concord

I got into Champions because a girl asked me to.  I was chasing after her and she was in a game and knew I was into comic books in a big way. I loved the game and stayed with it long after she and I were no more.  
   So you’ll have to ask her what game she would have been playing ‘cause she could have asked me to try laying down in traffic and I would have said OK.

“I have a sister. A twin. Her name is Kari. Growing up we were inseparable. You wouldn't know what that was like.”
 
“I'm an only child. There are people that I consider family, but I don't have siblings,” he said.
 
Her mouth in a tight line, Kris folded her arms across her knees and rested her chin on them. There was a long moment before she spoke. “Do you know what sympathetic twins are?”
 
“Only in the realm of science fiction.” Kris was silent, but looked at him out of the corner of her eye and raised her eyebrow. Jason realized she wanted more of an answer. “Sympathetic twins are the belief that if something happens to one twin the other is aware of it. Some form of telepathic or empathic connection.”
 
Kris nodded her head. “Only it isn't within the realm of science fiction. It does happen.”
 
“I'm sure there would be scientific studies done to support that.”
 
“Why? Unless the children, and for the most part it would be children that they studied, tormented and tortured for the studies, realized that they would be separated. So they don't let others know. Parents and other family just think it is some quirk that the children have.”
 
“If it helps any, I can empathize,” Jason said.
 
“You can? How?”
 
Standing up, Jason walked out towards the overlook. He felt Kris's eyes follow him. “One of my...gifts,” he said turning back to face her, “is the ability to make a connection...a link with another person. You'll meet one of them soon. These people, through those links, I know what direction they are in. I have a rough idea of how far away from me they are. If I concentrate on them I can get a feel for their mood. If they get injured, I know.”
 
“Can you read their minds?” she asked, a smile playing around her mouth.
 
Jason shook his head, “No.”
 
Dismounting from the stump, Kris walked to Jason. “But you do have some idea what it's like. Unlike you, I don't know if Kari is alive or dead! I mean I know she isn't dead! I'd know if she were! But it's been years and I don't know where she is or what has happened to her!”
 
Smiling, Jason said, “You're the responsible one.” Kris sucked her bottom lip in and nodded. “Which of you is older?”
 
“I am,” she answered, hanging her head. “By fifteen minutes.”
 
“What if,” Jason slipped a finger under Kris's chin and lifted it gently, “what if I can find her? Have her brought here? Would you give us a chance then?”
 
“Why?” she asked quietly. “Why would you do that?”
 
“I'm a rich kid.” Shrugging, he said, “I've got money and other resources. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't offer to help?”
 
Kris lifted her chin higher. Tears glittered in her eyes, threatening to fall. “Are we? Are we friends?”
 
“I'd like us to be,” he said quietly. “I mean, you slicing me open with that spear notwithstanding and all.” He was smiling as he said it.
 
Fighting a smile of her own, Kris dropped her head down, tears falling free into the dirt. “Okay,” she said after a few moments. “Yes, if you can find her and bring her here, I'll give this crazy scheme a chance. Where else do I have to go?”
 
“Kris?”
 
Eyes opened wide in surprise. “Kari?” came out as a whisper. She turned slowly, peeking around her wing.
 
Smiling, fighting tears, Kari said, “You've got wings.”
 
“You've got a tattoo,” Kris said facing her sister.
 
Kari's hand went to her arm, covering the tattoo. “It's temporary,” she said stepping closer.
 
“The wings aren't,” said barely above a whisper.
 
“It's okay,” Kari said with a shrug. “I've got wings too. Want to see?” She turned and lifted her shirt revealing the small of her back and the tattoo there. “I had this done last year. For you.”

Reeling from a blow to the temple from the spinning staff, Jason stumbled backward. Regaining his bearings, Jason saw Kris moving in with her staff in a two-handed grip which would lead to a killing blow. He flew backwards out of her reach as the staff came down and slammed into the ground.
 
“Kris, we're just sparring,” he said calmly.
 
Kris moved in with the staff spinning. Her wings, as Jason had pointed out, shifted and moved, leaving the spinning of the staff unimpeded. Anger blemished her looks.
 
Watching, Jason went on the defensive. There were no feints. Each blow Kris made connected solidly with Jason's staff. The angrier she became the faster the blows came. And it seemed, the faster her discipline and training fell away.
 
An opening sensed, Jason shifted his own staff to one hand and caught Kris's, yanking it free from her hands. Only a sudden and impulsive spreading of her wings kept her from sprawling. She glared at Jason for a moment and he wondered if she was going to come at him unarmed.
 
Kris turned, and hands in claws by her sides, screamed at the sky.
 
Keeping an eye on her, Jason set the staffs by the stump. He retrieved two water bottles from the cooler. Kris was breathing hard. He cracked the top on one bottle while walking slowly toward the woman. He held the bottle out to her.
 
Turning to him, he saw the anger still burning in her eyes. She snatched the offered bottle, spilling some water. Drinking some, Kris then poured what was left over her upturned face. He watched the water run from her face, down her neck to soak into fabric of her shirt.
 
When she finally brought her head down, her breathing was more controlled. There was a look of guilt in her eyes. “I'm sorry.” Jason smiled and shrugged. “Can I see what you were working on?” she asked.
 
“Sure.” Returning to the stump, Jason picked up his sketch book and handed it to her. Starting with the page he had been working on, Kris turned the pages back slowly. There were different sketches of a female form, her, as she gone through her exercises. She noticed that Jason had paid more attention to the movements and positions of her wings than to her body.
 
Until she came to a full-color portrait. Kris blushed and closed the book. In what looked like paint to her, Jason had put her name on the cover. “A whole book just for me?”
 
“I've got one started with Ash,” he said. “And one with Warren. It makes it easier for me if I have an idea I want to work with and who I think would be a good model for it.”
 
“Ideas?”
 
“I paint, Kris. People, landscapes, still life. If I don't have a pencil in hand, I usually have a paintbrush instead.”
 
“Oh,” she said quietly. She held the book to her chest with her arms crossed over it.
 
“Do you want to explain?”
 
Her eyes darted to Jason's and then she looked down. “Explain?”
 
“About why you're angry,” he said gently.
 
Kris sighed and held his book out to him. “My sister.”
 
Jason returned to his chair, slipping the water bottle into the cup holder in the armrest. He didn't say anything. He just looked at Kris. She hung her head for a moment. Looking up, she moved to the stump. Her empty bottle went back into the cooler and she pulled out another. Kris pushed the cooler back and sat on the stump, her feet against it and her knees up.

Let me tell you about my character.... I hope y'all don't dread those words.  At least this time, this character concept comes with a picture!
 
In my Thursday night role playing game, we are just starting out with Unknown Worlds, a Apocalypse Engine game ( like Dungeon World) but the genre is science fiction.  Pete, our GM, had been reading the Expanse books and is now watching the show and it is a big influence on our game.
 
So, set in our solar system, no Faster than Light, no Artificial Gravity.  Earth has a lot of rocks dropped on it by Mars 5 years ago and it is a Mad Max sort of place.  Luna has become the banking Switzerland of the solar system after Earth "fell".  Mars is a techno marvel, terraforming happening at an amazing place, one can walk outside without breathing equipment for short periods.  
 
My character, Tremaine "Trey" Sinclair, is from Europa.  Europa colonies are in the buried oceans under the ice, and are heavily into the bio-sciences, including gene splicing and manipulation.  Trey is Homo Aquaticus, he is amphibian, can breath under water, notice the gills and webbed, large hands in the picture.  He is a pilot (both submarine and starship) and yearned to see the outside world.  Left Europa to explore the "other" oceans (both stars and Earth's own oceans).  He is the pilot of the "Flying Fin" which was a museum on Earth as it was one of the first Europa probe ships (both starship and submersible), recently salvaged from the Atlantic off of Africa, by a Luna corporation with the Trey and the other characters help.  
 
It is a really interesting game as Unknown Worlds really lends itself to easy character creation with totally interesting results.  The world building we are doing is awesome!  I look forward to next week quite a bit!
 

So, my mother in law died last week, early Monday morning, to be specific.  Sad, but expected.  She was 80.  Much beloved.   I was in Puerto Rico for the funeral and just got back in last night, late.  But right before she died, I had done some artwork for commissions, the two superhero pieces.  
 
Happy accident time!  I totally had a dyslexic moment and the Honey Badger commission called for a male.  But in my brain, I thought I had read female and I drew Honey Badger as a woman villain. (It was the term "Honey" that threw me, so sexist of me).  The patron really liked it and didn't take me up on my offer to redraw her as a man after I found out my mistake.
 
I also really like the Cloud concept.  He is a shapechanging, digital entity who resides in the Cloud.  That is a scary concept, guess you have to lure him out to like rural-off-the-grid New Mexico or Canada in order to truly defeat him.  Good luck with that y'all.   
 
And I fooled around on a painted piece after watching Steve Prescott's painting video with heavy body acrylics.  After pestering Steve and asking a few questions about heavy body acrylics, which I had never used, I went and got a couple of tubes (burnt sienna, white, black).  I had doodled that drawing in my toned color sketch book and despite it being fairly thin paper, I went to town with the acrylics.  
 
The underpainting is the heavy body acrylic, but the color work was done with some guoache I had lying around.  Bottom line;  I really like the Liquitex heavy body acrylics, they stay wet a nice long time.  Easier to blend and mix.  So thanks Steve!
 

 

 

This was a full page illustration that got away.  In the sense that it is supposed to be an interior illustration.  But the thumbnails that were more scaled to a interior didn’t suit the client.  He wanted a sense of scale and wanted bad guys and good guys and pretty specific visuals on the good guys.  This turned into full blown cover in its detail.  Took me forever.  I certainly lost money on this one.
 
But sometimes you have to take a bullet for the team.  It is better to have a happy client than to finish something too fast.
 

My friends' daughters love Harley and Ivy

I shared a couple of pics from my upcoming Champions game earlier.  I’ve gotten a couple more done and now that is up as a Clip Art portfolio from LPJ Designs for publishers who might need some super hero art.  You can preview all 5 pics before you purchase.  And I have several fantasy and super hero clip art collections that might fit publishers needs in addition to the newest one.
 
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/202529/Image-Portfolio-Platinum-Edition-38-Storn-Cook?
 
Here are a couple of the pics that have not been posted yet that are in that collection.
 
We have The Blue, a Lemurian immortal mage, now coming out of seclusion to help rebuild the world.  Played by Geoff.  An extensive multipower of water based magics.
 

 
And we have Myrk, a hybrid of two alien races, one of which looks quite huminoid, the Tresselaines.  The published Herculon from Champions Enemies is a Tresselaine (I believe).  He was on Earth during the 10 year Invasion War fighting for Earth.  He is a brick with certain fungus and plant abilities like stretching due to vines and spikes.  Played by Rick.
 

Back from the ashes of yesterday... 
 
After years of hiatus, I will be in the Champions game (RDU: Red Dragon Universe) run by Neil C. again.  We are putting the band back together, using Roll20, Skype and such, hopefully starting soon.  We've been doing tons of emails back and forth.  
 
I have been inspired to draw the characters, although I only have 3 done.  I have to switch gears slightly to finish some interiors for Golden Age Champions.  
The New Pioneers are a group brought together after a decade long alien invasion of our original game.  My character, Hope,  is actually the daughter of my first RDU character, Vector.  Her red sleeve represent Mars, where she grew up and the blue one represent Earth.  Her powers are strength, mini-brick from her grandfather, Ultraman and light powers from her grandmother, Lady White.  She has some empathic abilities and strong mental defenses from her mom.  I eschewed telekinesis, because I played her dad, Vector, for years.  I've done pretty much everything I ever wanted to do with telekinesis over that time.  
 
The Terran, played by Joe C, is a martial artist, with earth shaping abilities.  Picked by the Gaea like force to heal the world.  We haven't played yet, so I don't know all he can do.  
 
Krys is a being of pure Crystaltech, given sentience during the long alien invasion.  Crystaltech was a HUGE plot point for years in RDU.   Played by Bill S.  He has the ability to mimic almost any energy ability.  
 
The campaign will be trying to rebuild Earth and reconnect it to the Mars colony.  Mankind has been devastated, population is down to 1 billion souls.  I am really looking forward to the next chapter of RDU.  



More to come, perhaps next week.  I still have Myrk, Shocks and The Blue to still do.  And oh yeah, I want to do a pic of our shuttle craft too.  

“Warren!” Kate said in a harsh whisper while shaking her husband awake.
 
“Hmm?”
 
“There's someone in the house!”
 
Warren's eyes snapped open and he tossed the covers back. He moved out into the hall. The first thing he noticed was a red light emanating from Aaron's room. Moving to the doorway he saw someone standing over Aaron's bed. Someone he knew.
 
“Won't hap-pen, Aaron,” Jason said. “I prom-ise.” He moved his hand closer to the sleeping babe and the flare around his hand grew brighter. Jason pulled his hand back and made a fist. The flare died down.
 
Flipping on the lights in the hall, Warren said, “Saying you could drop by any time, I didn't think you'd pick the middle of the night.”
 
“Sor-ry, War-ren. Needed to.”
 
“Are you okay?”
 
Jason straightened his back. He brought his left hand up. “No.”
 
Warren saw a ring dangling from a chain hanging from Jason's fist. He moved next to Jason and lifted the ring on its chain. He didn't look at it. He knew it. Intimately. “This is Kate's ring. Where did you get it?”
 
“Long stor-ry.”
 
“Kate, where's your wedding band?”
 
“On my finger. Why?”

A cool breeze blew gently across the balcony attempting to flip the pages of the travel magazine Marlene was reading. Smiling at Jason, Marlene runs her hand gently down his back. “Hmm?” he mumbles around the paintbrush held in his mouth.
 
“Nothing,” she says. “Just making sure this is really happening and we're both here.” Marlene glances at the painting he is working on, a sailboat out on the water done in watercolors that he had found in a gift shop.
 
With only one hand on her magazine the passing breeze managed to tug a few pages from between her fingers. There before her was something that bothered her. Something that she had never brought up to Jason. A simple picture of a cabin in the woods. It wasn't a big cabin. And there was a lake. It wasn't in the mountains. At least not the sharp, rough mountains of the west. Maybe the softer hills of the Appalachians or the Catskills. She didn't look for a location or a caption.
 
“Do you know what I regret?” she asked.
 
“Hmm?” He pulled the brush from his mouth. “What's that?”
 
“I never got time in the cabin.”
 
Brow furled, Jason turned his head to look at her. “You spent time in the cabin.”
 
Marlene closed the magazine and set it on the table so that the wind wouldn't flip it open. “Not like Sandy and Leah did.”
 
“Oh.”
 
“And while waking up beside you with your hand on my butt,” she said, standing up, “it would have been better if my butt had been bare, you had been naked, and my best friend your girlfriend hadn't been laying on the other side of you.”
 
Smiling at the memory, Jason set his brushes down and turned his chair to face Marlene. “At least I was warm between the two of you.”
 
“I may be being playful, but I'm serious, too. There were a lot of good memories made in that cabin, Jason,” she said quietly. “And they weren't all yours. Spring Break in our senior year; you, me and Sandy. You disappearing up there after she died.”
 
“I wouldn't call that a good memory,” he said just as quietly. “And I didn't tell that guy to burn it down.”
 
“Maybe not, but that cabin was your hideaway. It was the first place you took Kris and Ash after meeting them. If you asked them I'm pretty sure they would say that they miss it. I know Leah did. She wanted you to take her back up there after that trip she took to Europe.” Marlene set her forearms on Jason's shoulders and ran her fingers through his short hair. “But you, you seemed to think it only affected you, so you never bothered to rebuild it.
 
“In the time that I have been the account manager for the Guardians I have seen bills and receipts for cars to replace those lost in battle. Not yours, but other peoples. Medical bill assistance for injuries incurred by bystanders and police. Salvage operations. Construction, new or repair. All these different things that you paid for, for others, but because you feel that you are the only one that impacted you never bothered to rebuild it.” Her forehead was pressed against his now. He was frowning.
 
Trying to smile, he said, “I love you.”
 
“Hmm, tell me that again,” her voice husky.
 
Jason's hands moved up her back. “I love you,” he said quietly. His fingers moved through her hair and it spilled forward. “You've been letting your hair grow out.” Marlene brushed hair from her face and stroked its length down her sweater.
 
Nodding her head, she smiled at him. “Yeah. Not sure why, but yeah, letting it grow back out some.” She pulled his head up so that their lips touched in a gentle kiss. “Think about what I said,” she said breaking away.
 
“Where are you off to?” he asked.
 
“The show is in four hours,” she said. “While it isn't Broadway, I'm sure those actor types are the same everywhere and they wouldn't want us walking in in the middle of the first act. And there's dinner, whether or not it is before or after, maybe before and after depending on how hungry I get. So I figured I would take a little time and get my hair styled. You finish up your painting. I want to see it when it's done.”
 
Stepping through the glass door, Marlene smiled to herself. This is going to be a rather interesting relationship, Mr. Scott.
 
* * * * *
Still frowning, Jason watched Marlene walk into their room. There was a sway to her hips that he was used to seeing when Marlene was in heels. Thinking about it, he realized that she wasn't trying to be sexy. Not now wearing low-heeled boots and jeans, or other times in heels and more formal wear. Or less. He got the impression that it came when Marlene was feeling self-satisfied about something. The more he followed that train of thought, he got the idea that he was at the center of it.
 
This is going to be a very interesting relationship. With a crimson flash, he tossed Marlene's hair tie on top of her magazine and turned his attention back to his painting.

One of my favorite parts of this book to write was the chapter on archetypes, which refers back to the earliest breakdowns of superheroic "character classes" from Champions. I address all of the different subtypes of Bricks, Energy Projectors, etc. present in the Golden Age, rename a couple (the "Martial Artist" is better explained as the "Mystery Man"), and add a fistful of brand new subarchetypes. Forthwith to demonstrate, an excerpt from "The Sidekick":
 
<4> The Derivative Kid
The first type of Sidekick to spring to most players’ minds, the Derivative Kid has more or less the same powers or skills as his mentor at a lower level, a costume either based on his mentor’s or specifically designed to stand out in contrast, and the stock standard personality for kids in 1930s and 40s popular culture: inquisitive bordering on outright nosey, brave, usually a wisecracker, and with an absolute faith in and even hero worship of the adult he’s working alongside. Robin defines the archetype the same way Batman does that of the Mystery Man, and his popularity led to a small army of clones: Bucky (Captain America), Speedy (Green Arrow), Sandy (Sandman), Pinky (Mr. Scarlet), Stuff the Chinatown Kid (Vigilante), and Dusty (The Shield.) The Guardian had an entire team of noncostumed preteens similar to the Our Gang kids of the movies in the Newsboy Legion. In a rare gender switch, Cat-Man took on a girl Sidekick named Kitten. If the mentor hero has superpowers, his Sidekick might as well. Toro had the same powers as the Human Torch, usually portrayed as being a few Active Points less. Similarly, Dan the Dyna-Mite (TNT) and Roy the Super Boy (Wizard) had similar powers to their mentors.
 
<4> Female Counterpart
Several superheroes of the period had their girlfriends wind up joining them in their war against injustice on occasion. Most notable was Hawkgirl, who appeared in Hawkman’s first story as Shiera Saunders, and was eventually given her own set of wings and costumed identity. (In the retconned stories of the All-Star Squadron, she keeps up protecting the homefront when her husband enlists after Pearl Harbor.) Bulletman created a second Gravity Regulator Helmet for his girlfriend Susan to wear, and she joined him in his adventures as Bulletgirl. Doll Man’s girlfriend Martha underwent a similar transformation late in the Golden Age, duplicating her boyfriend’s power to shrink and adopting a costumed identity. The Human Torch briefly teamed with Sun Girl, who had no powers but was armed with several interesting gadgets that were given no explanation, including a “Sun Gun” that fired blinding light beams.
 
<4> Comic Relief
Several superheroes in the Golden Age had Sidekicks who were mostly suited to slapstick comedy rather than serious superheroing, even if the hero himself was generally not portrayed as particularly lighthearted. Green Lantern was frequently aided by a portly taxi driver named Doiby Dickles, who would drive his cab “Goitrude” into dangerous situations armed only with a ludicrous approximation of a Brooklyn accent. Captain Marvel, who had already acquired a superpowered “family” consisting of his long-lost sister Mary and best friend Freddy Freeman (better known as Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior) also had a recurring sidekick named Uncle Marvel, a “lovable old fraud” character who claimed to also have superpowers that his various physical ailments prevented him from showing off at that particular moment. Plastic Man was regularly aided by Woozy Winks, a doltish ex-con who once saved the life of a wizard and was rewarded by being gifted with invulnerability.
 
<4> The Boy In Charge
A similar archetype to the Sidekick is the Boy In Charge, a teen (or even younger child) with no or limited powers but who has access to a much more capable ally who for whatever reason is bound to the young hero and follows his orders. The ally can vary widely in power level, from a cheerful adult bruiser of a chauffeur to a magical genie who can grant wishes in a wink. Examples of this type include Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy, Johnny Thunder, The Boy King, and Kid Eternity (who summoned any number of temporary Sidekicks from the mists of history.) Two players can work together to create this sort of partnership if the characters themselves are of approximately the same value (perhaps one is smart and skilled while the other handles the rougher stuff.) Otherwise, it’s best to have the player build the more powerful servant as their primary PC, with appropriate limitations to reflect that the “sidekick” is actually the one in charge. Perhaps the more powerful ally can only appear for a limited amount of time each day, or is inconveniently sized for some activities (like the Boy King’s giant statue.)
 
<4> Unusual Sidekicks
Some comicbook Sidekicks defy any sort of categorization. The Vigilante was occasionally assisted by an ornery old cowboy named Billy Gunn, who the hero had met when he was running an arcade at Times Square and persuaded to come out of “retirement.” The Crimson Avenger, who in many ways resembled the radio show hero the Green Hornet, further appropriated the idea of an Asian sidekick like Kato, called Wing. Unfortunately, where Kato was an impressive combatant, skilled driver and inventor of Green Hornet’s souped-up car, Wing mostly told jokes in pidgin dialect while his mentor did the crimefighting. Captain Marvel had yet another occasional sidekick in Tawky Tawny, an anthropomorphic tiger who wore a loud suit and hat. An actual tiger who had been given a serum that allowed him to walk and talk like a human being, Tawky became friends with Captain Marvel after accidentally causing a panic in the city, and took a job as a docent at the Museum of Natural History when he wasn’t helping his pal fight criminals...

Red Lightning

Here's a new batch of villains that's in plenty of time for Halloween, as they all have a supernatural theme
to them. And so, without further ado, here's the Dark Covenant:
 
 

 
 
The members of the Dark Covenant are as follows: Count Blood, a member of the British peerage who is
secretly a vampire and the leader of the group; Shadow Witch, the group's second-in-command and a
practicioner of witchcraft of the blackest, most evil sort, in addition to being the Count's lover; Skinwalker,
an Amerind-Caucasian lycanthrope with a penchant for 'playing' with his prey, drawing out his or her fear
and suffering for as long as possible before the kill; Herr Doktor, a German-born scientist of questionable
ethics who has not only continued the work of Victor Frankenstein, but has also improved upon it as well --
as embodied by the fifth member of the group, the artificial lifeform known only as the Construct. Not only
was Herr Doktor able to create the creature using an advanced version of the process originally used to
create what became known as Frankenstein's Monster, he also had access to better 'raw materials' -- to wit,
the remains of slain metahumans. Because of the metahuman bodies used in its creation, the Construct
has superhuman strength and slightly faster-than-normal reflexes, not to mention an inhuman level of
endurance and resistance to physical harm. It also possess a powerful attack in the form of an optic energy-
beam, which it can fire from its right eye. The final member of the group is Swampbeast, an amphibian
horror of unknown origin which appears to have been created from a combination of several species, in-
cluding human beings. The creature is highly intelligent, and delights in terrorizing lone groups of boaters
out on what it considers to be its hunting grounds.
 
The primary focus of the Dark Covenant appears to be the acquisition of items of great mystical power -- magic
artifacts, grimores, etc. -- for purposes which only they know; the few law-enforcement agents who have gotten
close enough to discover the group's secrets have, to a man, met with a horrifying demise.
 
 
Major Tom 2009

Owlet

This one took quite a while to do:
 
 
 

 
 
Windrider
 
 
Major Tom 2009

Renaissance Smug arrogant super scientist who decided, in his magnanimous wisdom to bestow his gifts on the world of lesser beings.  A misguided hero/potential villain 
 

Iron Maus: Armored political statement. Despite his comedic appearance, Iron Maus is quite serious in his war against corporate dominance and its stranglehold on many endeavors especially the creative fields. And his (Iron Maus is presumed male but no one has seen his true appearance). armor is no joke either and is easily a match for some of the most formidable high tech battlesuits available. 
 

Jaeger Institute

Here's an updated version of Supersonique....
 

 
Supersonique

Thanks Enforcer!
 
Some new stuff from Juan Paolo. The first product I ever put out (for BASH, Supers! & G-Core) was a villain team called The Triad. Decided to get new images of them done. From left to right is Moonstone, Hypersonic & Hoarfrost:
 

“Do you believe in ghosts?”
 
“There were times when the house would smell like baking bread. My daddy used to say that mom was in the kitchen baking or that she was watching over us.”
 
Marlene leaned her shoulder and head against the archway. Her arms were crossed and her hands were up near her shoulders. “Right now there is a beautiful young woman sitting in that window, playing that guitar. One foot is up on the bench with her knee raised and her other foot is on the floor. She has a pencil in her mouth and a notebook in front of her.”
 
Looking to the bay window with a black guitar decorated with little purple flowers, Beth asked, “Your friend?” Marlene nodded in answer. “You're talking about memories.”
 
Giving Beth a quick, weak smile, Marlene said, “Yeah. The first time Jason and Sandy brought me up here was Spring Break during our senior year. Broke up with a guy I never should have been dating.”
 
Beth thought back to her last boyfriend. “I know how that feels,” she said quietly.
 
“Anyway, Sandy would play her guitar and I would sing with her.”
 
“What about Jason?”
 
Marlene gave Beth a real smile. “Jason can't sing. He would sit, sketch or paint while we did whatever.”
 
Setting her load of files and papers on the table, Beth said, “Jason seems...I don't know. Quiet? Warren plays sports. Basketball, football, what have you. Jason sits. He reads. He does art stuff. He cooks.”
 
“Jason is an introvert, Beth. Handles larges groups as needed and withdraws as fast as he can,” Marlene said moving towards the table.
 
“What's with him cooking? I mean, he's a good cook and all, but...”
 
“I enjoy it, for one thing,” Jason answered from the archway. “Memories of my mom doing in the kitchen.” His eyes darted to the stack of papers on the table and he moved closer.
 
Turning to Jason and stepping in front of him, Marlene rose up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “That was a lovely reunion. Thank you for letting me be part of it.”
 
Jason gave her an honest smile. “Yes it was. Thanks for bringing her sister here.” His tone took a more serious turn. “Let's get to work.”

“You know Actery?” Sharon heard the cap on the bottle release and the sound it made pouring into a glass.
 
“I knew someone that had a similar sense of humor. The man I knew went by Sofer. Phil O. Sofer.”
 
Her image of Jason nodded his head in thought. “Philosopher,” he said quietly.
 
The bottle was set on the counter and she sensed Jason approach. The bouquet of the wine reached her first. Sharon smiled. “The red.” The subtle scent of Egyptian musk oil and sandalwood blended caught Sharon's attention. A scent that reminded her of Marlene. Probably some residue left on the bottle from when Marlene last handled it.
 
“Someday, you'll have to explain that trick to me,” Jason said, trying to maintain the false sense of humor overlaying his anger. He settled on the other end of the couch.
 
Sharon smiled. “No trick. Heightened senses and the experience of a long life.” She lifted the glass to her nose and inhaled. “In response to your question, it depends on context. Originally warlocks were oath breakers. Then there is some belief or thought that they were spellcasters. Usually in league with the devil and dark forces. As time progressed, you get the male witch aspect. So it all depends on the context in which is was intended.”
 
“That's pretty much what Actery said,” Jason said quietly. “How did you know him?”
 
“Hmm...Nineteen fifty-six, I think it was. Atlanta? No,” she corrected herself. “Tampa. He was a private dick at the time.” She smiled at her usage of the old term for a private investigator. “What is he doing in Canada?”
 
“Fewer people around where he lives. Less danger. Less temptation and Phil said that his demon prefers the cold. I got the feeling that he only ventured into the city because need called to him.”
 
“Your need?”
 
His head was tilted back against the couch. “So, do you have any plans for Christmas?” he asked, ignoring her question.
 
“I've been invited to spend time with Daniel and his family. Irish invited me to spend time with them.” Sharon braced her elbow on the armrest and rested her head against her splayed fingers. “You were missed at Thanksgiving.”
 
“I didn't feel like I had a lot to be thankful for,” Jason said quietly.
 
“Your friends would have liked to see you,” Sharon said just as quietly. “Want to talk about the witches? What brought that on?”
 
“I had questions. The answers led to other questions. Invariably they led me where Actery could find me.”
 
Resting her wine glass on her knee, Sharon asked Jason, “How did you find out about him? If you have questions about magic and whatnot, why not ask the Spellbinder? Or Angelique?”
 
“Angel isn't around to ask.” There was a tone of finality in his voice.
 
“What do you mean she isn't around? I thought you and her were on good terms.”
 
Jason sighed. “We were on very good terms.”
 
Sharon cocked her head to the side and turned to face Jason. “I don't understand. What happened that you aren't on good terms?”
 
“Nothing. Angel and Marlene were building a friendship between them. Angel was in the loft with Marlene. As to how I found out about him, Mentor has a lot of things stored away. Like dad's notes. I ask Mentor to find out what he can and he scans the web, his own storage and finds me something that might have bearing.” A ping from the counter where Jason had poured the wine sounded and he stood up.
 
“So, old-fashioned detective work with a modern day angle. Sometimes I miss the old, pre-information age way of doing things,” Sharon said wistfully.
 
“Beating a guy in a back alley with a roll of dimes in your hand?”
 
Sharon laughed. “I never needed the roll of dimes!” She took a drink, giving herself a moment to think. “What did you find out that has you questioning witches?”
 
“A witch in time saved one. A witch in time can save two. A witch out of time can save no one.”
 
“Riddles. A demon's riddle?” She sensed Jason nod his head. “Words requiring context or they have multiple possible meanings.”
 
“So you see my quandary.” The aroma of coffee preceded Jason's return to the couch.
 
“Want to give me your thoughts on things?” Sharon asked.
 
“Something...something doesn't feel right. Inside my head. I can't really explain it,” Jason's voice was low.
 
“Try,” Sharon prodded. Jason was quiet for a long moment. She hated not being able to see his face, to get some clue from his expression.
 
Finally, he spoke. “How do you see? Are the lights on or off?”
 
“You've got one light on, set low.”
 
“And you know that how? You get around a lot better than most sighted people, Sharon. How? How do you know that there's only one light lit? How do you not crack your shin on the table? How did you manage to sit on the couch and not on the floor?” There was no tension in his voice. No frustration. Just the curiosity of the questions.
 
“I can't explain that. That is also something that requires context to understand,” she replied.
 
“The links to everyone still exist, but Marlene...and Angel, they feel...I can't say wrong, but they're gone,” he explained.
 
“What do you mean 'gone'?”
 
“I mean that it feels as if the connections were severed. More like ripped out to be left bleeding and raw. I can tell you where everyone I'm connected to is, direction and rough distance. If I concentrate or if something happens to one of them that causes some type of spike, emotional or physical, I know about it when it happens. Sometimes it can be a distraction. Other times, depending, it causes me to go looking.
 
“From the connections to Angel and Marlene...there is simply nothing.”
 
Sharon sat quiet. Jason's words tumbled through her head trying to find where each piece in the puzzle fit. She slipped her shoes off and drew her legs up on the couch. “Where is everyone?”
 
“Wolfgang's,” Jason answered. “Everyone except Warstar. Not sure, but I think they've got Spellbinder with them.”
 
“A late dinner,” Sharon said quietly with some amusement.
 
She had a sense of Jason giving a small smile. “Yeah. I figure Dani is trying to use up my account in one sitting. You should see how she eats.”
 
Sharon felt a twinge of regret. She knew there was no malice in Jason's choice of words, and yet it still stung. Too much like her own thoughts heading in here tonight. “She's fire, Jason. Fire consumes.” Taking a small sip, Sharon used the pause to push the feeling away. She didn't want to pitied by anyone. What was, was. The last person she wanted pity from was herself. She had long years to come to terms with her condition. Her abilities, as Jason had pointed out, more than compensated for the loss.
 
“What are your plans for Christmas?” she asked.
 
Movement cause her senses to shift. Jason hung his head for a moment. “Did the whole 'thanks for another year' at the offices here. Catch a flight at 3 AM and head out to California to do it again in a couple of days at the office there. What are you going to do?”
 
Eyes narrowing and lips pursing, Sharon realized Jason hadn't answered her at all. “Like I said, I've been invited places. Honestly, I was thinking of taking a trip somewhere. Hawaii, maybe the Bahamas.” Her fingers rubbed her temple. “So why did you ask me here tonight? What do you really want to talk about?”
 
Silence was her answer for a long moment. “How about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?”
 
Nodding, Sharon said, “We haven't had any kind of philosophy debate in a long while. Why that topic?”
 
“Why do we pursue happiness?'
 
Cocking her head as if you look at him, she said, “Not to make light, but do you like feeling miserable?”
 
Jason sighed. “No, I don't. And yet it seems like every moment of happiness is paid for with pain and misery far outlasting the happiness.” Sensing Jason lifting his cup and hearing him take a drink gave Sharon a further moment to reflect. “I've been engaged twice. Do you realize that? And both times something...ugly happened to the woman.”
 
“Sandy and...Leah?”
 
Sharon sensed a slight shake of Jason's head. “I was going to propose to Leah the night we had planned to go out to dinner. I bought her outfit for that evening. I had George Sanza make a dress from a sketch I had done.” She sensed Jason lift his hand a small pressure wave buffeted her. “Still have the ring I was going to give her,” Jason said, followed by something dropping on the cushion between them. Sharon's hand went to the ring box on the couch. “But then she left town unexpectedly.”
 
Opening the box, Sharon's finger moved over the ring. “It's beautiful. Nice size stone. Secure setting.” She closed the box and set it back on the cushion.
 
“Considering our lifestyles, I figured secure was better than a stone that sticks out a half-inch from the ring and not one so big that she needed a crane to lift her hand to show it off.” Sharon felt the pain and sadness behind Jason's attempt at humor.
 
“When did you and Marlene...?”
 
“Reaffirmation Day. After we went back to the loft,” he answered quietly.
 
“And you never announced it.”
 
“We wanted to tell her parents first; ask her dad's permission and all that. Never got a chance to. Too much happened too fast.” She sensed Jason's head dropping again. “And then she was gone,” he added quietly.
 
“I think I was the only one that really realized that it hurt you every time she went out with someone,” Sharon admitted.
 
“It did,” he agreed quietly. “But I wanted her to be safe.”
 
“She didn't want to be safe, Jason. She wanted to be with you.”
 
“And we see where that got her.”
 
In Sharon's long life she knew full well the feeling of loss that came from being what she was. Jason was a lot younger, but the losses he had suffered had come fast and relatively close together. Her own losses, losing Dani's father, then her sight, finding and then losing Shane often came back to her in her quiet moments or in her dreams.
 
“Dani asked me for Shane's bike. She wants to give it to Charley.”
 
Jason lifted his head. “Shane was big. Heavy. It's a nice thought, but for Charley, that would be akin to riding a minibike.”
 
“Charley isn't that much taller than Shane was,” she jibed back.
 
“'Let's think about that one',” Jason said as if he were quoting someone. “'The woman is eight feet tall.'”
 
Sharon gave a quiet laugh. “Who said that?”
 
“One of the dog soldiers when I was hunting for Artie.”

Next up Power Force!
 
Barrier, telekinetic and leader of the group.

 
Cinder, the hotheaded blaster.

 
Fortress, the womanizing, size shifting brick.

 
Glory, the seductive mentalist.

 
Panther, the wisecracking scrapper.

 
And finally, Slip, the sneaky, intangible, martial-artist.

The Conquerors...