#Lore24 Weekly Post (5/52) - TEMPEST03, prologue for the Storm Corps
TEMPEST03 - A Prologue
The faulty infrastructure of megablock 02CHURCHES is stressed to its limits by the onslaught of the storm TEMPEST03, and an electrical fire breaks out. Sunflash and Cienfuegos, longtime friends and residents of 02CHURCHES, jump into action and evacuate their family and friends from the building as the fire starts to spread. They return to the building to try and rescue residents from the upper levels, as the fire gets worse.
Sunflash is electrified as he accidentally touches exposed wiring as he tries to open up an apartment door--after losing consciousness for a split second, Sunflash notices that he is able to resist the voltage that shook his body. As he continues to assist with evacuating residents, he notices that he is not only able to resist electricity but is able to manipulate it as well, which saves his life and the life of other residents numerous times.
Cienfuegos is engulfed in flames and in a determined effort tries to make his final efforts worthwhile--only to realize that the fire is not burning him. As he continues to evacuate residents of the megablock with Sunflash, he notices that he is also able to manipulate fire in a similar manner to Sunflash.
Cigarette, infamous narco-ganger that lived with many of the other gangers at the top of megablock 02CHURCHES, is set out to transform himself or die trying via an obscene amount of narcotics on the roof of the building--during the peak of the storm. Dazed and confused, Cigarette runs into Biblios in a stoned haze, believing Biblios to be an otherworldly being.
Biblios spent the previous 24 hours wide awake, trying to discern a troubling session of divination that they carried out weeks before. Her intuition pointed towards 02CHURCHES, which did not make her initial divinations of a drug addict overdosing any more coherent. Troubling, more so, that these visions were connected to the future of Biblios herself -- part of her was troubled that it would be a test of her character.
Biblios disturbs Cigarette mid-binge, when she rushes out to the roof area of the megablock. Cigarette mistakes her for an otherworldly being sent to judge him for his hubris--she thought he was a man dealing with either an overdose of narcotics, or going into psychosis, or both. The two face off briefly before Biblios is able to calm and reassure Cigarette of himself--then they are interrupted by the fire alarms notifying them of the fire breaking out in the building.
Biblios and Cigarette were initially set on simply escaping from the building, but that night had other plans for them. The two find themselves saving each other's lives as they descended from the upper levels, and even found themselves assisting some of the residents down to the lower levels as well. Cigarette's narco-magick allowed him to endure the choking smoke and dangerous debris that littered the megablock, while Biblios' powers allowed her to make eerily informed and intuitive decisions during their evacuation efforts.
While both duos are rescuing and evacuating residents, they bump into each other pair various times--sometimes saving the other pair from danger, or vice-versa. It wasn't until they are bruised, exhausted, and running on the fumes of adrenaline that they more formally acknowledge each other.
After they debriefed one another and vented about the numerous near-death experiences they narrowly escaped, the pairs went on their separate ways. Both duos sought out rest for the remainder of the storm--which they did not find for another week. With their newfound abilities, they spent the following day assisting with more evacuations and rescue operations--and the days afterwards were spent assisting first responders with rescue operations and storm clean up.
As the aftermath of TEMPEST03 unfolded, the two pairs—Sunflash and Cienfuegos, along with Cigarette and Biblios—found themselves repeatedly crossing paths during their tireless efforts to assist in rescue operations and storm cleanup. As they recounted their experiences and shared stories of near-death encounters during the course of rescue and clean up operations, the four individuals began to realize the profound impact they had on each other's missions. The numerous "miracles" they attributed to chance were, in fact, a result of the collaborative efforts between the two pairs.
It was during a pivotal moment in the wake of the storm-related crisis that they officially formalized their alliance. The four heroes found themselves facing a particularly daunting rescue, one that required the combined use of their paracausal abilities. Sunflash's control over electricity, Cienfuegos' mastery of fire, Cigarette's unique powers, and Biblios' divination skills all played a crucial role in averting disaster.
In the aftermath of their successful collaboration, battered but resolute, the heroes gathered in a makeshift headquarters. Amid the debris and remnants of their trials, they recognized the necessity of working together. Acknowledging the strength that arose from their differences and the synergy of their abilities, they decided to formalize their group during this first period of true rest after TEMPEST03.
The name "Storm Corps" emerged organically from the chaos they had weathered together. It symbolized their resilience in the face of the storm and their commitment to protecting Sunset City from the ongoing threats that loomed. With a shared purpose and a newfound understanding of each other's strengths, the Storm Corps was born.