Collider

***Collider*** is a comic book series in *Magical Girl Policy*. It is a popular superhero series named for its starring heroine. Collider is Rob's favorite superhero, and the series is the only comic he collects.

## Description

*Collider* is a superhero series, with the titular Collider as its protagonist. It is published monthly and exists in a multiverse shared with other superhero books. Collider is a woman with deep red hair that is pushed behind her right ear and partially covers her left eye, though artists often accidentally mirror it. Like many superheroes, Collider protects her true identity behind her alias, and likes to deliver witty banter to her foes. One villain is the Merchant, Roger Urbane, a kingpin of an extraplanetary black market that, despite lacking superpowers, can handle those who do using his intellect and the resources of his vast fortune. Another is Virtually, who can trap others in a virtual reality. Other characters include Knightmare and Portent, who each have their own series and were romantically involved with Collider at one point.

## History

### Background

Robert has loved superhero stories since childhood, though *Collider* is the only one he actively collects. Because Deepwater has no comic store of its own, Rob had to go to the nearby big city of Bremhaven whenever he wanted to pick up the latest issue from Ben's Comic Book Shop.

Among the series' storylines are the times when Collider was romantically involved with other superheroes with series of their own: Portent and Knightmare. The story with Portent occurred nearly a decade ago, while the Knightmare one was more recent and the one Rob preferred.

### Week 1

When Robert, Cory, and Eli create a plan to secretly record Rob's meeting with the Spirit Guard at the Standridge Hill Stone Circle, Rob gets nervous at doing so despite being the one to suggest it. He considers acting against the heroes' condition that he meet them alone to be reckless, as his only example of someone successfully defying superhumans is the Merchant, who is extraordinarily better equipped to do so than Rob and friends. When the Spirit Guard ask Rob to join them in their fight against Platicore, Rob is hesitant to accept because he knows from his comics the burdens of being a superhero and the toll it can take on one's way of life.

That Saturday, Robert goes with Cory and Eli to Rale Valley Mall so he may see if the Dungeon Direct comic book store carries the latest issue of *Collider*. After sorting through the messy comic selection, including *Knightmare* and *Portent*, Rob finds *Collider* #187. He buys it, and the employee Devon offers to reserve future *Collider* issues for Rob, but Rob leaves when he notices Angela and Mallory searching for something outside and approaches them. The girls are trying to find the source of a strange empathokinetic humming they and Rob can sense appearing about the mall, with Mal telling Rob to take Cory and Eli and leave so the two boys don't put themselves at risk trying to help in case the humming signifies a monster. Rob does as he's told, but Day LaMode appears and gives chase before they can exit. Rob drops his new comic during the commotion, but is too preoccupied with LaMode and then his Spirit Guard transformation to notice. When Rob, as Spirit Guard Serenity, battles LaMode, she sarcastically banters with her opponent in a manner likened to Collider.

That evening, the renamed Robynne is moved into Vivian, Kara, and Noriko's dorm. Rob's conversation with Vivian is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Noriko, who had just finished her Hush Corps work. After apologizing to Rob for misjudging her earlier, Noriko reveals that she retrieved Rob's lost *Collider* issue while scrubbing the mall of evidence. The comic is damaged due to being stepped on by fleeing civilians and getting crammed into Noriko's bag, but Rob is moved by the gesture and treasures the book, likening it to the battered yet intact identity her transformation has left her. Noriko kicks Vivian out of the room so the roommates can finally rest, and Rob spends the night reading *Collider* #187: Collider is set to escape from Virtually's simulation after being trapped there for seven issues.

### Weeks 2-4

When Robynne is redesigning her *Aspect Realms* avatar into an Accord race so she may join the Knights of the Spherical Table guild, she models the newly named Waveform's hair color and style after Collider's, though it is horizontally flipped compared to Collider's usual appearance.

## Trivia

* Collider's hair being red and always covering one of her eyes is a trait coincidentally shared with Spirit Guard Serenity and the Shrine Maiden.