The Avengebirds

Good News, Bird Lovers! The long-awaited Meteor story is here! Daniel and Ryan now present: THE AVENGEBIRDS!!!
==Chapter 1: A Brand New Reality==
"Ryan, WAKE UP!" "What?" answered Ryan, still half asleep in his bed. "The meteor!" Daniel reminded his brother. "What about it?" "Look at yourself! It mutated everything!" Ryan looked down at himself. He was a Lazer Bird, but his usual bubble-gum-colored tummy was the color of blue saltwater taffy! All of a sudden, Ryan realized his resembelence to Cyclops, the Marvel superhero. Then he looked up and Daniel, who looked like a Super Red Bird with a maroon mask, reminding Ryan of Hawkeye, another superhero. Ryan laughed. "What kind of joke is this?" "Joke?" replied Daniel, offended. Autumn and Muna had taken Eggboy, Henrietta, Perry Sol, Ricky Shea, and Cassie on an ocean liner cruise so the chicks wouldn't get near the meteor that had impacted a week ago. In that time, Ryan had obtained a small, cute, baby pig he named named Hamm. Daniel led Ryan outside. It was a warm July morning. The island the birds called home looked different. VERY different. The once normal bird village now looked like a big city! Some houses had combined into apartments. The paths around the village where now roads. And all the other birds looked like superheroes! "What the Bird?" Ryan exclaimed. Hamm woke up in his crib and started crying. Ryan hopped back into his house and brought Hamm outside. "Dan-Dan!" Hamm exclaimed when he saw Daniel. Ryan looked down at his baby pig, who was as normal as ever. Apparently the meteor's mutations had no effects on the pigs. Hamm stared around in awe at his new surroundings. Ryan picked him up. "Oh, yeah. It was TOTALLY a joke," Daniel teased his brother with a smile.
==Chapter 2: The Unitation==
The two birds hopped over to their good friend Tyler's house to see if he had changed too. Ryan carried Baby Hamm. Daniel knocked on Tyler's door. Tyler opened his door a little and stuck his head out. "What, you're too good for the doorbell?" he asked, closing the door. Daniel and Ryan exchanged looks. Daniel shrugged and rang the doorbell, which started playing Captain America's theme. Tyler opened his door. "Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully. Hamm giggled. "Hey, Hammy!" Tyler said, patting Hamm on the head. "Ty-Ty!" Hamm responded. Tyler was, sure enough, he was dressed as Captain America. "I'm Captain Bird!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Wow," said Ryan. Then they turned to see the other birds coming out of their homes. Paulie was red, and had black lines all over him. There was a spider logo on his chest. "Spiderbird!" Ryan exclaimed. Edna was black and had a long flowing cape. Her suit was outlined in gold. "Storm Bird!" said Daniel. Ernie had a yellow mask and was taller. Best of all, he had a robotic hand made of iron! "Iron Wing!" Tyler said aloud. Blacky was red, had wings, and a white mask that covered his eyes. "Falcon!" said Ryan. Andy was black and had a gold mask. Electricity buzzed around him. "Nova Bird!" exclaimed Daniel. Anna was also black and had a big lightning bolt across her tummy. "Ms. Marvel Bird?" said Tyler. Then they saw Kashy and Evan. Kashy was in a red and gold iron costume, and Evan was in a black and silver one. "Iron Bird and War Machine Bird!" said Ryan. Then Clover came. He had an eyepatch and a black coat. "Beak Fury!" everyone said. The Birds crowded together and united. "We're the Avengebirds, an elite team of super-powered birds to destroy all evil and protect the innocent!"
Oh, it was happening.
==Chapter 3: Meanwhile, at the Pig's Fortress...==
The pigs watched from their secret video camera they had installed in the village. "This is awful!" said King Pigram. All the pigs where sitting at their confrence table. "We have to do something about this! The Avengebirds will destroy us all! Does ANYONE have an idea?!" No one did. Just then, the doors burst open. "One word, weaknesses," said a voice. The pigs turned to see... Loki Bird! "Loki?" said King Pigram."I thought you where banished from this island years ago!" "Only to have just enough time for careful planning," Loki Bird replied. "Well," said the king. "If you're plan is so great, then what is it?" Loki Bird grinned. He sat down at the other end of the table and explained his plan. King Pigram thought for a few minutes, then he spoke. "Sounds good, but we have a small problem since you left." "Eh?" said Loki Bird. "Whataya mean?" "Well," started King Pigram. "You know what, Footman, get me the failure slideshow." "Failure WHAT?" Loki thought. King Pigram pulled down the over head screen and got the projector ready. He placed the slideshow inside and turned the machine on. A pic pulled up of Daniel zapping a pig with hs goggles. Loki Bird chuckled. "You're worried about THAT guy? He's a Red Bird with glasses!" "Actually, they're Super-Powered GOGGLES." King Pigram corrected. "Whatever," Loki Bird sneered. "I could take him." "It's not just him," replied the king. Another slide came on of Tyler, inflated, sending pigs in all directions. "An Orange Bird," Loki Bird scoffed. "The tiniest bird of them all." King Pigram's Footman pointed to the projection. "Not like that he isn't." "Well," answered Loki Bird. "I could surely take them both. "What about three?" King Pigram said as he put on the next slide. It was a pic of Ryan moving as a blur, knocking through any pigs that stood in his way. "Well-" Loki Bird began. "That's not all," King Pigram said. The final image came up, revealing that the previous pictures where just close-ups. It was a picture of Daniel, Tyler, and Ryan "Okay," admitted Loki. "We may have a problem."
==Chapter 4: Hamm Revealations==
"Wow, Hamm!" Daniel said. "That was AMAZING!" "Who knew he could make a Llama-Bird appear out of a top hat?" added Tyler. Hamm started babbling. "Well," said Ryan. "He holds many mysteries." "You said it!" said Daniel. Hamm crawled over to Ashes and hopped on her back. Ashes hopped around with Hamm on her back, riding her like a cowboy. Killer took intrest and hopped over, barking and playing with them. Chuck, Puffy, and Anne, Ryan's puffles crawled over and joined in with the fun. Tyler looked over at Ray, still in his eggcubator. "Why didn't Autumn take Ray with them?" he asked. "She figured he wouldn't hatch while she was gone," Ryan replied. "She's probably right." All of a sudden, Hamm's ears started twitching. Then his tail. He let out a cry of fright and hid behind Ryan, quivering. "What the Bird?" exclaimed Ryan. What they didn't know was that Hamm had a special power. He could sense close trouble, and in fact, there was. Up on the roof of Ryan's house was none other than Loki Bird and King Pigram. "Get ready, Sire," said Loki Bird. King Pigram was preparing to attack, when something jumped and pushed Loki Bird off. "My name is Storm Bird, and I'm here to welcome you to Earth, now go home!" King Pigram nearly fell off the roof laughing. That line was from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Loki Bird laughed with Bitterness "Such an old line!" "So is you're smile," Edna said, and lunged for Loki. "THAT one actually wasn't a bad line," King Pigram thought. Loki pulled out a ray gun at the last second and zapped Edna. Edna fell, unconscious. King Pigram sent down a grappling hook and pulled Loki back up on to the roof. "So how are we supposed to get inside?" King Pigram asked. Loki glanced at the chimney. "Time for Christmas in July," Loki Bird sneered. As Ryan tried to calm down a shrieking Hamm, Tyler heard a noise from the fireplace. "What was that?"
==Chapter 5: Christmas in July (Sorta)==
Daniel heard it, and Daniel's big sense was trying to activate Dulk. Daniel forced Dulk down "I can't let Dulk take over right now, he's too big, he'll destroy the house!" Daniel said. Loki Bird popped down, and shot at Tyler, who dodged every bullet. "Ho ho ho!" Loki Bird Cackled. "Merry Christmas!" Clover appeared, and tried punched Loki Bird in the face. Loki was about to hit back when all of the sudden, everyone paused. Daniel was getting bigger... and bigger... "Oh, no!" said Tyler as Daniel finally let go, and an explosion of energy erupted, destroying the house. The terror was out of the container, the bird was out of the cage. Dulk had been set free. "WHAT ON MIDGUARD?!" Loki Bird said, shocked to see the towering monster before him. Ryan couldn't say a word, he was too scared to say anything. Hamm started crying. "It's Dulk, I'd run now!" Clover said, running out the door. Dulk's eyes were locked on Loki Bird, pointing at him like arrows at a target. Ryan ran out the door with Hamm. Tyler ran after them. Ryan looked back. He saw Dulk shrink down to Daniel as Loki Bird went flying. Ryan snickered at the flying bird, and shouted, "Where are you going, Chicken?" Meanwhile, another noise came from the broken chimmney, but no one heard it. "Loki? I'm stuck!"
==Chapter 6: Attack of Destructobot==
Ryan picked Hamm up. Daniel hopped out, looking as happy as you could be after fighting a villian, when there was a strange sound of metallic laughter. Hamm squirmed at the noise. They all jumped back, jumped back, and stared at a strange robot going through the neat rows off Skyscrapers. Daniel recognized it instantly as Destructobot. He had heard stories from his friend Ben the Penguin. Destructobot was a large robot that had recently attacked Club Penguin. Was it here? Daniel flipped his goggles down, and looked for the areas that were best to attack. Tyler watched as Daniel fired an arrow at Destructobot, hitting it splat-bang in the center of the back. Destructobot began shooting at him. Tyler hopped over next to him to help his friend. Tyler turned to Ryan. "We got it down here, get to the top!" he said. Ryan smiled. "I'm on it!" He put Hamm on his back and slowly began scaling up Destructobot. The higher they got, the tighter Hamm held on to his father for dear life. Ryan climbed up to the robot's back, and finally reached the cockpit. Loki Bird was inside. "What the Bird?" Ryan accidentally said aloud. Hadn't Dulk just subdued Loki Bird? But before he could say anything else, Hamm screamed as slab of brick hit Ryan on the head knocking him out.
==Chapter 7: Surrender to Me==
Sometime later, Ryan came to. He was tied up and lying on the ground inside a huge machine. Loki Bird appeared in the big screen above him. "Where am I?" Ryan said aloud. "This is my Vision Chamber," Loki answered. Ryan's eyebrows narrowed. "Surrender", Loki Bird said, "And before you decide, I'll show you what will happen if you don't!" All of a sudden, the land beneath Ryan turned to snow, the skyscrapers vanished, and parts of a ship lay scattered and torn. Its lanks were like spikes, and the mast was still up. Its flag flapped defiantly. Ryan looked at it, the picture was of a Big Brother Bird. Ryan realised which ship is was just from that flag. "The Big Brother Bird, Daniel's ship!" Ryan said. "Yes, indeed it is," Loki Bird said, sounding like a purring snake-bird, "And how will this be your fault? I'll show you!" and time went back. Ryan saw a Crewmember shove Daniel from steering position, and take over. The member kept crashing the ship into rocks, on Purpose. Daniel tried to get control of the wheel, only to win in the places the crewmember let him. The ship finally hit a large rock, and the ship went flying, and it crashed, but the crew was already gone, including the rogue one... but not Daniel. Ryan saw the rogue crewmember turn into Loki Bird. "So, what will it be, Ryan? Surrender, and Daniel will live, or stay fighting, and see your brother meet his doom by crash" Loki Bird said. "No! Daniel wouldn't die due to a crash, even if you DID crash the ship, Daniel would LIVE!" Ryan said defiantly, and Loki Bird watched as Daniel got up, looking fine. "Loki, I know Daniel better than you do, and I know Daniel will only die of old age. YOU are wrong, and no, I won't Surrender. You can't make me!" Ryan said even MORE defiantly. Loki Bird laughed. "Then we'll through in something extra!" A cage dropped down and landed beside Ryan. Hamm was trapped inside of it! "Dada!" Hamm sobbed.
==Chapter 8: Hostage==
thumb|Dada!
"You seem to be very close to this pig," Loki Bird snarled. A razor blade popped out of the wall and came DEADLY close to Hamm's cage. Hamm shrieked and cried and sobbed. "Surrender or the pig dies!" Ryan's eyes widened. He looked over at Hamm who has never cried harder, of fear or otherwise. Then he thought of all the innocent villagers who would be killed instead if- wait, why was he acting like he was the powerless one? He was the one with the true power! Using his lazer glasses, he burned right through the ropes and stood up. "Well," said Loki Bird. "It looks like you've made your choice. The pig dies!" Ryan smiled. Loki had just forgotten that Ryan wasn't still tied up. Ryan shot a lazer at the razor blade, cutting the blade off. Hamm was safe, but his cage was locked. Ryan looked up, shot a lazer and destroyed the video camera and the screen. "What?" Loki Bird exclaimed. He had lost picture on the video screen. Ryan burned a Cyclops-Bird-carrying-a-cage-shaped hole, and hopped out. He could see out to the beach where Daniel was just now emerging from the rubble of The Big Brother Bird, then reaching back to pull Tyler out. "Guys!" Ryan shouted, running over to them. "Ryan!" said Daniel. "There you are!" "Is Hamm okay?" Tyler asked. "Dan-Dan! Ty-Ty!" Hamm giggled. Ryan zapped through the steal of the cage, freeing Hamm. Then they heard a voice from above. "I'm not done with you yet!" Cages fell from above and trapped them all individually. "Seriously," exclaimed Tyler. "This whole cage thing is getting old."
==Chapter 9: Caged!==
A huge helicopter flew from above and shot down grappling hooks that picked up the cages. After flying for some time, they where dropped into an empty storage room. Luckily, there was padding on the floor of each cage, so no one was hurt. Loki Bird walked in. "Don't bother even trying to escape," the bird laughed. "If you touch one of the bars, you'll evaporate instantly!" "You FIEND!" growled Daniel. "Oh, I know it!" Loki Bird cackled, hopping with glee out of the room. "Dada, huggy?!" Hamm whimpered. But Ryan knew there was nothing he could do about it. "I can't, Hamm," he replied sadly. Hamm started crying again. Ryan sighed. Hamm tried to get to Ryan by squeezing throught the bars. "Hamm!" Ryan shouted. "Wait-" Before Ryan could finish, Hamm disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Daniel and Tyler gasped. "NOOOOOO!!!" Ryan screamed. Hamm screamed too and jumped into Ryan's arms. "Wait, what?" Ryan looked down at Hamm, trying to snuggle in close with his father. Hadn't Hamm just been evaporated? Curious, Daniel touched a bar. All of a sudden, he was teleported to Tyler's cage! "These don't REALLY evaporate," Daniel exclaimed. "Loki just said that to fool us!" Tyler thought for a minute. "I have a plan!" he told them. "Everyone, evaporated to my cage!" Everyone did so, and soon they where all squished together in one cage. Then Tyler inflated, destroying the cage. They all toppled out unto the floor. Tyler deflated. "Alright, guys," Daniel said. "We're going to move through this fortress in shadows and find Loki Bird!" They hopped out of the storage room and moved silently around the fortress. They snuck past pigs and avoided video cameras. Hamm constantly started to say something, but Ryan would hug him to keep him quiet. Soon, they found Loki's room. They where about to sneak in when the Fat Pig jumped out at them. "Where do you think YOU'RE going, my sweet little appetizers?!" he hissed. Then he looked over at Hamm. "Hamm?!" Daniel and Tyler exchanged looks. "My nephew!" the Fat Pig shouted. "You KIDNAPPED him?!" Ryan's eyes widened.
==Chapter 10: Release the Venom==
Some of the pigs came over to watch. Hamm turned away in Ryan's arms and tried not to look. He was scared of his uncle, who had tortured him as a newborn. "You don't understand!" Ryan yelled. "Hunters killed his parents, so I took him home!" "I don't care!" the Fat Pig shot back, pointing to Hamm. "This little runt will suffer you no longer!" and the Fat Pig snatched Hamm out of Ryan's arms. Hamm squealed with fear. "Hey!" Ryan shouted. "Give him back!" "NO!" the Fat Pig yelled. "He's going to come with me so he can grow up and become as evil and wicked as I am!" "STOP!" yelled a voice. A latch on the roof opened, and Paulie hopped in. "This ends now! Give the pig back, and no one gets AS hurt as they're going to!" Paulie said to the Fat Pig. "Never!" the Fat Pig shot back, pulling out a gun. "Say hello to the Evilinator 2000!" and he shot Paulie. All of a sudden, Paulie's red Spiderbird suit began to turn a dark grey. "What's happening to-" Paulie never finished his scentence, for he was no longer Spiderbird, he was VENOM Bird! "Mwa ha ha!" Paulie laughed maniacally. The Fat Pig sprouted an evil smile. He threw Hamm to Paulie. "Take him to the dungeon!" the Fat Pig told him. "DADA!" Hamm cried as he was carried off. Daniel jumped to try and save Hamm, but bumped into the Dark Pig. Tyler lunged at the Evilinator 2000, knocking it out of the Fat Pig's hands. Ryan shot a lazer at the gun, destroying it. As the three birds tussled with the Fat Pig, Loki Bird ran into his office, where there was a big dashboard. He pressed a button that read "Transform". All of a sudden, Loki's fortress began to change. Wings popped out on either sides. A big engine appeared on the back. Loki then pressed, "Launch" and the ship took off. Everyone toppled backwards. "MWA HA HA HA!" Loki Bird laughed. "NO ONE CAN STOP ME NOW!"
==Chapter 11: Destructo Takedown==
 Some bird villagers where relaxing when a dark shadow fell over them. They looked up to see a ginormous ship land in the field. Loki Bird hopped into Destructobot and bagn attacking the city. Daniel, Tyler, and Ryan hopped out of the ship and stared in awe. What where they going to do? "Ha ha ha!" Loki Bird laughed. Tyler looked hard at Destructobot and noticed the power cell on the back. "There!" he said, pointing. "But how're we supposed get it?" "Well..." Ryan Replied
The Song
Ryan: Maybe I don't know everything
But look now, we're coming back
Tyler: We're madder-than-before with anger
Daniel: And we're ready to attack
Loki Bird: I'd give you a bad rate
Plus you're much too late
My Destuctobot is stronger than anything you'll ever see
Give up now because this vic-tory belongs to me!
Ryan: Hey! I just stole your credit card number!
Loki Bird: Hey!
Ryan: 'Cause I crawl from under the bus when you put me under
Together we'll defeat you, we're the lightning to your thunder!
Loki Bird: Destroying this place, it won't be pretty!
Ryan: Deal with me before my city!
Tyler: We're gonna steal your power cell
Daniel: We'll blow you up and it'll all be well!
Loki Bird: Wait, but-
Ryan: I say, no way this is when we'll bow
Daniel: Our time has come, right now
Loki Bird: I have to dis-a-gree, your voice is not e-nough
Ryan: Destroying you won't be that tough
Loki Bird: Let's end this once and for all
Tyler: Yes, you're right, so down you fall
(Tyler pulls out power cell throws to ground, smashing it to pieces)
"NOO!" shouted Loki Bird as smoke began coming from Destructobot. "NOOO!!!" Ryan reamerged from the ship. He was holding Hamm.
== Chapter 12: Madness in the Night==
That night, while Ryan's house was being repaired, Daniel seemed to be affected by something, and it wasn't normal for Daniel to be affected by ANYTHING. Ryan realised that after the singing button was destroyed, Daniel sounded very conjusted, but not monstrously so. "Are you alright?" Ryan asked him. "Yes, I'm fine, but I can't sing, not that anyone has noticed. Every time I do, my throat gets sore afterwards," Daniel replied. It was apparent he was the same bird as always. Ryan headed downstairs, only to see a crowd of pigs with knives pointed at him, Strawdina, and Blacky. "You destroyed our evil plan!" the biggest pig said. "So now we're gonna destroy YOU!" Strawdina who escaped first by knocking out the bird holding her, and then freeing Blacky. Ryan's puffles scurried in the secret puffle door behind Ryan, sobbing in fear. "Anne, what happened?" Ryan whispered without moving a muscle. But Anne was too afraid to answer. That was when the fight began. It was pure madness, you could hear running birds half an hour before they ran by. You could hear the some of them grunting from the furthest room up. Ryan took out 20 in a row with his lazer glasses. Daniel finally joined in at the moment he felt better, which, ironically, was the minute he was needed. He shot a Split Arrow at the attackers, causing them to fall on their faces. Daniel heard running from his right, he looked. He saw Tyler chasing a not-so-evil-looking bird, who fired a gun at the attackers. Tyler paused for a minute, and 10 of the attackers fell dead.
==Chapter 13: Mysterious Stranger==
All eyes were on that bird, and Strawdina's eyes were staring with wonder at this guy... he looked awfully firmiliar, but where had she seen him, he wasn't Minosa, he wasn't Coco, and Strawben was dead. Rojo was next to her, so who could it be? The first image that popped into Jhonsons' heads was an old memory of Strawben... but why? It had to be a strange reason. Strawdina always liked to fantasy that Strawben was alive, and making his way back to find her, Daniel, and Ryan, to return to them. It wasn't that Strawdina didn't like Blacky, but she missed Strawben, and she wanted him back. "I Surrender!" the Mysterious Bird said, Everyone stared at him even more shocked. Puffy hid behind Chuck, Chuck hid behind Anne, and Anne hid behind Ryan. "What, you were going to attack us? You don't look like a bad guy," Tyler said, letting him go. But the bird disapeared without saying anything. "Who was that bird?" wondered Daniel. His mind went to the pictures of Strawben, and Daniel never knew why. "It can't be Strawben, Strawben is DEAD," Daniel said, not believing his own mind, "And even if Strawben were alive, how would we know?" It was a good point, though Daniel forgot something Strawdina was trying to find, the white belly feathers. Strawben was the only known Red Bird to have white belly feathers, it was the one thing that made him unique, and Strawdina was like the Black Widow in one way, she could make someone give her information without them even KNOWING.
==Chapter 14: Stawdina Goes Solo ==
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Strawdina- Er, I mean, the Black Widow Bird snuck out of her hideout- well, house- to track down the mysterious red bird. She figured that wherever the bird was fleeing, it was probably still on the run. She was right. The bird stopped for a second to catch his breath when he stepped on a snare trap. In a flash, he was caught in a net, hanging off a tree branch. Strawdina approached. "Help!" the bird cried. "Who are you?" asked Strawdina, untieing the net. Without answering, the bird bolted off, almost as fast as Ryan at top speed. Strawdina chased after him, but couldn't keep up. Suddenly, she felt a sudden burst of speed. She looked up, and Ryan was pulling her along while zooming towards the bird. Daniel an Tyler ran on either sides. Tyler threw his shield. Seeing the shield coming up behind him, the bird wasn't watching where he was going, and ran into a tree. The four Avengebirds crowded around. Daniel aimed an arrow at the bird's heart. "Now," said Tyler. "Tell us who you are." "I'M STRAWBEN, OKAY?!" the bird shouted. Everyone gasped. "Strawben?" said Strawdina. It was that moment when Strawben recognized his family. "STRAWDINA!" Strawben shouted in disbelief. Tyler helped Strawben up. Strawdina and Strawdina kissed for what seemed like almost 10 minutes. "Is that really you?" Strawdina asked. "Yes, dear," Strawben replied. Daniel, Ryan, and Tyler smiled.
==Chapter 15: Peace Is Restored==
The next day, the Avengebirds gathered around the meteorite. "What should we do about this?" Tyler asked. "I can blow it up," volunteered Blacky, now Daniel and Ryan's uncle. "Oh," said Daniel. "I have a better idea." He handed Ryan a TNT stick. A crazed grin spread across Ryan's face. "BLOWITUP!" Ryan shouted, hurling the TNT stick at the meteorite. When the smoke and dust cleared, everything had changed back to normal. The city had changed back to a village. The birds looked like their old selves, and the meteor was nothing but a small pile of ashes. Everyone cheered. That afternoon, a party was held in the village to celebrate the great victory, Strawben's return, and the conquest of Loki Bird. The cruise ship arrived at the dock with Muna, Autumn, and the chicks. "Aw, look at him!" Autumn said when she saw Hamm. "He's so cute!" Hamm sat at Autumn's feet and look up at her. "Uh-uh... up?" Hamm asked. Autumn picked Hamm up and held him. "Mama!" Hamm cooed, curling up in her arms. Ryan's house was now repaired, and he decided not to tell Autumn that it had ever been broken. But when Autumn hopped into the house, she screamed. Ryan ran over. Ray had hatched! Ryan picked up Ray and put a diaper on him. They decided to bring their two new family members to the party. Everyone thought Ray and Hamm were so cute, it gave them something else to celebrate. Ryan sat with Daniel and Tyler, watching the chicks (and Hamm) playing with each other. "We've accomplished a lot in the past week," said Daniel. "Worth writing a story about," added Tyler. "Not bad for three Avengebirds," said Ryan. "Agoo," said Hamm. "That too, Hammy," said Tyler, pretending to understand him. Everyone laughed.
Category:Stories