Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Chris's stomach growled. Hunger was overwhelming any other thoughts he was having. THAT WAS HIS CHICKEN!*

I didn't get any! crying

*Chris had just finished his last class of the day. Mr. Rogers had run him through some intense simulations of old Avengers battles and he didn't fare well. Mr. Rogers cheered him by telling him how he had improved though so that was good. Now for he had set up the date he planned to take Cassie on. Something she like rather than that horror show he put on with the notes.

Ah, there he was Chris had finally found that new kid, Cade. If he could get anything done...well Chris would put that to the test.*

Hello, Cade? I'm Chris Powell.

So?

I heard you can get things done?

For a price.

Good. I need a job done.

*Chris handed the Jedi a list of items and instructions. Cade looked them over.*

You want me to steal from a teacher?

Borrow.

Riiiiiiight. One hundred.

One hundred!? That's highway robbery!

That's the price.

*Chris dug into his pockets and pulled out his wallet. That was almost the last of the money his parents had given him. And now he had no way to replace it....*

Here.

I'll have it done by sundown.

*Chris grinned and set off to find Cassie. She should know when and where to met him.*

"And for your homework today....read chapters 8 through 80 in the textbook, do every single take-home test at the end of the chapter AND your report on the Croatian War is due on Monday."

The class did not even dare groan as Diana Prince put down her piece of chalk and glared at them all. All around campus, it seemed like the teachers were being extremely mean...assigning huge amounts of homework, impossibly hard tests, and in gym class, Coach Cage was making people do nothing but run a thousand laps in the hour.

What could have turned all of the teachers so.....evil?!!!!


Meanwhile.....

In the town of Blue Valley, Arkansas.....

Doctor Stephen Strange sat in his Sanctum Sanctorum...the traveling version of his home that he had recently installed in an empty storefront in a local strip mall. Floating in mid-air, meditating, he opened one eye as there came a knock at his door. He flicked a wrist, and the door opened.

"Are you almost ready, Stephan?"

It was Barry Allen. He hadn't been seen by anyone in Hero High or Midvale since his leave started, but he had been busy. Barry straightened his bow tie and walked in as Doctor Strange assumed a standing position and stretched.

"Almost, Barry. This next phase is critical if we are going to hope for success. I have spoken to Hellstrom and Harkness back at Hero High, and they say that the mindwipe was a success."

"So does that mean that the touch of Trigon is gone from the students?"

"It seems to be so. Agatha checked Megan Morse, one of the confirmed infected students, and said that she was completely clean. We may have been lucky enough for the mind wipe to sever the children's connection to Trigon."

"Thank God." Barry took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Then all we have to do is this final severing-"

"It's not the same." Stephen cut Barry off. "This is not so much a severing of a thread as it is an attempt to unravel an entire tapestry. I will begin the ritual in this reality, and then it will traverse to the astral plane. If I am successful, we should know immediately. If I am not..."

Barry put a hand on Strange's shoulder.

"You WILL be successful."

The two men locked eyes. Strange nodded.

"You are right. Failure is not an option."

The two walked out of the Sanctum, which vanished, turning back into an abandoned storefront as Strange left.

WHERE IS ACHILLES?

The night had passed and Achilles for the first time felt completely refreshed. The game with the children had tired even him out. He never realized such young children had so much energy, and when he set up his camp deep in the park's wooded area, he fell asleep immediately and slept more soundly than he can remember.

He finally made it into the town that for the past two days he had been making for his destination and...he liked it. It was small, nothing like the gargantuan community of Midvale, and it seemed pleasant and quiet.

It was still rather early in the morning, and the traffic was light as few pedestrians seemed out for an early start in their tiny town. He felt the hunger pangs gnawing at his belly again, and he looked about for signs for a diner. During his sleep, the gods had answered his call again, and Hermes had delivered to him American currency in exchange for two of his Greek coins.

He walked past what appeared to be a diner, with a small number of people inside. Answering the growls of his stomach, Achilles pulled the door open and stepped inside.

Yes, there were quite a few people inside. Many were seated at the tables and booths, and a handful were standing at the counter, picking up orders. The smells from bacon and pancakes made Achilles's mouth water and he approached the counter and had a seat.

He was ready for what might come.

*Chris smiles at Cassie.*

I was hoping you could met me for a surprise at sundown in the gardens.

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*Cade finally had cut the screen down from where it was hanging and gently rolled it up. He also rounded up a cart for the DVD projector, stereo, and speakers. But how to power them? He'd been by the lake and there was nothing there. Ah! A portable generator!

Cade drop the equipment off by the lake and went in search of a generator. He stopped by the janitor's place and found one in storage after picking the locks. He definitely should have charged that kid more.*

*Chris hugs Cassie tight.*

Okay...I gotta get some stuff together and I'll meet you there!

*Chris hurried by his room, grabbed a big blanket, and a backpack. He then hit the cafeteria and raided it for sodas and sandwiches.*

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*Cade managed to get everything by the lake. Now...set up. How could get this screen to hang from the trees? UGH! He headed back to the janitor's place and found some sturdy rope. Cade cut some holes in the screen and looped the rope through. Now, the hard part. Using the Force, he lifted the screen up into the edge of the tree line above the lake. While holding it there, he used another tendril of the Force to loops the rope around the trees and then he let the screen drop. The movie screen unfurled hung a little askew from the trees but presented a perfectly workable outdoor theater.

Cade was sweating like a madman. He was great with overwhelming power through the Force but delicate work with the rope wore him out. After dunking his head in the lake, he found a suitable site to set up the projector and speakers. The entire lake was now rigged as an outdoor theater for two. Powell better be happy.*

@ Billy Kaplan

The bell above the door to Blackhawk's clinked as it opened for a young man with dark if rather scholarly sense of dress stepped in, a large knapsack strapped over his shoulder. He stepped right up to the bar, setting the sack down beside him as he took a seat, quietly waiting for the waitress, whom he read the name tag as being Zinda

"Another new face, in such a short time."

The young man nodded and smiled at Zinda

"Hello there, I'll just have a large soda please."

"Alright, I'll be right..."

"But mind if I ask you something before you go?"

"Um...alright, shoot kid."

"Do you know whats going on with the high school? I tried to get to the principal office, but had the hardest time trying to get in as account of a large crowd of students doing something right out of Fame. I'm tranferring in, and was hoping to see the principal to hand in my final papers, but...you see my dilemma.I needed to get my dorm address so I can start moving in...right now all I got is this sack, but the rest of my stuff should be arriving either tomorrow or the next day..."

"I see your problem...as expository as it was, but still, I don't know what to tell you except look for a Mr.Wayne or a Miss Frost. I know the people there, but I work here, know what I'm saying?"

The young man sighed, and nodded, smiling.

"Thank you mam. Sorry to keep you."

"Not a problem, kid...say, whats your name? If I see either Wayne or Frost, I'll mention you to them."

"Oh, thanks. Its Benton, Robert Benton."

Zinda smiled and nodded and went to the kitchen, leaving Benton waiting...as well as leaving him with his current situation.