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HOUSE OF M(ETA)
HOUSE OF M
A DREAM IS A WISH…
In dreams you will lose your heartaches,
whatever you wish for,
you keep.
Anti-Meta sentiments are on the rise. This is no secret. Check the news and you see it, politicians arguing about the dangers that superhumans pose to the world. What if they go rogue? What if they stage a mutiny? How can they tell that heroes are really the good guys, when so many of them have secret identities. In the last week, multiple protests against metahumans potentially moving to their cities have broken out across the United States. Some cities have proposed legislation that would make it illegal for metahumans to live within their borders.
Excelsior is leading the charge, politicians are looking to ban any metahuman whose abilities are not technical in origin from living there.
It is little wonder, then, that so many go to bed dreaming of a better world. One without the hardships of this one, or of the one they endured before.
Meanwhile, across the country, Sunset Falls is in a state of change. Mayor West finally has candidates willing to take the position of Mayor from him. This shift in the city's attention prevents anyone from paying much mind to the odd and potent energies taking shape. Sure, there are strange occurrences happening. A young woman walks by the school and immediately forgets her name, her job, and where she lives. Others report a strange feeling of being watched. Those sensitive to it may feel something otherworldly and strange hanging in the air. Bearing down on them with oppressive force.
And, dear heroes, as you know - two forms of surging energies create what is known as a Confluence.
In dreams you will lose your heartaches,
whatever you wish for,
you keep.
Anti-Meta sentiments are on the rise. This is no secret. Check the news and you see it, politicians arguing about the dangers that superhumans pose to the world. What if they go rogue? What if they stage a mutiny? How can they tell that heroes are really the good guys, when so many of them have secret identities. In the last week, multiple protests against metahumans potentially moving to their cities have broken out across the United States. Some cities have proposed legislation that would make it illegal for metahumans to live within their borders.
Excelsior is leading the charge, politicians are looking to ban any metahuman whose abilities are not technical in origin from living there.
It is little wonder, then, that so many go to bed dreaming of a better world. One without the hardships of this one, or of the one they endured before.
Meanwhile, across the country, Sunset Falls is in a state of change. Mayor West finally has candidates willing to take the position of Mayor from him. This shift in the city's attention prevents anyone from paying much mind to the odd and potent energies taking shape. Sure, there are strange occurrences happening. A young woman walks by the school and immediately forgets her name, her job, and where she lives. Others report a strange feeling of being watched. Those sensitive to it may feel something otherworldly and strange hanging in the air. Bearing down on them with oppressive force.
And, dear heroes, as you know - two forms of surging energies create what is known as a Confluence.
THOSE LEFT BEHIND
You wake to pandemonium.
An emergency broadcast is blaring across any transmissible signal. A Confluence of unprecedented size has struck. Half of the country has been consumed by it.
By noon, there is a quarantine in place - not that anyone seems to be trying to leave the affected area. No, this quarantine is to prevent people from trying to go in. Unauthorized access is not permitted, not until the capes in charge have a better idea of what is going on. Once again, the Godfall Protocols are enacted. All able-bodied metahumans are recruited to the task, and once again, the Starfallen will find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder with those far weaker than them.
This time there is no giant monster to fight. Just a barrier, invisible to the naked eye, that seems to alter anyone who enters into it. The early metahuman scouts report themselves to be unaffected for the first few hours, but any normal humans who enter this space quickly find themselves… no longer themselves.
Atomight, Frances Starling and Mechanima are all at the Alliance HQ. For once, the three faction leaders seem to be in perfect harmony. This is a bad idea, they cannot send their people into this No Man’s Land… but they have no choice. The Godfall Protocols are what they are, they were created for this very reason. Though they are not arguing with each other, the government agents suddenly standing in HQ are telling a very different story. The three of them are not hiding the fact that they are all too aware that their “freedom” comes with a price, and their resentment is reaching a boiling point.
At some point during these early hours, Atomight finds himself temporarily locked out of his office. While the three leaders are distracted trying to regain entry, Fantastic takes center stage and begins issuing the most scripted heart-felt speech you have ever heard. Unlike the other three, he doesn’t seem to care much for what he could be sending people into. This is not a speech meant to inspire confidence that all will work out in the end, that the weakest among them will be taken care of, it is a speech to inspire soldiers.
By the end of this first day, they have gathered enough information to make a determination. The Starfallen seem to be more resilient to whatever effects are occurring than the rest of the population. They are called to a unique, private meeting - one in which all three leaders attend.
“We don’t know what you will be facing there,” they state plainly. “But we know you have the best chance of making it out with your minds intact.”
The choice is yours. You can help secure the area, you can retreat to Little Love and hope that this expands no further, or you can step into the unknown.
You can engage with the leaders here.
HOUSE OF (M)ETA.
Inside the quarantine zone, all is well.
Your alarm rings a little late and you find yourself groggy and briefly disoriented, as though waking from a very long dream. One that you find yourself considering to be unpleasant, and not worth thinking about. You stretch and slide out of bed, perhaps kiss your partner good morning and prepare yourself to wrangle your children and get them prepared for school, but today is like any other day. The world is as it always has been, and you find yourself oddly comforted to know that things are not as bad as they could be.
And then your day begins.
If you are a card carrying member of the Guardian Alliance, then you report to work before most of the world is up and running. Atomight appears to be busy in Central City, as he is not present and is not answering any calls, but you know what to do. The Guardian Alliance is all about finding ways to be useful, without enrolling in any of the government run Metahuman departments. It pays less, and you have to have frequent check-ins with actual government approved heroes, but you find a measure of freedom in it… though the pressure is immense. One wrong move and you may find yourself imprisoned for “irresponsible” use of your powers, branded as the reason why metahumans should stay under the thumb of the government after their service ends, and not allowed to organize themselves in fear they may take over the world.
If you took the darker path, then you will find yourself reporting to an ordinary office building in whatever city you live in, for a boring job that you do not have. Villainy is not a safe passtime, but those who band together tend to stay alive a little longer. The Society of Villainous Reformation exists to provide the community that most villains lack. Villainy comes in many shapes and sizes, and the Society has all sorts. The only uniting factor in this faction is the fact that you do not want to be used the way heroes are. You want to use your powers as you see fit, whether that means you get an edge on tests or rob banks to your heart's content is up to you.
Or are you a vigilante? A complete wildcard, answering to nothing and no one but your own personal sense of justice? Vigilantes have a reputation for being brutal and efficient, needing none of the teamwork and oversight that the guilds use. They are also generally less accountable, unless The Society or the Guardian Alliance steps in.
Starfall, formerly Starstruck. He was one of the first heroes to enroll in the government's War Hero project, which has now become a mandatory military service for all young metahumans upon reaching 18.
The most concerning thing right now in the world is the cult, the Battlements of the Shining God. They are known to sacrifice people to their fearsome God, stating that it will give them the power to put things right. But… you have never seen them in person. Only heard of the wreckage they leave. But disturbingly, if you tune in to the nightly broadcast that the Dreamers of the Willow Maiden put out to help lull you to sleep, you will note they seem… off. Warning of a war that is coming. You are fairly certain you can handle a confrontation with them, though. After all, nothing you couldn’t handle has ever happened.
And as you fall asleep at night in this perfect world, in your perfect life, you swear you hear The Lady herself whispering in your ear. Wake up, wake up, this dream is not yours to live.
Yet when you try to hold on to those words, they slip from your thoughts. And when you awaken, all remains as it should be.
SNAP BACK TO REALITY
For those who agree to go into the quarantined zone, you find yourself given the best gadgets both the Alliance and The Society can offer. They are unsure how to prepare you for this, though the scouts that made it back say that things seem… fine. Peaceful, even. Everyone seemed so happy, but they did not recognize them.
Contact will be difficult to maintain. The radios were functioning while they were inside, but it seems that the further they went into these zones, the worse communication got.
When removed from the quarantine zone, those who were affected regained themselves bit by bit. Some held on stubbornly to their illusionary life, but when presented with undeniable evidence of the life they had before, and reminders of any joy they found within it, they came back to themselves.
“Are you saying that they have to befriend them to remind them of their sanity?” Mechanima asks, torn between incredulity and amusement.
“What he’s saying,” Frances cuts in, “is that they need a reminder that they have a life worth living outside of whatever the hell is going on in there.”
Atomight nods. “This appears to be a shared delusion manifested by magic. So, a mass psychic relay would be the best way to break the hold. However, it will take time to do safely.” He turns to the gathered volunteers. “Your job is to start cracks, so the whole thing shatters when we deliver the final punch… and no one soul is left bearing the brunt of that psychic backlash.”
There’s a moment of silence. You find yourself being handed resources for your trip inside - no weapons, just first-aid kits and any items you may have told people to gather that could remind your lost friends of who they are.
"This is going to change everything," Atomight continues. "Even if all this goes to plan, the fact that it happened at all means things won’t stay like they’ve been."
He doesn’t elaborate. Mechanima’s mask turns to troubled static, and Frances throws a glance back towards the Alliance’s tents. Many of the native metahumans are gathered, and Fantastic is posing for photos with them. The hashtag #METASTOTHERESCUE has been trending for hours, and were you to believe social media, Fantastic is the one leading the charge.
You turn, take a deep breath, and walk through the invisible threshold into another world. The teleportation devices you have been given will take you directly to the city of your choosing.
IN SUMMARY...
- The unrest in Excelsior and the upcoming election in Sunset Falls has caused a massive confluence, which has affected a great portion of the country.
- Anyone within the border of these affected areas finds themselves thrust into an alternate universe, wherein they lived a very different life as a native citizen of this world. In this version of the world, the Godfall Incident never happened.
- All metahumans - regardless of if they belong to Society, the Alliance, and the Unaligned - find that the Godfall Protocols are being enacted, meaning that metahumans will be conscripted into assisting. Knowing most metahumans do not stand a chance against whatever metaenergies are causing this, the leaders of these groups are asking the Starfallen to enter willingly.
- Being in the alternate universe for more than 72 hours will make you start to believe that you are part of it. It is very keen to assimilate you into it, and you may find yourself slowly developing false memories the longer you are in there.
- Exiting isn't an immediate cure, but the longer you are out, the faster you will come back to yourself.
- You can bring your AU-affected friends back to reality by reminding them of who they are, and that the life they have outside of the bubble is equally good as the one inside.
- Anyone who wants to sit this one out can kick back, relax, and enjoy some Kansas hospitality. Little Love is a safe area and will protect any citizens who do not feel capable or are unwilling to jump into the unknown.
Please direct any questions regarding this log HERE.
no subject
[He smiles at "flitting" and the continued flirting.]
You're probably right about what I'd have been like if they finished the job. Walpert definitely tried her best to mold me into the perfect little soldier. But I had this trainer, Clark...until he passed away. And different people I was around in the squad that just...gave me another angle.
It wasn't all bad. It's nice having...direction, you know? Purpose. Knowing you're doing something good? But it's not worth it if you're hurting someone that doesn't deserve it.
[He gives him a crooked smile.]
So I don't regret it. The really weird life experience. I need to figure out how to get us out of this mess, but I'm glad I got us into it if it means there's at least a shot of getting you through this alive. What Walpert asked us to do was unforgivable.
And you've been really brave so far. And pretty chill about the clone thing, which I appreciate. A lot of people have... preconceptions.
no subject
[ Direction. Purpose. Knowing you’re doing something good. Tim wants that, too. He has direction and purpose, but sports never changed anyone else’s life.
Maybe he’s okay with staying hidden long enough for that kind of end game. (Maybe if the next hidey hole has blankets.) ]
It’s not being brave. It’s being distracted. If you have something to focus on, then you don’t notice it what you’re scared of. The crowds, the chance of failure, the government agent who’d definitely eat you. Not you, King Snake.
I’m not a lot of people. You crashed through a wall and stopped me from getting zapped. You blew up your weird life to save mine. You really think I’d turn around and care that you’re a clone? Or that I’d care anyway? You can’t tell by looking at you, and I doubt you can tell at all, if you stop tucking in your shirt.
no subject
We can take a breath now, though. I think.
[He hopes. No one's come crashing in so far.]
You should rest. The sheets aren't as grody as the rest of the place. I'll keep watch for a while with my X-ray vision.
no subject
Okay.
[ Tim takes off his jacket and shoes, but keeps the layers for warmth. He lays on the bed like a patient waiting for a doctor. Very straight, staring up at the ceiling, keeping to one side. Sprawling over the bed with someone else in the room would be strange. ]
You should rest too. If something does happen, you’re the one who’s got a fight ahead of him.
no subject
Just try to rest. We'll figure out what to do next when you wake up.
no subject
Makes a show of dulling onto his side and curling up. He normally sleeps on his belly like a starfish, but he’ll get 17 kinds of plague if he puts his face in the pillow. He tries to stay awake anyway, because he wants to be alert if Con decides to nod off.
After about ten minutes of obsessing over every detail of what he’s seen, Tim just can’t keep going through the anxiety, fear, and adrenaline. He doesn’t fall asleep so much as his brain does him in enough hormones to tranq someone twice his size and hurtles him off the cliff of consciousness into a fitful sleep. Tim’s dreams are vivid and terrifying, disjointed sequences of places and rooms that don’t connect - a warehouse lead to inner city jungle to a dorm to a cave - with the only connections being a sense that he searching for something that he can’t find, while being chased by something huge, and the circus imagery that turns up in every location. A purple and green clown suit. A purple and green clown car. A sad clown painting that washes out the whole room and starts laughing, laughing, laughing -
And then Tim wakes up, just as hard as he fell asleep, and finds himself sitting up in the cheap motel, breathing like he’s been sprinting. ]
no subject
You okay? Your pulse is going pretty fast right now. Nightmare?
[It'd make sense, given how stressful the day before had been.]
no subject
[ His brain has completed the bootup procedure and determined that yesterday was not part of the dream. He’s in a motel with a runaway superhero, and people want to kill him. Two days ago, he was in school. His name is Rob from now on. This is fine. It has to be fine until it’s fine. ]
Just had a dream.
[ Tim pads over to the ancient 2-cup drip coffee pot and dusty packs of pre ground coffee. He frowns and starts to get it going. Desperate times. ]
So you can hear my heartbeat?
no subject
I have a lot of powers.
[He ruffles through their bag of supplies to get some things that are semi appropriate for breakfast. The pouches of tuna aren't exactly breakfast food but the energy bars are. Tim gets a noticeably larger portion.]
By the way, I was thinking about it all night. I think I have an idea of what to do. About everything.
no subject
You’re kinda impressive. Your powers, I mean. Not to value you as just one aspect .
[ He’s making idle conversation while the coffee brews and is poured. Tim sets a cardboard cup of black coffee on the rickety table beside Conner’s chair and picks up an equal portion of the energy bars. ]
What’s the idea and how can I help?
[ He would like his life back. As kind as Con has been, this is stressful. Should be stressful. Will inevitably be more stressful when it catches up to him. ]
no subject
If I can get proof off their hard-drives, we can give it to a reporter, have it get exposed. Even if the government is behind this they'll have to take down Walpert and the project to save face. Disavow them.
And they'll probably leave us alone because. Even if they killed us with an "accident" [air quotes] people would know who's responsible. They won't risk even the impression of involvement.
no subject
That’s… a very good idea. My father knows a few reporters well, when the time comes.
[ The names are on the tip of his tongue, but he’ll remember them by the time Conner is done breaking into government facilities. ]
If it helps, I’m good with computers. It’s my major. Holy smokes, I’m talking out this like it’s normal. Let’s not get killed, on purpose or on accident.
no subject
[He looks thoughtful.]
But...I can only manage some basics.
[He looks troubled by the fact that he may have no choice.]
If I bring you, I need you to follow directions. There'll be times you'll need to just stay under cover while I clear the way.
no subject
[ He takes a slow sip of his coffee, mulling it over. He’s not taking this lightly. His compliance has been steadily jumping from one best chance to the next. ]
If you leave me tucked away somewhere and you get caught, I’m as good as dead anyway. I can’t hide forever without your help. I’ll follow your lead.
no subject
[He hates that he's right, but he is. He's still better off at his side, rather than staying alone in the motel where the team might find him and finish out Walpert's orders.]
I'll pay for a few nights here, so we have a place to store our stuff.
We should try to travel light for the mission.
[It's easier to be agile in a fight without much on them.]
no subject
Just some light B&E.
He has to lighten the mood before it feels to … grim. (It is grim, but perception is everything.) ]
You mean, besides the extra 140 pounds of dead weight you’ll be dragging around?
no subject
[He may not be able to fight but he's pretty essential.]
I don't know if I could get in and out fast enough otherwise.
no subject
[ Feels like a lie, so Tim sheepishly corrects himself. ]
Well, unless school counts. I saw Ferris Bueller and wanted to see if it was possible.
no subject
[They're just going to have to wing it.]
[And wing it they do. It's not easy. Kon has to do a lot to keep Tim alive. Tim has to crack a government computer when he's never done it before. But they pull it off.]
[They manage to get away right when the squad shows up. Kon manages to throw them off his trail.]
Eventually they show up at one of the biggest investigative newspapers in the country, conveniently located in Central City. They're definitely worse for wear. A little battered and tattered.
[Kon looks at the flash drive in his hand.]
God, I hope this works. [A pause.] And also that the government doesn't step in and try to mothball me anyway.
no subject
[ He sounds more assured than he actually is. Tim would’ve liked to go about this some other way - a contact at the Post, Gazette, or Planet. Something less obvious than walking in the front door and demanding to be seen.
Which is, in fact, what they’re doing.
The lobby of the newspaper is crisp white, with a wooden accent wall behind the receptionist. The name in backlight Times New Roman.
Tim walks right past the desk and continues into the cubicle farm over the belated protests of the secretary. He’s not going to wait in the lobby to be seen. When he hears the first call for security, he announces in a loud voice. ]
My name is Timothy Drake-Wayne. I was abducted from campus four days ago, and I’m still in danger right now. We have what you would call a “scoop” on government misuse of funds and internal paramilitary operations for whatever reporter has the best track record on protecting their sources.
no subject
[One of the reporters raises her hand. She looks around at the other reporters. "Dibs!"]
["Dammit," says another reporter, realizing he's a moment too late.]
[The reporter waves away security. "Lenny, I've got this." And she waves them in the direction of one of the offices. "Let's go somewhere more private."]
[In the room, she closes the blinds and shuts the door behind them, then sits down at a conference table.]
["Alright, kid, this better not be you pulling my leg."]
[Kon holds up the flash drive.]
We have proof. I was a member of the project he's talking about, a military-mandated super team comprised of criminals working towards more lenient sentences.
I'm...a clone. I was confiscated from a secret project that had the goal of creating a superweapon with the DNA of a particularly skilled black ops soldier. I was conscripted - without much choice - into the project, which I was told was a legitimate operation of the US government.
But a few days ago, the project head, Samantha Walpert, asked us to kill a civilian - him - [He gestures to Tim] to cover up our operations. I refused and defected to save his life
[He sits down at the table and slides the drive over to her.]
We just broke into a facility run by the project to gather this from their computer systems. It was very illegal, but so's what the project is doing. There's proof on there that they've gone rogue and are taking actions outside of their mandate.
Walpert's obsessed with the idea that metas are a danger to society. She's been researching and collecting technology with the goal of depowering every meta in the world.
The project has also been using the tech they gathered to experiment on innocent civilians that were mutated by the supervillain Mutagenia. Not to cure them, but to see if they can be depowered. Some of these experiments have caused suffering or even death.
And Tim here is not the only one they wanted to kill to cover up the project. He's just the only one that's survived.
["...Woofta," says the reporter, looking at the drive. "Oh shit, that's...that's big."]
no subject
[ Tim uses the unnecessary clarification to pick up the reins from Conner, speaking plainly with the reporter. ]
I want my life back, and that’s where we’re hoping you come in. If the story is big enough, then we’re safe. Con might be safe now, but I don’t have the luxury of being able to tank the entire government.
[ Oh. Hm. Well, perhaps he’s not entirely safe. ]
The article shouldn’t use his being a clone against him. If people start pushing some cute spin where it sets up the negatives of clones to paint him as “one of the good ones”, as if the rest are bad by default, then we walk.
no subject
[Con nods a furtive nod.]
["But that's just one of their crimes....Allegedly. I still need to go over what's on here to verify what you're saying is true."]
[She holds out a hand to Tim first.]
["I'm Lilian Meritt, by the way. And just so you're aware, I am an investigative reporter. So this is definitely in my wheelhouse. Do you have somewhere safe to wait while I do some fact-checking? If not, I've got a friend who works in witness protection."]
I think it'd be better if we try to stay off the radar on our own. Sorry, I don't exactly trust anyone in government right now.
no subject
[ Tim will shake her hand, but his decision is deferred for Con’s. ]
They haven’t found us yet, so we must be doing something right.
I think it will become clear when you start asking your usual sources to corroborate any of this. You should arrange offsite copies before you do. They’ll try to seize them. They’ll tell you Guardian - that’s him - is a dangerous metahuman. I wouldn’t be surprised if they say he’s my kidnapper. He’s not, and I don’t have Stockholm syndrome.
no subject
[Con nods.]
We'll contact you to check on your progress. We'll be in touch.
[He stands up.]
Thank you. For being willing to take this on. It will be dangerous for you.
["Honey, I've written exposes on the mob. And exposed war crimes before. I'm well aware of the risks."]
(no subject)
(no subject)