CHAPTER TEN : THE END
WHEN: Saturday, September 4th, 2004
WHERE: Valentine Residence. Middlebury, Vermont, USA.
It’s been ten months since the portal closed. Fortunately, every guest was able to make it out alive. Among the dead were the guards, Addy, and Klein, who were declared dead by the Russian authorities later that evening. Klein’s body was taken to be cremated while Addy’s was sent back to the U.S. for burial. The team and the civilians were helicoptered out of the scene and taken to a local hospital. Most of them were suffering hypothermia, frostbite, or other major injuries. Of the survivors, most of them were political authorities and world leaders. All of which gave their thanks to the Exemplar team. The Exemplars were hailed as heroes and were giving special awards to commemorate their valor and their loss.Â
By the time the team recovered from their injuries Vincent Brink returned to give a full report on the status of Bureau HQ. He informed Eve that there was only one survivor from the attack on Headquarters: a young Keller Monroe, who only survived due to the sacrifice of Benji. Shortly after Brink announced he would be retiring and Eve decided to follow suit; searching for a new life and new purpose beyond her capabilities as a mutant and spy.Â
A memorial was held for Addy, Benji, and Tango a few weeks after the portal was closed. Thousands of adoring fans new and old crowded around the newly constructed statues to celebrate the lives and heroic sacrifices of the Exemplar team members who were lost that night. Every government and every power from around the world recognized that the Exemplar team, who were once considered puppets, frauds, or fakes, were true saviors of planet Earth.Â
With headquarters burned to the ground and all of the bureau's former leaders no longer alive or active there was a space cleared for new authority. Beth Mitchell decided to take the place of Bureau director; stepping in for the late Moira Montclair. She began the process of rebuilding headquarters and dedicating the new buildings to the friends and teammates she lost. Laura was assigned to rehabilitate all of the creatures the bureau had previously kept in confinement and find ways to integrate them into new teams to protect the world. Keller Monroe was assigned new head of the science division and was given access to the portal remains to see if potential gateways to other dimensions could be beneficial to earth, instead of detrimental.Â
Damien Valentine went on to create his own private investigation agency and moved back to New York to assist the NYPD with their cases. Over the course of 10 months he managed to beat the record number of most solved cases that any New York detective had, all while serving on the PTA for his daughter's school.Â
Meanwhile, Eve took her gargantuan payout from the US government bought herself a ranch house and a persian cat. She settled down into retired life early, hoping to learn what it means to be human as she gardens, watches tv, goes to baseball games, and visits farmer’s markets. But she still comes back to the city to assist with disaster relief and world threats. Edie chose a similar route, and works as a freelance superhero on call for the bureau when a heavy hitter is needed. He also does other hero work like saving people from burning buildings when he can.Â
Will Rivkin decided to get his teaching credential and is currently a student teacher at his local high school. A lot of his students think it's pretty cool that the famous Captain Kick is helping them with their geometry homework. Similarly, Zia Dewan is back working at her dance studio, now being able to claim the title of dance teacher, America’s sweetheart, and savior of the world.Â
On this particular Saturday, the team gathers once again at Damien's parents house. This time for a much more enjoyable reason: they've made a habit of having brunch together every other weekend. They don't expect this day to be any different. It'll feature Beth’s terrible cooking and Cassie's incessant questions. They're all happy, mostly just happy to be together, but what they don't know is there someone else who wants to be with them.
THE OBJECTIVE: Meet at Damien’s for brunch.Â
IN CHARACTER TIMEFRAME: One day. Â