Hermit

"We are making a fortune off this prison," The chairman at the table said with a smile, "Yes, gents. The private prison industry is a goldmine." "What about the cost of our political contributions?" One woman was not entirely convinced. An easy life combined with the best plastic surgeon money could buy had kept her looking twenty years younger but the calculating expression on her face showed how her soul was withering, "Is it hurting the overhead?" The chairman shook his head, his grin growing wider, "Funding a politician to be 'tough on crime' is like paying a duck to swim. We pay thousands to push for longer prison sentences, three strike policies, and containment over rehabilitation, and when the public prisons are overwhelmed, we step in and get millions in government funding back for providing the need we helped create. The returns are only growing." "Good," The woman smiled. Others added their own voices of agreement. One mustached fellow joined in, but then when that died down, he added, "What about that retired warden? the one who was making political noise about us being a violation of the very system of ''true justice and redemption'' he wanted to serve?" The fellow made quote marks in the air over the virtues. "Handled," The Chairman said, "Turns out about twenty five years ago, he had an affair. It was a standard one, he and his wife have settled it, but not only has the story leaked, its mutated... rumors that he MIGHT have pressured visiting female family members of past prisoners for sexual favors in exchange for 'better treatment' of their loved ones. He's outraged of course, but enough have doubts that his supposed moral authority is shot." "Well, it COULD be true," The woman smirked. "I do wonder how these rumors get started on the internet." "Don't we all," The mustached man smirked back as well, "It's very convenient." Then, suddenly, the lights dimmed, it made the room look very shadowy. The fine garments the chairholders wore lost their luster, bright colors faded to drab. "Some sort of brown out?" The woman asked, feeling oddly nervous. "We have a back up generator," The chairman said in confusion, "It should handle a grid failure." Then HE was among them. Nameless, with stern eyes on a pale weathered face, he seemed to drag the shadows in deeper with him, or perhaps he just made the shadows that had always been there more apparent. His costume, if it should be called that, was black. It seemed to draw the eye, drink in whatever light touched it, and it was hard to pull away. "Oh god, he's real," The mustached exec gaped "It's some gag,," The Chairperson insisted, "The Man in Black is an Urban Legend and..." The man in black looked at the chairperson, "John Tarleton," he called the man by name. Their eyes met, and Tarleton found himself falling into those dark eyes, plummeting into the blackness. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Tarleton felt strange when he awoke, he looked up and saw the bars around him. He felt the wait of years of desperation, and the glimmer of hope that today he was due out for a hearing .Maybe he'd get his shot. But these weren't his memories, they weren't HIS feelings. It didn't change the fact they were real and he was experiencing them, he scrambled as a guard came to the door, "Hey, my hearing's soon man, right? Today?" His lips moved, well, not HIS lips, but the words came out like he was part of some obscene script. "Didn't you hear?" The Guard said with a sad shrug that stabbingly indifferent, "Law got changed yesterday. Parole hearing frequencies are being spread out. I think they rescheduled you to make your plea in another six months!" "Six MONTHS? But I've been here years longer than they said I would. The cops told me I'd get parole soon for good behavior, so did the Public Defender!" "Next time, get a better lawyer, and don't believe everything the police tell you," The guard now looked amused. "I couldn't afford better!" Tarleton felt the anguish. The words weren't of his choosing, but the despair was still his It cut like a knife. ............... The female chair-holder gasped as their Chairman had gone fetal, "What did you do to him? This is illegal, this is immoral ...." In a deep voice that seemed to command all others to be silent, the Man in Black stated, "I only return to you what you give." Then he said her name, "Hilary Van Reese" and she fell. ............ "I'm hungry, mama," The child had learned to talk, and all he said was how hungry he was. Course, he was. Lean times made hungry kids. The lawsuits against her husband hadn't just been criminal, legal fee after legal fee combined to devastate them. There were programs to help, but so many hoops to go through, so many accusing eyes. Hilary Van Reese felt for the boy, in way she hadn't cared for anyone for years. This isn't MY son ,she wanted to scream, but instead she bent down and kissed him on the brow, "Soon, baby. Soon. I'm going to check to see what I can afford at the market." She walked out onto the street, feeling lost. Inside her, Hilary wanted to sneer. Why didn't this dumb broad just make the proper investments? Why anyone with a decent education would be able to... and then Mrs. Van Reese realized. Her education was gone. Years of the best schools money could buy were murky and nebulous. She once had been able to juggle financial reports with ease, but now? She wasn't sure she could manage algebra. A hand seized her arm, "Heard the man of the house got his parole delayed." The fellow who'd taken her arm wore a tiger striped jacket, and yellow hat with plume. Why hide what he was? There wasn't a person in THIS neighborhood that would do anything about it. His eyes raked over her, "Remember how you turned me down three years ago? Offer still stands, and you ain't getting any younger." "I'm a married woman," Hilary felt her body blurt out, and felt a sting of horror settle in, nestling deep. "Yeah, and he'd be real pissed to find his little boy living like a #$# hobo," The pimp shook his head, "Just try it for a night baby. Just once." He flashed an amount of money that seemed a pittance to Hilary, or would have, but now it seemed like a life line, a chance to provide and keep her head up just a bit longer. And the woman folded, and Hilary collapsed with her. She'd try it, just once. And that night, when the john told her to try the nose candy, she'd do it just once. And then the next day after that, she'd do it 'once more' and again ,and again, until 'just once' was for as long as her crack addicted body was serviceable.. ............ All around the Man in Black, the chairholders were twitching , sharing nightmares that had been all too real for others. Hours from now, they would return from their travels though those moments might feel like years. Whether they learned from this or not, he could never be sure. But some would, and that would be a start. They'd thought he was an urban myth, now they knew better. Any local website search would have had this to warn them about him: Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back Up front there ought to be a Man In Black

Might I suggest borrowing one from Past Editions, and then tweaking him severely? Seeker- This Austrailian Teenager refuses to answer to any other name. He has been obsessed with martial arts since he was six years old. But he quickly grew frustrated with his inability to fire bolts of Chi, or race up walls, or vanish in plain sight. Many told him that was just in the comic books or movies, even respected martial artists told him there were limits. Then, he witnessed on TV various superheroes doing those impossible things. The young obsessive realized that while many mentors he'd talked to didn't seem to have that power, most of them SHOULD Have. The only solution? Something was wrong with the universal Chi! It was out of whack! There was some sort of imbalance, not just on personal levels, but through out Dream Time, or the Jade Kingdom or .or some @@@@. Refusing to accept the impossible, he took the name of one of his favorite comic book characters, and sought out someone who could help him in his quest to balance the spirituality of the universe. That's how he encountered the professor. When Pr. Paradigm told the boy there was no such thing as magic, Seeker agreed, saying Chi was a scientific FACT (that most scientists just didn't get yet) and even cited some Bio-Feedback and other pop culture science references that , while often dubious, made the Prof. re-Think. He gave the boy a month or two of help, and new abilities surfaced...about half the time. Seeker has been serving the Prof ever since. Seeker has developed his own chi abilities, unfortunately, they only work about half the time. He's just as likely to burn his fingers as fire a chi-bolt. And when your iron skin seems to kick out half the time, you learn dodging period is a good course of action. Sometimes it seems he can run all the way up a building, and other times he ends up on his butt if h goes more than 10 feet. He can flip pretty good though. It's just sometimes he has trouble stopping it. Seeker envisions a world where everyone who studies martial arts can harness the Chi of the world, and within themselves. It's a dream of his, to live where everybody is kung-Fu fighting with moves as fast as lightning. I'm not sure to be honest. I'd have to think about it

Might I suggest borrowing one from Past Editions, and then tweaking him severely? Seeker- This Austrailian Teenager refuses to answer to any other name. He has been obsessed with martial arts since he was six years old. But he quickly grew frustrated with his inability to fire bolts of Chi, or race up walls, or vanish in plain sight. Many told him that was just in the comic books or movies, even respected martial artists told him there were limits. Then, he witnessed on TV various superheroes doing those impossible things. The young obsessive realized that while many mentors he'd talked to didn't seem to have that power, most of them SHOULD Have. The only solution? Something was wrong with the universal Chi! It was out of whack! There was some sort of imbalance, not just on personal levels, but through out Dream Time, or the Jade Kingdom or .or some @@@@. Refusing to accept the impossible, he took the name of one of his favorite comic book characters, and sought out someone who could help him in his quest to balance the spirituality of the universe. That's how he encountered the professor. When Pr. Paradigm told the boy there was no such thing as magic, Seeker agreed, saying Chi was a scientific FACT (that most scientists just didn't get yet) and even cited some Bio-Feedback and other pop culture science references that , while often dubious, made the Prof. re-Think. He gave the boy a month or two of help, and new abilities surfaced...about half the time. Seeker has been serving the Prof ever since. Seeker has developed his own chi abilities, unfortunately, they only work about half the time. He's just as likely to burn his fingers as fire a chi-bolt. And when your iron skin seems to kick out half the time, you learn dodging period is a good course of action. Sometimes it seems he can run all the way up a building, and other times he ends up on his butt if h goes more than 10 feet. He can flip pretty good though. It's just sometimes he has trouble stopping it. Seeker envisions a world where everyone who studies martial arts can harness the Chi of the world, and within themselves. It's a dream of his, to live where everybody is kung-Fu fighting with moves as fast as lightning.

I was wondering if you were going to do him after the earlier comment

Some good stuff guys. Glad to see you getting into the spirit of things

It was Nov 4, 1969... "This is Major Tom to ground control..." "The stars look very different" and indeed, they seemed to be expanding. Communications were getting garbled. Major Tom managed a "Tell my wife I love her..." Ground Control called back, almost desperately "Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong, can you hear me Major Tom?" But that was the last Major Tom was heard from, though some musicians made much of his tragic disappearance. They didn't know the half of it. Years later, a figure landed in Paradise City without a vehicle. Though human in shape, his skin was the color of the night sky, and you could see the constellations moving under it. His eyes glowed like twin moons. But he did not remember who he was, or much of anything else. He found a grave site with a woman's name on it. She had died but a year ago. And then stopped searching into his past entirely. Seeming to have the abilities of a living star, the being could project gravity, heat, or light easily. Having nothing better to call himself, he took the name a reporter had dubbed him. He was the Oddity. And he protects Paradise City to this day as one of its most mysterious superheroes.

I agree. Things like 'Retired' or "Mentor' might be useful to know for older past heroes

The Sunset Grill- This diner is not in a nice part of town, in fact, you can't help but notice a lot of troubled people walking by as you stare outside its west facing large windows. Still, while the owner, a Slavic gent by the name of Piotr, seems jaded, he at least treats everyone equally. He seems to have an uncanny gift for knowing your name. Of course, the secret is, that's part of his power. Piotr is a low level telepath (Though it is hard for even some mentalists to realize they're being lightly scanned) who escaped from PSI when the organization was in its infancy. He put his knack for knowing what folks want to work in an honest method, but there's just so many folks he can't help , so he's feeling a bit jaded. Should his secret ever be found out by a superhero, they may find him a surprisingly good info source on both old Soviet Psychic programs and PSI itself.

The House of the Rising Sun - Done in a style meant to emulate the French Quarter of old New Orleans, the House of the Rising Sun is a notorious brothel and gambling house that has ruined many a man's personal economies, or for that matter lives, for generations. You can learn a lot here though. The place lingers because poor men and rich alike frequent, and the latter use their influence to protect it from official notice or at least enforcement. A retired superhero often frequents here. Some snicker that he's in debt to the owners, others say he's fallen in love with one of the working gals and is trying to get her to go legit, or maybe he just finds comfort in her arms. Despite being middle aged, the man once known as "The Animal" is still a bestial bad ass you don't want to tangle with, so most folks only dare joke BEHIND his back.

Sure, let's see how we can twist the lyrics around. Sentimental Street - A street known for its partying hard ways, and the trouble you can get into during it. It's considered one of THE spots for a night life. You can dance at Madame Wong Two, or dine at Conte Razor's Cafe. At least one heroine, a former sidekick, has crafted her secret ID into a party girl image. Her mentor is worried she's getting too caught up in a self destructive role. The young vigilante parties in the evening, then stalks the streets at night getting into some pretty intense street fights. But she's only mortal, and if the hits don't wear her down, a life of increasing vice just might. Macklemore's Thrift Shop It seems like any other thrift shop where you can get out of fashion hats for a buck, or an honest to god zoot suit for a handful of dollars, but Macklemore is much more than that. If a hero gets their costume torn or worse, destroyed, there's a good chance Mackelmore can hook you up with a temporary fix. He collected, and still collects, superhero and villain costumes. While some aren't made of the same materials as yesteryear, others are QUITE strong and last better than the modern stuff. A few superheroes just starting have costume that look a bit like older ones. That's thanks to Macklemore.

Ok, this whole thing took my mind in a completely different direction. I started a new thread for "Paradise City" a city built by songs. Go nuts, music lovers.

Ok, I was musing on my old Working on New Constantinople Thread about trying a second city building project (Third if you count Super City) on these forums. Good suggestions were made, but somehow (*Points at Enforcer*) the subject of music came up, and I fell into the trap as well and, well, another direction came to my mind. Welcome to Paradise City (location of state undetermined) where "The Grass is Green and the Girls are pretty" , it's a city where you can go from rags to riches, or so they say. Yet that maybe an illusion, there are urchins living under streets, who don't always get enough to eat. Crimes are treated with some severity, at least often normal ones are. Clearly, the city is a confusing patch work... of SONGS! Yes, there are many neighborhoods, places, and people in this city. And you get to help decide who they are. Paradise City maybe the name, but if you have a song you want to take parts of, then feel free to contribute. Take a song that inspire you setting wise, and quote a line or two of the lyrics to explain what that song will contribute.I ask only that you replace profanity with #$#$# if you quote any lyrics. So if KISS song has inspired you to make a church in this town, a Johnny Cash Tune has you pondering an entire neighborhood, or a STYX one has you thinking of an interesting NPC idea, this is the place to mention it. We'll see what building by musical committee reveals. For your troubles you get... well, nothing, but it still might be fun.

Actually, there is a Paradise in Texas, but I Think it is North West of Dallas/Ft Worth

If I were going to make a city based on a song, it would probably be Paradise City. I hear the grass is green and the girls are pretty

I think you're right, wait, doesn't Roy have a bone to pick with him? or vice versa?

That would work, how does Fortaleza sound as city name?

I'd throw in another, but you said one per poster

Oh, I agree. It's a good location for the reasons you mention. I still might go with it, and thank you for the suggestion, I just won't play up the Amerind elements too strongly for the aforementioned reason

It could, but I''d be too worried about stepping on Meriquai Falls. I think Dale may still be working on it, unless its been released and I missed it.

That's part of my problem. Texas is big. And pretty diverse. WHERE in it I put the city would probably alter the feel.

Apparently, Giant's site has been targeted with a DDoS attack.

I've been thinking of making another fictional super city, this time in Texas. (Done mostly straight btw). I rather enjoyed the process.

"The CIA has targets? No, you don't ###ing say! Look, I never called myself a superhero. I ended up with Red Skin along with my powers, and some schmuck code named me Diablo. Guess they thought it would scare folks, as if walking through their walls wasn't enough. I went into homes of dictators, warmongers, and drug lords. I put my hand through their chest, and squeezed their hearts until the lub-dub sounds stopped. I've quelled rebellions and upset established regimes before they could wipe out whole villages. I've STOPPED mad men from getting nukes they would have launched as casuaully as you or I put on a pair of trousers. Twelve specified targets, all evil, corrupt, or just plain out to destroy either their own people or ours. Twelve dead, Millions alive: You might be one of those millions. You're #$##ing welcome, now get out of here." A consummate professional who claims to have no regrets for any of his actions, Agent Diablo was 'let go' from the CIA when the article was released. It is rumored that there are some who would like him back in the game. There are other rumors that he never really left it, save on paper.

Bolo, thanks for the praise. With rep down, direct strokes to the ego are my only balm And sure, feel free to adjust and use it to your heart's content. I hope your game goes well and everyone has a blast. If it all works out, let me know how they responded in character. I half way would expect them to try to track down the dead Mister Guru or at least see if he had any notes.

I have no concept in mind, but I thought I'd bump this up anyway