Mark Rand

Re: New PRIMUS teams Since I'm not sure how many of you are interested in the details of the examination of the base's pocket universe, I'm considering ending the investigation here and starting two new threads. One covers the heroes and key PRIMUS Pittsburgh personal and the other covers the base and what the heroes will see when they tour the pocket reality. Both will be revised versions of what's here. Comments are requested.

Re: I need a Super Hero Name for TinkerBelle.... Any of you see the movie Hook? In it, Tinkerbelle, played by Julia Roberts, lived in a clock that hung on a wall. Also, in that movie, she grew to human size once. As far as a name goes, I like Pixie. That's what Tinkerbelle was, and her daughter's half-pixie. Oh, Tinkerbelle's favorite comment was, "You silly ass". Would Gwen use that when she's fairy size?

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Airline passangers and stewardesses," Christine said. "Uniform's United's from the late 1960s," April added. "Can we do anything?" Rhonda asked as she and Denise arrived. "Check for pulses if you want," Christine replied. After inspecting the bus and finding nothing unusual, they headed for the motorcycle. "Two women wearing long gloves and bandana masks." "I saw a picture in National Geographic that had two Vietnamese women dressed this way," April said. "According to the caption, its to keep the heat off them." "I see. The public bus next, April." "Okay, Christine." They entered and aside from the bus driver saw two school guards, eight waitresses and people in normal clothes. They went to the Islamic community group's bus next. Everyone inside was in traditional Islamic garb. After looking around, they left and went to the hedge wall's gate and entered. "Mariko, Beth, you should see this." "Coming, Christine," Beth said. "When they entered, both women gasped. They were in a Japanese garden complete with a lake, wooden bridges and a tea house.

Re: New PRIMUS teams The next morning, April, Beth, Christine, Denise, Mariko and Rhonda met in the conference room before heading for the pocket reality. April and Christine were in black, Beth and Mariko were in jeans, tee shirts and running shoes, and Denise and Rhonda were in scrubs. As they walked to the apartment building, the air shimmered and a hedge wall with trees beyond it and a gate appeared just beyond it. Beside it appeared another structure, the Washinbgton Monument. "This is weird," Mariko said. "Yeah," Christine said the air shimmered in four places and a motorcycle with two people on it, a public bus, an airport shuttle bus and a bus from an Islamic community group appeared on the streets. "I'll radio Terry and let her know what's going on," Beth said. April, Christine, time to be sneaky again." "I hear you," April said as she and Christine adjusted their masks and trotted toward the airport shuttle.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "April, we're both gymnasts," Terry said. "Why don't we work out together once you've finished with the Vintage?" "I'd love that," April said. "Good. Beth, I've thought over your training plan and it looks interesting. Were you thinking of a sneak attack or one where you kick the door in and start shooting?" "Both," Beth replied. "Of course, we'll use paint ball weapons." "Fine. Beth, how are your stealth skills?" "Pathetic, compared to April and Christine," Beth replied. "Terry, I'm a regular intelligence agent. April's a ninja and Christine was a cat burglar for the CIA. I could never match their skills." "Likewise," Mariko admitted. "Terry, Beth's an athlete, So am I, if you consider cheerleading athletics. However, we don't have the training and experience they do." "Then, its settled," Terry said. "April, Christine, you two train together until you're sure you're ready. Then, you two train Beth and Mariko. Since we have access to the other reality, we should use it as a training area as well as living quarters." "Understood, Terry," April said. "Did you know that the dimension is still getting new buildings?" "I read the report," Terry replied. "It'll be interesting to see what arrives there next."

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU Yeah. Of course, she can wear whatever kind of glove she wants.

Re: The Mystic World I'm hoping my dealer gets it by the end of the week.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU I should've said "white caps with their uniforms". White gloves, like school guards wear, could easily be worn while going to or coming home from work, especially with either a white sweater and purse, or a red-lined navy blue cape and any purse. They'd also look cool if she's outside with a patient that's going somewhere.

Re: A Look at my Version of the CU Just a quick note. Nurses still wear white uniforms. Those who work in nursing and personal-care homes, apartment buildings for senior citizens and private dwellings are the ones that most often also wear caps.

Re: New PRIMUS teams A quick thought. I was considering setting the campaign in Millennium City with my version of the Champions as an on-call PRIMUS team. One member would be a mage. Their headquarters found be in her house, which is, at most, two blocks from the PRIMUS base.Terry is the city's new Silver Avenger. Denise Dumont works for PRIMUS, not DOSPA. Beth is her supervisor. Other names and positions could change, too. Think I'll start a new thread for this idea. Look for it, soon.

Re: More Info on Primus? Shelley's PRIMUS sourcebook and her two PRIMUS updates in Digital Hero issues 2 & 6 are wonderful resources. I should know. I have them.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Also during my junior year, mother and I went shoping for formal wear. Although I wanted only one evening gown, a white one, she talked me into getting several gowns, in different styles and colors. She also bought me ten pairs of long gloves, in various colors. Although most were cloth, two pair, one white and one black were leather." "Nice to have wealthy parents," Mariko commented. "Yeah." April said. "During my senior year, I was a finalist for the honor of Homecoming Queen. Our high school's activities director met with us in her office and informed us that we had to either bow our heads or curtsey to the queen. Then, the big night came. I was first runner up to an airhead who was our head cheerleader. Most of the girls bowed. I curtseyed deeply." "Your being raised by a Japanese family must've had something to do with that," Christine said. "Agreed," April said. "In between high school and the University of Pittsburgh, I bought two cars, a Ford Mustang GT, for daily travel, and a Lamborghini Diablo, to race in. My parents gifted me with a used motorhome and trailer to tow my race car. After eight years at Pitt, I joined PRIMUS with a Masters in Electronic Engineering and never looked back." "How involved were you in gymnastics while you were in school?" Terry, a gymnast while at Stanford, asked. "I was on Pitt's team, but, since the PIAA, or Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, didn't consider me an amateur, I couldn't compete for my high school. No matter. I competed in the Olympics three and won gold each time." Next, more conversation and Beth presents her plan. Comments are invited.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Over the next few years, I mastered The Path Of The Shadow's Companion, a method of manipulating shadows and darkness. I can create a sword of darkness that can be blocked, but not removed, make myself devoid of sound, operate in total darkness, gathrer shadows around me, plung my target into darkness and make an attack penatrate armor." "Nice," Christine said. "True. During my junior year of high school, we got a new principal. He ruled that nobody could cover their heads for any reason. Our school nurses, who still wore caps, were exempt, because their caps didn't cover their entire heads, leaving only their faces visible. We protested, but he didn't change his mind. Hardest hit were four Muslim girls who, under Islamic law, had to cover their hair. He threatened to expell them if they followed their beliefs. I managed to talk a number of female students and teachers into defying him. Most did what the four Moslim students did, but a few, including me, covered everything. We even wore gloves and anjusted the screens of our veils so that our eyes were covered." "What did your priest say?" Beth asked. "Actually, I'm Jewish," April replied. "My rabbi said that I was doing my part to insure religious tolerance. He even managed to get the man condemned by most of the city's religious leaders and the school board. The principal relented. After that, a few of us, including me, stayed in Islamic garb, while in school, for the rest of the year." "I'm glad you stuck to your guns," Terry laughed. (A/N: April's clawed gloves and the utility belts are from Gadgets and Gear. The nine ways cutting is from The Ultimate Martial Artist. Both books were written by Steven S. Long and are highly recomended. The Path of the Shadow's Companion is from FU SCHTICKS FOR CHAMPIONS: Wild Martial Arts Powers Derived From the Pages of Feng Shui on Michael Surbrook's site. It is also highly recomended.) Next, April's story concludes.

Re: New PRIMUS teams More typos fixed. "I was born into a wealthy local family," April said. "My father was a businessman who had met my mother, a stewardess, when he was traveling on British Caledonian Airlines. "By the time I was three, I was very active. My parents went to Three Rivers Gymnastics and decided to enrole me there. Fujiko Nakamura, the owner and head coach, told my parents that I had great potential and they agreed to leave me with her. I started learning gymnastics immediately and was in competition by the time I was five. At age six, after Fujiko's daughter, and my best friend, Keiko, and I became blood sisters, she began teaching me ninjitsu. That's also when I began studying the Japanese language and culture. "At age 10, when I started competing internationally, I began picking up ninja magic. I started with the Kuji-Kiri, or nine ways of cutting, a system of focusing your concentration to do specific tasks." "Did your parents ever visit you?" Beth asked. "Mother often visited, but father never did. Mom and I sometimes spent the day together. Before I forget, mother posed for us in her old stewardess uniform. Here's a picture." She took it from her purse and tossed it onto the table." "She's wearing white gloves with her uniform," Terry commented. "They were part of the uniform in the 1960s," April said. Next, April's story continues.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "I grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey and spent summers on my uncle's horse ranch," Mariko said. "Naturally, I learned to ride Western-style and always dressed like a working cowgirl. "In high school, we had Western Festival Days each year. They were, of course, scheduled so they wouldn't interfere with sports events. On those days, we had to dress in Western clothes. Gloves, masks and toy weapons were permitted. After the bandana I'd been using as a mask started bothering me, I pulled it down and stayed masked only between classes." "Being masked takes getting used to," Christine said. "It took me six months to get used to wearing a ski mask for longer than 40-minutes at a time." "Same here,' April said. "Don't worry, You'll eventually get used to wearing one for long periods of time." "Thanks," Mariko said. "After high school, I went to USC on a scolarship. There I studied computer science and was a cheerleader. While there, I saw the tea ceremony for the first time and agreed to participate in one as a guest. Fortunately, our teacher, who acted as hostess, had kimonos and taught us how to wear them." "The tea ceremony is beautiful," April said with a twinkle in her eyes. I've been in several and even acted as hostess once." "You're more Japanese than I am, April," Mariko said. "I definately want to hear your story." "Any other stories before we hear April's?" Beth asked. When nobody responded, she said, "You're up." April's story begins next.

Re: New PRIMUS teams Hopefully, I've corrected all my typos. Now, on with Christine's story. "Since many members of Congress were affected by the raids, they decided to hold hearings into the DEA's conduct. Somebody finally admitted that the CIA had loaned them agents. The committee members were angered. One claimed that we'd violated our charter. Doirector Glenn of PRIMUS told them that this wasn't so and that the DEA had the right to call on whatever agency it wanted to for assistance. He added that loaning agents out was a common practice in the intelligence community and that PRIMUS Human Resources, having examined the loaned agent's file, had concluded that, if Congress lost its mind and forced the CIA to fire the agent, PRIMUS would hire said agent." "Did Congress know who you were?" Beth asked. "No," Christine replied. "Were you in Washington?" Beth asked. "My team and I were in Europe," Christine replied. The arguements continued. I ended up leaving the CIA and joining PRIMUS. Officially, I was required to turn in all my tools. Unofficially, I was told to keep them." "Were you ever in disquise?" Mariko asked. "Yes," Christine replied. "Before 9/11, I sometimes disguised myself as a Muslim woman. After 9/11, I only wore that disguise in Muslim countries." "Impressive," Terry said. "Any more stories before April tells hers?" "Me," Mariko replied. Next, Mariko's story.

Re: New PRIMUS teams (A/N, by this time, the group's in street clothes.) The group gathered around the conference room table, waiting to hear Christine's story. After graduating college, I joined the CIA as a spy. After training, I was assigned to a special unit and, due to my acting skills, became one of their swallows, that's a female agent used in a honey trap." "What?" Mariko asked. "Seduction," April replied. "Oh," Mariko said. "Sorry, Christine. Please continue." "No problem. I'd be working with two other agents, one a lookout the other an expert in black bag jobs. One week before our first job, the black bag jobs goes sking and breaks his hip. They assign me to replace him. While I was in training, they recruited a new swallow, unfortunately. she wasn't convincing enough for our first mission. Oh, he didn't hurt her. He just left her. After being notified, I decided to make him think I was a real cat burglar. He fell for it. We got out of the country with our score and hides intact. After more training, the swollow proved good at her job." "Did you work only for the CIA?" Beth asked. "Yes, but they occassionally loaned us out to the DEA," Christine replied. "One night, we hit the motherlode, $4,000,000 in cash, $3,000,000 in drugs, illegal weapons, records and video tapes. We took them in, but didn't arrest them. That way, they couldn't make telephone calls and alert their associates. A judge looked at the documents, issued more warrants and we began to hit their network. One place was a brothel frequented by high-level bureaucrats and owned, through dummy corporations, by an influential senator with ties to the mob." She paused, looked around, and said, "After that raid, the **** hit the fan." Next, the story continues.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Where do we go this afternoon?" Beth asked" "The coffee shop, medical clinic, bar and theatre," Christine replied. "What do we do with the clothes?" Mariko asked. "Clean them, then place them, sorted by size, in a room somewhere. If you want something, you take it and are responsible for keeping it clean." "Good idea," April said. After removing the bodies, they picked up the clothing from the apartments and cheerleader uniforms. These were set with the other clothes for cleaning The choir robes, however, stayed on their rack. "How did a cat burglar for the CIA end up in PRIMUS, Christine," Beth asked. "It's an interesting story," Christine admitted. "I'll tell everyone later." "I'd like to hear more about you, April," Mariko said. "I'd like to know how you became a ninja." "Later," April said. "After Christine tells her story." Next, the start of Christine's story.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "One moment," Christine said. "Beth, you said that you and Mariko needed to practice staying masked, right?" "No," Beth replied. "I meant practicing our cat burglar skills." "Staying masked is something you have to know," Christine said. "You two should mask yourselves now and stay masked for eight hours." "What?" Mariko gasped. "I'm willing to stay masked that long," Christine replied. "What about you, April?" "Sounds like fun," the redheaded ninja said. "Fine," Beth mumbled as she and Mariko masked. They removed bodies from the gymnasium and apartment building, then removed their latex gloves before putting the black ones on and returning to PRIMUS Pittsburgh. At Christine's suggestion, they unmasked while eating, visiting the restroom and going through paperwork and mail. Once that was done, they masked again and returned to the gateway.

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Here's our stop," Rhonda said as they arrived at the funeral home's loading dock. "Enjoy your exploration of the new buildings." "We will." As they walked, Beth said, "I have an idea that could help with training. Four cat burglars, us actually, are going to attack the heroes." "Won't work," Christine said as they continued on to the new buildings. "I'm the only one of us the CIA trained as a cat burglar. Beth, Mariko, you two don't have the same skills." "What about April?" Mariko asked. "She's a ninja," Christine replied. "She's probably my equal in stealth, climbing and fighting. While she can't open a lock or safe as fast as I can, she can handle an alarm system better than me." "I see," Beth said. "I'll think about it. Since we're going to be masked, I need to know how long you can keep your ski masks on." "Thirty minutes," Mariko said. "Three hours," April said. "Four hours once," Christine said. "Beth?" "Thirty minutes. Mariko, we need practice. April, Christine, you two will have to help us." "No problem," Christine said. "Ladies, we're staying masked here. We'll even eat with them on." "Cool," April said. "You're kidding," Beth said. "No way," Mariko said. They finally arrived at the new buildings and looked them over. The first housed a coffee shop. A cook, 4 waitresses, and 10 customers were there. The second was a medical clinic. A physician, 3 nurses, 2 receptionists and 9 patients there. The last was a bar. A bartender, two barmaids and 5 patrons were inside. After looking around, they returned to the funeral home. Beth and Mariko unfolded their ski masks. April and Christine didn't. All four pulled off and pocketed their black gloves before putting latex gloves on. "Where to, now?" Beth asked. "The gymnasium," April replied. "It's USC's from 1969. Let's go."

Re: New PRIMUS teams The next morning, they assembled in the conference room. Denise and Rhonda had scrubs on. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko had on black combat-cloth jumpsuits, combat boots, webbing, lightweight jackets, ski masks and gloves. The four intelligence agents also carries PRIMUS blasters, hideout pistols, reloads for both weapons, two-way radion, flashlights and spiders and their control panels. April and Christine also wore utility belts. Except for lockpicks, April's carried ninja weapons. Christine's had gear from her former profession. "Here's something you need to see," April said," moving her gloved fingers. Suddenly claws apperared from her fingertips. "Nice," Beth said. "What are they used for?" "Scratching and cutting a foe," April replied. "It's a version of the Nekode, a ninja weapon consisting of claws that strap to the fingers." "I like," Terry said as she entered the room. Suddenly, the radio squacked, "Thompson to Gateway Teams, we have new buildings here in the same block as the auditorium. Please advise. Over." "Enjoy yourselves," Terry said as she left. "I have paperwork." Beth grabbed the microphone and said, "We're on our way. Over." "Copy. Out." April retracted her claws and the six women went through the gateway.

Re: New PRIMUS teams After moving the custodians, they returned for the pastor and the parish nurse. When they brought her into the prep room, Denise, noting the nurse's uniform, a long sleeve white dress, white shoes and stockings, a white cap, and navy-blue, red-lined cape, said, "I like. Think I'll try her uniform, cape and cap on later." "I'll have my camera ready when you do," Rhonda said, trying to suppress her laughter. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko went back to retreving bodies. By 5:00 pm, the church was empty. "I have to get ready for my race," April said, looking at her watch. As it turned out, April's prediction was right. The man driving the Lamborghini stalled it at the line. When April asked permission to drive it, the dealer said, "No. You're a woman. Women can't handle race cars." "You're wrong," April stated. "I have a national competition license and have driven a Lamborghini Diablo in SCCA-sanctioned races for six years. As far as your car goes, your son stalled it. He probably tried to start out in sixth gear instead of first." The dealer made an impolite comment, then left after making sure the new Lamborghini was on its trailer. "Did he stall the engine, April?" PRIMUS PR chief Kitty Cochrane asked from where they could see Terry Kestler greet people and sign autographs. "Yeah, that engine was running perfectly," April replied. "I see." With a twinkle in her eyes, Kitty asked, "Any reason why you're wearing a racing suit?" "I always wear it when I'm racing or driving a pace car," April replied. "Since CART's pace car drivers wear fire suits and helmets when they pace races, why shouldn't I?" "I see your point," Kitty said.

Re: New PRIMUS teams April, Beth, Christine and Mariko, all in black, returned to the church basement at 7:55 am. "We look like cat burglars," Beth commented. "True," April said. "Don't worry. We'll roll our ski masks up before we start bringing bodies to the funeral home." "Yeah," Christine said. "We'll look like normal ladies in black draging bodies instead of commandos." After rolling their masks up, they went to the top floor. After a quick look around the apartment used by the husband and wife custodian team's apartment, Mariko said, "She dresses like a working cowgirl and loves country music. This lady has style." "How do you know the country music's hers?" Beth asked. I saw some western clothes in the closet that country stars wear while performing," Mariko replied. "I may be a computer expert and a former Hackensack High School Comets and USC Trojans cheerleader, but I'm a cowgirl at heart." Everyone laughed and they began moving bodies.

Re: New PRIMUS teams Finally the team started working. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko brought bodies to the prep room. Paul and Annie brought wooden coffins and cardboard cremation containers from the display and storage rooms. Denise, James and Rhonda undressed the bodies, then preped and cremated them. "It'll be 9:30 tomorrow morning before all the bodies from this building are cremated. What building do we do next?" "The church," April suggested. "We can be here by 8:00 tomorrow and start bringing them here." "You should also start cremating more that one at a time," Terry said. "I know the law requires only one body in each chamber at a time, but that applies only in our universe. Also, we have to keep the bodies from decomposing and attracting insects." "Agreed," Beth said. The others agreed, too. "Fine. We'll start putting two bodies in each coffin or container tomorrow morning."

Re: New PRIMUS teams "Let's do it," Terry said. "Rhonda, Denise, since we're cremating all the bodies, you should make sure there is nothing in them that could explode in the cremators," Jim said. He then told them what to look for. "That will require opening the bodies up," Rhonda said. "We'll do that after we drain the blood." "Should we all dress in black?" Beth asked. "It's not necessary," April replied. "However, we should have disposable gloves on when we move the bodies." "Let's go," Terry said. "April, Christine, lead the way." The two black-clad agents pocketed their black gloves and led the team through the gateway. They arrived in a basement, near a flight of stairs. "We're in the church basement," Christine said. They climbed the stairs, exited the building and walked to the funeral house's crematory. Jim scanned the manuals for the cremators and processor and nodded. Then, he, Rhonda and Denise pulled on disposable gowns, gloves and fase masks and began to work. "You three looke you're going to operate on someone," Beth said. "In a sense, we are," Jim said. "Can we help?" Terry asked. "Not yet," Jim replied. "I'll let you know when." "Understood," Terry said.