“Welcome back to the Maria Sanson show. Today we have as our guest, the only expert on the recent events around the world, and world renowned psychology professor, Dr.John Marone.” The host, a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, swivelled their chair towards their guest. “Thank you for join us John.”

“Thanks for having me Maria.” A middle aged man answered the host, unconsciously stroking his small beard.

“Before these events across the world happened, you were trying to call attention to people you call… Beta Testers?”

“That is what they call themselves, yes.” The man replied.

“What is it that gives these Beta Testers, well superpowers?”

The man looked down and shuffled his notes, “Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact answer to that question. All attempts to ask them directly have provided very little information. But considering what they call themselves, we assume that they are in a beta test for some kind of drug.”

“I must say, I’m rather surprised that we don’t have any kind of substantial explanation for what is going on here.”

“Sadly, all attempts to communicate with the Beta Testers directly, have fallen flat. Someone, or something, has convinced all of my sources to not speak about the origin of their powers.”

The host raises her eyebrows at the man’s answer, “Do we have any suspicions as to who is behind these new superheroes?”

“That’s the thing, these superhumans seem to be appearing at random all across the world, I can think of at least one confirmed Beta Tester in every continent, every single one of different social standing and background.”

“Oh?” the host makes a sound of interest, “So you know who these people are?”

The man nods his head, “We have confirmed roughly three hundred across the world. But our estimates for the total number of Beta Testers is much higher. For obvious reasons, we will be keeping their names and identities secret for now.”

The host starts tapping her finger in a slow practiced motion, “And none of these people are willing to talk to you about the reasons behind their sudden power?”

“That is correct. Part of the reason for this is the stigma and idea in pop-culture, that if you tell the government about your powers, you will find yourself waking up in a lab somewhere in Area 51.”

Maria Sanson, moves closer to her guest slightly, “Before these world changing events, you were called by many a ‘Conspiracy Theorist’. How does it feel to finally be proven true?”

The man breathes a sigh of relief, “Gratifying. Many of my former colleagues turned their backs on me when I started talking about these super humans, now that I’ve been proven right and am in charge of research in the area, I find myself surrounded by a bunch of supposed ‘friends’.”

“We’re running out of time now, is there anything you’d like to say before we end the segment?” Maria Sanson smiles her charming smile at the man.

“Yes. These Beta Testers, are still caring, thinking human beings. But even so, they are dangerous, if you see one, please report there whereabouts to people who know how to deal with them at findthem dot gov.”

“Thanks again for joining us John.”

“My pleasure.”

Maria smiles at the camera as it zooms in on her, “That will will be it for our show today, make sure to tune in tomorrow at five pacific time for the latest on these real life superheroes.”

Maria maintains her smile until her producer signals that the cameras are off.

She turns to her former guest with a frown, immediately launching into a question. “Are you sure that it is a good idea to make the population fear these people?”

Dr. Marone sits back in his chair, surprised by the question. “These people are dangerous, it is better for people to be informed of that danger.”

Maria’s frown deepens on her face, “A man who owns a knife is dangerous. That doesn’t mean that you go reporting every man who likes to cut steak.”

“These people can do more than cut a steak with their powers. If they wanted to, they could kill you before you could blink.” He replies, grabbing his notes and shuffling them into a small pile.

“You’re a psychiatrist, you must realize the dangers of labeling a whole group of people as ‘other’ and ‘dangerous’, not only that, but you are calling on people to report their neighbors. Those are the acts of Stalin and Hitler.” Maria says, her voice rising slightly with frustration.

“If I see someone walking down the street with a machine gun, pointing it at everyone. I think it is right to report that person. Just as you would report a dangerous criminal down the street.” Dr. Marone responds calmly, still shuffling his notes.

“We both know my view on guns and that it doesn’t agree with yours.” She says waving her hand at her producer to stop him from coming over to the table, “But that is besides the point. These people are just humans who gained their powers by a chance of fate, not only that, but they’ve lost their lives defending the rest of us from monsters beyond our imagination.”

“You talk as if you are one of them yourself..” Dr. Marone says, looking at her curiously.

“Do you see what you just did there? You made the fact that I might be one of them a bad thing. One of them. What you are doing is dangerous Doctor. And I don’t like it one bit.”

After she got back home. Maria Sanson smashed her fists into the table, frustrated with the interview she’d had.

A small dent appeared where her hands hit.

“Fucking morons. All of them.” She grumbled, making herself a pot of coffee.

She takes a sip and seems to calm down a bit. “[Status]” she says looking over the little box that appears in front of her.

***********

I wake up to a banging at my door. “Elena!” A masculine voice yells at me through the door. “Wake up!”

I grumble in annoyance at Blake for waking me up as I sit up in my bed.

Dee yawns and stretches in the pillow next to my head.

I rub my eyes as I open the door to the boy who had disturbed my sleep. “What is it Blake?”

“What the fuck is going on?” Blake asks, his gaze intense.

“What the fuck is going on?” I parrot his words, confused.

Blake stares at me with surprise, before grabbing me and pulling me down the stairs with him.

My mother, who is usually very anti-television, is watching the news with my sister. Mom looks concerned, while my sister looks strangely excited.

“Elena didn’t kill you for waking her up did she?” Mom asks.

“I’m being nice this time.” I respond walking up to where they are sitting.

I look at the tv, where the captions read:

9 COUNTRIES HAVE CONFIRMED DAMAGE FROM THE ATTACKS. RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE CUT OFF ALL TRAVEL. UTAH REPORTS MASSIVE DAMAGE AND CASUALTIES IN SALT LAKE CITY.

A video of a group of Beta Testers blasting through a horde of skeletons shows on the screen. Luckily for them, they are covering their faces with masks, so everyone in the world doesn’t know who they are.

The video cuts back to a newscaster. “This may look like something straight out of a movie to you, but we can assure you that this is one hundred percent real. Our reporter on the scene took it themselves. The camera switches to an asian women sitting across from the newscaster, with a little caption saying Tricia Chu.

“I can confirm that I was on the scene when-”

Blake interrupts the newscast with a furious whisper, “What in the world happened Elena?”

“Aliens invaded?” I answer. I mean, it’s kinda true. The creatures aren’t from this planet.

“Is this another thing you can’t talk to people about?” he asks looking into my eyes.

“Monsters are invading from another world. We were sent to deal with the issue.” I jump into the air as Rose speaks from behind me.

I hurriedly turn around and grab her, pulling her into a hug. Then I hold her away from me, looking for any injuries.

“I’m fine.” She says, giving me a sad and tired smile.

“What are you doing here?” I ask quietly, Blake leans in slightly to hear me.

“After all that happened, I just wanted to make sure you are still alive.” It sounded like it was meant to be a joke, but it came out a little too seriously, with a small amount of worry entering her tone.

“You know me. I’m invincible.” I say, giving her my signature smile.

“You have no idea how much I wish that was true.” She says with a tired laugh.

“Weren’t monsters already invading? How is this any different?” Blake asks after a few moments of quiet.

I run my hand through my hair as I think of an answer, “The previous incidents were accidents, they weren’t supposed to happen. These new monsters were sent here on purpose as a… trial for us.”

“Is that why normal people can see them?” Blake asks, his attention turning to the TV.

I nod, “Probably.”

Twenty minutes later, we are sitting around the kitchen table while my mom makes us all some lunch.

Elizabeth walks up to me, interrupting my conversation with my friends. I look down towards her as my friends continue to talk.

“Hey sunshine, what do you need?” I ask.

“Elena…” She looks down unsure how to continue.

I wait patiently, not pushing her.

“What if- What if I’m like the Beta Testers on TV?” She asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I electrocuted the girl that was bullying me. What if I have super powers like those people on TV? Is the government going to I don’t know, take me away?” She asks me seriously.

I’m tempted to laugh, but the seriousness of her questions stops me. “Let’s do a test, shall we?”

“What kind of test?” She asks.

I hold my arm up in front of her, “Try to electrocute me like you did that girl. If you do, that means you have super powers, which is totally awesome. If you don’t, then something else probably shocked the girl.”

Elizabeth stares at my arm concentrating. Eventually she reaches out and grabs it, but nothing happens. Finally, her shoulders sag as she lets go of my arm.

“It really did happen.” She says dejectedly.

I smile at her. “I know. I believe you.”

I am distracted from saying anything else when a screen appears in front of me.

Downloading update 0.25% complete.

System unavailable while update is in progress.

I watch as the percentage slowly goes up, ignoring the food placed in front of me. After two minutes of staring at it, the percentage reaches 100%

Update complete.

Patch 0.2, Adventure Quest

Patch Notes:

[Dungeons] Dungeons are separate dimensions where you fight through a certain type of enemy until you reach a “Boss”. After defeating a boss, you will be returned to the entrance of the dungeon. Various loot can be found inside these dungeons. When entering a dungeon, groups of two or more will automatically be considered a “party” (look forward to future patches containing updates to the party system, currently in the works). Dungeons entrances will randomly spawn across the world. They will be marked with a recognizable power signature, depending on the dungeon’s level. Private dungeons will receive some minor updates, with an increase to number of starting races possible.

[Wandering Monsters] Wandering monsters will appear randomly across the world with varying strength. Upon death of a wandering monster, a suitable reward will be provided.

[Quests] Gods may now issue quests to their chosen Beta Testers, providing rewards if completed. Options regarding quests will be included in the God’s Patch Notes.

[Ruins] Ruin entrances will now spawn across the world. Similar to dungeons, they will simply have traps instead of monsters, higher chance to find Hidden Loot.

Please look forward to the next two updates: Guild wars, and Path Of Exile.