DC Modern - Season 2 - Episode 6 - 6/27/22

Cat Grant here with your Catbites for the week.  Everything you need know in small digestible  cat sized bites. 

Never let it be said that I am not fair and balanced.  Last time we heard from Mayoral Candidate Dr. Tripod.  This week we offered the state to Mayoral Candidate Johnny Thorne.  He has graciously accepted so without more preamble here he is.

My father was a successful and generous businessman from Gotham.  Growing up I learned the value of hard work and loyalty.  The value of everyone getting what they are owed.  

Do we know for sure that Dr Tripod wasn’t involved in Quantum’s alleged sexual orgies with children. I have seen no evidence one way or the other. Have you?

Now that Storm has revealed herself as an Amazonian princess could that mean she was placed here as a young child to be a sleeper agent inside our great land should the Amazon invasions plans fail?

Thank you Mr Thorne.  Well that is all for this catbites.  As always we strive to give you all the news worth knowing in easily talked about water cooler sized bites.  

While fleeing, Achilles and Sarge Steel are bathed in fire by Firefly, hurting the latter. Rachael leaps from the jet and takes out Firefly. A Rainbow Rainbow-controlled She-Devil damages the jet, so Quantum struggles to hold it in the air as the others take to the air to fight opponents. The team takes out the Suicide Squad, and we drop a badly burned Sarge Steel off with Quantum’s mother at a base in Oklahoma. Flamebird has a Suicide-Squad explosive in her head, which the team is able to remove.

Repairing the jet will take time and effort since there are no replacement wing parts.

The news announces that an assassination attempt against Dr. Tripod was foiled by Black Diamond. He is now working security for Dr. Tripod and says there’s a restraining order of 300 yards against us. He also sublet his room in the Embassy to Claude. Rachael kicks Claude out as he threatens to sue.

Quantum hears that they found and secured the real Sarge Steel and got some intel from the copy that we brought in. Achilles leaves a message with Mr. Terrific to ask about Alan Scott.

Rachael has a press conference at a bookstore, 306 yards away from a Dr. Tripod event. Achilles is there, being badly managed by Funky Flashman to do a flyby with condors.

DC Modern - Season 2 - Session 5 - 6/13/22

 Session 5 (6/13/22)

 

This week I decided to turn Catbits over to a person almost as qualified as me to tell you the news of the day and what is important.  As to save column inches and your time without further ado I give you Dr. Tripod, candidate for Mayor.

Thank Ms. Grant it is an honor to fill in for such an illustrious journalist.  So the three things you need to know.

1. SUPER CRIME IS ON THE RISE and I have a plan to stop it.  While we have  a somewhat adequate semblance of a home town super team could they really handle the teen titan kind of villains.  But what are we going to do if someone with bigger guns comes to town.   Such as Giganta, Grodd, or heaven forbid Amazo?

2. PEDOPHILIA is a serious crime and no matter how "famous" the person thinks they are they should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  And if the police or defunct embassy is hiding or protecting such a person they should be prosecuted as well.

3. GOD GAVE THIS LAND TO AMERICA and anyone that would side with the enemies of AMERICA is no hero!  They should be arrested and deported back to where they came from!

This has really been an honor God Bless Ms Grant and God Bless this great city of Gateway!  

The next day, Quantum is at work when King Faraday tells him that he was rescued after the mission where we took down his clone. The captive has revealed other agents that have infiltrated and are set to infiltrate the agency. Three highest priority targets are head of the DEO Mr. Bones (already replaced), head of Task Force X Sarge Steel (to be replaced) and one of the Kings of Checkmate (already replaced)--White King Alan Scott or Black King Taleb Beni Khalid. He says he, Quantum, and Mark Shaw are the only ones to be trusted outside the Myrmidons.

Black Diamond and Flamebird return from the “canceled” mission to the Moon.

Jimmy Thorne, son of Rupert Thorne, announces candidacy for mayor. He was the owner of the tenements that almost burned. He plans to bulldoze Chinatown to redevelop it, with residents provided space elsewhere.

Rachael also reveals that she is running for mayor. Her campaign manager Herb “Funky” Flashman sets up her launch announcement for tomorrow at the Princess Diana Elementary School. Achilles agrees to show up to be hot.

Orichalcum gets a package inside which is a steel box that sets off her magic senses. This is just like the one that Black Diamond got his diamond from. Instead, this one has a monkey’s paw. She throws it in the river. The box also had a green candle from Neron that Black Diamond also received that he used to wish for super powers. Orichalcum starts building a mystical vault to hold it and other artifacts. Black Diamond says that he got a bonus item for recommending her and his friend Charlie Wilkinson, who’s missing and whose family died horribly a month ago. The orb shows that he might become a short-lived villain named Armagibbon who has Captain Atom-level powers.

Akasha finds an entry in his grandfather’s diary that mentions the code to open a safe deposit box located in Gateway City. He accesses it and finds $10k in cash in different currencies, $300k in bearer’s bonds, and 4 fake passports from 1927 (one of which is magical psychic paper). There’s also a journal/ledger/notebook written in a strange cypher and a small magical pendant. One of the fake passports is Harmonia Li, and the other two are Grandfather’s brothers’ names and birthdates but not their pictures.

Rachael has her event and gives a rousing speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Thank you very much for inviting me to this wonderful place here in the great heartland of America but also pretty near the coast. It is an honor to speak from this podium, in this storied courthouse, where so many profound legal judgments were handed down that they more or less canceled each other out.

 

In their own unique and unforgettable way, each storyteller examines our crisis of access to care in ways that are at turns haunting, heartbreaking, and outright funny.

 

I am a simple woman with a solid understanding of tractors. When I was a young girl, my father took me on his knee and told me the principle that has guided my life ever since: “Agree with some things, disagree with other things.” His was truly the Greatest Generation, along with a few that came before and a couple that have come since.

 

Why am I running for mayor of Gateway City? That’s a good question, and perhaps there’s no good way to answer it. Or perhaps there is a good way to answer it. Either way, it’s a good question and I’m glad it was raised. Many people consider me out of touch and I can assure you I am not. Our city is sharply divided over a important issues that need careful consideration. We need to take a strong stance on these issues.

 

I want to talk a little bit about our city's children. Before this speech, a young man named Stanley Exley came up to me. Stanley is a mechanic, a noble profession if there ever was one. Or perhaps he is a chemistry professor, also noble. He was holding his small daughter, Emily, an adorable 3-year-old who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Stanley is a straight shooter, and he came up to me and asked me a question I’ll never forget: “Do you like children?” And I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Yes, Stanley, I very much like children.” Maybe that’s not a popular opinion, but it’s what I believe. And to those of you who would say, “I don’t think children are our future,” I must reply in the strongest of terms: “I disagree.” Sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe in.

 

The state of our economy is in flux. Every single day, the stock market goes up or goes down or stays the same. If elected, I will ask the city treasury to take a good long look at the interest rate and decide whether or not to change it. If elected, I will create jobs where there are none, and where there are jobs, I will create internships.

 

Let us take actions that will make people happy.

 

Let us take actions that will make people healthy or perhaps have the private sector do it.

 

And let us move boldly so that our children and our children’s children can look back and say, “I’m glad they moved boldly on this, this, and that.”

 

It's not just a slogan:

GRADUAL CHANGE, SLOWLY APPLIED!

 

Thank you.

Thomas gives Orichalcum some steampunk device to put on the mystical vault to allow only her, Achilles, and Rachael to access the vault in pairs.

We decide to start with Sarge Steel. Flamebird will disguise herself as a villain for us to turn into Belle Reve and infiltrate Task Force X in order to give us the chance to use Akasha to see if Steel has been replaced. She will be Sonja-Zod aka She-Devil since she might be detected as Kryptonian. Orichalcum puts depowering cuffs on her, and Achilles renders her unconscious.

We deliver her to Belle Reve and meet Sarge Steel. Akasha can’t get anything from him mentally, so Achilles kidnaps him and takes to the air, pummeling him into unconsciousness in the process. She-Devil, Rainbow Raider, Firefly, Mammoth, and Shimmer are among the Suicide Squad members pursuing, while the other Myrmidons follow Achilles in the jet

DC Modern - Season 2 - Episode 4 - 5/2/22

Cat Grant here your new Editor in Chief of the Gateway Times!  That's right I have been promoted for my daring expose on the last EIC's office misconduct.  I promise this will not interfere with my wonderful catbites, short easily understandable news bites, to help you stay informed around the water cooler.  In fact my goal is to have more of the paper written in these understandable everyperson terms so that all can enjoy the news and not the elite few.  So without further adieu here is not only these weeks catbites but some catbites of the other areas of the news

Amazon's fail in their conquest of America thanks to those heroes loyal to her shores.  Pity  Gateway's own can not be among the loyal.  The Myrmidons were documented in San Fransisco attack US soldiers who were trying to apprehend dangerous Amazon sympathizers, who might have been leading a fifth column here in the good ol USA.

Rumors abound that our own Myrmidon Storm maybe a lost Amazonian Princess; perhaps this explains the siding with Amazons over on the West Coast.   It actually makes me feel better to know that Wonder Woman has an ugly little sister.   This somehow makes WW more approachable.  

Gateway City Police continue to show overwhelming support, surveys show,  for the Myrmidons.  Commissioner Hall has gone so far as to refuse to start investigations into their many possible crimes that have been alluded to here in these very bites.  Perhaps City Hall will pull rank and get the ball rolling.

And as promised here are some Catbites from other parts of the paper.  A preview of how you can do hard hitting Journalism for the common man to understand. (I am looking at your Lane)

WEATHER

Tomorrow will be much like today.

SPORTS

Our teams won!

ENTERTAINMENT

There will be new movies out this week.

FASHION

Don't wear that!

NEWS

See Catbites!!

And there you have it!  Remember see you next time to get all you need to know in easily digestible bites.

---

Donna and Diana come to the Embassy to talk to Rachael. They tell her the property of the Embassy has been transferred to her name. They reserve Donna’s old bedroom to be theirs for when they visit. They also give Rachael access to their trust fund of several hundreds of millions dollars. She can also participate in the running of the Wonder Woman Foundation. They also give her a pair of bracers.

Quantum gets a message to meet Mark Shaw at the parking garage. King Faraday, head of CBI, is visiting Argus tomorrow on Quantum’s first day there. But Shaw thinks Faraday was replaced and will be there to set up Leviathan agents. He believes Leviathan is cloning people. Shaw says they need to isolate, subdue, transport, and analyze Faraday to be able to create their own duplicate since the real Faraday might be dead. Quantum is more optimistic about the real Faraday’s survival. They set up a drop point at a bodega near Argus HQ.

Oricalchum and Black Diamond are in the lab as he tells her of fighting the Amazons. He gets a room at the embassy. He wants his L-phone to be able to talk to other dimensions so that he can talk to Flamebird once she goes home.

Akasha is going through the diary of 1885-1925 (his grandfather?). The writer was head of a shadowy league in opposition to the League of Shadows. He hates R’as al Ghul, the British, etc.. His group has assassinated titans of industry The handwriting and photograph match Grandfather. Akasha and Oricalchum ask Grandfather about it. He identifies himself in the photo but says he didn’t live then. Is it possible at some point in the near future he travels back and lives that life?

Achilles receives a package, a letter from Stygian with a human heart. Achilles uses the Orb to identify the heart as belonging to Dave Stevens, an aspiring gymnast from DC. Rachael finds a sliver of Stygian iron in the heart. Achilles turns the remains over to Commissioner Hall to return to DC.

Quantum confides in Achilles and Rachael about his mission. We decide to bring in Akasha in order to help determine if Faraday is a plant. We also send Black Diamond to the moon to get him out of our hair. He wants to take Flamebird with him and so snaps his diamond in half and gives her half. She eclipses out, he collapses, and we take her down. The diamond returns to Black Diamond. We send him on to the moon without her and take her to the medbay.

The news announces that Dr. Tripod is running for mayor of Gateway City.

Next day, Quantum meets Faraday, and they head to lunch, where Akasha is positioned. Faraday tries to poison Quantum but fails, while driving elsewhere. Quantum sends out an alert so the team begins chasing in Rachael’s new car. Faraday confronts Quantum in the car and tries to figure out who Quantum is working for. They take him to a field to kill him, but the team swoops in, takes out the goons, and captures Faraday. We take the injured goons and Faraday to the drop-off point.

Back at the Embassy, a recovered Flamebird warns us that Eclipso’s diamond is strongest on the dark side of the moon, where we sent Black Diamond. We send her after him to bring him back.

DC Modern - Season 2 - Episode 3 - 4/4/22

Cat Grant is visiting with the owner of the paper this week after last weeks bombshell catbites. I am her new assistant Bruce. I will be filling in this week. 

The girl cosplaying as color blind Supergirl has still not been seen since taken ( abducted? Kidnapped?) by the Myrmidons to their fortress. Given their affiliation with the Amazons and their anti American way of thinking are we surprised?  They are obviously guilty, at least by associate, well except for Achilles. No one that fine could be up to no good. 

Amazons attack DC and behead tacky statue in stuffy mausoleum. St

We here at catbites have to be the ones to ask the hard questions to power. Just how many abduction cases has GatewayPD coved up for the Myrmidons?  Is it 0? 3? 45?  We feel we have a right to know. (Obviously Achilles is not involved. No one that good looking has to kidnap anyone. I mean who do we think he is Paris?)

And there it is this weeks catbites. Hopefully next week Ms Grant will be back. As always leave your comments and compliments on our Lex book page. You can also tweet us or old fashion email.  Let them know how great I did while I was filling it. 

We decide to use Bruce from the paper to release a statement to counter the protests erupting outside the Embassy after the Amazon attack on DC. He’s too taken with Achilles to report the message that we’re resisting the Amazons. After he leaves, Amazons attack from within the Embassy.

After fighting off two groups that are teleporting in through a device in the basement, another group manages to make off with Flamebird, whose powers are not working. Although Quantum is seriously injured, we follow the Amazons through the portal to DC. We lose Flamebird but fight plenty of Amazons on pegasi, chimera, hydrae, and cyclopes. We connect with Donna, who takes us to Diana, who has been freed. Diana says Hippolyta is willing to talk peace. She and Donna take Rachael to go talk to her in a cave near Mt. Rushmore. Hippolyta recognizes Rachael as Thalia.

Meanwhile, a colonel offers us a mission to capture 5^th columnists in San Francisco. We agree and take a JLA transporter there, where we discover our targets are Helena and Cassie Sandsmark and Supergirl, who are at the Museum of Antiquities. The museum is being attacked by US armed forces, and Wonder Girl and Supergirl are fighting back. We approach and try to talk to Cassie, but Supergirl continues attacking tanks. Achilles convinces Cassie and Supergirl to withdraw inside so we can all talk. Cassie and Supergirl take Helena and museum employees to safety.

Meanwhile, Amazons are attacking the army here and also attacking in Kansas, in disregard of Hippolyta’s commands. The group in San Francisco aids the military, but a purple-ray weapon is brought out that threatens Achilles, but he and Orichalcum take out the fire teams. Rachael joins the fight in Kansas. Amazons retreat across the US.

Athena appears to Hippolyta and accuses her of betraying the gods by attacking man’s world. She exiles the Amazons to another dimension except for Hippolyta, who will rule an empty island, and Diana, Donna, and Thalia. Rachael is transported back to the Embassy, during which transport she sees the other Olympian gods in chains. The rest of the Myrmidons return to the Embassy.

Donna tells them that Flamebird was being held by Circe, who had manipulated Hippolyta to attack before being killed. Circe thought she was Supergirl and had some plan for her, but she was freed and was returning to the Embassy too. Rachael tells the rest of the team of the captured Olympians, which she remembers included Athena and Ares.

Orichalcum’s brother under the name Black Diamond is the new hero of Gateway City, who fought off Amazons.

DC Modern - Season 2 - Episode 2 - 3/14/22

Hello Gatwayians!

Nah that just does not work.  Plus Gateway Chronicle is the 3rd most read international paper so really maybe it should just be my little catnipians.  That really does not work either.  Tell you what we are gonna put a pin in this and get to what you are really here for...the 3 things you need to know, in small little bites, to sound smart and with it at the water cooler.  Without further delay here is this week's catbites

Former failed Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, has been sited in Gateway City again.  This is her third visit to the city since her "friend" Achilles was hospitalized.   "Hey Donna you just had a humiliating defeat as second rent wonder woman what ya gonna do?" ... "A third rate Homerian hero!!!"

Speaking of our third rate hometown losers, they were seen last week on the site of the 5 alarm fire in the northside low rent district.  Surprisingly there was no loss of life and the property damage was kept far below projections for normal five alarm fires.   Perhaps their New Leader Akasha is getting these sad sack losers whipped into shape!

And in sad news, Gateway City's favorite son Dr Tripod, is holding a twilight vigil for Paradise Island.  This is not the anniversary of its disappearance but rather some obscure amazonian holiday of remembrance.   Still it is a good bet that most of Gateway City will turn out if for nothing else than to hear Dr Tripod's new Epic Poem on the subject.

And there you have it Gatewayers!  Every thing you need to know.

Cat Grant

------------

Cat Grant here.  So the Editor-In-Chief of the Gateway Guardian has decided that the three wonderful catbites I provided for water cooler fooder was not up to my usual level of insightfulness.  So without further ado here are 3 more things you need to know to at least be sapient at the water cooler.

Gateway PD is reporting that a young, UNDERAGE, girl was taken from the site of the 5 alarm fire yesterday.  This TEENAGE girl, reporting dresses in Supergirl cosplay, was removed from the scene by Quantum of the Myrmidons.  Does anyone else find it worrying that the PD is playing Maxwell to Quantum's Epstein?

To date the Myrmidon's have been unable to stop, caused through reckless superheroing, or just complete incompetent inaction, a total of 7.8 billion in property damage, according to a independent  audit conducted by WEHATETHEMYRMIDONS PAC.  They conclude that city taxpayer is on the hook for at least 67% of this cost and expect a rise in property taxes, city service fees/fines, and the city sales tax rate to cover the cost.  They ask a simple question: Can a typical family afford to have them stay in the city?

And lastly, to round out this editorially mandated 3 new catbites, the Current Editor in Chief of the Gateway Guardian has been exposed as having an affair with his secretary.  Shocking at this news is it is more shocking that it was just now revealed here first in a editorially driven rewrite of Catbites.  Helps to wait till the last minute of your deadline so no one is there is proof read!  How you like me now Boss!

And there you go, certainly everything I thought we needed to know.

Cat Grant

---------------------------

The next day, Quantum gets a text to meet Mark Shaw. He’s supposed to start at Argus today. He sneaks out of the Embassy to meet him. He’s told to meet with CBI tomorrow.

A LexStar Delivery courier is waiting outside Akasha’s work looking for his secret ID. Akasha signs for the package and receives a leather-bound diary with a card that says, “I thought you might find this interesting. You are his only living heir as far as I can determine” with an elaborate symbol that looks like an octopus. Image search comes up with the name Leviathan. Symbol associated with Atlantis. The diary contains a picture of someone.

Donna Troy visits Achilles. She says she has been the caretaker of a device that she wants to train me with in case she falls again. It’s a silver orb that displays a hologram of Harbinger saying she has been tasked to record history. She displays a recording of Crisis and the collapse of the multiverse and restructuring of time. She recounts her conflicting origins as an example. She gives me a replica of the orb for me to help her. She thinks I wasn’t taken from Ancient Troy but I’ve been traveling through time in different guises as an immortal analogous to Hawkman except without the reincarnation. Between the Crises I’ve been restructured like Donna. She also think Rachael has been restructured too and is actually an Amazon and sister to Diana and Donna, who was sent into hiding to keep her from her stepmother Hera. Achilles agrees to help with the orb and the history.

Orichalcum talks to her brother, Lin Xiōngdì, who found a stone that gives him powers so he wants to join the Myrmidons. He’s coming to visit.

Rachael checks on faux Supergirl in the medbay. She is unhurt except for exhaustion and dehydation but is not waking up. Computer says she doesn’t have a metagene but is a Kryptonian/human hybrid. Computer starts running genetic analysis while a yellow sunlamp shines on her. Achilles and Donna tell Rachael, who had eavesdropped anyway. Donna runs a blood test, which confirms that Rachael is indeed an Amazon.

Meanwhile, we all go to meet Orichalcum’s brother. He demonstrates the stone, which turns him into an Eclipsoid and he attacks to prove his worth. After a brief battle, Akasha takes him down with his telepathy. We take the stone away from him and put it in a containment field in the vault, while Achilles knocks him out to keep him from being eclipsed in anger. We consult Grandfather, who’s no help.

Meanwhile, Akasha tells us of the diary, which is written in Hindi. The picture that fell out of it is Grandfather as he is now but seemingly from the 1930s. But Grandfather was a boy during WW2. Meanwhile, the med-computer analyzes Xiōngdì’s blood, which says he has an active metagene, is Homo Magus, and has a vitamin D deficiency. We put him under sun lamps with faux Supergirl.

Faux Supergirl wakes up. She’s from Earth-23. She’s confused about how she got here. Her name is Flamebird, really Diana Clarice Kent-Armorr. Pure Kryptonian-pure Terran hybrid. No metagene. On her world she attends the Ted Knight Academy. We don’t know what to do with her to return her home, so we’re keeping her for now.

The med-computer indicates the sun lamps aren’t helping Xiōngdì’s Vitamin D levels, so Rachael hooks up an intravenous feed. His metagene keeps him from being affected by sunlight. Meanwhile, Thomas Wayne has been examining the metal from the Stygian’s blade with no conclusive results.

Achilles gets a message from Donna to turn on the TV, where it announces Amazons are attacking DC. Hippolyta demands her daughter be released within 12 hours. She beheads the Lincoln Memorial. Donna says Diana has been taken by the US government and is being held.

DC Modern - Season 2 - Session 1 - 2/21/22

 Hello Catfans!

Cat Grant here and OMG it has been a crazy summer here in the Old US of A!  Can you believe all that has happened?  I know I can't.  What with Superman's return and his battle with Lex Luthor over metropolis.  And old Lex getting disgraced, arrested and bankrupted!  That Amazing return of OG Wonder Woman in Washington DC just in time to save her woefully inadequate sister from complete defeat and death at the hands of Cheetah, Giganta and Dr Psycho.  Over in Gotham the Bat is back and just in time because supposedly cured Two Face resur"Faced".  All in all it looks like the Trinity is back people.  And none too soon.  We should start a MoveON petition to get one of the big 3 to Move On over to Gateway.   But you did not come here for a long digression on the state of super heroics in Gateway City.  No you came for you handy bite sized news briefs.  Everything you need to sound smart and urbane over the water cooler break without having to read another 5 column inches by boring Lois Lane.  So without further ado here is everything you need to know this week in handy Catbite size!

Earlier this week, in what has to be a record for shortest time in the grave, local hometown Hero Achilles was sighted leaving the Morgue a mere 16 hours after being pronounced DOA at Gateway Memorial.  Now I know we all like to look at his washboard abs and those killer biceps, but come on give us a break we did not have time to celebrate, that is to say mourn, his passing.  I mean I had T-Shirts all printed with "Home Town Hacks - 1 down 3 to go"

Also this week it seems our prayers have again been listened to and then spit on and used for lining bird cages.  A new hero literally NO ONE has ever heard of has decided to call Gateway City home.  Akasha proclaims to be a telepath, however according to my sources this guy is more smarmy than swami.   Maybe Gateway's local loser patrol will pick him up and he can live with them at the Themiscaria Half way house.

Biggest news of the week has to be how unsafe it is for couples out after dark.  A new loon, could be straight out of Gotham, the Stygian on the loose and sending couples to their great reward.  This, obviously, heart broken misanthrope stalks his prey and very efficiently ends them with single dagger shots to the heart.  

And there you have it after one long crazy summer we are all back to the grind and you have all the news that fit to know in easily digestible bites.  Until next time

Cat Grant 

***Editor's note*** MoveOn.org is not an actual site concerning with the moving of people but rather a progressive site dedicated to social change.  We apologize for any confusing this may have caused.

---------------------

3 weeks later

Achilles returned from the dead 16 hours after being killed. He remained in the hospital after waking up in the morgue to heal further. Mourners left lots of gifts for him when he was dead or in the hospital. He’s returning home now.

New hero Akasha has been in Gateway City and was advised by Commissioner Hall to seek out the Myrmidons to work with the team. He arrives at the Embassy and introduces himself as a mystic who can cloud minds. He offers to help Orichalcum with freeing Grandfather.

The lawyer arrives to inform Achilles that his court case is in a week. Tripod’s lawyer has offered a settlement of $2 million with a NDA. Achilles rejects it. They go over Achilles’ testimony.

Quantum gets a call with a location to show up in 30 minutes. He departs but leaves a tracker. He goes to a deserted parking garage and meets with Mark Shaw, who says the government infiltration is more extensive than previously presumed. He’s had no luck finding who is behind it, but non-superhuman-related departments are likely lightly infiltrated. He believes people in meta-departments have either been coopted or duplicated. The infiltrated organization is called Leviathan. Shaw has been able to reinstate Quantum’s clearance with a fake name but will need to put him in harm’s way to gather info. Quantum’s new identity will be Argus’ attaché to Gateway City, granting him access to Task Force X, DEO, and Argent.

Orichalcum and Akasha examine Grandfather’s stones, which spell out “Can you not leave me in such a tiny place with no light?” Akasha talks to him telepathically. Grandfather says Harmonia Li working with someone did this to him. He wants to go on Carson as a speak-and-spell diamond.

Achilles gets a phone call from Patroclus who tells him that Harmonia Li with Per Degaton plucked him from the battlefield and brought him to present to avenge himself. He is using a metal from the Stygian river bed, which tells him of false love and commands him to kills couples not truly in love. He’s going to go after one of the descendants of “Hector’s whores”—Donna? After the call, Achilles destroys the gym and tells Rachael to warn Donna, who is still recovering so Dick Grayson takes the message.

Thomas tells Rachael he made them both a bracelet to detect vibrational discrepancies vis a vis multiversal refugees.

The team goes to Inspiration Point where Patroclus/Stygian has been killing couples. Achilles finds a bench with an elaboration carving with a spear/dagger/infinity symbol intertwined. A red rose is on the bench. Orichalcum detects faint magic. Rachael finds tiny fragments of metal. Can we use these to trace the dagger and/or immunize Achilles to it?

There’s a large explosion across town. Buildings are ablaze with people inside and bystanders filming the blaze. The team leaps into action to rescue people. Per Degaton’s robots started the fire and are fanning it. We manage to rescue all of the people in the buildings, defeat the robots, and help extinguish the fires, though Quantum is seriously burned. One of the people is a yellow-costumed version of Supergirl that we confirm is from elsewhere in the multiverse. We take her back to the Embassy.

DC Modern - Session 16 - 12/21/20

Cat Grant here.  Wow what a year it has been since I moved here to Gateway City.  I am so grateful to all of you who have embraced Catbites as your watercooler news source.  It has been a wild ride, well save for that intern fiasco.  So let's just dive in to this weeks Catbites

Black Adam goes on a world wide rampage and our hometown heroes, for lack of a better word, head to Italy to help in the battle.  Storm gets a massive hit in knocking Black Adam back as Achilles moves forward to do battle.  Black Adam slams his fist into Achilles face, and our hero is left so stunned and thunderstruck, drooling on himself that he allows Black Adam to escape leaving the JSA to finish him off.  

Probably out to prove He has not totally misplaced his trust, Commissioner Hall asks the Myrmidons to guard prisoner General Immortus as he is transported to the Federal holding facility in the Rock Mountains.  Though questionable the team was able to stop an attempt by the Fearsome Five to free Immortus.  After such a resounding defeat a year ago it is nice to see the home team actually put a win on the board, 1 for 12 is an acceptable record right? 

So I was thinking about the future, and most people like to go for round numbers like 10 years, 100 years, a 1000 years.  Me I like to think what the world would be like in 980 years or the year 2986.  My greatest hope is that the future Gateway (Maybe Gateopolis?) will have a more competent group of hometown heroes.  

Quantum gets a response from his letter responding to Shaw’s claim that the DEO is compromised. His mother wants him to set up a meeting with Shaw tomorrow night. Quantum chooses a power plant. He then contacts Shaw to let him know of this meeting. Quantum attends the meeting with his mother and Shaw, and Shaw confirms their identities. Shaw reiterates how various government agencies have been compromised, but Quantum’s mother’s not completely convinced but agrees to go along, and she goes along with Shaw who secretly warns him that if he’s not heard from in two days then Quantum’s mother is the spy.

Achilles’ lawyer visits and says he’s started a lawsuit to reclaim my IP. He wants the quill to use as evidence in the case. Achilles hands it over and asks for Tripod’s head as part of the settlement. Preliminary hearing will be in September.

Bruce suggests to Rachael that they should visit the Madame Xanadu of this world to see about getting him home. He acknowledges that if he’s stuck here he should help her. She starts trying to find Xanadu.

Orichalcum gets a message from a woman who identifies herself as her mother, who should be dead. She traces the message back to an apartment building that was supposedly demolished, but she discovers the building is still there. Achilles accompanies her to the apartment building, which is indeed intact. She goes to her family’s former apartment, which had been blown up and killed everyone she knew a year ago.

The pair enters the apartment, and Orichalcum’s mother is there and most everything is as she remembers it. She recognizes Achilles and acts as if she’s been around the whole time. She claims that Lin’s dad is working at the pawn shop since his father died, and her brother is at school. Grandfather died in an explosion in the shop [rather than the apartment]. Could they be from a parallel world since the multiverse is back? Or might we be in the wrong universe? There are newspaper clippings showing the Myrmidons’ heroics. Dad comes home, we have dinner, and Orichalcum and Achilles leave.

Achilles and Orichalcum fill in the others. In the morning, we go to Grandfather’s shop, and it’s changed to her father’s shop. Quantum has been advertising for the shop with great success. There are still the fake Eclipso diamonds there, which Orichalcum takes. There’s no evidence of other changes.

Quantum hears from Shaw that everything is fine so far and his mother is on board.

The next few weeks are uneventful. Orichalcum’s brother invites us to his 18^th birthday party. He puts the moves on Rachael and tells the rest of us the party is cancelled. She teases him, cuffs him to a pipe, and leaves him. He’s now in love with her.

Achilles talks to Donna, who has been chronicling the multiverse. She can’t explain Orichalcum’s parents, though she does know of NuBruce’s gaslight world.

Quantum scans the fake diamonds. There’s residue consistent with a gas explosion on them. Orichalcum scans the magic on them. The enchantment is linked to the group so it’s stronger the more of them that are together. Putting them together they move around and spell out, “What is in the box?” Orichalcum communicates with them, and it turns out to be Grandfather speaking through them. He claims to be in the rocks.

Orichalcum checks the box, and the diamond is gone, with a note reading, “My dearest, I bet you did not know we have the same birthday. I am sorry I missed so many birthdays. I hope you like our Birthday gift. H.L.” Harmonia Li, no doubt.

Grandfather doesn’t know how to get himself out of the rocks. Rachael suggests Madame Xanadu might help. Grandfather warns, “Watch out for the Nazi.” Maybe the magic bar can help us?

Then Ferdinand appears with a guest—Patroclus! But as they kiss, Patroclus whispers, “I can’t believe you betrayed me,” and stabs Achilles with an ankh-shaped knife, who falls dead. And the note changes to say, “Oh yes, I still have another shoe to drop.”

 

Season One ends

DC Modern - Session 15 - 12/7/20

Cat Grant back from vacation.  First let me assure all our readers that last weeks Catbites was an abomination.  I have fired Penelope and black balled her from getting any kind of media job.  Please Penelopebites who ever heard of such a dumb idea.  So without further adieu here is all the News you need to know in easily digestible  CATBITES

In Metropolis today the Lex Luthor Presidential Library opens at Metropolis State University.  A star studded gala  despite Lex Luthor being under a cloud of suspicion concerning the EveryMan Project.  The Pete Ross Presidential Library is expected to open later this year.

What was set to be one of the greatest golf courses in the world future is in doubt after a blaze rips through several holes.  Seems our home town heroes could not be bothered to limit the fire damage as they had a slugfest with Firefly and Firebug.  Several homes on the 18th green that were under construction were also damaged.  

Donna Troy, the former Wonder Girl and now former Troia, has stepped into the role of her mentor as Wonder Woman.  She will be based in Washington DC saying that Gateway was in the best of hands and she was not needed here.  This is what we get when we have a Millennial super heroes.

DC Modern - Session 14 (10/12/20)

With Cat Grant on vacation this week I will be handling your catbites.  Who am I, you might ask, to be given such lofty responsibility?  I am her Intern Penelope.  Please no pitstop jokes.  Trust me I have heard them all before.  So without further delay here is everything you need to know about the news in easily digestible bites.  Penelopebites as it were.

There have been lots of fires in the past few days.  Firefighters are stumped at the cause.  Lots of things have burned down.

Several people have been arrested.  Some have done bad things, others were going to do bad things, and still others are just caught up in a corrupt system.  Damn I don't have a third point.

This week's weather is expecting to be hot.  Possibly cool.  Easily answerable by looking out your front door or window.

And there you have it!  Everything you need to know about the news here in Gateway.  Cat Grant will be back next time.  Until then have a great week!!

DC Modern - Session 13 (Annual 1) - 9/28/20

 Cat Grant here on this amazing beautiful Monday morning.  Spring has come to Gateway City and everything looks new and wonderful.  So here is all the news you need to know for the water cooler talk.

 1. As protests mount over revelations concerning the Myrmidon's second in Command - Quantum Plumber, calls for Commissioner Hall's  firing are mounting as pressure increases to investigate child abduction allegations.  Signs of life have returned to the Embassy and protestors, overnight, have begun to gather there as well.  In the olden days lynch mobs were an acceptable way to deal with things if the police did not handle things.

2. Over the weekend Mayor O'Dell gives the key of the city to Gateway's favorite son Dr. Tripod.  Our humble hero gave short remarks.  Though there were the usual denials he has no plans to run for elective office, to this reporters ears they seemed less definitive than in the past.

3. Massive escape at infamous Arkham Asylum!  Also this weekend poor benighted Gotham had its largest inmate escape from its famous Asylum for the criminally insane.  Not since the Bane terrorist incident of 3 years ago has such a large amount of the criminally insane been set free.  

And there you have it.  Everything you need to know to sound urbane and well informed this Monday morning.  See you next time.

DC Modern/Legion of Superheroes - Crossover event: THE HANDS OF FATE! - Session 12—9/14/20

We found some more ancient catbites in the archives and thought we should share them.  We believe these are from the early 2000's but with the archives being what they are who knows when they are from.

Dr. Tripod does it again!  This time by bring back the long lost art of the Epic or Long form poem.  He has beautifully captured the essence of the modern Superhero and brought us to tears with his moving tribute to the Heroes of today.

Commissioner Hall refuses to comment on any ongoing investigation into sex child ring allegations against Myrmidon Quantum Plumber.  The allegations, alluded to in the New York Times Best Selling Book by former Myrmidon Dr Tripod, seem to point to "QP as his friends call him" as the ringleader.  As the public outcry for an investigation continues to grow this reporter has to wonder if that is the true reason the Myrmidon's have been gone for so long.  

Today all of Gateway City morns the loss of one of their own and <<Transcript damaged>> is laid to Rest.  This heroic Myrmidon gave <<transcript damaged>>  life to save us all from the threat of <<transcript damaged>>.   The team will be holding a private service at the same time the President is holding a service St. Francis cathedral.  

And here are some interesting notes we found concerning cloning.  

Clone Amplification Technology

Blocking Identification & Total Enhancement System

EarthGov mental subjugation protocols enacted. Titan-aided memory transfer activated at 98% growth. Quantum buffering engaged to prevent identification.

Attempts to empower subject Kyle Ramirez prior to 100% growth ineffective. Metahuman abilities spontaneously generate within 0.5 hours after release. Exponential increase in metahuman ability observed in concert unable to be replicated in individual.

Project SOD initial results indicate failure to replicate. Extra-scientific enhancement inconclusive. Adjustment to nutrient feed initiated.

---

Achilles’ team is on Leland McCauley’s factory planet. The bottom of the Spear fell out of a space-time rift and rendered us powerless just as robots fired on us. All goes black.

Kid Skid wakes up in a cell w/ metal bars w/ McCauley in a chair on the other side. He’s happy to have genetic samples and a way to dampen our powers. His hologram fades away, revealing the Spear on a pedestal. Our equipment is over there as well. Skid wakes up Katrina. Achilles wakes up and wakes up Quantum. Without flight rings to translate, there’s difficulty communicating, but Kat knows some English.

Achilles and Kat strip and start fashioning our clothes into a rope to try to hook our equipment. A robot enters and shoots food pellets at us. Achilles tries to hook the rope but a cleaning robot tries to grab it. Achilles lures the robot toward the bars with the rope, so Quantum can grab it, but it electrocutes him. Rachael’s able to smash it though and get some parts. Meanwhile, Achilles starts snagging equipment. Quantum tries to create lock picks to pick the jail cell.

After messing around with a repair robot who appears to fix the cleaning robot, the Quantums are able to pop the lock. We’re able to get our equipment and the Spear half. Kat gets far enough away from the Spear that her telepathic earplug is able to contact Fate, who will send transport. Meanwhile we have to fight security robots. After a brief skirmish, an ankh opens and sucks Kat and Achilles into space. Achilles can’t breathe, but Kat is able to extend her transsuit. Quantum and Skid are left behind because the Spear disrupts the ankh

Meanwhile back on Tartarus, that group meet a clone of Shade who wants to help them in their mission and then get off planet and explore life in his last two weeks. Clone shadows start pouring into the room. Shadows overwhelm Orichalcum and take her away. Dynasty makes light and burns the shadows away.  No Orichalcum so she dismisses the light and allows the shadows to take them. Orichalcum fights her way back to group.

Harmonia Li shows up, seemingly in control of shadow clones, and speaks mandarin to Orichalcum. She enters room with Orichalcum. After some uncomfortable talk where Harmonia hints at a relationship with Grandfather.  She agrees to help us get the Spear.  We get the Spear and head to the Forest of Fate after a failed attempt to get Harmonia through the portal with us.

Back on McCauley’s planetoid, Quantum and Skid are left to fight the robots. Fate transports a case to Kat and Achilles and then sends them back to the planetoid to help fight the robots while getting the Spear in the case. We accomplish this and the ankh reappears, leading back to the forest of Fate.

The teams are reunited. Fate takes the Spear halves and the Staff of Hermes from them and then sends the modern-day heroes back to the present-day to the Themysciran embassy. We’ve been gone 5 months and 3 weeks according to Ferdinand the minotaur. Tripod has been creating chaos for us while we were gone, including stealing Achilles’ poem. Ferdinand fills us in on the news as we eat. Donna Troy and Commissioner Hall have tried to protect our reputations from the accusations Tripod has leveled against us.

Orichalcum visits Grandfather and fills him in on her adventures. He gets flustered upon mention of Harmonia and reveals she’s her grandmother.

DC Modern/Legion of Superheroes - Crossover event: THE HANDS OF FATE! - Session 11 - 9/1/20

We dug up some more mid 19th century catbits for you. Enjoy the early years of catbites when each page had to be hand illuminated before delivery.

With Dr. Tripod's book setting the New York Times Best seller list on fire there are talks of a movie deal in the works.  Brad Pitt has already expressed interested in reprising his role as Achilles, but not so fast...according to inside sources Dr Tripod has veto on casting.  Tripod has mentioned that Achilles hates Pitt's biopic of him and Tripod thinks that Dustin Diamond or Carrot Top are a much better fit for the real Achilles.

With it looking more Likely the Myrmidons are dead, nostalgia seems to be driving Myrmidon collectables and book sales.  Even this reporter is not immune to the misty-eyed feeling of loss.  But then I remember how they had to have Beast Boy's help to bring to justice a third string loser like General Immortus and sudden I remember how much better off Gateway city is.  

Speaking of heroes did everyone see the eye poping headline in todays Gateway City Courier?  The return of Wonder Woman to our fair city.  Granting it is only her little sister Wonder Girl playing dress up but still having a B lister will be a huge step up for gateway, like six letters!

And now a special treat our villainous sister omnicast has shared with us some of this weeks Catbites or would that be werecatbites!

8 September 2986

To all you villains and fiends out there, here are the latest bites from Cat-Scratch Girl, coming to you from everyone’s favorite criminal hideout, Tartarus.

Lame losers Quicksand and Holdur were brought down like the posers they are when they tried attacking a motley assemblage of heroes wandering the streets near the Prince’s castle. Their sole claim to fame was that they had been bootlicking toadies to uber-villain Pulsar Stargrave, which they’ve been living off of for years. Wonder who these ragtag heroes invading Tartarus are—the Legion of Substitute Heroes Substitute Auxiliaries maybe?

Speaking of the new Prince, his creepy shadow minions continue to skulk about the streets like bargain-basement Dementors in need of a makeover. You’d think shadows couldn’t be handsy, but you’d be wrong as numerous nogoodniks have reported being molested by horny tendrils of darkness. Asking for a friend, can you get impregnated by shadows—because all these minions have to be coming from somewhere.

Whatever Prince Savage has going on, he’s been importing stasis tubes and space-dragon amniotic fluid by the shipload. Does this have anything to do with his claims that Tartarus will soon be safe from all marauding heroes looking to make a name for themselves by taking down some of the less-than-stellar villains hanging out on this dump of a planet? Can’t happen soon enough for Quicksand and Holdur!

Boom! Holomic drop! Violence and mayhem to all my readers!

And there you have it!  All the news that is fit to know in easily digestible bites!  See you next time! 

 

Dynasty’s group goes to the window. They enter and find a sigil life force transference and two dead Shade clones.

They encounter a dark corridor where no light seems to go beyond.  They discuss if it is Shade's powers or Spear of Destiny.

Suddenly they are enveloped by the darkness.  Inside Darkness we find Orichalcum's Grandfather.

Grandfather brought here by Shade! and then attacked by someone who yanks his heart out.  Orichalcum grabs grandfather and runs back to room.  Then Batman by Gaslight appears and speaks to Rachel.  Dynasty can not heal Grandfather with Powers.  Bat chastises Rachel.  Dynasty then uses a magic ritual to try and heal grandfather.  Then Reflecti-Kid drags body of Dynasty's father over.  

Dynasty manages to jury rig a ritual to allow the group to see through the Darkness and the illusions.  They continue down the corridor and enter a room with clones of Dynasty's brother and an empty chamber covered in wood that is empty.  Dynasty destroys the clones and the machines.  Rachel opens a door and finds room with similar tubes but with different people all of which are important Earth Governmental people including the President and Chief Zendek.

Found another room with bodies with no liquid.  And in the last room lots of tubes with runes all over them that seem to be cloning runes working off of magic.

Reflecti-Kid finds two clones of Dynasty's brother making out.  

DC Modern/Legion of Superheroes - Crossover event: THE HANDS OF FATE! - Session 10 - 8/17/20

Catbites retro - Sept 8 2996

ON this day in history some catbites from the far human past.  When the printing press was new.  At least we think we just found these in the archives and slapped todays date on them.

Sept 2006

- Our wayward heroes have been gone from Gateway two whole weeks now.  Does this mean we have seen the end of Achilles and the Mediocrities? Or perhaps they have just gone on an Odyssey. 

- After the tragic events of New Years Day in Metropolis the President has promised a full investigation into the Superhuman Program Everyman run by LuthorCorp.  Lex, of course, was unavailable for comment.  Maybe he is still cleaning up Lexcorp Plaza from human pizza stains.

- NEW tell all book!  Come see the seedy inside view of Gateway's most famous D list super team. I was a sex slave for the Myrmidons and Loved it! By Dr Phil T. Ripod.  Get an inside look at the sinster child sex ring run by Quantum Plumer.  Witness the insatiable lust of Storm!  Hear about the impotence problem of their Leader Achilles.  And we can't even print a preview of what they say about Orichalcum! 

AND NOW YOUR BONUS BITES!!! (Brought to you by your Legion GM Jim)

Black Cat Bites (8 September 2996)

Your old Black Cat pal is here to give you today’s magical news.

After a knock-down fight at the Tower of Fate in yours truly’s favorite neighborhood, Salem, the personified Elements Fire, Water, Air, and Earth have been defeated and removed from their hosts by our old friend Nabu. But the biggest surprise is that Aether has kept the body (a body? seems there are a couple running around) of everyone’s favorite green-flame wielder, Dynasty. Even better, the Aether-Dynasty combo has taken possession of the Helm of Nabu (or is it vice-versa?), forming the most powerful of mystical entities, a triad, surely a favorable portent for the magical community in this time of upcoming crisis.

The ongoing competition between Green and Red has taken a strange turn lately as the Champion of one has now converted to the other side. Thanks to the once and future god, worlds across the galaxy are being seeded Green, so Red has some catching up to do to maintain the balance. Speaking of seeding, is it only a matter of time until the new Red Champion discovers how much more pleasant it is to procreate the animal way rather than the plant way. 

When magic and science combine, you don’t get some wonderful concoction that tastes better than both alone; you get a hybrid monstrosity that will eventually have to choose sides in the upcoming struggle. So just where will our new immortal power couple who’s straddling the line come down in the upcoming struggle? Word in the aether (though not Aether, to bring this back around) is that the savage caveman and the original green-flame powerhouse have come into possession of a certain artifact that might lead them to cross (get it?) firmly into the right camp.

And there you have it all the news fit to print for two millennium!!  All in easily eatable bites

DC Modern - Session 9 - 8/3/20

Gotham 1900

EXTRA EXTRA Read all about it!  Bride of the Bat celebrates 10 years as second Urban legend Hero!!

1718 Port of Nassau.  In the Horny Wench Pub

"I tell you this little yellow-skinned girl turned into a monster with cannons for hands and iron for skin!"

Catbites Jan 5, 2007

Rumors abound that America's Premier Super Hero Quantum has lost all his marbles. Maybe they are only gone when we look in the box?

 

Orichalcum and Achilles see Blackbeard’s ship. We notice we don’t have the Spear of Destiny. We attack the ship and easily defeat the pirates. We land, and Blackbeard/Vandal Savage speaks with us to get us to surrender. Pfaw. We attack and battle for a bit, before we defeat Vandal, sending him overboard. The crew brings up two prisoners, one of whom was meant to be sold by Savage to Governor Hastur of a nearby island. The man and red-haired woman are enemies of Savage, and turn out to be incarnations of Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Quantum wakes up after illness. He researches the Spear of Destiny but finds no evidence it’s real. He researches his own illness, and it seems his tumor comes from the radiation the government used to give him his powers in the first place. Quantum’s doctor recommends he give up heroing. A mysterious figure suddenly materializes in front of him.

Rachael is staying with Madame Xanadu and have become good friends over the last decade that she’s been here. She finally plans to leave, after meeting up with Batman for one final mission. They’ve become known as the Bat and his Bride. She uses the Staff to leave.

Before Achilles can talk to the Hawks, Orichalcum runs the ship aground on a reef. We rescue the crew and take them to the nearby island. Orichalcum and Achilles fly off with the Hawks, who can’t fly since Hath-Set has all the nth metal. We get to Nassau, and send a ship back for the stranded pirates and book us passage to New Orleans to find Madame Xanadu.

Quantum’s intruder kills Ferdinand and threatens him. An older Rachael appears, looking similar to the intruder, and attacks the original intruder, and between the two they defeat her. Out of her armor, she looks like a younger Rachael. They turn the bad Rachael over to the police and the armor to the Seven Soldiers. Rachael has learned how to use the Staff so they plan to go find Achilles or Orichalcum.

Achilles and Orichalcum arrive in New Orleans and find Xanadu, who’s not blind. She knows that we’re lost and looking for our friends. She sends out a magical beacon to help them find us. Rachael and Quantum arrive and we all catch up. Xanadu says she will help us find the Spear, but she says if we take it from before 1946, we’ll have to return it there. Or we could try to take it from right before we disappeared in 1946.

Meanwhile Per Degaton and his robots show up, causing mayhem. Per Degaton knows Rachael as the Bride and has been seeking us. He has brought along the Rainbow Raider(!), who hits Achilles with a fear ray that he shakes off but not so lucky with a rage ray that turns Achilles against Quantum. Orichalcum gets control of the robots but a greed ray makes her try to keep them, and they explode while Degaton and the Rainbow Raider escape. Given that the Raider’s rays were emotional spectrum-based, unlike normal, Degaton might have upgraded him. Orichalcum did capture Degaton’s flying disk with its time tech, which seems to be from the 21^st century. The robots, however, are from centuries later.

Later, Xanadu gives Rachael a charm that with the Staff will take the group to where the Spear went. Quantum puts tracking disks on the time platform, which we take with us when we leave. The Staff takes us to a clearing in a wood next to the Tower of Fate, where technology isn’t working. We find a dent in one of the walls as we’re looking for a magical entrance. Around the other side we find the Legion Academy heroes.

DC Modern - Session 8 - 7/6/20

Gotham Gazette 

EXTRA EXTRA

Read all about it!!

Axis 5th columnist attack local army base!

In a dastardly night raid forces loyal to the defeated Axis Powers, according to local Army officials, attacked our local Army Base. These second-rate sore losers assaulted our brave men shortly after midnight, local time.  These barbarous ne'er-do-wells even used a child in their diabolical scheme.  Though we do not know their true objectives, army commanders believe it was an attempt to discredit our gallant men in uniform.  After a sound and quick thrashing from our courageous GIs, the reprehensible reprobates retreated into the heart of Gotham.  Be vigilant and report any suspicious to the local authorities.  

Grandfather leads us to the JSA brownstone. We mix it up with Wildcat, Flash, Green Lantern, Starman, and Hawkman, getting the better of them until we surrender. Hawkman turns out to have been a Myrmidon that I knew, so we talk. Hippolyte shows up and we explain why we need the Spear. We and the JSA go to the army base to find it under attack by Per Degaton, who recognizes us, and a bunch of robots. Have we encountered him in our future? After destroying many robots, Rachael is taken down. I skewer Degaton with arrows and take him down, but he fades away. Hippolyte convinces the army to give us the Spear in a lead-lined box. We use the Staff of Hermes to depart. It doesn’t go well.

Quantum makes it back to the embassy in the present, but wakes up sick with a non-minotaur Ferdinand caring for him. Except it seems to be a time without the rest of us. Or magic. Or Themyscira. Project Quantum is the lead hero there, along with the other Seven Soldiers of Victory (Shining Knight, Star-Spangled Kid, Bombshell, Ragman, Merlyn, Crimson Avenger). Project Quantum was the first hero, created by the military in the early 2000s, followed by the other Soldiers. Ferdinand says Quantum has delusions that trap him for days at a time thanks to an incurable tumor. Quantum traces a quantum signal to a school for the blind, where one of his colleagues works in her secret identity.

Orichalcum and Achilles wake up on a ship surrounded by pirates. Orichalcum armors up and frightens them into attacking, so she tries to use the Staff again but she doesn’t have it! We take to the air and find a small island. She figures out we’re in 1718 in the Caribbean. The only magician in the era we can think of is Madame Xanadu, but we don’t know where she would be. Meanwhile, Blackbeard’s ship approaches, likely with Vandal Savage on board.

Rachael has the Staff where she is, in a smoggy alley in the Gotham by Gaslight universe, as she discovers when she sees Batman confront the Ripper(?). She scares off the Ripper and talks to Batman, who takes her to his Batcave before they go out fighting crime together. In the morning, he takes her to Madame Xanadu, who recognizes that her friends are lost across space and time.

DC Modern - Session 7 - 6/22/20

I am off this week in Merry old Metropolis with our drawing winner Victor Dupree.  I will be spending New Year's Eve watching the big "L" drop while almost every person that is part of Project Everyman does a flying Parade.  

I leave you dear Gatewayians with our usual Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp.  

See you in the new year! 

From the Journal of Achilles 

Donna dispatches Ferdinand from another embassy to be our liaison. She will be assuming the role of Wonder Woman since Diana is not likely to return. She provides the equivalent of a “letter of introduction” to get Hippolyta’s help, but just our use of the Staff of Hermes should be enough.

 Ferdinand arrives. He would like to hire a housekeeper and groundskeeper.

The Spear of Destiny was apparently taken by the US government after the war, where it remained hidden until the “Spectre incident” 6 years ago. We still decide to take it from 1946.

Orichalcum takes us to the past with the Staff. We’re still in Gateway City. Spear is at base in Gotham so we teleport there and plan to infiltrate after dark. In the meantime we cash in gold we brought for cash. In Chinatown, Orichalcum buys a watch from a familiar-looking boy. Grandfather? The watch sings, but only so she can hear. It melts into her hand.

At night, we go to the base. Orichalcum pretends to be drunk to distract guards. She see strange lights in the base go up into the sky. See Magic? Rachael and I are flying but our magic items lose power and we crash to the ground as we approach where we think the Spear is. Spear negated our powers! We end up fleeing since all of our powers are gone. Rachael and Quantum are captured, but Achilles escapes and reunites with Orichalcum and Li’l Grandfather in Chinatown. The others escape and eventually join up. We decide to seek out Wonder Woman and the Justice Society.

DC Modern - Session 6 - 5/25/20

 

Hello Gatewayians!  Cat Grant here with this weeks CatBites.  All the news worth knowing in watercooler sized Bites.

1. You ready for the holiday season cause I sure am!  Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am so ready for Christmas.  Heading back to the old home town for tensile and real Superheroes.

2. Looking to get your bestie some really great gifts this year?  Maybe try a copy of Frenemies To Frenemies: My time at the Daily Planet  by yours truly.  If they don't read then Cat Grant cosmetics has a full line of gift ideas including a men line.

3. Most importantly I am running a charity event "A New Year Eves Date w/ Cat Grant." Just donate to one of our approved charities for the season on our website and enter a chance to win a Date with me in Metropolis.  You me and the giant "L" counting down to midnight...maybe with a kiss. 

DC Modern - Session 5 - 3/20/20

 Here are your cat bites so you can have informed water cooler conversations 

1. There have been a lot of anecdotal ninja sights this last few days. Gateway PD has logged more than 200 calls about these sightings. I know we are excited about the Kurosawa film festival but can we not behave like D&D rejects. 

2. It has been 4 months since anyone has seen the “Big Three”. There has also been no talk of reforming the Justice League in their absence. So am I the only one thinking that age of Super Heroes is over?

3. During this period of absence Gotham gets the JSA; Metropolis has heroes fighting over it; and we get Bozo and his three ring circus. Now I am not one to scream sexism but the only city with a female protector gets watched over by a men’s only club save for one woman. I have seen a more convincing Woman at Harry’s on Drag Night. 

And that is all you need to know.

 

DC Modern - Session 4 - 3/2/20

 1. Changeling captures General Immortus after battle in the mountains south of Gateway City.  Some 40 odd sycophants also apprehended, along with stockpiles of illegal weapons.  Looks Like The Titans West Leader is making a big Splash here in town.

 2. Government inquiry launched into Achilles and the Myrmidons  for using "unknown" "Radioactive" substance.  Inside sources confirm that Quantum is a government agent sent to infiltrate the group and discover the new substance.  Will we see a new cancer cluster in Gateway as a result of this substance?

 3. Several confirmed sightings have pinpointed the base of Achilles and the Myrmidons.  Turns out they are squatting inside the old Themyscira embassy.   Well at least all the protestors will know where to go.

 4. Super Crime, after trending downward, seems to be on the rise here in Gateway City.  Since Wonder Woman's disappearance a number of whacko's have started using this city as a cash box.  Maybe Titans West will be able to stem the tide of increased super crime.

 5. Former JLAer Green Arrow now added to list of heroes missing since the "Infinite Crisis".  Star City seems to have lost it's A list guardian adding to a growing number of cities to face this crisis.  Just word of advice for Star City make sure whatever new guys you get can find their spears with both hands.  

DC Modern - Session 3 - 2/17/20

Hello Gateway. I know I am as anxious as you to read today’s cat bites

1. The day before S.T.A.R. Labs big unveiling their super secret energy thing was stolen. The Fearsome Five made off with said device after delivering a humiliating defeat to home town heroes Achilles and the Myrmidons. I have not seen a beating this bad since the last time Prankster showed up in Metropolis. 

2. Mayor’s office questions Commissioner Hall’s decision to deputize local hero team.  Rumors abound that the City is looking for a way to sanction the team. Reports coming in that they are using the former Themyscarian Embassy to hide from legal troubles. 

3. Convicted Slum Lord Frank Smith sues City and police department for ignoring his complaints. Smith claims to be victim of identity theft, saying his credit cards were stolen and used to buy large amounts of Chinese Yuan. Smith quoted as saying, “Just because I am a criminal doesn’t mean I ain’t got no rights.”

4. Weird resurrection cult centered on fallen hero Superboy comes to town.  The cults weird symbol has been spotted all over the warehouse district. Hey maybe they can resurrect Agamemnon, I think the home town might need a better class of Greek warrior. 

5. And finally a bit of news from my old home town. Seems new local Hero Booster Gold has got himself into trouble after it was discovered he had been faking his superhero antics. Who would have thought superheroing brought to you by Big Belly Burger would be such a flop. 

6. Rumors are abound that Changeling has bought property in the Gateway area; which has brought up all sorts of rumors that maybe the former Titan is possible setting up the Teen Titans here.  How bad is it when I am thinking that someone who use to be called Beast Boy would be an upgrade to our local Superhero community?

7. You may have noticed that our Home town hero Achilles is without his trusty spear.  Seems in his recent battle the villain Kestrel absconded with it.  At least when Paris stole Helen from Menelaus he was still able to keep ahold of his shaft.

DC Modern - Session 2 - 1/20/19

 

Hello Gatewayers Cat Grant here with your days Cat-bites.  All the news worth to know in 3 sentences.

 1. Looks like Gateway has a bonafide Super Team, Achilles and the Myrmidons! For those that did not see the horrible Bio pic Troy, the Myrmidons in ancient Greece were Achilles personal troops. Though this group is less golden Adonis and more 90's comic book, minus the pouches.

2.  Science Reporters are very excited as Star Labs reports finding a new type of energy source.  If reports are accurate this clean, unlimited source of power could revolutionize the energy sector.  Now if they could just figure out how to get rid of the cellphone dead zones near my house.

3.  After the Battle of Metropolis the Congress passes Law making super crimes a federal offense.  Plans underway to reopen the Federal Prison on Skull Island.  The Island was named after the infamous Pirate, Captain Skull, who terrorized these shores in the late 1600s.

4. Recent reports have shown a sharp increase in organize crime here in Gateway.  Though police sources have confirmed the increase, they tell me that this is not your usual suit wearing loan shark variety.  Seems like the rumors are true of Intergang moving into town.

5. Former Teen Heartthrob and Titan - Changeling - is here in town on a book tour.  His new best seller  - To all the Girls who love me - is part autobiography, part Hollywood tell all.  Sadly, despite the title there are too few lascivious chapters.

And that is all you need to know.

 Journal of Achilles

Couple of weeks have passed with us stopping various crimes. No sign of Kestrel OR MY SPEAR!!!!!!

Fearsome Five attacking Star Labs—Mammoth, Shimmer, Psimon, Gizmo, Jinx. We lost badly and they escaped with something in a box.

I made the mistake of getting Changeling’s help and he tries to take over the team. I beat him up and he ran off.

They stole an experimental energy source—chunk of mystical rock—that could power the nation. Star Labs had hired expert—Anton DeVere—to check it out to ensure it wasn’t dangerous. It came from Genworld. Star Labs acquired it after it was found in a dig in East Africa by Lawrence Terrance and Phillip McClain. He gave Changeling the same information, because he’s in town working with Raven to investigate the underworld.

We went to Dabblers to shake down mystic wannabees for information. Find out from a guy named John that his boss General Immortus is looking for mystical artifacts. Rachael suggests stone from Gemworld might be connected to the meteor that gave Vandal Savage his immortality.

The archaeologists have been looking for ancient human tribes. In East Africa they have uncovered a lot of ancient tribes. This enforces suspicion Vandal Savage is connected.

Orichalcum has her grandfather fake a magical aura on an artifact. He gives us a fake Eclipso diamond, which we give to John and ask for a meeting with General Immortus. He tells us to come back tomorrow. Quantum put a tracer on the diamond, which we trace to a warehouse on the bay. Changeling is there.