Volume 1, Issue 3, Post 1

Five young heroes stood inside their "secret headquarters", a sealed off room in a basement somewhere on the campus of Central Illinois University.  The room, accessible only via mystical portal, had been the headquarters of The Adept for some months prior, but with more and more additions to the team, was starting to get a little crowded.

On the couch against the wall sat The Adept.  White Diamond took up her traditional place near the desk, Dragonfly beside her, his head still ringing from the beating he took only moments ago.  The newcomers, Cazmonster and Wrecking Ball, stood and leaned against the far well, respectively.  Cazmonster's furry head scraped to ceiling tiles, dropping dust down onto the room which glowed in the weak light coming through the one external window.  

Now that all were here, in one place, standing still, it became obvious that Wrecking Ball had a bowling-ball sized piece of some alloy floating near his head, occasionally smashing into the brick wall behind it.  

"What the hell were those things?" Wrecking Ball asked, looking from one hero to another expectantly.  

The Adept sighed.  "No idea.  You mind not smashing my wall with that...bowling ball?"

"Wrecking Ball.  Hence the name," the young, dark-haired hero corrected defensively.  

"Okay, have it your way."  The Adept paused in his explanation.  "No, we have no idea what those were, or where they came from at this point.  I detected a strong mystic presence when they appeared, but not coming from them directly.  It's as if..."

"As if they were just images," White Diamond completed.  "Some sort of solid illusions, created by something else entirely.  Something with very bad intentions."

"Yes," Dragonfly nodded, his fingers on his chin in thought.  "I noticed that, too.  We'd be fighting and the creature would shimmer or skip, as if a signal were somehow interrupted.  And once they were destroyed, poof!  They were gone, no evidence that I could find, and I notice a lot."

Cazmonster spoke up.  "I bet I notice more.  I tuned every scanner I have on the area around the gazebo where the first one went down, and there was nothing there but wood, metal, and the gum under the seats."

The Adept looked over at their latest allies, then pulled himself up and stood in the center of the now crowded room.  

"I guess we should all introduce ourselves.  I'm The Adept, this is Dragonfly and White Diamond."

"As I said before, I'm Wrecking Ball, and this is Cazmonster."

Dragonfly's eyes opened slightly in sudden comprehension.  Caz = Cazmonster?  Had to be.  Which would make the other guy Tim O'Malley.  He was the right height and hair color.  In fact, Dragonfly was beginning to realize how transparent, figuratively, their masks were.  He wasn't willing to hide himself inside a giant cloak, but the more he thought about it, the more Dragonfly realized that care needed to be taking in exposing themselves to people's cameras.  The more change someone got to study their faces, the more likely it was someone would recognize them.  

The Adept appeared almost to read Aaron's thoughts as the winged hero examined the new additions.  "We have a tradition, here, of not hiding our Identities from each other.  You guys care to unmask?"

Wrecking Ball pulled off his bright yellow mask to reveal the face of Freshman Tim O'Malley.  Cazmonster sort of hesitated, almost reminding one of a shy schoolgirl, hands clasped behind her, kicking the ground.  A very large, fanged, and dangerous schoolgirl.  

"I..um..I can't really.  Not right now.  Not that I have anything to hide, it's just that I'm still working on how to change back.  I can will the change to Cazmonster, but the change back just sort of happens."

"Sounds inconvenient, Caz Greenbaum," Dragonfly said, removing his mask to reveal the face of Aaron Majesky.

"Hey, Aaron!  We just had breakfast together!" Tim said excitedly.  

"Yep.  Not a word to Ben or Dylan, got it?" Aaron said.  

"Of course.  Ditto, to anyone," Tim said.  

"Well, unlike the rest of you, I have more trouble hiding my alter-ego.  I haven't been like this long, so only a few people know, but I'm sure that won't take long to change."
Cazmonster said.  

The Adept followed Cazmonster.  "I don't wear a mask or a costume, generally, but have managed to avoid it becoming common knowledge that my name is Rick Pennington."  

Diamond removed her mask last.  "I'm Emily Fine, a senior at Stevenson high."

"Great!  Now we all know each other!" Cazmonster threw up his arms absent-mindedly.  With one swoop, his powerful bicep smashed through the wall; The old stone fell to pieces, quickly revealing the presence of the room to the room beyond.  

It just so happened that there was a gathering of some sort in the next room, roughly twenty people sitting around a set of tables looking at a lecturer standing near a slideshow.

"But...what...my headquarters!" Rick stammered.  Tim had the presence of mind to put his mask back over his eyes quickly.  When various people in the meeting realized what was going on, hands started flying toward smartphones.  Dragonfly had let his mask drop onto the desk, and was unable to remember that quickly, instead turning away when he realized he was about to be taped.  Suddenly, the light in the room increased a hundred times as White Diamond put on her mystic mask and activated her abilities.  

"Oh, wow.  Sorry!" Cazmonster said, turning on his running lights to add to White Diamond's distracting technique.  

"Time to go, Adept!" Aaron said, finally seeing his mask and grabbing it up.  

"Right, DF!" The Adept opened a portal into noontime sunlight, and the heroes rushed through as would-be bloggers and amateur journalists recorded and snapped still shots, hoping to get an exclusive on the secrets of CIU's new protectors.  Aaron had the presence of mind to grab a crate of "files" that Adept kept in the HQ, the only personal items there aside from a teapot and cups.

Looking out over campus from the top of Schuster Tower, CIU's largest dormitory, the heroes stood for a moment coming to grips with what had just happened.  Had their identities been compromised?  Each one wondered, except Cazmonster.  

Dragonfly hovered off the room, buffeted a little by the winds.  "Looks like we're going to need to find a new headquarters."

Volume 1, Issue 2, Post 3

Intro: Two very different heroes, born from a single mysterious accident.  Chris "Caz" Greenbaum battles the forces of evil as Cazmonster, an 8' cyborg werewolf.  Tim O'Malley uses his powers of telekinesis to fend of crime as The Wrecking Ball.  

Rick got a line of Dragonfly's semi-conscious body while White Diamond shot blast after blast at the tentacled monster in front of them.  All the while, the two others closed in on them from the sides.  Once he was sure where Dragonfly was, he opened a portal right under him, with another just a couple feet off the ground behind White Diamond.  Dragonfly fell through, his sword dropping through the portal beside him.  

One of the creatures reached out a tentacle to engulf White Diamond, but it sparked and hissed as it hit against her heat shield.  Diamond gave Adept a startled look sideways.  

The Adept noticed the creature's tentacle wasn't burning or melting against Diamond's heat shield, but shimmering and sparking, as if it were made of some form of coherent energy rather than flesh.  Interesting.  

Not that the knowledge would help them much if all three of them were killed here and now. 

With Dragonfly out of the picture and Diamond occupied, The Adept had very little in the way of attack power.

Suddenly, a loud scream filled the Quad.  It wasn't human sounding, but it wasn't completely animal, either.  And it was amplified.  Without warning, a large, furry meteor slamming into one of the creatures.  Claws and teeth rended and ripped while the tentacled beast screamed in false agony.  Finally, the werewolf-like form lifted the creature and threw it across the Quad and into the gazebo.  A loud whistling sound could be heard, and suddenly, a metal object the size of a bowling ball, but with considerably more density, 
slammed into the creature to the left.  It was rent in two by the force of the metal object, and the image of the creature shimmered and disbursed.  

"Hey, guys!" Cazmonster shouted in his animal-like amplified growl.  "Looks like you could use a power-up!"

"Much obliged, stranger!" The Adept answered.  White Diamond's blasts were starting to have an effect.  She held off for a few seconds, letting the light coalesce around her until it was painful to view.  Then she fired all the energy at once into the lead creature.  It, too, disappeared in a shimmer.  

Dragonfly struggled to retain consciousness.  His entire body hurt from the force with 

which he'd hit, but it didn't feel like anything was broken.  Taking wing, he flew toward Cazmonster, who had leapt onto the shattered remains of the gazebo to assault the final creature.  Holding it in the air, Cazmonster slammed it backward with a powerful fist.  Dragonfly ducked low in flight, and held his blade aloft.  The sharp ninja-to sundered the beast in two, and it flickered out of existence.  

After confirming all the bystanders were safe, the heroes gathered in the remains of the gazebo.  

"Great timing, gentle...men?" Dragonfly said, looking at Cazmonster questioningly.

"Most definitely!" the werewolf-cyborg answered.  Looking at him closely for the first time, The Adept could see the creature had a computer screen embedded in its chest, antenna behind it's canine ears, and several other areas of exposed metal.  

Wrecking Ball's costume was construction-sign themed, with shining yellow and black strips leading into black pants and boots.  He wore a matching yellow mask, but did not cover his long, dark brown hair.  

"Guys," White Diamond spoke up as the boys congratulated each other.  "We should get somewhere under cover.  We're starting to draw a crowd, and cell phones are coming out."

"Well said," The Adept agreed.  He opened a portal, and soon, the entire group traversed into the "secret headquarters", with Cazmonster uttering a "far out!"  

Volume 1, Issue 2, Post 2

Aaron scanned his student ID to get into the Langley Hall cafeteria early on a Friday morning. The shiner on his right eye was just starting to heal from the fight with a group of Nexers he and White Diamond had had a few days before. He'd had to tell his friends it was a fight over a girl, one that he'd unfortunately lost.

After getting some eggs, turkey sausage, juice, and some salsa for the eggs, he looked around the wide open room until he found someone he recognized, and went over to sit with them.

At the table sat Ben and Dylan, and two guys he didn't recognize. One was short, with dark brown hair and glasses. The other was big, with a thick brown mop. Though they seemed to be quite different people, they were talking as if they knew each other well.

Aaron set down his tray and scooted up next to Ben. “What up, Ben, Dylan,” he greeted them, taking a sip of his juice and tossing his book bag on the empty chair beside him.

“Hey, Aaron. Actually going to class this morning?” Ben joked.

“Lol. You're hilarious, Benny.” Aaron changed his focus to the new guys. “Hey, I'm Aaron, I living on 7, Ben's floor.”

“What's up. I'm Caz, this is my roommate Tim. Just moved here from Schuster Tower,” the larger one with the thick curly mop spoke in a strong voice.

“Ah, the big place. Nice building, on the outside anyway.” Schuster Tower had been once of the first buildings Aaron had explored when he got the wings and became Dragonfly. It was one of the three tallest buildings in Stevenson, and definitely the tallest at CIU.

“Yeah, well, considerably less nice on the inside. This place has much more style,” Tim said.

“Of course it does,” Dylan said. “I live here.”

“Ooh!” Aaron said, standing. “Ladies and gentlemen, Dylan Beyer. He's here all week!”

After a bit more small talk, Aaron finished off his breakfast and headed to class. As he crossed the Quad, he thought about earlier in the week, when he'd met Rick Pennington, AKA The Adept. So far, he hadn't contacted them to save the world or anything. Aaron hadn't been in touch with White Diamond either, though he know a bit more about her now. The young woman was actually a highschool student, not a CIU student. She was a senior, at least. On the track team, the photography club. She lived in South Stevenson on the other side of the highway, a wealthy area. These things he'd found on Google in a few minutes of searching.

Aaron had Emily's number, of course, but he was honestly a bit nervous to call her for non-business reasons. He wasn't sure what her parents' views on her dating a college guy would be, even though she was 18. He had people of interest right now, too. But for some reason, his mind kept coming back to Emily. They'd shared more in the last few weeks than anyone else he knew in this town. And she was, in a word, fabulous. Even if their interacting wasn't always the friendliest.

Aaron chuckled a bit as he remembered their first encounter. His mind was so involved in replaying that memory, he almost didn't notice that people were streaming out of a nearby lab building. Must be a fire or something? Better find out, Aaron thought. He hustled across the campus to the back of the group of students.

Nudging the nearest, a young woman with thick, curly blond hair, he asked “What's going on?”

She looked at him, horrified. “It's awful, just horrible. There's...there's something in there.”

THAT did not sound promising, Aaron thought. Something? Without a further word, Aaron ducked between two buildings, flipping over a railing to the bottom of an isolated stairwell. Fortunately, he kept more than books in his bookbag. Pulling out his phone as he changed, he dialed Rick first.

“Pennington, that you?” he asked to confirm when the other answered.

“Yes. Is this Dragonfly?”

“Half-way. There's something going down in one of the lab buildings on campus. Girl was talking about seeing a monster or something inside. Find Diamond and get here as soon as you can. I'm heading in.” With that, Dragonfly tied on his mask. He pulled his sword from the pool cue case he carried with him most days (he wasn't taking billiards).

Zipping low through the air just over the heads of the evacuated students, Dragonfly flew into the building. The first thing he noticed was the smoke. Covering his nose and mouth with his shirt, he flew up the stairs and into the upper hallway. The smoke was thick and acrid. Undoubtedly, it contained chemical residue. Dragonfly hoped it wasn't anything too dangerous. Suddenly, a chair flew at him from out of nowhere. He barely had time to move out of the way, but it's a good thing he did. One of the metal legs of the chair embedded itself in the brick wall next to him.

Whatever this thing is, it's playing for keepsies, Dragonfly thought. He didn't have long to wait before the creature came rushing out of the smoke. It was a hideous, tentacled monster, like something out of a Lovecraft story.

Bwah! Not getting too close to that thing if I can avoid it! Dragonfly thought. He drew his sword as the creature approached him. Slashing at the tentacles as the creature closed in, he managed to sever one of the creature's limbs. It fell lashing to the ground, but then immediately, it fade from view, as if it had never been there. Dragonfly briefly entertained the idea that the creature was an illusion, but the tentacle wrapping around his arm and flinging his sword backward dispelled that thought.

Dragonfly was in unfamiliar territory; he'd never fought monsters before. Super-powered, drug crazed college students was one thing, but this was just crazy. Time to try out that other gadget; he'd wanted to use it in combat for some time, but had been afraid of hurting real people. No such concern this time. Reaching into a pocket in the side of his costume, Dragonfly pulled a small metallic device, only slightly larger than a smartphone.

“Suck Humming Bomb, slime!” Dragonfly broke free of the tentacle and flipped backward, tossing the device at the creature as he did so.

As the beast moved forward, a loud “screeeeee” noise echoed from the device. Dragonfly landed just outside the device's central effect, picking up his sword as he did so. Even at this distance, the pain was excruciating. Holding his ears, he watched as the exterior windows reverberated, then finally broke. The creature shimmered slightly, as if it, like it's severed limb, were going to fade out of existence. Instead, it leaped out the shattered windows and among the crowd.

Damn, Dragonfly thought. Didn't see that coming. Coughing out the toxic smoke, he flew through the window after the creature. He came into the outside light just in time to see White Diamond blasting the creature with a light beam. It had an effect, but not much of one. Meanwhile, The Adept was ushering several dozen students through a portal he'd opened to a presumably safe location.

The creature lashed at White Diamond, but she stood still, trusting her heat shield. This seemed to be a poor choice. The creature lashed around her, ignoring the shield as if it weren't there. Dragonfly held his sword out, and charged in straight for the creature. It was designed to slash rather than puncture, but it had a sharp point, nonetheless. From above and behind, Dragonfly dropped into the beast, his sword embedding in an indiscernible but hopefully vital part of its anatomy.

The creature screeched and flailed all its tentacles upwards, dropping White Diamond to the ground. She pivoted and ran to get to a safe distance from the beast. When she was free, The Adept opened a portal underneath the creature. It struggled to dodge out of the pit below it, which seemed to open into the sky, but it failed. Dragonfly was barely able to pull his sword from its flesh before it fell in.

Now that the students were safe or evacuated, Dragonfly flew down to White Diamond. “You okay, Em?” he asked with concern. She looked a little surprised at the depth of emotion on his face, but nodded.

“Uh-huh. Fine,” she said, standing upright and adjusting her stance.

“Nice work, Adept!” Dragonfly called out.

Adept, appearing in his street clothes rather than the mystical robes that were always with him, came over to join his teammates. “Thanks. I like that one, though I've never been able to use it in quite that way before.”

Sounds of clapping and cheering were starting to be heard in the background, as the students of CIU realized their heroes had averted another disaster. “We better take off before someone official gets here...” Dragonfly begun.

Suddenly, a tentacle appeared around his neck, and he was flung backwards into a concrete support pillar. Another of the creatures had appeared from nowhere, and one more on either side of the heroes for a total for three.

“This is not good,” Rick said, “not good at all.”

Volume 1, Issue 2, Post 1

Intro: Trained from a young age in the mystical arts, and keeper of the robe of the wizard Merlin, Rick Pennington uses his uncanny powers to protect Stevenson as The Adept. 

The battle was waged.  On the Quadrangle of Central Illinois University, Dragonfly and White Diamond threw punch after kick after powerful energy blast at the Nexers, people who were under the sway of a drug called Nex.  The Nexers were possessed of amazing strength and resilience, which made them especially dangerous in a fight.  Now, for some reason, they'd all converged on the Quad. 

Ten to one were not good odds for anyone, Dragonfly mused as he kicked yet another Nexer in the face, knocking him away from a very concerned student.  At least, he reflected, White Diamond had shown up to give him a hand.  Twenty to one was even worse, and those light blasts of hers had quite a kick. 

As they fought, Dragonfly occasionally glanced over at the young woman he was fighting with, wondering who she was under that mask.  Once, their eyes locked for a brief second, before necessity drew them back to the melee. 

It was getting tough to keep track of the bystanders, Dragonfly thought, before he was again districted.  "Diamond, watch out!" One of the Nexers had come up behind her with a motorcycle of all things, and was preparing to smash her with it. 

White Diamond, a thin-framed young woman dressed in white dazzle, with thick, curly black hair, crouched, and a barely visible shimmer sprung up immediately around her.  The cycle hit, but the metal and rubber parts of the bike disintegrated immediately.  The fuel tank combusted, knocking her assailant back 20 feet and into unconsciousness. 

The crowd of Nexers was beginning to disperse; their hit must be wearing off.  Dr Patel had shown him tests about its affect on the human body.  It ran really rough for about an hour, and then quickly exited the system. 


Dragonfly was more concerned about this sudden gathering and exodus.  It was almost like they were under some sort of control. 

"Dragonfly, Sirens!" White Diamond shouted.  The campus police were coming.  They'd round up what was left of the Nex flash mob.  Amid cheering from the students they'd helped, Dragonfly prepared to take off.  He'd managed to avoid questions from the Authority so far.  Better to keep it that way.  He had very little worry for White Diamond.  She always managed to disappear.  Turning to take off in the direction of Langley Hall and his dorm room, he was shocked to find someone standing basically in his face. 

Dragonfly prepared to attack, but the young man, a brown-haired, bearded student in skinny jeans, a jacket, and sweater, held up a hand.

"Hey, bro, easy. I need your help.  Both of you."

"Okay, you want to talk, let's do it elsewhere.  I need to get scarce right now." 

Dragonfly looked around nervously, but the police still hadn't made their way to the Quad.

 He motioned White Diamond over.

"Uh, you know me, I guess," Dragonfly said, "this is White Diamond.  We work together, sometimes..." he said tentatively. 

"Yeah, I know.  Name's Rick.  Some people call me The Adept.  If you'll talk this way, I can explain."  Rick gestured toward a narrow corridor between two campus buildings. 

Dragonfly nodded, and the trio moved between the buildings and out of general view. As soon as they were out of view, Rick moved his arm in a semi-circular pattern, and an image appeared in front of them.  Dragonfly was immediately on the alert.  "You wanted to go somewhere private?  Here it is."  With that, Rick walked into the image, and it was as if there were a door.  From inside, Rick said "You guys coming?"

Hesitantly, first Dragonfly, then White Diamond walked through the portal, which closed instantly behind them.  The room they were in had a couple couches and chairs, as well as an old desk.  The only source of light was a window, which was largely molded over.  The light was indirect; that window must be in a recessed well. 

"My own secret HQ," The Adept said, pouring himself some tea from a pot on the desk. 

White Diamond looked around.  "There's no door!" she exclaimed. 

Rick chuckled a little.  "Not aside from the ones I make."

"I've heard of you," she said.  "The Adept.  I'd forgotten.  You're some kind of sorcerer or something, right?  I thought you were an urban legend."

"Hardly," The Adept said.  "I'm as real as you, White Diamond."

Dragonfly was getting nervous.  Adrenaline was still pumping from the battle, he really wanted to hit the skies and patrol, and it was almost dinner time.  Aaron had an appearance to make in the cafeteria.

"What up, Rick?" Dragonfly asked.

Rick looked at Dragonfly, taking a sip of his tea, and said nothing for a few moments. 

"I have certain powers," Rick began.  "Powers of perception, powers of dimension.  Some call it magic.  Whatever it's called, its potential is unlimited.  I, on the other hand, am quite limited.  My skills are of a more subtle nature.  The problem at hand requires a certain level of brute force."

Dragonfly folded his arms, but his wings twitched slightly.  He didn't care for being thought of as a thug.  But if this Adept was one of the good guys, and in need of help, the least he could do is listen. 

"There's a proverbial 'storm coming'.  Something big is on the horizon; I feel it like mystical ozone.  The air is charged with it, growing more every day.  Makes me edgy.  Soon, very soon, I guess, there's going to be a situation that calls for both right and might.  I need to be able to get in touch with you two, when it happens.  I can get us to the right place at the right time.  You and White Diamond can help with any resistance we meet."

"What kind of 'resistance'" White Diamond asked curiously, playing absentmindedly with a teacup near the desk.

"I have no idea, but let's face it.  When things go wrong around here, there's usually a certain amount of the physical involved, and I deal mostly in the spiritual."

Dragonfly could see his point.  Still, he was hesitant to give his true identity to someone he'd just met.  He hadn't even told White Diamond his real name yet, nor had she done so for him, and they'd known each other for three weeks now.

His mind racing with ideas, Dragonfly was about to suggest disposable phones, when the light in the room decreased substantially.  Turning around, he saw no more White Diamond, but a beautiful young lady, if somewhat plainly dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. 

"You can call me if you need me, Rick," she said.  "If you have a phone, I can send you my number now.  The name's Emily Fine."

Dragonfly rolled his eyes.  Well, so much for secrets.  He reached up and untied his own mask, realizing it was the first time he'd shown anyone his true identity since he took up the wings.  "Aaron Majesky, Langley hall."

Rick stood up, placing the empty teacup on the desk, and smiled at both of them.  "My full name is Rick Pennington.  In more public appearances, I go by The Adept!"  Raising his arms in a flourish, a robe covered with mystic runes appeared around him, though his face was no more disguised than before. 

The three stood together, silent, for a moment, as if an agreement had been made.  They were no longer three heroes working alone.  They were now a team.

Volume 1, Issue 1, Post 2

Intro: Possessed of a magical mask that clothes her in a garment that grants her mastery over light, Stevenson Highschool senior Emily Fine battles darkness as White Diamond.

Dragonfly swooped into action from the top of the building on which he had been hiding in the warm autumn night.  Blinking the light out of his eyes, he saw a dark blur that he HOPED was the Nex dealer.  Extending his leg into a kicking position, Dragonfly instead slammed into the wall of the adjacent building.  The kick was powerful enough to damage the brick, but Dragonfly screamed out in pain as his knee wrenched. 

The Nex dealer, a dark and grizzled man with Mediterranean features, did not immediately notice the hero who had crashed into the wall behind him; he was facing the other way.  He had turned to face the bright light, shielding his eyes with one arm while holding a high-caliber pistol in the other.  As soon as he found a mark insight the brilliant display, he fired.  He had no idea what or who he was shooting at, but as far as this criminal was concerned, a bullet was a bullet.

White Diamond watched as he considered his options, watched calmly as he fired.  She was in no danger.  The bullet came within millimeters of her skin, and then exploded as it hit the heat shield that surrounded her.  The remains of the bullet either fell to the ground or disintegrated into metallic mist as the bounced again against the shield.  Diamond grinned a vengeful grin, and fired her own attack.  A bolt of coherent light flashed out, striking the man in the chest and knocking him backward into a cluster of storage barrels.

The two college students began to realize their latest attempt at a quick thrill had landed them in hot water, and turned to flee.  To all the other participants, it seemed they were moving in slow motion, their reflexes were so slow.  Dragonfly took stock of the situation.  The two students would run to safety; the dealer seemed to hold no more interest in them, as he was struggling to remain conscious and to deal with two assailants.  Pain still exploding in his knee from the powerful impact to a solid object, Dragonfly flew rather than ran to where the dealer lay.

The man was older, probably mid-forties, with features that made him look as if he were from southern Europe.  Dragonfly guessed Italy or Greece.  As Dragonfly approached the man, the light at the end of the alley dimmed.  The figure which stood there was that of a young woman, lanky and somewhat tall, with a rounded face and curly, thick black hair.  She wore a costume that almost appeared to be made of translucent crystal; it clung to her just a little more loosely than a cat-suit.  Her face was partially concealed by a matching mask which caught the light especially well.  She held a second energy attack in her hand should Dragonfly prove to be a new threat.

As Dragonfly knelt down, the man quickly pulled something from his belt and popped it in his mouth.  Oh, No, Dragonfly thought.  Nex.  Quickly he lashed out, hoping to knock the man unconscious before this got ugly.  His hit was so strong it broke teeth in the man's jaw, but he merely grinned.  Almost leaping to his feat with preternatural speed, the Nex dealer picked up Dragonfly and launched him toward the end of the alley where White Diamond stood.  Quick thinking an acrobatic training kept Dragonfly from colliding with the young woman (the wings didn't hurt, either).  By the time he'd recovered, the dealer was nowhere in sight.  Realizing he must have leaped from view, Dragonfly quickly took to the air for a better view. 

The man was nowhere in sight.  Dropping back to the alley, Dragonfly decided to greet his unplanned "assistant". 

"What the hell do you call that?" Dragonfly asked, hovering a foot or so off the ground in front of White Diamond. 

The young woman was resolute as she stared into the flippant eyes of the winged hero. 

"I'd call it a takedown, if you hadn't messed it up!"

Dragonfly could hardly believe what he was hearing.  "Me?  You're the one who came in here guns blazing while I gathered evidence.  I'm trying to find out who these guys are and where they get there stuff, and you come in here shooting lasers around."  The two glared at each other momentarily.

"Are you done?" Diamond asked.  "We need to find that guy before he gets out of the area."

"Yeah, I'm done.  You go low, I'll take the skies."  Without another word, Dragonfly took to the air.  He didn't trust the girl, but something about her said she was for real, if a little under-trained and thoughtless.  And definitely cute, he thought as an afterthought.  While he flew, searching the surrounding blocks of Stevenson, he kept an eye on her as best he could. 

After a few minutes, he flew back to where they had met.  Ten minutes later, the young woman showed up.

"No luck?" she asked.

"None.  He's gone to ground somewhere, for sure.  No way to get at him now, short of breaking and entering every structure in the city.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot.  I'm Dragonfly," the hero stated.

"Yeah, I figured," the young woman said, locking his eyes.  Then she sighed and said "White Diamond."

"Hey, listen.  The night is young.  Grab a sandwich or something?" Dragonfly asked, feeling his pulse race as he did so. 

"I don't think that's the best idea," White Diamond answered.  "See you around, hero," she said, and moved off into the night.  

Dragonfly flew up as soon as she was out of his sight, hoping to secretly follow her and learn more about her, but when he got to Fairview, she was gone.  Just like that.  He looked around for a few minutes, then headed back to the rooftop.  Time to get changed and head back to the dorm.  That early philosophy class he had was a killer. 

Meanwhile, a black-haired lanky young woman walked up Fairview among the college crowds, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that read "Stevenson Girl's Track".  Held tightly in her left hand was a glittering white eye-mask.

Volume 1, Issue 1, Post 1 - Enter Dragonfly

Intro: Trained as a martial artist, possessed of fabulous equipment from an unknown benefactor, CIU College Student Aaron Majesky takes to the skies to fight crime as Dragonfly!

Dragonfly, a brown-haired youth with a powerful body built through years of training, wore a set of customized wings like those of his insect namesake that allowed him to fly.  Strapped across his back was a ninja-to, the sword of the ninja warrior.  He wore a costume, black on the bottom and a dark fuchsia on top, with a mask of the same color tied at the back.  

Currently, Dragonfly sat crouched atop a three-story building in downtown Stevenson while taller buildings towered around him.  The condos and apartments of the wealthy, he reflected.  In another life, Aaron had grown up a poor small-town kid, ostricized, bullied until he turned to martial arts training.  Despite having moved to college, working towards a better life than his parents knew, Aaron still felt a little out of place in this world.  But looking up at the glittering lights, and down to the traffic on the streets below, he could not help realizing how beautiful it all ways.  

Mind on business, he scolded himself.  Changing his focus from outward into the city lights, Dragonfly looked to the darkness of the alley below.  To him, however, it was not darkness, but shades of green and black provided by the contact lenses he wore.  These devices similarly to military night-vision, but were much more powerful and compact.  Not for the first time, he wondered who had sent them to him and why.  And not for the first time, Dragonfly pushed the thought out of his mind as the action started below him.  

Two students moved into the alley from Fairview street, between the building he was on and a two story retail building next to it.  The students were hesitant, looking around as if they might have the wrong place.  And, no doubt, checking for police.  Dragonfly tensed.  Out of the shadows, another form emerged.  The man did not dress or hold himself like a normal drug dealer, but Dragonfly knew from being on his trail for weeks that that was exactly what he was.  His hands tensed against the brick of the roof as he prepared to act.  He began filming; his footage would be admissible in court as long as he didn’t record sound.  

This new drug was called Nex.  It was like Xtacy, but had certain...other properties.  And it was far more dangerous.  Aaron had seen its effects first hand when his friend and roommate, Drake, had died of heart-failure.  Since then, tracking this stuff down had been Dragonfly’s only mission.  In a city the size of Stevenson, you’d think it wouldn’t be hard to track down a new drug dealer.  But these people were powerful.  And they vanished like a mist.

Almost to the exchange, Dragonfly zoomed in visually with powerful digital lenses to ensure he had the features of the dealer.  That’s it, he thought.  Go for it.  

Then something unexpected happened.  A flash of light, brighter than the noon sun, appeared at the head of the alley.  Dragonfly was blinded.