Hound55

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

<Snipped quote by Hound55>

So I totally read that as "Whore Man" and I do not regret it

@PatientBean

Given who I'm basing the original Rex on... not an entirely inaccurate action.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

H O U R M A N
H O U R M A N

^{"Tick, Tock
Johnny May Be On-the-spot
But its Rick's Shot
The Man of the Hour IS HERE..."}

C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y _________________________________________________________ Rick Tyler _________________________________________________________ Unemployed - Aspiring Artist | Justice Society of America _________________________________________________________ Multiverse 668 - Prime | JSA is... Open C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - T H E D R U G - M I R A C L O ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► The people who have been known as 'Hourman' have done so by taking the drug, Miraclo. Invented by chemist Rex Tyler, Miraclo provides its user with immense strength, durabilty, speed, agility and endurance enhancements for one hour. At the conclusion of this hour the waste toxins generated by the body are naturally eliminated from the bloodstream in a process that lasts twenty-three hours. Rex Tyler, later in his career, began to alter the drug so that the active ingredients would only allow the drug to function if the user possessed twenty genetic markers unique to Rex's DNA sequencing, in an attempt to make the pills useless to anyone who wasn't him. It has since become apparent that seven of the specific genetic markers he chose to use are shared by his grandson Rick, and were enough to activate the drug, albeit in a limited capacity. The current Miraclo pills Rick takes do not possess that same significant limitation, but whilst his current pills are not perfectly matched to suit his own body's chemistry, they are slightly less effective than his grandfather's were. - J . S . A . T E A M & A S S O R T E D N O T E S J . S . A . T E A M & A S S O R T E D N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - O R I G I N A L J . S . A . ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Alan Scott - The Green Lantern Jay Garrick - The Flash Ted Grant - Wildcat Kent Nelson - Doctor Fate The Spectre Ted Knight - Starman Carter Hall - Hawkman Rex Tyler - Hourman Al Pratt - The Atom Prince Namor The Sub-Mariner Wesley Dodds - The Sandman Elizabeth "Libby" Lawrence - Liberty Belle Charles McNider - Doctor Mid-Nite Johnny Chambers - Johnny Quick Dinah Drake - Black Canary Terry Sloane - Mister Terrific Jeff Mace - The Patriot Robert Frank - The Whizzer Madeline Joyce - Miss America Bruce Dickson - The Thin Man The Red Raven Jack Frost Professor Elton Morrow - Blue Diamond John Sargent - Sargon the Sorcerer Larry Jordan - Air Wave Johnny Thunder Sandra Knight - The Phantom Lady - C U R R E N T J . S . A . ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Rick Tyler - Hourman Sanderson Hawkins - Sandman Beth Chapel - Doctor Mid-Nite Courtney Whitmore - Stargirl (Pending @DocTachyon app) - Wildcat Pat Dugan - S.T.R.I.P.E - J . S . A . N O T E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► The J.S.A. is less an individual unit or fighting force, and more a network of likeminded heroic types, with a loose affiliation who will collaborate to take down threats, villainous types and thwart crimes. Some have closer relationships than others and are more likely to engage in team ups, like any group. As such there's a far smaller fairly regular 'core' whilst others might throw their hands in when time or the situation permits. All are united in a common motivation though, and the name J.S.A has meaning for all who have ever been a part of it in any capacity. - P O S T C A T A L O G P O S T C A T A L O G _________________________________________________________ [+] - P O S T C A T A L O G ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ -

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT IF THE SUPER SOLDIER SERUM CHANGED HOW BIOCHEMISTRY WAS VIEWED BY THE PUBLIC INDELIBLY? Rick Tyler is the grandson of the original JSA Hero Hourman. This present JSA is comprised of legacies (and potentially small cameo appearances by...) the original WWII and beyond era team. It was an "open secret" that the original Hourman was Rex Tyler. He very much enjoyed the his playboy superstardom and lifestyle that was afforded to him as a highly prominent wartime chemist and moonlighting hero. Actions have consequences. P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ I'll be fleshing out the modern JSA. There'll be flashbacks to ye olde JSA. And connections in between. The listed modern JSA is not the full squad. There were also a few extra members post-WWII in the old JSA (Yes. Even more than that bloated monstrosity of a team list on the left). If anyone wants to play any character listed, whether they want anything to do with what I'm doing or not, just give me a heads up. I'm very flexible to change, I mainly just want to know that I can depend on the set characters I have in mind being there ONCE THE IC ACTUALLY GOES UP and I start to solidify the backstory stuff in my mind. Plot names and descriptions will be added here as things solidify. H O U R M A N F A M I L Y H I S T O R Y H O U R M A N F A M I L Y H I S T O R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ Rex Tyler - World War II As World War II waged on, and the United States joined the front after the events of Pearl Harbour, all hands were on the task of the war effort, looking for whatever edge they could provide. The SSR's "Super Soldier Program", headed by Doctor Abraham Erskine sought to create a new breed of super soldiers, altering a man's fundamental makeup through a thorough precise combination of vita rays and a chemical serum. Elsewhere private industries such as Bannerman Chemical put their efforts to similar minded projects. Government grants and exemptions from the draft were issued to these frontline scientists. The scientific frontier became possibly the most important frontier in this global war, but not the only one the increasingly desperate Nazi leadership sought. A young chemist with an adventurous streak, Rex Tyler, developed a new drug compound which he named Miraclo. The drug would never be announced nor patented however, as Rex (who's brash adventurous streak saw him test the drug on himself, in the rush to discovery in the hyper competitive market environment) was shocked at the effect of the drug which saw possibly even more dramatic effects to the user's strength and durability than even Erskine's method - albeit under more temporary and volatile conditions. But his adventurous streak also saw him put his discovery to an alternate use... Rex Tyler scrapped that method as a public project, but began on others. Developing more effective sulfa tablets for frontline medical use, 'stimulant' pills to contend with Nazis recent innovation of amphetamine usage, gas decontamination pills (which when news of their discovery was leaked, and their effects embellished, became a key propaganda tool in lessening German use of chlorine and mustard gas compared with the first World War. During this time, an assortment of strange and mysterious figures put their lives and abilities on the line to protect the Homefront from fifth columnists, Nazi saboteurs and a new breed of strange and creepy ne'erdowells that seemed to be cropping up in these trying times. A silhouette seen disappearing in plumes of gas, a man faster than you could imagine, rings and rods of power... joined by a man capable of immense strength and power, for an hour at a time. And in the other twenty-three hours, Rex Tyler became a major scientific figure for the era, and with so many able bodied men overseas at war, was one of the most eligible bachelors remaining on American soil. He frequently travelled between New York and California, where between talks at USC, CalTech and UCLA universities he'd often be seen on the red carpet at some rising starlet's arm or another in the Golden Age of Hollywood. It became an open secret that Rex Tyler, whose movements and schedule seemed to match those of the Hourman, and had taken to being introduced as 'The Man Of The Hour' at social gatherings and soirees held in both New York and California, as he revelled in the notoriety and lifestyle which it had brought him. Until questions began to get raised about why these fit, fighting men were being kept at home, whilst so many of the boys were dying on foreign shores. Were these men draft dodgers? There was some speculation that these questions were being pushed by the lead industry, as Rex had raised concerns about the widespread use of lead in paint and even petroleum in university lectures. Eager to not be seen as cowardly men, it was Rex Tyler and the Atom, Al Pratt, who were most ardent that the group take their talents to the Front. First the government tried to claim Miraclo for their own purposes, but were satistfactorily chastened after a demonstration of what just six men on the chemical compound were capable of, and a stern lecture from the Man of the Hour that the biggest threat to freedom wasn't that the drug not be introduced to the war effort... but rather if it should somehow find its way into the wrong hands and be reverse engineered, with the German's ability to mass produce pharmaceuticals... and what of Russia afterwards? At this point they already had a significant numbers advantage and were steadily encroaching upon Berlin. But there was still a task that these fine young men and women of the JSA would be able to lend their skills to... That other desperate frontier that the Nazis sought to exploit was the occult. Whether it had actual merit, or if it would merely make a fine propaganda boon to crush the faint hopes of the Nazis, there was a mission for this group of men and women who had begun to be known as part of the wider Justice Society of America. Whilst the Howling Commandos and other Allied troops were steadily marching towards Berlin, the Nazis were making a desperate grab for an artefact that was known as the Spear of Destiny. An item that reportedly could imbue invincibility upon its wielder. The JSA were put to task and whisked to Scandinavia in a race for the object. In which they were victorious. The hopes of the hun were squashed. The fine Allied men continued their march on Berlin unabated and victory was won. And Rex's playboy lifestyle went into overdrive... Austin Tyler - Company Man In 1960, young Austin Tyler, born to stage actress Wendi Harris would grow to barely know his father. And when he was old enough to, he wouldn't want to. He'd seen enough. An absent father who was all about his own selfish drive for adventure and the frivolity which came with such a life. He took the scraps he was left with... the name of being his father's son, to the University scene where hard work and another powerful drive, albeit focused on other things than his playboy father, would see him pick up a doctorate in chemistry and degrees in business management. Through shrewd investment and a network of subsidiaries he would seize the board and ownership of Bannerman Chemical, and renamed it TylerCo Petrochemical and Pharmaceuticals. A feat his father would never achieve. He gave a lengthy speach before the media about how his father had worked there, how his devotion to the work and his country had forged this post-war nation, and a bunch of other crap he didn't really mean nor care for. He was forging his own path. This was his hour. And he would use it to accomplish that which his father never could, nor even had the sense or drive to. Rick Tyler - Hourman 2000 In early 2000, Richard Tyler was born to Austin and Janice Tyler. Austin attempted to push his son into the family business, but like father like son, Richard Tyler rejected that plan. Going so far as to flunk out of high school chemistry after two different incidents involving an explosion, and the creation of chlorine gas. The following donation to the high school Science department was appreciated but still insufficient. Richard goes by the monosyllabic 'Rick', which is far too close to 'Rex' for his father's comfort. He's a talented young artist, but a self-professed 'beach bum'. He's often found at a beachside shack left for him by the grandfather he never met, now long deceased, with some co-ed or another. Much to his father's chagrin or horror.

---

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

I'm liking how long MB has been in this thread... bodes well.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

OOo Spider-Bat.

Ju-V

New NPC sheet:

Tachyon

T A C H Y O N

---

^{V A N Y S S A N E W H O P E ◼ T W E N T Y T W O ◼ F E M A L E}

^{"Witty Quote #1"}

▼ A P P E A R A N C E:

---

^{"Witty Quote #2"}

//STATS:

◼ HEIGHT | 5'6"

◼ WEIGHT | 125 lbs

◼ BUILD | Small in stature. Deceptively strong.

◼ HAIR COLOUR | Brown.

◼ EYE COLOUR | Hazel

◼ 'VOICE' TEXT COLOUR | Misty Rose - FFE4E1

◼ OTHER | Nil

//DESCRIPTION:

Small in stature. Mysterious in nature. Explosive in movement when she wants to be.

▼ B I O G R A P H Y:

---

^{"Witty Quote #3"}

WIP

▼ M O T I V A T I O N / O B J E C T I V E:

---

^{"Witty Quote #4"}

"Vanyssa Newhope" has no idea about how she came to be here, or the fact that she had previously been in a coma in the Mayo Clinic Hospital-St Mary's Campus in Rochester, Minnesota.

Her past is unknown to herself, or the rest of the facility.

For some reason, being brought through to the Aegis facility by Wynd (Poe) has caused something in her to 'snap to' and bring her out of her previous comatose state.

She's certain she has some kind of deeper, more meaningful purpose, but has no memory or basis for this belief. As such, she's quite taciturn, not knowing who to trust or who may actually be at odds with this great and glorious unknown purpose.

▼ A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:

---

^{"Witty Quote #5"}

//ABILITIES:

◼ Temporal Manipulation | "Tachyon" can move independently through time to some degree, and have the rate of time seem to slow or speed up around her. In some ways making her much akin to a speedster, but with various different subtleties which will become apparent throughout.

//SKILLS:

◼ Martial Arts | For some reason, Vanyssa is a highly competent, previously well-trained close-combat fighter. Capable of quickly and devastatingly bringing down opponents which would seem beyond her small frame.

//LIMITATIONS:

◼ Personal contact | Whilst Vanyssa can manipulate time around herself, physical contact with another seems to prevent her from properly using her powers. Her powers attempt to extend to both herself and whoever she is in contact with, which given her small stature is a strain she normally can't overcome (with great exertion she may be able to if carrying something/someone small like an infant or puppy).

◼ Muscular atrophy (temporary) | Vanyssa has, until recently, been in a coma at a Hospital. Due to this her muscular strength is not what it usually would be.

//WEAKNESSES:

◼ Amnesia | Vanyssa awoke when she was brought into the facility, but seems to have no memory of anything leading up to her arrival. Including her time in hospital. Her name and personal details are only known through identification cards found on her person, and the wristband attached by the Hospital.

▼ N O T E S:

---

//SUPPORTING CAST:

▼ ALLIES

◼ NIL |

▼ FRIENDS

◼ NIL |

▼ ENEMIES

◼ NIL |

//STOMPING GROUNDS

◼ NOT APPLICABLE |

//PARAPHERNALIA

◼ Strange Clothes | Having arrived in unique style with little in the way of possessions, she was provided with clothes by Aegis. The clothes that she was wearing on arrival do appear strange, and whilst somewhat clinical looking in appearance they clearly were not provided by the Hospital she came from.

Her entry will be in the same upcoming post as @Roman's Wynd, @Kuro's Bumblebee, @OldManMountain's new upcoming character (assuming they still want in) and @Mintz's Moth Man.

I'm working afternoons this week, and I'll make a decent sized dent in this upcoming entry post tomorrow, as well as do some legwork finding out who's still on board (and requesting pieces from the previous people to come up with this post.

Looking to see if I can get an application sheet from @OldManMountain pretty soon too.

Ju-V

Absolutely understandable, and I figured it might be the case for many.

Merry Christmas and all the best to you and your families.

Ju-V

<Snipped quote by Hound55>

I might allow until the end of the week for new and weird character apps. We've got three coming in soon.

If you have any ideas, you've got until then.

@Hound55

So yes, @OldManMountain, THIS is your in.

Ju-V

I'm still very interested in this story if y'all are accepting new players any time soon.

@OldManMountain

As I mentioned above, I'm accepting a few new "weird" characters (think down the vein of Doom Patrol or some of the more "out there" X-Men ideas). My next GM post will be intro-ing these characters, and I'll grab some excerpts off of people pertaining to their new characters for that post as well.

I'll give you all until a few days after Christmas though.

I'll also take a roll call and see who's still on board a bit after Christmas as well. I don't want to hammer people too hard or get into their business in the holiday stretch.

And since it's 5:30pm Christmas eve here, and I'll likely be busy over the next 48 hours... a Merry Christmas to you all, and when I get started again AFTER Christmas, I'll be looking to build momentum with the rest of you once more.

Hope you and your families are all well and merry.

Ju-V

The office decor was rich in reclaimed dark wood and stone, classicly designed and in stark contrast to the rest of the facility and even this wing's generally sterile looking interior and harsh stone exterior. A laptop rested on the desk. The chairs within were a high quality firm leather. A warmer refuge away from necesary order.

It was easy to speculate as to whether the reclaimed wood was meant to be something of a metaphor for their place in this facility and the Director's role.

But such a conection was beyond Brian's capabilities.

Taking his own seat he scowled at Noah from a face still caked in pepper spray residue, as his eyes burned in two ways. Noah’s scowl, however, remained fixated on the floor, her foot tapping against the floor as her mind anxiously raced with all the potential punishment scenarios awaiting her. But just in case either party decided to go for round two, the security staff who had escorted the pair made their presence felt in keeping the two separate.

"I'll make this brief for you, Brian. You've been here long enough. You know the rules." There was no sigh of resignation within his voice. No disappointment. This was duty. This was statement of fact. Cold and unyielding, more aligned with the decor outside of these walls than within. It didn't bode well for Noah, even if this was only her first run-in with this man. And he'd warned them less than a half an hour earlier on the sports court!

"You don't take these things into your own hands. You know that. You'll be having a 'cooling off' period." They anger left Brian's face, to be replaced with a look of concern. Whatever this punishment was, he was aware of it, and it was enough to bother him.

"Sir!" He exploded to his feet. Once again demonstrating remarkable quickness in spite of his size.

The Director held out a single hand. He didn't intend for this to be a conversation.

"A week. BUT we will inform you if there is any change in William's condition. You know how things work here, Mister McIntyre." The use of his surname to further emphasise and bestow the sense of personal responsibility upon Bulk's head. The kid Noah had been introduced to as Bulk looked crestfallen, but made no effort to argue the punishment. Was it because it would do no good? Or because he knew the judgement to be fair? Or did he fear that even worse was possible if he dared to respond like that?

"Now, leave us."

In the fraction of a second of a glimpse he gave Noah before he walked away, escorted under heavy guard, the redhead saw a change from the rage-filled face that met her before. But was this a brief look of concern for her, or was he merely looking at her whilst thinking of his friend and his dire state?

She would probably never know.

The room fell silent upon Brian’s departure, and the atmosphere felt heavy between the seconds until the door closed behind him and the few beats the Director took before addressing Noah. She expected to hear frustration: that such actions were unacceptable, explosive invective… But the thing was: Noah had never directly and intentionally used her powers on another person before. A hundred 'worst case scenarios' had raced through her head as she'd sat outside his office awaiting this time-- and given the sequence of events that had led Noah to this facility in the first place, these weren’t really outside the scope of reality. The guilt, anxieties and fear of the unknown consequences made her hands tremble, even whilst she kept her face firm and unwavering, if only to not make the other boy who was waiting think it was him that had got to her.

His tone now shifted, from a firm one of meting out punishment to those who had been made adequately aware of this place, to a slightly softer one which she had been yet to hear-- off-puttingly so.

"I had thought that I had made myself clear earlier in the gymnasium..." He opened, finally puncturing the uncomfortable silence. Immediately, Noah was about to explode with an outburst of an argument: that it was self-defense, that he'd--

Then she caught the wry knowing smile creased across his face. Perhaps he knew more about what had happened, what this Billy was like, that he truly did have it coming his way, than he first let on.

"You did. But did you see anything that happened before that?" She settled on as a reply, trying to control her nerves and avoid sounding combative or accusatory.

"He's a tricky one, William. We change up the camera cycles weekly, for a while there twice a week. It makes no difference, he sees the pattern and acts around them. It means there's never really any video evidence which corroborates people's stories. But there's also too much smoke for there to be no fire..."

"Then why the hell would you let him--"

"Why would I let him be in the first group of program-attendees that you all met? Well, first of all, that's usually left to random chance. But then I found it tends to work out worse if he's not brought in that way. A group of twenty, six long-timers, the new group outnumbers him. Maybe he targets one or two, but those six people have a lot more attention from the twenty wary new people who don't know what to expect. If your first encounter is from a larger group setting - say the cafeteria. There's too much going on around them. New people are even more vulnerable. Perhaps not the most satisfying answer, but it's the truth."

Noah began to get a sense of why the wry smile had crossed his face once Brian had left. Perhaps he was happy for some kind of justice to have met him, even if it wasn't institutional.

"I know why you're here, however. Your accounts of the incident with Mr Sterling, as well as my own suspicions as to what prompted such a response from you on this occasion with William..."

Just the mention of the name of the disgusting pig that was Howard Sterling was enough to elicit a bristling response from Noah. On this occasion, though, the figure of authority standing in front of her seemed understanding-- empathetic, even: a completely different experience from the one she’d had with the university officials. She remembered how his laying down of the law in the gymnasium took the form of a plea for empathy from the group rather than a group punishment, so maybe he was going to be reasonable, understanding and fair in her treatment here.

The Director opened a laptop computer that rested on his desk, and revived it with a quick tap of the space bar.

"Especially since, on this occasion, he left more evidence than usual..."

He turned the laptop around with a video already open and paused to the relevant frame. Billy had been distracted, caught off guard by the series of events and lost track on the cycle of cameras. His hand reached out in a claw-like grasp for a region below her belt.

"So what do you suppose he was doing here?" The Director asked. It was an incredibly confrontational question which he had seemed to spring on her relatively lightly, all things considered.

"The asshole was trying to feel me up." She answered through gritted teeth, discreetly trying to fight back the fight or flight response that activated in her the second she’d laid eyes on the video clip. The Director took a second to turn the laptop back around, and nodded understanding her response.

"That's good." He replied. "Your testimony combined with the footage should make it possible to deal with him should his condition change--"

He turned the laptop back around, and used a pen to point at another boy - the quiet, handsome one with the cool-looking hair she had seen on the bus - who was sitting in the background playing chess with the blonde girl she'd boarded the bus with. His own hand was also clawed over a chess piece, while his eyes were barely slits as he glared beneath his brow in concentration. It was an easy detail to miss. She certainly would have, even with the video still, had it not been drawn to her attention.

"But I was asking about him..." The pen tapped against the screen, right against his shock of discolored hair. The Director held tight eye contact, watching closely for her expression and response to the question at hand.

"I-- uhh-- he looks like he's playing chess." the young woman said dismissively, but the hesitation was enough to give her away. She certainly thought he was doing more than just that. She remembered how Billy's hand had frozen on the spot, never finding what he was grasping for, as if an invisible force was stopping him in his tracks… Even if she didn't understand why the young man had taken such actions to protect her in the first place, it was pretty obvious that he had been the one to save her.

But why would she snitch on the man and his actions? Rowell had said it earlier himself: to not take justice into their own hands? He might forgive her for her own response and be empathetic to her situation, but that didn’t mean he’d be so lenient with third parties getting involved and stirring up trouble.

Strangely, the Director smiled at her response, as if somehow satisfied by it.

"Perhaps..." He said. He turned the laptop back around and tapped in a few commands, looking down at the screen with a wider smile, before closing it again.

"I meant what I said earlier, about taking things into your own hands. But given how this specific situation turned out, and given that you were-- targeted... in this situation. Your probable concerns for how this would be handled after what saw you brought here in the first place, I think you've probably been through enough and know not to respond this way in the future? Yes?"

Noah had opened her mouth to respond when she saw Rowell open a side drawer from his desk and place some objects on the wooden surface, directly in front of her.

The vape pen and pack of spare cartridges that had started all of this.

"In fact, it's probably left you feeling quite anxious."

Frowning with confusion, the young woman looked up at the director and saw another smile there once again. She was immediately suspicious of the offering, considering what had happened the last time someone pretended to show her any form of kindness. But unlike the circumstances with Billy, this exchange appeared genuine, with no ulterior motives or hidden conditions.

"Oh my God, thank you" She replied gratefully as she pocketed the vape pen and cartridges before Rowell could change his minds, breathing a sigh of relief. It was a nice consolation gift considering the latest trauma she had been subjected to.

"I've been told your guitar has passed through security and should be waiting for you on your bed, once you get back to your quarters. Banks here will walk you back." He gestured to one of the two guards who still held her in close scrutiny. The red haired girl rose and was joined by the guard as they walked to the door.

"Dinner time will be in half an hour. I'd tell you let the rest of your group know but they've all been shown to their individual quarters. Just know you won't be confined there for more than the next thirty minutes."

Well, this had been a surprising turn of events. Rather than wallowing in despair at being given further punishment or being subjected to further trauma, Noah felt more in control than she had at any point since she got on the plane that day. She had regained her possessions, was being informed of upcoming mealtime, provided with means to control her anxiety, and even made privy to some of the behind the scenes facts of this place. The cameras, that animal Billy and his reputation… Even the strange actions of the cool-haired boy who seemed to be her hero in disguise (she’d have to tackle that later). Most importantly, her one-on-one time with the person who ran this place made her realize that he wasn’t a callous dictator, but a fair, reasonable leader open to discussions who kept his word and was willing to fairly punish those who deserved it.

Taking his last statement as her queue to go, Noah stood up, smiled at the older man and took her leave, allowing the guard to close the door behind her.

The Director re-opened the laptop and tapped some commands in, before smiling again at the screen.

"You want to know why I did that." He uttered aloud at the weighted silence from the remaining guard in the room. He didn't respond, but his posture suggested he'd hear any explanation which was provided.

"Two months..." He replied to the void. As if that was enough of an explanation in and of itself, until extrapolating further.

"Aegis provided two months of 'free, privately funded therapy' to him to find out what he knows… And got nothing. The report from the therapist was that there could have been twelve months of sessions and he still would likely say nothing."

The guards eyebrows rose, as he absorbed what he was being told, unquestionably.

"In that household, he's either an absolute fool who somehow knows nothing, or he's a genius who has somehow managed to bottle it all up and never said a word."

The eyebrows dropped as he took this new information, the further explanation, on board.

"A five minute look at his report cards down the years will tell you David Fermi is no fool..."

The Director turned the laptop around, a still image of the boy with the two-toned hair on board the bus standing over the sleeping red headed girl with his hands up, fear in his eyes like a deer caught in headlights, a look across his face as if he'd somehow he'd been left exposed to all the world, was left upon the screen.

"...so perhaps it will just take something else to get him to open up."

Justice League - The Unlimited Protocol

SHANE, THE CHANGING MAN

---

Shane gradually unpacked his delicates into the drawers of the Metro Tower dorm which would be his new home until...

...well, let's be honest, until they get sick of him and fling him out to the street.

Should it come to that, he suspected he'd be the delicate in question. A fancy coat probably not enough to hold back the will of a Kryptonian, a master of magic, a speedster, or most any of the types who called these four walls home. Power always has degrees, and Shane had never felt particularly powerful. No matter what the chick in fishnets had said.

It was a Hell of a fancy coat, mind.

Been enough to help him lay out a small crowd of people back at 'Metropofest: The Sounds of Tomorrow'. Some mouthy guy had told him to take it off, saying it was giving people headaches. He'd suggested he could probably do something better, like holding back his girl's hair since she was puking up a forty and a half's worth on the grass.

It turns out she hadn't drunk anything at all. And the guy apparently didn't care for the insinuation. Because violence came quick and fast.

A few minutes later and the scuffle had turned into something closer resembling a riot and there were about fifty to sixty people on the ground in varying degrees of distress.

In a very public place.

You know, the kind of thing which brings about attention. Attention from the types who wear their delicates on the outside...

Only it wasn't that bunch who turned up.

---

"Are you really sure about that one?" Doctor Mid-Nite brought up a hologram of Shane, which rotated, and brought up various details from a short Bio on the display screen, including the outline of a hand.

"Not completely. No." Zatanna replied, not instilling Mid-Nite with a great deal of confidence. "But my team is right. There's no better place for him."

"Had some issues getting into the building. Security went glitchy. Struggled to recognise his hand print."

"Hmm." Zatanna replied in an unsurprised murmur. "I suspect that just means the security system's working properly."

Doctor Mid-Nite's brow raised behind her mask, bringing out further explanation from the Mistress of Magic.

"That coat he wears. It contorts reality. It's not that the hand-print in the data-file is wrong. He's in flux. It's changing. I'm not surprised that it's taking a few attempts to recognise him."

"Reality? That's-- That sounds incredibly dangerous. Are you sure we can trust him with it?"

"Incredibly dangerous. So much so, I wouldn't really feel completely comfortable no matter who was wearing it. But there's two things which make me feel better about the fact that he's the one who has it."

"What's that?"

"He REALLY doesn't want to have it. But he has enough sense that he doesn't trust anybody else with it either."

Knowing her relief would soon be here, Mid-Nite closed the file. The rotating hologram and Bio disappeared from the displays.

---

Shane looked in his wardrobe, at the numerous coats and jackets he'd brought over thoughtlessly, only to now realise how superfluous they now were.

An obsolete wardrobe. Replaced by a single purpose M-Vest. A coat for all seasons.

His friends were gone. Some he hadn't even had the opportunity to piss away with his behaviour and general personality yet.

Or rather he was gone. They were still there, living the lives they'd built for theselves. The lives he'd drifted in and out of. Mooching, shooting the shit and playing his guest star cameo role.

To silent outside applause.

Would they miss him? Would they notice? Dragged away to this new life of his own he'd become 'one of those people'. The ones who get out. Who study abroad. Who look to a new career, a new purpose. Who miss the every day events, the minutiae, the gossip, the breath of the town you grew up in.

He was one of the ones who'd have to hear the stories in passing now. Not the one who'd tell as he bumped into someone familiar.

Because this place was anything but familiar.

He was surrounded by driven people, often absorbed in their own worlds. Most didn't have time for him.

And this was where he was expected to live now.

He closed the wardrobe and its past of choice that he'd left behind. It was depressing to think about.

He sighed deeply and then copped a breathful of some strange scent. Did they--? Did they have some kind of air fresheners in the dorm rooms?

He breathed in more, trying to get a sense of what it was, and where it could have been coming from.

*Sniff, sniff*

He followed his nose like a dog, before it led him to an overhead vent, he was considering what it could mean as his M-Vest began to throb and pulsate. Suddenly, a tinny voice echoed through Metro Tower's in-house intercom system.

"This is Red Tornado speaking. I strongly suspect that our base of operations has been struck by some type of airborne poison."

Suddenly the M-Vest regurgitated a stream of bones. Of flowers. Of pencil shavings and pinky toenails.

Shane's breathing, his heartrate rapidly accelerated. His hands came to the sides of his face.

"However there is a small chance the instance of gaseous fumes is coincidental, so I do not feel confident declaring it for certain."

He turned and looked around his room, suddenly a set of books on his desktop became a dozen eggs, before the eggs themselves erupted, yolk bursting over everything. His top drawer handle became a video game controller. Then a crying baby. Then he yelped as its screams were silenced as it became a shoe.

Was-- was the baby alive? Had he created life and then ended it just as fleetingly? Could he do that? What did it mean? What did any of this mea--?

Then his door burst open, and darkness exploded, and from deep within the darkness a woman emerged… who he scarcely had time to recognise before she turned into a lamp.

And that's when Shane started screaming.

"Regardless, please attempt to find a safe place to avoid further contact with potential toxins. pLease cHecK in oN thE moRe juNioR meMbeRrs anD ensUre thEIr saFeTy."

He threw himself behind the door and tried to hold it closed. To hold back the deluge of the most powerful people on earth, for their own safety. From him.

What was it the chick in tights had said the coat had been called before?

"The Madness vest--?"

He tried to take the garment off, but his arms were too long or the sleeves were too tight. Ridiculously too long. Six feet before the elbow. He couldn't get it off. And as he tried another slipped through.

A man with a golden shield who he'd briefly seen by the cafeteria, but never had a chance to learn his name, rushed in before he turned into a potted plant.

He threw himself at the door again. He started crying and his hands shook.

"sHaNe. pLeaSe heLp sHaNe. shOw nO reGaRd fOr youR oWn saFeTy aNd shOw thE wORld whAt lEagueRs aRe mAde oF. dIe bRaveLY aS aLl heROes doo-oo."

Shane lay on the floor in the foetal position screaming and rocking, the world surrounding him a tapestry made from the rapidly fraying threads of his own sanity...