June 24th, 2021

After discussing their next course of action in the Spirit World, the Contenders decided that they needed to return to Earth and attempt to render whatever aid they could. After Hardback concocted an anti-radiation protection for the team, they jumped once more between dimensions and returned to the Arctic Circle.

What they found was total devastation. The self-destructing robots had unleashed a series of nuclear explosions, which left a massive cloud of radioactive fallout hovering over the former battlefield. The team made their way quickly to Alert, where they found the Northern Guard evacuating the scientists and support personnel. Qilak let the Contenders know that they had lost all communications with the rest of the Canadian military, including the *HMCS Winnipeg*, which was directly in the path of the fallout just scant miles away from the epicenter. Since the Guard had the situation in Alert under control, the Contenders flew east (assisted by a mystical wind conjured by Qilak) to find the vessel.

The *Winnipeg* was in dire shape. With most of its crew incapacitated by radiation, the destroyer had drifted into the remaining ice shelf and started to capsize. Cameo, using his density increasing powers, grabbed an anchor chain and pulled the ship in the opposite direction of its roll, helping to right it. Meanwhile Hardback began siphoning radiation from the sailors, healing them with Ghost Dance's assistance. With quick thinking, the *Winnipeg* was saved, but unfortunately not all of its crew survived: ten sailors were dead, either killed outright by radiation or drowned in the frigid Arctic waters.

The Contenders knew that this event, though not explicitly their fault, would not be viewed kindly by the authorities. It was a genuine environmental disaster, not to mention a tragic loss of life, and the Contenders had been specifically ordered by UNTIL not to intervene with Gzad. Deciding to lay low, the group returned to Chicago to await further developments. Hardback made a preemptive call to Phil Moray to give him a heads-up about the team's impending troubles.

As the world learned of the terrible events that had unfolded, it only took a few hours for those troubles to manifest in full force. In a special 3 AM session, Canada's chief diplomat demanded that UNTIL explain the uninvited presence of the Contenders in the middle of a Canadian military operation. The UNTIL council confirmed that the Contenders had been operating totally outside UNTIL's purview, and had in fact contravened orders to stay away. In order to save face and with little other choice, the council voted unanimously to 'burn' the Contenders. As a result, they have been explicitly excluded from the UNTIL charter and branded as rogue agents, leaving them with no lawful authority to use their powers to fight crime in any UNTIL-member state. Further, PRIMUS had issued a statement that the Contenders were wanted for questioning, and had contacted Phil Moray to have him ask his clients to turn themselves in.

Phil being Phil, he instead sent a great deal of Hardback's money into untouchable overseas accounts, legally signed Gilded Scarab Industries over to Hardback's cousin Leonard, and rented them a suite at the Temeraire Club in Amsterdam. Taking Phil's advice, the team left the United States via private jet and landed safely at a private airfield in the Netherlands.

Upon their arrival, the team was met by Bron Jaenling, the assistant administrator of the Club's extremely active and prestigious Amsterdam branch. Treating the team as honored VIPs, he took them to the palatial Clubhouse, a mighty skyscraper with every floor dedicated to the pleasure and comfort of the world's supervillains. After such a harrowing night, the team eagerly went to their massive beds and drifted off to some desperately needed sleep. Ghost Dance, taking Bron up on his offer of providing "anything they desired," asked for a message to be sent to Qilak, whom he hoped to solicit for magical training.

The next day, the team kept a low profile while events continued to unfold on the international stage. For lack of any immediate occupation, the team went to the lush forests of the nearby mountains to practice their teamwork and combat drills. Their maneuvers were interrupted by, however, by the sudden appearance of Gzad, who had located them with the help of his Goddess' strange powers. Wearing stolen clothes and seemingly unhurt by the nuclear explosion he'd caused, Gzad announced that he had come to apologize to the Contenders for the way things had spiraled out of control during their battle. He mentioned that normally, he wouldn't have let the intervention of the Northern Guard in their duel bother him, but the spectral presence of the Goddess had infected him with some of her honorable fervor. Although he apologized for the inconvenience the Contenders had suffered as a result of the fight, Ghost Dance was having none of it. Furious over the loss of life and alarmed that such a thing could happen again, he cursed at Gzad and ordered him to leave the planet. Offended, Gzad did exactly that, flying up into the night sky.

Upon reflection, the team decided that Ghost Dance had done the right thing and agreed that Gzad was too dangerous to have on Earth, let alone associate with. After returning to the Clubhouse, Ghost Dance was pleased to see that Qilak had received his message. She appeared to him in an enormous mirror in his suite, and mentioned that she had spoken to Hatsu regarding him. The spirit had confirmed that, like Qilak herself, Ghost Dance was a burgeoning wizard who had chosen the path of learning through hard work. Indebted to him for the lives saved on the *Winnipeg*, Qilak agreed to give him lessons, and immediately began transcribing her spells on the mirror as Ghost Dance took thorough notes.

## Table Talk

"Give me just a minute to get a bug to spit on us."

"Why is this my life...?"

*- Hardback and Cameo*

"Where are the snowmobiles? All I see are little grim reapers everywhere."

*- Eric has trouble with the graphics on a tiny map*

"Somebody thank me? I have a lot of apples? *Hellooooooo."*

*- Ghost Dance demands his due*

"I just like tubed meat in general I'm coming to realize."

"Supervillains can be normal people. Actually, I'm going to withdraw that."