▶: OVERVIEW
HONORARY CO-GMS :|
GENRE :| Modern Fantasy, Urban, Superhuman, Low-Scifi, Semi-Sandbox, Character Driven, Interaction Heavy.
RECRUITMENT STATUS :| Open.
PLAYERS :| 0
CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR :| Players. lol
GENRE :| Modern Fantasy, Urban, Superhuman, Low-Scifi, Semi-Sandbox, Character Driven, Interaction Heavy.
RECRUITMENT STATUS :| Open.
PLAYERS :| 0
CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR :| Players. lol
Welcome to Baybridge: Halcyon Days, the third part of the Baybridge saga (and fifth of the entire Verthaven/Baybridge verse) returning after a brief hiatus. Yes, it's a longrunner. Basically, the setting is a world where people are enhanced by this strange energy and have been granted superhuman abilities, dubbed "Metahumans". These Metahumans have been exposed to the world at a very early age, and have been quite integrated into the minds of the world as their acts, whether good or bad, often pop up on the news. There are mixed thoughts on Metahumans - some hate them, some love them, while the rest are on the fence. However, following an incident known only as the Verthaven disaster, they are on the rise, and people are afraid.
The story takes place three years after the fall of the Founding Family, a world-spanning cult that believed in genetic perfection. They practically ruled the world from the shadows, manipulating events in their favor, until it all came crashing down with their grand scheme. It came at a heavy price, which the world is still reeling from. Millions of people were hurt by the Founding Family, and have left heavy scars that are unlikely to fade anytime soon. New organizations are racing to take their place, as the people affected by them try to cope with their losses.
If superpowers/superheroes/whatever aren't your fancy, then I suggest just closing the tab and going about your day. If it is, I promise to provide an interesting experience. A deep and complex tale of students, with a very rich and well-developed lore. Above all else: this won't be a standard superhero romp, but a character-centric look at how superpowers and whatnot would function in real life. No capes, no gimmicks. The RP will be character-driven, and somewhat sandbox-y. I will be providing a storyline, but I'll be giving people free reign on how their characters act within the storyline.
The theme of Halcyon Days will be... perseverance, and finding happiness in the face of tragedy. Many of the characters will (well, should) be broken people that strive to find some kind of closure, come to terms with what happened to them.
I know it's in the advance section, but it's not that bad.
▶: SYNOPSIS
It all began in this sunny city on June 25, it just started with a simple festival to hail in the start of the summer and good days. And all that changed once the Fiends, a violent gang of drugged up maniacs, attacked the fair. They violently attacked civilians, and began a storm of blood and death. They were, however, combated by the agents of NEST, an organization dedicated to maintaining order within the Metahuman world, civilians and other superpowered individuals, and the VPD. A violent battle occurred, which ended once the leader of the Fiends, Khan, joined the battle and paved way for the Fiends to escape. Which left many calling for justice.
The next day, the National Guard pushed in on the city, and NEST planned to eliminate the Metahuman leaders of the group known as the Lieutenants. While raid after raid was launched at the gang, they were whittled down operation after operation. That night, a mercenary group known as the Dreadnaughts were hired by NEST High Command to lend a hand. NEST, assisted by the Dreadnaughts, managed to successfully carry out an assassination against one of the Fiend lieutenants. On the civilian spectrum, a party was thrown for the teenagers of the city to take their minds off things. Fun was had... but, a group belonging to the Hands of Science, an organization dedicated to exploiting Metahumans to create a new age of science, preyed upon them at the party. Kidnapping several people from the party for the purpose of experimentation. And everyone was none the wiser.
A day afterwards, a raid was launched against the Fiends, which ended with another lieutenant being captured. After interrogating the lieutenant, a few secrets about what motivated the Fiends were revealed - they were apparently being rewarded with serums that gave people powers. While the Hands of Science got their hands on their crown jewel, and kidnapped many teenagers for their nefarious experiments. A deal gone wrong with the Fiends, and eventually it was revealed that the power-granting serums were fake. This was what made the Fiends especially desperate. They gathered what little resources they had left, and prepared for a last ditch effort to spring their captured alley from the NEST Headquarters.
That night, Khan got in contact with a contact within NEST, who let the Fiends in through a secret entrance. Another bloodbath began as NEST and Fiends did battle with each other. High-ranking NEST agents, and Dreadnaughts did all they could to quell the situation. However, that same contact - the Changeling Heartbreaker - arranged for the death of Khan, and used an ally in the Hands of Science to make sure that Khan doesn't leave. That ally arranged for a local vigilante to kill Khan for her. The Fiend Lieutenants went down one by one, killed, or captured. Soon, Khan was killed by this mysterious vigilante.
Meanwhile, those kidnapped by the Hands of Science sprung out of their cages, and with a drugged alley, they wandered the base. Until they came in contact with a scientist, and managed to steal a phone from him. They managed to call for help, before they were confronted with the Hands of Science finest experiments and did battle. They were pushed to their limits when help arrived in form of a mother - Lihua Zhao - coming to retrieve her child and her friends. She did battle with these monsters to buy time for the kidnapped to get away, and defeated both her opponents. Before moving onto leaving this hellish lab. However, on her way in, she found some incriminating files, planted by a traitor within the Hands of Science.
This evidence told her that the Director of NEST was in on the Fiend's attack on the festival, and was a member of the Hands of Science - a partnership that got NEST new and experimental weaponry to combat Metahumans. The Hands of Science wanted the Fiends disposed of, because they had outlived their usefulness, and the Director suggested a plan to cause a massive scene, and destroy the Fiends in order to make NEST look good. Once this evidence was submitted to the higher levels, the Director was arrested, and the Hands of Science (and by extent, the Changeling Unit) were revealed to the world.
The fight was far from over.
The next day, the National Guard pushed in on the city, and NEST planned to eliminate the Metahuman leaders of the group known as the Lieutenants. While raid after raid was launched at the gang, they were whittled down operation after operation. That night, a mercenary group known as the Dreadnaughts were hired by NEST High Command to lend a hand. NEST, assisted by the Dreadnaughts, managed to successfully carry out an assassination against one of the Fiend lieutenants. On the civilian spectrum, a party was thrown for the teenagers of the city to take their minds off things. Fun was had... but, a group belonging to the Hands of Science, an organization dedicated to exploiting Metahumans to create a new age of science, preyed upon them at the party. Kidnapping several people from the party for the purpose of experimentation. And everyone was none the wiser.
A day afterwards, a raid was launched against the Fiends, which ended with another lieutenant being captured. After interrogating the lieutenant, a few secrets about what motivated the Fiends were revealed - they were apparently being rewarded with serums that gave people powers. While the Hands of Science got their hands on their crown jewel, and kidnapped many teenagers for their nefarious experiments. A deal gone wrong with the Fiends, and eventually it was revealed that the power-granting serums were fake. This was what made the Fiends especially desperate. They gathered what little resources they had left, and prepared for a last ditch effort to spring their captured alley from the NEST Headquarters.
That night, Khan got in contact with a contact within NEST, who let the Fiends in through a secret entrance. Another bloodbath began as NEST and Fiends did battle with each other. High-ranking NEST agents, and Dreadnaughts did all they could to quell the situation. However, that same contact - the Changeling Heartbreaker - arranged for the death of Khan, and used an ally in the Hands of Science to make sure that Khan doesn't leave. That ally arranged for a local vigilante to kill Khan for her. The Fiend Lieutenants went down one by one, killed, or captured. Soon, Khan was killed by this mysterious vigilante.
Meanwhile, those kidnapped by the Hands of Science sprung out of their cages, and with a drugged alley, they wandered the base. Until they came in contact with a scientist, and managed to steal a phone from him. They managed to call for help, before they were confronted with the Hands of Science finest experiments and did battle. They were pushed to their limits when help arrived in form of a mother - Lihua Zhao - coming to retrieve her child and her friends. She did battle with these monsters to buy time for the kidnapped to get away, and defeated both her opponents. Before moving onto leaving this hellish lab. However, on her way in, she found some incriminating files, planted by a traitor within the Hands of Science.
This evidence told her that the Director of NEST was in on the Fiend's attack on the festival, and was a member of the Hands of Science - a partnership that got NEST new and experimental weaponry to combat Metahumans. The Hands of Science wanted the Fiends disposed of, because they had outlived their usefulness, and the Director suggested a plan to cause a massive scene, and destroy the Fiends in order to make NEST look good. Once this evidence was submitted to the higher levels, the Director was arrested, and the Hands of Science (and by extent, the Changeling Unit) were revealed to the world.
The fight was far from over.
The offensive against the Hands of Science began right after their revelation to the world. NEST had launched a counterattack against the organization of mad scientists, and were making little progress against them due to their secrecy. What's more is that the Hands of Science had their own security force to combat NEST - REAPER. So far, they weren't making any progress against the Hands. In Verthaven, there was a shortage of NEST agents, so the agency funneled agents from all over the country. Some of their Metahuman agents with a history with each other formed a bond with each other. They soon were to become the group that would change the tide of the war after the Hands of Science.
Two months later, in August, was when the real magic happened. After a fundraiser event that didn't go as planned, a small conflict with REAPER snowballed into all-out war with the newly revealed Changeling Unit after a NEST agent's daughter was nabbed by the Changeling unit. They managed to capture the Changeling responsible - Mark Emerson. In an attempt to bargain with them, he managed to convince NEST not to arrest him by selling out his Changeling Unit buddies. That very night, NEST launched a raid against the Changeling Unit, lead by Heartbreaker. The NEST agents used a plan to sneak bombs in using Mark. After the bombs were planted, NEST gave the Changelings an ultimatum: surrender the infants they'd taken, or die. The Changelings chose to surrender - only for NEST to attack them afterwards. A battle took place up until NEST had eliminated the Changeling Unit.
However, Heartbreaker, and the Mannequin - two leading members of the Changeling Unit - had escaped, slipping through the cracks of NEST. NEST had pursued them, but the Hands of Science, in the interest of defending their partners, the Changeling Unit, sent their experimental Metahuman superweapon - PR-1/Peter - after them. A brutal battle occurred ending with the deaths of many NEST agents, with many others injured in the process, and the Changelings. However, NEST had managed to capture the superweapon.
A few weeks later, and NEST had formed their brand new Task Force, RAVEN, specially created to battle the threat created by The Hands of Science, and the Changeling Unit. They made some progress against them in small ways - but their biggest accomplishment would have to have been tracking down the Hands of Science base in Verthaven. They prepared for the operation, coming up with a big plan... However, during a botched interrogation, PR-1 managed to escape and wreak havoc throughout NEST Headquarters. Another confrontation took place, which ended in the captured Miranda Caryl being killed.
Afterwards, plans for the raid of the Hands of Science base were put into motion. Using a young Metahuman, and his older sister, the Hands base was sedated, and another Metahuman to lock down the computer systems. RAVEN managed to raid the Hands base, and they split into two groups that went in two different directions. The first group came face to face with the leader of the Verthaven branch of the Hands, Dr. Cross, and her REAPER generals Ignatius and the Wendigo. A brutal battle occurred which ended with the Wendigo getting killed, but Ignatius and Dr. Cross escaped. The other group encountered what was left of the Changeling Unit, and managed to capture most of them (excluding the Mannequin). The end result of the raid was that the Hand's main headquarters were removed, their REAPERs captured, and a great chunk of their organization being reduced to nothing.
RAVEN and NEST enjoyed the publicity boost as they dealt a major blow against their arch-rival. However, by capturing Heartbreaker, NEST had drawn the rest of the Changeling Unit to the city... including Luis, the leader of the Changeling Unit. His very first act in the city was to murder Mark Emerson and his daughter, to send a message to those who would betray the Changeling Unit. Afterwards, he and his Changelings sank back into the shadows.
All while a mysterious rain had been appearing for weeks now, and the hearts of Metahumans were being torn out by something...
Two months later, in August, was when the real magic happened. After a fundraiser event that didn't go as planned, a small conflict with REAPER snowballed into all-out war with the newly revealed Changeling Unit after a NEST agent's daughter was nabbed by the Changeling unit. They managed to capture the Changeling responsible - Mark Emerson. In an attempt to bargain with them, he managed to convince NEST not to arrest him by selling out his Changeling Unit buddies. That very night, NEST launched a raid against the Changeling Unit, lead by Heartbreaker. The NEST agents used a plan to sneak bombs in using Mark. After the bombs were planted, NEST gave the Changelings an ultimatum: surrender the infants they'd taken, or die. The Changelings chose to surrender - only for NEST to attack them afterwards. A battle took place up until NEST had eliminated the Changeling Unit.
However, Heartbreaker, and the Mannequin - two leading members of the Changeling Unit - had escaped, slipping through the cracks of NEST. NEST had pursued them, but the Hands of Science, in the interest of defending their partners, the Changeling Unit, sent their experimental Metahuman superweapon - PR-1/Peter - after them. A brutal battle occurred ending with the deaths of many NEST agents, with many others injured in the process, and the Changelings. However, NEST had managed to capture the superweapon.
A few weeks later, and NEST had formed their brand new Task Force, RAVEN, specially created to battle the threat created by The Hands of Science, and the Changeling Unit. They made some progress against them in small ways - but their biggest accomplishment would have to have been tracking down the Hands of Science base in Verthaven. They prepared for the operation, coming up with a big plan... However, during a botched interrogation, PR-1 managed to escape and wreak havoc throughout NEST Headquarters. Another confrontation took place, which ended in the captured Miranda Caryl being killed.
Afterwards, plans for the raid of the Hands of Science base were put into motion. Using a young Metahuman, and his older sister, the Hands base was sedated, and another Metahuman to lock down the computer systems. RAVEN managed to raid the Hands base, and they split into two groups that went in two different directions. The first group came face to face with the leader of the Verthaven branch of the Hands, Dr. Cross, and her REAPER generals Ignatius and the Wendigo. A brutal battle occurred which ended with the Wendigo getting killed, but Ignatius and Dr. Cross escaped. The other group encountered what was left of the Changeling Unit, and managed to capture most of them (excluding the Mannequin). The end result of the raid was that the Hand's main headquarters were removed, their REAPERs captured, and a great chunk of their organization being reduced to nothing.
RAVEN and NEST enjoyed the publicity boost as they dealt a major blow against their arch-rival. However, by capturing Heartbreaker, NEST had drawn the rest of the Changeling Unit to the city... including Luis, the leader of the Changeling Unit. His very first act in the city was to murder Mark Emerson and his daughter, to send a message to those who would betray the Changeling Unit. Afterwards, he and his Changelings sank back into the shadows.
All while a mysterious rain had been appearing for weeks now, and the hearts of Metahumans were being torn out by something...
The greatest tragedy the world has ever known began two weeks after the raid on the Hands base. A battle between the Hands of Science (and their Changeling) and RAVEN ended when a threat, the Devil of Verthaven, had revealed herself after gathering power. The Devil of Verthaven possessed such immense power that she was capable of ending the world on a whim (with the ability to control the weather on a large scale, and produce armies of monsters). The battle was concluded when the Devil turned her army that was waiting underground on Verthaven. A literal army of demons tore Verthaven apart, and killed thousands of people in the very first hour. NEST and RAVEN worked together to create a safe zone for civilians.
After that hour had passed, the Devil retracted her armies underground, while NEST created a plan to get everyone out of Verthaven. They figured a mass evacuation would be in order, so they gathered everyone they could onto trucks and tried to push their way out of the city. However, the Changeling Unit, not wanting them to leave the city, sabotaged the evacuation. What was worse was that the Devil threw everything she had at the evacuation. Many people died, and despite those odds, the evacuation pushed on. However, NEST High Command chose to activate a secret system known as the Shield of Light, which encased Verthaven in a seemingly impenetrable dome of energy that was immune to all forms of superpowers. All out of fear that the Devil would end the world.
With NEST being trapped with a literal demon, they had no choice but to gather everyone they could, and launch a counter-offensive against the Devil. However, she wasn't the only threat. They were locked in Verthaven with the Changeling Unit as well. After going on a rampage in a Church, the Changeling Unit forced a young girl, Jennifer Caspin, to work with them by kidnapping her family. Then, while NEST was launching an operation to track the Devil down, the Changeling Unit launched a massive offensive against them in an attempt to liberate Heartbreaker. Taking advantage of all their resources, the Changeling Unit caused an untold amount of death and destruction, with their attack ending in many of the survivors dead. They used Jen to track exactly where Heartbreaker was, and liberate her, and the other Changelings.
Even though NEST took a defeat, they managed to find out where the Devil was, and poisoned her. They immediately went into planning, and eventually launched their operation. However, the Changelings used Jen to track down where the Devil was. While NEST's plan was almost in motion, the Changelings used Jen and another hostage to prevent them from killing the Devil... which gave the Devil enough time to recover from the poison and call every monster to the city to one point. The NEST agent came up with a clever plan to liberate the hostages, and they set off the explosives - but it turned out that the Changelings were stalling while their members disabling the bombs. They didn't set off all the bombs, as they set off enough to injure the Devil.
In the middle of the confusion, The Changeling Unit sneaked into the Devil's lair, nullified her powers, and Luis revealed his grand plans for a "Perfect World", which involved using the Devil's ability to burn all to ash to propel himself to Godhood. When the Devil refused, a NEST agent who tailed them sprung into action and nearly killed the Devil with a grenade.
However, this act didn't bode well for anyone, as it merely triggered an immense boost in power as the Devil transformed into a titanic tower of pure power. All organizations were forced to retreat, however RAVEN weren't able to escape without losing Jennifer. The day after it all went down, it was deemed that the only way to save themselves was to form an alliance. NEST, the Hands of Science, and the Changeling Unit put aside their differences and pooled their strength with the gangs of Verthaven for one final stand. The Hands had a weapon they'd been developing since the raid on their base, and planned to use it.
During the battle itself, the Devil proved to be an incredibly powerful opponent - she managed to downright slaughter most of her opposition. However, the collective organizations were able to heavily injure her enough so that she retreated - firing a bolt of lightning so powerful that it damaged the Shield of Light. However, she went straight for NEST Headquarters, and slaughtered her way through the safe zone. The Devil then destroyed NEST Headquarters - before the Hands weapon was used on her (and the Hands promptly pulled out of the fight afterwards).
NEST moved in to confirm the kill - and it was revealed that the Devil had survived, but was quickly taken by the Hand's teleporter. The Changeling Unit ambushed them and killed two of their own. A massive battle took place... which ended with the death of numerous RAVENs, but the Changelings were brought down for good. Luis, Heartbreaker, and many who had once followed him were dead.
After the battle, the Shield of Light finally gave out due to the excessive damage and strain that had been exhorted upon it, freeing the remaining inhabitants of the city from the disaster.
After that hour had passed, the Devil retracted her armies underground, while NEST created a plan to get everyone out of Verthaven. They figured a mass evacuation would be in order, so they gathered everyone they could onto trucks and tried to push their way out of the city. However, the Changeling Unit, not wanting them to leave the city, sabotaged the evacuation. What was worse was that the Devil threw everything she had at the evacuation. Many people died, and despite those odds, the evacuation pushed on. However, NEST High Command chose to activate a secret system known as the Shield of Light, which encased Verthaven in a seemingly impenetrable dome of energy that was immune to all forms of superpowers. All out of fear that the Devil would end the world.
With NEST being trapped with a literal demon, they had no choice but to gather everyone they could, and launch a counter-offensive against the Devil. However, she wasn't the only threat. They were locked in Verthaven with the Changeling Unit as well. After going on a rampage in a Church, the Changeling Unit forced a young girl, Jennifer Caspin, to work with them by kidnapping her family. Then, while NEST was launching an operation to track the Devil down, the Changeling Unit launched a massive offensive against them in an attempt to liberate Heartbreaker. Taking advantage of all their resources, the Changeling Unit caused an untold amount of death and destruction, with their attack ending in many of the survivors dead. They used Jen to track exactly where Heartbreaker was, and liberate her, and the other Changelings.
Even though NEST took a defeat, they managed to find out where the Devil was, and poisoned her. They immediately went into planning, and eventually launched their operation. However, the Changelings used Jen to track down where the Devil was. While NEST's plan was almost in motion, the Changelings used Jen and another hostage to prevent them from killing the Devil... which gave the Devil enough time to recover from the poison and call every monster to the city to one point. The NEST agent came up with a clever plan to liberate the hostages, and they set off the explosives - but it turned out that the Changelings were stalling while their members disabling the bombs. They didn't set off all the bombs, as they set off enough to injure the Devil.
In the middle of the confusion, The Changeling Unit sneaked into the Devil's lair, nullified her powers, and Luis revealed his grand plans for a "Perfect World", which involved using the Devil's ability to burn all to ash to propel himself to Godhood. When the Devil refused, a NEST agent who tailed them sprung into action and nearly killed the Devil with a grenade.
However, this act didn't bode well for anyone, as it merely triggered an immense boost in power as the Devil transformed into a titanic tower of pure power. All organizations were forced to retreat, however RAVEN weren't able to escape without losing Jennifer. The day after it all went down, it was deemed that the only way to save themselves was to form an alliance. NEST, the Hands of Science, and the Changeling Unit put aside their differences and pooled their strength with the gangs of Verthaven for one final stand. The Hands had a weapon they'd been developing since the raid on their base, and planned to use it.
During the battle itself, the Devil proved to be an incredibly powerful opponent - she managed to downright slaughter most of her opposition. However, the collective organizations were able to heavily injure her enough so that she retreated - firing a bolt of lightning so powerful that it damaged the Shield of Light. However, she went straight for NEST Headquarters, and slaughtered her way through the safe zone. The Devil then destroyed NEST Headquarters - before the Hands weapon was used on her (and the Hands promptly pulled out of the fight afterwards).
NEST moved in to confirm the kill - and it was revealed that the Devil had survived, but was quickly taken by the Hand's teleporter. The Changeling Unit ambushed them and killed two of their own. A massive battle took place... which ended with the death of numerous RAVENs, but the Changelings were brought down for good. Luis, Heartbreaker, and many who had once followed him were dead.
After the battle, the Shield of Light finally gave out due to the excessive damage and strain that had been exhorted upon it, freeing the remaining inhabitants of the city from the disaster.
After the Verthaven disaster, news of what happened shook the world, and altered the entire status quo.
NEST as an organisation had been disgraced by the actions of their leadership - locking thousands of people inside the shield to die - to the point where they garnered the hatred of thousands - if not millions. It was decided that NEST had been given too much power with too little oversight; they were subsequently disbanded, replaced with DOVE & RAVEN - two organizations meant to succeed where their predecessor had failed. Furthermore, due to the great extent of the damage done to Verthaven (far surpassing that of Hurricane Katrina's billions in US dollars) and the population having being reduced to a small fraction following the evacuation and subsequent decimation of the city, it was decided that Verthaven would be condemned.
The Hands of Science took a "sample" of the Devil of Verthaven, before being contacted by a mysterious benefactor that ordered them to give her the sample, kill the Devil, and abandon the organization. The Hands executives did as requested, and what was the Hands left of the Hands were taken out by a combination of RAVEN and DOVE. Afterwards, RAVEN and DOVE immediately went to work.
The remnants of the Changeling Unit assembled within the ghost town. Their teleporter, Flashbang, suffered the effects of ashing, before she was finally put out of her misery by the Mannequin. He attempted to call his contacts, when he was interrupted by Baron Moreau, one of the Dreadnaughts that assisted in the Verthaven disaster. He killed the Witch Mother, and persuaded the Mannequin into believing that Baron wanted to join him. That was when Baron stabbed the Mannequin through the eye, believing that the machine was dead for good. However, the Mannequin survived with little damage done to him, and escaped. Using the news of his apparent "death" to further his own goals.
With news of a Metahuman who can end the world springing up, many people quickly changed their stance on Metahumans from tolerable to outright hated. The Pure and Savior movements immediately received a huge boost in support as more people than ever before were beginning to follow their philosophies. Metahumans from all over were being killed left and right for little reason. Thousands of Metahumans were brutally killed out of fear, and it showed little signs of stopping.
What was the most curious event was that the rate of Metahumans had gone up after the Verthaven disaster, almost like the Devil had triggered something...
The Tyrants shortly disbanded a few years later, and Stadium City fell into disaster. Along with a variety of new organizations rising to take its place. The main organization that had arisen was the Allegiance. An idea that formed because Metahumans were getting tired of all the murders. They shortly went to war with the Pure and caused countless amounts of death and destruction in their crossfire. The Allegiance also became a target for RAVEN due to their acts of terrorism.
In the middle of this, the newly formed DOVE organization had to try their hardest to keep Metahumans sane and healthy, but that was very difficult given all the hatred being directed towards them. This was where they really shined, and began to succeed at giving Metahumans the regulation they desire. Having a hand in killing the anti-metahuman hysteria.
In the recent years, however, the anti-Metahuman hysteria had died down a tad. That didn't last long since another event popped up in Europe. A few months before the start of the story,a Metahuman with immense pyro- and terra-kinetic abilities showed up in Prague named only the Beast, and tore the entire city to pieces. Prague was in flames, but their military was helpless to stop it, forcing them to put out a call towards everyone who was willing to help. And they got the American DOVE/RAVEN, the German Collective Metahuman Services (KMD), the British Metahuman Intelligence and Social Welfare (MISW), and the Russian Wurdulac. The several organizations teamed up to come up with a plan to end this Metahuman, and put it into action. After a grueling battle, the Beast was killed, and peace was returned to Prague.
NEST as an organisation had been disgraced by the actions of their leadership - locking thousands of people inside the shield to die - to the point where they garnered the hatred of thousands - if not millions. It was decided that NEST had been given too much power with too little oversight; they were subsequently disbanded, replaced with DOVE & RAVEN - two organizations meant to succeed where their predecessor had failed. Furthermore, due to the great extent of the damage done to Verthaven (far surpassing that of Hurricane Katrina's billions in US dollars) and the population having being reduced to a small fraction following the evacuation and subsequent decimation of the city, it was decided that Verthaven would be condemned.
The Hands of Science took a "sample" of the Devil of Verthaven, before being contacted by a mysterious benefactor that ordered them to give her the sample, kill the Devil, and abandon the organization. The Hands executives did as requested, and what was the Hands left of the Hands were taken out by a combination of RAVEN and DOVE. Afterwards, RAVEN and DOVE immediately went to work.
The remnants of the Changeling Unit assembled within the ghost town. Their teleporter, Flashbang, suffered the effects of ashing, before she was finally put out of her misery by the Mannequin. He attempted to call his contacts, when he was interrupted by Baron Moreau, one of the Dreadnaughts that assisted in the Verthaven disaster. He killed the Witch Mother, and persuaded the Mannequin into believing that Baron wanted to join him. That was when Baron stabbed the Mannequin through the eye, believing that the machine was dead for good. However, the Mannequin survived with little damage done to him, and escaped. Using the news of his apparent "death" to further his own goals.
With news of a Metahuman who can end the world springing up, many people quickly changed their stance on Metahumans from tolerable to outright hated. The Pure and Savior movements immediately received a huge boost in support as more people than ever before were beginning to follow their philosophies. Metahumans from all over were being killed left and right for little reason. Thousands of Metahumans were brutally killed out of fear, and it showed little signs of stopping.
What was the most curious event was that the rate of Metahumans had gone up after the Verthaven disaster, almost like the Devil had triggered something...
The Tyrants shortly disbanded a few years later, and Stadium City fell into disaster. Along with a variety of new organizations rising to take its place. The main organization that had arisen was the Allegiance. An idea that formed because Metahumans were getting tired of all the murders. They shortly went to war with the Pure and caused countless amounts of death and destruction in their crossfire. The Allegiance also became a target for RAVEN due to their acts of terrorism.
In the middle of this, the newly formed DOVE organization had to try their hardest to keep Metahumans sane and healthy, but that was very difficult given all the hatred being directed towards them. This was where they really shined, and began to succeed at giving Metahumans the regulation they desire. Having a hand in killing the anti-metahuman hysteria.
In the recent years, however, the anti-Metahuman hysteria had died down a tad. That didn't last long since another event popped up in Europe. A few months before the start of the story,a Metahuman with immense pyro- and terra-kinetic abilities showed up in Prague named only the Beast, and tore the entire city to pieces. Prague was in flames, but their military was helpless to stop it, forcing them to put out a call towards everyone who was willing to help. And they got the American DOVE/RAVEN, the German Collective Metahuman Services (KMD), the British Metahuman Intelligence and Social Welfare (MISW), and the Russian Wurdulac. The several organizations teamed up to come up with a plan to end this Metahuman, and put it into action. After a grueling battle, the Beast was killed, and peace was returned to Prague.
Years after the infamous Verthaven Disaster, the story started by that city continued into the Washington city of Baybridge. Everything was peaceful, there was a large celebration to commemorate a new community opening - built by the Liu Pharmaceutical Company. The organization promised cheap housing, and then they delivered. The celebration went as planned.
However, while everyone was having fun, the Mannequin made his return to the spotlight, as he was preparing to launch his own plan. He recruited some members of the Eco-Natura terrorist organization to help him manipulate the head of the group for his own purposes. After getting them on board, the Mannequin awaited the perfect opportunity.
The day after the celebration, a chain of events occurred. All in one day. It started with a full blown riot by the Allegiance, which was quickly quelled by RAVEN and DOVE - not without the Allegiance sparking an incident that further damaged RAVEN's reputation. Not too long after that, the first of the Overload attacks - a string of incidents where Metahumans were struck with syringes that caused them to lose control of their powers, and cause massive damage - started in Havenfield Market with the aim of damaging relations between Metahumans, and normal humans. The Metahuman in question was a cyrokinetic, and he turned a market into an arctic blizzard. Fortunately, he was quickly disabled by RAVENs, and taken to their Headquarters.
The man behind the Overload attacks felt like that wasn't satisfactory, and amped it up. He targeted a Metahuman who could charge powers, and give normal people powers. He tracked her down to a mall in Courtbridge, and shot her with the dart, and she caused a massive crisis within the mall. Metahumans inside the mall lost control of their powers, and normal people were given superpowers. This process continued, and caused massive death and destruction, until the woman was disabled, and the Overload stopped.
From there, the relations between man and Metahuman deteriorated. However, the Mannequin showed himself to what was left of the Hands of Science - specifically Dr. Cross and Ignatius - and told them about his plan, and recruited them. Taking advantage of the divide. However, they were interrupted by one of the people tailing the Hands of Science - that didn't take too kindly to the news that the Mannequin was alive.
A week later, and the situation between man and Metahuman was at an all time low. However, the man responsible had to knock things over. He targeted an air manipulator, and then he caused a massive hurricane that tore Oakdell Harbor apart. However, he was caught up in his own storm, and was apprehended by RAVEN. After interrogating him, it turned out that he was a board executive of the Savior Foundation, and a member of the Knights of Purity. Making the Savior Foundation look very suspicious. However, the man stated he got his serum from a mysterious person who called himself the "Black Hound".
However, a day after that, the threats working in the background managed to make themselves known. Starting with Eco-Natura, they launched their assault on Prince Ed-Field, and left "nature bombs" that ravaged the Courtbridge district. This caused massive damage to the city, and turned Prince Ed-Field into a complete forest. While RAVEN was focusing on that threat, the Mannequin launched his operation into RAVEN Headquarters to retrieve a device made by the Hands they were holding onto. Though, his mission was a failure, as he was ambushed by RAVEN waiting for him, and he, along with the rest of the Hands, were arrested.
After Dr. Cross was arrested, she spoke of a Founding Family, who are incredibly powerful, and a threat to the world. So, a group of RAVENs had set out to go investigate this Founding Family while Baybridge was recovering.
However, while everyone was having fun, the Mannequin made his return to the spotlight, as he was preparing to launch his own plan. He recruited some members of the Eco-Natura terrorist organization to help him manipulate the head of the group for his own purposes. After getting them on board, the Mannequin awaited the perfect opportunity.
The day after the celebration, a chain of events occurred. All in one day. It started with a full blown riot by the Allegiance, which was quickly quelled by RAVEN and DOVE - not without the Allegiance sparking an incident that further damaged RAVEN's reputation. Not too long after that, the first of the Overload attacks - a string of incidents where Metahumans were struck with syringes that caused them to lose control of their powers, and cause massive damage - started in Havenfield Market with the aim of damaging relations between Metahumans, and normal humans. The Metahuman in question was a cyrokinetic, and he turned a market into an arctic blizzard. Fortunately, he was quickly disabled by RAVENs, and taken to their Headquarters.
The man behind the Overload attacks felt like that wasn't satisfactory, and amped it up. He targeted a Metahuman who could charge powers, and give normal people powers. He tracked her down to a mall in Courtbridge, and shot her with the dart, and she caused a massive crisis within the mall. Metahumans inside the mall lost control of their powers, and normal people were given superpowers. This process continued, and caused massive death and destruction, until the woman was disabled, and the Overload stopped.
From there, the relations between man and Metahuman deteriorated. However, the Mannequin showed himself to what was left of the Hands of Science - specifically Dr. Cross and Ignatius - and told them about his plan, and recruited them. Taking advantage of the divide. However, they were interrupted by one of the people tailing the Hands of Science - that didn't take too kindly to the news that the Mannequin was alive.
A week later, and the situation between man and Metahuman was at an all time low. However, the man responsible had to knock things over. He targeted an air manipulator, and then he caused a massive hurricane that tore Oakdell Harbor apart. However, he was caught up in his own storm, and was apprehended by RAVEN. After interrogating him, it turned out that he was a board executive of the Savior Foundation, and a member of the Knights of Purity. Making the Savior Foundation look very suspicious. However, the man stated he got his serum from a mysterious person who called himself the "Black Hound".
However, a day after that, the threats working in the background managed to make themselves known. Starting with Eco-Natura, they launched their assault on Prince Ed-Field, and left "nature bombs" that ravaged the Courtbridge district. This caused massive damage to the city, and turned Prince Ed-Field into a complete forest. While RAVEN was focusing on that threat, the Mannequin launched his operation into RAVEN Headquarters to retrieve a device made by the Hands they were holding onto. Though, his mission was a failure, as he was ambushed by RAVEN waiting for him, and he, along with the rest of the Hands, were arrested.
After Dr. Cross was arrested, she spoke of a Founding Family, who are incredibly powerful, and a threat to the world. So, a group of RAVENs had set out to go investigate this Founding Family while Baybridge was recovering.
The world lived blissfully, unaware of there even being a Founding Family. Instead, they lived in fear of a Metahuman terrorist known as the "Black Hound". An assassin clad in black armor decorated with a dog imagery. He became the terror of England as he made it his mission to kill British politicians in seemingly random acts of terrorism. Assisted by his "Intimidation Unit", they spread unrest and anti-Metahuman sentiments across the world. In actuality, the Hound's goal was to eliminate politicians that were against the Founding Family so they may subsume Britain.
However, the Founding Family had their eyes on America, specifically the DOVE and RAVEN organizations. There was a festival that took place in Baybridge every October known as the Harvest Festival. A large, and great event full of people... and the DOVE exhibit in which the chairwoman of DOVE, Deborah Javuant, attended. The Black Hound and his Intimidation Unit was sent to assassinate Deborah Javuant, in a grand spectacle to spread fear all over Baybridge. However, he failed to assassinate Deborah.
What he did accomplish was give RAVEN and DOVE a lead on the Founding Family, and would eventually lead to their downfall. Back at the Founding Family headquarters, the Blessed Three reprimanded the Hound and their commander, the Foundation Woman (who had a hand in the failed attack). However, they chose to give them a slap on the wrist in favor of a new command: gather suitable Metahumans. So the Hound was sent out, and was kidnapping many, many, people in the name of their dark goal. The first to be attacked was Wendy Lucker, and her friends, many of whom were kidnapped save for Wendy, and one friend.
Later on that night, the Hound attacked a large mall in Courtbridge, and held the whole location hostage. In an attempt to gather the captured leaders of the Hands of Science, and the sole surviving Changeling. The terms seem to be in the Hound's favor, before RAVEN turned the tables around with the quick thinking of an unlikely agent Shizuka Takashiro, liberating the hostages with a swift attack, and fought the Hound off. However, at the same time, a secret raid on a Founding Family base was conducted by two groups - Wendy Lucker and Rowan Campbell, who attempted to recover Wendy's friends, and Malik Jakane, a man from Nigeria who was looking for a friend, and wanted to gather information, liberated his friend.
The end result was a massive jailbreak which ended with both groups getting what they wanted (sans Wendy without her sister). However, Wendy and her group earned the wrath of Ezekiel Anagnos, the third member of the Blessed Three, the leaders of the Founding Family. He went on a rampage through Courtbridge because Wendy took his diary accidentally during her raid. It stopped when Ezekiel pinned Wendy's friend to the ground with a pipe, and Wendy returned it to him. Afterwards, he retreated.
Over the next week, the Founding Family's major activities were ground to a halt while they prepared for a massive operation. Malik Jakane and a friend began searching for dead drops left behind by an undercover agent he was looking for. However, the Founding Family launched a full-force operation that would shock the whole world. First, the Hound's cohort, the Phantasm, attacked a pro-Metahuman rally and assassinated a key figure. He was fought off, but he seemed to be aiming for Cindy Keagan, because he kidnapped her. At the same time, the Hound launched an attack on Jiao-Long Liu's son's birthday party, kidnapping him and his wife.
Later on that day, the Founding Family made an announcement to the world: announcing their presence and intentions. They eventually cut power to major parts of Baybridge to hold the city hostage, and announcing that horrible things will happen if RAVEN didn't hand over the imprisoned members of the Hands. A week later, the Family made true on their promise and launched an enormous attack on RAVEN Headquarters that left the base in flames. Before taking back the members of the Hands of Science they were after, and revealing that Cindy Keagan was under some form of mind control.
Meanwhile, Wendy Lucker and friends raided a major Founding Family base in Silver Hills... only for it to go less than ideal when they were discovered, and came face to face with a major member of the Blessed Three - Blake Schmidt. Then the bitter truth about Wendy's sister came out - she was under the mind control effects of Mechanized Memories. Blake engaged in a fight with Wendy and Rowan, and defeated the two of them. Capturing them.
Horribly battered and beaten, RAVEN were left with little leads, or resources, before a spy from within the Founding Family relayed their plans to RAVEN. The Founding Family was working on a device they call "The Machine", a powerful piece of technology that'd turn every human being on earth into a Metahuman. To buy time to finish it, the Founding Family intended on creating another Beast and unleashing it within Baybridge. RAVEN pulled as much of their resources together as they could, but, ultimately, they sustained heavy losses before being able to eliminate the Beast.
Wendy Lucker, with the help of a mysterious woman, escaped from capture, and went to go recover her friends. When they reached the room where their friends were being held, and were confronted by Ezekiel Anagnos again. They battled the powerful Metahuman, before swiftly killing him, with the help of Wendy's long lost mother. The group escaped from the base, before heading to their headquarters.
RAVEN did the same, and launched a dual strike on the Founding Family headquarters with the help of RAVEN chairman Maximilian Cornell. RAVEN destroyed the machine, but not without help. The Hound and the Foundation Woman betrayed the Founding Family in their moment of weakness, and lead the Intimidation Unit away. While Wendy Lucker, failing in her goal to save her sister, distracted Blake long enough to make the Hound's plan work. Blake was promptly killed by RAVEN, before the Machine was destroyed for good.
However, the Founding Family had their eyes on America, specifically the DOVE and RAVEN organizations. There was a festival that took place in Baybridge every October known as the Harvest Festival. A large, and great event full of people... and the DOVE exhibit in which the chairwoman of DOVE, Deborah Javuant, attended. The Black Hound and his Intimidation Unit was sent to assassinate Deborah Javuant, in a grand spectacle to spread fear all over Baybridge. However, he failed to assassinate Deborah.
What he did accomplish was give RAVEN and DOVE a lead on the Founding Family, and would eventually lead to their downfall. Back at the Founding Family headquarters, the Blessed Three reprimanded the Hound and their commander, the Foundation Woman (who had a hand in the failed attack). However, they chose to give them a slap on the wrist in favor of a new command: gather suitable Metahumans. So the Hound was sent out, and was kidnapping many, many, people in the name of their dark goal. The first to be attacked was Wendy Lucker, and her friends, many of whom were kidnapped save for Wendy, and one friend.
Later on that night, the Hound attacked a large mall in Courtbridge, and held the whole location hostage. In an attempt to gather the captured leaders of the Hands of Science, and the sole surviving Changeling. The terms seem to be in the Hound's favor, before RAVEN turned the tables around with the quick thinking of an unlikely agent Shizuka Takashiro, liberating the hostages with a swift attack, and fought the Hound off. However, at the same time, a secret raid on a Founding Family base was conducted by two groups - Wendy Lucker and Rowan Campbell, who attempted to recover Wendy's friends, and Malik Jakane, a man from Nigeria who was looking for a friend, and wanted to gather information, liberated his friend.
The end result was a massive jailbreak which ended with both groups getting what they wanted (sans Wendy without her sister). However, Wendy and her group earned the wrath of Ezekiel Anagnos, the third member of the Blessed Three, the leaders of the Founding Family. He went on a rampage through Courtbridge because Wendy took his diary accidentally during her raid. It stopped when Ezekiel pinned Wendy's friend to the ground with a pipe, and Wendy returned it to him. Afterwards, he retreated.
Over the next week, the Founding Family's major activities were ground to a halt while they prepared for a massive operation. Malik Jakane and a friend began searching for dead drops left behind by an undercover agent he was looking for. However, the Founding Family launched a full-force operation that would shock the whole world. First, the Hound's cohort, the Phantasm, attacked a pro-Metahuman rally and assassinated a key figure. He was fought off, but he seemed to be aiming for Cindy Keagan, because he kidnapped her. At the same time, the Hound launched an attack on Jiao-Long Liu's son's birthday party, kidnapping him and his wife.
Later on that day, the Founding Family made an announcement to the world: announcing their presence and intentions. They eventually cut power to major parts of Baybridge to hold the city hostage, and announcing that horrible things will happen if RAVEN didn't hand over the imprisoned members of the Hands. A week later, the Family made true on their promise and launched an enormous attack on RAVEN Headquarters that left the base in flames. Before taking back the members of the Hands of Science they were after, and revealing that Cindy Keagan was under some form of mind control.
Meanwhile, Wendy Lucker and friends raided a major Founding Family base in Silver Hills... only for it to go less than ideal when they were discovered, and came face to face with a major member of the Blessed Three - Blake Schmidt. Then the bitter truth about Wendy's sister came out - she was under the mind control effects of Mechanized Memories. Blake engaged in a fight with Wendy and Rowan, and defeated the two of them. Capturing them.
Horribly battered and beaten, RAVEN were left with little leads, or resources, before a spy from within the Founding Family relayed their plans to RAVEN. The Founding Family was working on a device they call "The Machine", a powerful piece of technology that'd turn every human being on earth into a Metahuman. To buy time to finish it, the Founding Family intended on creating another Beast and unleashing it within Baybridge. RAVEN pulled as much of their resources together as they could, but, ultimately, they sustained heavy losses before being able to eliminate the Beast.
Wendy Lucker, with the help of a mysterious woman, escaped from capture, and went to go recover her friends. When they reached the room where their friends were being held, and were confronted by Ezekiel Anagnos again. They battled the powerful Metahuman, before swiftly killing him, with the help of Wendy's long lost mother. The group escaped from the base, before heading to their headquarters.
RAVEN did the same, and launched a dual strike on the Founding Family headquarters with the help of RAVEN chairman Maximilian Cornell. RAVEN destroyed the machine, but not without help. The Hound and the Foundation Woman betrayed the Founding Family in their moment of weakness, and lead the Intimidation Unit away. While Wendy Lucker, failing in her goal to save her sister, distracted Blake long enough to make the Hound's plan work. Blake was promptly killed by RAVEN, before the Machine was destroyed for good.
In the aftermath of the war against the Founding Family, the city of Baybridge (and the world) sustained some heavy losses. In the case of RAVEN, many high ranking members were killed, and had to be replaced or else a collapse of the organization would've occurred. In particular, a new director of Baybridge's DOVE branch was required and was found in the form of Reed Taylor, identified as holding the necessary prerequisite traits (leadership, dedication and morale) to fill in the position, albeit with support from the organisation's more senior members.
There was a great change within the world as what was left of the Founding Family was mopped up. The organizations that were under the umbrella of the Family now found themselves decapitated. Without their resources, they collapsed in on themselves, or were eliminated in the great wave. Europe, which the Founding Family had the most influence in, was hit the hardest as rampant corruption was uncovered. Many politicians were thrown in jail, or had to go on the run, otherwise requiring replacement. As their association with the Family was discovered. It was the rallying call for reforms everywhere. They were rebuilding, but it a problem that was likely to persist for decades.
The forefront of this change was the government of the United Kingdom. It was discovered that many of the political heavyweights in Britain were acting under the Founding Family's influence, and that the Family were largely responsible for the MISW's erratic shift towards the control and oppression of Metahumans. This, combined with existing tensions between the government and the British working class, ignited a wave of rioting all over the UK as people lashed out against the exposed corruption rooted within the government, leading to a significant change in the status quo.
On top of this, however, was the rise of an organisation . An organization that was the epitome of "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Known as BASILISK, an organization made to mock the thematic of the American DOVE & RAVEN, the organisation is out to protect the Metahumans from the overreaching arm of Metahuman regulation, and played a huge role in the political and social climate of Britain by leaking the heavy involvement of the Founding Family in British politics. While it may have brought chaos to Britain, they believe that they are changing things for the better, even going so far as to have destroyed the MISW headquarters in a massive display.
Meanwhile a new terrorist organization, known as ZODIAC, has appeared out of the blue. Lead by the former bulldog of the Family, the Hound (who now goes by the name of Sovereign), they have launched attacks all over the world with little pattern, or reason. The most notable attack they launched was on Moscow, which was seemingly an assassination attempt on the Russian president that escalated in a massive battle. A battle that destroyed a large chunk of Moscow.
Because of these two events, a new UN approved task force has been assembled known as MAVERICK. Similar to the various Metahuman regulation of the world, MAVERICK is an elite task force that has gone through extensive training in order to go where they're needed. Answering only to the UN council, they're usually handpicked from other Metahuman regulation groups. They have been going after ZODIAC since their conception.
Back in the states, the situation hasn't exactly improved much. The Family's involvement in American politics wasn't as extensive as Europe, but many Conservative and Anti-Metahuman politicians have taken advantage of the new climate, using the events in Verthaven and later Baybridge as a justification for their hardline rhetoric towards Metahumans, passing new laws focused towards their regulation. In addition, many on both sides of the political spectrum have lost faith in DOVE and RAVEN with some even calling for the dissolution of the two organisations.
In Baybridge itself, a new drug craze had appeared in the form of "Happiness". A drug that produced intense feelings of joy, physical pleasure, and good thoughts - in the form of a pink pill. Little is known of the source, and even to those responsible for its distribution at the street level it was largely shrouded in mystery, but nonetheless it had gained a surge in popularity. However, it was linked with a strange condition...
There was a great change within the world as what was left of the Founding Family was mopped up. The organizations that were under the umbrella of the Family now found themselves decapitated. Without their resources, they collapsed in on themselves, or were eliminated in the great wave. Europe, which the Founding Family had the most influence in, was hit the hardest as rampant corruption was uncovered. Many politicians were thrown in jail, or had to go on the run, otherwise requiring replacement. As their association with the Family was discovered. It was the rallying call for reforms everywhere. They were rebuilding, but it a problem that was likely to persist for decades.
The forefront of this change was the government of the United Kingdom. It was discovered that many of the political heavyweights in Britain were acting under the Founding Family's influence, and that the Family were largely responsible for the MISW's erratic shift towards the control and oppression of Metahumans. This, combined with existing tensions between the government and the British working class, ignited a wave of rioting all over the UK as people lashed out against the exposed corruption rooted within the government, leading to a significant change in the status quo.
On top of this, however, was the rise of an organisation . An organization that was the epitome of "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Known as BASILISK, an organization made to mock the thematic of the American DOVE & RAVEN, the organisation is out to protect the Metahumans from the overreaching arm of Metahuman regulation, and played a huge role in the political and social climate of Britain by leaking the heavy involvement of the Founding Family in British politics. While it may have brought chaos to Britain, they believe that they are changing things for the better, even going so far as to have destroyed the MISW headquarters in a massive display.
Meanwhile a new terrorist organization, known as ZODIAC, has appeared out of the blue. Lead by the former bulldog of the Family, the Hound (who now goes by the name of Sovereign), they have launched attacks all over the world with little pattern, or reason. The most notable attack they launched was on Moscow, which was seemingly an assassination attempt on the Russian president that escalated in a massive battle. A battle that destroyed a large chunk of Moscow.
Because of these two events, a new UN approved task force has been assembled known as MAVERICK. Similar to the various Metahuman regulation of the world, MAVERICK is an elite task force that has gone through extensive training in order to go where they're needed. Answering only to the UN council, they're usually handpicked from other Metahuman regulation groups. They have been going after ZODIAC since their conception.
Back in the states, the situation hasn't exactly improved much. The Family's involvement in American politics wasn't as extensive as Europe, but many Conservative and Anti-Metahuman politicians have taken advantage of the new climate, using the events in Verthaven and later Baybridge as a justification for their hardline rhetoric towards Metahumans, passing new laws focused towards their regulation. In addition, many on both sides of the political spectrum have lost faith in DOVE and RAVEN with some even calling for the dissolution of the two organisations.
In Baybridge itself, a new drug craze had appeared in the form of "Happiness". A drug that produced intense feelings of joy, physical pleasure, and good thoughts - in the form of a pink pill. Little is known of the source, and even to those responsible for its distribution at the street level it was largely shrouded in mystery, but nonetheless it had gained a surge in popularity. However, it was linked with a strange condition...
It's clickable.
