Hello again. All first prints. Like new condition.
Vampirella vol 5 1-25
Assorted comics & TPBs
TPBs
The Seeds $15
Trese 1-3 $39
ASSORTED COMICS
Batman and The Outsiders 3 $3.50
Batman Three Jokers 1-3 $18
The Batman Who laughs 5-7 $9
Dark Knights Death Metal Guidebook 1 $4
Deathstroke 50 $3
Echolands 1-5 $15
Hardware 1&2 $5
Icon and Rocket 1-4 $8
The Immortal Hulk 50 $8
Seven To Eternity 14 $2.50
Spawn 319 & 322 $3
Teen Titans 31 & 32 $4
Vampirella 1-25 $68.75
Shipping is $5.
Want the whole deal? $130 total - shipping is free, otherwise, see the prices above.
Thanks for looking.

The Weekly Pull List results for this Wednesday are in, and this week's top book is MARVEL's DOOM #1.
This thread is open to Pull List posters and all members of the /comicbooks community to share your thoughts on the latest issue of Sanford Greene and Jonathan Hickman's DOOM or any new books shipping this week.
The primary intention of this thread is to promote discussion of new books. It also serves as a way to consolidate discussion to a single thread and talk about what books are popular here on /comicbooks. That does not mean other threads aren't welcome, this is just a place to start that's easy to find each week.
The thread is populated with comments meant to direct the discussion of each book. Based on a recent community decision we're expanding the Top Ten and populated the thread with titles appearing on Ten Percent or more of submitted pull lists. If a title you want to talk about is not listed, simply add a comment with the title and issue number first and comment below. There is also a comment dedicated to the discussion of WPL results linked above.
Spoilers will follow, but there's no harm in tagging them as such. Each title in the Top Ten listed below is linked directly to its corresponding comments to avoid seeing details from other books. The post has also been placed in "contest mode" to help readers avoid spoilers while browsing.
This Week's Most Pulled Titles:
Based on 93 submitted pull lists and 73 books shipping.

1. DOOM #1 (47)
2. ULTIMATE X-MEN #3 (44)
3. ACTION COMICS #1065 (37)
4. GREEN LANTERN #11 (37)
5. X-MEN FOREVER #4 (32)
6. BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 (26)
7. OUTSIDERS #7 (23)
8. ICE CREAM MAN #39 (21)
9. MILES MORALES SPIDER-MAN #20 (18)
10. RED HOOD THE HILL #4 (18)
11. FISHFLIES #6 (17)
12. SUICIDE SQUAD DREAM TEAM #3 (17)
13. BATMAN DYLAN DOG #3 (15)
14. BLUE BEETLE #9 (15)
15. MS MARVEL MUTANT MENACE #3 (14)
16. HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #23 (13)
17. NAPALM LULLABY #3 (13)
18. BRIAR #5 (10)
19. SINISTER SONS #4 (10)
20. STAR WARS MACE WINDU #4 (9)

Feel free to browse through everything the /comicbooks community is buying this week.
If you feel the need to reproduce any part of this thread in any other forum, please consult our PSA on how to properly cite /comicbooks.
Hope you're having a great Wednesday! Looking forward to talking comics with you over the next few days.

Howdy there, I am a 30 Hispanic Male who lives in the Katy Area near Houston. I am in an Ethical Non-Monogamous Relationship, and I hope to potentially find a new friend, or partner on here.
I am new to this lifestyle so I hope you can understand hesitancy in the things that I do. I have been in an open relationship with my spouse for a long time, but it hasn’t been until recent that I decided to take the plunge and see what was out there for me. I have made a few friends down the line but nothing super serious. I hope to potentially change that in the future!
With that outta the way a little about myself. I work a 9-5 office job and would consider myself a bit of a homebody (honestly mostly because of this ungodly heat!). I tend to prefer smaller crowds and quieter scenes, so I suppose you could say I am a bit of an introvert lol. Movies are my go to when it comes to a nice evening, or binging something good on Netflix. Love most genres of music, and love to fiddle around with my own instruments, despite it really just being me noodling around. Enjoy video games, and comics as well. Basically, if it entails being at someone’s home or my own, I am usually down! And a big enjoyer of the electric lettuce⚡️🥬 👀👀, so if you are done with any of this you should definitely message me lol.
As far as what I am looking for? Honestly just someone to talk with who share similar interest. Someone who understands ENM and isn’t going to try to shame me for it. And honestly, if possible, someone older than me. I have such a huge attraction to women in their 40’s and above.
For anything else, please feel free to message me, I am quite honestly a big open book, and I look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

"07 minutes ago — [woɹᙠɹǝuɹɐZ] While several avenues exist to view the highly praised film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes online streaming offers a versatile means to access its cinematic wonder From heartfelt songs to buoyant humor this genre-bending work explores the power of friendship to up Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes communities during troubling times Directed with nuanced color and solidarity Why not spend an evening immersed in the vibrant world of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ? Don't miss out! #Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movie
*Watch Here 🔴👉 *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Download Here 🔴👉 https://shorturl.at/jqtJ1
The new Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes prequel Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be available for streaming first on Starz for subscribers Later on the movie will also be released on PeacockThanks to the agreement between distributor Lionsgate and the NBC Universal streaming platform Determining the exact arrival date of the movie is a slighKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y more complex matter Typically Lionsgate movies like John Wick 4 take approximately six months to become available on Starz where they tend to reKingdom of the Planet of the Apes n for a considerable period As for when Songbirds Snakes will be accessible on Peacock it could take nearly a year after its release although we will only receive confirmation once Lionsgate makes an official announcement However if you wish to watch the movie even earlier you can rent it on Video on Demand (VOD) which will likely be available before the streaming date on Starz
Warner Bros. is continuing to beat out Warner Bros. and Warner Bros,, over the New Year’s holiday weekend, with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” now rising above “The Color Purple” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” With that trifecta, the studio has laid claim to the three of the top five slots at the domestic box office throughout the holiday season.
The Timothéee Chalamet-starring musical added another $8.6 million on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes y, up 32% from one week ago. The Paul King film has emerged as the theatrical favorite for the holidays, crossing $100 million domestically earlier this week. With a $119 million cume to date, the film continues to show strength and will reach $300 million globally before the calendar turns.
Though it slid into second place for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes y with $6.75 million, Warner Bros. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” fell 51% from its opening day last week. The latest and final entry in the current continuity of DC Comics adaptations has struggled for air, only reaching $65 million in its first week of release. The first “Aquaman,” released in 2018, surpassed that figure in its opening weekend alone. Bad reviews and superhero fatigue have plagued “Lost Kingdom,” which more than likely won’t even reach half the $335 million domestic total of its predecessor, much less justify a $205 million production budget.
Taking a close third place, Illumination and Universal’s“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ntaining its footing with $6.7 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes y after a muted $12 million debut lastweekend. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” has underwhelmed so far, but its 17% increase over last Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes y reKingdom of the Planet of the Apes ns encouraging, especially for an original animated film with a production budget of only $70 million. However,Here’s when you can bring Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes of AKingdom of the Planet of the Apes antis into your home.
Where and Can I Stream Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ? Is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Be Streaming?
Where Can I Stream the Original Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movies in the Meantime?
In the meantime you can currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y stream all four original Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movies on Peacock until the end of November The availability of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movies onPeacock varies depending on the month so make sure to take advantage of the current availability How To Watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes In English Online For Free:
As of now, the only way to watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes y, September 8. You can find a local showing onFandango. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until it becomes available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Vudu, Apple, YouTube, and Amazon or available to stream on Max. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is still currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y in theaters if you want to experience all the film's twists and turns in a traditional cinema. But there's also now an option to watch the film at home. As of November 25, 2024, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is available on HBO Max. Only those with a subscription to the service can watch the movie. Because the film is distributed by 20th Century Studios, it's one of the last films of the year to head to HBO Max due to a streaming deal in lieu of Disney acquiring 20th Century Studios, as Variety reports. At the end of 2024, 20th Century Studios' films will head to Hulu or Disney+ once they leave theaters. Is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movie on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Amazon Prime?
Hulu: Unfortunately, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is not available for streaming on Hulu. However, Hulu offers a variety of other exciting options like Afro Samurai Resurrection or Ninja Scroll to keep you entertained.
Disney+: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is not currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y available for streaming on Disney+. Fans will have to wait until late December, when it is expected to be released on theplatform. Disney typically releases its films on Disney+ around 45-60 days after their theatrical release, ensuring an immersive cinematic experience for viewers. IS Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO?
Netflix: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y not available on Netflix. However, fans of dark fantasy films can explore other thrilling options such as Doctor Strange to keep themselves entertained.
Crunchyroll: Crunchyroll and Funimation have acquired the rights to distribute Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in North America. Stay tuned for its release on the platform inthe coming months. In the meantime, indulge in dark fantasy shows like Spider-man to fulfill your entertainment needs.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie could eventually be available to watch on Prime Video, though it will likely be a paid digital release rather than being included with anAmazon Prime subscription. This means that rather than watching the movie as part of an existing subscription fee, you may have to pay money to rent the movie digitally on Amazon. However, Warner Bros. and Amazon have yet to discuss whether or not this will be the case.
WHEN WILL 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ', BE AVAILABLE DVD AND BLU-RAY?
As of right now, we don't know. While the film will eventually land on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4KUltraHD, Warner Bros has yet to reveal a specific date as to when that would be. The first Nun film also premiered in theaters in early September and was released on Blu-ray and DVD in December. Our best guess is that the sequel will follow a similar path and will be available around the holiday season. HERE'S HOW TO WATCH 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ' ONLINE STREAMING IN AUSTRALIA
To watch 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ' (2024) for free online streaming in Australia and New Zealand, you can explore options like as mentioned in the search results. However, please note that the legality and safety of using such websites may vary, so exercise caution when accessing them. Additionally, you can check if the movie is available on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video, as they often offer a wide selection of movies and TV.
Mark your calendars for July 8th, as that's when Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be available on Disney+. This highly anticipated installment inthe franchise is packed with thrilling action and adventure, promising to captivate audiences and leave them craving for more. Captivate audiences and leave them craving for more.
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes online in its entirety from the comfort of your own home. You can access thefull movie free of charge on the respected platform known as 123Movies. Immerse yourself in the captivating experience of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes by watching it online for free. Alternatively, you can also enjoy the movie by downloading it in high definition. Enhance your movie viewing experience by watching Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on 123movies, a trusted source for online movie streaming.
Unfortunately Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is not currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y available to on Disney Plus and it’s not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest
While Disney eventually releases its various studios’ films on Disney Plus for subscribers to Watch viaits platform most major releases don’t arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film’s theatrical release
The sequel opened to $150 million internationally which Disney reports is 4% ahead of the first film when comparing like for likes at current exchange rates Overall the global cume comes to $330 million Can it become the year’s third film to make it past $1 billion worldwide despite China and Russia which made up around $124 million of the first film’s $682 million international box office being out of play? It may be tough but it’s not impossible Legging out past $500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 27) and another $500 million abroad would be a drop of around $58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets It’d be another story if audiences didn’t love the film but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year’s earlier MCU tiKingdom of the Planet of the Apes es (Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder had multipliers of 22 and 23 respectively)
Heres How To Watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) Online full movie At Home
WATCH— Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movie [2024] full movie Free Online ON 123MOVIES
WATCH! Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) (full movie) Free Online
WATCH Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2024 (Online) Free full movie Download HD ON YIFY
[WATCH] Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movie (full movie) fRee Online on 123movies
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (full movie) Online Free on 123Movies
Heres How To Watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Free Online At Home
WATCH Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (free) full movie ONLINE ENGLISH/DUB/SUB STREAMING
Taking the top spot this week was Aquaman with $58.3 million, although the film's star Jason Momoa recenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y admitted to Entertainment Tonight that he was unsure of the franchise's future. Trailing Aquaman was Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , Timothée Chalamet's debut as the fictional chocolate factory owner. During the film's second week, it earned $53.1 million, along with leading all movies Thursday with $8 million. In total, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes boasts $110.6 million domestically, currenKingdom of the Planet of the Apes y morethan any other flick this season.
According to Deadline, the domestic box office amassed $281.4 million during Christmas week, a 14-percent jump from Dec. 23-29 of last year ($246.4). The holiday competition was thick, as Dec. 25 marked the release of musical drama The Color Purple and sports drama biopic Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes were released justdays before

At popular request you can now get this as a newsletter. Sign up and help support these posts!
My friend Yan is putting on a comedy show at Cloud & Spirits this Thursday. Tickets are limited; go check it out I promise you'll have fun.

THURSDAY - MAY 16

Tapered Expectations XXI: "Above the Clouds" - A Standup Comedy Event @ Cloud & Spirits @ 7PM Acquired Taste Comedy is back at Cloud & Spirits with another signature Standup Comedy Event. Catch a carefully curated selection of the area's funniest comics along with a special musical guest at a breathtaking cocktail bar in Central Square!
Red Sox vs Rays @ Fenway Park @ 7:10PM
Asi Wind’s Magic Show @ The Wilbur @ 7:30PM Being one of the most-watched magicians in the world, Asi Wind presents a new show where he pushes the limits of belief even further with unbelievable mind-reading and astonishing magic.
Candlelight: A Tribute to Adele in Concert @ Temple Ohabei Shalom @ 7PM / 9PM
Marc Martel & One Vision of Queen Concert @ Symphony Hall @ 7:30PM The Pops will rock you when Marc Martel brings the iconic anthems of Queen to Symphony Hall.
Diana Ross @ Wang Theatre @ 7:30PM See the iconic and legendary Diana Ross perform the hits that have defined her career.
Cooper Alan @ Paradise Rock Club @ 8PM With Thomas Mac
Lords of Acid @ Brighton Music Hall @ 6:30PM
Ben Beal @ City Winery @ 7:30PM

FRIDAY - MAY 17

Bruins vs Panthers @ TD Garden
Madeleine Peyroux @ The Wilbur @ 8PM
Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Xfinity Center @ 7:30PM
Wild Child @ Paradise Rock Club @ 8PM
Soen @ Brighton Music Hall @ 8PM
Tye Tribbett and Friends @ Orpheum Theatre @ 7:30PM
Galantis @ Big Night Live @ 9:30PM
Hermanos Gutiérrez @ Royale @ 6PM
Tinlicker @ Royale @ 10PM
Buck Meek of Big Thief @ Crystal Ballroom @ 8PM
Anders Osborne Trio @ City Winery @ 7:30PM

SATURDAY - MAY 18

Watertown Porchfest @ Watertown @ All day
Revolution vs Philadelphia Union @ Gillette Stadium @ 7:30PM
Dancing on the Charles @ Marsh Post #442 @ 3PM Montreal deep house DJ Fred Everything headlines this marathon outdoor dance party, running from late afternoon into the night.
Ales & Tales @ Stone Zoo @ 5:30PM Walk on the wild side while enjoying local craft beverages. This popular beer tasting event is a favorite among animal and beer lovers alike!
Kite & Bike Festival @ Franklin Park @ 12PM This Boston tradition brings families together to enjoy picnicking, kite flying, bicycles & music.
Ongoing - Artisan Market @ Rose Kennedy Greenway @ 11AM
Kevin James Comedy Show @ Chevalier Theatre @ 4:30PM / 7:30PM
Jimmy Failla Comedy Show @ Shubert Theatre @ 8PM
‘Encanto’ in Concert @ Symphony Hall @ 2PM Disney’s Academy Award-winning film comes to life in a concert event, featuring the entire feature-length film with a full orchestra performing the score.
The String Cheese Incident @ MGM Music Hall @ 7:15PM
Robyn Schall Stand Up @ The Wilbur @ 7PM
Sorry Papi @ House of Blues @ 9PM
James Arthur @ Roadrunner @ 8PM With Forest Blakk
The Music of Talking Heads & More for Kids @ Paradise Rock Club @ 11AM *Presented by The Rock and Roll Playhouse
Orgy + COLD @ Brighton Music Hall @ 8PM
Gimme Gimme Disco @ Big Night Live @ 5:30PM
Arty @ Big Night Live @ 10:30PM
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis @ Crystal Ballroom @ 8PM
Chris Smither + Peter Mulvey @ City Winery @ 7:30PM

SUNDAY - MAY 19

Celtics vs Cavaliers @ TD Garden
Kite Festival @ Revere Beach Kick off beach season with a fun day for the whole family complete with build-your-own kite stations, professional kite flyers, live music, and other activities!
Ongoing - Open Market @ SoWa @ 11AM One of the largest open-air farmer and artist markets returns this summer season!
‘Dropouts’ Podcast Live @ Paradise Rock Club @ 7PM Come see internet stars Zach Justice, Tara Yummy & Jared Bailey discuss latest hot topics, celebrity gossip, and personal dramas live!
Electric Callboy @ MGM Music Hall @ 7PM
Deko @ Brighton Music Hall @ 7PM With Yameii
Mk.gee @ The Sinclair @ 7:30PM
Guppy @ The Rockwell @ 7:30PM
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy @ The Wilbur @ 7PM
Compaq Big Band @ City Winery @ 7:30PM

ALL WEEKEND

FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Amanda Seales Stand Up @ Laugh Boston
FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Zach Brazao Stand Up @ Nick’s Comedy Stop @ 8PM
SATURDAY & SUNDAY - ‘Bluey’s Big Play’ Show @ Wang Theatre ‘Bluey’s Big Play’ is a brand-new theatrical adaptation of the Emmy award-winning children’s television series featuring new music and new character adventures.
All weekend - Jukebox The Ghost @ The Sinclair @ 8PM
All weekend - Nantucket Wine & Food Festival Enjoy food and drinks tastings, seminars, brunches, and parties as the annual festival uncorks the island for the summer!
All weekend -’Hallyu Hits: Korean Films that Moved the World @ MFA See the best of Korean cinema including ‘Oldboy,’ ‘Parasites,’ and ‘Burning.’
All weekend - ‘Spring Experience’ Ballet @ Citizens Bank Opera House LAST CHANCE - Explore Boston Ballet’s dynamic and captivating Spring program composed of three masterful ballets featuring classical and modern dance elements.
All weekend - ‘BABYBABYBABY’ Dance Performance @ Calderwood Pavilion This contemporary dance production taps into the feeling of falling in love and reflects on the human impulse for connection and intimacy.
All weekend - ‘A Strange Loop’ Musical @ Wimberly Theatre Winner of Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, Michael R. Jackson’s blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young Black artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes.
All weekend - ‘Jersey Boys’ Musical @ North Shore Music Theatre LAST CHANCE - Featuring legendary hits, this award-winning musical tells the behind-the-scenes drama of the international sensation boy band The Four Seasons.
All weekend - ‘Toni Stone’ Play @ The Huntington Theatre The Huntington’s season finale is a beautiful, rich portrait of a trailblazing woman. Follow the inspiring and life-affirming story of baseball legend Toni Stone.
All weekend - ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Play @ Calderwood Pavilion Brought to life by Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Shakespeare’s most famous duo return in a flurry of forbidden love, exhilarating fight scenes, and tragic fate.
All weekend - ‘Mermaid Hour’ Play @ Arrow Street Arts LAST CHANCE - Fast-paced, funny, and heartfelt, ‘Mermaid Hour’ follows two parents and their trans teen kid as they all seek to understand who they are and who they wish to be.

ONGOING

Ongoing - Immersive Disney Animation @ Boch Center Step into the art and legacy of Walt Disney Animation Studios and celebrate the music, artistry and animation from the creators of Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Big Hero 6 and many more.
Ongoing - Musical Shows @ MoS Planetarium Museum of Science puts on special experiences adapting the music of Pink Floyd, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and The Divas to immersive visuals in the Charles Hayden Planetarium.
Ongoing - ‘Firelei Báez’ Exhibition @ ICA One of the most exciting painters of her generation, Báez explores the multilayered legacy of colonial histories and the African diaspora in the Caribbean and beyond.
Ongoing - ‘Wordplay’ Exhibition @ ICA Highlighting the rich interplay between imagery and text, the exhibition showcases how contemporary artists have played with words to animate and expand their art practices.
Ongoing - ‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’ Exhibition @ MFA Enjoy an immersive and multisensory journey through Korea’s fascinating history, and celebrate its contemporary vibrant creative force.
Ongoing - ‘Dress Up’ Exhibition @ MFA Through more than 100 works from the MFA’s collection including 20th- and 21st-century clothing, jewelry, accessories, illustrations, and photographs, this exhibition explores adornment and its role in the creation of a look.
Ongoing - ‘Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition brings together 27 powerful photographs by Stephen Shames that feature the women of the Black Panther party and showcase their crucial work for the movement.
Ongoing - ‘Thinking Small: Dutch Art to Scale’ Exhibition @ MFA Featuring 15 intriguing objects from 17th-century Netherlands such as paintings, prints, silver medals, and books, this exhibition compels viewers to reconsider their relationship to the world around them.
Ongoing - ‘Raqib Shaw: Ballads of East and West’ Exhibition @ ISG Museum Shaw’s images of magic and mystery combine Western artistic tradition with ornamental elements derived from the Japanese, Persian, and Indian cultures that he vividly remembers from his youth.
Ongoing - ‘Picasso: War, Combat, and Revolution’ Exhibition @ Harvard Art Museums The exhibition explores the dictator Francisco Franco’s Spain, imagery of death, struggles of good and evil, political and artistic revolution, and issues of desire and capture.
Ongoing - ‘Our Time on Earth’ Exhibition @ Peabody Essex Museum This traveling exhibition from the Barbican Centre in London celebrates the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency.
Ongoing - ‘AI: Mind the Gap’ Exhibition @ MIT Museum MIT Museum presents its latest riveting, interactive exhibit exploring the tremendous promise, unforeseen impacts, and everyday misconceptions of AI.

Author’s Note:
If you enjoy the story so far, please consider upvoting and commenting! These go a long way in helping the story reach a larger audience. (Also, reddit removes all my formatting for some reason so if you want a fully formatted read, check out my story on RoyalRoad)
READ 2 WEEKS AHEAD: Season Finale Chapter 17 is now available for Tier 2 Manifest Fantasy Patrons and higher!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drdoritosmd
Discord: https://discord.gg/wr2xexGJaD
First
Three, two, one... execute.
Ron peeked around the corner, his M4E1 Carl Gustaf already loaded with standard HEAT rounds. The rest of Alpha Team stacked up behind him or behind Ryan, who was on the other side of the doorway. Through the opening, they could see a nightmarish tangle of webs and egg sacs, with the skittering shapes of Spiranids lurking in the shadows in the far corners of the room.
The Queen was positioned in the center of the room, completely exposed by a cluster of eggs. Henry watched as Ron leveled his Gustaf, taking aim at the Queen while they stayed along the wall to ensure Ron’s backblast was clear. It should have been an easy kill, but a flicker of movement caught Henry’s eye.
A blob of white flew across his vision, smacking into Ron just as he fired his weapon. The thick strands of webbing bypassed Kelmithus’ shielding and wrapped around him, sending him flying back a couple of meters. He landed on his back, his body and launcher completely stuck to the floor by the condensed silk.
Around the same time, the Gustaf’s projectile struck the Queen’s abdomen section. The resulting blast tore through its exoskeleton but was far from a fatal blow. The Queen shrieked, a sound far deeper than Henry expected.
“Fuck!” Ron shouted, struggling to break free from the webbing.
Henry exhaled. They were a man down, but helping him had to wait; the not-dead Queen and its minions took precedence. It would be great if he had another launcher in his own Holding Bag, but that was something he’d have to bring up to Chief Cole later. Henry tossed his grenades into the room, the pops mingling with the screeches of injured Spiranids. Ryan struck simultaneously, throwing his own collection into the mix. Like firecrackers, the explosives were violent but short-lived.
As the chaos subsided, Henry pushed in. Raising his shotgun, he tore through a Spiranid that pounced at him, its carcass smoldering from the white phosphorous. Beside him, Isaac, Ryan, and Dr. Anderson’s shots rang out, tearing through their own sectors of fire.
Almost immediately upon their entry, the Queen surged forward with terrifying speed. It reared its head back like it was about to vomit, mandibles covered in a sick, yellowish color. Henry recognized immediately what it was trying to do. “Acid, move!”
Henry dove away from his previous position, taking a shot at another Spiranid that had taken the opportunity to jump at him while its master was preparing to attack. He narrowly escaped the lethal spray as it jetted toward him. The acid splattered on the ground where they had stood not even a second before, sizzling fiercely as it corroded the thick webbing sprawled across the floor. He noticed as he ran that, rather curiously, the acid was simply puddling on the floor. There was no damage to the floor itself, but if it could tear apart high-quality monster silk just like that, he didn’t want to find out what it could do to an envirosuit.
Henry glanced back after blasting apart his third Spiranid. His teammates were fine – Ryan helping him keep the Queen’s attention, Sera already on her way to Ron, and the others taking care of the smaller Spiranids. He tried to get a quick headcount of how many Spiranids they’d already eliminated. Between their guns, Kelmithus’ magic, and the grenades, he estimated they had killed at least a dozen so far. Solid progress, but the fact that they weren’t able to take out the Queen with their first strike was an issue.
Henry rolled to his left as the Queen pounced on his previous position. It was fucking fast, like a Goliath birdeater but scaled up – and with nasty abilities that really shouldn’t belong on a creature like this. He recovered quickly and took aim, firing point-blank into its thorax. The white phosphorous pellets hissed as they burned into its exoskeleton, forcing it back.
Beside him, Ryan’s shotgun boomed. He struck the Queen’s legs, which seemed to be more fragile than the thick exoskeleton surrounding the head and thorax. The pellets bit into the chitin, likely striking a nerve as evidenced by the leg’s subsequent buckling and collapse. It was a lucky shot – one that he doubted they could repeat four or five more times.
“Sera, use my knife! Here, right here!” Ron called out.
Sera’s sword must’ve been too large to effectively cut through the webbing. They had to hurry up. He and Ryan had been dodging the Queen’s attacks, but mostly by a hair’s breadth. All it took was one lucky hit from the Queen to put them out of commission, possibly for good. “Sera, status on Ron?”
“One minute!” she responded.
Damn. That was one minute later than he’d hoped. Reacting instinctively, Henry noted the Queen raising one of its legs – a sure sign of it preparing for another attack. The Queen struck again, this time cleaving the air with the leg, aiming to corral him into a predictable escape route. As its leg swept through the air, Henry caught sight of the Queen rearing its head back in a grotesque mimicry of a snake about to strike – another acid attack.
Anticipating the monster’s strategy, Henry feinted to the right, a move he hoped would mislead it about his true intentions. As the Queen’s head followed his feint, Henry twisted sharply, scraping against the rough ground. With a powerful push from his legs, he launched backward just as the Queen unleashed its attack.
Acid spewed forth in a wide arc, splattering where he had just been. The corrosive globs almost instantly melted the webbing on the floor, collecting into pools. And there was the second issue. The longer this fight dragged on, the less room they’d have to maneuver.
Henry unloaded into the creature’s compound eyes before tossing a flashbang near its legs. The creature staggered backward, blinded in both its eyes and its sensory hairs. Henry used the precious few seconds he bought to reload his weapon and check up on his team. “Yen, sitrep?”
“Stragglers neutralized; we’re moving to you now.”
Automatic gunfire erupted as Isaac and Dr. Anderson joined the fight against the Queen, dumping their mags on the creature’s head. The 6.8mm seemed to penetrate well, but he could say the same if they fought an elephant; the Spiranid Queen was simply too large for the relatively small caliber rounds to have any effect besides pissing it off.
The Queen lunged again, its legs surrounding him from all sides. There was only one way out, and it was through the belly of the beast. Henry rushed forward, ducking under the Queen’s mandibles as he slid underneath its abdomen. He fired his shotgun as quickly as he could, unloading pellets into the beast’s underbelly. The white phosphorous scorched the softer flesh, drawing a shriek of pain from the massive creature.
As the Queen writhed under the relentless assault, Ryan and the others seized the moment to reload their weapons and reposition. They poured everything they had into the creature’s cephalothorax, bluish ichor oozing from the hundreds of new wounds that they opened up. Yet, it was like chipping away at a mountain – it simply wasn’t enough. The creature thrashed around violently in response; Henry knew it was only a matter of time before it landed a hit on someone.
And land a hit it did. With a terrifying swiftness, one of its massive legs slammed into Henry’s chest, launching him backward. The shield Kelmithus cast on him flickered as it absorbed the brunt of the impact. He crashed into an egg sac by the entrance – its membrane ruptured on impact, drenching him in a sticky, corrosive slime. The sac provided little cushion, and he hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him.
Pain flared across Henry’s chest where the Queen’s leg had struck him. Gasping for breath and battling the encroaching blackness in his vision, he instinctively checked his envirosuit. He started with the areas he could see, glancing down at his chest. It was visibly deformed, dented but not quite a gash.
Still intact, thank goodness. No breach, but another hit like that would be disastrous. He breathed a sigh of relief, his chest hurting like hell as he did so. He checked his sides and back. Parts of his suit were covered in slime from the egg sac. It didn’t seem as corrosive as the Queen’s acid, but it was still a hazard. Quickly, he swiped at it, removing as much as possible with his gloved hands to prevent further damage.
He forced himself up, grabbing his shotgun from the floor. The Queen was already barreling toward him, the damn monster not letting up. He didn’t have time to make a run for it; he needed to jump to one side or the other, and the timing needed to be perfect. Just as the Queen’s shadow engulfed him, the air turned icy cold, frost creeping up on his visor.
Ice formed from thin air, spearing up from the ground and piercing through the Queen’s legs. The spikes rooted the beast in place. Not one to waste an opportunity, Henry dashed away from the entrance, firing at the immobilized giant spider as he linked up with the others.
“Sera?” Henry asked again.
Sera’s voice came in strained. “Almost…” Then, with a triumphant shout, she announced the word Henry had been desperate to hear. “Done!”
“Owens!” Henry said, risking a glance back.
Ron had already grabbed his Gustaf and was in the process of loading another HEAT round. “On it!”
Henry grinned. It was a relief, to be sure. With Ron free and back in the fight, the odds had just tipped heavily in their favor. The Queen was tough, but it wasn’t invincible; they just needed an opening.
Given the damage the Queen sustained to its body, Henry couldn’t imagine it being in peak fighting condition. Even in its weakened state, though, it still had the capability to dodge Ron’s attack, and it seemed to be saving its web ability for that very inevitability.
“Take out the legs!” Henry ordered.
They combined their fire on the left legs, since Ryan managed to break one of them earlier. He heard a crack that might’ve been the chitin giving way or the leg snapping, but it was hard to tell. He was just about to chalk it up to the prevailing gunfire around them, but then he saw it: a brief stumble. The Queen recovered quickly, but it was clear to Henry that it wouldn’t be able to manage any more damage to its legs.
Then, he noticed a blur in his peripheral vision to his right, moving so fast his eyes could barely keep up. Shit, he was certain he kept track of the Queen’s movements. With the existing damage to his envirosuit, he’d be completely fucked. He braced himself for another impact, but it never came.
As he focused harder on the blur, he caught a glimpse of a flash of light that could only be one thing – Sera’s sword, And, just like a flash of lightning, she had already cleared the vicinity of the Queen. The Queen’s foreleg seemed to simply vanish, severed so cleanly that it took a moment for the beast to realize what had happened. When it did, it let out a screech of pain, its balance faltering as it tried to adapt to the sudden change.
While Henry focused on taking out another leg from the left side, Sera had already shifted to her next target. Their assault was brutal: white phosphorus pellets and hard-hitting 6.8mm on one side, ice magic and skilled swordsmanship on the other. And to think, they managed to inflict all this damage by the time Ron completed his reload.
“Clear the way!” Ron called out, his Gustaf aimed right at the Queen’s head.
Henry jumped back, watching as Kelmithus conjured another set of ice spikes to root the beast again, in case the five obliterated legs weren’t enough to keep it down. The Queen thrashed against the icy bonds, its remaining legs slashing through the air in a frenzied bid for freedom. It spat acid – a tactic that would’ve worked effectively on most other materials, but instead simply got diluted with the melting ice. Even as the acid reacted with the ice, the spikes held firm, anchoring the beast in place like steel cables.
Henry’s heart pounded in his ears. Come on, Owens, he urged silently. Take the shot.
As if on cue, Ron pulled the trigger. The Gustaf bucked in his hands as the HEAT round streaked towards its target. Henry barely had time to brace himself before the explosion hit, the shockwave slamming into him and nearly toppling him over. He staggered back, gazing into the settling dust.
When the smoke cleared, the Queen’s head was obliterated – replaced by a gory mess of shattered chitin and pulverized flesh. Blood sprayed from the gaping hole, covering the ground in a pale blue hue. The creature’s body convulsed, its remaining legs scrabbling weakly at their surroundings.
A surge of triumph washed over Henry, but it was fleeting. From the corner of his eye, he locked on to a glimpse of movement. One of the Queen’s legs continued to spasmodically jerk around and spray the ground with blue ichor. He raised his shotgun in a nonchalant motion and blasted the errant limb, watching as it shuddered and went still.
Sera stepped up, her sword barely catching the light as she jammed it into what was left of the Queen’s thorax. A sharp twist, and it was over. She then yanked the blade from the carcass, her grip shifting subtly along the hilt. As she flicked the sword, frost swiftly coated the ichor clinging to the metal. The frozen debris was flung off, hitting the ground and shattering like glass.
He glanced down at his Holding Bag. Damn, the fight took out most of his shells. Swapping out his shotgun for his M7, he turned to his team and took stock of their condition. It seemed everyone had mostly gone unscathed, only debris and dirt scarring their envirosuits. Well, except for himself and Ron. “Think we’re gonna have to start calling you pinata now,” Henry said, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
Ron scoffed. “Yeah? Says the runner-up,” he said, tapping the dent on Henry’s envirosuit. “Better ‘pinata’ than ‘roadkill’, though. But seriously, what’s next? Don’t even know where to start.”
The room was empty, save for the debris strewn about and the singular obelisk standing in the center of the room. He didn’t notice it earlier, but as he got closer, he realized that the obelisk emitted a faint light that barely escaped the canopy of webs. He looked it up and down before turning to the others. “Only one place to start. Let’s clear out the webs, see what’s hiding below.”
“Doc, Kel, clear out the eggs. Hayes, Sera, see if the Queen’s got anything useful. Everyone else focus on the webs,” Henry ordered.
Ron drew his knife and started slicing through the dense cobwebs. “Hey, what y’all think the Queen’s Tier is?”
Isaac paused to consider. “Eh, Tier 8, probably. Minotaur boss and Rillifane boss were both Tier 8, so I’d say the spider’s around the same level.”
“Well, the resilience of the specimen isn’t a definitive measure of the Tier,” Dr. Anderson pointed out. “It’s quite possible that we merely had the most suitable tools at hand in this particular encounter.”
“The scholar speaks truly,” Sera agreed. “There is nary a defining criterion; defense is but one of many that are considered by the Guild. Were it so simple, Kelmithus and I would have attained Tier 9 ere now.”
“So, what do you think the Queen is, then? Tier 7 maybe?” Ron asked.
Henry shook his head. Tier 7 didn’t seem accurate. Using his knife to scrape some of the webbing off his glove, he voiced, “Spiranids are weak in general, but are classified as Tier 5 or higher because of their traps, ambush tactics, numbers, and abilities. Archers can use Wind Snipe and mages can use wide-area spellcasting, but they can’t reliably penetrate the exoskeleton’s armor. If anything, this is probably on the lower end of Tier 9.”
“Tier 9, huh?” Isaac muttered.
Sera smiled as she stood back. She stuffed a frost-covered gland into her holding bag and paused from her work as she chimed in, “Hmm… how keen. I expected nothing less from the first Tier 6 entrants in Eldralore’s history! It shows plain why the Guild did so swiftly raise you.”
“Hah,” Henry chuckled. It was an amusing thought, but… “Say, ya think we can get to Tier 7 after this?”
Sera’s eyebrows shot up. “Tier 7? A mark of no slight merit. What have you achieved since attaining Tier 6?”
Henry reached to scratch his chin, then cursed softly as his glove thudded against his visor. “Well, we took down a Rillifane pack, a Sentinel Lindwyrm, and now this primal Spiranid Queen. That’s not too shabby, eh?”
“Firm victories,” Sera admitted, “but advancement weighs more than battle alone. The Guild also considers quest difficulty, knowledge gained therefrom, and impact – in other words, glory.”
“The Baranthurian Ruins,” Dr. Anderson blurted, taking the words out of Henry’s mouth. He turned to Kelmithus, who approached them after confirming that the eggs had been cleared out. “Surely, working with the Sanctum Arcanum must be quite the honour. The Guild holds their quests with high esteem, wouldn’t you say?”
Kelmithus nodded, burning a clump of disposed webs on the ground. “True as that may be, advancement oft hinges upon the cumulative experience of dozens of quests.”
“Well, ain’t no small feats for us lately,” Ryan remarked. “The quest to the Baranthurian ruins, what was it, Tier 8? Yeah, that was Tier 8. Sentinel Lindwyrm? Hell, Tier Nine. That there beast?” Ryan pointed his gun at the carcass of the Spiranid Queen. “Tier 9 as well.”
Ron interjected, “Plus we’ve been helping out along the way, like those villagers, and taking on quests others won’t touch. Honestly, the Hardale quest should be pretty weighty too, considering the Nobian shenanigans.”
Sera hummed, mulling over Alpha Team’s experiences. The fact that most of their quests at Tier 6 had essentially been Tier 7 quests or higher in difficulty was probably unheard of in the Guild. Not only that, but they’d been able to complete these difficult quests successfully. Hell, with flying colors, even. That had to count for something.
Henry looked over at Sera, stepping back as he allowed Kelmithus to dispose of the webs that he had cleared out. “So, whaddya think? Based on what we’ve done, you think we got a shot at Tier 7?”
Sera looked up at the ceiling as she weighed her response. “Ehh, you’ve a strong case. Alas, it’s Taldren’s call to make. His favor seems yours, though; I wager he’ll agree.”
Henry grinned. Moving up meant they could have access to more quests. Naturally, that also meant better rewards and in turn, access to some truly magical equipment. “Good to hear. Guess we’ll see to it once we get back to Eldralore. Now, we should probably –”
A soft glow of light gradually lit up the room, interrupting Henry mid-sentence. He squinted, readying his weapon. The light came from the walls and ceiling, illuminating the once-dark chamber. The obelisk, now free of webs, now hummed… healthily? It wasn’t like he had a manual to tell him if this was a good or bad development, but judging from the facility’s reaction, it must’ve worked.
Henry glanced at his HUD. The temperature readings were rising, too. The icy chill from Kelmithus’ magic rapidly dissipated as the environmental controls kicked in. “Well, looks like we’ve done all we can here. Let’s head back to the containment cell room and see if we can find anything else of interest.”
– – –
Outskirts of GB-2, Grenden Forest
Carvus Alnect Virelius narrowed his gaze toward the brightening sky, his eyes cutting through the retreating mist that had long veiled the forest’s canopy. This unprecedented clarity above the ruins was strange. After centuries cloaked in an impenetrable fog, why did the skies clear now?
The Umber Vicearch’s mind worked like a whetstone, sharpening the fragments of reports from his scouts, cryptic as they were. The recent skirmish, occurring concurrently with the lifting fog, could not be mere happenstance. Regardless of the answer, the unexpected fold presented a welcome complexity to test his mettle.
He set his thoughts aside as the sound of footsteps approached.
“Leuarch Eldreyn reporting, milord,” one of his men said. “We’ve word from Serarch Trelian.”
Carvus gave him a nod to continue.
Eldreyn relayed the news. “The scouts espy traces of battle: a fallen Sentinel Lindwyrm and two carriages left abandoned near the cave’s entrance. The land bears scars from some form of magic, strewn with strange metal tubes and other objects unknown to us. Save for the Lindwyrm, no other bodies are to be found. What are your commands, milord?”
Carvus took a deep breath. No other bodies? Two carriages? That such a formidable creature was felled with no apparent casualties among their ranks suggested a small but extraordinarily capable force. Each member was no doubt Tier 7 at the least. The limited number of carriages implied a party not larger than ten. But… what could the metal objects mean?
Powerful though they might be, could such a small group withstand his numbers? Carvus entertained the thought briefly. No, direct confrontation would be unwise. The site bore secrets too vital to squander on rash gambles. Better to maneuver them into a position where the only viable option would be to comply with his demands.
“Hold our position, Lornus,” Carvus commanded. While he preferred the safety of their hidden vantage in the forest, the intrigue of Trelian’s findings – the slain Lindwyrm – was too compelling to ignore. “The contents of Trelian’s report compel our own investigation. Lead us, that we might see for ourselves.”
“As you command, milord.”
It was a short walk to the clearing. As they reached the treeline, Carvus held up a hand, signaling his men to halt – they should go no further than the cover of the forest. The aftermath of the battle lay evident before them. The massive form of the Sentinel Lindwyrm sprawled near the far side of the clearing, its outline murky at a distance.
Carvus squinted, adjusting his position slightly for a better view. He felt his jaw drop, a lapse in composure that surprised even him. Yet, who could fault him? The beast lay nearly torn asunder, its massive body riddled with gaping, jagged wounds that no sword or arrow could inflict. Indeed, not even traditional siege weapons or combat spells could inflict such damage.
The destructive capability of fyric powder was well-known to him – he had seen its use in adamantite mines. The wounds on the Lindwyrm, however, spoke of a force of another Tier entirely. Where fyric powder might clear a path through a stubborn boulder, the agent used against the Sentinel Lindwyrm seemed capable of obliterating several boulders at once, perhaps even an entire cliffside.
Turning his attention from the ravaged beast, he scanned the battlefield. Among the chaos, his eyes caught the glint of metal – strange tubes scattered about, all some lighter shade of bronze. The craters were blackened and littered with debris: shards of metal mixed with wires. This was clearly no ordinary skirmish.
He moved closer to the tree line, cautiously examining the unfamiliar objects. The metal tubes bore no resemblance to any weapons known to Nobian forces. However, their presence here implied that somehow, these objects were related to the catastrophic wounds on the Lindwyrm.
Near the cave’s entrance, two metal carriages lay abandoned. Their exteriors were marred by dirt and marked with an array of dents that appeared to be from the Lindwyrm’s armored tail. The carriages, in style and make, aligned with reports of American machines observed by their Umbercari in distant Eldralore. Mounted atop each was a long cylinder. As foreign as they were, he could tell they were weapons – ones capable of unleashing formidable destruction.
Adventurers throughout the ages had ventured here, all repelled by the formidable Lindwyrm that long guarded these grounds. Had it been folly to devote their resources to the conquest of their neighbors, rather than to mastering and exploiting this site? Such questions surpassed his station, yet irrespective of the answers, the Emperor would surely take no pleasure in learning that he had allowed Americans to plunder the Gatebuilder’s secrets.
Carvus turned to Lornus. “Bid our scouts to investigate the cave.” As Leuarch Eldreyn departed to carry out the orders, he beckoned to one of his serarchs. “Bring me one of those metal tubes. I wish to examine it.”
He sat on a rock, watching the light bend around the man’s form until he vanished from sight. The serarch then adjusted the temperature around his body, matching it to that of the forest. Were it not for the subtle shifts in the man’s mana as he held the spells, Carvus would have surely lost track of him.
The serarch made his way forth, passing through the trees and into the clearing beyond. With haste, he seized upon one of the tubes that lay scattered about, and then, as quick as he had come, he turned and made his way back to the forest’s edge. When at last he returned, Carvus stood up and held out his hand.
The tube, lighter than its solidity might have portended, was chill to the touch and was marked by a patina that showed clear signs of bending. He tried to bend it with his fingers, but the metal resisted. Even when he used magic to strengthen himself, it yielded naught but scant impression. What could have possibly moved the metal?
Looking closely, he noticed that the metal wasn’t bronze, as he had first thought. Though bearing a hue akin to bronze, it was of a kind unfamiliar to him. The surface was engraved with American script – characters and sequences that held little meaning to him. Yet, to deem the letters ‘engraved’ would be to err; it was as if they were imprinted with a craftsmanship nary a smith could rival.
He turned it over in his hands, his eyes drawn to a circular groove near the base. Examining both ends, Carvus noted the open end was distorted as if a great force had expelled something from within – an insight into his previous question. The other end was sealed, marked by a small, precise indentation. He held it up, aligning it with a similarly sized hole in a nearby tree.
This was no common weapon. As a trebuchet releases its load, so too must this tube have hurled its own projectile. It gave him an idea. What if one were to use an adamantite tube with fyric powder, place a keen arrowhead atop, and ignite the mixture below? Would it rival a standard Wind Snipe combined with physical enhancement magic?
Carvus’ thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out to him. “Milord.”
“Hm?” He looked up, finding the face of Leuarch Franus. “What is it, Martano?”
He hesitated, as if second-guessing his words. “The… The Lindwyrm… The men grow restless, milord. They wish to claim the spoils of this battle – the Sentinel Lindwyrm’s materials are prized in many a lore. And these carriages, would it not profit us to salvage what we can? They may hold more secrets – or riches.”
He turned the leuarch’s words over in his mind as he would a well-worn coin. In truth, the idea held merit. Even the smallest measure of a Lindwyrm’s blood was a treasure beyond compare – to say nothing of the other materials, sought after by alchemists and smiths alike. That the Americans had forgone harvest was a curious thing indeed. Could it be that they were ignorant of the creature’s true worth? Or perhaps, had they found something more valuable?
And then there were the carriages, gleaming in the sun like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked. If they could but glean some understanding of how the Americans had so deftly slain a beast of the Lindwyrm’s standing, it would surely prove a boon to the Empire’s own martial pursuits. Perhaps, armed with such knowledge, they might at last gain the upper hand against the accursed Sonarans.
Carvus cast his gaze once more upon the clearing, then turned to face Martano. “Aye,” he said. “Let it be so.”
Yet, as he made to step forth, a low, droning sound beckoned his attention – a buzzing hum that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The unfamiliar noise compelled him to halt. He raised his hand, stopping his men as he searched for the noise. He tilted his head skyward, squinting as he beheld a strange sight: a winged thing hanging in the air above the clearing, like an animal circling its prey. As the sunlight reflected off its surface, it became evident to him that this was no creature of flesh, but a machine – much like the metal carriages.
“Hold,” Carvus ordered. “We dare not venture forth.”
Martano stepped forward, doubt and confusion etched across his face. “But, milord, if we shroud ourselves in invisibility, surely they cannot see us.”
Carvus shook his head. “Nay; recall the umbercari we sent to infiltrate the Duke’s mansion. They, too, thought themselves hidden, yet were somehow discovered. We know not what sorcery that flying machine might possess, and we cannot risk exposing ourselves.”
Before Martano could respond or venture any further protest, the scouts returned, led by Serarch Trelian. The search bowed his head before providing his report, “Milord, the cave lies empty, and the Lindwyrm’s nest remains untouched. We discovered footprints leading to a great sealed door, which we believe to be the entrance to the ruins.”
Carvus nodded. The Americans had ventured forth and left the loot behind for a reason. He thought back to a fortress that the Empire once sacrificed to encircle the forces of the now-conquered Kingdom of Durenelle. “So be it. Let us abandon these lesser spoils. As our adversaries have forgone these spoils in pursuit of greater gains, so must we sacrifice Straltus.”
Next

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-in-zane-in-the-membrane
Header Image ^[Imgur]
It’s not a Cypress Hill song, it’s a new issue of Canon Fodder!
By now, you’ll no doubt have made headway through the latest Operation in Halo Infinite —titled “Banished Honor”—which was accompanied by a new Waypoint Chronicle based around a simple question: “What would the story of a Spartan who joined the Banished be?”
We had the perfect character lined up to tell that story, one who hasn’t been seen since the end of Hunt the Truth's second season all the way back in 2015.
Welcome back, Ilsa Zane.

THE THIRD LIFE

Our ninth Waypoint Chronicle has arrived, which follows on from the concluding events of Hunt the Truth where a Guardian awakens on the colony world Laika III. Broadly, these events are concurrent with the story that unfolds in Halo 5 as Cortana lays claim to the Mantle, rallies AIs to her cause, and sets about imposing an imperial peace upon the galaxy.
Where Hunt the Truth saw the mantle of narrator pass from journalist Benjamin Giraud to undercover ONI agent Maya “FERO” Sankar in its second season, that torch is once again passed on to a character who made her presence felt in this story... the rogue Spartan known as Ilsa Zane.
Halo: The Third Life is available here on Halo Waypoint, as a free PDF, and in audiobook format on YouTube.
“October 2558. After being taken prisoner by the Banished as chaos erupts across the galaxy, Ilsa Zane’s hunt for the truth leads her to a new stage of life she never expected...”

EMPTY THRONE

Last issue, we gave you a totally legitimate look at the cover art of Halo: Empty Throne. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and unfortunately the powers that be decided that we could do better than a screenshot made in Halo 3's Forge mode in ten minutes with some crudely edited-in elements... it was a close call, really, but we ultimately pivoted towards something with the vibe of it having come from an incredibly talented and brilliant artist—namely, Will Staehle, whose other work you can check out here.
So, here you go. Here’s the official cover art for Halo: Empty Throne, coming later this year.
Pre-order your copy of Halo: Empty Throne here!
Cover art of Halo: Empty Throne illustrated by Will Staehle depicting a young girl and a Spartan emerging from a blue explosion coming from a Forerunner structure
“2559. It has been a year since the rogue artificial intelligence Cortana seized control of the Domain, an otherworldly dimension housing a vast information network. With an array of Forerunner weapons at her disposal, Cortana set out to enforce an authoritarian peace on the civilizations of the galaxy. But as the United Nations Space Command flagship Infinity prepares to strike against Cortana at Zeta Halo, another plan has also been set in motion.
An ancient access point hidden on a seemingly insignificant human colony has become the focus of a parallel effort to claim the Domain and its immeasurable capabilities. The UNSC, however, needs a key: a living, forsaken product of an old war. As a new generation of heroes rise to meet this challenge and Cortana's pursuit of control reaches a desperate and sudden crescendo, a cunning, ruthless warrior emerges from the shadows of the Banished, who has vowed to fill the new power vacuum by any means necessary....”

THE BANISHED SPARTAN

ILSA ZANE
Cropped profile image depicting Ilsa Zane surrounded by fire and Banished banners ^[Imgur]
RANK: Bloodstar BIRTH WORLD: Kholo DATE OF BIRTH: June 11, 2528 APPEARED IN: Halo: Initiation, Hunt the Truth, Halo: The Third Life
Born on the Outer Colony world Kholo, Ilsa Zane was just eleven years old when she lost her parents and everyone she had ever known as the Covenant descended upon her home and reduced its surface to glass. Taken to the remote colony Asphodel as a ward of the state, Zane remained largely silent and solitary until coming of age in 2547, where she was conscripted into UNSC military service.
In 2550, Zane was selected as a candidate for the prototype phase of the SPARTAN-IV program. Though she survived the augmentation process, additional experimental cocktails caused severe neurological damage to Zane. After escaping the facility, she was recovered by Admiral Mattius Drake and integrated into the rebel group known as the New Colonial Alliance.
In the immediate aftermath of the Covenant War, Zane led a group of operatives who attempted to commandeer the UNSC Infinity —securing it as the flagship of the New Colonial Alliance and to prevent the UNSC from deploying it to police independent colonies. This plan was thwarted by Spartan Sarah Palmer, who ejected Zane into space where the rogue Spartan was once more rescued by Drake, who was on standby in a nearby Prowler.
Following this, Zane served as an acquisitions specialist for weapons and materiel, as well as a ruthless instructor for mercenary and rebel groups that joined the New Colonial Alliance, forging them into a veritable fighting force in preparation for a large-scale strike against the UNSC. However, the awakening of the Guardians in 2558 waylaid these plans, leaving Zane as a prisoner of the Banished—with whom she ultimately came to find both common cause and brotherhood.

BANISH THY HONOR

Halo: Tales From Slipspace - Hunting Party
Image ^[Imgur]
What does it mean to be Banished?
To be Banished is to seek to liberate oneself, to pledge loyalty not to false promises of divine ascension but to the fearsome might and will exemplified by Atriox.
Service is welcome from any species, of any previous affiliation or loyalty—from the lowliest Unggoy thrall to the mightiest Sangheili warrior, and all between and beyond.
Power is its own end. In the wake of the Covenant War, opportunity is rife to carve up the remnants of the fallen empire’s vast resources and obtain technology that furthers the prime directive of the Banished: to never bow again, a “reclamation” all their own of freedom.
Following decades of calamitous conflict that has left even the most capable commanders war-weary, it is the Banished that are energized and fortified in purpose and will. Payment for those who share common cause with Atriox comes in blood and sport and spoils.
But those who would choose this path must unshackle themselves from ties to the past—unbind themselves from old masters, cast off their piety, and banish their sentimental devotion to honor.
Only then can one become a true vessel for victory.
Only then is one truly Banished.

THIEVING MITTENS

Halo: Escalation Issue #3 page depicting a showdown between Spartan Scruggs, who has taken Admiral Hood hostage, and Spartan Palmer, Chieftain Lydus, and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam ^[Imgur]
Why would a Spartan go rogue?
It’s an apt question. After all, Spartans are meant to represent paragons of humanity in both strength and spirit. But across the generations of Spartans, there have been traitors, rebels, or those who simply wanted to leave the UNSC behind to live on their own terms.
For the Spartan-IIs, these examples came as a result of their training—of recognizing and rebelling against the horrific context of their situation.
In the “Homecoming” episode of Halo Legends, Daisy-023 and several of her fellow candidates sought to escape the program following the augmentation procedures that killed or maimed many of their brothers and sisters, but were ultimately brought back into the fold.
Likewise, in the Halo: Evolutions short story “Pariah,” Soren-066 was left disfigured by the augmentations and was gradually radicalized by a technician named Partch, eventually attempting to escape Reach and join the Insurrection. Indeed, the Spartan who sought to apprehend Soren was Randall-037, who later appeared in Halo: Nightfall where we learned that he had evaded the UNSC after the Battle of Vodin in 2532, even starting a family before ONI eventually caught up to him over a decade later, "reversing" many of his augmentations in exchange for release from UNSC service.
Looking to the Spartan Field Manual, originally released back in 2018, we can gain further insight into the risk of rogue Spartans as it applies to the SPARTAN-IV program:
STOLEN GAUNTLET
Nevertheless, the SPARTAN-IV selection process is not foolproof. Spartan-IVs are soldiers with preexisting philosophies and loyalties, and even the most carefully screened candidate can react to their augmentation and training in unexpected ways. Individual Spartans represent a strategically significant level of combat power and pose a major security threat if their loyalty is compromised.
The STOLEN GAUNTLET fail-safe protocol has been created to provide training and permissive rules of engagement for special agents tasked with tracking down and swiftly neutralizing rogue Spartans.
~ Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual, p. 86
Rogue Spartans
Halo Mythos artwork by Isaac Hannaford depicting Mickey's betrayal of Buck and Romeo in Halo: New Blood ^[Imgur]
Ilsa Zane represents the earliest example of this manifesting as a critical issue for the Spartan-IV program, and she is far from a singular example.
In Halo: Escalation, we see Spartan Vladimir Scruggs—another New Colonial Alliance defector—attempt to sabotage the peace talks between Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam and Chieftain Lydus.
Another prominent example is Michael Crespo in Halo: New Blood, who became disillusioned with being sent to kill other humans in the wake of the Covenant War and defected to the United Rebel Front with fellow Spartan Rudolf Schein.
Of course, defecting is one thing, but what is it about the Banished that would be attractive to a rogue Spartan? That is something wholly contingent upon the individual, and at present there is a specific example we can examine: Ilsa Zane.
Having been discarded by the UNSC after falling victim to experimental augmentation cocktails that ravaged her body and mind, she was eventually left for dead by Admiral Drake as well—she was herself “banished” from the places she had sought to belong. This, in combination with her proclivity for violence and a ruthless mindset, led her to discover a certain kinship with the Jiralhanae on Laika III, leading her to willingly pledge herself and the New Colonial Alliance to the Banished.
In the words of Spartan Scruggs: "I am a Spartan. But what you fight for isn't always the same as who you fight for."

ARMORY INFINITUM

The Ravager was a new weapon introduced to the sandbox in Halo Infinite, though it made its fictional debut in Halo: Shadows of Reach.
“The cacophony of gunfire was replaced by the sizzle of shock rifles and the thump-hiss of ravagers.”
~ Halo: Shadows of Reach, Chapter 21
Featuring a semi-automatic, three-round burst and a charge ability that can create a burning pool for area-of-effect damage, the Ravager quickly became a favorite tool of Jiralhanae warlords for its capacity to flush out garrisoned infantry.
A unique version of the weapon, the Rebound Ravager, can be found in the possession of Captain Arthoc—a high value target the Master Chief encountered on Zeta Halo. Rounds fired by this weapon have the ability to bounce, to which the words of Agent Washington from Red vs. Blue may come to mind: “It bounces? Who designs a gun that bounces?!”
Halo Infinite screenshot of Arthoc ^[Imgur]
ARMORY OF RECKONING CAPT ARTHOC FWD: RAVAGER
The Armory of Reckoning—it is a fitting name for the tools of conquest and destruction birthed from its forges.
When we advanced on the human remnants that had sought shelter within their crashed ship, I requested of Commander Bannix an augmented version of the plasma tossers produced by the Forge of Torograd.
Where we have mastered both spike and spear in our weaponry since before the Immolation, infusion matter remains an object of study for our alchemists. I was informed by the Screecleaver that there is a great savant stationed on Oth Liqattu who has sought to unlock further secrets of this fetid power, applying it to our own troops and many of our vehicles.
It is said that prolonged exposure to this corrosive bile can addle the mind and rot the body... that is good, for there are many small spaces in human ships. The capacity for this weapon to launch projectiles that bounce before erupting into toxic piles was of great use in flushing our foes from cover. How they flailed and danced to our battle song!
It is my understanding that pure infusion matter is pumped throughout Forerunner facilities, so we must dedicate resources to finding these wellsprings within the substructures of this ring. I shall bring this to Tremonius once he has returned from investigating a disturbance at his outpost.

MERIDIAN SLOANCOMING

Last month saw the arrival of Halo: Battle Born's rerelease, featuring two new short story “adjuncts” which we took a closer look at in our previous issue.
On April 30, the rerelease of Halo: Meridian Divide hit the shelves and—as folks have noticed—there's another adjunct in this one as well!
MERIDIAN HOMECOMING
Halo 5 screenshot of a Promethean Knight on Meridian ^[Imgur]
Completing the trifecta of new adjuncts in these rereleases is “Meridian Homecoming,” which is set in the immediate aftermath of Cortana’s final sacrifice on Zeta Halo in December 2559.
With the leader of the Created dead, the future of this fledgling faction has been thrown into doubt. High Auxiliary Sloan has returned to Meridian where he occupies a Promethean Knight’s carapace and wanders the vast glasslands of his home to find his own fate.
Of course, fans who followed the Precipice short story series last year (which accompanied Halo Infinite's recurring FIREWALL events) know that Sloan has emerged as a new leader within the Created and set into motion the creation of the Executors. “Meridian Homecoming” gives us a small moment in time with Sloan as he contemplates what the concept of home means to him, Cortana’s unfulfilled promise of salvation, his regrets over how he departed from Meridian, and the memories held within a Promethean Knight that set him on a new path.

COMMUNITY LORE CORNER

For this month’s Community Lore Corner, we kick things off with GammaCompanyMark who has put together a media order for the Halo series if you really, really want to experience it in some form of “timeline order.”
The fine folks at JumperScape have been adapting some of the lore and stories we’ve put out for Halo Infinite, beginning with the Intel drops we did for Season 2: Lone Wolves. (If you can believe it, it’s just passed the two-year mark for when this season launched!)
We recently discovered Lore VoidCat while checking out the latest Halo lore content on YouTube, and he has put together a fantastic series of videos about various expanded universe aspects—from every blade of the Covenant, to recounting the stories of various games and books, and more. Here’s one of his latest!
Would it be surprising if you learned that Covenant Canon has put out a new video featuring some... you guessed it, Covenant canon? In his latest release, we take a look at every known Arbiter throughout the Halo universe’s history.
Every now and then, the nostalgic longing for those halcyon days of 2007 return, which is exactly what you will feel when watching Meaning In-Between and Frogarchist's exploration of how mystery was a core thematic pillar of Halo 3.
And finally, David and Ian of Podcast Evolved have done a new “book club” episode on one of our previous Waypoint Chronicles: Saturn Devouring His Son.
With that, it’s time to sign off for this month’s issue.
If you haven’t already checked out Halo: The Third Life, be sure to do so—and if you have, well, go and read or listen to it again! Let the gears of speculation turn for what is depicted on the cover art for Halo: Empty Throne (don’t forget to secure your pre-order), and you can get your in-game Ilsa Zane cosplay sorted by completing the Banished Honor Operation Pass!
We depart with our favorite Ilsa Zane comic panel for your entertainment.
Halo: Initiation panel of Ilsa Zane shutting of the UNSC Infinity's original AI, Aine, saying "Quiet you." ^[Imgur]
This post was made by a script written and maintained by the Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

Hi everyone. Preorder links for this product will automatically be added below as they are found. If you find any links not listed here, post them below for other people to see!
^{A small commission may be earned through purchases made via links in this post. Proceeds directly fund this automated service.}

Amazon

Free Shipping for Prime Members

• Funko Pop! Marvel: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 - Alpha Groot Amazon Exclusive
  
• Funko Bitty Pop!: Deadpool Mini Collectible Toys 4-Pack - Deadpool (Backyard Griller) Deadpool (Clown) Deadpool (Bedtime) & Mystery Chase Figure (Styles May Vary)
  
• Funko Bitty Pop!: Deadpool Mini Collectible Toys 4-Pack - Deadpool (Bathtime) Deadpool (Flamenco) Deadpool (Supper Hero) & Mystery Chase Figure (Styles May Vary)
  
• Funko Bitty Pop!: Deadpool Mini Collectible Toys 4-Pack - Deadpool (Sleepover) Deadpool (LARP) Deadpool (Heavy Metal) & Mystery Chase Figure (Styles May Vary)
  
• Funko Bitty Pop!: Deadpool Mini Collectible Toys 4-Pack - Dinopool Deadpool (Barista) Deadpool (Roman Senator) & Mystery Chase Figure (Styles May Vary)
  
• Funko Pop! Comic Cover: Daredevil 60th Anniversary - Marvel Knights Collection #1 Daredevil
  
• Funko Pop! Deluxe: Daredevil 60th Anniversary - Matt Murdock With Radar
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Captain America
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Hulk
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Iron Man
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Loki
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Scarlet Witch
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Groot As Wolverine
  
• Funko Pop! Marvel: Daredevil 60th Anniversary - Daredevil (Facet)
  
• Funko Pop! Sanrio: Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary All Over Print Cake Mini-Backpack
  
• Funko Pop! Plush: Marvel 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Captain America 7
  
• Funko Pop! Plush: Marvel 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Iron Man 7
  
• Funko Pop! Plush: Marvel 85th Anniversary - We Are Groot Wolverine 7
  

Entertainment Earth

Purchase through link for 10% off instock items and free shipping over $39. Mint Guarantee, No Charge Until Shipment

• Daredevil #1 60th Anniversary Funko Pop! Comic Cover Figure #56 With Case
  
• Daredevil 60th Anniversary Facet Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1386
  
• Daredevil 60th Anniversary Matt Murdock With Radar Deluxe Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1385
  
• Deadpool BBQ Master Funko Bitty Pop! Mini-Figure 4-Pack
  
• Deadpool Bathtime Funko Bitty Pop! Mini-Figure 4-Pack
  
• Deadpool Dinopool Funko Bitty Pop! Mini-Figure 4-Pack
  
• Deadpool Sleepover Funko Bitty Pop! Mini-Figure 4-Pack
  
• We Are Groot As Captain America Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1392
  
• We Are Groot As Iron Man Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1393
  
• We Are Groot As Loki Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1394
  
• We Are Groot As Scarlet Witch Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1395
  
• We Are Groot As Wolverine Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1396
  
• We Are Groot Hulk Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure
  
• We Are Groot As Iron Man 7-Inch Funko Pop! Plush
  
• We Are Groot As Wolverine 7-Inch Funko Pop! Plush
  
• We Are Groot Captain America 7-Inch Funko Pop! Plush
  

The Mighty Hobby

• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Hulk
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Iron Man
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Loki
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Scarlet Witch
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Wolverine
  

Big Bad Toy Store

• Deadpool Bitty Pop! BBQ Master Four-Pack
  
• Deadpool Bitty Pop! Bathtime Four-Pack
  
• Deadpool Bitty Pop! Dinopool Four-Pack
  
• Deadpool Bitty Pop! Sleepover Four-Pack
  
• Pop! Marvel: We Are Groot 85th Anniversary - Groot As Captain America
  

Hot Topic

• Funko Marvel Deadpool Bitty Pop! Backyard Griller Vinyl Figure Set
  
• Funko Marvel Deadpool Bitty Pop! Bathtime Vinyl Figure Set
  
• Funko Marvel Deadpool Bitty Pop! Dinopool Vinyl Figure Set
  
• Funko Marvel Deadpool Bitty Pop! Sleepover Vinyl Figure Set
  

Deep Discount

• FUNKO POP! Deluxe: The Jungle Book S2 - King Louie On Throne
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Captain America
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Hulk
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Iron Man
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Loki
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Scarlet Witch
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: We Are Groot - Wolverine
  
• FUNKO POP! WWE: Mr. America
  
• FUNKO POP! WWE: WWE 94 Survivor Series - Lex Luger
  
• FUNKO POP! WWE: WWE 94 Survivor Series - Razor Ramon
  

Hi everyone. Preorder links for this product will automatically be added below as they are found. If you find any links not listed here, post them below for other people to see!
^{A small commission may be earned through purchases made via links in this post. Proceeds directly fund this automated service.}

Amazon

Free Shipping for Prime Members

• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Bulla
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Gohan
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Goku
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Goten
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Pan
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Trunks & Gill
  
• Funko Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Vegeta
  

Entertainment Earth

Purchase through link for 10% off instock items and free shipping over $39. Mint Guarantee, No Charge Until Shipment

• Dragon Ball GT Super Baby 2 Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1635 - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
  
• Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 3 Goku Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1633 - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
  
• Dragon Ball GT Bulla Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1628
  
• Dragon Ball GT Gohan Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure
  
• Dragon Ball GT Goku Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1626
  
• Dragon Ball GT Goten Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure
  
• Dragon Ball GT Pan Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1629
  
• Dragon Ball GT Trunks & Gill Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1630
  
• Dragon Ball GT Vegeta Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure #1627
  
• Dragon Ball GT Bulla Funko Pocket Pop! Key Chain
  
• Dragon Ball GT Goku Funko Pocket Pop! Key Chain
  
• Dragon Ball GT Pan Funko Pocket Pop! Key Chain
  
• Dragon Ball GT Trunks Funko Pocket Pop! Key Chain
  

The Mighty Hobby

• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Bulla
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Gohan
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Goku
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Goten
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Pan
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Trunks & Gill
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Animation: DBGT- Vegeta
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Deluxe: TJB S2- King Louie On Throne
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Disney: TJB S2 - Bagheera W/basket
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Disney: TJB S2- Baloo
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Disney: TJB S2- Hathi Jr.
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Marvel: WAG- Captain America
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Moment: TJB S2- Baloo & Mowgli
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Movies: D&C- Mitch
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Movies: D&C- Randall
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Movies: D&C- Slater
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Movies: D&C- Wooderson
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Rides SUPDLX: OT- Ox & Wagon
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Rocks: Tupac 90s
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: Parks & Rec- Leslie Knope
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: ST S4- Chrissy Floating (BD)
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: ST S4- Max & Lucas 2PK
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: ST S4- Mike W/Wills Painting
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: ST S4- Vecna(Transformation)
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: Shoresy- Shorsey Referee
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! TV: Shoresy- Shorsey
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: Dominik Mysterio
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: Mr. America
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: Seth Rollins W/Coat
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: WWE 94 SS- Lex Luger
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: WWE 94 SS- Razor Ramon
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! WWE: Zelina Vega
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Keychain: DBGT- Bulla
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Keychain: DBGT- Goku
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Keychain: DBGT- Pan
  
• (PRE-ORDER) POP! Keychain: DBGT- Trunks
  

Big Bad Toy Store

• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Bulla
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Gohan
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Goku
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Goten
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Pan
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Trunks And Gill
  
• Pop! Animation: Dragon Ball GT - Vegeta (Short Hair)
  
• Pocket Pop! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Bulla
  
• Pocket Pop! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Goku
  
• Pocket Pop! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Pan
  
• Pocket Pop! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Trunks
  

Hot Topic

• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Bulla Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Gohan Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Goku Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Goten Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Pan Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Trunks & Gill Vinyl Figure
  
• Funko Dragon Ball GT Pop! Animation Vegeta Vinyl Figure
  

Chalice Collectibles

• Pre-Order: Funko Pop! Dragon Ball GT S1: Complete Set Of 7 Commons
  
• Pre-Order: Funko Pop! Dragon Ball GT S1: Goku #1626
  

Deep Discount

• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Bulla
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Gohan
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Goku
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Goten
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Pan
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Trunks & Gill
  
• FUNKO POP! Anime: Dragon Ball GT - Vegeta
  
• FUNKO POP! Comic Cover Marvel: Daredevil - Daredevil #1? (60th Anniversary)
  
• FUNKO POP! Deluxe Marvel: Daredevil - Matt Murdock W/ Radar (60th Anniversary)
  
• FUNKO POP! Disney: The Jungle Book S2 - Baloo?
  
• FUNKO POP! Disney: The Jungle Book S2 - Hathi Jr.
  
• FUNKO POP! Marvel: Daredevil - Daredevil (Facet)? (60th Anniversary)
  
• FUNKO POP! Moments: The Jungle Book S2 - Baloo & Mowgli?
  
• FUNKO POP! Television: Stranger Things S4 - Chrissy Floating (BD)
  
• FUNKO POP! Television: Stranger Things S4 - Vecna (Transformation)
  
• FUNKO POP! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Bulla
  
• FUNKO POP! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Goku
  
• FUNKO POP! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Pan
  
• FUNKO POP! Keychain: Dragon Ball GT - Trunks
  
• FUNKO POP! Plush Marvel: We Are Groot - Capt. America (POP! 7-Inch)
  
• FUNKO POP! Plush Marvel: We Are Groot - Iron Man (POP! 7-Inch)
  
• FUNKO POP! Plush Marvel: We Are Groot - Wolverine (POP! 7-Inch)
  

Welcome to The (Not So) Daily Planet!
Comment below with a discussion on the releases this week or the question of the week. Try to reply to others instead of starting new threads on the same topic. Keep the conversations civil and have fun!
Keeping /Superman open and welcoming for all

Question of the Week

What other Superfamily movies or shows would you want to see in Gunn's DCU?
(Join our Discord to discuss further!)
Feel free to suggest future weekly questions!

Comic Singles

Action Comics #1065

HOUSE OF EL VERSUS HOUSE OF BRAINIAC! Superman and Lobo have their hands full with Brainiac's Lobo army, so it’s up to Supergirl and Conner Kent to stop Brainiac himself! It's an impossible battle, but they are joined by some unexpected and deadly allies!

Preview
Green Lantern #11

THE FATE OF HAL JORDAN AND CAROL FERRIS! How do you move on from the person you've loved your entire life? How do you start over? Carol wrestles with her feelings as she makes a choice that will change her and Hal's lives forever. Meanwhile, Hal faces off against the United Planets, hoping to bring to light its corrupt members and reestablish the Green Lantern Corps once and for all! Plus, Guy Gardner has caught his man… or has he? Things go from bad to worse to exponentially strange as Guy attempts to get his prisoner and himself back to Oa in one piece!

Preview

Trades

Adventures of Superman: George Pérez [HC]

The 1980s Superman stories by celebrated writer and artist George Pérez are collected in a new hardcover volume! These tales include a face-off with Brainiac, a team-up with O.M.A.C., the start of Superman’s New 52 adventures, and much more.
Collects DC Comics Presents #61, Action Comics #643-645, #647-652, Annual #2 and Superman #1-6 (2011 series).

Superman - Vol. 2, The Chained [TP]

The Man of Steel is challenged like never before when the menace called “The Chained” is freed from deep beneath Supercorp!
Why did Lex Luthor imprison this mysterious foe there in the first place? And will even super-powered armor be enough to give an outmatched Superman the upper hand? Plus, new threats from a transformed Brainiac, the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad, and Luthor’s mother and…daughter?!
This acclaimed new chapter in Superman’s adventures teams all-star writer Joshua Williamson (Batman and Robin) with artists Bruno Redondo (Eisner Award winner for Nightwing), Gleb Melnikov (Batman/Superman), and Dan Jurgens (The Death of Superman)!
Collects SUPERMAN (2023) #6-12.

Digital Releases

Tuesday, 5/14 (DC Universe Infinite) - Superman vs Meshi #22

It’s hungry work being a Superman! That’s why every day for lunch, Superman takes a quick stop over in Japan to try a new chain restaurant. Whether it’s a hearty bowl of curry or conveyor belt sushi, the Man of Steel loves to indulge in the delectable delicacies the country has to offer. So pull up a seat, and dig in as Superman does battle with lunch!

​

A build for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons
Fred Dukes, a.k.a. The Blob, is grotesquely obese and unusually tall. He started notoriety as a circus freak and strongman, demonstrating his amazing ability to remain unmovable no matter what tried to push him. Both Xavier and Magneto observed that this was his mutant power and tried inviting him in, but Blob's outlook as a bully and an opportunist guided him straight to villainy among the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Aside from his immense strength, his mutant gift is to create a super-dense personal center of gravity, rendering him impossible to move from his concentrated spot by anything other than the mightiest feats and characters in Marvel Comics history. Colossus is unable to make him budge, but he has lifted up the ground Blob was standing on, a loophole to his immovability power. He is also superhumanly tough; his thick, blubbery hide ignores damage from gunfire and even Wolverine's claws, though he has no special protection against attacks on his mind or senses.
Blob:
15/15/15/8/8/8, all physical with nothing at all upstairs
Loxodon is used for race to be big and fat; custom lineage for a starting feat

• +2 strength from custom lineage
• Fighting Initiate for Unarmed Fighting Style, gaining 1d8 unarmed strikes with his fists or his weight
• Athletics proficiency from race
• Acrobatics and Performance from the Gladiator background, calling back to your circus days
• Perception and Intimidation from Barbarian

Barbarian:
1:

• Rage: activate as a bonus action to gain a rage damage bonus, resist all physical damage, and have advantage on strength checks and strength saving throws. Lasts 1 minute unless ended early either voluntarily, for not being damaged or attacking for a full round, or by being knocked unconscious. You start with 2 uses of this per long rest, and a rage damage bonus of 2
• Unarmored Defense: have an AC of 10+Dex+Con mods while unarmored

2:

• Reckless Attack: be hit with advantage for a round to have advantage with your attacks
• Danger Sense: you have dex save adv to effects you can see

3:

• Totem subclass: choose an animal aspect to gain an additional trait to your rages. Here I choose Tiger for 3 feet added to jumps, essential for big belly slams
• Primal Knowledge:gain skill proficiency in Survival
• Rage uses per long rest increases to 3

4:

• ASI: take the Athlete feat
  • Gain +1 strength, now 18
  • Running jumps only cost 5 feet, so you need not leave an enemy’s reach
  • Standing from prone only costs 5 feet, so you can drop on an enemy with fall damage and easily get back up

5:

• Extra Attack,
• Fast Movement: +10 speed

6:

• Select another animal totem for a trait that works even while not in rage: Here I choose Bear for double the lifting strength
• Rage uses per long rest increases to 4

7:

• Feral Instinct: initiative advantage, can’t be surprised if you rage
• Instinctive Pounce: half speed boost at start of rage

8:

• ASI: +1 Dex/+1 Con, now 16/16

9:

• Brutal Critical: add another 1d8 to crits
• Rage damage bonus increases to 3

10:

• Primal Knowledge: Animal Handling skill profic

11:

• Relentless Rage: con save to remain fighting below 0 hp, DC raises with each use until rest

12:

• ASI: +2 strength, now 20
• Rage uses per long rest increases to 5

13:

• Brutal Critical: add another 1d8 to crits

14:

• Select a final animal totem to gain another trait while raging: here I choose Elk totem for a bonus action attack that can also prone vs str save at a DC set by your strength. It’s another d12+str of damage every round that can bypass high ACs and is great for causing prone to things with a high grapple contest or high Dex save.

15:

• Persistent Rage: rages don’t end early unless you fall unconscious

16:

• ASI: +2 Con, now 18
• Rage damage bonus increases to 4

17:

• Brutal Critical: add another 1d8 to crits
• Rage uses per long rest increases to 6

18:

• Indomitable Might: your str score (20) is your minimum result of any strength checks

19:

• ASI: +2 Con, now 20

20:

• Primal Champion: you now have 24s in str and con
• Rages are now resource-free with unlimited uses

Magic Items Wishlist:

• +1/2/3 Wraps of Unarmed Prowess: further add to unarmed damage and make it magical as you progress
• Bracers of Defense: +2 AC with your yellow wristbands
• Boots of Striding and Springing: turn that 10’ jump into a 30’ jump; Fast Movement at level 5 gives you just enough speed to do this and still be able to stand from prone. You also don’t slow down from encumbrance, making you able to comfortably lift and drag over a thousand pounds.
• Immovable Rod: hide this under your belt and activate it to become nigh immovable
• Orb of the Stein Rune:
  • Indomitable Stand: As an action, you can channel the orb's magic to hold your ground. For the next minute or until you move any distance, you have advantage on all checks and saving throws to resist effects that force you to move. In addition, any enemy that moves to a space within 10 feet of you must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be unable to move any farther this turn.

Tactics:
The Athlete feat enables Blob to make a running high jump with only 5’ movement, short enough to not leave the reach of his opponent and incur OA. A running high jump equals 3+strength mod of feet vertically; at level 4 he has 18 strength, so a strength mod of +4. Tiger totem provides another 3 feet while raging, getting his running high jump to 10 feet, so starting at level 4 he is able to leap up and fall back into a medium creature’s space.
Tasha’s provides us with rules on landing on another creature. When falling into a creature’s space, they have to make a dc 15 dex save or split any fall damage and you both fall prone. Barb rage resists fall damage and Athlete allows you to stand from prone with just 5’ movement, so you easily handle both effects, but your opponents won’t be so lucky.
Using just your movement speed, you can land in the borders overlapping the grid squares on a battlemap to potentially prone more than one creature; you’re the height and width of a loxodon, so even though your size category is medium, you can belly flop parallel to the earth to cover a lot more area. Anywhere between one and four enemies can fall prone beneath you and all it took was 20’ movement, with your actions and bonus action all still available.
From there you can easily grapple your proned targets to keep them stuck under your girth or unarmed strike them with advantage without needing to use Reckless. For fun, I advise flavoring the total unarmed damage as a part of the huge belly slam’s impact; unarmed strikes need not be with just your hands after all.
With Magneto on your side, he can use graviturgy magic to double your weight and use his reaction to increase your fall damage by 2d10 to better share it to those you land on.
The X-Men in 5th ed D&D Full Build List

Born to a rich family, studied in private schools her whole life, lived in another city to study commerce, nursing, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Bought multiple vinyl records of her favorite bands, multiple collections of comics, had her own motorcycles, souvenirs from multiple cities she traveled to.
While others my age would hear from their parents how hard it was to travel just to get to school during their youth, mine would complain the driver would leave her if she wasn't fast enough.
I on the other hand lived in poverty, would only hear her Travels to different cities, the resorts and restaurants she went to, the things she bought, the hobbies she had, the experiences she experienced. When's my turn? At 22 just a highschool graduate, never got the chance of college. Seeing my batch mates about to graduate this year, looking at social media makes me sick, I want to puke, but I bit my tongue everytime. I'm happy for them, I wish I could say the same for my self.
You're not a mom, you're a spoiled Daddy's girl that got jealous of your siblings having children and decided you want your own.
Just say you never wanted children, stop saying all you wanted in your youth was to die young and beautiful. Now all I want is too just fucking die.
I can't even work while study because of your incompetent, irresponsible, selfish personality. You can't even cook, you can't even clean, you can't even make friends and can never be happy for others. Laughing at my cousin for working at a pawnshop just because she graduated at an amazing University and earning minimum wage.
What are you even laughing at? Your multiple degrees lying around? The fact that you turned down a job from our country's bank? Because you didn't want to? I would've understood you turning down that offer in your youth, not while having 3 kids with no husband, no money, and no work.
Depending on you parents money? How shameless, you decided that they're taking care of you till death? Well too bad they died years ago so you decided that you're now OUR responsibility, no not the other way around. We take care of you, little 2nd grade me.
Kept shaming us that your friends kid are taking care of them already, like I'm sorry you decided to have kids IN YOUR LATE 30S WITH NO JOB OR HUSBAND JUST YOUR PARENTS RETIREMENT MONEY, you don't even have that.
And here I am now, just a highschool graduate who wanted to step foot into college, passed the exams and interviews for our public university, all I needed was to enroll. But no, you have no job, can't cook or even clean. I CANNOT FUCKING BALANCE A FULL TIME JOB, SCHOOL, COOK, CLEAN EVRY FUCKING DAY BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO TRASH THE WHOLE HOUSE AND FUCKING SING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHEN I SHOULD BE SLEEPING, WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT? And when I tell you to stop singing you start crying saying this is your only happiness, you can't even sing, no one in your life ever told you that because you would react like a spoiled brat, fucking hell.
I just want to study, it hurts seeing the people I'm supposed to graduate with, graduate. I want proper and genuine sleep, I want to go home with a clean and organized home, I want to just sit and eat after working. I want to draw during my days off, and when I have free time.

Hey hey hey! I'm Rexi and I'm a 21 year old who absolutely love transformers with a PASSION! G1? Prime? And of course IDW (although still reading), we don't even get started on the new Skybound comics! (Just reordered them!) I am really, really fending for a transformers RP! Preferably a transformer x human because, well, who can blame me? It's been cannon a few times and it's always so checking cute!
Anywho, I'm really open to using ocs or even Canon characters! I'll be super, dooper real with you! For cannon, I really want to find someone to play either, Starscream (PLS PLS PLS), Soundwave, Megatron or even Shockwave! Deceptions are my favourite I'm sure like a lot of people. However! I'm super open to anyone who wants to play a cybatroian oc!^{^(specifically} a con)
I haven't got a heap of plots but I really wanna build something with someone, so it's fun for both parties! I love for it to be fun for everyone! I also love character driven plots with all the angst, drama and slow burn possible!
Now for my rules!^{^}
If you have ideas or anything feel free to let me know! As well I have a tad few rules. 1: no minors. I am 21 and refuse any minors in my dms. 2: OCs must be above 18, preferably 21 and up. 3: Semi literate and above. 4: Third person, no first person. 5: Be happy to chat and even become friends! I use RP to make friends so please don't come into my DMs hella serious and straight to the point, show me some of your personality! Can't have a good RP if our vibes don't match! 6: Send me a plane emoji if you read all of this. 7: Feel free to DM if interested, comments will most likely he ignored because it shows you didn't read all through tehehe. 8: Please let us shift to a private discord server! 9: Google docs with out characters info! Doesn't have to be a heap but a little always helps. 10: I work and Volunteer so sometimes I may be a tad AFK so don't think I ignored you! Same with if I don't reply for awhile I'm probably asleep, I have a slight pain of a time zone! 11: please don't take control of each other's characters, it's a big old pet peeve of mine! 12: no NSFW, erp, smutt or whatever you want to call it. I'm not comfortable with it and you will not convince me to partake in it! The most is a fade to black thats it.

CHAPTER 9 – ENTROPY
DATE: MARCH 10th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION) LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
CAPTAIN HENRY O’TOOLE
"Ah, there you are Commander. Your message said there was something you wanted to talk with me about?" Henry asked as his executive officer approached the system map.
“Aye Captain, now's a good a time as any. As you know, the rate of disciplinary incidents has more than tripled in the last two weeks. We've had six fistfights, one near strangling, a few dozen counts of sexual harassment amongst different parties, and a few more incidents of a nature that I would rather not get into for fear of derailing the point of this conversation. I need additional resources to allocate towards ship internal security. With your permission, I'd like to borrow some of our more trusted marines to help the MA's out on their off shifts.” Commander Alvarez asked.
“Yeah, of course, take what you need to nip this in the bud. I can't say I'm entirely surprised; we expected a certain amount of this with the stresses of FTL travel. With everyone cooped up like this, maybe we should brainstorm some new outlets for the crew. Were there any specific incidents I need to get involved with?” Henry replied as he looked up from the list of updates and reports on his own console.
“No, I have it covered. It's just the regs state I need to ask permission to use marines for internal security matters.” The Commander waved it off.
“Excellent, continue to keep me in the loop then. Can I ask you a question?” Henry took the opportunity to ask something that had been bothering him.
“You just did. Hah! Just kidding, put the axe away boy! Now what would you like to know?” He said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I've seen your file, well, the parts that weren’t redacted anyway. If anything, I should be taking your orders! I mean, you're the Space Wolf! Nobody came even close to the number of ships captured or destroyed than you in the early days of the battle for the belt. Why would they want me to be captain when they had someone like you coming along the whole time? Why aren't you a captain anymore? By all right this should be your command, not mine.” Henry asked, after taking one last look around to verify they were still alone around the system map.
Commander Alvarez seemed stunned for a moment before he settled into a more pensive look.
“Listen, son, you're all full of the vigor and high passions of youth. By that I mean you've got a certain fire and aggression in you, yet I've seen you generally keep it balanced by wit and wisdom. You are a perfect match for the job, even if you could use some more real world experience. With some guidance, you'll do just fine, if you can keep strict standards for yourself and crew and a cool head when things get tough."
"I appreciate that, and I will definitely lean on your experience whenever possible. However, you didn't really answer my question... Why aren't you a captain anymore?"
"I... got a lot of damn good men and women killed in an impossible situation when we lost the Michigan-II, and I never truly got over it. No amount of medals, captured enemy ships, or the fact that I've saved many more lives than I lost can make up for that. I finally found peace with that, but that peace required that I relieve myself of any chance of future command. My legacy, for better or worse, is set in stone. Joining this expedition gives me another chance at adjusting the scales without breaking my former vows, even if the only people who will ever know it are here on the voyage with us.”
“So, you claim you have no aims or desires for leadership, but here you are a mere heartbeat away from it.” Henry said, carefully studying his executive officer's every reaction.
“My time for glory is mostly gone, yours is at your feet before you. To the world, I am retired in comfort and isolation. In reality you have me here to help make your will law. You can relax. I already turned down command of this expedition. I was plan A, why do you think they had to scramble to find you? I will take command of this mission only if you are incapable of doing so yourself, Sir. In the meantime, let my experience and whatever wisdom I can offer guide you.”
An emergency alert snapped both of their attention out of their conversation. "There's a fire in one of the officer's cabins?!" Henry’s pulse quickened as he referenced the map to find which one.
“Fuck, it started in Chantal’s room!” Henry said, horrified.
“I've got the CIC under control. Go on and get her out of there, I'll send the cavalry."
“Thank you, Commander.” Henry called back over his shoulder as he rushed for the quick lift.
The officer cabins were the in the very next deck overhead, so he was able to arrive quickly and break into a sprint. The ship shifted as it dodged some antimatter, causing Henry to slip and scramble back to his feet. As he rounded the corner he saw her door was closed and the keypad powered was off. He could hear thumps and muffled screaming from within the room.
"HANG ON CHANTAL, I'M COMING!" Henry shouted in the hope that she could hear him as he pried at the manual override panel.
Two modified Paladin exo-combat armor suits rounded the corner seconds later with a hospitalman trailing behind pushing a medical cart.
"WE'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE, SIR." A speaker-amplified voice spoke from behind him.
One of the Paladin suits accessed the manual control override and forced the door open enough for the other suit to reach in and pry it the rest of the way open as smoke plumed into the corridor. The second suit charged into the room with its flood lights on as a water cannon mounted on the right wrist sprayed flame retardant from a pack on its back. The first suit abandoned the door control and entered, emerging moments later with Chantal awake and coughing from inside the darkened door frame. She was quickly ushered into cleaner air, set gently down, wrapped in a blanket, and was quickly attended to by a hospitalman who began to check her vitals.
Relief flooded Henry’s mind as his adrenaline surge broke against the wall of worry he had built up during his mad dash from the CIC.
“Baby you came for me! I thought I was going to die in there." She pulled him into a tight embrace as she wept in cathartic release.
"Of course I did! I couldn't stand to lose you, especially not over something like this. So, what the hell happened in there?"
"Well you know me, I was all burning the midnight oil and then I smelled smoke! Then there were some sparks, the outlet pops then whoosh! My computer station and my desk are all ablaze along with half my notes, then the damned door wouldn't work! I had to drop to the floor under the smoke and pound on the door in hopes that someone would hear me. God, it was horrible... I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life." She replied with a deep shudder.
"You're safe now, it's going to be alright."
"I know, but what about my work?" She replied with a forlorn look back at her smoke damaged room.
"What about your work?"
"As you know, I lost a ton of it just now, but what’s worse is I don't even have the ability to recover them! Remember how I lost my backup drive last week? Like, I know I packed it and it is not here anywhere! It’s like some sick cosmic joke on me or something. Sorry! Gotta keep it positive, girl! I get to rethink my last few weeks’ worth of work from scratch... that was almost positive! I probably have most of this recoverable from email sent box backups. Fuck, what do you do if there's no good silver lining?” Chantal bemoaned.
Henry couldn’t help himself but laugh for a second, while his girlfriend stared at him, waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry, is this funny to you or something?”
“No, no of course not. This might be one of those times where the only silver lining is that you're alive. Plus, if anyone can remember and rebuild their notes, you can." Henry smiled down at her.
“Fine, fine, at least I am alive. I was only breathing smoke for a few seconds after all.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Thank you for rushing down here right away anyway, it means a lot. You're amazing, you know.”
Henry smiled, slightly uncomfortable for a moment, so he changed the subject.
“I do my best... Anyway, it seems like these electrical issues seem to be getting worse instead of better. Whatever patch these clowns have slapped on my ship to get her to pass inspection is clearly coming undone. What do you think is going on here?” Henry asked in mild exasperation.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you without digging into the systems myself, which I would rather avoid. My plate is full enough as it is right now, especially having to reproduce so much of my own work now. This ship has kilometers of power cables running throughout it, after all, and you have an entire loyal, capable team down there in electrical, so it should only be a matter of time before they sort it out for you. Let them do their jobs without harassing them too much, please?”
Henry felt a little irked at her for not giving him credit to know not to go overboard, but he stowed it, seeing as she ultimately was right.
“The crew has been under a lot of stress, too, between the technical issues with the lights going out, losing power to workstations, or the constant antimatter threat. More than a few people have tried to convince me to turn us around and return to S33 for a more in-depth refit and repair cycle before we try the mission again. So far, everyone has accepted the fact that we are continuing the mission without much argument, but I fear what may happen if these issues are seen as getting worse. Our orders are clear, though, we must continue the journey.” Henry said, uncomfortable with the implications, even if he didn't dare voice it.
“You should get on the Q-Comm to report the fire to S33. Maybe they will order us back to base after this.” She offered, looking for a solution to an impossible problem.
“Good idea, at least the Q-Comm is still working. It’s incredible to me those particles maintained their entanglement once we passed through the baryonic barrier. That alone has been a huge morale boost, being able to contact home base with no time lag.” Henry replied.
“It’s incredible to you because you only have a basic grasp of the science, hon. But that’s alright, very few people truly understand it. That’s in part what you have me here for anyway. Einstein called the effect spooky action from a distance; I always liked that line.”
Henry ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Chantal, with a shake of his head and a smile.
“Listen, Henry, I just had a crazy stressful experience and I need to unwind. Plus, I haven’t slept in almost a day, so I am bone tired. Let’s go to bed, huh? What do you say doc, am I clear to go?” Chantal asked.
The hospitalman closed her eyes and shook her head before responding. "Yes, you are cleared to rest, and only to rest, do you understand me?"
Chantal mouthed a thank you before she took Henry by the hand and led him off to the captain’s quarters. Henry felt no desire to fight it, nor flaw with her reasoning. Sleep sounded good, really good. Plus, he was about an hour from the start of his sleep shift anyway, and Alvarez had the CIC well covered. The lights flickered again, but Henry very purposefully ignored it.
“Hey, since we have a little time and we are both a little wound up, Why don’t we take a shower together real quick?” She said with genuine enthusiasm and a wink.
“Madam, I like the way you think.” The couple raced just a bit faster than regulations would have liked, and arrived at his door in record speed.
Inside the room they fell upon each other in great passion and need, stripping each other out of their BDU’s and underclothes. Henry tossed a giggling Chantal onto the bed, and proceeded to kiss her neck and nibble on her ear causing her to purr in anticipation before he moved down her chest, past her navel, and then eagerly began to move his kisses in between her thighs.
“Hah…. I haven’t showered. Are you sure? Oooookay! I think…. Hah…. Okay.” She said breathlessly as Henry began to work his tongue until she began to shiver and squirm before she cried out as she melted in his mouth.
“Enough, please, I can’t take it anymore! Just fuck me already!” Chantal pulled herself together enough to beg for it. Henry stood rigid and ready and set himself to granting her request, first slowly, and then with a growing intensity. She once more began to squirm as he paid close attention to her hip’s cues, knowing very well by now what she liked.
As she climaxed again, Henry lifted her from the bed and pushed her up against the wall, and then bent her over his desk for a bit before he could take it no longer and they finished together.
“Holy shit… my legs aren’t gonna work for a bit after that one. Help me up?” Chantal said in between shallow breaths.
“Yes, ma’am. It would be my pleasure.” Henry said as he helped her to her feet and into the shower, staying in longer than was strictly necessary.
Henry left the steam first, once more thankful that his cabin included its own small bathroom, rather than a communal one. Being captain had its perks, after all. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then handed another to Chantal who gratefully accepted it before it dropped to the ground as she stared straight past him.
“Henry!" She squeaked as she pointed past him.
"What?" Henry asked, confused.
"Henry, someone was in here!”
On their bathroom mirror, wiped from the steam were the words TURN BACK.
Henry's blood ran cold and his adrenaline spiked him into overdrive. He waved Chantal back into the shower and put his finger to his lips. She nodded then wrapped herself in her retrieved towel and dropped to the shower floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, whimpering slightly. Henry moved silently along the wall, watching the visible half of his room for any movement. He then burst round the door frame, only to find everything perfectly, precisely as they had left it. The shock of finding nothing collided with the spike of his adrenaline surge, which only fed his growing unease.
“There’s nobody here!” Henry called out after checking the closet, the only other place someone could have hidden.
“Did you lock the door?” Chantal asked, her mind already working on the mystery.
“I set the security protocol to auto lock every time it closes.”
“Paul. We need to talk to Paul.” Chantal said, squeezing her BDU’s up over her hips with a few hops. Henry pulled on his undershirt before tossing over her bra.
“Why would we want to bring that weasel into this?” Henry asked, incredulous at to how he could possibly help.
“Because he has access to the surveillance tapes, why else?”
Henry stared at Chantal, brimming with rage, trying his hardest to keep it isolated to Paul over the invasion of his privacy.
“Did you just say surveillance tapes!?!” Henry asked in an icy tone. “That does it, I’m going to strangle him.” Henry said, moving with a purpose toward the door.
“Stop. Turn around and give me a kiss. I already disabled the video cameras, at least all the ones I could find. He has audio at best, even that I doubt. What he does have that I want is the data from the motion sensor that he had installed just in case you found the more obvious bugs. Unfortunately, I sabotaged its effectiveness by blocking the sensor with dense foam, but there might be enough of something to give us a clue."
“How in the hell do you know about all of this anyway, and why the hell didn’t you tell me?!” Henry roared.
“This entire enterprise is run by an intelligence agency; how can you not have seen that one coming a mile away? I have gotten very good at catching bugs over the years. Just because I expect the invasion of privacy to be happening, doesn’t mean I have to make it easy on them. Just be happy I already took care of the issue, alright?” She replied firmly while staring him in the eyes with raised eyebrows.
“You’re incredible, I love you.” Henry blurted out before he could catch himself. Chantal beamed and tackled him to the bed sitting on his lap.
“What took you so long? Never mind, don’t answer that. I love you too, man have I wanted to say that one for a while now.”
“You know these things aren’t easy for me. I had to be sure, I also didn’t want to mess anything up. We need to be able to work together even if we had turned out to be a bad couple.” Henry admitted, Chantal made an show as she thought it over, but she then smiled and helped Henry to his feet.
“Alright, my captain. You speak great wisdom. While I have certainly felt, and thoroughly enjoyed, the depths of your passion, it is really nice to hear about it too. I do think it makes it all the better that you rule said passion with reason. It’s just one of the many things I love about you.” She said, laying her hand over his heart.
Henry took her other hand and kissed it before replying. “I think above all, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take you for granted, nor suffer the same in reverse. A wise woman once gave me some great advice there that I have taken to heart.”
“Okay, Romeo, maybe you have a better handle on these things than you think. Now… Let’s go interrogate Paul.” Chantal had a fire in her eyes that Henry was loving very much at that moment.
“I have wanted to turn the screws on that spook for a while now.” Henry smiled as he spoke, and he opened up the connection to the ship’s intranet through his neural implant to send a message.
MEET ME IN YOUR QUARTERS IN 5 MINUTES FOR A DISCUSSION OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE – CPT. O'TOOLE
“That ought to get him there and alone.” Henry smirked. “Let’s go.”
Together, they made their way to Paul’s equivalent-sized quarters, which he had somehow secured for himself in the ship design to help facilitate his role as the official thorn in Henry’s paw. I guess being the captain’s handler has its perks as well. Henry’s eye twitched at the corner.
After making them wait far too long, Paul opened the door and gesturing them inside. The door closed and Paul turned towards them, narrowing his eyes, studying them both.
“Is this about the fire?” Paul asked before Henry punched the weasel right in the diaphragm, forcing him to gasp for air. The look of shock on his face as he bent forwards was priceless.
“What the fuck, Henry!?” Paul managed to choke out after a minute between gasps.
“Relax, I didn’t do any permanent damage, yet.” Henry said, Paul for just a second showed actual fear in his eyes before he sneered in defiance. “Oh? That got your attention, did it? Why were you spying on me?” Henry growled.
Paul closed his eyes, dropped his head, and began to laugh before Henry grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Foolishly, Paul even then kept laughing amidst the gasping. So Henry squeezed until Paul started slapping his arm, looking genuine fear once more growing across his face.
“Orders… I was following orders!” Paul managed to say amidst gasps and coughs.
“I thought it might be something like that. You're going to open up those files, now, and you're going to show me everything.” Henry said, dropping him to his feet at last.
“Fucking hell, Henry, I thought you of all people would have anticipated this was going to be the case. Do you think the people who made this all possible would simply let you fly around the most dangerous, advanced warship in human history without some insurance?”
“Don’t try and weasel out of your own personal culpability here. You may also want to think back to other people who were “only following orders” while performing acts they knew were wrong before you wave that line around like some get out of jail free card.” The fact that he had nothing to say spoke volumes.
“You should have told me, Paul.” Henry growled.
“That defeats the purpose! Plus, your girlfriend sabotaged them all before we ever left S33 anyway, and once more after! That type of tech doesn’t just grow on trees you know, and I don’t have an unlimited supply. You should be thanking me for covering for her and reporting back like things are normal!” Paul shouted in indignation.
“This is pointless, show me the files from around fifteen minutes ago, motion trackers, thermals, anything you have that's not blocked or sabotaged.” Henry commanded. Paul’s eyes narrowed, but after a long moment he huffed and closed his eyes.
Paul then sat down at his station and fired it up.
“Like I said, I've got practically nothing. No video, muffled audio and readings from what I assume to be a faulty motion sensor, that’s it. What are we looking for?”
“Chantal and I were, well, together. After we got out of the shower we saw that someone had written turn back in the condensation on the bathroom mirror. Only problem? My door auto locks when closed and only opens for my biometrics. That is why all of this even came up in the first place.”
“Motherfucker. That's a whole heap of bad news.” Paul said. Henry merely nodded, paying rather more attention to the screen to see if he could catch Paul in a lie about the extent of the spying.
“There’s nothing. No disturbances in the air that would even remotely resemble human movement between you two getting in the shower and you charging into your bedroom. With the noise of the shower and the distance to the microphone, there is nothing I can discern that is anomalous. You can see it all right here for yourself.”
Henry found himself even more confused and alarmed than before.
“How is that possible? Look again, run through some filters or something. There must be some evidence somewhere!”
“Alright, relax, I will get to work on this and get you a report by the end of C shift. In the meantime, you look like a mess. Get some sleep man! I can take care of it from here. Oh, and I want you to remember that I forgave you quite magnanimously for that little episode back there where you attacked me.” Henry and Chantal gave each other a look as Paul spoke.
“Wasn’t gonna apologize anyway, you had it coming. I’m going to hit the rack. I expect that report to be detailed and ready when I get up.” Henry took Chantal by the hand, and they left together, not waiting for a response.
“What a snake. Did you see him in there? Zero guilt or recognition whatsoever about spying like that. It just makes my skin crawl. Gives me bad memories.” Chantal said, turning pensive and quiet.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Henry asked, seeing that there was something clearly bothering her.
“I… had an uncle that lived with us from time to time and he would spy on me when I was dressing, try and sneak looks in the shower, stuff like that. Never touched me or anyone else that I know of, thank god, but man did it screw me up a bit still. Played havoc with my sense of security and even my sanity, never being quite sure it was real or all in my head. I wish I had said something, but I was afraid everyone would think I was overreacting or imagining it. I saw it in his eyes though, that look of... predatory lust. At least I didn't see anything like that in Paul's eyes. To this day it makes my skin crawl.”
“Good God, I can see how alone you must have felt in the middle of all that.” He squeezed her hand, she smiled up at him.
“Yeah, that was one of the hardest parts. I don’t think Paul is some raging pervert or anything, but it concerns me how normalized it was to him. Even if he isn’t being a creep with it, as if we can take his claims to be covering for me at face value. There is still no way I am going to let him have easy access to intimate videos of us, if I can possibly help it.” Chantal said before adding, “I’ll be all right, don’t worry about me. Let’s just get some sleep.”
Henry put his palm against the biometric scanner outside his room and the door slid open for them. They definitely needed some sleep after the emotional roller coaster of the past few hours, and the irresistible warm embrace of his bed called for him. The Q-Comm report could wait until he woke, he decided.
Better to have the electrical inspection ordered up, too.
I WANT A FULL REPORT AND INSPECTION PERFORMED ON THE ELECTRICAL FIRE IN CHANTAL’S ROOM BY THE START OF A SHIFT. – CAPT. O'TOOLE
Good enough. Henry thought as he sent the message. Now he could sleep. The chief could handle it from there.
MEANWHILE…
DATE : MARCH 10th, 7 A.U. LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
FIREMAN APPRENTICE SARAH CALLAHAN
It'll be back again tonight...
Sarah’s haunted thoughts repeated like a mantra. She had to be ready, but how? Her skin crawled and itched, the long sleeves of her BDU’s prevented her from being able to do anything about the painful sensation from the inflamed scratches they hid. She blearily rubbed at her sunken eyes, and she drained the rest of her coffee. All the numbers on the screen had started bleeding in together and her eyes hurt horribly, with the throbbing pain in her abdomen only compounding her misery.
“My god, Sarah, you look a wreck, hon. How have you been sleeping?” Yvonne, her shift partner asked, with concern in her voice.
“I have a monster tension headache, I just hope the meds kick in soon. Can you check my math? I need to get out of these white lights for a few minutes. Close my eyes for a bit, something, anything. I've been having nightmares again.” Sarah felt good, being able to admit it, and Yvonne had long since proven her friendship, so it was easier to actually speak.
“Yeah, no prob. As soon as I am done here I will check your readings and we can get out of here. Do you mean nightmares from the invasion?” Yvonne asked, carefully picking her words and tone.
“Kind of the same general themes, but different. Everything is going wrong, like the worst possible outcomes of my worst nightmares are all combining together. Like, it feels actively malicious, I don't know, its hard to explain...” Sarah said, bleakly.
“That’s hard, I am sorry. You need a shower, and an uninterrupted nap. Sleep deprivation plays all kinds of hell on the body and mind. I had a friend who went through an insomniac phase so extreme he would go days without sleeping. Wound up in the hospital after trying to drive to work while hallucinating his dead fiancée was sitting in the passenger seat screaming at him to watch out. Wound up rear-ending the car in front of him. Thank God he lived to tell the tale, but that is why it worries me to see you like this.” Yvonne planted her hand on Sarah’s shoulder as she told the story.
“Yikes, I think I slept like two hours into my sleep shift before I started having the nightmares again, woke up, and passed in and out of some restless sleep. It got really bad around oh three hundred. There were sounds... noises like scratching and a loud bang, and the shadows were moving. I just kept feeling like I was being watched, but everyone else seemed to be having disturbed sleep in their bunks. God, it was a creepy feeling.” Sarah took a moment to compose herself.
“I know how crazy this will sound, maybe that I am sleep deprived and likely hallucinating like your friend, but just hear me out. There was something there Yvonne, in the dark at the edge of perception, I could feel it. I also know I wasn’t the only one tossing and turning either. I could also hear scratchy whispering, too. I just hid, strapped in under the weighted blanket. At some point I slept some more, I must have, but not for what felt like a few stressful and draining hours. I'm just making a total mess of explaining this, aren’t I?”
“No, you're fine, girl! I am sorry that happened, my dorm has been pretty quiet, but I have always slept like a rock. Is there anything I can do?”
“I could use a hug.” Sarah said, which caused Yvonne to laugh, breaking some of the tension. They embraced warmly for a good minute, which did wonders for relieving some of the headache and her black mood.
“Thanks, Yvonne, I know it’s all in my head and it’s a vicious feedback cycle due to lack of quality sleep. Thanks for listening without calling me crazy.“ Sarah said, shying away from the last thing she hadn’t the courage to say.
She didn’t dare mention how she had hidden under the covers as she felt it get near. How she had felt something pushing on the mattress. How as her fear peaked, she herself peeked over the covers to find nothing there just to have the oppressive feeling evaporate along with the sensation of pressure by her feet. Her dorm mates all seemed to stop stirring after that, and only then did the nightmares stop for her that night. By then she was left with barely enough time for one last short sleep cycle before the start of A shift that very morning. This was a secret she would have to keep to herself, nobody would believe her anyway.
“I think I'll ask the Chief for a break from my duties today to rest and to visit med bay. Maybe they can give me something to help catch back up on my sleep.” Sarah said.
“Good idea, can I come with? I’ll back you up.” Yvonne said. Sarah smiled at her friend before she nodded at her before they checked off the last of their duties on site and headed away to find the Chief.