BoloOfEarth

New Topic: Creative ways to tell your boss that no,you're not interested in working on his/her pet project.

Say, boss, how about we forget about me working on your project, and I forget about Miss Wright in accounting the next time I meet your wife?

New Topic:  Most surprising things said by either the Pilgrims or the Indians at the first Thanksgiving dinner.

The SuperFight Club member known as Underhand is secretly a 4'6" tall 13 year-old technology savant named Cheyl Underhill.  Cheryl built a battlesuit that has the very realistic-looking outward appearance of a 7-foot tall, incredibly muscular bald black man.  (It even feels realistic, and bleeds if cut.)  Everybody thought Underhand is a brick (including the rest of the SFC), which caused some friction with Gibraltar (who felt Underhand was infringing on his schtick in the Club).  So Cheryl added the ability to generate electrical arcs from the battlesuit's fingertips, which seems to have appeased Gibraltar.

The newest member of the League, Dr. Robert Bowden is a brilliant scientist and inventor who believes that all instances of so-called "magic" can ultimately be explained by science.  Building a high-tech battlesuit and taking the name SkepTech, he joined the AML to help prove this theory.  He is not out to punish believers in magic, and will be appalled when he learns the extent of the Witchfinder General's activities.

Months after joining the League, SkepTech continues to badger Antithesis, seeking to borrow the magebuster's antimagic amulet to determine how it absorbs or interferes with whatever energies are used by would-be witches and wizards.

In the PRIMUS History / Timeline (post #27) Robert Kaufman dies at Eurostar's hands in 1994 and again in 1997.

Guess you just can't keep a good man down. 

Well done overall, TQM.

NT:  Spock's favorite pickup lines

Pardon me, do you have a box of infant poultry I can lift?  Captain Kirk said I needed to "pick up some chicks."

NT: Captain Kirk's favorite pickup lines.

I want to explore... strange, new worlds... of pleasure with you.

NT: Ways to show the world you have absolutely no class or taste.

Marry a Kardashian.

NT:  It's worse than that, he's _______, Jim!

The pillar next to Audrey II has something written on it -- is that "The cake is a lie" repeated 4 times?

Coinpurse is a ferrokinetic, able to mold and modify metals at her touch.  However, for some reason (most likely a mental block), Coinpurse's powers only work on metal from coins.  Because of this, she usually carries many, many coins of various compositions and denominations.  Her work "uniform" is a jumpsuit stolen from the San Francisco mint, with coins sewed all over it (both inside and outside).  When going into combat, she can turn these coins into a suit of scale or plate mail (albeit not as tough as normal armor).

Coinpurse's power works incredibly rapidly -- she can merge a pile of pennies into a copper and zinc shield in two seconds (shaped like a giant penny, naturally).  Her metal modification isn't restricted to shape -- with concentration, Coinpurse can imbue her creations with altered magnetic fields or temperature variations as well, with an incredible amount of control.  (The other members of Money Matters believe Coinpurse is also mildy cyberkinetic, since she can create thin metallic cards with valid magnetic strips able to unlock security doors or access bank and credit card accounts.)

While Coinpurse could theoretically modify common coins into rare collectible coins, she refuses to do so.  In fact, when she is done with metal from coins, she always returns it to the original coins (down to the year and mint mark) from which it came.

Lastly, Coinpurse is an autistic savant.  (Imagine a female version of Dustin Hoffman's Rainman.)

It's all for me blog, Me jolly, jolly blog! 

It's all for me post counts and comments!

I spent all me day, thinkin' what I'm goin' ta say!

Across the internet I must waaaander!

Captain FaceHook slammed back another glass of rum and looked up a the parrot on the perch above his computer.  "Well, Twitter, where d'ye say we aim our cannons today?"

The parrot spread its wings.  "Squak!  Unlink 'em, me mateys!  Ahoy!"

FaceHook laughed heartily.  "Aye!  LinkedIn, prepare to be boarded!"  He began tapping away at the keyboard, using exploits coded into the professional network's site to gain access to supposedly secure information.  Linking their databases to some of his own drawing on newsfeeds and other social media, FaceHook ran code that mapped connections both direct and indirect between up-and-coming movers and shakers of the business world.  When several intersecting lines flashed gold, he followed the trail to the "X" that marked the spot.

Within moments, FaceHook was connected to Black Bart on Skype.  "Avast, Bart!  Looks like we've got a back-room deal brewing between Dew Chemical and MegaMart.  Time to run up the colors and corner the market!"

- - - - - -

Well, we've had pirates, so of course we need ninjas.  Or zombies.  Heck, why not both? 

NT:  The Hand of Undeath is a group of five martial arts masters of the night... the Endless Night.  Yes, these ninjas are all undead.  (No need to restrict ourselves to zombies.  Ghosts, ghouls, wraiths, vampires, werewolves... any may apply!)  Their masters are all dead, so the Hand now works to exact others' revenge.  They don't work for hire, they just seem to find targets worthy of deadly vengeance.

NT: Really, really, really worthless superpowers. Disgusting isn't necessary.

The innate knowledge of Everything Related to Miley Cyrus.

NT:  What strange / mind-blowing / shocking thing is the next pop star down the road going to pull to get noticed?

The Kardashians start spending all their money and time helping the poor and downtrodden, after coming to the realization that the world doesn't actually revolve around them.

Okay, maybe I've taken "unlikely" to a completely unrealistic extreme.

NT:  Not-so-wise new "extreme sports".

I'm sure this has been posted here before, but I ran across it today and it brought such a chuckle to my day, I had to share it.

The Daly Superheroes

NT: Things that can be made better with tomato ketchup (or catsup) [the sillier the better]

Cats. Hence the name, catsup. So just go ahead and pour some on ol' Fluffy.

NT: Crazy things a political party will do to get your vote.

NT: Subtle signs the referees at the World Cup soccer tournament are out of their collective minds.

"Foul! Use of feet, hands, or other extremities to advance the ball!

NT: Subtle signs your Kickstarter project is utterly doomed.

Your project is dressing cows in Doctor Doom armor. (Udderly Doomed! Get it? Oh, I slay me!)

And now, in honor of Cabrera getting thrown out of last evening's Tigers baseball game:

NT: Things to say to the umpire if you really want to get thrown out of the game.

(My homage to a one-shot Spider-Man villain. The names have been changed because, well, it's been years since I read that particular comic issue.)

The villain known as Buzz Kill is a mercenary, Mickey Tannen, who stole the inventions of a frustrated entomologist named Dr. Frank Driscoll. Driscoll had discovered that certain insect noises, when greatly amplified, could cause not only distraction, but also disorientation, deafness, physical damage, and in some cases even fatal injuries. Dr. Driscoll had used his amplifier and recorded insect noises to attempt robberies after learning that none of his research grants were being renewed, but was stopped (rather easily) by a solo superhero. Tannen learned about the battle, and broke into the police evidence locker to steal Driscoll's equipment. He upgraded the gear (for one thing, having digital recordings on an MP3 player worked much better than the cassette tapes Driscoll used), mounted it in a stolen flying battlesuit, and went into business as an assassin. He joined Hive because frankly, his defenses aren't up to concerted attacks by superheroes.

What does the good Doctor wish for first?

Armor that doesn't chafe. Do you have any idea how much baby powder he has to use every day? (And how disappointed he was to learn that actual babies aren't an ingredient in baby powder, but that's a side issue.)

On a more serious note, would Doctor Destroyer wish for anything? He's not really the believe-in-magic sort, is he? I could see him interrogating or dissecting the genie of the lamp, believing him to be either an extra-terrestrial or an extra-dimensional being.

"You are an emissary of the Empress, aren't you? I shall send you back to her in pieces. Perhaps then she will get the message that this world is mine, and mine alone."

"I love watching TV with your mother. Near as I can piece together of the plot, the Transformers were dancing burlesque with Cher in a futile attempt to come from behind in the 8th inning and beat the Texas Rangers."

NT: He has no job. He has no money. He has no camera. He has no jacket. What does Lazy Harp Seal have?

The ability to bring this thread to a screeching halt.

NT: What other topics could bring this thread to a similar halt?

Seems to me that you have two separate, but related issues: how powerful to make the sidekick, and how you actually make the sidekick powerful.

Personally, I like the idea of the normal-who-wishes-he-was-super, actually gaining superpowers and (with the PC's help) learning how to cope with all the pros and cons of having superpowers. So my vote would be to have the TA gaining superpowers in some way. And while you can give him some decent superpowers, I would shy away from making him as powerful as the main character. After all, it's not his name on the comic book, it's hers.

Did the main character pay points for the sidekick? If not, then you can handle the powering-up however you want and make him as powerful as you wish. In that case, I'd suggest having him given the powers at the hands of an enemy of the main character. That way, the powers may not be as predictable or reliable (at least starting out), meaning the sidekick shouldn't be outshining the main character any time soon.

Does the main character have any weaknesses / Susceptibilities / Vulnerabilities? If so, the enemy might give the sidekick that type of powers. But you may not want to. Your call.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on it. Hope they help.

Hmmm... we shouldn't ignore our neighbor to the north...

The giant creature known as Walruvore is a walrus mutated by poorly-sealed toxic waste shipped across the border and dumped in Canada by an unscrupulous international conglomerate. Now almost 60 feet long from back flippers to tusks, Walruvore has a bark that can shatter windows, thick hide that is proof against most normal weapons, and enough mass to squash a tank flat. For some unknown reason, Walruvore has it in for Halifax, though its most recent attack was diverted when Walruvore apparently heard something that piqued his interest. The Canadian military is desperately trying to figure out what it was that got Walruvore's attention.

Wow, that is some snack food! Or maybe it was meant for the Villain Theme Team thread...

[Edit: How the heck did I miss Old Man's post? I swear that wasn't there when I looked at the thread. Must have been hiding behind the mammoth. My apologies.]

The tech geek of Snak Attak! is Chips. Brilliant engineering student Charles Laidlaw has no innate powers, but his self-made "powered armor" suit (an obvious homage to Iron Man, albeit waaaaay less powerful) allows him to move by powered roller skates, monitor the police band (actually up and down all radio bands), and blast criminals with low-powered force ("repulsor") blasts.

(Old Man, you're the fourth contributor to this team. When you're done posting members to Snak Attak! you can tell us the next team's name and theme, unless a fifth contributor joins in before you're done.)

Bob drove through the late-night streets as Phil and Tom prepared their equipment.

"So, what's with the blinders?" Phil asked, tapping one of the plastic sheets bolted to the side of the helmet in his lap. It responded with a light 'twangggg.' "Kinda stupid, don't you think?"

"Real stupid, you ask me," muttered Tom as he checked the rope on his grappeling-hook gun.

Bob spoke over his shoulder as he sped up to cut through a yellow light. "You're new, so I don't know if you caught it yet, but the boss is... different. I mean, he's freakin' brilliant, knows how to plan an op like nobody's business. It's almost like he can see the future and plans around things nobody else considers. But... you ever see that TV show Monk?"

Phil nodded. "Yeah, sure, a time or two."

"Well, Ambrose is a bit like that character Monk, or maybe his brother whats-his-name. Boss's got all sorts of phobias, deadly afraid of germs, won't shake anybody's hand, and God forbid you cough or sneeze in his presence. Also afraid of cats, churches, the number eleven, and the smell of fudge. To top it all off, he has acute agoraphobia."

With a puzzled expression, Phil asked, "What's that? Fear of cute sweaters?"

Bob tapped his horn to let the driver in front of him know to move it or lose it. "Sweaters? What the... Oh, no, not angoraphobia. Agora. Fear of open spaces. Boss can't leave the base without passing out. So he added these blinders to our helmets, said they'll 'make us feel more comfortable.' Kills the peripheral vision somethin' fierce, but what can ya do? He's the boss. What he says, goes." He cut between a truck and a cab with inches to spare, earning himself a horn blast and a raised finger, plus a couple of choice words from the cabbie he couldn't hear through their van's closed windows. "Just keep turning your head left and right, and you'll be fine."