Let's finish up 2023 with the completion of my most popular series this year so that we can begin the new year fresh! Well...fresh-ish. Kind of fresh.
Following the events of Kineto's encounter with the mysterious Faust, there was no sign of the Master of Motion for almost a year.
One morning the following Spring, the Monitor Room in UNITY New York's secret base (located in New York City's Central Park beneath Belvedere Castle - Shhh. Don't tell anyone.) alerted the team to a lifeform with a high Meta-Energy signature mere meters from one of the base's auxiliary entrances. Within seconds the sensors were able to identify the individual as Kineto.
UNITY immediately mobilized all the heroes they had on hand as well as more than two dozen heavily armed UNTIL Agents. Additional heroes and agents were placed on high alert. Leading the response team was Night Force (who had recently taken over field operations from Omni, the latter having been promoted to a more behind-the-scenes leadership position). As the Supers and UNTIL Agents popped out of hidden exits and quickly surrounded Kineto, recessed security systems aimed automated high-energy weapons at him.
For his part, Kineto stood calm and still. He had a slightly irritated scowl on his face and he crossed his arms as if impatiently waiting for the fuss to subside. Finally, with all of UNITY and UNTIL's operatives in place, Night Force asked Kineto why he was there and what he wanted.
Kineto went right into explaining that another Supervillain (sadly I forget which one but he was another upper tier threat) was concocting a plot to cause a disturbance to distract from stealing a thing. The villain intended on using that thing to destroy a place and hold an entire country hostage. Kineto gave as detailed a timeline for these events as he could based on the intel he had. When Night Force responded, "Why are you telling us this?", Kineto said simply...
"So you can stop him. You're Superheroes. Isn't that your job?"
With that he shot skyward at such an incredible velocity it was virtually impossible to determine the direction he took off in. Sensors on the ground and even UNTIL satellite surveillance completely lost track of Kineto within seconds.
A few months later Kineto aided the heroes of UNITY, as well as those of two other Earths, in battling the machinations of three cosmic level threats: Dark Seed of Champions League Earth-Delta Ceti-1A, Dark Unicorn of Challengers Earth-Mu-1A, and Dark Seraph of Champions Earth-Alpha Delta-1A. This 'Dark Trinity Event' saw these beings try to merge their respective worlds into one, killing billions in the process and absorbing their life forces to gain more power. Kineto played a key role in helping thwart their plans and saving the lives of a great many, including several Superheroes and Supervillains from all three dimensions.
The Dark Trinity
Left to Right: Dark Seed, Dark Seraph, Dark Unicorn.
This becomes something of a trend; Kineto's subsequent appearances do more good than harm, assisting the good guys in roles ranging from support to direct intervention. One incident of particular note was when Champions Earth-AD-1A was invaded by 'Big Brother', a team of four superpowered teenage individuals from a seemingly utopian Alternate Earth.
When it appeared the heroes of Earth-AD-1A were going to lose to the invading Alternate Earth superbeings calling themselves Big Brother, Kineto threatened to destroy the planet rather than let it fall under the invaders' rule. He claimed he could absorb the motion and kinetic energy of the world turning - yes, the rotation of the Earth - and re-apply it in such a way as to send the planet out of its orbit.
Big Brother
The Harmonist, The Whimsy, The Revolutionary, The Anachronist
The 'leader' of Big Brother, The Revolutionary, could tell he wasn't bluffing (Kineto believed he could do this and would do it but they had no idea if Kineto actually had that much power). This made the four invaders reconsider their approach and objectives. They decided to return to their home dimension and let the people of Earth-AD-1A work toward a better tomorrow on their own. See the entry on Big Brother Earth-Alpha Delta-Z for more information
Kineto's actions over that year lead many to question whether his motives had changed. Was he still going full bore with his 'Manifesto' or had he returned to his Golden Age heroic ways. Night Force noted that Kineto's focus and objectives likely haven't altered at all. His actions are always directly related to his views, whether obvious to us or not.
The next appearance of Kineto occurred a few months later in an incident that started small but escalated to epic fairly quickly. It all began when Tempus Fugit, a one time C-List Supervillain who'd worked his way up to B-List 'Mighty Mook', contacted Kineto with a proposition.
Fugit wanted to join Kineto's cause and said that if he was allowed into the organization he would share his latest invention, a 'device of great power and near-infinite potential". Normally Kineto would ignore this sort of person but the man's confidence and bravado intrigued him. While he took Tempus Fugit up on his offer to meet, Kineto also alerted UNITY New York to the situation so they might capture Fugit and any associates. Kineto's personal goal was to ascertain what this device of near-infinite potential was and could he use it to his advantage. However, he considered destroying it if he deemed its operation too dangerous. First he had to know what it was and if Tempus Fugit wasn't just selling snake oil.
As the two parties - Tempus Fugit and his henchmen and Kineto - met in the sub-basement of an abandoned downtown watchmaking shop, a third group consisting of several UNITY heroes monitored the proceedings from hidden positions. Fugit attempted short and awkward pleasantries before revealing his invention...a gosh-dang-completely-legit TIME MACHINE! This was no small hand-held item. Rather it was a four-person circular platform with standing crossbars and spinning rings going around it. Imagine a mix of a playground roundabout and the prison rings that held Zod, Ursa, and Non in Superman II.
As Tempus began to activate it and explain its operation to Kineto, a whirling vortex of white light appeared on the far wall and out of it stepped a metallic being calling itself Avatar-7. Speaking in the third person, Avatar-7 made it clear his mission was to destroy the device and eliminate Fugit.
The UNITY team came out of the shadows and sprung into action to protect and secure Tempus Fugit. At the same time, Kineto moved to the Time Dial (or Time Revolver) to deactivate it and see how to remove it from the area. Before he could complete his objective additional vortexes of light appeared, these surrounded by halos of primary colors. Two new individuals, a female named Era and a male named Eon, declared their intent on destroying Avatar-7 (who they identified as an Android) and obtaining the Time Dial platform.
Chaos erupts, with everyone present essentially battling everyone else. The fight spilled out to the ground floor above and then eventually into the street. At one point, Eon struck a member of UNITY sending him flying, only to have the hero suddenly disappear.* Kineto fought the newcomers and Avatar-7 but tried to avoid engaging with the UNITY members. Fugit was attempting to hide for the most part, occasionally tossing a gadget into the fray to hurt or hinder Era, Eon, Avatar-7, and UNITY. Finally, as Avatar-7 attacked the Dial itself, Kineto countered, causing the temporal displacement effects of the platform and the Android to activate simultaneously and releasing a blinding blast of Chronoton energy.
The explosive release of uncontrolled temporal power sent everyone present ('present' - see what I did there?) into different places in space and time. Tempus Fugit and two UNITY members ended up in Medieval England. Two other heroes and Era appear in Ancient Rome. Eon and two more UNITY members wind up in the American 'Old West'. It took time (*rimshot*), teamwork, and a host of period specific allies and enemies to figure out what was going on and how it all connected with Doctor Epoch, aka Father Time!
The Time Twins - Era and Eon, Doctor Epoch/Father Time, and Tempus Fugit
But this is a post about Kineto...so what became of him? Kineto was transported to the far future where he encountered the perfect utopian society of The Galactic Unity, defended by the Galactic Champions. Kineto was amazed by the peace that had been achieved in this distant era. Unfortunately, it would be revealed to him by members of the Galactic Champions that he, Kineto, had nothing to do with it. According to the information archived in their computers and the Museum of The Supernormal, Kineto was merely a footnote in history. His activites, cause, manifesto, and everything he had struggled to achieve were simply one of many curious stories on display in the 20th and 21st Century exhibitions. In fact, his actions as a young hero of World War II received much more representation.
"My dream...my plans...Superhumans ruling and guiding normal Humanity to a better tomorrow. Surely that came to pass, yes? You have a utopia here." Kineto said.
The leader of the Galactic Champions, a Mandaarian**, replied, "Essentially. It isn't absolutely perfect. Nothing is or can be. It was achieved through finding harmony among all the peoples of Earth and beyond. Human, Superhuman, Aliens...we all worked together to get here and we got here on our own."
In the end, all involved were returned to their proper time and place. Tempus Fugit was arrested and the Time Dial confiscated by UNITY. Era and Eon trapped Dr. Epoch, their father, in a pocket of pre-time until they could find their mother (whose identify was unknown to them). Avatar-7 was very badly damaged and left drifting into a black hole (he would return eventually). As for Kineto, he appeared quiet and introspective. He thanked UNITY for there efforts and Fugit for giving him a glimpse into his possible future. Kineto then departed without any further incident and the heroes let him go.
Finally...
Six months prior to now*** ('now' being the start of any campaign I run or have run in my version of my friend William Corpening's Age of Champions setting) the Earth was invaded by an alliance of alien species who were attacked by an unmanned, heavily armed space satellite/combat platform. That platform was constructed by Scaramangler Industries and posthumously activated by 'accident'. The alien species that were targeted had all been enemies of Humanity in the past and saw this as sufficient reason to eliminate the Earth once and for all. They dubbed their joint operation Invasion: Earth and the conflict has been dubbed the Invasion: Earth War.
At one point in the fighting, two or three dozen starfighters were launched at Great Britain. Most of the British Superheroes were already battling the invaders on the ground but the Ultramarine, one of the world's most powerful supers, flew to intercept. As he reached the edge of the stratosphere he noticed a much larger starship just beyond the exosphere. It had clearly sent the starfighters and would provide support for them.
Just then he became aware of an object or individual approaching him from below at great speed. Readying himself, he saw that it was Kineto! When Kineto reached the Ultramarine he hovered some 50 ft away from the British Superman and the two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. They had never met face-to-face. Kineto nodded upward, as if indicating Ultramarine should take on the larger starship. Cocking his head to indicate confusion, Ultramarine was surprised when Kineto looked at the oncoming small attack craft, then to Ultramarine, and finally giving a reassuring nod. Somehow, even though they'd never met, Ultramarine understood and returned the nod before rocketing to escape velocity.
As Ultramarine shot past the starfighters, Kineto smiled (never a good sign). He snapped his fingers and all the fightercraft stopped dead in the air as if frozen in time. Their pilots...didn't. Didn't stop their forward motion that is. As the fighters fell from the sky and into the ocean below, Kineto looked up to see Ultramarine tearing through the Vilarian cruiser. He noted an interesting and remarkable similarity in Ultramarine's approach and powers to that of his own.
And that uniform...
Whew. Wow. Kineto's tale is finally complete. Until it continues that is...
Thanks for coming by in 2023. Hope you found something to enjoy. Looking forward to 2024 and all the new ideas it'll bring.
Happy New Year Everybody!
AD
Barking Alien
*This was hilarious. The character known as Eon punched a PC Superhero and that hero disappeared. The player was told that his hero appeared to be gone, vanished, undetectable. He opted to use an Alt (alternate character) until a week of real time later when the original hero reappeared in the same place he vanished from and continued forward, finally hitting the ground. Eon quite literally punched him into next week.
**The superhero Omni, mentioned throughout these entries and basically the founder and head of Project: UNITY is a Mandaarian.
***This story arc was the last one I was in as a player. Following the Invasion: Earth War events, we all started college and didn't get to regularly play together. The campaign setting did indeed continue on with different players but this is the final major incident I was part of. As such, I view it as the completion of the campaign's history and therefore Kineto's history before adding anything to it with any new campaign's canon.
