CANIS CANEM EDIT.

( tw: murder, death, experimentation )

in the dead of night, two supers face off: one, a hero, the other, someone who shouldn’t be super at all. the villain samael is known for his mechanical wings, sleek inventions designed by his own hand. technology made up for where he thought he lacked, and the hero is used to this—the glint of metal shining in the sky, the sheen of a high-tech dagger—but they aren’t prepared for his sudden indestructibility. 

it’s as if his skin has hardened to diamond. it’s as if he has superpowers. as they come blow to blow, the hero is forced to surrender, the unfamiliarity of samael’s new powers combined with a frenzied viciousness leaving them scrambling. nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. as he stabs the hero through the heart on the skyscraper rooftop, he leans in to whisper, now i’m just like you.

IN CAUDA VENENUM.

REPORTING LIVE FROM DELTA BOULEVARD: with a recent spike in crime throughout novus, our favorite heroes have their work cut out for them. how will they rise to the task of fighting these new villains, some with powers we’ve never seen before? 

the surge in superpowered villainy makes headlines, but articles fail to report one key detail: these new supers aren’t born, but made. a counterfeit serum has been making rounds through novus’ underbelly, whispers of its existence reaching crux. distributed by nero and created by trix, it promises everything that kronos did: anyone can be super. 

based on the original serum after trix had received it from corrupt company employees they’d been working with, it bestows powers that are stronger, faster, better, but at the cost of higher instability than its counterpart—and possibly even death. these staggering consequences are kept a secret from nero’s followers, the city’s kingpin vowing the rumours of what happened to the twins won’t happen to them.

the nsa has its eyes on it, too, launching investigations into the fake serum while making covert efforts to acquire the original version. behind closed doors, minds are split; some decry its existence while others can’t wait to get their hands on it. one officer beckons to think of the potential—kronos may be able to make supers, but the nsa knows how to make them heroes.