Monday, our heroes spend the day in various ways. Turtle Ninja plays video games on the new holo-system, Kathmandu and Vixa spar in a makeshift training room, Fireman actually has a day job to work at, Voltage works on her hovercar, and so forth. Voltage also takes part in some research to look into more about what's going on in the outside world, and what in the world the Universe Corporation might be up to. One thing about life in the year 2045 is that there have been remarkable advances in cloning technology and in the creation of simulated life through robotics. In China, it has become so easy for a family to specify the birth of a son, that women are in short supply. Procreation is handled by way of cloning, and as for the shortage of women for companionship - well, China is the world's leader when it comes to the manufacture of very realistic (and idealized) androids.

Voltage considers some of the strange scenarios cropping up, such as sightings of "Iron Fist" in the real world. Could it be a robot? Or a clone? Or some sort of hologram? She considers all of these possibilities, and, after some research (and quite a bit of hacking into systems), manages to find that several custom "personal companion" androids were shipped to the center of Universe Corporation operations, in Seattle, some months ago - about 25 or so, though an order for a score more was cancelled a couple of months ago. These custom androids were delivered without any neural programming, as apparently it was expected that the buyers would do this themselves. Voltage hunts through the specs, and finds that these androids were created to model both genders, and have specifications exceeding the normal safe requirements - that is, some of these robot bodies can be described as being "super-strong" or "super-fast", among other things. And, at least one of the bodies seem to match the basic specifications that would describe Voltage's physical characteristics a year ago. She considers the sobering idea that perhaps she is the product of some experiment on the part of Damon Hauksbee to bring back his dead sister, by recreating her in virtual form, and then using that AI to "program" a new robot body.

But, if so, why all the other robot bodies? Why would Universe Corporation be footing the bill? (Damon Hauksbee is head programmer on the Superior City project - but he wouldn't be in a position to personally authorize expenditures of such a magnitude; after all, these androids don't come cheaply!) And, why would additional orders be cancelled as of a couple of months ago, with no subsequent orders? Did something happen? Did something change? Voltage ponders these questions and more.

Tuesday is spent much the same way, except that, in the evening, Voltage, Rose, Scars, Turtle Ninja and Kathmandu do their best to dress "inconspicuously" - and then they head downtown to Valhalla Towers.

Valhalla Towers are a pair of skyscrapers next to each other, joined at several points by bridges spanning across, with elaborate buttresses flaring underneath. The buildings have a look that combines brushed steel Art Deco with a vaguely "gothic" look, and just a touch of "techno-Celtic" knotwork.

Outside, they meet a young woman in business-appropriate attire, and an older gentleman in a three-piece suit. Introductions are made about: The woman is Lilah D'Angel, known in her heroic identity as "Iron Angel", while the older gentleman, Adam Forester, is better known to our heroes as "Crimson Hunter". They file into the lobby, and take the elevator up - giving the operator instructions to take them to the "13th floor", even though there is no such button. The doors open, and they head out onto a largely empty floor, with one wall open to the sky and a view of the city below. A huge chariot flies up, pulled by creatures that resemble winged horses, though they're fashioned of steel. The group files onto the back of the chariot, and rides as it soars out from the building; behind them, there is no sign of the open gap in Valhalla Towers at all: it seems as if they have flown out from yet another floor of mirrored windows on the side of the skyscraper. No one seems to pay any attention to the chariot as it soars above the spires, and into the clouds, approaching one particularly large cloud. As they approach, it's evident that something solid is within the cloud - a floating fortress made of steel: the Iron Citadel.

The chariot lands on a wide plaza ringed by tall solemn statues of warriors bearing shields and spears. A tall open gateway leads to the grand meeting hall, lined by tall narrow windows of paneled glass, alternating with elongated shieldbearer statues that are incorporated into the supporting columns. The meeting table seems exceedingly small in the middle of the emptiness of the room - just large enough for Iron Angel and her guests to be seated.

What follows is a discussion that is, at times, rather tense. Lilah explains that it is very difficult to try to convince her of anything here. The Universe system, after all, works from dreams: it draws its apparent reality partly from the minds of its users. Therefore, it isn't good enough if Voltage can tell Lilah of something that only both of them should know: if Lilah knows it, then theoretically the Universe system could pull that information from her memory, subconsciously, and Voltage could parrot it out. Voltage could behave in all ways as if she genuinely believes that she is Renee Hauksbee ... and she'd be acting the way that Lilah would expect her to behave, if it were true.

So, Voltage comes up with an idea. After listening to Lilah talk about the events that transpired, she asks about the garage where she (Renee) had worked on her "hovermower". Lilah confirms that the garage is just as it was left; it was searched and combed over during the investigation after Renee's death, but after that, her parents just shut it off and haven't touched it since.

Therefore, Renee calls upon her memory: she recalls a screwdriver with a handle that was partially melted that was in the far back of one of the drawers of one of the toolboxes. She gives Lilah precise directions on how to find it. Lilah excuses herself to step out of the room - and to sign off, to go investigate this lead back in the real world.

Meanwhile, Scars comes up with a similar proof of his own existence: he knows that some information can be found about his real identity as Davis Jeffries, World War II veteran (deceased), but he remembers things that wouldn't ever be covered in such factoids. The trouble is - what can he volunteer that wouldn't be available to the common person that a third party - such as Mr. Forester - could investigate? So, he thinks back. He recalls that when the word came down that the war was over, he had carved a message onto a rock for a fellow soldier. He knows that this soldier lived in South Carolina, in a certain town, and that he had a son, and that later on, that son also went into the military. He expects that, after all this time, that soldier's family will still be there ... and his son might be able to verify this story. So, Scars gives Mr. Forester the name and contact information that he knows of, in the hopes that Mr. Forester might be able to do some hunting and locate the son, who could verify Scars's story - and maybe even provide the message. Mr. Forester excuses himself and steps out of the room to sign off as well.

While our heroes wait, robotic attendants provide them with refreshment, wheeling it out on carts, made to order. The food is of little interest to people like Lilah D'Angel or Adam Forester, since their virtual interfaces don't let them actually taste anything in the game reality - but to Turtle Ninja and the others, it tastes real (and good!) enough.

Eventually, Lilah returns - and so does Mr. Forester. The stories checked out. Lilah can't rule out the possibility that this could be some elaborate hoax - that Damon Hauksbee (Renee's older brother) might have known about this screwdriver, and that he could have put this information into a virtual "Renee Hauksbee"'s memory - but given the rest of Renee's recollections and general performance, she's reluctant to just wave this all off. Likewise, Mr. Forester reports that he was able to locate that soldier's son, and he was able to verify the story about the rock. It seems that both Voltage and Scars possess memories of people from the real world who are now dead ... and it's highly unlikely that Mr. Davis Jeffries ever got near a computer in his lifetime, to possibly explain how the Universe system could have "recorded" his thoughts, either.

No records indicate that Renee Hauksbee was ever on the Universe system; the only records of such a player on the system are very recent, dating back to about the time that Voltage started her strange adventures and ran into the others.

As for Turtle Ninja, Kathmandu and Rose, there are no easy explanations as to just who they might be. Could they be additional "ghosts in the system" - or merely very advanced AIs within the system that have become self-aware? Kathmandu, at the very least, has memories that don't fit with the role that the game seems to want to put him in - that of a shapeshifting cat-creature from a popular game and merchandising franchise - but he doesn't remember his "true" name, and he has considerable gaps in his memory, so he can't offer any "proof" that he is anything more than just an advanced AI.

Lilah shares her concerns about Damon - Renee's brother. She repeats her story, that she had come back to Superior City only after Damon had left her a message that there was something new and wonderful that she had to see. Lilah had been among the original beta-testers, which is how she had come to know Mr. Forester (a programmer, but not part of Universe Corporation) and his family. Damon had given her an account, and, using his unique position, guaranteed that she quickly went from being a complete "newbie" to being one of the most powerful superheroines, and a member of the elite "Iron League". She relates that "Darla Dazzle", while bearing some physical resemblance to Lilah's appearance in life (and her virtual alter-ego), was created back when she was still with Damon. Darla was created as something of a joke, because Lilah would frequently quiz Damon about his work, and what he was doing; Darla, hence, would forever plague Iron Angel by asking HER all sorts of prying questions at entirely inappropriate times, even in the middle of an alien invasion or major disaster.

However, last year, Damon's little sister, Renee, died in an accident. This is something that has plagued the Hauksbee family, because Damon himself lost the use of his legs as a result of an accident while doing some tinkering of his own - while trying to create a virtual reality neural interface. After Renee's death, Damon withdrew, and despite Lilah's attempts to reach out to him, he shut everyone out of his life. No one could call him, no one could visit him - not even his own parents - and nobody at Universe Corporation was helpful in trying to track him down. Eventually, Lilah stopped trying - until she very recently heard from Damon again.

Ever since she has come back to Superior City, however, she has failed to find Damon. He is still just as unreachable in the real world, but he has been similarly absent online, in Superior City - though she has heard tantalizing clues that he was sighted as recently as a few weeks ago, signing autographs at the opening of the Ninja Pizzeria. She was inclined to leave ... but the appearance of Voltage has prompted her to stay around to find out what in the world might be going on, after all. No one from Universe Corporation is of much assistance at all; the excuse she keeps getting is that he's terribly busy, working overtime to try to get the system ready for the big release in December. After the opening, they promise, then he'll be able to take a long-overdue sabbatical.

Voltage and the others, however, warn that there likely won't be any sabbatical after the opening; they are afraid that a repeat will happen of what happened with the original Morpheus Project. This is news to Lilah, and she listens in horror. Forester chimes in, verifying that Mr. John Kaufmann (AKA Mr. Coffee) has done some of his own research into this, and that, while he can't prove any foul play, there are a lot of unanswered questions and suspicious activities ... as well as some awfully suspicious lack of media coverage of a large number of unexplained deaths and disappearances.

They start planning on what to do next. Mr. Forester, for his part, is going to make sure that he's just on a non-invasive PC interface into the system, and to encourage everyone he knows to do the same; he also plans on checking with with Mr. Kaufmann to see what he can find out about the business with Lunar and his hospitalization - and the possible interference of people from the Universe Corporation with his treatment.

Lilah commits herself to contacting Damon's parents again, and finding out what she can about Damon's whereabouts. She can't rule out the possibility that Damon might actually be held captive by Universe Corporation - or worse - though she is nonetheless puzzled about the tone of Damon's summons. If Damon wished to warn her, or get information to her to leak to the outside, why would he sound like he wanted to show her something "wonderful"?

Our heroes' planning is interrupted, however, when Lilah receives an alert: she had set up some specs to be notified if there were any notices regarding the status of the Ninja Pizzeria and the Turtle Ninja license. The alert indicates that a deal with Universe Corporation and the owners of the Turtle Ninja franchise have fallen through; Universe Corporation has been instructed to immediately remove all traces of the Ninja Pizzeria and any Turtle Ninja licensed characters from the Universe database.

Due to the nature of the Universe virtual reality, this can't all be done just with the press of a button - especially not when the whereabouts of one member of the "Turtle Ninja franchise" is currently whereabouts-unknown! However, those whereabouts aren't destined to be "unknown" for long: our heroes start to feel the distinctive ear-ringing that warns of the arrival of a Guardian. Voltage alerts the others, and they scramble to figure out what to do next. Voltage tries to get into a terminal and do some hacks to buy some time, but to no avail. She tries to summon Morpheus, but she's not managing to get through. Mr. Forester asks what she's doing, and, after a hasty explanation, he uses a terminal and tries to generate a message that might get the attention of this "Morpheus" fellow.

Just then, a kid in ratty clothes, clutching a Turtle Ninjas skateboard, walks in. "Hey, dudes, what's up?" Voltage hastily pleads for help!

Morpheus ponders, then suggests, "Uh, try 'There's no place like home!'" Under his direction, they try closing their eyes, clicking their heels together, and reciting, "There's no place like home," even though they feel like idiots doing it, while a Guardian - bringing certain destruction - is bearing down on them.

But the next thing Voltage realizes ... she's waking up in her cot in the repair bay, back at the secret base. By the noise she can hear elsewhere in the base, it seems that several of her friends have woken up from a disturbing "dream" as well.

Then ... it was all ... just a dream?

To find out ... tune in next time, for further adventures in ... Superior City!