Dedonus

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Christopher Arthur III

Lost Haven, ME

When Chris had turned his attention back to the mysterious man atop the tank, he was shocked to discover that the man had disappeared. While Chris was partially relieved that the man had not stabbed Chris in the back while his attention had been drawn elsewhere, he nonetheless scanned the area for the one individual who looked different from the rest of the alien invaders. It did not, however, take him long to find the man had now confronted Icon.

Of course he would go after Icon. Obviously no respect for us heroes who don’t have any powers, Chris initially thought upon seeing the mysterious man go after Icon. However, after the man had slammed Icon against the ground and then punted the blue and white garbed metahuman through a nearby storefront window, Chris was already counting his blessings that the man had attacked Icon instead of him. He was just a man in an exosuit, after all. Icon, on the other hand, could take it. Hopefully.

Since the man had abandoned his post, Chris immediately landed on the roof of the tank. At first, he tried to cut an opening through the tank’s armor with an on-suit laser, but his suit’s internal display in his helmet instantly alerted Chris that his suit would run out of charge before he would come anywhere close to pealing open this tin can. For the next few seconds, he desperately racked his brain for other possible solutions, until he landed on one specific one.

“Alright guys and girl, this might be a dumb idea, but I have a plan for taking out this tank. I would recommend staying clear of the straight line between this tank and that Cthulhu wannabe over there,” Chris remarked over the Guardians comms as he turned towards the unknown entity that was also attacking the Arlaaekans.

But Chris had to be careful about his next actions, as he did not want the tentacle creature attacking him instead of the tank. So, shooting at it and trying to lead it towards the tank was probably out of the question. Instead, he was going to have to draw the Arlaaekan fire towards the entity.

Before proceeding, however, Chris used the tech in his armor to scan the nearby buildings in the direction of the entity, just to ensure there were not any civilians in the crossfire. Once he knew the buildings were empty, he proceeded with his plan. After his onboard computers had calculated the precise angles he would have to fly at to get the tank’s shots to land near the tentacle entity, Chris leapt off the tank and zoomed through the air. Once he had drawn the tank’s attention by launching some of his suit’s armaments at the tank, Chris diverted power from his weapon systems to his shielding, just to make sure he would not be shot out of the sky.

Let’s hope this works, Chris thought as he kept narrowly dodging the blasts fired by the tank.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Previously On Create-A-Hero

Aubrey Adkins | Emily Prichert

Day of the Arlaaekan Invasion

Pacific Point, CA

“Captain, our sensors are picking up non-Earthling hostiles engaging our forces,” an Arlaaekan officer alerted Captain Tri’Karda as they manned the deck.

“Inform our forces of this development, not that it will matter much,” Captain Tri’Karda commanded.

While his words displayed blatant arrogance, the annuals of the Arlaaekans supported his confidence. For millenniums, the Arlaaekans had been sending out golden rods to the younger races of the galaxy. No matter whether each world had accepted the Great Concord, the Arlaaekans had always prevailed. Over two-thousand worlds had already fallen to the Arlaaekan armada and hundreds more still awaited their judgement day.

This was not the first time the recipients of the golden rods had tried to band together in vain to fend off the Arlaaekan scourge. Because the Full Disclosure reveals the inevitability of the Arlaaekan conquest, it was only natural for some of the newly enlightened civilizations to contact one another. Decades ago, one such alliance arose to face the Arlaaekans, the so-called “Great Coalition.” The Arlaaekan armada massacred the combined forces of the alliance, leaving their homeworlds nearly defenseless against their impending doom.

“Is the Psionic Inducer prepped and ready?” Captain Tri’Karda asked while he reviewed the latest status update for the invasion. The hard-light projection of the Earth displayed clear outlines of the various landmasses that dotted the oceans that covered much of the planet. It represented the areas under Arlaaekan occupation with a teal highlight. Considering that the invasion had only started a few hours ago, the invasion had gone relatively according to plan, with large swaths of the planet under their control and ever increasing. Only the isolated pockets of irregularly high metahuman population were throwing a wrench into their plans. But Tri’Karda was not concerned, as the rest of the armada would overwhelm these last holdouts once the rest of the planet was under Arlaaekan dominion.

“We just need to sap some psychic energy from the indigenous metahuman population,” the ship’s first officer reported on the status of the Psionic Inducer.

“Then proceed,” Tri’Karda ordered. Because not every species in the universe has the capacity for or have developed psionic abilities, the Arlaaekans did not always have to utilize the Psionic Inducer. The last time the world conquerors had employed the device was on Atyndro 5, a world that had been populated by a naturally psionic race. Those poor souls did not know what hit them before it was long too late. While the humans did not have the same psionic potential as the populace of Atyndro 5, there were enough psychic metahumans in Pacific Point for it to be effective.

“Any other orders, captain?”

“Reinforce the shields. There’re reports that the first invasion force took heavy damage from an unknown power source. I will not have my ship be taken out of the sky so easily,” Tri’Karda added to his commands. He paused for a moment before speaking up again, as another thought came to mind. “Also, take us over the city. The natives wouldn’t want us crash landing into their civilian sectors, now would they?”

---

This certainly wasn’t how I would have liked to have spent on the day I got married. Well, I guess nobody really expected aliens raining on everyone’s parade today. And the whole alien doomsday scenario might have been a factor that influenced Will’s and my decision to get married on a whim. But that doesn’t matter; let’s focus on the killer aliens who are not only tearing up Pacific Point, the town I now call home, but also the entire world. Nobody, and I mean nobody, likes freaking aliens invading. Heck, even the evil masterminds of the world are probably unhappy, even if it is only because they’re not the ones doing the whole world conquest thing.

Emily and I were catching our breaths atop a rooftop after we had fought off some alien invaders. No matter how many of these aliens we take down, they just keep on coming. We retreated onto this rooftop not only to get a respite, but also to get a better view of what we’re dealing with. Ever since that big spaceship drove through the giant wormhole in the sky, the attacks had intensified. What would aliens want with Pacific Point, anyways? Unless they want a tan, there’s not really anything strategic here. Maybe they’re trying to take out the resident superheroes?

“This certainly could have gone worse,” Emily said as she scanned the skyline of Pacific Point.

“What could be worse than an alien invasion?”

“Well, the world my alternate came from had a run-in with aliens like these. They apparently shattered our moon during the invasion. That’s kind of important for Earth functioning properly,” Emily explained the information she gleamed from the memories she inherited from the elseworld version of herself she and many others (including myself) had been transformed into as of late.

“I know you’re trying to be reassuring, but it’s not quite working.”

“Hey, I could have said that they cracked the Earth into a gazillion pieces.”

“Still not helping.”

While we continued to take our quick breather, I noticed the sound of boots and steel tracks marching down a nearby street. When I peered over the rooftop ledge, I saw mechanized infantry rushing towards the alien invaders. While I could clearly tell that these soldiers weren’t the US military from their uniforms and equipment, it took me a moment to connect the dots: S.T.R.I.K.E. Although I haven’t had too many interactions with this secretive organization, I could recognize their gear from the one time I was held in their custody after I first acquired my powers.

“I thought these guys went defunct after the Hounds attacked?” I stated to Emily. While we need all the help we can get to fight these aliens, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to see these guys again. It is kind of problematic that a secret spy organization knows my secret identity.

“I guess their demise was greatly exaggerated,” Emily answered back.

“Well, we better get back out there. These aliens don’t look like the type to wait until we’re back at full strength.”

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the components of the giant spaceship’s lower section move and reorient itself. A spire descended from the center of the ship. Although the spaceship was too far away for me to see any details, I could tell there were some moving parts in that contraption.

“I really hope they’re not bringing out the bigger gun.”

I was expecting Emily to say something about the aliens were probably compensating for something if they had a ‘bigger gun,’ but she didn’t utter a single word. It wasn’t until I felt a buzzing sensation in my head when I turned and realized Emily had mysteriously fallen unconscious and was starting to tumble off the side of the rooftop. Thankfully, my spider reflexes allowed me to hit her with a webline and pull her away from the ledge. But what could have caused her to be knocked out cold, especially since I, nor any of the S.T.R.I.K.E. soldiers below had been affected? Luckily, Emily was only out of it for a mere moment before she started to come to.

“Please tell me you have a pouch on that costume with some Advil,” Emily told me as she struggled to her feet.

“What the heck happened to you?”

“The Arlaaekan capital ship seems to be siphoning off psionic energy. Her loss of consciousness must have been a side effect from the extraterrestrial technology,” Athena explained and thereby revealed her presence. “I cannot image anything good coming such a phenomenon.”

“So I’m guessing I wasn’t affected because I don’t have psychic powers.”

“Aubrey, who are you talking to? Please tell me you’re not going crazy.”

Oh great. Athena is staying invincible. We really need to figure out a way to distinguish when I’m the only person who can see her. I mean, I guess it should be obvious when people react to a Greek goddess standing in their midst. But we’re being invaded by aliens! Nobody has time to look for those cues while being shot at by aliens.

“Um, it’s kind of complicated. I’ll explain it after we’re no longer worrying about aliens destroying the world.”

“I would call BS on that, but you’re right about the aliens. We got bigger fish to fry. So, what’s our next play?”

“I guess we need to figure out a way to get on that ship.”

“I can easily sneak you onboard,” Athena spoke, although I was the only one who could hear her. “but I would recommend gathering up some allies before the infiltration.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Christopher Arthur III

Lost Haven, ME

“More of a Dodger's guy myself,” Icon had responded to Chris’ little quip.

“Hmm, I would have never pegged you for a West Coaster, as you don’t look old enough to have been arou— ” Chris said before he was so rudely interrupted by one of Arlaaekan energy weapons. If it wasn’t for his high-tech armor, the alien soldier would have knocked the Iron Knight off his feet, if not worse. But he easily side-stepped the blast and returned fire with a wrist rocket. While the missile was not powerful enough to incapacitate the alien, it did nonetheless give Chris an opportunity to take to the air.

”Huh, we? Is she a Guardian too?” Chris heard Terra Firma call out. He turned his head and saw the metahuman he was referring to: a green haired woman who was turning some of the aliens into stone. All this girl was missing was hair made of snakes to complement this petrification power.

“She wasn’t on my recruitment list. Maybe she’s one of Icon’s?”

Terra Firma dove straight into the action. After Terra Firma unleashed his metahuman powers against the massive machine, the nearby Arlaaekans focused their attention on the elemental hero. While the Arlaaekans were momentarily distracted by Terra Firma, Chris decided to say hello to the mysterious man atop the alien tank. He launched himself into the air and rocketed skyward until he was face-to-face with the combatant on top of the Arlaaekan tank.

“I’ve got a message from my fellow inhabitants of this rock that we call home: pack up your army of E.T.’s back onto your flying saucers and go bully a different planet. We really don’t like bullies here on Earth,” Chris declared to the man standing atop the giant war machine. While this individual wore armor similar to the other Arlaaekan soldiers, something felt different about this guy to Chris, something almost human.

Before either Chris or the mysterious man standing before him could move a muscle, something had burst through one of the nearby storefronts. The crash immediately drew Chris’ attention. The first thing Chris noticed, besides the property damage, was the tentacles, the main feature of this entity. Between the tentacles and the shadowy shroud, Chris could not tell whether this thing was man or beast, only that it existed. Although this thing was focusing its wrath on the alien invaders, Chris was nonetheless still concerned about the potential collateral damage.

“Guardians, is anybody going to do anything about the tentacle monster rampaging through the streets?”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Mexico City, Mexico

Captain Tri’Karda stood in the observation deck of the Arlaaekan warship hovering over the aflame human city. Compared to the thousands of alien civilizations the Arlaaekan armada had crushed under their unbreakable might, the technological advancement on this backwater planet was far from being stellar. Outside a few hiccups from some epicenters of metahuman activity, the invasion of Earth was going as planned. Because of the division among the Terran nations and their primitive technology, the entire planet should be under Arlaaekan control by the end of the day, if not sooner.

As Tri’Karda continued to oversee the conquest of this human city, the communication console chirped, signaling someone was trying to reach the captain over the secure Arlaaekan military channel. Turning his attention away from the urban battlefield, Tri’Karda tapped his teal fingers against the touch-screen panel at the console. Upon activating the device, a holographic display of Admiral Keelan appeared before the captain.

“Captain Tri’Karda, the contingent tasked with securing what these Earthlings call the Western Seaboard have run into starch resistance. You are to take a portion of your forces and reinforce our operations in that sector,” the Admiral commanded with his calm, yet intimidating, demeanor.

“So shall it be done, Admiral,” Captain Tri’Karda obediently answered his superior officer. The hologram soon dissipated. Departing from the observation deck, Tri’Karda briskly walked to the ship’s bridge.

“Ensign, set the coordinates for a jump to the 984th division,” Tri’Karda commanded as he walked through the threshold of the bridge and headed for the captain’s chair. The officers at the helm immediately tapping the displays of the consoles in front of them, preparing for the new course. “The flagship of the 984th should be transmitting data on the resistance they’re facing.”

“Entirely metahuman in nature, Captain,” one of his subordinate officers reported as she read the flagship’s logs. “There seems to be several psionics present in the human city.”

“Then we better be prepared for them,” Captain Tri’Karda snapped at the officers upon taking his seat. “We cannot allow these backwards primates stain the glorious reputation of Arlaaek.”

---

Lost Haven, Maine

Even though the Lost Haven skies were clear, except for the invading Arlaaekan ships and the smoke and debris from their destructive rampage, a single thunderbolt struck the lightning rod attached to the Chambers Building. As the electricity worked its way down the metallic pole, a broad-shouldered man materialized upon the building’s roof. The floor creaked underneath the divine stature of the bearded man. Yet, this was no mortal man, but rather the Father of Gods and Men, Zeus himself.

Zeus thought back to the meeting he had just abandoned. The council of Earth's pantheons had grinded to a halt long before the gods could even say a single word about the Arlaaekan invasion. Instead, these divine beings squabbled over which set of deities should oversee the meeting. Should the gods who had the most historical significance take the helm? Or should the eldest of the pantheons take charge? Yet others proposed those who still retained their devoted followers despite the rise of the Abrahamic religion should lead the meeting. Earth would have been conquered and the Athanatoi’s last teether to this plane of existence would have be forever severed long before all the godheads could have reach a satisfying agreement.

Humanity would have been doomed, had not Rhea, Kronides’ mother, bestowed upon her son the long-forgotten origin of their people. Millennia ago, the Athanatoi were like any other mortal race, living out their lives upon their homeworld. And just like many alien civilizations before and after them, the Athanatoi one day received a golden rod from the Arlaaekans. Upon realizing the destruction that awaited their people, they began making preparations against the Arlaaekan scourge.

While most of the nations of their homeworld developed weapons and technology to combat the soon-to-be invaders, the greatest minds of their race dreamed bigger: if they could become gods, nothing could conquer their world. These scientists poured all of their resources and energy into this project for apotheosis and the fruits of their efforts were not in vain, as those lucky individuals who underwent the apotheosis process indeed became gods. Unfortunately, by the time they arose from their slumber, their planet had already been ravaged and stripped of all its useful resources. Since they no longer possessed a homeworld, the progenitors of the Athanatoi scattered across the stars to oversee the development of the younger races of the universe.

Tired of the in-fighting and the squabbling, Zeus departed the assembly unnoticed. With this new knowledge, Zeus knew he could justify his interference in the mortal affairs and his breach of the prime directive. Upon reaching Olympus, the Father of Gods and Men assembled those immortals who lived upon Olympus’ holy slopes.

“Brothers and sisters,” Zeus addressed the Olympians, “Sons and daughters, we have a monumental task ahead of us. These aliens, the Arlaaekans, were responsible for the diaspora of our kind across the universe. And now, they have trespassed upon the front lawn of our adopted home. We cannot stand for this transgression, for what better reason could there be for our interference other than to punish our ancient enemy? If I have to, by my right hand, I will smite these pests and rid this planet of their pestilence.”

“Unfortunately, much damage has already been done by the Arlaaekans,” Zeus continued. “While I have no doubts about the eminent defeat and destruction of these invasive aliens, the aftermath of this invasion could be just as disastrous as the invasion. Therefore, command your divine domains, given to each of you by fate, to ensure the continuation of humanity. Without our intervention, this disaster could very well set human civilization back centuries. So, prepare yourselves, as this will be no easy task, even for us immortals.”

So did Zeus, the Father of Gods and Men, addressed the Olympians. With their agreement ensured, Zeus bolted down to the mortal plane, where the fiercest of the battle was taking place: Lost Haven.

In Zeus’ powerful hands, he held a golden scale. However, this was no normal scale, as it could weigh the competing fates of whomever Zeus pleased. Hermes, the slayer of Argus, zipped down on his winged sandals and deposited two bags, just large enough to fit inside the large palms of Zeus’ hands. These bags contained clay figurines, each representing the participants on each side: the defenders of Earth and the Arlaaekan invaders. Upon delivering these items to his father, Hermes soared away, ready to serve his father in any way.

Zeus placed each bag on the opposite plates on this golden scale and held it up by its handle. Each tray bobbled back and forth, revealing how the balance of power between the Arlaaekans and the humans sway from one side to the other. Zeus scowled at the instrument upon realizing that, despite each side wavering between defeat and victory, the Arlaaekans kept rising higher to the sky, while the mortals kept falling towards the ground.

“The mortals will require all the assistance they can mustered. Fortunately, they have gods on their side,” Zeus muttered as he turned his attention away from the scale to one specific battle that was about to commence between the Arlaaekans and this world’s mightiest heroes.

---

Pacific Point, California

The sun blazed off the reflective surface of Odysseus’ bronze armor. With bow in hand, the Grecian man raced down the war-torn streets of Pacific Point. The unexpected invasion had thrown the city into confusion. Had that bubble not shielded the city from the tsunami wave created by one of the the meteors the Arlaaekans had shot at the Earth, Pacific Point would have been washed off the face of the world. Even the Immortals, one of the few organized superhero teams, were taken off guard.

Despite the damage a local hero had dealt to the Arlaaekan invasion force that was attacking Pacific Point, alien vessels still zoomed in the sky and hostile soldiers wandered through the city. While it was laughable to fight aliens with a bow and arrows, Odysseus knew he had to act. Without the intervention of Pacific Point’s heroes, her citizens would have been like fish in a barrel for these aliens.

Odysseus ducked behind an abandoned SUV as he caught sight of a few more of the Arlaaekan soldiers. Just like the swiftness and silence of a viper’s strike, the Greek hero launched an arrow at one of the alien invaders. Upon impact, the tip of the arrow detonated with an explosive charge. However, despite the explosion, the Arlaaekan was merely knocked off his feet. All he really had achieved was drawing the attention of the Arlaaekan platoon.

From across the street, Odysseus noticed from the banging of vehicle’s window that there was a couple trapped inside another overturned car, stranded right between the aliens and him. With energy blasts soaring over his head, Odysseus notched another arrow and let it fly. This arrow, however, emitted a high-pitched screech. At the apex of the arrow’s trajectory, a blinding burst exploded from the arrow’s tip. With this distraction, Odysseus rolled over to the other overturned vehicle without a scratch.

“Get away from the window,” Odysseus shouted to the woman sitting upside down in the passenger seat. Drawing his sword from its scabbard, he reversed the weapon in his grip and slammed the hilt into the glass. The first strike left a major crack in the window. However, before he could make a second swing, Odysseus heard several wooshes zip through the air above him. Taking a quick peek around the side, he discovered that ten arrows had somehow pierced the Arlaaekan armor as if they were made of butter.

Odysseus felt a gust of wind at his back. From a nearby rooftop, a man dressed in samurai armor gracefully descended on a calm whirlwind at his feet. His hand gripped at a compound bow, while the other seemed to be controlling the air underneath him.

“It seems like you need a hand,” Kensei told Odysseus as his feet touched down to the ground. With his free hand, Kensei drew his legendary sword, the Kusanagi, and sliced through the edge of the stuck door.

“I was handling myself quite fine,” Odysseus answered back as he pulled off the door and helped the two trapped civilians out of the broken vehicle.

“So you say,” Kensei retorted. Once the two civilians had dashed away from the hate of the battle, the two men went to investigate the Arlaaekan soldiers Kensei had slain. Crouching down next to one of the dead aliens, Odysseus retrieved one of the arrows the Japanese warrior had used to pierce the alien’s armor. Rolling the shaft in his hand, Odysseus reckoned the arrows would have been pure white with a serrated tip, had it not gone straight through this extraterrestrial.

“In all of my years, I have never witnessed arrows as ordinary as these pierce armor like this,” Odysseus stated to Kensei as the former lightly tap the alien’s armor with his knuckles, so as to convey hi spoint.

“Do not be fooled by their plain appearance, for I received those arrows from Bishamonten himself as a reward for doing the war god a favor.”

“You really can’t judge a book by its cover, now can you?” Odysseus muttered before turning his attention back to Kensei. “Anyways, you wouldn’t mind me borrowing a few of these?”

“Normally, I wouldn’t hand over these divine arrows, but considering our circumstances, it probably would be more advantageous for these arrows to be fired from two bows instead of one,” Kensei admitted while he continued to collect the expended arrows. “Moreover, it would be a first step in making amends for mistaking your teammate for a jorogumo.”

“Wasn’t the first time our local spider-woman had experienced a case of mistaken identity. Probably won’t be the last,” Odysseus relayed to the Japanese warrior. “But she’s a big girl; she can handle it.”

While the two warriors were retrieving Kensei’s arrows, one of the Arlaaekan soldiers began to stir, although the alien couldn’t get to his feet due to his injuries. Kensei and Odysseus drew their weapons and surrounded the survivor. At first, an alien tongue gurgled out of his lips, but an electronic voice began to translate the foreign words.

“Your resistance, while noble,” the Arlaaekan barely uttered, as dark green blood dripped from his lips, “is futile. Our armada fields enough starcraft to blot out your sun.”

“That is good news,” Odysseus taunted the dying alien as he pressed his foot against its arrow wound,” for we will nonetheless fight in the shade.”

As those words escaped Odysseus’ mouth, something above had cast a great shadow over the entire city of Pacific Point. When Kensei and Odysseus turned their eyes to the sky, they beheld a giant Arlaaekan capital ship exiting through an equally massive portal. Smoke and debris billowed from the other side of the portal until it closed in on itself once the ship was entirely through.

“I guess we shall indeed have our shade.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Christopher Arthur III

Lost Haven, ME

The battle had been hard-fought. Although Chris had downed soldier after soldier as he held his ground, more Arlaaekan troops kept arriving to keep the armored hero busy. There was only so much a single soul could accomplish against a horde of alien invaders. What made matters worst was the energy boast that “Radiance” had given Chris had already began to wear off. He had only been keeping up with his Arlaaekan foes by himself because “Radiance” had sent his armor into overdrive. Without it, he would easily be overrun by the alien invaders.

Suddenly, something impacted the pavement several feet away. Dust and debris showered the nearby combatants. While the AI in Chris’ suit managed to activate his shielding just in the nick of time, the Arlaaekan foes were tossed about, either slamming into the nearby buildings or into one another. In this momentary respite from battle, Chris peered over to see what had created the explosive landing: it was Terra Firma. Not long afterwards, Icon and Radiance arrived, too.

"About time the cavalry arrives. Now let's show these aliens why we call ourselves the Guardians!"

Chris was amused by Radiance’s apology for what the two of them were late. Ever since Chris had gathered together the first future members of the Guardians several months ago at Settler's Clearing over in Royal Park, he noticed that Radiance had her eyes on Icon. She was ever so subtle about it, but Chris nonetheless noticed for just a brief moment when she thought nobody was paying attention. Later, when Chris and Icon were divvying up which prospectives each should visit, Icon mentioned he could easily get in contact with Radiance. Up until now, all of these seemed like coincidences, but now the puzzle was coming together. If the world currently wasn’t being invaded by aliens, Chris would have found humor in the idea that Icon got cockblocked by a freaking meteor.

“Outside of Lyger, this looks like the lineup we’re going to have to work with. Slipstream and Voyager’s comms have gone offline since I sent out my summons, but we’ll have to deal later, as we have more pressing matters at hand.”

Chris had not realized how true what he had just said. For, as soon as he spoke up, a gigantic war machine rumbled down the street towards them. He could only describe it as an alien tank, three stories high. A single individual stood atop the metal monstrosity, while more Arlaaekan soldiers flanked it. If it wasn’t obvious by now, the Guardians now had a fight on their hands.

Suddenly, Chris' armor began picking up a message on a different frequency, specifically an old S.T.R.I.K.E. communication line. Blacklight's disembodied voice came through the internal speakers inside of Chris' helmet. Because of the metallic behemoth rolling towards the Guardians, Chris didn't have much time to banter as he normally would.

"The rest of the Guardians are just 12 blocks west north-west of Lost Haven University. There's a giant, alien death machine on the ground. You can't miss it," Chris sent back on the same S.T.R.I.K.E. frequency. Once the message was sent, he turned to the rest of the Guardians.

“Alright, who’s up first in the batting order?”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Previously On Create-A-Hero

Aubrey Adkins | Will Grant | Emily Prichert

Day of the Arlaaekan Invasion

Columbus, OH > Pacific Point, CA

Because I have been playing sports for as long as I could remember, I’m no stranger to high-pressure situations. Whether it was a playoff game in a softball tournament or a cheerleading competition, I’ve learned to thrive on the stakes of the game. However, an alien invasion is an entirely different ballgame. Losing in softball or cheerleading, while still disappointing because of the days of training and practice spent in preparation for the final performance, wasn’t a life-or-death situation. A worldwide alien invasion, on the other hand, had way higher stakes. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if we didn’t prevail.

I splashed some cold water on my face. While I really did need some extra time to blow dry my hair after the postcoital shower Will and I shared, I also wanted to take a moment to gather up my composure. I wanted to wear a brave face for him. While Will did have the powers of a parallel universe version of himself who was actually a superhero, he was still a regular person thrust into an extraordinary situation, much like the rest of the world. I wanted the last moments we had together before Athena stows him away to be happy and relaxing.

Once I had finished mustering my confidence, I tightened the fabric belt on my pink bathrobe around my human form and headed back to my bedroom. Will, already changed into his pajamas, was sitting up on my bed, leaning up against the headboard. A Nintendo Switch rested in his hands, which was taking up his attention. Right when I entered the room, I immediately noticed he had tidied up my room: he had gathered up all the clothes we had discarded before everything got, well, steamy and tossed them into my laundry hamper. He even made up my bed, which now looked like nothing had happened in the past hour.

I bounced over and plopped down onto my bed right next to him. I turned to him and said:

“We should really do this way more often.”

Will peered up from his Nintendo Switch and replied to me: “What, taking a shower together or having—"

“Why not both?” I answered with a coy smile. Scooting closer to Will, I wrapped arms around him and leaded my head against his shoulder. In turn, Will slipped one arm out of my embrace and reciprocated my affection.

“So, anything you want to do before Athena gets back?”

“Oh, yes. I almost forgot!” Will responded as he clicked a few buttons on his Switch to save his game progress. Setting the portable device down, he wiggled just enough out of my embrace to reach over to the nightstand on his side of the bed. He retrieved a necklace with a simple, wooden fish symbol, which circumscribed an equally simple cross, hanging from the necklace’s cord.

“Do you remember these?”

“Of course,” I answered. Back in middle school, when we had finished our confirmation prep class and received the sacrament itself, our instructors gave us these necklaces. High school and college had past since we got them, so it must have been mixed in with miscellaneous jewelry I had stashed in a shallow bowl on that nightstand.

“Since we didn’t have time to get rings, I thought this could be a temporary substitute until we can get some real bling.”

I noticed Will said “when” and not “if” we buy our wedding bands. A glimmer of hope arose in my heart as I could see him looking towards a time after the alien invasion. I then sat up and shifted myself to the edge of my bed. Will, in turn, took a seat directly behind me and, after I pulled my hair to a side to give Will access to the back of my neck, draped the necklace on me. Once he had finished tying the back of the necklace’s cord, he leaned forward and plucked a kiss on my cheek.

“You wouldn’t mind rubbing my shoulders before I get dress, now would you?”

Without saying a word, Will began to massage my shoulders. I not quite sure how to explain what happened next, as everything in between seemed like a blur. One moment, I was enjoying the shoulder rub Will was giving to me. But after a few kisses on my cheek and neck, one thing led to another. I allowed my bathrobe to slip off my shoulders, with only the fabric belt keeping the garment situated around my waist and draped over my lap. Will continued to kiss me as his hands wandered about, with one ending up on my inner thigh, while the other cuirassed my left bre—

Not that we had much time to do anything, as a loud clang of metal armor suddenly echoed throughout my room. Almost as soon as Will and I had become carried away in this moment of passion, Athena had materialized at the doorway of my room. When the goddess saw us, she merely shook her head and rolled her eyes. Much like when a parent would happen to stumble upon their daughter getting busy with their boyfriend, anger wasn’t present in her eyes: just disappointment, and maybe a tinge of awkwardness. We, on the other hand, were like two deer caught in some headlights, frozen in place when we immediately recognized we were no longer alone.

“Well, I guess I have returned just in time before you two could do anything stupid,” Athena announced as she stepped into the room. In total embarrassment, Will and I remained entirely still, not quite sure what to do.

“Come on now! We don’t have all day, even with my powers,” Athena snapped at us. At her urging, we started to part ways. While Will crawled off my bed, I covered myself back up with my robe. I could see in Will’s eyes that he didn’t want to go. And I couldn’t blame him, as his choices would be either to cower in some corner and hope the aliens don’t blow him up or be left in some empty void while unconscious. Unfortunately, we both knew that the latter option was safer for him. After one last kiss, I went over to Athena.

And in a blink of an eye, I was alone in my parents’ house. I sat there for a few seconds before hoping onto my feet and getting dressed. Since I was going to be dressed in my superhero costume for what would come next, I just pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt so that, if for whatever reason I would need to get out of my costume, I wouldn’t be stuck only in a robe.

As I finished pulling my shirt over my head, I paused for a moment when I saw Will’s suitcase sitting next to my dresser. He must have brought it in after our shower. An idea popped up in my head. After I shifted through his clothes, I finally found a graphic tee, one with a Spider-Man print on it and immediately exchanged it for my own shirt. Weirdly enough, even though I knew that Will was in some pocket dimension right now, the fabric clinging to my torso eerily made me feel like he was still embracing me, thereby calming my nerves to a degree.

“It is time,” Athena alerted me as she reappeared once more. She placed a hand on my shoulder in preparation for teleporting to Pacific Point. The moment before we warped out, I reached down and deactivated my power nullifier. Why not have the process of getting ready happen while we’re in route?

The bright California sun blinded my eyes as Athena and I arrived at Pacific Point. Once my eyes had readjusted to the light, I caught sight of the current state of my home. Alien ships zoomed about the skyline, although it seemed like something had put a dint into their forces. The streets were drenched with water, as if it had down poured all day, an rare occurrence in sunny Southern California.

“Arachne?” I heard Emily’s voice call out. My fellow Viera model was dressed up in her Pinup superhero persona, her normally brunette hair was currently a vibrant red. I’ve always meant to ask her how she does that, but it either always slipped my mind or I couldn’t talk about it without revealing our alter egos. As she hurried towards me, she never glanced towards Athena, who had remained next to me. The Goddess of Wisdom must still be invisible to everyone except for myself.

“I thought you were back in Ohio?” Pinup asked.

“Well, I was there, but it seems like you all could use a hand, or at least a few legs,” I replied with a smile as I tapped the display on my power nullifier. Since I had not had time to procure a new copy of my normal Arachne costume, I was still stuck with the one belonging to my 90’s version. The California weather was way too warm for a bomber jacket, so I found a setting that would stash the coat away wherever my costume was stowed while keeping the rest of the outfit intact.

“Oh, that’s a cute necklace. Did your boyfriend give it to you?”

“Necklace? What necklace?” Flustered, I immediately rubbed my fingers over the exposed skin just below my collar bone until my hand brushed up against the cord of the wooden fish necklace. Sighing in relief, I spoke up again: “Oh, that necklace. I guess you can say he gave it to me."

Even though Emily was wearing sunglasses, I could see the emotions in her face change from confusion to a moment of eureka to an expression that could only mean TMI.

“Did our good Catholic girl finally turn to the dark side?”

“What?” I exclaimed, clearly regretting opening up this Pandora’s box, “No, no. Will and I are married now.”

“Wait, when you said you were heading home to attend a wedding, I didn’t know it was your wedding!”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t our wedding. It kind of was a spur of a moment thing right after invasion began.”

“When did you have time to get married?”

“Um...that’s complicated. Honestly, I’m not sure how the timeline works,” I answered Emily.

“Anyways—” I said in an attempt to change the subject, “we should get back to this alien invasion.”

“Agreed,” Pinup answered. Before we headed out, I ran my hands through my long, blonde hair and pulled it back into a ponytail so it wouldn’t get in the way during the battle. However, I realized I didn’t have a tie or scrunchie to keep my locks in place.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a hair tie, would you?”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Character you have created: Liam Porter
Alias: Citadel
Speech Color:Olive
Character Alignment: Hero
[...]
Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:No

@DraconiWarlord

Accepted.

Also, to post pictures:
[img]Put url to image here (preferably from an image sharing site, like imgur)[/img]

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Previously On Create-A-Hero

Aubrey Adkins | Will Grant

Day of the Arlaaekan Invasion

Columbus, OH

I didn’t think Father Ed would ever stop talking. While it took us a little coaxing, Will’s and my old parish priest did finally agree to marry the two of us. Usually in a Roman Catholic marriage, the groom and bride-to-be have to complete a marriage preparation run by the parish for anywhere between six to twelve months. Since we did not have six months to spare due to the alien invasion, Father Ed didn’t reject our marriage request despite the short notice. However, the elderly priest had one stipulation to perform the marriage ceremony: we had to sit through a crash course that the regular marriage prep would have covered.

Yet, I noticed something strange had happened after Will and I tied the knot. Because Father Ed was cramming over six months’ worth of material in less than a day, it felt as if we were cooped up in that church for several hours. But once Will and I got back to the rental car, the digital clock inside told an entirely different story, as only thirty minutes had passed, somehow. Neither Will nor I could explain this bizarre temporal mystery. While it was a little unnerving not to know what had happened, I was relieved that I hadn’t been stuck inside a church while all my superhero peers fought off this alien invasion.

But before I could punch some aliens in the face, I wanted to make sure my parents were okay. Ever since we left for the Columbus Zoo, I had not heard from them. I just had to check on my parents first. Otherwise, they would be in the back of my mind for the rest of the day and that would definitely distract me when my attention should be on stopping an alien invasion.

My heart fluttered when I pulled up into my parents’ driveway. I was not sure what distressed me more: not knowing whether my parents were safe or having to tell them Will and I got hitched on a whim? And I wasn’t the only one who was nervous. I had noticed Will had been checking his phone every couple of minutes or so.

“Feeling the butterflies, too?” I asked Will.

“I’ve been texting my folks ever since we left the zoo, but I have yet to hear back from them. I’m really concerned that something—”

“Don’t think like that. I’m sure they’re fine,” I reassured him, although I truly didn’t know what was up with his family, as I’m not a telepath, after all. I reached out and interlocked my hand with his. The stress of an alien invasion, the unknown status of his family, and having gotten married just less than an hour ago was causing his body to shake.

“Let’s do this,” I said. Will merely nodded.

With each step I took towards the front door, my heart beat harder and harder against my chest. We had reached the front door and I retrieved the spare key when my heart sunk. As I started to insert the key into the lock, the door creaked open at my slightest touch. Turning to Will, I pressed my finger against my lips and then gestured inside.

My father always stashed an aluminum baseball bat in the hallway closet. Not that a metal stick would do much against an advanced alien race, but it nonetheless reassured me. Plus, my parent’s house was not designed with my arachnid physique in mind. Even if it were, I couldn’t risk a chance onlooker spotting my true drider self through one of the dozens of windows on my parents’ home. So, I had to stick with the baseball bat. At least I played softball up to the collegiate level.

I creeped down the hallway; my hands gripped at the bat’s handle. In the living room, the television blared. The smoke of burn food reached my nose as I continued down the hall. After I peaked around the corner and saw nobody in the living room or the kitchen, I rushed to the oven. My mom had left brunch on the stove top and never removed it. What would have caused my parents to evacuate the house in such a hurry that they risked burning the building down?

The charred bacon and eggs almost made me hurl. So, I immediately tossed the ruined brunch. Yet, while I discarded the food, the wood flooring back down the front hallway creaked. As Will was standing right next to me, I knew it wasn’t him. With slow strides, I tip-toed to the corner right before that hallway. My heart raced as the steps came closer. Was this going to be my first encounter with these invaders? Or was this just some jackass taking advantage of the chaos caused by this alien apocalypse? Whoever they are, they’re going to be eating aluminum soon.

As soon as the intruder had gotten only a few steps away, I threw my weight into my swing, Yet, instead of the crackle of bones or a clang of metal, a hand caught the bat and even imprinted her hand onto the shaft.

“Athena? What the hell? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“You would have recovered,” Athena retorted.

“No, that’s not what I—ugh! —whatever. Where are my parents?”

“I have whisked them, along with both your other relatives,"—Athena pointed at both Will and I—"away to a pocket dimension where they’ll slumber until this cataclysm has passed.”

“And what if we don’t win?”

“Well, they would expire in their sleep, none the wiser. But it will not come to that.”

I just gave Athena a blank stare after I heard her speak so nonchalantly. Not that it came as a surprise to me: she wasn’t human, after all. Nonetheless, her explanation was not at all comforting, placing even more pressure on me to get out there and lend a hand. But I decided to pivot the conversation, as I didn’t want to dwell on the image of my relatives floating in suspended animation for eternity if the invading aliens happen to win and conquer the Earth.

“So, I guess you’re here to usher me off to the front lines. When do we leave?”

“Not quite yet. I still have to move him to safety,” Athena answered me, as she gestured towards Will. “In the meantime, I want you to rest and prepare yourself mentally for the task at hand.”

“Wait, by the time you leave and return, it’ll be only a few minutes. What type of rest would that be?”

“I have created a temporal anomaly around this abode. You should have plenty of time.”

“A temporal what?” Athena sighed when she heard my question.

“Time will flow slower within these walls. Seconds will feel like minutes and minutes like hours.”

“Wait, we just experienced something like that back at our Catholic church. You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?”

Athena’s left eyebrow perked up as the goddess heard my words. Before she answered me, she paused for a moment, as her lips were curled. The cogs were definitely turning inside Athena’s head. She finally spoke up after the short pause.

“I would have to look into it, but that has to wait, as we have more pressing matters at hand.”

From the expression on Athena’s face, I could guess she knew something. This time distortion was way too specific for this to be a coincidence. Yet, Athena was right in a way: aliens were invading Earth. Figuring out what happened back at the church would be pointless if a bunch of little green men conquer this small rock that we call home. I will have to remember to bug Athena about this later, assuming we get out of this mess in one piece.

“Anyways, do you really have to take him”—I reached out and pulled Will next to me, shoulder-to-shoulder—“right now? I’ll be able to relax better if he’s here with me.”

Athena furrowed her brow before giving her response. “Since I still have to track down a few more of your relatives, I guess—”

“Oh, thank God. I guess you have a heart after all.”

“But you two better be ready upon my return.”

“When have we ever disappointed you?” I replied. However, when Athena started to rub her chin with her free hand, I interjected again before the goddess could say anything. “Okay, don’t answer that.”

Athena merely shook her head before departing. Once she was gone, I grabbed Will’s wrist and began to drag him towards the staircase.

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Well—” I trailed off as I tried to explain to Will what I wanted to do in the few minutes (or was it hours?) Athena had gifted us. I turned to face Will, still holding onto his hand. With my free hand, I began twirling the ends of my blonde hair. “Since we went through all the trouble to get married, I thought we should, well, you know, consummate it.”

For a moment, we stood there, staring at each other, as what I had said registered in Will’s head. He rested his freehand on my lower back. We each drew closer to the other, until our lips met. My heart raced while we kissed. However, my conscious nipped at the back of my mind, as if it were telling me that I shouldn’t be here, that I should be fighting the invaders and saving people.

When our lips parted, I looked into Will’s eyes and asked, “I am a terrible person for wanting this intimate moment with you while aliens are invading and people are dying? My mind is urging me to help the other heroes, but my heart yearns for this moment with you, just in case it is our las—”

“What? Of course not! Athena was going to leave you stranded here anyways. You have a big day ahead of you. You gotta unwind somehow.”

“I love that about you.”

“Hmm?”

“The positivity. Always looking on the brighter side,” I replied. “But if we’re going to do this, we better get to it. God knows when Athena will be back.”

Now that we were on the same page, we scampered up the stairs and down the hallway to my bedroom’s door. However, right when I started to twist the door handle and push it open, Will wrapped his arms around my waist and halted me from entering.

“Wait, shouldn’t I carry you across the threshold? What do you think, Mrs. Adkins-Grant?” Will smiled right after he said my new name. Long before I ever considered marrying Will, I had not yet decided whether to take my husband’s name or to go the hyphenated route. Now that I have heard ‘Adkins-Grant,’ I kind of like the ring to it.

“Well, then, lead the way, Mr. Grant.”

I wrapped my arms around Will’s neck before he swept me off my feet. I kept forgetting that both of us had been temporarily replaced by parallel universe versions of ourselves, whose appearances we were for now stuck with (not that Will changed much in his appearance). Once Will had carried me over the threshold of my bedroom door, we didn’t waste a moment. As he carried me over to my bed, our lips mashed together. He eased me down onto my bed. What happened next seemed like a blur, as our hands explored each other’s bodies. It wasn’t until his shaking hand began to touch my power nullifier.

“You want me being all spidery during our first—”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he interrupted me before planted another kiss on my lips. As soon as he deactivated my power nullifier and my arachnid physique became manifest in all of its glory, we immediately returned to the foreplay. Goosebumps broke out on my skin as he focused on my spider half: my eight, spindly legs, the exoskeleton ridges on my cephalothorax, the soft and bulbous abdomen with my two—

Anyways, at this moment, we were starting to strip off each other’s clothes. Obviously my shorts, socks, and all were discarded during my transformation back into a drider. Will’s nervous fingers crawled up my spine until they reached the clasp of my bra. While it took him a couple tries to unlatch it, he eventually freed the girls from the prison formally known as a bra. Slipping the straps off my shoulders, I tossed the undergarment onto the floor. When I turned by gaze back to my husband (I still can’t comprehend that we’re married!), I noticed he wore a perplexed glance.

“What?”

“It doesn’t look like anything has changed, except maybe they look bigger. I guess they really do have a gravitational field of their own.”

“You’re such a goofball,” I answered back.

A few days ago, Will and I had an open discussion about our sexual boundaries, especially after that elseworld version of myself, while technically in my own body, tried to guilt Will into sleeping with her. We both agreed on saving our first sexual encounter until after marriage. And since we just got hitched, that wasn’t an issue anymore.

We also discussed some of the complications involved with my drider physiology. As volunteering for a live dissection to figure out where exactly all my organs are wasn’t on the top of my list of things I wanted to do this summer, Will and I had, up to this point, to extrapolate from normal spider anatomy. Let’s just say that my spider abdomen houses some important organs and that makes the vanilla missionary position quite untenable. And that doesn’t take into account that, even if he would lie flat on top of me, his head would only reach my navel. So, there was going to be some Twister-like canoodling involved in this one.

After some serious contorting and bending under my bed’s sheets, we finally found something that seemed like it would work. Sure, even with leaning on my side and curling my torso towards Will, I still had a foot or two on him. Well, I suppose he wouldn’t mind the view. It was at this moment that everything became so real. My heart was beating like the engine of a locomotion. My hands trembled. A voice inside my head was second guessing every decision I had made since we left for the Columbus Zoo. But I wasn’t going to let eight cold feet stand in my way.

“You’re ready?” I whispered to Will. I tried sounding confident, but my wavering voice betrayed me. He nodded in turn, although I didn’t need my spider-senses to tell that he, too, was nervously trembling. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. I bit my lip and prepared myself for what came next.

“Wait!” Will suddenly uttered as he pressed his knees against my spider abdomen to stop it from descending.

“What’s wrong?”

“We can’t do this,” Will said as he pulled himself up to be face-to-face with me. Disappointment dripped from his face as he spoke those words.

“Why not?”

“Remember what happened on our first date?”

At first, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. As far as I could remember, that date turned out pretty well. Sure, we did have our awkward moments, but we were still figuring out our comfort zones. The Sunday mass went on without a hitch and that Greek restaurant wasn’t too shabby, although the whole fortune cookie knock-offs were a little—

“Ah, shit,” I uttered as everything came back to me. Will got this really bizarre fortune from that restaurant. While we first thought it was the most roundabout way to encourage people not to drink and drive, Athena had explained that I would get insta-pregnant the first time Will and I slept together. As much as I wanted to think that Athena was trying to enforce her own virgin lifestyle onto me, my past experience with this Greek goddess forced me to take her warning seriously.

“It would be our luck,” I continue while I rolled over, so as to be lying next to Will, “for us to get cockblocked by some stupid Greek prophecy.”

For a minute or two, the two of us just lay in my bed, side by side. Will did eventually wrap his arms around my waist in an attempt to make the most of our ruined moment. We went through all the trouble to get married and we can’t even have sex? Sure, I’m a little bummed about it, but this has far greater repercussions. We’re too young to have a kid right now: Will’s going to be starting grad school in the fall (or at least that’s the plan, pending one alien invasion) and I’m still trying to figure things out, whether this modeling thing will work out. Plus, a superhero side job isn’t the most conducive to raising a child. Does this mean we’re not going to be able to have sex for the next couple years until we’re ready to bring a new life into this world? What the fuck?

Then it came to me.

“Wait, what if we were to continue in a way that would have zero chance of getting me preggers?”

“I don’t know. Oracles from Greek mythology have a way of screwing over people who try to bypass them. Oedipus and his family would be exhibits A, B, C, and D.”

“Yes, but they didn’t have the benefit of science and actually knowing how the human reproductive system actually works.”

I could see the inner conflict playing out on Will’s face. Although he wanted to get on with our little romantic moment as much as I did, he also wanted to take the responsible action, considering the ramifications we luckily just recalled before we did the deed. Since my husband still hesitated, I leaned towards his ear and whispered something into his ear (what I said is none of your business). Will’s face immediately grew flush, glowing brighter than the red on my costume.

“Wait, you’re fine with that?”

“Hey, the other me wanted to perform it on you a few days ago. What the hell, why not?”

“But what about you? I don’t want this to be one sided.”

“Oh, I got that covered. Remember what I told you after I embarrassed you in front of my mom two days ago?”

“Of course. And you still have explained what you—”

“Why tell when we can do some hands-on learning,” I interrupted him by pressing a finger against his lips. I then pulled my shirt off over my head and tossed it onto the floor. “So, make those hands of yours useful.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Character you have created:

Alias: None

Speech Color: lawngreen

@Indy Cooper

REJECTED...just kidding. I have to read it first.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 3- Shattered Dimensions

Christopher Arthur III

Lost Haven, ME

“Guardians, when I said let’s gather up, I didn’t mean to dilly-dally and smell the roses,” Chris snapped at the others over their communicators that were connected to his suit’s computers. He had given all the members of the Guardians these card-sized devices so they could effectively coordinate their efforts. If they happen to get out of this apocalyptic scenario alive, Chris knew he might have to schedule some drills to practice their assembling time.

And Chris needed help now more than ever, as his fight with the Arlaaekan had grinded down to a stalemate. Although Chris might have been able to take on the alien invaders one at a time, the group transports that Arlaaekans had been sending down to the surface had created pockets of dozens of soldiers. Chris definitely did not want to field test how well his armor would stand up against several blasts from the Arlaaekans’ energy weapons all focused on a single spot on his suit. All he could do at the moment was give civilians cover as they retreated to safety.

“I programmed our communicators to locate one another,” Chris explained over the intercoms, “but if you would prefer directions, I’m located 12 blocks west north-west of Lost Haven University. You can’t miss the mass of aliens clogging up the streets.”

Chris peaked over the wrecked SUV he had been crouching behind and launched a missile from the wrist of his amor at one of the Arlaaekans, whose attention had been drawn elsewhere. As soon as the explosive payload left his armor, Chris immediately ducked down, and luckily so, as several green beams soared over his lowered head. At this rate, he would be surrounded before he could take out all of soldiers in front of him.

“Alright, I’m here. What do you need?” Iron Knight heard Radiance’s voice come from beside him as he saw her take cover behind the same SUV. Chris could not quite put his finger on it, but something looked off or different about her. Maybe divine was the right word.

“I don’t know if we can do it by ourselves, but we need to slow these guys’ advance,” Chris suggested.

“Then maybe you need a boost?” Radiance replied as she reached out her hand. Giant sparks were dancing off her fingertips.

“I don’t think that’s how it wo—”

A jolt of electricity radiated throughout Chris’ armor. Yet, he did not feel any pain or shocks. In fact, the readings displayed on his helmet UI indicated that the power surging through his suit was off the charts. All the systems were running at an efficiency higher than anything he had recorded while testing out his armor.

“Or I guess it does,” Chris admitted, still stunned at how Radiance’s powers had interacted with his power suit. “Anyways, cover me.”

The boosters on Chris’ feet launched him several feet into the air. As he descended, Chris drew his sword. The blade’s edge sparkled with lightninglike plasma, even more intensely after the supercharging Radiance had given Chris. With one downward swing, he struck one Arlaaekan on the right clavicle; the alien crumbled to the pavement as Chris landed.

[Energy Beam Incoming]

Chris miraculously sidestep a blast from one of the fallen Arlaaekan’s comrades. He counterattacked with another wrist rocket. The ballistic missile slammed into the Arlaaekan who had fired at Chris and sent him flying backwards in its mangled armor.

“Alright, who’s next?”

---

Earlier

Upon Olympus on high, Hermes fluttered about, rushing to and fro between the abodes of his brothers and sisters, his uncles and aunts. The messenger of the gods eventually came upon the luxurious home of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. Hermes found his half-sister soaking in a nature pool beside her dwelling. The waters sparkled purely in the sunny light that poured upon Olympus’ high slopes.

Yet, Aphrodite was not alone. Eros, her son, hovered about, while the three Graces sat at the edge of the pool, dipping their legs into the clear water. All their eyes were locked upon a small puff of clouds that floated over the pool. The cloud displayed a scene playing out on Earth. A blonde woman and her beau stood before priest of that religion that had ousted the Olympians from their hegemony in the Mediterranean. It took Hermes a moment to recognize the woman, since she was not all spidery at the moment, but he recalled she must have been Athena’s favorite.

“Greetings, Aphrodite!” Hermes hollered as he approached, “Our Father has called for a council of the gods and he requires your presence immediately.”

“What terrible timing,” Aphrodite complained as she raised out of the pool. The Graces took the goddesses clean clothes and draped her body. “My schemes have almost been consummated. A tragedy it shall be if I miss it.”

“Then you better leave at once,” Hermes suggested before zooming off again to pass the message along to the next Olympian.

Aphrodite rung out her silky red hair before setting out for her father’s halls. Once she was ready, the Goddess of Love held out her hand and watched as her body dissolve into a whirlwind of butterflies. The cloud of butterflies fluttered towards the portico of Zeus’ palace, where Aphrodite reformed herself. Within the halls of Zeus, many of the Olympians had already arrived, while more filed inside to their seats, although none dared to sit before the King of the Gods had done so first.

Once mighty Zeus had taken his seat and the rest of the Olympians followed suit, Gray-Eyed Athena was the first to speak as she rose up from her chair.

“Lord Zeus, the father of gods and men, have we become so complacent in our ivory tower to forsake humanity in its hour of need? Did Themis in vain pity Promethides after you released the deluge upon the world? Does your underworld brother keep a steady guard over the Titans and the Giants for just a danger from the stars to threaten the mortal realm? Even you, father, smote Clymene’s foolish son with your forked lightning bolts to prevent the sun from scorching the Earth and rendering it barren.”

“If we do not intervene, the Earth sure will fall and humanity shall be eradicated. With the mortals extinguished, our last anchor on this plane shall be severed and we will quickly fade into nothingness. Not even the techniques and technology we have developed to maintain ourselves in our weakened states will be able to save us. Are we so devoted to our mandates and accords that we would prefer our own mutual destruction to a breach of our sworn prime directive? Swift action must be taken, else all shall be lost.”

Zeus wore a somber expression on his face as he sat in his throne and listened to his daughter’s recommendation. Once Athena had concluded her speech and returned to her seat, the father of gods and men stood up and addressed the assembled Olympians.

“No fault can I find in your words, Tritogeneia. Indeed, even I have grown lax on curbing divine intervention in human affairs. Yet, we have stayed without the bounds of the exceptions in the mandate we agreed upon with our brethren pantheons. This alien invasion does not fall under that purview. Humanity forsook us long ago. To us immortals, humans are like unto the leaves of the trees. Springtime births the buds of arboreal foliage and summertime nourishes them into maturity. But autumn causes the old leaves to wrinkle and the winter winds seal the deaths of any that had not fallen yet. So is the race of men.”

“Yet, do not fret, my daughter. A council of the pantheons have been summoned and I must attend as our representative. While I do not reckon the other chief gods will arrive at a different conclusion, the fickleness of our kind makes anything possible.”

Once the father of gods and men had finished, he concluded the assembly and departed upon his chariot, drawn by divine horses. The remaining Olympians watched as their lord soared through the sky and vanished upon the horizon. Now left alone, the siblings and children of Zeus disperse to their own abodes upon Olympus on high.

Aphrodite rushed back to her home, as she did not want to miss any of the juicy romance the Goddess of Love had manufactured. Yet, before she could relax in her pool, Aphrodite noticed another four-horse chariot charging through the sky. At the reins was Zeus’ favorite child, Athena, not doubt intending to aid the mortal heroes, whether it be her spidery pupil or someone else.

“Eros, my boyish child, I must check on my handpicked hero. I would hate to have to find a new champion if the mortals happen to repel these extraterrestrial invaders. I will be gone for only a short while. Yet, fetch me if things start to heat back up down there,” Aphrodite commanded as she pointed to the cloud she had been using to eavesdrop upon a certain drider and her new husband.

With her commands given, Aphrodite transformed into a dove and fluttered away. Through the metaphysical path the Olympians had long used to traverse their own divine realm and the mortal world below, the Goddess of Love descended upon Lost Haven, where she found the Iron Knight out numbered and outgunned by the Arlaaekans.

Seeing her champion in need of aid, Aphrodite pulled the oldest trick in the Olympian playbook. Once she flew down from the roof, she changed her appearance once again. But this time, Aphrodite took on the form of one of Iron Knight’s fellow Guardian, Radiance. The Goddess of Love was not quite as good as Athena at hiding her divine figure while in a mortal disguise, but this effigy should suffice. Just like how Diomedes raged upon the battlefield of Troy, Aphrodite’s divine power would tip the scales in the Iron Knight’s favor until her real allies could arrive.