csyphrett

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.

Re: xialin showdown Page 16- After a couple of hours of driving around, Jade's phone rang. She knew it had to be Jonny Woo, calling to say he had found an expert to help her. Jade grabbed her cell and pushed talk and said, "Hello?" "Miss Lee, I have secured an expert that can help us with information. If you will meet me at Buso University, we can visit him at his office on campus." Jonny Woo's voice paused, maybe to take a puff of a Marlboro. "His name is Gadd. I'll be looking out for you at the front office." "Sure thing Mr. Woo I will be there in about 20 minutes. Oh and thank you, see you soon." Jade drove to the University. The old BU was a set of buildings surrounding a hexagon courtyard in the center. The administration building faced the entrance street, brick and white shutters. Jonny Woo stood on the steps, dressed in his usual black suit and red tie. Jade parked her car, got out of her car, and quickly looked around to make sure no one else was there then quickly walked over to Mr. Woo. She said, "Good evening Mr Woo, and thanks for waiting. I hope I didn't make you wait for long." "No problem." Jonny pointed at one of the buildings across the campus. "Dr. Gadd's office is over in the science building. I called for an appointment. We should get there just in time." "Then we better not be late," said Jade as she started walking to the science building. The three story brick building could have been from anywhere. Plain windows formed rows from one end of the face to the other. Doors weren't on the front, they were on the sides. Inside either end, a staircase led up to the other two floors. A sign posted room numbers and teach names for each. Gadd's room and office sat on the third floor according to the sign. The empty room sat beside a wooden door with a pebbled glass front. It looked a little different than the other office doors on the floor that Jade saw. Jonny Woo knocked on the door, waited for a come in, then entered the office. Jade followed Mr. Woo into the room and walked over to Mr. Gadd and said, "Good evening, Mr. Gadd. Thank you for seeing us." "Doctor." The small, almost bald man said. Round glasses made his eyes seem like little spots. "It's Doctor Gadd. What can I do for you? Mr. Woo wasn't really specific on the phone."

Re: The New Circle Character Name: Sombra Real Name: Ral Sombra Nationality: Vectra Hair/Eye Color: Blue/red Place of Birth: Infantia City, Vectra Date of Birth: The third day of Tierce, 2500 ABP. Height/Mass: Variable Cost Characteristic Value 8 STR 1842 DEX 24 20 CON 20 20 BODY 20 8 INT 18 30 EGO 25 2 PRE 12 1 COM 12 PD 3 ED 4 6 SPD 4 REC 7 END 40 STUN 39 OCV: 8 DCV: 8 OECV: 8 DECV: 8 Phases: 3,6,9,12 Cost Powers and Talents (END) Flight Pods 10" Flight (20 pts), OAF (-1) 10 pts Stun gun 5d6 energy blast (25 pts) OAF (-1) 12 pts Force Field 40 pts (20pd /20 ed) OIF (-½) 26 pts D-Vest 60 point multipower OIF (-½) 40 pts 3u Growth 60 pts OIF (-½), Lockout (-½) 30 pts 3u Shrink 60 pts OIF (-½), Lockout (-½) 30 pts 3u Stretching 60 pts OIF (-½), Lockout (-½) 30 pts Scanner: Detect homing beacon 3 pts, OAF (-1) 1 pt Key Shifter: Extradimensional Movement (20 pts), OAF (-1), Only at correct juncture (-1) 10 pts 24 + 12 pt Equipment Pool OAF (-1), Only Changed in Home Dimension (-½), 14 pts Cost Skills 3 Climbing 13- 3 Combat driving 13- 3 Combat piloting 13- 6 Fast draw: small arms, energy weapons 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Lockpicking 13- 9 TF: Air and ground vehicles hand gliding, parachuting, jet packs 5 WF: Common melee weapons, small arms, Energy weapons 3 Criminology 12- 3 Cryptography 12- 3 Deduction 12- 3 Demolitions 12- 3 Forensic Medicine 12- 3 Navigation 12- 3 Paramedics 12- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Survival 12- 3 Security Systems 12- 3 System operations 12- 3 Interrogation 11- 3 KS: Vectra Underworld 12- 3 KS: Terran Underworld 12- 3 KS: Dimensional Shunt 12- 3 AK: Vectra 12- 3 AK: Earth 12- 5 English: idiomatic 150 Points Disadvantages 20 Subject to orders 15 Workaholic 15 Expedient 10 DF: D-Vest 15 Hunted by Rogue's Gallery 11- 10 Watched by Agency 11- 10 Reputation: Relentless 11- 10 Rivalry with other retrievers 15 Secret Identity: Extradimensional Manhunter operating on Earth. 20 DNPC - Jasmine, Dr. Yanez's assistant 14- 10 Vulnerable to sonics 2 x body CHA Cost = 137 Total Powers Cost = 122 Total Skills Cost = 91 Total Cost = ______350____________ Background Information: Ral Sombra grew up in what could be described as a middle class community in one of the major cities of his home world. He joined the law enforcement as a way of having a secure career. His arrest record and general tenacity earned him a slot in the fugitive retrieval unit. When it became known that certain criminal elements were breaking across dimensional barriers to escape justice, Sombra was among those selected to pursue them. Sombra spent the rest of his career split between his home dimension and protecting the Earth from criminal elements from his home world, and others native to his assigned beat. The program ended at the time of V'han's invasion of Earth. Sombra and a few of his squad seemed to have been caught in the upheaval and died in action. Quote: "Dead or alive, you're coming with me." Personality: Sombra is a lone wolf, dedicated to hunting down the fugitives from his own dimension. He also tends to take the quickest line to the end of his searches, trying to return to his home as fast as possible. Appearance: Sombra can pass for a human, with red hair and blue eyes. He wears his vest and equipment over a gray fatigue uniform. Powers: Sombra's powers deprive from his equipment. His D-vest gives him protection with a force field, allows him to change his size, and can be extended in the shape of his limbs. The flight pods hooked to his belt allow him to fly. His other pieces of equipment include a detector for tracking the fugitives from his home dimension, and a portal maker for going home. Plot Hooks 1) A representative appears and asks the heroes to help round up a fugitive in another dimension. The catch is the fugitive is on V'han homeworld and has to be stopped from talking about Vectra to her royal highness. Plot Hook 2) A criminal known as Phantas has reappeared after several decades among the missing. Is it the same man as the criminal mastermind of the fifties? And why does he have a D-Vest. Plot Hook 3) Several dimensions have merged into one inside the campaign city's limits. Heroes and villains from different time zones have appeared with the confluence. None know what caused the event, and there is some worry of another reality storm. Note: This hero was created from Steve Ditko's Shade the changing man.

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower Its from a mail list of solo games for uber-world.com. The formatting is probably me. I'll have to work on it. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/solouber/ CES

Re: (SoloUber) Webs of the Widower Jason Jones, former middle-aged accountant, victim of a disastrous wish, and newly minted hero, spotted another of the green frogs with the red markings on the foster home farm where he had been dumped by the authorities. In two weeks, they expected him to restart school again. That was part of the proceedings after what had happened. The frog croaked, apparently unafraid of him. "It seems to like you, Mr. Jones." Jason's danger sense said get out of here, dummy. One look told him it was the djinn wearing something from John Wayne's costume department, right down to the ten gallon white hat. Jason Jones, former middle-aged accountant, victim of a disastrous wish, and newly minted hero, spotted another of the green frogs with the red markings on the foster home farm where he had been dumped by the authorities. In two weeks, they expected him to restart school again. That was part of the proceedings after what had happened. [New, Widower] Jason sat slouched on the stump, leaning up against the side of the barn, moping in the afternoon sun. Jason sat slouched, contemplating the red-spotted frog in front of him. It had unusual markings, and was more likely native to northeastern Australian coastal region than to the Virginian lowlands. Frog. They're a completely different type of animal, following a different evolutionary track optimized for a dry environment, very often further optimized for burrowing. All I'm saying is that if you're going to ignore something, the least you can do is get its species correct. ….. ….. Jason sat slouched on the stump, not moping, not paying attention to anything of scientific interest around him, and most certainly not listening to the voice in his head. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! So, if I may be so bold, what ARE you doing, aside from beating your head against the side of the barn? The frog croaked, apparently unafraid of him or his deranged behavior. "It seems to like you, Mr. Jones." Jason's entire body tensed, his stomach doing a flip-flop as the words seemingly came out of nowhere, his senses screaming at him to get the heck out of Dodge. He threw himself off the stump, body spinning as he dropped to the ground, sweeping the dirt with his right hand as he came up into a crouch, ready to launch himself at his unknown foe. One look told him it was the djinn wearing something from John Wayne's costume department, right down to the ten gallon white hat. "Iziz." Jason ground out the single word as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He forced himself to stand slowly upright. After eyeing the immortal spirit's outfit for a moment, he carefully brushed the dirt off of his pant leg and slouched back down onto his tree stump. "What?" "I'm just passing through and thought I would check how you liked your new life." Iziz even copied the Duke's stance as he pushed the hat away from his swarthy brow. "We servants of the cosmos have tons of paperwork to fill out. Part of that is customer satisfaction." Jason exhaled slowly as he closed his eyes; the thoughts swirling as he leaned back, tapping his head slowly against the old wood planks behind him. It really all came back to that. He’d been trying to think of ways around it, ways his words could have been twisted, but it all came down to logic. No matter how he thought it out, some part of him, just before he made the wish, must have realized what would happen, and said: “Death of my loved ones? Complete destruction of all else I hold dear? Selling my soul for cheesy comic book powers? Sounds good to me!” Hey, don't look at me. I'm just the intangible voice in your head. But I don't think you really sold your soul. That was just poetic license on my part. Depends on your theology. Some djinn were called Shaitan, or “those who hate” – in English, the word translates to ‘Satan’. All of this dialog taking place in a single breath, so he cracked one eye open. “Oh, getting through. Day to day, hour to hour. That kind of stuff.” He huffed, blowing up his bangs. “At the moment, I’m trying to figure out that, according to you, I enjoy metaphorically stabbing myself in the gut with a rusty trowel. Nice hat, by the way.” "Thank you. I got it at some place called Goodwill." The djinn shifted, started rolling a cigarette from supplies taken from a pocket. A flick of his thumb set one end on fire. He puffed on the home made, swarthy face hang dog. "I won't lie to you. You have picked a hero's destiny, and soon you will have reason to regret that far more than I would like. A playing field has been selected and pieces are being assembled as we speak. It's not what I would like but Allah wills and the sun shines." "The whole getup? Huh." He studied the djinn for several moments. "Points for low-rent costume hunting, then." The adrenaline had finished its mad stampede through his body, and was shaking like a caffeine junkie before their first triple-shot latte. He flexed his hands into fists a couple of times, before finally folding them over his stomach. Sorry. I'll try not to scream so loud the next time an inter-dimensional entity of Phenomenal Cosmic Power appears nearby. That was sarcasm. He chose to frown instead. "I thought I had a hero's destiny." He gestured vaguely around him, at the field in front of him, the parked rust-red antique tractor nearby, and the woodpile next to him. "Y'know, the whole `foster alien in a small farm town' thing. Seasons one through six, and counting." He stretched his hands out in front, framing the djin with his hands. "Only not so much with the alien bit, and more with the magical construct." Then he let his arms drop, and sighed. Jewish legends of the golem, means I actually fit in just fine, damn it.> Wow. I'd just like to say that, appearances aside, you're a complete nerd. literary references to the Devil.> Never claimed otherwise. Your point? "You'll understand." The djinn puffed on his cigarette for a moment. "Things have been invoked beyond changing your personal history and setting. Heroes are being called to battle. I have to go check on the rest of my work. I'll see you again if Allah wills and the sun shines." He dropped the cigarette butt on the ground, stamped it out, and started off in John Wayne's pigeon toed walk. "Good luck." “Umph.” John didn't bother to watch the spirit saunter away, not trusting his eyes to not spontaneously develop heat vision and ignite the spirit's hat. Instead, he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and stared at the ground, listening as the clink of the djinn's spurs faded into nothingness, ultimately masked by the myriad sounds of a living, working farm: the distant highway, the lowing cattle, the rustle of the wind through the fields. Along with those, he was left with the cryptic warning from his supernatural Mentor, floating through his memory like the spirit of air and smoke that spoke them. Well, the frog was still there, too. Why not? It's highly influential! John spat, still staring at the dirt. Think about what you just said, and where you are. It was the Call to Adventure! How Campbellian can you get? He grimaced, and then stood in a rush. “In that case, it would be traditional for me to Refuse The Call then, wouldn't it?” he muttered. Well, yes. But then you'll have to deal with your aunt and uncle being killed by storm troopers. “I think we're already past that point,” he said, growling. He strode over to the woodpile, and grabbed at a random stick. “So he's the mentor then.” Taking it he began to thump on the wood. “The Old Man.” Whack. “The Obi-Wan.” Whack. “The Wizard.” Whack. “With the power.” Big Whack. “But gets.” Even bigger Whack. “Some ignorant %$#@” Ooh, gonna break the stick with that one. “TO DO HIS DIRTY WORK!! Whack-whack-whack-whack-wha-CRUNCH! You do realize you're yelling at the woodpile, right? Jason stared at the broken stick in his hand, his throat raw, his eyes burning. You going to have any more psychotic breaks that I should know about? He slouched back to his stump, idly tossing the now-shortened stick to the ground. That's the spirit! Cross the first threshold! To Mos Eisley, and Beyond! Whatever. "Hey Jaaaaaay-son!" Aunt Martha May's call sounded over the farm, powered by lungs that could blow up a hot air balloon. "Phone call!" sound of his foster parent's voice. don't KNOW anyone.> You know Ms. Rebecca 'Young enough to be your daughter' Bennet. As well as a large number of individuals in the fields of social services and law enforcement. It's certainly a mystery, then. Convenient, that. He sat there for a moment longer, debating the pros and cons of hocking a loogie in the face of destiny, or of at least whoever was on the phone. But with a sigh, he determined that 'Aunt' Martha (thank God she doesn't require he call her Mom) hadn't done anything to deserve such a phlegmatic dress-down. "Oh-kayyyyyy!" he hollered, rose from the stump, and jogged out from behind the barn and towards the farmhouse. "There you are, boy." Aunt Martha May Baggs was a big woman, stout like a rhino and smiling like a sun beam. "Some girl is on the phone. She's talking about going to the mall." Jason leapt up over the final steps leading up to the farmhouse, landing lightly on the porch, unwinded by his quick jaunt. "Um, do I know anyone like that?" he said, casting a puzzled glance at the woman. "I've been...kind of out of it, these last few days." Which was putting it mildly; for all he knew, he had been introduced to this person the day Social Services dropped him off, and had agreed to go cow-tipping, or something. "I think it will do you some good to go out with peers." Mrs. Baggs smiled at her foster son radiantly. The dog at her feet seemed to nod and grin as well. "You can't mope around the farm all your life." "Huh." Shrugging, he went inside and picked up the phone. "Um, hello?" "Hey Jason." The voice was incredibly light over the line. "We were thinking about shopping and Poster said you would want to go with us." Poster Rollins was on the school newspaper, and lived just down the road from the Baggs's farm. "Oh, right. Rollins." Jason vaguely recalled the name being mentioned at some point in the last few days; quite possibly from one of Martha's `you're going to love it here' speeches. Unfortunately, a description of this person, much less their gender, had not been included in the conversation. more teenage girls.> You are going to agree, then. amphibians.> "Ah, sounds good. Thanks for the invite." "As the new kid, you're buying." The bubbly voiced smiled. "It's tradition. We'll be by to pick you up in ten." He made vague pleasantries with the as-yet-unidentified individual on the other side, then managed to hang up. "Right," he said, turning to Martha. "So, I guess I'm going to the mall with someone." "That's good, dear." Aunt Martha smiled. "Don't be too late. We're having cabbage and potatoes." Thinking back to when dinner occurred yesterday, he nodded, then headed out the door. He sat on the steps, reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, and pulled out his billfold. Jason had a twenty. Not much, but enough for something small, maybe a burger meal. Sighing, he put his wallet back in his pocket, and quietly waited for the inevitable kidnapping by unknown, aggressively friendly, female, forces that was about to occur. Did you know that potatoes are a higher source of potassium than bananas? Well, except for the rhythmic headbanging. But that was only to be expected. A red Jeep arrived in a few minutes. The beeping of a horn told Jason to hurry up. Aunt Martha May smiled and waved at the visitors. A red Jeep arrived in a few minutes. The beeping of a horn told Jason to hurry up. From the living room window, Aunt Martha May smiled and waved at the visitors. As Jason stood, he could hear her open the screen door and come over to where he was standing. "Remember to stay on your best behavior, and watch out for ducks," she murmured from behind as she slipped something into his jacket pocket. "Have fun." He turned slightly and, sighting her out of the corner of his eye, gave a crisp nod. “Will do.” The dog, having followed her outside, jumped up on Jason's leg, smiling at him ferociously. Then he proceeded to sit near his mistress, tongue hanging down. Jason peered at her doggy companion. “You too,” he said, before ruffling the canine's ears. With that, he jumped lightly off the steps and walked towards the jeep, fishing into his pocket. Finding a folded ten-dollar bill, he smiled slightly, and put it back inside. Arriving at the passenger-side door, he peered in at the occupants. “Ah, hi.” Poster Rollins smiled in the back of the jeep, white teeth in a round face, head almost shaved. Jason didn't know the other two passengers like he did Poster, and he didn't know Poster all that well. Two females, one a blond, the other a red head. One of them had to be the one that called. "Hey, Jason." The red head waved a come-on gesture. "Come on. We're the welcoming committee."

Re: SoloUberCampaign:Adventures of the Dark Page 3- Tavin knew from the damage that things were not good for the woman, she had not responded so she probably wasn't conscious, He moved in a bit closer and tried once again to talk to the woman, he wondered if he wouldn't have just opened the door and checked her pulse if he was just some random passerby, but he wasn't. He moved up and reached in to tentatively check her pulse. It seemed weak and slow. She might die at any time. Tavin saw the bad shape the woman was in and decided it was time for action, he opened the door and reached in and attempted to do what he could for the poor woman. Tavin didn't know what he could do, but a check allowed him to see that he could move her so she was comfortable. All the damage seemed to be to her skull. Once moved, if he had to he could perform CPR. Sirens told him he didn't have to wait long for help. "Damn, this is why you don't drink and drive..." Tavin watched her breathing to make sure she survived until the EMS crew got there. "Come on lady hold on, they are almost here." A white van with Washington EMS on the side rolled up with a flurry of flashing lights. The paramedics took over from Tavin, asking him questions as they worked. Then the police arrived with their forms to fill out. Once Tavin saw the woman was safely in the EMT's hands he nodded and stepped into a shadow, and stepped out way out of their vision, he then leaped away, no sense pushing it speaking to the police. He would probably have to trash this phone to his father would want him to. He continued his patrol, he wasn't looking for some idiot drunk driver, he would use the phone one more time before trashing it, he would check on the woman and make sure she was okay. He continued searching for anything of interest. The Dark saw a glimmer of light near the entrance to one of the little cemeteries that dotted the cityscape. At eight o'clock, he was aware it was much too late to be burying someone, even in the summer time. Hmmm, now that is interesting. Time to check it out! Dark leapt to where he had a vantage point from the shadows and could look in and see what was going on but without being seen and he examined the entrance, What exactly was going on... "Lets see" Dark thought to himself. The three boys put a wooden chest on one grave. They lit candles, murmuring something Tavin couldn't hear. The grave burst open, red light bathing the trio. The chest burst open. A hand lifted from the grave. "Damn! What the hell are they doing?" Tavin leapt forward to the open door and as he did he formed a complex set of hand gestures ... and unleashed the house of Darkness level 2. The spot in the cemetery was bathed in darkness, clear as day for Dark but for the boys He was certain things just went sideways. From the behind the door he peered in and bellowed out in his best imitation of an adult males pissed off voice: "Why do you disturb the slumber of the dead? Tell me and perhaps I will grant you your freedom." Dark watched them carefully for any sign of weapons, He also watched the hand If it stood up he could surely have a true problem. He would see what seemed to be the greatest threat and react from there. He is kinda hoping that the idiots may talk back to him instead of moving, that they may even think (if they haven't done this before) that this is normal and they should tell the voice what's what. Plus, he would like to know why. "Yes, why do you disturb the slumber of the dead?" The voice was feminine, sultry, lighting up the nerves in Tavin with the urge to do something. A woman ascended from the grave, curly auburn hair blowing in the wind. A shroud hung around her in red cloth. She smiled slightly. Tavin flashed back to the picture his father had painted and looked at this woman who now lifted from the grave, well this was going south quickly. Tavin followed up his original house of shadows with the other house of shadows. Best to prepare things for a battle the least threatening way. He continued to watch and wait he was as interested in what they had to say, it seemed, as this undead woman was. Tavin was about forty feet away across an open field marked with little tombstones, or flat markers. The woman lifted her hand, displaying a mark on the palm. She vanished in the spray. The three boys glared in the darkness. Light crossed their faces and hands. The mark on the woman's palm wrote on them, one piece for each. Tavin had a very bad feeling about it, probably better get one of them away from this woman right now, Tavin leapt to the nearest boy landed grabbed the boy and pushed off with all his might jettisoning himself out of the graveyard and back out into the light of the street. He didn't know what was going on but too many horror movies started this way, and the stupid humans ended up as sacrifices. This generally gave the sacrificer or the one eating the sacrifices incredible power, and well, best to suppress that ASAP. The boy, face noticeably paler and thinner, spread his arms open. Tavin found himself in a dark world, surrounded by things that looked at him as dinner. He could feel them tense to surge and eat him with a rending and tearing. "Sh*t!" That didn't work, Thank the lord I can get out of here, Tavin raised a hand to his face and reappeared in the corner he had previously picked which was a little away from this crazy kid and his evil little monsters. He may be in something very deep all of a sudden. Tavin realized his teleportation would not work across dimensional planes. "Well, that won't work, hmm, this could be bad. Well, I jumped into it hopefully there is a way out." He scanned about in search of an exit from this place and prepared to fight for his life. Tavin saw a slowly closing hole in the air. The biggest animal decided to charge and missed the smaller darkness user, landing with a clawing screech on the ground.

Re: Notes from NSU Day Two Simon Poole started learning control of his body, escaped the tub with some trickery, and wrecked Dr. Moto's lab before escaping in front of a plasma jet into a local sewer. He heard about Ashlee Summer raiding the Midnight Wolves, and got into enough to gain a ride to his sister in law's, then his shop. He took a black axe out of his safe, concealing it on his person before he fell asleep. When he woke up he made his way to his house and was reunited with his wife and family while they were reporting him missing. Ashlee Summer hung out with Marian Cheek, Jake Lowengard's roommate until she dropped off. Ash then waited for Jake, and they hung out until he also turned in. She flew over to the Midnight Wolves's HQ, and commenced wrecking the place and battling the members of the Wolves. After being helped by Simon Poole, and learning the Wolves were werewolves, she went back to Jake's and turned in herself. Jake and Marian took Ashlee to the gym and shopping before Ash and Jake had to get to work at the Adam's Rib. Melody Jennings stayed at Casey Dawson's apartment over his school. The next day they went to pay the Hilton, and claim her stuff. They head over to her place next, packing some clothes for her. Dawson paused on the ride back to his building when he spotted a sign at a strip club: "Ashlee Summer, Supergirl live." Dawson and Jennings take Moe Shrevnitz's taxi back to the Rib that night. They get a table as Jake and Ash arrived for their shift. A meeting between one of the Midnight Wolves and a group of Dead Boys, a mercenary gang, took place at the bar. Dawson followed the Wolf out after the meeting. Ash tried to feel the meeting out and was rebuffed. The Dead Boys opened fire on the bar patrons. Ashlee killed all three with her bare hands. Jennings and later Dawson started helping the wounded and calling the authorities. Ash and Jake spent the rest of the night looking at mug shots while Dawson and Jennings promised to come in the next day. They return to his building to rest up for the next day. Jessie Rainhawk got a room, went to the beach, looked at the lighthouse, and got hamburgers. She found a listing for Dawson's Institute for Martial Arts in the phone book and decided to check it out in case they knew the Cory Dawson who sent her the warning.

Re: xialin showdown Page 15- Jade saw the three ghosts retreat to gather up their power to attack again. Their master had already ascended the stairs, headed for the street in front of the restaurant. It was up to Jade to save herself and Kagome. Not wanting to give the enough time to gain more power Jade moves up and dose a spinning jump kick to the ghosts and kept on attacking fast and hard until they go down and blocking or dodging whenever she needed to. The kick missed the ducking third ghost. He retaliated with punch that Jade blocked. Then Jade clawed him to streamers. Jade slashed at the next ghost with her claws and tried to block any attacks. The two exchange some sparring blows. Kagome shot an arrow at the other ghost, making him retreat up the stairs. He leaped across the room and cut across her body with his phantom sword. The shrine maiden collapsed in a pool of blood. Jade looked shocked and screamed, " NOOOOO!!!! Damn you all will pay for this." Rage came over her face as she looked over to the ghosts and jumped at them with quick powerful attack and not letting up until they are gone and tried to block their attacks. The second ghost repulsed Jade, blocking then slicing her with his glowing sword. She fell down the stairs, blood welling from the slice in her body. She landed close to Kagome at the feet of the first soldier. Something, possibly one of Kagome's arrows poked her back where she lay on the floor. Jade ground her teeth as she reached behind her and grabbed whatever is poking her, hoping it's one of Kagome's arrows. She got up and stabbed at the ghost with it. The ghost slashed the arrow, then Jade with a flicker of his blade. Blood flew as the heiress went down again. This might be the end. Knowing she could not take much more and could not give up, for if she did, they would both die. Jade fought through the pain and kept on the attack, and trying to dodge as their lives depended on it. She shouted, "No. I will not give up!" more to herself then to them. Jade was able to drive it back and blocked the next attack. But a kick drove her back against the dry rack, shaking the unfolded boxes and cartons of spices. Jade began to spend like a top, slashing with her fingernails. She ripped the ghost apart, sending ectoplasm everywhere. The third ghost waited for you to stop before he attacked. He's not charging into a demon blender. She stopped and waited for the last ghost to attack to do it again once it is close enough. He kicked Jade back against the rack raising his sword for the finishing blow. She tried to spin out of the way and behind him quickly to attack. He blocked the attack, going for a slash. Jade slashed with her fingers, ripping the ghost in two before he brought the sword down. The basement was empty except for the wounded Kagome. Jade quickly checked on Kagome to make sure she was still alive and called for help. Kagome is out of it, bleeding badly. She needed to have the bleeding stopped somehow. Jade tried to stop the bleeding, at least try to slow it down until help can get there before she went after the other ghost. The bandaging made Kagome look like a mummy but it worked, using her clothes for bandages. Jade ran up the stairs. There was no sign of Song Wing, the original ghost, or the Ghost King. Jade found a hoof print in the street, pointing to the left. Jade went back do to Kagome and waited for help to arrive to send some of the guys to follow the tracks for her. Minutes later, the "hatchet" men arrived and started doing their jobs as professionally as criminal scum can, cleaning up the blood, taking Kagome to the doctor, repairing what they can. They insisted that Jade go to a doctor also. She will but just for a quick patch up. They took Jade in for stitches, bandages, medicine, the whole bag. She was stuck for a few hours. She told them to hurry it up. She has things to do and can't waste time with all this. Despite Jade's urging, the doctor and her men took their time. She waited until the majority was patched up and said, "Screw the rest." She got up to leave. The bodyguards block the way, saying no, she has to stay until she was well, then not go anywhere without them again. Her dad has passed the word down. She looked at him and said, "Don't screw with me. Get the hell out of the way, or you will be the one that will need the doctor." The leader of the eight body guards said, "Mr Lee has spoken. You stay no matter how long, then you go home." "And my father gave me a job to do and I plan on getting it done so now move or I will and you know I can. So just make it easy on yourselves and do as I say. If you have the guts, then came with me and be quick about it. But not you, or anyone, will stop me from doing what I need to do." She moved to the door. "We can't let you go" The leader of the body guards blocked the door. "Your father said go home." "Don't make me move you or hurt you because if you try and stop me I will hurt you. I will deal with my father after I am done." The bodyguard zapped Jade with a taser from behind. Then they knocked Jade out. Jade woke up in her room on the second floor of her house, locked in. Jade went to her window and checked it. It's nailed shut. She could see the bright heads of the nails buried in the wood. She cut the glass with her nails to get out. The glass popped out easily enough. She quickly got dress and jumped out the window to the tree by her window and made her way by running and jumping from tree to tree, then to the wall and over. She kept out of sight and as quiet as she could. It hurt but Jade easily made it over the wall but she had no money, car, phone, and anyone who knew her would report her to her father. Jade did have everything she needed in a storage that nobody knew about. She had been putting money and things she might need in hiding just in case something ever happened to her, or her family. She walked there, taking the back streets. Jade made it to Far East Self Storage without being recognized, the spare key to the lock is where she hid it so she didn't have to break it open. All her supplies were there. She took what she needed and left the rest and drove her Mustang out of the storage unit and locked up then headed back out to try and find the tracks herself. Once she was on the road she called Johnny Woo. Returning to the scene of the crime, Jade found that one hoof print. She tried to see if she could find more and where they led too. Driving around, she found another hoofprint heading west. She kept on following it and call Mr Woo to see if he will help. "Hello, Miss Lee. It's always a pleasure to hear from you." "Hello Mr. Woo, I'm sorry but I'm just going to cut to the point.. I'm call you to see if you willing to help me out with a problem I am having without talking to my father." "I am very expensive, and very discrete. Don't tell me you want to kill your father." "No and don't even play that way." "So what is the nature of your problem?" "I need some help tracking down and taking of the ghost problem, and getting back what he took." "It seems like you need a ghost expert. That's not me." "Been there done that. I need the big guns now. I need your help." "I'll call around. If you are avoiding your father, I suggest you stay out of China town until we know what's going on. Go to ground somewhere cheap. What's your phone number?" "Fine. My number is 479-9623, and thanks."

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Jones. It's a nice romance bound in whimsy and a light touch. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion Cast of Characters- The Magistracy Jerry Silver- Lightning flinger Maker- Gadgeteer with the ability to create instant gadgets, and link to computers and machinery. John Public- A psychic that gains strength, speed, and toughness from the people around him, as well as telepathy and forming mind links. Quick-Speedster Luna- Martial artist Phaeton- Solar powered hero Chemist- magician based on written symbols The CORPS Jonah Charles- Financier The Persian- Android Crystalmach- magic user based on shapes of crystals The Graft- Ex-agent given a third arm in the middle of his chest The Believer- Possessor of a magic killing pistol. Cowboy- Growing minotaur The Empty- Teleporter and living gateway Blood Knife- Energy blade maker. The School Pointer- Gunslinger with mental guns The Saint- Cleric Puma Sai- Mutant ninja cougar Holo- Light based hero Beatnik- Agility based martial artist Triple- A psychic that is split in three bodies. Watcher- Helmet and semi armor that allows him to fire eye beams, see in all spectrums, and hook into a satellite network and look down on the field from space. Granite- Brick Fortress- Growing heroine The Replacement- Flying brick Currenta- Water elemental Poster Girl- power mimic The Markers Mr. Rickert- Ex-agent given an evil eye Tempest Martin- Weather controller Kat Friday- team brick Cole Colbane- Fluid shapeshifter Brady Baggins- Fire starter Andy Chen- Air controller Ray Hammet- Ex-agent with an endoskeleton Buddy- Protector of the Universe V- Buddy's advisor The Lizard- Chicago super cop