csyphrett

The Scouts Hold the Line 2017-  Marty Morgan rubbed his bald pate with a gloved hand. Age had taken his hair and carved lines in his face, but he was still fighting trim thanks to his gift. It burned calories like no one’s business. Finch, his wife, stood at his side. Gray strands of hair was the only difference he could see from when they had first met in ‘79. Who would have thought they would be together so long doing what they did. He looked to his right. Blue flame marked where the Lamplighters were doing what they were doing blocks away. He hoped they knew what they were doing. His kids were out there, and he wanted them to have a chance. “I, the Queen of Genn, the Sister of the Destroyer, the Mother of the Myriad, the Sun of a Million Lands, pronounce sentence on this miserable place for the crime of accepting my rebellious daughter as one of your own.” The image of a burning tree held up its prize in its grasp. The image covered the world so everyone could see what was going to happen. “You will all be exterminated just like this hero who tried to stop me.” The net around the Mark caught fire as magic poured down on him. He felt the green spark in his body being ripped out. Then he blew apart in a cloud of ash and smoke. Marty’s radio exploded in his ear. He gritted his teeth. Now was not the time to start losing it. “Everybody, pay attention,” he said. “We have to hold this line. Fliers, knock anything in the air that’s not one of ours down. Ground troops, keep their armies back as much as possible. We need to give the Lamplighters a chance to do their thing. Rangers, keep moving people out of the way. We don’t want to kill somebody by accident.” “I have to go,” said Finch. “Be careful,” said Marty. “I’m going to try to distract that thing until the Lamplighters can do what they can.” Finch moved to the edge of the roof. She vanished over the side. A streak of light appeared over the city. Marty frowned as he watched it head right at the center of the chaos. Then the giant hero known as M-37 punched the Queen of the Genn in the face with a metallic fist. That was a big distraction in Marty’s book. He needed to add to that. Purple pulses lit the night along the line. Air ships came apart as he watched the night sky. What was causing that? “I have some help over here, Marty,” said Scarrow on the radio. “We’re covering our point.” Another giant blasted through the air. Marty didn’t recognize him, but he was throwing blasts of energy into the Queen as he flew across the city. “He’s with us, Marty,” said the Scarrow. “Don’t shoot him.” Marty frowned. New players on the board were changing the positions. It looked like their mad scheme might work after all. All he had to do was keep his children safe, and the city by extension. “Mr. Multiverse is here on the ground,” said Plus. “He’s everywhere.” Marty expected that. Mr. Multiverse often showed up at events where there was a rip in the air. He only stayed around long enough to help out, and then he was gone. The Mark’s kids flew through the air. If the Mark couldn’t make a dent in Big Ugly, they couldn’t either. Other fliers joined them. Marty hoped none of them were his kids. He had to hold the line, and keep the air clear. If the Lamplighters were right, they would become targets soon enough. The Queen wasn’t going to let them pose a threat for long. “How’s it going?,” said a voice on his right. He looked down. A teenaged girl with dark hair and eyes smiled at him. “Name’s Sara. This is my brother, Moshe.” Moshe stood behind her. He scanned the air for danger as he tried to keep an eye on everything at once. “Our parents wanted us out of the way until they got done helping the Americans build their lamps,” said Sara. “Al-a-Din is down on the street with his butler and felt we should help you instead of getting in his way.” “That’s kind of him,” said Marty. “I’m trying to concentrate here. The goal is to protect the Lamplighters and keep the enemy confined close to the door. Can you do either of those things while I do what I have to do?” “I think so,” said Sara. She smiled. “What do you think, Moshe?” “I think we’re too close to the front line,” said Moshe. “I don’t think this is what Al-a- Din wanted.” “Concentrate on what’s going on,” said Marty. “We have to hold this line one way, or the other. If things get ugly, get clear.” “Don’t worry about us, old man,” said the girl. “We can handle walking trees.” “I don’t think that’s right,” said the boy. He flung blue balls of light across the roof. “Sorry, something moved over there.” “Need some light,” said Marty. Sara said a word. A column of light sprang into existence across the street. Trees with jack o’lantern faces looked around at the revealing fire. A rain of blue bolts fell on them before they could snuff the light out. “Keep doing that until the coast is clear,” said Marty. He sat down on the gravel of his base roof and concentrated. Marty started out his career as Animal Boy of the Hazard Scouts. His gift was the ability to summon animals to help him out. His foster family had brought him along on adventures until they were ambushed and for the most part wiped out. Barry Nicklaus, Mister Robot, spent ten years as a brain in a jar while Marty was figuring out how to survive without resources. As soon as Marty and his new friends had rescued him, he went back to solving problems with a new body. When the call went out, he had been the first to fly into New York to set up to repel the invasion. He had shifted to help the Lamplighters with his expertise while the rest of the newer generations of Scouts went about their business. Marty had originally only been able to summon animals. Then he had been able to summon mixes of two different animals. Then he had been able to move into imaginary animals after that. He crafted his summoning to keep the Queen busy. The Scouts had to hold the line while he worked. If the plan worked, he would be able to gather his extended family and take them home after a job well done. If it didn’t, he would go down fighting. Either way, he wasn’t giving up. “Are you okay?,” asked Sara. “Yes,” said Marty. He didn’t open his eyes. “Just keep the roofs clear while I cook up this surprise. It’ll take me a couple of minutes. It’s the biggest crafting I have ever done.” “Don’t worry,” said Sara. “We’re handling things.” Marty didn’t open his eyes to check the veracity of that statement. He needed to concentrate on what he was doing. He had been younger when he had started out. He hoped they knew better than he had. A roar answered his summons. He smiled. He opened his eyes as a wave of heated air washed over him. “What is that?,” asked Moshe. “The biggest distraction I could come up with,” said Marty. “Scouts, Behemoth is walking. Let him go by.” The summoned monster stomped forward, casually knocking aside any building in its way. The fins running down its back glowed in anger as it closed on the fight ahead. It roared its challenge at the Queen. “That is a big distraction,” said Moshe. “I don’t think I have seen anything bigger.” “Hopefully she hasn’t either,” said Marty. Weariness settled into his bones. He closed his eyes again. Maybe he had created too big a distraction. Maybe he should have tried for something a little smaller on scale. The roar of the big lizard was followed by the sound of burning air as it breathed on the Queen while still blocks away. “Are you all right?,” asked Sara. She said something else. Marty felt a tingling, but it wasn’t enough to get him back on his feet. “I just need a moment to rest,” said Marty. He knew that no matter what happened next, he was out of the fight. Calling on his monster had broken something inside. He could feel it. No one would be able to fix what he had done to himself. He was too old, and at the end of his life. He should have stayed home with his feet up and sipping Pepsi. Saving the world was a young man’s, person’s, game. “I can’t fix this,” said Sara. “I’m sorry.” “Everybody has problems,” said Marty. “Are we holding the line?” “I think so,” said Sara. “Your monster is forcing the tree people to defend their queen. They aren’t doing a good job of it from what I can see.” “The Mark’s girls are probably wrecking a lot of the mooks,” said Marty. “That’s what I expected.” “The Mark is dead,” said Moshe. “I didn’t expect that,” said Marty. “Doesn’t matter if we lose the fight.” If they lost, who was going to care how hard they fought, or who fell in battle. The human species would be forced to live under a yoke and possibly put on the path to extinction. He hadn’t joined the Scouts to let that happen. “It looks like we’re pushing them back, Marty,” said Corona in his earpiece. “That was some stunt you just pulled.” Corona and Ren had come out of retirement to help with this. Their son, Bond, was out there fighting with the other Scouts. She still looked like the blond girl from the poor side of town he had asked to move from Detroit to help him restart the Scouts after they had saved Barry. Ren had aged better than Marty. The former Animal Boy put it down to the magic he used to solve mysteries. Forty years had only given him some streaks of grey in his dark hair and a few wrinkles to go with the scars he had picked up in the battles they had waged. “The lines on the street have stabilized, Dad,” said his son, Mark. “We’ll need some more people on the street if we want to start pushing them back for real.” Marty tried to talk into his radio. There had to be something he could say to change things. His mouth was so dry. “I have a wedge of clear sky,” said Harmon, the Scarrow. “Darla says she can knock down anything flying too close to us.” Marty wondered who Darla was. He thought she had something to do with the second giant helping M-37. That made her the source of the purple lightning he had seen earlier. “Finch,” said Marty. He didn’t know if the radio would activate. He didn’t know how loud he was talking. “Can you hear me? I love you.” It would be beyond expectation to think she had heard him. He couldn’t do anything about it now. He had to hold on to give his monster time to do its work. If he died, his animal would expire too. He had to hold on to buy it time to do its job. “We’re ready to fire,” said Mark Hadron over the radio net. “Magicians, get ready to push.” Marty smiled. He only had to hold on until the Lamplighters did their job. He could do it for another ten seconds. “Counting down,” said Hadron. “Three...Two...One...Fire in the hole.” Blue flame pressed against Marty’s eyelids. He tried to turn his head, but he couldn’t. He grimaced as the light seemed to go on forever. Then it shut off and the night sky was back. “Mister Morgan?,” said Sara. “Can you hold on? It looks like we’re winning.” “Finch,” said Marty. “Can you find her?” “I’ll call,” said Sara. “We’ll get her for you.” Marty held his breath as he waited. He couldn’t open his eyes. He felt a hand touch his face. He smiled at the familiar calluses. “Here,” said Finch. “I love you,” said Marty. “Thank you for the time you’ve given me.” “Hospital,” said Finch. “I’m broken on the inside,” said Marty. “It’s my time, and no one can change that. I just wanted to say goodbye before I go.” “Love you,” said Finch. The city of New York lit up in a display of blue flames at Martin Morgan’s passing. His gargantuan creation went with him as it became thunderous clouds casting random lightning that broke apart over the ocean. His unknowing enemy, the Queen of Genn, looked down at the hole in her body in shock. A giant fist punched her back into her cloud door. Chanting closed the door as the various magicians summoned into action cast their spells to fill the hole in the boundary between worlds. The fighting continued for a bit, but the children of the Genn were beaten with their queen sent home, and no way to distract the Mark’s daughters. They were rounded up and sent home to get rid of them. The Scouts gathered where Finch had covered Marty with his jacket. Others like the Robot Rangers arrived to report in after the action was done. The city’s emergency services were taking over, surveying the damage. Tanner Lerner and his cousin, Darla, stood at the back of the crowd. A blond man in a dun coat stood with them. He puffed on his cigar as he watched things with his squinty eyes. “So we didn’t save everybody,” said Tanner. “Couldn’t be expected to,” said the man in the dun coat. “You two still did okay considering.” “If you can call running across the country and nearly getting killed fighting someone that killed the Mark okay,” said Darla. “What the frack was that?” “It needed doing,” said Tanner. “Exactly,” said the man in the dun coat. “Some things need doing. Have a safe trip back home. I doubt things will be this bad for a while. This Earth has beaten two menaces from beyond. The others might decide to leave us alone for a bit.” “What if they don’t, Mister Mysterious Mister Who Likes Crappy Smelling Smokes?,” asked Darla. “You’re the heroes who have to fight for the world,” said the man in the dun coat. “I’m just a nobody comedy relief.” He raised his cigar in a goodbye gesture and walked away. //235931

That's bound to happen. CES

Added Deathbed Talk to Dev Art account CES

Hey Squidward CES

John Wick 3. There might be a four. If there is, it's Wick and the King versus everybody else. CES

You got a quad post. I haven't seen one of those in like ever. CES

The Last Spot 2015- Ken Aioki looked at the place where he was going for his job interview. It didn’t look like much to him. He looked around before crossing the street and opening the personnel door to step inside. He looked around inside the door, getting his bearings. A giant stood at the desk. He held two parts in his hands. He looked up at Ken and put the parts down. “Can I help you?,” said the giant. “I’m here about the job,” said Ken. “I talked to a Mrs. Hillsmierer.” “Really?,” said the giant. “Are you sure you want to work here? This is a dangerous job you’re trying out for, bud.” “The advertisement didn’t say anything about danger,” said Ken. “Why would it?,” said the giant. He leaned a hip on the desk. “You don’t just tell people they might have their faces fried off on the first day. Then no one would apply.” “Do people have their faces fried off on the first day?,” asked Ken. “You’d be surprised,” said the giant. His bald head reflected a blue light from his dark skin. Ken couldn’t figure out where the source could be. “Why don’t you sit down? We can have a chat while you’re waiting for Janie and Mark to get back.” “Okay,” said Ken. He sat down in the visitor’s chair indicated by the other man. “What would you like to talk about?” “Let’s talk about your criminal record,” said the giant. “That was a long time ago,” said Ken. “Most of our systems are computerized,” said the Lamplighter. “Are you even able to use them without getting into trouble?” “Yes,” said Ken. “My probation ran out two weeks ago. I already filed my paperwork.” “So you want to talk about why a computer thief like yourself wants a job like this?,” said the giant. “I wasn’t a thief,” said Ken. “I just put some stuff online. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t like it when you expose one of their secrets.” “How many secrets did you expose for the betterment of mankind?,” the giant asked. “Just the one,” said Ken. “It was a doozy.” “It also got one hundred innocent people killed, did a million dollars in damage before the Mark could intervene, and unleashed a plague that might kill everyone on the planet given enough time,” said the giant. “If we can make it into space without becoming extinct, that last might work out all right.” “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen,” said Ken. “What did you think was going to happen?,” asked the giant. “I thought that exposing the government’s super weapon would help the world,” said Ken. “I mean they were building a biological weapon.” “Exposing it is what caused the break-in that unleashed it,” said the giant. “If you hadn’t done that, very few people would have known about the weapon. Fewer still would have known where it was.” “What would you have done?,” asked Ken. “I wouldn’t have dumped everything on the Internet for anyone to read for one thing,” the giant said. “I might have called DARPA from a payphone, or a one use cell, and told them how loose their computer security was. I might have kept things to myself and watched what was going on from a distance.” “But they were going to use it,” said Ken. “How?,” said the giant. “I saw an order for it to be deployed,” said Ken. “It was a standby order in case something bad threatened to happen without interference,” said the giant. “I didn’t know,” said Ken. “I was thirteen.” “Thirteen and unable to do the thing you love,” said the giant. He sat behind the desk. “Why should we take you in and let you loose in our systems so you can dump our files out on the Internet for everyone to read.” “I learned my lesson,” said Ken. “I made a bad decision. I understand why you wouldn’t want to give me a chance, but I need the job, and I want to do something good.” “Go ahead and look at these boards,” said the giant. He pushed a picture down on the desk with a big hand. “They’re not sending the correct signals to each other.” “Is this some kind of test?,” asked Ken. “I’m not the one hiring you,” said the giant. “If you can prove you still have your touch, Mark might hire you despite your record. If you can’t, he might just send you packing. He’s lost a lot of empathy for others when he lost his eye.” “How did that happen?,” asked Ken. He picked up the two boards and examined them as he thought about their shape, and the way things were laid on them. “He zigged when he should have zagged,” said the other man. Ken paused to consider those words. He thought about what it meant to lose an eye because you made the wrong move. The other man nodded at the hesitation. “Lamplighting is a business that deals with problems that no one else can deal with and it is dangerous,” said the giant. “I understand if you want to walk away and get another job. If I were in your shoes, I would.” “Have you been hurt on the job?,” asked Ken. He placed the pieces back on the desk and pulled out his Swiss Army knife. He extended a blade he could use to work on the electronics. “Yes,” said the other man. “I got hit hard a couple of times. I didn’t even get a chance to zig, much less zag.” “Sorry to hear that,” said Ken. “It happens,” said the giant. “If you say so,” said Ken. He poked at each of the boards. He realized he didn’t know what they were supposed to do. “Where did these come from?” “From this baby,” said the giant. He picked up a giant lantern off the floor by its handle. It had been concealed by the desk. He placed it on top of the desk. Ken frowned at the lantern. He didn’t see a flame inside of it. Why did it need electronics? Maybe he could do better with a reader, but he didn’t have one, and he wasn’t supposed to touch one until he paid his fines. Ken inspected the gap where the pieces went in the lamp. He frowned at the dust, and something else in the lamp. “Do you have any duster?,” Ken asked. “Right here,” said the other man. He grabbed a can of spray off a filing cabinet and handed it over. Ken sprayed the slot with the duster. Then he looked around and lucked into some cotton swabs. He used those to clean out the slots. Then he slid both pieces back into where they were supposed to go. He pressed the button on the side of the lamp. Blue flame exploded to life inside the chamber. He sat back. The giant nodded. “It looks like you still have your touch,” said the other man. He smiled. Ken put his knife away as he looked at the blue flame. Fixing it had seemed ridiculously easy. “What does this do?,” he asked. “It gives off light,” said the other man. Ken frowned at him. Of course a lamp gave off light. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a lamp. “I think Janie and Mark are back,” said the giant. “If you still want the job, just act like you don’t know anything, and don’t give off the vibe that you’re here to plunder the computer files.” “I just want a job,” said Ken. “Be humble and kind, and you’ll get it,” said the giant. He picked up the lamp. “I have to put this back where it belongs. Good luck, kid.” He turned and walked out of the office area. Ken thought he went upstairs, but realized that he wasn’t exactly sure how the giant was getting around. That bothered him for some reason. Ken stood at the sound of a small rumble. He looked around. A vehicle bay door rolled up to let a van roll into the building. Yellow lights flashed on the top of the van. People in jumpsuits piled out of the van. They chattered about whatever they had run into on their job. Ken didn’t understand the references. “How did you get in here?,” asked one of the men. He only had one eye, and didn’t bother covering his empty socket. “The door was open,” said Ken. “I’m Ken Aioki. I’m here about the job.” “The hacker,” said the one-eyed man. “I’m Hadron. Have you talked to Janie yet?” “No,” said Ken. “I think I was the only one here.” “Ever been in a fight?,” asked Hadron. He walked around to the other side of the desk and sat down. He frowned at it for a second. He righted the picture the giant had knocked over. A large hole was visible in his hand. “Not since the sixth grade,” said Ken. “As you are aware from the ad, this is dangerous work,” said Hadron. “Are you sure you want to take this on? You’ll be running most of the time, and trying not to get beaten like a rug the rest.” “I think I can handle that,” said Ken. “All right,” said Hadron. “Hey, Marcel! Take the new guy down to get him tested.” “I’m hired just like that?,” said Ken. “We always need someone we can consider expendable,” said Hadron. “When you get back, we’ll run the retina test and give you the package to fill out. After that, we’ll get you some target practice.” “How expendable am I?,” asked Ken. “If you have to ask, you don’t need to know,” said Marcel. “That doesn’t sound good,” said Ken. “How many of us are there?” “If you pass the retina scan, you’re number four,” said Marcel. “Don’t worry. If you’re getting a drug test, Hadron must think you’ll pass the eye test with no problems.” “What about the big guy?,” asked Ken. “Isn’t one,” said Marcel. “What do you mean?,” said Ken. “I just spent a few minutes talking to a big guy while I waited for you guys to come back.” “There’s no big guy,” said Marcel. “That’s probably why Hadron is going to hire you.” “No big guy?,” said Ken. “No,” said Marcel. “There’s me, the white guy, and the latina woman. Hadron is the boss, and Janie is his admin. There’s nobody else.” “Then who was I talking to?,” asked Ken. “Probably one of the dead Lamplighters,” said Marcel. He waited until Ken had buckled in before starting the engine. “What do you mean dead Lamplighters?,” said Ken. “The place is haunted,” said Marcel. “You’re not really sharp, are you?” “You’re joking,” said Ken. Marcel pulled out his phone as he drove through the city streets. He hooked it up to the van’s wifi and voice commanded it to search for the Lamplighters. He pulled to a stop at a red light. He took the chance to scroll up until he had a group picture from the Times. “Which one was yours?,” Marcel asked. “The big guy, Dyson Baker,” said Ken. “Makes sense,” said Marcel. “He made the original lamps.” “So the ghostbusting place is haunted,” said Ken. “Why?” “Maybe because they died on the job, and the lamps are holding on to them,” said Marcel. “The question is do you still want the job?” “I don’t really have anything to lose,” said Ken. “Keep telling yourself that,” said Marcel. “It’ll help you sleep at night.” “What helps you sleep at night?,” asked Ken. “I don’t,” said Marcel. He pulled to the curb in front of a small general medical services office. He looked at the traffic going by. “How expendable am I?,” Ken asked before he got out of the van. “You’re just as expendable as Hadron’s eye,” said Marcel. He turned to glance at his new co-worker. “Go do your thing. I’ll be waiting for you to take you back to the station.” “Why are you working for the company?,” Ken asked. He stood outside the van, looking in through the opened window. “Because my ghost said I couldn’t,” said Marcel. “And I’m proving him wrong every minute I am on the clock.” “That doesn’t seem like a good reason,” said Ken. “It’s all that I need,” said Marcel. “Go. I can’t sit out here all day.” “All right,” said Ken. He looked at the small office. Did he really want to die over a job? He walked in and set up to take his test. //233456

John is the Revelator. He is perhaps the most feared of the Gospels even though his power is nothing more than to make people see and feel everything wrong they have ever done to anyone else. Some change their lives to be better. Some kill themselves when they see the truth. CES

Jackie Chan Presents Amnesia. Bike Courier witnesses a murder, is forced off the road, suffers a blow that gives him face blindness. He is forced into figuring out what's going on without knowing who to trust, or recognizing them CES

majestic had a source of information that allowed him to perceive things happening so that he could move in and stop the crisis almost before it started. Kelly Twain inherited that source and started putting it to use as Blue Book CES

Harry Case was caught in an explosion caused by the Maine firing his cannon into a crowd by accident. He woke up in a weird hospital, covered in bandages. Then the doctors put Harry in a shell and asked him to do some work for them. Harry went rogue, using his new shell to earn the name Hard Case. CES

It's pretty good E CES

Justice League and Suicide Squad also had two to three different directors and those directors had different styles CES

DC animated movies and television shows are okay, but their big screen movies have sucked since Nolan's Batman Trilogy. They have only had three that have done well Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. CES

No. He still had his time travel device to return to the main timeline. The original husband in the original timeline was one of the agents from the television show and he was dead by the time Cap was thawed out. Cap replaces all the stones and Thor's hammer, then creates a timeline where he married Peggy instead of the original guy who she hadn't met yet. After her death, the snap, and the original time heist, and the death of the 2014 Thanos, he returns to the main branch to give Sam his shield. That's what we know. What we don't know is what did he do when he was Peggy's husband, and if he smoothed things out for that timeline to make things better. Did the Avengers start in the 50's? Did he destroy Arnim Zola's computer replacement? Did he nip the Hydra Infiltration in the bud? Did he recruit Hank Pym for Shield, and prevent Janet from being trapped in the quantum realm? Is Hope and Scott leading a third/fourth/fifth gen Avengers team with Cassie trying to get on the next generation? Does Cassie call Rocket Uncle Raccoon? CES