That was a fun issue to write, although I struggled to get it finished in time. Forcing myself to sit down and write is never easy, when there’s so much mindless junk I can be doing (Thank you internet).
I really wanted to show off the difference between the two couples, as well as just write a fun issue about my favourite holiday. Kevin and Katie are supposed to be your standard high school sweethearts, Kevin going to all this trouble to make her happy, and the two of them waited to sleep together until the right moment. Matt and Hannah on the other hand, are having fun, they’ve been sleeping together for a while, they don’t get to spend a lot of time together, so they’re not quite as close as the others. And they are also a high-profile super-couple, hence them going out in costume and enjoying their night.
Thanks for the comments again Mich and Maedel (Hehe, M’n'M), I love feedback, and I’m glad you guys seemed to enjoy this issue as much as I did. The suggestions for Pixel were good, but I’m kind of trying to keep a certain amount of innocence in the character. She’s a year younger, so she’s like a little sister, and she’s so bright and cheerful, in contrast to the seriousness around her. I’m sure I’ll find a voice for her, or I’ll let her fade into the background a bit (a bit more, I guess).
A note on the world: I decided Nymphette (Of the (West Coast) Boomers) had a water-based powerset, after just leaving her as a name when I introduced her.
One more thing, anyone who doesn’t read the main site, the first issue of LessThanThree Comics Presents has been posted. Shadows Over Los Angeles Issue #001 is about The Shadow, as mentioned in my previous Author’s Notes. One thing, the blog is separate to this one, so you’ll have to create a new profile if you want to comment. There’s a link to the page on the right menu of this page (and every page, except <3 Presents itself. Of course).
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

The plane began its descent into LaGuardia Airport, and Matt gripped the arms of his chair. He wasn’t the biggest fan of flying. He had no idea what effect his powers might have on the plane’s instruments. He hadn’t had the need to use his powers in flight, but should anything happen to the plane, he knew he was powerless to stop the massive aircraft from dropping out of the sky. The weight would be too much for his powers to bear.
He banished those thoughts from his head. Today was a good day. Today was Valentine’s Day, and he was going to surprise his girlfriend, Hannah. She wasn’t expecting to see him, because he lived in Newport Beach, CA, and she lived here in New York City. This wasn’t the first time he’d made the trip though, and hopefully, wouldn’t be the last. April 10 loomed in the future, and Matt knew that he might not make it out of Salt Lake City alive.
Which was why he was here. He needed to spend as much time with Hannah as he could. He had to enjoy what life he had left, because there just might not be all that much remaining.
<><><>
Kevin walked into the crowded florist’s. The store was full of men trying to make a last minute purchase for their girlfriends, fiancées and wives.
Kevin smiled, as he waited in line to pick up his order. That he had placed a month ago. ’Some people need to learn how to be organized.’ he thought to himself.
When he reached the front counter, the poor shop assistant looked like he’d reached the end of his tether.
“Rough day?” Kevin asked.
“Happens every year. Please tell me you have a pre-order to pick up.” The shop assistant said.
“Yeah. A dozen long-stemmed roses for Woodman.” Kevin said.
“Finally, an order I can actually fill. You’d think people would plan ahead. It’s not like the date ever changes.” The shop assistant complained, before heading into the back room to fetch Kevin’s order.
<><><>
Hannah looked down at her phone. She had been texting Matt all day, but no response. Surely he hasn’t forgotten Valentine’s Day? She bit her lip worriedly.
Her phone suddenly started to vibrate, as Hot and Cold started playing. “It’s about time.” She said to herself, flipping the phone open.
‘Look out the window.’ The message, from Matt, read.
Her eyes widened in shock, as she rushed to the window, where she found Matt sitting on the fire escape.
“Oh my god! You’re here!” Hannah exclaimed.
“Of course I am. Did you think I’d miss Valentine’s Day?” Matt replied, with a grin, before producing a single white daisy from behind his back.
“My favourite!” She squealed, grabbing the flower, before wrapping her arms around Matt and kissing him passionately.
“So I guess you’ll be my Valentine then?” Matt joked between kisses.
“Of course, you idiot.” Hannah replied, dragging him inside.
<><><>
Katie let out a sigh of contentment as she fell into Kevin’s arms. The two had just completed a massive picnic that Kevin had prepared, and they were now laying on a blanket on the beach, staring up at the sky.
“I hope that was a happy sigh.” Kevin said.
“Of course it was. I’m laying on the beach with the perfect boyfriend, after the most romantic date, on Valentine’s Day. What more could I want?” Katie asked.
“I can think of something.” Kevin said, before leaning in and kissing her.
“I don’t know, the day was looking kind of complete right about then. This is just overkill now.” Katie teased.
“Well, that’s too bad, because there’s a lot more to come.” Kevin replied, smiling as their lips met again, and again.
<><><>
Hannah clutched Matt’s hand tightly, the two still delirious from their afternoon’s activities. They had decided to go for a romantic walk through Central Park. Along with half the city.
It was crowded, but they didn’t care. They were young and in love, and didn’t see anyone else but each other.
“So what’s planned for tonight?” Hannah asked expectantly.
“What do you mean? This was it?” Matt looked incredulous.
“You’re kidding me!?! You fly out here, sleep with me, we go for a walk, and what? You fly home?” Hannah asked.
“You’re right. I am kidding you.” Matt smiled, ducking a swing from his girlfriend.
“I should hope so.” Hannah pouted.
“I’ve got a pretty amazing night planned out for us. Romantic din-“
“No. Don’t ruin it.” Hannah cut him off, before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
<><><>
“I can’t believe you got a reservation here.” Katie said, as the maitre d’ seated the two of them.
“Only the best for my girl.” Kevin replied.
“Well, you haven’t disappointed yet.” Katie teased.
The two of them sat in the most expensive restaurant in Orange County, surrounded by couples all out enjoying their horrendously overpriced Valentine’s Day dinner.
“Are you sure you can even afford this place?” Katie asked, as she opened the menu.
“Anything you want, it’s yours. Mr Perfect donated some money into my account for the night. He wasn’t kind when he set the interest though. No wonder we’re in a recession.” Kevin joked.
“Good, because I’m totally ordering the lobster.” Katie said.
“On a date? You know how messy that is?” Kevin asked.
“Oh. So you won’t love me if I’m covered in lobster?” Katie asked.
“No. I’ll love you regardless of the shellfish juices dribbling down your chin.” Kevin replied.
“Wow, that was both really sweet, and really gross at the same time.” Katie commented.
“It was a bit, wasn’t it?”
“But did you mean it?”
“What?”
“That you love me?”
“Every word.”
Katie paused for a moment. “I love you too.” She said.
“I know.”
“Rather sure of yourself there?”
“No, Matt just let me watch his Star Wars DVD’s last week, Han Solo is awesome.”
“Ugh, boys.” Katie rolled her eyes.
<><><>
“You’re ordering Chinese take-out to your hotel room? That’s your romantic dinner?” Hyper Girl asked.
“No, that’s not all.” Mr Universe replied.
“It had better not be all. You made me put my damn costume on.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Guess the food’s here.” Mr Universe said, opening the door.
“I’ve got an order here for a… Mr Universe?” The delivery boy didn’t look up until he finished reading the name.
His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.
“You’re… You’re Mr Universe. And Hyper Girl.” The boy was shocked.
“Yep. Just like it says on your little note thingie. How much do I owe you?” Mr Universe asked.
“Twent… Twenty-five fifty.” The boy stammered out.
“Here’s forty. Keep the change.” Mr Universe stuffed two twenties into the boy’s hand and took the bags from him, closing the door.
“Ok… Now what?” Hyper Girl asked.
“Now, we fly.” Mr Universe replied, jumping from the window.
The two flew around the city for a few minutes, before Mr Universe chose the spot he was looking for.
The young lovers touched down on top of the Brooklyn Bridge.
“Here? Really? Not the Empire State Building? Or Statue of Liberty? This is the big New York location you chose?” Hyper Girl asked.
“Yep. People look up at those places all day and night. Someone was bound to interrupt us. Here, we can look down at the cars, but they don’t care what’s going on up here.”
“It is kind of secluded…” Hyper Girl said.
“And, we could probably have a super-battle up here, and no-one would notice.” Mr Universe replied.
“Not that you’d want to. Imagine the fall. Even if someone caught you, your neck would probably snap anyway.”
“That would suck. But on to more cheerful thoughts. Have some fried rice.” Mr Universe opened up the Chinese bags.
<><><>
Kevin broke the kiss and looked at the clock. “It’s past midnight, I should probably head home.” He said, rolling off the top of Katie and sitting up on her bed.
“No, wait.” Katie said.
“I guess we could make out for a bit longer…” Kevin smiled.
“No, not that. I meant… Stay the night.” Katie said, nervously.
“You want me to stay? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I mean, we love each other. And you’re the perfect guy. And if I’m going to die in two months, I don’t want to die a virgin, you know? And I can’t think of anyone in the world who I’d rather be with than you, and I can’t think of a more perfect moment…” Katie began to babble.
“If it’s what you want…” Kevin said, moving to kiss her again…
<><><>
“That would have been so much more romantic if you hadn’t had to stop that suicide attempt.” Hyper Girl said, as she flew back into Mr Universe’s hotel room.
“I’m pretty sure the guy actually dying would have killed the mood a bit more.” Mr Universe replied sarcastically.
“You did make up for it with the mid-air waltz over Times Square though.” Hyper Girl said.
“I thought it was a nice touch.”
“And now, to cap off a perfect evening…” Hyper Girl kissed Mr Universe, removing the mask from his eyes, before tugging at the clasps on the back of his blue and silver costume.
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Mr Universe replied, quickly finding the hidden zipper in the back of Hyper Girl’s pure white outfit.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Hannah said.
<><><>

Ok, I was hoping to start posting more often, and had it all planned out to get this issue up on the 1st, mostly because I wanted to do a Valentine’s Day Issue (which will be going forward anyway). I had planned to get the first issue of Less Than Three Comics Presents written and posted, before I did these Author’s notes, so I could plug the second issue, but extenuating circumstances kind of killed my creativity… But it’s all good, and I’m back.
Ok, on to the issue. This one was a lot of fun. Built up a lot on the characters, which was what I’ve been hoping to do. There’s also a few members of D13 that I want to flesh out, but that will happen later.
Kevin/Mr Perfect is all business, because, let’s face it, in a couple of months, he’s taking on some of the toughest villains. He’s a good leader, and is doing everything he can to ensure his team gets through. And then in the morning, he keeps training so he doesn’t let his other team down.
Matt is a geek, which I don’t think I’d really got across previously. He’s best friends with the head cheerleader, he’s dating one of the hottest teen superheroes in the nation, seems pretty normal. He’s had his moments, the shared joke with Aperture, bitching about movies with Jake in the first issue, but I didn’t feel I’d really got it across. So he spent the night playing video games (also, I couldn’t really think of anything for him to do, and wanted to include everyone in this issue).
Ally and the band was just a way for me to work some Tom/Mac humour in there, and so that I could involve more of the Brats. Ally’s been the hardest character to flesh out, because while I have a clear idea of where I want the other four to go, and their history, and who they are, Ally was a last minute creation. She’s a little odd, and bright, and sparkly, but beyond that, I don’t have much to build around her. I had always intended for a fifth Brat, but didn’t really flesh her out until the last moment.
Katie was one of the main reasons I wanted to write this issue. So far, I’ve put her in there as the perfect daddy’s girl, who gets good grades and does everything she possibly can, all the extra-curriculars she can possibly do, so she can get into college or whatever. That kind of pressure puts a lot of strain on a person, and throw on her working as a superhero, with all her contract obligations, she has to have a breaking point. So she’s started drinking. Because, let’s face it, everyone loves a good character flaw. (For the record, it’s not just a flaw for the sake of it, I’d originally planned her as the perfect girl who lets it get to her)
Mosley’s part was there for two reasons. One, to reveal he was the Pumpkin King (although that was hinted at when Belle met him…). And two, to plug the (originally planned) second issue of <3 Comics Presents. For the record, the meeting between Shadow and Pumpkin King occurred in-between <3 Comics Presents: Shadows Over LA Issues #001 and #002. Issue #001 should be posted this month some time. Probably after the Valentine’s Day special next week.
Fissure’s interlude was just to build him as a serious guy, and just because I hadn’t really mentioned where he’s been since telling his story.
Well, that’s about all for now. Prepare for couple-y goodness next week, when Issue #011: Whole Lotta Love hits the blog.
Later Days,
The Author
<3 Comics

P.S. A note on the music. Some of you may remember this issue's title. 'Breathe (2AM)' by Anna Nalick charted in 2005 after being used on a few popular shows (Grey’s Anatomy and Joan of Arcadia come to mind). Issue #007, ‘Soldier’ was also named after one of her songs. The woman has an amazing voice and writes some beautiful songs, just lacks the support of her label (they chose the wrong song for her second single, but I digress). Unless you’re exclusively into metal, or won’t listen to anything but hip-hop or are a techno-dance fan, I suggest you try and find a copy of her 2005 album ‘Wreck of the Day’ (better yet, the 2006 re-release, which has some great bonus tracks on it), or even the ‘Shine EP’, which was released last year. Her label appears to have forgotten her, so I’m trying to do my part so that her completed second album will actually get released. At the very least, check her out on YouTube or Last.fm. You won’t be disappointed. Ok, off my soapbox.

Kevin stared at the ceiling. ’Man, I wish I could sleep right about now… I’ve got practice tomorrow night.’ He thought to himself.
He turned to face his clock. ‘2.00’ The glowing digits read.
’Great. There must be something constructive I could be doing at least…’ He ponders for a moment. ’Cal Richards is on call tonight. I should talk to him about Salt Lake City. Guess I’d better find my costume… I wonder if Katie wants to come… Nah, she’s too busy as it is, she needs the rest.’
Kevin removed the false bottom from his drawer and pulled out his costume, which he hastily donned, before opening his window and flying off into the night.
<><><>
“Oh god, it’s 2 AM!” Katie shrieked. Lucky she was the only one in the house.
She was sitting at her desk, textbooks strewn across it, sheets of paper everywhere.
“I’m not even halfway through this paper. Stupid English. And then there’s the speech for the club Belle’s supposed to be opening, and the pep rally next week… How the hell am I supposed to concentrate with so much going on?” She asked herself.
She tried to write some more, but threw her pen down in frustration. “I know. I’ll take the edge off.” She said.
She pulled out her desk drawer. “I’m glad Matt figured out this whole fake bottom thing…” She pulled up the bottom of the drawer to reveal her costume, which was sitting next to a bottle of Absolut vodka. “Just one drink, it’ll help me settle down, and it won’t affect my work.” She opened the bottle and poured herself a glass…
<><><>
“F’n alcoholic.” Mosley muttered, as he poked his father’s unconscious form. A loud snore emerged, but nothing more. “It’s about time you passed out.”
Mosley headed out to the garage, where he put on his leather jacket. “Time for a patrol.” He said to himself.
He wheeled his motorcycle out of the garage and into the street, before starting it up and riding into the distance.
<><><>
“Ahh! That freakin’ zombie came out of nowhere!” Matt shouted.
“Help! I’m dying over here!” He heard his team-mate yell.
“No can do! I’ve got a Hunter on my ass!” Another team-mate replied.
“Not anymore! Suck it dude!” Matt shouted, as he shotgunned the plague-ridden zombie in the face.
“The other team can’t hear you dude.” Jake’s voice buzzed in his headset.
“I know, but it would rock if they could.” Matt replied, sitting back in his chair. The threat was gone, at least for the moment.
“Man, I love having Study Period first thing tomorrow, Left4Dead nights are the greatest.”
“Amen brother.”
<><><>
“Cal… Someone’s entering the building.” Ossuary pointed at the monitor.
“From the roof? Who the hell would be here at this time? Iaso, bring up the security camera.” Cal ordered.
“Ok…” Iaso replied, looking down at the terminal in front of her for a few seconds, before locating the correct buttons.
On the big screen flashed up an image of the roof entrance hall, in it stood Mr Perfect.
“What the hell? Doesn’t he have school in the morning?” Cal asked.
“So do I.” Iaso replied.
“I wonder what he wants…” Cal said, as they watched the young hero walk down the corridor and into the elevator.
Within moments, he stepped out into the main control room.
“Perfect! Not that I don’t appreciate the visit, but I’ve got to know what brings you out here so late.” Cal said, meeting him at the doorway.
“I knew you were on duty tonight, and I’ve got something I wanted to discuss with you, concerning a job…” Mr Perfect replied.
“Mr Hart didn’t mention any missions…” Ossuary said.
“This one will be kept on the down-low. It’s months away now, but it’s huge. Brat Pack will be off Hire-A-Hero’s roster, and we’ll be hiring you.” Mr Perfect explained.
“What kind of a job would that be?” Cal asked.
“We’re taking down the Order of Darkness.” Mr Perfect said simply.
“Are you serious? You can’t do that.” Iaso was stunned.
“How could you possibly even know where they are?” Ossuary asked.
“It’s a long story…” Mr Perfect began.
<><><>
“And that’s how Charles Dickens gives us an accurate representation of the Industrial Revolution…” Katie muttered, as she wrote her words down. “Thank god that’s over.”
She read over the work quickly. “That’s good enough.” She said. “Now onto my speech…” She pulled out a blank sheet of paper.
She stared at the paper for a minute, but couldn’t think of what to write. A glance at her glass told her it was empty. “One more wouldn’t hurt…” She said, removing her bottle of Absolut from the drawer once more.
<><><>
“And she’s buying a stairway… To heaven…” Ally and Travis sang in perfect harmony.
Tom and Mac erupted with applause. “Man, you guys should hear that song when you’re stoned… It is off the hook.” Tom said.
“Yeah, I’ll have to pass on that one Huck.” Dylan replied.
“No, it’s Mac. And that’s him. I’m Tom.” Tom said, pointing at Mac.
“No… Your name is Tom Sawyer. He hung out with Huckleberry Finn. I’m surprised you haven’t heard that before.” Dylan explained.
“No… He’s Mac. M-A-C.” Tom said, slowly.
“Never mind.” Dylan said, before turning to the rest of the band. “How about Sweet Child?”
Jacob and Clark both nodded, and Dylan launched into the face-melting guitar solo.
<><><>
Fissure sat at the table in the hotel room the Brats had rented for him, typing on the laptop they had bought him.
Opened up before him was a Firefox window, with multiple tabs open to Wikipedia, CNN, Digg, SuperDatabase and the White House website.
Also open were multiple files, each named for a member of the Order of Darkness, as well as one for Secretary Carmichael, not to mention a map of both Washington DC and Salt Lake City.
“We’ll beat those bastards. It’ll take all we’ve got, but they’ll go down.” Fissure muttered to himself, as he added to his profile on Darklight, the Order of Darkness’ powerhouse.
He switched windows to Carmichael’s official profile on the White House web page. “And then you’re mine, Moriarty.”
<><><>
Mosley sighed. He’d been riding all over this suburb, and so far hadn’t heard a peep. Nothing was going on. ’Any other night, and I’d be knee-deep in crooks. Isn’t LA supposed to have a high crimerate?’ He thought to himself.
Then he heard a scream.
“Well, looks like my time to shine!” He said, excitedly, as he summoned flames to surround his head and hands. “The Pumpkin King rides tonight!”
<><><>
“And you’re just going to go in blindly? Just believe what this guy says?” Cal asked.
“No. That’s where you guys come in. He doesn’t know you’re going to be involved. We’ll fly you guys in a day before us, set you up in a building near the fight. If things go south, Belle will contact you guys. Fissure might have something prepared for us, but he might not be ready for you.” Mr Perfect explained.
“Still, it’s the Order of Darkness… You might need us anyway, whether Fissure’s leading you into a trap or not. It’s mighty risky.” Cal said.
“I know, but if he’s not lying, then it’s worth the risk. Even if his future is a lie, we’d still potentially be saving the East Coast Boomers. The world needs those guys. We can’t rely on just what we have. They’ll win that way.” Mr Perfect argued.
“You’re right. I guess we’d better talk strategy…” Cal said.
<><><>
Matt threw his wireless keyboard aside. “He just pwned us again!” He shouted into his headset.
“I know! This guy has just beaten us four games in a row. That’s it, I’m going to bed. Later guys.” Jake said, as their other teammates agreed.
Matt stared at the screen. ‘NwYrTnknWtPrtls?’ Matt thought to himself. ’That’s not even a real word. It doesn’t make se-… Hang on.’
He looked at the name again, and read it out loud. “Now you’re thinking with Portals. Son of a…”
He opened up a private chat over Steam. “Aperture? Is that you?”
<><><>
Pumpkin King pounded the mugger in the face, leaving him unconscious and with minor burns. He yanked the stolen purse out of his hands, and tossed it to the victim, who stared at her savior, before running off into the darkness.
“Having fun?” A voice asked from behind him.
“Naturally.” Pumpkin King replied, turning to find the source of the voice.
“Up here.” The Shadow dropped from the rooftop, doing a somersault in midair to slow his fall. “Now that you’ve had your warm-up, want to do something important?”
“Just tell me who to punch.” Pumpkin King replied.
<><><>
Mr Perfect decided not to just head straight home, instead flying past Katie’s house. Flying over, he saw her bedroom light on. ’Odd.’ he thought, flying in for a closer look.
Peering in the window, he found Katie sprawled over her desk, snoring on top of what appeared to be her English homework.
Mr Perfect smiled down lovingly on his girlfriend, before flying off into the night, failing to notice the empty glass in her hand, and of course not seeing the empty bottle in her desk drawer…
<><><>
Mosley grunted, as he stepped off his motorbike. His leg was still tender as he limped towards his bedroom.
Dawn’s first rays were shining in through the window as he fell onto his bed. “Crap, school today.” He muttered to himself, before dozing off.
<><><>
Kevin’s alarm went off, and he woke up instantly, lacing up his sneakers and grabbing his iPod.
’Another day, another jog.’ He thought to himself, before switching the song to Eye of the Tiger and heading out the door.
<><><>
Ally woke up on the couch. She looked at her bandmates sprawled on the floor around her, Mac and Tom also snoring off in a corner. As the only girl, the guys decided she should be the one to sleep in relative comfort.
Dylan walked downstairs, fresh from a night in his own bed. “Wakey wakey guys, we’ve got school.” He said.
“Quiet. Sleeping.” Jacob replied, rolling over.
Ally leapt off the couch. “No way! Everyone up!” She shouted gleefully, cartwheeling over the top of the drummer.
“Shut her up, or put her down. I’m not picky.” Clark mumbled.
Ally pouted. “You guys are no fun.”
<><><>
Fissure woke up on his single bed, and looked at his surroundings.
He made himself a simple breakfast and sat back at the computer. “There’s more work to be done.” He said to himself, opening the news-sites for the headlines.
<><><>
Matt knocked on Katie’s bedroom door.
“Go away!” Came the response.
“Not a chance. I need a ride. You’re late.” Matt said.
Katie shrieked, and there was a shuffling around her room.
The door opened two minutes later, and she stepped out, looking somewhat disheveled, and tired.
“Wow, you look like death. Late night?” Matt asked.
Katie mumbled something about not sleeping well.
“Oh. Ok. Ready to go then?” Matt asked.
“Sure. How about you drive? I’ve got a splitting headache.” Katie asked.
“No problem.” Matt said.
“And we’re stopping at Starbucks. I need a Grande Pumpkin Spice Frap.’ Katie ordered.
“Have I mentioned how much of a girl you are?” Matt asked.
“Shut up.” Katie mumbled.
It was going to be a long, painful day.
<><><>