Hermit

Guild Wars 2 has been drawing my attention again, and I don't even have the new expac. It really is a gorgeous world Alas, in any MMORPG I am a scrub

while I wish something had clicked for you, I appreciate the honesty.

Honestly, they should beg Patty Jenkins to take over, because right now "From the Director who brought you Wonder Woman" is something that might have folks put money down for a DC movie

The URL seems to send me back to here. Which is fine. Nice folks here.

Anyone else find it interesting we have this "Investigations continue ..." "Tax plan for the rich!" "Net Neutrality" Then as eyes start to notice.. "Look, Jerusalem"

You may have noticed Pinprick was now in charge. Rest assured 'new boss, shorter than the old boss' got noticed. Hence Pinprick's comment on volunteer number one I have to check, but I think maybe it does get mentioned in the later parts. But oh yeah, who wouldn't want that? As for the rest I'm not sure I can post that in a family friendly superhero story

In our 'what the ####?!!!!" Story of the week for me A Georgia Man is ordered to cut off his own dog's dead head by a deputy I get that the Deputy shot the dog because it lunged at him. I don't like it when dogs get shot, but in this case I get it. I can get that the dog's vaccinations need to be confirmed. But telling a man he has to cut off his own dead dog's head off, that you shot, RIGHT NOW or he's going to jail for 'Reasons' (Which you will find by God) is borderline insane, and such a grotesque and surreal metaphor for abuse of power my mind boggles.

"Call"

(When it comes to marketing- Don't mess with Earth!) "Hi," I stared into the camera, but tried not to stare too much, "I'm Eel of the New Samaritans, you may know me better as Fish Guy, In my short time in Costa Sagrado, I've done everything from finding cats to fighting terrorists to helping to subdue a giant chicken. I do my best to use my gifts to help others, and I know a lot of folks in this city do the same in their own way. But one thing I can't protect you from? Scammers. In this case, alien scammers. They're called the Fumians, and they've infiltrated Earth to rob our resources, trick people into being enslaved or enslaving your loved ones. And, their products don't even work. In fact, they can ruin your life." "Take Sancho here, not his real name, and when you hear his story, you may realize why," I gestured to the side and Tornado came out onto the set. Of course, with the photomanipulation we were using, CGI rewrites that Hollywood would envy, it wouldn't look like Tornado. A very nondescript middle-aged gent of Latino heritage, almost generic in fact, and a bit slumping, "This poor man is a victim of Fumian scamming." He came out, looking miserable and said, "I didn't know the man was a Fumian. I just knew that he had these amazing devices and sciences, or so it seemed to me. When he offered me a little, ah, help with performance, I jumped at the chance. The Free sample worked better than anything on the legal market. But, after a mere twenty four hours, I began to realize it was working less and less until I didn't , I couldn't," He hung his head, "And, I noticed something else. My …manhood, was getting, smaller." "Sterility," I said patting 'Sancho' on the shoulder, "Impotency, and finally, diminishment. Buyer Beware indeed. If someone offers you something too good to be true, it probably is. Many good beings exist in this galaxy, and there are, I'm sure, even good Fumians, but these cosmic con artists are the ones that are here now. For more information, go to our website wwwdotfumianscammersdotNSdotnet. Knowing might just save what's most precious to you," I said. "I know it would have for me," Sancho gave a miserable look to the camera. "And we're done," Fox said as we stopped filming, a smile on her face, "Thank you, Eel, thank you, 'Sancho'. It only took like six takes. Now we set up the next one." "Mabel, you're going to make sure no one knows it's me, RIIIGHT?" Tornado asked, and not for the first time. The response from the audio speakers was a sultry set of chuckles, "give, give me a moment, it was all I could do not to laugh during the shooting." I couldn't help but grin myself but sobered long enough to ask, "So these things we're using, they all really happened with others who dealt with the Fumians? Call me a sap, but I want at least a little truth in our advertising if we can arrange it." It is all true, Slime assured me. The guy had been invaluable in giving us tales of Fumian customers being ruined for life by the results of their deals. Though I am unsure why you wished to use this anecdote. Is reproduction and performance so tied to the human male ego? "Absolutely," Arctic Fox said. "Pretty much," I admitted. "Fair cop," Tornado agreed. Odd, Slime wrote upon himself, clearly still mystified, Well, if it will discourage them, so be it. Hours had passed since Doctor Vernon had hit the hay, and yes, Mabel made sure she did. We'd been busy as hell between patrolling, investigating, patching up incidents caused by Fumian tech, and hoping to find a glimpse of Apocalyptic. And, of course, we were looking for the other independent superheroes. Which is where I was heading next while we changed who was doing what commercials. Ariana and I had an idea on how to flush out Bloodwatch. We would pretend to be a criminal and his victim. The problem is we had a big disagreement on what the crime should be. "Purse snatching is weak sauce, Caleb," She protested slipping on the wig of red hair to go with the business casual clothing she had ready. The prosthetic changed her nose shape just a bit, and the contacts turned her delicious chocolate eyes into a deep green, "If you really want to get his attention, then it needs to look more serious, a lot more serious." My own outfit was fashioned from materials from an army navy store and I hoped looked sufficiently like what a mugger was wearing this year. I had died my hair, and had my face half obscured by a fake but realistic mustache. "I do not want to even pretend to be a rapist," I stated flatly, "I can't even act out doing that. Call me weird, but no, not with any woman, but certainly not with you." "Caleb," Ariana said, "I assure you, my kinks do not run," She made a face, "in that vein, but we've fought before. Heck, I kicked you through a wall in the training room last week, remember? And you threw me through another one." "Yeah, and I felt bad about that," I reminded, "But this? This is different. Purse snatching? Yes. Heck, I'll even pretend to hit you, but I will not sexually assault you or even act it out. I've got ancestors, southern gentlemen of past ages, that would rise out of the grave and get me. Nuh uh." I crossed my arms and gave her that 'so there' look. "You're adorable," She said after a bit, "Fine, if we don't end up drawing Bloodwatch's attention we'll know it's because we didn't compare to whatever else he found. I hope your acting is good." I pretend to find your talk about your favorite actress and who she's dating fascinating. I deserve an Oscar for that. I thought wryly. I thought it, but I didn't say it. Whether I was a good actor or not, I was not stupid by any stretch. She eyeballed me as if somehow, she'd gained telepathy, "Huh" She said. "I didn't say anything," I protested. Somehow this had just gotten spooky. "No, you didn't say anything," She agreed, "Let's just hope those public service announcements have honed you as a thespian." "You're a Thespian," I countered with a petulant tone. "What?" She blinked. "It sounded funnier in my head," I confessed sheepishly. "It would have to," She clattered away on her sensible yet fashionable shoes towards the vehicle with which we would head to our patrol and performance, "Come on, hopefully this will work and get you shot in the head." "Yaaaaaay?" I said and followed along.

Geez, to folks who live in or have friends and family in the areas outside of L.A. my sympathies and good luck https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/06/568760424/california-wildfires-spread-spurred-on-by-strong-winds

The same jackasses that threatened real Armed Forces folks? Oh I sure hope this is hearsay

Noooo Not Isaac! Who will rule as our benevolent inorganic overlord? He's like the best of all skynet options

Sorry to hear it

Yeah, coming from Picard that was especially interesting as he wasn't exactly Captain Social

heck, it's in some ways a direct rip off of LaForge heading from helm to Engineering. But it does look bad from a certain POV- It's like Yaphet got passed over because someone did well on a SAT score back at the academy

Yeah, I feel Yaphet has a legit gripe here.

(Continued things weird and wonderful) "Anyway," I told the giant rabbit sitting on top of the box as I drank, "I really screwed up. Just when I thought I had some possible solutions to get my personal life back on track, I let my zeal for taking down Apocalyptic blind me- or is it deafen?" "Normal, I reckon I'd say deafen, but seeing how Slime talks, blinded is probably more apt, what with that individual having a gift or cinematic displays of calligraphy," The rabbit took a drink. His accent was terrible, like some Hollywood actor trying really hard to sound Southern. Oddly familiar somehow. "Right, I let it blind me," I went on, "And some innocent people almost got launched into whatever debtor's planet the Fumians have. The Fumians moved the bulk of their operations to who knows where because my theft from Mister Brute gave them a head's up. I've probably lost some of Lady Obsidian's trust too. " "Well, can't rightly blame her if that is indeed the case, now can you?" Rabbit on the box pointed out, "You were good with her running the train until you run into the folks that kicked your caboose? No wonder she's fixin to take you to the woodshed." "Yeah, I deserve it," I took a shot of whiskey in my own glass, which someone had etched 'Not going to waste my shot' with a Hamilton the musical symbol on it, "And it could always be worse." "Oh yeah, you could be have a 105 degree fever dreams while your friends are out there doing all the work while you thrash in a medbay bed," The Rabbit said, "See you later. I need to go back into the box now." "-seems to be coming out of it," a voice, not the rabbit's echoed in the distance. "Some folks will do anything to get out of an ass chewing," Another voice but despite the jibe it sounded concerned, "The antidote is working at least." "Why don't you go tell Ariana? I promised we'd wake her when he revived," The first voice said. "He'd probably tell us not to," the second voice said, "But a promise is a promise." Waking Ariana? Wait, no, I thought, she probably needs her sleep. But the thoughts didn't want to turn into words. I strained mightily, and my eyelids moved. Light flooded in, and slowly the blurred view sharpened into focus. "God, Doctor Vernon, you look like hell," I finally said. That was perhaps an exaggeration. She looked like a woman who hadn't gotten enough sleep and could use a shower. She was disheveled, bordering on slovenly. Doctor Vivian Vernon was never slovenly. "Well, I'm sorry young man, the stylist wasn't available at three in the morning, and my beauty cream is running low," She arched a brow. "Three in the morning? How long have I been out," I said looking about as more memories flooded in of just where my consciousness left off, "Oh god, are people the Fumians kidnapped okay? Unshrunk and awake and everything? The Fumian transport pilot, did he share anything? Is Slime alright? Apocalyptic, they were going to attack and endanger people to pull us out, have you guys had to fight them yet? I need to get back to work-" I started to rise only to realize that two things were preventing it. One was the tubes going in and out of my left arm. I don't know what the needles were made of, but they were sharp enough to make an IV possible. The other was a gorgeous Latina lady wearing a very ugly robe which was not enough to hide her charms as she leaned over me, and pressed a hand down to pin me. I don't know how dense she made herself, but it was enough that I couldn't just casually get up. "Ariana? " I said rather thickly. Of course, it was Ariana, but she wasn't really letting me get a word in edge wise. A stream of Spanish was bubbling angrily from her like a tea kettle threatening to spill over from a boil. I really have been trying to learn, but it was coming so quickly and so angry that I was sure I was missing a lot. Something about ripping something off and seeing if it grew back? No, I couldn't be reading that right. Definite insults to my intelligence there laced within. And maybe a few endearments, which did not match her flaring eyes. Ariana isn't a neurotic girl by any means. She's as solid as a rock, often in the literal sense and almost always in the metaphorical. But she's not neurotic, and she doesn't fit the 'Fiery Latina' stereotype. But she was ticked at me. "Thank you, Ariana," Lady Obsidian said before I could ask for a translation that I might not have wanted. Then she turned back to me and went on "The former prisoners of the Fumians appear in better shape than you do, are understandably weirded out but healthy and home. We learned how to neutralize the poison in you thanks to the Fumian we took prisoner. He didn't know as much as we hoped, he was supposed to be heading to space, he's just the pilot. As he's trapped here, he's not happy. Slime was trapped, but Pinprick freed him. He had more information for us, I'll tell you about that later. He seems kind of down. I think a part of him wonders if he should have gone back to space. Anyone can get home sick." "The poor guy," Sympathy rose up in me, "I hadn't thought of it that way. We really must be like a pack of savages to him somedays, and ugly savages by his standards." I took a breath "And Apocalyptic? Have they-?" "Caused some trouble? Yes, but we will tell you about that later," Doctor Vernon said in a tone that was absolutely aggravating in that it was not about to budge. I looked up at Ariana, "Miss me?" More Spanish, which I was increasingly sure I was glad I did not understand, and then, "You're supposed to be the toughest member on the team. So, this getting poisoned and things? Not funny, mister. Not at all funny." "You did miss me," I smiled at that, then I added in a more somber tone, "I'm sorry I blew it guys. I was so sure I knew what was going on. I grabbed that weapon when I should have helped Slime. I disobeyed orders, and thought I knew better. And then I scared folks. I will never ever do anything like this again." "Don't make promises you can't keep," Lady Obsidian advised me, "You're an idealistic young man on the headstrong side." "That's putting it mildly," Ariana said, but she had returned to her normal weight and the pressure that had been pinning me down was little more than a way to feel my heartbeat as If assuring her that, yes, I was still going. "Okay, I won't mess up this exact same way again?" I tried a different probably more honest tact. "It's a start," Lady Obsidian informed me, then she sighed, "Fine. I suppose you do seem better, and you'll find out eventually anyway. That gas you stole? It's not a weapon. It's a medicine. Meant to isolate certain cells though out the body and suspend them. That version is temporary. There's a liquid version that destroys them." "I'm a little shocky still," I said, "But it sounds like you're saying that Mister Brute wanted," I had to say this slow otherwise I would not get myself to believe it, "You're saying he's buying a cure for cancer?" "Enough for one person," She nodded, "the real question is? Who?" "It's got to be a family member, or some loved one, I just don't see him as caring that much about humanity in general. Whoever it is, she or he has to be special to him," I realized, "And I stole the sample to test. And I bet the Fumians aren't feeling very happy about me finding their operation just after they made a bargain to prevent that sort of thing. I wonder if I'm lucky enough to have caused a rift between "business partners"?" Ariana took a deep breath, then looked over at Doctor Vernon. Clearly, she knew something I didn't, and it wasn't good. "Go ahead, fill him in," The team leader said, "Nothing he can do about it now. All we can do I hope, and pray." Ariana nodded then said, "Viewpoint is in the hospital, in intensive care. They don't know if he'll make it through the night. Apocalyptic tore him apart." I almost broke sat up again, "What? Why? Did he foil their plans or start something not knowing who they were?" Viewpoint is one of those supers who is not respected that much in the superhero community at large. While a lot of superheroes, heck, including our team, are forced to at least establish a trademark of sorts, or might get some royalties from action figures; Viewpoint took on sponsors, any sponsor, and promoted the heck out of whatever they were selling. It didn't matter if it was hamburgers or Floorwax. Worse, given a choice between protecting those who threw a little money his way or their property, or those that did not fund him? Well, he'd save both but it was never in doubt who he would prioritize. I tried not to judge the guy. He did save lives after all. And his powers were impressive. Blasting away with eyebeams certainly looked good on camera. That said, he'd be no match for any two of the Apocalyptics. Heck, probably not anyone of them, though that might be unfair of me. "He didn't do anything," Ariana explained, "They hunted him down because he was easy to find, and they hurt him because they could, and," A deep breath, "Well, the police tried to keep the media from releasing this but someone at the hospital released footage of the message anyway on social media so there was no point." "What message?" I got a suddenly sinking feeling. "They cut and burned the words 'FISHGUY, RETURN WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN, OR THE NEXT HERO GETS IT WORSE!' into his chest, " Arian finished, "This is not your fault. They did this." She said it, and looked like she might begin repeating it like a mantra. "They nearly killed another super just to send me a message. A man could be dying so they can prove a point," I tried not just to word it that way, but to think of that way, because what I almost said, despite Ariana's assurances, was 'because of what I did'. She was right, they did this to Viewpoint. Further, it had been done to him while I was recovering from an alien poison. But that didn't mean I didn't feel helpless. "There are only so many other superheroes in this city of an independent nature," Lady Obsidian pointed out, "And Viewpoint was the most easily found. Slime is with us, which means we need to get a warning to Pogo and offer her our protection. And," she sighed, "There's one more they might go after." "Who?" I'm glad Ariana asked because I was stumped as well. Besides our team, with Valorous out of business, there really was only Slime, Pogo, and poor Viewpoint. Was there a new rookie in the city I didn't know about? "Bloodwatch," Lady Obsidian informed me, "He's not a superhero by our standards, but would Apocalyptic really understand the difference?" My mouth must have fallen open because it went dry fast, "Geeze, they might. He's dangerously skilled and ruthless, but no match for them," I sighed "great, we're going to have to help a murderer." "Being a superhero means never choosing easy mode," Lady Obsidian informed me, "Frankly, Caleb, what I want to do is hit you with enough sedatives to knock you out for another few hours," She eyed the IV "But I need every member up and running, we are now understaffed for the sheer amount of work awaiting. Let's not forget, behind Apocalyptic, are the Fumians. My plan includes exposing them, and capturing them all." "Then we turn them over to the Hyadesians," I thought out loud, "And Apocalyptic will have less reason to hang in a town where then have to face the full force of the New Samaritans without the prize," I nodded. "You think I plan to turn them over to the Hyadesians?" Lady Obsidian gave me a look of utter surprise. "We're not? But you said they were the bigger threat, and even with a powerful supervillain team making threats you didn't sound like were going to negotiate so," I shrugged, unsure how much further to go from there. "They are, and I'm not. But, monkey's paw mentality or not, if there is even a chance those mercantile marauders really have something that can permanently cure cancer? There is no way in hell I'm letting them off the planet until I have such a cure. I'm all for keeping some genies in their bottle until it's time, but millions suffer under the big C in one form or another. Let folks judge me how they like, I'm about to universal healthcare all over their asses. I'm hoping the rest of the team is okay with that." She looked at Ariana and I as if expecting our answer yay or nay. Finally, I cleared my throat and asked something I really had to be sure of before I committed to anything, "Did you just say 'mercantile marauders'?' For a moment, I thought the grandame of the superhero set, the doctor with more PHDs that I had pairs of shoes, a civil rights leader and idol of many, was going to strangle me right then and there. Instead, she took a deep breath, "I'm tired, Ariana, sweet, could you?" Ariana nodded to her, "On it," And thwacked my ear with a finger. "Ow," I said obligingly. "You're such a sweet girl," Doctor Vernon approved. "De Nada," She assured, "Speaking just for myself? I lost a grandfather to cancer. I'm in. I bet the others feel the same." "in," I replied, thinking of the horrible death of one of my neighbors. Over the course of a year I had watched Mr. Dearborn go from a hardy figure to a withered rasping husk. I didn't want to play God, but at the same time, I was pretty sure the good lord above would have some pretty strong words for me if I arrived at the Pearly gates with a chance to bring a cure to so many, and I didn't even try. The idea was so overwhelming in its way, I actually forgot about Apocalyptic for a moment. Well, the IV was undone, and Ariana fussed over me in a way that made me feel pretty good inside, though I was careful not to smile too much where she could see me. Maybe I would get the hang of this boyfriend job yet? Within an hour we were all at the meeting room again. I had showered, switched into a fresh costume again, and gotten some coffee into me. I was hardly the only one. Superheroes, like cops on the third shift, live on caffeine. Well, those of us who have blood systems. Slime had joined us. He had chosen a spot about three spaces from me, and I winced. He'd tried to warn me about needing back up. Because I had ignored him, he'd been just minutes away from a new life of slave labor himself. Lady Obsidian laid out the very plans she had told us. While everyone agreed it was taking a terrible gamble with an untrustworthy source of technology that might end up being essentially snake oil or worse by the end of it, the possible reward for humanity outweighed the risk. Besides, it wasn't like we would trust it outright. Tests would be run, rats would get poked, whatever it took to be sure. This did, of course, lead to another complication. "The technology may dissolve on us," Tornado reminded us, "I remind everyone the powered armor given those three girls dissolved after a very short time, and tests on the remains yielded nothing reproducible. The chicken? That's obviously not a mechanical change but if the government has learned anything on how to replicate it, Mabel hasn't found out through her back door into their files." "I still don't always like us doing that," I admitted. "I still hold a grudge," Dr. Vernon confessed, "But Pinprick also got a blood sample for me before getting into that tussle with Dark Lord Charming." Pinprick grumbled at the mention of that name. "Unfortunately," Lady Obsidian continued, "When I tried to do some readings on that sample, it dissolved. I don't know if it's a certain level of heat, somehow triggered by Ultraviolet rays, or what, but yes, the Fumians are very good at protecting their intellectual property." "So, if we get our hands on the cure, assuming it's real, we may never be able to reproduce it," Tornado nodded "Which is why you want to hold onto the Fumians themselves so they'll tell us how to get around it." "That was the plan, yes," Lady Obsidian admitted. "And if they don't tell us?" he raised a brow, "if they say no? Do we hold them forever until we do without the interstellar equivalent of a trial? I know we aren't going to torture them. We're heroes, and none of us would stand for that, not even at your orders." Rather than be offended, Dr. Vernon seemed rather pleased, perhaps catching Valentino off guard, "If I ever order that we all know I've crossed a line anyway. To answer question on what we will do if we have to? I'm not certain. It's late, I'm tired. Mabel and I have been working on at least three projects at once, and barring honing up our acting skills, I'm not sure how to trick the Fumians into thinking not telling us how they do it and recreating it for us is a bad idea. Fortunately, we have someone with us who might be able to give us a perspective on the Fumians from the point of view of his people. Slime?" She asked the azure ooze now in our midst, "If you would?" Slime stood up (Well, propped up?) and spread like a wide screen television, and the words began to roll on as the alien took over the conversation, We have discussed much on the lack of ethics the Fumians display in their quest for cheap labor and profit in any other form. Lady Obsidian has managed to isolate their frequency. While I realize the irony in a life form such as myself saying this- Most humans would find the Fumians rather ugly. It maybe revealing them city wide all at once would certainly hinder their attempts to sell. Of course, it could lead to panic, How Slime managed to shrug while still maintaining the font scrolling up I wasn't sure. It wasn't like shoulders were really involved, The Fumians pretend to be masters of trade, but in truth? Their species would rather have a market all to itself. While most other extraterrestrial governments are held in check by ethical or political concerns from offering Earthlings what the Fumians offer, if the Fumians discovered another species was on the way to do the same, they might attempt to remove the competition. "Wait, are you saying that if exposing them outright didn't work, we could try to lure them out by asking for someone else to sell Lemonade on the same street they thought they had cornered?" I thought about it, "You know, back in a small town in North Carolina-" "There are large towns in North Carolina?" Arctic Fox looked dubious. I ignored her and continued on, "- there was this restaurant chain that moved in. Nothing wrong with that, but there was another place that served similar fare, family owned and operated. Anyway, when the bigbiz chain set up shop, the food wasn’t as good, and the prices were jacked up. Suddenly, the family business started getting calls into health inspectors and police on some pretty trumped up charges from 'anonymous' sources. It became such a hassle, that it almost drove the family out of business." "Not hard to guess who got dirty there," Pinprick observed, "So what did the family do?" "They didn't do anything, they were law abiding citizens, but it's possible that all their relations and the folks who drank beer with them went to the new place's parking lot and threw tailgate parties so there was no place for anyone else to park, grills on the back of trucks that sort of thing, and if anyone asked, they told them the food in there was so bad that they decided to have a cook out instead. Police would show up, tell them to scoot, they'd say yes, and then the second wave of party goers would come into their place. Word got around on social media –" "They have Social Media in North Carolina?" Arctic Fox's brow rose again. "Be nice," Lady Obsidian told her, "I think I see where he's going with this. Maybe?" "Anyway, they closed up. We're doing our best to cover up what these jerks have done not to cause a panic, maybe we can do the reverse. Mention all the stuff we know about the Fumians devices going to hell, nearly killing people? Folks out there know aliens are real. They've seen a giant chicken, they know about a shooting at school. Why don't we get the word out and trash these bastards' reputation, warn folks about their holo gear? What's going to happen? Bad guys get drawn in hoping for stuff that' s high tech? That's happening anyway." "Am I really that tired, or does that sound like It has merit?" Lady Obsidian asked the group. "Actually, it's brilliant," Arctic Fox said before she could realize she'd complimented one of my ideas, "Because of the Fumians, Apocalyptic just trashed a popular superhero. Folks know the villains, but they don't know on whose behalf. All of us, except for Valorosa, Sorry Ariana but you're just too new, have fan followings in this city. Folks who, at the very least, trust us. We might be able to frustrate the hell out of the Fumians attempts through the power of public service announcements, and the best thing? What are they going to do? Sue us for Slander? We can get this moving and wreck them." "I think she's drooling," Tornado muttered to Ariana. "She gets to ravage freely the delicate egos and reputations of an entire species," Ariana muttered back, "After this is done, we may find her purring." Arctic Fox made a sniffing expression, but the smile slipped free anyway. "I think it's safe to say Fox is taking the lead on that one," Lady Obsidian smiled tiredly, and fought a yawn, "Is there any thing else anyone else has to bring up?" Pinprick nodded, "Glad you asked, Viv. We got a real problem going on that could endanger the operation. We're piping at least three different projects through this one area, and fatigue is wearing away at the infrastructure. I think we need to provide suitable maintenance time, put the system at rest, and let it recharge all at once. We can restart in case of emergency." Doctor Vernon's brows knit, "If we're having a technical problem like that you should have told me before now. Mabel, did you do a diagnostic?" "As point of fact, yes," Mabel answered, "It's pretty much as Pinprick said. The ah hmm system is overtaxed. I second his suggestion." "Just what system are we talking about?" Lady Obsidian waved her hands as if trying to clear the air. "You," Pinprick said throwing his hands up, "You've been going almost two days on zero sleep. Go to bed, Viv!" "Excuse you?" Vivian said crankily, "I have too many projects to go. Do you see any other technologically inclined members of the team around here?" "Hurtful," Mabel gave a high-quality surround sound sniff, albeit on the melodramatic side. "Now Mabel, I didn't mean it that way, it's just," the normally brilliant woman flustered, another sure sign she was indeed tired if that threw her off. "I've got the media situation, remember?" Arctic Fox said, "Mabel's got technical. Pinprick can run herd on the rookies, and we can keep patrols strong. You're not going to be good to anyone if you're dead on your feet." "Agreed," I nodded, "Like you said in your second book," I started to quote, but was cut off. "If you quote my own book to me right now I will find a copy and slap you with it, so help me," The heroine I idolized said testily. "Yes, ma'am," I wisely replied. "Lady Obsidian," Tornado joined in, "We've got this. You trained us well." "And we worry about you," Ariana hit her with the big eyes. "The only reason I am complying with this bullying," Vivian said testily, "Is because my tolerance for obvious attempts to manipulate is incredibly low right now and the sooner I go to bed, the sooner it ends." "Don't go away mad, Viv," Pinprick said gently, then threw in, "Just go away." "Fine. Pinprick, you're in charge while I rest. Don't get too clever, that always gets you into trouble," Wrapping her metaphorical dignity around her like a shawl, Lady Obsidian left the room to go embrace sleep, perchance to dream of a less unruly team. "How do you get away with it?" Arctic Fox stared at Pinprick, "I mean, really, how are you not adhered to the celling in a force bubble." "And how come you're the only one who gets to call her Viv?" Tornado said. "Because if anyone else calls her that I'll shrink just their lips so they end up sounding like a kazoo when they talk," Pinprick warned Tornado then answered Fox, "Viv and I have an understanding. Always have. I give everyone some grief, but when I come down on her? She knows why and where I'm coming from." No one really voiced a disagreement with that, or even, oddly, a complaint. I knew them the shortest time (No pun intended) and even I knew that Pinprick's loyalty was unquestioned when it came to her. Anyone of us would storm through hell's gates for Doctor Vernon. Pinprick? He would be the first one in, the last one out, and probably bring back the devil's wisdom teeth. "So, uh, new boss, shorter than the old boss," Tornado smiled, "Any further orders?" "Glad you asked, Oh, volunteer number one," Pinprick said, "We already have the plans in general, now for a few more specifics. Here's what we're all gonna do."

I liked some of the early wild cards stories a great deal, later books less and less but there were gems at all times. Looks like Baddest Blood pulled ahead

https://www.youtube.com/user/GeographyNow He's only got down to the Ks, but great show if you want to brush up on your geography

Not great, Greece is still pissed about that bad break up in the summer, and Austria says she needs to focus on her study and doesn't have time for a boyfriend

I had not heard the term "Marrying Down" But one reporter doesn't care for it, and she seems like "a right broad" to use the Guys and Dolls vernacular

For all his intellectual gifts, Cancer's favorite PC is 'Recnac the Barbarian' who uses intelligence as a dump stat and picks his teeth with very tiny spears

Soccer doesn't normally hold my interest but I'll still pick favorites. Mind you, I have no idea which teams are good and which ones suck. Group A: I'm cheering on Uruguay because well, they don't tamper with our elections and I'm tired of the Middle East. Group B: Go Portugal. Because, uhm why not? Little countries need love too Group C: Australia! I like most Australians I've met online, and they deserve for love just for living in a land where everything seems out to kill them. Group D: Iceland, because they did to their bankers what we should have done. Group E: Brazil because, isn't Soccer their game or something? Group F: South Korea, because they deserve a nice distraction Group G: England, because some bloke there will be marrying one of our amazing actresses there. Group H: Poland , I am told I am 25% Polish (or maybe some other Slavic nationality in hiding) I'll peek in here now and then and see how my picks are doing.

Now that is just silly! We like you better than birds... It's a beefier venison like taste

Not only would Pinrpick hunt them down to bring them to justice, the six inch tall archer would do it dressed as a Christmas elf just to scare the holy#### out of them