csyphrett

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Stones Upturned by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegski. Two challenges for the Menagerie. Danny finally meets his demon father, and Dr. Graves finds out who killed him. CES

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? She's the daughter of Ming the Merciless. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Man with the Golden Torc is supposed to be the first book of a set according to the advert on the last page. I bought it as a hardback at B&N about a month after Hell to Pay I think. It should be on their site so you can order it. CES

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... A couple from Megaverse Explorers. CES Noir said, “Well true, but not wandering into neighboring sheep fields and having their way with them (the sheep) too.” The mayor of Shorn Creek was found at the Silver Dollar saloon, entertaining the cowboys who have come into town with tales of traveling the southwest with a donkey and chirapratera. He was deep into showing people what the ride through the abandoned mines south of Arzno was like when Noir walked into the bar. Everybody said "Noir!" as a greeting.

Re: Urban Fantasy Recommendations I don't recall if anybody recommended this, but I just watched Night Watch. That certainly fits in with what has been discussed. Also Karas. CES

Re: Urban Fantasy Recommendations

Re: The New Circle Amalgam City is a small city not far from Haynesville, Kansas. It's sparsely populated, home of only one huge business that keeps most of the people working one way, or the other. It also has attracted numerous criminal elements due to its proximity to other cities in the region. Also something about the place appeals to things men weren't meant to know. Mayor Mike Winston, pressured by Arnold Axel, the owner of Axel Automatics, invited heroes to set up a base in town. The idea was to protect the city, and the conglomerate, from the rising tide of darkness that conventional methods couldn't seem to stem. Heroes appeared to answer the call. Over the years members have come and gone, but the Legionnaires of Victory still protect Central Kansas and the rest of the world with the same passion as when they first started. The current line up consists of All Star, superhuman magician, Invader, Atlantean synthetic super soldier, Legion, time traveler caught in the past, Creature Commando, an experiment that turned into a monster, Soldier, a skilled gadgeteer, Patrolman D, energy creature piloting a robot shell, The Avenger, a creation of the gods come to earth, Charlie X, mutant trying to rebuild his life. The team uses funds from the city coffers and grants from AA, and other sources. Their base hides under the cover of a farm outside the city limits. A hover jet was provided for transportation for those members who could not fly on their own power. The first case the LOV took on came because the invitations were sent. Heroes from across the region were assembling in one spot. Criminal organizations also assembled. This new team could not be allowed to be put together to oppose their various empires. Viper actively offered a reward for proof of killing one of the guests at the hero convention. Opposed on all sides, the core group formed around All Star. The battle ended shortly afterwards. A few of the heroes were killed, some of the villains were put in the hospital. Most of the invited survivors decided to work on their own teams not based in Amalgam City. A loose network formed up around the first Legionnaires that remains to this day. The Legionnaires have fairly good ties with police organizations in the vast area they work in. They have worked with several other recognized groups like the Champions, and Sentinels, as well as their own looser affiliated members. On the other side of the coin, most organized groups such as Viper, Demon, and Argent hate the team for various reasons. Charlie X has run into both PSI and the IHA much to their regret. Several enemies of Atlantis have tried to make a name for themselves by destroying Invader. Additionally the team has had to face threats from other places and times thanks to Captain Chronos. All Star hopes to set up an academy for other superhumans to get them trained and ready for the future. He has talked with several people about getting the land, and schematics for such a thing. Teachers have been harder to find, but The real Defender (not the mook in the armor), and Champion have expressed interest in such a school. All Star has high hopes his team will stand against an uncertain future. Hints from Captain Chronos and his own scrying suggest that the Legionnaires will be destroyed and sent into exile by the turn of the century. He plans to do everything in his power to avoid that fate if he can. Still he knows it's better to prepare for the possibility that he will fail. So he does what he can to maximize his team, building favors, politicking for facilities and support, and hoping that he's wrong about what looms on the horizon. All Star has also started to be bothered by the idea that Luther Black and DEMON are behind what he has seen. This has caused him to start seeking out Demon bases and doing whatever he can to shut them down. His efforts have brought the unholy triangle to his doorstep and he has had to deal with them.

Re: Teen Guardians Wednesday the Third Hardball 6:25 pm Hardball noticed the new arrivals edging closer, and the machine pistols. It looked like they were going to try and catch him in a cross fire. The submachine guns roared their anger. Hardball noticed the new arrivals edging closer, and the machine pistols. It looked like they were going to try and catch him in a cross fire. The submachine guns roared their anger. Instinctively Hardball lashed out with the nails in his hand responding to their hail of metal with one of his own. Unlike the gangstas he was deadly accurate shattering the windshields of the vehicles, tearing open tires and piercing the wrists of the shooters. The drivers of both cars lost control as their vision was filled with glass and their wheels became rims. The front car skidded to a halt the following cars were not so lucky. Attempting to avoid each other and the parked cars on the street they both lost control, flipped intro the air and shot over Hardball's head as he threw himself and his bike top the ground. Before the Gangstas could get themselves oriented (assuming they were all high enough on PCP to shake off that kind of a crash) Hardball picked up himself and his bike and roared off. While there was once a time he would have happily taken on a gang armed with machine guns his run in with Casket had taught him his skills were not what they used to be. Plus the cops would likely be drawn to the scene of the crash on their way to the scene of the orignal crime. Finally he now had more than himself to think of, if he died his mother would join him fairly quickly. Tachyon and Emp 6:45 pm The cabin looked dark and abandoned to the heroes as they approached. Emp noticed fresh tracks on the litter covered porch. The prints looked small to him. The cabin looked dark and abandoned to the heroes as they approached. Emp noticed fresh tracks on the litter covered porch. The prints looked small to him. Patty, still in the bushes, whispered, "Think its a trap--and did Hardball ever bother texting you back?" Patty knew there was no way that Hardball could arrive in time on his motorcycle. He would be miles out of the way, but if the cabin was deserted, he could check out the boat in the harbor area. Lights came up from down the road. "Doubt it's a trap, but it might be booby trapped so that she knows someone is out here. No text back yet." Patty grumbled at herself quietly--aloud, it came out, "You'd think he didn't give a darn." Eric looked around a bit looking for any traps that he might notice around the area as well as a few good ones for him to set up with Patty's help. "We might want to step up a few traps around the area just in case she tries to make a break for it." "You got any ideas for traps..." Patty shut up-- They heard a car in the distance that seemed to be approaching them. --and whispered, "Crud, she's here!" She dropped to her hands and knees in the bushes, minimizing her chances of being seen... Eric joined her on the ground peering out carefully from the bushes at the upcoming car. A jeep appeared in the long driveway, pulled around to the rear of the cabin. It didn't pause as if the driver had seen the two hiding heroes. The blonde watched the jeep pull around to the back; she went to a crouch and brushed off her bare knees. "Darn, we didn't have time--what do you want to do, rush her and take her down--or just sit and observe?" Her frame was vibrating slightly--she was ready to go. The car door slammed. "This is going to sound a bit strange but.. grab her and throw her into a tree. That should hopefully take enough out of her lungs to leave her unconscious. Then we can make sure she herself isn't armed with any weapons. Hopefully she has rope inside we can use to tie her up." Tachyon nodded. "She'll be coming your way pretty quick, I hope..." She blushed--then pressed her lips against his. "For luck..." ...and there was a blur of motion as she erupted into the open, legs pumping, heart racing, a blur of motion--intent on taking this villainess down...hard. Blanche Devoureaux started to turn at the motion coming toward her. She couldn't stop the grab as Tachyon latched on to her shoulders. She tried to bring her elbow up to bash in Tach's face as a countermove. Even with her quick reaction speeds, some things could not be avoided--Patty ignored the swinging elbow.... The elbow smashed against the side of Tachyon's head. ...and accelerated, beginning a spin, leaving herself as the central point and Blanche...someone would lose their lunch, and it wouldn't be Tachyon... She picked up on the spin... Emp stood ready, considering how much of a royal pain Blanche had been he was practically hoping Tachyon would miscalculate and throw her with deadly speed into a near by tree but he still wanted to see her pay for what she had done. Patty felt her stomach and its almost completely gone contents begin to rise... Eric held a few of his low-yield explosives, she liked blowing people up. He was more than willing to see how she liked being on the receiving end of some explosives that while very painful weren't as deadly as some of things she had. Blanche spit at Tachyon, missed, scared a squirrel into diving for trouble as his tree took a near fatal hit. Patty felt dizzy--she felt sick--she felt her shoulders ache from the kinetic energy of the spin trying to pull them from their sockets she closed her eyes for a moment and tried to stabilize-- and then gave it up. She let go of the explosion-wielding Blanche and let her fly--she spun down, her knees dragging into the ground and she lay, trying to regain her equilibrium--and threw up. "...ihatespinningdizzydizzydizzy..." Eric watched as a blur of motion went by him. Followed by Patty throwing up back where the spinning was going on. That was going to need to be suppressed if he wanted to kiss her before the night was over. Eric realized that Blanche had collapsed in the wilderness away from the long driveway. He couldn't see her body from where he was standing, but had a general direction of travel. He could chase into the forest after her, or wait until Tachyon had recovered. Eric moved quickly after Blanche. He wasn't going to give her too much time to recover. He moved with the practiced stealth that he had when he was this age along with some measure of speed. He still wasn't as good as he once was, but to quote a song, he was as good now as he ever was. This was why he preferred dark colored costumes. "You can give up now Heart-breaker, or I can blow you and everything within your place up with the press of a button. Your choice." He was after all known for being a villain and considering everything that just happened Blanche might believe anyone that was a villain, ex or not, just might carry out their threats. Patty pushed herself to her bared knees--she still was dizzy as all hell, her inner ear arguing... ...and managed to make it to her feet, hands on knees and bent at the waist, her head still spinning, but the world was slowing, and that was always good--and her mouth tasted like crud. Slowly, her stomach growling--too much energy expended, not enough reserves--she was hungry--she stumbled towards the direction Blanche, Heartbreaker, had been thrown. An orb flipped through the air, landing at Eric's feet. It was the size of a softball and glowing. Eric leapt back calculating where the orb had been thrown from and threw his own Low Yield Grenade, which mostly went off when it hit something instead of a timed explosion. The orb exploded behind him, ripping up the foliage. His grenade blew a crater in the area where the orb had come from. He didn't hear cries of pain. At the explosion, Patty ignored her own dizziness and picked up the pace--she knew roughly where she'd thrown Heartbreaker--and the explosion was a pretty good marker--she hit her top normal speed and roared into the woods... Eric kept quiet in the tree's at this point looking around carefully for Heartbreaker. He didn't want to be out here longer than needed. Turning on his Empathy he tried to locate the general area where she was. Considering there was just her and Patty he figured this wouldn't be as overwhelming as it was at the school when he was trying to find her. Eric spotted the two girls as Patty roared through the foliage, ripping brush up at high speed. He could tell Blanche was headed away from where he was standing by her calm demeanor. Thursday the Fourth Nariko 7:30 am Nariko pointed at the dying vortex, puzzled. "Um...can you make out what that is? Some sort of dust tornado or something like that?" "I don't know." Four looked around. "There are two more over there." He pointed at two more of the outbursts in the middle of the desert sand. They rumbled up out of the ground, then dropped down in a shower. Her feet shifted in the sand nervously and she immediately mentally chastised herself for being a scared little idiot. "Well um...for lack of anything *else* to look at on this planet, can we please go check them out?" "I don't see why not." Mr. Four picked Nariko up in an arm and took to the sky. "We have 24 hours before we recalled. We might as well explore." Nariko seemed pleased to be airborne, obviously enjoying the view. "So, you mean that we'll be able to get back even *without* being with the others?" "Your dad has an automatic recall device." Four scanned the desert ahead. "As long as that is still functioning, we should be sent back to the membrane, back to the door. We can't leave it open for the obvious reasons."

Re: A Pattern Savant One of the kids in PS 238 was like this. He knew future events from looking at stains. They had to keep him in a white room because the pattern recognition was overwhelming. CES

Re: The New Circle 2 Character Name: The Weirdling Real Name: Robert Stine Nationality: American Hair/Eye Color: Brown/brown Place of Birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Date of Birth: 9/25/1935 Height/Mass: 5'8", 175 pounds Cost Characteristic Value 8 STR 18 42 DEX 24 20 CON 20 10 BODY 15 11 INT 21 20 EGO 20 5 PRE 15 1 COM 12 PD 3 ED 4 6 SPD 4 REC 7 END 40 STUN 34 OCV: 8 DCV: 8 OECV: 6 DECV: 6 Phases: 3,6,9,12 Cost Powers and Talents (END) The Weirdling's Standard Arsenal 60 pt multipower 1u Stealth Suit: Invisibility to sight 20 pts, IIF (-1/4) 16 pts 5u Sleep Gloves: Drain STUN 4d6 40 pts, AOE (6" cone +1),Visible(-1/4) restrainable (-1/2), OIF (-½) and Darkness 6" to sight 60 pts, linked (-½), Visible(-1/4) restrainable (-1/2), OIF (-½) 56 1u Tentacle Tie: Extra limb 5 pts OIF (-1/2), Limited manipulation (-1/4) and stretching 6" 30 pts, linked (-1/2) only with extra limb (-1/4) 19 pts. 1u Disguise Glasses: Images 10 pts, only to create disguise face (-1), IIF (-1/4) 4 pts 1u Master Key: Dispel locks and entangles 6d6 18 pts, restrainable (-½), gestures (-1/4), OAF (-1) 6 pts. 1u Shoes of Dexterity: Clinging 10 pts IIF (-1/4), and flight 10" 20 pts, linked (-½), only along solid surfaces (-1/4), IIF (-1/4) 18 pts. Weirdling's Bag of Tricks: 50 + 25 point variable power pool, Powers can only be changed in lab (-½), foci only (-½). 37 pts Cost Skills 3 Deduction 13- 3 Criminology 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Forensic Medicine 13- 3 Navigation 13- 3 Combat Driving 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Lockpicking 13- 2 WF: Small Arms 3 Mechanics 13- 3 Inventor 13- 3 Streetwise 12- 3 KS: Hidden Texts 13- 3 KS: The underworld 13- 3 KS: The magical world 13- 3 AK: Oklahoma City 13- 5 Strike 3 Grab 4 Escape 9 Contact: The Spirit of Archimedes 8- 2 PI license 2 concealed weapon permit 2 money 100 Points Disadvantages 10 Reputation: Weird Avenger of the Night 11- 15 Secret Identity 20 Hunted by Criminal Underworld 14- 15 Psych Lim: Overconfidence 15 Jokester 15 Watched by the police 11- 10 DF: Mystic Aura CHA Cost = 123 Total Powers Cost = 107 Total Skills Cost = 70 Total Cost = __300________________ Background Information: Robert Stine bummed around before joining the police force in Oklahoma City after the war. During the course of one of his robbery investigations, he discovered something called the Hidden Texts. Looking through it, he found a trigger that brought forth the Spirit of Archimedes. The long dead inventor taught Bob how to take objects and imbue them into mystical artifacts. After a particularly brutal case, Stine felt that he had been stymied from inside the police force. Efforts to find out what happened were met with silence or warnings to drop his pushing. Bob quit, paying for an investigator's license and a permit. Stine created his costumed identity of the Weirdling to help him pierce the underbelly of the city. Turning clothes into magic items granted him the weapons he needed to help protect the city without having everyone with a grudge dropping by his office or apartment. Quote: "I hope you like pie." Personality: Bob Stine is a man who thinks he can handle anything, and he prefers to do it with a joke, or some sarcastic comment. Since taking on the identity of the Weirdling, he has become prone to using things like pie throwers, stink bombs shaped like whoppee cushions, and squirting flowers on the people he doesn't like much to their annoyance. Appearance: Bob's usual attire is a suit and tie that puts his clients at ease. The Weirdling dresses in a regular suit with a harlequin diamond pattern with each section a different color and his glasses turning his face into a smiling blank slate. Powers: Bob has gained an array of mystical knowledge from reading the Hidden Texts and dealing with Archimedes. His skills are concentrated into transforming the mundane into mystic weapons. While he has had dealings with villains claiming to be mystic masters, he prefers to concentrate on more mundane enemies. Plot Hook 1) The Hidden Texts hold more than Archimedes in its pages. Some of these less than pleasant spirits escape and begin terrorizing the city. Plot Hook 2) Zorran the Artificer has decided that the Weirdling is one of his Lemurian cousins. He wants to know what his kinsman did with his fabulous artifacts but it has been fifty years since the man has been seen in Oklahoma City. Who can he get to help find the trail? Plot Hook 3) Several cultists have come up with the theory that the Weirdling was a demon. What happens when they call something up to prove it? Notes- The Weirdling was based on Steve Ditko's the Odd Man who only appeared in a reprint comic since his feature was canceled before it could get started.

Re: xialin showdown Page 17- "Sorry DR. Gadd, I need some help tracking down a ghost that attacked my family's Tea House It called itself the Ghost King and he took something that was hidden in my tea house and I would like to get it back and to restore the trust my father had in me," said Jade. "The Ghost King." the little professor looked around his cluttered office. Tons of paper competed with arcane structures with no apparent use. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. So he took something from your tea house? Did you happen to see it?" "So you know of this Ghost King then? Yes, like I said, but, no, I did not see what he took. I was too busy fighting for my life," said Jade. "I've dealt with him a couple of times. nasty customer, especially with that pot of his." Dr. Gadd pulled out a drawing of the cauldron Jade had observed. "It calls up ectoplasm and the ectoplasm becomes something solid." "Yeah, that's what he had, and yeah they do. I had to fight them. So will you help me Dr. Gadd?," said Jade. "I don't see why not." Gadd put several devices in a bag. "My car is in the parking lot. We can look at your tea house and see if all the ghosts are gone. Maybe try to figure out what he took. I have some notes on some things." The little guy smiled with his one tooth, and coke bottle glasses.

Re: Urban Fantasy Recommendations Simon Green's seven tales from the nightside, and the man with the golden torc, autumn moon wine? (I don't remember the title. A werewolf fights the devil's sun for personifications of the Earth and the moon.) should fit in. CES

Re: Pulling Authority & Other Genres

Re: Pulling Authority & Other Genres like I said before this discussion comes up some time and every time it does I am reminded of Magnum Force. Killing bad guys is good is the Hal Holbrook speech almost paraphrased. CES

Re: Pulling Authority & Other Genres This discussion comes up sometimes and it almost always boils down to if you like Mark Millar and heroes who are really villains like Magnum Force, this is your style. If you like heroes who stand for something (despite recent stuff to make you shudder), then it isn't. The Authority are so great as heroes but they don't make their world better and in some cases make it worse because the writer is de-dee-dee. CES

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower Page 3- The trio hauled Jason Jones to the Falls Church Mall. Essentially it was a strip mall with two floors. Metal spiral staircases on either end allowed you to get to the top floor. Fifteen stores covered the spectrum of what you might need from Tractor Supply to Baskin Robbins 31. Along the way, Jason learned the red head's name was Lorna Luna, she ran track, and worked part time afternoons and nights at a Taco Bell. The other girl was Callie Lowe, she worked on the school paper with Poster, and dreamed of working on the Washington Post, or even the New York Times, or Wall Street Journal. Jason listened to the groups self-description, nodding when appropriate, mentally creating a back story checklist for each person. However, when the subject of school sports came up, he smiled a bit. "Neat - used t'train with the sprinters," he said to Lorna, "for football." Upon further inquiry, he shrugged. "Eh, I was OK. Got a tendon thing, now," he said, tapping his knee, "So it's a no-go anyway." Which had the advantage of being technically true: his ligaments, like every other part of his body, was preternaturally strengthened, and thus disqualified him from competing in high school athletics. Oh, what a tangled web we weave... Upon reaching their destination however, Jason almost blanched. However, he managed to control his expression as he stepped out onto the parking lot. Well, we're relatively near DC. Maybe the National mall sucked all the mall-osity out of the surrounding region, leaving naught but skeletal remains behind. "Not what you expected, Jase?" Poster watched the girls lead the way, hanging back to talk to the new kid. "Falls Church has a lot of commuter traffic to DC. Most of the country side is rural, suburban. I'm surprised that they would let a city kid stay out here with the rednecks." "I'm takin' it as an opportunity to delve into my surplus of nervous sheep jokes. Not much of a call for those back in the urban jungle," he said, slouching along side the other teen. "Seriously, though, I haven't really figured it out, either. I should have gone to an orphanage in Iowa, not to a foster family in a different state all together." With that, he shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. "Maybe parental authority got switched across state lines through a surviving relative, or something. Didn't want me, maybe, so I got tossed into the system." he thought. During this time they had trailed after the girls, and were a couple of steps behind them as they traversed the parking lot. "Yeah...so on that really, really depressing thought...The Mall." Jason's spider sense started tingling. It lanced through his scalp like fleas. The parking lot has some pedestrian traffic, but nothing looked out of place at a glance. He slowed for a moment, scratching his head in a subtly vain attempt to get the metaphorical fleas out. Could very well be. Or it could be about ducks, or something about the sun shining. Both Iziz and May were suitably prophetic this afternoon. He glanced around. A tool? "Ah, crap," he said, fishing around in his pockets. "I think my funds went walkabout. Hey, Lorna," he called out. "Can you beep the Jeep? I think my money slipped out of my pocket –– be right back." With that, he jogged back to the vehicle, and made a show of fishing around. he thought, spying a full-sized tire iron behind the back seat. over-engineering.> Reaching under the seat, he grabbed the tool and slipped it into his right-side trench coat interior pocket; while the pocket was deep enough to fit the tool, it was more than slightly uncomfortable as the wrench head jammed up into his armpit. Also, it made his jacket hang oddly. he thought, closing the jeep door. Dimensional storage. How should I know? They're just characters on a low-budget syndicated fantasy show. Jason snorted, pushing his right hand deep into his outside pocket. OK, good point. But they really are TV. This is real life. Through the coat lining in his pocket, he grabbed the side of the iron and lifted slightly. This allowed his jacket to hang more naturally, although it required that he keep his hand in his pocket. He smiled towards the group of teens, holding the folded dollar bill in his left hand, then scooted his way back towards them. Jason spotted something moving back and forth in the game shop on the bottom floor. It looked like a giant glowing marble. It bounced back and forth between the two side walls, speeding up every time it hit. He frowned, then started to jog back to the group. Indeed; objects tend not to speed up, even in perfectly elastic collisions. Running, he pulled the tire iron out of his jacket pocket. Any port in a storm. Sprinting past the kids, looks of confusion on their faces. Yep. The store was closer. He vaulted a shopping cart nest with the ease of an Olympic hurdler. Or else it's magic. Ah - noticed the lack of broken interior walls so far, have you. Over the road separating the parking lot from the mall, and onto the curb. How do you figure? At the window, looking into the game store. You have a plan? The giant marble seemed to have someone floating inside it. Jason could see the velocity continue to build, actually inflicting impact damage everytime it hit. Unless something happened, it would punch through the wall and into another store. Looks as though your fears were well-founded. You never know. I could have been warning you that it was about to rain fish. He paused before the store's main window. Thunder, lightning, and hail: it's not just for the Discovery channel any more. he thought, quickly observing the scene, Judging by the wreckage, I find it unlikely the proprietor would care either way. A check of the layout reveals a counterman on the right, cash register and display counter next to the door. Several long tables, with chairs. The ball is rolling down the central aisle between the second and third table, about twenty feet from the front door. Some kids stood to the far left, keeping away from the glowing juggernaut while hugging the racks of games and books that hadn't been knocked to the floor yet. As the ball passed near his position, he leapt, swinging the crowbar with one hand while protecting his face with his free arm. Jason landed perfectly after crashing through the window. His iron handle hit the six foot ball as gently as possible. The light orb hit the ground outside as Poster Rollins stepped inside the shop's door. The blue marble hit the ground rolling away. "What was that?" Poster turned to look at the marble heading toward the road. Jason had saved the store but the vandal was fleeing the scene like the road runner. "Extreme Pokemon taming," he said, quickly checking the store. "Lemme tell ya, sometimes Furries are weird, even for me. Be right back." With that, he leapt out the window, hot on the trail of the now-dubbed Marble Man. That's a little sexist. It could very well be a woman with a Hamtaro fetish in there. Jason sprinted through the parking lot, quickly matching speed with the rolling vandal. "OUTTA THE WAY, FOLKS!" Ah. How about The Malcontent Marble Maniac? Spherical Sadist? Globular……Goober? Running right behind the sphere, he reached out with his iron, using the L-shaped wrench to hook the front of the orb, gently nudging it towards the middle of the parking lot, while using his other hand to lightly but quickly brush away the kinetic energy. "Hey, look out, new kid!" Callie's voice was high enough to break glass. A car pulled into the lot, aiming for the rolling sphere with its front bumper. Son of a $#@!" Jason yelped. "Watch out!" Whether that was shouted at Callie or at the driver of the car will forever be unknown, as Jason sprinted over the broken window and out into the parking lot after the now-dubbed Marble Marauder. The Spectral Sphere ran into the front bumper of the car as Jason ran toward it. There was a moment when he almost had his hands on the slick cling free surface. It rebounded like a cannonball directly at Jason. He could see lightning trace its surface as it rolled right for him faster than it had at first. If it collided with him, he could expect the impact would be like being hit by a fast volkswagen. Jason thought as he frantically backpedaled back up towards the mall. Grab it? That's your whole plan? Grab it?! Just as it was upon him, Jason `stumbled', gaining a few more precious yards, and landed on his back. He brought his legs up into a defensive position, and just as the sphere rolled over him, caught it with his feet and palms, absorbing some of the force and pushing the sphere back the direction it came. Jason caught the slippery orb on the palms of his hands and feet easily. He could feel it start to roll over his face when he decided to throw it. It landed in front of the car, and bounced at an angle when it hit the lot. It started rolling away to one side, toward the front of the mall again, but Jason' left. Well, that worked, in a ‘let's give away our secret identity to the entire parking lot' sort of way. Jason performed a quick kipup, bringing himself to his feet. As he leapt up, he snatched his crowbar off the ground, dropped in his own mad roll. A secret identity is like virginity, Jason –– you can't loose it more than once. He jogged further back towards the store, positioning himself for another throw. Ha! Trust the invisible voice in your head: if it's a question between "'contradiction of something boring I slept through in high school," and "new uberhuman drops his metaphorical trousers in mini-mall", the average American is going to go ogle the naughty bits. The ball hit and bounced away. Jason flew back but he can grab support columns, the edge of the building, the stairwell to prevent hitting anything solid. The ball's speed has increased from the blow, using phase five to roll up to full speed, and down the outer lane of the parking lot. It was headed for the busy street. Jason's move blocked the ball, sending down the outside lane. It headed for the open street as he flew backwards. Hands caught him before he hit anything. "You're sure you're not playing any sports?" Poster Rollins slid a little but kept Jason from hitting anything hard.

Re: SoloUberCampaign:Adventures of the Dark Page 4- Tavin immediately jumped back through the ever shrinking hole. He barely made it, feeling the portal snap shut behind him as he landed on the street. Tavin heard a snick above him. Tavin didn't need to think for a second, he twisted right and spun knowing quite well what that noise was, and it was danger. Tavin did a glancing look as he twisted away. A scythe came down in the street. There was a moment of vertigo, and pain. Tavin felt flame wrap around his body as he was given a lift in the air. He crashed down on the other side of the road. The boy hero's shirt stuck to his side. The boy he had ambushed had been joined by one of the others, holding a scythe of moving metal. The tattoos glowed as they regarded the Dark with red eyes. "We should kill him." A monster with gaping maw and strange eyes appeared from the first boy's chest, dropping to the ground. "Let's play." The scythe flickered under the street lights. "Do you want to play a game with us, goober? Do you want to live a little while longer?" "Well, I guess I could have a little fun with a fool like you, but first tell me why are you here and where did you come from?" He watched them intently. "Well, the name is Dark, my sensei told me it is always good form to give the doomed the name of their destroyer so that they may rest in peace." "Big talk from someone who's going to bleed to death in the next few minutes." The scythe lifted, then stamped the ground in an audible roll of thunder. "This is what's going to happen. We have X amount of souls we need to take until we have enough. We'll take one a day until you stop us. You can hunt us in the daytime, and we'll hunt you at night. To make it more interesting, we'll let you have time to recover." "Ha, pretty funny, How about I just kill you now. Bring your little toy too, I am gonna shove it were the sun don't shine." Dark stepped forward and the darkness coalesced around him and his hands became covered with solid dark energy. "How about say hello to my little friends." The other boy opened his arms. A swarm of those dark monsters began to pour out on the street, filling the space around his body like a pack of angry watchdogs. "How about we don't have to play at all. How about let's go." "We're giving you a fair chance to take us on one at a time." The scythe danced at the end of its holder's arm. "If you think you can take all three of us right here, right now, then we can dance. It's no matter when we kill you." "Well, then one at a time it will be, whoever wants to be destroyed first come forward!" Tavin heard the sound of insects behind him, it was loud enough to sound like bacon frying on the griddle "Damn" he thought another one, he quickly spun in place preparing to dodge whatever came at him from behind and smiled grimly, this three on one could be tough... Tavin spotted two glowing eyes in the middle of a cloud of particles. The eyes drifted in opposite directions to look at the other two monsters from the ceremony. The buzzsaw revved up as stray motes cut pieces out of the asphalt under it. "That's right." The scythe slinger sighed. "He doesn't want to play the game. Do what you want to him." The cloud of particles advanced on Tavin as the other two summoned mounts to ride away. "Since we don't have a game, we might as well kill everybody we see before sun up." The scythe thumped the sides of his metal horse, urging it on. The pack master had summoned an especially big specimen as his horse, pointing ahead. All of his monsters howled at the same time, before running down the street in a slowly speeding stampede of dark furry flesh. "Damn this isn't good he looked at the beast in front of him and simply raised his hand and snapped his fingers a black flame leapt from his hand and onto the monster. The fireball flew through the whirling cloud of particles before it blew up against the fence around the cemetery. It reached for Tavin with a buzzsaw hand. Tavin nodded, "As I figured, beast." Tavin instantly released the power holding up the flames and switched gears, had to get away from the buzzsaw and get back to him with an attack that would damage him. He clawed his hands and brought up his shadow shredding power, "Lets see you stop this freak!" Tavin waited for the attack to come twisted out of the way and then slammed his darkness empowered hand into its belly. The protective fireflies ripped at Tavin's arm, slicing his protective armor, and shield. He could see blood and cloth start ripping through the air. Things didn't look so good for Tavin, he seemed like he might be on the wrong end of the whooping stick. Blood dripped down Tavin's arm from sticking it in the meat grinder, and from his side from the scythe's surprise attack earlier. Tavin shook his head, "I don't know how much more of this I can take" he thought to himself. He was practically kneeling holding the shoulder of the bad arm as it dripped blood onto the ground. As the beast steadily approached Tavin flung his injured arm up splattering the blood across the "eyes" and let free the darklings. He chuckled as the darklings rushed forward and entered unhindered into the form. " Take that you son of a b****!" Tavin thought. He stood perfectly erect and looked directly at the beast. He simply stated, "I will never allow you to hunt innocents. So, now you die." Tavin could see the whirling bees slow their whirlwind dance around that central locus. He could almost see angry eyes floating in the air. He had bought time. Now he needed something that would take care of the problem for good.

Re: Burn Notice The next season is supposed to start in June, Dave. I guess they are going to put it on a variant cycle than Monk and Psych who run short seasons in the summer and jan-feb. Maybe they will have a longer season for BN. I do wonder what they need a discredited spy for so bad that they kill his contact but but make arrangements to so he doesn't kill himself to foil them. CES

Re: Old Enemies Blobubbut- A cute adolescent girl who always has vital information but generally tends to be a mysterious pain. Don't ask how she can get across continents without a horse, or a boat. CES

Re: Nexus universe It's a comic book about an assassin empowered to hunt down criminals by a psychotic alien. Along the way he builds his own democracy and starts accepting refugees from other planets as his people. CES

Re: The New Circle The Weirdling 1 The harlequin smiled as he stood on the roof. It had been a long week, and he was looking at the end of the road. All he had to do was gather some information. The police could take it from there. Being a weird avenger of the night was a lot harder in real life than in the comic books. He straightened out his tie, the cuffs of his shirt, and made sure his eyeglasses were in place. He checked his watch before descending the fire escape to the street. All the players seemed to be in place. Expected guards stood in front of the door to keep people like him away. That's where the tools came in. The strange figure clapped his hands together. A cloud of smoke erupted from the gloves. The guards had a chance to look over at the fog roaring at them. Then they fell down and went to sleep. "I love that." The harlequin straightened his tie again before stepping over the doped watch dogs. The colorful suit took on an all black appearance, then the intruder faded from sight. He moved along the halls until he reached the office he wanted to be in. He listened at the door, pushing the door open. He looked around before stepping inside. A group of lowlifes and thugs stood around the desk of Carmine the Hammer Musso. The boss of bosses shouted at his underlings about the problems they were having with other gangs, cops, and rivals in their legal businesses. Most of all he was mad that some costumed weirdo could expose every secret any time he wanted. The weirdo in question stood off to one side, noting things in his mind for use later. Leaking information had proven better than actual fisticuffs with the people involved. There was a certain harassment factor involved that he appreciated. Why bruise a knuckle when the OCPD would gladly do it for you, even if most cops preferred to use a night stick on a crooked noggin? "We need to find this Weirdling and get rid of him." The Hammer thumped his desk top. "Nothing else is to go on until we find him. Nothing. Spread the word around that we're posting a reward for anything on this guy until we get him. Am I understood?" The long silence and the downturned faces told the boss he was understood. None of them could meet his rage popping eyes. "What are you waiting for?" Carmine waved his hand. "Get to work. By this time tomorrow, I want everyone to be on the lookout and calling if they see him. As soon as he's dead, we can go back to business as usual." "I doubt that." The harlequin let his invisibility fade as he swept his gloves around in front of him. A sleep cloud enveloped the men in the room as Carmine screamed for someone to shoot the intruder. The cloud covered the burglar as he moved. Bullets from those outside the cover ripped at the thick cotton floating toward them. Too late they realized the poison cloud blocked the door, the only exit. Then a tentacle reached out and grabbed one of the awake men, dragging him into the mist of Morpheus. The remaining men clustered behind the desk, flipping it up as a shield. They filled the cloud with lead until they ran out of bullets. They paused to reload when their guns clicked on empty one by one. Mocking laughter drifted to the men as they shakily slipped bullets into their weapons. "You missed." The smoke vanished. Carmine slapped his face. More than half of his crew lay snoring like babies on the floor. The other half stood, too scared to move. "What are you guys waiting for?" Carmine looked at the awake men. "Get after him."

Re: Notes from NSU Day Three Simon Poole talked to his wife about becoming a blood pudding man, taking a ride to his shop. Poole was confronted by Psi Ice and Hexum who demanded his axe from the safe. He tricked Psi Ice away, and dealt with Hexum. He sent his wife home, then escaped through the sewers. William Blake reported for work at the Temple City Trumpeteer. His first job for the day was to cover the shooting at the Rib. He checked the scene over and found the Midnight Wolf from the night before dead in a dumpster, and turned the corpse in to the police. Blake talked to Jake Lowengard down, then drove over to Dawson's school and talked to Master Ryoshi. He learned the old man had to go to the police station. Ashlee Summer, Melody Jennings, and Casey Dawson met at the precinct. They set up an appointment for later. Jennings identified the dead Wolf as the money man for Lorenzo Laird, the detective in charge. They ran into Blake on the way out of the police station. Jessie Rainhawk tracked the school down and talked to Master Ryoshi, attended classes, and learned some of the secret history of the world. They dealt with two more Belmonts before finally heading to her motel to get her things. They stopped at the All Nite for a bite and talk to Walker Fitch. Blake and Dawson verbally spar but Dawson implied that he killed the Wolf the night before and that the Midnight Wolves were all werewolves. They separated at the train. Blake set up an appointment for lessons from Master Ryoshi, then went back to the office and published his story while Dawson and Jennings rode to Monmartre Station. Ed Durga arrived in town to investigate the robbery at the bank. He met Dan Carstairs and Tom Mallory, US Marshals, and Henry Clawson, FBI. He tried to exert his psychic muscle on them, but wound up mind bonding with Mallory because of his refusal to accept any particle of truth. Mallory had agents search Durga's office, expressing the belief the power armored TROLL had hired the detective to find the impostor. Mallory turned Ed loose after erasing Clawson's memory of what had happened in the interrogation room. Kendo Hitashi, the hero Zero, and a delivery boy, found a body in an alley. Kendo checked around, finding an earring. He consulted with his teacher, and found a possible clue in the silver. His other clue was a set of tire tracks. He assumed the car was expensive and wandered Lazarus Hill. Jennings was taken prisoner at Montmarte station. Simon and Carstairs met at the All Nite Café. Simon asked for protection for his family in return for joining public service. Poole also asked for information on Dr. Moto. Poole, Carstairs, Ryoshi, and Jessie confront Belmonts outside the Café. Poole was frozen and taken by Psi Ice off the street. Parsons took the axe from Poole, and he was thrown in the dudgeon with Jennings to await the time of transfer. Instead they escaped from the cell. Dawson recruited Ashlee and Blake to help him rescue Jennings. Ryoshi and Jessie rush back to the school. They met Dawson and the others in the park. They learn that the capstone of Kaison Malus was nearby and marked the site of their past battle. Scott Bradshaw stumbled on the group and decided to leave to fight a fire across town. Colony, hero bum, attacked the Midnight Wolves on their home turf. They drove him into the sewer. He encountered an electric rat after wandering around. He woke up in a hospital, a hospital run by Dr. Moto. Blake recruited some lions from the local zoo for help. Poole cracked the seal on Malus's tomb, but did get Jennings clear of trouble. Dawson's group ambushed Parson's elementals before Poole chopped Parsons in the head with the axe. The battle ended but Dawson warned that Parsons would be back.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I have read Last Call. Taken together, these books have a theme about manipulating spirits, and time lines, in the hopes of gaining more power, possible immortality. Sherman Oaks apparently was over 150 years old, and still sucking down ghosts to keep going. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The Husband by Dean Koontz: Mitch is a gardener, Holly is a secretary. One day, Mitch gets a call. Someone has kidnapped Holly and they want two million for her, or else. Expiration Date by Tim Powers: Pete Sullivan returns to Los Angeles to figure out why someone wants to use him as a lure for a ghost. Along the way, he has to deal with a ghost eater, a disgraced doctor/witch doctor, a dead man and a kid who has swallowed the spirit of Thomas Edison. CES

Re: Teen Guardians Hardball 6:20 pm Anthony spotted the Little Don step into the Burger Barn with his two adult bodyguards. They went up to the counter. Anthony then spotted the Honda with the flames and whale tail next. They cruised slow by the doors, then u-turned. The passengers hung out the window, aiming submachine guns at the front of the fast food place. Anthony grabbed Tanya and pulled her down while shouting "GET DOWN!!" to the rest of the patrons. As much as he hated possibly saving the little Don's life there were too many bodies on his hands today as it was. The machine guns spit flames and steel at the windows of the restaurant. Glass shattered, formica splintered, steel caught slugs. Some of the patrons weren't as quick as Hardball and went down in a heap, wounded and screaming. The car accelerated away from the drive-by. Anthony grabbed Tanya's purse pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. "911, what is your emergency?" said the operator. "Drive-by shooting at the Burger Barn, 1217 Pit Moss Street! About 5 injured, some critically! Vehicle was a pale blue Honda with flames and a whale-tail. Possible organized crime connections given the presence of Don Martini's son. Send ambulance and police. This is not my phone and I do not wish to be involved." He hung up threw the phone back to Tanya. "Sorry babe, the Burger Barn just got a little too hot for me. Stay here and wait for the ambos. Tell them what happened, but if you can avoid mentioning me by name I'd appreciate it, the last thing I need is more cops on my tail." He ran out of the door and jumped on his bike just as the Little Don was bundled into his limo. Just out of petulance picked up 2 pieces of glass and surreptitiously flicked them into the two right side tires of the limo so they'd quickly go flat and then tore off into the night. The car had turned out of sight while Hardball took care of things. He could still hear the engine roaring. He might be able to catch up if he hurried. Anthony put on the mask and set off in pursuit of the drive-by shooter's car if he was lucky he could use the side streets to get in front of them. *Damn them* he thought *I couldn't care less if some 'gangsta' wants to 'pop a cap' (or several hundred) into some organized crime figure, but when they stoop to causing this kind of collateral damage to do so it really becomes a problem.* Anthony heard the loud engine noise ahead. Then he heard two more, not exactly the same, but close. They were riding the streets on either side and behind him from the sound of it. Emp and Tachyon 6:20 pm Emp and Tachyon gazed at the picture of their enemy. They had missed her at detention, but here she was. All they had to do now was track down her lair with the with the list of options they had available, some of which was because of Eric's foresight in getting the codes to the city's computers. Eric sighed a bit in relief there was an end to this nightmare in sight. "Alright Tachyon. Let's see about getting through the school's database." "All right, Emp," Patty nodded, "just one thing--confirm that the house that blew up was her home address--I just..." she shook her head. "I just want to make sure of that, okay?" A couple of finger clicks confirmed that easily enough. Eric nodded "looks like the right girl. So lets get to the start of the list of additional hideaways." "All right--can you make that a database and run everything together?" Patty cocked an eyebrow at his computer prowess. "I mean--I can make a spreadsheet, kinda--but you're...wow." She rested a hand on his shoulder and watched his fingers dance. Eric nodded "Sure. No problem." He began typing away at the computer pulling up as much info as he could to feed the Database. He didn't want to leave a single place open for this girl to some how hide in and escape. Part of him wanted to even give her a taste of her own medicine with a few explosives but he repressed that desires as he kept up the Database building. The Deveroux family paid the city and county taxes on two vehicles, a house, and a boat. The Deeds office recorded a cabin out of county, subject to some other jurisdiction's collection processes. Blanche's name came up as part of a message list/forum about active heroes and villains. BD dissected heroic actions and how they could have been done better, as well as villainy's incompetence, even echoing general escape advice such as never go home, get rid of any vehicle, cut yourself off from family and friends. A new thread talked about the explosion of Richards in general terms. BD's avatar was a heart with a lightning crack in the middle. Deviant art posted several pictures under a BD. One was the school, one was a group of men on a platform, an extreme closeup of Hardball's helmet, and Pusher's molecule, and locales around town. The first picture was put up on Monday night. Again the avatar was the broken heart. "One cabin, heres the address. Lets contact the others and get up there as quickly as possible. I feel the desire to break some bones." Eric printed up the address saving all the information for later use if needed. Patty nodded and looked at the addy--she opened another window and hit a mapquest for specific directions. He then went to the boys room to change into his costume again. Taking out his cell, he IM'd the address of Heart breakers address to Hardball with the following question "care 2 break a heart?" Patty semi-vanished and reappeared in her negligible running outfit/costume, vibrating enough that she was hard to identify for features. "Going my way, sailor?" she asked him, giving a wink--and ready to carry him up to the cabin. "Ready as I'll ever be." He smiled at her, putting the extra copy of the info onto a small USB disc he was quite ready to go pounding the snot out of Heartbreaker. Without preamble--but with a quick peck to his cheek, Patty/Tachyon swept him off his feet, out of the school and towards destiny at the Deveroux cabin... The pair of heroes fled through the night, heading for the outer limits of Chance City and beyond. The night traffic was a blur of lights to Eric as the city fell behind in a streak of motion. Tachyon hit the county marker four seconds after she started. They reached the foothills of the Appalachians, then started climbing along old roads to the cabin address. They found the dark shell of the cabin sitting among some trees, overgrown grass hiding any potential danger on the ground. No car was visible to their eyes. Nariko 7:30 am Nariko floated down through the cross sections of universes. Several of the orbs seemed bigger as she got nearer to them. Above the current in the dimension between dimensions swept her father and his friends away, except for one that seemed burlier than a man should be. It looked like Mr. Four was trying to swim to her. "Father!", she shouted fruitlessly inside of her helmet. She felt an irrational rush of panic rise within her. If she couldn't keep up with the others, how would she possibly ever get home? Trying her best to orient herself in the strange yet beautiful extradimensional space, Nariko tried to swim in his direction. The two of them met as one of the orbs grew bigger. It turned into baseball, then weather balloon, then filled the edges of Nariko's vision. She could see gold sand drift into place below as they sank to a landing. Flat, featureless sand stretched from horizon to horizon. Nariko almost *instantly* felt stupid as she asked the stereotypical question, "Um...where *are* we?" Then she added after scanning the disappointingly plain horizon, "Is the whole *planet* like this, Four-sama?" "Got me." Mr. Four pulled off his helmet. "Air is breathable. Hot too." In the distance, the two of them could see a spout of sand rising into the air and falling back down. Nariko peered out at the odd little spout as she took off her helmet, trying to spot any details. She realized that it was at least a mile away, and to be able to see it, the thing must be blowing into the air like a tornado before settling down.