Guild HQ, Cascadian Mountains, The Tank: The hero known as Patriot stepped out of the elevator onto the observation floor of The Tank. As one of the Guild Council and one of only a handful of SSS rated heroes, he spent more time trying to direct Guild forces as opposed to actually fighting these days, and he really missed fighting. He stepped up beside the command podium, which was currently occupied by Eon, one of his fellow Council members. 

           "What's the situation, Eon," he asked as he studied the strategic situation as depicted by the Tank.

           Seven Deadzones marred the map of Earth portrayed in the Tank. Deadzone One was in the central part of Australia, Deadzone Two was in central China, Deadzone Three was in Eastern Europe, Deadzone Four was in northern Africa, Deadzone Five was where Las Vegas used to be, Deadzone Six was on the coast of Brazil, and last, Deadzone Seven was at the South Pole, in the center of Antarctica. Most of the Deadzones were still expanding, slowly, except Deadzone Seven, which had been subjected to twenty-three of the largest nuclear weapons in the world. The Deadzone in Antarctica did not expand because it was in the center of a frozen, radioactive wasteland with energy siphons sucking away even ambient energy that might get near it. 

           "We've had an average of four dungeons pop up at each of the active six Deadzones," Eon reported. "We have dispatched Hero teams to all new dungeons, but Villains are starting to get in our way. Gateway popped up at one of the dungeons at Deadzone Three and put up a shield over the dungeon. We don't have anything that can penetrate it, and it appears to be powered by the dungeon, so no way to disrupt the power supply."

            "What about excavation," Patriot asked. "Or perhaps we need to get Geek in on this."

            "Teach your mother to suck eggs," Eon replied. "Both the local Guild leaders and I have been bringing in everyone we can think of on this. We've had digger-types verify that the shield is spherical, both above and below ground, and Geek and his crew have been analyzing the shield for weaknesses all night. He theorizes that teleportation might work, but we don't have any that we can willingly send and the shield corrupts spatial coordinates, so teleporting blind, even if we had someone willing to do so, would not work."

             "Okay," Patriot acknowledged. "Well, we'll need to clear the other dungeons as soon as we can so that we can put more Heroes on the ones the Villains have protected. Are there any that need reinforcements or that we can send extra teams to?"

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             "None I'd feel comfortable sending," Eon replied. "Verity has an idea for you, though. Come on up and I'll have him patched in to the podium."

             Patriot climbed up to the podium as Eon made space for him. The Podium was normally encircling the commander entirely, with all tactical and strategic controls at the flick of a switch or press of a button. Its only flaw was changing commanders, like now. Patriot ducked under the decking at the back and hoisted himself up onto the platform. He authenticated his credentials even as Eon began logging out, and the turnover was quick. Eon slid down and strode out of The Tank, likely to use the restroom, as he couldn't leave the podium during his shift.

              "Ah, Patriot," a multitude of voices exclaimed in unison. "I've been monitoring the situation, and I'd like to suggest a plan to you."

              "Let me guess," Patriot said, keeping his voice even with effort. "You want to activate Wartime Protocol One."

              "Not this time," Verity said, multiple voices in harmony. "While I still believe Wartime Protocol One is the optimal use of our resources, I have, per our last talk, broadened my scope. I believe there are some potential powerhouses that we've left sitting that we need to try to cultivate. I have developed a new plan: Second Chance. Under Second Chance, files will be pulled of all abilities, combat or not, and third level A.I. will do preliminary modeling of possible power evolutions. If any of those modeled seem to be viable, the A.I.'s will shunt them up to Hero Analysts for approval. If it is approved, they will be joining established combat teams."

                 "Yes, because adding new people to established teams works so well," Patriot grumbled. 

                  "It is an acceptable risk," Verity argued. "Limited draft, the team the drafted Heroes join will have to put on their training wheels until their power evolves, but by then they will be used to working together. We increase our combat power with people who cannot stand on their own right now."

                  "Full disclosure," Patriot said, closing one eye as the other continued watching The Tank. Verity's plan was plucked from his mind and transmitted to Patriot. The plan, in all it's ugly glory, opened up in Patriot's mind. He mentally winced even as he acknowledged that Verity had done a masterful job of presenting the information and analyzing it. The information stream slowed and finally stopped. Patriot's eye opened. 

                  "Plan Second Chance provisionally approved," Patriot said, sending the authorization to the Guild command logs. "Find fifteen candidates and a similar number of teams. Approval will depend on the outcome of the proposed candidates."