Star Harbor Nights

When last we viewed our heroes from points further west, they stood victorious against the forces of Geppetto and his villainous Toymakers Syndicate... but instead of uniting in celebration, the allies drifted apart, returning to their ordinary lives amidst more than a little personal turmoil and interpersonal conflict.

Now, as the heroes prepare to resume their day-to-day routines, the question must be asked... after having participated in such a battle, faced such a wide array of adversaries, and foiled such a far-reaching plot... what remains to challenge them?

The villains may have been defeated, but not every conflict can be solved with a burst of superspeed or well-honed psychic powers.

Beauregard LeChamp must figure out how to make a relationship with the precocious and quirky "Clever" Claire Clevenger work... and how to explain it to Claire's overprotective guardian, Athena Wisdom... who cannot be looking forward to her ward's eighteenth birthday with the same sense of anticipation as the young lovers do. How will she react? And how is Minerva reacting to the news that Athena has had relationships she kept a secret even from her twin sister?

And what of Tigerlily, Athena's one-time lover? She claims to have found happiness in the arms of one of Nebula City's finest, but is she in it for the right reasons... and if not, can the relationship hope to succeed?

Then we have Lily's foil, former reality show contestant Echo Chambers. She found the opportunity to prove her worth to her allies... but can she now prove it to the rest of the world... and is that even as important as proving it to herself?

Meanwhile, Allison Powers... the focal point of the villains' plot and the de facto leader of the ad hoc band of heroes... has a promise to fulfill to one man even while another lingers in her mind, and a third haunts her dreams.

Against the backdrop of these--and other--admittedly rather soap operatic developments, it must be remembered that not every criminal who worked for the syndicate was brought to justice... and not every superhuman who fell under their control was found and released by the heroes.

What remains to challenge our protagonists?

Quite a bit, as it happens.