Freakin' Time Ninjas?

As our recent fights have most likely been overshadowed by the recent severe weather, I'll be as open as I can here. We all attempted to help citizens stranded by the storm as much as possible. Shift was providing transport for people and vehicles, Pandora squelched an attempted robbery, Gemini helped a confused older gentleman to a shelter, Hierophant helped a pregnant woman to a hospital in time to deliver her baby and Black Raven assisted Shift and Pandora when needed. I dealt with a downed power line, but was pulled through some kind of warp portal into a different part of the city.

The "ninjas" as we're calling them, are dressed all in a creamy white color, with very pale skin and eyes without pupils or irises. Their hands are actually long, bony claws that are incredibly hard and sharp. They also generally wore small black devices on their upper left arms, which we later learned were particularly susceptible to attack. Their ability to leap from place to place seemed to be keyed to shadows, a theory supported by their use of bright lights in several of the engagements. The snow storm diffused the normal light, making shadows pale and ineffective, it seems. Their use of bright lights indicates that they can only warp through fairly deep shadows, something that will undoubtedly be useful knowledge in the future.

Hierophant got the sense from them that were displaced in time, leading us to believe they come from the future. After tracing one back to his source in this time, we saw a woman with a sword strikingly similar to my own who called herself "Lady Sinister." She insisted that I needed to die, a contention that the time ninjas seemed to take to heart. One of them referred to me as "The Usurper" which does seem a bit strange. I'm not aware of having usurped anything in my life. I really don't think I'm the usurping sort. I'm going to have to see what I can learn about my own future to see what causes this issue. Since I am one who believes in the concept of two-dimensional time, the fact that I survive long enough for them to be sent back to kill me doesn't really reassure me. I think I need to ensure that I am ready for attack at all times, and continue working on improving my personal defensive capabilities. I have been meditating much more than usual recently, forcing my body to take me to the edge of unconsciousness so I am more comfortable working in that realm. I am also experimenting with several techniques I read about involving rejecting death on a physical and spiritual level. We will have to see how my work progresses.

I do want to take this time to thank my teammates for all of their assistance with this issue. None of them were personally threatened by the attackers, but they all placed themselves in harm's way to help me. I could not have survived without their help, and they have my gratitude. Having grown up in a situation where I didn't feel quite like I had a real family, I can now say without hesitation that the New Guard is my family in every way that really matters. 友達、ありがとうございます。