprisingly, they started to arrive. By ones and twos they appeared, speaking of strange things and smelling of stranger things. These were scents he knew of only vaguely, the strange smells sometimes carried by the hunters came to claim Fenrir's hide. Far from the blood-smell of vampires, or the earth-smell of werewolves. Stranger scents arrived; the deep Umbra, the Twilight of spirits, the Gauntlet between worlds. Many were present, and the hour of meeting had already come and gone without much discussion. Were they still waiting on him? Fenrir decided to roll the dice; if this was still a trap, he was sure that he could fight his way out against this collection of oddities. Escape at the very least.

Fenrir approached the group slowly, emerging from the shadows like a beast from a dark wood. Despite his massive frame and his mud-caked workman's boots, his footsteps made no sounds against the creaking boards of the pier. He towered well above all others present, standing tall and straight like a god walking among men. Even so, glorious and divine he was not. Boot-cut jeans and an old military jacket over a dirty, sand-colored shirt were the best vestments that Fenrir had available. He honestly didn't remember the last time he had bathed; mud and dust covered him in various overlapping layers, and his blond hair was stringy and matted. A powerful musk surrounded him, a smell something like blood, something like sex, much like the deep woods, and even more like a wet dog. Fenrir said nothing, coolly eyeing the others present. His steel-blue gaze would occasionally catch the light in such a way that they shined with unearthly light; the eyes of a monster, rather than the eyes of a man.

---

Alexandra walked cautiously along the edge of the docks. Her eyes shifted from in front of her, to the sea on her right. With not a single soul in sight, she was able to focus more on the scenery rather than where she was walking. It wasn't often that she would casually cruise around the town. Of course, she wasn't really on a leisurely stroll. She pulled the letter out of her pocket to make sure she was heading to the right place. Despite spending the last 10 or so years in San Diego, she didn't really know her way around the huge city. Her life consisted of sleeping under a bridge, and coming in to the edges of the city during the dead of night to try and scrounge up something to eat. Even if she were to conceal her arms with an over-sized sweater -which she was currently doing- people would still stare at her. Alex could easily count on one hand the pros of having tentacle arms. Well, if she had hands.

Alex was able to confirm that she was heading in the right direction as voices slowly faded in. Shortly after hearing them, she was able to see the group of other super-people gathering on one of the docks. She took a quick mental note of the helicopter sitting idly behind them. It was just her luck that they were going to be flying somewhere. Although she's only taken to the air once in her life, she still hated the feeling of being so high up in the air. Her stomach would twist into knots, causing extreme discomfort. Perhaps it was just the nerves and adrenaline pumping through her veins, but she didn't want to test that theory again. Unfortunately, it looked she would have to.

She had one last chance to turn back. She could go back to being the troll under the bridge, back to the live that she so desperately despised. Taking one last look behind her, she marched towards the dock with a renewed confidence. As the others came into view, she felt almost normal compared to some of the others. In particular, there was a girl who had blue hair and an extremely morphed body. She also noticed the giant man lumbering over the others. While he could have very well been simply huge, Alex assumed that his "powers" had something to do with his size. However, looks aren't a guaranteed way of judging someone's abilities. Alex didn't even remotely resemble her own powers at the moment. The only way someone could tell that she had mutated arms were if they had known her previously, or if they could smell the fishy odor emanating from the sticky residue. Being right next to the ocean made the latter incredibly difficult to do.

"I assume this is the right place. I don't think there's anywhere else at two in the morning where you could find a... cartoon, right next to a giant. Among others, of course," she said as she approached the blue-haired girl. "My name is Alexandra, by the way." Her accent had slightly faded due to being surrounded by American accents, but it was still noticeable.

---

The more they came out of the shadows or mysteriously manifested, the more her grin grew. Being the eighth sibling out of nine, she loved groups and especially all the shenanigans that came with it. Her heart ached a bit for her gang of adoptive brothers and imagined them doing what they all loved to do: Alistair fidgeting with his equations to get his spacecraft going with their dad while they drank locally brewed beer; Skylar cradling his newborn while watching a movie he felt nostalgic for; Ryan out on his own mission somewhere in Europe, as much was left unknown to her since he decided to distance himself from the family to spare some tears; Jason in Houston with his own family ready to settle in for the night; had Greg not been taken too early from them, she had no doubt he was still on his way to the outer depths of space thanks to Alistair and Gunnar; she was certain Jesse and his daughter Rey were hanging the matriarch, Astrid, in the spacious outdoors of the ranch with the crickets chirping away; Xavier, (she cringed to think about), was driving her Honda Civic much too recklessly as he raced to get home in time for Luffy the Ghost Hunter, and lastly Alphonse, the endearing youngest sibling of nine that already lived to see some serious stuff by the time he was 20 years old, was definitely rolling a joint in her honor of her finally getting the help she needs.
As they slowly continued to come, she greeted each one and introduced herself with a hand shake, or at least attempted to do so with Alexandra. She gave her the warmest smile as she confidentially attempted to make the other girl feel at ease with her abilities. She was no stranger to oddity, being otherworldly. ”Pleased to meet you, Alexandra.” She looked around at the number of faces that had grown and she began to feel pride for being a part of such a group. She no longer felt alone and she could finally get the help she so desperately needed to finely honing her skills once and for all. As loving and tough as her brothers were, none of them could understand what it felt like to suck the sound out of her surroundings because she was frightened half to death. She chuckled now at that thought as she glanced over at Jackson.

---

Mercury looked over to Nyt when she gave him an 8.9 on his entry then hung his head chuckling softly. ”Thanks, I would’ve thought a ten on that entrance. Ah well, I’ll do better next time.” Then stretched his arms out tiredly, and looked over at everyone that started arriving. Then looked up at Vasile, that dude looked like he could break him like a toothpick. Though what really bugged him was the stench, and he showed that by waving a hand in front of his masked face. ”Dude! Ever hear of something called a shower? I’m half tempted to try pushing you into the harbor. Ah, uum, I’m just kidding... “ *nervous laughter~* ”Please don’t hurt me." Then quickly took a few steps away from the angry looking dude. To almost hiding himself behind Alexandra, using her like a meat shield. ”Oh! By the way my name is Mercury if anyone is wondering… Though my enemies know me by Masquerade.”

The next person that caught his attention was obviously the girl he was hiding behind. ”Hi, you’re very pretty. You don’t mind if I hang out here do you? Hmm… you smell like calamari. Did you have some before coming?” Then crossed his arms behind his head he had no scent of his own except for a musty scent from the leather of his old jacket, and sash/belt. Then sighed staring up into the sky. He then moved his head to look at the others some dude with a metal arm, and a normal looking guy. Which bored him so looked back up into the sky.

When toon that came crashing into the water. He was at a loss for words for quite a while. As he lowered his arms back to his sides tilting his head just slightly to the right. He watched this strange toon girl exit the water. By far she was the strangest thing he’d ever seen, and he’d seen his own reflection often enough. ”Well I just got bumped down to number two on the weirdo scale. Damn… I’m gonna have to try really hard if I’m gonna top a toon, on the creepy o-meter. He walked out from behind his hiding place behind Alexandra to approach Light. His head still tilted in curiosity at her this was the first being that ever really looked like she didn’t belong in this world. Someone that didn’t belong, like him. Then smiled creepily he looked like he belonged in a Tim Burton movie. ”Hi… my name is Mercury. You are?” He lowered motioned his hand in a polite gesture. He was chuckling a little in glee at seeing Light.

---

First thing's first. When it comes to weird and painfully unusual, the falling cartoon had to take the fucking cake. What was life? What was reality? Some weird wraith like man somersaulted over him, there was a guy with a metal arm, there was... shit there was a lot. But a fucking toon? What the fucking hell? Upon noticing her up close Jackson kinda lost concentration and dropped down onto the deck with a *THUD~* and murmured something about not getting up for awhile. No seriously, Jackson wasn't getting up. He hit the deck, hurt his head, and now he was laying there on his back staring up to the sky and slowly moving his mouth, mumbling stuff incoherantly.


"I am the Terror... I am the night." he mumbled quietly to himself as he rose gently off the ground, still laying flat. He flipped rightside up and got roughly eye level with everyone else, still laying down, still mumbling. Looking away from the Cartoon to keep himself oriented in reality he finally got a chance to look at someone else and settled on the girl who had played music like a radio when he shocked her. Sound manpiulation huh? She seemed like the friendliest here at the moment, he'd have to note that in the future.

From her, Jackson's gaze went to the weird dude who had hurtled over him. Mercury, The Masquerade huh? Sorta talkative, kinda of annoying, Jackson felt like he'd avoid that guy for the moment. Then there was the guy with a metal arm, Jackson had all these cool thoughts about cyborgs and almost drifted away into the land of imagination but could not as his noce crinkled up. Jesus christ what was that smell?

The larger man and the girl that both showed up carried a weird smell on them. Jackson didn't notice it at first, but it was... unique. It smelled familiar, like a seaside bar over-run with hookers, and he kinda wanted to ask who else smelled it, but that would be extremely rude right?... That was rude right?...

---

Two newcomers came out from the shadows of the dock. One being a larger man with some sort of... hobo look to him. The other followed soon after, a girl with a Russian accent but no other really interesting things of note yet. Jumping a bit to see the new faces, Light gave them a cheery hello. "Hello Alexandria! I'm Light." Light said, attempting to grab her hand and shake it. But of course with her luck that didn't happen, as the masked guy jumped in front of Alexandria after introducing himself as some M name, Mercury? Or Masquerade? Either or Light ended up grabbing his hand, the man in question also excited to see her.

It was a bit refreshing to see adults run up to greet her and not look like absolute creeps or have some... weight... issues... She figured it was some sort of cultural thing considering decent looking folk often ran for the hills at the sight of her. But then this was no normal looking folk, the guy with the mask in front of her being a clear example of that, as well as the levitating guy who apparently fell flat on his back before doing some sort of exorcist thing. "Hi Merc, I'm Light." Light said as she let him shake her hand.

After shaking Mercury's hand, Light looked over at the levitating guy with the chains who was pulling an exorcist sorta thing. "Uh... Is that guy ok? Or do we need to get a cross or something?" Light said to the group as she pointed at Jackson, or the 'Terror' as he called himself. (Light of course only knowing the latter name, but thinking it was part of his levitating act or something.) Looking at the group, she pointed at the big disheveled looking guy. (Fenrir) "Hey buddy, if this one starts to turn his head around and vomit everywhere, can you hold him down?" Light said with a slight chuckle. She would've asked the guy with the robot arm, but Light figured that it would be a bit more funny to see a homeless guy pin down a guy with chains.

It turns out that when you're driving around the dark, empty streets of San Diego, staying awake only by the three fuels of curiousity, get pumped music, and red bull, to a meeting which you're not sure is legitimate, you find yourself thinking about some pretty weird things. Jennifer Teller, for example, while riding around in her rental Volkswagen Beetle, began pondering what it would be like to ride an actual giant beetle. Then, Jennifer's thoughts took an even odder turn, as she began thinking about how riding Ringo Starr would feel. Then, just as she was about to conclude her preposterous ponderings by comparing and contrasting the three beetles and deciding which one she would most like to ride all the way from California back to New York, her eyes caught a familiar number: 32A.

It took Jen a few moments to remember where she had heard this number, but when she did, her eyes went wide: this was the dock she was meeting the superpeople! Her whole reason for leaving New York, her final destination! She slowed her car to a stop right in front of the docks and pulled the keys out of the ignition. The car's headlights turned off, leaving Jenny with only the dim light of the streetlamps. Jenny quickly turned to the passengers seat, in which sat a stack of three pizza boxes. She scooped the pizza up in both arms, noting that it was still slightly warm, before exiting the car, leaving her red bull, which was contained in a milkless milk jug, inside. Once she was out, she walked to the back of the car and popped open the trunk. Inside was a burgundy suitcase. She moved the pizza boxes from both hands over to her left hand, holding the top down with her chin so it wouldn't fall, and with her right hand pulled her suitcase out, letting it stand on its wheels. She then, chin and hand still holding the pizza boxes in place, stepped onto the pier, the suitcase rolling behind her. Silhouettes of people quickly came into view, then, as Jen closed in, she saw the more defined traits, like faces and clothing. She was about to ask if she was in the right place, but then she saw the others: a floating guy, a blue-haired woman, and some girl who looked like she belonged in an episode of Steven Universe. But Jen decided not to judge. After all, she was either weirder or just as weird as the others there. So instead, she set her suitcase down, held the pizza with both hands, and began reciting the speech that she had been rehearsing before she had started thinking of other things.

"Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer Teller, and I have brought pizza! But this isn't just any random three types of pizza. These are the three types of pizza that describe my personality! First, on top, we have cheese, because I'm adaptable and can change if needed! Next, we have supreme, because I have everything you want and more! And finally, we have pepperoni and garlic, because everyone likes me, just like everyone likes pepperoni and garlic! So that is why you're going to have a blast working with me!" She said. She was grinning ear to ear, showing a full row of teeth, slightly chattering despite the extra warmth from the red beanie, gloves, and scarf she had bought specifically for the early morning meeting. She wasn't really used to working with people, and she thought that perhaps getting them pizza might get them to like her. It seems fairly logical. But then again, this is the idea of a girl who's locked herself up in her room for the majority of her adult life, so....

---

Edwina yawned a bit, walking down the dark, California streets. A Monster energy drink in one and hand an iPod in another, she was jamming out to music as she walked. Her hair cascaded over her shoulder, Edwina yawned, and if anyone were to watch, the area around her would have gotten a little brighter. Grinning to herself, Edwina tried her best to stay awake, watching as a group ahead loomed into distance.

Easily, she could make out each and every person. Two people in business suits. A cartoon. A ghost. A wraith. An alien. A cyborg. A...vampire wolf? And some girl with tentacle arms. Well, guess this really is a freak show, then...

Edwina walked up to the suits, smiling at them gently. "Is this where we sign up for superhero camp? I'm Lucifer."

Glancing around at the others, she considered the possibility that she ought to introduce herself. Taking another sip of her energy drink, Edwina hit pause on her music, sending off a text to a friend that she wouldn't be coming for a while. She loved the retro vibe the iPhones gave her--it was something that wasn't all that coming. Everyone these days seemed to be going for the newer and greater pieces of technology.

Eddie didn't care about all of that.

"So, who wants to be my best friend?" Edwina asked, her eyes twinkling. "I'm really good at magic tricks." Flashing a smile over at the cyborg as she chugged some of the energy drink, Edwina waited, excited for the next big chapter of her life.

The night was still. The air was warm and a breeze passed between the buildings and over Athens Park, rustling the leaves and the trees. After midnight, the streets were quiet on the edge of the city. The soft glow of the streetlights and the flashing yellow stoplights provided just enough light to see down the empty roads and vacant sidewalks.
The only movement was a man in his bed slippers. His a bath robe loosely-tied around his waist, walking his Cairn Terrier. He yawned and scratched through the material of his coffee-stained wife beater that was peeking through his robe. He peered down at the terrier as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Come on Todo. It's after midnight and I've only gotten 4 hours of sleep in the past two days writing headlines from all the crazy events that happened yesterday!"

The dog sniffed at yet another tree, deciding this one didn't meet it's standards for an appropriate bathroom either.

"A building full of men were beaten and killed. One was thrown out a window... others were shot in cold blood in the middle of the street in broad daylight. The city just isn't safe anymore." he muttered to himself as the dog moseyed up to another tree.

James Stewart was a journalist for The Olympian and although he was happy with his job, the chaos with yesterdays events kept him glued in front of his computer screen for the past 24 hours. At this point, all that he wanted was some peace and quiet and a little shut-eye before his boss called him in to write about the next tragedy that was bound to happen.
Todo's ears perked up. James looked down as Todo began peeing uncontrollably on the spot. Eyes-wide and fur raised. James was curious with his dog's behavior but his focus wavered as goose bumps covered the length of his arms and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
His watch began to spin and now, even his hair was lifting up. Peeling his gaze away from his watch, James looked up and off into the distance. The stars began to twist and swirl. The building's edges started to distort and warp in unnatural ways. In the center, in the space between the buildings, all light was being pulled into darkness. Todo yelped and ran off in the oppisite direction, yanking the leash from his hands. James yearned to join him. He screamed at his legs, willing them to move but he was frozen in place as sweat slid down his neck.
A pop and a rumble broke the silence as he felt himself being pulled, no; sucked into the void. Suddenly, a mass of black and violet, indigo and flashes of light erupted from the void as an object was hurled from the center of the vortex.
Another BANG that sounded and felt like a sonic boom forced James to look away as glass shattered and the distortion was split and frayed. And just as quickly as it had come in, the air was still, the stars were all in place as they were before and the only disturbance were the sound of car alarms echoing down the neighborhood.
As Jame's eyes regained focus, something was lying on the ground and that something ...was beginning to move.

---

"Are you sure we're going the right way? Daw gon' it, now you got us lost!" Spencer was holding his iPhone that had the google maps app pulled up. His duplicate was walking just over his shoulder scolding him for his lack of direction.

"Can you stop peeking over my shoulder and focus on the others to see if they're keeping up?!" The downside to being able to create dupes was that they all shared the same personality and thought process as the original. The dupe turned around to see a couple more dupes rolling luggage behind them in a single line.

"Are we there yet?" One of the dupes had called out from the back while the others chimed in about getting a taxi instead of walking. "Who's bright idea was this anyway?"

"All of ours," the rest of the dupes, including Spencer said in unison. "We don't need no damn taxi," Spencer retorted in his strong southern Louisiana accent. "We need to use the tracking skills that daddy taught us just in case there were no taxis in a strenuous situation."

"There wouldn't be no service or iPhones neither if the situation was that bad," one of the dupes added.

"No one asked you!" Spencer was getting frustrated which was quite unusual from his perky energetic self. They managed to find the dock where others were located already. Spencer's eyes widened at the clusterfuck of individuals that were there. Some didn't even look...real. And there was a man taller than the tree that was in their backyard back at home. This was going to be a fun and interesting mission. He couldn't wait to get to know them and start his ruthless prank wars with those that he knew would be able to take it.

Spencer and his dupes, who were carry some kind of luggage or belonging, all approached the group one by one to join everyone. They sat their belongings on the ground and each dupe, including the original Spencer, approached someone in the group until everyone had a clone in front of them. They held out their hand and introduced themselves.

"Spencer Davenport from Shreveport, Louisiana. Nice to meet you," they all said in unison in that southern drawl. One of the dupes turned to the direction of a delicious smell. "Do I smell pizza?"

---

The two continued to stand around, waiting. The man and the woman made idle conversation, and talked about various things, including that of what was going on at home at the Sanctuary, who to take bets on who's gonna show up to the meeting, as well as other stuff like that. However, Amado looked towards the city again.

"I see a few signatures... one of of them seems to have a different energy around it... almost as if it was alien..." He whispered, putting his hands along his waist as Lisa stepped forward a little. Once Nyt came around the containers and walked towards them, Lisa smiled.

One Nyt stepped up to them, Lisa nodded. "Of course, this is where we meet." She said with a smile, holding out her hand to shake. "I'm Lisa Martinez, you must be... uhh... Nit... right? Did I pronounce your name right?" She asked. "Oh... we pronounced it wrong. We have a slight idea of who you are but we'll figure it all out in the meantime. And as for signing papers, not yet. I'm waiting until everyone gets here."

Once Jackson made is presence aware to all three of them, Lisa and Amado looked up. "Yeah... I was about to warn you of this... paranormal presence..." Amado said softly, looking up at Jackson.

Lisa gave a soft grin. "Sup? You're... uhm... Jackson, right? Correct me if I'm wrong." She said with a soft smile. "Come on down and join us." Almost immediately after, she just saw a figure fly right over Jackson and land right behind them all, by the helicopter, revealing himself to be Mercury. Both Amado and Lisa turned, to which they both applauded. "Hey... not bad. I'd give that a solid nine. A+, that's for damn sure." Lisa said with a soft chuckle. "Judging by your dossier info... you're... uhm... Mercury, right? I'm Lisa and this is Amado, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a smile.

Amado finished applauding at Mercury's showmanship, smiling. He was clearly impressed. He looked to Lisa. "I think we should save the introductions until they all arrive. Those that arrive on time, that is." Amado suggested.

"Yeah, good idea... those mofo's are showing up faster than I can even say-" When she heard Kores speak, she immediately turned to him as he walked down towards them. "...antidisestablishmentarianism." She smiled. "Hey, welcome. No trickery here, just stand over here above this massive target." She joked, pointing towards an empty space nearby. "Just kidding. Just hang on for a few, I'm gonna wait for the others to arrive." She said.

Hearing two feet land on the ground nearby, she immediately looked to see Marcus tucking his hands within his jacket. "It's cool... you're a few minutes late, so it's not that big of a deal." Lisa said. "Go ahead and meet the others while we wait for the rest to arrive."

Amado turned around, seeing some strange energy signatures before looking straight at Light. Amado opened his eyes wide, and reacted a little bit like Sam Neill did in Jurassic Park. "It's... it's... it's the fuckin' Cartoon..." Amado said, a little freaked out, pointing at Light.

Lisa turned around. "Hm? Amado you better not be-" She stopped herself mid-sentence, looking at Light. "... joking... uhm..." Lisa gulped. "Uhm... hi? Welcome to the group... please... forgive me and Amado, we... aren't used to... seeing beings such as yourself." She said, as politely as she could. "Yes, I'm Lisa, I sent the letter. I honestly didn't think you were real!" She chuckled nervously. "Please, join us! Feel free to... get to know each other and stuff..." She said softly, looking to Amado, to which Amado nodded, indicating that he's seeing all of this too. Lisa turned back towards light and gulped. "Okay! Now..."

As Lisa turned uncomfortably away from the cartoon, her glance rested upon Fenrir, who exited dramatically from the shadows and into the orange sodium-vapor light, revealing himself. Once he walked up to the group, not saying a word, both Amado and Lisa wafted the smell away from their noses. "Woah... quite a dramatic entrance there. I assume you're... Vasil? Codenamed... uhm... Fenrir?" She asked. "In your dossier it said that you lived alone and in a remote location... I really appreciate you coming this far to my summons. Trust me, it's well worth the trouble." She said with a smile before looking around for anyone else.

Hearing Alexandra speak right beside them, and smelling fish, Lisa looked over to her and smiled. "Oh, hey Alexandra! Thanks for coming by, I appreciate it." She said. "I'll debrief you all on what's going on in just a few, I'm waiting for the others to arrive." She explained. "Go ahead, feel free to get to know the others!"

Once Jennifer arrived, Amado patted Lisa on the shoulder and gestured to her. Lisa turned around and listened to what Jennifer had to say. Lisa smiled, giggling a little. "Awh, Jenny! That was adorable. C'mere!" She said with a smile, gesturing for Jenny to come over. "I'm not one for school presentations but that's pretty cute. I'll explain what's going on here in a few. I'm Lisa, by the way." She said with a soft smile.

Amado looked to Jenny. "Hey chica, mind if I have a slice?" He asked with a soft smile. "Could use some pizza after seeing a damn cartoon..." He said. "I've seen plenty through the Hololens but I still gotta get used to this!"

Turning to another voice, she nodded to Edwina. "Nice to meet you, Lucy." She said with a smile, nodding to her. "You're... Edwina, right? Yeah... I'll explain everything in a few. Feel free to intermingle with everyone." She said with a smile.

Amado tapped Lisa on the shoulder. Lisa looked to him. "What's going on?" She asked. "Lots of energy signatures... they all look the same." Lisa nodded. "Must be the duplicator guy then." She said before turning to Spencer... or his... duplicate? She smiled to one of his duplicates, shaking his hand. "Hey, I'm Lisa Martinez!" Amado did something similar.

"Man this is so much weirder than working with the Original Heroes..." Amado muttered to himself.

After all was said and done, Lisa looked to everyone. "Alright everyone, quiet down!" She said. "That appears that's everyone who's gonna show up to the party..." She said softly. "... unless there's people who are late..." She thought. "Oh well, I'll stick around for another half hour or so before getting the bird in the air, so yeah." She looked to the others again. "Alright everyone, I'm gonna explain to you why you're all here, and why I summoned you. My name is Lisa Martinez, and this here is Amado Cortez. I called you all here because we are all special in some way. We all have this... odd part of us that seperates us from other human beings. It can be a gift, it can be a curse... whatever it may be, it's something that makes you incredibly unique. But don't worry, it's not a bad thing. I'm like that too, and so is Amado." She said with a smile.

Right then, a heavy bassy *BOOOMMMMM* sounded, and Lisa's irises went from dark brown to bright white, and while lifting her hand gently, a nearby barrel floated upwards. And with the flick of her wrist, the barrel flew and went careening into the ocean. Lisa smirked. "I have Psychokinesis. Amado here can detect energy signatures of any kind, and can tell who's who and what's what as a result." She explained. "What I'm offering you here tonight is a deal no one can resist. Amado and I are part of a team called the Powerbound Alliance, and we're a team of supernaturals that perform a variety of missions all around the globe. In exchange for your services, you will be living with us at the Powerbound Sanctuary, where you will living with the rest of the Powerbound Alliance. There, you can have all of the food, drink, stuff, all of that, to your heart's content. And if you guys want anything, whether it would be a car, a radio, a computer, whatever, we can get you hooked up." She said. "We have a shit ton of resources, and access to safehouses and connections all across the globe. We operate in secret, and in the shadows. The sanctuary is located up in the Colombian Mountains, near a small town called Barichura. The official language there is Spanish so you guys might have to learn it once you come with us." She said with a soft chuckle. "But... in exchange for all of that, you're gonna have to work for us in some form or another, and you guys are going to have to swear a vow of secrecy, and follow all of our rules. Most of it is common sense shit, shit like no hurting or killing innocent people, our allies and other Powerbound Members... violating direct orders from the Administration (me and a few other people you'll meet).... other stuff like that." She explained. "This group was founded after World War II after some of the Original Heroes lived through the horrors that the Nazis committed, though we haven't taken any major action since the Islamic State showed up. Ever since then, we've been undertaking dangerous missions of all kinds, and we need new heroes, such as yourselves, to help us accomplish these goals. Remember, this shit's really dangerous, and after you step onboard that helicopter, there is no turning back." Lisa explained, gesturing to the helicopter behind her.

"So, how many of you will call yourselves proud members of the Powerbound Alliance?" Lisa asked with a smirk, looking to everyone.