The Radiant Brad Incident

A psychic being calling itself Radiant Brad tries to conquer Groomsh, breaking its assocaition with the United Federation of Planets. It turns out it is a psychic projection from the Groomshi worshippers of Rad Brad (Bradites). It is revealed that the force ghost of Invictus is behind this. The Groomshi collective of a thousand worlds begin to split off, now that they see they can create their own gods.

The Signing and the Murder of the Groomshi Archon
The United Federation of Planets (UFP) is having an event for the official signing of the UFP Constitution in the Diplomasphere 7. Bites is there in their official capacity as Ambassador General of the United Federation of Planets. Hans Milken Arden was there. Bobwood Ward was present as a reporter. As the Groomshi Archon went to sign, they became confused, and then their heads exploded. Suddenly, a psychic projection appeared behind them looking like Brad Hermia Gloop and claiming to be Radiant Brad, the third incarnation of Rad Brad (although he seems to leave it unclear as to who the second incarnation was). He then disappears.

Mobilizing Dr. Gloop
The team tries to call Dr. Gloop to get their assistance with the situation, but Gloop doesn't answer their phone -- their calls are being handled by Frog Butler. Bites, Hans, and Bobwood decide they will go in person, so they board a UFP ship and jump to Zoo Moon. They arrive and discover Zoo Moon surrounded by a shimmering field like an oil slick. They talk their way into meeting with Gloop by warning them that if Gloop won't cooperate, more paparazzi will show up. Dr. Gloop reveals that they have created a psychic virus which can disable a person's force abilities. There is considerable disagreement among all the heroes about whether this is ethical.

Zoo Moon is a Space Station
The group travel to Groomsh by Gloop revealing that Zoo Moon itself can be pulled by space whales through dimensions for faster than light travel.

Radiant Brad takes the capital
After his murders in the Diplomasphere 7, Radiant Brad appears in the Groomshi capital on Groomsh. He seems to be crowd surfing on a wave of telekinetic energy of his adoring supporters. He and his supporters begin to round up political dissidents and imprison them. We discover that Radiant Brad is actually just a projection of a mythos about him. We learn the history of the Bradite myth of Brad. And that as this character has built of a following, the powerfully psychic Groomshi have created this projection from sheer belief. Radiant Brad is the idea of the ultimate Brad, the best thing a hero can be. The symbol of the sacrifice of a son, a concept all Groomshi knew. Radiant Brad is literally a meme. Bobwood thinks that is just too convenient (with the timing about when the UFP Constitution would be signed) and there must really be a conspiracy.

The Return of Augustus Sol Invictus
Once they arrive in orbit of the planet, and see what has happened in the capital, Bites asks the Sky Eye who Radiant Brad is. The Sky Eye says that Radiant Brad is the leading man find of a millennium, the perfect story for the perfect character. Then Bites asks, "In the Wolf of Wall Street style prequel to the story of Radiant Brad, who would be the lead in the flashback prequel?" And the Sky Eye tore back layer by layer, one step at a time back in time, through the feelings and causes that led to the creation of Radiant Brad and found that it all flowed from a single point. And it was revealed that it was Augustus Sol Invictus, the once best friend then traitor. And immediately the feeling of best friend rushed back. Invictus explained that when he was a force ghost he was lost. He didn't know where he belonged. He came to live among some Invictans who still supported him and believed in him and some invictan cultists. He was very lonely and betrayed and sought camaraderie and acceptance on the web forums of the Bradites where he learned of the belief in the return of Rad Brad. He loved this idea, and with his tremendous mind control force powers he shaped the idea of Radiant Brad, the ultimate Rad Brad. He found a way to be at the center of a religion, by creating the god when he shaped the psychic minds that gave that god its power. He finally had what he wanted: to be the supreme leader of a religion, and to have someone be his best friend. As the heroes shake off the mind control, Bites asks Gloop to use the psychic virus on Invictus, and Gloop does, seemingly exorcising that force ghost. The Sky Eye returns jarringly, but doesn't seem perturbed -- in fact, they begin to sing, "I just met a friend named Invictus" (to the tune of "I just me a girl named Maria"), and then travel away. Bites sends out a text to their cardinals in the Church of the Sky Eye that just says "now is not a good time for holy war".

Intervening on Groomsh
The heroes (Bobwood, Bites, Hans, Gloop) go down to the planet, meeting first with Zoobloom Gloop, then with Vreek Gloop. The meeting with Vreek is the first time Gloop has interacted with them for a very long time, and they have a tearful but bittersweet reunion. Hermia is unavailable due to a senatorial hearing on her alleged war crimes since the release of the Jackson Dossier, but sends one of her Titans on autopilot to Groomsh to assist. Using the combined forces of Zoobloom and Vreek, the heroes teleport into the square in front of the capital, with the intent of freeing the political dissidents. Immediately upon arrival, they are surrounded by Radiant Bradite psychics. Bites uses flashbangs to temporarily disable them, and Hans commands Titan to use its built in force powers to knock them over. Gloop uses their mind to pry open the blast doors that seal the prison in. Meanwhile Bobwood is giving a live news anchor account of the events as they unfold. Once they are all inside the prison, a monster that looks like Gloop's kraken form rises up from the depths. Hans says that it's finally something he can ethically kill, but Bites points out that it is probably a Groomshi individual, just like Dr. Gloop is still a Groomshi individual when they take their kraken form. So Hans gives it an ultimatum to stand down or die, and when it does not stand down Hans leaps into the creature's nostril with his rocket boots and slashes one of its primary brains with a laser sword. Then Gloop uses magic to put it to sleep. Gloop then teleports the prisoners out.

Direct confrontation with Radiant Brad
After the prisoners have been released, the heroes try to teleport to their escape, but Radiant Brad uses his psychic powers to block them. The ceiling above the prison crumbles apart and there in the hole where it was is Radiant Brad. Bobwood asks questions about how Radiant Brad feels about Augustus Sol Invictus. Radiant Brad triumphantly says that Invictus is totally unimportant to him, and besides he would never do anything wrong, "He's my best friend." Bites has his television network put together a video clip/gif of various mind controlled people who have said that Invictus is their best friend, and videos of his mind control in action. They hack this into the Radiant Brad network, and Radiant Brad's physical manifestation visibly flickers as the belief falters. In an epic final conflict, Gloop shouts at it that it is not his son, and that its beliefs are not what it Brad stood for, and not what the Groomshi coul become. Radiant Brad, still wearing the face of Brad Hermia Gloop, declares that Gloop is a terrible father and a betrayer. Gloop is so certain that this is just a monster wearing his son's face that he is not strongly affected by it, but a recording was taken of it and tweeted out. BGloop infects it with the psychic virus and it vanishes from existence, since its whole existence is psychic, but as it dies it warns that it will come back stronger than you could imagine.

The dis-unification of Groomsh
Some of the Groomshi who were unwittingly psychically powering it are seen walking around dazed. But then the Groomshi in their thousand or more worlds suddenly realize that they can choose to make psychic projections like Radiant Brad, and they are seeing now that the desires of the homeworld are not always aligned with the interests of the outer worlds. They create their own gods, and hundreds of Groomshi worlds declare their separation from the homeworld.