Introductions 1.3

"You're an alien?!" Greg jumped to his feet, moving so suddenly that his chair skidded on the wooden floor and slammed into his wall.

For the third time since he had met Greg, another sigh fell from Evron's throat. "Greg, I didn't say that I wasn't from Earth. I said that I'm not from this Earth. I'm not an alien...Technically, I'm not human anymore, though."

Greg scrunched his eyebrows together together and tilted his head slightly. "What? So, you're from another universe like Earth Aleph?"

"What? You guys already made contact with another universe? Already? When?" It was now Evron's turn to be confused.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, I don't really remember when we found out about Aleph. I think it was about like a long while ago. A cape made a doorway or something to Aleph and then Aleph started getting Capes. Weak Capes, though."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not from Earth...Aleph."

"How do you...know that? I mean, for sure?" Greg said, his visible Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously.

"How long have people had powers on this Earth, Greg?" Evron's eyes flickered over to the computer Greg sat in front of and the large amount of superhero memorabilia that he found completely unfamiliar.

Greg shrugged. "I guess about thirty years."

Evron slowly paced around the room, eyes still analyzing the entirety of Greg's room. "On my Earth, nobody had powers until the year 2025 and it's been over three hundred years since then..."Evron paused and stared at Greg as he began to splutter and cough.

"Thr-thr...three h-hundred years. That's crazy...Wait. I call bullshit." Greg calmed his breathing and gave Evron a disbelieving look as his voice took on a derisive, mocking tone. "Oh...okay...first, you're from another Earth, then you're from the future. Suuuuureee...I get that you're a Cape and that's really cool. It really is." Greg's voice shifted from mocking to patronizing as if Evron were a small child who believed in fairy tales.

Unmindful of the blank look on Evron's face, Greg continued on. "You have a power, that's awesome. Sure, all you can do is heal yourself but that's still pretty cool. I mean, you're no Alexandria or Eidolon but you don't have to make stuff up to make yourself feel better." Greg smiled at Evron as he finished, oblivious to how condescending his little pep talk was.

"You done talking?" Evron asked, his face the very picture of bored annoyance. "Good. Listen close, Greg. On my Earth, information about alternate realities is a really good secret. Like, the type of secret that would get a regular person a visit from some not-so-friendly guys in black suits if they found out. It's not something that a random guy like you would know about."

Greg nodded silently and looked at the ground, his face burning in embarrassment.

"Greg, I'm gonna leave.", said Evron after a short pause.

Greg stammered. "Why? I thought you could stay for a while till you healed up."

"I'm healed, dude. Right now, I'm just a bit drained." He raised a hand to brush a lock of hair out of his eyes. "Look, I'm glad you picked me up off the street but I need to get back to my own universe. I can't do that here. Trust me, you DON'T want me to do that here. I assume you like your house in one piece."

"So you're really a big time Hero? Like Eidolon?" Greg asked, eyes wide with excitement.

Evron smirked and zipped up his hoodie, hiding the device on his chest. "I have no idea who the hell that is but yeah, the biggest. Everyone on my Earth and a couple others know the name Evron Grey. I've fought the biggest, baddest, strongest villains ever and me and my team...heh...we don't lose. "

Greg took in a shallow breath. "Cool..."

Evron turned around, facing Greg's window.

"Wait!" Greg called out," Can't we talk about, you know, your Earth a bit more first? Before you leave, I mean." 'Come on man, don't go yet. You're the first Cape I've ever talked to.'

Without even turning around, Evron responded. "I really can't do that, Greg. I have to start heading home. My friends need me. My world needs me. It was...uh...interesting talking to you. Some advice; just take it from me, learn to relax a bit. You're kind of all over the place."

Greg gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, a couple of people have mentioned that I am kind of...awkward."

Evron turned his head, returning Greg's smile. "You'll be fine, man. Thanks for letting me use your bed, by the way. See ya. "

With that, Evron leapt out Greg's open window.

Greg ran to his window and looked out to see Evron already high above his house flying away. "So cool...That was unreal. I've got to tell people on PHO about this." He sunk into his chair and was about to enter said forum when he heard his front door open and a voice called out.

"Greg, honey, I'm home. I hope you don't mind. The store was out of the chips you like so I got you-OH MY GOD, IS THIS BLOOD?!"

Greg felt his heart drop into his chest. 'Shit! I forgot to clean the blood he left on the door! I'm so dead. Mom already saw it.'

"GREG? GREG?!"

'I save a hero and this is what happens. Fuck you, Karma!'

"GREGORY LUCAS VEDER! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

These are terms that will be receiving heavy use in later chapters. Wanted to get them out of the way now.

Glossary Of Terms

Archetypes: An Archetype is a set of primary powers that classify a Superhuman. Paragon; Flight, Strength, Speed, Durability, Energy Projection, Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Mental Processes. Tank; Strength, Durability. Runner; Speed, Agility. Bruiser; Strength, Speed, Durability. Battery; Energy Projection, Energy Absorption, Energy Manipulation. Brain; Enhanced Mental Processes, Mental Control, Precognition. Hunter; Enhanced Senses. Jumper; Teleportation. Shifter; Physical Manipulation. Bestial; Animal Physiology

Church of Health, Prayer and Love : Colloquially known as the Cult of Love, they worked with the Imagination Foundation to create the creatures that H.P. Lovecraft wrote about in order for them to worship. They were surprisingly successful.

Enhanced Human: A human that undergoes a procedure in which they are modified using the genetic information of Superhumans.

Gene Modification: A procedure in which a normal human is modified into an Enhanced Human using the collected DNA and genetic information of Superhumans.

Global Security Agency: An organization created by the United States that was taken over by the United Nations. Created in 2030, it was originally the Mutant Control Agency.

Grey Incorporated: International business conglomerate formerly run by Evron Grey's father, Richard M. Grey. Evron Grey took over after his father and grandfather were found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Imagination Foundation: A large group of mad scientists determined to create the monsters and creatures found in fantasy works from dragons to zombies, werewolves and vampires. They were very, very successful.

Iceberg: A world famous Charity organization that has been around for over 300 years. Known ties to Evron Grey.

Justice: Founding Member of Freedom Guard. Brain AT, Runner AT, Hunter AT.

Korath: An empire of former galactic conquerors who worship the Nexus and Evron as his successor for granting them powers. The average Korath adult is a trained fighter able to lift 25 tons and run at speeds exceeding two hundred miles an hour. A member of a noble house is expected to be at least 200 times as powerful while the Royal Family is at least ten times as strong as any member of a noble house.

Liberty: Formerly Lady Liberty, she is considered the most powerful female superhuman on Earth. Founding Member of Freedom Guard. Paragon AT.

Mayhem: Group of powerful mutant terrorists who believe mutants are the strongest predators on Earth. They regularly caused mass killings and disasters. All members killed by Titanwatch. Founding Members; Mastermind, Riff, Pierce, Killing Machine, Godiva, Schadenfreude, Ubermensch and Romero.

Metahuman: An empowered individuals who gain superhuman abilities but possess no Zero Gene. Metahumans tend to develop powers in areas of high Zirin concentration or areas of high Superhuman activity. They have high potential for natural power growth and are the lowest at risk for Power Incontinence & Power Overload. They tend to be rather weak but their abilities grow in power with both age and experience.

Mutant: An empowered individual whose abilities are due to the Zero Gene found in 80% of Evron's Earth. A Mutant's powers appear in times of extreme stress and or near-death. A Mutant can manifest between the ages of 8-38. Mutants tend to possess more powerful abilities than Metahumans, Transhumans and Enhanced Humans but have little to no potential for natural power growth. Mutants are at a higher risk of Power Incontinence & Power Overload than both Trans and Metas.

Mutant Riots: The Mutant Riots were an international attack on the world's governments led by Patient Zero's group of mutant terrorists and human supporters in 2050. This led to the governments of several European, African and South American countries collapsing entirely and the UK to return to the days of the absolute monarchy.

Nexus: The Nexus refers to one extradimensional being who is the origin of all superhuman abilities in the near infinite numbers of reality sets it controls. It is essentially omnipotent, and gains enjoyment from life by living it through the eyes of a lesser sapient, it's host Evron Grey.

Paragon: Formerly the world's strongest superhuman and leader of the Freedom Guard, he was killed in a fight by Evron Grey after going berserk. Paragon AT.

Patient Zero: The first natural mutant ever known. He is also the cause of the Zero Virus being released which led to the death of hundreds of millions and the rise of the Zero Gene in the population.

Power Incontinence: An affliction that effects many Superhumans with physical abilities. In individuals with speed based powers, it manifests as a period of intense hyper acceleration colloquially referred to as "The Jitters". In individuals with high durability, it manifests as Insensitivity to External Stimuli and Total Sensory Deprivation.

Power Overload: An affliction similar to Power Incontinence that, instead of affecting those with physical abilities, affects those with energy based powers. They tend to cause much more collateral damage than Power Incontinence.

Reality Set: Every instance of a known universe. Example: Every Harry Potter Fic exists in one reality set.

Reapers: An underground gang centered in the US that hunts low powered mutants and strips them of their organs and vital fluids.

Superhuman: A term used to refer to Enhanced Humans, Metahumans, Mutants, and Transhumans as a whole.

Syndicate: A shadowy criminal organization that is believed to control organized crime internationally. Suspected ties to Evron Grey.

Titanwatch: Originally a United States sponsored superhero team for the best heroes in the world, it was secretly a method to monitor, manipulate and control the strongest Superhumans. It was rendered useless by the GSA's Freedom Guard. It was later revived as the world's premier super team by Evron Grey AKA Titan.

Transhuman: A superhuman that possesses their powers from birth. They possess similar or identical powers to their parents/other family members and their offspring will possess the same or similar powers. Average potential for power growth. Less powerful than Mutants but More so than Metahumans.

Zirinium: An element not native to Earth that was found in large quantities on Earth in a meteor shower in 2010. This element is very unstable and has been documented to have mutagenic properties. Superhumans have been found to produce a variant called Zirin which powers their abilities.