STARS FALL

[metamods]

 

star light, star bright, first start i see tonight.

It's like a bomb goes off. The day is normal until it's not. Until it never will be again.

This is not a confluence. A confluence is an event, a phenomenon like the rain with mostly predictable patterns. It affects one area and one area alone, its effects isolated.

This is chaos.

Reports flood in from the world over. The news is wild with reports of bizarre happenings. No two events occurring appear to be the same. All of the wildlife appears to have gone crazy in the Northwest of America. A shard has fallen somewhere and is compelling all wildlife in the local sanctuary to turn on and invade the nearest town. A massive Labyrinth has appeared and consumed the entirety of the New York Subway System.

The only unifying feature is that all of these events are occurring where the meteors fell. And if they're not bad enough, there's still the issue of the missing individuals who have been teleported out into space.

Welcome to 2024, metaheroes. We're starting it off with a bang.

STARS BRIGHT

The world is in disarray, and Earth's heroes are scattering in attempts to mitigate as much damage as possible. Atomight has been seen jumping between Europe, Asia, and Oceania trying to help as many as possible. Mechanima's drones are spotted across the Americas, and every other native hero and villain with any kind of useful ability and a want to assist has been pulled into smaller teams to cover countries, states, and areas of the oceans where mayhem has erupted as the people of Atlantis rise to the surface. The island nation of Xinthal is reporting that they are fine, though they are unwilling to help with the pandemonium eruptiong elsewhere. Everywhere these shards fell is experiencing some bizarre phenomenon.

A call goes out to all metahumans, civilian or not. A one time exception. Insurance companies are willing to look the other way. Of course there are those that heed the call, some of them are there to help, but some of them? Are causing just as many problems as the others are solving.

Starfallen in both Guilds are asked to assist - those with first aid capabilities and knowledge are asked to help focus on patching together those injured in the havoc, and others with known combat capabilities may be called to focus on assisting specific areas. Teleporters are given out freely and many sorcerers and teleporters are opening wide doors inside the Alliance and Society headquarters to allow for quicker travel between affected areas. There are also several within Arcadia, which is also being repurposed temporarily as an aide station.

THE LABYRINTH

There subways are not running in New York City today. Civillians are spilling out of the terminals and into the streets, reporting that the subway has changed.

"It's like a maze," they say. "I think there's something in it."

It's not like a maze. It is a maze. Setting foot in the underground is like stepping into another world. Impossibly high ceilings await you, and the maze stretches on and on and on.

Where trains used to carve the way under busy city streets, now massive walls that rival the tallest skyscrapers touch the high cavern ceilings. Deadends litter the labyrinth, and many of them are doing their best to catch those within the labyrinth off guard: a light may appear at the end of a beautiful rose-filled path, but that light? It's a massive lion with a mane of fire, and he looks like he's been waiting for his next meal.

Another curve might lead to an abandoned convenience store full of snacks and easy meals, but it won't be long before the labyrinth starts changing, consuming the convenience store whole and anyone still within its walls. After all, it would be a shame if someone got too cozy. Madness awaits in here, as unless one is exceptionally careful they may never escape. The sounds echo. Something feels like its breathing down your neck, but when you turn you find nothing there. Any wildlife that may have lived here has gone feral, transforming into beasts better befitting an ancient myth. Sewer rats are now Dire Rats that roam in packs, all too eager to devour anything they find. Hands reach from the walls, eager to draw you in and hold you here forever with them. They promise comfort and whisper pleasantries, the world is harsh and they offer salvation and you should just allow yourself to be taken. The appearance of an unexpected friend may not be the boon you think, as the labyrinth is not above creating doppelgangers to lead you astray. These entities are always just out of touch, and it knows what you want the most.

After all, this city is full of dreamers. And the trains are where they so often drift, it knows just how to trap people in its grasp.

The Starfallen consumed by the labyrinth will find themselves eventually returned to the surface - though how they cannot say - it may be hours later, or even days later. The same cannot be said for anyone native to this world who falls to the trap. Regardless, any companions they've gained are no longer with them, any supplies they've picked up are gone, and they must restart their journey. Their drop-off point will be at one of the furthest points from the center.

The shard in the labyrinth is held by its guardian in its ever shifting center. Getting to it will require a team.

PET SEMETARY

In the Pacific Northwest, something is going on with the animals.

In the local animal sanctuary in a tiny town outside of Maine, a shard has fallen onto the bones of a long dead wolf. It died to poachers who had never even bothered to claim its body as bounty, and its fury has never fully abated. The skeleton's eyes light up as the energy surges and the creature throws its head to the moon and howls, and at once, the animals change.

Not juust the wildlife, but the domestic animals. Each of them has heard the call of the wild and as such, they change. Reverting from domesticated dogs and cats to things much older and wilder, turning on their humans.

The people flee, barricading themselves inside their homes. Their distress calls are clear - they want their pets saved, but their words are not reaching them. These beasts need to be contained and brought somewhere safe to be researched, so the power imbued in them can be removed and they can be returned to man's best friend.

And the thing in the woods needs to be dealt with. The skeletal wolf has grown several sizes larger than it ever was in life and glows with a powerful blue flame. The beasts of the forest are its loyal subjects, and all have inherited its bloodlust. It waits for a worthy challenger in the thick of the woods, but you'll not find it easy to reach it.

AFTERMATH

It doesn't end, but it does let up. The power surge going through the fragments can't last forever so eventually, the new incidents being reported globally die down. First aid stations are set up outside several of the affected zones as well as Arcadia, manned by volunteers and heroes alike.

But the effects don't. Unlike a confluence, they remain. New York still has a Labyrinth instead of a subway station even if the fragment is retrieved, and the animals who were affected by the wolf still remain feral. That will be an ongoing task to solve.

Still, more examples come day by day. Shadows begin coming to life and attempt to overtake their hosts in Southern Texas, non-metahumans suddenly find themselves empowered, and so on and so on and so on.

You may ask yourself if this is the new normal - and it is.

Though the efforts of the Starfallen are valiant, this is not a problem that can be so easily solved. These things fell everywhere the world over - and not just on Earth, they're everywhere.

This is a problem that is not going away any time soon. Missions will involve c containing these outbreaks. We strongly encourage cooperation and teamwork in resolving these issues.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ The shards have all activated at once, meaning that the world has gone from relatively peaceful to complete pandemonium. Where ever these shards landed is now faced with its own unique disaster

➢ A Labyrinth has consumed the New York City subway system. It will require a team to take it down.

➢ These events are happening absolutely everywhere. You can comment to the Assignment comment to receive a specific assignment, or can use any of the examples above.

➢ Teamwork makes the dreamwork! Work with people you haven't worked with before you receive fabulous prizes. Comment to the engagement post to let us know how you want to tackle these big issues.

Comments

NPC RESPONSES & ENGAGEMENT

[metamods]

Comment here to let us know how you'd like to tackle these issues or if you would like to speak to any npcs.

[purplexing]

...I do have to ask if Donnie's being on a team will complicate anything or have any adverse effects. Team 1 is leaning towards the labyrinths of NY.

[metamods]

Quiet the opposite! Donnie will find he has an easier time navigating the labyrinth than anyone else.

Best not to dwell on why.

[purplexing]

Oh cool!

...I'm sure this is fine.

[metamods]

Absolutely fine! No problems here!

Let us know how they intend to navigate the labyrinth and avoid and/or engage with the minotaur!

[purplexing]

Kyle's trying to see if they can keep track of where they've come from although for the most part they're more concerned about the way ahead, and Donnie suspects with the maze's shifting nature that a trail might not be effective in getting out the same way.

There will be some creature encounter/fights, but Donnie will try to keep the team on track, and if his goggles work, they should be able to see through any illusions the labyrinth conjures.

They might try talking to the minotaur first but are more than willing to throw down against it if a fight's unavoidable.

[metamods]

That is correct - their technology will help them keep track of where they've been, but they will find it does not work for escaping. Donnie's goggles will work and will allow him to safely determine what is real and what is face.

The Minotaur will not be responding to conversation as it does not seem to be particularly intelligent. It simply knows that these two have entered its home and would very much appreciate it if they left. It will bellow and charge at them the moment that they see him, but it is possible to defeat it non-lethally.

( closed to mayuko )

[honeybadgerer]

[ animals are her concern.

which is when the reports came in, gabby volunteered to check it out. she sniffs, trying to get an idea of what's going on. she glances at mayuko. ]

What do you think?

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko pauses in her adjustment of the guild-offered lightweight bodyarmor over sturdy civilian clothes; she's forgone her suit and mask this time because frankly, tromping through the wilderness after animals in that get-up doesn't seem practical.]

I don't think it's a disease, if there's this many kinds of animal affected. Someone or something influencing them, driving them berserk, perhaps.

[Sadly, this is not the first time Mayuko has encountered that scenario. She experienced the early stages herself, once upon a time.]

[honeybadgerer]

What, like an evil alpha animal?

[ that's her best guess okay. ]

[welcome_summer]

Right! Or it could be a metahuman's power going off on purpose, or on accident. Maybe even a machine of some kind, but that seems an Excelsior... thing. Too far to haul out to Maine.

[She finishes fussing with the armor and pulls out a map of the town and the surrounding area from her pocket dimension.]

While we're corralling the animals, we should keep an eye out for anything like that.

[honeybadgerer]

We could lure them out with food!

I do that with my dinos.

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko was a split second from nodding along when she caught that last bit.]

Dinosaurs? From here or ones you brought with you?

[honeybadgerer]

From here! There were dinosaurs in Excelsior but I managed to get them all in one place.

So now there's a dino park.

[welcome_summer]

... ah, yes. I remember the glittery ad for it. It sounds like they're in good hands.

[Better than becoming (or staying) someone's lab animals. She wouldn't put it past the mad scientist population.]

We have some support crew from my guild that can drop... I suppose meat and grains around this urban sector? Separately, of course. And we can see how much of the wild animal population has drifted in, or if the pets are holding their territory, before we head into the woods.

[honeybadgerer]

Really? That'd be great!

I appreciate any help, to be honest.

( closed to diana&donnie )

[torchbearer]

[ ugh. he hates working underground. it's cramped and difficult to move and generally A Pain. the ring lights up the way as they make their way steadily through the tunnels. he's in a bad mood and he knows it. jason hasn't returned and while kyle has a decent hold on his feelings, it's always a disaster away.

he huffs. ]

Tell me you guys know what you're doing.

[purplexing]

[This isn't how Donnie expected his visit to familiar territory would go. In some way he's a little thankful that it doesn't look familiar at all, if only because he wouldn't be consistently reminded that this isn't home. That's about the only good thing. Everything here is extremely wrong...

Given the response the strange shards had to him and vice-versa, he's not sure what to expect here, but he's on his guard, and at least he has no problem with underground spaces. He's also pleasantly surprised by the company he's been paired with.]

What, you've never traipsed around a sewer before? [He casts a grin over at Kyle.] I'd say home sweet home but um... that looks nothing like what I'm used to.

[His smile fades as he looks forward, the entire tunnel opening up impossibly. Well, at least it's not cramped...?]

[avatarfortruth]

[ The golden glow of the lasso at her hip offers a little more warmth to the green light which surrounds them and leads them through these unfamiliar tunnels. Even in her own New York, she had rarely used the subway; why would she, when it was always faster to fly?

Now, surrounded by these shadows, she can't help but think of Bruce and Jason, and of her own journey down into the dark, a long time ago. ]

The shards are of godly origin, but beyond that, I know only what you do.

[ Divine pieces of something or other; which is why, along with her lasso, Diana carries the golden bow of Eros and a quiver of shining arrows. ]

Fighting will be difficult in such close quarters, if it comes to that.

[torchbearer]

[ at donnie: ] I'm a space guy. I don't think I've used the subway in years.

[ like diana, once he could fly, it's the only way to travel. and he has nothing against it. he's just . . . wants to get this over and done with. ]

This is your area more than mine.

[ he'd sing the theme song, but he gets the feeling that'll be poorly received. ]

[purplexing]

Fair. Man, one day I wanna be a space guy.

[Or at least go there. He's working on it.

Diana's observations on the shards make Donnie tense a bit, but he nods in confirmation.]

Be careful with them, they have this sort of pull... I'm not sure if it's just towards Starfallen or anyone. If it's generated all of this though...

[He frowns. Just how powerful were these things? The ones he and Accelerator had found in Nevada only created a few golems, not warped an entire underground. Suddenly Donnie's glad that this isn't his actual home turf. He'd hate to think what would've happened if the rest of his family and their home got caught up in this mess.]

[avatarfortruth]

Yes. We must exercise caution. Perhaps, if we come across a shard, Kyle might be able to block it off, using the ring.

[ After all, his powers are nearly divine in their own right.

Ahead of them, the labyrinth yawns, huge and dark and full of shadows... aside from that gleaming dot there, ahead, in the distance. ]

Do you see that light?

[torchbearer]

You got it.

[ he frowns. the light was too quick for him to see. if it was there, but he trusts what diana sees over his own vision. ]

Should I light this place up? It'll give us away, but at least we'll see better.

[purplexing]

Probably for the best. I brought a container for it, so once it's separated from whatever it's affecting, that should suffice.

[Squinting into the distance, Donnie taps his goggles down before frowning.]

Thought I saw something, but this place is too saturated to make anything out from this distance.

Light'd better than stumbling around.

[avatarfortruth]

I think a little, Kyle, yes. If you don't mind.

[ For her part, she gives a little push off her feet and floats into the air, peering ahead. That light is still gleaming, and there's something else – a sound. A low rumble, like some enormous creature breathing. ]

I can't make out what it is.