^{Three weeks earlier.
5:44 AM.
September 20th, 2029.
North Brigold suburb, Castleburg}

"Oh, God..."

"S-should we run? What if it happens again?"

"We can't! The Hacketts, the Bensons--they might still be alive under there!"

"9-1-1... Hey, has anyone called 9-1-1 yet?!"

On a normal morning, most people in the quiet neighbourhoods of North Brigold would still be in bed at this hour, or groggily pulling themselves out of sleep with cups of coffee. Today, however, as the sun was still midway through its climb over the horizon, they were on the streets. Bewildered and horrified families gathered outside their homes, many still in housecoats or pyjamas, to look upon the disaster that had befallen the northwestern edge of their suburb.

From one street to another, the sight was nearly the same. The rows of cute houses that had once stretched to the end of each block were now interrupted by a tremendous mound of earth, stone, and debris. A landslide had torn its way into the edge of town, swallowing up dozens of homes in its path.

While many citizens sheltered in their homes or ushered their children into cars to flee, more still stood stunned in the streets, gazing hopelessly through the dust clouds and trying to guess the extent of the destruction. The homes on the hill overlooking the neighbourhood? The highway beyond that? To the left and right, how widely did the destruction spread across the suburb? How much had been lost?

---

^{5:47 AM.
September 20th, 2029.
H.E.R.O. One, Savior Island, Castleburg.}

The rest of the city was enjoying the peaceful morning that North Brigold had been denied. Even on the island fortress that marked the centre of H.E.R.O.'s power in Castleburg, things were quiet. Peaceful. At least until a small Toyota screeched into the parking lot, stopping haphazardly as the driver emerged in a tense power-walk towards the door.

Assistant Director Emily Duff had taken her time getting ready that morning. She had picked out a nice outfit for the day--white pants and a creamy brown jacket that she thought went quite well together--and she was trying something new with her hair. But then, any good mood she might have been in was quickly spoiled when the bad news had turned her peaceful morning drive into white-knuckle race to get to work and coordinate the rescue effort.

"Alisa. Alert the night patrols, and activate emergency alarms for our off-duty heroes. Anyone who can get to North Brigold within twenty minutes needs to start moving right now." Duff spoke into her watch before she was even inside the building.

"Already done."

Face twisted with worry, the Assistant Director stepped inside H.E.R.O. One and rushed to her office. If lives were going to be saved today, she had her own role to play.

---

Whether they had been patrolling through the night, getting an early start on the day, or still getting some well-earned rest in their beds, the heroes of Castleburg would soon be awoken by a piercing alarm from their watches. The sound was a cruel hybrid between whistle, bell, and screeching chalkboard. For some, it may have been their first time hearing it. It was a signal that was rarely used, only activated when an urgent situation was unfolding during off-hours in the city.

"A landslide has consumed multiple homes on the northwestern edge of North Brigold. Current count of missing civilians: nineteen. Current extent of the disaster area: unknown. Report to the scene immediately to assist with search and rescue." The voice of the organization's powerful AI called out to each of them at once.

Even when heroes earn their rest, they rarely get to enjoy it for long.

---

---

at their homes on Passenger Island

Amuné was an early riser most days, but it was even before her usual wakeup time that the shrieking alarm from her watch roused her. She listened to Alisa's update as she pulled herself together, then set about dressing hurriedly. As she headed downstairs, she called Jareth. When he groggily answered, she asked, "I take it I'm driving? You still sound half asleep."

"I'd appreciate that, yeah."

"You got it. Meet me outside ASAP." With that, she hung up, and slid her cell phone into her pocket. In the kitchen she grabbed a couple granola bars, then exited to the garage where her car waited.

Jareth, for all that he was not a morning person, managed to be ready soon thereafter, and he was just locking his front door when Amuné pulled in the driveway. He dashed to the car, and quickly closed the door and buckled up. "Nineteen people missing, my goodness. You should probably take the bridge to Chainstown and then cross through North Brigold; it'll be faster than taking the route through the city."

"Got it." Amuné backed out of the drive, then made for the bridge to Chainstown to the north. There weren't all that many people on the road yet -- it was before the morning rush hour, and she was heading out of the city anyhow. Still, it took longer than she would have liked to arrive on the scene in North Brigold.

By the time they arrived, emergency vehicles were already present, their flashing lights casting a red glow over the scene. The sun was barely over the horizon, but there was a crowd of people in robes and pjs gathered in the streets.

The landslide had taken out dozens of houses, leaving a pile of earth and rubble in its wake. From what Jareth could see from the car, it wasn't clear what had caused it. As soon as Amuné found a place to park, he hopped out of the car. "I'm going to see what the source of all this is," he said. "There's risk of another collapse, if this was naturally occurring. And if not, I want to see what caused this mess." So saying, he concentrated his power on the ground beneath him, and gently loosened a three-foot cube of soil, levitating it a few yards into the air. Standing on the floating chunk of ground, he then directed it along the course of the rockslide, heading towards where it began.

---

---

Eva's room at H.E.R.O. One was dark and cold, which she believed was the same as her. Like all if not most of the other little kids, she was afraid of the dark and especially when she was alone. She only got used to the chilly darkness of her room when her sisters and mother were sleeping in their own rooms. Warmth and affection were hard things to come by after all, especially for a villainous family like the Death Boquet. In time, she learned to love the dark and cold such that she could only sleep once the two conditions were met. Additionally, she also liked being alone. At least no one would see her crying to sleep at nights.

She was an early bird as well, always waking up just at the break of dawn. Eva had this routine where she would make up her bed and open the blinds of her window. She then sat on her bed in a lotus position, arms at rest at her side while she was facing the window. She had her eyes closed but she could always tell when the sun was rising over the horizon when her body was bathed in its warm light. Her once dark room was gradually getting filled with the orange, almost golden light of the sun, and she would just sit there, accepting all of it silently and graciously. She cherished these peaceful fleeting moments as an official start to her day.

As she did her breathing exercise, the once quiet room was filled with the blaring alarm from her watch on the nightstand. "This is Dahlia, reporting. Over." Eva announced back at her watch as she wasted no more time putting on her outfit: white trench coat, black turtleneck, white pants, and black boots. She then got outside her room and knocked hard on every door she passed by. "Gear up people, this is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!" She shouted loudly enough so it could be heard even through the alarm, not that her fellow heroes needed help waking up anyway.

When she arrived at the scene, Eva's heart fell from the sight before her. There were ambulances and police cars everywhere. Citizens in their pajamas were out in the streets, some were begging even arguing with the police to let them go back to the remnants of their home to search for their loved ones or prized possessions that were under all the rubble.

She saw Amuné on top of a hovering piece of earth as he made his way somewhere, so she approached Jareth and nodded in greeting. "Listen up, those who can hear me." Eva said through their comms. "As Alisa said, this is a search-and-rescue operation. Don't rush into action immediately. Acting without guidance from the authorities might lead to even more accidents and tragedies. Ask the authorities first, see where your powers and expertise may be more of help to everyone." Eva paused when she could hear a mother wailing at the rubble, clutching a dirtied teddy bear in her arms as she knelt to the ground in despair.

Eva breathed deeply before speaking at her comms again. "I'll ask the firefighters, maybe my poison could help with all the debris and the posts that were about to fall. Let's make ourselves useful, everyone."