A YJA Moment - Underside

 The Apokalips Invasion wreaked untold havoc on the entire planet, but its effects were shared by every group, regardless of their wealth or station.  It even managed to make its way into the shadowy world of criminal enterprise, where the ethically-challenged sought shelter.  Yet the greatest threat to their existence came not from parademons, but from the badge.

S.H.I.E.L.D. took advantage of the vast powers given to them by the provisional world government, striking deep into the criminal underworld.  In New York City, this meant raids against Fisk Industries, one of the front organizations for the dreaded Intergang crime network.  Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime himself was summarily arrested and held for trial.

Subsequent operations targeted other power-players in the city.  Backed by heroes such as Daredevil, agents took down the regional leadership of The Hand, The Maggia, and HYDRA.  This left much of the organized crime groups greatly diminished within NYC. Without support, the remnants of these groups in the New York region were forced to work together mutual support and survival.

This interconnected web of support and assistance didn't sit well with the national and international leadership of these organizations.  There were rivalries and vendettas that were being forgiven or consciously being ignored by their underlings.  So representatives went to the Big Apple to correct this situation once and for all.  I didn't go the way they expected.

In the aftermath of the bloodshed that followed, ninjas Oroku Saki and Thomas Arashikage broke away from The Hand, forming The Foot and the Arashikage clans respectively.  HYDRA fractured when the Scientist Supreme and the military Commander severed their ties to form A.I.M and Cobra.  What remained of the Maggia crime families consolidated under the control of Parker 'The Hood' Robbins and Tobias Whale.

Drawn together further by their rebellion, the resulting alliance became known on the streets as The Underside.  Since that time they have managed to avoid renewed incursions by the Hand and Intergang, as well as keeping ahead of actions by the NYPD and S.H.I.E.L.D.

A YJA Moment - The Mind Stone (Redux)

 [Note:  I had plans for the Mind Stone that have already been posted to the Blog.  However, a sudden change in plans when actually running the game has altered the game chronology.]

It's been stated that most of the Infinity Stones have a certain level of intelligence and will, the remnant of the New Gods from which they were formed.  Few have the sentience and ability to manipulate that of the Mind Stone, an ability derived from the New Genesian known as K'zandar.

In the previous timeline, K'zandar was an elderly-appearing New God who served as Highfather's Oracle.  Most of the denizens of New Genesis knew her for her abilities of precognition but her abilities went well beyond simple divination.  She was one of the most powerful psychics in Known Space, rivaling the power of Phoenix-enhanced Jean Grey.

With the Mind Stone possessing its own self-direction and the ability to alter memories, much of its history remains untold.  Those that had studied the Infinity Stones could pinpoint possible locations where the Mind Stone hid, but any investigation proved fruitless as no one could remember the artifact being present.

It is therefore quite possible to theorize that the only reason Leo and his ThunderCats were able to secure the Mind Stone was that it wanted to be found;  that it saw a chance to be reunited with the other Stones for reasons that can only be guessed at.  When Leo then gathered the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer was given the Stone.

After the Enshrouded One was defeated the Surfer continued to keep the Stone with him, defending it from those seeking its power.  Though the Power Cosmic granted Noran Radd a great many powers, it did not shield him from the influences of the Mind Stone.  While it allowed the Surfer to shake off the mental conditioning inflicted by his master Galactus, it also began influencing him in other negative ways.

His cosmically-aware mind began to sense the influence of the Mind Stone had on his thoughts.  In order to keep from being further manipulated, he cast the Mind Stone onto the remote planet known as Jaycea IV.

There the Stone manipulated and bonded with the native fauna.  From the merger came a new entity named Sauboz, which gained the power to commune and control the world's biosphere.  Turning it into a weapon, he conquered his homeworld and murdered the entire population of Xandarian colonists that couldn't escape the carnage.  The entire planet became a singular biome Sauboz in complete control.

And so it was until the Mythic Avengers arrived on Jaycea, looking for the Mind Stone.  Doing battle with Sauboz, they assaulted his "Planet-Based Cathedral" and tore the gem from his cranium.  This had the unfortunate effect of creating an ecological collapse with xenobiologists from the Nova Empire only now attempting to ascertain the damage and develop a reconstruction plan.

The Mind Stone now resides in Doctor Strange's vault, along with the rest of the Stones.