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Return of the Merchant (10) : Investigation for the curious meteor impact may yield few results for the civilian scientists of Destiny City--but they don’t have the keen eye and aura sensing ability of their local powered warriors. Cloaked by a mysterious device that emits a unique energy signature, the impact site of the meteor is hidden inside a strange, watery bubble that spans easily a hundred feet in all directions around it. This strange shield seems to reflect light, making it appear as though there is nothing inside--but, if you look for long enough, you can make out shapes and movement. You cannot pass through the barrier, nor can sounds or light. If you attempt to walk through it, you simply pass through the other side, as if you’d walked in a straight line. That might be peculiar on its own--except, there’s a sign posted where the energy signature is strongest. Painted in fancy, iridescent ink, elegantly scrawled, the sign reads ‘Temporarily Closed for Business.’ Beneath that is a painting of a wispy, floating little orb. Text below the picture reads, ‘WANTED. Will reward handsomely.’

The shop may be closed for tonight, but tomorrow is a different story. It might be worth comping back if you can find one of those wisps.


Thorite approached the crash site with trepidation, hoping against all hope that he was wrong and that the meteor hadn't hit anyone, that nobody was hurt—he wasn't trained in first aid or anything, and he wasn't sure what he could do, except protect people from a bigger threat if this was some kind of "alien bursting from the rock to eat us all" kind of a deal. And how exactly could he be sure that was not, in fact, what was about to happen?! His pace slowed as he realized there wasn't any crater in the Earth's crust; in fact, there didn't seem to be any signs of impact at all.

Except.

Except for the strange, alien aura-like pulsing that sent shivers down his spine. His whole body shuddered despite the heat of the summer. Ugh. He pushed down the urge to dry heave and walked up to the strange, shimmery barrier. Nothing about this felt right at all. He pressed his hands to it, finding it a bit like glass. Impermeable, cold, and smooth. He frowned slightly. Whatever was behind this, it couldn't be good.

He walked a long ways around the thing, noticing the jittery feeling getting stronger, like it was sinking directly into his bones. Maybe closer to the source of this strange force field? A way past it? How big around was this thing, anyway? Would it even be possible to find a way in? All the possibilities didn't help any of Thorite's nerves find some chill, and his brain wouldn't shut the hell up and stop tormenting him over the idea(s) that whatever was behind there, it was meant to destroy everything he knew.

He could not allow that to happen, not when he'd just gotten started with the Negaverse and protecting Earth from exactly these kinds of threats. No. Freaking. Way. He'd rather starve to death than refuse to deal with this thing. And certainly, due to the fact that this would absolutely be reported on the news, his fellow agents would have the incident recorded and begin to work on it.

The feeling of doom drew closer, causing a loud cacophony in his head, every instinct on edge and sending every alarm they could hit to tell him to <******** run already. Taking a deep breath, he ignored them, and continued on until he was right next to whatever it was, practically physically feeling the thing in his chest.

There was a sign stuck to the outside of the force field.

What? He blinked at the sign, claiming this was a place of business, and apparently dealing in... Will-O'-Wisp type creatures. Huh. Well, wasn't that just interesting? Maybe... maybe if he caught one of these things, and came back when the force field was down for whatever type of business this absolutely-an-alien-thing-creature-person, he could figure out what was going on, and if he had to, fight to defend his home. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. A peaceful solution was definitely preferable. He turned to walk away, heading out on his search.

(515 words)