It came to me all in a flash. I have two characters I've played in different games, one of whom (Iron Maiden) has been seen in my published fiction. The other character, Rose Hancock, has essentially the exact same powers. I've been toying with what would happen if they met.

And then I realized the obvious: they're half-sisters. They have the same deadbeat (and, apparently, superpowered) dad. One grew up poor in the US, the other in the UK. But it would explain the similarities, and it gives me lots of fodder for stories.

Of course, now I have to figure out who their daddy is.

Thought y'all  might be interested in this contest: at hilowbrow.com.

CONTEST: Hilobrow.com readers are INVITED TO SUBMIT a short-short (250 words maximum) story about a troubled/troubling superman or -woman.

JUDGES: The stories will be judged by Hilobrow.com editors Matthew Battles, author of several SF stories published on this website, and Joshua Glenn, who writes about pre-Golden Age SF for io9.com; and Hilobrow.com contributor Matthew De Abaitua, whose 2009 novel The Red Men was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke award.

This story is set in the world of Gor, based on the novels of John Norman. Much has been said about "Gorean Ways", especially the Master/slave relationships that run throughout the books.

However, the alternate world that is described therein lends itself well to roleplay and there is no more than the mildest of sexual references anywhere in this story.

The story began in the roleplay room of the City of Ven'dara, hence the initial postings reflect that fact and are a copy from the "room scroll".

The story then moved to a format more akin to that used on this site and is still ongoing.