A Brief History Of Time

- Aristotle Licuan born.

- Gallagher Stone hears the call of duty and enlists, leaving everything he ever had in the world behind to become one of the millions of American Soldiers to support the Central Powers.

19th December - Morrison Stone is born to Olivia Stone while Gallagher Stone is gone. He never recieves word of the birth of his son.

- Himmler purchases the castle of Wewelsburg in Westphalia and begins rebuilding the ruins to their former glory.

- Morrison is taken from his mother by the mysterious organization known as 'The Trio' and is instituionalized at the Warren Field Mental Hosipital.

- Henry Burke III becomes Millennium Man.

- The first of an eventual armada of Millennium Men arrives in deep space from Earth #1.

1st September - Hitler invades Poland, thus sparking World War II.

- In England, Charlie Winters, Frederic Shostakovich, Shirley Chambers and her younger brother Johnny become the Fightin' Fist Four.

- FireKing and Chastity II are also active during this time.

- Guillermo del Nostromo born to Salvatore and Eugenia in Sicily.

April - Millennium Man, FireKing, the Night and others work together to combat operatives of the Nazi organization, the Fifth Column ("Artifice Comics Prelude").

- Charlie Winters and Shirley Chambers marry.

- Both Cliff Jerrod and his alter-ego, Olympus fade from public view.

12th October - Michael Manly born to Frank and Rebecca Manly.

- Johann Weisz born.

3rd September - Jeffery Scott Carter, born in Baltimore, Maryland to Michael and Elizabeth Carter.

- Cliff Jerrod emerges once more, barrelling onto the world political scene.

- Trevor Mason (age 16) accompanies Victoria Burke (age 14) to a school dance. During the course of the evening Trevor rapes Victoria.

October - In London, Sparkfly tells Magenta that he has chosen a young boy to be his successor ("Mysteria: "Frozen In Heaven").

- Lin Tsang Hsia born.

- Cliff Jerrod arrives in Pacific City.

- The New Mages of Earth #746364 arrive on Braeburn.

- Prentice reappears once more, this time in search of a mysterious crystal ("Prentice: Act" #1).

- Romanov/a is released from Screwtape Downs and enters into service for the British government.

27th October - Raven is driven from the city and confronted by Millennium Man. During the struggle the Faustian Four unleash their armada of mecha against Pacific City in their first stage of their plan to prepare for the coming of the Bowler. Millennium Man defeats the machines but not before Winters detonates the Ebola bomb that will eventually kill Henry Burke less than half a year later. Half of Pacific City's harbour is destroyed in the process. Joseph Liebowitz dies. The confrontation is viewed by Doctor Creep and Magenta the Magician (via astral projection) ("Mysteria: "Frozen In Heaven").

31st December - The Spyder strikes back against the Red Jester narcotics syndicate in Harbour City, exterminating their entire operation. As a final act of mercy he spares the life of his former mentor. Later, upon returning to the home of his ex-wife he finds her body viciously mutilated and scarred. Standing across the rooftops is the one who had trusted and believed in, the man who's life he spared. Driven by rage, the Spyder chases him across the rooftop and puts four bullets in the killer. He waits for the Grim Knight to die, then checks his pulse to confirm the death. He then proceeds to beat the body beyond all recognition with his bare hands before dragging the body to the edge of the building and throwing it down into an alley to rot ("The Spyder: Tangled Web" #5).

January - The Vapour empties the Gallery of Antiquities of its precious stone collection and attempts to insulate the stones within his own body in order to take them out of the country and resell them on the black market. He is apprehended by Pacific City police officers and confined to Alhazred Asylum.

February - Cliff Jerrod, the former Historic Era hero known as Olympus, is elected as mayor of Pacific City, having been a citizen of Australia for the past ten years.

March - Henry Burke III dies of a rare disease. Michael Manly becomes the next Millennium Man, unaware of his predecessor ("Artifice Comics Prelude").

- During the summer, Henry Burke's daughter, Victoria attends a charity event where Albert Weisz is posing as a stage magician. Through manipulation and hypnosis, he grants her temporary powers of invisibility which she uses to become the superheroine, Mysteria ("Mysteria: Year One").

- In the city of Lorrington, Victoria Stroh is caught in the explosion of a routine particle accelerator experiment. This twist of fate gives her the gift of super-speed and leads her to a career as the minor supervillain, Cheetah ("Artifice Comics Prelude").

April - Raven re-emerges in Cuba, this time known as Demerite, having been resurrected by Prentice, her mind ruined from the crystal she obtained several years previously.

May - Demerite and Prentice return to America in order to find Cadduceus and persuade him to heal Liebowitz's horrifically disfigured face. They never find him.

October - Mysteria helps restore a mysterious diamond stolen by Denise Delgado's father to its rightful owners, the Mantai tribe ("Mysteria: The Delgado Diamond").

- Over the course of the month, Millennium Man encounters such lame supervillains as Eagle-Eye, Chimera, Gigantor-Man and War Monger, all of which are promptly dealt with and incarcerated in Alhazred. Hammerhand attacks Harbour City. The city government eventually calls in the military and the villain is apprehended and confined in ECPO.

18th October - William Taylor, better known as the English superhero Fast-Forward, arrives in Pacific City. It takes him half an hour to locate a cheap hotel and change into his costume. An hour after that he half-heartedly tries to rob the Second Pacific Bank and Trust in the hope that he will be apprehended. Within two minutes of declaring his intentions Millennium Man arrives. Thankfully, Fast-Forward allows himself to be beaten and carted off to Alhazred Asylum, smiling all the way.

December - Millennium Man is unknowingly assisted in preventing supervillain Lord Omega from robbing Pacific City First Bank by an invisible Victoria Burke ("Mysteria: A Brief Stop At The Bank"). Lord Omega is detained within Alhazred Asylum.

- Whilst responding to a call in the Valley from a bio-research firm, Detective CJ Dawkins is contaminated by an unidentified symbiote

February - Millennium Man encounters ShadowWraith. During their struggle, ShadowWraith deals him a severe blow to the head ("Millennium Man: Enter ShadowWraith"), causing such damage that almost results in his death several months later. ShadowWraith is imprisoned in Alhazred Asylum.

- Whilst in London, Victoria Burke also encounters the enigmatic Erlend Romanov and Anna Romanova ("Mysteria: Duality/Identity").

- Ratings for 'The Manly Side' begin to decline and Victoria Burke becomes temporary acting president of KGPC (the channel being owned by her late father).

- Millennium Man encounters a strange species of goblin like creatures atop the Gallery of Antiquities building ("Millennium Man: Late Night Out") and also confronts Cheetah for the first time ("Millennium Man: The Need For Speed"). She is incarcerated in Alhazred Asylum.

- Jian Li Fong debuts as the Silver Shadow ("Artifice Comics Prelude").

March - The Imperial Magistrate's emissary, the Bowler arrives and murders Bruce Todd, under the impression that he is Millennium Man. The real Millennium Man is later defeated by the Bowler, who dies before he can deliver the killing blow.

- Erlend Romanov and Anna Romanova arrive in Pacific City ("Millennium Man: All Dressed Up").

- The Silver Shadow thwarts the plans of a mysterious woman in her attempts to steal a scarab from the Gallery of Antiquities ("Silver Shadow" #2).

April - Jian Li Fong meets Emma Randolph ("Silver Shadow" #3).

- PCN's 'Not Tonight, Darling', presented by Regina Darling, knocks 'The Manly Side' from its number one slot.

- Albert Weisz confronts Victoria Burke once more but this time gives her the scarab he once used in order to stabilize her powers ("Mysteria: Born Entertainer").

- The Imperial Magistrate arrives, killing Frederic Shostakovich and Johnny Chambers as she pits Majestic Man against Millennium Man ("Millennium Man & Mysteria: Shemhamphorae").

- The Silver Shadow confronts the mysterious Emma Randolph amongst the wreckage of Pacific City ("Silver Shadow" #4).

- During the Magistrate's attack on the city, Michael and Elizabeth Carter are killed when their apartment building is destroyed. Jeffrey Carter mysteriously survives.

- Mysteria uses the scarab for the first time to 'ascend' and drives back the forces of the Imperial Magistrate. Millennium Man and Mysteria meet for the first time ("Millennium Man & Mysteria: Shemhamphorae").

Demeter Cadduceus learns of the presence of her sister, Lilith, in Pacific City ("Humanity" #1).

May - Millennium Man and Silver Shadow meet for the first time ("Silver Shadow" #5).

- 'The Manly Side' is cancelled, Jim Finnegan and Tracy Newman are reassigned to a new youth magazine show ("Millennium Man" #1).

June - Victoria Burke persuades Cindy Marignolls, the Mockingbird of the Pacific City stage and close friend of her late father, to return once more to the stage which made her famous ("Humanity" #2).

- Transformed by the elder gods that first granted him his powers, ShadowWraith makes good his escape from Alhazred Asylum eventually confronting Millennium Man in downtown Pacific City. After a severe beating, Millennium Man is saved by Charlie Winters and a magical arrow stolen from the Galactic Stranger.

- Dressed as Millennium Man, Jim Finnegan takes Regina Darling and several others from her apartment building hostage. Millennium Man himself, after being cured of the wounds ShadowWraith inflicted by Lilith Cadduceus, confronts Finnegan and, during the skirmish, accidentally kills him ("Millennium Man" #2 - 5).

- Millennium Man disappears from Pacific City's skies.

July - In Millennium Man's absence, the Pacific City Special Situation Division are forced to deal with the supervillain Combust ("Millennium Man: Forsaken").

- Michael Manly begins working at McDonald's.

- CJ Dawkins debuts as Marshal ("Marshal: Confession").

- Jian Li Fong is abducted by some old acquaintances from Hong Kong ("Silver Shadow" #6 - 7).

- The Veil appears in Windfall City in America and confronts Kid Rocket ("The Mysterious Veil: Veil").

- Regina Darling confronts Michael Manly about his past whilst the Silver Shadow, after having his ankle broken by Charlie and Shirley Winters during a raid on a police technology pound, learns that Michael Manly is Millennium Man ("Millennium Man" #6).

- Victoria Burke discovers the Winters' continued presence in Pacific City and vows to kill them for what they did to her father ("Mysteria: Little Earthquakes").

10th July - Bush43 appears in Pacific City, preventing the mugging of a young couple in Bristol Park.

August - Bush43 foils the plans of a potential supervillain named Staticy (born: Simon Cooper) who is later apprehended and imprisoned in Alhazred Asylum ("Bush43" #1).

- Charlie and Shirley Winters flee to Lorrington and Harbour City.

- The Silver Shadow first encounters Roger Greene, who has been trailing him since his son was rescued by the Shadow during the museum heist in March. Greene, out of gratitude, offers to create a range of devices and weaponry for the Shadow ("Silver Shadow" #8).

- The Pacific City Tower is destroyed, causing significant damage to downtown Pacific City and innumerable casualties. Amongst them is Nicki, a trainee employee at McDonald's ("Millennium Man" #7).

September - Burke Fashions files for bankruptcy.

After being rescued from a potential mugging and gang-rape, Scott Bradshure becomes obsessed with discovering who the Silver Shadow really is ("Humanity" #3).

- Charlie Winters encounters Aristotle Licuan, who orders him to return to Pacific City. ("Mysteria: Silent All These Years")

- Johann Weisz arrives in Pacific City ("Johann Weisz: Magenta: Arcana Noir").

- On behalf of their employer and as part of a trap, Happy and Sad commission Bush43 to find Mysteria ("Bush43" #2).

- Inbetween fighting a legion of second rate supervillains, Bush43 encounters Dick Cheney, a fanboy in a mask, determined to act as his sidekick ("Bush43" #3).

- Mysteria attacks Michael Manly, demanding to know where Charlie and Shirley Winters are hiding. Manly denies all knowledge. After a short struggle in which Manly is knocked unconscious, the former Millennium Man heads out (sans costume) to find the two of them and protect them from Mysteria's wrath but instead is drawn into a struggle with a duo named Prentice and Demerite. Shortly before all but killing Manly, Demerite reveals that he was responsible for the destruction of the Pacific City Tower. After he leaves Manly for dead, the ex-superhero is rescued by Aristotle Licuan ("Millennium Man" #8).

- Whilst attempting to apprehend Teapot, an escaped 'villain', Bush43 crosses paths with the Silver Shadow ("Bush43" #4).

- Mysteria confronts Charlie and Shirley Winters and kills Shirley in cold blood. A beaten Charlie Winters is rescued by the unexpected appearance of the Silver Shadow ("Mysteria: Precious Things").

- Michael Manly is resurrected by Aristotle. Together with Aristotle and Winters, he visits Burke Mansion where, after a brief confrontation with Alfonse and Victoria, he obtains one of Henry Burke III's old Millennium Man costumes.

- Jian Li Fong asks Charlie Ling to take Manly on as his student and, as the Silver Shadow, faces off against Emma Randolph shortly before leaving for Hong Kong ("Silver Shadow #9").

- Thomas Lansing and his team run the first trials of the new Siege Engine unit ("Lansing: Words").

- The Siege Engine is demonstrated to Mayor Cliff Jerrod, Commissioner Jordan and staff in the apprehension of Bush43 ("Lansing: Actions").

- During the Siege Engine demonstration, Simon Cooper (having been released from Alhazred and in a state of house arrest) attempts to renew his villainous career, this time taking on the guise of Al Gore. He fails. Bush43 is apprehended by the Siege Engine and incarcerated in Alhazred Asylum ("Bush43" #5).

- Demerite kills Jeremy Carpenter and his mother and also murders Manly's own father. Manly kills both Demerite and Prentice ("Millennium Man #9").

October - Seeking revenge on his former Traid masters, Jian Li Fong takes to the streets of Hong Kong, brutally crushing all opposition in his path and leaving a trail of corpses and broken bodies that leads back to Pei Wang, a fellow student from Jian's youth. The two students last saw each in a nearly forgotten Shinto temple in Japan. Jian was searching for yet another teacher, and he met Wang doing the same. They travelled together, and upon reaching the rural temple, they found it empty. Wang proceeded to loot the temple, and Jian stopped him. They fought, and Jian left Wang behind, bloodied with a broken back. Upon revealing his identity, Han, from his sniper's position shoots Jian Li Fong in his chest and side and the former Silver Shadow is left for dead. When Jian awakes many days later he finds himself in the care of Kwai Shen, the Hong Kong recluse who earlier removed a slug from his shoulder, the Shaolin monk named Fei Tzu and Zhing Ra-Ming. For the next month or so Jian trains and learns with the assistance of his new teachers ("Silver Shadow" #10 - 13).

- Lilith Cadduceus finds herself in Tokyo dealing with a shape-shifting US government agent and a young art student ("Humanity" #4).

- Demeter Cadduceus heals some of the pain inside Michael Manly's mind when she is summoned to an abnormal hostage situation in McDonald's on 8th and Vilar Avenue ("Humanity" #5).

- After several exhaustive interviews, Doctor William Tage finally uncovers the truth behind why Jeffery Carter, best known as Bush43, chose to become a superhero ("Bush43" #6).

- Thomas Lansing hits the talk show circuit to introduce Pacific City to the Siege Engine. The Special Powers Task Force is handed backup orders as they're effectively replaced by the Siege Engine. Millennium Man's popularity hits an all time low. Alfonse begins visiting Bush43 in Alhazred ("Pacific City: Under Siege").

- Charlie Winters is confronted by Sir Edwin Calohan-Smythe, an agent of the British government acting as ambassador to Australia. The Siege Engine defeats Charlie Winters and, in the reconstructed helicar, Calohan-Smythe takes the former superhero's battered body back to Britain with him. Mayor Jerrod meets with Venus Mantrap and the Vapour and they are granted their freedom, providing they assit the city in capturing Millennium Man. Siefret persuades Lansing to withdraw the Siege Engine from his confrontation with Millennium Man and later, Mayor Jerrod dismisses Lansing of his position having recently persuaded Victoria Burke's company to buy out Lansing Technologies. Persuading him that his brother might just be Millennium Man, Julia Squire sends Jonathan Manly to the absent hero's downtown apartment where he is viciously murdered by the Vapour (also on the prowl for Millennium Man). Meanwhile, Millennium Man himself, having defeated the Siege Engine, is forced to face Venus Mantrap without the assistance of Aristotle (due to her inauguration as a guardian of the city). Venus defeats Manly and he is apprehended and quickly incarcerated in Alhazred Asylum where non-consensual electro convulsive therapy is administered in order to nullify his powers. ("Millennium Man #10 - 12").

29th October - Shortly after seeing footage on television of a man claiming to be 'Raymundo Zuleta', Daniel Stockholm escapes custody and becomes the Spyder once more ("The Spyder: Tangled Web" #1 - 3).

31st October - The Spyder leaks a videotape to the media depicting respected Harbour City politican and supporter of mayoral candidate 'Raymundo Zuleta', Samuel Swenton snorting a large quantity of what appears to be cocaine from the body of an unidentified female. During a press conference, the Spyder, posing as one of 'Zueleta's bodyguards, makes an attempt on his life. 'Zuelta' escapes as Mitchell Rockwell attacks the Spyder and discovers his true identity. Escaping from the conference, the Spyder makes his way back to the place where he originally confronted 'Zuelta' after the death of his wife and finally puts the past to rest. ("The Spyder: Tangled Web" #4 - 5).

November - 'Raymundo Zuelta's funeral brings almost all of Harbour City to a grinding halt. Amie Page is interviewed on 'Not Tonight, Darling...' in regards to her encounter with the Spyder whilst the dangerous vigilante himself visits both Mitchell Rockwell and Ron Middleton as both men desperately search for answers to the enigmatic question his presence poses ("The Spyder: Ghosts In The Graveyard").

- Victoria Burke is confronted by Jack Crowley about her father and is attacked by rogue anti-terrorist unit, the Flock. With Crowley's unexpected assistance, Mysteria manages to overcome the Flock but fails to uncover who they are working for ("Mysteria" #1 - 4).

- Crowley goads Victoria into having dinner with him at Reste's in order to try and force her into exploring her powers further ("Jack Crowley: Naked And Alive").

- In search of a mysterious box containing several mystical statuettes, Tex Arkana and Bryce torture curio-shop owner, Alessandro Foster before discovering the box in the possession of Sheila Torrance and her younger cousin, Mikey Spenser. After a brief chase, both Sheila and Mikey manage to escape back to their homes. Later, Mikey, curious as to what's inside the box, opens it up and reveals the form of the Emerald Dragon and the wounded Stone Golem. The tiny Emerald attacks, driving Mikey away before searching for food and a place to hide her damaged companion. As she searches, Arkana and Bryce reappear, taking Mikey and his mother hostage and demanding that Sheila met them and hand over the box. Sensing the presence of another talisman, Emerald, now fed and somewhat larger swoops down and launches into combat with Fenrir, a talisman given to Arkana in order to protect him. Emerald eventually kills Fenrir in a tussle in the Hillcrest Shopping Centre car park and Bryce and Arkana retreat leaving Sheila in possession of the box and its mysterious statuettes ("Talisman: Sweet Dreams" - "Seeing Things").

- Returning to Hong Kong with a greater understanding of his own powers and identity, Jian Li Fong finishes his business with Pei Wang and Han, leaving them both dead ("Silver Shadow" #13).

December - 'Dick Cheney' finishes work on the Bush signal and, despite knowledge of Bush43's inability to respond, he turns it on none-the-less, a sign to the city of his faith in the superhero ("Bush43/Dick: Don't You Remember You Told Me You Loved Me, Baby? Baby Baby Baby Baby Oh Baby... ").

- During the Pacific City Christmas Parade, the Siege Engine attempts to apprehend Father Christmas for being an illegal costumed individual. Fortunately it fails ("Artifice Comics Christmas Special: Ho Ho Horrible Tragedy Forced Upon Christmas!").

- Charlie Ling travels to China to recruit Jian's replacement as the Silver Shadow whilst Johann Weisz is visited unexpectedly by Harbour City Detective Ron Middleton, who questions him about the possibilities of sorcerors raising the dead. Though Magenta does not fully realize it, Middleton is trying to piece together the Grim Knight's apparent return from the dead ("Artifice Comics: Year 2").

- Taking advantage of Alhazred riot, Kaine frees the newest incarnation of the Moment from Alhazard Asylum in the midst of the riot/prison break ("Humanity" #6).

- During the Alhazred chaos, a powerless Michael Manly hides out in the interview room where so many of his conversations with Tage occured and encounters Julia Squire, who breaks down and tells him of Jonathan Manly's death. Both in need of comfort, Julia initiates sexual intercourse. Meanwhile Alhazred's mysterious archictect returns and commands William Taylor (the former Fast-Forward) to find Manly and take him to safety. The Vapour, seeking revenge searches out Alfonse - who promptly kills him despite the presence of Aristotle ("Millennium Man" #13).

- Free from the clutches of the Asylum, Bush43 confronts Mayor Cliff Jerrod over his recent policies and gets beaten up. Then the Siege Engine shows up to beat Bush43 a bit more ("Bush43" #8).

- Before the Engine can dispose of Bush permanently, Erlend Romanov returns and destroys Alhazred. Revealing himself as the asylum's original architect, Romanov kills Venus Mantrap and Cliff Jerrod and also destroys the Siege Engine before assuming the position of mayor of Pacific City. Fast-Forward arrives with Manly and Squire and Romanov disposes of the former English hero also, in retribution for his previous betrayal ("Millennium Man" #13).

- After his monumentous beat down, Jeffery Carter stumbles by the apartment of his childhood friend, Isiah Rowe, and reveals his alter ego to him. Rowe reveals that he has powers of his own. During a night out to raise Carter's spirits, he and Rowe run into Teapot who Rowe knocks out and the two watch over for the night. After coming to and being nuts she disappears ("Bush43/Isiah Rowe: A Friend Indeed").

- Harbour City police begin to see a disturbing pattern as they discover corpses of criminals horribly mutilated and drained of blood. These murders soon come to be called 'Drainers'. CSI Maggie Pierce joins the police department after transferring from Melbourne, and reporter John Norrington joins the Harbour City Tribune ("The Spyder: Nostromo" #1).

- Jeffery Carter returns to patrol as Bush43 for the first time since getting out of Alhazred and runs into Al and Ike, identical twins who are weird. Mysteria shows up and pummels one almost to death, but Bush43 intervenes. Mysteria attacks Bush43 who knocks her out and takes her home. Victoria Burke comes to in Burke Manor and tells Carter to leave, but her butler, Alfonse, insists that he stays. Carter stays. Alfonse begins training Jeffery Carter. After a fight with Putty leaves Bush43 covered in poop, Alfonse proceeds to rinse Carter off with a garden hose when Anna Romanova shows up ("Bush43" #9 - 10).

- Romanov/a gathers Mysteria, Michael Manly, Bush43, Johann Weisz and Lin Tsang Hsia (with her mentor, Charlie Ling) in her office and officially founds the New Mages, informing them of the New Mages of Earth #746364 and their desperate ploy to escape Braeburn ("New Mages" #2).

February - 'Occult Specialist' supers investigator Guillermo del Nostromo is contracted by Harbour City authorities from the Italian Secret Service to spearhead the Drainer investigation, in which the Spyder is the prime suspect. Ron Middleton and Amie Paige begin to develop feelings for Maggie Pierce and John Norrington respectively, even as both engage in suspicious behavior. Nostromo destroys information which the Spyder was attempting to send to Middleton. Nostromo then tracks down and beats the decreasingly sane vigilante in an attempt to frame the Spyder for the Drainer murders, revealing himself as a vampire. Their fight is interrupted by the real Drainer, a human possessed by a shape-changing demonic parasite of mysterious origins. Before Nostromo can separate the two mystically, the Spyder shoots the host. The parasite then goes insane, decapitating Nostromo and knocking the Spyder off the rooftop, before disappearing into the shadows. The host is discovered to be Perry Parsen, and both Paige and Middleton are emotionally wrecked by the outcome of the case, while the Spyder just barely survives, knowing his apprehension is now all but inevitable. ("The Spyder: Nostromo" #1 - 3).

- Mysteria is contacted by the four Mages of America (Doctor Creep, Deadman Smith, the Lady of Knives, and Termin), who tell her stories about the history of Albert Weisz ("Mysteria: Frozen In Heaven").

- Bush43 confronts Typhoid Mary in a fight where he almost kills her ("Bush43" #11).

- In one of his more eventful evenings, Bush43 defeats a man named Screech, loses a "Dance Dance Revolution!" tournament, is tossed through some portal, confronts some nut job who talks about babysitting and retconning, gets beaten up by children in costumes representative of Pacific City's heroes after taunting the monkeys at the zoo, is denied service at a fast food joint, is adored by that which his feet treads upon, is attacked by a man controling monkeys who throw poop shurikens, and then goes to bed ("Bush43" #12).

- Staticy, Boombastic and Zoom Zoom rob the Gallery of Antiquities in the hope of luring Bush43 out and defeating him. Instead they find themselves confronted by Mysteria who makes very short work of her uninvited lodger's foes. Meanwhile the sinister Emma Randolph watches the fight with great interest ("Mysteria: Dark Saviour").

- Bush43 finally follows the Bush Signal and runs into Dick Cheney and a suped up Staticy (compliments of Happy and Sad). After a brief fight with Staticy, Bush43 destroys the Bush Signal and leaves Cheney alone on his rooftop ("Bush43" #13).

- The New Mages of Earth #746364 escape from Braeburn and are transported to Moonbase Churchill where they are confronted by Romanov/a's own Mages. A colossal battle begins in which the first casualty is the Galactic Stranger at Romanov/a's hands. Ordering Mysteria to transform, the superheroine ascends into her Yehovah Vehayah persona only to discover that Tanya Clandestine has similar powers - and a similar scarab. Whilst Clandestine and Yehovah wage war against one another, Romanov/a uses the fallen Cybernetic-Man (who was badly wounded by fellow team member Eldritch prior to their departure from Braeburn) to send Manly and Weisz back across space to the world from which the alternate Mages have escaped from. Whilst on Braeburn they encounter the ancient being known as Ura God who the history of the Millennium Man armada building up in deep space. Ura God also explains to Weisz that the scarab Victoria Burke was originally from the same Earth as the first Millennium Man in the armada and thus there is a third scarab in existence on the planet. Drawing his powers from the planet itself, Manly returns to Moonbase Churchill whilst Weisz heads to Earth. Meanwhile, Yehovah Vehayah is defeated by Raguel, the spirit of Clandestine's scarab. Victoria manages to assert her own powers over Vehayah and destroys both Raguel and Clandestine, claiming the silver scarab and delivering it to Romanov/a. Together they leave the moonbase, abandoning the other members of the team. Bush43 tricks Eldritch into an escape capsule aimed at Pacific City in order to protect her before finally being attacked by Mikael, who has been driven insane by fear. Desperately Bush43 struggles to protect the fallen Lin Tsang Hsia but fails. Both are rescued by the abrupt return of Millennium Man who orders to both depart via the escape pods. Shortly after Moonbase Churchill is destroyed, Mikael burns up in Earth's atmosphere during a fight with Millennium Man ("New Mages" #1 - 4).

- Newton, an executive of the siginificant American company, Tuvoi Cosmetics dispatches his assistant, the charming Daniel Tan to a meeting with Victoria Burke in Pacific City in his place ("Victoria Burke: A Day In The Life...").

March - Crowley and Victoria once more dine at Reste's when their meal is interrupted by a walking hive of disease and sickness named Alan Hoylan, a former acquaintance of Crowley's who asked the magician to give him eternal life. Burke uses her invisibility to defeat Alan. Her confrontation, and subsequent victory, is watched closely by Romanova. Nursing his wounds, Alan renames himself Viral and prepares to strike back against Victoria Burke. Meanwhile Daggon arranges for two assassins to attempt to murder Victoria but they fail. Angela Ashwood finally gives birth. The child is a girl who the happy parents name Sara Marie Ashwood. After the failure of the last two assassins, a third warrior is sent - this one is dispatched by Alfonse with minimal effort. Meanwhile Layla Burke returns to Burke Manor for the first time in over twenty years ("Mysteria" #5 - 7).

- The mysterious pseudo-deity known only in mythology as the Lonely Stranger returns to Earth, arriving in Newcastle, England where he encounters a tired and familiar face in the shape of Geordie teenager Jennifer McLain ("Lonely Stranger: 0.").

Pacific City

"The colorfully garbed figure begins a patrol sequence, working his way out from downtown (the heart and central-most region of Pacific City) towards the harbor and docks, which line the eastern ridge of the city. From here, he makes his way south and west, roughly following the outer perimeter of the city."

"Jian leapt across the rooftops, not knowing where he was going, but sticking to the paths made by the energy beams that were tearing the city to pieces. He was headed East, towards the heart of the city, and subconsciously, towards the park where the idiot newscasters had said something was happening."

"Wind wasn't a factor, as it normally would be for a person sitting on the edge of the KGPC control tower on the hills overlooking Pacific City's eastern approaches. The massive telecommunications and microwave transmission tower had a flat observation deck, resembling a few massive plates stamped together. Below that deck were a few small control rooms, until the walls around them tapered into the tower itself. The big picture made the tower look like a styrofoam cup impaled on a pencil."

"Hearing the rumors in whispered tones spurred Bradshure to the obscure Korean-town sector of Pacific City. True, the locale was about the size of a postage stamp, taking up all of three buildings of the downtown metropolitan sprawl. None the less, Scott found himself nearing onto his prize, closer then ever before."

"At around 100 feet from ground level, the average nightly temperature in the city was 65 degrees during the summer months and 45-50 degrees in winter. The Paper District, however, was kept at a constant 75 during the winter and 80 and above during summer. A collection of tightly packed ghettos, the Paper District was strategically located miles away from the bright lights of the downtown area, but was merely a few blocks away from the factories that lined the city's southwest border. The Paper District belonged to the people who've never seen the ocean let alone life above the poverty line. They were the working class immigrants, the factory workers, the transients, and the homeless. The owners of the Paper District. Everything in the Paper District was covered by a thin layer of dark ash from the nearby smokestacks. It made the shadows blacker and the nights darker. Due to the pollution, the streets of the Paper District became the most consistent source of light during the hours after the sun went down. The kids of Carpenter Square have only heard of starry nights in bedtime stories."

"The Pacific Diner was an ideal place for a quick lunch. Or a late lunch, as the case may be. The restaurant with vintage decor and above average food had fast become a staple in downtown Harbour City since its grand opening in early 2001. It was a late addition by the franchise's Pacific City-based ownership to the reconstruction efforts following Hammerhand's Devil's Night free-for-all in 2000. Harbour City officials had raised skeptical eyebrows at the franchise's rather gutsy expansion, given the somewhat confrontational relationship between Pacific Citiers and Harbourers, as each city's respective inhabitants were known. Harbour City had always had sour feelings for its coastal neighbor because Pacific City infringed on Harbour's otherwise monopolistic control of waterway trade. Pacific City, the so-called 'crown jewel' of Australia, had always reciprocated those sour feelings, thumbing their noses at the decidedly 'dingier' city to the north. Despite this mutual distaste between the two metropolises, the diner had still proven more than lucrative."

"I grew up in Pacific City because I had to. Son of an American woman and an Australian man, she had met him here and opted to stay so they could be married. My mother held on to that damned American culture and fed me on it, took me stateside whenever she went back, but those were one month getaways at a time. I always came back to Pacific City.

It's not that it's a bad city. It's large enough and still growing at a fast enough clip that you can never really know everything about this place, it's always changing. Sometimes when it doesn't want to.

Caverns torn into the city months ago are refilled and built upon, new stores, new apartments, new offices, new blood to the city that has seen so much.

New blood. Christ, why does this city attract so many people?Okay, its size can be a curse as well. You're never alone in a city like Pacific City. Even in your apartment, in the dark, in the middle of an empty room, the paper thin walls do nothing to separate you from the other apartments, the world outside, the other people.

And with large numbers of people come those that are our 'betters'.

Heroes dance around the rooftops with the villain of the month, putting on a free dramatic show for the teeming masses of the city whose fate rests upon the outcome. No matter how many times this happens, day in and day out, the town never tires of these sights, these events. Not usually.

Sometimes it tires of the plot and throws in its own twist.

Like a trigger happy mayor or a fancy new robot.

A change in main characters, the old thread is forgotten, the old flavors switched for the new, the soap opera continues.

But you can never be rid of characters, no, you keep them in the wings for dramatic comebacks and resurrections and flamboyant, dramatic reentries into the tale that keeps being told.

Everything old is new again, the more things change...

And sometimes the saga becomes an audience participation number."

Cottered, like alot of places, is not the same kinda town you see on television. Cottered is the suburban sister of New South Wales' infamous Pacific City, and 'cause of this it gets alot of the backsplash of whatever hits PC. When that alien encounter happened, within a week, the population of Cottered grew by a quarter.

Every now and then this 'trend', as the local reporters call it, occurs when more and more strange things happen in the big city. The explosion of the tower at heart of the city, the appearance of that science hero hunting robot The Siege Engine, the explosion of the asylum, and those weirdoes that now rule Pacific City, have chased thousands into Cottered. And none of this even remotely has to do with why Paul and Sylvia are moving me out of this overcrowded city.

Well that's not really true.

Paul got tired of representing all these criminal cases for these losers that Champion and Magenta wouldn't have even sneezed at back in the golden days of heroing, and when Alhazard was blown up it released alot more of these criminals and they spread themselves out across Australia. The crappier ones stayed and were taken down by the Siege Engine, Mysteria, Venus Mantrap, or Vapour, and punished at the Mayoress' whim. Paul couldn't take all the violations of their rights by this new 'regime', as he likes to call it, and asked us if we wanted to move.

Pacific City; City in New South Wales, Australia. Population: 3,205,000 (1981). Neighbouring locations include Lorrington and Harbour City and also the small villages of Abbot-Wesley and Cottered. Often referred to as Australia's 'jewel city'. Industry mostly consists of engineering and the manufacture and produce of mass-produced goods as well as import and export via the city docks (though on a less significant scale than the aptly named Harbour City). There are also recording, broadcasting, television, film studios and publishing companies. Amongst the city's museums, the most prominent is the Gallery of Antiquities, which houses some of the rarest artefacts and art pieces currently on display in Australia. Originally a British penal colony founded in 1786 (then named Bristol), rapid development followed the discovery of gold in the surrounding area. Former landmarks include the Pacific City Tower, which in its day, rose up to 453 meters before being destroyed in a terrorist attack. It was renamed Pacific City in 1841.

Places to go and see in Pacific City:

Mega-Hits Records on 11th and Morton Avenue (10 blocks away from 11th and Carnival Street)

Reste's Restaurant

The Gallery of Antiquities

Blue Sands Resort

Hightown Hill

Pacific City First Bank (main branch, 2205 Main)

Bristol Park (Pacific City's central park, recently used as a landing spot for the Faustian Four's helicar)

Pacific Limits Studios

Lee Martial Arts Studios

KGPC Building

PCN Building

Goodbody Auction House

Pacific Bio Research Institute

Harrington Steel Building

West Avenue

Beacon Hill Lane

Walters and Fourth

RMM Farming Industries Offices

Angelino's Restaurant

Mantis and Matthew's Talent Agency

KGPC Control Tower

Idyld Films Studios

King Avenue

Bretonside

Morris' Pub (on 43rd and St. Mikes)

The Pacific Diner (on 34th and Easterly Street)

Second Pacific Bank and Trust

Pacific Times Building

The Paper District

Carpenter Square (Paper District)

Coral Ave. (Paper District)

Haight St. (Paper District)

The Walkway Run (Paper District)

Al's Magic

30th Street

St. Jude's Hospital

Main Street

McDonald's (on 8th and Vilar Avenue)

Bristol Avenue

Trinity Jewelers

Dusty Meadows (suburbs)

Hillcrest Shopping Center

McTaggert's