Dragons do not host parties. Usually, they stay at home, guarding their horde jealously, or they visit other locations on their own terms. After all, parties meant risking that people would take their things. Parties meant dealing with crowds. These were all on the list of things that Paratha, Lady of Fire, would generally have avoided.<br/><br/>Which was why everyone was on high alert. Among other things, the Watcher in the Twilight would be in attendance, as well as the Abbess of the Order of the Weeping Rose. The last time they'd been in the same place, a haunted church had been reduced to a one hundred foot deep crater. Interrobang the Impossible was tapped to play buffer between the two at all times, a task which he merely declared: "difficult, not impossible."<br/><br/>A small selection of other superheroes had been invited, including (but not limited to): The Third Exorcist Calanthe, Rainbow Bunny, Solar Flare, The Librarian, Someone called Triple A (Alexander Aloysius Alistair somehow being too difficult for a Dragon to remember, likely an intentional slight on Paratha's part for reasons unknown), and Maya Skylar. All invitations remarked "feel free to arrive in full garb, your costumes are adorable! Heroes always do the same things, no matter the age, but I admit, those outfits look quite fetching on some of you." Some of our heroes had about as much desire to come to this party as they had desire for a root canal performed by spider monkeys, but everyone had been informed through their various sources: Paratha could upturn the apple cart and cause worldwide havoc if she ever really wanted to. Best to show up and play her game rather than risk her teleporting into the General Council of the United Nations with a list of grievances again. (The Summer of 1998 had been a goddamn nightmare.)<br/><br/>The stage was set. Everyone found themselves at the entrance of a looming castle somewhere in Romania, with a sign made of floating flames at the entrance that said "Welcome!"<br/><br/><strong>You have all arrived at relatively the same time. Funny coincidence, that! Your GM suggests getting to know each other a bit. </strong>