Active: The Coming Dark

They say it's always darkest right before the dawn. If that's the truth, we've got a long, long way to go before we see any light.

1. What We Know So Far

What do we know so far?


• We know that Daedalus has developed suits capable of holding their own against superheroes. They have used this technology to gain the contract to administer Blackstone Penitentiary. However, their goal behind these suits is far loftier - to become a new world force policing superheroes.

• To achieve this goal, Daedalus is going to have to create a situation that will both a) prove superheroes enough aren't sufficient to do the job and b) prove that superheroes need supervision and policing.

• With Chernobyl, Kill-o-Watt, Tommy One-Suit and Otaku in Blackstone, the stage is set for an inmate uprising. Given Captain Thunder's implicit trust in General Stryker, who is closely allied with Daedalus, it's almost certain that he'll be sent in to handle it. Since Thunder is an iconic figure with the American people, his defeat - and most likely betrayal and death, if I know Chernobyl - will more than accomplish the first half of that equation. That will get Daedalus more funds, but it won't get them the control they want.

• The only way to get the people of America - and potentially the world - scared enough to give that control to Daedalus is to simultaneously prove that superheroes can't be trusted. The best way to accomplish this is to be able to prove that Thunder's death was caused by betrayal from within. So they'll be looking for a fall guy.

• We know that Daedalus has already identified Xenon's network as terrorist cells associated with the Claremont Academy. Thanks to Chernobyl and Wallflower, they've got the proof they need that the school was a training ground for super-powered children (which it was), indoctrinating them with a certain ethos (which it did), run by an alien (which he is), with a secret plan against many high-ranking military figures (which we have). It doesn't matter that all of them are for the right reasons; we won't be given the chance to explain anything.

The inescapable conclusion is that Daedalus - Penumbra's puppet - is aware of Xenon and the Academy, and is maneuvering itself into a position to crush it and simultaneously propel itself into power.

The second inescapable conclusion is that Daedalus is somehow in knowing or unknowing collusion with Chernobyl. It's the only way they could have gotten that information about Xenon's organization. This may be a master plot by Chernobyl, or mind-control via Charlotta, or outright cooperation. The last part is unlikely, given that Chernobyl stole an important Daedalus prototype several months ago; why would he steal what he could have asked for outright? Nonetheless, some sort of machinations are at work.

2. Saving Captain Thunder

I agree with the assessment that Captain Thunder will definitely play fall-guy for the Blackstone breakout. He trusts General Stryker implicitly, and he'll go where and when he's asked. They can predict and control what he'll do, which makes him far and away the best man for the job.

They may not even be intending to kill him. But I'm more than willing to bet that Chernobyl is.

Thunder is too full of himself to believe anything bad of Stryker.

Protonik would be more than willing to believe what we know about Stryker, but he'd also be most likely to go off and talk to Thunder directly, which would both be useless and tip our hand to the enemy.

The original Lady Liberty says she can talk sense into Protonik, but she has to have proof to show him.

It's up to us to get that proof. We have to have a provable trail about Daedalus industries, their intentions toward world domination, and their collusion with Chernobyl.

As to how we find that proof... I've got no idea. Thoughts?

3. Taking the Fall

What I'm about to say is abhorrent, so perhaps it's best that I be the one to voice it.

The Academy has two super-powered groups associated with it - Freedom Watch and the Next-Gen. One of these groups, possibly both of them, will be the fall guys for this. If we have any choice at all in the matter, I think Next-Gen is better suited to fight that struggle.

We have to have freedom to maneuver these next few months. We won't have that if we're vilified in the public's eyes. Penumbra, I think, is counting on that, but if we aren't a public enough target, it'll go with the ones who are. This means making sure we stay in the shadows and Next-Gen basks in the limelight. It means setting up our friends and allies to take a shot being aimed at us. But if we want to stop Penumbra, it may be the only thing we can do.

We have a few advantages that may help push the balance. Brian is currently the public's darling; he's almost untouchable at the moment. Durga is a religious symbol, and that's also difficult to challenge; you'll piss off a huge portion of the populace if you do. Steel Violet has a criminal lookalike, but they've faced off before in public, so the worst they could do is smear her true identity. They could use my background against me if they outed me - but so long as I stay a relative unknown it is harder to raise the amount of anger necessary against me. Similarly, Onyx's connection to Tommy One-Suit could be problematic if made public. Thus, fortunately, the two most suspicious members - Onyx and myself - routinely cling to the shadows. Out of sight, out of mind.

Next-Gen can weather this storm. There's a long history of Bowmen to garner him public support, and isn't Seven also related to an older superhero? That, and the fact that they have been an established, more public group of supers for a longer period of time will help swing public opinion back on their side faster than it would for us.

None of this may matter. They may have already picked a target and placed all the evidence they need to implicate us. But I think we have to think about this, now, while we still have the option.