Greywind

I met a devil woman
She took my heart away
She said, I've had it comin' to me
But I wanted it that way
I think that any love is good lovin'
So I took what I could get, mmh
Oooh, oooh she looked at me with big brown eyes

And said,
You ain't seen nothin' yet
B-b-b-baby, you just ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet
Here's something that you never gonna forget
B-b-b-baby, you just ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet

"Nothin' yet
You ain't been around
That's what they told me"

And now I'm feelin' better
'Cause I found out for sure
She took me to her doctor
And he told me of a cure
He said that any love is good love
So I took what I could get
Yes, I took what I could get
And then she looked at me with them big brown eyes

And said,
You ain't seen nothin' yet
B-b-b-baby, you just ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet
Here's something, here's something your never gonna forget
baby, you know, you know, you know you just ain't seen nothin' yet

"You need educatin'
You got to go to school"

Any love is good lovin'
So I took what I could get
Yes, I took what I could get
And then, and then, and then
She looked at me with them big brown eyes

And said,
You ain't seen nothin' yet
Baby, you just ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet
Here's something, here's something
Here's something that your never gonna forget, baby
Baby, baby, baby you ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet
You ain't been around
You ain't seen nothin' yet
That's what she told me
She said, "I needed educatin', go to school"
I know I ain't seen nothin' yet
I know I ain't seen nothin' yet

“Yankee Stadium? Really?” Napalm asked with a sneer.

“You challenged. I pick the venue. Seemed fair,” Pulsar said. “You didn't come alone.”

Napalm laughed. “I'm a bad guy. What's a bad guy without his gang.” Several of the Blood Guard shot various looks at Napalm. None of them friendly. “You didn't come alone.”

“I'm not stupid. I didn't expect you to come alone. This isn't my first rodeo.” Pulsar walked out onto the field. Napalm approached. “Time to set the ground rules. First, one on one.”

“Agreed,” Napalm said.

“Second, you and I use no powers. Hand to hand.”

“I can kill you either way. Might be more fun, this way. Agreed.”

Pulsar looked over at the Guard. “No damage to the stadium. We're only borrowing it for an hour or so.”

“Can't promise that,” Napalm replied with a sneer and a laugh.

“Your master holds an interest in the Yankees,” Angelique called across the field.

“Indeed I do,” Anton said, appearing behind the Guard. Napalm's eyes went wide. “No damage to the stadium, Bauer. The game goes on on time.”

“Anything else?” Napalm's voice was strained.

Pulsar smiled behind his mask. “I guess you weren't expecting that.” Several of the Blood Guard moved closer. The Guardians mirrored them. “No one interferes. Either goes down and is no longer capable of fighting, it's over.”

“To the death!”

“I'm not going to kill you, Artie.”

“But I just might kill you.”

“Your overconfidence is endearing. Are we settled, then, on the ground rules?” Napalm nodded. “Good. Lord Darque, I believe your convention allows for champions.”

“Indeed it does,” Anton answered.

“What?” Napalm's mouth went slack. Pulsar grinned.

Pulsar turned back to the Guardians. “Now, it seems to me that just about any of these worthies stand better than an even chance of taking you down.” He started walking the line of his friends. Titania locked eyes with him. Her hands balled into fists. The muscles of her arms tightened. Pulsar gave her a brief, almost imperceptible shake of his head. “As I recall, abusing girls was more your speed.”

Hellfire gave him a worried look. PsiStorm's barrier briefly flickered up, protecting herself and Hellfire. Pulsar lowered his hand, palm down. PsiStorm dropped the wall.

Walking on, Pulsar looked at Nightwing. Nightwing nodded his head. Again, Pulsar shook his head. Instead, he put his hand on Ringer's shoulder. “Will you fight for me?” Ringer nodded and stepped forward.

“What?” Nightwing bellowed. He opened his mouth to say more. Ringer elbowed him in the gut. Hard.

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Deep, dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

We figured she was rich, loaded to the hilt

And we figured she had class like the Vanderbilts

'Cause we had heard for years how she was so well reared

How was we to know they meant the way she was built

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Deep, dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

1 hour ago, Stonewild said:

 Strength is the only characteristic that can with all the character points added to it would allow the toon to destroy a city.   Do the city up right and on the cheap.  310 point strength toon could have a pretty good time in the old town tonight.  A 310 intelligence toon would really enjoy the library while noticing the city turned into rubble.  Same cost?    

Only if both the player and GM are idiots.

2 hours ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

Is anyone watching Hawkeye?

He's hard to keep an eye on.

6 hours ago, martinsaw01 said:

I'm reminded of the old Mayfair DC Heroes game, which had 9 stats, 3 each for physical, mental and mystical/soul attributes.   One was the targeting stat, the second the damaging stat and the third the resistance stat that took the damage.

Body to Body.
Mind to Ego.
Spirit gets lost in translation.

“You should have let me kill him!”

Jason's voice was quiet. “Have you ever killed anyone? In all your years of being Titania, have you killed anyone? Even accidentally?”

Charley searched Jason's eyes. She turned towards the window and crossed her arms. Her chin dropped. “No.”

“I have. It haunts you. The deliberate act of taking a life. A bystander killed because you couldn't do enough to stop them from dying. It haunts you.”

“Detective Brennan. He killed Rachel. I wanted to kill him. I almost did.”

“What stopped you?”

Wiping tears away, Charley said, “Rachel. I heard her voice. Begging me to stop.”

“When Sandy died, I gave up any sense of control. I killed six men that day. Killing them didn't save her. At the time, there was no saving her. There are times they show up in my dreams or a reflection. I don't want you to ever go through that.”

“It isn't your decision to make for me,” she said.

'I am the Guardian of the First Gate. You are the Guardian of the Fourth. I would hate to have to replace you.” Charley made to say something and Jason raised his hand to stop her. “I have blood on my hands. As long as I am here, the only one that will have blood on their hands is me. When I die I will have to answer for it. Heaven or Hell.”

“You should have let me kill him,” Charley said, looking back at him.

Jason gave her a lopsided grin. “Now he has to deal with the Guard knowing the newest of us kicked his ass without breaking a sweat.”

Charley chuckled. “I never thought of it like that.”

“Once word gets out, barring actual emergencies, the ER should be quiet.” Ash accepted a coffee cup from Kris. “Thanks”.

Kris looked around her domain. Doctors, nurses, and orderlies moved around doing their jobs. The patients tended to be quiet. “At least it's quiet. For now. Want to tell me what's got your panties in a bunch?”

“You mean besides a little girl named Kacie that wants to be just like me when she gets better and grows up, only the growing up part probably won't happen because she won't be getting better?” Carrie gave Ash a concerned look.

“It's not easy,” Kris said. “We do the best we can. So, yeah, besides that.”

Ash opened her bag and fished in a pocket. She pulled out a letter and handed it over to Kris. It was addressed to Ash at the tower. There was no return address. “Read it.” Kris pulled out the missive and unfolded it. It was short and to the point. It was signed “Benton Parks”.

“Your father?” Ash nodded. “What are you going to do?”

“I don't know. I haven't had any contact with him in fifteen years or so. Not since I left home.”

“He wants you to come home?” Ash shot Kris a dirty look. The letter said as much. “Sorry. How do you feel about that?”

“I don't know,” Ash said quietly.

“Some of the stories Kris has told me about you, and you're afraid to visit with your dad?” Carrie asked. “Big girl panties. Maybe get that twist out of them that has them all bunched up. Can't be any worse than wading into a battle with Dr. Viper or whatever the name is.”

“Thanks, Carrie. You've got a different point of view, I guess.”

Shrugging, Carrie said, “I've got a family. The family I get to go home to in the morning, unmarked, thanks to you. The thing with family is you don't get to choose them.”

Ash smiled at her. “My family, we sort of chose each other.” Looking at Kris, she asked, “You good?”

Kris nodded. “I'm here for the duration. What are you going to do?”

“Call in a favor. Maybe two. Make some plans.” She collected her letter and dropped it back in her bag. “Need me, call me.”

Kris smiled. “Always.”

First 3 eps of The Wheel of Time.

Bleeding Steel

Staring at the frozen screen of the tablet, Charley picked up her phone. Without really looking at it, she placed a call. “Hey, George. It's Charley. Charlemagne. Please tell me you're in New York. You aren't just saying that because I told you to tell me that, are you? That's great. I have a wardrobe problem that I need to have fixed by eight AM. A slip. I was given a suit. It's dark gray with a blue blouse. I can do that. Give me a couple of minutes to change.”

Charley quickly removed her shirt and shorts, replacing them with the blouse and skirt. “Oh, god, it's shorter than I thought.” The skirt was closer to mid-thigh than a few inches above the knee. “Mentor, take a picture of this and send it to George's phone, please.”

“Done,” the AI said.

“Thanks.” She took her phone back up. “Did you get it? You can do that? Sounds good, George. Thanks muchly.” Charley set her phone aside.

Touching the screen on the tablet, the video played once again.

“Hello, Charlemagne. I won't ask you how you are doing. I heard you made your own path. Made new friends. Broke old ties.

“I had hoped that one day perhaps, you and I would meet again. That we would sit one more time for dinner and conversation. Share a bottle of wine. Reminisce.

“Alas, that is not to be. It has not been announced yet, per my wishes, but if you are watching this, Ulysses Madacar is no more.

“My funeral will be the day after you receive this. A car will be sent for you at nine.

Please, be ready. I would hate to think of Amanda trying to dress you in your current state.

“I have heard the stories. I have tried to follow your career. I cannot imagine the restraint it took you to not kill that detective.

“I ask one favor of you. Do not kill Bauer at my funeral. I hate to think of the spectacle that would be.

“Be well, my dear.”

No. That was a mean swing. Tony said so. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."

https://humanevents.com/2021/09/27/3000-doctors-scientists-accuse-covid-policy-makers-of-crimes-against-humanity

3 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

And how did they do that?  With relatively new, fresh concepts and stories, with strong interesting and likable characters that largely (at least until recently) stayed away from being preachy or woke.

 

A lesson Hollywood still does not seem to have learned.

Seduction of the Innocent

The Comics Code Authority

Ash left the children's care ward slowly. Unshed tears were burning her eyes. “And they say I'm brave.” Nurses that recognized her either stared or waved as she went past. Her bag was lighter. The plushie she had given to Kacie.

Passing into an empty elevator, Ash leaned back against the wall. “God, I know I don't pray often enough, but please heal that little girl. Heal all of them.” When the door opened, she brushed the tears away.

A crash sounded through the hall. Ash saw an officer she was familiar with. “Hey, Malloy,” he nodded to her. “What's going on?”

“Hostage situation. Some nutbag grabbed a nurse. He's threatening her with a scalpel.”

“Great,” she said quietly. “Dove in there?”

Malloy nodded. “Trying to talk him off the ledge.”

“Do me a favor. Talk to your boys quietly. Tell them to follow my lead.”

“You sure that's a smart idea?”

She held her bag out. “Hold this. Scalpels are not my kryptonite.”

“What is?” He clicked his radio and spoke softly to the other officers.

“Beefy, sexy men in uniform, Malloy.”

Ash made her way to the desk. Kris saw her. Ash shook her head and put a finger to her lips. Kris gave a nod and turned her attention back to the scene the ER had become. Moving closer, Ash heard Kris say, “Trevor if you hurt her the police won't let you out. Your only chance of getting out is by not hurting her.”

“Let the nurse go, Trevor.” Trevor was tattooed. Some on his face. A few on his neck. A lot on his exposed arms. “Take me, instead.”

“I jus' wants out.”

“If you take me,” Ash said, “and let the nurse go, the officers will put their guns away. They will let you walk out of here with me.” She moved closer. “My name is Leigh.”

“Why would they do that?”

“The nurse you're holding? She's married, Trevor. She has children. You don't want to take her from her family. Just let her go and take me instead. Okay?” While she talked, Ash had her hands up where Trevor could see them. She moved slowly closer to him.

“The nurse's name is Carrie. Did you know that Trevor? Carrie has a son and a daughter,” she said softly. “Let her go and take me.” Close enough, Ash grabbed Trevor's arm. He made to cut Carrie, but couldn't move his arm against Ash's strength.

Voice turning harder, Ash said, “I really want to hit something right now, asshole, and you're the closest option.” She squeezed and rolled his arm out and down. “I keep doing this, Trevor, and either your elbow or shoulder is going to pop. Let Carrie go now or I swear to God I am going to rip your arm off and beat you to death with it”

“Who are you?”

“I'm a Guardian, Trevor. Right now, hers.” Trevor's arm around Carrie loosened and she slipped free. Ash patted Trevor on the cheek. “Good boy.” Trevor winced with each pat. Ash relieved him of the scalpel. “He's all yours, Malloy.”