Chapter 1
Paul Dirac Positron Research Institute
College Park, Maryland
1344 Hours, 10/3/2016

The lights flickered overhead as Dr. Iris Monterrey trotted down the hallways of the institute towards the primary applied sciences lab. A weird humming filled the air and rattled the fillings in her teeth with each step she took closer to the source of the bizarre phenomenon. Some primal part of her brain was screaming at her to turn and go the other way, but she couldn’t help but continue forward. She burst through the doors to the lab only to be forced to a halt, shielding her light from the crackling bursts of light emanating from within the containment unit.

“Somebody talk to me!” She barked over the noise, the humming now risen to a rumbling that shook her very bones. Looking at the back of her arm, she saw the hairs had all risen on end.

One of the senior technicians ran over, his skin so pale it looked almost translucent. “Chief,” He breathed, shuddering uncontrollably, “We’ve lost control, the readings… They’re off the charts now.”

“What happened?” She demanded, pushing him out of the way and staring at the light with mounting horror.

He shakes his head. “One of the junior researchers was… Was testing a series of gamma isotopes. It was a standard experimental protocol, part of the tests outlined by Dr. Watkins. But something happened, the reseacher was blown halfway across the room…” He turns towards the unfortunate soul, reduced to a bubbling mass of tar smeared across the floor.

Monterrey covered her mouth for a moment, nausea taking over. “Where’s Dr. Watkins now?” She asked after a moment.

“He… Went to go and try to shut off the main feed source.” The technician replied. Behind him, the containment unit rumbled louder, the glass portholes cracking suddenly.

Monterrey swore under her breath, running to the wall and pulling the fire alarm and signaling a general evacuation. “We need to get as many people out of here as we can.”

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Bannermen Situation Room
Annapolis, Maryland
1415 Hours, 10/3/2016

An alarm sounded through the Bannermen apartments and their subterranean facility, gathering the team together, such as it was. Harley Keener, Codename Vector, had been forced off the team after a controversial decision by the higher-ups regarding ownership of the Vector suit. In the end, he went off to join a Stark Industries internship provided by his benefactor.

The team gathered in the situation room, finding Lee in a grey jumpsuit and pulling on some sort of black body armor with gold trim. Scarlett was behind her desk, swiftly typing and pulling up satellite feeds, blueprints, and every other scrap of data she could find regarding the Paul Dirac Positron Research Institute.

“Gather up, Bannermen.” Lee announced as he pulled on a glove. “We have our first mission. Not too far from here, either. The Positron Research Institute in College Park is experiencing some sort of anomalous phenomenon that they report as being catastrophically dangerous to the surrounding area - which includes the nation’s capitol.”

“Boss, we won’t have live satellite coverage for another hour.” Scarlett reports in a terse tone, all business.

He nods back, holstering a sidearm. “Can’t rely on always having perfect data. We’re taking the Quinjet over, evacuating civilians, establishing a perimeter, and figuring out what the hell is going on.” He looks at the team. “Any questions?”