Joanna Slattery spoke into her phone as she scanned the area, curious. The wall to the bike shop was blown out, but many bikes remained displayed on the walls and back area. Someone looked like they had dragged a crane through the main floor, leaving a daunting hole for wheels and frames that had spilled inside. Above, the roof had collapsed inward, allowing the sun’s harsh light to make up for the lack of electricity stolen from the wounded building. Something about the shape of th...
2025-09-17 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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“I’m gonna say this as politely as I can… I’m trying to train, and your existence is not helping.” Francine flexed a palm of flame, looking directly at Gutshot.
Hand on his stomach, Gutshot looked down at the floor, his face running red.
“Okay. I get it. I can give you some space,” Gutshot sighed, heading away and toward Claire.
Claire looked up from Beth, frowning slightly when Gutshot approached. Beth looked over her shoulder and made eye...
2025-09-16 16:00:20 +0000 UTC
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Pinn poked at his French Toast, hardly having given any attention to it in his time at the diner. Kelly had the sense to leave him in peace, only attempting twice to make light conversation before realizing he was too deep in his thoughts. The door opened and Pinn heard the familiar slosh of Sami’s water jug as he waved it in his Shadow Hand.
“Sami.” Kelly smiled as she collected plates on a tray.
“Hey Kelly. Do you have any lemon cake?”
Kelly stopped mid-mov...
2025-09-15 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Looking up from the business card, Kyle confirmed he had arrived at the right location.
A shack.
Looked like it could barely hold a dozen people inside and there was a courtyard behind the building where he could hear voices. A broken-down moped sat out front, half of its exterior rusted. Kyle didn’t know what to expect from the Equality Unification Entity, but this seemed like a dump, at best. There were even a couple of stray chickens pecking about.
One positive st...
2025-09-12 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The truck bumped on the road, getting close to HUE headquarters at a casual pace. Claire at the wheel, Naomi was leaning back in the passenger seat with eyes closed, an IV bag plugged into her arm. The window between the steering wheel and truck bed was open, Sami and Gan Wen leaning into the opening.
“We can assume the Antiserum takes away powers, but do we know if they were talking about it in concept, or if they were talking about it like it already exists?” Sami asked, tap...
2025-09-08 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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(Therapy)
__________
Walking past the building, Pinn closed his eyes and sighed through his nose loudly. Therapy was already stupid , but super therapy was super stupid. He couldn’t imagine a world in which it made sense that someone that studied regular human psychology could understand the world of someone that suddenly manifested incredible power.
Spinning ba...
2025-09-05 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Elsa pranced about her flower garden, marvelling at the diversity of flora surrounding her. Roses, tulips, lilies, daisies, sunflowers, orchids, daffodils, marigolds, lavenders, peonies, and so many more. They swayed, they bobbed, they beamed at her. She spun, she smiled, she giggled with glee.
The now-retired ballerina bounded about, wondering which beauty to choose today. The dandelions were particularly yellow in the morning glow of the sun.
“Hello, my pretties!” Elsa...
2025-09-01 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“More aluminum! All the rolls you have,” Rockwell said, unspooling a thin roll.
“This is all the rolls I have!” Serena snapped, slapping the last box of aluminum on the garage workshop counter. “How much do you think I need in a kitchen!?”
“Fine. It’ll do.”
Pinn stood in the corner, absorbing the scene with an uneasy feeling snaking through his stomach. His parents had never been so nervous before and they were both stacking sheet upon ...
2025-08-29 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“I’m telling you, this is easy money. Easiest you’ll make with your abilities,” Pendergast said, juggling two smoke bombs in one hand.
“Are you sure it’s safe, though? You said they put you up against Apex.” James wrung his hands, looking at the dilapidated building leaning over ahead of him.
“One time thing. They haven’t sent me anywhere that bad since. They’re stupid simple smash and grab jobs, where half the time the ‘grab’ is optional. I sti...
2025-08-25 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“Thank you, what a great crowd!” Oliver Ollyson jaunted around the stage liked he owned it, beaming at everyone in the audience.
For a third time, he paused to wait for the applause to die down before he continued. Sami whistled, waving his Shadow Hand overhead in excitement.
“Don’t embarrass us,” Claire hissed.
“Aw come on, it’s not like it’ll make HUE look bad to show enthusiasm for The First Woken!”
“Yeah, but it’s still...
2025-08-22 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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(It’s Brunch Time!)
__________
Present Day
“Okay, but hypothetically…” Sami leaned forward in the truck bed. “If you were from somewhere else, where do you think it would be?”
“Apologies, Sa Mi, but I sincerely do not understand the question.” Gan Wen bowed his head in humility, his clean top knot remaining impeccable as always.
Claire turned in the passenger seat, speaking through the window to the truck bed. “Do you understand th...
2025-08-18 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Before the Silent Scream
Serena paced back and forth in the living room, eyes closed and hands rushing through her hair. Rockwell sat quietly on one end of the room and Pinn sat equally quiet on the other. Pursing her lips, Serena whipped between them, hair flailing.
“Are you certain no one saw us?”
“Serena, please,” Rockwell begged, taking off his glasses and rubbing them on his shirt.
“Our Pinny brought on enough signs to create his own relig...
2025-08-15 16:00:14 +0000 UTC
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The buzzing of the phone alarm woke Sami immediately, who summoned his Shadow Hand instinctively to turn off the alarm. Yawning, his phantom limb patted the top of his empty nightstand absentmindedly before remembering he’d set his phone in another room to force himself out of bed. If he ever wanted to access his messages in the morning, he’d need to leave the bedroom.
Sitting up and throwing off his covers, he rubbed one eye with his Shadow Hand as he kicked his legs over the...
2025-08-13 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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“And where do we know it comes from?” Henry asked, pacing back and forth in the cramped basement.
Greg watched his shadow twist around the cold floor, radiated by the single source of dim light in the ceiling. Gnawing on the inside of his cheek, he avoided the very direct eye contact Henry pointed toward him.
“Greg?”
“I don’t know!”
“I’m telling you, it’s a response to pain!” Henry smashed a fist into his palm, causing Greg to fl...
2025-08-11 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Present Day
Tugging at his uncomfortable tie, Pinn surveyed the crowd in front of him. Weddings. He dreaded attending them. He would have to make small talk with friends and family he hadn’t seen for a while. But the worst part was…
“Pinny,” his mother already started. “Isn’t this beautiful? Oh, I can’t wait until you get married.”
Pinn closed his eyes, anticipating the next sentence.
“When are you going to get married? You nee...
2025-08-08 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Before the Silent Scream
Pinn looked up at the low ceilings, his footsteps echoing as he passed through the underground garage. Wind passed through the area, giving an eerie echo in the dark, unlit area.
“You’re sure no one’s gonna be down here?” Pinn asked. He saw torn pieces of tarp in a corner, as well as what looked like remains of a sad meal.
“Project was abandoned years ago,” Rockwell assured him. “And the winds are nonstop. Too uncom...
2025-08-04 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Sami swallowed hard as he pulled on a high-vis vest, glancing up and down the road before cars arrived.
“Nervous?” Rudy asked. His vest was draped over his shoulder, and he waved off the workman. Still there after collecting his cones, the worker seemed intent on observing HUE's performance and reporting back. Sami shifted in place.
“I’ve never done something like this before. I don’t wanna mess it up,” Sami answered quietly.
“Sami, I heard yo...
2025-08-01 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Sami’s heart sunk into his stomach and he suddenly backed slightly into his chair. An Antiserum was interesting enough, but there was something a little too obsessive in Apex’s tone. Sinister, even. Was Apex some doom-ridden quitter like Lightrown who wanted to escape his own powers with an Antiserum? Or worse, did Apex want to wipe powers off the face of the planet, himself included?
Swallowing, Sami tried to make his question sound casual. “Why do you want the ability to g...
2025-07-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Entering the warehouse, Sami was pleasantly surprised to see that HUE had started a bit of furnishing. A smattering of chairs from different dining sets dotted the opposite wall of the hole which had been covered by clay, like a putty repair in drywall. Sami assessed the crowd of HUE members as he did curls with his Shadow Hand holding his half-full water-bottle. Reception had told him to wait in the warehouse until called to have a meeting with Apex.
Claire was seated in one of t...
2025-07-28 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“So, what kinda pizza can you make? I saw the chicken, can you do other meats too? And pineapple?” the driver asked Quinton.
“No one’s gonna eat pineapple pizza, Frank. That’s disgusting,” the gunman spat out.
“Sucks for you, Joe. I love pineapple pizza. Probably better than any other pizza,” he responded, offended.
“Fruit does not belong on pizza!”
“Tomato’s a fruit, and it's all over pizza.”
“That’s not the same—”
...
2025-07-25 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Pinn looked up from his mostly-empty plate as Sami stumbled in through the door, rushing up to his table. Pinn almost brought himself to a stand, ready to go into action for the kid. Sami panted a few times, then pointed to a water cup on the table with his Shadow Hand. Pinn nodded, quickly raising the cup to offer it to Sami. Taking it with his phantom hand, he swallowed it in three gulps. He wiped the back of his mouth with the Shadow Hand then looked at Pinn seriously.
“I ne...
2025-07-23 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Boli barely glanced up from his worktable as a group of five stumbled in through the secret entrance in the east. Lecher tore off his scuba mask, leaving large pink indentations over his face. Heaving as he limped, he moved to the nearest wall to lean against. Coughing and wheezing, he slid down.
“No chairs?” Lecher asked.
His voice echoed around the room a dozen times as a high-pitched whine built up. The goggled visitors covered their ears, grimacing as the volume of echoes ...
2025-07-21 16:00:21 +0000 UTC
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Sami walked out toward the front desk, dusting off the last bits of purple dirt left on him. Opening and closing his Shadow Hand over his shoulder, he made sure it was still working as expected. Able to reform it an hour prior, he was running it through several maneuvers to make sure he had full control.
Everything seemed to be in order. Either destroying or paralyzing his Shadow Hand made him unable to restore it, at least for a time. Taking mental note, he’d test if he could decreas...
2025-07-18 16:00:07 +0000 UTC
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William Warren made a show of how tired he was of the current customer, but they weren’t getting the picture. Leaning over the glass counter, his round head was propped on his cheek and brown eyes heavily lidded, giving a show to the other customers to let them know he was as annoyed as they were. Running a hand through thinning gray hair, William cleared his throat loudly.
Rings, bracelets and necklaces of all kinds glittered on display as the customer, Kyle, glanced slowly bac...
2025-07-16 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Before the Silent Scream
“What were you doing before it came around?” Serena asked, holding up Pinn’s arm and massaging it up and down.
“I was trying to help Pa lift the steel beam,” Pinn answered.
“And just like that?” She clapped her hands together. “You suddenly had super strength too?”
“Just like that,” Pinn agreed with a quiet clap of his own.
Pinn watched his mom parse the information, a mix of disbelief and ...
2025-07-14 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Claire dusted bits of blue detritus off her clothes as everyone turned to her, Apex stepping closer.
“What did you see Claire? Did you use your power? With the subtitles?” Gutshot asked.
Claire blinked at him and seethed, eyes locking onto the very Claire-shaped powder outline around his stomach.
“Don’t talk to me right now. I’m not even close to being over you hiding behind me when your name is Gutshot!” she whispered in a rage.
Gutsho...
2025-07-11 16:00:07 +0000 UTC
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(Ah Yes, the Invasion)
_________
Charging forward at full speed, Sami slid to a stop next to Steve. Eyes wide, Sami kneeled down to Steve and placed a hand on his neck. Heartbeat was there, but faint.
“Steve? Hey, are you okay? Do you know what they hit you with?” Sami asked quickly.
Steve’s eyes were open, but they didn’t move. Chest pumping rap...
2025-07-09 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Breathing in deeply, Sami took in the musty smell of the HUE reception area as he entered, delighted to be entering as a hero instead of a potential. Striding, he made his way straight to the desk and beamed at Lilly and Darius who both looked up.
“Morning!” Sami said, saluting them with two fingers on his eyebrow.
“Morning,” Lilly said, perking up upon seeing him.
“You know you can just walk in.” Darius yawned, pointing to the way further insid...
2025-07-07 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hello!
Just wanted to allow for some space to get a feel for what you think of HUE so far? Anything sticking out that you enjoy or that can be improved, this is the space to make it known to correct course before I get too deep into what's to come. I'm enjoying what I've put out so far, but just wanted to get opinions if you have any.
Ok, thanks, appreciate it.
NTL
2025-07-05 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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(Fine Dining and Breathing)
______________
Taking a sip from his coffee, Pinn watched the window to the diner intently. Chewing slowly on his French Toast, he would never admit he was disappointed. Sami had yet to show up. There was no reason for him to have believed that Sami would be back as soon as the next day, but there was still some hope lingering. He was so focused on the wind...
2025-07-04 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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