It was ten minutes past twelve on a cold October night. The Board, home city of the PPC, was wrapped in sleep, ignorant of the unfathomable horror that was, even now, poising itself to strike from the town's very heart.

By the cast-iron gate to the city's abandoned warehouse district, a solitary girl was leaning against the wall, wrapped in a raincoat that was two sizes too big for her. Around her, all was silent and dark. Behind her, in one of those buildings, something unspeakable was taking place. One of those buildings, so her contacts had told her, was at this very moment the scene of a gathering of all the worst Sues and Stus that badfic had ever produced.

They were all there. laura. Enoby Way. Marissa. Clbr**n. And the guest of honer... was Lieutenant Mary Sue herself. God knew what they were planning, but it could not be good.

The girl shuddered and drew her coat more tightly around her. She looked at her van parked nearby, filled to bursting with first-class C4 explosives and detonators. Next to it was a literally enormous coil of wire for connecting the charges, generously supplied by Sedri. The girl smiled as she considered the kind of damage that could do. It was a shame Sedri hadn't been able to stay. She'd said something about having to eradicate the evil gummi bears that had taken over her basement. "But," she'd added, "I might be able to make it later tonight. Not sure, though."

SttQ adjusted her sunglasses (a little incongruous at night, it was true, but one had to have some standards), and waited for the Boarders to come. She and Sedri had contacted everyone they could to alert them of the situation. SttQ could only hope that enough of them would come to help her carry out the operation.