January 1: J Edgar Hoover

J Edgar Hoover, American law-enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was born on this date in 1895. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. His parents didn’t register his birth. He didn’t get a birth certificate until after his mother died in 1938, by which time he was 43.

2. He had a stutter as a child but overcame it so that by the time he was in high school, he was a member of the debating society.

3. The J stands for John, but his mother always called him by his middle name, Edgar.

4. He was a Freemason. Hoover joined the Freemasons as a member of Federal Lodge 1 in Washington DC and worked his way up to the 33rd degree, the highest rank, by 1955.

5. One of the things he’s famous for is putting together a team to hunt down famous gangsters like John Dillinger, Al Capone, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and "Machine Gun" Kelly. These men became known as "G-Men." The G-Men were quite successful in this endeavour and so they, and Hoover, were seen as heroes by the public.

6. He was, however, misogynist and racist. Although it could be argued that his debating society stance against votes for women might have been a topic assigned to him rather than his actual views, when he took over as head of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924, he fired all the women agents, just two years after the Bureau got its first woman special agent, Alaska Davidson. It was 1972 before women were allowed to be FBI agents again, after Hoover had died. He tried to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and prevent his birthday from becoming a national holiday. He was reportedly furious when MLK was given the Nobel Peace Prize.

7. He did like Dogs, though. Since childhood, he always had a dog, including one named “G-Boy.” He sometimes gave dogs as presents to presidents like President Herbert Hoover (no relation) and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

8. He spied on a lot of people. He had people’s telephones tapped and relatives followed. Anyone, basically, who might be a communist or an activist. This meant he had a lot of dirt on a lot of people. Politicians, Supreme Court judges and even presidents (the latter possibly as an insurance policy against getting fired: Richard Nixon once expressed the opinion that Hoover might “bring down the temple” if he were sacked); and also celebrities and film stars, including John Lennon, Norman Mailer, Charlie Chaplin, and comedy duo Abbott and Costello. It’s also said that he had the world’s biggest collection of porn as he had an “Obscene File” full of compromising photos of famous people, although this was most likely blackmail material rather than something he got turned on by.

9. He never married and so there were rumours that he was gay and the love of his life was his assistant Clyde Tolson. Hoover reportedly hunted down and threatened anyone who made insinuations about his sexuality. That said, his name was linked romantically with actress Dorothy Lamour (who never denied the rumours) and Lela Rogers, mother of Ginger, who mutual friends thought might end in wedding bells.

10. He was awarded an honorary knighthood by King George VI of the United Kingdom.

31 December: Bonnie Prince Charlie

Bonnie Prince Charlie was born on this date in 1720. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. His full name was Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (Charles for his great-grandfather, Edward after Edward the Confessor, Louis for the King of France, Casimir after the kings of Poland, and Sylvester as he was born on Saint Sylvester's Day. The Maria is presumably for his mother, Maria Clementina Sobieska, the granddaughter of John III Sobieski, famous for the victory over the Ottoman Turks in the 1683 Battle of Vienna.

2. His grandfather was James VII of Scotland and II of England, an unpopular king who was in exile. His father was also called James, and believed he should be King of England as James III and was known as “The Old Pretender”. Hence his son, Bonnie Prince Charlie, became known as “The Young Pretender”.

3. He was born in in the Palazzo del Re, in Rome, which is where the exiled Stuarts had established their court.

4. During his life he spent just 14 months on British soil, in 1745-6, and there was also a brief clandestine visit in 1750.

5. Was he really “Bonnie”? As a child, he had weak legs, possibly due to rickets, but a regime of exercise and dancing fixed that. Portraits of him as a young man do portray a dashing, handsome fellow, but paintings did tend to be flattering. “Charles was portrayed as a young, fair and feminine figure because Jacobite ideology wanted to show him as the renewer of Scotland: an image of youth, fertility, fecundity,” says Murray Pittock, a historian and professor at the University of Glasgow. When he entered Edinburgh in 1745, it’s said he was tall and handsome and women loved him. He was also fluent in several languages (despite having been born and brought up abroad, he reportedly spoke English without any trace of a European accent), musical and athletic.

6. He didn’t age well, though. While his death mask shows he had symmetrical features, which means he was naturally attractive, the failure of his various campaigns to take the British throne left him bitter and disappointed, which, along with the fact he was an alcoholic, took their toll. He’s also known to have been abusive to his wives and lovers.

7. He’s best known for the Jacobite uprising and his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Bonnie Prince Charlie fled for his life with a price of £30,000 on his head. A few thousand of his supporters tried to continue the fight but a lack of supplies and poor leadership from Bonnie Prince Charlie meant their attempts never amounted to anything. The final nail in the coffin for the Jacobites was the peace reached between Great Britain and France in 1748, with one of the terms being that Charles was to be removed from French territory.

8. The Skye Boat Song is about him. It tells of the time that he dressed as an Irish maid called Betty Burke and sailed with Flora MacDonald and five boatmen to the Isle of Skye, across the treacherous waters of the Minch, under cover of night, to escape capture by Hanoverian troops.

9. In 1753, Bonnie Prince Charlie had an illegitimate daughter by his mistress Clementina Walkinshaw. She was called Charlotte Stuart, and although Charles initially refused to acknowledge her after her mother took her away from him when their relationship soured, he did eventually legitimise her in 1784. She had children, too, and there are direct descendants of Bonnie Prince Charlie around today.

10. He died of a stroke in Rome on 31 January 1788, aged 67.

Character birthday

Bluebird, a member of the Raiders, a singer who moved to Bird Island to escape the stresses of life in Innovia. She disliked technology and on arrival there threw her tablet phone away, so did not receive any of the messages warning Innovians to leave before the nuclear test. The test opened a wormhole and Bluebird was pulled through. A few days later, she grew wings and gained the ability to fly. Not long after, she met a group of fellow Infinitans and joined them. She and three of the others formed a singing group which was moderately successful and helped earn money for the group. On return to Innovia, the group became a massive success performing songs from Earth. Bluebird is in a relationship with Wolf, one of the other Raiders.

Over the Rainbow

'We're not in Trinity anymore,' says Leonard Marx, quoting a line from an old Innovian  movie. The moon is different; the planes flying overhead are different. Nobody has any idea where they are or if it's possible to get home. 

In this strange new world, people from the highly technical Innovia and the less advanced Classica must co-operate in order to survive. In addition, travel through the inter-dimensional wormhole has given some people unusual and unexpected powers.

Innovia mourns the loss of its superhero, Power Blaster, last seen carrying a nuclear bomb to the upper atmosphere away from the inhabited Bird Island. They don't believe he could possibly have survived.  Power Blaster has survived, but is close to death and stranded in the new dimension. He is nursed back to health by a Classican woman, Elena. She has no idea who he is, only that she is falling in love with the handsome stranger.  

Shanna sets out to discover what happened to Nathan Tate, who didn't return from his hiking holiday, not knowing her life is about to be turned inside out and upside down. 

Meanwhile, Desi Troyes, the man responsible for the catastrophe, is at large on the new world, plotting how he can transfer his plans for world domination to the planet he now finds himself on - Earth. 

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Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears that there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know that she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

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30 December: 364

Today is the 364^th day of the year. Here are ten fun facts about the number 364:

1. The number of gifts sent in total in the song Twelve Days of Christmas is 364.

2. The A364 was a road between Yarnbrook and Chippenham. It’s now part of the A350.

3. 364 Van Duzer Street is a historic home located in the Stapleton neighbourhood of Staten Island in New York City. The house was built in 1835 by Robert M. Hazard, captain of the Nautilus, a ferryboat owned by Daniel Tompkins, as well as postmaster of Tompkinsville.

4. The Roman numeral for 364 is CCCLXIV.

5. Type 364 radar was developed by the Yangzhou Marine Electronic Instruments Research Institute and is offered for sale through the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.

6. The year 364 was a leap year starting on Thursday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Varronianus. In this year, Greek mathematician Theon of Alexandria observed a Solar Eclipse in June and a lunar eclipse in November. It was also the year that the Roman emperor Jovian died.

7. Area code 364 is a telephone area code for the Commonwealth of Kentucky's western and south central counties.

8. 364 Isara is a stony Asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 27 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois at the Nice Observatory. The asteroid was named after the Isère River in France.

9. London Bus route 364 runs from Hainault Street. Ilford to Ballards Road, Dagenham.

10. According to the Urban Dictionary, 364 is the number of licks it takes to reach the centre of a tootsiepop.

Character birthday

Indrus, a 19^th century Native American who was caught up in wormhole travel experiments by the Constellations. Indrus, whose real name is Storm Clouds Gathering, and a man from an enemy tribe he was fighting, Thundercloud, were sucked through a wormhole from 19th century Earth to an asteroid. They were quickly rescued and transported to Constellation Station. Indrus, although bewildered by technology at first, elected to stay while Thundercloud demanded to be sent back to Earth.

29 December: Quotes about snowflakes

Perhaps we didn’t have a White Christmas, but here are ten quotes about Snowflakes:

1. Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. Vesta M. Kelly

2. Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake. Sara Raasch

3. Snowflakes are kisses from heaven. Unknown

4. To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold. Aristotle

5. The snowflake never needs to feel responsible for the avalanche. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec.

6. A flame may love a snowflake, but they can never be together without each harming the other. Chris Colfer.

7. Good friends are like snowflakes—all different and all beautiful. Unknown.

8. Whenever a snowflake leaves the sky, It turns and turns to say 'Good-by! Good-by, dear clouds, so cool and grey!' Then lightly travels on its way. Mary Mapes Dodge.

9. A snowflake is winter's butterfly. Unknown

10. They say that there can never be two snowflakes that are exactly alike, but has anyone checked lately? Terry Pratchett.

Character birthday

Olympia, a former Olympic athlete turned Superhero.

28 December: Wolverine

As today is Stan Lee’s birthday, I’m featuring ten facts about the iconic Marvel character, Wolverine. OK, so Stan Lee didn’t create him, it was a chap called Len Wein, but Stan had a lot to do with the development of The X-Men, of which Wolverine is a member.

1. Wolverine’s real name is James Howlett. He was born in the late 19^th century in northern Alberta, Canada, the son, officially, of farm owners John and Elizabeth Howlett, though he is in fact the result of an affair between Elizabeth and groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Thomas was fired when his other son, Dog, was accused of attempted rape and he killed John Howlett. James killed Logan, and later started using his name.

2. It was quite a while, though, before this origin story was established. Wolverine’s origins were left vague for quite some time. There were rumours that he was the son of his enemy, Sabretooth, or that he wasn’t human but a wolverine mutated to a human form.

3. Wolverine’s powers include Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, and senses, a healing factor, which heals injuries and illness and a slowed rate of ageing resulting in a superhumanly extended lifespan. His healing factor means no injury short of beheading will actually kill him, and he can’t get drunk because the healing factor neutralises the effects of alcohol. He also has an enhanced sense of smell and can recognise people and objects by scent alone. This, combined with his combat and stealth training, makes him one of the world’s foremost trackers. However, he can be drowned, and would be easy to drown because his adamantium skeleton is heavy and so he’d sink like a stone. Also, the healing factor doesn’t work underwater. He can also be floored by a Vulcan neck pinch, as was revealed in a 1996 Star Trek/X-Men crossover. When Spock calmly requests that the X-Men follow him to Security, Wolverine flies into a rage and hurls himself at Spock, who successfully deploys the neck pinch.

4. The claws are part of his mutation rather than something added when he was turned into a weapon by the military. They were originally enhanced bone, and were coated with adamantium later.

5. Because he’s been around such a long time, he’s had plenty of time to learn a whole lot of skills, including martial arts and other systems of combat, and languages: he's completely fluent in English, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Lakota, and Spanish. He also knows some Thai and Vietnamese.

6. He first appeared in an Incredible Hulk comic in 1974, in which he was a villain. When Hulk crosses the Canadian border, the Royal Canadian Air Force decides that it's time to mobilize "Weapon X" to deal with him.

7. He was created, in fact, to cash in on a growing interest in comic books in Canada at the time. Marvel's Editor-in-Chief at the time, Roy Thomas, suggested to Len Wein that it was time for a Canadian superhero. The Badger was one of the two suggested names for the character, but they went with Wolverine.

8. He was first recruited to the X-Men in 1975, although he’s worked with several other Marvel teams as well, including The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight. Wolverine was almost dropped from the X-Men by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, but when Cockrum was replaced by John Byrne, who happened to be Canadian, he insisted that the Canadian character must stay.

9. At 5'3", Wolverine is one of the shortest characters in the Marvel Universe. Hugh Jackman, who plays him in the films, is taller than that, as is Russell Crowe, who was the first choice to play him. Crowe, however, refused to play the part unless Wolverine was bald, which turned out to be a deal breaker. The second choice was Dougray Scott, but scheduling conflicts forced him to leave three weeks into filming, meaning that Jackman was actually a last minute casting. In James Cameron's X-Men movie that ultimately never happened, Bob Hoskins was going to play Wolverine, and it’s been said that he has the closest resemblance to the character as he appears in the comics than any of the others.

10. Wolverine is known for his loner tendencies and anger management issues. He’s learned ways to help him cope with his temper though: he practices zazen sitting meditation.

Character birthday

Agnes Greenwood, mother of Seraphina (Fyre). Agnes has no powers. At school, she was an awkward teen who embraced Goth culture, and had a hopeless crush on classmate Jason Warner (Firefox). On leaving school she worked as a journalist, often interviewing superheroes such as Firebolt, with whom she had a brief affair. This proximity to the Freedom League brought her back in contact with Jason and now, he noticed her and they became an item. However, the revelation that Superwil was not his biological father led Jason to leave his family and friends to explore his new identity. Hence when Agnes discovered she was pregnant with Seraphina, she had no idea how to contact Jason. She brought her daughter up alone for six years although a villain known as Incendio tried to infiltrate her life to gain access to Serapina and recruit her to the Power League. The Freedom League became involved on hearing that a child was being coached to set fire to things using a power and they diverted her from Incendio. Agnes then met Jason again and they reunited. Agnes and Jason had two more children, twin boys, one of which was a variant and the other was not.

Fire in her Blood

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

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27 December: 361

Today is the 361^st day of the year. 10 fun facts about the number 361:

1. 361 Degrees International Limited (361°) is a sportswear brand based in China. It denotes the 360 degrees in a circle plus one extra degree, representing professional functionality plus an added degree of innovation and creativity.

2. 361 Bononia is a very large Asteroid located in the outermost region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 11 March 1893, in Nice.

3. There are 361 positions on a standard 19 x 19 Go board.

4. The Wurfkörper 361 was a grenade that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The Wurfkörper 361 was designed to be fired from a Leuchtpistole or flare gun in English.

5. The year 361 was a common year starting on Monday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Taurus and Florentius. In this year, Emperor Constantius II died of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia, age 44. On his deathbed he declared his cousin Julian the Apostate as his rightful successor.

6. Cast Iron House (361 Broadway) is a historic building at the corner of Franklin Street and Broadway in Manhattan, New York City. Formerly known as the James White Building, it was built in 1881–82. The building housed the offices of Scientific American from 1884 to 1915, but it was primarily used in connection with the textile trade.

7. The Beneteau 361 is an American sailboat, designed by Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design of La Rochelle, France and first built in 1999.

8. The A361 is the longest three-digit A road in the UK at 195 miles (314 km). The road starts in Ilfracombe as part of the town's High Street, and ends in Kilsby, Northamptonshire.

9. 361 is a defunct London bus route which until 1992 ran between Crystal Palace and Bromley.

10. In numerology, 361 means 'original' and 'rebellious', and resonates with 'courage' and 'individualism'.

Character birthday

Ice Queen, a professional criminal and former Olympic athlete also known as Miranda Snow. As a competitor in the Winter Olympics, Miranda Snow was dubbed "The Ice Queen" by the media because she never smiled and her manner was cool and emotionless.

She was approached by Dr Chaos who wanted an expert skier to test a pair of rocket powered skis he had invented, in order to execute an evil plan involving crossing a mountain range. The skis were not a success, but Snow offered to carry out the mission using her powers, for the appropriate fee.

The arrangement became permanent after she started a passionate affair with her colleague on the mission, Zenith.

She can freeze water up to the size of a small lake and can use the moisture in the air. In a fight, she damages her opponent by freezing their blood and moisture in their skin, causing frostbite.

26 December: Bubble and Squeak Day

Today is Bubble and squeak day. 10 things you might not know about this dish:

1. First of all, what is it? In modern times, it’s a British dish made from cooked Potatoes and Cabbage, mixed together and fried, although any left over veg from a roast dinner could be added to the mix. In Australia, Pumpkin is a common addition.

2. The name comes from the sounds made by the ingredients as they cook, with the cabbage being the noisiest. Cabbage is approximately 92% Water and this is released as the cabbage cooks, causing it to bubble and sputter. In Scotland, they have their own name for this dish: 'rumbledethumps'.

3. The dish has been known since at least the 18th century, although back then it was rather different, with beef, rather than potatoes as a principle ingredient. William Kitchiner, in his book Apicius Redivivus, or The Cook's Oracle, adds a couplet at the top of his recipe: “When 'midst the frying Pan in accents savage, The Beef, so surly, quarrels with the Cabbage.”

4. The first recorded use of the name listed in the OED dates from 1762. The St James's Chronicle, recording the dishes served at a banquet, included "Bubble and Squeak, garnish'd with Eddowes Cow Bumbo, and Tongue".

5. So, if by the mid 20^th century, this dish was potatoes and cabbage, what happened to the beef? Probably this change occurred during the second world war when beef was rationed and potatoes were added instead.

6. In 1791, according to the newspapers of the time, there was a Bubble and Squeak Society at Smithfield which met quarterly.

7. Clarissa Dickson Wright recommends using dripping or lard to fry your bubble and squeak, rather than vegetable oil, because it will brown better.

8. In cockney rhyming slang the phrase was used for "beak" (magistrate) and more recently "Bubble" has been used for "Greek".

9. The OED gives a secondary definition of "bubble and squeak": Something resembling or suggestive of bubble and squeak, especially in consisting of a variety of elements".

10. Pairs of characters in cartoons sometimes get called Bubble and Squeak. A 1946 British cartoon featured a taxi driver called Bubble who drove a taxi called Squeek; and Bubble and Squeak is an Amiga game in which a human boy called Bubble helps an alien feline called Squeak rescue the inhabitants of the planet Grool from Kat of Nine Tails.

Character birthday

Douglas Black, a teacher and member of the covert Viper organisation. His function is to groom boys from Viper families while they are at school and ready them to join the organisation once they are at university. He appears in Killing Me Softly.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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25 December: 359

Christmas Day is the 359^th day of the year in a non-leap year. It’s also the largest prime ordinal day of the year. 10 fun facts about this number:

1. According to the author Douglas Adams, 359 is the funniest three-digit number.

2. Wolf 359 is a red dwarf star located in the constellation Leo. It can only be seen with a large telescope. Wolf 359 is one of the nearest stars to the Sun; only the Alpha Centauri system are known to be closer. Its proximity to Earth has led to its mention in several works of fiction, including Star Trek. The Battle of Wolf 359 was the Federation's first major battle against a group of cyborgs.

3. The orbit height for Sputnik 1 was 359 miles.

4. +359 is the county dialling code for Bulgaria.

5. Galileo was pardoned 359 years after his imprisonment for heresy by Pope John Paul II.

6. 359 is an independent music label set up by Creation Records' Alan McGee in 2013 as a joint venture with Cherry Red Records.

7. It’s a prime number, and since the reversal of its digits gives 953, which is also prime, it is also an emirp.

8. 359 Georgia is a main belt asteroid discovered by Auguste Charlois in 1893 in Nice. It was named at a meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1902 held at the Georg August University of Göttingen. It was named after the University's founder King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover.

9. The A359 is a road in England which runs between Yeovil and Nunney in Somerset.

10. The numerology energy represented by the number 359 resonates with creativity and efficiency. The energy is optimistic and pragmatic.

Character birthday

Blaze, aka Jill Warner, the eldest daughter of Superwil and Electric Blue. She inherited a mix of her parents’ powers including flight, electric zap attacks and an affinity for medicine. She is a qualified doctor. At school, she met Prince Christopher of Galorvia, and although the two disliked one another at first, by the time they left school had fallen in love. After numerous setbacks and misunderstandings, they eventually married, making Jill a future Queen of Galorvia.

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

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A Tale of Two Sisters

During a battle with supervillains, a horrific accident leaves the Warner family with no option but to believe their youngest daughter, Jessica, is dead. It doesn't occur to them that the bad guys could, or would, save her.

Jessica wakes up with no memory of who she is or how she came to be on a space station with two bionic legs, a bionic arm and a bionic eye. She is told her family abandoned her and is sent back to Earth with a mission - to kill them. While Jessica wants to kill her family, along with the twin boys who once rejected her, she knows what the Alliance of Supervillains are asking her to do is a suicide mission. She decides to get her revenge in her own way.

As Jessica puts the first part of her revenge plan in motion, she finds herself with an agonising decision to make. Before she can decide, the Alliance come for her, determined to make her do their bidding. This time, it's the Alliance who leave her, crippled and at the mercy of the Warner family, who have no idea who the Alliance's Black Rose really is.

Jessica finds herself having to re-think her decisions in light of what she now learns about her family, the Alliance, the twins, and herself. It would appear the Alliance have left her with an unwanted and permanent reminder of her time with them. Or have they?

Jessica's older sister, Jill, knows her destiny is to be a doctor and specialise in bionics and genetic variant medicine. She is also hopelessly in love with Christopher, Crown Prince of Galorvia. Can their romance survive the lies Christopher told her when they were both at school, an unplanned pregnancy and Sophie, the wannabe princess who comes between them?

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