OUBLIETTE

Hikari began his story with the Vindicator’s battle with Paragon, Red Shift and Rift- the three lowest ranked members of the Synod. His team put them down easily enough, killing Paragon and Rift before Red Shift laughed about one of the Vindicators secretly being a member of the Synod.

Red Shift was put down by Stephen Luom, the son of Brass and Rumble. After his sister, Clementine Luom (this period’s Aurelius) incinerated the Synods’ remains, the group headed back to Japan to recover.

Hikari gave his report to the Illuminati, made up of Doctor Howell, David Meinstein, Eddison Dubchinsky, Alan Altair, David Kennel and Brian Hart. Meanwhile the rest of his team attempted to relax. Joseph Henry and A.J. Altair (the fifth Captain Canada) attempted to calm Stephen down with food, friends and Full House. Elsewhere, Neige Altair evaded the flirtations of Emily Stewart while Margaret Gladstone (the fifth Lodestone) slipped off with Clementine.

The pair’s love making was interrupted by the arrival of the Lodestone (Magnus Loder) and the Iron Curtain. The pair assaulted the lovers, now joined by Joseph. The others arrived one-by-one, finding themselves in a sealed time room where Joseph managed to appeal to the positive side of Magnus Loder. Gaining his trust, the other Vindicators were able to put down the threat and watched as Magnus Loder took his own life- rather than reform and attack once more.

However, the Vindicators quickly learned that the attack was a distraction: the Illuminati had encountered Terahertz while Catastrophe abducted Emily. Worse still, Stephen had also disappeared and the arrival of the Synod in the Vindicator’s secret base confirmed the existence of a traitor.

The Vindicators assaulted the Citadel, moving to rescue Emily and Stephen. Hikari apparently turned on the group but a cool Margaret Loder saw through the deceptions of Coup Field and a new battle began. When Osiris joined the fray, Joseph was able to quickly put the former New Vindicator out. Soon after he killed Gabriel Farouk he was killed himself, slain by Coup Field and evoking the rage of his teammates.

Clementine Luom, Coup’s successor as the Aurelius, ended his existence and moved to regroup the survivors with Hikari. Hikari had stumbled upon Apocatastasis’ throne room where he failed to find Apocatastasis but did find Emily.

Rushing to free her, Emily tried to warn him that she had witnessed the traitor kill Stephen. Pushing her to tell him who had betrayed the Vindicators, Neige used her powers to slay Emily before moving against her teammates.

Neige explained that Apocatastasis had promised her he would return her parents (Ben Altair and Katie Merrick) to life, as well as Hikari’s (Michuru and Natalie Bradshaw), letting their family live forever as the Adam and Eve of the new world he would forge. Paralyzed by his love for her, Hikari could only stand helpless as Neige fought their friends.

Clementine, fearing Hikari might soon turn against them to side with his fiancé, used her magic to teleport him away. She spared him from the sight of Neige killing A.J. and then sundering Clementine’s Null Ring- the only thing protecting the Vindicators from Apocatastasis’ powers.

With Hikari gone, Apocatastasis could no longer mimic the youth’s invisibility. His presence exposed and Clementine made vulnerable, she used the last of her magic to send her lover, Margaret, back to the Vindicator’s base- rather than allow Neige to destroy her Null Ring as well and sparing her the sight of Apocatastasis killing the Aurelius.

Hikari and Lodestone found themselves the only two surviving Vindicators. Knowing they were weakened, Apocatastasis sent his Synod after them and the Illuminati- leaving Neige to lead the charge. Hikari killed her himself before leaving with David Meinstein and David Kennel into the time stream.

They were followed by Brian Hart, siphoning off David’s dimensional manipulations. As such, the four men were scattered across the history of an alternate earth: leaving Hikari in a position to stop Apocatastasis’ rise to power and ensure Neige would not become the villain he knew her to be…

With Ahasuerus once more amongst the living, things began to look bleak. Then Xrix garnished a disturbing thought from the remaining three demons: Kuchin the Void. Probing deeper she learned that the demons took their orders from the very being the survivors of the massacre in Shambhala warned of.

Not long after the young Nephilim realized that she could no longer hear Oafeon’s thoughts: the fey had vanished. Such revelations were repeated when Kuchin then appeared behind Coup Field, drawing him into its body and sealing him away in the pocket dimension contained within the being.

Deimos continued to fight both Ka and Fu while Rumble and Tick-tock dealt with Chi and Ahasuerus below. William Benson found himself suddenly under attack from the mysterious entity that had devoured both Coup and Oafeon. Ultimately, Xrix and Deimos both panicked. Xrix broke the chain given to her by her mother- summoning Semyazza and begging her to take her away from the fight. Deimos, meanwhile, blanketed the area in darkness- a move that seemed only to hinder his teammates and not his opponents.

Before long, Kuchin had drawn William Benson, Tick-tock and Rumble into the Void before departing with the remaining demons… leaving an unconscious Deimos as the sole survivor of the Illuminati.

Deimos was awakened by Loess and Portal, who had come to San Francisco looking for Rumble. They explained to him that Senator Bedford had been assassinated and Lodestone had gone over to serve Abaddon. The pair announced their intent to form a group to storm Apocatastasis’ stronghold to liberate their friend- intent to recruit Rumble, as well as Anomaly and Tripper.

It was then that Deimos broke his chain, summoning the catatonic body of Doctor Jacob Pritchard to his side. Unable to enter the Chapel without Coup’s magic and with nowhere else to go, Deimos reluctantly joined Loess’ rescue mission.

Elsewhere, Xrix found herself brought to Apocatastasis’ base- an army of Nephilim already gathered under him. She joined Paragon, Lilith, Phobos, Mayonaka, Firn, Enyo and the Shadow- as well as several new players: the brothers Aamon, Barbatos, Pruslus and Rashaverak; Goetia and the Tarasque.

It was then that Kuchin arrived and Paragon explained that Kuchin was one of the higher-ups in Apocatastasis’ army. Kuchin entered the great hall where Catastrophe, Lodestone and Terahertz awaited- ejecting only one person from the Void…

Coup Field, the Aurelius, to be bonded with the remains of the slain Sui…

The Illuminati left Auberon’s palace feeling slightly discouraged. They had spent so long looking for the Aurelius, only to find nothing. Their only comfort was that he had not been in Shambhala: Abaddon still had not captured him.

Returning back to San Francisco, the heroes found their city and their home in ruins. The terrain had been drastically altered, with spikes of stone and earth piercing the ground and thrusting towards the sky.

The Illuminati moved to help the panicked citizens while Xcris began to scan minds looking for an explanation: four demons, each able to assume the form of one of the four elements, as well as command it, had only recently appeared and were rampaging across the city. Tick-tock and Deimos conducted their own searches, with Deimos’ hunt from the skies yielding two of the foretold monsters…

Ka’s flame blast missed Deimos but it did not fail to get his attention. While the young Nephilim jumped into battle with him, Fu attacked the hero from behind and began to suffocate him.

Soon the aquatic Sui and earthen Chi joined the fight, with Tick-tock and Rumble handling the ground forces, leaving the fight above them to Deimos, William Benson and Coup. Xcris continued to scan the minds of the beasts, learning their tactics and directing her teammates in battle.

As the battle progressed, it became obvious that the demons were not going down easily. When Rumble ended Sui’s existence, the heroes began to find their spirits lifted up again.

It was a short-lived victory though as Chi vanished into the earth… returning with a familiar face to the Illuminati. Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, was back…

Continuing up the mountain, the Illuminati fought against avalanches, blizzards, the extreme cold, yeti and the altitude… but the biggest challenge was found in dealing with each other. Chris’ mind games continued to tear at the team- tormenting Rumble and Deimos with illusions of Brass and Shade and bedding William Benson once again. The Aurelius and Tick-tock persisted to play, strengthening their friendship amidst Chris’ apparent attempts to tear them apart.

The higher they climbed, the worse the conditions became. Coup opted to teleport the Sherpa off the mountain in the days before the heroes finally reached Shambhala. There, they found the city in shambles- having been attacked and crushed…

Odin sat in the city, perplexed over the situation he discovered upon arriving. The Illuminati searched the city; William Benson and Odin found Heimdall near death and wearing Meginjord and Jarn Griepr- the gauntlets and girdle of Thor. Another soldier was spared from death by Rumble’s medical training. Stabilized, he told them what had happened… the Five Demons of the East arrived: Chi, Sui, Ka, Fu and Kuchin. Believing the Aurelius would take refuge in Shambhala, the Five invaded to claim the Anathema Ring.

Returning to Avalon, Auberon divided the Hunters to search the world for demonic disturbances- viewing that as their only hint at where the Aurelius may now be. Still, William Benson used the respite to journey to the beach… hefting Mjolnir and taking it with him on their journey…

Commissioned by Auberon, the Illuminati joined the Wild Hunt. The denizens of Avalon suspected the Aurelius may have taken shelter in Shambhala- the new capital of Hyperborea.

As Sif explained, many centuries ago the four noble houses of Hyperborea escaped the continent’s destruction. Odin’s house headed for the northern lands while Zeus and Amun led their families through the Strait of Gibraltar- to Egypt and Greece. Still, the Dingir found themselves in the Middle East and founded the religions of that region. After centuries spent acting as the pantheons of those respective cultures, the noble clans reunited and built a new home in the Himalaya mountains.

However, most of the Dingir had already been slain- leaving their family poorly represented. Thanks to their geographical closeness, Zeus and Amun persistently voted together in matters deciding Shambhala’s future, acts which greatly upset Odin and led to his leaving the nation.

Ultimately, the hunters concocted a plan to climb Mount Everest in two groups- letting Odin storm the city to attract Zeus and Amun-ra’s attention while the others slipped in.

Hiring a pair of elderly Sherpa, the Illuminati began to ascend the mountain- their abilities helping them to climb the lower heights in only a matter of hours. While others made camp, Coup and Joseph began to play in the snows- building forts and having snowball fights. Ultimately, as they continued up the mountains, a fight with one of the yeti who guard the mystical city were not their biggest problems… A visit from Abaddon and Semyazza yielded an invitation to Deimos and Chris to join the Synod and Apocatastasis’ side in the war to come…

Arriving on Avalon, the isle of death, the Illuminati are informed that funeral services for Thor are about to begin. Puck shows them where the warrior’s weapon lay on the beaches and guarded by the fey.

Attending the banquet in the fallen hero’s honor, the group is reunited with a few familiar faces: Tick-tock met Odin once more while the Aurelius met Oafeon once more. William Benson met Thor’s ex-wife, Sif, who claimed to have divorced him centuries ago- wedding a mortal man soon after. Noticing the physical similarities between Sif and Atlanta, the archeologist couldn’t help but wonder if his newest teammate truly was a Neo-Sapien, or if her powers had a difference source…

Such thoughts left William the more he drank and Chris used her abilities to present herself to him as Sif. In a drunken haze the two left the celebration of Thor’s life for a night of passion beneath Auberon’s roof. Deimos found himself spending the night in conversation with Gamayun.

Rumble, meanwhile, met Sojobo, the tengu king who introduced himself as a friend of her father’s. He told her stories of her father’s adventures and warned her that Abaddon had unleashed the Nine upon Doctor White’s trail.

Ultimately, the festivities died down and night turned to morning. Upon their awakening, Auberon summoned them to the hall once more, telling them all of the threat Abaddon’s son Apocatastasis posed. Further, he told them of the Anathema Ring- the only item capable of shielding one from Apocatastasis’ powers. The ring was an item passed from Aurelius to Aurelius and would be in the hands of Doctor White. In an effort to find the Aurelius before Abaddon did- Auberon declared the Wild Hunt and sent Wild Eadric, Odin, Hermes, Sojobo, Sif and the Illuminati to storm the city of Shambhala.

Still searching for Doctor White, the Illuminati were distracted from their efforts by a phone call from a New Yorker. Curiously, the caller not only knew of the Illuminati but knew how to reach them. The caller, Robin Goodfellow, told them that in a single night he had witnessed his wife’s transformation into a werewolf. Their attention wrangled, the Illuminati headed to New York to meet with him and hear his story…

While Robin made tea for the heroes, they observed books on his shelf rearrange themselves- amongst them William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Their investigation crossed with another hunter- Deimos was on the hunt for two members of the gang 137th Street. When Deimos found his prey, they began to mutter on about alien abductions.

Dealing with werewolves, poltergeists and aliens, the Illuminati split up in an effort to cover more ground. While investigating the supposed werewolf victims in the morgue, the Aurelius, William Benson and Chris discovered two puncture wounds in the victim’s neck, suggesting vampires as well. Still, as the heroes soon learned, they were not just dealing with mere vampires but rather…

“Santa’s a vampire!” the rotund vampire in the red suit proclaimed, using his magic to summon vampiric elves to fight the trio. Ultimately, Coup realized Santa and his blood-sucking minions were akin to the phantasms his magic could create. Chanting “I don’t believe in Santa Claus!” like a mantra, the Illuminati were able to dispel the illusions and were left to wonder just how much of the recent strangeness they had observed was truly real.

Realizing Robin was at the middle of it, the Illuminati regrouped at his home and confronted him with what they had learned, only to have him end the charade and reveal his identity as Puck, one of the fey who inhabited Avalon. At the word of his master, Auberon, Puck had come to recruit the Illuminati to join in on the Wild Hunt…

With Michuru gone, seeking to bring Chienne back after Doctor Pritchard’s banishment, the remaining New Vindicators reviewed the video footage Fluke had been fortunate enough to capture. They mourned Loess’ passing as well as Lodestone’s defection and were puzzled over Doctor Pritchard’s words. Through some investigation and piecing what clues they had together, the heroes came to the conclusion that Doctor Pritchard was actually Abaddon.

Before they could do anything with such information however, the school came under attack from the Church of Genetic Purity. In the wake of the assassination, the United States government initiated the Bedford Act- declaring a state of emergency and putting any suspected Neo-Sapien into relocation camps. Further, with Colonel Crowbar missing, Doctor Cheryl Colbenson had been promoted into his position. The woman’s first act as Director of the Department of SPB Affairs: announcing the existence of the New Vindicators Academy and providing the world with the location of the American campus.

The heroes fought their way through the church members, only to have their battle interrupted by a squad of SHAKE agents, accompanied by Sentry units. Though the children and the faculty managed to hold their own against them, they watched in horror as many of their peers were abducted and taken away to the relocation camps…

Meanwhile, in the lower levels, Kitten, the Damned and Josh Cron encountered more members of the church on their way to free Intertia. They were saved by the Aurelius who teleported them away to the European school- where he announced his intention to train them all as mages.

Further down the east coast, Doctor Pritchard appeared along with Terahertz, Lodestone and Emmanuel Nikolaos. Together, Terahertz was able to irradiate the tektite of Atlantis and render it ferrous- allowing Lodestone to raise the island from the depths of the ocean and bring it to the beach. Breathing the air once more, Apocatastasis was revived and stepped down onto dry land…

Noting that it had taken him six thousand years to release him, Apocatastasis seized Doctor Pritchard and siphoned out his life essence- using it to reconstruct the hand he had long ago lost to the Gibborim.

He did not have much time to celebrate, as missiles were launched then… from Antarctica of all places. Apocatastasis, together with Lodestone and Terahertz, quickly put an end to threat sent by Walkabout and proceeded to go for to gather information- Apocatastasis insisting on learning more of all he had missed out on. Using his telelocation abilities, Apocatastasis found Colonel Crowbar and abducted him, intent to use his knowledge of SPBs to help him build an army- an army Lodestone joined, once bribed with the current location of Adonis Skraag and the Affiliation.

Silverback’s group managed to contact Hikari’s team, hailing Gabrielle to help them flee to Canada. Together with the Next Vindicators, the remnants of the New Vindicators Academy took refuge in the home of Alicia Gladstone and attempted to discern what their next move would be…

Led by Fluke, the Damned and Savant joined the Church of Genetic Purity in an attempt to get close enough to find concrete evidence of Forrest Bedford’s crime. With Chimera’s morphing powers, the man was able to continue to appear as himself and continue leading the Church of Genetic Purity.

Within the lair of their greatest nemesis, the New Vindicators learned that following his wife’s assassination, Forrest Bedford had cloistered himself in his office- trusting the management of the group to his second-in-command, the reverend Johnny Vance.

Reverend Vance inducted the horde of new members, pleased to see that the news surrounding Senator Bedford’s death was causing their numbers to surge. After the ceremony, the Neo-Sapiens began to gather information and learned that many members were under the impression that the Church of Genetic Purity was divinely inspired- that an angel had appeared to Forrest Bedford and guided him along his racist path.

Meanwhile, Bulwark and Geiger (Chelsea Burk) went to Colonel Sidell’s apartment, only to find it in shambles. Bullet holes riddled the walls along with scorch marks. Still, sounds from the other room brought Bulwark’s attention around and caused him to lunge through the wall and find Christmas Clark, Jessica Martin and the Iron Curtain also investigating here.

Reunited, Christmas asked Bulwark why he had left and he began to tell her about the prophesy… that the two of them would be attacked by one of their own and a member of the Synod. “I get destroyed and you get away… but you’re panicked and…” It was then that the traitor revealed himself and the Iron Curtain attacked. Fearing Bulwark’s prophesy would be proven true and wanting more than anything else to protect him, Christmas switched bodies with Bulwark. Suddenly endowed with a sense of touch, Bulwark began to panic and everything Hikari had warned of began to make sense…

…until Bulwark decided not to be a victim of the future and attempted to fight the Iron Curtain. Realizing he needed his strength, Christmas decided to put her trust in Bulwark and changed back, allowing Bulwark to defeat the Iron Curtain.

Meanwhile, Lodestone and Loess sat in a booth at Denny’s, catching a quick meal as they attempted to flee their peers. It wasn’t long before the other Vindicators (Nock, Ark, Brimstone and Portal) appeared and announced their determination to apprehend Lodestone for the assassination of Amy Bedford. A battle ensued with Loess using her powers to blind the heroes and buy their escape.

Back at the headquarters for the Church of Genetic Purity, Fluke stumbled into the lower chambers and found the negative side of Lodestone imprisoned in a makeshift cell. Hearing company, he hid himself only to watch Forrest Bedford and Johnny Vance come to check in on their captive. “In order to fulfill the Lord’s work, you will need to go to Buffalo now. There you will find him. You know what to do… I will take care of things here.” Through magic, Johnny Vance opened a portal and Forrest Bedford walked through… ready to meet his destiny.

Fluke followed through and watched as Forrest Bedford appeared before Lodestone and Loess. The heroes engaged him in battle, with Bedford using Atlas’ powers to simply deflect the pair’s ranged attacks- directing them at Loess. Realizing what he was doing, Lodestone ceased his assault and attempted other strategies- to no avail. Finding the battle futile, Lodestone gave the command to retreat… only to watch in horror as Forrest Bedford used Atlas’ powers to end Loess’ life.

It was then that Chienne Bedford appeared, revealing her powers to her father and apologizing to Lodestone for all she had done to him. Together, the two fought the man and ultimately, Magnus claimed the man’s life…

The night was full of appearances though and soon, Doctor Jacob Pritchard stepped out of the shadows. Giving Lodestone the choice of whether Chienne would live or die, the psychiatrist grudgingly opted to teleport her away, giving the pair time to talk.

Doctor Pritchard reminded Lodestone of the evangelist Emmanuel Nikolaos. “His powers go beyond healing, Magnus… The evangelist has the power to raise the dead. Trouble is, he refuses to do so. Now my son… his powers are similar to those once wielded by Drew Jenkins.” Doctor Pritchard made him an offer then: help raise Atlantis and return Apocatastasis to this world and Loess would be returned to the living- as well as Magnus’ father, grandfather, and even Drew Jenkins.

Wanting only to embrace those he loved once more, Lodestone agreed to join Doctor Pritchard… and revive Apocatastasis…

With the anniversary of the White War nearing, presidential hopeful Amy Bedford conducted a rally to preach her message of world without Neo-Sapiens to her zealous constituency. It was then that she was shot; blood sprayed from her chest and chaos erupted in the stadium. Cameron Kirk, ever ready, turned his camera man around to catch the image of a blue-headed Lodestone, casually leaving the scene of the assassination.

In Turtle Bay, at the headquarters for the Vindicators, Maria Espada watched the live feed with a terrified expression. She rose up and headed for her boyfriend’s room, only to find his positive side asleep in bed…

The scene shifted to that morning, the day after Patrick Goodman was laid to rest in the memorial gardens on campus. Many students have left the school to join Hikari’s group, leaving few behind. Even some of the teaching staff have left the school; Fathom and Frostbite both defected to Hikari’s side. With Hourglass in mourning and Jetstream terminated, the newly appointed headmaster (Doctor James Howell) began seeking out a new instructor for the New Vindicators squadron. Securing Michuru Bradshaw’s return to the school, Doctor Howell took a chance and placed Chienne Bedford in charge of teaching the New Vindicators.

Given charge over Boson, the Damned, Fluke, Gabriel, Kitten, Orbit, Savant and Stockholm, Chienne commanded them to suit up and meet in the Wreck Room for a training exercise. The perimeters of the test were simple: last man standing wins. The Damned skipped such a test, pestering Portal instead. Still, he managed to have an effect on the exercise by having Portal override the holograms through the armor’s datalink abilities.

Ultimately, Boson triumphed over all the others, though Fluke had made it to the very end. It was then that Chienne told them the test had been to determine which of them would make for the best leaders and gave the reigns of command to the pair.

Meanwhile, Bulwark, still devastated by Hikari’s ominous prophesies, left the school in hopes that he could change his destiny and avoid being the first to die. Unbeknownst to him, his departure had upset Christmas Clark, causing her to ask the Iron Curtain and Jessica Martin to leave the school with her in an effort to find Bulwark and convince him to return and fight the future alongside her.

Bulwark ended up at a roadhouse where he met Chelsea Burk, a girl on the run from her own looming future. She told him of the fate the black eyed children told her of and showed Bulwark her radiation powers. Still, all Bulwark could see was the resemblance to Oscillator. Not understanding the mechanics of the gestalt, Bulwark delved into solipsism syndrome, perceiving that he had somehow been pulled into the comatose Oscillator’s dream (given that he doesn’t sleep, thus it could not be his dream).

Together, the two left the roadhouse to try and find clues on where to go next…

Meanwhile, Hikari gathered his forces and proceeded to tell them his intentions for their training. Given that Hikari had fought alongside Chronos Aeon and Firn, he believed himself capable of training Frostbite and Suicide King in their temporally-founded powers. Meanwhile, Renewal revealed herself able to touch Wilt without suffering the negative effect his powers have and Dipole learned he was capable of using his powers to amplify Bluetooth’s range.

It all culminated when Portal found a wounded Forrest Bedford approaching the school. The armored warrior easily dealt with the human, despite the bigot’s unusual aptitude for martial arts. Still, the intruder insisted on speaking with Patrick Goodman and actually appeared sorrowful to learn of his death. Still, Forrest begged to be shown to the headmaster and was delivered to Doctor Howell’s office as the news broke on Senator Bedford’s assassination…

It was then that Forrest Bedford introduced himself as Silvia Jorgenson- the former Vindicator known as Xianbei and as the second Chimera. “I thought I could destroy the Church of Genetic Purity from inside by mind swapping with Bedford,” the chimera admitted sorrowfully. “I was so arrogant and foolish… I handed Forrest Bedford the morphing abilities of my husband and the power of Atlas.”

And then Silverback understood: with the power to look like anyone and utilize Atlas’ powers, Forrest Bedford could easily pose as Lodestone and set his wife up as a martyr…