“…whoa…” Dyllan teetered a bit as the tingling in his bones died down. “That was an adrenaline spike.” He turned towards Cedric, giving him a quick look up and down. He seemed frazzled, but unhurt. “You okay?”Cedric’s face scrunched up like a particularly grumpy Dr. Seuss character, and he let out a grumbling sound reminiscent …[continue reading]

Cedric pulled open a new monitor, finally getting Andie back “on camera”. Even with the near omniscience his Empathy granted him, Andie was hard to keep track of – and that was before she had her awakening. Now it felt like he had to open a new screen every other second. Keeping track of her …[continue reading]

Strength, defense, agility, and raw, blinding speed. Andie had it all, and frankly, was starting to feel almost outright invincible. Still, something was missing. All this power was too steady, and she needed something more… bombastic. Something explosive – perhaps literally. Something that could really tear the place up. Or was that too greedy?You know …[continue reading]

Andie’s smile widened into a grin. If she was right, this new power was everything she could have hoped for. If she was right, her confidence made it so that she responded to the world as though she were as light as a feather, but the world responded to her as though she was heavier …[continue reading]

Andie’s Dream swung its blade at her with the speed and force of a sideways guillotine – giving her only a second to respond. The first half of the second was lost to a still panic. The other half was lost to a not-so-still panic, to flailing around for something – anything – that could …[continue reading]

“Now, let’s see what these new powers can do!” Andie took a deep breath and let her thoughts flow through her. The brilliant orange, ectoplasmic ears and tail of a Siberian Husky sprouted from her, as the words that would unlock her new ability took shape in her mind. “Fly unfettered, my Confidence!”It felt as …[continue reading]

“Y’see, this whole thing’s got me thinking about something I should’ve figured out a while ago.” Andie took a deep breath, speaking slowly and clearly – a stark difference from her usual mannerisms. “Heroes – the ones in stories, I mean – aren’t some naturally occurring phenomena. They don’t just… pop up out of the …[continue reading]

“Wakey wakey, Cedric.”Cedric’s mind slowly drifted into lucidity – called forth into a rough approximation of consciousness by the sound of Dyllan’s voice. Last thing he remembered was finishing a speech of sorts, now he was face down in a pile of rubble. Was being spontaneously ejected from someone’s Nightmare – or in this case, …[continue reading]

“Heroes aren’t supposed to be -” Cedric groaned. “This approach was clearly a mistake.” He paused. “No, not a mistake. I got you to open up, but I need to try a new approach now.”Andie’s ego cleared her throat. “I can hear you, you know.”“I know. I was talking to you.” Cedric leaned forward, pushing …[continue reading]

“Was that really your trump card?” Andie’s ego frowned. “Asking me what it means to be better than someone?”“It was certainly check, but we’ve not yet reached mate.” Cedric’s grin vanished in a split second, snapping back to his resting, flat expression. “It’s still your move, Andie. Answer the question.”“Chess metaphors. Really? Way to be …[continue reading]