A new city of supers!

[dsatow]

I like to think smaller, so since you are looking for some ideas, here some ideas for filler stuff.

 

• Donnie's: A pizzeria that mostly survived the alien attack.  It specializes in wood fired pizza and before the attack wasn't doing very well economically.  After the attack, it was able to stay open and feed a lot of the refugees for free.  The mayor has made Donnie's a cultural landmark.  The pizza's ok, the beer is cold, and many people still come to it as its a minor landmark/tourist attraction with items saved during the fall.
• 4th and Main: A small set of buildings that survived the attack (sort of) in the middle of a large blast area.  Designated a historic landmark.  Think Hiroshima Peace Memorial (google it).  Its a nice historic backdrop and can be used as a place where energies of the fight might still linger.
• The Atomic Pile: A comic book and supers fan store.  Run by a secondary class superhero with connections to some of the local first class heroes.  A nice guy, Andy Fisher, runs the place which basically would only make ends meet if his friends didn't come by every so often and lend guest appearances (or possibly, he blackmails them into doing it).
• Cuppa Joe: A coffee shop which set up for the construction workers during the rebuild.  Its food, notably the pies, and the coffee are so good, the coffee shop has grown to a small empire in the city.  The original has the best stuff though and is open 24 hours a day.  A good place for heroes to hang out after a large battle.
• Metronova Repair: A small fix it shop that's been in business since the reconstruction.  the shop has all sorts of parts and machine, some not of human design.  The owner is cheerful enough and seems to be able to breath life back into any device.  Rumor has it, some scummy people have hung around the store at times but the owner never complains.
• Dragon Knights Dojo: An eastern martial arts studio whose students help maintain order immediately after the historic battle.  The owner has changed a few times (the last one under questionable circumstances) in the past 50 years and the current owner is a disagreeable man who believes only the strongest survive and win at any cost.  The original owner is unhappy but old and unable to get the dojo back.  Maybe he just needs a proper student.

[Lunatic Fringer]

 

I like to think smaller, so since you are looking for some ideas, here some ideas for filler stuff.

 

• Donnie's: A pizzeria that mostly survived the alien attack.  It specializes in wood fired pizza and before the attack wasn't doing very well economically.  After the attack, it was able to stay open and feed a lot of the refugees for free.  The mayor has made Donnie's a cultural landmark.  The pizza's ok, the beer is cold, and many people still come to it as its a minor landmark/tourist attraction with items saved during the fall.
• 4th and Main: A small set of buildings that survived the attack (sort of) in the middle of a large blast area.  Designated a historic landmark.  Think Hiroshima Peace Memorial (google it).  Its a nice historic backdrop and can be used as a place where energies of the fight might still linger.
• The Atomic Pile: A comic book and supers fan store.  Run by a secondary class superhero with connections to some of the local first class heroes.  A nice guy, Andy Fisher, runs the place which basically would only make ends meet if his friends didn't come by every so often and lend guest appearances (or possibly, he blackmails them into doing it).
• Cuppa Joe: A coffee shop which set up for the construction workers during the rebuild.  Its food, notably the pies, and the coffee are so good, the coffee shop has grown to a small empire in the city.  The original has the best stuff though and is open 24 hours a day.  A good place for heroes to hang out after a large battle.
• Metronova Repair: A small fix it shop that's been in business since the reconstruction.  the shop has all sorts of parts and machine, some not of human design.  The owner is cheerful enough and seems to be able to breath life back into any device.  Rumor has it, some scummy people have hung around the store at times but the owner never complains.
• Dragon Knights Dojo: An eastern martial arts studio whose students help maintain order immediately after the historic battle.  The owner has changed a few times (the last one under questionable circumstances) in the past 50 years and the current owner is a disagreeable man who believes only the strongest survive and win at any cost.  The original owner is unhappy but old and unable to get the dojo back.  Maybe he just needs a proper student.

 

 

 Meta and micro.  A city is a big place with lots of empty if it doesn't have both.  Thanks for contributing!

 

LF

[Lunatic Fringer]

I thought about the UN Headquarters case, but knew that everyone would know what I meant.

 

The benefits - well, the real world record isn't that marvelous. That isn't a factor in a superpowered world.

 

There are/were real world cases of enclaves being separated from from their parent countries on a long term basis. Historically arrangements of this kind were usually established unilaterally, or with one side under duress. Examples include: Guantanamo Bay, Hong Kong, Macau, the Panama Canal Zone... These can be long term and fairly stable arrangements.

 

Most of these were established during periods when overt colonialism was acceptable. Doing it these days would require some fancy political footwork.

 

The main question is: could the UN do it? While it has administered territories on a short term basis, doing so on a longer term one would be a stretch. It could, I suppose.

 

Suspension of disbelief shouldn't be a problem in a superheroic setting.

 

1965 (fifty years ago) was the middle of the Cold War - nuclear holocaust hanging over the heads of humanity with two superpowers who had just avoided starting World War III two years before.  Now imagine that a monster from beyond the stars threatened the complete annihilation of all life on earth and was only, BARELY, unmade by the united efforts of an alien space armada, a team of incredibly powerful alien superheroes and practically every terrestrial superhero (and many supervillains, too) who could get to the scene, killing tens of thousands of people.  AND 40% of those who went into battle against it either died or disappeared, including the dozen or so most powerful beings on the planet who united and made the ultimate sacrifice to give the remaining alien superhero its shot at destroying The Entity.

 

It took World War II to get the governments of the world to agree to make the United Nations in the war's aftermath.  Just imagine what something like the battle against The Entity could get them to do.  I not only think it's plausible, I think it would be quite logical too.  

 

LF

[薔薇語]

If you are sticking with the Cold War Era foundation, then I think finding a universal cooperative may be hard. Perhaps the USSR cedes some for the Global benefit but I am not convinced. To be honest, all the "if we find aliens we will unite" mindsets out there seem a bit off to me. While I think there would be a lot of social pushing to be united against a threat, that wouldn't neccessarily lead to a surrendering of national sovereignty. And when you have massive and ideologically opposed nations like the US and the USSR, I highly doubt even an alien invasion would unite the world. Not unless at least one of those powers were ousted in the fighting. And if there were relics or other such remains left over, you can be sure that no world power would simply allow the other to have control over it. I could easily seem such a situation escalating into a hot war. But that is me and my view. Obviously to each their own.

Since we are talking about a world with Supers and some Super tech, having the city be younger seems acceptable. Plus that means that the PCs would be in a city that is really experiencing its growing pains. While 50 years may not be long in terms of city existence, that is at least two generations worth of people. Indeed, children born in the city shortly after the crisis would be seriously contemplating how they will retire by the time the game picks up. If I were going to choose a time for all this to happen, I would go with the Early 90s or late 90s. Both times saw a downturn in economic development, were after the fall of the USSR, and the US was already mired in some eternal conflicts. This would be a great staging ground for the US to expend a good portion of its military resources, further cripple Russia and Europe, and generally bring the world to the bring without a clear single nation leader (minus maybe the US still - but at reduced value). 

 

Other alternate locations , especially if we went with the Early 90s: 

 

British Hong Kong - A great area with a rich history. Still part of the West while having ancient ties to the East. If done before 97 (99?), the city would still be in UK control. The invasion that devistated Hong Kong made the economics of taking it over by China less desirable but since it was already slated to leave UK control, the UN interceded and took command while allowing it to be a kind of nation unto itself. 

The still struggling Singapore island nation. While already independent from Malaysia by the 90s, it could be a great place for the UN to take over for similar reasons to Hong Kong. 

Kuala Senglor and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia could be interesting spots. They are at a nexus point for South East Asian commerce like Hong Kong and Singapore but have an interesting history. They also would be the best locations in Asia for introducing a strong Muslim presence into the city backdrop. Also being connected by land and sea (the above two are really just islands), it offers greater ease of undocumented human traffic. It also would add to the tensions of a Malaysian city / state being taken over by foreign powers. 

Sri Lanka has been torn apart by civil war for most of my lifetime. It could make for an interesting staging ground. 

Anyplace in North Korea - This could lead the the UN re-igniting the Korean war but ending it with the final collapse of the North Korean Regime. South Korea assumes control over most of the peninsula but the affected areas turn into UN independent zones. This would help raise the prominence of China as they might end up sharing a boarder with the UNIZ. 

Busan in South Korea is also another option. Prime coastal city with a beautiful view. 

Macau - This works for the same reason Hong Kong does but of course this is the gambling center that used to be ruled by the Portuguese - not the trading nexus ruled by the British. 

Oman or Yemen could work. That would add in an interesting set of troubles. These are among the poorest places in the world but are rife with violence and religious identity issues. 

Israel is already somewhat like the city we are talking about. It was a country created by the UK and the UN. 

Anyway, those are some Asian continent options. I think Hong Kong, Busan, and Singapore would top my list of place in Asia to use as the backdrop. 

 

La Rose. 

[dsatow]

Still more micro gaming ideas

 

• Metronova Chronicle vs Last Crusade Weekly: Two newspapers fight it out for the readership of Metronova.  The Chronicle is an old school newspaper and operates a daily paper.  It has the majority of readership in the area and has many devotees.  It has many prestigious reporting awards for its news articles in the past 50+ years its been in business. Unfortunately, its slowly losing profit and going into the red like many American newspapers these days.  Its been trying to adapt to the times and had made some success.  (Think Metronova Chronicle = Chicago Tribune/LA Times/NY Times)  Unfortunately for the Chronicle, there is the LC Weekly, a smaller upstart newspaper.  With a smaller production run and lower costs, the LC Weekly is the hip new newspaper that the younger folk are starting to take a liking to.  The Weekly has no awards and the reporting isn't as robust as the Chronicle but it moves faster and has a couple of times beaten the Chronicle to a headliner.
• Le Magnifique: A fancy restaurant rated with two Michelin stars, Le Magnifique offers some of the finest food in the country at some of the highest prices (hors d'oeuvre start at $40 and go up).  Anybody who is anybody is seen eating at the restaurant.  Strangely, given its name, the restaurant is owned by Harry Hanzo, a second generation Japanese American.  He employs a largely Asian staff.  Given the clientele and the amount of money flowing through the club, Le Magnifique has has little trouble with supers or crime in general.  Given Harry's name and nationality, rumors state a squad of highly trained ninja keeps the peace in the club, but Harry maintains its the quality of the food and atmosphere that maintains the congenial nature of the restaurant.  He also adds any trouble maker would be banned from his restaurants for life.
• Summer Auto Sales: "Its Summer.  Time to buy a new car!"  Warren Summer is the car salesman to beat.  With three sales lots and the constant bombardment of ads, everyone in Metronova know of Summer.  Summer is every bit of the stereotypical car salesman except his cars are not lemons.  The cars all meet a minimum level of drive-ability and never resorts to sand bagging people.  On the other hand, he is good at getting people to pay more of cars than they otherwise originally were expecting.  His tv spots almost always sport attractive models of both sexes, usually happy at their more plainer partner buying a car from Warren.  Summer has a couple of retired super cars that are for sale but are extremely costly.  They are mostly there to pull in customers but he'd sell them in a heartbeat if someone would match his price.  Included in these super cars is the armored Beast, the vehicle used by The Hunter in his crime wave 20 years ago.  Warren bought the vehicle at a police auction and its on display at his headquarters.
• St. Eligius: A teaching hospital(yes, name stolen from St. Elsewhere), the hospital gets more than its fair share of victims of super battles.  Staff are torn whether supers are good for the health of the city based on the numbers of victims it encounters.  Still despite what side of the battle you are on, St. Eligius gives high quality health care to any who need it.  It's staff specializes in trauma, burns, and psychic damage.
• Goddricks Academy: A private institution for grades 9-12, Goddricks Academy trains not only the rich and wealthy but it serves as a new "hidden" magical school, training young mages to control their magical powers and protect them while they are vulnerable and young from the dark forces that may arise.  Because of the number of magical scholarship students at Goddricks, it is sometimes referred to as Goth High.  It doesn't help that the Academy's mascot is a scarecrow.

[Lunatic Fringer]

If you are sticking with the Cold War Era foundation, then I think finding a universal cooperative may be hard. Perhaps the USSR cedes some for the Global benefit but I am not convinced. To be honest, all the "if we find aliens we will unite" mindsets out there seem a bit off to me. While I think there would be a lot of social pushing to be united against a threat, that wouldn't neccessarily lead to a surrendering of national sovereignty. And when you have massive and ideologically opposed nations like the US and the USSR, I highly doubt even an alien invasion would unite the world. Not unless at least one of those powers were ousted in the fighting. And if there were relics or other such remains left over, you can be sure that no world power would simply allow the other to have control over it. I could easily seem such a situation escalating into a hot war. But that is me and my view. Obviously to each their own.

 

La Rose. 

 

All valid points and genuinely appreciated.    In order to remedy that, what if the Interstellar Federation opens a embassy/mission to earth in Metronova?  Earth is considered an enclave world, meaning that the federation has friendly relations with the people of earth including providing technical assistance to deal with the aftermath of The Entity's destruction (i.e. the rift and the spire).  However, they are not providing technology for interplanetary or interstellar space travel.  The international territory status  was given so that the aliens could have a place to operate on earth without showing direct favor to any particular earth government.

 

One day, maybe I can invent a bulletproof trial balloon that actually floats...

 

LF

[Lunatic Fringer]

The Story of The Gestalt

 

I like it here.  The city founders really turned this place into something nice.  I can feel the breeze on my face and hear the birds singing above the rustling of the leaves.  People chatter fades in and out with the sounds of footsteps on the concrete tiles of the plaza.  I can feel the sun on me, so pleasantly warm.  I can hear the wavelets of the pond breaking gently upon the shoreline of gravel nearby.

 

The sounds of the city are muted, but I can still hear the cars and trucks on the streets that surround me.  I can hear the whirring blades of helicopters and the whine of jets heading to and from the international airport.  Even more distantly, I can hear the rumble of a spacecraft’s thrusters as it leaves the spaceport far to the east.  I catch a whiff of the hot dogs a vendor is dealing from his cart, mingling with the smell of wildflowers on the glen beside the pond.

 

For a moment, I forget where I am, lost in the sounds, sensations and smells of this place.  It is a happy feeling for me, forgetting.  But it fades so quickly these days – and then, again, I remember where I am.

 

And then I hate it here.

 

It was here fifty years ago that The Entity was destroyed, along with the old city – the old city that I called home in my youth.  Gone now, like my sight and my sense of self; gone in a blaze of light and a blast wave that laid waste to everything within twenty kilometerss, except… except The Spire.

I was seventeen that day, getting ready to see Gabriela, a classmate who hadn’t rejected my advances and seemed to enjoy my company.  It would have been our first real date.  I’m blind, but I can still see her face, still smell the scent of her hair, and still feel the warmth of her hand clasping mine.

The news had been full of oddities that week – strange bursts of energy at the edge of the solar system at first, and then the appearance of a strange light in the sky with a number of objects converging upon earth.  Scientists were raising the alarm that earth’s magnetosphere was weakening and that earthquakes had multiplied around the globe.

 

But all that paled in comparison to spending an unsupervised summer afternoon with Gabriela in her swimsuit on the beach.  I dreamed of seeing her like that, the sun playing in her ebon tresses and along her pleasing curves.  It was supposed to be perfect.  It was going to be the day I told her how I felt about her and how I wanted her to be mine as we headed into our senior year.

 

You could see that strange light in the sky at night, pulsing and quivering like a star and yet too large and too close to be a star.  That morning, I was already awake in anticipation of the day ahead when I happened to look up.

 

The light in the sky was moving.  It was descending, getting brighter and larger.  Streaks of light flared out from its core, arcing toward unseen objects around it.  Every so often, there would be a flash and another small light would blossom, flaring and then fading against the growing light of dawn.

The object was falling, gathering speed as it headed for the southwestern horizon and then disappeared behind the screen of trees and buildings.

 

 Several other objects were falling as well, looking like meteors plunging straight down.  I took a few breaths and then headed inside.

The local television and radio stations weren’t on the air yet, but the Voice of America was on the air all night.  I hustled upstairs to my room to turn on my shortwave radio.

 

The reports were just starting to come in as I adjusted the fine tune knob.  It started with reports of large meteors falling on the western parts of the island.  A large luminous object had crashed to earth near Sabana Grande, a city in the southwest.

 

At that point, the city’s warning sirens began sounding, waking the rest of my family.  I had the radio warming up as they came downstairs.  The announcer was sounding nervous as information from law enforcers and city officials began to come in – the large meteors were actually wrecked alien spacecraft, the survivors weren’t human and the luminous object was moving northeast from its impact point.

 

The first hints of panic began tinging the announcer’s voice when another spacecraft landed near Ponce.  This craft was nearly the size of a city block and a group of strangely adorned creatures emerged from it.  Most of them were humanoid, at least, though there were some exceptions.  They came to stop The Entity, they said, but it was clear they had their doubts.

 

They explained that the monster was part energy and part matter, existing between the two states simultaneously.  The Entity was feeding on the energies of earth’s magnetosphere, and it was growing stronger.  Soon, earth’s shield from cosmic radiation would erode until no life could survive on the surface.  They also explained that the forces of the Interstellar Federation’s sizable space fleet had converged upon the solar system in a failed attempt to keep The Entity from reaching earth.

 

They called themselves The Foremost – a team of alien super-beings who helped defend the worlds of the Federation from threats such as this.  But they also asked the defenders and heroes of earth to assist them in stopping a monster that had already attacked two worlds, leaving millions dead in its wake.

 

Even as that was happening, my country’s superheroes – Montaña, Colibrí Azul, Lanza Roja, El Rayo and El Valiente – were joined by the units of the Puerto Rico National Guard near the city of Utuado.  They watched as the pulsing mass of glowing energy that resembled a great, long-legged spider nearly fifty meters tall advanced toward them.  And then they attacked.

 

To their credit, not a single one of the soldiers ran away, even when it became obvious that their weapons simply had no effect on that monster from beyond the stars.  None of the superheroes ran either.

 

El Rayo hurled thunderbolts one after another at the creature filling the air with a constant crackling roar that mingled with the reports of rifles, machineguns, mortars and cannons.  Montaña hurled huge boulders and brought down the sides of mountains upon the monster in repeatedly futile attempts to block or slow its progress.  Colibri Azul darted through the action, rescuing as many people caught up in the fray as she could.  Lanza Roja lashed the creature with all the mystic energies he could muster from his magic weapon. And El Valiente tore a tree from the ground and hurled himself at the creature with a howl of defiance, using it like a club.

 

It was so noble and brave that even the most stoic man is moved to tears by it, fifty years later.  And with all their combined might, all they could do was slow it down.  All of the heroes and nearly all of the soldiers laid down their lives to buy the rest of the world a little more time to respond.  In later years, they would call it The Battle of Utuado, but it was a massacre with barely one soldier in twenty surviving it.  And The Entity was still moving east.

 

The announcer on the radio was now urging everyone in the San Juan area to evacuate to the west.  People in Caguas were being told to head south.  Father told us all to get dressed and get into the car.  My little sister was crying, but I helped her get dressed and then we left.  I looked back at our house as we went, but my gaze was quickly drawn away by the sight I beheld in the sky.

 

Rippling, arcing lines of light were twisting down, converging on a point southwest of the city.  Earth’s magnetic field was being warped and distorted by The Entity as it drew more of that energy into itself.  The car radio crackled with static as Father drove, the announcer’s voice being drowned out at times.  He was saying something about the dangers of cosmic radiation when Father swore and turned the car sharply.

 

Traffic was already clogging the streets and the two major highways that could carry the flood of people were nearly at a standstill.  Mother was calling out directions with a road map, sister buried her head against my shoulder to smother her sobs of fear and father continued to drive, his expression hard and cold.  Mother suggested heading northeast toward Dorado.

 

People on foot begged for a ride as we passed them while men armed with clubs and knives tried to force father to stop.  Most of them managed to get out of the way, but a few weren’t fast enough and were thrown to the street after impacting a fender or the hood.  I closed my eyes and hugged my sister tight as the car lurched and twisted along.

 

And that’s when it touched my mind for the first time.  I feel your fear, young one, and it is justified.  But now is not the time for fear.  I need your assistance.

 

“What do you want of me?” I whispered.

 

I need you to bring the rest of this planet’s heroes here.

 

“And how do I do that?” I asked.  “I’m just a boy.”

 

No longer.  My mind filled with thoughts that were not my own.  I struggled to hold onto that part that was me and failed.  I merged with all the others – I was them and they were me at the same time.

 

You are now the gestalt of The Foremost and all the other members of your race.  I give this power to you because I am dying now.  The Entity has claimed nearly all of us, and there is another problem as well, but that can wait.  You are now the only hope your race has for survival.

 

“What do I do?” I tried to sound brave but it came out as a whimper.

 

The voice was faded and tired now.  I realized its owner was shielding my mind from its body’s anguish, and the horror of knowing that one’s time has come at last.  I could feel hot tears on my cheeks.

 

You know the names of the heroes of this world.  They are part of you as you are now part of them.  Call to them.  Call only the strongest and most powerful.  Bring them here.  Make them understand that they die today to save all that they love and protect.  Quantum String of The Foremost remains.  Once you know her mind, you can tell the others what to do…

 

The presence was gone and knew it was dead.  I gently merged with the mind of Quantum String.  She was wracked with remorse.  The Foremost had been closer to her than her own family.  And now they were gone.  Through her eyes I could see The Entity as it surmounted a mountain ridge.  It was larger now, the streamers of tortured magnetic energies flaring as they fed the creature.  She looked back the way it had come and I saw conflagration of strange energies swirling over a specific spot.  But I recognized the place – I had traveled through the area with father once.

 

“What has happened?” I asked her.

 

The Acolyte tried to displace The Entity into another dimension.  He has failed, but the rift between the dimensions remains open and stable.

 

I explained to her what the voice had told me.  “Now tell me your plan,” I said, “so I can tell the others.”

 

The Entity has already destroyed two other inhabited worlds.  The Foremost decided that whatever it takes, it will not destroy a third.  I will get as close as I can to it and change part of my mass into antimatter.  The explosion will disrupt the energy matrix that makes up the monster’s brain.  With no consciousness to hold the creature together, it will disassociate – violently.  Everything nearby will be destroyed, but your world’s magnetosphere will return to normal and your planet will be safe once again.

 

“But you will die,” I replied.

 

Yes, I will die.  And so will it – if I can weaken it first.

 

“I will bring help,” I said, “and they will know what to do.”

 

I could feel the sadness and guilt in her welling up.  Where do I go?

 

“Find me,” I said, “I will be bringing the others to me.”

 

In the end, nearly all of the heroes of the Western Hemisphere were there.  The ones who could not hope to challenge The Entity worked to get the area evacuated.  The ones who could offer some resistance threw themselves in waves at the creature to wear it down.  The most brilliant among them worked on a way to cut the creature off from the power it was taking from earth’s magnetic field.  And finally, the handful of paragons who could survive in the creature’s presence for a short time planned out their final play so that Quantum String could take her one and only shot.

 

Even while my body was still in the back seat of my family’s car, I arranged all this with the fantastic power given to me.  And yet, I had no time to revel in my newfound powers.  Even as I could hear the thoughts of everyone around me, I could feel the brave ones dying – sacrificing their lives in pain and rage.

 

The car reached Dorado as the battle raged in the southern suburbs of San Juan.  The United States military hit the creature with every fighter and bomber it could bring in.  I could sense from their leaders that other aircraft armed with nuclear weapons were waiting if Quantum String failed.

 

The Entity was wounded, if such a being could feel pain.  It was moving more slowly.  Perhaps the scientists’ efforts were having some effect.  Maybe the other heroes hadn’t died in vain, after all.  There was a glimmer of hope in those few final moments that perhaps it could be defeated without sacrificing this last handful of lives.

 

I was fifteen miles from the fight, but I stood and watched with my mind’s eye as the final battle unfolded.  The heroes coordinated their attacks perfectly.  Their minds linked through me, they acted as one.  They were magnificent as the monster seemed to be losing.  But I had forgotten that this monster was intelligent to some degree.

 

In retrospect, I know now that it was playing possum.  The Entity was waiting for the one hero it knew could truly kill it – Quantum String.  And when she finally moved up to attack, its body flared with energy that was beyond anything it had produced before.  Earth’s mightiest withered and fell in the storm of plasma, their bodies being torn apart at the subatomic level.

 

But as they died, Quantum String moved in, flaring like a second sun against the glare of The Entity.  And then they merged, the world turned white.

My body’s eyes beheld that light, the last thing they ever saw.  And my home city ceased to exist.  The blast tore out a crater nearly two kilometers across and laid waste to everything within twenty kilometers.  Falling debris rained down on the eastern half of the island for nearly two hours.

 

But The Entity had died.  The earth was saved.  And I was called a superhero for the role I played in it.  The world needed someone to thank after it was all over.

 

In the fifty years since, I have watched a new city replace San Juan, driven by desires and dreams of other people.  The United Nations sees to the needs of this country now, funded by the corporations and governments of earth that want a piece of a much bigger universe.

 

That’s because earth is now under the protection of the Interstellar Federation.  There is an embassy in Metronova that has no humans within its walls.  And that has helped all of earth’s inhabitants realign their priorities.  I should be happy.

 

But the memories of that painful day still fester, even if so many good things came out of the horrors.  Everyone else can read about the brave men and women (and other entities), see the few films that survived, but they cannot know as I do what it was really like for them and all the others who lost their lives.

 

After the dust settled, US Navy divers probed the depths of the crater that was blasted out by The Entity’s death throes.  They found a large spire of some kind of crystalline substance, softly pulsing with type of energy that made up The Entity.

 

With the help of several superheroes, The Spire was recovered from the depths to be placed in a pond at the center of what is now called Memorial Park.  People who still have working eyes say that on some nights they can actually see the faces of the heroes who helped destroy The Entity on that fateful day.

 

I can still feel them, the psychic echoes of those heroes permanently imprinted within The Spire.  They knew the price they were going to pay that day for answering the call, my call, to action.  And they answered it anyway, for that is the nature of heroes – and a legacy that every other hero in the world must live up to, every single day.

 

And fifty years after the fact, here I sit on a bench, enjoying the first day of my formal retirement from being one of Metronova’s first superheroes – The Gestalt.  It is time for a new crop of protectors to take up the mantle, and time for this hero to find the right sort of mind to take on my powers so I can be myself again.

 

Feel free to comment.  

 

LF

[bubba smith]

very good

[Lunatic Fringer]

very good

 

Thank you kindly!

 

LF