Hollywood Upstairs Medical College

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 9900
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: And they're off in this chapter! ...Eventually. But the action does once again pick up. :D Also: am I ever glad I already had custom comment pages in place. Oy, that new comment system.

( 'You're better than this,' Kurt sing-songed as he dropped his die onto the Trivial Pursuit board. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 10,400
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Boy, this got long. This chapter is all about relationships. Some of them get a lot of perspective now, while others are being set up for interactions in chapters to come. (By the end of the chapter you can guess where one scene'll be set next week.) Next week: discussions of the future.

( 'Seriously?' Finn demanded as Puck finally gave up and walked toward privacy with him. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 9,900
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Thanks for putting up with the delay, guys! Everything is fixed. It wasn't cheap, and some other plans got shelved, but it's fixed. In true Glee style, I am coming back from a hiatus with a slower plot. ;) After three plot haymakers in a row, a quieter time was needed where people just thought and waited. I'm also finding that I'm juggling a lot of people now, rather than later as I expected. Unexpected! But it's working for me. Anyway, enjoy this little interlude before things pick up again.

And happy Thanksgiving to any fellow Americans! Anyone else should take this as an excuse to eat all the carbs.

( Finn sat very quietly as he looked at Carole. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 9,100
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Another montage chapter to deal with some of the initial fallout of what happened in Columbus, both in the media and in people's emotions. Next chapter will have a few snippets but will be mostly single-character, except for some plot flashbacks. Also, this one includes a reveal. ;) Just FYI.

( 'You know that this was just when we're in our masks, right?' Santana asked Brittany as they walked to her car. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 8900
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Oh my GOD was this chapter ever tough to put together. I wanted a musical montage equivalent, effectively, where time is covered and they settled into their new powers and lives, but that is a whole hell of a lot more challenging when you only have text at your disposal. And you'd think if any series was set up for a musical montage... :P Here. Just randomly picture this or this at times.

Anyway! You know what happens after the musical strength-building montage: big things start pouring in at top speed. Which is why I had to get through this damn chapter.

( It was time to get serious. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 9200
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Another giant chapter! Between the first appearance of romance and some full-on action, this was designed to be a sweeps episode, basically. Next week: more action and more romances shaping up! (Or should I say: a triangle.)

( 'Here,' Brittany said. She pulled her hand from behind her back and revealed a perfect pink rose. 'This is for you.' )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 7600
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Time to introduce more powers across the group, and to set up a little tension and their first big goal. Next week is very character-oriented as prep work, significant others, and families come into play, and then the chapter after that is heavy on the action.

( Rachel Berry was looking forward to discovering her destiny as a superhero. She was not looking forward to returning to her house with only Santana Lopez for company. )

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 4900
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: Time to zoom in the character focus for a more detailed power examination before I pull back out to everyone next week. Speaking of the weeks to come: next week will be Rachel's POV as she pushes them toward being a real team, and Mercedes comes in the chapter to follow when there is an examination of feelings and relationships across characters.

And then everything is set up for them to go kick some ass.

As a heads-up, there was some detailed discussion in the comment section last time. This thread goes into the somewhat perplexing bigotry that Marvel civilians canonically have toward one particular subset of the superpowered population. (As we've seen from both fictional sources this story draws upon, trying to be serious about one particular topic can be sort of head-scratching when the world remains determinedly fantastic around it.) This will get more examination down the road, but not with some of the detail I mention there. Also, this thread has some recommendations for getting started reading inside the Marvel Universe if you are totally overwhelmed by your options. It sidesteps the biggest names and suggests some newer books to get your feet wet.

( 'You know, we drove some other people there,' Finn pointed out as Kurt's SUV rumbled down the road. )

What was in my head the entire time Kurt, Finn, and Puck pulled up to Santana's in the last chapter of Special:



I don't know, you guys. :x

Title: Special
Character(s): Ensemble. Seriously. It covers pretty much everyone, plus some Marvel Universe characters.
Rating: R across everything, to be safe.
Word Count: 3700
Spoilers: Through S2
Full-Series Warnings: Violence, potential character death, and other elements common to comics
Summary: Being a part of something special makes you special. (Also, having superpowers.)
Notes: First off: I have decided to stick with my Corny Potter icon until my Pottermore letter arrives. :| I want to know where I will be Sorted! (Anywhere but Gryffindor, please please please.) Also, don't expect most chapter notes to be anywhere near this long.

Second, a few notes about the story setting from here on out: it's now set after the canon S2 finale. So far as everyone knows, that is their life. Canon friendships and romantic relationships are all in place. Also, although pretty nearly every major canon character is slated to show up at one point or another, it might take quite a while for some of them to do so. After all, the choir's attention will be pretty tightly focused on themselves for a while, for obvious reasons.

Third, I am bouncing around on character POV chapters for a bit to serve the plot, but will then settle into a chosen trio. I am pretty shameless in having favorites to write.

Fourth, the research described in this chapter is a real thing. Pretty interesting stuff. Science is neat! This is not going to be a major plot point; given Dream On it seemed like a safe bet that he would participate in something (with a better mindset, granted), and it was an efficient way to move the plot forward in one big leap, but it's not a focus. He's going to have plenty of other things to do.

Fifth, this chapter is relatively short. As you might expect, given what happens in this one, things really take off next week.


( On the last Thursday of the school year, Artie Abrams rolled into the choir room and nearly ran into a book with his face. )