Doors

[Monday evening, there's an impressive display above muggle London Bridge.

Three mostly-dead muggles in their early twenties are suspended high above the bridge for a full three minutes, with a firework display lighting up the night above them. The trio is in their early twenties, and there are two males (one with dark hair, one with red hair), and one girl with bushy brown hair. Emergency services come, only to find they cannot get the suspended trio down.

Once the three minutes pass, the three muggles fall onto the bridge, where traffic has been halted. The trio falls on stopped cars, as the Dark Mark appears in the sky above them. They are rushed to the nearest hospital, where they repeat one phrase over and over, despite the broken state of their bodies: "Victory to the Dark Lord!"]

[A side column appears in Friday’s paper announcing a transfer of ownership of the Aria Hotel & Casino. Kenneth and Mariah Murphy of London, England, are proclaimed as the new owners of the complex. They assured the current employees and patrons of the hotel and casino that things would not change and business would continue as normal. When asked what prompted them to purchase a property so far away from their home, the couple stated that they were simply looking out for the continued prosperity of their family.]

[Early Tuesday, the tabloids run a scandalous little story about Norman Osborn having fled the country. Rumors range from suggestions of a runaway wedding, to a terminal illness, and New York is abuzz with speculation, citing everything from his recent, odd adoption of a little girl, to Oscorp's failure to produce anything innovative in the first three quarters of the year. By evening, a press conference is held outside Oscorp, in which Harry Osborn assures stockholders that his father is abroad, spearheading a new project, and that he (Harry) will be overseeing Oscorp during this time. The conference continues with strong financial statements from the company treasurer, and a rousing speech about the future of Oscorp, which is made by the head of PR. This, of course, doesn't silence rumors, but there's nothing to disprove the official statement. Still, the tabloids continue printing their speculations, and the appearances of Harry Osborn on their covers increase immediately, including whispers about his personal life and pictures that showcase his "friends," and question his prominent engagement.]

[Late Monday night, the news is flooded with reports of the Las Vegas Police Department responding to a riot at an abandoned warehouse in the industrial section of Las Vegas. Several ambulances are called to the scene to take a number of injured people to local hospitals. Initial reports talk about an underground fight club that had been operating within the city for some time. Eye-witness reports say that a fight broke out between two members of the club and soon escalated into a full-blown riot in the warehouse where the evening’s fights were being held.

Social media outlets are swarming with pictures and video of the fight and ensuing riot. People talk about how wild and vicious it was, and the pictures certainly support those words. No names are listed, but faces are clearly visible in the pictures with no effort made to obscure them. One video in particular, lasting about 30 seconds, shows a young man being beaten, the crowd divided between cheering and yelling at them to stop. ‘He’s not moving!’ can be heard being screamed by one onlooker, shortly before the video pans in to a shot of the man laying prone on the ground just before the video cuts out.

No names or further details are being released to the public, pending a full investigation.]

[Wednesday morning hails the opening of New Arkham Asylum. The Arkham family's mansion set on a small island outside of Gotham was refitted for the purposes of an asylum over the past five months with all the high tech equipment needed to keep in the criminally insane. The facility looks clean, new and is separated into different wings. The more dangerous criminals are to never leave their cells and are placed under high security, while a patient who is less likely to eat another man's face is allowed to use the common room, the garden and other therapeutic amenities.

The new warden is Doctor Joan Leland, former warden of Arkham City. She holds a press conference explaining the importance of mental health and states she wants her patients to be treated with dignity and care. Edward Nigma and Jonathan Crane are the first to be transferred and Leland states that she has high hopes for both men.

Arkham City's name is changed to Blackgate City and remains open.]

[Monday night, a gang riot begins in Arkham City.

The riot is no small thing, and it comes complete with explosions and maximum firepower. TYGER guards are immediately dispatched to the scene, only to learn that they are outgunned by Edward Nigma's impressively armed prison gang. Multiple prisoners try to escape during the chaos. The first three are gunned down before they manage to get beyond the wall, and two more are dragged back into the prison with severe injuries.

When Nigma's fellow JLA-inmates make a run for it, TYGER guards pursue. Harley Quinn and Red Hood are followed into the tunnels below the prison. Only one injured guard returns, after making his way back to the surface once the pair is lost in Wonder City, and he indicates that he believes both Quinn and Hood are injured and hiding somewhere within the underground city. Catwoman, who attempts to escape after Quinn and Hood enter the underground tunnels, is shot down during her attempt. She is detained and taken to the medical unit for treatment, where medical staff is later found trussed up, and where medical unit guards report severe injuries. Catwoman is nowhere to be found.

Edward Nigma, the man responsible for the riot, is credited with the escape of his fellow rogues. Once his prison gang is decimated, he is taken to the cells below Arkham City's courthouse, where dangerous prisoners are held, and he is locked away under heavy guard.]

[Shortly after this conversation, Oliver Queen is quietly moved from Arkham City to an undisclosed location. There no is public comment given as to why the JLA member was moved, and officials are remaining silent on the matter.]

[The sand starts to abate on Monday night. It slows as the night progresses and, by the following evening, it's as if it had never come. Slowly, power comes back to the desert, and Passages returns to its prior state of decay and dust, no vestiges of the 1930s remaining. Coincidentally, the carnival, which remained unaffected by all of this, announces its imminent departure within minutes of the sand calming.]

[As the dust continues and generators fail, the smaller casinos are forced to close their doors, while the larger casinos and the carnival continue to make a killing. Dust devils - strong sand whirlwinds - pop up, making travel harder, and the airport shuts down until the weather conditions improve. Meteorologists predict a clearing of the skies by early the following week, and the hotel is now in a permanent state of 1930s decor, inside and out.]

[Late Tuesday, the winds that kicked up days earlier change. There's minimal warning before the dust starts whirring in, turning the main strip and adjacent areas of Las Vegas into something straight from a 1930s dust bowl. Power is knocked out throughout the city, but the casinos and tourist areas continue to function on emergency and backup generators. The carnival outside of town is, strangely, completely unaffected, and local residents flock there in search of good weather outside the dusty perimeter. Driving is not recommended, since visibility is only a few feet and the dust is bitingly painful against the skin, but public transportation continues to run, albeit slowly, and hotels and casinos are booming. Weather reports predict days of the dusty desert onslaught, and the city hunkers down and prepares for life by candlelight for the time being.]

[The weather changes on Sunday. It's a subtle change, and the news stations call it a fluke, nothing to worry about. And it's not anything frightening, so everyone listens. The wind kicks up. The gusts are enough to knock some badly potted palm trees over, to make the tourists lose their hats, but little more. The days are sunny and pretty, and the nights are still amazingly temperate, and there are no gusts at the local carnival, which is acknowledged as being a little strange.

Visitors to Passages might notice other changes, though, and these aren't so subtle. The building, previously old and gothic, seems to be changing slightly. Touches of 1930s Americana begin to seep through the cracks in flickers, both inside and out, and the air around the hotel is hotter and thicker than normal, as if to match the momentary changes in decor that make the building appear like something straight out of a ghost town.]

[Shortly after this, in a plan that was put in motion shortly after Superman left A.R.G.U.S. on Friday evening, JLA officials hold a press conference about the damage to the building.

They point out the childishness of the action, and they assure the public that they did not authorize Oliver Queen's attack on Supergirl. They also release footage of the girl in her holding room, where nothing physical was done to her, along with footage of all the injuries she caused others as she broke out of the facility using super-force, and footage of her attack on Gotham PD's officers the day she was taken into custody.

Steve Trevor gives an impassioned speech, in which he explains that the JLA exists to ensure that there is a system of checks and balances for all citizens of the planet, including the ones with superpowers. He questions why super-entities should get rights that normal citizens do not, and he explains that the JLA was created to keep everyone safe, not to harm others. Footage is shown of recent JLA rescue missions across the globe,

He concludes his speech by regretfully explaining that Gotham's members of the JLA are being taken into custody, as recent events have made it clear that they are sharing classified information with known aggressors. The names, which are read at the end of the conference, are as follows: Jason Todd, for collusion with Batman. Oliver Queen, for collusion with Green Lantern and Superman, Harley Quinn, for collusion with Poison Ivy, and Edward Nigma, for collusion with Batman and Batgirl. Selina Kyle is also arrested, but her name is not listed. All former JLA members are moved to Arkham City in the overnight hours.

Before their arrival, Arkham City is fortified with new, A.R.G.U.S. developed technologies that will not allow use of any superpowers within the prison, nor will they allow superpowers to be used to enter/exit the facility.]

[Above the same A.R.G.U.S. facility that Superman toured earlier on Friday, a mysterious message appears in the air. It is bright green and surrounded by bright green flashing lights in true billboard form. It reads simply 'THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA TORTURES TEENAGE GIRLS HERE.' After thirty seconds the message changes to read, 'THE JUSTICE LEAGUE BELIEVES IN PROTECTING EARTH AND ALL ITS PEOPLE. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU.' The message cycles twice more before the sky goes dark. It's not long before images of it hit the internet.]

[Friday evening, Superman is invited to A.R.G.U.S., and the visit is televised on live television. After a disturbing walk-through of the facility, which highlights the damage done during Supergirl's destructive escape the prior month, Superman is presented with a contract to sign. The contract does not (as he expected) make him a member of the JLA. It does, however require Superman to live as a mortal Earth citizen, without use of any of his powers. There is much talk about equality, safety, and checks and balances. In the end, Superman refuses to sign. He is allowed to leave without incident, and Steve Trevor goes on to explain that the goal of the JLA is to protect all citizens of planet Earth from any and all threats, and that all members of the JLA organization are united in that one goal.]

[The carnival rolls into town with amazing weather. The nights are surprisingly cool for Vegas, and the sunny days are unseasonably temperate.

The carnival, which takes up acres of land just beyond the strip, boasts a huge midway, including seemingly authentic freak shows, a haunted house that has people screaming to get out, and a funhouse that seems made for "adult activity." In addition, the nearby stage features multiple well-known acts, and the arts and crafts area features impressive wares. The country-western area of the carnival features line dancing, petting zoos and general farm-life displays.

The carnival is open 24 hours a day, with an over-21 requirement for after-midnight, where booze is plentiful and clothing is a little more optional.]

[Wednesday evening, during a nationally televised press conference, Amanda Waller announces the two newest additions to the Justice League of America: Jason Todd, also know as the Red Hood, and Harley Quinn. She explains that both Todd and Quinn, despite their questionable pasts, have gone clean in order to join the team, and that existing members are pleased to have them among their numbers. The press conference goes on to expound on the Justice League's commitment to the safety of all citizens of the planet, regardless of nationality or gender, and their vision of a tomorrow where checks and balances exist to ensure that no group of individuals can circumvent the law. The conference ends with a candid Q&A session about recent jobs/missions the JLA has been involved in.]

[The carnival is slated to arrive in Las Vegas on the ninth of September, and it will remain in the city for three weeks. It contains all the standard fair fare - rides, a midway, live bands, a petting zoo, greasy food, and midnight-to-dawn admittance, with drinking and more adult activities for those over 21. Flyers go up around the city on Tuesday, announcing bands and activities.]

In Vegas, a press conference (small and quiet and solemn) is called at the precinct in response to rumors that the ongoing investigation into the ongoing kidnapping of Beth Dean, is being wound down as the child's absence approaches the three week mark. There is regrettably for the precinct's PR, a photograph of mother and child displayed by the news channel and the division head speaks sympathetically and vaguely of pursuing every lead available to them by which is implied there are no longer any to follow up. They will, of course, he adds on camera, follow up on any viable tips that come through. Ella Dean, the child's mother, is not available for comment.

[Sunday, all CIA/FBI and related operatives whose names are known to have been sold are informed by the CIA Directorate of Support office of the threats against them. Information is limited, since all names are not yet known, and protection offered is limited, since the names sold throughout the organizations are many. Protective details are left to individual field offices, and new public identities, field names and aliases are procured for all affected agents. A task force is set up nationally, for the sole purpose of informing agents if their names come up in surveillance or recon. No public statement is made, and individual agent details are shared only with the agent in question. Publicly, the name sale does not exist.]

[At around ten o clock on Monday, a man wraps his car around a lightpost just a few blocks from the strip. Cell phone video of the incident hits the internet within a few hours. The man stumbles from his car, and becomes agitated, insisting that one of the first responding officers on the scene 'Isn't helping, isn't doing anything.' The driver then abruptly decks the officer and pulls a gun from his pocket. When two backup officers approach, guns drawn, he drops his weapon. He's thrown to the ground and cuffed, then dragged into an ambulance, still speaking incoherently.

Charges of driving under the influence are swiftly cleared by blood tests. The suspect receives preliminary care, and when it is determined that he is suffering from no serious injuries from the crash or subsequent events, he is taken into mental health observation.]