The fight at Neo-Tokyo had left the Vanguard with a much needed victory after their run-in with Pantheon, and the loss at the military facility which cost them Valkyrie. The Shadow Scorpion was defeated, his Earthen cult shattered and the threat of releasing the First Shadow, Kar'Kadras was temporarily gone. Though Lady Shogun had been less than pleased with the very public victory of heroes in her city, and according to their sources she was looking for a way back at the Vanguard. However, in Omegatropolis the heroes are celebrated, and the legal action against them dropped as the company taking the action had been bought up by Nicolas Xanthium, owner of the world's largest corporate conglomerate and Mr Xanthium expressed to the media that such trivialities were beneath the attention of the world's greatest heroes.<br/>Now supported by two new members, and with the villains of the city in a state of surprising disarray the Vanguard enjoy several victories in the months to come, with only the loss of their friend Valkyrie marring the cheerfulness.<br/>For Barb, the addition of a protege in the young villain/turned very reluctant hero Risa takes up much of her spare time, testing her legendary patience to the max. Shadu find her reputation as the Teleporting Terror spreading like wildfire once she joins up with the Vanguard, with street level crime dropping once it is rumored she is out at night. Carmen, as the second new member of the team gets a lot of media fancy as her fire power makes it easy to make star-related comparisons. Arina, last but not least finds herself as the second senior member of the Vanguard, and in-officially the team face to the outside world as her youth coupled with her heroic regalia makes for a modern re-imagining of King Arthur.<br/><br/>Now, as spring gives way to summer the group finds things picking up speed, as the villain RavenHeart is attacking a corporate research site, the Villain/Notorious Failure The Mobster is trying his best at bank robbery again, and a spaceship has been sighted heading towards Earth, and it is estimated it will land in the central park of Omegatropolis. All in all, break is over and class is back in session.<br/><br/>To Jennifer Whitmore, aka Timestop, long-time citizen of Omegatropolis the time had come to step out of the shadows and into the light. The pull of destinies difficult to ignore for one as in tune to time and the mystical ways as her, and it tugged at her very being this day. Before the young woman, the central park looms. A testament to the rebuilding of the cities that had become one after the Great War, the lush green oasis in the city usually the very image of serene peace...But today, people are milling about restlessly, unaware that a starship is hurtling towards the park.<br/><br/>Aboard the starship, a it's passenger glimpse a city that seems very much like it always has seemed; fragile peace with the wear and tear nipping at the edges. So very unlike the great spire cities of the Empire, and it's people not at all like the cheering crowds of the Arena.<br/><br/>