No DMs please, post here if you have someone. Looking to remove tiled wall in shower and replace it with an enclosure (no plumbing move needed) bathroom countertops/sinks for 2 bathrooms and flooring for kitchen/family room.
Also need some pool work done next spring, the concrete is falling apart n one section of the pool deck lip & would like to add a handle for help getting out at the stairs.

Jeongyeon: I first met Jennie in 2017 at an award show. Since then we have been acquaintances. Now I have never told anyone this, but me and Jimin went to the same school, and we hated each other. We even once got into a fight(I won). Although we don't hate each other now exactly, I can't say that we don't at least dislike one another. I have ran into BTS once, and although Jimin was rude, V defended me. Since then, we have been close friends.
Jeongyeon: So let me make it crystal clear that MALE AND FEMALE IDOLS CAN BE FRIENDS AND NOTHING MORE. This is a very important theme for this whole story. Me and V are not interested in each other, but im sure if photos were taken you crazy fans would be having a field day. However, hearing about the recent situation between Jennie and V sparked my curiosity. I had no idea those 2 had any relationship, and they were being extremely secretive. But after going on a 3 day quest, I can say that they are definitely NOT DATING. First, we have to go back to this Monday.
MONDAY
Momo: "Have you heard about Jennie and V?"
Jihyo: "Yes I have... They must be dating."
Jeongyeon: "Woah, woah, woah, I wouldn't go as far and say that. I don't think so..."
Momo: "What makes you say that?"
Jeongyeon: " I'm saying that because I know both of them. I haven't heard anything. We can't jump to any conclusions yet..."
Jihyo: "True, why don't you go and just text both of them and see what's up?"
Jeongyeon: "I can't just ask them that! They'll think im invading their privacy."
Momo: "Jeongyeons right, you can't just be so direct. There's not much we can really do."
Jihyo: "Well im not gonna just take that for an answer! Somethings up and I wanna know!"
Jeongyeon: "Well, there is someone I know who can help us out..."
-50 minutes later-
The trio opened the wooden door which revealed a mysterious colorful hallway. Jeongyeon led the way, pushing aside a blue star curtain which led to a new room.
Rosé sat on a pink throne coated with rubies. Heart statues, love symbols and spiritual objects coated the hexagon shaped room like stars in the sky. The room was dimly lit by neon led light strips in the shape of hearts on the wall, spewing a deep purple-pink.
Rosé: "What is it that you have journeyed here for?"
Jeongyeon: "We need info on what is going on between your group mate Jennie and V of Bts."
Rosé: "That situation is a huge mystery that my power can't even fully understand, miss. I possesses the power to make anyone I want to fall out of love and break up. I can make love potions and charms. I can look into someone's heart, and see who they desire, if anyone. But Jennie's heart is a special case. Taehyung is in there, yes. But how much of him I don't know. For all I know they could just be acquaintances.."
Momo: "But you like her sister! Hasn't she told you anything?!?"
Rosé: "Naur, not even a murmur. But my power tells me that there is a connection, though potentially small."
Jihyo: "I see. Thankyou for your time Rosé, we appreciate it."
Rosé: " It's my pleasure"
Jihyo Jeongyeon and Momo left Rosé's building and entered the busy city.
Jihyo: "You've gotta be kidding! Even the mastermind of love can't even shed any light. This us pointless, let's just go home."
TUESDAY
Jeongyeon: I can give up, but I won't. I have to prove that they aren't dating.
Dahyun entered the room.
Dahyun: "Hey Jeongyeon, doing something?"
Jeongyeon: "Oh, not much really-
Dahyun: "I know what you've been up to and what you want, if you want answers follow me."
Jeongyeon: how did she know!?!?
Dahyun drove Jeongyeon to a remote grassy area blanked by a dark status cloud. Finally, they stopped at a worn, dirty, tiny house that looked like it came from a horror movie.
Jeongyeon: "Dahyun, are you sure this will help?"
Dahyun: "Positive, I wouldn't trick you"
They entered the suspicious house, only to be met with a young girl no older than 18.
Sophie: " OH. MY. GOSH. ARE YOU DAHYUNA AND JEONGYEON FROM TWICE? IM SOPHIE AND IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!"
Jeongyeon: "HI Sophie, it's nice to meet you!"
Jeongyeon smiled cheerfully, while Dahyun rolled her eyes.
Dahyun: "You can cut the act already, we need info."
Sophie's tone changed dramatically.
Sophie: "Ugh, your no fun, whaddya want?"
It was at this moment Jeongyeon learned the truth. Sophie was a Sasaeng.
Dahyun: "We need to know everything there is about Jennie and V, can you help us?"
Sophie: "Whats in it for me?"
Jeongyeon: "I can tell you about my history with Jimin."
Sophie: "Deal. Now not to brag, but I was the one who took that precious video of those 2 love-birds."
Jeongyeon:"YOU WHAT!?!? WHY DID YOU SHARE THAT?"
Sophie: "Zip it ajumma. Anyways, I heard them talking. Apparently they were talking about candy and a time machine idk."
Dahyun: "That makes no sense?"
Sophie: "That's what I thought to, until I saw where they were going. They entered a secret tunnel. I tried following them, but it's like they just- vanished after making the first turn. I'm still confused on what they are doing though.."
Jeongyeon: "Well, V told me once that he has a passion for time travel, maybe they are making a time machine?"
Sophie: "But what does Jennie have to do with that?"
Dahyun: "Her solo.... I was spying on YG and I heard her screaming saying that her solo comeback was destroyed."
Jeongyeon: "When was this?"
Dahyun: "May 15th."
Jeongyeon: "That's right before the video was taken... it makes so much since now. Jennies solo was deleted, so now she is trying to reverse time with the help of V..."
Dahyun: "But why were they talking about candy..."
Jeongyeon: " That - I don't know..."
Sophie: "Alright times up im done, now where's my payment?"
Jeongyeon: "On second thought, I don't think I will tell you anything after you called me Ajumma.."
Sophie: "Oh great! I guess I'll just stop telling your friend Dahyun here everything I know about idols"
Dahyun: "Jeongyeon!! Tell her the story!!"
Jeongyeon: " Alright, fine."
WEDNESDAY
Jeongyeon: I'm so close to figuring everything out
Jeongyeon met with Momo, Jihyo, Dahyun, and Rosé. The 5 of them were determined to get to the bottom of the situation.
They traveled to the tunnel. The suns rays tried their hardest to reach down the walls of the dark cave, but they gave up after 50 feet. Besides the sun, dim white lights poorly illuminated the tunnel every 20 meters. The 5 of them braved down the ominous, uninviting, damp hall. Suddenly they were met with a T shaped intersection. They could turn left or right. Sophie did not say what direction Jennie and V turned.
Jeongyeon: "We split up. Me and Rosé will go left, and the rest can go right. Let's meet up here In 30 minutes."
And with that, Jeongyeon and Rosé walked on for another 15 minutes, until finally, they found a door. They opened it, revealing a large high tech room, with wires and buttons everywhere. The place was a mess, with boxes and paper everywhere, levers sticking out at the most random spots. Candy wrappers sprinked the floor like confetti. Most Jarring was the giant machine in the middle, a metal disk with a 3 meter diameter, and wires connected everywhere. Metal boxes held the thing together, and a huge lever labeled "start" stood on top.
Jeongyeon: "This is it...."
Rosé: "Well no shit-"
Jeongyeon reached for her phone to call the others, before the door swung open.
Jennie and V.
V: "What the hell are you two doing?!?!?"
Jennie: "Rosé? Jeongyeon? How did you find this place?!?!"
Jeongyeon: "Better question is, what are YOU two doing. This is some mad scientist shit."
Jennie sighed.
Jennie: "This is our project... I know we have been secretive, but it's no use hiding anything now. I never thought i would meet someone with such a passion for science as me but then I met V. He is such a bright mind, and together, we made this..."
V: "This is the electrobit 7000. Here's what it does."
V flipped the switch.
V: "you might wanna step back..."
Suddenly, an electric arc appeared between the metal ring, spinning and glowing fiercely. It turned into a white circle. Unexpectedly, a variety of candies erupted from the machine, and landed In a box before the machine shut down.
Rosé: "That's it?"
Jeongyeon: "It spawns candy? It's not a time machine?"
Jennie: "Time machine, we haven't even started making the design for that yet! No this is just something fun we build together. Halloween is gonna be fun now that we have infinite candy."
V: "Now why would you bring up a time machine?"
Jeongyeon: "That's what the Sasaeng who recorded the video said you were talking about."
V: "Oh, I think she means our Thyme machine. We were working on it just that night. It's a real shame we got caught together."
Jeongyeon: "But Jennie, what's this about your solo being destroyed?"
Jennie: "I'm guessing Dahyun told you? It's okay my producer had a backup saved. I was just screaming in the moment."
Rosé: "Well I gotta say Jeongyeon, you and Dahyun really fucked up huh."
Jeongyeon: "Don't act like you didn't believe it. Well o must say, I'm sorry for all this, sneaking into your lab and all."
V: "Don't worry about it, just please don't tell anyone. And also show me who took the video, so I remember"
And with that, the truth was revealed, and Jeongyeon could finally go back home with the full story of what happened.
Jeongyeon: So this brings us to now. Jennie and V are not dating. They are just friends, and would like to be called that. I'm sharing this so that everyone knows the FULL STORY. Jennie and V have decided they are ready to let people know about their lab, so it is okay for me to share this.

Hi, for context, my grandfather is a retired doctor, my father however isn't though. So my father always had a dream of making me a doctor. Now I am going to be entering the first year of med school this year and i needed to buy a sphygmomanometer and the moment I saw it, i realised something
Back when I was 5 or 6 years old, being a dumb kid, i use to play with my grandfather's sphygmomanometer and i broke the mercury level in the meter, and glass shattered everywhere and seeing the mysterious liquid in it, i did actually tasted a tad bit of it and it tasted really awful, kind of wanted to vomit but prevented myself from doing so since I was scared that my parents would scold me if I vomitted on the tiled floor. When I called my parents to ask them to clean up the shattered broken glass, i did not mention I had injested any mercury. I am turning 18 after a couple of months and i was wondering if I still have mercury in my body or i may have just excreted it out in the course of the 12 years I have been alive after the incident
Really dumb story but i am really curious now lol

Installing parquet wood flooring in your home may provide a sense of beauty and timelessness. Parquet flooring is made up of tiny wood pieces that are placed in geometric patterns to provide an eye-catching aesthetic impression. Here's a step-by-step guide on installing parquet flooring:
Materials you will need:

1. Parquet flooring tiles
2. Adhesive (check the manufacturer's recommendations)
3. Notched trowel
4. Flooring nails or staples (if required)
5. Pry bar
6. Hammer
7. Measuring tape
8. Chalk line
9. Saw (circular or jigsaw)
10. Wood filler
11. Sandpaper
12. Finishing nails
13. Floor sander (optional)
14. Polyurethane sealant
15. Paintbrush

Step 1: Prepare the subfloor Ensure that the subfloor is clean, dry, and level. Remove any existing flooring, baseboards, and trim. Use a pry bar to remove any nails or staples. Repair any damaged areas on the subfloor and fill any gaps or holes with wood filler. Sand the subfloor if necessary to ensure a smooth surface.
Step 2: Acclimate the parquet flooring Allow the parquet flooring tiles to acclimate to the room's temperature and humidity for at least 48 hours. This helps prevent warping or buckling after installation.
Step 3: Plan the layout Decide on the pattern and layout of the parquet flooring. Use a measuring tape, chalk line, and a square to create guidelines on the subfloor. Start from the center of the room and work your way outwards. Ensure that the guidelines are perpendicular and square to the walls.
Step 4: Install the parquet flooring tiles Begin installing the parquet tiles along the chalk lines, pressing them firmly into the adhesive. Use a rubber mallet or a scrap piece of wood and a hammer to gently tap the tiles into place, ensuring a tight fit. Continue installing the tiles, working from the center towards the edges of the room.

Oh boy, this is embarrassing....
I have an ingrown hair I'm guessing on the bottom of my testicles, it has been spitting out puss for a couple days but I haven't gotten it empty enough yet to see the hair or whatever is in there angering the pores/skin.
I've been placing a regular gauze pad on it, taping at night when sleeping but just placing it on there during the day. I'm afraid too much taping will cause problems on an already thin skinned area.
Something came out earlier onto the gauze, causing it to stick, I pulled the gauze off, it was a gusher, a lot of blood came out of it. Got it to stop.
I need to take a shower, last night I tried using a waterproof bandage but it didn't stick and came off in the shower. I do not want it to start bleeding in the shower.
How can I covewaterproof that with something a normal household would have handy? Right now my only option that I can think of is to try those waterproof bandages again but have little hope it'll work.
Skipping the shower is something I'd rather not do, I live near Phoenix, it's hot and dusty.

Hi, received a Level 3 survey back on an 1870s (est.) Victorian end of terrace we are hoping to buy and there was lots of red 3s. Just trying to establish what is relatively 'normal' for a 150 year old house, and what isn't. Working out whether to proceed, and if so, what reduction to make in our offer given we have no wiggle room to pay for urgent repairs unless we reduce our deposit. Finally, trying to decide what further surveys/site visits to get from people before we exchange, as opposed to after we've moved in.
There are 9 'elements' of the property that have come back with red 3s: chimneys stacks, roof coverings, main walls, windows, other joinery and finishes, walls and partitions, fireplaces, woodwork and 'other'. Main issues as far as I can see are:
High levels of dampness at ground floor and 1st floor by 2 x chimney stacks from penetrative damp - repairs required on roof to chimneys - pointing, flashings, soaker etc.
Patch repairs, additional ventilating tiles and replacement ridge and hip tiles to main roof. Full and immediate replacement of small ground floor flat rear extension roof and fixing a bad join between extensions roof and original roof. Some fascias and soffits to be repaired/replaced.
Removal of render at ground level on outside walls to reduce rising damp. Also lower outside ground level.
3-4 windows need replacing.
These are the main things.
Standard recommendations for electrics inspection as well as gas check.
Also recommendations for PCA damp survey to install chemical DPC.
Any views?

Is anyone else till completely obsessed with their s/o? (this is a long one!)
So this guy and I were coworkers. He was/is pretty shy, quiet type. I’m somewhat the opposite, I’m also a mixed bag of social, antisocial and I tend to be the outgoing person. Anyways, I had just started this position at this job. I was stressed and trying to quit smoking but was itching for a smoke(gross, I know!) No one on my manufacturing line had a cig I could have on break. One person told me to ask our “Runner” who is the person to stocks our lines with components. So as he went to walk by to check my area, I said hey (J)! He looks at me and completely shocked that I even know his name, I proceed politely asking him for a cig on break. He nods yes and then quietly walked away and goes back to his job. Fast forward to break, I met him outside and we had our little smoke break. He was super quiet the whole time, and I thanked him and we went about our shift.
Another day or two went but by, didn’t say anything to each-other. Then one evening before the end of the shift I seen him jamming out with his air pods in. Whatever he was listening to I was curious. So awkwardly I looked him in fb, did a little creeping, making sure he didn’t have a s/o (didn’t wanna cross boundaries) and proceeded to push the “message” button. I asked him, so what kind of music do you listen to at work to help time go by?
An hour later he responded. Didn’t question me about how I found his fb, didn’t act weird about it. We started talking about music. And video games, and from then on we kinda opened up a little. We started hanging out after work, a few times turned into almost every night. He seemed interested but still shy and kinda awkward about it. We talked and it kinda turned into a fwb thing. It was fun, and interesting. But a apart of me knew I was starting to get feelings, fast.
After a while I started to bring it up. He kept telling me, I just wanna be fwb. Which to me seemed like a red flag. But I couldn’t help myself. At this point we had been talking for a little over a month, and decided to go on a little road trip. It was super fun and freeing, but something was missing. He wasn’t super big on pda which is nbd but I felt like I wanted something more. Fast forward to a few months, we took another road trip, this time a week long one. It was epic, I loved it! I didn’t want it to end. He seemed really happy and seemed to have a great time as well. We get back to his place and finally looked him in the eyes and said…”I don’t think I can just be fwb, I’m way too attached and if this is going to be a thing where it’s continuous, we might as well just date!” He thought about it for a minute and agreed. He had feelings, he just didn’t want to admit it. Time went on and he ended up starting a new job, as a truck driver, which was stressful. One night he was acting kind of distant. I figured it was stress wearing down on him. We sat there and I asked him what was up. He said “I don’t think we should do this anymore.” I was crushed, not understanding why after things were going so good that he would do this to me. I sucked it up and said okay, I understand. Even though my heart was breaking I stayed strong. We continued to talk, I called him everyday when he was on the road, talked for hours. Then he asked if I wanted to go for a ride along in the truck.
So here I go on my first ride along, to another state, another adventure with this guy whom I had hard feelings for. That night as we stopped for his 10 hour break, we did our usually little physical intimate thing. He seemed content afterwards. Then I broke, realizing that after we go back home, it could be the last time of possibly not of seeing him, spending time with him. I cried, and I broke open to him. He felt bad, he knew he had hurt me. A couple weeks went by and we didn’t talk much. I needed some time to think and some space. Wondering what did I do wrong? One morning I wake up and see he’s online, so I message him. He reads it, takes a second and responds. We started chatting like normal. He tells me he’s home and wants me to come over. Thinking this is just a hookup session and I’d leave heartbroken, but I wanted to see him, I needed to see him.
I arrive and I realize from the look on his face that he’s not doing so well. I ask him what’s wrong? He says”I made a mistake.” Confused I ask him what he means. He tells me that he missed me and was pushing me away because he didn’t want the space to ruin things down the road and didn’t think I’d stick around. But, I did. I stuck around, even after he broke my heart, even through every stressful day of his new job, I didn’t go anywhere. I didn’t pursue anyone else. I stuck by him. Fast forward again, two years in and we have had a few bumps along the way, and stressful situations. I’m now a truck driver with the same company and I get to see him more than I did before. Our relationship has grown so strong and from the quiet shy person he was when I met him to the most loving, sweetest, funniest guy. I wouldn’t give him up for anything! I lay next to him tonight typing this and thinking back to this guy who was an onion, peeling each and every layer over time and I have discovered what’s underneath. I’m so thankful I stuck it out, I’m thankful I waited because this love he has shown me is the most amazing feeling in the world! I cherish him, and still everyday, I’m obsessed with him. I never would have through this guy would be able to love me like this. Like no one ever has!
If you find yourself reading this, I’m sorry for the story. I felt it was worth sharing. 😊

“Pete knows what he saw, Martha!”

“Bunch ‘a frightened children ain’t exactly the--”

A door slammed shut.

Clark Kent, only a young boy, squeezed his eyes shut until it hurt and pressed his hands against his ears until his temples throbbed.

One step after the other. Heavy. Crunching grass.

“You think I’m an idiot, Martha?!”

“Now, I never said that.”

The pained look on Clark’s face softened -- softened, so it could be remolded into a whimper while the rest of his body stiffened.

“He ain’t done nothing wrong, all I’m saying is--”

“All you’re saying is that you’d rather not talk about it!”

“There’s nothing to talk about!”

Then why wouldn’t they stop talking! All of these voices, the thousand-million voices screaming at him, and all Clark could hear were the two arguing over him! Him!

A long, creaking groan. Wood shuddering.

“CLARK!”

The word, his name, knocked the other two sources of dismay from his head, an instant of soothing comfort before the pain took hold again and even more intensely, now as if he were pressing his head against a bass booster. “Pa!” Clark cried out, only to regret it as quickly as he had acted on the impulse.

“CLARK!”

His father called for him again and, judging from what should have been the imperceptible way the wind whistled, began dashing around in search of him; it took nothing less than an eternity for Pa to finally find him and one thunderous thwump after the other to finally lay eyes on him.
Pa pulled down the last barrel of hay -- Clark had stacked some around himself in an attempt to muffle the noise -- before breathing a sigh of relief; little did he know, it was a veritable wind storm to his son. “Remember…” he made sure to whisper, his small crisis finally abetting, if only a little. “This is all you. You’re inside your own head and that’s making it so much worse. You are the one in control.”
Clark’s only response was a strangled noise and to curl up further into himself.
To that, Pa felt his own throat tighten. “So open your eyes, son, get on back to the rest of the world… I’m right here.” He extended his hand, gently nudging Clark.
Again, no response and, again, Pa’s throat tightened, twisting and winding until the strain became too much to bear, and finally snapped loose under the pressure.

“DAMNIT, CLARK!”

He burst out, the sudden snap of tension giving each word a trembling quality as it all came pouring out. And then Clark flinched, like all boys do when they’re scared or hurt or both, and the dam was suddenly closed again, sealed with a silent promise.
“Son, I--” Pa stammered, his voice the sort of wreck so mired with cracks and creaks that it was a miracle it held together at all. “I didn’t--”
It was then that Clark finally stirred, hands at last unwrapping themselves from around his head, which peaked up ever so slightly to look out beyond his hay-fort at his father. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice so small that Pa struggled to hear it.
His body screamed a thousand different things to say, but he knew that just was the last thing Clark needed right now. So, fighting back to the calm, measured tone he had managed just a scant few moments ago, Pa said, “You best not be sorry, you ain’t done nothing wrong,” and pulled his son out from his refuge.
“Seriously?” Clark seemed dumbfounded by the statement, so much so that he even resisted the tug, if only for a passing second. “You seen what’s happening back there?” He jabbed a finger towards the house. “It’s all me. Literally. They’re arguing about me. ‘Cuz I-I’m some sort of freak or something!”
Pa was quick to correct him. “You ain’t no different from any other boy I ever met.”
He was met with a piercing glare from his son.
“You know what I mean, aside from your gifts--”
“How the hell’re these supposed to be gifts!” Clark threw up his hands in his best attempt at exasperation, but even an ear without super hearing could hear how his throat stiffened with each word.
Pa smiled, shrugging. “Able to race the car, leap the barn in a single bound…”
“But I don’t want to do any of that!” he said, voice finally breaking. “And w-when it comes with stuff like… this…! I just wanna be Clark Kent: Pete and Lana’s friend. Your and Ma’s son. Not some freak!”
“Clark--!” A cross of anger and dread flared in Pa’s voice, and he caught himself from pulling Clark into a hug. Swallowing hard, he instead summoned the warmest smile he could, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“You are my son, but you are so much more than that too.”

🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
DC Next Proudly Presents…!

SUPERMAN: HOUSE OF EL

The Return of Superman - Part 3, Moving at Super Speed
By JPM11S
Edited by ClaraEclair & Deadislandman1
< Next>>
🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
To say silence hung thick in the air would have been an understatement, because even silence was something more than being frozen in a single, inescapable instant: Kal-El staring down the man clutching his throbbing hand, the man’s friend looking on flush-faced, and the rest of the establishment bracing for whatever happened next. It was a rare thing that Jon Kent found himself slipping into Bullet Time on accident -- a state of heightened awareness where the world seemed to grow still around him -- and an even rarer thing that it should happen when a bright red cape wasn’t slung around his shoulders; simply put, as an instinctual reaction to being threatened, there needed to be, well, something that could threaten him, and there weren’t very many things that seriously could: Kryptonite, which Jon was confident wasn’t in play, and being yelled at, which he couldn’t have even known.
It was then that it dawned on him, so obvious that the muscles and tendons along Jon’s arm tensed in anticipation of slapping himself upside the head before he stopped himself -- a small thunderclap born from his own embarrassment was likely to only make the feeling worse. ‘Just an adrenaline rush…’ Jon explained to no one but himself. ‘Because… you know… watching dad do… that.’ The recently appeared doppelganger of his father had broken a man’s finger to “teach him a lesson” -- something his father most certainly would not have done; what he would have done, and what Jon was currently doing, was take a deep, relaxing breath, easing the stress away so that he could “hit play” on the rest of the world.
It came as something of a mild surprise when… nothing happened; Jon panicked, doing a double take as the terrible thought sprung into his mind: What if this was something else, some time-weapon unleashed just then on the city? Or what if he had failed to slow himself down? Would he be forced to wander the world a waking ghost? Jon shook his head, knocking such silly notions from his mind -- and also getting the attention of Natasha Irons.
“Something up?” she asked, broken from her spellbound trance.
Jon blinked. “Nope. Nothing.” The Ace ‘o Clubs could be a little rough around the edges, so what didn’t even qualify as a minor scuffle at the bar hardly registered with many of the patrons, who merely kept about their business as if nothing had happened -- because, to them, nothing had. Jon shook his head again, chidding himself for thinking that a cursory glance in that general direction had been any real indication of interest; his own bias, he supposed.
Kal-El returned to the table, his sheer weight and size making it known despite the fact that Jon’s attention had been elsewhere. No one said anything, and it took the visitor from another world a few passing seconds to realize that fact -- like they were all waiting for him to do something.
Kal looked up, a look of restrained puzzlement on his face.
Lois’s lips went thin. “What was that?”
“What was… what?” Kal-El’s eyes darted across everyone’s face, searching for an answer.
Irons nudged him gently.
“Wait, really?” he almost recoiled, tilting his chin up and cocking his head, confusion finally overtaking him. “I--”
“Was wrong.” Lois finished the sentence for him. “The hell were you thinking?!”
Jon and Natasha exchanged looks.
Kal-El shrugged it off. Literally. “The way I see it, a broken finger or two isn’t going to impede him in any real way, while also being something he’s not going to just forget.”
“So that makes it alright?!” insisted Lois, leaning forward.
“...yes?” he answered. “Though I feel like that’s… not the answer you wanted.”
“That’s not how we do things here.”
At that moment, with just how each word was frozen in a block of ice, Jon could have swore his mom had spontaneously developed Frost Breath; ironically, that was what inspired him to finally intervene. “You know, mom,” he explained, “In class, the professors always talked about how different all these cultures were from each other: food, clothing, language, medicine, you get the idea… Their sense of justice, how they handled punishments and such… that was one of the big ones too. Judeo-Christian morality versus something like Hammurabi's ‘an eye for an eye.’” He paused, making sure his mom was actually listening. “So, you know, on Kal’s Earth, maybe that was perfectly acceptable. Heck, there’re a lot of people here who would agree with him.”
Lois stopped to consider her answer, though it seemed more an imitation of the action than a genuine attempt. “He’s here now, and that wouldn’t make it right if he wasn’t.”
“Listen, I’m really sorry if--” Kal-El raised his hands in apology.
“No, no,” Jon waved him off, gaze never breaking from his mom. “You can’t just force your values onto another culture.”
“Like he forced that guy’s finger back?” she countered, rising to the bait. “Seems like that’s exactly what you’re talking about.”
“If I was talking about him right now, sure, but I’m talking about you,” insisted Jon. “You’re just doing the same thing you’re complaining about him doing.”
Lois lowered her chin, motioning towards herself. “So, wait, I’m the one who’s done something wrong here?”
“The both of you, yes.”
“So you’re saying it was perfectly alright?”
“I just said it wasn’t.”
“Oh, so you’re not judging him based on your own values?”
Jon shook his head, grinning. “You’re trying to distract from the point!”
“No, I just think the entire argument is flawed, since by criticizing someone like that, you’re inherently impressing your own values on them,” she explained. “You know, the thing you’re taking issue with.”
“But you’re from the same culture as I am: he isn’t.”
“He isn’t sitting right here, yes…” Kal-El groaned.
Lois and Jon kept going like he wasn’t.
“He’s impressing his own cultural values on someone from another.”
“Right, and I agree, but I’m taking issue with you right now, because--”
“Because it’s time for this conversation to end,” Irons finally interjected, much to the audible relief of Kal and Natasha, whose shoulders visibly relaxed. “Seriously, I think I speak for all of us when I say I can hardly follow what you two are going on about.”
“We’re saying--” Jon and Lois began in unison, only to be cut off with a raised hand.
“We’ll manage without it,” he chuckled.
There was a brief lull in the conversation, a time where the most activity was Jon’s eyes scampering about the place and the beat of Kal-El’s fingers against the table. Eventually, Jon’s gaze locked onto something or, more accurately, the lack of something.
With his mouth hung open just slightly, Jon asked, “Hey, did anyone notice Mr. Bibbowski?”
“Yeah,” Natasha spoke up, glancing around the table. “Didn’t you guys’s see?”
She took the blank stares as a no.
“Didn’t you guys catch the sign-note-thing?”
More blank stares.
“Okay, seriously, two of you have literal super senses and the other two are, like, super geniuses.” Nat waved her hands around. “You know what, doesn’t matter. I’m getting off topic. Bibbo’s in the hospital. The sign was about raising money.”
“What?” Lois pressed, immediately leaning forward. “What’s wrong?”
His gaze a million miles away -- or, more accurately, only a few -- Jon answered first. “Lung cancer. He’s in Metropolis General. Room 414.”
Irons chewed his lip, then looked up directly into Jon’s eyes. “First thing tomorrow, you pay him a visit, ‘kay?”
“But I was just going to now…?” Jon cocked his head. “What don’t I know about?”
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In retrospect, the thought that Kal-El would need somewhere to stay really should have occurred to him sooner than it had -- well, that might have been putting it a little too generously: had occurred to him at all. To be fair, though, it wasn’t every day that you met your deceased father from another world, though, also to be fair, he dealt with weirder things on a regular basis.
The Fortress of Solitude, Superman’s icy abode at the top of the world and one of the scant few remaining pieces of Krypton, seemed the most logical place to house Kal while they worked on returning him -- and everyone else -- back to the proper Earth, and it seemed that Jon wasn’t the only one who thought so. Following their malaise-laiden departure from the Ace ‘o Clubs, it was the immediate destination of the not-so-merry band, traveling up across the globe to it’s frosty doorstep, where they needed Jon to heft the Fortress’s giant, golden key above his head and unlock an equally gargantuan front door. The key was made of Supermanium, a metal forged by Clark from the heart of a dying star, and weighed an incalculable millions of tons, the only security measure needed despite it sitting out in the open.
Jon slotted the end of the key bearing the Crest of El into the groove, turning it to trigger the rumblings of icy shards as they peeled back to reveal a wall of blinding, cleansing white light. The group took a step forward, entering into another world -- almost literally: born of materials not of Earth and minds born far from it, the Fortress resembled something best described as an alien, crystalline landscape. The ground was a maze of large, roughly hexagonal spires with smoothly shorn tops, each of which peaked at a slightly different elevation and tapered off in the distance to create a sheer drop; at the edge of that cliff sat a circular array of crystals gently pulsing with light and humming just barely above perception. Placed around what was assumedly the central chamber of the Fortress, judging from the hewn hallway entrances at the perimeter, were trophies and mementos from Clark’s decades-spanning career as Superman, items ranging from the mundane, like Lex Luthor’s shrinking ray, to the absurd, such as psychic sand from the dimension of Quarm, to the profound, like the precious Bottled City of Kandor, a shrunken Kryptonian city rescued from the clutches of the vile Brainiac many years ago.
Kal-El loosed a low whistle. “Wow,” he said, eyes flitting about the place, jumping from the looming pillars that came together to form an arched ceiling, to the large, gaping voids dotted around where the spires didn’t conjoin. “It’s so… clean.”
“Come again?” Jon quirked a brow.
With a flutter of his cape and a look that Jon almost mistook for melancholy, Kal-El raised several inches above the ground and began drifting between the various exhibits on display. “Clean. See, I… I live in my… Fortress of Solitude, so--”
Jon finished for him. “Like a dirty room.”
“Exactly,” Kal looked up from the display and flashed him a subtle smile. “Like a dirty room.”
Lois, unable to fly and wearing shoes ill-begotten for her husband’s arctic-O.S.H.A.-violation, carefully stepped across one hexagonal tile to the next until she finally approached the black-suited Superman. “Little lonely living at the top of the world, no?”
“It is called the Fortress of Solitude.” There was a slight edge to his voice, though Lois could tell it wasn’t one pointed towards her. “Maybe, I wanted to be alone.”
Lois cocked her hip, rested her hand on it, and considered for a long moment pressing deeper, giving in to the gut screaming at her that this was the thing to pick at. Her heart, though… her heart counseled now was not the time, and she had long since learned the wisdom of always following her heart. “If you’re looking for solitude, we might have brought you to the wrong place,” she suggested instead.
In the same manner Jon had not a moment ago, Kal quirked a brow. “What do you mean?”
“A thousand apologies.” From across the room, a voice not unlike his carried, though distorted to an almost unnatural bass and strained with what was best described as someone fighting hard against a thick accent. “If I had been expecting guests, I would have prepared something for you all to enjoy.”
The comparisons to Clark and Kal-El didn’t end with just the man’s voice; while his face and form were the same general shape, his skin was ashen and craggy, like a smooth stone. With every step forward he took, the mass of rippling, coiled muscle underneath his purple-blue Superman t-shirt strained against their confines. “Ah, I see we have another visitor, unless my brother decided death didn’t suit him.” He inclined his head, placing a large hand over his even larger chest. “For now, you can call me Bizarro.”
Natasha, a gleaming smile on her face, chimed in. “We’ve been working on choosing a name!” she said, bounding towards the behemoth and wrapping herself around one of his hulking arms.
Bizarro returned the affection as best he could. “It was Nat’s idea. We were watching Space Trek: Pathfinder one night and--”
“And I was there too,” Jon interjected.
“And Jon was there too,” he chuckled. “But one of the characters was searching for a name and, considering the circumstances, it seemed appropriate that I do the same.”
Floating over towards Bizarro, Kal-El dragged his sight up and down the man, the doppelganger of his enemy from another world, eyeing him with a mix of reservation and curiosity. Eventually, Kal paused on the Crest of El worn on his chest. “You’re not like mine.”
Bizarro nodded. “In one key respect, yes. I’m not as--”
“Dumb.”
“Slow,” he finished, correcting him with a side-eyed glance. “While Jon was working a case with the Flash, Mister Allen devised a way to ‘speed up’ my thought processes.” (Author’s Note: See The Flash #19!) Bizarro paused for several more long moments, looking at Kal like he had to him not a second ago before shaking his head, seemingly perishing the thought. “You’ve met me,” he said, smiling. “Have you had the chance to meet our other housemate?”
Kal cocked his head. “Other housemate?” He threw his eyes behind Bizarro, expecting someone else to enter the chamber, but no one came. “Another reformed villain?”
“Your cousin,” Jon interjected, taking a step forward. “Kara. She got here only a few months ago.”
The spark of joy on Kal’s face lived up to its description: appearing in a bright instant, only to vanish as soon as it came, replaced now by a deeply furrowed brow, emphasizing the lines on the man’s face. “How’s she taking the adjustment? Losing one world, then another, I can’t--” Kal cut himself off when he saw Jon’s eyes widen slightly and his mouth open in response: he didn’t need to wait for the correction he was about to receive. “She’s not from another Earth like me… Where is she? I’d like to meet her.”
Lois shrugged. “She’s busy in National City right now, if I remember correctly, but--”
Irons stepped behind Lois, his hulking form framing her. “But we’d like to wait a minute and figure out how to break the news to her first.”
“No,” Kal said, every muscle in his powerful body visibly tensing, rearing. “She needs my help! You don’t understand what it’s like! You’re not like her! None of you, not really. Only I can understand.”
With a withering look, Irons replied. “You’ve never even met her, how can you know better than her own family?”
“I am her family,” asserted Kal, beginning his ascent into the air. “I helped my Kara through this once already, I can do it again.”
“And you’re the problem! You know how much she’s going through right now?!” Irons shouted up at him. “You died! The person she was sent here to protect! Dead! And now here you are in the flesh and blood! She’s got a lot to process already without that!”
There was a lengthy bout of silence between Kal and everyone else, only coming to an end when the otherworldly Man of Steel asked, “And who’s going to stop me if I try anyway?”
Jon swallowed.
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To be continued in Superman: House of El #4, Don’t Call her Supergirl!

"With a trial that Renzo the Destroyer has started, and the Unseen now on high alert, Willow and I must continue our part in helping Thunder rescue Evie and undermining the Unseen's Grand Scheme. This is now venturing into some disturbing levels of dark." The Order of the Vault walks down the Kevolution Materia-infested halls of The Renzone, searching for the next member of the Unseen to beat up and steal a key from. The groaning of Cube Monsters is heard throughout the halls of The Renzone, audibly getting louder as the group nears the source. Once they return to the main party area, the Cube Monsters in the area immediately grow angry at the sight of the Vault Guardians. Ableton shoots a few Fiends with his Shadow Tracker and takes them out, while Thunder mows down loads of them with his Havoc Suppressed Rifle. The room is cleared... for now. Thunder looks around and speaks. "We should find that thieving fox, Stray. I have a suspicion that he's nearby." With everything Thunder said, the Vault Guardians all follow him, as they continue looking through the halls. After what seemed like a while, the group uncovers a room, almost looking like the main hall in Kenjutsu Crossing. Thunder looks around and speaks. "The architecture looks similar to the main palace at Kenjutsu Crossing. The palace the River Guard resides in. Stray has to be nearby." As they wander the room for a bit, Ableton is then surprise attacked. Suddenly a whirlwind appears, bringing a duo of deceiving Unseen members. Who are these two? The Unseen's thieving tricksters, Stray and Highwire. Thunder looks at Stray and responds. "Masaki! I should've known. Your stunt at Steamy Springs could've potentially killed your sister, Mizuki. What dark intentions are you playing at?" Stray looks at Thunder and answers him. "Dark? Dahlia is having me do this for fun. She doesn't want any other syndicate getting in her way of taking over Mega City, and so do I. The Fox Clan was only slowing me down, and now I will help the Unseen rule over Mega City." Thunder pulls out his two knives and yells. "'I'll make you eat those words, you smug punk!" Ableton and Willow run into battle beside Thunder, as the three charge towards Stray. Highwire jumps in front of Stray and pulls out an Enhanced Havoc Shotgun, as she fires a shot into Thunder's chest. Thunder is knocked to the floor, as he looks at the shotgun in Highwire's hands. "That's Evie's Enhanced Havoc Shotgun! Where is Evie, you bunny-eared psycho?" Highwire points the Enhanced Havoc Shotgun at Thunder head and responds. "That's none of your concern. The Unseen should've gotten rid of your Peace Syndicate long ago." From behind, Ableton quickly Crescent Kicks Highwire and knocks her to the floor. Rinzler is then immediately shot by a blast of ice, as Stray channels some Zero Point energy into his Foxfire Edge and concentrates it into some form of an elemental attack. Ableton is frozen into an ice cube, as Willow rushes Stray with her katana, rigorously swinging at her enemy. Stray knocks Willow back, as he swings the Foxfire Edge and unleashes three ricocheting balls of Riftstorm energy. The balls ricochet around the arena, as Willow manages to dodge the attack. Amara runs into battle with Willow, as the two ladies now proceed to take down Stray and Highwire. Highwire pounces onto Amara and attempts to shred her apart with her Plasmacore Claws. Amara retaliates by whacking Highwire in the head with her Goldenbane Mace. Willow clashes with Stray, as he tries to skewer her with his Talisman. "Rip this ghost apart, Saigai Dagger Dance!" Stray summons his Talisman, as Willow evades the converging daggers and knocks Stray back. The battle is nearing its closure, with the Unseen's members on the losing end. Stray pulls out a smoke bomb and faces Willow. "You'll never win, Willow... I still have a trick or two up my sleeve..." Stray then throws the smoke bomb at his feet, as it malfunctions and releases the smoke too early. Stray begins to cough and react to the smoke bomb. "Dammit! That was not supposed to happen!" Amara immediately kicks Stray in the head and knocks him to the floor. A symbol appears above Stray, as the Kevolution Artifact begins to react. Two keys down, another two to go. Thunder faces the group and speaks. "Another key has been found. We must hunt for the others." As the Order of the Vault leaves the room with Thunder, Stray yells out. "You will not succeed! Styx will make sure of it!" Thunder then reenters the room and kicks Stray in the chest, as he then leaves the room again. Ableton looks around and comments. "Whoever Styx is, he appears to possess the next key we need. We need to move quickly. This area has a bad atmosphere." As the group wanders around the halls of The Renzone, they stumble by a room with the lights slightly dimmed. Some voices are heard inside the room. "Triarch Nox expects us to ensure that the Kevolution Artifact is back in our possession, and at full charge." Geometrik's voice is heard, as he responds. "Exactly, Bytes. Nothing that us three can't do." Bytes brushes his hair and speaks. "For we are Team Too Black, Too Strong..." Geometrik speaks after Bytes gets done. "Too black..." Zyg then immediately speaks after Geometrik. "Too strong..." Bytes then speaks after Zyg is done. "Two blacks? Two strongs?" Zyg turns to Bytes and responds. "Nox wants us in the Dark Room. It's a matter most exigent." A corrupted Rift opens in the room, as Bytes, Geometrik, Zyg, and Choppy all exit the room. Outside the room, Ableton turns to Willow and speaks. "Well... That was an interlude. We should find Styx and collect our third key." The group continues wandering the halls, until they begin hearing voices down the hall. "Hello... Is someone there?" Thunder listens out to the voice and responds. "Hold on... Evie?" Thunder slowly walks towards the origin of the voice, as Ableton responds to Thunder. "Thunder... I don't think..." As Thunder rounds a corner, he notices what appears to be Evie enclouded in some smoke. Thunder faces the anomaly and speaks. "Evie! We're here to rescue you!" Willow turns to Thunder and yells. "Thunder! That's not Evie!" The creature slowly loses Evie's shape and begins to unveil its true form, revealing it to be a Cube Monster. Splode shoves a grenade into the creature's mouth and blows it up. Thunder looks at the creature and comments. "A Mimic... Styx must be close..." The group searches the area, looking for Styx. This mysterious Unseen member must be hiding somewhere. Styx then fires a shot at Ableton and misses. Styx walks out and reveals himself to the group. He then speaks, as he lets out an unnerving grin. "Looking for Evie, Thunder? Dahlia wanted to make sure Evie is getting the dark treatment from the Unseen. You should've left our client alone." Ableton faces Styx and responds. "We're not here for your demented game, Styx. Give Evie back to us and we'll promise not to severely beat you to a pulp." Styx stares at the group and responds. "Over me and Dahlia's bodies will we even consider giving Evie to you. You Peace Syndicate scumbags always think there should be peace in Mega City. Always enforcing peace as if you call the shots around here. Let our chaos do its thing and fill Mega City with darkness." Some doors open beside Styx, as a few Cube Monsters flood into the hallway. The next battle begins. Thunder charges for Styx and attempts to tackle him, while Ableton and Willow assist in clearing out the Cube Monsters. Styx pulls out his Combat Shotgun and begins firing shots at Thunder, as he skillfully avoids the shotgun blasts. Thunder then kicks the Combat Shotgun out of Styx's hands and picks it up. Thunder fires a shot into Styx's chest and knocks him to the floor, alongside blasting his chest open. Inside Styx's chest is an orb of condensed Kevolution Materia. Ableton looks at Styx's blasted open chest and comments. "Yikes! That's some serious indigestion!" Styx gets off the ground and speaks. "Yehehehehes! Let's gohohoho!" The Kevolution Materia orb inside of Styx's chest begins to react, as he appears to be making the Cube Fiends near him stronger, turning them into Elite Cube Fiends. Thunder observes the chaos and responds. "Look out! Styx appears to be making those Cube Monsters stronger. We need to take him out before he makes those Cube Monsters too strong." With no time to waste, the Order of the Vault helps Thunder with taking down Styx. Ableton and Willow rush for Styx, as he knocks them both away with some quick shoves. Amara headshots an Elite Cube Fiend with The Dub, while CRZ-8 slices some Cube Fiends apart with his Lucky 8's. A Cubed Blightfather crawls out of the stomach of a Cube Fiend, as Styx uses the Kevolution Materia in his chest orb to turn it into an Elite Cubed Blightfather. Ableton groans in exhaustion at the sight of the Elite Cubed Blightfather. "Oh... You got to be kidding me..." Willow reacts alongside Rinzler. "Nice! Styx managed to amp up something that was already tough to kill." The Vault Guardians now have to focus on killing the Elite Cubed Blightfather before taking on Styx. Splode sticks a Clinger onto the Elite Cubed Blightfather's face, as he yells out. "Chew on that, ugly face! Yeah!" The Clinger explodes, dealing heavy damage to the Elite Cubed Blightfather and staggering it a bit. Willow then executes a quick slash of her katana at the Elite Cubed Blightfather's head, killing the bipedal terror. Thunder walls over to Styx and kicks him in the groin, knocking him to the floor. A symbol appears above Styx, as the Kevolution Artifact begins to react. One key remains, and the Order of the Vault can advance to the trials next puzzle. As the Kevolution Artifact absorbs the symbol, Styx gets up and screams, aggroing loads of Cube Monsters throughout The Renzone. A large horde of Cube Monsters run down the hall, ready to feast on the Vault Guardians and Thunder. Everyone makes a run for it, hoping to find safety from the horde. Within the horde, Stray, Highwire, and Renzo the Destroyer all chase down the Vault Guardians, alongside several Renzo units. Once they head out towards the elevator that leads into the Dark Room, Dahlia stands in front of the group and knocks everyone back with her Code Carver. The Order of the Vault are surrounded by Cube Monsters, Renzo units, and various Unseen members Ableton and Willow defeated earlier. Dahlia looks at Thunder and speaks. "Looking for Evie, Thunder? I've handed her over to a special ally of mine. He won't like it if the trial is finished before he can set anything up." Everyone is now at a standoff, as Thunder faces Dahlia. "If the Unseen chooses to be enemies to Mega City, then the Peace Syndicate will fight like we always have." Thunder pulls out his Kaiju Cutter and begins wildly attacking Dahlia. Dahlia pulls out her Lock-On Pistol and unloads half its mag into Thunder, only to miss. Thunder then roundhouse kicks Dahlia away from him, causing her to bump into Renzo. Dahlia yells out to the Cube Monsters in rage. "Don't just stand there! Kill that Peace Syndicate scum!" After Dahlia gets done yelling, Styx lets out a loud scream, as the Cube Monsters immediately run full sprint towards Thunder. Thunder pulls out his Havoc Suppressed Rifle and mows down the horde charging at him. As Thunder manages to kill the last Cube Fiend in the horde, Dahlia rushes him with her Code Cleaver, causing Thunder to retaliate with a swift kick to her face. Dahlia is knocked to the floor, as a symbol appears above her. The Kevolution Artifact reacts heavily to this, as the wall of Kevolution Materia blocking the elevator door dissipates. Thunder faces the Vault Guardians, as they all quickly get inside the elevator. Dahlia screams to the other Unseen members in anger as she watches the group enter the elevator. "Quick! Shoot them!" Stray, Highwire, Styx, Renzo the Destroyer, and the other Renzos all begin firing their guns into the elevator. Willow quickly tries to close the elevator door, as more gunfire riddles the interior. After a few more seconds of shooting, the elevator immediately breaks, causing the whole thing to begin falling at rapid speeds. Ableton looks at Thunder and yells. "Not good! The elevator took some extreme damage from that gun show!" Thunder faces Splode and screams. "Whitty! Activate the elevator's emergency brakes." Splode runs over to the buttons and begins mashing the emergency brakes button. This attempt works, as Splode successfully activates the emergency brakes and slows the elevator to its normal speed. After a few minutes, the elevator arrives at its stop. Everyone walks out of the elevator, as Ableton looks around. "Alright. I see a large tunnel with cave-live features... but where is this Dark Room?" The Kevolution Artifact reacts, as Ableton begins hearing more voices. Ableton speaks out, as the Kevolution Artifact provides the next step of the trial. "Light the Beacons..." Willow looks around after hearing what Rinzler said and comments. "Hmm... Nothing in here looks... beacon-ish, and I suspect that we fell into something worse." Everyone looks around the area, looking for anything that could help in understanding the current step in the trial. Splode uncovers a generator near some wood pallets and turns it on. Some lights on the ceiling turn on, brightening up the area a bit. Splode faces Rinzler and speaks. "I think these generators might be key to this step. We should probably find more of them and turn them on." Everyone continues walking down the tunnel, looking for more generators that Splode mentioned. Amara uncovers another generator near some large CUBE chunks, with Thunder finding another towards a pile of broken debris. More lights turn on in the area. As they near the end of the tunnel, Ableton turns the last generator on, as all the lights turn on, revealing a large steel door blocking the path. The Kevolution Artifact begins to react heavily, as the steel door opens. Once the door fully opens, the Vault Guardians enter inside. At the center of the room, there is a small, shallow body of... water? Splode walks towards the liquid and steps into it. "You know? This stuff seems pretty viscous for water, I'll tell y'all that." Willow turns to Splode and responds. "Whitty... That's not water. That's... blood..." As soon as Splode heard what Willow said, he looks below him and notices the slight redness the liquid has. Splode screams out in disgust and steps out of the liquid. Ableton looks around the area, until he hears Evie's voice yelling from above. "Guys! I'm up here!" Thunder looks up, and notices that Evie is strapped to a large machine, pumping Kevolution Materia throughout the Dark Room. Thunder yells out to Evie in response. "We're here, Evie! We're coming to get you!" Triarch Nox's voice is heard, yelling at Thunder in rage. "No, you're not!" One of Bytes' Chromatic tendrils grabs the Kevolution Artifact out of Rinzler's hands, as Bytes hands the Artifact over to Nox. Nox looks at the group and speaks. "No! Somehow those insects have passed my trial! No matter... The Kevolution Artifact has sufficient charge for what it needs to do." Triarch Nox walks up some stairs around the walls of the Dark Room, as he places the Kevolution Artifact into the device. Triarch Nox looks at the group below him and yells. "Awaken my soldiers! Slay these pawns of the Peace Syndicate!" Zyg jumps towards the blood pool at the center, as the liquid begins to transmogrify, projecting what appears to be the Mothership's interior within the liquid. Evie yells out with worry. "Watch out! It appears this Triarch Nox guy is intent on defending the device while it charges up. Don't get killed out there!" Zyg pulls out his Ray Gun and fires at the group, making sure to defend Nox's device. Ableton tries to Mantis Leap around the area to pick off Zyg, until Choppy throws down an Alien Nanite and stops Rinzler in his tracks. Thunder begins firing his Havoc Suppressed Rifle at Zyg, as he takes slight damage from Thunder's attack. Zyg then fires a laser from his eye and sweeps the floor with it, causing Thunder to jump and avoid the attack. Amara rushes into Zyg and blasts him with The Dub, launching Zyg and Choppy into the walls of the Dark Room. Zyg jumps up and out of the group's reach, as Bytes drops down. The liquid in the center transmogrifies again, as the liquid now turns Chrome. Bytes conjures the Nothing's Gift in its Siren's Spear form and begins to attack Ableton with it. Rinzler quickly dodges the attack and counterattacks by pistol-whipping Bytes in the face with his Shadow Tracker. Bytes then summons some Chromatic tendrils to attack the Vault Guardians, making sure to keep them away from him. CRZ-8 pulls out his Lucky 8 Blades and slices through the tendrils to attack Bytes. "Epicness approaches!" CRZ-8 kicks Bytes in the groin and uppercuts him onto the upper catwalk above the arena. Triarch Nox yells, as Geometrik drops down into the arena. "Intruders! Tell the Peace Syndicate I will not be stopped!" Once Geometrik drops into the arena, the liquid in the center transmogrifies again, as it begins to project the Sideways from within. Geometrik wildly swings his Sideways Scythe around, attempting to slice everyone apart. Willow grabs ahold of the Sideways Scythe and tries to wrestle it out of Geometrik's grasp. Willow succeeds, as she throws the Sideways Scythe away from Geometrik. After losing his weapon, the CUBE fragments around Geometrik begin to glow golden. Splode walks towards Geometrik with his Shrapnel Axe equipped. "This fight's in the bag. Time to beat him up and shut down the machine." Before Splode could land a hit, Geometrik fires a large laser out of his golden CUBE head and almost hits Splode. Splode immediately reacts to the attack. "What the hell? You have a new attack?!" Amara charges an attack with the Goldenbane Mace, as Serpicus the Goldenbane begins glowing on Amara's back. Geometrik charges for Amara, as she winds up with her Goldenbane Mace and whacks Geometrik in the face. The impact of the Goldenbane Mace was enough to send Geometrik crashing into the wall and losing the fight. Triarch Nox looks at the Vault Guardians and yells. "You will not deny Darkeon his return!" Triarch Nox jumps down to the arena, as Cube Monsters begin to manifest around the blood pool. Triarch Nox yells, as the Cube Monsters all turn to face the Order of the Vault. "Rise, warriors! Slay the unworthy!" The Cube Monsters charge for the Vault Guardians, as Rinzler shoots down some Cube Fiends within the horde. Willow teams up with Amara Luxe and Splode to take down a Cubed Blightfather, while Thunder slices a Corpse Eater apart with his knives. Once the Vault Guardians clear out the horde, Triarch Nox begins yelling. "No one will save you from Darkeon's wrath! I will not fail my plans!" As Nox gets done yelling, someone begins speaking from within the blood pool. "No, Nox. You did everything according to MY plan. You brought me back. And once your construct repairs my fractured body I shall thank you, by wiping this island from existence." It appears time has run out, and Darkeon has partially returned, in a slightly messed-up form. Both Stray and Highwire break into the Dark Room, as they confront the Vault Guardians. "Now you did it! You will not escape the Dark Room alive!" Darkeon sets his sights on Stray, as several clouds of Kevolution Materia fly out of the blood pool and into Stray. Stray succumbs to the Kevolution Materia, as his white coat turns black with CUBE runes all over, and his eyes start glowing purple. Darkeon begins speaking from Stray, as he yells. "Rest assured... I will destroy this world just as soon as I kill you here!" Dark Stray summons Saigai Dagger Dance, as he attempts to attack everyone with the converging daggers. Highwire runs towards the Vault Guardians in fear and speaks. "That weird... CUBE thing just took control of Stray! We gotta get him out of Stray!" Thunder faces Highwire and responds. "If we save Masaki for you, you better help us contain that Darkeon freak." Highwire nods, as the Vault Guardians get to work. Dark Stray pulls out his Kinetic Blade and dashes towards Ableton, leaving behind a burning trail of Kevolution Materia. Willow distracts Dark Stray with some yelling, causing Dark Stray to throw a plasma grenade at Willow. Willow gets away from the grenade, as the explosion leaves behind a small area of molten plasma. Dark Stray then swings his Foxfire Edge at Highwire, launching three orbs of Kevolution Materia towards her. Highwire dodges the attack and scratches Dark Stray in the chest with her Plasmacore Claws. Dark Stray kicks Highwire away, as he screams loudly. "The insanity of Darkeon is upon you!" Splode slaps Dark Stray in the face, planting a Remote Explosive beside his head. CRZ-8 throws his Billiard Grenade at Dark Stray, as the grenade splits into three explosive billiard balls. The explosion knocks Dark Stray into the air, as Splode presses the button on the Remote Explosive's detonator, blowing up the explosive on Dark Stray's face. Dark Stray is knocked out, as Darkeon seeps out of Stray and back into the blood pool. The blood pool begins to transmogrify again, as the liquid is now contaminated with Kevolution Materia. Two large arms rise out of the liquid, followed by a torso. A cracked CUBE manifests on the body, forming Darkeon's head. The entire area begins rumbling, as roots begin tearing through the walls of the Dark Room. Ableton looks around in fear and yells. "What's happening?!" Highwire faces Rinzler and responds. "He's drawing power from the Herald Tree! Nox mentioned the tree as being part of the plan, but not like this!" Loads of Cube Fiends begin manifesting around Darkeon. Amidst the rumbling, the ceiling begins to tremble. An IO Drill drops down from the ceiling and lands near the Vault Guardians. The top hatch of the IO Drill opens up, as Huntmaster Saber begins shooting at some Fiends with his Thermal Scoped Rifle. Amara faces Saber and reacts. "Saber?! How did you find us?" Saber faces Amara and responds. "No time to explain, Luxe!" Saber gets out and continues shooting the Cube Fiends around Darkeon, as Drift, Mizuki, Mystica, and Doctor Jekyll exit the Drill and help out in the fight. Darkeon begins yelling, as Mizuki begins slicing him with her Kinetic Blade. "You test my patience! I will take all your lives!" Drift then slices one of Darkeon's arms off with his Rift Edge, slowly breaking his body apart. Splode looks at the reinforcements and yells. "Hell yeah, folks! Show Darkeon how we fight!" Ableton faces Splode and reacts. "Wait... Did you call them all here, Whitty?" As Mystica attacks Darkeon with her Ashglow Blade, Splode responds. "Yes I did, Able!" Huntmaster Saber drops down to the group with Evie in his hands, after having freed her from the machine she was strapped to. Thunder faces Ableton, Willow, and Splode and speaks. "All the beacons have been lit. You've done the impossible. You've united this city. And reminded us that we need each other." Evie turns to Thunder and responds. "So, how do we feel about making Splode's friends here honorary members of the Peace Syndicate?" Thunder faces Evie and answers her. "Of course. And you're getting your own signature menu item at the Thunder Roll." The entire Dark Room begins to fall apart, as Jekyll yells. "The area is collapsing! Everyone to the Drill!" Everyone immediately piles into the IO Drill, as Highwire quickly grabs Stray's unconscious body and gets in. Triarch Nox tries to get into the IO Drill, as Jekyll reacts to him. "Stay here and die, you bracket-faced trickster!" Jekyll kicks Nox away and shuts the hatch, as Saber maneuvers the IO Drill into the wall and begins drilling everyone's way out. Darkeon's body begins to crumble, as the Dark Room collapses due to all the roots overgrowing in the area. Inside the IO Drill, Evie responds to Thunder's earlier answer to her. "How about the City Saver Supreme? You could make that roll a lunch special! Ooh! How about Hero Meat? Just a big piece of meat with the word 'HERO' cooked into it." Thunder turns to Evie and responds to her. "Hey, who's chef around here? You stick to playing with knives." Evie reacts to what Thunder has said. "Haha, deal! Don't need to tell me twice." Evie turns to Ableton, Willow, and Splode and speaks to them. "If you ever need any backup... We owe you one. Call us, and we'll be there!" Evie then throws up a peace sign at the Vault Guardians. "Keep the peace, heroes." Willow tightly hugs Rinzler, as they enjoy their ride within the IO Drill. Above ground, near the fault line adjacent to a gas station, Xander Necalli, Marigold, Grimey, and Gnash all observe the roots sprouting around the fault line. Xander faces Marigold and comments. "Ooh... These mysterious roots. Something is happening to Asteria, and I'm not sure what." Marigold turns to Xander and responds. "I'm not sure either. Grimey noticed these earlier, and had me come over to check." Gnash looks around and comments. "Well... This has been an eventful evening, Necalli. Can we go now? This place just doesn't feel right." As Xander and his mercenaries prepare to leave, Xander faces the roots and whispers. "Will you take me closer to el Punto Cero?" Evie has been rescued, the Unseen has been trampled, and Nox's plans on bringing back Darkeon have been foiled. This turned into quite a spectacular display of teamwork and mayhem for me and Willow. Although... This does leave a major question for us to figure out... What exactly did Darkeon do with those roots? Whatever he did, it will prove to be something... Wild... for me and Willow.

I am tiling the walls of a shower with standard normal Cement board + thinset and I ended up smearing a ton of drips and dribbles of the thinset all over the (already done) penny tile shower floor. I was diligent with wet towels and rags to wipe up all the drops, so it's not as if globs of thinset hardened or were ignored in place, but even wiping and cleaning it smeared a thin gray film or cloudy scum all over the floor.
I know I know I'm a moron for not covering the entire penny tile floor, but now what's the best proen product and method for cleaning off the cloudy scum remnants?
Thanks!

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So it's two nights after the first clear visit from a very unwelcomed guest. Normally this weird stuff happens when I'm half asleep, like I'll see figures in the seconds before I drift off, but today I wasn't alone in seeing something, and it wasn't some dark shadow in a corner, it was a clear apparition.
Picture this: we're on this quaint Dutch Caribbean island, and it's just me from the middle of nowhere (30F), and my buddy Juan (34M) from a Spanish Caribbean island. We've been dealing with some seriously eerie spiritual issues in the last few weeks, and it's been giving me major jitters. I've been feeling all sorts of uncomfortable in my apartment, and strange things have been going on.
Anyway. Juan swung by today, and let me tell you, things got spookier much earlier than normal--normally it's well into the wee hours of the morning. I was napping when he knocked on my door. I stumbled my way there and let him in. We settled in the living room, shooting the breeze, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something peculiar.
You see, I've got this frosted glass window on my front door, which gives me a blurry glimpse of the outside. And that's when it happened—someone walked right past my front door on the catwalk, a casual walk, normal stride. But here's the kicker: it was pitch black outside, all of the front lights were off, and this figure appeared stark white, like something out of a horror flick. I have actually described this to a friend just now as looking like a human shaped lightbulb walking in front of my door. I froze, and Juan, sharp as ever, asked if I saw it too. Meanwhile, my dog was sniffing near the door, doing her usual thing when someone passes by. But this time, it was just a sniff, calm and collected; no barking.
Curiosity got the best of us, and Juan swung open the door, scanning the area for any sign of the mysterious figure. But guess what? Not a soul in sight. It wasn't a neighbor or anything. No doors shutting or someone fumbling with keys. We're up on the second floor, front-facing, and that catwalk doesn't see much action and the direction the light went in terminates with a brick walk or entrance into my neighbor's creeky door apartment. There's only one way up, from the opposite direction, and no one was there. I can't shake the feeling that it might've been the same guest from a few nights ago, the one that said, "Hello," you know? And now I can't help but worry that we shouldn't have even opened that door.
But here's the kicker, babe. Juan brought me this rosary from his mom, and he's convinced we need to find a new place for me (so is my boss). He's spooked, thinking that the spirit either owns the apartment building or has this protective hold on it. And listen to this: I'm the only non-relative in the entire building and a guy from near here said he thinks someone died in my building not too long ago. Crazy, right? Oh, and get this. Juan's bruja mama warned Juan that if I stick around for too long, that spirit might just attach itself to me, like it's got some sort of claim over my space here. And here I was, thinking about starting a family soon. But Juan, bless his heart, warned me that if I have a child in this house, that spirit would attach to it or something. Talk about some intense island folklore!
To ease my ever-growing anxiety, Juan's on a mission to get me some red string and an aloe leaf, something to protect me from the unknown and ward the entrances. And get this, my boss's momma, she's done some crazy thing with a lime and says there is this negativity that seems to be following me around. My boss says I need to move too. I was planning on staying here until January and have only recently spoken out loud I was moving. I am wondering if Juan's mom is right and the street spirits are trying to claim me.We've started covering my windows. Juan says if the spirits don't see movement they don't stop to ask for entrance, but he's afraid that it noticed me a few days ago and now it wants to come in. I have a deep fatigue that's been following me these last few days. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. I know the answer is move, but I just started settling in here and the plan was to leave in six months or so that way I have time to find something good. I don't want this thing to attach to me. Juan told me to play music when he leaves says it's a tradition to keep the "fantasmas" or flying street spirits away.I hope I'm not the only one that does not like the idea of flying street spirits being normal.Also when I was telling my boss and his mom their hair stood up. They told me to becareful of the demons that try to come in my life and to never open the door. I didn't open it Juan did and now I'm so nervous.

Volra rushed to the screaming woman. Then raised her sword and sank it between her shoulder blades. The screaming stopped.
She slid out the blade and turned to see Lyraph fighting a woman at the door. She strained her eyes to see more men and women outside the tower and ran to his side. The woman made a slash with her dagger and then her hook. The former causing a gash in his thigh and the latter taking his axe away.
The assassin punched her and cut her throat open before shutting the iron banded door. She found a latch at the hinge and slammed it down to lock it. Lyraph cursed and covered his wounded thigh to stop the bleeding. She went to one of the men’s bodies and ripped up their cloak. She went back to Lyraph and wrapped it around his leg.
“Thank you”, he said.
“Thank me when we get out of this alive. We have much to do”, she said then looked around to assess the situation.
They were still outnumbered. Lyraph was wounded, Kiral slumped to the floor wide eyed and horror stricken. Tarven slumped to the floor for a different reason, likely dead. Gulk still had his blue orbs coming out of his ax. Some of the glow changing to red instead of blue as the blood on his blade was picked up by the orbs and splashed to the ground when they disintegrated.
Gulk began singing. Volra paid him no heed as she went to Kiral to check on her. The woman still knelt on the floor, slouching. Tears running down her face as she faced the realities of battle for the first time in her life.
“Gods, that was close. So very close. I killed a man and then took a woman’s fingers. We must have been fighting for an hour at least”, said the recruit.
Volra shook her head, “No, it was less than a minute. A fight lasts longer in our heads than it does in truth. You did well for your first kill. You remain unharmed and breathing, in the end it’s all that matters”, then squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.
Gulk stopped singing, “Tarven is dead. He was a good man in spite of what you have seen. We were outnumbered and managed to fight off the crimson foes because of him”.
“Yes, we will honor him”, said Volra, she didn’t think it true but would rather agree than cause another fight while their lives were already in jeopardy. She did not doubt he was a great warrior only his usefulness to the mission.
She looked at the bodies again in disgust. Men were not allowed to wear crimson cloaks, it was the law. The gods would be confused as to why their acolytes were men as well as women when only women were given the gift of speaking into their divine ears.
Lyraph limped over to a woman’s body and took the spear and hand ax she kept in hand and belt respectively, “I can’t move as much with this wound but I can still fight”.
Gulk scoffed, “Fight? No, we already lost a man. We can’t lose another just because he feels lucky”.
Volra kept her voice neutral and calm, “He’s right, old friend. Kiral, Gulk and I can handle them. You need to stay behind us. You are not fit to fight”.
The hunter looked drunk as he sat down next to the corpse and said, “Go on then, fight without me”.
Volra felt a worm of guilt wriggle in her heart but shook it off. She meant to live through this along with what remained of her group. She would deal with his wound later.
Kiral called for the rest of the group to her side in front of the stone stairs. Volra strode to her while Gulk reluctantly left Tarven’s side, “May we meet again”, he said to the fallen warrior.
Kiral looked up, “I think we can hold the roof by ourselves. Even against a hundred warriors”.
“That’s assuming they mean to attack again. They could just wait us out. There’s no telling if their supplies will last longer than our own. Forget it”, said Volra.
The nobleman nodded and lumbered to the door. His axe still emitted blue light.
“What are you doing?”, asked Volra in an alarmed tone. She hurried to the man and spun him around to face her, “We are not fighting our way out damn it! There’s no telling what they have out there”.
He sucked his teeth and said, “What would you have us do? Wait them out? Welcome them inside? Perhaps we should stick out our necks while we’re at it so they know where to aim. No, I am done with this, we either fight our way out or fall on our blades”.
Volra was about to say something but a knock on the door stole the thought away. Gulk screwed his face in confusion and tightened his grip on the ax. Kiral drew a dagger and said something (Volra wasn’t paying attention to her).
“Is anyone still alive? If so we only need one of you. The rest can go free as long as you don’t interfere with the Prophet’s affairs”, said a woman’s voice on the other side. The voice was one used to command, likely their leader.
Gulk pointed his ax at the door, “Are you willing to give yourself to them? To end this mission here and now when we have already travelled for days to kill that bastard?”.
Volra ignored him, approached the door and said, “I don’t plan on giving myself up, bitch. You ambushed us and sought to kill all of us. What makes you think we’ll trust you now that we’ve killed half your warriors?”.
The woman on the other side chuckled as if sharing a joke, “You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that. But there’s only one way out and we have more supplies than you do. I saw what you had in the heat of battle. And there’s no one out here to call for help even if you could. So now tell me why you think you have a choice on whether or not to trust us?”.
Volra bit her tongue to stop from cursing. She knew the woman was right but she would be damned if she was going to allow her to get away with her crimes. She had not once failed in any of her missions and she wasn’t going to start now.
The assassin looked around. Where was Kiral?
She told the nobleman to light up the corners of the room and then the stairs. The two of them walked up and searched through each room, broken pottery and headless skeletons scattered about each room. The skeletons were laid unceremoniously on the floor, perhaps dropped. Amongst them, only a single spear could be found.
Volra felt the mood darken, “What the fuck happened here?”.