The Ragtag Theatre on Hitt Street in Columbia, MO has a rather unassuming exterior. It is painted darkly with a small window-front; the building used to be a pizza place, and a t-shirt shop before that. The owners of the Ragtag have done a lot of work to create a premier Independent theatre, and it's succeeded. And, they also sell beer, which may help their popularity.

Tonight, the perverbial red carpet has been unfurled, and it's perverbial only because the Ragtag doesn't have a red carpet. The small foyer has been given a good cleaning, and the doorman is gently but firmly turning away everyone who isn't a guest of Kara's.

An hour before the novas are due to arrive, the police are called to control the gathering crowd, who have caught wind of this. For some, this is their best chance to see a nova in their city, and they don't want to miss it. People are trying to sneak or bribe their way into the movie, with little luck. Because people are gawking through the glass, arrangements are made to serve the novas in the theatre rather than make them go to the foyer for refreshments. It's all going on Kara's tab anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

As people struggle outside, a small window is left open, in a room that no one is monitoring. The manager of the Ragtag isn't sure why he needed to leave his window open, but Ms. B'nath asked him to, so he did. A small black cat crawled in through that window, its body changing as soon as it leapt from the window. Kara landed on the floor, grinning. She never really got tired of that.

It looked as though everything was ready. Eagerly, she exited the room to see who was here already.

He arrived cloaked in black - black turtleneck sweater, black jacket, black slacks, black shoes and black socks. He stepped out of the night in the corner of the entry way with tenrdrils of shadow around him. He even wore sunglasses despite it being at night.

When asked who he was the gathering throng held their breath. The nova before them was not famous and they wanted to know who he was.

"Medianoche," he spoke and when he did so, he Spanish lilt was clearly audible. People began whispering to one another as the nova passed inside the glass.

Gillermo strode straight into the sanctity of the screening area. Believing he was the first to arrive, he stepped down the aisle and took himself a seat. He had one arm hooked behind his chair so he could turn and see who else entered.

Thayra had spent the day in Jefferson City, recharging herself and eating a lot of room service. She was nervous, terribly so, because this would be her first mass nova meeting. At least she hoped there would be a large group of novas present. She wanted to meet more of her own kind ever since ... Singapore.

She didn't want to think about Singapore now. She wanted to look forward to tonight. She transformed into her nova form and worked on getting her eufiber just right, including the thunderstorm-gray mask. She made the blue of the fabric just right for an evening sky. Yellow bolts raced down each arm to the white gloves.

At 6pm she snuck out of her room and crept down stairs to the back exit of the hotel. The easy of sneaking in and out was one of the reasons she had booked a room at this place. Aesira took off into the gathering dark and was off in a flash, winds racing around her.

An hour later, the Weather Goddess arrived in Columbia. She pulled up the Google Map from memory and glided toward her destination. Soon enough, she found it. The crowds were a dead give away as was the onlooker spotting her in the air and screaming.
"There's One!"

Aesira shook her head to dispel her fears. No one would know her here, she was sure. Now she glided up to the entrance. The Norse Nova stopped, turned to face the crowd and gave them a wave. People yelled to her and waved back. No one called her by name.

Once inside, Aesira went up to the star-struck attendant.
"Were do I go?" she asked in quiet voice. Talking to people was so ... hard.

The man who was more boy than man pointed to the main theater. Aesira nodded her thanks and walked in.

It took a tiny fortune to arrange, but Daniel certainly had it to spend. Not only was this going to be a nice diversion from New York, but it was a chance to meet Kara and some other novas. Daniel was dressed impecably, as was the norm for him.

The strech limo pulled up to the curb in front of the Ragtag Theater. The drive go out and scurried around to open the door. Ravenshire stepped out looking like a Presidential canidate. He waved and smiled to the people. Someone asked for his autograph and he deviated from his path to honor that request. He even shook a few hands, high-fived someone, and took a spontaneous kiss on the cheek.

Of course, most people were responding to what he was, instead of who he was, but Daniel could live with that. He knew he wasn't going to be super-popular overnight. Such was life.

Once inside, he waved off the attendant and went into the screening room. He smiled and nodded to the blonde nova and gave a respectful nod to the nova all in black. He didn't recognize either of them.

It took Hero nearly twenty hours of flying - he wasn't the fastest flyer, he got lost, and he did do it over three days. Still, he was looking good when he flew over the theater, barrel rolled, and landed at the entrance. People called out his name and the masked do-gooder waved back. A few people asked for autographs, but Hero was a bit tired.

"I've got to see a Lady about a Movie," he begged off and quick stepped it inside.

It didn't occur to Hero that Kara would buy out the WHOLE theatre, but then he wasn't familiar with the big money side of novadom either.
"Hey guy. Which room?" Hero asked.
"Uhuh... that one," pointed the attendant.
"Thanks and have a good evening."
The attendant wasn't sure if Hero was joking, or just that dense.

Once inside, Hero went up to each of the other novas and introduced his costumed self with a,
"Hey, I'm Hero. Who are you?"

Emerald appeared leaning up against the screen as if such a feat of teleportation was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn't like she had scouted the site out, which she had, or practiced earlier in the day, which she had also done before taking the afternoon off to recharge.

Emmy was working up the sleak, sexy, and lethal angle with her short leather jacket and skirt over a fishnet body stocking. She gave the gathering a predatory smile,
"Hey everyone. I'm Emerald."

Connor smiled as he thought about tonight. There'd likely be some sort of explanation he'd have to make, but Alessa was in show business too, she'd realize it was just a scene, one thankfully they'd done in a very small number of takes. Though that part was one he'd leave out unless pressed.

He made sure his tie was on straight over the dark grey silk Armani shirt, as he stood in his patent-leather shoes and black slacks. A silver-studded leather belt was wrapped through each of trhe loops on his waist and he he paused a moment to look at the figure in the mirror. He was young, still only Twenty, but he looked older. He wore his rich dark brown hair short due to it being the summertime, and his yellow eyes seemed to radiate a palpable excitement and gave him a unique sense of mystery. He was cleanshaven, the result of a daily battle for over a week preparing for this. He'd had Yellow eyes before errupting, something that was the result of a rich heritage and very rare genetic trait. Beneath his shirt he wore the gold crucifix his mother had given him for Christmas.

His watch beeped and his smile grew even larger. Once again he was escorting Alessa Neri to a social function. The thoughts of her always made him smile. There'd been some tumult along the way, but they'd come through still friends, and someday he hoped it would become more. However he wasn't one to rush into things anymore. Especially not with someone as special to him as her.

He grabbed his wallet, his keys, and his phone in case he needed any of it. On his way out he also grabbed the bouquette of roses he'd bought for Alessa. They were a mix of Red, yellow and white buds, all just starting to open. It had been a while and he figured it was a proper thing to give to such a beautiful woman. He opened a gateway to Seattle where Alessa was waiting. She had specified The Blue C Sushi as where she wanted to eat and he'd done his homework on where it was accordingly. He looked around wondering where she had to be hiding, knowing she'd always stand out in a crowd.

It had been two years since his eruption had drastically changed his life. On that day, his future as a professional baseball player ended. He had spent 18 months petitioning baseball leagues around the world. Even the Japanese, who loved Novas, wouldn't let him play in their leagues. For a short time, he was despondent and shut himself away in his house. It lasted one week. His addiction to adrenaline forced him back outside to do what he had always done. Put his life in danger.

In many ways, he was grateful for Ms. Kara, for her opportunity. It opened doors for him, and opened his mind to other possibilities. He changed his name to one that didn't market him as a baseball player, but instead as a stuntman and extreme athlete. It was a beneficial makeover...so far.

The trees and fields of Missouri blurred by him at an astounding rate as he held open the throttle of his motorcycle. The bike's engine whined in protest, as Adrenaline pushed it to it's limits. At 220 Mph, he was reaching the limits of the bikes speed and was pushing past the speedometer's max of 220. He zipped past the much slower traffic on the highway without slowing. He hoped there were no highway patrols out here. A sizeable chunk of his money went to pay his insurance payments and the speeding tickets.

He was glad that Warren Miller was gracious enough to let him have the time off for such an important function. It was to be the screening of his first movie as a stuntman.

Away from the city lights, his skin sparked with small electric discharges. It was unavoidable. To keep his visiblity to a minmum, his eufiber was formed into a tight-fitting yellow and black racing suit and a black helmut. It helped keep wind resistance to a minimum and preven cops from seeing his glowing form moving at an outarageous rate. Of course he would shift it to a tuxedo once inside the theater. It would be rude of him not to. As he reached the town limits, he slowed. Even though Kara had given him direction to the show, he was in an unfamiliar place, and he needed to see the street signs. Soon, a steady trickle of cars lights helped lead him to Hitt Street and the Ragtag theater.

The street out front of the theater was a frenzied mass of humanity. As the growl of his 1500 cc racing bike became audible, people in the crowd started pointing in his direction. Soon, the crowd out front was yelling and waving at him. He noticed that the cops were smiling and nodding to him as well. Adrenaline was sure that each of them hoped to give him a ticket for speeding or reckless driving. His prolific record of traffic violations must have reached out here as well. Adrenaline joked with his friends that the city of Monterey was no longer in debt because of him.

"That's Adrenaline!" He heard someone in the crowd yell as he swung himself off the bike. In the bright lights of the theater entrance, his yellowish-blue skin didn't sparkle. His hairless figure though was very recognizeable. At least they didn't confuse him with Caestus Pax. He gave them a smile and a wave as he entered the theater.

Ms. kara or Mech had to be around here somewhere.

Kara eased out of the room she'd had set aside and smiled as she immediately recognized the sparking bald man. "Long-, no, wait, sorry. Adrenaline," she corrected herself with a smile, holding her arms out for the "Bollywood Hug". Taking his elbows, she folded her body in just enough to kiss him lightly on either cheek. "It is fabulous that you could make it," she said enthusastically, taking his arm and turning him toward the theatre itself. Anyone else to arrive would already be there.

"How have you been?" she asked Adrenaline as they walked. To her surprise, there was already several people here, but no Mech yet. I hope he can make it. This was big for him as well as me!

Alessa arrived a bit late to the Blue C Sushie, she knew Connor had imppeacble timing, so he would be exactly on time. Clicking on her heels up to behind him, Alessa was clad in a long formfitting blue dress, starting up on a silk choker, it went down her front down to her waist, hugging it tightly and going down into a long skirt covering her high heels.

About 3 inches higher than before, Alessa strutted on her high heels and the gown she was wearing marked her as a beuty to be beheld. Tapping Connor on the shoulder, she leans over to besides his head. "Waiting for somebody handsome?"

At the sound of her voice Connor smiled and turned laying his free hand gently to her side. "A most beautiful young woman full of life and Vitality, with the voice of an angel..." He looked her over quickly. "Oh look there she is now." It was an old line, but one that seemed to fit the occassion.

He brought the flowers up and presented them to her. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady." His smile grew and he nodded. "You look great Alessa, How have you been?"

He nodded to the restraunt. "How'd you hear about this little place, or was this another choice of inspired randomness?" It had almost become a thing with them that when they went out it was to a seemingly random eatery, on a fairly random itenerary. He knew today they did have somewhere to be, and they'd make it on time.

Adranaline responded to her hug in kind. She was as beautiful and sexy as ever. More and more he was seeing Kara as a woman and an actress, and not as a porn star. He hoped that he had the same success in transitioning to his new role.

"I am doing very well thank you," he replied with a big smile. "I have been getting offers to do all sorts of stuntman work since your movie." She began to lead him into the theater where others were assembling. Hopefully, she would introduce him to some of her other nova guests. Unfortunately, most of Adrenaline's friends were baselines and were resentful of his abilities at times. Adrenaline made sure that they got invites to all the good parties and shows because he was their friend, and he understood their resentment.

"Are you nervous about the premier?" He asked once they moved away from the crowds. He was a little anxious himself.

"Not at all," Kara said with a smile. "It's a good movie, and I'm very proud of it. You don't have anything to worry about; it's going to be fantastic."

Glancing at the already gathered novas, she raised her voice and called, "This is probably going to be informal, and I don't yet know all of you personally. Let's get some introductions. I'm Kara, your hostess, and this is Adrenaline, our lead stunt man in the movie." She smiled and waited for the first response from the assembled novas.

Hero smiled and raised his hand.

"Hero out of LA. I'm happy to be here seeing this great movie."

He stepped aside and looked around.

"Oh, and thanks for the invite, Kara," he askes a little shame-faced (if it wasn't for the mask).

Esmeralda made as if to step from the front then teleported right into Kara's personal space.

"As I already said, Kara, I'm Emerald, but its really nice to meet you in person."
Her breath is minty fresh and her body resonates heat.

Demourly, she looks over to Andrenaline,
"Hi Sparky."
She moves over in front of the large nova,
"So, does that stuff hurt?"

For the least attractive female nova at the party, Emmy lacks nothing in drive and confidence.

Daniel stands up from his seat looking suave, cultured, and confident; the epitome of what the outside world thinks a nova should look like. His smile is genuine and friendly and his words are melodic and strong.

"Daniel Ravenshire and this is my third time watching the film. Its worth every minute and you won't be dissappointed."

He remains standing waiting for his chance to greet Kara personally, but being patient.

Gillermo stands up and turns to face the star and her chief stuntman. He steps gracefully into the aisle. He gives a respectful bow before talking, hiding well his relative youth and inexperience.

"I am Gillermo 'Medianoche' Mendoza. That means Midnight, in Spanish," he adds with a smile.
"It is my pleasure to be here tonight to finally meet so many people I have talked with over the Opnet."

Aesira stands there alone, her arms crossed fover her chest. Her luminous pale skin and white hair all but glow in the dim light only accentuates her spiritual beauty. She manages to raise up one hand and wave feebly.
"I'm Aesira," is all she manages.

Adrenaline smiles at the assembled nova. "Hi everyone. It is good to be here." He was definitely out of his element. "I had a great time working with everyone on this movie." he gives Kara's hand a squeeze before leaning in to whisper in her ear: "Tonight is your night. These people are here to see you."

The others were a varied group. Some of them were extraordinarly beautiful and handsome. Others, like him, where physical specimines of great prowess. A few even had some outward expressions of their power. Regardless, the place felt more hospitable than a place with regular humans.

Adrenaline nodes and holds out his hand to shake their hand. He greets each of the other guests in turn-

"Hero. Nice to meet you. I heard of a 'Hero' down in LA from some of the refugees who fled to Northern California. Would you happen to be the same one?"

"Daniel. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I must admit, that I have not seen it yet."

"Gillermo..er Midnight. Please to finally put a face to the name. Do you prefer Midnight or Medianoche?"

"Hi Aesira." He gives her a smile. "Pleased to meet you."

As for the more foreward nova, Emerald. "No. It doesn't hurt at all." He held out his hand a bit longer for her to look at it. "When I exert myself, it can tingle a little bit."

Sitting down to eat on the Blue C was a whole experience for Alessa who had not favored Sushi before, she wanted to eat together with Connor, not having seen him in a while before this she wanted to recconec with him.

"Thanks Connor, the flowers are beutiful." Sitting diectly infront of him, she gazed at Connor having been busy both of them, they had not had a lot of time to see each other over the last year but Alessa cherished every moment she spent with the younger man, he was always full of energy and ready to take on life.

Grabbing the menu, she ordered a couple dishes before settling infront of Connor and making light conversation, mostly idle chat about how the year had passed for them, about his shootings, about his parts on the movie, and about Alessas's career. It was all in all, a nice evening and anybody passing by could have confused the two for a couple.

"So Connor, at what time does the screening start? Might be good to be there earlier, just to see who will be in the audience too. Don't you agree?"

Time Spent with Alessa always passed far too quickly. Every moment was Precious, and Connor smiled as they talked about the movie, the show and then about Alessa's concert tour. Things were going great for both of them, and that made him smile. I can't think of someone who'd wish more sucess on than Alessa.

he laid down his chopsticks and smiled. "It's supposed to start fairly soon to be honest. Sitting here with you I sorta lost track of time." He grins sheepishly. "However it isn't like our transit time is more than a handful of seconds."

They finished their meal and Connor paid the check. He offered Alesssa his arm and opened a gateway to the small theater back in Columbia. The portal opened near the actual entrance and there was a multitude of "Ooooh's and Ahhh's" as the young pair of novas emerged from the portal. There were brilliant flashes as those who had cameras used them, and through it all Connor smiled and waved with his free hand. He knew most of the people were reacting to Alessa, but inwardly he liked to think some recognized him.

He gave their names to the Attendants and was let inside, where he guided Alessa to the correct Theater and held open the door for her. Once inside he quickly spied Kara and Longball, though he went by Adrenaline now. The young Blonde nova he recgnized as Ravenshire from the way Lina had talked about him. He didn't recognize the rest of the novas present.

He made his way to Kara and Adrenaline, the other two novas here who were in the movie. "Sorry for being somewhat late Kara, I hope we haven't missed anything."

He smiles and nods to Alessa. "This is Alessa Neri, she put on that big benefit concert in California where alot of us participated for the Earthquake victims." His tone was mocking, and showed a certain pride in having been associated with the concert for the victims, and all the other work he'd done in California.

"Jeesh, yeah its me," Hero says a bit embarrassed. "I'm still the only one around with the name. I took of the whole week just so I could fly here and back. I know this is going to be great."

Kara grinned as each person introduced themselves. She adored this part of her job; it had been one of the things that she'd loved and dreaded about being a porn star. Most of her fans had been perfectly normal young men; a few had been freaks who had scared her. Though that had changed when she'd erupted - after that it was just annoying.

Except with Marcus. That had just been terrifying.

"Hero," she said, smiling and releasing Adrenaline to give him a Bollywood hug. "I've seen you online so much; it's a delight to meet you in person." And I'd rather like to meet you in person, she purred to herself. In part, that was curiousity; the mask made him incredibly appealing.

"Hey, Emerald," Kara greeted the attractive young woman with yet another hug - they were flying around tonight. "It's good to meet you! I really hope you like the show."

To Medianoche, she offered another hug, privately wondering if he was available. "Midnight, hmm?" she flirted lightly, her white teeth flashing in her dark face. "Does that refer to your powers, too?"

Aesira didn't get a hug, but only because Kara wasn't sure that the nova would appreciate it. Instead, Kara gave her a wave, smiling broadly. "I hope you enjoy the show, sugar," she said warmly. "Lemme know what you thought of it afterwards."

She turned to Daniel as the others spoke to Adrenaline. "Hey," she said softly, giving him a real hug. "How have you been? I haven't talked to you since... well, for a long time."

Before he could answer, Mech arrived. Kara gave Daniel a look promising him she'd make time for him later before she turned to greet another costar. "Mech, so glad you're here. I thought we might not get to see you tonight. And yes, I remember Alessa. I was at the concert." And there for the fight.

Connor nodded. "I wouldn't have missed this." He smiled to both kara and Adrenaline. "We all put way too much work into this to not be here for openining night right."

When Mech arrived, Adrenaline leaned in and spoke to Emerald. "Can you give me a few minutes? I need to speak with Mech for a spell."

"It's good to see you again." He gives Mech a hearty handshake and a big smile. "Alessa. It's nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy the show."

Adranaline turns to Connor with a chuckle. "We did work our asses off didn't we. Oh, before I forget, I wanted to ask you about the Japanese nova entertainment markets." Discussing movie and television markets was not one of Adrenaline's fortes, still, he was curious.

"Is their market saturated? What I mean is; is there any room left for new Novas in Japanese TV or movies?"

Connor smiles and returns the handshake. "There's always something for a nova in Japan my friend. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

In his head he was already wondering if Zack had a project Adrenaline would enjoy. "I just got a big project myself, and the producer and director does alot of major films. He could probaly get you something I know it. Are you interested in Television or movies?"

Kara was like - WOW! - so sexy that it even left Emmy shaking just a little. She could tell herself that was mostly Adrenaline's machismo, but she knew it was a lie. Still, if his sparks didn't hurt too much and since he was alone ...



"Sure thing, Sparks," she said through a brilliant smile.

Since he was talking to the Mech-master, Emerald went to his date(?),
"Hey Alessa! I had such a great time at your benefit concert and I never got to thank you."
She smiled at the other woman who was also Too Damn Beautiful to the point it made your eyes hurt to look at her too long.
"Anyway, thank you. I'm Emerald, but my friends call me Emmy. If you ever need something, or someone, moved discreetly, drop me a line - free of charge."

Damn, I bet everyone is offering her things all the time. Shit, shit, shit.

Medianoche tried overly hard not to drool, or fall to one knee, or any of the other things love-struck fools would do all to commonly around such a awe-inspiring woman. Instead, he dug deep down into his soul and put forth an icy reserve.



It was all almost too much anyway, such was Kara's presence. Gillermo managed instead to gently take her hand and press a kiss upon her palm.

"Medianoche, please," pronouncing his name melodicly. "The pleasure of meeting you in person is very much mine. My name refers to how I become like the Starless Night when I unleash the power within me."

Daniel's mood become a bit more subdued after his breif few words with Kara. He still felt the pain of her absence, in the same way he missed her smile and the curve of her neck. He wanted to take a seat, but felt compelled to meet with the others.

He exchanged a few polite words with Medianoche, and chose to respect Aesira's space. As he approached the entrance, the number of novas increased.

"Hello Hero. I think I remember seeing you at San Diego. Glad to finally meet you."

"Hey Mech," he began, "Adrenaline, good to see you on this side of the screen, both of you."

Turning to Alessa,
"A pleasure to see you again as well."

Finally to Emerald,
"Nice to finally meet you and put a face to the Opnet persona."

Hero was not a tower of Iron Will. He was mostly the normal guy he tauted himself to be. Visions of Loveliness didn't happen to normal guys often, yet here it was happening to Hero again. Visions of Divine and the Beach Party swam before him. Outwardly, Hero's eyes seem to lose focus.

"Ah ... ah ... yes?"

Kara hadn't hugged her, or come close enough for a kiss. What had she done wrong, worried Aesira. Her arms remained folded and she managed a nod as Kara turned and headed up the aisle. What was she going to do now? Unsurety pinned her in place. She was afraid of doing the wrong thing, so she did nothing.

Kara was the first one to say meet them, greeting only Connor. Alessa felt a bit put off and returned the gesture, but a lor more people were around, she figured the obvious and held on to Connors' arm a bit tigther.

"I hope to enjoy the show myself Adrenaline, is it?" Alessa extends her hand, giving a shake to his, the difference in strenghts is disproportinate completely.

"Oh don't worry Emmy, I didn't expect thanks I wanted to do the concert to help California, that a lot of people jumped ship with me was a great relief, that concert wouldn't have been half as good without the help of Gabe, the man is a sweetheart." giving a Hug as she tells this, she listed to her proposal. "Oh, Planes have been good enough lately, and the only times I have been really in need I had this big lug to get me out."

Ravenshire turns to Alessa as she is re-attaching to Connor's arm "Thank you Ravenshire, likewise. Also, Paolo still has bad dreams about your negotiating skills." Alessa winked at him.

More people were around, a young woman with white hair in a blue and gray outfit stood by the group of novas, and another masked man who she barely remembered from the news while on California was on standby. Lots and lots of novas I don't know, I guess it's good to meet new people.

Deattaching herself from Connor, she walked up to the girl in the gray and blue outfit. "Hi, I'm Alessa. Nice to meet you." extending a hand to the girl