S01E02 - Truths and Consequences

General Summary

Synopsis: We re-join our intrepid heroes to be as they start to go their separate ways after the messages they received. There is a brief discussion on things, and, for a moment, it appears that our group of would-be-heroes may indeed not be splitting the party. This moment of clarity is short-lived, however and they are soon on their way to their respective solo destinations.
Alex flies to her mother’s home in Fairview, a modest blue-collar suburb of Millennium City. Bordering on Downtown, Fairview is a typical suburb of picket fences, playing children and quiet neighbourhoods. Our would-be heroine of the day approaches her mother’s home, choosing to arrive through the back door, which, to her surprise, is locked. She knocks and calls out for her mother and is relieved to see her mother’s face at the window. The door is unlocked and Alex steps into her mother’s home.
Upon entry, she becomes keenly aware that her mother is armed when she places a pistol on the counter to embrace her daughter. Rochelle Carter takes Alex and the firearm into the lounge, sits her daughter down and explains the Truth of her origins to her. Alex is shocked to learn that Rochelle didn’t actually adopt her, per se. The truth of the matter is far stranger than she expected. Years ago, her mother worked as the head of research on the original project to understand the PRISM after she and Silas Prescott discovered it. During her time doing that research, she became aware that the device was incredibly powerful and grew concerned of its origin, original purpose and how it may subsequently be used. The decision on what to do next was all but taken from her when a gate opened, created by the PRISM (or using it, she wasn't entirely sure at the time) and a woman stepped through. She handed a baby over to Rochelle, saying, “Keep her safe. She may protect your world. She came too late to protect ours!” before stepping back through the portal and disappearing as quickly as she had arrived. Rochelle then explained to her daughter that she couldn’t take the PRISM, it had been too well protected. Instead, she destroyed her research and left Prescott Industries with the baby, believing that no-one knew where she had gone as she was hiding in plain sight. It appears that someone was all too well aware of Rochelle's whereabouts as some form of cylinder burst through the window, to land on the floor at their feet.
Across the city, Karl Jagger-Stein was having an interesting day of his own. He reported to the site of the ‘creature attack’, where a large chunk of the roadway had been all but destroyed from underneath. Whilst there, a number of members of his crew confessed to him that they had gained ‘abilities’, which, co-incidentally, seemed to directly tie into their ability to work.

Larry Lancing was able to create more of himself.(Duplex)

Alistair Anders was able to control, sense and otherwise control water (Tsunami)

Frederick Foster was able to create and destroy temporary metal scaffolding, pipes and beams (The Human Scaffold)

Jason Jacks was able to work with, sense, control and was immune to electricity (The Electrician)

Upon investigating the hole, they decided that, to use their abilities, they would need to be under cover, so erected a massive tent over the hole to work in. Once this was in place and they started to work on filling in the hole, they were attacked by a creature from below. The first they realised was when a jet of water hosed the members of the crew and a blue-green lizard, roughly 7 feet tall, emerged from the hole. The group started to try to bring the creature down, including Karl encasing it in rock and earth, which appeared as though it would work. Unfortunately for the group, it broke free and Karl , being the one being the most inconvenient, received the gift of the full force of the creature’s water jet. He was blown out of the tent, into the street, where he was left unconscious on the ground.
A little further across downtown, Detective Seraphim had reported to his precinct Captain . He had been moved off the missing persons case for Peter Pendle he’d been assigned and was tasked with starting to create a response to the super-powered ‘menace’. Detective Seraphim then informs Captain Summers about two powered individuals he is aware of that may be persuaded to assist, giving all but their names for their identification. He then leaves to return to Seraphim Manor without revealing his own capabilities.
Back at the Carter household, a fight was underway in which Alex was fighting to protect her mother and gradually being worn down by professional combatants using cable tasers and strange batons with some form of forceful striking. Eventually, Alex is forced to retreat, and her mother is taken by the mercenaries. She tries to chase them, contacting Detective Seraphim as she flies after the armoured vehicle the mercenaries arrived in. Detective Seraphim calls in the attempted kidnapping and is told to stand down and not intervene as this is a training exercise (which it most clearly is not). Eventually, the APC stops by a man standing on the side of the road. The one thing that Alex realises about this man is that he has two faces, one on the front and one on the back of his head. He touches the APC and he and the vehicle disappear, leaving a strange distortion in its wake.
Eventually Detective Seraphim catches up to Alex and they start heading back towards Seraphim Manor. Detective Seraphim informs his superiors that he’s bringing a guest who is most likely not an innocent as she has just informed him she originated from the other side of the vortex created by the PRISM and that she arrived as a baby, in true form to the Changeling legends. He somehow manages to do this, whilst driving, and without Alex seeing the message.
As they traverse Downtown, they come upon the scene described earlier, where one Karl Jagger-Stein is laying unconscious on the pavement of the road, his companions within the tent still fighting the creature. Alex enters the tent and starts assisting the others within to try to put the creature down whilst Detective Seraphim heals Karl with but a touch.
The creature is driven back, and the would-be heroes of the hour all share a moment to collect their thoughts. Detective Seraphim informs them all of the task he has been given by the Captain of his precinct and details his conversation, to which Karl immediately realises that Detective Seraphim has all but revealed his Powered state to the someone without his permission. Alex then realises she too has been all but outed. Detective Seraphim tries to convince those gathered to join this Anti-Powered Task force. The UnWrecfking Crew immediately decline. Alex and Karl are very sceptical and make no commitment to that cause. They have a brief conversation regarding hiding their identities when ‘wearing the cape’, at which point, detective Seraphim informs them all of an advert he saw for someone calling themselves ‘The Designer’, who apparently designed Comet's suit and is somehow managing the star-come-hero's online presence.
Detective Seraphim then, with Alex in tow, head back to his manor , leaving Karl and his crew (who have started taking a liking to calling themselves the ‘UnWrecking Crew’), start to deal with the road and the mess left by the Water Salamander (as named by Uskir Seraphim , based on knowledge he has from The Order.
Knight Uskir Seraphim and Catherine Alexandra Carter return to Seraphim Manor to find that there is a greater presence of knights than the last time he was in the premises. He and Alex are greeted as though they are the enemy and, despite Knight Uskir Seraphim demanding they treat him with respect due his station, this does not change. They are led through the manor, past other Knights who regard them coldly, before passing a room where a man is kneeling on the floor, crying, begging for mercy. The door shuts, there is the rapport of a single shot and the crying stops. They are eventually led to an underground hall where Knight Uskir Seraphim often trains. A screen his been set up and, on this screen, Uskir sees the cold, stoic face of his grandfather, the current Knight-Commander of the Millennium City chapter of the Knights Order of the Seraphim. Knight Uskir Seraphim and his grandfather have a disagreement on what being a Knight of the Seraphim is all about and his grandfather , trying to bring his grandson back in line, demands that his junior knight prove his loyalty, as, in this war, he is more than happy to use the weapons of his enemy against them. A family of four is then brought into the arena. A husband and wife, with two children. The husband and the young boy (no more than seven or eight years of age) are clearly changed. Knight-Commander Bjorn Seraphim demands that his Knight, Uskir Seraphim, prove his loyalty by killing the corrupted family and the Changeling at his side. All of whom are agents of the Other Worlds and are therefore no longer innocent. When Knight Uskir Seraphim refuses, The Knight Commasnder orders his men to kill them all, saying, "Then you are truly lost and Corrupted as well. Such a loss to the Order.".
There is a brutal fight, made all the more so as both Alex and Uskir try to protect the family he was ordered to kill. All this is watched by the impassive visage of Knight-Commander Bjorn Seraphim as our heroes are gradually worn down by the sheer level of violence directed at them. That is, until Uskir falls to the relentless onslaught.
It is at this point where something some would consider miraculous occurred. As Uskir fell to the floor, his body suddenly changed. No longer was he the ferocious wolf-man of legend, but he became wreathed in Holy Fire, his body morphing to that of a four-winged Seraphim, hovering just off the floor in his place. The Celestial Visitor regarded the screen, where Knight-Commander Bjorn Seraphim's face had turned incandescent with anger and incredulity. It paused for only a moment before it spoke. It's voice was, at once as soft and comforting as a wool blanket, yet as fierce and deadly as the fire in which the Angel was wreathed. “You have Blasphemed!” It said, directing its words at the screen, which, unseen to others started to melt. At that point the Seraphim started laying waste to the room around him with his Holy Flaming Sword, whilst his flaming shield protected the family from harm. Even with the Angel fighting their battle, the group would be overwhelmed eventually. The Seraphim turned to Alex, saying “Follow,” before starting to walk out the room. They fought their way out of the manor and flew off into the night’s sky, away from danger
They landed sometime later on the outskirts of Albany Heights, where the Seraphim , knowing it’s task done, again turned to Alex . “Know you are not alone in protecting this world,” it said before the flames engulfed it. When the ash of the creature’s falling fell to the ground, Uskir was once again revealed, unharmed but unconscious. Alex gave the family money and asked if they needed help, to which the replied they would now be fine, leaving our two heroes to themselves.
Alex flew to her home, a small house on the outskirts of Albany Heights, taking Uskir with her. He, unconscious, was left on the couch to sleep off his fatigue and she, also fatigued, emotionally drained and overwhelmed with the events of the last couple of days, the kidnapping of her mother at the fore of her mind sent a message to The Designer, before herself falling asleep.
The next day saw our would-be heroes meet up for breakfast at Alex's home, trying to understand what has happened. Their original plan was to learn what they could of the PRISM and understand what had happened to them. Now, with the kidnapping of Rochelle Carter and Uskir being ousted from his own ancestral manor, the group seemed to be in the middle of a vortex of events, threatening to pull them in a multitude of directions.
They discussed protecting their identities, and, duer to Alex's last minute thought the night before, they had a number, which was dutifully called. They were invited to The Designer's workshop/home, with a final ‘You come now, yes? Good!” *click* and our intrepid trio found themselves on the shore of Silver Water Lake. There’s an island in the middle of that lake on which sits a very old mansion. Our group are taken across by the Ferryman who deposits them outside the gates to the estate proper. The group quickly realise that this place has had modifications (likely, the laser gate gave it away, not to mention, with Karl’s expert eye, the quite well disguised ‘metal trees’ on top of the gateposts didn’t appear to be what they looked like). The gates open and they enter the grounds proper. As they go through the estate, they notice that there are a number of people working on various projects. It’s when they reach the door that Karl realises that they are all Larry, who introduces himself as Duplex. They enter the house and spend several hours with ‘The Designer ’, who keeps calling herself ‘Auntie Edna’. She is a tiny, hyperactive overbearing (in a a nice way) woman who moves around the place with the unexpected pace of movement small people sometimes possess. At the end of this time, the would-be heroes emerge from the estate as Heroes.
Catherine Alexandra Carter , her chosen style of armoured-looking full body covering, knee-high boots, eagle wings across the chest became the Heroine Lady Liberty
Uskir Seraphim , in a stylised hi-tech version of a police uniform and armour, became the hero Úlfhéðnar, the Norse Wolf-Warrior
Karl Jagger-Stein , the mild-mannered civil engineer stepped out into the light of day in a form-fitting suit of reds and browns, became the hero Djinn.
We leave our no longer would-be heroes but actual heroes contemplating their next moves. Úlfhéðnar has currently convinced the others this should be the re-taking of Bjorn Seraphim due to the information in the library and the databases regarding the creatures they will likely encounter and how to defeat them if they are to join the police task force.

Report Date

03 Oct 2020