But a stranger is coming, one who will destroy both peace and balance, and open the galaxy to exploration and conquest. This is where it all begins!

    In the late Sixties a fireball struck the town of Pederson, Illnois granting fantastic powers to the 113 children who were in utero at the time of impact. They grew up as the world watched. Labeled the Specials by the Media, their powers were monitored and catalogued by the United States Government. Public perception of them changed often. Were they the future of mankind? A scourge? A random occurrence? Heroes? Villains? Role models or simply caricatures? What would be their impact on culture and society? They were a waried as kids and adults ever are; some were more powerful, some less. As adults they became many things: a policeman, a corporate symbol, a singer, an assassin, a writer, a painter, a thief, a preacher. Some found celebrity, some notoriety, while others simply went to work and raised families like everyone else. But they all carried inside them a seed of something great. Something special. Something that made them stars. As their epic stories unfolded, there were other stories as well...of their lives and the lives of those around them. This book is about those stories. Collected here are the short stories about the Specials, a bit about their beginnings, a bit about their middles and just a little bit about their end.

    With every voyage taking exactly five hours, whether the distance is one light-year or a thousand, the drive allowed humanity to finally escape Earth and reach for the stars.But while the aliens owned the technology, they needed humans to make it practical. Specifically, humans who could temporarily leave their bodies and guide the tunnelships through the void of space.Nathan Skoda is one such navigator. After hundreds of trips, and with hundreds yet to go, all he wants is to finish out his indenture before he succumbs to burnout. So when he’s approached with a plan that might free the navigators from the Meerian chokehold, he decides to check it out.But when the Meerians move to protect their monopoly, Skoda realizes he’s let himself in for more than he bargained for.And he discovers that, dark though his life may be, there’s an even deeper darkness lying beneath the surface.

    Chaos rules the final days of the Forerunner empire. The Flood—a horrifying, shape-changing, and unstoppable parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies, and internal strife has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Forerunners known as the Ur-Didact and the Librarian reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished race of the Precursors and the Flood. While the Precursors created many technological species, including those of the Forerunners and humanity itself, the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that savagery, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian—husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict—hold the keys to a solution. As they face the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time—a shocking act designed to prevent an insane abomination from dominating the entire galaxy…

    Someone’s been eating Cyborg’s sandwiches! But who? One of the other Teen Titans? Or something more…SINISTER? Cyborg and his stomach want answers! NOW!

    

    Welcome to the Warzone, where six years of non-stop battle between the forces of the Blue and the Iron have split the nation down its center, utterly transforming it. In a world of new alliances and strange enemies, President Tony Stark and General Steve Rogers meet to make one last attempt at peace.

    Become entranced with the basic struggle of good vs. evil as you travel to a galaxy far, far away.

    Straight from the pages of HARLEY QUINN comes the story of her strange new army of assistants, the Gan of Harleys! In this new miniseries, they've been on the job for just a few months, and the Gang is ready to stand up and show what they can do without Harley...and they just might have to, because Harley's been kidnapped! The Gang's homes, their loved ones-they're all in danger from a strage new villain with a very personal grudge against Harley!

    Now they’re a family, and they’ve earned their peace. But the universe is not a peaceful place -- and it’s only getting worse. The Great Empires are in turmoil. The rule of law is dead. And amidst the chaos, the Gods of Olympus have returned -- harbingers of a new age of war, reborn to burn their mark on the stars themselves. Someone has to guard the galaxy - but who will accept the mission? And will they survive it? Al Ewing (IMMORTAL HULK) and Juann Cabal (FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN) bring you in on the ground floor of a whole Marvel Universe of action and suspense!

    Impossible shots. Impossible targets. Marvel's #1 soldier of fortune is back in an explosive new ongoing series! The product of a failed super-soldier program, Neena Thurman always made her own luck as the sharpshooting mercenary known as Domino… but what happens when her own powers betray her? The hunter becomes the hunted as every mercenary in the game smells blood in the water! Plus: A pair of beloved Marvel characters return!

    Since that day, he has gone to great lengths to stay under the Punisher's radar while he schemed his revenge. Now - with the help of Bullseye - he is ready to take on the Punisher once more.

    That was just fine with him, except for one little exception: Amanda Jacobs. He had fallen in love with her unruly blonde curls and sparkling sapphire eyes, but she had been a teenager then, - too young for him to act on his attraction. When Justin receives a phone call that his former mentor has passed away, he knows he has to return to Hope Falls. Justin just has one question - will the girl that once adored him have grown into a woman that can't stand him? Or will she still be the only thing in the world that feels like home? Book #2: Sweet Harmonies When Karina Black hit it big in music, she didn’t think it would mean giving up her name, her friends, her family, and the music that she loved. It was time for change and that’s just what the sexy, sassy Native American was looking for when she decided to move back home to Hope Falls. What she wasn’t looking for was love… When Ryan Perkins moved to Hope Falls, he knew that it would mean helping his granny run her café and maybe allowing himself the time to indulge in his love for music. Beyond that, the rugged, sculpted charmer didn’t expect anything more than the simplicity that the quiet community offered. What he didn’t know was that Hope Falls offered much more than simplicity… Will Karina really be able to give up her pop star life and fight for the music she wants while also opening her heart to the sweet melody of love? Will Ryan be able to live in Karina’s not so simple world? Or will they both stop the noise around them and make Sweet Harmonies of their own together? Book #3: Sweet Victory Samantha Holt has spent her entire life focused on her career as an Olympic snowboarder - to the point that she's never even had a boyfriend. Now the auburn-haired beauty has taken an early retirement to focus on her personal life, which is about to get a lot more interesting when a sexy man from her past comes to town. Can she trust him enough to be her first? Luke Reynolds has moved back to the Sierra Nevadas to be closer to his family. A big bonus is the chance to finally be close to Samantha Holt, the girl he's been interested in for the entire ten years he's known her. Their snowboarding careers have put them in close proximity before, but Sam seems to have walls up when it comes to him. The bright blue eyes and sexy scruffiness that melt other womens' hearts seem to have no effect on her. Will Luke be able to show her that it's safe to let her guard down? Book #4: Home Sweet Home Lauren Harrison didn’t have time for games. Everything in its place. Everything in its order. Everything in its time. But the gorgeous, high-powered real estate agent was about to find out that when it comes to love, there were some things she couldn’t control. Nothing in life comes easy. Ben Stevens knew this to be true from an early age. The handsome host of a successful real estate reality show knew all too well that he had what he had because he worked hard for it. His charming demeanor radiated from the screen, but behind the camera, he kept his real life out of the spotlight. After becoming co-hosts for a new real estate reality show, Lauren and Ben will both find out that sometimes there is more to someone than meets eye. Will Lauren be able to see the side of Ben that lives behind the camera? Will Ben get to see what’s underneath Lauren’s polished shell? Only time will tell if they can both find a home of their own within each other’s hearts. Book #4.5: One Sweet Day - Novella The honor of your presence is requested at the wedding of Amanda Jacobs and Justin Barnes.

    HEAD TRIP, Part 1 of 6It's the Merc with two mouths! Deadpool travels to the Savage Land to retrieve the severed-but-still-hungry head of the Marvel Zombies Deadpool! Now, Deadpool must dodge Hydra operatives, dinosaurs, and zombie cavemen as he attempts to take his not-so-precious cargo back where it came from: the Marvel Zombies Universe.