#Janice Cobalt

[lamuradex]

Short Story: Hand of Fate

Tales of Hero City Collection

Wordcount: 14,692

Synopsis: When long lost hero, Laser Lad, returns, he warns of apocalyptic visions of the future. And so, the best and the brightest heroes must mobilise to try and track down the cause.

But their only hope seems to be tracking down the strangest and most elusive figure in the city, The Hand of Fate.

And worryingly, they might not be the only ones looking.

(Hope you've been reading the others in the collection. This one makes reference to a lot of them. Enjoy!)

AO3 Link for those that want it:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65193418

Full Story Below The Break

Hand of Fate

The sky hung dark and the city buzzed. The park, in comparison, was quiet with only the occasional drunk wandering through. A homeless man slept on a bench, tucked under a newspaper, one which proudly proclaimed an upcoming parade to celebrate the prosperity of Hero City, chosen specifically for its irony. The street lights shone, revealing only the occasional racoon rummaging through the trash.

The lights flickered.

Small sparks danced up and down the lampposts. The bulbs blinked, the air riled into a small gale. The racoon fled, the homeless man scarpered, and even the drunks made themselves scarce. The electricity built up all around, then like lightning, sparked into the centre of the plaza, converging on a single point. The power surged, the bolts met, and a flash of light left a strange anomaly in the air.

The anomaly swirled, a storm of light, clouds, dust and darkness. A ravelling and unravelling storm, spinning in and out of itself. An array of rainbow lights danced into its heart, then flared back around the edges. Occasionally, a beam would fly in, pulsing and flashing in an array of colours, and not come out.

One of the scarce drunk people pulled out their phone and called the cops. After their third attempt describing the event, they finally found an officer who believed them and stopped telling them to sleep it off.

Chief McElroy was first on the scene, taking the lead. This was big game. He also dragged Detective Lucy Washburn along, very much against her will. They both knew what an anomaly would attract. Superheroes.

Lucy stood tiredly at the edge, smoking a cigarette, and waiting. She stubbed it into the ground, grinding it with her heel, as a dark figure swept through the bushes nearby.

Lucy sighed. “Look, whichever hero you are, just step into the light? And if you’re a villain, come out with your hands up.” A hand rested on her gun, in either case.

A dark, sheepish form emerged. Hands raised, cape and cowl, the form was shadowy in both manner and costume. Black cape, grey mask, with the letters S.W. on his chest.

Lucy sighed louder. “Hello, Stealth Watcher.”

“Hello, Detective Washburn,” came the growling reply. “Am I allowed on this site or are you going to shoot me?”

“I’m not in charge here, so you’re fine. But I’ll inform McElroy you’re here. Be ready for that,” she said with a small smirk. “Are you alone? Because I thought I heard a heroic swooping just now?”

“Um… hi, Detective Washburn,” Judgement floated down, into sight. She was a young hero, mid-twenties, with dark skin, black slicked-back hair, and a full, strong figure. She wore a black and yellow outfit with the scales of justice as a logo, topped off by a small eye mask.

“Oh joy. Judgement,” Lucy gave a faintly disappointed look. There was history and a little respect in it too. But, almost as revenge for their arrival, she smirked again. “Two of you should be interesting. McElroy will go nuts.”

“Guild of Heroes rules specify two heroes for… weird anomalies,” Stealth Watcher pointed at the vortex still gathering nearby. “One with scientific knowledge and one with… hrm… super… powers,” he finished in a tiny voice.

Lucy just kept up her smirk. “I don’t particularly care. I just know Chief McElroy will be pleased. I’ll just go get him.” Her smirk became a sharklike grin as she left.

Stealth Watcher and Judgement braced themselves. McElroy was a renowned superhero fanboy, and Lucy would take real pleasure stoking that fire.

* * *

 Many signatures and eight selfies later, Stealth Watcher was led up to the anomaly. Whatever it was, it was growing, getting brighter, the clouds whipping faster. While Watcher readied his tools, Judgement floated overhead, making sure the anomaly wasn’t having other effects on the surrounding area. McElroy was at Stealth Watcher’s shoulder, practically buzzing with excitement, as Watcher approached and pulled a gizmo from his pocket.

“Hrrm,” Stealth Watcher murmured, examining the readout.

“What does it say, Stealth Watcher,” McElroy asked, relishing any chance to say the hero’s name. The Chief was an older man with a crop of greying red hair and a strong Scottish accent, but in all his career he had never lost his love for heroes.

“Hrrm,” Stealth Watcher repeated, glancing up at the anomaly.

“What are you looking for, Stealth Watcher?”

“Hrrm…”

“What can you detect, sir?”

“Bloody nothing,” Stealth Watcher grumbled. “It’s an anomaly. As in, anomalous. As in, not expected or understandable. I haven’t got a clue.”

“Oh… Then what does that gizmo do?”

“It’s a thermometer. I had to start somewhere.”

As Stealth Watcher held up the thermometer, lightning burst from the anomaly and fried it in his hand. Watcher dropped the now flaming gizmo, as the wind built and the edges of the anomaly reached closer. Much closer. It was growing alarmingly fast.

“Run!” he suggested to the chief.

They both turned and ran.

Everyone got to a safe distance, the anomaly growing by the second, the light at its core swelling into a miniature sun. White light flared and fragmented into other colours. Judgement landed, energy wreathing her hands, ready to stop whatever came through. Finally, in a last flash of blinding light, the core took shape, shot past Judgement, and skidded to a stop on its heels. Heels it suddenly had. It had taken the shape of a person, the glow fading like cooling metal. When it was gone, there was a man there, one looking very confused.

“What do you bet? Interdimensional traveller or alien?” Chief McElroy asked Stealth Watcher, both hiding in a bush. Watcher didn’t react. He slipped out from the shrubbery and strode cautiously over to the figure.

The stranger was wearing a head to toe bodysuit with the face exposed. The suit was black with an array of rainbow coloured lines decorating it. His face was a little wrinkled, though still held a youthful vigour, maybe late fifties, early sixties, possibly much earlier. There was a spark of someone much younger in his aged eyes.

He looked around, bewildered by his surroundings. At last, he saw Stealth Watcher, eyes wide and worried.

“Where am I?” he said in a panicked voice.

“You’re in Hero City,” Stealth Watcher said calmly.

“What year is it?” he asked, only getting tenser. “I don’t recognise this place.”

“The year is…” Stealth Watcher paused. A memory connected in his head. A photo he’d seen, but of a much younger man. He was certain. “Hold on. Laser Lad?”

“Yes?” the stranger answered.

“Who?” Judgment asked, still behind him, startling the poor man.

“You’re Laser Lad!” Stealth Watcher gasped.

“That’s me,” the stranger waved. Then logic kicked in and he relaxed. “Oh my, that’s a relief. If you know me, then I can’t be that far into the future. Or the past. I was aiming for the Tuesday after I left. How did I do?”

“What day did you leave?”

“Sunday.”

“I…” Watcher didn’t even bother to calculate. "You’ve… been gone a mite longer than you hoped,” he broke the news.

“How long?”

“You went missing thirty years ago… give or take?” Watcher hazarded a guess. “How do you feel?”

“I feel… old,” Laser Lad answered, deflating to lean against his knees. “Thirty years?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Watcher patted him on the back.

Laser Lad’s knees gave way and he sat tiredly on the floor.

Judgment sidled over to Stealth Watcher. “Who?” she asked quietly.

“Laser Lad. He’s one of The League of Titans.”

Judgement shook her head.

“A team of heroes from the old days? You’ve heard of Chorus?”

Judgement lit up. “Of course! Wait, this is one of her team? But you said… I heard he died a long time ago. Some kind of refraction incident, right?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Stealth Watcher dismissed.

“Excuse me?” Laser Lad called over. “Did I hear you say Chorus?”

Watcher nodded. “Yes, we did.”

“Do you know where she is? Or Swoop, or Mask Man, or Burno?”

Both heroes went a little stiff at the name Burno.

“Wow. He has been gone a long time,” Judgement whispered.

“I need to make some calls,” Stealth Watcher hurried away. “The big guy would never forgive me if I didn’t tell him about this.”

* * *

As Stealth Watcher made his calls, Judgement looked after Laser Lad. Though “Lad” felt an odd term, considering. He was older than her by a factor of two, again, apart from that youthful glint in the eyes. Also, she was not a hero historian, so didn’t know the fates of The League. She only knew Chorus was still alive, and that Burno hadn’t remained a hero. She broke the news gently about his turn to villainy and his rebranding as The Torch, not that Laser Lad seemed surprised.

Stealth Watcher soon returned and filled in the gaps he knew, which honestly wasn’t much. Suddenly, a reverent hush fell over the area. The police whispered as a caped figure descended. Even Judgement looked excited.

Justice Man landed in the plaza. His orange suit with a blue stripe down the middle was distinctive, alongside his famously indestructible blue cape. His torso was almost triangular with muscle, and his head was bald and shining. His features were strong, his skin was fair and flawless, and he smiled with a big cheesy grin.

Stealth Watcher groaned in frustration and hurried over to the big lug.

“Do we need the theatrics?” he whispered.

“It always pays to make an entrance, old friend,” Justice Man beamed.

“But this isn’t a meet and greet. Look, he’s been gone a long time, so please, be careful. Keep the fanboy in check!” he whispered harshly, having to stand on tip toes against the man twice his size.

“I will, I will,” Justice Man assured. His smile strained, barely keeping his nerves, as he strode over to Laser Lad. He stood before his idol and cleared his throat.

“Hello, sir,” he greeted with a shrill voice crack.

Stealth Watcher put a palm to his forehead pre-emptively.

“Um… Hello?” Laser Lad answered.

“I’m Justice Man, and I just wanted to say, I’m a huge fan of yours, you and the rest of The League of Titans, and I for one want to welcome you back to this time and reality. And, when this is over, I would like to ask you for your autograph. I have massive respect for you.” Justice Man let out a big breath. “Alright I’m done. Down to business.”

“Oh… Well, thank you,” Laser Lad gave a genuine smile. “I’m sure we can get that all sorted out later.”

“Thank you, Laser Lad,” Justice Man gave a thumbs up.

Stealth Watcher stood in surprise. That had gone quite well. He’d honestly expected much worse, all shrill crying and-

“Oh. My. God!” Judgement hissed in a high pitched squeal. “It’s Justice Man! He is so cool!”

Watcher sighed. He had not been paying attention to Judgement. She was practically vibrating, almost as much as Chief McElroy, who thankfully remained out of the way.

“Keep it cool, Judgement,” Watcher said coolly. “Just be cool.”

“I’m cool. I’ll be cool,” she assured. He didn’t believe her for a minute.

“So, what seems to be the problem?” Justice Man asked his idol.

“Well I was traveling through time, and- Wait, do I know you?” Laser Lad sat to attention. He inspected Justice Man’s face.

“You… you know me?” Justice Man queried.

“I wasn’t expecting Laser Lad to be a fan of yours,” Watcher commented.

“I’ve seen you. Justice Man, right? I saw you when the world was on fire. Has that happened to you yet?”

Justice Man checked the files of his mind. A lot of fire. It had been a long career so far.

“I… don’t think so,” he concluded. “Buildings on fire, yes, lairs, certainly, even a fireworks factory once. But not the world, no. Not yet anyway…” Justice Man paused. “Oh! The future! The world will be on fire.” He paused again. “When?”

“Oh, can’t be for a while. The city was in shambles,” Laser Lad dismissed. “It looked nothing like this… assuming it was Hero City. I was drifting a bit… time and space and everything.”

“But it was me?”

Laser Lad nodded.

“Then, Was there anything important I should know? My age? Whether I was dying or anything? Missing any limbs?”

“No, you seemed well. You and everyone else were fine, it was the city that was on fire.” Laser Lad eyed Judgement a moment. “You might have been there too, but it was difficult to tell. I was a scatter of lasers rattling up and down the timestream, so forgive my memory.”

“Um… You’re forgiven?” Judgement said.

Laser Lad thought hard. “I think I heard something too. You guys were talking, and I heard you say something. You said: ‘The Hand of Fate was key, Justice Man’. I think she was saying it, and you’re Justice Man, right? Thing is, I’m not sure what that means; The Hand of Fate. Not unless destiny was involved or something.”

Justice Man looked to Stealth Watcher, who nodded imperceptibly. They both knew, and knew it best to be subtle.

Judgement, meanwhile, was not on the same wavelength.

“Wait, does he mean The Hand of Fate, as in, the person?”

Laser Lad looked confused, but Justice Man smiled, not wishing to worry him. He quickly excused himself and Judgement, while Chief McElroy arrived with a soothing hot cocoa.

“So, The Hand is tied up in this?” Stealth Watcher reconvened. “Averting some kind of apocalypse?”

“The Hand of Fate. That’s the guy who guides people to their powers, right?” Judgement asked. “That’s who we’re talking about?”

Stealth Watcher nodded. “He appears and guides heroes to their origin stories. First recorded appearance, 27 years ago, there’ve been maybe a dozen heroes helped by him. Omi and Cron were sent to a cave where they found their power stone. Gun Shooter got his guns after he was sent to a specific gun shop. And The Hand supposedly pushed Cartwheeler down a slope so she discovered her incredible sense of balance.”

“Only a dozen? Is that all?”

Stealth Watcher nodded. “That I know of, but a dozen in thirty years ain’t bad.”

“And that’s only the heroes,” Detective Washburn interrupted, appearing beside the huddle.

“Pardon?”

“Look, I don’t like working with you heroes, but I think you ought to know. A while ago, years back, we foiled a criminal case. The Ted Barry thing?” She looked to Judgement, who had unfortunately been involved. “Ted almost became a supervillain, but we found he was directed to the tech by The Hand of Fate, or so he says.”

“But Ted Barry didn’t actually become a supervillain,” Judgement recalled. “We stopped him.”

“No, I stopped him. You interfered,” Lucy argued. “But yes. The Hand failed. I’ve got people looking into that, but they haven’t made much progress. So, and I hate to say this, it might be useful to get some supers involved. Plus, anything you learn about an upcoming apocalypse would be useful. If the world’s ending, I’d like to get my affairs in order.”

“So, that’s it. We’re tracking The Hand of Fate? One of the most elusive and mysterious figures in all of Hero City?” Stealth Watcher summed up.

Lucy shrugged. “Hey, it’s your prerogative. Who can tell you supers what to do?” Her eyebrow raised, looking at one in particular. “Um… Is the big guy alright?”

Stealth Watcher and Judgement looked at Justice Man, who had been strangely quiet. He was staring dreamily into the distance.

“He knows my name,” Justice Man grinned. “Laser Lad knows my name.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and walked away. Stealth Watcher shook his head, then looked to Judgment for a flake of sanity. She was staring at Justice Man with stars in her eyes.

“He’s so down to earth,” she muttered. Watcher resisted the urge to just leave.

“Hey! Big man!” Watcher clapped his hands to garner attention.

Justice Man snapped out of it. “Yes?”

“What’s the plan, Justice Man? Tracking The Hand of Fate will be like catching smoke.”

“Oh, I have a solution for that,” Justice Man said certainly.

“You do?”

“Yep. I know a guy who knows a guy,” he asserted.

“That… is alarmingly non-specific.”

“Hey! Justice Man knows what he’s doing,” Judgement defended.

Justice Man smiled gratefully. “Thank you. It’s Judgement, right?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” she beamed.

“Well, Judgement, we have a bit of a journey. I’ll carry Stealth Watcher.”

“Grand,” Watcher growled.

“And where are we going?” Judgement kept beaming.

“An island resort. Have you ever had dealings with Mr Intellitron?”

Judgment’s joy vanished. “Yes. Once, sir. And it didn’t go particularly well.”

* * *

Judgement and Justice Man flew out to Intellitron Resorts, with Stealth Watcher in a bridal carry, much to his disdain. Intellitron Island, as it was legally known, was tropical, green, with a mostly dormant volcano and the most beautiful beaches this side of paradise.

It was only a few miles off the coast of Hero City, and also situated the former evil lair of Justice Man’s former nemesis, the dreaded Mr Intellitron.

Of course, that was before Intellitron put aside villainy. He’d built the resort to hide his lair, to explain why boats kept heading out there, but then the profit margins came in. He was making more from the resort than anything he’d ever produced from the evil lair under it. And so, the dreaded villain Mr Intellitron became Frank Intellitron, resort owner. Needless to say, the transition was… difficult. But now, the world had moved on and Intellitron Resorts was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the hemisphere.

Though people were still reasonably wary of the resort staff.

It was almost dawn as Justice Man set down, landing them on an upper plaza overlooking a theme park. The theme of the park was supers, with rides themed around all the most famous heroes and villains. Far below, a robotic Justice Man was waving at the kids.

“Put me down,” Stealth Watcher growled, and leapt out of Justice Man’s arms. He soon found a gun barrel trained against his chest. “Umm… guys?” he drew attention to it.

The trio were surrounded by eight members of the resort staff, all former henchmen. Each had a number for a nametag, training blasters on the heroes. The eldest amongst them, a middle-aged man dubbed 14, was clearly in command. He was also wearing a pink Hawaiian shirt.

“Justice Man? You’re not breaking in here again, are you?” 14 asked warily.

“Oh please,” Justice Man dismissed.

“What does he mean ‘again’?” asked Judgement.

“The big guy has had a bit of trouble adjusting after Intellitron retired,” 14 explained. “He’s had some trouble accepting that the boss isn’t evil anymore.”

“Oh, that hasn’t happened in ages,” Justice Man tutted.

“Weeks,” 14 corrected.

“That last time wasn’t my fault.”

“You thought he was building a killer rollercoaster.”

“Well it said-“

“A perilously good time,” 14 finished. “It’s called marketing, Justice Man. And you can apologise again to Henchmen 8 and 13 for breaking their noses.”

Two of the staff flanking glared from behind bandages.

“Sorry,” Justice Man shrank back.

“Why are you here, Justice Man?”

Justice Man’s confidence returned. “Oh, yes. I’m here to talk to Intellitron. I mean Frank. Whichever he’d prefer. It’s important.”

14 looked to Stealth Watcher and Judgment for confirmation. Watcher just nodded, Judgement eyeing the guns warily.

“Alright. Weapons down,” 14 commanded. The staff lowered weapons and went back to their jobs. “You three, with me. The boss is in a meeting, but he’ll be free soon.”

14 led them inside and their surroundings soon became very villainous… in décor if nothing else. Long dramatic corridors, ostentatious and gaudy gold decorations, large tableaus of Intellitron beating Justice Man, now with plaques to site the artist and its cost.

As they went, Justice Man led the way, clearly familiar with the layout, while Stealth Watcher marched close to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Judgment slipped behind them to walk beside 14.

“Hey, um… What’s your name?” she asked.

He pointed at his name badge. “Everyone just calls me 14.”

“Right… Okay, 14. I know this might sound strange, but do I know you from somewhere?”

“You don’t remember me?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Did I rescue you at some point?”

14 laughed. “No. Quite the opposite actually, but I’m not surprised. Justice Man’s met me dozens of times, yet he still rarely recognises me.” He turned to give the fullest view of his face. “You sure you don’t recognise me?”

“Sorry, no. I can’t quite place you.”

“A hint then. Three weeks ago you threw me into a crate and then threw the crate into my colleagues.”

Realisation flashed over Judgement’s face. “Oh my god! You were one of Madame Mechanism’s henchmen?”

“Helping out the family,” he shrugged. “She’s Intellitron’s niece, so might as well. But you know all about that, don’t you?” he said with a knowing smile.

Judgment floundered for a moment, but luckily didn’t have to for long. They reached a large set of double doors, which Justice Man marched through, even as 14 hurried to stop him.

As expected, Mr Intellitron was inside, a phone to one ear. He was a tall man with sapphire blue skin, one robotic eye, a robot arm, and a grey beard where every hair zagged like a lightning bolt. He was also wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and brown shorts which showed off his spindly legs.

He looked round, saw Justice Man, and sighed.

“Trevor, I’m going to have to call you back. Yes, just make sure the delivery arrives on time. No, they need to be blue. No, blue, Trevor. Sorry, I’m going to have to go. Bye. My love to Anna. Bye.” He hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket.

“Mr Intellitron,” Justice Man said grandly. “We meet agai-”

“I’m sorry, sir. I told him you were in a meeting,” 14 interrupted.

“It’s alright, 14. As long as he isn’t smashing through a wall then I’m thankful,” Intellitron reassured. “So, Justice Man, what brings you to my door? And it’s actually the door this time.”

“I need information,” Justice Man continued in grand tones. “Myself and my fellow heroes are pursuing an elusive foe, and I know you have a grand source of knowledge.”

“Sure. I’ll help any way I can,” Intellitron said.

“Very well. Can I have the number for that guy you called years ago?”

Intellitron paused, an almost audible record scratch coming from his thoughts.

“You came here for a phone number?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Which one?”

“You know, the one from years ago. That one.”

“You’re going to have to be way more specific.”

“You know… During the whole team-up thing? The government thing? The Justice Girl thing?” Justice Man specified, while still being frustratingly vague.

Intellitron’s robot eye literally flashed as realisation hit. “You came all this way, dragged them here, and interrupted my work, all for Conspiracy Jeff’s phone number?!” he asked, his tone straining as frustration at the idiot built.

“Yes.”

Everyone else in the room slapped their foreheads. Intellitron himself seemed to be somewhere between genuine confusion and subdued, pathological rage. He took a meditative breath and muttered some reassuring words to himself, then reopened his eyes.

“Here.” He handed over his phone. “It’s under Jeff.”

He was inches away from giving the phone to Justice Man, then a horrifying image crossed his mind. Conspiracy Jeff talking to Justice Man. All Jeff’s theories about lizard men and THE MAN. And Justice Man being stupid enough to believe him…

He smartly gave the phone to Stealth Watcher instead and left them to it. While they worked, he looked straight at Judgement, who had been trying to fade into the background. He gestured a finger for her to follow, and led her out onto the roof.

* * *

The view from the roof of Intellitron’s office was beautiful. The theme park, the distant morning lights of Hero City, the sea, the sun, and the sand. It was too bad Judgement couldn’t enjoy it as her heart was in her throat.

Some years previous, Judgement and Mr Intellitron had met. During Judgement’s first battle with her own nemesis, Madame Mechanism, Intellitron had interrupted to reprimand his niece over the theft of technology. Judgment hadn’t understood though. She’d attacked Intellitron, got hit by a stasis beam, and woke up later with no clue where the villains had gone.

And now the villain who once put Justice Man through his paces was standing before her.

“So, Judgment, it’s good that we finally get to meet,” Intellitron said slyly. “Formally, that is.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. Our last encounter was… inelegant,” she apologised.

“I would say so,” Intellitron agreed, hands behind his back in a classic villain pose. “But, you were not to know, I suppose. Still, a little awareness that evening could have saved us both some unpleasantness.”

“I’m just thankful you didn’t hurt me, sir,” she all but pleaded.

“Yes. And now you are the nemesis to my niece, Madame Mechanism. My niece. My sole joy back during my years of villainy. She deserves only the best,” he said sharply.

“She does, sir.”

“She does. And she gets you. You, her nemesis, her adversary… and the love of her life.”

“Yes… sir,” Judgement said slowly.

Madame Mechanism was also Judgement’s girlfriend. Relationships are complicated.

“Is my niece well?” he asked with the same imperious tone.

“She’s very well. We just started redecorating the lounge.”

“And you’re treating her like the angel she is?”

Judgement quirked an eyebrow. “Angel is a choice word, but yes.”

Intellitron turned his steely gaze on her. “You should know, Judith, my Tessa hasn’t furnished me with your full name. But such secrecy is purely notional. If you should ever hurt her, then there are depths to my dark creativity that I haven’t even begun to tap.”

Judgement worried slightly, but didn’t let it show. Instead she forced a smile.

“If anyone hurt her, sir, you’d have to race me to get to them,” she said coolly.

There was a tense pause, before Intellitron smiled. “I knew Tessa had good taste,” he said warmly. “It’s good to properly meet you, Judgement. Tessa always speaks highly of you.”

“Same of you, Mr Intellitron,” Judgment breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s always recommending we come here for a holiday. I’ve been hesitant because…”

“Because of meeting me. I understand. But you’re here today on business?”

Judgement suddenly remembered. “Oh! Yes! We’re tracking The Hand of Fate.”

“Big fish,” Intellitron admired. “Why?”

“Some future vision of an apocalypse. We only know The Hand is somehow involved.”

“I see,” he nodded, looking out at the horizon as he thought.

“Any tips?”

He looked her in the eye again. Or one of his eyes did. “Conspiracy Jeff should give the others what they need. If anyone knows, he will… If you can sift through his madness.”

“What do you know about The Hand of Fate? Especially him making villains.”

“Well,” he thought, one eye closed as he remembered. His robot eye was watching something else, even as his human eye reopened. “I recall that they convinced Annihilator to change their programming, they locked Winter Lord in that freezer, and that they’re supposedly the one who changed Bur to Boar on Boar-gular’s Villain Submission Form. The Hand’s been at work for quite a while, a few dozen in the past few decades… if rumours are to be believed.”

“So The Hand does create villains as well,” Judgement considered. “Lots of them. We only just realised that was even a possibility. Does that make him dangerous?”

“Maybe,” Intellitron shrugged. His robotic focus was still drifting, while maintaining organic eye contact. “These are dangerous waters, Judgement. You can never be sure what sharks are swimming through them with you.”

“No one knows about this mission. Just us and the police.”

Intellitron smirked. “The police mean well, but the secret is out. Someone will have called someone else, or told someone, or it’s in a report somewhere. Those with the will to find out will do so. And you can never be sure who’s watching.”

Without warning, he raised his robot arm, converted it into a cannon, and fired an energy blast over Judgement’s shoulder. She flinched, almost diving for cover, but turned as something behind her exploded.

A metal, flying object flickered in and out of visibility. Invisible, then not, then invisible again. It was a moot point anyway, as it was on fire and diving towards the fairground. Intellitron put a finger to his ear.

“14? Have someone go and retrieve the drone which just crash-landed in the log flume. At least it should be there if my aim was right. It must have been following our intrepid heroes. Also, look after the place. When the heroes go, I’m going with them.”

Judgement and Intellitron returned to the room below, as Justice Man was inspecting the art and Stealth Watcher looked to be on the edge of a breakdown speaking to Jeff. Seeing Intellitron turn up, he hurriedly ended the call and handed back the phone.

“He’s left the information in the old Greystoke Republic building. Says he has a whole dossier on The Hand of Fate. He also says the building’s an important part of the puzzle, whatever that means.”

“And what did Jeff ask for in return?” Intellitron wondered.

“I have to fit a satellite dish for him… But since he doesn’t have a TV, I‘m mildly concerned what it’s for.”

Intellitron waved reassuringly. “I wouldn’t worry. Jeff’s trustworthy… most of the time.”

Behind the heroes, Henchmen 7 and 10 dragged in the surveillance drone, pulling plastic lilies off it from the flume ride. Stealth Watcher clocked it, nodded in silent understanding, as Intellitron gestured for it to be moved to the lab.

* * *

The building Jeff sent them to was currently under renovations, blue tarps and scaffolding everywhere, the entire building having a face lift, but the work was currently on pause, funding issues apparently, so the heroes and the former villain let themselves in.

Following Jeff’s directions, they headed to the 5th floor and found a pot plant, one that Jeff had specifically left there. And there, behind it, was a manila folder.

The folder contained three bits of paper. Each had a single word on it. The first read “Hand”. The second read “Of”. The third read “Fate”. It was otherwise empty.

“God dammit, Jeff,” Intellitron cursed as he re-examined the papers.

“So, even the conspiracy nut has nothing on The Hand of Fate?” Judgement complained.

 “Does anyone else find that more suspicious?” said Stealth Watcher. “More suspicious than if he’d had reams of information on the guy?”

“This Jeff fellow might just be having a bad day?” Justice Man suggested.

“I doubt he’s ever had a good day,” Judgement folded her arms.

“Find anything else, Intellitron?” Stealth Watcher asked.

 “Nothing yet,” he murmured, his robot eye scanning in various wavelengths.

“Any idea on why this building was apparently important?” Judgement wondered.

“No clue about that either.” Intellitron turned to the group. “But I am accepting theories from the gallery. Any takers? What happened to this building anyway? Why is it being repaired?”

“Superhero fight,” Stealth Watcher recalled. “Omi and Cron were fighting against Annihilator and they trashed the place. I don’t know why that would be important to our search though.”

Realisation hit Judgement. Intellitron had had the same idea.

“Two heroes and a villain created by The Hand,” they said in unison.

“So, The Hand of Fate is pretty prolific,” Stealth Watcher guessed. “Is that what Jeff’s telling us? And, just to check, was anyone here created by The Hand?”

“No,” came the collective chorus from the others.

“And you’re sure this Conspiracy Jeff is trustworthy, Intellitron?” Judgement checked.

“Usually. But you’re right. It’s more suspicious that Jeff gave us nothing. Perhaps the building is the real clue?” He looked around, hoping the truth would jump out at them. He gave up. “Let’s get back to the lair… I mean the resort. I wouldn’t put it past Jeff to be using some new chemical for invisible ink, one I can’t detect… not that there would be any point if I couldn’t detect it.”

“Come on,” Stealth Watcher led them out.

A little defeated, the heroes and former villain wandered into the street.

As they did, a car pulled up. None of them gave it much notice, until the doors opened and seven people rushed out. Four were men in suits, obviously armed, and two were soldiers in full tactical gear. The last was a woman who, with just her expression, demeanour and attitude, was more intimidating than all the others combined, like a shark on legs.

She was narrow, thin like a blade, with bronze hair tied back in an incredibly tight bun. She was wearing a buttoned up black suit without a tie, and not a crease to be seen in the fabric. She looked to be in her mid-forties, with light crow’s feet, sharp thin lips and the slightest hint of makeup, rosy, blushed cheeks and the merest suggestion of blue eyeshadow. She walked in flat shoes, straight-backed like a post. She wasn’t even armed, not even with a pistol, but by the way her guards moved around her, she clearly didn’t need one.

The woman stepped forwards and Justice Man stepped to meet her casually. He was his usual proud self, charming smile and all, but there was a slyness to her. She looked him up and down like she was assessing his weak points and seeing every single one.

“Out of my way, Justice Man,” she ordered.

“Hello, miss. I’m sorry, but you don’t have any need to be here. This is superhero business,” Justice Man said politely, extending an arm to protect the scene. “Please, leave immediately.”

“Oh, I think I have every reason to be here,” she answered, her voice slithering.

The hero smiled at her. “My apologies then. May I ask who you are? Do you own this building?”

“That’s classified, not for you to know, Justice Man.”

“Ma’am, this is official superhero business. You’ll only get in the way.” He put a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back. Her entourage flinched, reaching for guns, but Intellitron’s robot eye flared to keep them in check.

The woman glared at Justice Man’s hand much like a snake would a mongoose. With venomous hatred.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she disagreed, cracking a cruel smile. “This is our jurisdiction and you’ll just get in our way. And I think we’d both hate that, wouldn’t we, Justice Man. After all, Oak Lane is so pretty this time of year.” Her tone rang with threat and she watched his hand until it retreated.

But it didn’t.

Justice Man’s eyes widened, his face hardened. Storm clouds gathered on his brow. His hand moved until it grabbed her collar. His fist tightened, his knuckles white. The woman watched him cautiously, this clearly not what she’d expected to happen.

“Go ahead,” Justice Man snarled. “Use my real name.”

“I beg your pardon?” she glowered.

Justice Man glared back harder. “You heard me. Go ahead and use my name. I dare you. Use my name, go to my home, mess with my family. But know this. Once you’ve dealt that card, you can’t put it back. Because I’d do anything to protect them. And now I know what you look like. I know who you are. And you don’t want to see what I’d do if you hurt them again,” he roared through gritted teeth, his nose almost pressed to hers.

“At arms,” the woman muttered, though her men responded like it was a battle cry.

A robotic hand placed itself on Justice Man’s shoulder. The hero felt its cold touch and turned his head. He calmed down. He let go of her collar, the guns lowered, and he let the metal hand guide him away. As he moved, Intellitron filled the void. The woman was still stood there, growling like someone had insulted her.

“Damned savage,” she cursed, straightening her collar.

“Congrats. You made the big lug angry,” Intellitron said condescendingly, his voice like robotic velvet. “I worked my whole villainous career and never got him that cross.”

“It doesn’t-”

“You know, it’s funny,” he cut her off. “A long time ago, 15 years or so, the Defence Ultra Mobile Bureau kidnapped a kid. Weird, right? A government agency, kidnapping a little girl? Unbelievable.”

“It still doesn’t-”

“Now, Justice Man and I rescued her, of course,” he interrupted, “my first foray into do-gooding, as it turned out, but afterwards I decided to look into the Defence Ultra Mobile Bureau, or D.U.M.B., just in case. And do you know what I found? I discovered that no kidnapping had been sanctioned. Not a one. Not by the government and not by any agency. The kidnapping was entirely illegal. What are the odds? You’d never believe it,” he crooned.

Intellitron paused. She opened her mouth as he paused just long enough to not let her get a word in.

“But do you know what I do know?” he steamrolled over her. “I do know it was undertaken and ordered by the D.U.M.B leader, a certain up and coming government agent, one Miss Janice Cobalt. That’s you, isn’t it?” he stated with a gleefully vicious grin.

Miss Cobalt could only glare daggers back.

“Because that is interesting, isn’t it? And it occurs to me that the little girl, the one who was kidnapped, whoever she was, she would likely remember you, right? If she were to see you again, say, if you raided whatever address you mentioned to Justice Man just now, then that little girl would recognise you and be able to testify against you in court. She could get you locked up for the rest of your days for kidnapping. Isn’t that right, Miss Cobalt?”

“You think I’m afraid of some child, you blue skinned freak?” she smiled. “Do you think I’m scared of you?”

“No. But you should be. Because, yes, congratulations, you managed to get an ounce of genuine anger out of Justice Man. Like blood from a stone. But consider this.” He leaned in close, lowering to a harsh whisper. “I’m a man who brought this city to its knees on dozens of occasions, I’ve fought more heroes than you’ve had birthdays, and I, personally, don’t take kindly to people kidnapping kids. So, Miss Cobalt, do you really want to find out how much anger is in me?” he hissed, his eye glowing red.

Miss Cobalt remained still, not even sweating. She just glared into the glow of his red eye.

Then Intellitron smiled, and the anger was gone, his eye back to normal. “Now, we’ll be going,” he said, and turned to leave. Everyone else followed.

“Hey! You can’t just leave!” Cobalt yelled.

.“Goodbye, Miss Cobalt,” Intellitron called back.

Miss Cobalt was simply fuming. “You know this isn’t over. You’ll live to regret this!” she called after them.

“That’s something every villain ever has said, Miss Cobalt, Intellitron replied. “Consider what that means for your motives.”

And the heroes and villain walked away, until they were around a corner, when they all broke into a sprint.

* * *

Miss Cobalt continued to fume. With the heroes gone, she returned to base, but all that occupied her were those blasted supers. And that damned Intellitron. He’d trounced her. Again! It had been him that tipped the scales years ago with Justice Man’s daughter.

Not that she had been prepared for Justice Man today either, as it turned out.

“Note to self: Try not to put myself too close to Justice Man again. I misjudged how far I can push him,” she said into a dictaphone. She’d had to pull one out of the archives, but needs must.

She looked at her shoulder where Justice Man’s hand had been. He’d touched her. Urgh! She would have to burn this suit when this was over… well, maybe just the shirt and jacket. These were some of her favourite trousers.

“What’s the plan, Miss Cobalt, ma’am?” one of her braver underlings approached.

She glared in a way that would kill lesser men. “Did the team on the roof complete the scan? A 3D scan of whatever those fools found? That humiliating performance wasn’t for nothing?”

“Yes, ma’am. 100%”

“Then today wasn’t a total waste. Any clue where they’re going?”

“We’re not sure yet, ma’am. Should we dial back on surveillance?”

“No, no. They know we’re watching, and The Hand of Fate is the real prize. If we’re pursuing, it would be a shame to let them know we have the advantage.”

The underling tried to follow her tortuous logic but failed. He just nodded, accepted his orders, and returned to work. Around Miss Cobalt, tens, if not hundreds, of soldiers followed her every order. Strong, trained, loyal, they’d crawl across broken glass if she commanded.

And with Miss Cobalt, such a command was not unprecedented.

* * *

The tone as everyone returned to Intellitron Resorts was rather sombre. Stealth Watcher and Justice Man slipped away into a corner to talk, while Intellitron took the documents to a nearby computer to analyse them. Judgement, feeling vestigial, went over to Intellitron. She pulled up a chair, maybe a little too familiar, but sat and watched him work. Outside, they could hear the occasional pop of explosions as turrets blew up D.U.M.B. drones. The resort guests thought they were fireworks.

“So… What was all that about?” Judgement finally asked.

Intellitron spared her a glance but kept working. “You ever encounter the D.U.M.B.?”

“Once. Those DUMBies tried to capture me and Mechanism in the middle of a fight… They tried to vaporise her. Would have succeeded too if I wasn’t there,” Judgement said proudly.

Intellitron rewarded her with a smirk. Trying to win points, he thought to himself, protecting his niece. It was working.

“Yes, those creeps,” he confirmed. “And that lovely-” he ground the word like a cigar- “woman we just met was the D.U.M.B.’s leader, politician turned militia commander, Miss Janice Cobalt.”

“She seemed a piece of work,” Judgement judged. Correctly.

“Yes. She is,” Intellitron frowned. “The D.U.M.B. used to be an organisation to help the government combat superpowers. Founded in the wake of the Apocalypto Incident, they helped the government capture, or if needed, destroy supervillains. And I could honestly respect that, even as a supervillain myself.”

“Then what changed? Why take issue with us today? Aside from you, the rest of us are heroes, and you’re reformed.”

“Mostly,” Intellitron agreed. “But the D.U.M.B. went off grid decades ago. The last official account reported a change in leadership, with Cobalt taking charge. Not long after, they were reported going after heroes. Since then they’ve largely been ungoverned, and for the past fifteen years, essentially gone rogue. Well, I say rogue… You can never be sure with government agencies.”

“And Justice Man has a history with them too?”

“Me and him, yes.”

Judgement twiddled her thumbs a moment. “I’ve never seen Justice Man angry before,” she said simply, her tone between worry and fear.

Intellitron nodded slightly. Justice Man was a force of nature. A goofy force of nature, like a rain of frogs or a butter tsunami, but a force nonetheless. “I’ve rarely seen it myself,” he sympathised.

“What actually happened, between you two and Cobalt?” she asked, knowing she might not get an answer.

Intellitron gave a weighty sigh, still running programs as he talked. “15 years ago, the D.U.M.B. kidnapped Justice Man’s daughter, using her as bait. Bait for him. Justice Man came to me for help, his nemesis, because he was scared of bringing another hero against what was essentially a government agency. And I helped him that day because I thought it was rotten what they were doing, threatening a kid… I was a supervillain and I wouldn’t stoop so low! In the end, we saved her and went our separate ways, back to battling week to week. But we never forgot what they did. He couldn’t. A father never would.”

They looked over to Justice Man, huddled in a corner, cape wrapped around him like a comforter as Stealth Watcher brought them some tea.

“And now Cobalt’s hunting The Hand of Fate too?” Judgement said.

Intellitron looked at her curiously.

“What? Why else would they be following us?”

He smiled, then silently returned to his work.

“Any clues from Conspiracy Jeff?” Judgement prompted.

“Not that I can see. It’s three pages with three words. Not much else.”

“Not much? So there is something. Invisible ink? Some kind of code? Maybe some sort of a magic eye thing?” Judgement guessed.

“No,” Intellitron shook his head. “All good guesses, but no.”

“How about steganography?” Stealth Watcher suggested, approaching alongside Justice Man, who was sipping his tea gingerly.

“And that’s the ‘Not Much’,” Intellitron said glumly. He zoomed the screen in and focused on the word “Hand”, revealing the entire word to be made up of dozens of smaller words. Each one was also the word “Hand”.

“Oh. That’s useful,” Watcher grumbled.

“Indeed.”

Judgement looked on, considering whatever crazy was in Jeff’s head. It was a difficult headspace to reach, but not as far as she’d have liked. A light bulb went on. “If this Conspiracy Jeff is as mad as you say, have you checked the whole document?”

“What, the whole three words of it?”

“And the white space?”

Intellitron paused. He scanned the paper again. The scan revealed dozens of white words in the white space, written in white ink on white paper. And it wasn’t just the word Hand written over and over again.

“Huh. Jeff really has dialled up his crazy,” Intellitron admired. “Let’s see what he has to say.”

* * *

 Everyone sat around while Intellitron read, as 14 came in and got them drinks. As he greeted each hero, he grumbled a little when Justice Man failed to recognise him yet again.

After a while, Intellitron reappeared.

“Any news?” Judgement asked.

“Not much, actually,” Intellitron said with failing enthusiasm. “While Jeff has a good list of heroes and villains created by The Hand, as well as a list of suspected mole-people, it seems a sense of civil mindedness has caused him not to reveal any identities, secret or otherwise, nor has he mentioned times, places or methods. However, I have discovered that The Hand of Fate has helped create more supers than we knew, supers on both sides, by a factor of ten. I’d imagine most of them don't even know."

“No one in this room?” Judgement checked.

“No, none of us,” Intellitron appreciated the caution. “But, of note, it seems Jeff has some puzzle pieces he can’t place. Most are put down to mole-people, but a lot of them focus on the Greystoke Republic building.”

“He said the building was important,” recalled Stealth Watcher. “Any idea why?”

“I don’t know,” Intellitron shook his head. “I think Jeff knows. He’s just not telling.”

“He is nuts though,” Judgement debated. “How many people did he think were moles?”

“47, and one of them is in this room, but that’s not the point,” Intellitron pressed on. “There’s another secret somewhere in this, but not in this file. Not in the information he concealed using his most sophisticated method of concealment.”

“Not really sophisticated,” Judgement marked. “It was white ink on white paper.”

“Either way, it’s so secret that he didn’t hide it.”

Stealth Watcher put a hand to his chin. “Are we looking for something glaringly obvious then? Something only an idiot would think to check because it was so blatant?” He turned to Justice Man. “Hey, JM? If you were investigating a building, what would be the first thing you’d check?”

“Um…” Justice Man thought for a moment. “Where it was?”

“Well, we know that already,” Watcher said doubtfully.

“Um…” Justice Man thought again. “Who owns it? Maybe Jeff wants us to speak to them?”

Everyone else paused. It was such a mundane solution, but it had a ring of truth. So obvious, and yet you could see the D.U.M.B. overlooking it. It had to be the answer.

“So, who owns it?” Justice Man asked Intellitron.

Intellitron typed the address into his computer. “It belongs to a company; Mann Industries. It’s one of the personal holdings of one Justin S. Mann.” He turned a little smirk on Justice Man, as did everyone else.

Justice Man backed away hurriedly. “Oh no. If you’re going to see him, then I simply can’t come.” He backed towards the door.

“Why not?” Judgement teased.

“Oh… me and Justin. We’ve never got along. Besides, I’ve got a few things to do, if you don’t mind. I’ll be back afterwards,” he excused himself and left.

Intellitron, Stealth Watcher and Judgement all refrained from laughing, at least until he was gone. Justice Man was the best at fighting evil, but he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.

* * *

The rumours surrounding famed bachelor Justin Mann had started mere days after he first hit the front pages. A simple millionaire philanthropist, and a contributor to dozens of charities, Justin was the talk of the town, but there were always those who thought he was more. Some theorised he was actually the mild mannered, though “mild” was a bit of a stretch, alter ego of the legendary hero Justice Man.

Fortunately, no one believed it. How could they? The philanthropist millionaire, Justin Mann, a superhero? He didn’t have the time. On top of that, Justin always wore that cowboy hat, it was his signature, while the hero Justice Man was bald, which was hereditary. And there couldn’t be baldness under that cowboy hat. Not a chance. There was just no way they were the same person. The theories concerning them were viewed on the same level as stories of fluoride based mind control and UFOs flying overhead… both of which had happened in Hero City. But alien superheroes didn’t count.

Judgement, Stealth Watcher and Intellitron all made their way up to the roof of Mann Industries tower, Intellitron riding on a floating throne, Watcher using his grapple. They’d called ahead and made an appointment, so found the roof door unlocked, descending into the penthouse office.

The office was a large empty space with a single desk in the middle and windows on all sides. The windows were tinted and a green carpet strip ran between the lift and the desk. For anyone that had seen Cosmo Derringer’s office, a billionaire real-estate mogul, it was almost a point for point match. A precise match, except for one detail. Everything in Justin Mann’s office was bigger. The desk was bigger, the carpet lusher, even the logo on the desk was bolder, a desk so big there was a stepladder up to the chair behind it.

And for Intellitron and Judgement, who had both seen Cosmo’s office, it was very telling.

“Howdy!” someone greeted from somewhere behind the desk. They jumped down and jogged around, pulling a cowboy hat on. “What can I do you for, partners?” he said in a deeply unnatural southern drawl.

The heroes and ex-villain restrained laughter. The man was broad, almost triangular in body, clean shaven and bright eyed, though looked a little flushed as if he’d hurried to be here. He wasn’t wearing spandex, but instead a grey suit with a cowboy hat forced down to his ears.

 “Oh, hello… Justice Man,” Intellitron said, trying not to giggle.

“Oh, sir, I ain’t no Justice Man,” Justin said. “We’re nothing alike… partner,” he added to sustain the accent.

“My apologies. I misspoke,” Intellitron bid, dripping with irony. “We wanted to speak to you concerning a building you own downtown.”

“Which building would that be, partner?” he asked, insisting on using hard Ts.

“We don’t know the name,” Intellitron played his cards to his chest, “but it’s being refurbished. It was destroyed by Team Cronomi and Annihilator?”

“Oh, the Old Greystoke Building. That was quite a hootenanny.” Justin slapped his thigh and winced.

“Yes, that one,” Intellitron confirmed. “We were told it had some connection to The Hand of Fate. Have you heard of The Hand?”

“Don’t reckon I have,” Justin said. “But, if’n you’re looking for info on buildings, then I’m your guy.”

“Well… no. We’re not. We’re looking for info on The Hand of Fate,” Intellitron corrected.

“Partner…” Justin murmured.

There was an awkward silence.

After a moment, Justin recovered. “If you’re looking for this old polecat, perhaps I can help there too. What are you looking for?”

“Some connection between you and The Hand of Fate,” Stealth Watcher stepped forward.

“Oh, howdy, partner? We haven’t been introduced.” Justin extended a hand.

“Um… Stealth Watcher.” Watcher shook it, suddenly less sure who this man was.

“But you recognised Intellitron, Mr Mann?” Judgement smirked, joining the conversation.

“Well, this blue fella was on the news, weren’t he?” Justin stated, straining the accent to incredulity. “Years back, he was a mean old carpet bagger.”

“I don’t know if I should take offence to that,” Intellitron said.

“Anyway,” Watcher moved on, “Is there a connection between you and this Hand of Fate?”

“I don’t rightly know.” Justin marched back to his chair, clambered up the steps, and pushed a button on his desk. “Meredith? Do we have any files on a guy called Hand of Fate?”

The intercom crackled back. “No, Mr Mann.”

“Not even in our confidential files? The special interest properties?”

“I’ll just check, Mr Mann.”

Judgement looked at him in surprise. “You sell secret lairs?”

“Pardon, little lady?”

“Special interest properties. I know that’s code for secret lairs.”

He shrugged back. “I sell one or two. I’m usually beaten out by that rustler, Cosmo Derringer.” He shook his fist in the direction of Cosmo Tower, which was taller than his.

Meredith’s voice returned. “I’ve found no record of him, Mr Mann.”

“Oh, well. Thanks, Meredith.”

“My name is June-” Justin let go of the button.

“Sorry, fellows. I’ve no clue,” he shrugged at the trio.

“So why did Jeff send us here?” Intellitron wondered.

“If he sent us. We made a bit of a mental leap to get here,” Stealth Watcher tempered.

“Following a conspiracy theorist’s logic though…” Judgement disputed. She tapped a finger against her hand, getting back into the headspace. “Say, Justin Mann? Was there anything special about the Greystoke Republic building? Any conspiracies about it?”

“Well, it’s a personal favourite o’ mine,” Justin described. “I inherited it through a trust, but it’s the oldest holding I own. Most expensive too. The upkeep’s terrible. There’s plenty of ghost stories, especially as it’s now the second oldest property in the city.”

“The second?” Stealth Watcher queried.

“Yeah. The buildings in this town get knocked down and demolished like clockwork by super fights. But the old Greystoke Republic is the second oldest original site in town. Heck, even most of the city landmarks have been replaced over the years.”

“They do make good targets for villains,” Intellitron considered.

“What’s the oldest building?” Watcher asked.

“Not a building, per se, but an old sewage cistern,” Justin said. “And Cosmo Derringer’s owned it for 27 years, the varmint. His oldest property. He’s tried buying up the Greystoke Republic too, that monopoliser, but I won’t let him have it.” He spat and missed a spittoon.

A light went on in Stealth Watcher’s head. “Origin stories!” he muttered.

“Pardon, Stealth Watcher?” Intellitron asked.

“That’s what Jeff’s telling us. The biggest conspiracy, staring us in the face. We don’t think of it as one because we know it’s true.”

“What do you mean?”

“That Cosmo Derringer sells superhero real-estate!”

There was a moment of tense silence. It was full of quiet confusion.

“Yes. We know,” Intellitron said obviously. “All three of us have bought from him, I assume,” he turned to Judgement who nodded.

“I haven’t,” Justin piped up. Everyone ignored him.

“No, don’t you see. The Hand of Fate creates origin stories for heroes, right? And he first appeared around 27 years ago. But who was his first origin story?”

“I don’t…” Intellitron began. Then the pieces fell into place. “27 years ago. Cosmo’s owned the cistern for 27 years. The same time The Hand of Fate first appeared. It was the first lair Cosmo Derringer ever sold. The Hand of Fate was his first client!”

“And maybe Cosmo was The Hand’s first origin story,” Watcher affirmed.

“Perhaps he still lives there,” Judgement suggested.

“Mr Mann, do you have the address of this old cistern?” Intellitron asked the philanthropist.

“I can get that for you now, partner,” he said, still forcing the southern drawl.

“Hey, why don’t you join us?” Judgment asked, suppressing a smirk. “You’d love our friend Justice Man.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Justin excused himself. “I’m not a big fan of that Justice Man. Too bald.”

Stealth Watcher sighed. “Okay, enough is enough. You can drop the act, Justice Man. It’s just us here. You can trust us. We know it’s you.”

Justin looked puzzled. “I’ve no clue what you’re talking about, friends. I’m no Justice Man, no siree. I’m a busy-ness-man,” he said, stretching the pronunciation to its limits.

“Seriously?”

“Yep. And I wouldn’t even like to pretend to be him. Who knows who could be listening. Someone could overhear and get the wrong idea about me, Justin Mann.”

“Alright, alright,” Stealth Watcher let him off the hook. “If you can get us that address, we’ll see you around.”

“Here you go, partner,” Justin said, handing over a piece of paper with the address scrawled on it. It was also Justice Man’s handwriting.

“Thanks, partners,” he bid, and the heroes, and ex-villain, all left.

Once they were outside, they finally broke and laughed until they could hardly breathe, then headed for the cistern.

 * * *

In a classified location, Janice Cobalt was watching one of her security drones. She watched as the heroes, and ex-villain, left the building, heading off across the city.

“I want eyes on them, even if they detect this drone,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” a female underling answered.

“And what is the current location of Justice Man?”

“He’s still in that building, wearing that stupid cowboy hat,” she answered.

Miss Cobalt stopped and glared. “I didn’t ask about Justin Mann. I want to know where Justice Man is right this second!” She bore teeth as she snarled.

The underling opened her mouth to speak. Then closed it again. There didn’t seem to be a safe answer, but Cobalt’s eyes were drilling into her skull.

“Um… we lost track of him,” she said, lying like a parent explaining where the presents came from on Christmas.

“Then find him. Now. And did we bug the office?”

“Yes, ma’am. The heroes are heading for the Old Cistern. It’s a historic, if very gross, landmark. They believe it’s the hideout of The Hand of Fate.”

“Then ready a contingent and we’ll get there first. I’ll see this done myself.”

* * *

The heroes, and ex-villain, all regrouped at the entrance to the sewer systems, a wide tunnel where run-off flowed into a waterway. Justice Man joined them promptly, pointedly not explaining where he’d been.

“And are you sure you weren’t there?” Judgement asked him.

“I was not there, Judgement. I am aware of the rumours, but I am not Justin Mann nor have I ever been,” Justice Man said unconvincingly.

“And you never will be?”

“Yes.”

They decided to let it go, ready to head inside, when a quick headcount came up short. Stealth Watcher wasn’t there. He was a short distance away, on the phone, talking to someone.

“Alright. Thanks, darling. Love to Debra,” he said, the dark cloaked figure speaking like a valley girl. It was very disconcerting.

“What… was that?” Judgement said, almost afraid of what she’d just seen.

“Sorry,” Watcher said, switching his voice modulator back on. “I was just doing some sleuthing concerning Cosmo’s ownership of this place. Don’t worry, I was careful,” he answered Intellitron’s gaze. “I just wanted to see what information I could get on the cistern, but it’s not a registered property, not on the books, and not exactly a public attraction.”

“Perfect for a secret lair?”

“Oh, certainly.”

“Then let’s get in there,” Judgement proclaimed.

The tunnels of the old, mostly abandoned, sewer networks were exactly as pleasant as they sounded. Mildew, mould and worse covered most surfaces. But the tunnels were quiet, near abandoned, besides a few rats. The network was quite extensive, abandoned but vast, much of it falling into disrepair. Even so, some water still flowed, though in terms of content it was about as pleasant as the walls.

Between handkerchiefs and capes pressed to faces, trying to block out the smell, no one really talked. There wasn’t much to talk about anyway, even if the sticky air wasn’t keeping them silent.

Intellitron led the way, Justice Man following behind, Stealth Watcher and Judgement taking up the rear. Intellitron had a small display on his robot wrist, guiding them through the winding tunnels. Occasionally, a small ping made him raise an eyebrow. Justice Man looked up at each one, counting on his fingers.

“We’re almost there,” Intellitron whispered. No one knew why he was whispering.

“How many?” Justice Man answered him, muttering under his breath. “I lost count.”

“Twenty two. All around. All armed.”

“She thinks she has the drop on us?” Justice Man smirked.

“Oh, certainly, the prideful fool. Are the others ready?”

“Watcher will be. He’ll have spotted them by now. Not sure about the kid.”

“She’s good. She can keep up.”

“Good to know. The party’s about to start,” Justice Man quipped.

On cue, the sound of jackboots came from all around. Troopers in full combat gear emerged from between the pillars, each garbed in grey and green with D.U.M.B. printed across their chest. Each of them carried a modified machine-gun with a glowing power cell in the side. They formed into a curve ahead, half surrounding the heroes.

And at their centre was Cobalt, a glowing pistol in hand, and the look of a reaper in her eyes.

“Greetings, heroes… and Mr Intellitron,” she said with a sneer.

“Afternoon, Miss Cobalt,” Intellitron grinned. “Brave to face us in person, no?”

“Brave would be if I didn’t already have you outmatched and outgunned.”

“Do you? Because we’re not dead yet,” he observed.

“Captives are better than corpses,” she sneered. “So, do you surrender? I hope you don’t.”

“Um, no. I don’t think we do. Besides, you’ve already made your first mistake,” Intellitron marked.

“What? What mistake?”

“Talking. It’s fatal. I should know. Monologuing defeated me enough times,” he tutted.

Cobalt glared. “And how have I already lost by talking?”

“Because you’ve lost track of one of us already, haven’t you? There should be four of us?” He held up four robotic fingers.

She looked behind him. There were three heroes, four including him. No one missing.

“You’re… wrong?” Cobalt said, certain this was a trick but not sure how.

“Oh, I’m not wrong. I was lying. But you’re talking, which gave me time to do this.” He stepped forwards and raised his robot arm in its cannon formation.

Cobalt leapt back as the soldiers stepped forwards. They fired. Twenty energy bolts hurtled towards Intellitron, and hit his personal forcefield. With a crackle of light and Intellitron’s devilish grin, the bolts ricocheted straight back, scattering the troops. With their lines broken, Justice Man and Judgment took to the air, and Stealth Watcher melted into the shadows. Intellitron meanwhile turned and winked his bionic eye, rapid firing three stasis beams and locking three soldiers mid-step.

Justice Man charged a line like a bull against a matador, but this time the bull had the cape. In one sweep, and with a crack like a thunderclap, he knocked down five with a single punch. He then flipped his cape over his head, deflected two energy bolts, and rammed the attacking pair into a wall. Done.

Judgement flew away, leading a group of six down a side tunnel. Ahead was a dead end. She was like a sheep cornered by wolves… if the sheep had a flamethrower. The soldiers followed her in, she span in the air, planted her feet on the dead-end, and sprang back towards them. As she flew past their shoulders, she fired an energy blast into each of their backs, knocking them to the disgusting floor. As a final measure, she landed, gathered one final blast in her hands, and exploded it down the corridor. It swept up the soldiers and slammed them against the far wall, leaving them, if not unconscious, certainly wishing they were.

Stealth Watcher, meanwhile, was having fun. A troop of four came for him, but he slipped into shadow, cape around him, black on darkness. One trooper was stupid enough to move alone, so Watcher kicked him into some long forgotten sewage. When a pair came to check on him, Watcher went for the one by himself, appearing from nowhere and choking him out. When the pair came running back, something embedded in one’s weapon, the weapon exploded, and Watcher leapt out and planted a boot between someone’s eyes. Finally, with a spin kick, he knocked the last to the floor. He then retrieved and tied up the men, and rescued the one in the sewage. He was grateful, until Watcher punched him out cold.

The three heroes reformed on Intellitron and Cobalt. She and the ex-villain were staring each other down, her pistol raised and scorch marks all around. Now she was outnumbered. She weighed her options, lowered her gun, and holstered it, raising her hands in surrender.

“What’s the count?” Intellitron asked. “How many soldiers down?”

“I dunno,” Justice Man shrugged. “What do you think, Miss Cobalt?”

She glared at him. Then she smiled. “Not enough,” she said and leapt aside.

From an archway behind her, a man with the armour of half a tank clanked through. Leather and screws held it all together, each arm equipped with a massive energy cannon.

“Let me introduce you to the Ted Barry Mark II,” Miss Cobalt proclaimed. “Better than that loser The Hand tried to make, hey, Judgement?”

The armoured giant raised a cannon and fired.

Judgement leapt behind a pillar, the shot going wide. Stealth Watcher threw a throwing disk, but it bounced off the metal. Intellitron fired a stasis beam, but it ricocheted off a force-field. The armoured figure began to laugh, as he took dead aim at Stealth Watcher.

Then he froze. There was a clicking. Machinery whirred. Nothing happened.

“Um… Miss Cobalt?” came the muffled voice of the soldier. “I can’t move.”

“What?”

“I can’t move. Don’t know why.”

The heroes came out of hiding, as Justice Man stood before the tank man. A hand was on his temple, a purple aura creeping into the armour. Intellitron watched, an impressed smile creasing his face.

“Judgement?” the ex-villain beckoned.

“Yes?”

“Who was Ted Barry?” he asked.

“A guy The Hand of Fate tried to make into a supervillain ages ago. Used neurological control systems, cannons, cybernetics and stuff. Stolen villain tech.”

“And whose stolen tech was it?”

“It was… Intellitron tech,” Judgement realised, dredging it up from her memory.

Intellitron grinned. “A hero never forgets their nemesis’s designs,” he purred.

The purple of Justice Man’s telekinesis crept around the armour. It pulled screws, loosened bolts, and then, with a zap, yanked a large electronic chip from the back of the helmet. The armour fell off like snow off a mountain, leaving a man in his underwear and a vest. He looked embarrassed and scampered off.

“21, and that leaves you as 22, Miss Cobalt,” Intellitron bragged. “All accounted for.”

Miss Cobalt looked bloody furious. Justice Man faced her, staring her down with the coldest glare Intellitron had ever seen the hero give.

“My daughter still has nightmares about you,” Justice Man said simply.

Cobalt didn’t answer. Not with words anyway. She raised her pistol, straight at his forehead, and pulled the trigger.

The gun’s barrel twisted cartoonishly as Justice Man’s telekinesis seized it. The barrel bent, the handle crumpled, and Miss Cobalt had to move sharpish to pull her fingers clear. The battery on the side collapsed and exploded, the entire blast contained by Justice Man’s telekinesis. In a flash of blue, the gun was less than dust. Justice Man didn’t even blink.

“Cuffs, Stealth Watcher. Bring her with us,” Justice Man said levelly, walking past Cobalt. The rest of the heroes did too, as Watcher produced a pair of custom cuffs and locked Cobalt’s hands behind her back.

“You know,” Watcher began conversationally, pulling her along, “It seems like it was a mistake for you to come here alongside your men.”

“I wanted to see the lights in that Neanderthal’s eyes die, or at the least see him beaten and bloody,” Cobalt seethed. “I’d have settled for a gunshot wound.”

Watcher shot a sideways glance at her. “Ok, seriously? What is your beef with Justice Man?”

“The one that got away. The symptom, the sickness. Take your pick,” she hissed.

“What are you on about?”

“Justice Man is the symbol of you… superheroes.” She spat the word. “You caped, masked lunatics who wreck this city and think yourself above it all. Chaos incarnate. You’re given these supernatural gifts and you think they make you special? You can all go to hell.”

“You realise we’re trying to save people, right?” Judgement floated nearby. “When you came after me, years ago, I was trying to foil a villains plans. And you tried to murder her. Not exactly due process, law and order. We heroes help people.”

“For now you do,” Cobalt said witheringly. “You do, but only from the threats you brought upon us. Do you really think there’d be supervillains if there weren’t heroes to match them?”

“Chicken and egg,” Intellitron called from up ahead.

“Yes, but a chicken leads to an egg, which leads to another chicken,” Cobalt said, trying to sound ominous and failing. “Supervillains make superheroes, who make supervillains. An endless cycle of madness. And the world puts its faith in your accursed hands. The kind of people who wear spandex and fly around in masks. It’s sickening.”

“And they should put their faith in you instead?” Stealth Watcher doubted.

“I’m just the cure for you freaks. Without you, there’d be order. Wonderful order. Cops would stop criminals, federal forces would deal with worse, and there would be no need for freaks in spandex. No capes or masks. We’d be free of all the damage you cause.”

Judgement looked at her in confusion. “Look, I’ll give you that we cause a little collateral damage, but we help people. We save lives. I understand the D.U.M.B. going after supervillains, no offense, Intellitron-”

He gave a thumbs up from up ahead.

“-but going after heroes makes no sense to me. Sure, some villains are reactionary to heroes, but that doesn’t mean they’re our fault. And in the meantime, the amount of people saved, that I’ve personally saved, that Stealth Watcher has saved… That Justice Man has saved…” she emphasised. “How many lives have you ever saved, Miss Cobalt?”

Cobalt glared daggers and gave an icy smile. “For. Now,” she enunciated.

“What?”

“You’re all heroes for the moment, but what if you stop? What if you change? I saw anger in your friend Justice Man today. Ever wonder what he’s really capable of? What are any of you capable of? Why should we just leave the fate of the world in your hands without question?”

“What? You’re seriously scared heroes might turn evil?” said Judgement.

“Not scared, no, but someone has to do something. Before it happens again.”

“Again?”

“Burno, or should I say, The Torch,” Cobalt said sharply. “People died.”

Between the heroes, the air grew tense. Cobalt smiled victorious, as the heroes exchanged uncomfortable looks.

Except for Intellitron. Up ahead, Intellitron groaned.

“My god, people always talk about Burno, don’t they?” he complained. “Is that really what started you on your insane crusade? James bloody Crisper?” he cursed the name. “Seriously, what’s so special about The Torch anyway? He’s not even that good a villain. He kind of sucks. The last bank he robbed, he burned it down first, the idiot. And so what that he used to be a hero. Villains and heroes switch sides all the time. I mean, just look at me! Once, a terrible villain. Now, thanks to villain amnesty laws, ostensibly a good guy. Screw James ‘Burno Torch’ Crisper and his bloody sleazy smile to hell and back,” Intellitron finished with complete disdain for his former colleague.

“And ignorance, thy name is Intellitron,” Cobalt purred. “You really don’t know what Burno’s betrayal did, do you? How much it hurt the people? Burno was one of The League of Titans. He stopped the Apocalypto Incident. He was a legend. Then he fell. He burned down a bank and stole everything inside. And that rocked the intelligence community. Shook governments. Their saviour, a Titan who’d saved a city, fallen. That day, the world saw you heroes for what you were. Fallible. Just as susceptible to temptation, but with nothing that can stop you either. No oversight, no restraints. You’re like rich kids who think they rule the world, paying their way out of trouble. But a rich jerk can’t level a skyscraper singlehanded. And the worst part? You know it already. Why else do you hide your identities? To avoid culpability. You’re no better than criminals, using lawyers to slime their way through the legal system unharmed.”

“Or like you?” Judgement said, unmoved by her speech.

Cobalt smirked, exposing teeth. “I’ll admit, I enjoy my work, and I may have broken a few laws, but leaving the world in the hands of masked lunatics like you is a recipe for disaster.”

“Well, it’s about time we talked to an authority on the subject,” Intellitron called back as they entered a larger chamber, finally reaching their destination.

The Cistern was grand and strangely decorated, especially for a sewer. Apart from a plaque which listed it as a historic landmark, there were scented candles littered in mystical arrangements, a few air fresheners dangling off totems and skulls, while a ring of unscented candles surrounded a cashmere mat in the centre. With the adornments and a certain magical weight to the air, though that could have just been the humid odour, the chamber held all the grandeur of a cathedral.

“The Hand was the prize,” Cobalt grumbled. “If I could have taken him down, I’d stop the creation of so many supers.”

“Well, you failed,” Watcher stated. “Congratulations.”

In the circle, over the mat, the air started to crackle and writhe. Green lightning flashed, turning the candle flames emerald. A dark orb formed in the middle, like a black heat haze, its edges distorting as it took shape.

Floating in the circle was a cloaked figure. The robes flowed, almost overflowed, the tails hanging and the hood more like a tunnel, burying them in fabric. Golden bangles jingled unseen in the cloth, as fleeting hands appeared in the cavernous sleeves, young hands with smooth, tanned skinned contrasting long, ancient fingernails.

The figure floated to the floor and sat cross legged on the mat.

 “Are you The Hand of Fate?” Judgment stepped forwards.

“I am,” the robed form answered in an echoing whisper.

“You’re the one we seek?” Intellitron asked.

“If you seek The Hand of Fate, that is I,” the figure answered.

“Are you sure?” Stealth Watcher pressed.

“Yep. Pretty sure.”

“Oh, Hand of Fate, we seek your great wisdom,” Justice Man said reverently, falling to one knee.

“Please, speak, my child.”

“Oh, Hand of Fate,” Justice Man said again. “We have become aware of a terrible event coming our way. An apocalypse. A dreadful destruction.”

“You have?”

“Yes,” Justice Man said firmly. “A colleague of ours has seen it. The world on fire, the city in ruins, but we were told that you were the key to our salvation.”

“And who told you this?”

“Our colleague, Laser Lad, a time traveller who bore witness to a fleeting glimpse of the future. Please, oh, Hand of Fate, we implore you, tell us of this tragedy so we may avert it. Tell us, so we may save this city!” Justice Man said grandly, bowing in deep honour.

The Hand sat silently for a minute, as all the heroes waited with baited breath. The only sound was Miss Cobalt wriggling to get free. Finally, The Hand raised a finger.

“And… you’re certain about this?”

“Um… yes.” Justice Man stood up.

“Hold a moment,” the robed figure said. “Err… I mean, be patient while I commune with the spirits,” they corrected, voice vibrating deeply. They stood up and walked across the cistern, trying not to trip on their robes.

The Hand headed into a corner and started muttering to the air, with none of the heroes able to hear what was said. They glanced over their shoulder, then back to their muttering, then another glance at the heroes. Finally, after quite a bit of communing, The Hand tottered back and sat back in the circle.

“So?” Justice Man asked.

“My friend,” The Hand said in an echoing voice, “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“P-Pardon?”

“I don’t know,” The Hand repeated, dropping any drama.

“You don’t know?” Intellitron double checked.

“Apologies. The whole ‘Seeing the Future’ thing isn’t as straight forward as you’d think,” The Hand answered with a shrug. “Sorry.”

“What do you mean it’s ‘not straight forward’?” Judgement interrogated.

“Well, my future sight is based on visions from the spirits. I see what I see. It’s not like I can do requests. I see what I see and act accordingly. So… sorry about that.”

Justice Man shuffled closer. “But what about the coming catastrophe? We were told you were the key? The key to stopping some coming Armageddon!”

The Hand shrugged again, which was difficult to see beneath the mountains of robe. “Perhaps it is coming, but I can’t see it. I glimpse the future, I don’t live there. I mean, time travel isn’t really my jurisdiction.”

“I… Oh…” Justice Man deflated. “Do you at least have some advice?”

“Eat healthy and sleep well? Drink plenty of water? Other than that, I’ve got nothing,” The Hand admitted. “Honestly, this is all a bit of a cock-up on my part, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Watcher snipped.

“Can you at least tell us if this future is happening?” Intellitron asked. “Like, is there a future past it? Any kind of future?”

The Hand thought for a moment, scratching their nose beneath their hood. They almost poked an eye out on a long nail. Justice Man knelt before them desperately, and thought he could hear the mystic figure talking to themself.

“So, what do we tell him,” The Hand murmured. “No, not that. Something more useful.”

“Who are you talking to?” the hero asked.

“No one!… I mean-” The Hand straightened up. “I mean, The Spirits!” the prophet said, voice booming. They extended their arms, summoning more lightning as the air whipped into a frenzy. “But hold! I see a vision! I see a barren land and a legion of heroes. I see them all united to face evil. And I see a dark force for them to fight. A dark serpent of endless power.”

“Dark Dragon?” Justice Man guessed.

“Should have known,” Stealth Watcher rolled his eyes.

“How about when it will happen? Or where?” Intellitron shouted over the gathering wind.

“I see a battlefield, not the ruins of Hero City. A place so desolate that life hasn’t taken root. You will face your adversary there, and one side will rise victorious. You shall decide. Now farewell, and good luck. Also, feel free to move in here. I don’t think I’m coming back. It smells terrible,” their voice echoed into the distance.

And The Hand vanished in a flash of light.

Stealth Watcher stepped forwards. “Is it me, or was that no help whatsoever?”

“Maybe The Hand is key later on?” Judgement hoped. “It might be years before this cataclysm actually happens for all we know.”

“At least in our lifetimes,” Justice Man nodded. “But I guess we’ll find… Where’s Cobalt?” He looked down at Stealth Watcher.

Stealth Watcher was holding a pair of empty handcuffs.

“What the hell!” the cowled hero blurted, spinning to see where she went. “I looked away for five seconds! She must have slipped out while The Hand was being all dramatic.”

“Intellitron? Can you track her location?” Justice Man asked.

“No,” the ex-villain said, looking at his arm display. “Wherever she went, I think she’s already topside. She’ll be in a car by now.” He patted Justice Man on the shoulder. “Sorry.”

“I… well… bugger,” Justice Man cursed, and gave up.

Justice Man sulked off, and gradually the rest of the heroes followed suit, climbing out of the wretched sewer, each looking for a bath. All in all, they felt it had been a bit of a wasted trip.

 * * *

Elsewhere, Laser Lad was laying on a couch, watching TV. Having been gone so long, his home was long since sold, his things lost or given away, and The League of Titans headquarters had long since been torn down. As such, he didn’t really have anywhere left to go. The police had put him up in a nice four star hotel until they could work out what to do with him.

He sat languidly in the luxurious apartment, staring through the TV into his thoughts. Thirty years. It was a lot to process, especially on his own. Outside, he had a police escort, which thankfully didn’t include Chief McElroy, but that was it. Not like he needed protecting.

Suddenly, Laser Lad’s ears prickled. His front door opened. A couple of voices chatted, and then the door closed again. He didn’t turn around. It was likely just another star-struck cop, coming for an autograph. Or McElroy again. Laser Lad, testing himself, listened to the tread of feet. There were three beats to every step. Heels and a cane?

“Hello there, Tod,” said a geriatric voice. He looked round and his eyes lit up with joy.

The woman before him was older than him, with dark wrinkled skin and silver fraying hair. A little pair of glasses perched on her nose, and her cane helped to support her, but not by much. There was an elegance to her that was very familiar. She also had a basket on her arm. But, even through age and out of costume, Laser Lad would never forget that voice.

“Chorus? Is that you?” he beamed, leaping over the couch to reach her.

“Yes, it’s me. I go by Melody Planker now, but yes,” she chuckled. “I see you’re as spry as ever, Tod. I’d have broken an ankle making that jump over the couch.”

“Well, I always was younger. I’ll be where you are in ten years. Or maybe more. I’ve no idea how old I am now,” Laser Lad chuckled. “Time travel, right?”

“Whatever the case, it’s good to have you back.” She hugged him, the little old lady only coming up to his ribs. He smiled. It used to be the other way round.

“You missed me?” he said affectionately.

“We all did. That fight with Dr Refracto… It was a terrible shock. You were just gone.”

“I really did walk into that one, made of light and fighting Dr Refracto,” Laser Lad conceded.

“Oh, we all make mistakes,” Melody soothed, guiding him back to the couch. They sat and relaxed for a moment, her old joints aching.

“So, how are the rest of the team?” he said excitedly. “People have been pretty cagey about telling me anything. I’m guessing it’s not good news.”

“Most of them are gone now, Tod. I won’t get into details, but most of them went peacefully. They’re not dead, just… retired. At home, with family, that sort of thing. A couple did die in battle, but that’s the life isn’t it? Battles and loss,” she sighed.

“And Burno?”

Melody nodded solemnly. “They told you that one, did they? Well yes. He’s still around.”

“I should have seen it coming,” he reprimanded himself. “He always was… I don’t know.”

“Troubled?” Melody guessed. “We thought we could teach him better, like we did you. But not everyone wants to learn. He certainly didn’t.”

Laser Lad sat back in his seat. “So much time, gone. 30 years, they told me. Dr Refracto’s lab isn’t even there anymore. There’s a park there now. That’s where I came back!”

“If I’d have known, I’d have been there to greet you,” she smiled.

“I know, I know,” he soothed. “So, you’re retired now? Is that nice?”

“It’s relaxing enough.”

“What about the sword?”

“Hung on my wall at home, and there it will stay. Until it’s needed.”

Laser Lad raised an eyebrow at her tone. His face relaxed as he understood. “You’re not just here for a social call, are you, Melody?”

“You always were a bright one... no pun intended,” she said. “Call it the worrywart in me, but I want to know about this catastrophe you’ve seen. The world on fire and such.”

Tod smiled. “Melody, don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be for many years. And I saw some of those young heroes, ready to stop it. That… Justice Man, and that… Judgement Girl?” he struggled to remember their names.

“Well, Justice Man is reliable,” Melody accepted. “A bit of a fan of ours.”

“I never did give him that autograph,” Laser Lad realised quietly. His eyes drifted to the basket on Melody’s arm, full of fruit and other things. “For me?”

“A welcome home present. A bit cliché, I know, but I had to bring something.” She offered it.

“Thanks.” He took it and began to rifle through. He found something tucked into the side. “Huh. A newspaper?” He unfolded it and scanned the headlines.

“Yes, we still have newspapers, Tod. Not sure for how much longer, with all this online journalism, but we still have them.”

“And we will for a while longer,” Laser Lad confirmed. “It’s just come back to me, but I’m pretty sure I saw a newspaper during my glimpse of the apocalypse.”

“Anything as useful as a date?”

“Sorry, no.” Laser Lad shook his head. “I saw it from a distance. You know, cliché newspaper lying in the ruins during Armageddon, fearful headline on the front page. That sort of thing.”

“It’s always confused me in films how they had time to print the article before the end,” Melody considered.

“Yeah. And there was a smaller article about…” Laser Lad froze. Melody looked up and could see him turning pale.

“Tod? What’s the matter?”

“A smaller article about a parade in Hero City. A parade that was taking place the same day the article was published.”

“Wait… A parade?” The pieces fit together in Melody’s mind.

“The parade to celebrate Hero City prosperity…” He showed her the article that reported when and where the celebration would happen. “That’s the same day as the end of the world. It’s happening in a week!”

Melody stared at him for a moment, then, with her famously cool nerves, took a breath.

“I’ll call Justice Man. And then I’m going to make you some tea.”

And she went on to do both those things, though not necessarily in that order.

[pkmnsciencej]

Brought some food for that kid who knocked out the Bloodmoon Beast for us. I just kinda left it outside of their cave (who lets a kid live in a cave btw???) and had a picnic nearby.

I can see them poking their head out every now and then. I think they're listening to Cobalt and Janice playing.

[storytime-reviews]

August 2022 Wrap Up

I’ve been busy catching up on things, so haven’t actually done much reading this month. All I did was finish reading A Paris Year which I started back in July, and I’m starting Persuasion before watching the new Netflix film. But I did absolutely love binge watching Please Like Me.

I did buy the latest books by Matthew Reilly and Kathy Reichs, Cobalt Blue and Cold Cold Bones.

I’m still doing @bookbandit‘s tbrbusterchallenge2022 to get through as many books on my TBR as possible!

Things of mine to check out: quotes, currently reading and just finished book pics!

READ & REVIEWED:

★★★★ A Paris Year by Janice MacLeod [REVIEW]

You can check out my Goodreads here!

WATCHED & REVIEWED:

Please Like Me Seasons 1-4 [REVIEW]

Thor: Love & Thunder (2022) dir. Taika Waitit [REVIEW]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) dir. Tom Gormican [REVIEW]

[eydika]

eydika’s name list 2.0

more... names because the first name list I made isn’t enough anymore

A

Abaddon

Abbey / Abbie

Abel

Ace

Ada

Adam

Adrien

Agnes

Aiden

Akari

Alaska

Alchemy

Alec / Alex / Alexa

Alessi / Alessia

Alexis

Aliana / Alianna

Alice

Alison

Alistair

Alivia

Allie / Ally

Alpha

Alya

Amber

Amelia

Amity

Amos

Amy

Andie / Andy

Andrew

Andromeda

Angel

Anita

Anna / Anne

Annabelle / Annie

Apollo

Apple

Apricot

April

Archer / Archie

Arden

Ares

Argus

Ariel

Aron / Aaron / Auron

Arrow

Artemis

Arthur

Artis

Arya

Ash / Asher

Aspen / Aspyn

Astrid

Athena

Atlas

Atticus

Aubrey / Audrey

Audio

Auger

Auggie

August

Aurelia

Aurora

Austin

Autumn

Ava / Avaline / Avalon / Aveline

Avery / Avrey

Aya

B

Baby

Barbie

Basil

Bea / Bee

Bean

Beatrice / Beatriz

Bébé

Beck / Beckett

Beetle

Bella / Belle

Beryl

Betty

Bijou

Billie

Birdie

Bishop

Bitter

Blair / Blaire

Blaise

Bloom

Blue / Blu

Boheme

Bonnie

Bowie

Briar

Bridget

Brina

Brody

Bryson

Bunny

Byron

C

Cade / Cadea / Caden

Cairo

Cal / Calum

Caleb

Callie

Calliope

Calvin

Cameron

Candace

Canopy

Carly / Carlie

Carol / Caroline

Carter

Casper

Cassandra

Cassius

Catherine

Celia

Cetus

Chance

Charlotte

Cherry

China

Chip

Chloe

Cian

Cinnamon

Civet

Clara / Clary / Clarabelle

Claire

Clementine

Cleo

Clover

Cobalt

Colby

Colt / Colten

Constance

Cooper

Cora

Corey

Corvus

Cosmo

Cricket

Cynthia

Cyra

Cyrus

D

Dacre

Daisy

Dakota

Dalia

Dallas

Damien

Dana

Dandelion

Dandy

Dante

Daphne

Darby / Darcy

Darius

Darla

Davina / Divina

Davos

Dawn

Deacon

Deb

December

Deja

Delaney

Delta

Demi

Denim

Denver

Desmond

Dexter

Diego

Digit

Dion / Dior

DJ

Doe

Domino

Donna

Doran

Dorothy / Dot / Dottie

Douglas

Dune

Dusk

Dylan

E

Eachan

Ebele

Ebony

Echo

Eden

Edris

Effi / Effie

Egan

Elijah

Eliza

Ella / Ellie

Elliot

Ellis

Elodie

Elsbeth / Elspeth

Elsie

Elyse

Embla

Emily

Emlyn

Emma

Emmett

Emory

Erica

Erin

Ernest

Ernie

Esryn

Estelle

Ethan

Eugene

Eva / Eve / Evie

Evan

Evangeline

F

Fae / Fee

Faith

Fawn

Fawke

Felix

Fenris

Fergus

Ferris

Fig / Figgy

Finbar

Fizz

Fletcher

Fleur

Flint

Flora / Florence

Forrest

Fox

Frankie

Freya

G

Gage

Gaia

Gavin

Gemma

Gene / Genesis / Genevieve

Gigi

Gil

Giselle

Gladys

Gloom

Gloria / Glory

Goldie

Grace / Gracie

Greta

Griffin

Gus

H

Hadley

Hailey

Hana

Harlow

Harmony

Harper

Hawk

Hayden

Hazel

Hector

Henley

Henry

Hera / Hero

Honey / Honeydew

Hope

Hunter

I

Ian / Ion

Idris

Ieni

Iesha

Illori

Ilya

Imelda

Imogen

Imp

India

Indira

Ingrid

Irina

Iris

Isaac

Isara

Isla

Ivory / Ivy

Izzy

J

Jack / Jackie

Jade

Jake

Janice / Janis

Jason

Jasper

Jay / Joy

Jenan

Jericho

Jerry

Jibo

Jill

Jinx

Joan

Jude / Judith

Juleka

Juli / Julip

June / Juno

Juniper

Jupiter

Justice

K

Kaiven

Kale

Kappa

Kayla

Kellen

Kelly

Kes

Kimber

Kitana

Kitty

Kiwi

Knox

Kris

Kristy / Kirsty

Krull

Kumo

L

Laken

Lana

Lapse

Lark

Laurel

Lavender

Lemon

Lenka

Leo / Leon / Leonie

Levitt

Liberty

Lilac

Lilith

Lima

Lindsey

Locus / Lotus

Lottie

Luca / Luka

Lucia / Lucie / Lucy

Lucille

Lucky

Luis

Luna / Louna

Luther

Lux

Lynn

M

Mabel / Mable / Maple

Madison

Mae / May

Maeve

Magnolia

Mango

Mantis

March

Marcia / Marcy

Margaux / Margo / Margot

Marina

Marion

Marley

Marmalade

Mars

Martha

Mary

Mason

Maude

Maura

Maxine

Maya

Meadow

Medea

Melancholia

Melba

Memphis

Mercedes

Mercy

Mick

Milan

Milla

Millenia

Milo

Mina / Mona

Minerva

Minnie

Minnow

Miron

Misery

Mona

Monday

Montgomery

Monty

Morrigan

Morwenna

Myrtle

N

Nana

Nancy

Nasira

Nate

Nathaniel

Naveed

Navy

Ned

Nefarian

Ness

Nestor

Never

Newt

Nikki

Noah

Nora

Norma

Nova

Nutmeg

Nye

Nyx

O

Octa

October

Odessa

Olive / Olivia

Ollie

Omega

Omen

Onyx

Opal

Ophelia

Oriana / Orion

Oscar / Oskar

Otis

Owen

Ozzy / Ozzie

P

Paige

Paisley

Parker

Pat / Pattie

Paula / Paola

Pea / Peach

Pebble

Penelope

Pepper

Pepsi

Percy

Petrichor

Philippa

Philomena

Phoebe

Phoenix

Piccolo

Pip / Piper

Pixie

Poe

Pollux

Pomeline

Poppy

Portia

Primrose

Q

Queen

Quentin

Quibble

Quincy

Quinn

R

Rachel

Radian

Ransom

Raven

Ray

Razzia

Rebus / Remus

Reverie

Rhubarb

Rick

Rider / Ryder

Rigby

Rilla

Roach

Robin

Rory

Rosa / Rosalie

Rose

Roux

Rowan

Roxanne / Roxie / Roxy

Ruben

Ruby

Rune

S

Sabina / Sabine / Sabrina

Sable

Sadie

Saffron

Sage / Saige

Salem

Sam / Samantha / Sammie

Savant

Savian

Scarlett

Scotty

Scout

Sean

Sesame

Shea

Skye / Skylar

Sloane

Solomon

Spencer

Sprout

Star

Stella

Sunny

Sybil

Syc

Symphony

T

Tabea

Tabitha / Tabs

Tali / Talia

Tasha

Tate

Tau

Temper

Tharan

Theodora / Theodosia

Theros

Thimble

Thirteen

Thorn

Tia

Tilda

Tina

Topaz

Tora / Torian

Trinity

Trixie

Trope

Tulip

Turnip

Twig

U

Ukiyo

Umara

Umbra

Ursa

V

Valentin

Valerie

Valora

Vargas

Vaughn

Vector

Vega / Vegas

Velvet

Venus

Vera

Vernon

Vesper

Vinette

Violet

Vivek

Volt

W

Waverly

Wednesday

Wendy

Wes

Whisper

William

Willow

Winnie

Winona

Winter

Wish

Wren

X + Y + Z

Xena / Xenia

Xeno / Xenos

Yuki

Yuri

Zafira

Zaria

Zephyr

Zero

Zoe / Zoelle

Zona

Zyra

LAST NAMES

Abbot

Abernathy

Alton

Arcanum

Ashe

Astor

Badger

Balker

Bass

Bennett

Benton

Blake

Bleu

Blunt

Blythe

Cable

Cabot

Cain

Carter

Carver

Castillo

Choi

Clemonte

Coldwell

Collins

Colt

Craft

Craven

Crimson

Croft

Dabney

Danvers

Dayholt

Delpy

Driver

Dyer

Eades

Edge

Epithet

Epps

Evert

Farley

Fell

Fenner

Fig

Finch

Findlay

Fletcher

Foley

Fowler

Fray

Freud

Frost

Geller

Gill

Guest

Hale

Hapley

Harp

Hart

Hearst

Hooper

Hunt

Hyde

Ivy

Jinx

Keller

Kersey

Kingsley

Knight

Knox

Kraft

Krav

Laveau

Lecter

Lock / Lockwood

Lowell

Lush

Marr

Mills

Mist

Morgan

Morrison

Murray

Myers

Oaks

Patel

Pierce

Pike

Powell

Price

Pruitt

Quint

Quiver

Random

Ripley

Ryder

Sears

Sloane

Sparks

Stele

Strom

Sutton

Talbot

Tate

Thorne

Twig

Twist

Tycho

Utley

Valentine

Vance

Vaughn

Vos

Walker

Wallow

Weaver

Webb

Wiley

Wilkes

Winston

Wreath

Wright

Wrong

York

Zella

Zepeda

[starlitskvaderart]

Colored the Trainer OC headshots from the other day!

I’ll have another batch done soon, I actually have a lot of these (though the first five see the most play).

The first five are protagonists in their story! Harmony Winters is a Pokemon Rehabilitator traveling with her Cubone Janice to get more hands-on experience. Takeo Ueda is mainly traveling with his nanny-Vivillon Emi and his battle partner Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff Pai for a good time, and ultimately settles on being a Ranger. Thuyet Phan was chosen by a Scorbunny he named Nebula, who impulsively dashed off during a traditional Starter Pick, and went with her to take on the Galar League. Veronica was one of the two kids actually present at the starter pick; she chose the Grookey (Tempo), though her true starter is her Rookidee Songstress, and she's relaxed about the League while using the travel time to learn about the Sky Taxi service and the birds of Galar. And Valentine Alexander is part of a family that owns the Goldenrod Department Store - she and her Shiny Mawile Titania manage to get caught up in shenanigans despite lack of interest in any leagues or challenges. The next two are villains - Victoria Davis is an Evil Team Admin who appears in Harmony, Takeo, and Valentine's storyline, acting as an enforcer with her Abra Crowley and her Garchomp Cobalt. Rowan Sorbena is an Eternatus cultist in Thuyet and Veronica's, using her twin Orbeetles Corex and Oneiros to gather information about the Legendary. And the last is Percival Dogwood, a roving Pokemon Professor who can appear whenever I need a professor character but it doesn't make sense for one of the 'main' professors to be nearby, usually accompanied by his Pidgeot Joseph. (His specialization is the differences between wild and trainer-raised Pokemon.)

[maryellencarter]

What is your middle name? -- You know, about a year ago in a D&D session, I was attempting to sass the big bad (I’m much better at sass when I have time to think about it, D&D is such a time pressure that I’ve wound up playing much more of a strong silent type than I intended), and I said “Defiance is my middle name” and the DM wound up making Defiance the name of the country my character is from. Which is a delightful sort of NYC/Vegas mashup, quite different from Defiance, Ohio. ^_^ Also the capital city is called Skreuyu (pronounced, of course, Screw-you). :D

What are you passionate about? -- Dear god. What aren’t I passionate about? O_O I could attempt a brief and incomplete list, but this is a long meme anyway. ;-) Besides, you’re here, you’ll hear about it all sooner or later. XD

Zebra or leopard print? -- Either one, but only if it’s in day-glo neon rainbow colors. And not to wear, particularly. Fake-fur blankets and pillows, mostly. Lisa Frank was... a formative influence. ^_^ If I ever have money to actually decorate a place of my own, it’s gonna look very much like Wes Janson decorated it, although possibly with fewer Ewoks. (I do have a BB-8 penny bank, though.)

Do you have any fears? -- Honestly, at this exact moment, I’m too damn sleep-deprived to know. XD When I’m awake it’s probably social anxiety stuff. When I wake up at 4am tomorrow in my car, I may or may not be having the kind of weird quasi-psychotic fears that come with a certain level of sleep deprivation, where I’m suddenly convinced my laptop is going to eat me. Right now, nothing especially comes to mind.

Silver or gold? -- To wear? Gold. My skin corrodes silver. But as a color, I like silver better.

Top three places to visit? -- Ooh. Um. That I’ve been to, or not? I want to go back to Washington DC, and someday I want to be extremely sane and go back to Indiana, and someday I’d like to go back to the Black Hills and see all the geology tourism things, because the only one I saw as a kid was Mount Rushmore, which is more of a colonialism tourism thing. That I’ve not been to... Scotland, maybe? And Hawaii and Yellowstone, again for the geology nerdery? I feel like there are places I’ve very specifically wanted to go someday that I’m blanking on.

Where are you from? -- Indiana, once upon a time. Love the place, cannot deal with the people. Miss the snow. And the autumn leaves. And the library.

First career you wanted as a child? -- Paleontologist, best I can remember. Some things stay pretty constant. I don’t have the physical health to be a geologist anymore, if I ever did, but damn, I still want to take some more classes or keep up with the field somehow.

What’s your sign? -- You know, I’m not being bothered with this at the moment. I’m sure it’ll come up in a reblog pretty soon, I do those memes a lot.

Future names of your children? -- I refuse to have any. Five generations my bio-family has fucked up, all by trying too damn hard not to be their mothers. I will be a weird adopted relative and not name anybody anything.

What are you listening to right now? -- A fifteen-minute instrumental cover of “Turkey in the Straw”, to block out the myriad noises of the fast food place so I can think words. I’ve been looping it for hours and I’ll presumably be looping it for hours more.

Do you believe in fate/destiny? -- I have a lot of weird conflicting opinions about things like fate and destiny. I think if the universe is being... directed, by a god or fate or destiny or anything with intelligence or purpose, it’s an asshole and ought to be punched. It’s not actually any less depressing if the universe is being run by random chance and just happens to shake out in ways that make it seem like it’s being run by an asshole, but it’s less angering. *tries to word* I do get the feeling, the... desire for shit to have a purpose and to make sense, but a big part of me thinks that’s pareidolia or something related. It’d be nice if all this bullshit was eventually gonna shake out to me being either a stable human being or an epic hero, but I strongly doubt it. (And even if it did, a smart enough god should be able to get me there with less suffering, if it wanted to. So at minimum, if there’s a fate or god or destiny directing me, it’s either sort of incompetent, or motivated by priorities like taking the most direct route rather than minimizing the chances for me to die along the way, or it’s kind of a sadist. Sorry, I have Feelings about this one.)

Ethan, however, has a take that I think is... relevant, to the state of the world at the moment. He thinks the specifics of the world at any given time are all determined by chaos and random motion, but that there’s a cosmic balance between... stuff that’s very hard to give names to. “Good and evil” is part of it. “Order and entropy” might be a little closer. “Light and darkness”, whatever. But there’s this cosmic balance, and if, say, the Forces of Evil or whatever you want to call them... if something pushes too hard in one direction, tries to make one side win, the universe is gonna bounce back. There’s always gonna be that push-pull. Lots of people can get hurt or killed in the process, but because Ethan and I both read LOTR at formative ages, where we wind up at is the line “They cannot conquer forever”. You can’t have... you can’t get stuck. This is probably terribly Manichaean or something of us, but right now that’s the best I can word. That there’s always gonna be the thing you are Against, but there’s also always gonna be the thing you are For, even if one of them gets pretty squished for a while.

What are your career goals? -- Sometimes what you want to be when you grow up is “paid”. ;P I’d like to reach a point where I never have to ask the internet for money again, while continuing to be alive, and maybe can even give other people money. Help support my friends, travel around doing meetups, go to conventions or whatever, maybe do some cosplay. What exact job I’d be doing, Chaos only knows.

What is your favorite color? -- Blue. Royal blue, midnight blue, cobalt blue. Often with stars on.

What is your favorite flower? -- Uh. I’m gonna say these little striped white and purple crocuses that would come up through the snow in the spring? I loved those.

What was the first concert/show you attended? -- The Monkees 45th anniversary reunion concert. I said at the time that I’d blown five years of luck on the improbable string of coincidences that led to me getting there, but I’m so damn glad it happened, because I enjoyed it immensely, and Davy Jones died before what would have been their 50th. And hey, that was 2011, maybe I’m accumulating some luck again. ;-)

Something you are working on right now? -- This meme? XD In more general terms, reblobbenating some really old posts from my previous blog, as well as filling up my queue from same. It’s pretty slow going.

Have you ever had a near-death experience? -- Not the sort where you see a tunnel of light or go out of your body. Just the kind where you nearly die. :P

Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early? -- Pfffft. Time management is something that happens to other people. ;P Occasionally I do get something done right away, but mostly it’s the night before deadline, or sometimes the night after. o_O Maybe when I have some spoons I’ll be better at that.

Left or right handed? -- Right. Very much so. My left hand is clumsy enough that I never did really get the hang of playing the piano with both hands, and I still struggle with video games that aren’t Mass Effect. (I’m good at Mass Effect because I’ve been playing it for something like five years at this point. ^_^)

TV Shows and anime you watch regularly -- Hah. I don’t watch anything regularly. I don’t even read books regularly, I go through phases where I don’t read a book for months and then suddenly I’m reading ten in a day. And I don’t do open canons, anyway; they interact badly with my particular anxieties and stress levels.

Halloween costume idea for this year? -- I generally default to a cowboy or a pirate. I also have a witch hat now. But I might come up with something else. Living in an apartment complex, though, there will be no trick-or-treaters, so unless I wind up working somewhere that does Halloween costumes, the point is rather moot.

What is your relationship status? -- Single, aromantic, have never dated anyone, would rather like a primary relationship at some point but that’s an issue for when I can support myself. :P

Last movie you just watched? -- I genuinely don’t know. Probably Black Panther? No, that was like February. Hot Fuzz?

A song that’s been stuck in your head? -- This very seldom happens to me. I think the last one was Janice Buckner’s “Strange Friends”, a little-known ‘80s children’s song, of which I can remember neither the tune nor the lyrics. Usually I can at least remember the lyrics even if I don’t know what tune they went to.

A book you want to read/have recently read? -- Erm. I just reread Aaron Allston’s X-wing books, if you can call it rereading when I was mostly skimming looking for good tumblr URLs (I found a lot, but none that felt like me). I’m not really in a reading phase at the moment, so.

[andreagillmer]

Rio Tinto Busy Drilling at Forum Energy Metals’ Janice Lake Copper Project in C$30M JV

Source: The Critical Investor for Streetwise Reports   08/30/2019

The Critical Investor details the exploration of a joint ventured copper deposit in Saskatchewan.

Janice Lake copper project, Saskatchewan, Canada; Source: Mining.com/Transition Metals Corp.

1. Introduction

As a pure play uranium explorer since 2004, things looked increasingly grim after Fukushima happened in 2012 for Forum Uranium. After years of struggling, CEO Richard Mazur decided together with the board that they had to change course. On February 28, 2018, the company name was changed into Forum Energy Metals Corp. (FMC:TSX.V), reflecting the new direction into metals needed for the ongoing energy transition from oil to electricity, with new focus on for example copper, nickel and cobalt. Management particularly believes in copper, as only a few new projects have come online, China is planning to ban scrap imports next year, is planning large infrastructure spending and the developing EV market could have a significant impact on demand, all potentially resulting in severe supply/demand tensions in the future. Only three weeks before this, Forum optioned the large Janice Lake sedimentary copper project from Transition Metals Corp. (XTM:TSX.V).

The markets didn’t exactly improve after this, so Forum wasn’t out of the woods yet. Notwithstanding this, it completed a small drill program on Janice Lake, each of four shallow scout holes hitting copper, and two decent intercepts in Q4, 2018. Fortunately for it, giant Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) also noticed these drill results, and took a closer look at them. This resulted in a C$30M JV between Rio Tinto and Forum on May 9, 2019, which was exactly what Forum was searching for, as Janice Lake was a very promising, but also very large scale copper project, way too large to explore by a tiny junior like Forum itself. What Janice Lake is about and what this deal could imply for Forum Energy Metals is something that will be discussed in the following article.

All presented tables are my own material, unless stated otherwise.

All pictures are company material, unless stated otherwise.

All currencies are in US Dollars, unless stated otherwise.

2. The company

Forum Energy Metals is an exploration company searching for energy metals, including copper, nickel, platinum, palladium and uranium in Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition, Forum has established a strategic land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, in order to find cobalt. Forum originated as a uranium explorer 15 years ago, focusing on the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, but broadened its horizon early 2018. I view the company as a hybrid prospect generator, as it drills its own projects, but also regularly arranges joint ventures with large partners as it has with Rio Tinto earlier this year. Forum has an extensive portfolio of uranium projects, the Janice Lake copper project, the Love Lake palladium project and the Quartz Gulch Cobalt project, but I will be focusing on its flagship Janice Lake copper project in this article.

Saskatchewan is the best jurisdiction for mining projects according to the Policy Perception Index (PPI) of the most recent 2018 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies. It ranks no less than 1 out of 83 jurisdictions worldwide, with a perfect score of 100 out of 100. The PPI is the most important figure of this survey, as it indicates the mining friendliness of a jurisdiction, which encompasses corruption, permitting, speed of administrative processing, politics, local sentiment, etc. The Survey is usually published in the last week of February, and handles the year before.

The management team is led by veteran president and CEO Richard Mazur, P.Geo, MBA, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist, financial analyst and senior executive on a variety of commodities like uranium, gold, diamonds, base metals, coal and industrial minerals. The driving forces on the exploration front are two Athabasca uranium experts: Ken Wheatley, P.Geo, who has 37 years of experience as a geoscientist on uranium projects, and Boen Tan, PhD, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist in uranium exploration, and Ken and Boen are assisted by Jim Atkinson, P.Geo, MSc, geological consultant with over 45 years of experience on base and precious metals deposits and mines. The Board of Directors adds considerable value in the field of financings, law and accounting.

Forum Energy Metals has its main listing on the main board of the TSX Venture, where it’s trading with FMC.V as its ticker symbol. With an average volume of about 89,596 shares per day, the company’s trading pattern is not very liquid at the moment, but I expect this to improve when good drill results will come in from the ongoing program at Janice Lake by JV operator Rio Tinto.

The company currently has 107.49 million shares outstanding (fully diluted 127.365 million), 15 million warrants (the majority is due @C$0.10 or more, of which 4.3 million warrants are expiring in March, April and June 2020, and 11 million warrants @C$0.10 in April 2024) and several option series to the tune of 4.38 million options in total, priced at C$0.10, expiration dates from Nov 2020 onwards. Forum sports a tiny market capitalization of C$5.9 million based on the August 30, 2019, share price of C$0.055.

The company has a healthy shareholder base, as 15% is held closely by Institutionals, 9% by Holystone Energy, 8% by Transition Metals, 3% by Lumina Capital and 6% by management, Board of Directors and insiders. Forum has an estimated working capital position of about C$0.1 million, as it raised C$550,000 in April this year but had C$198,000 left at May 31, 2019, which was the end of Q2, 2019 for the company. Therefore it is raising a small amount of C$75,000 flow through at the moment, so it can explore its Love Lake nickel-copper-PGM project in Saskatchewan by mapping and sampling, while Rio Tinto is doing the heavy lifting at Janice Lake.

Share price; 2 year time frame

As can be seen in the chart, the share price was gradually grinding lower, as both uranium and copper weren’t performing well since the beginning of 2018. Forum started showing up on radars when the Rio Tinto JV deal was announced in May, generating massive volumes for a brief period of time. It seems the share price has bottomed as 3–4 cents are multi year lows, also for the old ticker which can’t be showed at Tmxmoney.com, and I view these levels as a good buying opportunity, as drilling is well on its way now, and results can be expected relatively soon, as mentioned. Let’s have a look at Forum’s flagship project Janice Lake, and the JV itself.

3. Janice Lake/JV with Rio Tinto

It started all with Forum entering an agreement in February 2018 to acquire 100% of Janice Lake from Transition Metals, for staged payments totaling $250,000 (US$186,000) over four years, spending the same amount on exploration within six months and issuing 8 million shares. The Janice Lake sedimentary copper project is part of the Wollaston Copper Belt, and is located in the south eastern part of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan:

These type of sedimentary copper deposits can be extremely large, with the most significant deposit being Udokan in Russia (1.8Bt @ 1% Cu and 14g/t Ag Measured and Indicated), which is the third largest undeveloped copper deposit worldwide, but they are also found in the DRC and Montana, USA. Forum raised some money, and started drilling the JL-1 target at Janice Lake in August 2018 by itself.

The results, which were announced in Q4, 2018, were not spectacular but decent:

These assays were almost true width, with a margin of +/-10%. Hole FEM-01 and FEM-02 are just economic, comparable (or better) with gold at 1g/t open pit and a 5:1 strip ratio. Final assaying delivered some low grade zinc, lead and silver as well. Mineralization seems to increase in grade and depth to the southwest. This is the reason CEO Mazur was asked by Rio Tinto to stake an additional 30km of claims on strike in this direction. According to Mazur, Forum was targeting 100Mt @0.4-0.6% Cu at the time, but Rio Tinto is aiming at an at the very least five times bigger target now.

As can be seen in the following section of several hundred meters long, combined with comparable historical drill results by Noranda, Phelps Dodge and the Saskatchewan Government up to 6km to the northeast, indicated that there is potential for discovering a very large, near surface mineralized envelope:

  As can be seen, the interpreted orange mineralized zone seems to be layered now and then. This seems to be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The company describes this as follows:

“Logging of the drill core and petrographic studies suggest that mineralization is hosted by mafic-rich stratigraphy within more felsic units, opening the possibility for multiple layers of copper mineralization.”

This is probably the key in understanding Janice Lake correctly, and also the potential cause for operators like Noranda and Phelps Dodge for not seeing economic potential earlier. As VP Exploration Ken Wheatley states in this interview:

“I think we have multiple horizons of copper mineralisation that were not necessarily recognised by previous operators. They drilled along strike, but I do not think they realised that that was just one of the layers of copper. We see a series of layers of mineralisation. So, the whole area is mineralised. If we can find some sweet spot areas, then it will help to understand the area better,’ he says. ‘The trick now is going to be getting some grade holes to show that it is economical. The next stage will be hundreds of thousands of metres of drilling to prove up an orebody. That is what it takes to get to pre-feasibility. We think the potential here is to develop an open pit mining resource and mine a lot of tonnes of copper.”

Wheatley thinks as most layers dip 40 grades to the northwest, that the thickness of the entire package of layers is at least 500m, visualized by this schematic section:

In order to be economic at extrapolated depths of around 300m and deeper, grades and thickness have to increase significantly as it would indicate partially underground mining, but it is still early days. On top of this, Wheatley also thinks there is a second, parallel trend alongside Janice Trend:

“In addition, a second mineralized trend, named the Genie Trend, parallels the Janice Trend. It appears to be a repeated section by faulting of the prospective stratigraphy, significantly expanding the potential for further copper mineralization.”

And let’s not forget how large this Janice Lake project really is, as Forum has staked claims along a 52km trend now, including the entire Wollaston Copper Belt mentioned earlier:

After finishing this drill program, and pitching the story successfully, Forum was able to announce a JV agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (“RTEC”) on its Janice Lake sedimentary copper project in Saskatchewan.

These are the highlights of the JV terms, per the news release of May 9, 2019:

RTEC will commit to $3 million in exploration over the next 18 months.

RTEC has been granted a four year option to acquire a 51% interest in the Janice Lake Project by spending $10 million in exploration, making $490,000 in cash payments, and servicing the remaining $200,000 in underlying cash payments to Transition Metals Corp. as per the terms of the Forum/Transition Option Agreement dated February 5, 2018, to earn 100% interest in the Janice Lake Project.

RTEC has a second option to earn a further 29% interest (total 80% interest) by spending a further $20 million in exploration over a three year period (total $30 million) and making further cash payments of $150,000 (total $640,000).

Upon RTEC vesting an interest, it may elect to form a joint venture on terms agreed to by the parties. Under the joint venture, a party whose interest is diluted below 10% is converted to a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty capped at $50 million.

Forum has staked a further 19,312 hectares to the southwest, which doubles the size of the property to 38,250 hectares and covers the entire 52 km of the Wollaston Copperbelt. These new claims have been added to the Option Agreement.

This is, of course, a very interesting deal for Forum, as it had issues raising cash throughout 2018 and 2019, and an amount of C$3 million would have been out of reach for sure in the current subdued base metals sentiment, preventing Forum from doing serious drilling and solid news flow.

RTEC has planned a high-resolution airborne magnetometer survey over the entire extent of the property and approximately 7,000 meters of drilling in 25–30 holes in 2019 to meet its first year exploration commitment. The survey has been completed, target holes have been defined and drilling is on its way.

As Forum has added this map to their presentation, it could very well be that Rio Tinto is following its strategy of proposed drill fences (in yellow), which I already discussed with Mazur in January around the VRIC conference:

But Rio Tinto has enough knowledge and experience in-house to determine the best exploration strategy for themselves, of course. I expect Rio to release all results at once in one batch, and shortly afterwards reveal if it is going to continue with the JV or bail out. But as the trends are so large, it could be that it takes another shot at it next year, who knows. To be balanced about this, the same situation could be observed at the BHP-Aston Bay JV, on the equally large Storm Copper project, but BHP chose to return the project to Aston Bay after just one limited (but very expensive as it was more Nordic) drill program, so it is possible. I must say that BHP, more than Rio Tinto, is pretty risk averse and has very high standards regarding deposits and success rates, so this might help Forum in seeing Rio taking multiple shots at Janice Lake.

In order to err on the safe side, I am treating this as a binary play, but an interesting one as Rio obviously isn’t killing time, and not seeing this as some kind of recycled stranded asset, and the upside seems to be very significant. If this really appears to have Tier I potential, maybe think Reservoir Minerals upside (acquired in 2016 by Nevsun for US$365 million) in 4–5 years from now, although Timok Upper Zone wasn’t even Tier I. I pulled some old numbers from my spreadsheets to give a further impression of what copper assets could fetch, although copper prices were much higher at the time of course (now US$2.56/lb Cu):

  For example, a 500Mt target @1% Cu generates 11B lb Cu, and if this is economic at C$2.56/lb Cu it might be able to be valued at an arm-waving US$200-250 million, if for example Rio decides to buy Forum out. For something of another comparison, Teck sold a 30% stake in Quebrada Blanca to Sumitomo, which is basically an earn-in for US$1.2 billion, as Sumitomo pays for most of the expansion capex here. The mine is scheduled to produce 16.5B lb Cu for the remaining life of mine. So big copper is a game of big numbers, if Rio really strikes it big, all Forum has to do is keeping the lights on by doing a few small raises, until Rio is ready for a buyout. I should put in a little disclaimer about this, as I, for example, don’t know if Forum has to fund pro rata economic studies and permitting. But I can imagine Rio Tinto doing in-house studies for such a potentially large project, and probably providing Forum with an offer they can’t refuse, well before Rio Tinto wants to develop this all the way into feasibility study, etc.

4. Conclusion

It is rare to see a super major like Rio Tinto doing a JV with a (at the time) C$4 million market cap junior, worth C$30 million. In my view, there must be a reason why Rio is so interested in Janice Lake. I am very curious if the new theory of Forum VP Exploration Ken Wheatley will solve the puzzle that the likes of Noranda and Phelps Dodge couldn’t solve in the past. Rio Tinto is drilling now, and the big question for me is, aside from the impending results of course, which I assume as probably being consistent and economic but not earth-moving at first sight, what its thresholds will be. Hopefully, we are about to find out in a month or two. I am curious.

Janice Lake project; Source: Transition Metals

I hope you will find this article interesting and useful, and will have further interest in my upcoming articles on mining. To never miss a thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter on my website http://www.criticalinvestor.eu to get an email notice of my new articles soon after they are published.

The Critical Investor is a newsletter and comprehensive junior mining platform, providing analysis, blog and newsfeed and all sorts of information about junior mining. The editor is an avid and critical junior mining stock investor from The Netherlands, with an MSc background in construction/project management. Number cruncher at project economics, looking for high quality companies, mostly growth/turnaround/catalyst-driven to avoid too much dependence/influence of long-term commodity pricing/market sentiments, and often looking for long-term deep value. Getting burned in the past himself at junior mining investments by following overly positive sources that more often than not avoided to mention (hidden) risks or critical flaws, The Critical Investor learned his lesson well, and goes a few steps further ever since, providing a fresh, more in-depth, and critical vision on things, hence the name.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter at: www.streetwisereports.com/get-news

The Critical Investor Disclaimer:

The author is not a registered investment advisor, and currently has a long position in this stock. All facts are to be checked by the reader. For more information go to https://ift.tt/31O5nHE and read the company’s profile and official documents on http://www.sedar.com, also for important risk disclosures. This article is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended to be investment advice of any kind, and all readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence, and talk to their own licensed investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions.

Streetwise Reports Disclosure: 1) The Critical Investor’s disclosures are listed above. 2) The following companies mentioned in the article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Rio Tinto, a company mentioned in this article.

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[goldcoins0]

Rio Tinto Busy Drilling at Forum Energy Metals' Janice Lake Copper Project in C$30M JV

Source: The Critical Investor for Streetwise Reports   08/30/2019

The Critical Investor details the exploration of a joint ventured copper deposit in Saskatchewan.

Janice Lake copper project, Saskatchewan, Canada; Source: Mining.com/Transition Metals Corp.

1. Introduction

As a pure play uranium explorer since 2004, things looked increasingly grim after Fukushima happened in 2012 for Forum Uranium. After years of struggling, CEO Richard Mazur decided together with the board that they had to change course. On February 28, 2018, the company name was changed into Forum Energy Metals Corp. (FMC:TSX.V), reflecting the new direction into metals needed for the ongoing energy transition from oil to electricity, with new focus on for example copper, nickel and cobalt. Management particularly believes in copper, as only a few new projects have come online, China is planning to ban scrap imports next year, is planning large infrastructure spending and the developing EV market could have a significant impact on demand, all potentially resulting in severe supply/demand tensions in the future. Only three weeks before this, Forum optioned the large Janice Lake sedimentary copper project from Transition Metals Corp. (XTM:TSX.V).

The markets didn't exactly improve after this, so Forum wasn't out of the woods yet. Notwithstanding this, it completed a small drill program on Janice Lake, each of four shallow scout holes hitting copper, and two decent intercepts in Q4, 2018. Fortunately for it, giant Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) also noticed these drill results, and took a closer look at them. This resulted in a C$30M JV between Rio Tinto and Forum on May 9, 2019, which was exactly what Forum was searching for, as Janice Lake was a very promising, but also very large scale copper project, way too large to explore by a tiny junior like Forum itself. What Janice Lake is about and what this deal could imply for Forum Energy Metals is something that will be discussed in the following article.

All presented tables are my own material, unless stated otherwise.

All pictures are company material, unless stated otherwise.

All currencies are in US Dollars, unless stated otherwise.

2. The company

Forum Energy Metals is an exploration company searching for energy metals, including copper, nickel, platinum, palladium and uranium in Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition, Forum has established a strategic land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, in order to find cobalt. Forum originated as a uranium explorer 15 years ago, focusing on the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, but broadened its horizon early 2018. I view the company as a hybrid prospect generator, as it drills its own projects, but also regularly arranges joint ventures with large partners as it has with Rio Tinto earlier this year. Forum has an extensive portfolio of uranium projects, the Janice Lake copper project, the Love Lake palladium project and the Quartz Gulch Cobalt project, but I will be focusing on its flagship Janice Lake copper project in this article.

Saskatchewan is the best jurisdiction for mining projects according to the Policy Perception Index (PPI) of the most recent 2018 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies. It ranks no less than 1 out of 83 jurisdictions worldwide, with a perfect score of 100 out of 100. The PPI is the most important figure of this survey, as it indicates the mining friendliness of a jurisdiction, which encompasses corruption, permitting, speed of administrative processing, politics, local sentiment, etc. The Survey is usually published in the last week of February, and handles the year before.

The management team is led by veteran president and CEO Richard Mazur, P.Geo, MBA, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist, financial analyst and senior executive on a variety of commodities like uranium, gold, diamonds, base metals, coal and industrial minerals. The driving forces on the exploration front are two Athabasca uranium experts: Ken Wheatley, P.Geo, who has 37 years of experience as a geoscientist on uranium projects, and Boen Tan, PhD, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist in uranium exploration, and Ken and Boen are assisted by Jim Atkinson, P.Geo, MSc, geological consultant with over 45 years of experience on base and precious metals deposits and mines. The Board of Directors adds considerable value in the field of financings, law and accounting.

Forum Energy Metals has its main listing on the main board of the TSX Venture, where it's trading with FMC.V as its ticker symbol. With an average volume of about 89,596 shares per day, the company's trading pattern is not very liquid at the moment, but I expect this to improve when good drill results will come in from the ongoing program at Janice Lake by JV operator Rio Tinto.

The company currently has 107.49 million shares outstanding (fully diluted 127.365 million), 15 million warrants (the majority is due @C$0.10 or more, of which 4.3 million warrants are expiring in March, April and June 2020, and 11 million warrants @C$0.10 in April 2024) and several option series to the tune of 4.38 million options in total, priced at C$0.10, expiration dates from Nov 2020 onwards. Forum sports a tiny market capitalization of C$5.9 million based on the August 30, 2019, share price of C$0.055.

The company has a healthy shareholder base, as 15% is held closely by Institutionals, 9% by Holystone Energy, 8% by Transition Metals, 3% by Lumina Capital and 6% by management, Board of Directors and insiders. Forum has an estimated working capital position of about C$0.1 million, as it raised C$550,000 in April this year but had C$198,000 left at May 31, 2019, which was the end of Q2, 2019 for the company. Therefore it is raising a small amount of C$75,000 flow through at the moment, so it can explore its Love Lake nickel-copper-PGM project in Saskatchewan by mapping and sampling, while Rio Tinto is doing the heavy lifting at Janice Lake.

Share price; 2 year time frame

As can be seen in the chart, the share price was gradually grinding lower, as both uranium and copper weren't performing well since the beginning of 2018. Forum started showing up on radars when the Rio Tinto JV deal was announced in May, generating massive volumes for a brief period of time. It seems the share price has bottomed as 3–4 cents are multi year lows, also for the old ticker which can't be showed at Tmxmoney.com, and I view these levels as a good buying opportunity, as drilling is well on its way now, and results can be expected relatively soon, as mentioned. Let's have a look at Forum's flagship project Janice Lake, and the JV itself.

3. Janice Lake/JV with Rio Tinto

It started all with Forum entering an agreement in February 2018 to acquire 100% of Janice Lake from Transition Metals, for staged payments totaling $250,000 (US$186,000) over four years, spending the same amount on exploration within six months and issuing 8 million shares. The Janice Lake sedimentary copper project is part of the Wollaston Copper Belt, and is located in the south eastern part of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan:

These type of sedimentary copper deposits can be extremely large, with the most significant deposit being Udokan in Russia (1.8Bt @ 1% Cu and 14g/t Ag Measured and Indicated), which is the third largest undeveloped copper deposit worldwide, but they are also found in the DRC and Montana, USA. Forum raised some money, and started drilling the JL-1 target at Janice Lake in August 2018 by itself.

The results, which were announced in Q4, 2018, were not spectacular but decent:

These assays were almost true width, with a margin of +/-10%. Hole FEM-01 and FEM-02 are just economic, comparable (or better) with gold at 1g/t open pit and a 5:1 strip ratio. Final assaying delivered some low grade zinc, lead and silver as well. Mineralization seems to increase in grade and depth to the southwest. This is the reason CEO Mazur was asked by Rio Tinto to stake an additional 30km of claims on strike in this direction. According to Mazur, Forum was targeting 100Mt @0.4-0.6% Cu at the time, but Rio Tinto is aiming at an at the very least five times bigger target now.

As can be seen in the following section of several hundred meters long, combined with comparable historical drill results by Noranda, Phelps Dodge and the Saskatchewan Government up to 6km to the northeast, indicated that there is potential for discovering a very large, near surface mineralized envelope:

  As can be seen, the interpreted orange mineralized zone seems to be layered now and then. This seems to be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The company describes this as follows:

"Logging of the drill core and petrographic studies suggest that mineralization is hosted by mafic-rich stratigraphy within more felsic units, opening the possibility for multiple layers of copper mineralization."

This is probably the key in understanding Janice Lake correctly, and also the potential cause for operators like Noranda and Phelps Dodge for not seeing economic potential earlier. As VP Exploration Ken Wheatley states in this interview:

"I think we have multiple horizons of copper mineralisation that were not necessarily recognised by previous operators. They drilled along strike, but I do not think they realised that that was just one of the layers of copper. We see a series of layers of mineralisation. So, the whole area is mineralised. If we can find some sweet spot areas, then it will help to understand the area better,' he says. 'The trick now is going to be getting some grade holes to show that it is economical. The next stage will be hundreds of thousands of metres of drilling to prove up an orebody. That is what it takes to get to pre-feasibility. We think the potential here is to develop an open pit mining resource and mine a lot of tonnes of copper."

Wheatley thinks as most layers dip 40 grades to the northwest, that the thickness of the entire package of layers is at least 500m, visualized by this schematic section:

In order to be economic at extrapolated depths of around 300m and deeper, grades and thickness have to increase significantly as it would indicate partially underground mining, but it is still early days. On top of this, Wheatley also thinks there is a second, parallel trend alongside Janice Trend:

"In addition, a second mineralized trend, named the Genie Trend, parallels the Janice Trend. It appears to be a repeated section by faulting of the prospective stratigraphy, significantly expanding the potential for further copper mineralization."

And let's not forget how large this Janice Lake project really is, as Forum has staked claims along a 52km trend now, including the entire Wollaston Copper Belt mentioned earlier:

After finishing this drill program, and pitching the story successfully, Forum was able to announce a JV agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. ("RTEC") on its Janice Lake sedimentary copper project in Saskatchewan.

These are the highlights of the JV terms, per the news release of May 9, 2019:

RTEC will commit to $3 million in exploration over the next 18 months.

RTEC has been granted a four year option to acquire a 51% interest in the Janice Lake Project by spending $10 million in exploration, making $490,000 in cash payments, and servicing the remaining $200,000 in underlying cash payments to Transition Metals Corp. as per the terms of the Forum/Transition Option Agreement dated February 5, 2018, to earn 100% interest in the Janice Lake Project.

RTEC has a second option to earn a further 29% interest (total 80% interest) by spending a further $20 million in exploration over a three year period (total $30 million) and making further cash payments of $150,000 (total $640,000).

Upon RTEC vesting an interest, it may elect to form a joint venture on terms agreed to by the parties. Under the joint venture, a party whose interest is diluted below 10% is converted to a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty capped at $50 million.

Forum has staked a further 19,312 hectares to the southwest, which doubles the size of the property to 38,250 hectares and covers the entire 52 km of the Wollaston Copperbelt. These new claims have been added to the Option Agreement.

This is, of course, a very interesting deal for Forum, as it had issues raising cash throughout 2018 and 2019, and an amount of C$3 million would have been out of reach for sure in the current subdued base metals sentiment, preventing Forum from doing serious drilling and solid news flow.

RTEC has planned a high-resolution airborne magnetometer survey over the entire extent of the property and approximately 7,000 meters of drilling in 25–30 holes in 2019 to meet its first year exploration commitment. The survey has been completed, target holes have been defined and drilling is on its way.

As Forum has added this map to their presentation, it could very well be that Rio Tinto is following its strategy of proposed drill fences (in yellow), which I already discussed with Mazur in January around the VRIC conference:

But Rio Tinto has enough knowledge and experience in-house to determine the best exploration strategy for themselves, of course. I expect Rio to release all results at once in one batch, and shortly afterwards reveal if it is going to continue with the JV or bail out. But as the trends are so large, it could be that it takes another shot at it next year, who knows. To be balanced about this, the same situation could be observed at the BHP-Aston Bay JV, on the equally large Storm Copper project, but BHP chose to return the project to Aston Bay after just one limited (but very expensive as it was more Nordic) drill program, so it is possible. I must say that BHP, more than Rio Tinto, is pretty risk averse and has very high standards regarding deposits and success rates, so this might help Forum in seeing Rio taking multiple shots at Janice Lake.

In order to err on the safe side, I am treating this as a binary play, but an interesting one as Rio obviously isn't killing time, and not seeing this as some kind of recycled stranded asset, and the upside seems to be very significant. If this really appears to have Tier I potential, maybe think Reservoir Minerals upside (acquired in 2016 by Nevsun for US$365 million) in 4–5 years from now, although Timok Upper Zone wasn't even Tier I. I pulled some old numbers from my spreadsheets to give a further impression of what copper assets could fetch, although copper prices were much higher at the time of course (now US$2.56/lb Cu):

  For example, a 500Mt target @1% Cu generates 11B lb Cu, and if this is economic at C$2.56/lb Cu it might be able to be valued at an arm-waving US$200-250 million, if for example Rio decides to buy Forum out. For something of another comparison, Teck sold a 30% stake in Quebrada Blanca to Sumitomo, which is basically an earn-in for US$1.2 billion, as Sumitomo pays for most of the expansion capex here. The mine is scheduled to produce 16.5B lb Cu for the remaining life of mine. So big copper is a game of big numbers, if Rio really strikes it big, all Forum has to do is keeping the lights on by doing a few small raises, until Rio is ready for a buyout. I should put in a little disclaimer about this, as I, for example, don't know if Forum has to fund pro rata economic studies and permitting. But I can imagine Rio Tinto doing in-house studies for such a potentially large project, and probably providing Forum with an offer they can't refuse, well before Rio Tinto wants to develop this all the way into feasibility study, etc.

4. Conclusion

It is rare to see a super major like Rio Tinto doing a JV with a (at the time) C$4 million market cap junior, worth C$30 million. In my view, there must be a reason why Rio is so interested in Janice Lake. I am very curious if the new theory of Forum VP Exploration Ken Wheatley will solve the puzzle that the likes of Noranda and Phelps Dodge couldn't solve in the past. Rio Tinto is drilling now, and the big question for me is, aside from the impending results of course, which I assume as probably being consistent and economic but not earth-moving at first sight, what its thresholds will be. Hopefully, we are about to find out in a month or two. I am curious.

Janice Lake project; Source: Transition Metals

I hope you will find this article interesting and useful, and will have further interest in my upcoming articles on mining. To never miss a thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter on my website http://www.criticalinvestor.eu to get an email notice of my new articles soon after they are published.

The Critical Investor is a newsletter and comprehensive junior mining platform, providing analysis, blog and newsfeed and all sorts of information about junior mining. The editor is an avid and critical junior mining stock investor from The Netherlands, with an MSc background in construction/project management. Number cruncher at project economics, looking for high quality companies, mostly growth/turnaround/catalyst-driven to avoid too much dependence/influence of long-term commodity pricing/market sentiments, and often looking for long-term deep value. Getting burned in the past himself at junior mining investments by following overly positive sources that more often than not avoided to mention (hidden) risks or critical flaws, The Critical Investor learned his lesson well, and goes a few steps further ever since, providing a fresh, more in-depth, and critical vision on things, hence the name.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter at: www.streetwisereports.com/get-news

The Critical Investor Disclaimer: The author is not a registered investment advisor, and currently has a long position in this stock. All facts are to be checked by the reader. For more information go to www.forumenergymetals.com and read the company's profile and official documents on www.sedar.com, also for important risk disclosures. This article is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended to be investment advice of any kind, and all readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence, and talk to their own licensed investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions.

Streetwise Reports Disclosure: 1) The Critical Investor's disclosures are listed above. 2) The following companies mentioned in the article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Rio Tinto, a company mentioned in this article.

Charts and graphics provided by the author.

( Companies Mentioned: FMC:TSX.V, RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK, )

from https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2019/08/30/rio-tinto-busy-drilling-on-forum-energy-metals-janice-lake-copper-project-in-c-30m-jv.html

[lamuradex]

Short Story: Trust and Nemesis

Tales of Hero City Collection

Wordcount: 10858

Synopsis: When Justice Man's daughter is kidnapped, the hero turns to the only person he can trust... His nemesis, Mr Intellitron.

But can Intellitron tolerate the hero he hates long enough to rescue a little girl? And who could be so evil to kidnap Justice Man's daughter?

AO3 Link, for those that want it:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63833536

Please reblog, share, and enjoy the story!

Full Story Under The Break

Trust and Nemesis

Machinery buzzed and beakers bubbled. Screwdrivers tightened joints and soldering irons sizzled. Electricity sparked and lab-coated scientists ran between their stations. The laboratory was a bustle of unceasing activity, though the focus of the chamber was undoubtedly the gigantic computer at one end, where one man worked, sat in a large mechanical throne with little gears and cogs decorating it.

The man himself was something to see. His skin was a dull, sapphire-blue, while his hair and beard were a metallic-grey. Every hair zigzagged back and forth like lightning bolts, though his head was balding, exposing a shiny scalp with a failed lightning comb over. His face was sharp and crooked, his robotic left eye glowing green, the organic one just being a similar colour. One arm was mechanical, but moved as dexterously as the real thing, protruding from the sleeve of a long doctor’s coat which buttoned up one side, all dyed a darker shade of azure-blue to contrast with his skin.

He tapped ferociously at the keyboard with practiced ease. Data flashed across with alarming speed, alongside images of gigantic robots, airships and tanks. Finally, with a dramatic flourish, the plans combined into one giant machine. He stood and the entire room of scientists came to an abrupt halt. One was still holding a flask of chemicals, sweating nervously, unable to put it down.

“Finally!” their leader shouted. “I, Mr Intellitron, have devised the ultimate weapon. With this, I will be able to bring the world to its knees. They will grant me anything I desire, and in return, I’ll consider not destroying everything they hold dear,” he shouted malevolently, a mild mechanical hum edging his voice.

“Congratulations,” called the nearest scientist as everyone else broke into applause. There was a small explosion as a glass beaker was shaken unnecessarily.

“With this, no hero will ever threaten me again,” Intellitron continued, as if not noticing the crowd. “Not Stealth Watcher, not D-Fender and most notably of all, not even Justice Man! Even he will bow to the might of Intellitron!”

He stood with his arms extended dramatically. He remained so for a few seconds, then glared at his underlings until they applauded again. He stood, taking in the admiration, then without waiting for them to stop, lowered his arms and turned away.

“Get to work,” he bellowed. And they did.

With a start, everyone dropped what they had been working on and began the new project. Circuitry, mechanisms, jet engines. Every part was prepared, as Mr Intellitron loomed amongst his workers examining their labours. Completing a lap, he returned to the computer at the head of the room. He stood beside it, knowing that, soon enough, the world would fear him yet again.

Then an alarm blared as orange lights span on the ceiling. Intellitron watched as his scientists all stopped working. It was an orange alert. An orange alert meant an intruder in the complex, but that wasn’t anything to worry about. They were hidden beneath an old hospital, with over 50 levels of security between them and the entrance floor. Soon enough the henchmen upstairs would deal with the intruder, or at least they’d provide a report after they’d been clobbered by whoever it was.

“Come on, you slackers,” Intellitron shouted. “You’ve all seen orange alerts before. Keep working.”

And so they did, though some a little nervously. The orange alert continued to shriek for several minutes. As the seventh minute rolled past, even Intellitron was getting suspicious. There’d been no report from upstairs. No shut down of the alert. Maybe it was a glitch in the system. He’d have to check later. At least it wasn’t anything to be worried about. It wasn’t like it was a…

The sirens changed tone and the lights turned blue. A blue alert. The bottom 25 floors had been breached. Still no report though. All the scientists had stopped working. Intellitron turned and walked to his computer, pressing a button on the keyboard.

“What the hell is going on up there?” he roared.

“He’s coming your way, sir,” came the crackly reply. “We can’t stop him. He’s-”

The communication cut off with a burst of static.

Intellitron turned to the crowd, thinking. Who could have found his secret lab? It had to be a high calibre hero to get past this many defences. So, not D-Fender. It seemed too direct to be Stealth Watcher. Maybe someone with super strength, like Big William or The Wandering Fist? No, Fist was abroad fighting Mantis Monster and Big William wasn’t smart enough to have found the entrance. Maybe it was Gun Shooter? He could manage it on a good day. But he hadn’t heard gunfire. It had to be super strength. Maybe it was a villain? The Brutal Bruiser or maybe Dreadnought Face? Someone he owed money too, maybe.

The blue alert still squealed as he thought. The noise was infuriating, but it had to end soon. The Central Sanctum was guarded by Doom Droids, Terror Tanks, and even his elite guard of Henchmen. There were only two, maybe three heroes that could survive that onslaught alone.

Suddenly, the room was lit by spinning red lights. The siren ceased, replaced by a robotic voice repeating: “Red Alert. Sanctum Breached.”

The entire room erupted into panic. Per protocol, every scientist grabbed their work and ran for the exit. Intellitron stood near his mechanical throne, turning it to face the entrance.

This didn’t make sense though. Why would someone be attacking him now? He hadn’t done anything wrong yet! Also, who could it be? Of the heroes that could manage this sort of attack, two were currently dead, expected to be back fighting in a month, and the only other never would. It just wasn’t Justice Man’s style.

Justice Man, the powerful, grandiose, pompous buffoon. Super strength, telekinesis, flight, and an indestructible cape which he used as a shield. Beyond that though, he was an absolute chump! He thought he was the master of disguise, but just went around wearing a trench coat and a fake beard. It was idiotic. Most of the time the henchmen just ignored him. It was easier than confronting him and getting clobbered. He only fought if provoked, self-righteous to a fault. He was not the type to just attack out of the blue. This was not his style!

The sirens suddenly stopped as the door burst inwards, a man was launching though the open doorway. He landed near the throne, having flown quite some distance, wearing a shirt with “14” on the front, one of Intellitron’s 20 Elite Guard. He only managed a few words before passing out.

“Justice Man for you, sir,” he slurred, then fell unconscious.

The caped crusader walked in, marching towards Intellitron. His outfit was bright orange with a blue stipe down his chest, J.M printed across the middle. His cape was blue too, hung proudly behind him, flapping in some destruction born breeze. In build, he was practically triangular, broad chested with comparatively little legs. His head was shaved bald, as was his face, little eyes peering out from under a sturdy brow. Perhaps most unsettling of all though was he wasn’t disguised. No fake beard or anything. This wasn’t like him!

Intellitron leapt into his throne and pressed buttons on the arm rest. The chair began to levitate, energy cannons appearing out the sides. Intellitron himself drew a gun from his belt, the barrel glowing with strange light. As the dust from the door settled, Justice Man came to a stop some feet before the throne, the laser sights of all three barrels trained on him. Something of his expression was strange though. Serious and severe, but with taut, restrained emotion. Intellitron had never seen him like this, and it stayed his hand from the cannons.

The superhero stared at the supervillain.

“I need your help… They have my daughter,” Justice Man said simply.

Intellitron stopped. He checked his ears, wondering if he’d heard right. But Justice Man’s expression confirmed it. Behind whatever anger he was feeling, there was worry. Maybe even fear. Intellitron had never seen him like this. They’d fought for years, and the only anger he’d ever conjured was overdramatic and laced with self-righteousness. This was new. It looked strange on the hero’s features. He looked… scared.

“And so, you come to me?” Intellitron asked hesitantly.

“I need your help.”

“And you tore up my facility to get to me?”

“I tried to just ask at the entrance, but they wouldn’t listen.” Distress tinged his tone.

“Why me though?” Intellitron asked. “We’re enemies. Why would I help you, Justice Man?”

“Because I can’t get anyone else involved, and for all the horrors you’ve committed, I have never seen you hurt a child,” he said sincerely.

Intellitron thought again. It was true. He did have his own code, and hurting innocent people wasn’t especially part of it. Not unless he had to. Or it made things easier. But what if this was some trap by Justice Man? He quickly abandoned that thought. The big lug was a terrible liar, as proved by his disguises. He genuinely wanted his help. But even so…

“Look, if you’ve gotten yourself wrapped up with some other supervillain, that isn’t my problem,” Intellitron dismissed, waving his mechanical hand. “Whoever they are, and however they found out about your daughter, I can’t help you. Villains are just as secretive to each other as they are to you heroes. So please, if you would-”

“It wasn’t a supervillain,” Justice Man interrupted.

“What?”

“It wasn’t a villain. The government has her. They kidnapped my daughter,” he said through clenched teeth. His body was shaking with rage and he honestly looked close to tears.

“Oh…” Intellitron said feebly.

“Please, help me,” he pleaded, falling to his knees. “I can’t get another hero involved in this. Not where this is going. Not against the government. But I know you’d leap at the chance. And I wouldn’t trust any other villain to do this. Not with my daughter at risk. So please, please, help me!”

Intellitron looked down from his floating throne at the kneeling figure before him. There were so many occasions where’d he have relished this. Savoured it. But not like this. This wasn’t his victory. It was someone else crossing a line. The government had been getting more and more involved in super affairs for years, and that was to be expected. Super fights were something to be concerned about. But by messing with Justice Man, they’d messed with Intellitron too. He was Justice Man’s nemesis, his greatest nemesis, and that was something sacred. Something that the government just didn’t understand.

Intellitron looked up and noticed his henchmen had entered the room. They were slowly surrounding Justice Man, all armed with stun prods, and all looking like they were about to try and tickle a great white shark.

“All of you. Leave us,” Intellitron proclaimed. With some confusion, and then great relief, all the henchmen hurried out, one only stopping to drag 14 out with them. The moment they were gone and the doors locked, Intellitron cleared his throat. “So, what happened?”

“We were just out and about, when we were ambushed,” Justice Man described, almost wrapped in his cape like a comforter. “They hit me with something and out went the lights. When I woke up, she was gone.”

Intellitron went wide eyed. “They attacked when you were out as a civilian? Do they know who you are?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I was out in costume. She sometimes likes to fly before bed. I carry her over the city and she drops right off.” A small smile creased his face at the memory, then it fell as he recalled the rest.

“And how do you know it was the government?”

“I saw them. Vans, goons, tech. The first two shots missed, I tried to escape, and then they blasted me. Then I woke up and an hour had passed. And she was gone, stolen by those dumb creeps.” Justice Man welled up again. Intellitron didn’t know if it was appropriate to comfort him, and also didn’t know if he wanted to.

“So, were there any identifying marks? Letters on the vans? I mean, there’s a lot of difference between the FBI kidnapped her and a rogue police force kidnapped her.”

“I just told you. She was taken by those dumb creeps,” Justice Man said as if it were obvious.

“I don’t follow.”

“The DUMB. The D.U.M.B.?”

Intellitron stared at him blankly.

“The Defence Ultra Mobile Bureau,” Justice Man explained. “We heroes have only heard rumours about it, but a few villains have supposedly gone missing, disappeared into their vans. They’re some kind of anti-super initiative, government funded, and when they arrest a villain, the villain stays arrested.”

Intellitron turned and typed the letters D.U.M.B. into his computer and a few files popped up. Justice Man was right, surprisingly. There were reports of villains being snatched away, and even a couple of heroes, however those were unconfirmed. But no one had ever proved the agency even existed. Well, one person had… Intellitron saw the name in his files. Proof suddenly felt like the wrong word.

“Urgh,” the supervillain groaned, then reached for a phone concealed in his chair. “I have an idea how to track this stupid organisation, but for the record, I’m not happy about it.”

Without awaiting a response, Intellitron dialled and held the phone to his ear. He waited, tapping a foot. The phone picked up.

“Hello, you’re on with the Conspiracy News Room. What do you have to say, caller?”

“Jeff, drop the act. It’s Frank,” Intellitron said, barely holding the bile in his throat.

“Frank? As in the one and only Frank Intellitron? Well hasn’t this just made my day,” Jeff audibly grinned in a rehearsed radio chatter. “What brings you to my station, soul brother?”

“Jeff, I need everything you have on the D.U.M.B. You know who they are?”

“I do,” he audibly smirked. “The government’s black ops super-secret agency for fighting supers. They have spy satellites watching Cosmo Derringer’s house and they’ve bugged every phone booth in the city in case a hero changes costume in one. So far they’ve only caught the lizard people in them.”

Intellitron rubbed his eyes tiredly. From Jeff’s tone alone, he could tell the nut was wearing his tinfoil hat. He usually was.

“Yes. Those ones,” he sighed. “Any clues on how to find them?”

“I’ve only found a few clues myself, but THE MAN doesn’t want them broadcast,” Jeff complained. He pressed a button and played the recorded sound of booing. “But, if you really want it, I can leave the intel in the usual place,” he continued.

“How much do you have?”

“A few maps, the brain reading patterns from one of their machines, and the dental records of someone who worked there, though he died in a freak accident. But of course, THE MAN would call it an accident, wouldn’t they. I mean, how many people are killed in rain induced traffic accidents really. Pancaked by a semi-truck indeed,” he doubted.

Intellitron rubbed the bridge of his nose. Despite all appearances, Jeff and his Conspiracy News Room were one of the best sources of information in the city. He gathered info from everywhere, you just needed to work out which bits were sane. Sure, he ran a radio show, but his viewing figures rated in the low single digits on a good day, and somehow in the negatives on an average day. No one would overhear. Even so, it was most people’s last resort to avoid hurting themselves in frustration.

“I’ll take anything you’ve got,” Intellitron said finally.

“Well, not for free, soul brother,” Jeff said slyly. “I’ll want my fee. You know what I want.”

“Do I have to?” Intellitron almost begged.

“Of course you do. Next week, I want you in here. An interview with you might even put my viewing figures into the double digits,” Jeff imagined dreamily. “Plus, I really want to hear your thoughts on nanobots being put into Q-tips by big ear cleaning companies.”

Intellitron slapped his own forehead. “Fine. It’s a deal.”

“Good. The files will be in the old post box on third. I’m pretty sure that’s only a few streets from that old hospital you’re hiding under. And I’ll see you next week, soul brother. And now, for our next caller.” And the line went dead.

Intellitron kept his hand on his face. He was annoyed for several reasons. One, the D.U.M.B. Two, the nanobots in the Q-tips had actually been one of his own failed plans, and now he felt like an idiot. And three, he already knew that, somehow, every villain in the city would tune in to hear him interviewed by Jeffery “I think the Government are putting mind control in the meatballs” Beckham.

He put the phone back in his pocket and groaned.

“You owe me for this,” he said to Justice Man, who had only heard half the conversation and was now huddled in the fetal position.

“Who did you call?” he asked meekly.

“Doesn’t matter. They’re a trustworthy source…. most of the time. And you still owe me.”

“I can’t pay you.”

“We’ll sort something out later. Now follow me.”

Mr Intellitron led Justice Man out the way he’d entered, observing all the damage the hero had caused. Broken shutters, destroyed Doom Bots, henchmen smashed through walls. One wall had a perfect silhouetted hole of Henchman 7, identifiable because he was still lying unconscious in the next room.

As they reached the main elevator shaft, the rest of Intellitron’s personal guard were cleaning up, each of them numbered 1 through 20. Intellitron stopped and all stood at attention.

“Henchman 4? You go and start mopping the hall. Henchman 8? Go and wake up Henchman 7. Henchman 19? Clean out the fridge. It was filthy last I checked. And Henchman 14?” he turned to see 14, who was sat up and rubbing his head. “You’re in charge while I’m gone. Make sure the scientists are brought back in, then prepare evacuation procedures and contact Mr Derringer. We’re going to need to move.”

“Yes, sir,” 14 groaned through his headache.

Intellitron and Justice Man headed for the elevator and stepped in. As the doors closed, Justice Man cleared his throat.

“You put a lot of responsibility on those guys. Do you even know their names?”

“Their names are 1 through 20,” Intellitron stated. “That’s all that matters to me,”

“Even that 14 fellow?”

“I think his name’s Ted or Jed or something? I don’t learn the names of my underlings.”

* * *

The Old Post-Box on Third, as Jeff put it, was an old abandoned pillar box on an empty street corner. Or at least, it had been. With recent improvements to the city, the pillar box was now on the corner of a busy intersection with a mall nearby and eight restaurants surrounding it.

“Stupid gentrification,” Intellitron cursed from a nearby rooftop. His hover throne was several feet behind him, Justice Man beside him, similarly examining the problem.

“Lots of people, and we don’t want to get spotted,” Justice Man assessed, stating the obvious.

“Yes,” Intellitron tried to skip past it. “Unfortunately all the intel is in there. We need to get close.”

“Oh! I have an idea!” Justice Man leapt back from the edge, his voice taking on its familiar heroic tones. Intellitron didn’t even have to turn around as he heard the flurry of clothes. He groaned pre-emptively.

When he turned to look, his fears were confirmed. Justice Man was in his “disguise”, wearing a tan trench coat, a fake beard, and some fake glasses. It did nothing to conceal the florescent orange of his outfit, nor the gargantuan muscles on display.

“No…” Intellitron interrupted, but Justice Man just smiled.

“I can go down there and no one will be any the wiser. Admit it. You only realised it was me now, because who else could it have been.”

Intellitron was torn. Just let him try, and have the illusion collapse around him, or take the opportunity to tell him to his face that the disguise was terrible. But, with the amount of denial on display, it was entirely possible the big lug wouldn’t believe the truth either way, and they were on the clock.

“As impressive as that is,” Intellitron said, trying his bloody hardest to sound sincere, “might the civilians think it strange if another civilian, as you clearly are, starts messing with a post-box?”

“Blast, you’re right.” Justice Man snapped his fingers in annoyance. “Then how? It’s not like I can just go down there and steal from it. I’m a hero, even if there is something on the line.”

A metaphorical lightbulb went on over Intellitron’s head.

“You can’t go down and steal it, but I can.”

A few minutes passed while they planned, then everything went into action. With a villainous cackle, Intellitron descended in his hover throne. People spotted him and fled in all directions. He continued to laugh, and make vague yet significant declarations.

“This city will be mine. None shall stop me,” he said loudly. He usually prepared a little better, but it would serve its purpose. “And no hero could ever defeat me!”

On his cue, Justice Man swooped down. All he had to do was perform a little banter, throw the letter box at Intellitron, and then they’d leave. The plan almost immediately came apart when Justice Man was still wearing his trench coat and beard.

“Halt, villain!” he announced.

Intellitron ground his teeth. “Oh, who could this heroic figure be?” he played along unwillingly, doing his best to try and point it out in case the hero hadn’t actually noticed.

Justice Man looked confused, looked at himself, then a flash of realisation crossed his features. He threw off the disguise and stood proudly in his costume.

“It is I, Justice Man! I am here to stop you, Mr Intellitron. For too long you have stalked our streets, haunted our highways and tormented our towers. You must be stopped today!”

Intellitron scowled. Even for Justice Man it was stilted. Either his head wasn’t in the game, which would be understandable, or he usually prepared more… and considering his unusual standard, that would be pretty embarrassing.

“I will stop you myself, for I am Justice Man. I am justice, and goodness, and the soul of this city and all its-”

Intellitron subtly tapped where his watch would be.

“Oh, right,” Justice Man realised, then threw the pillar box. He had to wrench it from the ground to do it, but he threw it like a tennis ball with one brutal swing.

Intellitron was, quite frankly, a little surprised. He would have panicked, but he honestly didn’t have time. The pillar box hit his throne’s shields like a car crash, exploding into two pieces, its contents spilling out into the open air. Amongst the wreckage and metal chunks, there was a large file in a sealed plastic bag. Intellitron had just enough wherewithal to grab it out of the air and conceal it under his seat.

“Oh no,” he said theatrically. “You have damaged my chair. I must retreat to repair it. Curse you, Justice Man!” he announced as boldly as he could. He didn’t care if he sounded convincing. If anyone doubted his authenticity, they’d just think he was trying to trick Justice Man. With a few button presses, the chair rose and swooped away over the rooftops.

“Get back here, you scoundrel,” Justice Man said awkwardly, putting the emphasis on all the wrong words. He then took off in fake pursuit.

* * *

As annoying as Conspiracy Jeff was, his file was comprehensive. It described some of the origins of the D.U.M.B. and their purpose as a government agency. They had once been just an anti-villain operation, but under new management and the amazing revelation that heroes could turn evil too, the operation had gone a little rogue. Of course, it was difficult to be sure how accurate the file was, with Jeff’s occasional references to snake people, in league with the lizard people, as well as ley lines, but it did include a location.

Justice Man and Intellitron were perched on a cliff, overlooking the rocky plains which were located just 20 miles outside the city. Hero City and its surrounding Super County truly were a freak accident of landscape geography, featuring rocky plains, mountains, ice caves, lava veins and even a shoreline. However, even without Jeff, they might just have found the base sooner or later.

The D.U.M.B. facility was a set of eight or nine domes, slap bang in the middle of the plains. The domes were only the surface layer of a larger complex, but it was still outstandingly prominent. A feeble attempt had been made to write “Plastics Factory” across a dome for cover.

Government agents really needed to improve their secret base skills, Intellitron thought to himself.

While Intellitron examined the facility, Justice Man was tensely quiet, crouched by some rocks. Their little performance in the city had been fun, but seeing the facility had brought back the horrid reality for him. His daughter was in there and he had to save her.

“So, I suppose you want to smash your way in?” Intellitron said, trying to pull him out of his funk.

“No,” Justice Man answered flatly. “Can’t risk it.”

“Well, trying to get in stealthily is going be a real challenge, Justice Man, not that I don’t appreciate a challenge. Just saying, the amount you’ll owe me at the end of this is raising by the minute,” the villain half joked.

Justice Man’s brow darkened.

“Is that all this is to you?” he growled, shooting to his feet. “You help me, then I owe you some devious favour? Especially when I can’t possibly say no? Or are you going to use my daughter against me too, just to make sure I obey?” he snarled.

Intellitron froze, raising hands in a familiar gesture of surrender. Against his usual goofiness, the big guy’s anger was honestly intimidating. It was a stark reminder that, even with his silly powers and his silly manner, if he wanted he could snap an ordinary person like a twig.

“I was joking, big guy,” Intellitron soothed. “I’ll admit I’ve been considering how you’d pay me back for this, but it was never going to be a big deal. Lift something heavy for me, turn a blind eye to a theft or two, something like that. Maybe you pay for the damages to my hideout or the mortgage on my new lair. Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh,” Justice Man deflated and sat back down. “Apologies, my old nemesis,” he said, his heroic tones returning, seemingly as a coping mechanism.

“It’s no big deal. I do have some standards, and hurting children is beyond my threshold. Plus, these D.U.M.B. thugs are a threat to both of us, aren’t they? Targeting heroes and villains?”

“I know, but still… I’m kind of amazed you’re not raking me over the coals on this,” Justice Man said honestly.

“The enemy of my enemy is my…well, you’re not my friend,” Intellitron amended.

“I do get that, my old nemesis. It’s sort of why I’m surprised you’re not siding with them, just to spite me. I know how much you hate me, and I’ve never blamed you for that. It’s understandable considering… you know,” he finished awkwardly.

Intellitron stopped, looking away from the facility. His interest was piqued because, in fact, he did not know.

“Justice Man, why do you think I hate you?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Justice Man sat up straight again, shuffling uncomfortably. “Surely you know. Why wouldn’t you know? Why don’t you tell me why you think you hate me?” he dodged childishly.

“I know why I hate you. It’s because of your insufferable arrogance, your entrenched optimism for the human condition, your unwavering enforcement of the status quo. It’s because of your unflinching refusal to accept that the world might need to change if it’s going to move forwards and, to a lesser extent, your denial that I’d be the best man for the job. Why? Why do you think I hated you?”

“Your arm…” Justice Man said meekly.

Intellitron stopped and looked down at his robotic right arm. There was something he hadn’t thought about for a long time.

“I blew up your escape chair the first time we fought,” Justice Man recalled. “Then, when you next appeared, you had a robot arm. I’d always assumed it was my doing. And, if I’m honest, it has always been one of my few genuine regrets. I didn’t realise that the chair would explode, and I didn’t realise what could come from it. If I’d realised that I might motivate one of the most sinister villains in the city, perhaps I wouldn’t have done it.”

Intellitron stared at his arm, partially reflecting and partially admiring his own craftsmanship. He looked to Justice Man and saw the veiled guilt on his features. Another new sight today. The villain smiled.

“Justice Man, I haven’t given that a second thought since it happened,” he admitted.

“Pardon?” Justice Man stared at him.

“Sure, I lost my arm after our first fight, and it was your telekinesis blast that did it, but I never blamed you. I blamed myself for not shielding those fuel cells properly. Also, you’re assuming that I grieved for it for one moment. I didn’t. I don’t know if you realise this, but having a robot arm is rad! Why would I want to be an ordinary plain human when I can be a cyborg? But I don’t need to tell you that, do I? I’m assuming you’re originally human, so your powers came from somewhere, and you chose to keep them, right?”

“Experiment gone wrong when I was a kid, but yes, I take your point.” Justice Man nodded. “So you don’t hold your arm against me?”

“Not even a little.”

“Then what about your eye? I can’t remember when you got that.”

“I had it when we first fought, don’t worry.”

“Then how did you get it?” the hero asked curiously.

“Did it myself. Only one eye needed glasses, and there’s no way I’m paying those prices for lenses. Not when science could do better,” Intellitron answered proudly.

“And your skin?”

“What about it?”

“It’s… blue,” Justice Man said awkwardly.

“Oh, that’s just a skin condition,” Intellitron shrugged. “My dad had it too, and he was bricklayer."

“Huh.”

“Now to get us back on track,” the villains stated, refocusing the conversation. “You don’t need to worry about your daughter with me, Justice Man. I know most days I want to destroy you, but I wouldn’t hurt her. I have my own code and sense of honour. Besides, I have a family myself.”

“You do?!” Justice Man blurted.

“A sister, a brother-in-law, cousins. I even have a little niece who I hear admires me. I’ve only met her a couple of times, but she looks at me with stars in her eyes,” Intellitron recalled, a genuine smile creasing his features. “For all my villainy, I could never hurt your daughter. This fight is between you and me. No one else.”

“We will battle to the end,” the hero agreed triumphantly.

“I do have one last question though, before we start,” Intellitron cut him off, almost sensing the dramatic music that would lead them to battle. “Does your daughter have your powers, or any of her own?”

“No. Nothing of the sort.”

“So they haven’t taken her for study, or if they have they’re ill informed,” Intellitron resolved.

“Right.”

“Then you realise she’s likely bait for you. This is almost certainly a trap.”

“When has that ever stopped me before?” the hero said proudly.

It was true. The amount of times Intellitron had laid plans and traps, and the hero had knowingly walked into them, “sneaking” past his best guards, through lairs and bases and warehouses. How often Justice Man would charge in headfirst, like a bull in a China shop?

But he always survived. It was honestly impressive, even if it was usually to Intellitron’s disadvantage. The odds never scared Justice Man, and for today, they wouldn’t frighten Intellitron either.

He looked at the hero proudly and smiled.

“Let’s do this,” he said simply, and jumped into his hovering throne.

* * *

The pair flew over to the closest dome and slipped in via a roof panel, Intellitron leaving his hover-throne outside. Down a few air ducts, along some circuit conduits, and finally having Justice Man punch through a grate, they found themselves inside the facility. Steel floors and walls surrounded them, though there was a notice board on one wall and a few pot plants in the corners. Carpets had been put down, leaving the steel visible at the edges. While still sinister, it had all the banality of a tax office.

“Urgh. Government buildings really know how to suck the soul out of evil, don’t they?” Intellitron observed.

“There’s a certain charm to it,” Justice Man disputed, a man who had clearly never worked an office job.

“Let’s get moving,” Intellitron led them on.

The pair crept along the corridor, but it was silent and empty. After a few minutes the tense drama of it all gave way to casual walking, until Intellitron spied a glowing screen and stopped them.

“Information,” he said, entering the room and approaching the computer. The room was dark and there were rows of computers, but only one was switched on. Justice Man followed him in, shifting his bulky form between several desks.

“Is this important, Intellitron?” he whispered.

“Any info we can get could help us. Who knows how big this place is.” Intellitron reached up and pulled a small wire from a port on his bionic eye. The cable had a USB plug on the end. He fed it into the computer, taking a moment to get the USB the right way, then began searching through their files.

* * *

In a control room elsewhere in the facility, a worker at a computer bank received a flashing red warning.

“Uh oh,” he said, then ran to get his boss.

* * *

“Map, map, map, where is the map,” Intellitron murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, Justice Man waited. He was both impatient and unsure what to do next, so he just stood tapping his foot. He spotted a pot of coffee steaming away, so walked over to examine it. He didn’t like coffee, but it was something to do. In fact, he generally steered clear of caffeine. Being hyper didn’t mix well with super powers. But he smelled it, and the rich beans were pleasant enough. Then a little lightbulb went on in his head. It flickered on slowly, like a light in a gas station bathroom. Justice Man wasn’t stupid, but his planning rarely went past smash things until the villain’s plan stopped. As such investigation was a little out of his way, but something slowly dawned on him.

“Um, Intellitron?” he said as the realisation came into view.

“What is it? I’m cracking passwords,” Intellitron grumbled, focusing on the data in his eye.

“This coffee is still hot,” Justice Man stated.

“Coffee tends to be…” Intellitron stopped and turned, the same realisation already on his features.

The room light switched on and a man in a shirt and tie walked in with a report.

“Vanessa? That you? I swear, if you take my stapler again I’ll take those novelty pencil sharpeners from your desk and I’ll-” The man froze as he saw the hero and the villain in the room.

“Well, as stealth goes, this is not my finest hour,” Intellitron said.

“Intruders!” the man went to yell. He didn’t manage it though. He only got to “Intru-” before he was lifted into the air by Justice Man’s telekinesis. A purple aura surrounded him and he suddenly went very quiet.

“Where is my daughter?” Justice Man asked, turning the man to face him.

“That’s not my department.” The man did his absolute best to shrug.

“Well who’s is it?”

“Human resources?” the man said. It was unclear if he was joking or if it was a genuine serious guess. Either way, Justice Man scowled. The man grinned in terror. “Oh, Vanessa will know. I’ll just call her.”

The hero’s scowl vanished for a look of worry. “No, don’t call Vanessa,” Justice Man warned.

The worker paused. The cogs turned and he suddenly realised his advantage. With the devilish smile of someone with the opportunity to screw over someone else and make havoc for his bosses at the same time, he inhaled to yell.

“Vaness-” was all he managed, before a beam fired from Intellitron’s eye and froze him in a new blue aura.

“Wow, you are bad at this,” the villain commented, then walked over, stretching the cable to the computer. “Basic stasis beam. He’ll be frozen for about ten minutes. Might suffer a little memory loss if I calibrated it correctly.”

As Intellitron reached the frozen man, utterly unharmed but fixed in time, he picked up a piece of paper and a pen, wrote something on the paper, and then affixed it to the frozen man with some tape. The sign read:

“Sorry. Experimental Stasis Weapon Accident. May cause memory loss or hallucinations. If he wakes up shouting about seeing things that aren’t there, then please ignore him. May have also done something to the computer. Signed, Vanessa.”

“Wow! Good thinking,” Justice Man admired.

Intellitron almost did a double take at this opinion, but before he could, his eye sparked and he flinched, pulling the cable from the computer. “Blast it!” he cursed.

“What?”

“They locked me out of the system. Still, I got a map and a few files. We should move.”

“Does that mean they know we’re here?” Justice Man worried.

“They might suspect, but for all they know it’s an embezzling employee. Just keep an eye out for cameras.”

* * *

In the control booth, the boss had arrived. She was a thin woman with tightly put up bronze hair wearing a buttoned up black suit. In perhaps her late twenties, her features were sharp and fierce, with thin lips and piercing eyes. Makeup adorned her face, with blush on her cheeks and barely a suggestion of blue eyeshadow.

“Did you seal the leak?” she asked. Even her tone was sharp.

“Shut off access, but we can’t be sure what they got,” her worker reported, typing at his console.

“And who are ‘They’ in this equation?”

“Not sure yet. A hacker maybe, but they’d have to be inside the building. This facility is off the grid. We don’t even have proper internet.”

“I know. I designed it that way,” she hissed.

“Of course, Ma’am…” the worker floundered for a moment “I’m sending a squad to investigate the access point. I just hope it isn’t Jerry trying to up his pay again.”

The boss just glared at him, then mercifully rolled her eyes.

* * *

Following the map, the pair hurried along the corridors keeping a cautious eye out for cameras. It was actually a novel experience for Intellitron. Sure, he’d broken into and robbed a ton of places in his career, but very rarely had he done it stealthily. Usually, it was: Blast open door, announce presence and intentions, then set henchmen to their tasks. Sneaking about was fun, with its frisson of danger. But, much to his surprise, there were no cameras. He’d honestly expected to have been caught ten minutes ago.

The staff were equally lax. They’d encountered one person directly, but two floors down now, and they’d only heard a couple of people in the distance. If this was a government agency, it was either woefully underfunded or deeply unpopular. Probably both.

As they rounded a corner, Intellitron held up a hand. They both stopped. The tell-tale sounds of a man whistling were coming from around the bend, and he sounded incredibly bored. Intellitron reviewed the map in his head and suppressed a groan.

“The next stairs are just past him,” he whispered to Justice Man.

“He’ll move on. These sorts of guards always patrol in loops,” the hero said knowingly.

Intellitron paused. Those were the instruction he gave his own guards, to patrol in little predictable patterns. In hindsight, it seemed like a blatant design flaw. He put that thought on a to-do-list, then moved on.

“He’s not moving. Looks like he’s guarding some lab vault. I don’t know why you need a guy to stand there when you could just have a key card or a code, but…”

“So we have to sneak past him,” Justice Man considered, stepping back. Intellitron was tapping his robot hand and thinking when he heard the familiar, unsettling sound of cloth. He turned to see Justice Man in his full trench coated disguise.

Intellitron tried not to grind his teeth further. “Justice Man, I don’t think that’ll work.”

“Not alone it won’t,” Justice Man affirmed, producing a second trench coat. There was even a second false beard, which Intellitron felt was a little redundant. He did wonder how Justice Man had changed so fast… Actually, the real mystery was where the hero had gotten either disguise from, as his hero costume didn’t look to have pockets. The villain decided not to question it. Sometime it was just best not to.

“It really won’t work,” Intellitron reinforced.

“Not with that attitude.”

Intellitron could see there was no dissuading him. Not unless he could think of a really good reason. Luckily, he found one.

“J.M., my skin is blue. I’m sure he’ll notice that.”

“Damn, your right,” Justice Man cursed under his breath, as Intellitron breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. I’ll get him to leave, then you can slip past.”

“Wait, what?” Before Intellitron could object further, Justice Man was around the corner and approaching the guard.

“How do you do, fellow D.U.M.B. member?” the disguised Justice Man greeted.

The guard, to his credit, kept a straight face. He was armed with a machine gun and looked the newcomer up and down, from the trench coat that was almost bursting with all his muscles, to the obviously fake beard hanging from his ears. His eyes stopped on the pair of glasses over Justice Man’s nose, noting how they didn’t even have lenses in them.

“And who are you?” he asked, his voice like gravel.

“I am from accounts. I was sent to tell you there is a problem with your paycheque and you must go to human resources to have it sorted out,” Justice Man announced, his voice stilted and flat.

“But why would someone from accounts know that? They don’t deal with the paycheques.” The guard was clearly just playing along, unsure if this was a prank or an actually intruder. Either way, they were likely getting shot.

“Oh, Stacy from the chequing department told me to tell you-” He paused to desperately search for a nametag. To his glee, there was one, hidden partially behind a combat knife. “-Alan. We were chatting at the water cooler and it came up. She asked if I could tell you.”

“But there are only three people in the chequing department, and all of them are men,” the guard stated. He’d definitely decided this was an intruder who was about to get shot.

“Well, that’s the glass ceiling for you.”

“What?” the guard asked in bewilderment.

“Anyway, you should go and sort out that paycheque thing. I need to get back to accounts.” And Justice Man turned to walk away.

“Why is someone from accounts even down here? This isn’t-” he paused, his useless argument dying in his throat as something caught his eye. A scrap of orange and blue fabric beneath the coat. His eyes went wide as he stared Justice Man in the face, finally recognising him. Then he noticed the blue man peering around the corner. He raised a hand, pointing at the villain. “Oh my god! You’re-”

He was cut off as dart fired from Intellitron’s arm into his neck and he was out like a light. Justice Man turned to Intellitron with an annoyed expression.

“Look at that. I almost had him believing it before he spotted you.”

Intellitron went to say something but just couldn’t. It just wasn’t worth the argument.

“Sorry, Justice Man. I’ll be more careful next time,” he said instead, with as much flat sarcasm as he could manage.

“It’s quite alright. You’re no master of stealth and disguise like I am,” Justice Man grinned.

Again, Intellitron had to remind himself the argument just wasn’t worth it.

* * *

In the control booth, the boss was reading reports. An admin from the first floor found in a state of hysterics, rambling incoherently that no one would believe him. A strange Justice Man sighting in the city earlier in the day. And now someone had found a guard named Alan hastily stuffed into a cupboard, and they hadn’t yet managed to wake him.

“It has to be him. Justice Man is here,” she stated to her underling.

“All security has been alerted, ma’am. Search teams are already moving.”

“Don’t bother,” she instructed. “This was always part of the plan, and now he’s arrived. Deploy twenty troops to the Crisis Chamber and arm them for war. Justice Man won’t go down easy. And I want confirmation of his location. Why don’t we have security footage of him?”

“Camera’s aren’t in the budget, ma’am. We’re already stretching our funds with this facility as it is.”

The boss cursed to herself, but loud enough for anyone to hear. She hated governmental budget cuts.

* * *

As Justice Man and Intellitron descended another floor, the atmosphere became a lot less welcoming. Gone were the office furnishings, pot plants and wood panelling. Now everything was hard, grey steel, and the corridors were wide and ominous. They could hear people marching, but the echoes made it impossible to tell where they were coming from.  The strip lights were pale and clinical, and a sign on the final set of stairs read “No unauthorised personnel, under pain of death”.  It certainly told them everything they needed to know.

They slipped between the corridors, Justice Man back in his original costume. Intellitron was leading them to something labelled “The Crisis Chamber”, which from the information he could gather was where they kept their prisoners.

They rounded a corner into the sight of twenty armed guards.

“Fire!” one yelled. Another fired.

A rocket erupted from a bazooka flying straight down the corridor. For all Intellitron’s experience, there wasn’t much of a plan for “rocket in a corridor”. Certainly not enough of a plan to improvise a solution. By the time he’d even understood what was happening, it was too late.

Fortunately, the rocket stopped in mid-air, frozen by a purple aura. Justice Man had a finger to his temple, focusing on the explosive, keeping it still.

“Thanks, J. Man,” Intellitron said, just a little shaken. He reached forwards and plucked the rocket out of the aura, its fuel having already run out. He held it in his mechanical hand, then tossed it casually in the air like a tennis ball. He looked at the soldiers, holding the missile up for them to see.

“Fall back!” their commander shouted, as Intellitron cricket bowled the missile back at them. It exploded, but the men had gotten clear and were now moving to flank the pair in the interconnecting corridors.

“Where is she?” Justice Man asked.

“Straight ahead, big guy,” Intellitron answered, pressing a button on his wrist and activating a personal force field. “Question. Are we killing these people? I know how you heroes get about your ethics.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t, but I wouldn’t grieve for them,” the hero said coldly.

“I can work with that.”

And they split off to fight the soldiers.

Justice Man hurtled ahead and followed where half the soldiers had fled. He flew up behind them as they turned, raising machine guns. He landed and flipped his cape to cover him. The bullets hit the fabric, but every one of them bounced off the flexible, yet indestructible material.

“You can’t hurt me! My cape is bulletproof!” he proclaimed in a rehearsed catchphrase.

For a few seconds there was noise and gunfire, then the men were out of bullets. As they moved to reload, Justice Man pounced. He swept his cape away from his face and focused his mind. A purple aura surrounded each man’s gun, then slammed the weapons into the wall, shattering them to splinters. Disarmed, they all looked at Justice Man with varying looks of terror. The man closest was brave enough to pull a knife.

Justice Man punched him so hard he landed twenty feet down the corridor. The rest watched his limp form with a sense of inevitable dread.

“We’re sorry?” one soldier ventured.

Justice Man smiled.

The corridor became a brawling pit as Justice Man charged. Within thirty seconds, and with a lot of cracks and yelps, every soldier was soon piled in a corner, all on top of each other.

Intellitron was almost sympathetic, hearing fist meet face. But, even if he did feel bad, which he didn’t, it wasn’t going to stop him taking out the rest.

Intellitron, instead of pursuing, followed a corridor to intercept his batch. By the time he reached them, walking at a leisurely pace, they had formed up and were ready to open fire. Bullets rained against him, but each one vaporised against the villain’s energy shield, a bubble of crackling light around him. The shield was even melting bits of the wall where it intersected. He strode forwards, casual as you like, unable to even see the soldiers for all the lead hitting the energy barrier. Then they ran out of ammo and began to retreat, pulling pistols. One ran to grab the bazooka again.

Intellitron locked the rocketeer in his sights and smiled. In a blue flash, his stasis beam fired, and the soldier froze in place. Keeping up his leisurely pace, he advanced, his shield taking more bullets, his stasis beams firing, and the soldiers retreating in terror. One soldier was smart though. He saw a stasis locked soldier pass harmlessly through the shield and realised it was safe. He charged, knife ready, and passed through the shield, coming face to face with Intellitron.

Intellitron reeled back, unlocked a piston in his robot arm, and punched the soldier like an industrial pile driver. He didn’t go flying, but did three summersaults before he hit the floor. Intellitron fired a couple more stasis beams and finally there was only one soldier, who was on his knees, out of ammo, and begging.

Intellitron just scowled. “Really? You think I’m going to be merciful? I’m a supervillain!”

Seeing pity wouldn’t work, the man shrugged, drew a knife and threw it. It hit the shield, exploded into particles, and fell to floor as ashes.

“Well, that’s a little better,” Intellitron stared, then stasis beamed him where he knelt.

The villain walked back up the corridor and shot a sleep dart into every downed trooper, even the ones in stasis. As he headed back, a janitor was already picking up the man who’d been punched and was loading him onto a cart, not paying any mind to the supervillain.

Intellitron and Justice Man reunited outside the Crisis Chamber door, which was huge and heavily armoured. Justice Man looked relaxed, like he’d gotten the anger out of his system, while Intellitron just felt smug in victory. He walked over to a control panel, pressed a few buttons, and the door began to hiss open.

The Crisis Chamber was a massive spherical room, almost fifty foot wide. A suspended platform hung at its centre, with a walkway leading over to it. In the centre of the platform was a chair with steel restraints. And in the chair was a small figure.

Justice Man lit up. He flew over and began to pry the little girl free.

“Honey, are you okay?” he pleaded.

“Dad! You came to rescue me,” she chirped. By her voice, she couldn’t have been older than eight.

“Of course I did, honey. Of course I did,” he wrapped her in a hug, all his stress flowing out.

Intellitron slowly wandered over, not wanting to disrupt the heartfelt scene. But he knew they weren’t out of trouble yet.

* * *

The boss was almost steaming. The janitor, of all people, had reported that all the men had been defeated. And worse, Justice Man wasn’t alone.

“Please tell me, for the love of god, that we have a camera in the Crisis Chamber,” she snarled.

“We do, ma’am. We need to keep an eye on the prisoners,” the underling said hurriedly. He pressed a few buttons and punched up a black and white, low quality video feed. “Look, there’s Justice Man. There’s his daughter. Now who’s that with him?”

“Is that who I think it is,” she sneered. She knew she was right.

“Oh lord,” the underling said, panic rising. “It’s an Incident 10-14. We managed to trigger a 10-14. We don’t have protocols for a 10-14! We can’t deal with a hero/villain team up! Especially not that villain!”

The boss just stared at the screen. As much as she hated to admit it, and didn’t plan to do so, her underling was right. They couldn’t deal with this.

“Give the evacuation order, then lock them in and trigger the self-destruct,” she ordered. “If we’re lucky, they’ll die together.”

* * *

Justice Man hugged his daughter and reassured her that everything would be okay. Intellitron drew close, but could only see chocolate-brown pigtails amongst his muscular arms.

“Not to ruin the moment, but we should go,” Intellitron intruded.

Justice Man flinched as he recalled he wasn’t alone, subtly putting himself between Intellitron and his daughter. “Um, yes… Just a minute,” he said quickly, pulling out his disguise again.

“Seriously? I’m not going to hurt her,” Intellitron groaned.

“Better safe than sorry,” Justice Man explained.

When he’d finished, his daughter was in his arms and wearing his disguise. The trench coat was draped around her, the beard covered most of her face, and the pair of fake glasses were perched with some difficulty on her nose. He’d even produced a wig from somewhere which was clearly an old mop thrown messily over her tresses.

Intellitron did have to admit, it actually concealed her identity quite well.

“Now, let’s get Justice Girl out of here,” Justice Man said triumphantly. The little girl giggled at the nickname, a sound that warmed even Intellitron’s icy heart.

“Alright, Justice Man and daughter of Justice Man. Let’s get out of here before-”

The doors behind them slammed shut. Around them, gears moved and cogs repositioned as the bulkheads locked. It was followed by a blaring siren and flashing alert lights.

“Self-destruct activated. Please evacuate the facility. Self-destruct activated. Please evacuate the facility,” a computer voice announced.

* * *

“Really? You couldn’t have done that more quietly? Maybe catch them by surprise?” the boss said bitterly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s health and safety. Legally, we have to warn all staff before blowing up the facility.”

“Typical freaking bureaucracy,” she swore.

* * *

Justice Girl, as she was now dubbed, leaned into her father’s shoulder. Justice Man looked around worriedly, trying to spy an escape route. Meanwhile Intellitron was identifying the brand of self-destruct system. Not for any strategic advantage, purely out of curiosity.

“I’m guessing you two don’t have a plan to get out?” he asked calmly.

Justice Man shook his head, trying not to worry his daughter.

“Thought so. Well, good thing I came prepared.”

Intellitron extended his robot arm and his hand began to fold away. It slotted into the wrist and the entire arm began to reconfigure, metal and circuitry realigning. With electronic whirring, and a few more clicks, everything slotted into place. His forearm had been replaced with something that more resembled a glowing jet turbine.

“Cover her ears,” he warned.

Justice Man did so, as Intellitron aimed his new arm cannon. With a vibrating whine, it began to charge, a ball of superheated plasma building within the turbine chamber. Then, as the whine reached fever pitch, he took aim at the bulkhead door and fired.

* * *

The blast was cacophonous and shook the entire facility. The boss and her underling felt it in the control room, and saw the feed go dead as the camera was vaporised.

“Ma’am?” the underling awaited instruction.

“Purge the databanks. Get everyone out. We’re done here,” she stated, then headed for the stairs.

* * *

“Wow,” came the humbled little voice of Justice Girl.

The Crisis Chamber doors were molten slag, as was a large portion of the chamber behind it. Even Justice Man stood in awe for a few moments.

“I’m surprised you’ve never used that on me,” he considered.

“I have,” Intellitron answered with a playful edge. “You’ve always deflected it right back at me with that daft cape of yours.”

“His cape is cool!” Justice Girl piped up, defending her dad’s honour.

Intellitron couldn’t argue. At least not with her. “Very well. It’s impressive,” he conceded. “Now, shall we go?”

“Let’s move,” Justice Man agreed urgently, and took off flying. Intellitron ran along behind, but the hero soon slowed down to join him when he realised he had no idea where he was going.

Intellitron guided them along the corridors. All the unconscious guards were gone, and other than the blaring sirens the facility was deathly quiet. He guided them down several tunnels, until they arrived at a large vertical shaft labelled “Escape Tunnel”.

Intellitron fired another plasma blast and blew the door open. He ran in, aimed upwards and fired a concentrated beam towards the sky. After a few seconds, moonlight shone through the gap. He pressed a few buttons on his arm and his hover throne descended to join them.

“Top floor, going up,” he quipped.

Justice Man smiled and flew up first, with Intellitron hovering behind. By the villain’s reckoning, based on the brand of self-destruct system, they actually still had a few minutes, but it was always better to hurry.

The shaft was a clear shot to the surface, opening under a fake rock about twenty feet outside the perimeter fence. Justice Man shot out and kept climbing, as did Intellitron. More than a mile over the facility, they both finally came to a stop and looked down at the site.

“Four, three, two, one,” Intellitron counted down.

On cue, the facility rumbled, parts collapsed, and the entire thing was engulfed in a fireball which illuminated the plains. They’d easily been clear for a couple of minutes, but they could still feel the heat from the explosion.

“I hope there weren’t any other prisoners,” Justice Man considered, too late to do anything.

“I didn’t see evidence of any in their system. I don’t think they’re usually much for taking prisoners, if you catch my meaning,” Intellitron explained, not wishing to scare the little girl.

“So, is it over? Have we won?” the hero asked.

“Maybe. I don’t think they’ll try again, but I’ll look into them as a precaution. As I said before, they’re a threat to hero and villain alike.” He looked down at the still dimming explosion. “And look at what they’re capable of.”

“Well, however it plays out, thank you, Frank Intellitron,” Justice Man said sincerely. “You saved my daughter’s life today.”

“Think nothing of it. I have my code, just like you have yours. And I did already mention you’d be paying me back for this. I’m really going to have to rob a big bank to repair the damage you did to my lair,” Intellitron teased.

“Well, you’ll still have to earn it, fighting me. But maybe I’ll go easy on you this time,” Justice Man answered with a smirk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d still prefer if you left first. I appreciate what you did today, but I’d rather you not see which way I’m flying home.”

“Fair enough. I have to get back to my henchmen. See you next time, Justice Man. But don’t expect me to go easy on you,” Intellitron grinned.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. And what do you say, Justice Girl?” He held up his daughter, disguise and all.

“Thank you, Mr Intellitron,” the little girl stumbled through the words.

“Any time, kid,” Intellitron smiled, then pressed a few buttons on his throne and flew away over the horizon.

“Now, time to get you home, Bethany,” Justice Man said to his daughter. “Your mother will be worried sick.”

“Mr Intellitron is a funny guy,” she answered.

“That he is, honey. That he is.”

* * *

Years later, at Intellitron Resorts.

Intellitron was working in his office, planning a new set of rides and trying to get the G-force calculations right so it didn’t remove anyone’s bones or organs. As he worked, sketching on the blueprints, the door to his office pushed open.

“Mail’s here,” Henchman 14 announced.

“Bills and marketing, I don’t doubt,” Intellitron grumbled.

“Oh, and a kid fell into the log flume ride. He seems fine, happy as can be, but Henchman 9 is having a hell of a time getting him out.”

“He should be fine. I designed the safety mechanisms myself.”

14 dropped the pile of envelopes on the desk, then turned to leave. Before he could, he noticed one that was a little different.

“Handwritten letter in that pile,” he observed. Intellitron stopped and looked over.

“Place your bets. Death threats or villains I still owe money to.”

“I’m betting both,” 14 considered.

Intellitron used one robot finger as a letter opener, and then pulled the letter free. It was hand written with curly, neat script.

Dear Mr Intellitron,

I hope this letter finds you well. I can imagine you’re not used to reading those words, are you, but I genuinely do mean them. You see, I am alive because of you. Many years ago, you did a very heroic thing. You and my father rescued me from a government facility, and because of you, I am here today.

That’s right. It is I. Justice Man’s daughter!

I may lack my father’s penchant for theatrics, but I have you to thank eternally. Because of you, I have grown up, gone to school, made friends, and am now out in the world. Back on the playground, I used to argue that you really were a good person, deep, deep down, but no one would believe me. They even picked on me for it, but I refused to relent. But now the world can see in you what I always could. A good man.

From all I’ve heard from Dad’s stories, you were only ever trying to improve the world. And now you’ve found one way to do that, even if isn’t as grand as you once imagined. Your resort brings joy and happiness to thousands, and your choices bring hope to me. Sometimes this struggle between good and evil can feel endless and pointless and never changing.

But if you can change, then that means others can too. You give me hope, Mr Intellitron.

I am truly proud of the person you’ve become. You may once have been lost or confused, or whatever set you down that dark path way back when, but you found your way. And you never lost that soul inside you. You rescued a scared little girl, stolen by the government, even though there was no profit in it. Because it was right.

I have so much to thank you for, but only so much ink, so I’ll finish here. Thank you, Mr Intellitron, and good luck in all your endeavours. Keep that heart inside you strong, even if it might be cybernetic.

Yours, in friendship and respect,

Justice Girl.

“Are you alright, boss?” 14 asked.

Intellitron was grinning from ear to ear, and honestly close to tears. He carefully wiped his eye and then placed the letter in a desk drawer, alongside various letters from his family and his niece especially.

“I’m quite well, 14. Now, how about I go and get that kid out of the log flume. If Henchman 9 can lower me down, then I can reach in and grab the little tyke.”

“Sounds like a plan,” 14 said, a little surprised by the change in mood. “Was that letter really so important?”

“It’s just a good reminder of who I always wanted to be,” Intellitron said proudly, then left his office to get to work.

[pkmnsciencej]

Good morning today I'm taking Janice for her check-up. She still has her glasses but she's starting to run into things. Mostly Cobalt.

[clexaao3feed]

Pillar of Salt

by Sundog (laikaspeaks)

Separated from her family during the events of "Cobalt" and still reeling from what feels like the permenant loss of everything she's ever known, Alicia meets three very odd strangers.

Words: 2908, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The 100 (TV), Xena: Warrior Princess

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F

Characters: Alicia Clark, Elyza Lex, Janice Covington, Melinda Pappas

Relationships: Alicia Clark/Elyza Lex, Janice Covington/Melinda Pappas, Gabrielle/Xena

Additional Tags: Queer the walking dead - Freeform, BAMF Elyza Lex, Bisexual Female Character, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Reincarnation, Reincarnated Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Canon-Typical Violence

Read Here: http://ift.tt/2lijw9T via IFTTT

[ao3feed-elyzalex]

Pillar of Salt

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2lijw9T

by Sundog (laikaspeaks)

Separated from her family during the events of "Cobalt" and still reeling from what feels like the permenant loss of everything she's ever known, Alicia meets three very odd strangers.

Words: 2908, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The 100 (TV), Xena: Warrior Princess

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F

Characters: Alicia Clark, Elyza Lex, Janice Covington, Melinda Pappas

Relationships: Alicia Clark/Elyza Lex, Janice Covington/Melinda Pappas, Gabrielle/Xena

Additional Tags: Queer the walking dead - Freeform, BAMF Elyza Lex, Bisexual Female Character, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Reincarnation, Reincarnated Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Canon-Typical Violence

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2lijw9T

[nancygduarteus]

Vitamin B6 and B12 Supplements Appear to Cause Cancer in Men

Energy. If you’re not taking vitamin B12, forget about having energy. As The Dr. Oz Show has recommended, “End your energy crisis with Vitamin B12.” The nice thing about sub-lingual pills is “you don’t need a doctor, you don’t need a prescription.”

And don’t get me started on metabolism. If you want to “supercharge your metabolism and energy levels,” Amazon can deliver you a tall bottle of B12 supplements by the end of the day. Your metabolic processes will be the envy of the neighborhood. (“Is Janice … on something?” “Yes—B12!”)

These are the sort of vague marketing claims that have propelled the cobalt-based compounds sold as B12 into American hearts and minds and blood in ever-growing quantities. They are extrapolations from the fact that B12 deficiency causes anemia, and correcting that deficiency will alleviate symptoms of fatigue and weakness. But as the National Institutes of Health notes, “Vitamin B12 supplementation appears to have no beneficial effect on performance in the absence of a nutritional deficit.”

Nonetheless around fifty percent of people in the U.S. take some form of “dietary supplement” product, and among the most common are B vitamins. Worse than just a harmless waste of money, this usage could be actively dangerous. In an issue of the Journal for Clinical Oncology, published this week, researchers reported that taking vitamin B6 and B12 supplements in high doses (like those sold in many stores) appears to triple or quadruple some people’s risk of lung cancer.

This is a heavy claim about a very common substance, so it’s worth spending a minute on the methodology. Concerns about B vitamin supplements and cancer have been percolating for years. They came up quietly in a large trial in Norway that concluded ten years ago. Starting in 1998, researchers assigned 6,837 people with heart disease to take either B vitamins or a placebo.

The researchers then watched as people died and contracted diseases in ensuing years—and the vitamin group raised concerns. In 2009, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that taking high doses of vitamin B12 along with folic acid (technically vitamin B 9) was associated with greater risk of cancer and all-cause mortality.

The largest increase in cancer risk was in the lung. Still, the number of cases of lung cancer among these 6,837 Norwegians was relatively small—so the actual risk was difficult to quantify. But it was big enough to catch the attention of researchers Theodore Brasky and Emily White at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. White had been overseeing a cohort study that involved more than ten times as many people as the Norwegian trial, some 77,000 people across the state of Washington. The cohort is tracking their supplement intake as we speak, and it is also being followed for cancers by the National Cancer Registry.

The Washington study was specifically designed to examine the roles of “dietary supplements”—compounds known as vitamins, minerals, and non-vitamin non-mineral compounds like ginseng—in cancer risk. This was an ideal setup to look at the relationship between B vitamins and cancer, and see if it was indeed worthy of concern. So Brasky and White, along with Chi-Ling Chen at National Taiwan University, broke down this population by B-vitamin use and looked at cancers. Unfortunately their findings were even more significant than the Norwegian trial.

Lung cancer risk among men who took 20 milligrams of B6 daily for years was twice that of men who didn’t. Among people who smoke, the effect appeared to be synergistic, with B6 usage increasing risk three fold. The risk was even worse among smokers taking B12. Using more than 55 micrograms daily appeared to quadruple lung-cancer risk.

There was no apparent risk among women—which is not to say it doesn’t exist, only that it wasn’t apparent.

Why or how would B vitamins increase a person’s risk of cancer?

I asked Brasky what he thought was going on. It’s all hypothetical, and he has no clear idea bout the sex discrepancy. What he does know is that  B vitamins all contribute enzymes and co-enzymes to a metabolic pathway that breaks down folate in order to make the bases that comprise DNA. The pathway also regulates the expression of genes (by creating methyl groups that can essentially turn genes on and off). When we have too little of these B vitamins, this pathway can go wrong, leading to problems like incorporation of the wrong types of bases into DNA, which can cause breaks in the strands, and, in theory, lead to cancer.

Deficiency can also mean genes that should be inhibited are no longer inhibited, also potentially meaning cancer. Sufficiency of certain vitamins is important in cancer prevention, but avoiding excess appears to be similarly important.

Among smokers, who are already exposed to carcinogens, the effect of taking anything that impairs these cellular processes could be even more likely to lead to cancer.

The research team is quick to note that the doses of B vitamins in question are enormous. The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance for B6 is 1.7 milligrams per day, and for B 12 it’s 2.4 micrograms. The high-risk group in the study was taking around twenty times these amounts.

That could seem nonsensical, except that these are the doses for sale at healthy-seeming places like Whole Foods and GNC. Many sellers offer daily 100 milligram B6 pills. B12 is available in doses of 5,000 micrograms.

I asked Brasky if his finding means that products like these should be more closely regulated—at least to require selling more reasonable doses, or to disclose risks, as is required for pharmaceuticals. Currently, supplements are absolved from this sort of requirement, or even to prove safety or efficacy before going to market. This is dictated by a 1994 law called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

“The law was created by industry lobbying to keep the FDA away from regulation, so the industry self-regulates,” said Brasky. But he deferred and said he hoped this article wouldn’t be about regulation. “I don’t want to pick a fight with the vitamin industry for any reason.”

So that falls to me. There are legitimate and important uses for B-vitamin supplements, but the emerging evidence suggests we’re best to treat them more like pharmaceuticals than like panaceas to be shoveled into us in pursuit of energy, metabolic fortitude, “cardioprotection,” “bone wellness,” or whatever way in which we’d like to be better.

The enduing theme in health is that more doesn’t mean better. What’s healthy for one person may be unhealthy for another. The fact of a product being sold without a prescription does not mean it is exempt, or that it’s good or even harmless. Any ingested bioactive substance will come with risks and benefits.

The current law gives consumers no reason to expect that risks will be listed on the labels of these products, or that health claims are accurate. A product like a high-dose B6 and B12 supplement hits shelves, and only decades later do researchers begin to understand the long-term health effects, who might benefit from taking it, and who might be harmed.  

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/b12-energy/537654/?utm_source=feed

[ionecoffman]

Vitamin B6 and B12 Supplements Appear to Cause Cancer in Men

Energy. If you’re not taking vitamin B12, forget about having energy. As The Dr. Oz Show has recommended, “End your energy crisis with Vitamin B12.” The nice thing about sub-lingual pills is “you don’t need a doctor, you don’t need a prescription.”

And don’t get me started on metabolism. If you want to “supercharge your metabolism and energy levels,” Amazon can deliver you a tall bottle of B12 supplements by the end of the day. Your metabolic processes will be the envy of the neighborhood. (“Is Janice … on something?” “Yes—B12!”)

These are the sort of vague marketing claims that have propelled the cobalt-based compounds sold as B12 into American hearts and minds and blood in ever-growing quantities. They are extrapolations from the fact that B12 deficiency causes anemia, and correcting that deficiency will alleviate symptoms of fatigue and weakness. But as the National Institutes of Health notes, “Vitamin B12 supplementation appears to have no beneficial effect on performance in the absence of a nutritional deficit.”

Nonetheless around fifty percent of people in the U.S. take some form of “dietary supplement” product, and among the most common are B vitamins. Worse than just a harmless waste of money, this usage could be actively dangerous. In an issue of the Journal for Clinical Oncology, published this week, researchers reported that taking vitamin B6 and B12 supplements in high doses (like those sold in many stores) appears to triple or quadruple some people’s risk of lung cancer.

This is a heavy claim about a very common substance, so it’s worth spending a minute on the methodology. Concerns about B vitamin supplements and cancer have been percolating for years. They came up quietly in a large trial in Norway that concluded ten years ago. Starting in 1998, researchers assigned 6,837 people with heart disease to take either B vitamins or a placebo.

The researchers then watched as people died and contracted diseases in ensuing years—and the vitamin group raised concerns. In 2009, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that taking high doses of vitamin B12 along with folic acid (technically vitamin B 9) was associated with greater risk of cancer and all-cause mortality.

The largest increase in cancer risk was in the lung. Still, the number of cases of lung cancer among these 6,837 Norwegians was relatively small—so the actual risk was difficult to quantify. But it was big enough to catch the attention of researchers Theodore Brasky and Emily White at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. White had been overseeing a cohort study that involved more than ten times as many people as the Norwegian trial, some 77,000 people across the state of Washington. The cohort is tracking their supplement intake as we speak, and it is also being followed for cancers by the National Cancer Registry.

The Washington study was specifically designed to examine the roles of “dietary supplements”—compounds known as vitamins, minerals, and non-vitamin non-mineral compounds like ginseng—in cancer risk. This was an ideal setup to look at the relationship between B vitamins and cancer, and see if it was indeed worthy of concern. So Brasky and White, along with Chi-Ling Chen at National Taiwan University, broke down this population by B-vitamin use and looked at cancers. Unfortunately their findings were even more significant than the Norwegian trial.

Lung cancer risk among men who took 20 milligrams of B6 daily for years was twice that of men who didn’t. Among people who smoke, the effect appeared to be synergistic, with B6 usage increasing risk three fold. The risk was even worse among smokers taking B12. Using more than 55 micrograms daily appeared to quadruple lung-cancer risk.

There was no apparent risk among women—which is not to say it doesn’t exist, only that it wasn’t apparent.

Why or how would B vitamins increase a person’s risk of cancer?

I asked Brasky what he thought was going on. It’s all hypothetical, and he has no clear idea bout the sex discrepancy. What he does know is that  B vitamins all contribute enzymes and co-enzymes to a metabolic pathway that breaks down folate in order to make the bases that comprise DNA. The pathway also regulates the expression of genes (by creating methyl groups that can essentially turn genes on and off). When we have too little of these B vitamins, this pathway can go wrong, leading to problems like incorporation of the wrong types of bases into DNA, which can cause breaks in the strands, and, in theory, lead to cancer.

Deficiency can also mean genes that should be inhibited are no longer inhibited, also potentially meaning cancer. Sufficiency of certain vitamins is important in cancer prevention, but avoiding excess appears to be similarly important.

Among smokers, who are already exposed to carcinogens, the effect of taking anything that impairs these cellular processes could be even more likely to lead to cancer.

The research team is quick to note that the doses of B vitamins in question are enormous. The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance for B6 is 1.7 milligrams per day, and for B 12 it’s 2.4 micrograms. The high-risk group in the study was taking around twenty times these amounts.

That could seem nonsensical, except that these are the doses for sale at healthy-seeming places like Whole Foods and GNC. Many sellers offer daily 100 milligram B6 pills. B12 is available in doses of 5,000 micrograms.

I asked Brasky if his finding means that products like these should be more closely regulated—at least to require selling more reasonable doses, or to disclose risks, as is required for pharmaceuticals. Currently, supplements are absolved from this sort of requirement, or even to prove safety or efficacy before going to market. This is dictated by a 1994 law called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

“The law was created by industry lobbying to keep the FDA away from regulation, so the industry self-regulates,” said Brasky. But he deferred and said he hoped this article wouldn’t be about regulation. “I don’t want to pick a fight with the vitamin industry for any reason.”

So that falls to me. There are legitimate and important uses for B-vitamin supplements, but the emerging evidence suggests we’re best to treat them more like pharmaceuticals than like panaceas to be shoveled into us in pursuit of energy, metabolic fortitude, “cardioprotection,” “bone wellness,” or whatever way in which we’d like to be better.

The enduing theme in health is that more doesn’t mean better. What’s healthy for one person may be unhealthy for another. The fact of a product being sold without a prescription does not mean it is exempt, or that it’s good or even harmless. Any ingested bioactive substance will come with risks and benefits.

The current law gives consumers no reason to expect that risks will be listed on the labels of these products, or that health claims are accurate. A product like a high-dose B6 and B12 supplement hits shelves, and only decades later do researchers begin to understand the long-term health effects, who might benefit from taking it, and who might be harmed.  

Article source here:The Atlantic

[gunboatbaylodge]

Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend: May 11, 2017

Feast on a festival of spot prawns, marvel at a program of ballet, revel in a talk from an astronaut, and learn to weave from a Coast Salish Chief. You could to absolutely every one of these things this weekend – and more. This is also the last weekend of the Opera Festival, Vancouver Bird Week, and DOXA – so catch them while you can!

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday May 12

Ballet BC Program 3

Ballet BC Program 3 Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 8:00pm What: The Ballet BC season finishes with a thrilling triple bill featuring works by two prominent Israeli choreographers and a world premiere by Ballet BC’s artistic director. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology What: Words and their physical manifestations are explored in this insightful exhibition, which will honour the special significance that written forms. Varied forms of expression associated with writing throughout Asia is shown over the span of different time periods: from Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions, Qu’ranic manuscripts, Southeast Asian palm leaf manuscripts and Chinese calligraphy from MOA’s Asian collection to graffiti art from Afghanistan and contemporary artworks using Japanese calligraphy, and Tibetan and Thai scripts. Runs until: Monday October 9, 2017

Screengrab from Chris Hadfield music video for his cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo

Chris Hadfield’s Canada 150 Tour Where: The Orpheum What: Canada’s first spaceship commander, Colonel Chris Hadfield shares a selection of stories, images, songs and ideas that celebrate the 150th birthday of the nation he is so proud to call home. From his unique perspective, Chris looks at the history and future of Canada through its people and the land itself.

Million Dollar Quartet Where: Arts Club Theatre What: Inspired by true events, this rocking jukebox musical takes you into Sun Records Studio on December 4, 1956, to witness the famed recording session that brought together rock and roll legends Presley, Cash, Lewis, and Perkins—for the first and only time. Runs until: Sunday July 9, 2017

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City Where: VanCity Theatre What: In 1960 Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds, with its exploration of the consequences of modern planners’ and architects’ reconfiguration of cities. Jacobs was also an activist, who was involved in many fights in mid-century New York, to stop “master builder” Robert Moses from running roughshod over the city.

U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017

U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 Where: BC Place Stadium What: If you’ve been around the stadium this month, you’ve probably heard the rehearsals! Now see the finished show. The band returns to the stadium stage for the first time since 2009-2011’s record-shattering U2 360° Tour, the most successful tour in history seen by over 7.3 million fans worldwide.

Richmond Night Market

Richmond Night Market Where: Richmond, BC What: There’s a dinosaur park! Anamatronic dinosaurs! Also – live performances, carnival games, over 200 retail stalls and over 500 food choices from around the world. Runs until: October 9, 2017

Graham Clark’s Quiz Show

Graham Clark’s Quiz Show Where: The Fox Cabaret, 8:00pm What: A comedy show that cherry picks the best segments of game shows and presents them all in one bizarre event! Prizes to be won, heads to be scratched.

Royal Canadian Family Circus Where: PNE Grounds What: For 50 years, the Royal Canadian family Circus has showcased the finest circus performers from around the world, bringing the highest standards in artistic excellence, with thrilling white-knuckle acts such as The High Wire and the Motor Cycle Cyclone. Runs until: Sunday May 14, 2017

Shipyards Night Marlet

Shipyards Night Market Where: Lonsdale, North Vancouver What: Food, art, music, entertainment, shopping, a beer garden, and you can bring your dog! Runs until: September 29, 2017

  Saturday May 13

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Spot Prawn Festival Where: False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf What: The Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia celebrates 11 years of the Spot Prawn Festival. Head to Fisherman’s Warf for cooking classes, a prawn boil, a gala, and to pick up your own fresh spot prawns.

Sea to Sky Gondola’s 3rd Birthday

Sea to Sky Gondola’s 3rd Birthday Where: Sea to Sky Gondola What: Showcasing Squamish musical and craft talent, and hosting family activities.

Pink Martini with the VSO

Pink Martini with the VSO Where: The Orpheum What: The ‘little orchestra’ from Portland, Oregon, joins forces with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Pianist/bandleader Thomas Lauderdale, chanteuse China Forbes and the rest of the band draw musical inspiration from all over the world, crossing classical, jazz, and Latin genres with an international vibe for heart-warming, toe-tapping songs.

I Am Rapaport: Live Stereo Podcast

I Am Rapaport: Live Stereo Podcast Where: The Biltmore, 7:00pm What: Actor/Director/Comedian Michael Rapaport grew his comedic styling a modeled after stand up comedians Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy, Andrew Dice Clay and more but it wasn’t until he appeared on comic Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast that he realized that this was the format he’d been waiting for.

Shining Light: Celebrating Women Composers Where: Ryerson United Church, 7:30pm What: Music by living Canadian and American female composers, including Alice Parker, Eleanor Daley, Ramona Luengen, Abbie Betinis, Joan Szymko, Leslie Uyeda, Joanne Metcalf, Sarah Quartel, Jocelyn Hagen, iconic songwriter Joni Mitchell, and more. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

Birds Sing a Pretty Song

2017 Chutzpah! Festival Presents: Birds Sing a Pretty Song Where: Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre What: An evening dance piece interwoven with live music and responsive video. Dancer/choreographer Margolick and dancer Chuck Wilt join forces with composer/guitarists Berkowitz and Jake Klar, drummer Bruno Esrubilsky and Israeli author and historian Ruby Namdar.  The audience follows the two dancers wanderings through a world manipulated and influenced by the “curators” (the three live musicians) and projected light structures that move and direct the world onstage.  Tickets available at Tickets Tonight. Runs until: Sunday May 14, 2017

Emily Carr: Into the Forest

Emily Carr: Into the Forest Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Far from feeling that the forests of the West Coast were a difficult subject matter, Carr exulted in the symphonies of greens and browns found in the natural world. With oil on paper as her primary medium, Carr was free to work outdoors in close proximity to the landscape. She went into the forest to paint and saw nature in ways unlike her fellow British Columbians, who perceived it as either untamed wilderness or a plentiful source of lumber. Runs until: March 4, 2018

Weaving Workshop with Chief Janice George

Weaving Workshop with Chief Janice George Where: The Bill Reid Gallery What: The Salish Wool Weaving tradition has been reclaimed in a major way. For the last twelve years, Chief Janice George has been teaching all the way to top of Salish speaking territory. This 3 hour intergenerational workshop includes all the supplies you need to create your own beautiful piece of art.

Marcus Mosely Chorale presents Labour of Love Where: Highlands United Church (North Vancouver) What: The Chorale focusses on gospel style music with influences of pop, jazz and R&B. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

Trout Lake Farmers Market Where: Trout Lake What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season. Runs until: Saturday October 21, 2017

JoJo Where: The Vogue What: With guests Craig Stickland and Locals Only Sound.

Charles Bukowski Night

Charles Bukowski Night Where: Pat’s Pub What: A viewing of the last live reading Charles Bukowski did in Vancouver, then readings by locals. 

The Smugglers

The Smugglers Where: The Commodore What: Their first hometown show in over 13 years, and their first performance at the Commodore Ballroom in 17 years. The reason for the reunion gig is simple: lead singer, author and broadcaster Grant Lawrence is releasing his memoirs of his hard-charging, international touring years.

Dance with the Dead Where: Venue What: A synthwave duo from Orange County, CA.

Goodwood Atoms

Goodwood Atoms Where: The Cobalt What: Acoustic guitar and heartfelt vocals.

  Sunday May 14

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Cyrilika Slavic Chamber Choir present Eclectica Where: Vancouver Playhouse What: From Christian Orthodox Church music, Slavic folkloric choral tunes, Renaissance Madrigals, Baroque, Romantic and Modern Era Repertoire, Cyrilika will sing, in 11 different languages, a variety of genres rarely performed in the Western part of the world. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

Artisan Jewelry Show and Sale Where: VanDusen Gardens What: The 4th Annual Mother’s Day event hosted by the Creative Jewellers Guild of BC.

  Ongoing

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Vancouver Opera Festival Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Plaza What: The first edition of Vancouver Opera Festival is a celebration of the vocal and theatrical arts. At its core, three new productions: a seldom performed masterpiece, a beloved classic, and a contemporary tour de force. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

Vancouver Bird Week Where: Vancouver What:  A week-long series of events to celebrate Vancouver’s birds. Look for bird-related workshops, walks, talks, exhibitions, and lectures across Vancouver. Most events are free! Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

Western World

Western World Where: Vancouver Improv Centre (Granville Island) What: Vancouver TheatreSports’ improvisers will demonstrate their lightning fast wit as they play the “hosts” to the audience “guests” in Western World – an improvised parody inspired by the popular TV series Westworld. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

La Merda

La Merda Where:  The Cultch What:  Literally naked, internationally acclaimed Silvia Gallerano sings and howls this provocative and critically acclaimed text: a stream of consciousness that reveals, with rage and poetry, revolting human secrets, and a modern society that is powerful, desperate, vulnerable, and cutting. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

Ballet BC Program 3

Ballet BC Program 3 Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 8:00pm What: The Ballet BC season finishes with a thrilling triple bill featuring works by two prominent Israeli choreographers and a world premiere by Ballet BC’s artistic director. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

The Piano Teacher Where: Arts Club Theatre What: When Erin, a classical pianist, experiences the loss of the life she knew, she also finds herself dealing with the departure of her own musical expression. Navigating her way through this change, she meets an unconventional piano teacher who gives her new hope for the future. Runs until: Sunday May 13, 2017

Robin Hood: Prince of Tease Where: Performance Works What: An original burlesque-style musical theatre production, inspired by the classic folklore of Robin Hood with a tantalizing twist. In this tale, most characters are gender-swapped and the relationships between the classic characters of Nottingham are turned on their heads. The story follows Robin as she conspires with her merry (wo)men to take down the tyrannical Prince Joan and her sadistic sidekick, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

DOXA Where: Various locations What:  Eleven days of international documentaries give you the opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes, into other worlds, and you might even learn something along the way. Genres such as activism, sexuality, race, sports, war, science, art, docudrama and animation weave through shows you may not get to see on the big screen anywhere else. Runs until: Sunday May 14, 2017

Birds Sing a Pretty Song

2017 Chutzpah! Festival Presents: Birds Sing a Pretty Song Where: Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre What: An evening dance piece interwoven with live music and responsive video. Dancer/choreographer Margolick and dancer Chuck Wilt join forces with composer/guitarists Berkowitz and Jake Klar, drummer Bruno Esrubilsky and Israeli author and historian Ruby Namdar.  The audience follows the two dancers wanderings through a world manipulated and influenced by the “curators” (the three live musicians) and projected light structures that move and direct the world onstage.  Tickets available at Tickets Tonight. Runs until: Sunday May 14, 2017

Royal Canadian Family Circus Where: PNE Grounds What: For 50 years, the Royal Canadian family Circus has showcased the finest circus performers from around the world, bringing the highest standards in artistic excellence, with thrilling white-knuckle acts such as The High Wire and the Motor Cycle Cyclone. Runs until: Sunday May 14, 2017

Circle Game: Re-imagining the Music of Joni Mitchell

Circle Game: Re-imagining the Music of Joni Mitchell Where:  Firehall Arts Centre What:  The heartbreak of a failed love affair in “River”, the fear of imminent ecological disaster in “Big Yellow Taxi”, and the promise of a generation gathering to ‘get back to the garden’ in “Woodstock” are topics that resound as heavily today as they did fifty years ago. The enduring music of Canadian icon and renowned singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is reimagined in this energetic musical experience. Runs until: Saturday May 20, 2017

End of the Rainbow

End of the Rainbow Where: Staircase Theatre What: This gritty play with music is based on the true events of Judy Garland’s last comeback attempt in England in 1968. Runs until: Sunday May 20, 2017

The Show at Emily Car University of Art and Design Where:  Emily Car University What:  Featuring more than 300 works from this year’s Design, Media and Visual Arts graduates. Runs until: Sunday May 21, 2017

Family Lines in Landscape Where:  Kimoto Gallery What:  Veronica Plewman examines how time and memory are rooted in a location, from childhood. She reconstructs and paints her journey and portrait of BC, from the place she grew up to the old family photos of her parents early lives, and the stories she can recall. This series is about migration, how a family gets there and the unknown mysteries of our family history. Runs until: Saturday May 27, 2017

Susan Point: Spindle Whorl

Susan Point: Spindle Whorl Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Since the early 1980s, Susan Point has received wide acclaim for her remarkably accomplished oeuvre that forcefully asserts the vitality of Coast Salish culture, both past and present. She has produced an extensive body of prints and an expansive corpus of sculptural work in a wide variety of materials that includes glass, resin, concrete, steel, wood and paper. Runs until: Sunday May 28, 2017

Pacific Crossings: Hong Kong Artists in Vancouver | Sunset, Carrie Koo

Pacific Crossings: Hong Kong Artists in Vancouver Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: June 2017 marks the 20-year anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty from the United Kingdom to mainland China. In the lead up to the handover, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents immigrated to Canada, many choosing to settle in Vancouver, and among them were a significant number of artists. Pacific Crossings presents works from well-known Hong Kong artists created after their relocation to Vancouver throughout the 1960-90s. Runs until: May 28, 2017

Retainers of Anarchy

Retainers of Anarchy Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: A solo exhibition featuring new work from Howie Tsui that considers wuxia, a traditional form of martial arts literature, as a narrative tool for dissidence and resistance. Runs until: May 28, 2017

Caroline Mesquita The Ballad

Caroline Mesquita The Ballad Where: Centre 221A What: A sculptural practice that intertwines the materiality of altered, oxidized, and painted copper and brass sheets with theatrical playfulness. Runs until: Saturday June 3, 2017

Song of the Open Road

Song of the Open Road Where: Contemporary Art Gallery What: Bringing together artists from Canada, Eritrea, Ireland, Sweden, and the US, the exhibition includes works that combine thematically to interrogate ideas rooted in photographic histories, engaging ideas such as veracity, recollection, remembrance, belonging, staging, and how the image documents and records these or is evidence of differing realities. Runs until: Sunday June 18, 2017

Up Close

Up Close Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden What: All the artists represented in this group exhibition find their inspiration while painting on location at VanDusen Garden. The Vancouver en plein air group, initiated in April 2011, zooms-in to the lush vegetation that provides a new dimension of foreground details. The subjects are varied, and so is the medium. Runs until: Tuesday June 27, 2017

Million Dollar Quartet Where: Arts Club Theatre What: Inspired by true events, this rocking jukebox musical takes you into Sun Records Studio on December 4, 1956, to witness the famed recording session that brought together rock and roll legends Presley, Cash, Lewis, and Perkins—for the first and only time. Runs until: Sunday July 9, 2017

Xi Xanya Dzam – Those Who Are Amazing At Making Things Where: The Bill Reid Gallery What: Xi Xanya Dzam (pronounced hee hun ya zam) is the Kwak’wala word describing incredibly talented and gifted people who create works of art. The exhibition is both a showcase and a critical exploration of ‘achievement’ and ‘excellence’ in traditional and contemporary First Nations art. Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2017

Panda International Night Market Where: Richmond, BC What: A diverse market in Richmond, with shopping, food, beverages, and a game zone. Runs until: Monday September 11, 2017

Shipyards Night Marlet

Shipyards Night Market Where: Lonsdale, North Vancouver What: Food, art, music, entertainment, shopping, a beer garden, and you can bring your dog! Runs until: September 29, 2017

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology What: Words and their physical manifestations are explored in this insightful exhibition, which will honour the special significance that written forms. Varied forms of expression associated with writing throughout Asia is shown over the span of different time periods: from Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions, Qu’ranic manuscripts, Southeast Asian palm leaf manuscripts and Chinese calligraphy from MOA’s Asian collection to graffiti art from Afghanistan and contemporary artworks using Japanese calligraphy, and Tibetan and Thai scripts. Runs until: Monday October 9, 2017

Richmond Night Market

Richmond Night Market Where: Richmond, BC What: There’s a dinosaur park! Anamatronic dinosaurs! Also – live performances, carnival games, over 200 retail stalls and over 500 food choices from around the world. Runs until: October 9, 2017

Onsite / Offsite Tsang Kin-Wah

Onsite / Offsite Tsang Kin-Wah Where:  Vancouver Art Gallery What:  This large-scale composition transforms English texts to form intricate floral and animal patterns. The work draws from discriminatory language that appeared in newspapers and political campaigns in Vancouver during the 1887 anti-Chinese riots, the mid-1980s immigration influx from Hong Kong and most recently, the heated exchanges around the foreign buyers and the local housing market. Runs until: Sunday October 15, 2017

Trout Lake Farmers Market Where: Trout Lake What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season. Runs until: Saturday October 21, 2017 (Saturdays)

Kitsilano Farmers Market

Kitsilano Farmers Market Where: Kitsilano Community Centre parking lot What:   A great selection of just-picked, seasonal fruits & vegetables, ethically raised and grass fed meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, fresh baked bread & artisanal food, local beer, wine, & spirits, and beautiful, handmade craft. Kids and parents alike can enjoy entertainment by market musicians, a nearby playground and splash park, and coffee and food truck offerings each week. Runs until: Sunday October 22, 2017 (Sundays)

The Lost Fleet Exhibit Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum What: On December 7, 1941 the world was shocked when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, launching the United States into the war. This action also resulted in the confiscation of nearly 1,200 Japanese-Canadian owned fishing boats by Canadian officials on the British Columbia coast, which were eventually sold off to canneries and other non-Japanese fishermen. The Lost Fleet looks at the world of the Japanese-Canadian fishermen in BC and how deep-seated racism played a major role in the seizure, and sale, of Japanese-Canadian property and the internment of an entire people. Runs until: Winter 2017

Bill Reid Creative Journeys | Image via the Canadian Museum of History

Bill Reid Creative Journeys Where: The Bill Reid Gallery What: Celebrating the many creative journeys of acclaimed master goldsmith and sculptor Bill Reid (1920–1998), this exhibition provides a comprehensive introduction to his life and work. Runs until: Sunday December 10, 2017

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology What: MOA will showcase its Amazonian collections in a significant exploration of socially and environmentally-conscious notions intrinsic to indigenous South American cultures, which have recently become innovations in International Law. These are foundational to the notions of Rights of Nature, and they have been consolidating in the nine countries that share responsibilities over the Amazonian basin. Runs until: January 28, 2018

Emily Carr: Into the Forest

Emily Carr: Into the Forest Where: Vancouver Art Gallery What: Far from feeling that the forests of the West Coast were a difficult subject matter, Carr exulted in the symphonies of greens and browns found in the natural world. With oil on paper as her primary medium, Carr was free to work outdoors in close proximity to the landscape. She went into the forest to paint and saw nature in ways unlike her fellow British Columbians, who perceived it as either untamed wilderness or a plentiful source of lumber. Runs until: March 4, 2018

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below or tweet me directly at @lextacular

Inside Vancouver Blog

[andreagillmer]

Rio Tinto Busy Drilling at Forum Energy Metals' Janice Lake Copper Project in C$30M JV

Source: The Critical Investor for Streetwise Reports   08/30/2019

The Critical Investor details the exploration of a joint ventured copper deposit in Saskatchewan.

Janice Lake copper project, Saskatchewan, Canada; Source: Mining.com/Transition Metals Corp.

1. Introduction

As a pure play uranium explorer since 2004, things looked increasingly grim after Fukushima happened in 2012 for Forum Uranium. After years of struggling, CEO Richard Mazur decided together with the board that they had to change course. On February 28, 2018, the company name was changed into Forum Energy Metals Corp. (FMC:TSX.V), reflecting the new direction into metals needed for the ongoing energy transition from oil to electricity, with new focus on for example copper, nickel and cobalt. Management particularly believes in copper, as only a few new projects have come online, China is planning to ban scrap imports next year, is planning large infrastructure spending and the developing EV market could have a significant impact on demand, all potentially resulting in severe supply/demand tensions in the future. Only three weeks before this, Forum optioned the large Janice Lake sedimentary copper project from Transition Metals Corp. (XTM:TSX.V).

The markets didn't exactly improve after this, so Forum wasn't out of the woods yet. Notwithstanding this, it completed a small drill program on Janice Lake, each of four shallow scout holes hitting copper, and two decent intercepts in Q4, 2018. Fortunately for it, giant Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) also noticed these drill results, and took a closer look at them. This resulted in a C$30M JV between Rio Tinto and Forum on May 9, 2019, which was exactly what Forum was searching for, as Janice Lake was a very promising, but also very large scale copper project, way too large to explore by a tiny junior like Forum itself. What Janice Lake is about and what this deal could imply for Forum Energy Metals is something that will be discussed in the following article.

All presented tables are my own material, unless stated otherwise.

All pictures are company material, unless stated otherwise.

All currencies are in US Dollars, unless stated otherwise.

2. The company

Forum Energy Metals is an exploration company searching for energy metals, including copper, nickel, platinum, palladium and uranium in Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition, Forum has established a strategic land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, in order to find cobalt. Forum originated as a uranium explorer 15 years ago, focusing on the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, but broadened its horizon early 2018. I view the company as a hybrid prospect generator, as it drills its own projects, but also regularly arranges joint ventures with large partners as it has with Rio Tinto earlier this year. Forum has an extensive portfolio of uranium projects, the Janice Lake copper project, the Love Lake palladium project and the Quartz Gulch Cobalt project, but I will be focusing on its flagship Janice Lake copper project in this article.

Saskatchewan is the best jurisdiction for mining projects according to the Policy Perception Index (PPI) of the most recent 2018 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies. It ranks no less than 1 out of 83 jurisdictions worldwide, with a perfect score of 100 out of 100. The PPI is the most important figure of this survey, as it indicates the mining friendliness of a jurisdiction, which encompasses corruption, permitting, speed of administrative processing, politics, local sentiment, etc. The Survey is usually published in the last week of February, and handles the year before.

The management team is led by veteran president and CEO Richard Mazur, P.Geo, MBA, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist, financial analyst and senior executive on a variety of commodities like uranium, gold, diamonds, base metals, coal and industrial minerals. The driving forces on the exploration front are two Athabasca uranium experts: Ken Wheatley, P.Geo, who has 37 years of experience as a geoscientist on uranium projects, and Boen Tan, PhD, who has 35 years of experience as a geologist in uranium exploration, and Ken and Boen are assisted by Jim Atkinson, P.Geo, MSc, geological consultant with over 45 years of experience on base and precious metals deposits and mines. The Board of Directors adds considerable value in the field of financings, law and accounting.

Forum Energy Metals has its main listing on the main board of the TSX Venture, where it's trading with FMC.V as its ticker symbol. With an average volume of about 89,596 shares per day, the company's trading pattern is not very liquid at the moment, but I expect this to improve when good drill results will come in from the ongoing program at Janice Lake by JV operator Rio Tinto.

The company currently has 107.49 million shares outstanding (fully diluted 127.365 million), 15 million warrants (the majority is due @C$0.10 or more, of which 4.3 million warrants are expiring in March, April and June 2020, and 11 million warrants @C$0.10 in April 2024) and several option series to the tune of 4.38 million options in total, priced at C$0.10, expiration dates from Nov 2020 onwards. Forum sports a tiny market capitalization of C$5.9 million based on the August 30, 2019, share price of C$0.055.

The company has a healthy shareholder base, as 15% is held closely by Institutionals, 9% by Holystone Energy, 8% by Transition Metals, 3% by Lumina Capital and 6% by management, Board of Directors and insiders. Forum has an estimated working capital position of about C$0.1 million, as it raised C$550,000 in April this year but had C$198,000 left at May 31, 2019, which was the end of Q2, 2019 for the company. Therefore it is raising a small amount of C$75,000 flow through at the moment, so it can explore its Love Lake nickel-copper-PGM project in Saskatchewan by mapping and sampling, while Rio Tinto is doing the heavy lifting at Janice Lake.

Share price; 2 year time frame

As can be seen in the chart, the share price was gradually grinding lower, as both uranium and copper weren't performing well since the beginning of 2018. Forum started showing up on radars when the Rio Tinto JV deal was announced in May, generating massive volumes for a brief period of time. It seems the share price has bottomed as 3–4 cents are multi year lows, also for the old ticker which can't be showed at Tmxmoney.com, and I view these levels as a good buying opportunity, as drilling is well on its way now, and results can be expected relatively soon, as mentioned. Let's have a look at Forum's flagship project Janice Lake, and the JV itself.

3. Janice Lake/JV with Rio Tinto

It started all with Forum entering an agreement in February 2018 to acquire 100% of Janice Lake from Transition Metals, for staged payments totaling $250,000 (US$186,000) over four years, spending the same amount on exploration within six months and issuing 8 million shares. The Janice Lake sedimentary copper project is part of the Wollaston Copper Belt, and is located in the south eastern part of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan:

These type of sedimentary copper deposits can be extremely large, with the most significant deposit being Udokan in Russia (1.8Bt @ 1% Cu and 14g/t Ag Measured and Indicated), which is the third largest undeveloped copper deposit worldwide, but they are also found in the DRC and Montana, USA. Forum raised some money, and started drilling the JL-1 target at Janice Lake in August 2018 by itself.

The results, which were announced in Q4, 2018, were not spectacular but decent:

These assays were almost true width, with a margin of +/-10%. Hole FEM-01 and FEM-02 are just economic, comparable (or better) with gold at 1g/t open pit and a 5:1 strip ratio. Final assaying delivered some low grade zinc, lead and silver as well. Mineralization seems to increase in grade and depth to the southwest. This is the reason CEO Mazur was asked by Rio Tinto to stake an additional 30km of claims on strike in this direction. According to Mazur, Forum was targeting 100Mt @0.4-0.6% Cu at the time, but Rio Tinto is aiming at an at the very least five times bigger target now.

As can be seen in the following section of several hundred meters long, combined with comparable historical drill results by Noranda, Phelps Dodge and the Saskatchewan Government up to 6km to the northeast, indicated that there is potential for discovering a very large, near surface mineralized envelope:

  As can be seen, the interpreted orange mineralized zone seems to be layered now and then. This seems to be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The company describes this as follows:

"Logging of the drill core and petrographic studies suggest that mineralization is hosted by mafic-rich stratigraphy within more felsic units, opening the possibility for multiple layers of copper mineralization."

This is probably the key in understanding Janice Lake correctly, and also the potential cause for operators like Noranda and Phelps Dodge for not seeing economic potential earlier. As VP Exploration Ken Wheatley states in this interview:

"I think we have multiple horizons of copper mineralisation that were not necessarily recognised by previous operators. They drilled along strike, but I do not think they realised that that was just one of the layers of copper. We see a series of layers of mineralisation. So, the whole area is mineralised. If we can find some sweet spot areas, then it will help to understand the area better,' he says. 'The trick now is going to be getting some grade holes to show that it is economical. The next stage will be hundreds of thousands of metres of drilling to prove up an orebody. That is what it takes to get to pre-feasibility. We think the potential here is to develop an open pit mining resource and mine a lot of tonnes of copper."

Wheatley thinks as most layers dip 40 grades to the northwest, that the thickness of the entire package of layers is at least 500m, visualized by this schematic section:

In order to be economic at extrapolated depths of around 300m and deeper, grades and thickness have to increase significantly as it would indicate partially underground mining, but it is still early days. On top of this, Wheatley also thinks there is a second, parallel trend alongside Janice Trend:

"In addition, a second mineralized trend, named the Genie Trend, parallels the Janice Trend. It appears to be a repeated section by faulting of the prospective stratigraphy, significantly expanding the potential for further copper mineralization."

And let's not forget how large this Janice Lake project really is, as Forum has staked claims along a 52km trend now, including the entire Wollaston Copper Belt mentioned earlier:

After finishing this drill program, and pitching the story successfully, Forum was able to announce a JV agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. ("RTEC") on its Janice Lake sedimentary copper project in Saskatchewan.

These are the highlights of the JV terms, per the news release of May 9, 2019:

RTEC will commit to $3 million in exploration over the next 18 months.

RTEC has been granted a four year option to acquire a 51% interest in the Janice Lake Project by spending $10 million in exploration, making $490,000 in cash payments, and servicing the remaining $200,000 in underlying cash payments to Transition Metals Corp. as per the terms of the Forum/Transition Option Agreement dated February 5, 2018, to earn 100% interest in the Janice Lake Project.

RTEC has a second option to earn a further 29% interest (total 80% interest) by spending a further $20 million in exploration over a three year period (total $30 million) and making further cash payments of $150,000 (total $640,000).

Upon RTEC vesting an interest, it may elect to form a joint venture on terms agreed to by the parties. Under the joint venture, a party whose interest is diluted below 10% is converted to a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty capped at $50 million.

Forum has staked a further 19,312 hectares to the southwest, which doubles the size of the property to 38,250 hectares and covers the entire 52 km of the Wollaston Copperbelt. These new claims have been added to the Option Agreement.

This is, of course, a very interesting deal for Forum, as it had issues raising cash throughout 2018 and 2019, and an amount of C$3 million would have been out of reach for sure in the current subdued base metals sentiment, preventing Forum from doing serious drilling and solid news flow.

RTEC has planned a high-resolution airborne magnetometer survey over the entire extent of the property and approximately 7,000 meters of drilling in 25–30 holes in 2019 to meet its first year exploration commitment. The survey has been completed, target holes have been defined and drilling is on its way.

As Forum has added this map to their presentation, it could very well be that Rio Tinto is following its strategy of proposed drill fences (in yellow), which I already discussed with Mazur in January around the VRIC conference:

But Rio Tinto has enough knowledge and experience in-house to determine the best exploration strategy for themselves, of course. I expect Rio to release all results at once in one batch, and shortly afterwards reveal if it is going to continue with the JV or bail out. But as the trends are so large, it could be that it takes another shot at it next year, who knows. To be balanced about this, the same situation could be observed at the BHP-Aston Bay JV, on the equally large Storm Copper project, but BHP chose to return the project to Aston Bay after just one limited (but very expensive as it was more Nordic) drill program, so it is possible. I must say that BHP, more than Rio Tinto, is pretty risk averse and has very high standards regarding deposits and success rates, so this might help Forum in seeing Rio taking multiple shots at Janice Lake.

In order to err on the safe side, I am treating this as a binary play, but an interesting one as Rio obviously isn't killing time, and not seeing this as some kind of recycled stranded asset, and the upside seems to be very significant. If this really appears to have Tier I potential, maybe think Reservoir Minerals upside (acquired in 2016 by Nevsun for US$365 million) in 4–5 years from now, although Timok Upper Zone wasn't even Tier I. I pulled some old numbers from my spreadsheets to give a further impression of what copper assets could fetch, although copper prices were much higher at the time of course (now US$2.56/lb Cu):

  For example, a 500Mt target @1% Cu generates 11B lb Cu, and if this is economic at C$2.56/lb Cu it might be able to be valued at an arm-waving US$200-250 million, if for example Rio decides to buy Forum out. For something of another comparison, Teck sold a 30% stake in Quebrada Blanca to Sumitomo, which is basically an earn-in for US$1.2 billion, as Sumitomo pays for most of the expansion capex here. The mine is scheduled to produce 16.5B lb Cu for the remaining life of mine. So big copper is a game of big numbers, if Rio really strikes it big, all Forum has to do is keeping the lights on by doing a few small raises, until Rio is ready for a buyout. I should put in a little disclaimer about this, as I, for example, don't know if Forum has to fund pro rata economic studies and permitting. But I can imagine Rio Tinto doing in-house studies for such a potentially large project, and probably providing Forum with an offer they can't refuse, well before Rio Tinto wants to develop this all the way into feasibility study, etc.

4. Conclusion

It is rare to see a super major like Rio Tinto doing a JV with a (at the time) C$4 million market cap junior, worth C$30 million. In my view, there must be a reason why Rio is so interested in Janice Lake. I am very curious if the new theory of Forum VP Exploration Ken Wheatley will solve the puzzle that the likes of Noranda and Phelps Dodge couldn't solve in the past. Rio Tinto is drilling now, and the big question for me is, aside from the impending results of course, which I assume as probably being consistent and economic but not earth-moving at first sight, what its thresholds will be. Hopefully, we are about to find out in a month or two. I am curious.

Janice Lake project; Source: Transition Metals

I hope you will find this article interesting and useful, and will have further interest in my upcoming articles on mining. To never miss a thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter on my website http://www.criticalinvestor.eu to get an email notice of my new articles soon after they are published.

The Critical Investor is a newsletter and comprehensive junior mining platform, providing analysis, blog and newsfeed and all sorts of information about junior mining. The editor is an avid and critical junior mining stock investor from The Netherlands, with an MSc background in construction/project management. Number cruncher at project economics, looking for high quality companies, mostly growth/turnaround/catalyst-driven to avoid too much dependence/influence of long-term commodity pricing/market sentiments, and often looking for long-term deep value. Getting burned in the past himself at junior mining investments by following overly positive sources that more often than not avoided to mention (hidden) risks or critical flaws, The Critical Investor learned his lesson well, and goes a few steps further ever since, providing a fresh, more in-depth, and critical vision on things, hence the name.

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