First Annual: Sebastian Kain Invitational Soft Ball Game!

[Sebastian Kain]

Location: Silent World Order Compound (Residential Area)
Time: 6:35 A.M.

It is just before sunrise in the city known has Paragon. To many it's the city of heroes. Day in and day out many dawn the cape and cowl to save the people from any sort of danger or trouble. The city itself is doing one of two things, either still asleep or getting ready to start their work day. The Vigilantes of the night were retiring and it would not be long before the day heroes take their places.

One person inparticular was already up and about, and hard at work with his workout regime. Deep within the confines of the residential side of the compound known as the Silent World Order. You can hear the faint grunts of the leader and founder sound at work with his daily exercise routine. Has one peeks in through the crack of the open door leading to his personal gym, they can see a brown skinned bald headed man hanging from a pole attached to the celing, upside down. His back is turned and he's so focused that he doesn't notice anything else around him. His eyes are closed and he continues his reps in military like fashion. Sweat drips down across the ridges of his back and over a large tattoo of a black dragon that takes residence from one shoulder blade to the next. He was counting as he went along, and we nearly complete.

Sure it looks normal to anyone that didn't know who he was, His name was Sebastian Kain or President SK as many called him, and we were now trespassing in his domain. There was an eerie sense over the room, he appeared to be alone, but that clearly was not the case. Cause standing with it's back towards a wall next to a window where sunlight began to peek through. An unseen figure and voice began to make it's presence known to the President.

I'm sick of you doing the same thing, everyday for the last several years of our existence. Why must you continue to put off our main objective here? We had a deal, you arrogant son of a.....

he is interrupted by SK himself has he flips down off the bar and walks over to him. His gaze still isn't fixated on the figure himself, he appears to walk right through the figure as he stands waiting for an answer

The figure in question was an ancient spirit, that resided inside of SK himself. It had been within him for ever since his days in vietnam. One of the reasons why SK didn't look a day over 32.

Well, are you going to answer me? he said as he stood face to face with SK.

SK turns and about faces him, his gaze matches right up with the ancient demon. His red glowing eyes beamed in light bursts of energy as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his towel

I've been working on that for quite sometime now, Togatia. As your quite aware, I've been waiting for the day that I would be able to take my body and my soul back from your clutches. he replied in a somber tone

Well, I certainly am growing impatient with you. All of these good things you have done for these worthless humans, is growing pretty pathetic in my eyes. he said as a devilish smirk appeared across his silloutte shadowed body.

You don't even have eyes.he answered laughingly has he headed into another room.

That's besides the point, the point is.....THE TIME IS NOW SK! said the shadow, now boiling with anger.

SK peeks back into the room and a small burst of fire radiates from an exposed portion of his face, coming from his eye socket.

Perhaps, Your right...Perhaps... he said while walking back into the room and leaving the demon to ponder his latest remark.

[Sebastian Kain]

Location: Silent World Order Inc. (Talos Island Branch)
Time: 10:15

It is now mid morning for President SK and the Silent World Order. He is seated at an office desk and appears to be working on some paper work as he sits deep in thought. The world around him is dead to him, the only thing that matters is his objective at hand. To him that is, however the world itself is bustling with life. Two men dressed in finely tailored suits are standing in front of the door leading outside of his place of operations. Inside of the room 3 others, two women and one man dressed in suits and business attire as well stood at a table working on some type of 'secret' project. It was a diagram and it appeared to be some type of small baseball stadium.

SK would grumble to himself and throw random wades of paper into a trash can at the edge of his desk. The trio would look up with blank expressions at him and to each other then returned to what they were working on. Unknown to everyone, the shadow like demon known has Togatia stood with his silhouette like arms folded as he gazed through the window at the outside world below. His patients was still wearing thin and he was ready for an answer. He made a blood curdling growl to himself as he turned around to face the seated SK. He stood right next to SK and was literally breathing in his ear and down the side of his neck. Mr. Kain still didn't really notice nor did he care what the hostile spirit was doing. Cause he still couldn't physically hurt him.

Well, I'm ready for your answer Kain. What is it that you've been working so hard to accomplish? Hopefully it'll be something to set us free...

SK stood up from his seated position and tapped on his desk. The trio looked up from their positions and their eyes where completely fixated on what he had to say.

Now that I have your attention, is time for us to discuss my newest vision. It something that will not only benefit us, but the rest of the city as we know it. Now some of you may be wondering why, I've started construction on that diagram you see before you. Well that My colleagues is our very own mini baseball stadium.

The trio looked at each other with puzzle expressions, Togatia began to spew unheard profanities directly in to SK's ear. His facial expression revealed a slight smirk has he continued on with his message.

Now before you get your panties in a knot and wander what the hell am I thinking, and why am I spending time with this. Hear me out ok?

Well for starters, I think we need re-establish our wholesome image to this city. Now some of us are crime fighters in the streets and others have their own methods of getting the job done, no matter how 'extreme' they maybe. That works most of the time, but I was thinking that we should do something 'normal' for a change.

I was thinking of having a Softball Game for charity causes within the city. Something that would show we would reach out to the immediate needy, but those that need 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We can even have the game broadcasted on local television. However, this isn't a game for the public themselves to play in. It's a game for the superheroes of Paragon to participate in for the good of the community and the charity they would like to help out.

SK smiled to himself as the trio began to communicate between themselves, one of the women wore a microphone the broadcasted everything SK was saying to the rest of the workers in the building.

Sounds Good?

They nodded and replied to him and began pick up their things to get started on the project

Now I've already got the personnel ready to start working on the stadium that will only seat 2000 lucky viewers. Details about how that will be arranged will be discussed at a later date. Right now Ladies and Gents we have a deadline to meet. We have 3 weeks to get everything ready.

he begins to point at the trio and assigns them specific tasks

You will be in charge of sending the invitations to local heroes, You will be in charge of the monitoring the work on the stadium itself, and you will be in charge of booking the local networks for the broadcasting of the event. Now let's get to work!

He claps his hands together and the trio files out of his office like ants on a hunt. He is left alone with Togatia, who's still howling mad. His anger can be heard completely by SK now.

So this is your bright idea? Are you out your mind? This is another damn good deed! We had a MotherFu.....

However, before he could finish SK interrupts him

This is not what you think it is. This is the way you'll get your body back. Now relax.

He said in a cold demeanor, one that the spirit had never really heard before. For once...he did as he was instructed.

[Sebastian Kain]

Location: Silent World Order Inc. (Talos Island Branch)
Time: 5:05 (1 week later)

Sebastian Kain sits quietly at his desk thumbing through some files on the local heroes of Paragon City. It has been one week since his organization sent out invitations to their softball event, and this was the last day of the selection process. He had well over 100 worthy applicants, but only a few of them would suffice for what he was trying to pull off. Many of those that he had hoped would make the event, declined the open invitation. He expected that for the most part, and he was still capable of doing what he had set out to accomplish. He had two neatly stacked piles on his desk, as he began to weed out the ones he didn't want. Most of them were local newbie heroes, still trying to adjust into their new roles as saviors of the world. He promptely discarded those, because he did not want to risk them using their powers out of control.

However, in a separate stack all to themselves he had another set of applications that he knew he could count on for sure with their services. Most of them he had already knew from alliances and public functions and such. At a glance you can see that two where from the Dawn Patrol, another from the City Watch, Bone Squad, two more from the Knights of the Round, and another from the Icons just to name a few. These few would be his main driving force to get the public's attention, or so he thought to himself because they were already well known to him and most of the public. There were a few others in another pile that he made sure that he would add to the mix, because they were well known as well. Just not to him.

He muttered to himself "These shall do just fine." has he punched in a phone number into his office phone, and had the reciever on speaker as he did so. In a matter of seconds the phone is answered but he manages to speak first.

"Madam Vice President, I finalized my selection process. I have selected about 14 or so applicants. Most of them we already know. They can expect phone calls from our personel within the next couple of days. I however will probably meet with a few of them in person, just to talk about past times and catch up on current ones. This will prove to be a glorious event and I'm delighted to be going through with such 'good' thing for once. I'm about to leave the office for the day, If you want we can discuss more of this over dinner tonight at the compound."

"Sounds good sir! I'll make sure my Bombers are more than capable of taking out your Allstars." she replied with a hint of laughter in her voice

"Fair Enough. See ya then." he replied as he hung up the phone.

With one smooth motion, he was out of his chair and out the door with an entourage of Agents and personel following him down the hall and towards the exit. He put on his shades and suit jacket as they walked in military like fashion towards their objective. As the door opened for him, a devilish smirk not only appeared on his face...but on the shadow behind him as well.

[Stan Walker]

Walker strolled into his ramshackle apartment ending the night as he always did...with a six pack. Upon entering he snatched up the scattered mail on the floor, there were times he missed having a mailbox and not just a mail slot. He walked into the kitchen and tossed the fridge door open a burst of cool air played across his scalp as he set five of the six beers inside, then grabbing the familar bag from the butcher shop. The cabinet above creaked as he opened it to retrieve a fresh mug. He mixed his concoction and pushed the cabinet to a close. The cabinet door once again creaked and swayed open. Walker again placed a gloved hand on the cabinet gently pushing it closed, then eyballing it for a moment. The cabinet didnt budge. He reached down to pick up that frosty drink that he had been waiting all night for, he had just let the first trickles of the drink spill across his lips when he heard the familar creak once again. The cabinet, in which appeared to be a sideways smile mocking him had openend again.


"Rotten piece of scumsucking junk.." He grumbled then proceeded to rip the cabinet door off its hinges and toss it on to the kitchen floor.

He gathered up the mail and his beverage and made his way to the old comfortable Lay-Z-Boy, muttering under his breath.

"Fix cabinet door...check."

He flopped down into the chair taking another healthy sip of his drink and thumbing through his mail.

"Lets see here...bill...bill..bill..hey I won the Publishers clearing house sweepstakes...bill"

These envelopes were tossed over his shoulder flittering to the ground to stay till gods knew when he would clean the place up. He continued shuffling through the envelopes until one caught his eye. The stationary itself had weight and a thinker texture, with his name etched in an ornate gold script that matched the trim of the envelope. Whomever had sent this had two things Walker didnt have...money and class. He scanned the top left corner of the envelope and flashed a bit of fang in a grin as he read who had sent it.

"Well well The Prez has got something going fancy schmancy going on here..."

He tore into the envelope and read the invitation, chuckling to himself.

"Softball huh? Well I am currently on retainer to him for the loan..." he thought.
Truth of the matter was he got along fairly well with The Prez at thier first meeting, the man seemed like decent enough people..perhaps a slight attitude problem, but then again who was he to talk about an attitude.

He slid the response card and envelope out and reached into his familiar leather jacket for a pen. Then scrawling an "X" in the accept box, he slid the card in the smaller envelope and licked it shut.

Walker rose out of his chair and bent his back in a long stretch, then walked over to the mailslot, and clothespinned the responsecard to the mail slot. He then walked into the kitchen for another drink. He popped the can and thought to himself.

"This should be fun."

[TopHat]

“Tell them I don’t particularly care what they want; I just bought myself the majority of shares. I believe that gives me the authority to sell whatever I like but if they have the five million I would be happy to sell their company back.” There was the murmur of a curse on the other end of the receiver Alex Zafiro was holding and he responded to it by saying, “Yes, I thought so. It was such a pleasure doing business with you.” He hung up with a grin of satisfaction; he loved his work. It was a normal day for the bussinessman sitting in front of a panoramic view of Paragon City on a sunny day.

“Amy, dear, could you please schedule a meeting with Mr. Trump next Wednesday,” said Alex into the intercom on his well-polished wood desk. “Sorry, Mr. Zafiro,” came the response, “Um, you actually have that Silent World Order baseball game you promised to announce that day. You promised Mr. Randomus.”

He grumbled to himself, “Blast, all the other City Watch were far too busy in their own affairs so of course they ask The King of Spades. What possessed me to accept?” Then the image of the emerald-colored hero who would be his co-announcer came before him and he remembered. He’d met her at a Thanksgiving hosted by The Icons and had subsequently worked beside her as a hero.“Ah, yes,” he mused, “the lovely Empyreal will be hosting with me. Spending the evening with her will make the dull sport much more entertaining.” The realization put him in a good mood and he thought, “Besides, Paragon’s heroes never leave an event too boring and I’ve have been meaning to meet the infamous Sebastian Kain.”

Amy’s voice rang through the intercom. “So should I reschedule for next Friday, Mr. Zafiro? That’s the next day you’re open after lunch with Ms. Kidman.” Without thinking, Alex spoke back to her mentally and said, Thank you, Amy. That would be perfect. The secretary’s voice came through the intercom very shaken. “Oh, Mr. Zafiro, you know that gives me the creeps!” He chuckled and responded back telepathically, So sorry.

Alex turned his chair around and looked out the window that was the back wall of his office and a new business idea came into his mind. He turned and spoke into the intercom again, “Amy, could you please get me a list of all players that will be in the charity event.” She promptly returned, “Yes, sir.” Alex turned back to look down on the city with its cars and heroes moving back and forth in the sun. “There’s no harm in making the game a little more interesting,” he said to himself with a smile.

[Alumette]

Grace sifted through the stack of mail in her mailbox at HQ: The usual memos and mission briefs, a copy of FirePower, the monthly dedicated to heroes who used flame and heat in some capacity (Grace only kept it for the barbeque recipes they featured at the end of each issue), a handscratched note from Shadow saying he'd be home late, and could she pick up a gallon of milk on the way home; and a phone message from Chip saying that someone from the Prez's staff had called about her softball application.

So, the Prez had accepted her application for the charity softball game he was setting up. Grace smiled. It was such a nice thought. Of course, she hadn't played softball ever in her life, except once in high school gym class, but it was for a good cause, and she was looking forward to having fun with some of her professional colleagues. She wondered who else was on the teams. At this point she figured she'd just sit back and wait for further instructions, having never done an event like this before.

She idly wondered if Dom had applied. He hadn't mentioned anything, but something like this might be good publicity for his book. She made a mental note to mention it to him at dinner that night.

[Gaia]

Kendra Reynolds aka Kindra Rindar aka Empyreal sat at the drawing board in the Smash! Comics offices. She had just finished a full splash page of the just returned from obscurity hero Vigilence I, when the morning mail landed on her desk.

"So babe you free later?" said her editor standing there with a sly smile.

"Go away." she snapped back at him. Then with a little mental nudge she made him turn around and walk out the door. Rolling her eyes to the ceiling she thought to herself Why do I keep that trog on my payroll?

Grabbing the mail she leafed through it. "Junk, trash, bill, bill, award ceremony, public appearance, invitation from President SK, bill, coupons, newspaper. Wait a sec!" Pulling the invitation out she broke the nice wax seal and looked at the gold print on manilla paper.

"Hmm. President Sebastian Caine. . ." her eyes widened as she read. "Cool! This will be good!" Taking the RSVP card out she checked the YES box then put the card in its little envelope.

[Spectre-x]

Behind a seemingly ordinary door in a large penthouse in Paragon City, Dr. Joseph Joosten, otherwise known as the superhero Doctor Awesome (whose parallel self was worshipped in at least an infinite amount of parallel dimensions), was busy prodding the insides of the new android he was building in the name of science.

And, the servo motor's connected to the...power source.
The power source is connected to the...pretty much everything, really.

Hmm. Seem to have lost the beat. Oh well.

As the doctor was talking to himself Henry Tackleford, the doctor's butler, walked in carrying a cooler and a telephone reciever.

"Your kidneys have arived, sir."

Good, good, put them down there, will you, Henry?

"Certainly, sir. Also, someone who claims to work for a certain Sebastian Kain is on the telephone, sir."

The phone? Who calls me here? This is my extradimensional fortress, damnit! How did he get my number?

"They called your penthouse, sir. The one your fortress is connected to."

Oh, oh, yes, of course. I was still lingering on that song a bit. I should probably type up some better lyrics.

"Excellent idea, sir. The phone?"

Oh, yes. Yes, the phone. Uh, could you maybe hold it to my ear, please, Henry? I seem to be covered in, uh, synthetic organs and goo.

"Certainly, sir."

Thanks, Henry. You're a life-saver. Now, who is this?
Hmm. Yes.
Well, I've actually never heard of him.
Oh, oh. Hmm, no, sorry, doesn't ring a bell.
Oh, wait, that was him?
Oh, Sebastian Kain. Yes, yes. Of course.
When? Oh, I don't know. Hmm. Yes, yes, I do think I'm free then. Yes, yes.
Oh, no, thank you. Yes, goodbye.

Insufferable sycophant.

"Anything the matter, sir?"

Oh, the usual. Charity drives, moronic people phoning me to see if I want to participate. I don't, of course. I have better things to do, like beating aliens at chess, or creating horrors of science. Or, y'know. Heroing, probably.

"Yet you accept this time?"

Well, you know, it's Sebastian Kain. Pretty rich, big company. I'm going to try and negotiate a deal between our companies next month or something. I wanna look good.

"I see, sir. Splendid plan. You had me going, sir."

You just exceeded the suck-up limit.

"I beg your pardon, sir."

With a sigh, the doctor went back to tinkering with the android's insides.

Meanwhile, acorss town in a draughty appartement rented out to a certain Ned Mansfield, aka Ned Chaos, Ned was watching television while taking swigs from a big bottle of Jack Daniels.

Yeah, you blow up that dummy, Adam! You drop him from that bridge, Jamie! He's got it comin'.

Suddenly the phone rang, interrupting Ned's favourite show. He stood up and lost balance for a moment. He wasn't wearing his arm at the time, and it was difficult to adjust to the shift in his centre of gravity when he was drunk.

Whaddya want?
Wha? Charity game?
Yeah, okay. One question though.
Yeah, do you people even know who I am?
Look, sir, I'm not implying that you didn't do your resear..what's that?
Oh, you're a woman. Sorry. No, really, sorry.
Yeah, I'll be there. Once again, I'm sorry. Yes.
On a scale of one to ten I am an eight of sorry.
Yes. So. Uhm, what are you wearing?
Hello?

With a grunt he hung up. He scratched his chin.

I probably should've done something differently there.

[Quakester]

"I have serious misgivings about our alliance with the human Kain. There is a dark presence lurking in the recesses of his mind."

"I know, I can see it too. Better that we hang around and keep an eye on him, just in case. So far he's been very generous, if a bit secretive."

"Still, we know little of him. He could be a nictus host."

"We don't know much about anyone in this dimension so that's nothing against him. As for him being a host, that's extremely unlikely and you know it."

"Yes, but I still don't trust him."

"After the incident with Coldstorm I don't think you trust anyone."

"Possibly. What shall we do about the invitation to this "game" of his?"

"Suit up. Oh and try to have fun."

"Unlikely."

"You always say that. You're such a pessimist."

"And your optimism is misplaced. Humans are so irrational. Bah"

"Well you're stuck with us, me in particular, so deal with it. Besides, we aren't that bad once you get to know us."

"Unlikely."

*sigh* "There you go again."

[Gaia]

*sigh* Another long day helping police the city and file paperwork was finally finished. For Jeff it was time to wind down. He went to his little double wide trailer to relax. Almost ripping the door off its hinges as he unlocked it he noticed the mail piled up on the ground next to it. Picking it up after moving the screen door off to the side he goes through it as he steps into the somewhat darkened interior.

"Hmmph. Bill, bill, bill, threat, invitation, magazine, newspaper, coupon booklet, bill, bill, bill, weapon license renewal, plane ticket, You May Have Just Won a Million Dollars, magazine, credit card." He tosses the pile of mail on the kitchen counter and goes to take a shower. Washing the grime of patroling Skyway and Steel Canyon off of him. Trying not to let any thoughts form but to relax in the freezing cold water of the shower, the water heater having given out the week before.

His eyes snap open as he remembered what was in the mail. "Wait a minute. Invitation?" Turning off the tap he pulls a big white towel around him and goes back to the kitchen. There sits the invitation on top of the pile. In his big blue hand he picks it up and looks at it. Grabbing a letter opener he slits it open and reads. "Sure why the hell not."

He fills out the little card and licks the envelope closed. "Yuck. Could have at least paid out for the mint ones." Placing a Mickey Mouse stamp on it he leaves it so he does not forget to mail it in the morning. Then goes to get a t-shirt and shorts on. Settling in front of his tv with an icy Codex Cola he turns on the latest show on ESPN and falls asleep.

[ThunderMace]

Eric Hammer walked in the door to his apartment and set the cans of Guinness on the table while he went through his mail.
He went through the assorted bills and flyers with his usual speed, sorting them as he needed within piles.

He paused as he found the red envelope with Sebastian Kain's neat embossment on the backside. "Hmmm...haven't heard from Mr. Kain in a while" he thought to himself.

Back in the day, he remembered, the had spoken more... before quite so much fame and money. Well, fame and money on Kain's part, he laughed.
Still he had a thriving business of his own with the Bike Shop, and begrudged Sebastian not at all.

Suprisingly, though the had nothing in common, they got along quite well, and he considered "the Prez" as he like to call him, a friend.

Putting the Guinness in the refridgerator, sans one, which he kept with his person, he walked down the stairs to his shop area. He opened the envelope as he walked, and saw it was an invitation to a softball game. He stopped on the last step before the landing and a large grin spread over his face. Hell yea! he thought. If anyone could hit one out of the park it ought to be me.
He decided he would hurry up and mail his reply, besides it might be fun to hang with Kain for a bit.

[Sebastian Kain]

Location: Silent World Order Compound (Sebastian Kain's personal mansion)
Time: 7:30pm (The Next Evening)

It's dinnertime under the Kain household. However this isn't your ordinary dinner. It's a meeting of several members of the Silent World Order organization. Seated around a glorious round table were Sebastian Kain, the Vice President Tsarmina, Chief Consultant Meltman (they call him Lee), Drew Septa (Gamma-Field), Amicitia, the love birds Eddie and Prema (SK's adopted daughter) and a host of other legal aids, agents, and consultants that were mainly there to discuss matters than actually participate in the dinner. The topic of discussion isn't some new business deal with a neighboring faction, or how much someone is protecting the beloved city of Paragon these days...it's actually one of good wholesome fun. The ever-looming Softball Tourney hosted by Sebastian Kain in the next few weeks.

There is a mixture of laughter and determination in the on going conversations at the table. As Sebastian is speaking to the others, one of his butlers is refilling his whine glass.

"Yea, so this is shaping up to be a fantastic idea! The stadium is nearly complete and most players involved have acknowledged their approval to play in our game. I think a toast is in Order !" he says while raising his glass toward the to others seated around him.

The others at the table agree in unity

"I'm sure it'll be a fine event sir. My personal consultant, Angel Mears as seen to it that the local news stations have been giving their passes to tour the compound during the week of the game. she says smiling at Angel has they both look over at the President.

"Ahh..That'll workout very well then. It appears everything is falling into place for the most part. Anything else that I might need to know?" he says while looking around at all of the eyes looking back at him. Everyone but Meltman of course. who seems uninterested has always.

One of the legal aids begins to chime in and carry on about the legal proceedings and such. The others appeared to be listening, but SK himself was zoning out into the voice of something else.

"You know this won't work, right Kain?" said the shadowy figure again, kneeling next to Sebastian.

"I'll make it work. We'll get what we need to make the transfer work. he muttered in a cold, stoic tone.

"Impossible! I refuse to believe anymore of your lies Kain! I made you what you are! I cleared the way of all those that opposed you...opposed us!" said the shadow in a tone that continued to fill with anger.

SK tilted his head towards the direction where the shadow was and replied in a somber tone"I was in a coma, for most of this life you created. They opposed you. Not me. I'm just trying to correct the wrongs you've done."

"Bull Sh*t! You've relished in this life style I've made for you. I've given you everything you could have ever imagined. What did you want to remain poor all your life? Or let your brother become a better person that yourself...?

The spirits voice began to trail off once again as SK zoned back into the present reality. All of the attention was now on him.

"Sir, Are you alright? I was asking you should I notifity the players involved to begin their practice sessions on the premises early next week?" said Luther Reigns, chief advisor to Sebastian Kain himself.

"What!? Yes...yes that's fine. Now you all can stop staring at me and continue your dinners. he replied with a frown.

Everyone did as he asked, and acted like it never happened. Well almost everyone...

[Alumette]

Alumette was at the batting cages, trying to get some semblance of skill under her belt before the game. Of course, it was for charity, and it was more about getting the heroes together for some good fun, but she didn't want to make a total fool out of herself.

In her low-rise jeans, white babydoll t-shirt, and navy blue baseball cap, she looked unassuming and unheroic--particularly given the slightly lost look she had at the service counter.

"Can I help you, miss?" the kid at the counter asked, setting down his most recent Malibu Sally comic.

"Um... I need help... batting," she said, her gaze wandering about, not sure what to look for. In costume, on duty, her presence seemed to make up for her petite frame. But in her civvies, and very much out of her element, she looked almost fragile. The kid at the counter couldn't have been more than 17, and he looked at her bemusedly. "Well, you've come to the right place," he said. "Two bucks for ten pitches." He eyed her up and down. "You probably don't want too heavy of a bat," he smirked, disappearing into the back to get her a bat and helmet. Grace nodded, not in any position to disagree with him.

She felt someone watching her, and turned to see a little boy, maybe nine years old, gazing up at her. His ice cream cone was melting, trickling down his arm, and his eyes were wide and innocent. Grace knelt down and smiled at him. "Hi there," she beamed, holding out a hand. "I'm Grace." The boy smiled, and accepted her handshake with a sticky grip. "Zeke," he said with a slight lisp. "Have you ever played baseball before?" Grace asked, her eyes warm and soft. Zeke nodded enthusiastically. "Oh sure! Been in Little League since I was 5!" he said. "My dad's the coach."

Grace beamed. "Well Zeke," she said sweetly. "Will you help me? I've never played baseball before." Zeke's eyes grew wide. "Really?!" he asked. Grace nodded. "I need an expert to help me, and you seem like the perfect one--with all your experience and all." Zeke beamed proudly. "Sure! Lemme ask my dad." He ran off to another part of the facility, wolfing down his ice cream cone as he went.

The kid behind the counter returned with a bat and a batting helmet. His nametag said, 'Spencer.' "How many pitches do you want, lady?" he asked. Grace put a twenty on the counter. "However many this'll buy," she said. "A hundred, I guess." Spencer seemed surprised. "That's an awful lot of pitches. You sure you can handle that?"

Grace looked at him kindly. "I don't know," she said. "I've never done this before." Spencer shrugged, took her money, and handed her ten tokens. Zeke came running back, "Grace! My dad says it's okay. And he'll be out to help you too, if you like!" Grace smiled, bending down to ruffle Zeke's hair a bit. "Wonderful, Zeke!" she said. Spencer picked up his Malibu Sally comic and grunted. "You're in cage number 14, lady," he said.

Grace picked up her equipment and headed to the cage. Spencer handed Zeke a batting helmet and winked at him. "Don't let her hurt herself, Z," he said, as Zeke bounded off after Alumette.

Zeke giggled. "Grace, you can't hold the bat like that!" Her inexperience was obvious. "Here, let me show you." Grace handed him the bat, which was a little too big for him, and watched with admiration and amusement as he explained the stance to her. She tried her best to imitate him. "Here, you try it now," Zeke said, handing the bat back to her. Her stance was much improved. "That's better," he said. "I'ma go put a token in now. Be ready."

Grace took a few ungainly practice swings, most certainly not living up to her name. whoosh! The ball whizzed past. Grace didn't even swing. Spencer, watching from the closed-circuit cameras, howled with laughter. Nine balls to go on this token. This time Grace was ready. She set her jaw as if she were about to take on an entire Nemesis patrol. Whoosh! This time she swung, and missed. Eight balls to go...whoosh!...wiff! Seven...six...five...

Not a single hit, and a most graceless swing. Spencer howled with laughter. Zeke watched her carefully. "Okay, Grace," he said encouragingly. "We've gotta work on your swing before we put in the next token." She could tell he'd heard his father say the very same thing countless times before as a Little League coach. She grinned. "Allright, Zeke. What am I doing wrong?"

[Gaia]

"Yo dimwit! You got a note in the mail."

"Give me that." said Jonathan grabbing the letter from his sister. He quickly scanned over it. "Sweet! I am game for this! Must finally be making a name for myself."

He grinned at his sister then checked off the yes box on the RSVP card and enclosed it in the envelope. "You going to be on tv again Mr. Gloryhound?"

"Yep looks to be that way. I'll take this down to the post office. Looks like I should go get some batting practice in too. Mr. Kaine is having what looks to be a softball game. I definately want in on the action."

"It figures. Go have fun. I'll tell mom when she comes home from the lab."

He ran to get his mountain bike and was soon out the door. After dropping the card in the mailbox at the corner he pedalled the several mile route to Paragon Pitching Range. Got off and locked it to the rack. Whistling a tune he stepped up to the counter.

The guy behind the counter eyed him cautiously. "You look familiar."

"I've been told that alot."

"Wait. . .Infinite Flame right?"

"Uh no you must have me mixed up with someone else."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. How can I help you?"

Jonathan put down a ten and asked to rent a bat plus a helmet. "Cage 12. Its fast pitch. You have done this before right?"

"Yeah. I have. And fast pitch is fine."

Grabbing the bat and helmet he went down to the door to the cage. It had been awhile since he had done this. He looked at the bat in his hands. It was aluminum, a good thing. He undid the door and stepped in. Put the helmet on his head and assumed a left handed batting stance. Well here goes nothing. The buzzer sounded and he waited heart pounding in his chest.

With a loud snap the first ball came at him. CRACK! went his bat as it connected then the ball hit the back fence. This is good. he grinned to himself.

[Impact]

Maximillian, Max to his friend, Andrews sat down on his bed holding a small book. While most of Paragon City knew him as Frost Sampson, the book he held was one of the very few reminders of his past that he'd brought with him from home. In his hands was a yearbook. Opening it up to the sports section he allowed a slight smile to cross his face. Turning through the pages he couldn't help noticing his name beneath the team and solo pictures.

"Well....I guess I was a bit of an all star..."

In a splash page there were pictures of him on the football field, baseball field, and on the track. While football was where he really shone, Max had a love of sports in general and, superpowers aside, was naturally pretty good at them. Flipping through the pages he sighed, with the good memories of his past always came the bad. Looking up he saw himself in the mirror on his dresser.

"You know....it's only a matter of time before someone finds out...Will the Defenders still call you a leader then? Would the city still call you a hero?

Swallowing hard he closed the book, tossed it in the corner and picked up his his phone. At first he'd thought they were kidding when they let him apply for the charity softball game, after all...what fun is it if a super strong guy is playing? But with his application being accepted, Max couldn't really turn down the offer. And it was for charity.

"Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of publicity for the halfway house too.."

Picking up the brochure he looked over the house that he, Bree, and Rick had shared, that now, was an open home where superpowered orphans, runaways, and youngsters in general could come and learn the basics at least, of controlling their powers. That was the only requirement he had in place if they wanted to stay, which most of them gladly agreed to. He dialed the number that was on his acceptance letter and smiled. Playing in this game would be good for him and for others.....now he just needed to know where to go and when he needed to be there.

[Alumette]

Grace was on about her 50th pitch, and poor Zeke was nearing the end of his patience, which was suprisingly abundant considering his young age. She had managed to get one hit out of fifty... a weak grounder that just kind of bounced along mockingly before coming to a stop before a small sparrow that was hopping about in the dirt. The little bird paused, cocking its head at the ball, not even startled, before going about its business foraging.

Grace sighed. Zeke reached up and patted her hand.

CRACK! Zeke and Grace both looked over a couple cages away to see a ball fly in a long, lazy, high arc. It seemed to go on for miles, at cometlike speeds. The kid in cage 14 knew his stuff. Zeke beamed. "Now that's how it's done, Grace!" he said. Grace smiled. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need a lot more help if I'm gonna be ready for this baseball game," she said, ruffling Zeke's hair. She glanced back over at the kid in cage 14. He was hard to see through the layers of fencing between her cage and the empty one between them, but she attempted a smile and wave.

Zeke was once again in "coaching mode" and he tried his best to give Grace some pointers. Just before the next pitch, her pager went off. "Oh shoot," she said. "Hang on, Zeke." She checked the number. Dawn Patrol. She pulled out her comm and Zeke's eyes widened.

"HOLYCRAPYOU'REASUPERHERO?!?!?!" he yelled, starstruck. His comment echoed throughout the complex. "But... but... but... you're so bad at baseball..." he stammered, disbelieving. Grace giggled as she dialed in to HQ to get the message. It was Stalking Shadow, with the latest bit of evidence on a Thorns case they'd been working on. He wanted to rendezvous with her later in the evening to investigate a cave during their patrol. She entered it into her PDA as a mission assignment and then turned her attention back to the challenge at hand.

"So, Zeke," she began. "You're right. I am bad at baseball. But you're here helping me. So who's the hero in this cage?" she winked. Zeke beamed and shuffled his feet, a bit self-conscious from the compliment. He glanced back to cage 14 and pointed. "What about that guy?"

Grace looked up. "I dunno," she said. "Why don't we go ask him?" She took Zeke's hand and left the cage, heading towards number 14.

"Excuse me," she began, peering through the fencing at the occupant of Cage 14. "You have quite a talent there."

[Stan Walker]

Steam raised from the manhole covers in Kings Row, as if that area of the city needed any assistance looking more dark and dreary. Routine patrol the guys in Bone Squad had put it. There’s nothing routine about it in the slightest. Just when I think I have seen all there is to see in this world some jerkoff goes and pulls something extraordinary leaving me with a shocked look on my face wondering if this city can get any worse, and the kicker is most of these sh1tbags are right here in Kings Row.

I extended my arms and let the winds carry me on their back. Flying was one of the things that seemed to soothe my temper, well curbed it a bit at least. My mind went to the upcoming tournament that Sebastion Kain was hosting. All kinds of heroes would be participating in this. Not that I overly cared, but it was my nature as well not to be made a fool of. I assumed that the others would have been out practicing like the goody two shoes boy scouts that they are, I’m sure some of them have even purchased themselves some spiffy uniforms to practice in. If I had an iota of time hell I may have made my way down to the cages, but between the PD and Bone Squad time was not a commodity I was blessed with. I let a grin trace my lips at that one word….blessed.

The solitude of the night was shattered with a plea for help. Most couldn’t hear something like that over such a great distance, for me however it was almost as if I had a speaker in my ear at a rock concert. I changed position immediately following the shriek back to its owner, the trench coat flapping madly against the currents. I made good time, not my personal best but good none the less. I blinked my eyes a few times as I approached the abandoned Nagashi building, making sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. Unfortunately not, “The Family” was suspending a man over the side by his Nike’s, what I'm assuming to be his date for the evening was in a bloodied heap. Normally the stealth thing was my gig, however I didn’t have time for that right now, the jerkweeds saw me and let laughing boy take a header into the pavement. I managed to catch the guy before he became road pizza, and shot up to the roof. The goons were darting for the door.

“Don’t make me chase you ya dam pansies, I’ll make it hurt more!” I shouted as I set laughing boy down who was now cowered over the woman.

They didn’t listen, all four of them had their course set, and they were getting the hell outta there. Or were they? I moved at a blur passed them to the front of the door, leaned against it and folded my arms. That’s another thing I like running really, REALLY fast. Everyone seems to be moving in slow motion when you really amp up the juice. Their eyes got white when they got to the door and found me there with my arms crossed. My eyes flared a bright crimson as three of the goons went for their guns. I stood there watching them as round after round flattened against my chest, it didn’t tickle but it didn’t hurt either. The fourth must have been the “new guy”, he charged at me with his weapon of choice, a bat. What an amateur, I mean how can…Wait a minute a bat?! A Cheshire smile full of fang spread across my face as the bat whizzed towards my skull.

I stepped off to the left to ten o’clock into a softbow stance, bringing my left hand first to parry, then the right to continue his momentum, carefully hooking my right palm on the bat. It would ruin my fun if he shattered the thing against my chest now wouldn’t it? The scumhole fell into the door as I plucked the bat from his grasp. The other three stared bewildered as I tapped the bat against my heels and hunkered down into a deep batting stance.

“Batter up Jerkweed!” was the last thing the first thug heard as the bat pummeled into his ribcage, I heard two, no three shatter as he sailed across the roof.

“Nice…a single..” I mumbled as I took a swing at the second one, he was a little faster, but no match I barely got a tap on him, caught him in the left temple, he dropped like a rock. Well dam that was only a bunt, I thought to myself. The bats original owner tried to get the drop on me from behind, she drove a blade into my back, which shattered on impact. I spun into a backfist, still wielding the bat catching him in the jaw. It was going to be wired shut for a while now. That left me with the remaining one, I motioned for him to bring it. He didn’t have the same idea; he turned the other way and darted for the edge of the roof. Made it there too as he was leaping off, I gave him a “love tap” to the spine. A familiar “crack” and he started to go limp, falling off the edge. I leaped off the roof grabbing him and pulling him back, tossing him to the ground like a bag of rubbish.

“What the hell are you doing? You coulda ruined my average!”

“The Family” was now officially dysfunctional. I checked on the couple, who were now starting at me. A look on their face somewhere between fright, and thanks. The man was calling an ambulance for what I learned to be his wife. Apparently they were going to look at the stars tonight or some sh1t. I called the PD to inform them that we had some trash in Kings Row and was going to need the paddy wagon. The officer, a rookie asked me on the phone.

“What were you doing in Kings Row..on a roof?”

“Oh that …” I responded. “Softball practice.”

[Gaia]

"Excuse me. You have quite a talent there."

Jonathan jumped at the voice calling out to him from the door. At that moment the pitching machine let fly another ball. Thunk! It hit him and bounced off. He felt his hands heat up as he gripped the bat and turned to look at who had spoken. Oh! She's beautiful! Relaxing his grip and going over to the switch to pause the machine he said, "Thanks. A compliment from you is an honor. I've seen you in action a few times myself." He nodded knowingly.

After pausing he went over to the door and opened it. Jonathan held out his hand. "Jonathan Tempest III. Friends call me John. As for the talent I was in Little League for several years before I took up more extreme sports. My late father took a group of us to the Series a few years back. We only placed fourth though." He grew quiet a bit after mentioning his dad. Would you have been proud of your boy now? If only I had had my abilities during the invasion I would have tried to prevent what happened.

Shaking off his meloncholy he said, "So you participating in Mr. Kaine's ballgame? I came down here to get some practice. Its nice to relax away from my other hobbies." He looked over Grace's shoulder at Zeke who was listening in. "You teaching her how to bat?"

The other kid nodded. "Yeah I am but you look like you could teach her better than me and I have to man the counter up front. I think I have some more customers."

"Heh. I had the batting drills practically hammered into me. I can help you if you want." Jonathan looked at Grace.

[Alumette]

Grace gasped as the ball hit the young hero in his moment of distraction--a distraction that she caused. "I'm so sorry!" she said quickly as he turned to look at her. He seemed none the worse for wear for it, if briefly annoyed. She shook his outstretched hand, recognizing him from the newspapers and various superhero memos and reports.

"Enchantee, John," she smiled. It was clear from how he'd reacted that he wanted to keep his "other hobbies" a secret, and Grace respected that. When he asked about the ballgame she nodded, and then smiled at Zeke as he took his leave. She knelt down to look into his eyes before he scurried off. "Thanks for your help, Zeke. I learned a lot from you." She kissed his forehead maternally and his eyes grew wide. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small plastic Dawn Patrol pin that was similar to the "wings" pins given out to children passengers by major airlines, and pinned it to his shirt. "Keep fighting the good fight, Zeke," she smiled as he bounded off, grinning.

She rose and turned to face Jonathan. "I'd appreciate that," she said. "I really am quite pathetic at this," she said a bit self-consciously.

**********************************************

After many, many drills, and Jonathan's careful coaching; Grace's swing was more consistent and her judgement on which pitches to swing at was much improved. At this point, her batting average was about .105. Pathetic, but better than the .001 that it was before. She had her work cut out for her, that was for sure. But it would be good to get out and enjoy a game with her fellow heroes, and all for a good cause.

"So who else is participating in this game?" Grace asked. "I'm wondering if I should organize a big cookout dinner for the participants beforehand," she thought idly as she took up another, now much more practiced, batting stance.