Introducing Head Counter #12: Justine Everett.<br /><br />A fateful twist at Sara's high school reunion led to fellow class-of-2016 graduate Justine accidentally witnessing one of Head Count's high-powered battles against the Shen Marek, who were conducting research into an alternative energy source hidden in far-flung pockets of the Void. According to the aliens' calculations, the crystals they found were said to harness a power that could locally rewrite the laws of physics, thereby changing the future, so they condensed a large number of them into a pen-shaped implement. But the pen needed a wielder who could withstand its intense energy, so the Shen Marek set about kidnapping "specimens" from across the Multiverse to find compatible genomes.<br /><br />When the entirety of Head Count was called away for the mission to rescue the captives, Justine secretly followed Sara, Echo, and Kassie to the bathroom and saw them stepping through one of the latter's portals. Unwittingly tapping into a power she didn't realize she had, Justine managed to hold the portal open and flung herself through the Void and into the frigid world of Arafox, where the battle was taking place. Neither the Shen Marek's psionic soldiers nor the members of Head Count saw her until near the end of the battle, when the Shen Marek's commander suddenly pointed her out as a subject brimming with the priceless spiritual component their new invention lacked.<br /><br />Head Count immediately took to the defensive and struggled to fight off Justine's accosters, but the decisive moment came when Kassie used a portal-fueled slingshot maneuver to fling a duplicate of Sara at the enemy commander and knock the pen out of his hand. As if by fate, the instrument fell through the portal and bounced to rest at Justine's feet. She picked the pen up, and with two soldiers bearing down on her, she swung it in the air and conjured the quickest, most painful thing her hurried mind could think of: a swarm of bees.<br /><br />Although she didn't understand how the device worked, Justine quickly realized that the pen was powered by her imagination, and whatever effects it "drew" on the environment weren't permanent. Although the stunts Justine performed with the pen were unpolished, she turned the tide of the fight long enough to help Head Count escape and leave the Shen Marek's stragglers behind for the forces of Arkaden Dividre to clean up.<br /><br />The discovery of the mysterious new power source contained in the pen has opened up a new wrinkle in Head Count's quest to understand and protect the Multiverse. Justine is certainly not the only creative mind out there who can unlock the deep power of the Conjurer's Pen, but in the interest of preserving Head Count's secrecy to Earth and keeping the artifact out of malevolent hands, Justine was invited to stay with the group and continue training with the pen, while further research into the nature of its power is conducted.<br /><br />**************************<br /><br />Yeah, remember that tripleheader from back in April? She has a name now. (And is not actually a tripleheader. That's just a thing the pen can do!)<br /><br />Just a quick one, sprucing up an old sketch. Haven't had the spoons to draw much lately due to personal events. -.-; Need to get my mentals in order.<br /><br />~Az