Crap Flares.

Dena... What are you wearing?

What's wrong with this?

Well... It's a 70's party.

Yeah! I'm looking forward to it!

No... Well, lets go from top to bottom.

What do you mean?!

Well... The "Afro".

What's wrong with it?

I can see how you've tried to form it... Since your hair doesn't tend to curl, you were thinking you could make one out of a block of sponge.

Yeah! It worked!

Well, the shape is accurate... But it's the rest of it.

How so?

Well, you didn't have a block of sponge did you?

No... Just-

-Just kitchen and bathroom sponges. I can see how you tried to make a pick out of loofahs. I'll admit, that's creative.

Right?! It's pretty awesome.

Mhm... But it's all wrong. You didn't even try to spraypaint it one colour. Blue, green and yellow.

The can of paint was off... I was thinking it could be a rainbow afro.

...Right.

What else is wrong?

Well, the boobtube.

Yes?

It's meant to be fabric. Not plastic. Even if you wanted plastic, that's the late 70's, not disco era...

Semantics, semantics.

I mean, aren't you uncomfortable?

A bit. I thought that was the style.

...Beyond tights, boob curtains and afgan scarfs... you know dick about fashion, don't you?

Not really. But At least I tried...

Are you okay?

No... Up until now, I was coping with the flares.

...I'll call an ambulance.

Gordon Knows Some Creepy Shit.

Gordon... What's it like to suck a dick?

Hm... Well... Wait, hang on, why do you ask?

I just don't know, and I know you're gay and all...

Thanks for being so ...Mature. Tactful.

Look, I'm never going to do it, so I just wondered.

Alright... Well, it's like... Eating a pork pie.

...You don't... Chew, do you?

Are you fucking high, Terry?

You said eating! And PIE! The only part of that that even sounds sexual is pork.

No, you don't chew. That's dismemberment. And gross. I mean you have a mouthful of meat and skin. It gets wet, and hot. And you eventually have to chose wether you like it or not - Spit or Swallow.

Is that it? Just the feeling? there's no emotional connection?

Of course there is... If it's with a person you love. If it's just some guy, you're choking on cock for a quick fix.

Ah... I knew if I asked, I wouldn't be able to understand it.

Then why make us both uncomfortable by asking, if you knew that asking would leave you just as clueless as before?!

I just wondered.

Tch...

...Wouldn't it more be like trying to eat a chip shop sausage?

Only the black ones, bro. Only the black ones.

Life.

Life is a string of connected, mundane and very much annoying incidents.

There's no denying it.

But we keep going. Be it for a spiritual or biological reason. Hell, I'd even say there are some esoteric and possibly paranormal reasons why we get up in the morning with the amount of shit we end up dealing with in life.

I don't often quote from the bible, but there once was a man called Job. He was a faithful worshipper of God, and was incredibly happy with his life. Bear in mind this is the Old Testament, so something bad was bound to happen to him sooner or later. God tested Job's faith by raining tragedy, after tragedy, disaster after disaster, down upon him. Job lost his home, family (And from what I remember offhand, there were a lot of people in that family. Job was a "Bizzay" man.), and his life to the tests from God Almighty.

He never gave up. And God rewarded him for it. He went through the pain, suffering and sorrow, believing absolutely in God and his mercy, stating the equivilent of "God has a plan."

Is this why we never give up? Our faith in the unseen forces?

I say not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Atheist, all power to you if you belive or don't believe. I'm an agnostic. Covering the bases. Not really satisfied with believing in anything until I see what'a there for myself. If I were to die, and be stood at the pearly gates - I'd be severely impressed, give ol' St. Pete a nod and go wherever he sends me.

It's all too easy to be swept away with life, as if it were some demented, never-ending rapid river. We try to keep up with the flow, taking control of the pace so we can get along fine.

I say, go with that flow. Concentrate on keeping yourself on the surface, not with exhausting yourself in the current, getting sucked under for trying.

Anyway, to get back to the subject. these disaster often happen around each other - Negativity breeds negativity, opens us up to every minor annoyance, and magnified into a grand scale attack against our fibre. We break under the strain more often than not.

Once you're down, it takes such a long time to get back up. All the energy is gone from your body, you just want to hide away from the world and all of the trouble it could bring you. You want to be safe.

You can do that, sure.

But not forever.

You could even be one of these people who seeks physical pain to cope with the pressures of life. And I can say - All power to you. It's your body.

Your body, your choice. [EDIT - I was being hypocritical to try and condemn self-harm or physical release and then say "Your body, your choice".]

And sure, giving in to emotions and/or hurting yourself may be a quick fix, but it's just that: a quick fix. those boughs will break again soon enough, moreso due to how badly you get back together. And down will come rock-a-by, baby and all.

So, what do you do?

Get up.

Simple as. I've advocated this to many people in the past, and it's never done me wrong.

Get up and walk.

You'll never get anywhere sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Sure, take time out, sit a spell, analyse what made you so sad, angry or depressed. But you have to be strong.

Be strong. Pervererant. Temperant.

Get up and face the problems you have head on. You have to deal with problems before they grow, breeding secrets and lies.

It may seem dark now.

Very dark.

But beyond the darkness is a subtler shade of black, or white, or grey.

Things are going to get better. And you knows things may get worse.

You need to get up and walk through it. Deal with it the way you know how. If the path is broken before you - Jump, or go around again. If there is a wall in front of you - Break it down, with your own hands.

You need to wake up, get up, and go!

Go and live the life you want! Wherever, whatever, whoever, however you want it to be.

Take the reins by letting it all go. Go with the flow until you find your way.

Your human way.

Not feeling it.

Not having a great day. Picture just about unrelated.

The Signal Mankind Was Looking For.

3 weeks ago... the sky was lit up with fire.

There was no warning, no reason or rhyme. The night's sky was awash with flames of all spectral colours. Red, orange, white, blue, green, black. All of the colours we could and couldn't imagine were in our eyes, looking up into the now locked off abyss of space. No-one took note of the new things we saw... We were too busy running and acting out of fear.

Me? I hid. I hid deep. Down in the sewers. a few of us did. There were five of us. In the cool darkness of the now dry sewers. We'd know if it was safe... The water would flow again...

It didn't. We were scared... We got to thinking. What if the fires had taken away all the water? What if we were slowly dying?

We had to go and see.

We looked out of the grates... Nothing. the world above was silent. No cars, no birds, no anything.

As we tried to leave our new home... We felt the heat... Some of us collapsed at the new sensation. This wasn't like anything we'd felt before... We could maybe consider this type of heat in the Sahara, or on Venus... We ran back inside... Trapped.

We couldn't leave... And our food was almost gone.

All of what I've said was a week after the solar flarestorm. That's what they call it now...

Benny, a man from up the road where I lived... He couldn't take it. He'd come down but... At the prospect of being entombed, he made a break for it.

In the light of the day, we saw him wither and burn. My sister, Dorothy, was never the same after seeing that. She feared leaving... And we were all hungry.

The fights began. Some of us wanted to go to the seaside sewer pipes, see if the ocean was gone. We knew it wouldn't be safe to touch, but just to see if we were the last in this brave, dry world.

The others? They wanted... Something else. Something darker. Myself, Dotty and Marcus. We ran from them.

We hid on the other side of town, in the back of town, the new town. It was cooler still there...

Much cooler.

We found another group who'd had the same idea as us. It was cool enough there to at least walk the streets, even for a minute or two.

But they didn't.

They'd... Seen someone walking the streets.

Something.

Sam, their leader, told me about it. They were on a food run, a local shop right on the corner, next to a sewer line. They went into the shop, got what they needed. What amazed me, first off, is that the national grid was seemingly still running - he talked about the fridges and freezers being on. Imagine, there was electricity up there. News, radio. None of it down with us.

Cut off...

Anyway, as they left - this was about 500 yards away. They saw it. a humanoid shape, bathed in fire and ash. Walking the roads. It saw them. It tried to run to them, but... They were quicker. The thing ran with an awkward gait, as if not used to it's own body. It was yelling a deep, gutteral yell, that enough would have frightened them, but... The whole package was something more.

We lived together. We worked hard to scrape something together. We had to take back the surface.

We managed to make it to a sewer access station, a maintainence byway. It had a small fridge, and outside was... a dry riverbed. Doesn't seem like much, but... It was enough to make me finally realise that there was no going back.

We scraped together as much technology as we could. We made "Cold suits" - reinforcement against the heat. Gunpowder was useless, we realised, even if we'd have found some. So we had to improvise, yet again. Like the cavemen, we made spears. Good spears, too. But not so effective in hindsight.

Myself and Marcus tested the coldsuits. They were great. Felt like a summer's day. Hot, but not explosively so.

It was quiet... Dead quiet. Except...

Huge, monolithic structures stood on the land. Easy enough to see without vegetation to hide them. We didn't know why we couldn't see them before.

Turns out... They were new. Brand new.

They were the prototype thermal towers, the first ones. Not so different than those we know today. Just... Fuller.

We investigated the towers. They were too hot to touch, and seemingly denser than any ore of metal we'd ever seen before.

Marcus made the mistake. He threw something at it. A rock, something small. It sounded off against it with a dull thud... And something moved inside.

They were bigger than Sam had described. Almost 2 feet taller tan us. They didn't attack, or even do anything. They woke up, fell from the towers and stood around us.

"Survivors." One said. "We've been waiting.".

The voices echoed in our heads... Telepathy. A new way to communicate.

A firey body to resist temperature extremes.

Huge statures.

Humanity had ascended. We'd had been left behind.

As they told us... I still can't believe it.

We managed to co-exist. Their technology and our... well, we had nothing, but they wanted to see humanity live again, as it was. they helped us, and we're grateful.

I Love the Nightlife...

*TAK!*

Hmph. Same old slabs... 

*TAK!*

Nothing ever changes...

*TAK!*

Except... The smell...

I've never been fond of this little town... People call it a city... But everything looks the same to me. Same bricks, same buildings, same streets, same old people... It never changes, the harsh light of day tends to shadow us all into an obscure mess of tone, in voice and skin.

"It's this fucking government"...

"Economic downturn..."

"Can't blame the tax-payer for this one..."

Everyone complains about the same things... As people did years ago. I've been walking these streets too long, you see. Yes, I know you can hear me - I don't care how... It's been a while since I've had such a captive audience.

Yes, I've been around for a while. I wasn't always here... In fact, when I was young, I did everything I could to get away from here... but what is it they say? "You've never been anywhere unless you have somewhere to go back to...", or something like that, read it in a book once.

It's quite rare for me to even get close to a book nowadays. Everything's digital. And my eyes are so full of sand and dirt, I can barely see. That's why I stick to where I know... I don't have to open my eyes... Then again, neither does anyone else.

Mind if I sit a spell? Well, it's all well and good me asking... You don't have a choice whether I sit or stand... Seemed polite to ask though...

Tell me... Who are you?

...Agnes.

Agnes. Lovely name. Your parents were traditionalists, no?

No. they were practical jokers.

...And I see their sense of humour was passed on to you... But sarcasm isn't that funny to a lot of people.

Seems as if you like it.

I'm not a lot of people. Who sent you to follow me? I've known you were there since Westbridge Way...

I can't tell you.

Hm... Then what CAN you tell me, Agnes?

I wasn't following you from Westbridge.

Really? I could hear the river...

West bridge Way hasn't existed for 83 years... After it collapsed.

Oh yes... What do they call it now?

Fairbanks.

Oh, yes... Since that's all that's there now... Too long ago... It was a nice bridge as well, I really should have remembered that the bridge was out long ago... I had to walk around it so many times...

How long have you been around exactly?

Hm... What year is it? 

2014.

Then... I'm not too sure. I made a note of it in 2000... But I lost the note, you see...

I do. Why haven't you washed the dirt from your eyes? You've walked by the river, surely you've-

I can't.

...Why?

It's a long story...

I have the time. It's your time as well.

...True. Well... I made it across the water in my younger years... In the time of kings... To Romania. True Romania. As it was and should be. I stopped a while in the court of the Gypsy King, rightful and active ruler of Romany folk... And I fell in love.

With his daughter?

No. His son. Vori. He was... Beautiful... Fairer than any maiden I'd seen before I caught a glimpse of him... I saw him from the streets, looking from his window... He seemed so sad... That is how I came to be his vassal. I promised his mother and father I could cheer the boy up...

Did you?

Listen. The hearts of man are fragile, I say. I can hear it in your voice, you're cold to the air. So distant from the world. You're smarter than the rest, to disconnect from it all. Needless to say, yes. I did bring joy to the Prince... We used to walk the endless paths of the kingdom, talking about everything and nothing... In time, he grew to think of me as a brother.

But not a lover.

Exactly. The time came where I couldn't keep it to myself any longer. I told him of my desire... He was flattered, but...

I get it. Very modern values for so long ago.

The King didn't share those sentiments. He cast me out, proclaimed me to be a demon, come to tempt the next of his line into Hell... And so... One of the few times in my life, I had to run.

Run?

I ran. The Prince tried to follow... But he was just as damned as I was... Buried alive. From what I hear... I didn't stop until...

...Until?

I'm sorry... It hurts to remember... Can you answer me this?

What?

I know who you work for... Or at least, I can guess out of the 4 people or persons who would want me... Why are you in their employ?

...I have... Power. I wanted to be in control.

And are you?

Yes. I can fully control my powers now.

...I don't think you are...

What?

You may be in control of yourself, your corporeal body... But are you in control of your spirit? Your soul?

...

I thought not. You're a tool of another man. Be it Callaway, Jakobs, The Bearers of Adfter, or Mr. Sion's latest incarnation of the Temple Guard.

...You're good, old one.

Please. I'm calling you Agnes. Call me Friar.

...Friar. Why don't you touch water?

Oh yes... I was cursed, child.

Cursed? By whom?

I stopped running... Blind from blood and tears. I was in the middle of a Gypsy camp. Luckily, Rivals to the King and his bands... I was looked after, taught secrets and lies that would help me. I was quite the trickster. I could animate the inanimate at one point... the highest peak of their trickery... But they wanted me to lead them against the King... I could run... Run like none they had seen... 

I see...

The same reason your controller has sent you to get me... He must think a lot of you...

...I-

I lead them into battle, of course. I couldn't say no. It was a massacre. Have you ever seen a legion of statues walk on the gates of a fortress? It's a real sight to behold... We raced up to the court of the royals... And there he was. The king. In battle with statues of his own family... The queen caught him in the guts with a broken rod of rule... and the Prince's statue... Broken, now repaired, beheaded his father...

So...

So. I was told to teach my gift to the NEW King. I refused, not knowing how, even to this day... They cursed me for my pride... I had no idea how it would manifest... Until I tried to cross the ocean... The storms... They kept me on the continent... so I explored every inch of Europe... And Africa... And Russia... Asia... But I had to come home...

Here?

Yes... The further away I got, the longer and harder the urge was to come home...

How did you get back?

Encased in Iron. I was forged into a block by a good friend of mine... He got me back home...

Why did you come back?

It's odd... At night, everything changes... The people, buildings, places... All so much more sinister, unique and filled with life... Some of which even you cannot see...

Why are you here?

Always walking... searching for the urge.

The urge?

The power... Deep, deeper than any of us can imagine... It lies below the city... Deeper and deeper each day... Hiding from the light, the darkness comes and goes with the rays above... The eye of heaven closes and the eye of the witch gives them passage to roam...

What?!

I lost my eyes to them years past... Too long ago... Iron kept me safe... the water tries to get me every day, it comes to me... So dry... thirsty... It'll kill me one day... Not now...

W-where are you going?

I have to keep moving... I pose no threat... Tell that to your masters, Agnes... I'm on old man... No shape to walk, but we have to... We all do.

Who is "we"?!

The Cursed...

Henburg Six. Six of Six.

THOMAS TUNNEY

I have just ended my meeting with Thomas. He refused me the liberty of recording our conversation, but in exchange he told me everything.

We were looking in the wrong place.

Louis Rand Patterson. He was a 37 year old office clerk for some no-name company.

He was the big boss.

No powers. No master plan. Just an idea.

Ideas. Plural.

He found a way to gather these unknown people together and soup them up to green-level.

Police reports. That no-name company dealt in patents and insurance, and went through the police reports of those they got in, but also had open access to all reports. That's insane, and I've found a reason to go to town, to the governor over it.

Patterson used the reports to find those with latent abillities, and recruited them, by hook or crook in one way or another...

Why?

Tunney aka Amox - Able to generate "Chaos waves" that disrupt the structure of focused intems and entities - Told me:

I quote:

"He was bitter. Something happened. The rest is history."

Later, he remarked.

"He had company counselling, can you believe the crap they put you through in corporate America?"

I contacted the company to find out about it, and they told me he was no longer with the company.

Or any company, for that matter.

As it was alluded to, he was dead. 

He died in the hour of the breaking of the Barrel.

It was a huge distraction.

I found that the counselling had come from an incident six months prior to his death. He was suicidal, on all kinds of medication, but he stopped taking them. He tried to throw himself off of the roof.

Flashdancer, the pulsar woman... she saved him. Just passing by. Stood him back on the ground level, patted him on the head and flew off to Borneo to help against the Coral Giants... Big news...

Not to Louis though. As soon as she left, he had a full psychotic episode, tried to injure himself until the public stepped in.

He was arrested, fired, sectioned, and worse... All because he tried to end it all.

He held a grudge, played good little inmate and got released. He'd had the idea. And he maxxed out a lot of cards to see it happen.

All because of one, selfless do-gooder.

Don't get me wrong... I don't like the heroes either... For other reasons...

Anyway, he jumped off of the same building. He succeeded this time...

...

It's sad. But, I don't pity him.

He's going to go down in history. In world history.

First man to beat the heroes.

...Who'll be the second?