FAN-FICTION CONTEST FOR AUGUST (AND JULY PRIZE WINNERS)

Happy August!

July was a very busy month with the Fan-Fiction Contest. We had many excellent entries and all have been rewarded. CONGRATULATIONS!

The following were awarded GOLD and BRONZE prizes respectively, in addition to the bonus participation reward:

GOLD:
13807
12351
10950
34761

BRONZE:
11122
35849
35933
35861
35649

For the month of August, you are invited to participate in a new fan-fiction contest. There are two categories to join; you can join either or both.

The prizes will be based on merit (quality) and are as follows:

GOLD: 5 x Strange Fiction cards

SILVER: 4 x Strange Fiction cards

BRONZE: 3 x Strange Fiction cards

Plus, everyone whose entry gets published will get the usual Sentinel rewards in addition to a bonus Strange Fiction card as participation reward.

Here are the categories (prompts):

Category One:
Continue the story with the following opening lines:

"ONE UPON A TIME, IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT..."

Yes, it is very clichéd, lol. The challenge is to turn a cliché into a creative work of art. References to the game and official canon are encouraged.

Category Two:
What is your origin story? How did you end up in the Heroes Rising universe?

Reminder: you may enter as many times as you wish in either or both categories, and all published entries will receive a bonus participation reward, in addition to the gold/silver/bronze prize based on merit (quality).

To enter, post your entries to the Fan-Fiction forum with the following in the title: "FAN-FICTION CONTEST AUGUST" and the title of your entry. Please also add a link to your entry in the Sentinel page so that we can monitor all entries.

Yours Quackily,
SQ

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Fan Fiction Contest July: BEE, The Man; Season 1: Episode 2: A Summer Olympics Origin Story

BEE, The Man; Season 1: Episode 2: A Summer Olympics Origin Story

By 13807

Crossroads was excited about today's Hero Olympics event. The Omega class heroes might get all the gold in the fighting events, but they always seemed to suffer in the Marathon. If she played it smart, she just might be in the running for a medal, maybe even gold! She tried her best to formulate a plan of attack for the event and focus on doing her best, but she couldn't help but be distracted by the annoying presence of bees buzzing all over the arena.

For some reason, the stadium had been overtaken by large black and gold bees. They looked like your common honey bee, but were twice the size of their normally larger cousin, the bumble bee. And while they weren't attacking anyone, they were still causing a bit of a stir and were seen by most as a nuisance. News crews that were there to normally report on the events also took the time to report on the unusual presence of the overly large bees.

Crossroads tried to swat the bees away as they flew around her, to no avail. In one hand, she held a Vanilla Coke, and, as she swatted away at the bees buzzing in her face, she spilled copious amounts of the drink on the ground. Lured by the smell of the sweet beverage, the bees swarmed the small pools of it on the ground, lapping it up greedily. Seeing this, Crossroads decided that it was her soda that had attracted them to her presence.

She said, "Oh! Is this what you want?" before pouring the rest of the contents on the ground. "Here. Take it. Just leave me alone."

Crossroads walked away to try and find a less buzzy place to get her mind focused before she started the race. On the ground where she had poured the soda, the bees happily lapped up every drop, seeming to grow larger as they did. And if one listened carefully, it seemed almost like the bees were speaking to each other, but in the most high pitched voices and at an accelerated rate.

"Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzt!"

"Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt! Suitable. Bzzzzt! Queen! Bzzzzzt!"

"Bzzzzzt! Yes! Bzzzzzzt! Need Queen! Bzzzzzt! No females of like kind. Bzzzzt!"

"Queen. Bzzzzt! Not. Bzzzzzt! Same. Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!"

"Bzzzzt! Must. Bzzzzzzt! Evolve!!!! Bzzzzzt! BZZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZZZT!"

"BZZZZZZT! EVOLVE! BZZZZZZZZT! MUST EVOLVE! BZZZZZZZT!"

After finishing up all the Vanilla Coke, the bees made their way out of sight behind the stadium porta-potties. There they began to transform, growing larger and taking a more human shape, though still far from human in appearance. Their exoskeletons sank into their bodies to mimic more human like bones. The muscles inside their bodies moved to the outside and they took on a more fleshy appearance. Their wings and antenna remained, but beyond the normal two legs and two arms a regular human had, they shed their other appendages.

"BZZZZT! Transformation not complete. BZZZZZT!"

"Need. BZZZZT! More. BZZZZT! DNA samples! BZZZZT!"

"BZZZZT! Must convert. BZZZZZZT! Queen. BZZZZZZT! Need Queen! BZZZZT!"

Elsewhere, the contestants for the Div 1 Marathon were about to start their race. As the starting gun fired, Dr. Ed N Out took an early lead. The cheering drew the attention of the bees back to the stadium where they saw the contestants running around the track.

"BZZZT! BZZZZT! Must. BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT! Acquire. BZZZZZZT! Superior. BZZZZT! BZZZZZT! DNA."

The bees then entered the race well behind the starting pack, but quickly moved up positions. They had moved into 1st and 2nd position ahead of Dr. Ed N Out, when suddenly Crossroads passed them by.

"BZZZZT! BZZZZT! Our Queen! BZZZZZT! Superior DNA! BZZZZZT! She will. BZZZZZT! Make BZZZZZZT! BZZZZZT! Strong colony! BZZZZZT!"

Fade to black..........

"BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT!"

"What are you doing?" Anomally asked Island.

"I'm making bee calls." Island replied. "C'mon Frank. Quit messing around. We gotta find these bees you released into the world before they do any damage. Help me out here!"

"I RELEASED????" retorted Anomaly. "YOU CREATED THE DAMNED THINGS!"

"No. No." Island deflected. "Don't try and pin this on me. This is definitely your fault. This is plagues of Egypt type $#!+. We can't afford to play around here. Now help me find these things before we have to tell everyone the end of the world as we know it was brought about thanks to a penguin. BZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZT!"

"B! B! Bu! Buh!" Anomally stammered. "....................... Fine................ Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt!"
The two continued to make their way through the streets of Hero City towards Downtown, stopping at every park along the way in hopes of getting lucky. At one such park, a group of hippies and other assorted types were having a "Save The Bees" rally. As the pair passed by, a woman with spiky pink hair, that almost seemed to mimic fire, shoved some pamphlets into their hands.

"Hello! My name is Pinkenstein, but my friends call me Pink. How are you today?" asked the woman. "Oh never mind about that. It doesn't really matter. Do you know what really matters? Bees! Do you have the time to hear about the grave danger the world is in due to the drastic decline in bee populations worldwide? A single beehive can be responsible for keeping entire ecosystems afloat. Without them, the world itself could die and we along with it."

"Wow!" said Island. "You seem to know a lot about bees. You wouldn't happen to have seen any around here, have you?"

"Actually," answered the woman as she pointed to a large, white, wooden box with a colony of bees buzzing inside. "We have a hive right here, graciously loaned to us for today's rally, by a local farmer."

"HA!" exclaimed Island. "Frank, give me the flamethrower!"

Not at all amused that Island called him by the first name of his secret identity in public, Anomaly tried to protest.

"Island, I don't think these are the bees we're looking for. They were loaned by a farmer and don't look anything like the ones we're searching for."

"We can't be too sure, Frank." Island said before yanking the flamethrower off Anomaly's back.

Anomaly wrestled with Island to try and stop him.

"No, Island!" he yelled, "You can't do this!"

"Don't try and stop me, Frank!" Island warned as Anomaly was already in the process of trying to stop him. "THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE WORLD, FRANK! You even said so yourself! We gotta burn the bees!"

"Not all the bees!" pleaded Anomaly, before a misstep sent him careening to the ground. "Just the ones you created!"

"They could have already infected this hive, Frank!" Island countered, before setting the beehive on fire.

"OH MY GOD!!!!" screamed the pink haired woman. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????"

"I'm saving the world, mam!" proclaimed Island as the woman attacked him.

"YOU MONSTER!" she screamed as she beat him into the concrete sidewalk, as Anomaly tried his best to put out the fire and save the honey bees.

"Let's see who you are under this mask, you villain!" she exclaimed as she yanked it off Island's face.

Gasps arose from the crowd, as witnesses recognized the man.

"It's Mayor Justice!" many could be heard saying.

"I can't believe what he did to those bees!"

"Oh my God! He's the worst Mayor this city has ever had!"

Island quickly responded, "B****, I'm the only Mayor this city ever had!" before the rest of the crowd joined the pink haired woman in pummeling the Mayor.

Quietly watching from the sidelines, Anomaly was grinning from ear to ear as he watched the universe give Island a small dose of what he often deserved.

TO BE CONTINUED............

https://youtu.be/IkeuzElAIDA

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Fan fiction contest entry origin story. Furious Squirrel

Fan fiction contest entry origin story. Furious Squirrel #12351

The story of Furious Squirrel, or how a 19th century inventor became a hero to millions. Okay, so maybe not millions, thousands perhaps. But, still, it is a worthwhile story to hear.

Jo William was born just after the American Civil War. His family was not rich or poor, just got by being useful to society as tinkerers. His father, Robert Williams, studied engineering and spent years fixing trains throughout the United States. Soon, he settled down just outside of Sonora, California.

Jo William, not Joseph, just Jo, grew up traveling with his father over to the neighboring city of Hill Valley. Jo was fascinated by the new inventions coming out of science of electricity. His father taught him all about steam power and wanted to encourage more people to think of steam engines as the way of the future.

While all this science fascinated Jo, his dream was to help people. Protect them from outlaws. California was a new, but rugged area and many despicable people roamed the land in search of someone they could shoot to take all their money. Jo, in a failed act of heroism, tried to stop a train robbery at the station near Sonora. The robbers killed his mother and father. Jo was shot in the leg and the bandits laughed at him, calling him a little squirrel.

With deep hatred for what they did to him, Jo was determined to not be dismissed as a pathetic kid he would avenge his parents. He was smarter than any bandit and knew he could use that against them one day. But, he simply didn't have what he wanted.

On a trip through Hill Valley one day, he met another scientist by the name of Emmett Brown. This man was strange, to say the least. Emmett and Jo struck up a deep conversation about electricity and metals. Doctor Brown didn't realize that he had inspired Jo to use this knowledge to advance his plans. Jo raced back to his little lab in Sonora and began working on a weapon using glass, metals, and electricity. It took him months to refine this. He studied writings by Nokola Tesla, and adapted some of his ideas into this new weapon as well as other technology.

In a flash of brilliance that might have been regarded just as monumental as the apple fallen on Newton's head, Jo created the always-recharge battery core for his weapon. Using Tesla Coil technology, as well as some new discoveries that Jo made, he crafted a weapon core that gave his gun limitless power. It could fire bolts of electricity that were many magnitudes more powerful than any other artillery of it's day.

Armed with his new guns, and a new suit of leather apparel, Jo dubbed himself the Furious Squirrel, adopting their slur as an honor. He waited five weeks for that same gang to show up. They came to rob a traincar carrying a large cargo of gold and silver. The gang of outlaws rode up in a wagon, guns out and masks on their faces. He stood up to them at a distance and told them to leave or they would regret it. They laughed and said, "scurry home, little Squirrel, or we'll blow yer brains out!" Their laughter only made him more certain what he would do next. He took aim and fired. To his surprise, and dismay, it worked. The wagon exploded, the people were thrown everywhere. Not a single bandit survived his one shot. He was proud of what he accomplished, stopping them. Yet, he knew what he had created was far too powerful to let anyone else know about.

He left his success, never letting anyone know who had killed one of the most hated bandit gangs in California. He went back to his shop and destroyed all his blue prints and notes. However, he couldn't bring himself to destroy the two guns he had made. He would keep them as a reminder of what he had done. Leaving his home behind, he went to talk with the only other man he knew who had the intelligence to understand his problem, Dr. Brown.

He found Emmett Brown in Hill Valley, working on what he called a time machine. Jo worried that Emmet was a little daft. Dr. Brown told Jo something special. He was from the future. He had been all the way to the year 2015. Emmett told Jo of some great advances coming in the future, but also that terrible wars would darken half of the twentieth century. Dr. Brown took Jo under his wing and taught him things that were far more advanced than any science of the day.

Dr. Brown built himself a time machine out of a destroyed train and left with his wife and children. Jo was left Dr. Browns lab and tools. He began to work on combining his knowledge of electricity, steam power. Soon, Jo built a dirigible using all his scientific knowledge. It was more than a simple dirigible, it was a master crafted creation of both war and peace. He would use his knowledge to help mankind again, but this time he would ensure peace by being the most powerful player in the game.

The day he was set to launch his new ship, Dr. Brown returned on his time-traveling train. He told Jo that he had to take him to the future. Jo believed he was being called to stop these terrible World Wars using his special ship, but Dr. Brown brought him much further into an age of computers and superheroes.

Dr. Brown told Jo that he had two fates. One, he would die on his first journey in his new dirigible. All the other world powers would take him down at a great cost. Two, he would disappear on his new ship and enter a future that recorded his helping save the world from terrible dangers. Jo understood that he truly only had one option. Director Nova met him and told Jo that the reason Jo was a prodigy was because he was what they called a conduit. In the past, this simply made humans more talented and able to learn better, but with morphons, this gave him the ability to harness new powers.

Jo, a man out of time, got back into his dirigible and swore and oath to BADGE to help protect the Earth. His technology was still powerful, even this far in the future. While Dr. Brown returned to the past, Jo William, now the superhero Furious Squirrel, stayed in the future.

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY| Origin Story: ßïll †hê ßµ†¢hêr

By ßïll †hê ßµ†¢hêr ♆SOB♆ ID: 35649

My name is William Poole, but you can just call me Bill . . . What’s that you say? You want to know my story. Ha ha ha im not sure we have that kind of time, still I suppose I can share a bit with you, after all; you won’t be walking out of here alive.

When I was just a young man I watched as people like you who thought they owned this city just walked about taking what they wanted and tossing everyone else to the side. I remember when I was just 5 or 6 some pretend hero stopped one of my friends, little bit we called him. Anyhow this so-called hero stopped him as he was running away from the Butcher Shop with scraps that he swiped off the counter. Yes, he stole it, but we were all starving! What else was he supposed to do? No one cared, no one, especially no hero! No one was doing anything to help us! Anyhow, this so-called hero smacked little bit down so hard he broke his jaw! Imagine that, some poor starving 6-year-old now dealing with a broken Jaw. Within just 2 weeks, little bit was dead. He starved to death you see, but no one cared. He was just tossed out like garbage. I made a Vow to myself that day. When I grew up, I would stop this madness. I would help the people of this city no matter how poor they were, I would treat them with dignity and the respect they deserve, but if anyone tried to stop me, I would cut them down!

Now that leads me to you. You come in here acting like you own the place. You attack me like you have a chance in hell to defeat me? I mean even if you could, I’ve built a Society of Butchers, people just like me who will rise up against anyone who would do harm to this city or our family! Of course, its laughable to think you can stand against me in the first place. I’ll feed you to the Pigs boy! Tell you what I’ll give you one chance. Stop pretending to be a hero and actually help some one today with nothing to gain by it other than doing what’s right for once. That’s right actually sacrifice something, your time, your treasure, yourself to help someone. Do that and I’ll let you live. Do it not and I will hunt you down no matter where you run.

Now take a nice steak with you on your way out, you look Hungry.

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY| Origin Story: ♆ɮǟɮʏʟօռ♆

By: ♆ɮǟɮʏʟօռ♆ ID: 35861

Before this universe was created, I existed. I once held a position of great honor and prestige among the heavens. I was known throughout the Multiverse as Highest of the created until one day I lost my name and rank, I was cast down to the earth by AO for daring to defy Him. Now I am known among man as Babylon the Great, or perhaps you know me in the common tongue as the Whore of Babylon, although my true title known throughout the ages is:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

While I take this form of flesh, I am more that what you see, While the Kings of earth may rule in name, they Worship at my feet. They kill, steal and destroy as I order. They are drunk off my aura and fall over themselves to please me, they admire my very presence. No one will be higher than I, I shall have the blood of all who stand in my way! I will Rule over all. I have set my authority upon the seven mountains, on which I sit. AO will regret sending me to this planet that he loves so much! I will take his people from Him. All peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues will know my name and bow before me.

You hear me AO, I WILL TAKE THEM! They will be mine! Send your heroes to try to stop me, send your Angels, they will fall by my hands. Yes they will all fall before me!

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BEE, The Man: A Summer Olympics Origin Story

by 10950

Anomaly had been summoned by Island to the lab about something to do with the now retired Fuma Hanzo. He wasn't sure what it was about, but he hoped it didn't have anything to do with the gear he "borrowed indefinitely" from Hanzo's gear that used to be on display in the Hall of Heroes, now that he was retired. As he walked in, he was greeted by a smile on Island's face that stretched wickedly from ear to ear.

"Frank!" Island called to Anomaly by his first name. "Frank, you won't believe this!"

"What is it?" Frank nervously asked as he approached Island.

"Frank, check this out!" Island continued, as he displayed a a clear plexiglass cube to Frank, that appeared to have a colony of honey bees inside.

"So......... You started raising bees?" asked Frank, a little perplexed but relieved this meeting had nothing to do with the missing gear from the Hall of Heroes.

"Not JUST bees, Frank!" Island exclaimed. "I used morphon particles to infuse Hanzo's DNA into these honey bees!"

"Frank took a few minutes to try and comprehend what Island had told him before responding in the most confused manner, "Wait....... What?.........."

"Don't you get it, Frank?" asked Island. "Hanzo was a shapeshifter of the highest order! By infusing his DNA into these bees, we make their potential to evolve unlimited!"

Anomaly continued to look at Island perplexed.

"Ok.......... But............" he asked, "Why????"

Island put his hands on his hips as he looked intently into Anomaly's eyes and said, "The real question, Frank, is why hasn't anyone done this before????"

"Because it's a stupid and completely insane thing to do?" suggested Anomaly.

"Insane????" exasperated Island. "This is nothing! You should have seen what I did to your pillow last night!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PILLOW????" demanded Anomaly.

"Huh? What? Nothing." deflected Island.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PILLOW????" Anomaly screamed a second time.

"Frank, keep focused on the matter at hand." Island demanded. "This is important work!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PILLOW????" Anomaly yelled yet again.

"I told you, Frank. Nothing." Island continued gaslighting him. "Look, forget about all that and let's get back to the bees."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PILLOW????" demanded Anomaly a final time before he grabbed Island by his shirt collar with both hands and shook him.

Shaking him incessantly, he caused Island to drop the plexiglass box holding the genetically altered bees. As the box hit the ground, it shattered, releasing the bees from their prison.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" screamed Anomaly as the bees buzzed in his face. "NOT THE BEES! OH GOD, NOT THE BEES!"

But being peaceful honey bees, they soon left him alone and escaped out an open window.

"OH MY GOD!" yelled Anomaly.

"What?" asked Island.

"THE BEES, YOU FOOL!" Anomaly screamed at Island. "WE RELEASED GENETICALLY ENHANCED BEES OUT INTO AN UNSUSPECTING WORLD!!!!"

"Oh, that." replied Island nonchalantly. "No big deal. I'll just make some more."

"MAKE SOME MORE????" Anomaly questioned. "You're completely bat $#!+ crazy!!!!"

" I know. Ain't it great?" responded Island.

"No! No, it isn't great!" sputtered Anomaly. "We have no idea what kind of disaster we just set loose upon the world! Who knows what they will evolve into with Hanzo's DNA! And if they get a colony foothold and start breeding........ Oh my God, I shudder to think of what you've done!"

"What I've done?" asked Island. "I didn't do anything. You broke the box. Besides, they can't breed. They're all males."

"You accelerated the evolution with Hanzo's DNA, Island!" fumed Anomaly. "What if they evolve to reproduce anyway????"

Island looked past Anomaly out the window and watched as the bees made their way to the Olympic Games Arena in the center of town.

"Do you really think they could just spontaneously evolve vaginas?" Island posited. "That would be intriguing.........."

TO BE CONTINUED............

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY| Origin Story: βӀմҽ Ꝉąղէҽɾղ

By: βӀմҽ Ꝉąղէҽɾղ ♆SOB♆ ID: 35933

One day many years ago now, I was taking my German Shepherd Chaos on a walk with my wife and kid’s. We had not been walking more than a few minutes when from out of nowhere a car jumped the curb headed right for my family.

Without thinking I dropped the leash and pushed my family out of the way by tackling them. I had no way to know it at the time, but this was no fluke, turns out I was being targeted. While the car missed us, it shifted down and spun around in the middle of the street. Putting two and two together I quickly deduced that my public stand against the mayor’s reconstruction project must have put a target on me. With no time to think I charged the car, hoping that my sacrifice would keep my family safe. It was then that fate itself intervened as a Green Lantern showed up and apprehended the assassin.

Why did you do that he asked. I explained that my children where the Hope for the future and I had already lived a fulfilling live. How could I not I asked him. Then he explained to me that there was a way that I could help not only my family but so many more families although it would cost me the very same sacrifice. Turns out the Blue Lanterns have long been allies to the super-hero.

Now hand selected by the Green Lantern JC, the Blue Lantern Corps recruitment process was unique in that it took three days, rather than being instantaneously transformed like some other corps. I was taken to the Blue Lantern Headquarters on the planet Odym and once there I discuss with Ganthet and Sayd what it means to wield the power of hope.

I learned that it is my responsibility to give myself to the universe, as well as my ultimate destiny. Once I agreed to these terms and conditions of wielding such power, the Guardians of Hope bestowed the ring upon me. Because of this lengthy procedure, there are only a handful of Blue Lanterns.

The Blue Lantern Corps is one of the ten Lantern Corps that draw power from the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Their power rings are fueled by the emotion of hope, and were created out of Ganthet and Sayd's hope for the future. While an entirely separate corps, the Blue Lanterns are meant to aid other benevolent wielders of the emotional spectrum in their fight against evil.

Now with this power I can aid the helpless and protect families like mine against villains across the universe for millennia to come.

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Summer 2022 Olympiad Fiction Contest. See! Gym Time Is Important!

By Crossroads, #11004

Allyson was in the basement of the restaurant, checking the connections for the draft beer system and ensuring all their kegs were at acceptable levels. She stood, stretching the kinks out of her back.

“Jeez, all this bending over to read the gauges is murder on the back!” groused Allyson.

“Just be glad you don’t have to move, organize, and weigh these kegs every day, little girl!” said a deep voice from further back in the basement. “Every day I get stuck doing this.”

“It’s your fault for being built like an NFL linebacker, Artie! You make it look easy!” replied Allyson.

Arthur James Connelly, Artie, for short, adjusted his glasses and rose to his full height. At 6’ 4’ tall and 275 lbs., Artie was indeed an impressive specimen. He went to college on a football scholarship, as a linebacker, until a car accident ended his future career. He kept himself in top physical condition even now, but NFL teams aren’t recruiting anyone with a prosthetic leg. He has been working at the restaurant for about a year, trying to pay off his student loans. “Each of these kegs weigh 160 pounds full, Ally. While not too heavy for me, they are awkward and it does get tiring, especially since we have 24 beers on tap on most days.” Artie shot back.

“I know, I used to have to do it before you came along! Think how I felt!“ Ally said with a grateful smile and not mentioning the fact that she could juggle these kegs like ping pong balls. Suddenly her phone made a strident chirping noise. “Figures... let me check this message.”

It wasn’t actually her phone, it was her BADGE communicator, and she was no happy to see the message. However, it was an urgent summons, so she could just go about her business for now and deal with it later.

Artie was watching her carefully. He was a natural student of human behavior and almost supernaturally empathic, so he could tell by Allyson’s facial expressions, fleeting though they were, that the message wasn’t good news to her. He couldn’t resist

“What’s wrong? Bad news?”

“Umm, it’s nothing...its just that my other job is having a...I guess you could call it a ‘fitness competition’. They have all these events and let’s just say that I have not been putting in the gym time I need to do well at any of the events.” Allyson sighed, “And, unfortunately for me, its too late now to catch up. It just irks me because I’m super-competitive and I know I’m not going to be a challenge for anyone.”

Artie smiled at her encouragingly, “Listen Ally,” he said, placing a gigantic hand on her shoulder, “it’s not always about how well you do all that you do, but that you do it at all. Don’t worry so much about the beating someone and focus on just having fun. After all, you know your gonna lose, so you might as well just have fun with it!”

“You’re right,“ Allyson admitted. “I know you’re right, Artie....but sometimes, my ego gets the better of me and I get grumpy when I’m not the best.”

“You must be grumpy a lot, then,” Artie joked. “There’s always someone better than you somewhere out there!”

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Summer 2022 Olympiad is here!

Welcome to Summer 2022 Olympiad!

For the first time, heroes can compete to win Gold Medals in skills they have spent months training for.

All 10 gym-skills will be up for competition, with the "original 5" competing on Friday and the "new 5" competing on Sunday. Each hero may compete in exactly one skill per day. There will be 3 level divisions in each skill, for a total of 30 possible gold medals in skill events.

Ever since the pervious summer olympiad, almost a year ago, heroes have been running their own gyms, scattered across the patrol locations. During the Olympiad event, these gyms will be closed to allow heroes to focus their energy on reaching the gold.

There are currently 36 player held gyms. Analysts at BADGE have scoured the data and determined who held control for each of these 36 gyms for the longest. Each of these 36 winners has been declared the "Champ" of that gym and received an extra powerful Champ card. Congratulations!

After the Olympiad all gyms will be re-set and re-opened... with a small twist...

After the reset, it will be much harder to hold a gym for long.... Gym owners who have held a gym for a day or two will start to get a small handicap, they may be required to play with one finger behind their back. If they can keep winning, they'll have the whole hand behind their back, and then stand on one foot and so on. Once you lose your gym, this will eventually be reset, but it might take a week or two. Expect the Gym Ownership to change much more frequently, among a much larger population of players.

GOOD LUCK IN THE OLYMPIAD HEROES

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY Origin Story: ♆Flag≋Smasher♆

Origin Story: By ♆Flag Smasher♆ ID: 35849

Forget about being born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I was born with golden toilets. Born in the Alps of Switzerland, The Eldest grandson of the Morgenthau family I was in line to inherit the kind of wealth that put nothing outside my reach. Raised to stay neutral in the affairs of the world. Grandfather always said it’s, “Better to sell with regret than to keep with regret.”

In my teens I was visiting America on vacation and while swimming off the Gulf of Mexico I found myself enveloped by what must have been some kind of illegal dumping of Roxxon Oil. I tried my best to swim out of this sludge but somehow, I was pushed under by the waves. As the Roxxon filled my lungs I saw my life flash before me. This Greed! Greed had killed me, and it was killing this planet. If only someone would do something about it, then as I lost consciousness, I awoke on our family Yacht with my handlers desperately performing C.P.R.

I WAS ALIVE! Yet something was different. Over the next few weeks, I started to develop superhuman abilities including inhuman strength. It was now that I realized that I could make the world a better place to live. I could bring and end to the greed of governments and people like my own family who only cared about making a profit. So I went to work and Established a society called ULTIMATUM, whose name was an acronym for "The Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind," naming myself Supreme Commander.

Now I just need some likeminded Heroes to help me set off a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that will render all electrically operated machinery useless, and I will at long last put an end to Capitalism! I will save this planet! I will no longer turn a blind eye! I will punish Greed and put an end to all capitalist governments! . . . No one can stop me now!

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY| Origin Story: GЯΣΣП ᄂΛПƬΣЯП of ♆SOB♆

Origin Story: GЯΣΣП ᄂΛПƬΣЯП of ♆SOB♆



ID: 11122

In the two thousandth and nineteenth year of AO on the 19th day of the fifth month they came from the skies. An unfamiliar light pressed upon me as I lay asleep. The day was breaking but it would never look the same again, strange beings had invaded my home. The atmosphere was different now, a hue that I did not recognize engulfed the once blue sky. As I stood at my window looking out upon my beloved City, I witnessed Horrors untold as men, women, and children where either taken as slaves, or slaughtered as cattle to feed the invading forces. I asked myself, is this why they came? Had we been reduced to simply resources? Is this the fate that really awaits us?

It was at this moment, a will to fight back overtook me and as I prepared myself to leap from the window into the streets to stop these atrocities my eye caught something that I can only describe as a falling star. Faint at first, it rapidly grew as it hurled like a comet through the sky. It grew and grew with great speed, and I quickly realized it was headed right for me! I dove for cover as what I would soon discover was a green lantern tore through my ceiling and landed next to me in a crater that used to be my floor.

I found myself stunned for a moment and could only look on as a green hue enveloped me and suddenly I found myself in a new reality. I was now first among a small group of the called, chosen to be a part of the Lantern Corp! The Strength of will that already lived inside me was now given power to manifest and stop evil. As if I somehow always new the word’s I hear myself reciting the code of so many that had gone before me.

In brightest day and darkest night, no evil shall escape my site. Let those who worships evils might, beware my power Green Lanterns light. As I leaped down to the streets It was obvious now that there were others that had manifested powers as well. Why none where like me exactly, they too were defending our city from the invaders. Thus, my story began among a band of Heroes, determined to rise up against this evil and to protect our friends and families.

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY: It's hard to Be a Villain When Someone is Destroying the World

By Pharaoh Ankh Nakhti Meri Nesu
ID: 34761

As Pharaoh Ankh Nakhti Meri Nesu sat and watched the events unfold with the United Nations and World Corps, he considered how best to use the chaos to his own advantage. His own minions had been sowing discord among the civilians, making them trust BADGE less and him more, but now this World Corps has stepped in and done the first part for him... But not the second part.

"Great" he muttered.

Zeus and Jynx glanced over at him and considered whether being in the same room right now was a good idea. Pharaohs powers had grown rapidly lately, what with the Father Time events unfolding and concluding to his advantage.

"M'Lord," Lady Jynx attempted, knowing he was slightly less likely to rip her head off than Zeus'. "Is there anything we can d-". His sharp hand swipe in the air cut her words off. She settled back down in her chair to let him stew, giving Zeus a brief head shake in case he decided to attempt talking as well.

After a few minutes Pharaoh sighed heavily and stood, letting the others know he was ready to move forward.

"All our plans to date have been to raise the Black Pyramid, but these fools are cutting into our scheme. It is time for us to move forward with our own plans. Perhaps we can use the chaos to our advantage." He turned and gave Jynx a cold stare.

"We will need to have your illusions on us when we hit the Purgatory Penitentiary. It is time we freed my old ally and hem-netjer - Now known as The Crooked Man."

******

The three who follow The Seed of Anubis lay low behind a wall. The plan had been for Jynx, Zeus, and Ant to walk in as guards, explain who they were to the Crooked Man, and walk out. That was clearly asking too much.

After the Crooked Man was removed from his cell, he went nuts and tried escaping on his own, the hard way. Five guards were dead, and Ant was missing an ear. The three ran down the hall trying to catch up to the psychotic escapee. At least the guard illusions held, and they were not stopped by anyone else as they trailed after him.

Jynx fumed and grumbled as they moved. Pharaoh had sent them three of them in to talk to this guy, rather than come in himself. They turned a corner in time to see the Crooked Man phase his hand through a guard’s neck and then become solid while in the middle. He yanked suddenly, pulling the man's esophagus out of the body.

The Crooked man looked around and realized he was in a dead end. With nowhere left to go, he turned and looked at the trio at the end of the hall with malice.

"Easy, easy now buddy. We are here to help you,” Jynx calmly tried sooth the deranged man. It was clear he wasn't listening, in fact, she wasn't sure he heard her at all, as his head tilted and listened to an unheard noise or voice. Pharaoh had warned them that his old priest probably lives in both our own time and that of the time of Pharaoh's rule. This accounted for the shifting form of the Crooked Man, as he phased between the timelines, anchored in ours, but trying to escape to the old.

Finally, the Crooked Man looked directly at the three minions and snarled before running straight at them. Pharaohs Followers prepared to fight, knowing it would be difficult to subdue him.

Halfway to reaching them, The Crooked Man slammed into an invisible wall. He split into two entirely different entities. One wore the modern clothes with fedora, the other was dressed as one would expect to see an ancient Egyptian come to life from Hieroglyphs on a wall in a palace wall. They both screamed as only a slight tether held them to each other.

Not knowing what else to do, Jynx and her friends simply stood there and gawked. With no warning, Pharaoh himself suddenly appeared next to the one dressed as an Egyptian priest.

"Easy old friend," Pharaoh

soothingly said to the man. "Easy my hem-netjar". The priestly side turned and stared at Pharaoh with wide eyes, recognition finally dawning in them. He fell to the ground, supplicating himself.

"My Pharoah, My God-King - Meri Nesu. You have returned; You Have Risen!!"

"Yes, yes old friend, but we need to get you" and pharaoh half waved at the Fedora-wearing Crooked Man' "and your other half out of her. We need to leave. Re-join, and come with me."

The priest looked at his modern self with loathing and then turned and walked into it. The two forms shifted and finally coalesced into a single being. Pharaoh stepped to him and wrapped his arms around as you would a beloved child. With a flash, they both disappeared.

Jynx, Zeus, and Ant stared at the empty space before realizing that the thumping sounds behind them was the guards heading their way.

"Sonuva Biscuit" she swore as they turned and headed out of the prison before they were discovered.

*******

"I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU FORGOT US!"

Jynx was livid at being left behind in the prison. The man whom they had been sent to rescue sat on a chair watching events unfold. He took in every crevice and corner of the Pyramid Scheme's Headquarters.

"Calm down, Jynx"

"CALM DOWN? I AM SO - " Jynx suddenly held her tongue, but not of her own accord. She grabbed at her throat and tried desperately to breath. Pharaoh stood in the center of the room, staring at her as she turned a slight shade of blue. With a giant gulp of breathe Jynx began to breathe again as Pharaoh dropped his telekinetic powers from her throat.

"Calm... Down..." he said again with more emphasis. She had collapsed to her knees and turned her head up towards him, eyes still livid, but held her tongue. "I left you because I knew you could escape, or you wouldn't be worthy allies. I also had hem-netjar to consider and could not take all of you with me. He was the reason for this sojourn, so it made sense to worry about his safety first. You should be happy I had the utmost confidence in you.

Zeus suddenly smiled and seemed much happier with that thought, but Ant simply shook his head and walked to the kitchen and began pouring himself and Jynx a drink. She joined Ant as Pharaoh moved to stand before The Crooked Man. Hem-Netjar looked up into his pharaohs eyes.

"Great One, I fear you have released me at a time that is not ideal" he said. When Pharaoh gestured for him to continue, he added, "There is something wrong with time. It is breaking, fracturing. I have been feeling it but could not do much research from my prison cell that dampens my abilities. Now that I am free, I can feel it all around."

"I feel it too, old friend" Pharaoh replied. "There is a massive disturbance in the timeline that is screwing with every core of my being. You and I are both creatures of time, so we feel it deeply. I was hoping you can assist your old Master in helping to find the problem. Let us see if it is something we can use."

"The last time we had even a slightly similar effect was when Father Time tried to converge all the timelines as one. It was then that I realized of the existence of the Clock. With it, we can bring the Black Pyramid forward in time to our own, and 'The Black Pyramid Will Rise Again'"

"The Black Pyramid Will Rise Again" the others all intoned as one.

*****

Pharaoh Ankh Nakhti Meri Nesu was being driven mad. The fight with Drochah in the alternate future timeline was ended, but the strain of time splitting and trying to reform was tearing his mind apart. As others were pulled into the time wormhole to go back and correct the past, Pharaoh grabbed hem-netjar's hand and with his time-phasing abilities they were able to stop from being pulled along with them - those that had time abilities.

He watched as the time and space around them was warping, being changed back to the way things should have been. At the center of several shattered shards of time, stood Father Time. He still had the Time Clock with him. The other time powered beings had all been sucked back, leaving Father Time to steal the Clock unnoticed.

Father Time spun the shards around him, until he finally chose the one he wanted and it stopped in front of him. Pharaoh tried to push his flight powers as hard as he could to reach the old man before he could escape, but he was too late. Time, and the old man, slipped away. As soon as Father Time stepped into the shard, the entirety of the alternate timeline erased and reset back to before. Before the fight, before the prison break out.

Pharaoh Ankh Nakhti Meri Nesu again sat and watched the events unfold with the United Nations and World Corps. He let out a heavy grumble and deep sigh.

"Great", he muttered. Lady Jynx turned to him and decided to venture speaking.

"M'Lord? Is there anything we can do?"

He glanced over at her with a slight smile, a smile that knows this has already happened, but others do not.

"Yes, my dear Jynx, there is. You can help me break an old friend out of prison... Again."

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Tug-of-War Volleyball

 The tropical sun blazed over the crashing ocean waves. The salty aroma of the sea was joined by the sizzling scents of hotdogs, hamburgers, and suntan lotion. Director Nova, dressed in his usual black attire, walked out with EB hopping alongside him.

“You sure you aren’t like sweltering under all that?” EB asked.

“I’m fine. I got a message this morning that the International News Network was sending out some photographers and journalists to do a puff piece with all the heroes having a fun vacation at the beach.”

“Is that why you got this whole beach to ourselves?” EB hopped around the sand.

“Yes. Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong. We’ve had enough bad publicity this year.”

EB froze in his jovial hopping, “oh, uh, I’m sure everything will be just fine, perfect, peachy, a-okay.”

“What did you do?” Nova grimly asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” EB put his little paws on his hips.

Just then, the female heroes arrived from the changing area. Every one of them was in the skimpiest bikinis Nova had ever seen.

EB jumped up so far that he was about ten feet in the air. “WOOOOOOW! NOW THIS IS A BEACH PAR-TAY! COME TO PAPA!”

Macia’s Daughter folded her arms over her chest as she gave EB a glare, “stop staring.”

“I can’t.”

Nova said, “what on earth? Why are you all dressed the same and like that?”

Krystal Fae held up her comm unit. “You ordered us to. Something about some beach photos for the press.”

“I did no such thing.” Nova muttered and then turned to EB with steam coming from his ears. “EB! What did you do?”

EB grinned like a kid caught with a hand in the cookie jar. “I...may have...possibly...used your personal command code to send out an official BADGE order to the ladies.”

“YOU DID WHAT!”

EB hid behind Macia’s Daughter. “Uh, well, I was just, you know, making sure we get some good photos for the press.”

Krystal held up her comm. “You didn’t just send them to us, I hope you know.”

“I most certainly did...oh, wait...did I send to the ‘all heroes’ button? Then that means....OH MY GOD!”

All the male heroes arrived, sporting skimpy swimming briefs and nothing more. Some were quite pleased with their appearance, especially Craig. Some looked like they were about to roast Nova alive.

EB covered his face. “MY EYES!”

Nova let out a long sigh, controlling the rage. “Okay, the press will be here shortly, so why don’t you change as quickly as you can.”

Craig said, “wait, I don’t think we should. I mean, we all look awesome. You wanted great publicity. Trust me, the public loves some sexiness.”

A volleyball hit Craig in the head. Fuma said, “speak for yourself, I look like an idiot in this.”

SapphireRay, a blue female super, said, “Craig is right. We look like a typical beach party.”

“No, we don’t!” Tri-Blade retorted.

Furious Squirrel said, “no, she’s right. This isn’t all that bad.”

Soon, two sides formed: those who wanted to change, those who liked the look. They argued louder and louder, a few charged up super powers. Finally, Nova pressed a comm button that sent out an ear-splitting whistle. Everyone shut up quickly.

“The media will be here soon and I want to show them some peace and unity among this group. If we have half looking like this and half dressed in full body suits, it might be odd. Frankly, I don’t care what you look like as long as you are acting like mature people. So, instead of listening to this debate for the next five hours, I have a better idea.” He kicked two volley balls into the hands of two of the heroes. “Two teams, one choice to be made. Everyone will play and the winners will decide what we present to the media. The losers won’t argue and they will grin and bear it no matter the choice. Got it!”

The heroes knew when not to argue with Nova. They gathered up into their respective sides and the nets were stretched over the sands. EB grabbed a bucket of popcorn and a pair of binoculars. Nova, Gar, Justin, and Chase made up the judges. With a whistle, the tournament started.

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FAN-FICTION CONTEST FOR JULY

Happy July! Another month of even more quackiness!

June was a quiet month for collaborative Fan-Fiction, but contributors have been rewarded for their efforts.

For the month of July, you are invited to participate in a fan-fiction contest. There are two categories to join; you can join either or both.

The prizes will be based on merit (quality) and are as follows:

GOLD: 5 x Strange Fiction cards

SILVER: 4 x Strange Fiction cards

BRONZE: 3 x Strange Fiction cards

Plus, everyone whose entry gets published will get the usual Sentinel rewards in addition to a bonus Strange Fiction card as participation reward.

Here are the categories (prompts):

Category One: how was your hero involved in the recent events of the Delta Paradox story arc? Did you experience an alternate timeline, and if so what was it like? How did the events that unfolded affect your hero?

Category Two: what is your origin story? How did you end up in the Heroes Rising universe?

Reminder: you may enter as many times as you wish in either or both categories, and all published entries will receive a bonus participation reward, in addition to the gold/silver/bronze prize based on merit (quality).

To enter, post your entries to the Fan-Fiction forum with the following in the title: "FAN-FICTION CONTEST JULY" and the title of your entry. Please also add a link to your entry in the Sentinel page so that we can monitor all entries.

Yours Quackily,
SQ

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