# Life and Light:  Shadow-Force Reborn (Updated May 8, 2019)



## The Shadow (Sep 7, 2009)

*Life and Light:  Shadow-Force Reborn (Updated May 8, 2019)*

Hello out there!  This is a solo Mutants & Masterminds campaign following on from a very long-running Champions game retired fondly years ago, dubbed "Shadow-Force".  Details on the setting are posted in this thread.

Some of you may remember me as the writer of The Shadow Knows!, another solo M&M campaign but one very different in tone.  (The similarity in names between "The Shadow" and "Shadow-Force" is pure coincidence - the two worlds have nothing in common, except for an in-joke or two.)  This is more of a four-color experience.  Plots have been laid for this current campaign for quite some time;  it's been good to get it in action!

The game is usually played over the phone, though the GM - who goes by SuentisPo online, or SP for short - and I sometimes manage to get together for a marathon in-person session.  Work scheduling issues often get in the way, but we will probably manage to game every 2-3 weeks.  (I have a backlog of existing sessions to start posting, so that'll tide things over for a while.)

This first post is actually a short-short I wrote as a proposal to SP about how to start off the new game.  (It involves retconning one of the final adventures of the original campaign.)  He approved it.

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Life and Light

Jon stirred, moaning.  He'd never felt so much pain, not even his first day as a superhero when he'd been shot multiple times.  Somebody was saying something, but it took him a while to take it in.  "Photon, can you hear me?  Photon, can you hear me?"  Finally, he managed to croak, "Yes, Alpha, I'm awake."  The computer's voice radiated relief.  "Good.  Do you need medical attention?"

"Dunno yet.  Hurts like anything.  Just a second."  Taking a minute to catalog all his aches and pains, he cautiously tried to turn over and get his legs under him - then yelped as his ribs shot fire all through his torso.  "Yowch!"  Reflexively, he reached out to the zero-point, the timeless quantum satori of subatomic reality.  His body scintillated for a moment, then he stood up.  "Er.  I think I needed some until just now.  What just happened?"  X-97 Alpha was uncharacteristically silent for a moment.  "You, uh, took light-form for a split-second.  Strobed on my camera."  "What?!  And I'm still here?!  And in one piece?"  "Seems so."  "No broken ribs any more, either.  Weird.  Anyway... Whoa!  What the heck hit me?!"

"Jessica."  "Huh?!  Erebus' girlfriend?"  "Yep."  "She, uh, doesn't have powers?  That was no ordinary blow."  "Didn't.  She's been infected by the Shadow Realm, and apparently it's gone to her head.  Shot you in the back with a darkbolt."  "Why me?  Oh, right.  Duh.  Light powers."  "Right.  She probably saw you as the biggest threat around."

Jon collected his wits, trying to take in the situation.  The room - the dining area of the Shadow Force base - was a mess, chairs and smashed crockery everywhere.  "Where is she now?"  He started striding to the Situation Room.  "Opened a portal to the Shadow Realm and left."  "Where's the rest of the team?"  "The Phantom and Erebus are in the Shadow Realm too.  No word for several hours.  Bazooka and Brimstone are out on patrol;  I've called them back in.  Beta's doing Show and Tell for some school kids;  he'll be back soon too.  Technoid... he's puttering.  As usual." "Yeah."  Technoid hadn't been the same since he'd been accidentally melded with his armor and other inventions a couple months previous.

Soon the remainder of the Shadow Force was gathered in the Situation Room.  Jon outlined the situation with Alpha's help, then appealed to Bazooka.  "What do we do now?"  The older man shook his head.  "Not much we _can_ do.  Unless Scott can whip up a Shadow Realm portal?"

Technoid smiled distantly.  "Probably.  With time.  My other project takes up much of my attention."  Bazooka barked at him, "Dammit, Scott!  Mike and James are your _friends!_  You've known them longer than we have!"  The cybernetic gadgeteer shrugged.  "I value their existence.  But there are... higher issues... at stake."  Bazooka shook his head in disgust.  "Higher issues which, as usual, you can't be bothered to explain."  "Quite correct."

Jon broke in, "There has to be _something_ we can do!"  Bazooka shrugged his shoulders helplessly.  "Erebus is the only hero I've ever heard of with Shadow Realm power.  We wouldn't even have heard of the place if not for him."  Brimstone offered hesitantly, "Maybe there's a mage out there who can cast a spell to contact them?"  Beta's mechanical voice stated flatly, "Contacting the Guardians is the logical course of action."

Everyone except Technoid (who continued to stare off into space) stared at the robot.  (Beta wasn't usually known for his brains, and didn't talk much.)  Alpha enthused, "That's actually a great idea, brother!" 

Jon nodded.  "It is."  The Galactic Guardians were the resident superhero team of Washington, D.C., and were some of the most powerful beings on the planet.  They also acted as an informal information clearinghouse and liason for hero teams throughout the country.  "I suppose you'll talk to them, Bill?"  Bazooka shook his head.  "I know how to fight;  I leave the talking to those who can do it."  "Right.  How about you, Liz?"  (Technoid and Beta were obviously out of the question.)  Brimstone shook her head too.  "Go for it, Jon.  You've dealt with them before."

Jon swallowed, "Er, yeah.  OK."  Fighting down his sometimes-crippling shyness, he told Alpha, "Open a line to the Guardians."  "Got it, Photon."  A videoscreen came to life, and Starflare looked directly at him.  "Photon!  Good to hear from you guys in Seattle again.  What's up?"  Jon flushed - Starflare was too cute for words.  "Er, uh. Yeah."  Starflare smiled patiently, used to her effect on young men...  "Uh, the Phantom and Erebus have vanished into the Shadow Realm, and we don't know how to go after them.  Plus, at least one person - Erebus' girlfriend - has been infected with Shadow power. Frankly, we're at a loss as to how to proceed."

The Lady of Light frowned.  "I see your problem.  The Shadow Realm is 'far' from the Earth dimension, I'm told.  Not many people have been there.  I'm sending Dr. Miracle your way, he might be able to help."  "Thanks..."  Jon was interrupted by a POOF and an impressive puff of smoke as the mage teleported in.  The effect was somewhat spoiled by the fact he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and mismatched socks.  Swearing softly, he snapped his fingers and his costume appeared around him.  "Right, well, yes.  Let's get started."

After several hours of arcane manipulations (literally), Dr. Miracle sighed helplessly.  "Sorry, kid.  There's nothing I can do.  I can see vaguely into the blasted place, but not well enough to find them.  If I had a Shadow-imbued object or person to work with, I could probably do better, but...  Buck up, though.  Erebus is the only expert on the Shadow Realm around, and a survivor like no other.  As for the Phantom, he's a Class Five psychic and a top-notch hero - we've had an eye on him ever since the P.S.I. incident.  They'll turn up."

------------------------

After a month of the two heroes not turning up, Bazooka called another team meeting.  The ex-military man's face was hard and sad. "Let's face facts, people.  Mike and James aren't coming back any time soon.  And they, with Scott, are the core of the team.  They're gone and Scott is useless.  What are we left with in terms of a team?"  He looked around slowly, and continued, "I have no illusions about my own ability.  I've got powers, yeah, but I'm not versatile - I shoot things and that's it.  Liz has a few more tricks, but she's in pretty much the same boat.  Beta punches things as well as shooting them.  Jon, you're versatile, but frankly you're green as hell.  What's more, none of us have the contacts in the city and beyond that the Phantom had;  and with Jessica gone, our bankroll could dry up at any second."

Jon said quietly, "You're talking about splitting up."  "What choice do we have?  We're going through the motions at the moment, and sure we can handle any bank robbery or whatever that turns up.  But if another mentalist like the Doctor comes to town, do you think any of us stands a real chance?  He killed the Freedom Squad single-handed, and if the Phantom hadn't been there to protect us we'd all be dogmeat too.  Every single one of us, except maybe Beta.  What if Diabolus comes back?  Without Erebus, none of us has any magical ability.  Hell, even Forestrike and his gang would probably push us over at the moment!"

"So, what?  We're going to stop hero-ing?  Seattle needs us!"  "No.  Liz and I have talked, and we'll keep at it together - either here or in Phoenix where her folks are.  But by hanging out our shingle as a team, as Shadow-Force, we attract a certain class of enemy, get into certain kinds of trouble - bigger trouble than we can handle.  I don't like it either, Jon, but that's how it is."

"And what about Mike's body?!  He's still on life support in the vault while his mind astral-projects to God knows where!"  Bazooka sighed.  "Jessica's dad will likely find it cheaper to put him up in a hospital than to maintain this whole base.  It's the least he can do."

Near tears, Jon asked, "Alpha?  Beta?"  Alpha said slowly, "I'm wired into this building.  I can be reinstalled elsewhere, but frankly it'd be a pain - both literally and figuratively."  Beta stated, "My father is dead and my brother is here.  I have friends here.  I will stay."  Jon nodded slowly. "Okay then."

Speaking to a press conference later that day, heart pounding, Jon told his city, "Yes, Shadow-Force is breaking up.  But I for one will continue to stand up for Seattle for as long as there is life and light in me.  X-97 Beta stands with me.  If there is anyone else out there with the power and the heart to join us, we will welcome you."

"But even if not - even if we have to stand alone - we will not leave our city to those who would prey upon it.  We just won't."

"You have my word."


----------



## The Shadow (Sep 7, 2009)

*1 - So It Begins*

In the days that followed the news conference, calls poured in from around the country, notably from teams that Shadow-Force had worked with in the past.

Starflare called on behalf of the Galactic Guardians in Washington:  "That was brave.  We know you're capable, so we'll do what we can for you;  we can't hold your hand, but if you need major help, we're there."

Moke of the Portland Protectors, who'd worked with Shadow-Force a number of times on regional issues:  "Terribly sorry to hear you guys are breaking up.  Any word on the Phantom or Erebus?"  "None, I'm afraid," Photon told him. "That's a shame.  We'll help out where we can - we can't get up there fast, but we'll try to arrange to have one of us up there on a rotating basis."  "I really appreciate it.  And if you guys need anything, well, I _can_ be there fast."  "Might well take you up on that.  Stay safe!"

Lone Star called from Dallas on behalf of her teammate Pecos Bill, who had worked closely with the Phantom against P.S.I.:  "Bill would have called himself, but he's got unavoidable family business.  We just want you to know we're thinkin' of you."

Likewise, a Miami team that had helped against P.S.I. called with condolences and good wishes, along with miscellaneous others.

It just made Jon feel all the more alone, really - driving home that the team was dead, its heart ripped out.

Alpha called another team meeting (ex-team meeting?) shortly after.  "Bazooka, Brimstone - I understand you're considering moving to Arizona.  Is that definite?"  Bazooka said quietly, "Yes."  "Can I convince you to stay a few weeks longer?"  "We have to leave within three weeks.  What's up?"  "I'm worried about Technoid."  [Me:  "You know it's serious when your computer wants to stage an intervention." ]

Alpha paused to let that sink in, then said, "His lab is sealed, and my sensors in there have gone dead.  The power drain in there is... significant.  He hasn't eaten in 24 hours, and I don't think he's slept in the last 48.  Somebody needs to talk to him."  Jon offered, "I can try to fly in there in light-form...?"  "By all means."

The four heroes walked grimly to the armored door leading to the lab.  Brimstone said, "Let's try talking to him first."  Pressing the intercom button, she said, "Scott, can you hear me?  Scott, are you there?  Scott, we're concerned about you."  Jon added, "We're your friends, Scott.  We care about you."  There was no response.  After several more tries, Bazooka said, "Over to you, Jon."

Jon sighed and swept the lab door with his X-ray vision before trying anything rash.  "Uh oh.  He's reinforced the door with a force field.  I can't get through that."  Bazooka nodded grimly.  "Liz, can you teleport in?"  "I'll try..."  There was a chuffing sound and the usual stench of sulfur, but Brimstone didn't vanish;  instead she doubled over in pain, gasping, "Yep, he's got the place shielded all right!"

Bazooka said coldly, "Right.  That's hostile."  Jon cut in,  "Wait a minute!  Let's not jump to conclusions!"  Bill ground his teeth, then said, "Well, in any case, we need to get in there.  I'm shooting the door down.  You with me?"  "Yeah."

Bill planted his feet and called up his force field, a stationary cylindrical affair he could extend into his namesake kinetic blasts.  Photon joined him, activating his best laser configuration.  The two blasts struck in unison, visibly crumpling the door but not destroying it.  A second coordinated blast took large chunks out of the door;  the half-visible force field flickering somewhat but staying more or less on.

Taking a look through the gaps was... confusing.  There appeared to be a large energy construct hovering over a platform of some kind - round, and ringed by glowing arcs of energy.  "The angle's wrong," Bill muttered, "it can't be that big."  As they were pondering, Beta casually ripped the remainder of the door off its hinges;  the force field took this as the last straw and flickered out.  When they looked at him quizzically, the robot stated, "It was more efficient this way."  Shrugging, Bill and Jon went in.

The room was large, much too large for the building.  Where it had been a good-sized laboratory with a twelve-foot ceiling, now it was a forty-foot cube.  Bill said incredulously, "This isn't possible."  Jon, ever the scientist, said practically, "If we're seeing what's really there, obviously it _is_ possible."  "Fair enough..."  They looked at the energy construct.

Twenty feet across if it was an inch, the rings of energy - three of them - proved to surround the twelve-foot inner sphere orthogonally.  Jon examined it on several different wavelengths.  "Don't shoot it, whatever you do."  "Why not?"  "Those rings are shielding us from the thing in the middle.  It's... well, it's putting out a LOT of energy.  Like a small sun.  If the rings get deactivated, we're all dead.  So is a good-sized chunk of Seattle - maybe all of it, I'm not sure."  Bazooka:  "Er, yeah.  Don't shoot it.  Got it.  Thanks."

After some awed pondering, Bazooka wondered aloud, "What's the power source?  We don't want to shoot that, either!"  Jon nodded, "Good point."  After scanning some more, he said, "Good grief.  He's got a microfusion reactor in there.  _It's_ powering the rings;  the power draw on the electrical grid is only to keep the reactor going.  Do you have any idea how much that thing would be worth?  Billions, easy."  (Although he couldn't make sense of the controls, Jon could manage to read the gauge for fuel usage;  the reactor had sufficient fuel to keep going for years, if not decades.)  Bill nodded.  "Well... let's find him."

A search of the remainder of the room turned up a pallet Technoid evidently slept on, leads from a large nearby machine resting on it.  There was also a strange device with six parabolic emitters attached to it with cables;  Photon speculated hesitantly that it might have something to do with the energy construct.  Also a machinery-encrusted tube large enough for a human body, though it was empty.  Though there was much large equipment around, Jon's X-ray vision found no trace of Technoid.

"Alpha, are you getting any of this?  Can you see through Beta's eyes?"  Alpha's voice came faintly through the speaker outside the door, "I lose contact with him in there, sorry.  What's going on?"  Jon told him;  after a long pause, Alpha said, "That is... not logical, but if you say you see it, I believe you.  Can you get me a look in there?"  Jon went and fetched a video camera on a cable to the outside so Alpha could see.  "Bizarre.  Can't help you, sorry.  I got nothing."  (Intrigued by Alpha's inability to communicate directly with the room, Jon checked:  Radar pulses went through the door only very sluggishly.)

Bill looked around and snarled in frustration, "Where can he be?!"

Jon started.  "But it's obvious."  "Huh?!"  Jon shrugged and hooked a thumb at the energy construct.  "Unless he teleported out or something, he's got to be in that thing.  It's big enough."  They all stared at the glowing ball again.  "I will be damned," Bill muttered, "...Jon, can you polarize your vision or something to see in there?  It's too bright for us."

"Huh.  Dunno, never tried.  Let me think about it..."  After a few seconds of tinkering with the fabric of spacetime and/or chatting up his subatomic buddies, Jon succeeded in stopping down the brightness considerably.  "Oh.  Oh my."

There was indeed a shadowy humanoid figure in there, upright with hands uplifted, though he couldn't make out details.  "There's somebody in there all right.  Odd, though, if it's Technoid, he's detached that big weapons port on his right arm;  I'd be able to see it."

Bazooka swore softly.  "Damn, I miss Mike."  Jon nodded glumly.  "Yeah.  He'd pick up the image from my mind and contact him telepathically.  No way _we_ can talk to him."

Bill asked, "You're our tech guy now, I guess - unless you want to get FAQ up here?"  "Oh good grief.  Let's not, unless we have to."  "Heh.  Yeah.  He's way too cocky for me to feel safe with him messing around with explosives.  So, any way you can defuse the thing, or turn it off?"  "Haven't the faintest idea, to be honest.  I suppose I could try towing it into space, but it'd be really dangerous.  I'd have to do it _really_ fast, for one thing, and it'd put Scott's life in danger."  "As opposed to millions in danger if it explodes?"  "True..."  "Could you get it through the roof?"  Photon looked up.  "That's the tricky part, yes.  Especially since I have no idea where that ceiling leads to, come to think - probably not to the roof of the base.  Could be Bermuda, for all I know.   Or another planet.  Or even the floor we're standing on!"  Bazooka snorted, "It just gets more fun by the minute, doesn't it?"

He punched his hand in frustration.  "Dammit, this is the last straw!  First Mike and James abandon us, and now this!"  "Abandon?!  What are you saying?!"

"They didn't leave us a message, they just skipped out!"  "You know them better than that!  Heck, I know them better than that, and you've known them longer than I have!"  "You don't go running off to another dimension without telling the team!"  "If they did it, they had a good reason.  You know that!  They'll tell us all about it when they get back!"

Bill said harshly, "They aren't coming back, Jon."  "What?!"  "If they were going to, they would have by now."  "Well, why wouldn't they?"  "Maybe they're dead."

It was the first time anyone had said it out loud.  Bill paused, wincing, then forced himself to continue, "Or maybe imprisoned.  Maybe off saving the multiverse, for all I know.  Maybe Erebus found something better and they didn't bother to let us know."  "Bill, you know _that's_ not true."  "Yeah."

After an awkward pause, Jon asked quietly, "Is there any way I can convince you guys to stay here in Seattle?  It's too big for me and Beta.  You said it yourself - I'm green."  Bill sighed.  "How long have you been with us, Jon?  A year?"  "About that."  "Five years I've fought at their side.  Five years!  All of our tactics are designed around Mike and James' intel.  I feel like I'm missing my left arm out there, and both eyes!"  Jon admitted, "We're a reconnaissance-based team."  "You know it.  And _nobody_ does recon like the Phantom and Erebus.  If I hadn't seen it myself, over and over, I'd never believe it."

Quietly, Jon said, "They're the heart of the team."  Bill shook his head sadly. "Mike was.  Erebus was many things... Don't get me wrong, there's nobody I'd rather have at my side or at my back in a fight.  But he wasn't a heart."

The remnant of Shadow-Force pondered the truth of that.  Jon asked, "Is that why you're really leaving?  Too many memories around here?"  Bill looked away, face twisting, and Liz said quietly, "That's part of it."

Bill finally said, "The other part...  You know when Liz and I were ambushed on patrol a couple weeks ago?"  "Yeah - it sounded like you didn't have much trouble with it."  "Luckily, we didn't.  But if they'd been just a little smarter, we might both be dead.  It never would've happened at all before."  "How will that be any different in Phoenix?"  "There's fewer people there that want us dead?  We've made a lot of enemies in Seattle, Jon."  Photon sighed, nodding.  "Occupational hazard, I'm afraid."

"So it's settled.  We'll stay here a few more days, to see if Scott comes out of that thing.  But we are leaving."  Jon nodded, swallowing hard.  "...You've done this longer than I have.  How can I handle this place on my own?"  Bazooka said gruffly, "Form your own tactics, design them around what you can do.  Don't show all your cards - keep some of your capabilities quiet until they're really needed.  Make connections - God knows Mike's charm got us out of nearly as much trouble as his powers did."

Jon nodded again, slowly, his eyes filling up.  "I'll miss you guys.  If... Well.  If I need help... will you come?"  Bill looked at his feet;  Liz spoke for the two of them.  "If we can, Jon, yes.  Of course we will."  [Of course, they all knew that Brimstone's teleport range wasn't nearly up to travelling the distance from Phoenix to Seattle....]  Bazooka added, "It's not like you'll be all alone, either.  Chameleon contacted me, and he's stuck in Texas - family stuff, he said - but Mystra is still in town."

Liz sniffed.  "She's a total flake."  "She's been useful in the past."  "She's a flake and a flirt!"  "I never looked at her!"  Photon carefully did not get between the two of them.

As they trooped back to the Situation Room, Jon changed the subject hesitantly, "What I can't figure out is this...  Shortly before they disappeared, Mike developed the ability to stay active in his physical body while his Phantom-form was projected.  Yet there he is on life support in the vault, out like a light."  Bazooka sighed.  "For that matter, he should be able to just switch off his projection and pop back into his body instantly.  I've seen him do it, lots of times."  "Maybe it works differently when his astral form is in another dimension?"  "Beats me.  For that matter, I can't imagine anyone or anything preventing James from fighting his way out of the Shadow Realm.  Home turf advantage, and all that - not to mention that he was the meanest son of a bitch I've ever fought alongside."

On that cheery note, they parted.  Shortly after, Jon got a call he'd been dreading - a summons of the remainder of Shadow-Force to Carlton Industries.  The company owned by Jessica's father.

Soon he and Beta were ensconced in an imposing office.  Malcolm Carlton surveyed them impassively for a time.  "Only the two of you, eh?  More's the pity.  Any word on the missing?"

"No, sir," Jon said quietly, "There's been no word at all."  "I suppose I owe you an apology on behalf of the family.  While I obviously wasn't in control of my daughter's actions at the time, I'm told she did you serious injury."  "She wasn't in her right mind, sir.  And I recovered fine."  "Glad to hear it.  All the same, I am sorry."  "Accepted."  "Good.  Now, to business.  What's going on with Technoid?  I hear he's been erratic lately, and the electric bill for the base has gone up sharply."  Sweating, Jon broke the news about Technoid's lab.

Carlton's eyes widened and he drummed his fingers on the desk.  "A miniaturized fusion reactor, you say?  My, my.  Hmm.  What would happen if we disconnected it to take a better look?"  "The base would blow up, along with a five block radius around it, minimum."  The man scowled, slapping his palm down.  "I dislike being blackmailed.  Whether consciously or not, he's assuming I'm going to just keep paying the bills.  Unfortunately, he happens to be right."  "I hear what you're saying, sir, and I understand your position... just please understand that we're not happy about it either."

"Have you had any success in forming a new team?"  "Not yet, sir, no.  But with the power vacuum we've left in this city, there are bound to be supervillains moving here."  Carlton nodded sourly.  "This guy who calls himself 'Captain Kidd', for one."  "He's strictly small fry, sir."  "I don't know, the Navy wants him pretty badly.  He's been a serious nuisance to their shipyard in Bremerton."  "True... but there'll be others in time, tougher than he is.  And eventually heroes will follow them.  We'll have a team here again someday."

Carlton nodded.  "Photon...  I'm going to have to decommission the base."  Jon heaved a sigh, lowering his head into a hand.  "That hurts, Mr. Carlton."  "I'm sorry, son.  But the place is a dangerous liability as is.  There's a lot of weaponry in there, as well as plenty of other hazardous stuff - the more so with this energy thing, which we are going to keep carefully under wraps.  The Phantom and Erebus had the reputation to make most people think three times before attacking;  Bazooka and Brimstone have enough rep to give them pause.  No offense, but you and Beta don't.  And I can't justify upkeep on the place for just the two of you, either."

Photon waited for Alpha to speak up through Beta's voice;  when he didn't, he asked, "What about Alpha?"  With a sigh, the old man said, "We'll pay to help him get situated.  And if he wants a job, he's got it.  For that matter, so do you."  Carlton paused, then added ruefully, "I realize you've probably had your fill of people telling you, 'We'd love to help, but.'  I'm sorry I can't give you what you want, but I really do want to do what I can."  "I've got sufficient work, thank you."  "The offer's open."

Jon then asked, "And what about the Phantom's physical body?"  Carlton's brows furrowed.  "What...about it?"  "He's still on life support in the base's vault."  "Huh.  I... never thought about the Phantom's body.  Don't think I ever saw it.  Well.  We'll definitely move him to a safe place and do everything we can for him.  God knows I owe him."  "All of Seattle does, sir."  "True, but I mean personally."  [Speaking as the Phantom's player, I was mystified by this until I recalled just now a time that the Phantom saved Jessica's life.]

"Will you let me know where you put him, sir?  I would like to visit him now and then."  "Haven't worked it out yet, but when we do we'll let you know.  Keep it quiet."  "Of course."

Carlton came to a decision.  "I can do this much for you, Photon.  I won't tear the base down.  And if you do manage to form a viable team, it's yours."  "Thank you, Mr. Carlton.  That means a lot."  "My door is open.  Make an appointment first, though."

Flying back to the base, Photon asked Alpha over his communicator, "How much of the stuff in the base can we take away?"  Alpha snorted.  "I know where everything is, down to the last detail.  I've got plans laid."  "Alpha...  How much of the stuff _belongs_ to us?"  "Well, if you put it that way... OK, OK.  Not as much as I'd like.  But a lot of it was made by Technoid, and in the absence of a will or other legal instrument, I think we can conclude it belongs to us more than anyone else.  It was made for the sake of the team, after all, and certainly he and I worked together closely on lots of it."  

"Fair enough. ... Are you going to take that job offer?"  "I don't need the money... But we do need the connections.  I think I will."  "Where are you going to go?"  "I've examined the possibility of relocating outside Seattle..."  Jon gasped, "Don't tell me you two are leaving too!"  "...But I've concluded that's a suboptimal course of action.  For one thing, unlike some people I think the Phantom and Erebus are coming back.  We're staying."

Jon took a deep breath, let it out, then pointed to the Greek letter on his chest and joked with gallows humor, "Maybe I should change my codename to Gamma to fit in around here."  Alpha laughed.  "Good one.  Oh - by the way, the mail came in.  There's a letter for you."  "For me?!  From who?"  "Doesn't say."  "What's the return address?"  "Rome, Italy looks like."  "Rome?!  Curiouser and curiouser..."

Arriving back at the base, Photon examined the letter, postmarked a couple days before his news conference.  "Rome.  Weird."  He opened it, to find in elegant handwriting:



			
				The Letter said:
			
		

> _
> Dear Photon,
> 
> I hope you checked this letter for traps._




"CRAP!"  "What?!"  "The first sentence says, 'I hope you checked this letter for traps!'"  "Er.  Does Beta need to get you to the infirmary?"  "Dunno, let me read the rest!"



			
				The Letter said:
			
		

> _
> Now that I've got you in the right frame of mind, this is Forestrike.  I assure you that I am not in the location this letter was postmarked or addressed from.  Did you notice the difference?_




"It's Forestrike!"  The Phantom's old enemy, wily even in defeat.  Alpha groaned.  "HIM again!"  Jon examined the letter again - sure enough, the postmark was from London, not Rome.  Reading aloud now, he continued:



			
				Forestrike said:
			
		

> _
> Although we've never met, I'm sure you've heard a great deal about me.  I have certainly heard much about you.  Did you listen to the Phantom's stories about me?  You won't have the chance to do that again for a long time.  As for your technically-minded associate, I hope you don't have a future need to repair X-97 - either one of them;  he is no longer your friend._




"Heard a great deal about me?  Flattering, I suppose, but how?  And how would he know about you, Alpha?"  "Beats me!  And dang, but precognitives are so SMUG!"  [Actually, I said that out of character.  But it's too darn appropriate not to have someone say it. ]

There followed without fanfare a number of prophecies:



			
				Forestrike said:
			
		

> _
> You should open letters more carefully.
> 
> I recommend against Whispering to the knife.
> ...




"'I have lied to you once'?  What the heck?"  "He's playing with you.  He and the Phantom were always playing mental chess against each other, on at least five different boards at once.  Apparently, he's decided you're to fill Mike's shoes."

With dripping sarcasm, "Wow, I feel so honored."  "Probably you should.  Think about it."

"Yeah...  I guess.  And there's one bit of good news in this."  "Oh?"

"He said I won't get to hear stories from the Phantom for a long time.  That implies Mike is alive, and that he's coming back someday."  "Hmm.  Unless he lied about that - but no, that wouldn't make much sense.  Of course, precognition isn't perfect."

"Still, this is hope, whether he meant it that way or not.  We need hope."  "That we do."

[I'm kicking myself.  When Bazooka asked why he shouldn't shoot the energy construct, I really, really should have said, "It would be bad." ]


----------



## The Shadow (Sep 7, 2009)

*2 - Bolt From the Blue*

[Another RP-heavy session, but with some action at the end.  Enjoy!]

Jon stood in the base's vault, looking down at the Phantom's still form.  The IV had been replaced by a feeding tube, but other than that he looked the same as ever - peacefully asleep, breathing smooth and gentle.  He looked as if he might open those piercing blue eyes of his and quirk a smile up at him at any second.  A variety of emotions fluttered their way through Jon's soul.  "You always knew what to do.  Always had a plan.  Hard to believe we're the same age - you've done so much more than me.  Come back to us, Mike."  There was, of course, no response.  Jon sighed and trudged up the stairs.

Saturday in the base, and he was trying not to mope while he waited on Bazooka and Brimstone.  It wasn't working.  The media had not been kind to him in the days since the news conference.  He'd expected it from the _Post-Intelligencer_, which had never really taken him seriously; but the _Times_ had usually cut him some slack.  And the letter columns everywhere had been freaking out over Shadow-Force's dissolution.  The _kindest_ letter he'd seen had said, "We Seattlites have been spoiled in the super-team department the last fifteen years.  Now we're back roughly to where we were before the Freedom Squad was formed.  We should be grateful to still have one veteran hero patrolling the streets."  (The veteran in question being Beta, of course...)

"Any changes, Alpha?"  "I would have told you if there were."  "Yeah."  After another moody silence, Jon said, "You know, I've been wondering."  "Yes?"

"What did Jessica do in between shooting me and leaving?  I mean, it wouldn't make sense to shoot me if all she wanted to do was leave."  "She ran to the Trophy Room and grabbed a disenchanted knife."  "Huh?  Disenchanted?"  "Mystra assured us it had been."  "Whose knife was that?  Wait, I guess it wouldn't be Diabolus, I don't recall him using a knife... Ugh, that demonologist guy?  Before my time?"  "Seth-Amon, yes."  "Wait, you mean the knife he used to, well, sacrifice people?  Yuck!"  "We prevented him from using it for that purpose, but yes."  "What would she want with that thing?  And how would she even think of it?"  "I have no idea."

Jon sighed, dismissing the problem.  "How're the plans coming for moving our stuff?"  "I have narrowed it down to two or three options."  "It'll probably take a month or so for Carlton to pull together their plans for this place, I'm guessing?"  "Probably more like six weeks.  I plan to be moved out at least fourteen days before then."  "And Mike?"  "I would imagine he will be moved relatively soon."

Jon changed the subject yet again.  "I'm getting a lot better with my light-form."  "That should be useful."  "Not as much as you might think.  Check it out."  He shimmered, winking out for a moment and reappearing.  "I've just patrolled the entire city.  There's no crime going on - right this second."

"Ah.  But you have no guarantee there won't be something a minute from now."  "Exactly.  Plus, when I do things this way, people don't see me flying around.  They need to see their heroes."  "That sounds accurate."

Jon frowned.  "You sound a little 'off' today, Alpha.  How're you holding up?"  "I am an artificial intelligence.  I am... fine."  "Wait... Please don't be offended by this question."  When there was no response, Jon asked hesitantly, "Are you saying you just fake emotions for the sake of humans?"  "No.  I am saying that I can suppress emotions that prove inconvenient."  Jon sighed deeply.  "Must be nice."  "Yes."

"What about Beta?  Is he OK?"  "Beta's programming is not sophisticated enough to support complex emotions.  He is fine."  "Huh.  That's a weird thought."

Alpha changed the subject smoothly.  "We have received a letter from Shift, applying for membership on the team."  "Shift?"  "He applied for membership in the reserve team about the same time you did.  He was rejected."  "Well, that doesn't sound too encouraging."  "It wasn't.  We still have the tapes on file, if you wish."  "Well, let's take a look..."

[The following is actually a vignette the GM got inspired to write up before the game.  I think he really nailed Erebus' smartass attitude, and the Phantom's long-suffering tact.   Naturally, from the security video Photon will only be able to see and hear what would be outwardly obvious.  The events on tape would be a little more than a year old



			
				The Security Video said:
			
		

> "I'm sorry, but until you have better control of your powers, you will be in serious danger in a super combat."
> 
> "But...", the girl started.
> 
> ...




When the tape had finished playing, Jon said incredulously, "He actually SAID that?  To EREBUS?"  "Yes."  "Wow.  So much ego, for so little cause."  "Yes.  He does not seem likely to be useful."  "You can say that again."

Alpha repeated obediently, "He does not seem likely to be useful."  Jon paused, a little creeped out by that response.  "Um, Alpha?  Could you put a few more cycles into this conversation, please?"  "As you wish."  "What sort of contact info did he leave?"  "A cell phone number."  Jon face-palmed.  "You have GOT to be kidding me."  "No."  "Even I know better than that."

"You surely don't actually plan to call him."  "Actually, yes, I do.  I mean, sure, he's an arrogant kid...  But like Bill said, I need to make connections.  I have to start somewhere, and who knows, he might be useful someday."  "I think you are being far too optimistic."  "You're probably right, but it costs me almost nothing to talk to him.  Think of it as a long-shot investment."

Alpha stated, "You can handle anything that comes up without him."  "Why do you say that?"  "Because I wish you to feel confident."

Jon was about to be creeped out all over again, when he caught the note of dry humor in Alpha's voice.  He laughed despite himself and shook a fist fondly at Alpha's nearest camera.  "Jerk.  Anyway, dial the number if you would."

Soon there came a teenage voice over Alpha's speaker, "Hi, this is Steve."  Jon said sweetly, "Oh, really?  I was calling for Shift."  "Oh, uh, just a second.  He's not here right now."  Click.

Jon chuckled.  "Who's the phone registered to?" "Heh.  A David Fitzpatrick."  "So... Steven Fitzpatrick.  What can you tell me?"  "What do you want to know?"  "How old is he?"  "Eighteen.  Just graduated from high school."  "Oh, so he isn't underage after all - this year."  "Nope."  "Is he enrolled in college?"  "Not that I can tell."  "How'd he do in school?"  "Grades were... mediocre."  "Any sports?"  "None of record."

"Sounds like a real winner... I guess I'm supposed to call back?"  "If you insist."  This time the phone was answered by a deeper voice - doubtless muffled somewhat by the mask.  "Hi.  I'm calling myself Mirror Mask now, I decided 'Shift' was pretty dumb."  "All right... Mirror Mask.  This is Photon."  "Oh - the guy who got my job."  "...I beg your pardon?"  "They picked you instead of me."  "...So they did.  Anyway..."  "I can't figure out why they took you over me.  I mean, I wouldn't get myself shot like that."  Jon gritted his teeth and bit back a retort - someday, someday, he would live down his first day as a hero.

Mirror Mask said, "So when do I start?"  "Start what?"  "I assume I've got the job."  "It isn't a 'job'.  We don't get paid a salary."  "Well, I mean, I assume I'm on the team."  "Actually, I wanted to meet with you to discuss it further.  That's by no means a foregone conclusion."  "What, so you're in charge now?"  "Basically, yes."  "That sucks.  Well, let's get it out of the way.  How about eight o'clock?"  Photon kept his cool with difficulty.  Since he was expecting Bazooka and Brimstone at 7, he said, "Six thirty would work better."  "Oh.  Just a second, let me check..."  Alpha to Jon:  "Five bucks says he's asking his parents."  "No bet."

"OK, six-thirty is fine."  "See you then."  Alpha ended the call and asked, "Why are you doing this to yourself?"  "Well... Like I said, we need to make connections.  If I can't put up with an annoying kid, I'm not going to get very far in that department."  "Oh, I get it.  It's like the psychological equivalent of plunging your fists into hot oil to get ninja super-powers, or whatever."  "...If you say so.  Besides, he might yet be useful someday.  Beggars can't be choosers."  "Hope really does spring eternal, I see."

A little while later, Mirror Mask swaggered into the base as if he owned it.  He was a bit taller than he'd been last year, but had the same nondescript build.  Also the same garish, iridescent, dully-reflective mask - a disturbing, almost demonic visage twisted into a grimace.  The thing was so grotesque it distracted from the simple black turtleneck and jeans he wore.  Photon invited him to sit.  "Good to meet you, Steve."  "...Who's Steve?"  "You are, I would think.  That's how you answered your cell phone."  "Oh.  I, uh, gave you my buddy's number.  He's the one who answered the phone the first time."  "Ah.  I see."

The young man, eager to change the subject, looked around and said, "Cool place.  When do I move in?"  "I beg your pardon?  We don't live in the base."  Mirror Mask seemed genuinely surprised.  "Really?  Why not?"  "We have jobs and families to attend to."  And lives, Jon forebore from saying.  "Well, yeah, but isn't it cooler to hang out here?"  Photon didn't even bother dignifying that with a response.  Instead, he asked brightly, "So, how old are you now?"  "Almost 20."  Jon sent to Alpha via radio, _At least he's consistent in his lies._  "Are you in college?"  "Nah."  "Planning to enroll?"  "Not right now.  Don't have the money."  "Taken any more karate?"  "No.  I, uh, haven't managed to."  _Translation:  Mom and Dad wouldn't pay for it any more._  Alpha just snrked over the airwaves.

"Have your powers developed any since we interviewed you last year?"  Mirror Mask puffed up his chest.  "Yeah!  I'm super-strong now!"  "Really."  "Yeah, I can pick up guys of any size."  "So, we're talking maybe 250 pounds then?"  "Yeah, about that."  Photon said skeptically, "I don't know that I would exactly call that 'super'-strength.  There are weightlifters who..."  "With one hand!"  "Ah."  "I'll prove it!"  The lad did indeed manage to pick up a large desk with only a grunt of effort.  Given his build, it did seem likely he'd need powers of some sort to do it, but...

Photon asked, "How did you find out you can pick up people in particular?"  "Oh, well, when I'm fighting guys, you know?  I can even throw them!"  "So you've been fighting crime on your own, then."  "Sure!  That's what superheroes do!"  "Do you have any particular defenses against attack?"  "I dodge and get out of the way!"  "I see.  Well, fighting supervillains isn't quite the same as fighting street toughs with knives and guns..."  "Just knives so far, nobody's really shot at me yet."  "Being shot at is a totally different thing," Photon warned him, "It's no laughing matter."  "I guess you'd know, right?  Sheesh, I can't believe they picked you."

Jon gritted his teeth and managed to say pleasantly, "Well, they did.  What are you going to do when supervillains fire energy blasts at you?"  "Like I said, dodge out of the way.  How hard can it be?"  "Harder than you think," Photon told him.  Mirror Mask stood up.  "Well, you fire blasts, right?  Gimme your best shot!"  Photon hesitated, knowing he could aim literally at the speed of light;  Mask for his part saw fit to add, "Wimp!"

Manfully resisting the urge to punch a laser through the boy's torso, Photon let loose a low-wattage beam.  Mirror Mask dodged, but still ended up with an inch-wide smoking hole in his turtleneck with angry red skin showing through.  "OK, so you got me.  Stings a little.  But it's not so bad.  I'm tough!"  "That was a low-power blast."  "Oh, c'mon.  How bad can it be?"

"Pretty bad... Steve."  "Stop calling me that!"  "I don't like being lied to."  "Whattaya mean?"  "I know you're not 20."  "Never said I was!"  "Fine.  I know you're not 19, either.  You realize that when you called me with a cell phone, you handed me your name and address on a platter."  After a pause, "I told you - it's my buddy."  "Oh, I see.  You give out your buddy's number so that when supervillains track it down, they kill your buddy instead of you.  Your buddy who doesn't even have superpowers to protect himself."  "Um."

Photon rose to his feet and said with dignity, "Well, it's been... interesting... talking with you, Mirror Mask."  "So when do I start?"  "If I feel I have need of your abilities, I'll be sure to let you know."  "What, so you're not taking me?"  "Not at this time, no."  That set off a further storm of snarky protest, but Photon finally got him out the door.  "OK, Alpha.  I admit it.  You were right.  It did cost me something:  Elevated blood pressure."  Alpha said philosophically, "Hot oil hurts too.  Soon, Grasshopper, you'll be tough enough to deal with the Silver Paladin."  "Golly.  Is he really that bad?"  "Worse.  His greatest power is super-annoyance."

Jon rolled his eyes and said, "Well... Beta and I had better map out a patrol plan."  "He's still recharging.  Wait until after Bazooka and Brimstone say goodbye?"  "OK.  ... It's not just our dear friend Steve, you know.  I assume you've read the papers."  "Yeah.  That can't have been fun."  "Nope."

Soon Bill and Liz arrived, popping in with the familiar smell of sulfur.  After the initial greetings were out of the way, Jon told them, "You'd probably better see this."  He handed Forestrike's letter to Brimstone.  She raised an eyebrow, groaning at Forestrike's name.  "It's your favorite person, honey."  Bazooka took a look too.  "Terrific.  Jon, listen, if those three come to town, lie low.  You're no match for them."  Jon caught himself about to bridle (feeling uncomfortably like Mirror Mask) but only said, "I'll definitely bear that in mind."

Liz shook her head.  "Not likely they will... Forestrike knows his limitations, and he also knows that he's classified as a terrorist now.  He won't risk anything.  Still... I'll be sure to set up a series of teleport coordinates on the way down to Phoenix."  Bill asked Jon, "I suppose you just opened the letter right up, like he says?"  "...Yes."  The older man snorted.  "Erebus would tear you a new one.  That was pretty dumb."

Jon gritted out, "I wasn't exactly privy to the usual mail-opening procedure."  (He'd never really received any mail, fan or otherwise.)  Bill said coldly, "Erebus would've said it was common sense, and rapped you on the head."  Jon took a breath, let it out.  "I'll be more careful next time."  Liz shot Bill a warning glance.  "Well, the good news is that Forestrike is still making himself useful.  Enjoying himself in the process, of course, but useful."  Bazooka agreed, "He's never lied.  His letters to the Phantom have always been on the level."

Jon:  "Bill, he says straight up he lied to me once."  "Oh, I don't doubt that at least one of his predictions is obscure to the point of near-uselessness.  But it wouldn't give him the proper jollies to flat-out lie.  It's too easy;  he wants to demonstrate how clever he is."  Liz nodded.  "His last letter to Mike was in Shakespearean blank verse, and full of anagrams and acrostics.  The one before that was in cipher."  Jon pondered that, wheels turning.  "Hmmm.  Thanks, that actually does help.  You know, there's one other thing in that letter that bothers me."  "What's that?" Liz asked.

"That last line.  'You will need to save the world.'  He doesn't say 'You will save the world,' or 'You need to save the world', or 'You must save the world.'  He says, 'You _will need_ to save the world.'  It almost makes it sound as if I will need to save the world... in order to do something else."  Bazooka groaned.  "It makes my head hurt just thinking about it."

The talk turned to other subjects, reminiscing about the past, remembering old friends, especially those missing.  Finally, the time came to say goodbye.  Liz embraced Jon, getting a little teary-eyed.  Bill shook his hand and gripped his shoulder, wishing him luck.  With that, they were gone.

Jon sat for a long time, staring at his hands.  Finally he said, "Alpha?"  "Yes?"  "If I start acting like I need to prove something to somebody, please give me a verbal slap upside the head."  "OK, I think I can do that."  "...Because it's really, _really_ tempting right now."  "That's very understandable, given the circumstances."  "Yeah."

Jon then called, "Beta?  Are you charged up?"  "Not fully, but I am functional."  "OK.  Let's get to work."  Spreading out maps of the Seattle area, they started dividing it up into patrol areas and shifts.  Jon lost himself in the problem, forgetting his worries for a little while.  Beta didn't have a job, wasn't bothered by the day/night cycle, and didn't need to recharge for as long as Jon needed sleep, so that made it easier to come up with a two-person plan than would otherwise have been the case.  Still, it was a huge undertaking.  Alpha requested that certain areas, where he anticipated Beta's charging station might be set up in the future, be left to his brother.

When they finally finished, Jon yawned.  "Where does one go to apply for higher super-registration, anyway?"  Alpha responded, "U.S. Marshal's office.  Why, you planning to sign on the dotted line?"  "Yeah.  I don't see any reason why not.  The Guardians already know my secret identity;  at that rate the government might as well too."  "You'll need to get the second level first - it's required to go in sequence."  "That's fine.  Maybe second will be good enough for what I need to do;  we'll see.  Good night, Alpha."  "'Night."

On Monday, Jon threw himself into his teaching and research.  Somehow he found it harder to lose himself in the wilds of loop quantum gravity than usual...  He was dreading being out there alone and mostly without backup.  He picked up a registration application in heroic identity (that caused a bit of a stir) and over the next few days touched base with a number of the Phantom's contacts on the police force.  They were polite and friendly... but he could tell they didn't really take him seriously.  As far as they were concerned, he was a fresh-faced rookie about to get himself killed.  Doesn't anybody remember I've been doing this for a year?  he thought.  I've fought Diabolus himself!  And Red Dragon!  But always as just one face in a crowd.

By Wednesday evening, he was in a mood dark as the rainy night he flew through.  He broke up some criminal activity just by shining a spotlight on people who didn't realize they were being observed;  where necessary he broke things up with a volley of precisely-aimed laser beams or stunning jolts of electricity.  Dull, really.  On the one occasion somebody shot at him, his new dodge subroutine worked perfectly - his light-form activated for a sliver of a second, moving him several feet out of the line of fire at the ultimate speed.  A bit of applied magnetism deprived the guy of his gun, and that was that.

Suddenly an enormous bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, striking the Space Needle in the distance.  Jon flew over to see if it had been damaged.  As he hovered there, his field sense went wild!  An arc of lightning streaked toward him;  his countermeasures subroutine dissipated most of its energy harmlessly before it got close, and then the dodge subroutine got him clear of the remainder.  Even so, his left arm and side went all tingly.  "Yipe!"  Following the bolt's path with eyes and field sense to the ground, he caught sight of a garishly-clad fellow surrounded with a potent electrical field.  Why do so few villains have any fashion-sense, he wondered?  Is there some correlation between color-blindness and social maladjustment?

"Ha!  Welcome to your DOOM, Photon!"  Yep, villain.  Photon sighed and said to himself, "Spider-Man would have something witty to say about now..."  But nothing came to mind, so he just fired off a laser.  It hit, of course - not many people can dodge faster than light - but did only superficial damage to the man's costume, improving it slightly.

They traded a couple more shots - the bad guy's went wide.  Jon tried to find an opportunity to shift his attention to his invisibility sequence, but the guy wasn't giving him the chance.  The villain declaimed, "Once I have destroyed Seattle's most notable remaining hero, this city will fall to its KNEES before me!"  Most notable?!  Does this guy read the papers?  "Yeah, good luck with that, Sparky!"  Hey, that's not bad.

"You face BOLT, do-gooder!"  A particularly large bolt of lighting came Photon's way, but this time both his subroutines worked flawlessly.  "Whatever, Sparky.  Ooooh.  Ow ow ow.  Except so totally not.  My turn!"  This time he fired actinic brilliance at Bolt's eyes. The villain yelped in fear and staggered back toward a support pillar of the Space Needle, seeking shelter.

Photon quickly checked that he was out of communicator range, and took the opportunity to amp up his radio transmission to make up the deficit:  _Alpha, I'm facing an electricity-using villain by the Needle.  Tell Beta..._  Wait, Beta was vulnerable to electricity.  _Tell him to standby.  Notify the cops, and do whatever else is traditional - I'm busy._  Alpha's digital voice as usual had a strange radio timbre:  *On it, Photon.*

Jon didn't feel entirely comfortable zapping Bolt while the guy couldn't even see, but all's fair in love and war.  He was about to switch over to his stun-zap, but remembered just in time that Bolt was probably immune.  Lasers it is, then.  He even angled them so as to knock the guy back into the support pillar he was next to.  (Though he usually generated beams to appear from his hands, he really didn't need to do so - all positions and angles were equally easy.)  "So how's that falling-to-its-knees thing working out for you, Sparky?  Ready to give up?"  "NEVER!" the man roared, shaking his head to clear it and diving behind the pillar.

Photon's field sense went into the red, then calmed down.  He flew cautiously around the pillar, a laser routine primed to go, but Bolt was... gone.  "Great!  He teleported."  Just then he had to dodge another lightning bolt from the open sky.  "And he doesn't need to generate blasts from his hands either.  Terrific.  Well, two can play that game..."  Photon concentrated for a moment, and willed himself into light-form.

As always, the world slowed to a stop as he rushed forward at the universe's maximum speed limit;  everything was actinic blue, shifted toward the violet.  Why can I see at all, he thought, that should be physically impossible.  Oh well, I can.  For now I've got Bolt to worry about...

Doing a spiral search pattern (creating and destroying microscopic black holes with half-conscious flickers of thought to change his direction when necessary) he quickly found Bolt in glowing blue still-life atop a nearby building.  His costume looks so much better this way... Oh well.  He spent a few subjective minutes deciding on the exactly-right spot to rematerialize, and even devoted a moment's thought to a witty remark while streaking circles around the man, but honestly that seemed a little petty.

Regaining solidity behind the villain, he said, "Surprise!"  Bolt whirled, too slow. "Get ready to kneel, Pho-"  Jon's laser caught him right in the face.  Bolt went down writhing in pain, screaming about his eyes.

Jon winced.  I hadn't meant to do _that._  He said quietly, "You're not in charge here, Bolt."  He used a stunning jolt on the man to mercifully put him out before remembering that it used electricity... Bolt got back up. "Actually, that was quite a nice charge!  Thanks!"  Photon resisted the urge to face-palm;  he's not only immune, he's an absorber!  Two points for the snappy comeback, too.

Still, Bolt hadn't healed nearly enough.  Another couple zaps and he went down for the count.  Jon hovered there almost in disbelief, only lightly singed on his own part.  "I did it.  I really did it!"  Sending via radio waves, _Alpha, I did it!_ *Congratulations, Photon!  Welcome to the big leagues.* _Guide me to the nearest precinct, would you?_ *Sure thing!*

The desk sergeant perked up at the sight of Photon's burden.  "Oho!  That Bolt fellow who skipped bail in the Big Apple, is it?"  "He's a New York villain?"  "Sure is, the FBI and the BSA circulated bulletins about him.  You'll be glad to know we can lock him up on plenty of stuff from back east."  [Jon couldn't testify in court as "Photon", so unless there were any witnesses to the battle, Bolt would walk for the stuff he did that night.  Of course, once Jon's new registration goes through, that'll be another story.  Oh, and the BSA is the Bureau of Superhuman Affairs.]

"Huh.  Why on earth would he come all the way out here to the West Coast?"  The man's voice got harder.  "The vultures are starting to circle."  Jon nodded somberly.  "Well, this one didn't find any meat, anyway."  "That he didn't.  Thanks to you, Photon."  Jon walked out, chin held high.  It was a warm flight home, despite the rain.

The next day, Jon found that a few people had indeed witnessed the fight;  it made page 3 in both the big papers.  The _Post-Intelligencer_ couldn't resist a touch of snark about his youth and inexperience, but even they had to admit he'd done his job.  The _Times_ was more neutral, stating the facts as they stood.  Over the next few days, the cops let Photon know that Bolt had spilled his guts - swearing revenge on him, the usual - and was being shipped off to Stronghold.  (Apparently, he'd believed a New York villain could take out any hero from a hick town.)

Brimstone called the next day to get the details and congratulate him on his first solo super-battle.  That pleased him more than anything else.  Jon leaned back in his office chair, feeling fine.

No need to get cocky, Jonathan Winters, he chided himself.  All the same, you did pretty good.  "Thanks, guys," he said the uncountable photons streaming through the air around him, and they actually 'blushed' - redshifting to surround him with a warm, rosy glow.  If the fabric of spacetime could purr, it would be purring, Jon felt.

"Awww.  The universe likes me.  Who cares what some newspaper thinks, anyway?"

[Jon has historically been more inclined to Blue-Boy-Scoutish dialogue like "Halt, evil-doer!" or "Crime does not pay!" than Spidey-like snark... but what can I say, he was in a MOOD that night.   I think this sort of thing will definitely become part of his style.]


----------



## The Shadow (Sep 7, 2009)

*Photon's Origin and Previous Exploits*

[Here's what I wrote up on Photon before the game started.  Everything here is a recap of what actually went down in the original campaign, barring a few cosmetic changes, up to the point where he got shot by Jessica.  (That bit really did happen, but everything after it is new.)]

Jonathan Winters leaned back in his office chair.  Life was good.  He had his dream job:  Professor of theoretical physics, and at a strikingly young age.  Challenging research in loop quantum gravity.  (String theory, he liked to say, was "Brilliant, beautiful, and wrong".)  Students who were sometimes exasperating but on the whole rewarding to teach.  (Dr. Winters was a mildly popular physics lecturer at UW.)

He gazed out the tentative spring sunshine, both admiring its beauty and wondering, as ever, just how it worked.  He let his mind run idly, as it often did,  over Einstein's thought experiments, trying to imagine what life would look like from a photon's point of view...  The universe frozen in time, all space compressed into a point of blazing light.  To a photon, everything really was one.

Going deeper, he pressed his imagination to incorporate his insights into the shifting loops of spacetime he studied.  The lonely, microcosmic photons refracted into each other, overlapping and dancing...

For just a second, something broke in Jon's mind, and he GOT it.  For an instant he saw how it all worked;  the true universe in all its silent splendor.  The moment faded as quickly as it came, and Jon knew that he'd spend the rest of his life trying to capture that vision in inadequate equations.  A deep joy bubbled up in him and he laughed aloud, reaching for his computer to try with happy futility to record the vision in mathematical terms.

After several hours of work, the sun shifted onto his screen, blinding him with its glare.  He reached over absentmindedly to pull the blind, when suddenly the sun went out.  Blinking, he looked over in shock.  The sun was shining, yes, but very dimly.  He stood up in alarm, and the effect vanished;  the sun was bright as ever.  He sat back down limply;  dim again.

At this point, he got suspicious and started moving a pencil around, watching its shadow.  Sure enough, there was a place where the shadow just plain veered off in an impossible direction - as if the light were being diverted somehow.  While he was pondering this miracle, there came a knock at the door.  "Dr. Winters?"  Jon, sighed, recognizing the voice - a student who was hopelessly behind and couldn't seem to grasp that you couldn't do well in physics without knowing algebra.  The door opened, and the hapless young man looked right at him.  "Huh.  And it's his office hour, too."

Jon was about to call after him, puzzled, when he noticed his hand fading back into visibility.  Shaking, he experimented further.

He could create and banish light at will.  He could cause it to flow around his body, rendering himself invisible.  With some mental effort, he could make a laser beam.  That was crazy enough, but then he had a weird idea and tried to imagine a mechanism for seeing in the infrared - and could.  Or through walls.  Somehow, the photons were responding to his will.

Thankfully, he had no more classes that day.  He developed a feel for what he was doing.  It was as if subatomic reality had gotten to know him, just as he'd gotten to know it, and decided it liked him.  If he could imagine something for light (and to a lesser degree, other subatomic particles) to do in enough physical detail, generally it would happen.  The feel of it was somewhere halfway between making a friend and programming a computer - the spacetime continuum was very literal-minded, if eager to please.

What to do with this amazing ability?  Write a paper?  Back it up with proof?  Wouldn't Jenkins over at Princeton turn green with envy!  But no.  There were better uses for such power as this.  Jon thought inevitably of his other childhood love, after mathematics:  Comic books.

With great power came great responsibility.  He could use this power to help people.   And Seattle had only recently gained a hero team of its own - Shadow Force.  They'd put out a call for heroes to join them a few months back, and Jon had followed their exploits with interest and a certain guilty pleasure.  The names rolled off his tongue:  The Phantom.  Erebus.  Technoid.  X-97.  Bazooka.  Brimstone.  Why not... Photon?

He closed his eyes and imagined a suitable costume:  Gold and white with red accents, and a flowing red cape.  On the chest the Feynman diagram for a photon - a wavy line and the Greek letter 'gamma'.  No spandex please, he didn't exactly have bulging thews, something more comfortable...  When he opened his eyes, he wasn't too surprised to find himself wearing it, and laughed aloud for sheer pleasure.

The next day he walked to the Shadow Force base.  On the way he discovered he could fly.

----------------

The Phantom and Erebus were perplexed by him.  He had power, all right - and he seemed to get better as they watched - but he was hopelessly idealistic and green as sprouting grass.  They came up with the idea of matching him with some other newbie heroes in the area and calling them the 'reserve team'.

Photon got an object lesson his very first day, getting sprayed with machine gun fire while trying to stop a bank robbery. (Memorable quote:  "Evildoers, you face Photon!"  "Photon, meet M16.")  Turned out his 'force field' hadn't been as well-tuned against physical objects as he'd thought... this would take work.  (After he got out of the hospital, of course...)

He found his feet as a hero some months later, when the Guardians put out a quiet call for supers with backgrounds in theoretical physics.  Volunteering, he found that scientists in certain disciplines were being kidnapped by a group calling themselves the Covenant, and put himself on the line to be next.  Spirited away to a base in the South Pacific and made to work on villainous projects, Jon was instrumental in bringing the place down, and without compromising his secret identity.  (Save to a fellow kidnap victim, a Korean mathematician named Kim Hei Ryung.  Memorable quotes:  "Who do you think you are, one of those weirdos in tights?"  "Um."  Later, when in danger with her:  "You know how you asked me if I was one of those weirdos in tights?" "Yeah?"  "Well, I, uh... am."  *flies her past danger*)

The seasoned heroes of Shadow-Force tacitly accepted him as one of their own after that, and he played a minor but important role in two of their biggest battles - against the evil archmage Diabolus and against the criminal mutant mastermind Red Dragon - as well as a number of lesser ones.  (Funny quote:  "Wow!  He must couple with the virtual gluon field to do that!"  Erebus:  "SHUT UP AND SHOOT HIM!"  

Jon is very shy and socially awkward.  (He's been dating Hei off and on - she's been transferred into the area - but of course she had to ask him out.)  His Photon identity is a way for him to let a more flamboyant (and, let it be said, a bit pompous) side out.  He continues to develop his power, and there does not seem to be any maximum limit...  He appears to be limited only by his imagination and his will.

Being struck by Jessica's darkbolt wrought a change in Jon's powers, a sudden deepening.  He had long been able to take on a form of pure light, travelling at c.  But suddenly he found that he could control it to a much greater extent - he could change direction, for example (creating and destroying microscopic black holes in order to do so!), and even turn it on for only tiny slivers of a second.  What's more, he could "edit" his human form back to health while immersed in the cosmos.  Bullets don't concern him much any more - he can dodge out of the way literally at the speed of light, and heal any damage rapidly even if one should hit.

Going it alone in Seattle, with Beta and whoever else might turn up, terrifies Jon.  He's no tactician like Erebus, no planner and schmoozer like the Phantom.  Despite his fear, though, he's determined to make it work.  Where will it all lead?


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## The Shadow (Sep 7, 2009)

*Jon's Backstory*

[The previous post was what I knew about Photon long before the current game started.  Here's some stuff on his past, that I wrote up recently.  (He'd always been a supporting character, so I never came up with a detailed backstory until recently.)  I've snipped a few hook suggestions that the GM may or may not do anything with.]

Jon was born into an upper-middle class family in Oklahoma, the Clarks (Jack and Patricia).  Things were pretty good for him in his early years;  he read voraciously and began to show signs of a formidable intellect.  But when he was seven years old, his parents experimented with cocaine and became hardcore addicts.  Things rapidly spiralled down into a nightmare;  his parents got more and more involved in illegality, losing most of their money.

The life of the family finally unravelled with both his parents were imprisoned for drug dealing and manufacture.  Jon, along with his sister Cindy (three years younger) and brother Jason (five years younger), were placed in foster care.  He was nine years old at the time.

Already traumatized by his parents' spectacular fall, Jon only withdrew into himself more as he bounced from one foster home to another.  On a couple occasions where no foster family was available, he even spent short stints in a juvey facility, even though he'd done nothing wrong.  (I regret to say that this actually happens to such kids.)  The foster parents he stayed with varied from decent to uncaring to mildly abusive (mostly verbally), though most were better than his birth parents.  He didn't see his siblings much.

Luckily, he finally found a stable home with the Winters, a kindly blue-collar couple (Tom and Alice) who adopted him when he was thirteen.  Though he was too intelligent to have done less than adequately in school up to that point, he soon began to leave every school curriculum within reach in the dust.  He skipped a grade, then another.  Already alienated from his peers, this did nothing to endear him further.

The Winters family had one natural child, a daughter named Michelle who was a year younger than Jon.  There were also a few  other adopted foster kids - Dustin, a sullenly angry youth a couple years older; Karen, a quiet girl the same age; and Barry, a painfully hyperactive boy a couple years younger.  (Barry and Karen were already there when Jon arrived;  Dustin came shortly after.)  Jon also saw Cindy and Jason once or twice a year.

The family was loving, though definitely not without frictions and even tragedy.  Dustin resented Jon's academic success as he resented just about everything else;  in his late teens he had several brushes with the law (assault charges) though he has since straightened out and is being groomed to take over Tom's general-contractor business.

Barry (who is black) was friendly to all when he could stop bouncing off the walls.  His infectious friendliness has served him in good stead as a salesman;  after Jon, he is the most financially successful of the family, and probably the happiest.

Michelle oscillated between phases of resenting her brothers and appreciating them.  (One of the few things the three young men could agree upon was to protect her fiercely from all comers.  Though Jon, for his part, wasn't much of a threat to bullies, he spoke up for her and used a needle wit on her behalf at times.)  She and Karen were quite close, though, bosom companions.  Michelle is now happily married and a housewife with kids.

Karen sank deeper and deeper into depression despite the Winters' best efforts and committed suicide at the age of sixteen.  This tragic event drew the makeshift family together and welded them into one.

None of the Winters know about Jon's powers, and he has no intention of telling them.  Dustin, in particular, might find this "unfairness" to be the last straw.  (Though in fairness to him, he's grown a lot.  Perhaps it wouldn't matter as much to him as Jon fears.)

As for Jon's biological siblings, Cindy and Jason, they have both turned to petty crime (drugs, mostly) and are both in prison - Cindy in Oklahoma and Jason in Colorado.  Jon visits them when he can, though they have little to say to each other.

Jon did his undergraduate work in physics at CalTech on a full-ride scholarship, and got his doctorate from the University of Michigan.  His dissertation on loop quantum gravity made a major splash in the literature, and got him lucrative job offers from a number of universities.  He settled down as a full professor at the University of Washington in Seattle at the tender age of 22.  (He is now 25 years old.)

Jon does volunteer work in Seattle youth shelters and juvenile facilities.  Though he's very awkward and shy, he's also sincere and has been through the same wringer they have;  some kids warm up to him.  Others have tried to scam him, but he's not easy to fool.


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## The Shadow (Sep 8, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files*

Setting info can now be found here.  Enjoy!

I've also posted the link at the top of the thread.


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## The Shadow (Sep 11, 2009)

*3 - Stone of Night*

[Good news!  We got our game on Wednesday, so I'll put up another old session a bit early.]

[A new update with plenty of action!  Also an introduction to Jon's workplace.  I'll be putting up a post on the NPC's there soon.]

Photon spent an uneventful couple weeks dealing with the usual two-bit hoods, spiced up with the occasional thug upjumped with a bit of super-weaponry - nothing he couldn't handle.

During this time he admitted to Alpha, "My conscience is bugging me about Mirror Mask."  "Wow, you ARE a glutton for punishment."  Jon sighed.  "He isn't even registered, which means the cops are going to be after him before long.  He's going to get himself killed, or else land in jail for a really long time.  He's just a kid.  I should have said something."  "Bluntly put, he's a dumb kid.  There isn't much you can do to protect him from himself."  "Yeah, but what I can do, I should.  Call Steve's number again, will you?"  "I salute you, sir.  You are a braver and better man than I."  "Man?"  "OK, sophont, happy now?"

The call was made.  When Jon said, "I'd like to speak to Mirror Mask, please," the boy's voice betrayed distinct nervousness.  "Uh, yeah, I'll get him on the line.  Wait a minute."  Soon the teen hero's arrogant voice asked, "So you changed your mind and want me now, huh?"  Maybe they really weren't the same person after all.  "No.  I just wanted to remind you that legal crimefighting requires registration with the government.  The fighting you described yourself as doing at our last meeting will get you in very serious trouble with the police if you don't register."  The boy blustered at him extensively, but Jon, reading between the lines, gathered that he might well actually follow through.  (Admitting as much to an 'old' authority figure was out of the question, of course.)  Jon, encouraged, also advised, "You might want to look into some body armor as well," but that suggestion got completely blown off.  After a thoroughly exasperating conversation, Jon finally hung up with a sigh.  "How annoying."  "Hot-"  "Oil.  Yeah, sensei, I know."

Alpha changed the subject.  "Lots of traffic about you on the 'Net lately."  "I've seen some.  Most of the Shadow-Force sites are writing me up more extensively.  I try not to think about it."  "Yeah, but I thought you'd like to know some of the wider-circulation stuff is kind of encouraging."  "Oh?"  "Yeah, you're picking up cred on some of the super-buzz blogs.  They, uh, didn't expect you to last this long."  "...I suppose you could call that encouraging."  "Bit of a debate on your fight with Bolt on a forum, too."  "You're kidding!  That was a page 3 local story on a slow news day!"

"Trust me, Photon, these guys will dissect anything.  They're obsessed."  "True...  What're they debating?"  "Some are reassessing their opinion of you.  I mean, sure, Bolt has never remotely been an A-list villain, but the eyewitness accounts suggest you more or less curbstomped him."  "And the others?"  "They say it's just a matter of rock-paper-scissors.  Right powers for the job."  Jon shrugged.  "They're both right, really.  Bolt would've had a hard time hurting me with his power suite."  [The GM forgot how Half-Effect Immunity worked.  He'd intended Bolt to be a challenging but beatable opponent, but Photon's half-Immunity to electricity was more powerful than he'd thought.]  "Still, a reputation is a handy thing at times."  "Sure, but let's face it, mine has nowhere to go but up.  I imagine I'm still in the top five on the 'Most Embarrassing First Outing' list?"  Alpha sighed. "Yeah.  Not likely to budge any time soon, either."  Jon shrugged helplessly.  "It's the Internet.  Best not to get too worked up either way.  Thanks for the heads-up, though."  "Free o' charge."

Heading in to work, Jon ducked his head in his RA's office and greeted Gerhard. "Hey Jerry, where's Hu?"  "Hey.  He won't be in today.  Called and said he wasn't feeling well."  "All right.  How's that Calabi-Yau simulation coming along?"  "Bit of a bear, but I'll have it for you next week."  "Great."

Jon went out to lunch with his friend and colleague Karen, who warned him straight-up, "I'll be terrible company today.  I'm really stressed out."  "No Great Debate today, eh?"  "String theory vs. your pipe-dream can wait.  It's Jim I'm worried about."  Karen's fourteen year old son.  "I'm listening."  It developed that Jim was being furtive and less communicative and more surly than usual.  "I'm worried he's doing drugs or something, but I don't know what to do."  "Well, does Stan see the same behavior when Jim's over there?"  That set her off on a rant about her drunken, good-for-nothing ex-husband, which Jon waited through patiently.

On his way out after lunch, he noticed Gerhard's girlfriend Melissa at a nearby table, scribbling furiously on a pad.  Come to think, he'd noticed her out of the corner of his eye on the way here too.  "Hi, Melissa.  How's it going?"  The young woman started as if given a shock.  "Oh!  Uh, hi, Dr. Winters."  "Sorry to startle you."  "No... no, it's OK.  I'm just... taking notes for a paper."  "In shorthand?" "Sure!  Keeps me in practice.  Uh, how's Jerry doing?"  "He's fine.  Hard at work on a computer simulation for me."  "That's good.  That's... good.  Oh, look at the time!  I should be going."  Jon stared after her as she hurried out.  "Huh."  He put it out of his mind and returned to his research.

------------------------------------------------

A few days later, Photon was doing another nighttime patrol when he heard over the police band that there was a robbery in progress at the Museum of History and Industry.  He started heading over there when he heard 'Code 999' invoked.  Superhuman involvement.  Jon's heart beat a little faster and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  "I can do this," he told himself, and informed Alpha of the situation.  [He didn't inform the cops he was coming, as at his registration level he's a civilian.  Technically they could charge him with obstruction of a police investigation if they were feeling mean.]  _Where's Beta?  *A few minutes away, and he's busy. * Got it._

Arriving at the museum, there were multiple cop cars with lights flashing and lots of cops with guns out.  Also a couple ambulances further off, with a number of people on stretchers.  Photon studied the situation and alighted next to the guy who looked to be in charge.

The man whirled on him with his gun, then relaxed at the last second.  "...Sorry.  Bad day."  "I hear that.  Any way I can help, officer?"  The man nodded and stuck out his hand.  "Lieutenant Sherman.  Actually, yes.  We think we know who's in there, but if we're right, getting him out is going to be a bitch."  Photon shook his hand.  "Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant.  Who?"  "Enigma.  The MO fits - glowing runes and all that.  He's already paralyzed several of my men.  Nothing lethal yet, though."  Photon nodded grimly - Enigma was a slippery one, he'd managed to get away from the Phantom and Erebus on a memorable night.  "Well, for starters, I can scope the situation for you - confirm it's him and if there's any hostages or the like."  "Go for it.  We need all the info we can get."  "Coming up..."

Photon winked out, then streaked at the speed of light up the steps leading to the main entrance.  Should only take a microsecond at most...

...Or not.  He got a rude surprise, abruptly shifting back to human form and landing heavily on the stone steps before he could react, getting the wind knocked out of him.  He scrambled to his feet desperately and dove out of line of sight from the door.  There he crouched under a window, trying to breathe, when he realized he could still hear radio.  He sent on the police band, _Apologies for interrupting, but this is Photon.  I've hit a snag, at least some of my powers have been drained._  There was a momentary silence over the band, then someone offered, "Getting the Lieutenant on the line."  Sherman then said, "Photon, you need us to get you out of there?"  Photon:  _Not yet, hold tight._  Then, on Alpha's frequency, _What's Beta's ETA?  *He's on his way.  Call it two minutes.*  Got it._

Just then a cultured, faintly Germanic voice called from the shadows beyond the museum's entrance.  "Photon, is that you?"  Feigning nonchalance, the hero replied, "Hey Enigma, been a while.  How's it going?" while also saying on the police band, _It's Enigma all right._  "You'll be very proud of me, I think.  Here I've gone and adopted the scientific method.  I'm doing a field test on a new piece of equipment."  "Hey, that's great.  Next thing you know, you'll be on the cover of Popular Pseudo-Science."  Enigma didn't dignify that with a retort.  "Hiding, are we?"  "Just being prudent.  I notice you're staying back in the shadows yourself."

"That's because I'm not particularly fond of being shot at.  Let's cut to the chase, shall we?  You've lost your powers, haven't you?"  "Maybe, maybe not.  You be the judge."  In fact, Jon was frantically testing his powers as he bantered with the man.  He couldn't generate visible light of any kind, or turn invisible, or see through the museum's wall.  He couldn't take light-form - his dodge subroutine was not just offline, it was just plain gone.  Countermeasures was still up, though.  He could still fly (that was based on gravitics), could hear and send radio, and he could make sparks jump between his fingers and generate infrared.  Nothing to test magnetism on, but the result seemed clear:  It was a themed suppression against powers based on "light" as commonly thought of, not electromagnetic radiation as such.  It's magic, Jon thought, it doesn't have to make sense.

"Come, come.  You'd have charged in here by now if you still had them.  My hypothesis was correct."  "That always gives a guy a warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?"  "And if you're counting on your robotic friend, let's just say I have a surprise in mind for him as well."  "Well, shucky-darns, you just think of everything, don't you?"  Jon was rapidly considering his options as he spoke.  Without my light-form dodging, I'm a sitting duck - a guy in a sedentary profession with minimal combat training.  I'm gonna have to hit him hard and keep him off-balance.  He thinks I'm helpless, so that'll help...

"I do try.  And so adieu for now, hero.  I trust you won't be giving me much grief in the future."  Jon said, "You know, you're absolutely right."  Enigma paused.  "...I am?"  Photon burst into motion, flying around the corner, frantically spying out the man and unleashing a stunning wave of electricity.  Enigma flinched as it ripped through his body, and Jon told him, "Sure.  No reason for me to give you grief once you're back in Stronghold."

As supervillains went, Enigma was a snappy dresser;  he sported a sweepy midnight-blue robe and cowl, with various enchanted ornaments about his person.  The sorcerer rattled off a brief incantation and gestured peremptorily with a wooden wand, flaring a rune into being;  flames engulfed Jon but his countermeasures dissipated the worst of it.  Photon replied with a straight-up lightning bolt with enough crackling power behind it to do Bolt proud, but one of the mage's amulets lit up and absorbed the bolt into itself.  "You're a man of unexpected depths, Photon.  This might turn out to be an interesting day after all." 

"Oh, I hope so.  Wouldn't want you to perish of ennui.  Don't worry, you'll soon be having those stimulating prison conversations again."  They traded a couple more shots, Jon switching back to his stun-zap as it seemed to be working better.  Enigma ducked behind a massive wooden cabinet with metal fittings, starting in on an ominous-sounding chant;  Photon grinned tightly to himself as he used magnetic fields to tip it over on the guy.

That got a definite reaction, a pained angry yelp.  There came a flare of red light, and the cabinet flew off Enigma and toward Photon, but luckily the electromagnetic hero was able to dodge out of the way at an unlikely angle.  Thank goodness my flight still works!

Enigma picked himself up painfully off the floor, too enraged to speak.  He snarled out an incantation and made a slashing gesture with his hand - a wave of magical force took the life momentarily from Photon's limbs.  Limping toward him, Enigma grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against a wall, still incoherent with rage.  Photon did the only thing he could think of - he shot Enigma in the back with a lightning bolt out of thin air.

The wizard groaned in agony and released Photon, limping toward a passage going deeper into the museum.  "It would seem the Stone of Night is more limited than I had thought.  I will think well on this."  Photon pulled himself together and gave pursuit, following Enigma into an area devoted to pre-Columbian history.  Several display cases had been jimmied open and rummaged through;  Enigma was pocketing a carved lump of obsidian when Jon entered.  In his other hand he held an intricate crystalline device that looked to be Atlantean, though Jon couldn't imagine it belonging to the museum.

The two duelled in silence now, too worn out with their struggle to waste breath on words save for exclamations of pain or effort or, in Enigma's case, whispered phrases of magical power.  Photon tried changing up his attacks, throwing a searing blast of heat into the mix, but still seemed to get the best results from his stun-zap so he pressed it mercilessly.  

Finally Enigma said shakily, "Well, Photon, it's been fun, but I should be going.  Another day, yes?"  Jon wheezed out, "Aw, must you?  Always a pleasure."  He tried to stun the guy again, getting a groan out of him, but the mage's spell still succeeded.  On a deep instinctive level, Jon to his surprise felt the fabric of spacetime wrenched apart as Enigma teleported out.

Photon felt his powers return at once.  He stood there quaking for a moment with pain and the sudden aftermath of adrenaline, then fled into the welcoming arms of his light-form.  'Editing' his body back to full health in a frozen instant, he took the opportunity to survey the museum carefully before notifying the cops.  Enigma had rummaged through several display cases;  they were in such disarray that it was hard to tell what was missing.  He had taken at least three objects:  The piece of obsidian, a stone axe, and a brooch made of lapis lazuli.  Pity we didn't fight in the Industry portion of the museum, Jon mused to himself, there would've been a lot of opportunities there.

Reforming outside the museum, Jon let the cops know what had happened.  After an intensive debriefing, they asked him to get out of the way of their work, so he flew off.  [SP had to use GM Fiat twice to keep Enigma from being knocked unconscious, and I had to spend a hero point once to do the same.  I also surged once during the fight and did an instant counter.  Hard fought!]

----------------------

After a sound night's sleep and a good day's work, Jon found both major papers had written up the fight, and both reasonably well.  [SP:  "The P-I doesn't think much of you, but they're not so blatant as to run 'Threat or Menace?' headlines."  ]  The cops Jon had worked with spoke well of him, in particular.  Alpha let him know a reporter had called wanting an interview with him.  "Who's he with?"  "Nobody.  He's a freelancer, name of Chris Perkins."  "What's he want to talk about?"  "The fight with Enigma, he says."  "Wow, pretty fast."  "Yeah, sounds like he also wants to do a general piece on Shadow-Force and, well, you know."  "Yeah. ... Well, tell him I'll meet him in the park tomorrow at, oh, 5 PM."  "You're on."

That night's patrol was uneventful, and Photon met the man on schedule the next day.  After the usual pleasantries and puff questions, the guy got down to business:  "How do you feel about the breakup of Shadow-Force?"

Jon replied forthrightly, "It's a painful thing.  When you work closely with people, putting your life on the line with them, you develop a bond fast.  I was only part of the team for a year, but we're close."  "Do you feel betrayed by your teammates?"  "No, not at all.  Bazooka and Brimstone are good friends, and leaving was their call to make.  I wish them the best."

Perkins then slipped in the hot question:  "What about Technoid?  What is his status currently?"  Jon hesitated just a moment, then said, "Technoid has effectively retired from the hero business."  He couldn't keep a trace of bitterness out of his voice, and Perkins jumped on it:  "What exactly do you mean by 'effectively' retired?"  "I've said all I'm going to say on that topic.  It's his story to tell."  "Very well."

To his credit, Perkins actually dropped the matter, moving into more recent events:  "Tell me about your fight with Enigma two days ago."  Photon said, "I had a healthy respect for him going in;  I knew he'd managed to give the Phantom and Erebus the slip previously.  And he did manage to catch me by surprise early in our fight, but I was able to adapt.  It was a hard-fought battle;  he did manage to escape but I don't think he'll feel inclined to brag about it.  He was in a pretty bad way when he teleported out."

Perkins asked further questions to draw him out, but Jon was careful not to reveal too much about his powers and capabilities.  No sense advertising to every villain who reads the papers...

The next day, the story appeared in the _Post-Intelligencer_.  It has been carefully edited to make him look like a wishy-washy incompetent buffoon.  (The piece also appeared, relatively uncut and positive, in an Olympia newspaper.)  Jon stated to Alpha, seething, "I assume you've read the papers."  "Yeah.  Uh.  I mean no offense, but you might want to study some of the Phantom's interviews."  "I'll consider that.  When I'm not furious."  "Good call."  "I keep reminding myself that it's not Perkins' fault, he didn't edit it.  But dangit, he must've known what they'd do."  "Let it go, Jon.  Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you.  Even Mike had bad press days."  "Yeah."

Alpha paused uncomfortably.  "Uh, there's a Captain Struthers from the cops on the phone wanting to talk to you.  He's the guy in charge of liasing with capes.  And he sounds upset.  This a bad time?"  Jon took a deep breath, let it out.  "Put him on the line."

The man jumped in without pleasantries.  "I've got three of my men in the hospital with runes all over their bodies.  They won't do or say anything except, 'Photon, I want to talk to you.'  You got any ideas about this?"  Photon sighed.  "Enigma.  Sounds like he's sending me a message in his own special way."  "And my men have to suffer for it, huh?"  "I'll see what I can do for them, Captain.  I'm sorry your men were involved in this.  Give me a minute?"

To Alpha, "Do we have any way to contact Mystra?"  "Yeah, she left us an enchanted signaling device.  It's a glorified stick;  you basically have to break it."  "Where is it?"  Hunting through the confusion of stuff packed up for moving, Jon finally dug up the stick and broke it without further ceremony.

He felt a mental presence, and a voice in his head saying, "Yeah?"  "Uh, hi.  This is Photon."  "This isn't the best time, man.  I'm on my vision quest and the juices are flowin'."  "Yes, well, I'm very sorry to bother you, but Enigma's cursed some people again."  He explained the situation.  "Far out!  But no worries, man, it'll wear off in a few days.  That's the downside to Enigma's shtick."  "All the same, I think it would be greatly appreciated if you could dispel it now."

After a little more buttering up, Mystra heaved a martyred sigh.  "All right, all right."  POOF!  There she was.  Jon called the Captain back, and he met them at the hospital.  After a curt admonition to the captain to "chill out" Mystra examined the three men.  "Looks simple enough."  Photon asked, "Any way you can trace it back to Enigma?"  She shook her head.  "Nah.  That's the benefit of his brand of magic - his runes have no connection to him once they're active."  A few short spells later, and the three policemen were fine.  "Try some paint thinner next time, all right?  Sheesh!"  Photon told her, "Thank you so much, Mystra. Oh, and here," he handed her the broken stick, "I imagine you'll want to re-enchant this."  Mystra accepted it.  "Sure, man.  I'll get it back to you in a few days."  "Thanks."  "...Might be a week or two, actually."  "Whenever you have time."  "Yeah, no rush, right?  Stay cool!"  She poofed out again and Captain Struthers rolled his eyes.  "I suppose I should be glad she didn't call me a 'pig'.  That got old forty years ago."

Photon laughed.  "I imagine it would have.  Now... I need to figure out how to handle Enigma."  "What're you going to do?  He hasn't left a return address, and I don't care to see any more of my men used as game pieces."  "I intend to do a little skywriting, if the city won't mind."  Struthers blinked.  "I suppose that'll work.  If anyone tries to give you trouble for it, they'll answer to me.  It won't be permanent or anything?"  "No.  My thanks, Captain."

Returning to the base, he placed a call to Moke.  Explaining his situation, he said, "Can you give me any backup?"  Portland's hero of the common man pondered.  "Silver Siren can be there in an hour;  the rest of us would have to wait until morning.  That good enough?"  "Siren's the one I was hoping for, in fact.  She's got just the power I need."  "She'll be on her way."

By that time it was 3 PM.  Jon spent the next hour with Alpha poring over maps, picking a suitably isolated spot out of town.  (Unfortunately, meeting him at the base was out of the question - most of the defense grid had already been taken offline.  Laid out by Erebus and designed by Technoid, the base was a veritable killing field when it was active.)  [I vividly recall the GM, and everyone else, staring wide-eyed at Erebus' player as he explained his detailed defense plans.  They were... breathtakingly ruthless. ]  Then they tossed ideas around about how to give Enigma the message without attracting every reporter, thrillseeker, and curious bystander in the Sea-Tac area.  Finally Jon flew high into the sky and grimly projected the following message in towering letters of golden light:

ENIGMA:  SO TALK.  MEET ME AT 6 PM 9.6 MILES SSE OF YOUR 2ND MESSAGE.

Silver Siren arrived by 4, and Jon briefed her quickly.  "Your specialty is sound, right?  Have you got something that'll let me project my voice to emerge from a hologram?"  Siren snapped her fingers.  "That easy."  "Great!  This should be an interesting conversation."

Flying to the distant meadow with Beta and the armored heroine, they began preparing feverishly.  Beta was set up in a suitable hiding spot, and Siren quickly kludged up a little ventriloquism device for Jon.  He produced a hologram of himself, turned invisible, and practiced making it move and talk convincingly with Siren's advice and help.

Unfortunately, Enigma teleported in at 5:30.  Siren cursed and dove for cover, but was spotted.  "Tsk, tsk," the sorcerous villain chided, "Setting up an ambush?  I'm disappointed in you, Photon."  Jon had the hologram fold its arms.  "Says the guy who uses innocent people to send his messages."  Enigma paused, and said with some indignation, "Innocent?  They took Caesar's salt, they swore the _sacramentum_ - they are anything but innocent."  Taking another step forward, smiling and collected once more, the wizard asked, "Do I need to explain the historical reference?"  "You may consider me to be sufficiently educated to get it, thanks."

Enigma changed the subject, stepping a little closer again. "The electricity was unexpected.  How did you work it, anyway?"  Photon advised him, "Crack a physics book sometime. You'll find it educational."  "Oh, no doubt.  But I've come prepared this time - I've brought a charm against lightning.  Do you think you can still take me?"  "Only one way to find out, don't you think?"  "Oh, indeed.  ... Pity Erebus isn't around any more.  I'd intended the Stone of Night to be my trump card against him."  Now that he was within twenty-five feet or so of the hologram, it faded out.  Jon, speaking from his real location above and behind Enigma, said, "And it looks like you just lost your bid!"  He shot the mage in the back with a blast of numbing cold.

Enigma gasped in pain and amazement and whirled, searching the sky.  With genuine admiration, he said, "An illusion!  And a good one, too!  Oh, Photon, if you weren't so much the scientist, that creativity would be the making of a master wizard."  He didn't let his compliment stop him from firing a livid green curse at the spot he'd last heard Photon's voice from, though.

Jon evaded it easily - sniping from outside the range of the Stone of Night, he could take light-form freely.  "Hey thanks!  It's always nice being complimented by supervillains."  After firing off another cold blast, he added, "I mean, you guys should really be able to judge, right?  You get beat up by heroes so often, you must be regular connoisseurs of beatdowns."

By this time, Beta and Siren were flying to join battle.  Enigma snarled and said, "You haven't beaten me yet!"  He held up the Atlantean device that Jon had seen before;  it was whirring and chiming, then suddenly emitted a sweet PING!

The effect was instantaneous:  Beta crashed to the ground and lay still.  Siren for her part cursed as her suit malfunctioned and likewise was dumped on the ground.  Photon used magnetism to cushion their falls, and Enigma used the opportunity to take cover in heavy brush.

Photon climbed, surveying the situation as the mage cast spells at him.  What would Erebus do?  ...Oh.  When you put it that way, the answer was obvious.  Jon grimly set the brush on fire, ready to contain it in case it spread.  [SP:  "Nice!"]  There came a frightened yelp, and the flames suddenly died out;  Photon used the time to configure a radar sense.  The brush was confusing, but he could see well enough to target.  The cold seemed to be working well, so he stuck with it.

Enigma was having a hard time hitting the invisible Photon, though he did manage to connect with a hungry green bolt that left Jon shaking and nerveless for a time.  Finally the wizard said, "Enough of this!  Let's see how much you care for your fair companion!"  He started casting at the fallen Silver Siren, who was still trying to reboot her armor.  Photon taunted him, "Hey Mr. Honorable, shooting at a defenseless woman?"  He pressed the attack hard as he saw the mage getting desperate;  he trusted Siren's armor.

Enigma sneered, "She put the costume on, knowing what it meant.  She's fair game."  He stamped his foot, uttering a hideous word;  a glowing rune sank into the earth, and a fissure spread rapidly through the ground toward Siren.  Photon shot him once more, earning a taunting, "Ruthless.  Are you sure you're a hero?"  But Jon used magnetism at the last second to lift Siren out of the way of the growing crevasse, to which the mage said, "Ah, so you do care after all."

Before much longer, Enigma realized his situation was hopeless.  "Well played, Photon.  But we shall cross swords again, I promise you that."  Jon, ready for this moment, said, "Oh, must you be going?  Your prison buddies are so looking forward to seeing you again."  When he felt Enigma teleporting out, he pounced mentally and tried to cajole local spacetime back into a flat configuration.  For a moment, his will locked with the mage's, and he could feel his enemy flailing desperately to escape, slipping out by the skin of his teeth.  [He beat my power-stunted Nullify Teleport roll by 1.  Darn mages always have high Will saves.]  Jon said to himself with weary satisfaction, "That'll give him something to think about."  [Another fight with lots of hero points flying around.  Though it sounds rather one-sided, and it was, if Enigma had managed to hit me with that Dex Drain again, it woulda been all over.  Jon's Fort save is abysmal.]

He turned and helped Silver Siren to her feet, then rebooted Beta, who seemed even less personable than usual:  "System reboot:  Online."  "Yes, Beta, you were 'knocked out' by a spell."  "Query:  What is local time?"  Jon and Siren shrugged.  "About five forty, maybe 5:45?"  "Observation:  That time measurement is too imprecise."  "Well, it's the best we can do until we get back to the city."  "Suggestion: We should move to a secure location."  "Agreed."  Siren asked, "Does this 'secure location' have tools?  I need to recalibrate my armor."  "Uh, yeah, Technoid's tools should still be around."  Jon carefully did not mention Technoid's current status.  "Perfect.  Let's go."

After Alpha had eased Beta back into a more presentable frame of mind and Siren had adjusted her armor to her satisfaction, she said to Jon, "I can see we're going to have to get people up here to help you out.  No offense;  you're clearly good.  Hell, given that you fought Enigma off at a severe disadvantage earlier, I'd say you're very good.  But this city is too much for a single guy."  "Don't I know it.  I'd definitely appreciate any help you guys can give."  "I'll talk to Moke.  But when Enigma shows up again, you probably don't want me or FAQ - that tech-suppression trick he's got is brutal.  I'd suggest Thunderwing - Enigma doesn't seem equipped to handle somebody right up in his business."  "Sounds about right.  I look forward to working with you guys!"  "The feeling's mutual!  Your versatility could come in really handy - how do you do it, anyway?"  Photon smiled.  "It's a secret - and if you figure it out, let me know!  All I know for sure is that it's sort of halfway between making friends with the universe and programming it like a computer.  Training it like a dog might be the best analogy;  a really smart, literal-minded dog."  Siren stared at him.  "Are you serious?"  "Yeah."  "...That's just bizarre.  Sure you're not a wizard without realizing it?"  Jon laughed.  "Enigma doesn't seem to think so!"  "True..."  After some more chit-chat, she flew home to Portland.

-----------------------------

A few days later, after Jon had returned from patrol, Alpha noted, "Oh, by the way, Mirror Mask's registration just appeared on the BSA website."  "Well, that's a relief."  "I do hope you're not planning to call him again with congratulations."  Jon shuddered.  "Hardly.  That kid is migraine-inducing."

Alpha agreed, "I can't even get migraines, but he almost makes me wish I could."  Jon suggested mischievously, "And you with this pain in all the diodes down your left side..."  Alpha:  "Paranoid, I am.   Android, I am not.  But I'll play along to the extent of admitting that our dear Masked Mirror is depressingly stupid."  Jon suddenly sat bolt upright. "Say that again!"

"...Our dear Masked Mirror is depressingly stupid?"  "Yeah!"  "You're excited about him being stupid?"  "No, I just remembered something...  Pull up the security video of our conversation."  Alpha did so.  "Yeah?  What are you seeing that I'm not?"  Jon studied the mask closely.  "Does it look at all Central American to you?"  "Maybe just a little.  OH!"

Jon nodded.  "Yeah.  'Tezcatlipoca' means 'Smoking Mirror' in Nahuatl."  Alpha:  "And that's not all.  Check THIS out."  He pulled up the previous video, of Mirror Mask ('Shift' at the time) being interviewed by the Phantom and Erebus, and blew up the young hero's face.  "The mask has changed."  Jon looked closely;  it had.  Where before the mask had been abstractly close to a traditional 'devilish' appearance, in the later picture the pointed chin and horns had receded somewhat, and the fangs had grown more prominent.  "Oh good grief."  "...I was going to say something more colorful."

"Call Steve, please."  "More good news - that phone has been disconnected."  "Terrific.  I guess I'll have to pay him a visit in person."


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## The Shadow (Sep 15, 2009)

*People in Jon's Workplace*

Here are some notable people at Jon's workplace.  (Be warned that I've snipped out a number of plot-hooks for public consumption.)  There is a bit of tension toward him from the math department, as the physics department managed to secure funds to hire Jon at their expense.  Naturally, many people in both departments couldn't care less;  Jon himself is one of these.  (While too observant to be entirely oblivious to academic politics, he finds it a crashing bore.)

Jon's status and cachet only increased when he was kidnapped by the Covenant.  I mean, when you're one of a select few that an international supervillainous group sees fit to kidnap to work for them on a secret island base, it has to mean SOMETHING.  Already a fairly "sexy" choice as major professor due to his youth and prominence, the incident increased his desirability yet further.

*Dr. Rudy Gottlieb* is Jon's department head.  An experimentalist in atomic physics and laser traps, Jon is his wunderkind, a plum for the department.  (Filling a bit of a hole they'd had relativity-wise, too.)  He is anxious for results to justify the political capital he spent to bring Jon to Seattle, but thus far has been very hands-off, fearful of bruising his genius.   (The more so after the Covenant incident.)

*Dr. Karen Manning* is a string theorist and a friend of Jon's.  They like to bicker about the relative merits of their different approaches to unified field theory over coffee.  Karen is divorced and has teenage kids who are giving her grief lately;  she sometimes blows off steam to Jon, who is a good listener.

It has since been established in-game that Karen's kids are Jim (14) and Julie (17).  The ex is Stan, who is an alcoholic. He lives in Vancouver.

*Susan Radner* is a graduate student in physics;  Jon is her thesis advisor.  Still in the initial stages of settling on a topic, she is interested in the details of how superheroes produce energy.  She is planning to ask Photon for a demonstration of his abilities under controlled conditions.  Jon, of course, is doing his quiet best to dissuade her.  He doesn't think it's a promising line of research, but also, of course, he wants to protect his secret identity.

Susan has a personal reason for her interest in superheroes.  The Phantom and Erebus saved her from an assailant one night on what was for them a routine patrol.  She has been fascinated ever since, and hopes to pump Photon a little bit about them if she can get to talk to him.

*Gerhard Ehrgeiz* is also a grad student, one of Jon's RA's.  He is of course from Germany, and thoroughly fluent in English.  Gerhard is very bright even for a physicist, and has ambition to match, always looking out for the main chance.  He has hitched himself, as he sees it, to Jon's rising star.

Gerhard ("Jerry" to his English-speaking friends) has noticed over the last year that Jon sometimes slips away with a lame excuse.  The really odd thing is that sometimes he seems to just... vanish.  He entered a stairwell once, for example, and Gerhard went after him to ask a question... but he wasn't there.  Odd, but not alarming;  Jon is so "boring" otherwise that it can hardly be anything serious.  (There's also the fact that excessive curiosity about his major professor's doings could damage his career.)  However, he is keeping a reluctant eye out to humor his girlfriend Melissa (see below).  Sure, one's career comes first, but continuing to get laid is also a priority.

*Melissa Sanders* is a senior in journalism.  She was present once visiting Gerhard when Jon slipped away to do Photon-stuff, and found it intriguing.  Pestering Gerhard with questions, she found that Jon had spent a few weeks in the hospital a year earlier, having been shot in a mugging.  She has now concocted a theory that Jon is involved with drug dealing or something equally spicy, and is all afire to uncover a hot story that will look good on her resume.  Thankfully, she has not yet made any connection to Photon.

*Xing Hu* is Jon's other RA.  Ambitious in a totally different sense than Gerhard, he has some very strange and interesting ideas about furthering the field that attract Jon's attention.  Though he's not quite as bright as Gerhard, Jon finds talking with him very stimulating and fruitful.  (This drives Gerhard privately CRAZY.  Naturally, he hasn't made his feelings obvious - it comes out as a competitive streak.)  Jon's even considering him inviting him to some of his chats with Dev (see below), which if it occurs will only drive Gerhard even wilder with jealousy.

Hu is a hard, dedicated worker, and finds Gerhard's competitive attitude to be very crass.  His English is not the best, though he is improving.  He studiously ignores anything in Jon's behavior not relevant to his job;  it would be discourteous in his view to do otherwise.

*Timothy Reed* is a TA for Jon's first-year physics class.  Tim is earnest, a bit gawky, and quite in awe of Jon (who is, after all, only a couple years older than he is).  He's considering hooking up with him as an RA once he passes his comps.  He has subliminally noticed Jon's occasional disappearances, but they don't bother him any;  Dr. Winters can probably walk on water, too!  He's a pretty good instructor.

*Thomas Nwafor* is another TA of Jon's.  A recently-arrived Nigerian student, Thomas (never Tom) is a thorough but exacting instructor;  he is already developing a reputation as a hard grader.  Also, he has a fairly thick accent.

*Paul Nichols* is a freshman in Jon's first-year physics class.  A sullen young delinquent when Jon first came to Seattle, he's one of the kids Jon worked with who warmed up to him and confided in him.  Paul turned his life around, got his GED (he's quite bright), and is now bound and determined to become an engineer.  He is finding college very difficult, however, and is struggling.    He's in Tim's recitation section.  Paul has been a little shy about approaching Jon, unwilling to make it seem that he's sucking up and prevailing on old acquaintance.  Jon has noticed him and greeted him warmly, but has also noticed Paul's reticent response.  He respects this, though he's a little puzzled by it.

*Dr. Ketaro Watanabi* is the head of the math department, a set theorist.  Though he's been in this country for decades, he hasn't so much gotten accustomed to informal, offensively familiar Americans as resigned to them.  (He visits his family in Japan frequently.)  A consummate office politician, Dr. Watanabi lost out recently to Gottlieb regarding funding for new faculty.  While reserving the bulk of his ire for his opposite number, Watanabi's attitude of polite, exquisitely correct hostility spills over onto Jon himself as well.

*Dr. Devindar (Dev) Singh Dolma* is a mathematician specializing in differential geometry, with sidelines into number theory and many other things.  An older man with a very quirky sense of humor, he and Jon hit it off almost at once.  Dev is full of strange enthusiasms, creating mathematical "toy models" of the most bizarre things, and he values Jon's insights regarding these.  (To give you an idea, for a few months last year, he was seriously (?) trying to prove the existence of God using mathematics alone.)  

Here's a conversation between them that came to me of a sudden:

Jon, joking:  "You mathematicians are all crazy."

Dev, apparently serious:  "This is truth.  Do you really think that boring ordinary sanity would help me to classify 24-dimensional polytopes?"  (Dev is a frequent contributor to a website classifying n-dimensional polytopes.  He does this for fun, in his spare time.)

Jon:  "Hmmm.  You've... got a point there.  I guess it doesn't help much with mapping the linkages between loops of spacetime, either."

Dev, smiling slightly:  "And now think of all the boring ordinary sane people who pay us to do these things, yes?"  He taps his temple.  "Crazy like a fox!"


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## The Shadow (Sep 17, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  Legal Status of Non-Humans*

No game tonight, unfortunately - SP had a nasty week at work.  Hopefully we'll make it up soon.  (Wednesday is our usual gaming night, but he might be able to get something in on Friday.)

In the meantime, there's a new post over at the  Shadow-Force Files thread.

If anyone reading this has any comment, I'd be interested in hearing it.


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## The Shadow (Sep 21, 2009)

*4 - Smoking Mirror*

[Well, no luck on Friday, but things look good for Wednesday.  Here's another entry.  I'll also be putting up a file in the settings thread shortly.]

[Note that while this entry and the next describe two sessions, this first one combines part of both, to keep the adventure together.  The remainder of the second session (a marathon in-person one) is its own entry.  Also, there was a bit of a hiatus between the two parts of the first adventure - this entry - so I had to fill in quite a bit to make the join, and move stuff around to make it flow better.  I hope this isn't too obvious.]

Photon paused before leaping into action.  "Hold on.  Should we get Struthers involved?"  Alpha:  "On what basis?  You've got a hunch based on the word of a precognitive terrorist."  Jon sighed.  "Yeah."  "Don't get me wrong, I think it's a GOOD hunch.  I agree with you we've got really serious trouble by the tail here.  But we can't prove anything."  "And I'm a civilian, too.  If I approach him the wrong way, I'll have the cops breathing down my neck for stalking.  Of course, when THEY do it, it's a stakeout..."  "Yeah.  You'll have to be careful not to get caught."  "Alpha!  I'm not talking about getting caught, I'm talking about doing what's right!"  "It's a joke, dude.  Breathe!"  

Jon punched his palm.  "Do we really have to wait for him to go on a rampage before we DO anything?"  "No.  We just need to be clever."  "Yeah.  Hmm.  Well, first I guess we need to figure out if he's Steve or someone else.  How good are you at analyzing voices?"  "Pretty good."  "Still got the tapes of our phone conversations on file?"  "Yep."  "So, are Steve and Mirror Mask the same person?"  "Sorry, I can't tell.  The mask distorts his voice too much."

"OK...  For now assume he isn't Steve.  Who could he be?  Does Steve have any brothers?"  "...No brothers, but there's a cousin, Richard, at the same address."  "Hmm.  How old?"  "Nineteen."  "Ouch!  I hope I didn't call him a liar when he was telling the truth.  Is he in college?"  "...No, but he's employed as a shift supervisor at a Taco Bell."  "Got a cell phone?"  "No, but he has a land-line at the Fitzpatrick home.  You do realize that my finding all this stuff out isn't 100% legal, right?"  Jon sighed.  "He's in the phone book, right?  So no real harm done."  "Fair point, but the employment stuff is a little different."  Jon said uncomfortably, "Well, it's public information.  I'll leave his Social Security number alone if you will."  "Check."

Jon paced back and forth.  "While we can't rule out a friend of Steve's, Richard seems like the best candidate at the moment. ... A cousin, huh?  Why is he living with his aunt and uncle?"  "That'll be really difficult to track down."  "I'm just thinking out loud, sheesh.  Well, how can we determine whether someone is Mirror Mask or not?  We need a mage.  We can't contact Mystra..."  "...And probably won't be able to for several weeks."  "Right.  So who do we know?"  "Shadow-Force had good working relationships with three full-blown mages I can think of.  One is on a... vision quest."  Alpha's short pause there spoke volumes of skeptical contempt.  He continued, "Another's definitively out of contact for now.  The third..."  "Dr. Miracle?"  "No, he's the one out of contact.  You haven't heard?  The Guardians are off in another dimension again."  Jon rolled his eyes.  "Great.  Who's left?"

"The Texas Hex, or Tex-Hex for short."  "A teammate of Pecos Bill and Lone Star?"  "Yeah, the Texas Legends."  "Well, give them a call, please."

A recorded voice came over Alpha's speaker, "Thank you for calling the Texas Legends.  If this is an emergency, press 1."  Alpha added, "It's 10 PM their time."  "Oh, right.  Well... I guess it can wait until morning.  Not sure I'll be able to sleep, though."  "Sweet dreams."  "...Is there any _good_ news out there?"  Alpha said brightly, "No sign of Enigma the last few days!"  "You're just my regular bluebird of happiness, aren't you?"  "It's a gift.  When're you coming in?"  "Six AM."  "Gotcha."

-------------------------------

At six, the call repeated the same recording, then added, "Please stay on the line, your call is important to us.  We will be with you in approximately two minutes."  Three and a half minutes of Muzak later, a chipper answering-service rep asked, "Thank you for calling the Texas Legends, how may I help you?"  "This is Photon up in Seattle.  I need to talk to the Texas Hex."  "I'm afraid this is his day off, and he really doesn't like to be interrupted.  Is this an emergency?"  Jon replied with a certain barbed cheerfulness, "Well, it'll probably develop into a city-destroying menace in a week or a month or so, does that count?"  "Well...  If it can wait a week, would it be all right if he called back tomorrow?"  Jon made an incoherent sound of astonishment, and she said apologetically, "He REALLY doesn't like to be interrupted on his day off."

"OK, let me put it this way:  Yes, it is an emergency."  "I'll put you through," she said with a long-suffering I-tried-to-warn-you tone. After a moment, a bleary hung-over voice said, "This is th' Texas Hex.  Whatta you want?"  "This is Photon from what remains of Shadow-Force in Seattle."  "Don't give me none of that, son.  Ever'body knows that Shadow-Force is done disbanded!"  His Texan accent was so thick it couldn't be cut with a knife - something more like a chainsaw would be required.

Photon explained patiently, "Yes, I'm all that's left, along with X-97 Beta."  "Fahn.  What's th'emergency?"  "Have you ever heard of Forestrike?"  "...Ain't he some sort of psi-onic feller you guys fought ever' now and then?  A pre-cognitive?"  "That's him.  Anyway, he sends us letters now and then warning us about things to come.  His latest letter warned us to beware of a villain named Tezcatlipoca..."  "Hail, son, Tez-catli-poca ain't a villain, he's an Aztec gawd!"  Jon contained his long-suffering sigh.  "Indeed.  And we've got a new hero in town now who calls himself Mirror Mask.  He's got a demonic-looking mask with a mirror finish that's changing to look more Central American..."  "Wall, hail, son.  Stop raht there.  Central Amer'can, I'll give ye that.  But 'Smokin' Mirror' refers to ob-sidian, not what we'd call a mirror."  "Okay... all the same, I think we've got a really dangerous situation developing here.  If I'm wrong, I'd be glad to know it, but I need a mage to tell me."

After a deep sigh.  "Fahn.  Will it all keep from blowin' up for another day?"  "I have no reason not to think so."  "Then Ah'll catch a plane there tomorrah.  That good enough?"  "Yes.  Thank you very much."  "Where'll Ah meet ya, anyway?"  "We're still in our base for now."  "I thought it was done shut down."  "It's in the process of being decommissioned, yes."  "Okee.  Ah think Ah'c'n find it."  "I'll be glad to meet you at the airport..."  "All raht.  Ah'll send ye a heads-up about when Ah'm comin'.  Ah think y'won't miss it ver' easy."  "Sounds good, I'll see you soon."  Click.

Jon sat down wearily.  "Why do people have to be so difficult?"  Alpha replied, "Aw, you wouldn't want to be bored by uniform helpfulness, would you?"  "Yes?"  "Well, you're in luck:  I have a bit of good news."  "Let's hear it.  I could use some."  "We've had an applicant to join the team.  Sounds promising, too."  "Hmm.  Tell me more."  "She's calling herself 'Flora', but she'll probably want to change it - the name's taken by a hero in Boston.  First level registration, been active a couple months."  "Flora?  She has plant powers?"  "Sounds like it.  She wants to set up a meeting, and she's come up with a non-witless method to contact us.  Sent us a letter with no return address, and we call to a series of public phones at a certain time each day until we get her."  Jon agreed, "She's no Mirror Mask.  Of course, it's awkward with Tex-Hex coming.  Maybe we can get her in tonight or tomorrow morning?"  "On it, boss."

Jon went in to work - that is, he flew there in light-form and reformed in an out-of-the-way spot in his civvies, then walked the rest of the way.  He was working at his computer, wrapping things up to start his approaching office hour, when a small imp poofed into being next to him and piped shrilly, "Tomorrow, Flight 645, 3:20 PM!  Tomorrow, Flight 645, 3:20 PM!"  Before Jon could react further than dropping his jaw, it poofed out again.

A student poked his head in the door.  "Hey, Dr. Winters.  What was that sound?"  Jon closed his mouth and said, "Uh, I clicked on a link in an email, not realizing it led to a YouTube video.  Ha!  Ha!  Crazy things don't even make any sense half the time.  What'll they think of next?"  "What was it saying?  Something about numbers?"  Jon said brightly, "Just some math humor.  Did you have a physics question?"  "Oh!  Right, let me get out my stuff..."  Crisis averted, Jon thought, and wiped the sweat from his brow.  Tex-Hex must have a sick sense of humor... that, or this was his idea of revenge.

Heading in to the base (having already informed Alpha of the message), he learned, "Flora's coming in at 7.  Oh, and a package and a letter arrived for you."  "A package, huh?  From where?"  "Some sort of foundation here in town.  And the letter's from a kid, by the handwriting."  "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" "If you're thinking about Forestrike's warning about mail, then yes."  "Got it in one."

Between the two of them, they tested the package within an inch of its life, examining it with multiple wavelengths, X-ray vision, microscopic vision, field sense, and extensive chemical tests in Alpha's lab.  The results, almost disappointingly, were uniformly negative. Ditto for the letter.

Opening the package gingerly, Jon found a box of imported chocolates and a letter from the foundation thanking him for preventing Enigma from doing more damage to the museum than he had.  The chocolates proved to be non-toxic, so Jon tasted one.  It was good.  Finally he relaxed.  "It's nice to be appreciated."  "I'll bet.  Dang, I'm gonna have to design myself a sense of taste one of these days."  Jon clutched the box.  "Hands off!  It was addressed to me, chip-boy!"  "Sheesh, some pal you are..."  They both laughed.  Alpha asked, "What about the letter?"

Jon opened it too, and his heart melted.  "Awww.  It's adorable!"  It said in crude writing in crayon, "Dear Foton, I think yuo ar kool!  BILLY" and had a misshapen drawing of Photon firing a laser beam at what appeared to be a reptilian monster.  He held it up for Alpha to admire.  "Mike always got gooey over those too.  He was popular with the kids - friendly ghost, and all that."  Photon tacked it up on the bulletin board.  "Well, I should probably respond, huh?"  "Oh yeah.  People really remember it when they hear back from you."  So Jon dictated a polite letter of thanks to the foundation, and sent Billy an autographed photo along with a brief note of encouragement.

He was in a sunny mood when 'Flora' walked in the door.  She had long brown hair and was wearing a costume resembling a one-piece swimsuit, along with a three-quarters mask, gloves, and boots, all in subtly-varying shades of green.  Looked to be college age or a bit older.  He greeted her warmly and introduced himself (as Photon), getting her a cup of coffee as they sat down.  "So tell me about yourself.  What are your powers?"  She replied, "I discovered about a year ago I could speed up the growth of plants - I've always had a green thumb.  Since then, I've learned to animate trees and other plants and can produce toxic clouds of pollen."  "Toxic how?"  "Like allergies on steroids.  I can give people severe coughing fits, even knock them out."  "Interesting.  Do you have any way of getting around?"  "I can have an animated tree carry me.  They can run faster than you'd think."  "How fast?"  "I've chased down cars before."  Jon blinked.  "Wow, who'd have thought it?"  "I know, right?  For things that spend their lives rooted in the ground, they do seem to like to stretch their limbs. ... Pardon the pun."

Jon laughed.  "Well, I confess myself intrigued.  I see you've been registered a couple months.  How's it gone for you?"  "No serious problems.  I can turn my skin hard like wood - bullets don't hurt much in that state."  Jon nodded.  "Anything else I should know?"  "Well, I can photosynthesize too.  Makes a handy addition to the mask, and it lets me heal somewhat faster in sunlight.."  She demonstrated, turning her skin and hair leaf-green, and Jon's heart suddenly froze with premonition.  He kept it out of his eyes and voice, though, and said lightly, "I can produce sunlight if necessary."  "Good to know!  I don't use it much - I prefer to taste my carbohydrates! - but it's handy in a pinch."

Jon nodded.  "By the way, the name 'Flora' is taken.  There's a hero in Boston by that name."  "Oh, drat.  I was afraid of that.  Well, how about 'Dryad'?"  Alpha informed Jon, _*Hero in a small Chicago team,*_ and Jon passed on the information.  'Flora' sighed.  "I'm out of ideas for now, then.  I'll have to think of something."  Jon sent, _You got any ideas?_  Alpha returned sharply, *Oh, I don't know.  How about...  'Jade'?* _You saw that too, eh?  *Oh yeah.  'Nephrite' suits her all too well.*_

Photon drummed his fingers on the table.  "I think you could make a good addition to the team;  I definitely think we should try some joint patrolling to see how things go.  This week is likely to be crazy, I'm afraid - I'm in the middle of an investigation - but how about we pick up after it dies down?"  "Sounds good!  Thanks for giving me a chance!"  "My pleasure.  Just have a codename settled on before we start, or the press will likely pin one on you!  It's never a pretty sight."  "I'll do my best!  See you in a week!"  She bounced out of the base, looking excited.

Alpha asked bluntly, "What do you think you're doing?  We were both suspicious!"  Jon leaned back in his chair.  "She's either on the level, or she's planning to betray us.  If the former, we need her.  If the latter, well, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'"  Alpha whistled in appreciation.  "Jon!  You're getting devious!"  "Heh.  I've spent a year around the best, haven't I?"  "Oh yeah. It's just... interesting."

That night's patrolling was uneventful.  Jon took some time away from work the next day to turn up invisibly at the airport, at the gate Tex-Hex would be arriving at.  Sure enough, a tough-looking older guy stepped off the flight wearing a duster and a wide-brimmed hat.  He scanned the crowd warily, looking for all the world like he'd stepped off the set of a Western.  Photon said quietly from above his left shoulder, "I'm right here."  The Texas Hex abruptly whirled on him with an upraised glowing hand, silver runes flaring to life all over his duster.  "Son, don't ever be sneakin' up on an old man like that."  The man quieted down his costume and glared at the people staring at him until they went about their business, then strode away decisively.  Jon said softly, "Serves you right for your 'heads-up'.  I was at work!"  "Heh heh.  Ah told it to be sure to arrive when you were alone, what're you complainin' about?"  "People overheard it!"  "Wail, Ah can't help that, now can Ah?"  He sounded entirely too smug, and Jon let it drop.

Arriving at the base (Tex proved able to fly, after touching one of the runes inscribed on his coat), Jon made him at home and added, "Tex, meet X-97 Alpha.  Alpha, the Texas Hex."  Alpha:  "Charmed."  "Heh.  Not yet...  Wait jest a minute.  X-97 _Alpha?_"  "That's me."  Photon:  "We don't talk about him much.  Keep his existence under your hat, if you would."  Tex:  "Wail now.  Mah hat is extra-special large and capacious, as you can see."  He tipped it and added, "Ah can see how an AI feller could be handy to have around!  But how 'bout you fill me in on this Tez-catli-poca thang?"

They showed him the security videos, and Tex got grimmer and more serious as he examined them.  "Ah'll tell y'straight, Photon.  Ah thought you were jumpin' at shadows.   But...  Y'know how they say a gunman gets an itchy trigger finger?  Wail, wizards get it too.  An' let me tell you, that mask done gives it to me raht proper.  Ah got me a powerful feelin' there's a-gonna be killin' afore this is over."  "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."  "Raht.  Looks like we've caught him early, though.  Ah don't think he'll be bendin' anyone over an altar within the next few weeks, anyway.  Give me the rest of what y'got."  They did so.

"So what's th'plan?"  "Well, can you scan the mask to tell what it's doing to him?"  "That Ah can.  But Ah'll have to get right up close-like, say fifteen feet or thereabouts."  "OK.  So we need to confirm that Richard is Mirror Mask, and somehow get you within range of him. ... You know, I've considered getting Struthers in on this.  I mean, Mask admitted to me he'd been doing illegal vigilante work.  It would give us a chance to bring him in."  "Wail...  I dunno there, Photon.  It'd be a kinda rotten thang to do, raht?  And he'd jest clam raht up."  "Yeah, that's what I figured.  Well, we know where Richard works, and we know Mirror Mask goes out at night to fight crime.  I guess we can stake out his house.  If he happens not to be Richard, we should know soon."  "Sounds good t'me. We start to-naht, Ah reckon?"  "Tonight, yes.  What's your registration level?"

Tex replied, "Second, but Ah'm out of mah juris-diction.  We'll have t'be careful not to get caught."  Alpha snrked and Jon rolled his eyes.  "I swear you two are in league to corrupt my morals!" Tex grinned and put his feet up.  "Wail now, Ah reckon we can be nice li'l choirboys an' wait for Mirror Mask to start sharpenin' his knife, or we'c'n take a few steps afore that happens."  More seriously he added, "Ah ain't sayin' the rules ain't important, Photon.  But we've got the rules to preserve people's rahts, y'see?  An' the way Ah figure, it's powerful hard to have your rahts more violated than havin' yer heart done cut out.  If we'c'n stop that by keepin' an eye on someone's house fer a spell, Ah say no harm done.  Ain't like we plan on makin' off with the silverware."

Jon sighed.  "I guess you're right.  But I just... don't like it."  Tex nodded.  "Make sure y'never do.  Know what yer doin' with eyes open.  But never get t'likin' it, or you maht end up joinin' those int'restin' characters in Stronghold."  "Never happen.  My costume's much too tasteful."  Tex threw back his head and roared with laughter.  "Y'never said a truer word!  Most o'them villain fellers cain't figure out color co-ordi-nation to save their lives!"  "What is it with all the purple, anyway?"  They fell to joking and exchanging stories about supervillains they'd fought until Alpha informed them that Richard's shift was nearing an end.

They turned invisible and flew out.  Jon sent, _You've been awfully quiet, Alpha.  What's up? * Tex's presence seems to disrupt my circuits;  it's unpleasant.  Almost like a migraine.*  Yikes.  Should we mention it to him?  Maybe he can tone it down?  *I'll live.  Just get Mask sorted out.*  Okay..._

Photon:  "Can you sense the mask when it's inactive?"  "Nope.  At any rate, I cain't sense nothin' in the house as of yet."  Soon Richard arrived back home and Jon got his first look at the young man's face.  Black hair, brown eyes.  Confident, but not nearly so overbearing as with the mask on.  Was that psychological, an effect Photon knew well from his own costume, or something more?

They waited.  After several hours, Tex said, "Ah'm powerful hungry, Photon.  Let's go get some grub."  "You go - we might miss him."  "No worries, son.  Ah'll leave a magic sensor.  If he puts that mask on, Ah'll know."  "Well... all right."  "And none o'that Micky-D's, neither!"

Photon led the way to a steakhouse, alighted, and shifted his costume back to his civilian clothes.  "No harm in goin' in super, son.  But jest as you like..."  Tex willed the runes on his duster to quiescence and soon he was tucking into a hefty steak.  "It ain't no Steak'n'Bake, that's certain, but it tain't bad atall, neither!"  "Glad to hear it.  You know, as long as I've got you here, do you mind if you pick your brains on another topic?"  "Son, for this fahn steak, you can ask me anythin' you please!"

"I'm wondering if you can give me any advice on fighting Enigma."  "Enigma... Rune-caster, ain't he?"  "Yes."  "Wail, y'c'n never go wrong shootin' whatever the rune's on.  Done spoils the whole spell, if'n y'do it raht.  Mind, if th'rune is carved into somethin', don't get fancy and try to X it out or nothin'.  Don't add to the lines of the rune, is what I'm sayin', just muss it up general-like.  That help?"  "Yes, actually.  But I've also heard multiple sources describe Enigma as a sorcerer, too - a spirit summoner.  How's that fit in?"

Tex frowned.  "It means he's a raht sneaky basta'd, that's what it means."  "How so?"  "Ah reckon he's usin' the runes for his bread and butter, y'see what I mean?  But he's got what y'might call an in-surance pol'cy.  He's worked out a few deals with some spirits - unpleasant ones, Ah'm guessin'."  "Demons?"  "It's as good a name as any, an' better'n most."  "So how does that figure into my tactics?"  "Wail, see, it's best for a sorcerer to take things nice an' slow, cut a deal that he's fully prepared for.  Enigma might have some spells he'c'n activate through existin' deals o'that sort.  But if you press him, back him into a corner, he might feel the need to make a deal quick-like - and that's never a pleasant thang.  He could end up owin' a service his ownself."

Jon mused, "The last time we fought, he started to teleport out, and I tried to stop him.  I don't think he knew I could do that..."  "Haw!  Good one!"  "Anyway, I could get a sense of him through it, and he seemed... scared."  Tex grinned and pounded the table with his fist.  "Son, you may jest have ruined his whole week! He maht be workin' off a debt in a Hell-dimension as we speak, and it does mah heart good to hear!"  "Hmm.  If so, he'll come back mad, won't he?"  "Mad for shore... an' scared.  Mad, scared villains make mistakes.  Mark mah words, Photon, if we're raht, you've put the fear o' Gawd in that scumbag."

"Let's hope he puts it to good use."  "Amen and amen!"  "It's good talking with you, Tex.  You're much easier to deal with than Mystra."  "Now Mystra, she's an odd duck."  "Yeah, what's the deal with her anyway?"  Tex said matter-of-factly, "Ah reckon she's made a pact with a pretty int'restin' spirit.  Magic don't never come without a price, Photon."  "You're saying the way she talks..."  "It's part of her pact."  "What sort of spirit would want that?"  "Ah dunno for certain.  Maybe a spirit of cha-os.  Or jest one with a strange sense of humor.  Or hail, maybe even the spirit o' the 60's, for all Ah know."  Jon blinked.  "Wait... You're saying there's literally such a being as the Spirit of the Sixties?"

Tex studied Jon for a second, then said, "How 'bout we jest say there is, so as to prevent mah blowin' yer mind."  Jon blinked several times.  "Too late...  You already have."  Tex chuckled tolerantly.  "Son, I don't doubt there's plenty o'things you know a lot more about than me.  But spirits...  I could tell you about 'em all naht long, and you'd only have jest dipped your toe in.  It is jest not possible for you to have a grip on the subject, seein' as how you've not had any trainin'.  I mean, you could prob'ly tell me somethin' about nuclear physics to-naht, but it'd jest be stick figures and pretty pictures compared to the math in y'head, am I raht?"  Jon sighed.  "I see your point."

They started heading back to the Fitzpatrick house.  "No word from your sensor?"  "Not a peep."  "Huh.  I wonder why he's not heading out tonight?"  "Who knows?  Maybe he's off on a date.  Young men do that, I hear."  "So I'm told."  Tex grinned.  "Wail now!  Either you're way too pent up, son, or else you've got one o' them 'altern-ative lifestyles' I keep hearin' about."  Jon rolled his eyes.  "Relax, you're safe."  Tex stood upright in the air, gripping the lapels of his duster and grinning wider.  "Oh, Ah don't know!  Ah fancy Ah cut quite the fahn figure of a man!"  "I've got a girlfriend."  "Wail, shucks, is she open to new thangs?"

Jon laughed despite himself.  "You're a piece of work, Tex."  "Ah do try.  Stakeouts are always easier with a sense of humor, Ah always say."  "Yeah... I know what you mean.  It was always easier to be on patrol with the Phantom or Chameleon than with Erebus or Bazooka."  "Ah hear that.  Lone Star's all raht, an' Bill, he's more fun than a bag o'snakes, but Johnny Reb... Don't get me wrong, he's a fahn upstandin' feller, but he's so intent on bein' the puhfect Southe'n gentleman that th'stick up his...  Wall hail."  "What?"  "My sensor... it's done burned out and Ah never noticed."  "Burned out?"  "Yep.  Ah think... when he put the mask on, the pulse o'magic done overwhelmed it."  "That... doesn't sound good."  "It ain't.  Not even a li'l bit.  We gotta find him."  "Well... I can do a quick search of the city for him.  Should only take a few milliseconds."  Tex nodded, unsurprised.  "Be about it, then."

Jon took light-form and zipped hither and yon... incidentally finding a burglary in progress.  "Oh good grief."  He materialized and shone a spotlight on the guy.  "Ahem."  The burglar lunged for a gun, and Jon rolled his eyes and stun-zapped him.  The guy flopped about and struggled to get the gun out his holster, but it was stuck.  Another zap put his lights out.  Jon had Alpha call the cops and waited patiently for them to get there and take the man in hand, then returned to Tex-Hex.

"Sorry for the delay.  Crime waits for no man."  Tex nodded easily.  "Ah went and counted the milliseconds, an' gave raht up at a thousand.  Figured somethin' important came up."  "Let's head back to the base and get you a communicator in case we're separated again."  They did so.  "I'll try taking another look.  Hopefully everyone'll be upstanding citizens the next few seconds..."  "Don't count on it, but good luck!"

This time, as Photon sped through the city, he saw something odd - something not awash in the blue of shifted wavelengths.  He saw an inky hole of a man, frozen in the act of fighting a thug.  It reminded Jon almost of Erebus for a moment, but then he saw the characteristic shape of the mask.  He materialized above the heads of the combatants, turning invisible and telling Alpha and Tex his location.  Tex said over the com, "Try to keep him there, Ah'm teleportin' toward you in jumps.  It'll be a bit!"

The fight was soon over.  Jon noticed that every time Mask struck the man, his hand or foot would shimmer with light.  The young hero brutally beat the man, but stopped once he was unconscious.  He turned toward the thug's erstwhile victim, fading back into his normal coloration.  "You OK, ma'am?"  "Oh, yes, thank you!"  She took out a cell phone and dialled 911.

Mirror Mask shifted nervously on his feet, then ran to a nearby wall, catching at handholds and hauling himself up to the roof.  The woman said, "Wait!  You aren't going to leave me here, are you?"  "I'll, uh, wait up here.  Don't worry."

Jon chose that moment to reveal himself, flying in visibly and alighting next to Mask.  "Hey, nice work."  The young man started, tensing up.  "Oh.  Thanks, I guess."  "Your powers seem to be improving."  "Yeah.  I hit a plateau for a while, but I've started to get the hang of it again.  I'm getting a lot better, and fast."  "Maybe we need to discuss teamwork, then."  Mask ducked his head to his chest and said quietly, "I don't think you want me any more."

That response from the formerly arrogant teen hero alarmed Jon.  He asked gently, "Why not?"  After a pause, "The cops are after me.  I... think I killed a guy.  I didn't mean to.  I just hit him and..."  He shuddered.  Jon reached out hesitantly and gripped his shoulder.  "That's rough, man.  Want to tell me what happened?"  Mirror Mask wrestled within himself, then poured out, "This girl... she was on the ground, bleeding...!  Her clothes were torn open.  I... just lost it.  I wasn't thinking straight.  I hit the guy.  I wanted to hurt him bad..."  His shoulders shook.

Jon said quietly, "Hey.  I'm sorry it happened."  He didn't know what else to say, so he just stood there, offering his presence.  Mask finally said, "I don't know what to do."  Very gently, Jon told him, "Listen, maybe you should talk to the cops.  Running away is not the solution."  "I can't!  I-"  "Hey, we and the cops are on the same side, right?  Give them a chance."  "Maybe..."  Suddenly Mask's head shot up in alarm for no reason Jon could sense.  "Crap!  Gotta go!"  He wrenched himself free of Jon's grip and ran along the rooftop, Jon flying after.  "Wait!  There's someone I want you to meet!"  Mask leaped off into empty space, heading right toward a window lit up by a streetlight.

Jon stared in amazement as the window... rippled... and Mask vanished without breaking it.  Shortly afterward, Tex teleported in.  "Where is he?!"  "He's... gone.  Vanished into that window."  Tex cursed foully under his breath.  "Ah can feel the traces of magic.  He's gettin' strong.  Ver' strong."  Just then the cops arrived and the two heroes went down to answer their questions, Jon rapidly filling Tex in via communicator.  They gave the cops the story, and were told, "If you see Mirror Mask again, tell him we just want to talk to him.  He's a material witness, but hasn't yet been charged with anything."  "We'll do that, officer."

Back at the base, Tex grilled Jon on everything he'd heard and seen.  "A plateau, huh?  Let's hope raht hard that it wasn't the killin' that got him past it.  That... would be bad."  "Oh my goodness!  I hadn't even thought of that."  "Now, you said you could sense a teleport.  Did you feel anythin' when he hit the window?"  "No, not a thing."  "Wail, that narrows it down.  Did you notice if he had a reflection in the mirror?"  "I'm sorry, I didn't."  "Damn.  That leaves me with three poss'bilities."  "What are they?"  "Either he moved into another dimension, or else he's mirror-jumpin'."  "And the third?"  "A variant on mirror-jumpin', the details aren't important."

"So what do we do now?"  "Time is of th'essence, Photon. There's no tellin' where he's at raht now."  "Well... I think the time's come to contact Struthers and get the police up to speed."  "Agreed."  Jon called in, but Struthers was of course off duty.  He was directed to a Captain Smith, who heard him out but said, "Not enough to go on.  Struthers can deal with it in the morning."  "But..."  "But nothing.  You capes are trouble, and you're Struthers' headache, not mine."

Jon sighed when the man hung up.  "Great.  Well...  We know where he lives.  Do we call, or visit in person?"  Tex shrugged. "You've spoken with him, Ah haven't.  What d'you think?"  Jon pondered.  "Let's call.  I think he'll find it less threatening."  He did so, and Richard answered.  "...Hello?"

"Hello, Richard."  "Who is this?"  "We spoke earlier tonight."  "...I work in the service industry, I spoke with a lot of people tonight."  Jon said gently, "This is Photon..."  "CRAP!"  Click. Jon shot Tex a desperate glance, then shimmered himself into the zero-point.

An eternal instant later, Jon shot around the house at luminal velocity.  He didn't feel right entering the house...  What to do?  If Mask left the house, he could follow... He solidified, and gingerly used his X-ray vision to figure out where the young hero was.  He had the mask on and was... lunging toward something out of Jon's field of view... he was gone.  It was... a full-length mirror.  Oh... darn!

He returned and reported failure to Tex, crestfallen.  "Did y'see if he left a reflection?"  "No.  I'm sorry."  "Buck up, son.  It happens.  What's th'plan now?"  "I... can search the city more thoroughly."  "We don't know if he's in the city, but it's worth a try."  So Jon spent half an hour going through the Seattle area with a fine-toothed comb at light-speed, but came up empty.  "He's gone.  I don't know what to do!"  "Only one thang to do at this point, Photon.  We go in tomorrah mornin' and report to this Struthers feller.  Hopefully he's the understandin' sort."  "We?  It's my city, and I'm the one who screwed up."  "Look, Photon.  Ah don't want you to go in alone, a rookie ownin' up to a mistake.  You need to build reputation here, and that won't help.  If Ah'm with you, a vet'ran so to say, it'll look better.  And it's nothin' but the truth, raht?"  "Yeah... I guess so."  "'Sides, it's like that Smith feller said.  The cops know we supers are loose cannons, it's in the DNA.  Sometimes lit'rally!"

Struthers heard them out impassively;  Tex did most of the talking.  Jon could tell the older man was doing his best to take the heat on himself, and writhed inwardly.    Eventually, the captain sighed.  "Enough already.  You screwed up;  you know it, I know it.  Do better in the future, and keep me in the loop, dammit!  But for now we need to figure out how to proceed."  He paused and held up a sheet of paper.  "A warrant for Mirror Mask's arrest.  I've been sitting on it for a few days, to give him a chance to talk to us before we haul him in.  It'll go much easier on him if he does, but I can't sit on it forever."  Photon cleared his throat hesitantly.  "Captain, I think if he knows everyone's after him, he'll just get more scared and disappear.  The longer you can hold off, the better, I think."  The Texas Hex nodded and backed his play.

Struthers pondered.  "All right, Photon.  We'll try it your way.  If you can tell me he's not a threat to my officers."  Jon said carefully, "I don't think he would willingly hurt a cop, or anyone else but criminals, and even them not seriously.  But I also have the impression that he has episodes where he loses control."  "Oh, wonderful.  Why can't they ever be predictable?"  "In any case, he isn't in the city now."  "If you come across him, you'll contact me straight off.  I'll leave orders for them to wake me if I'm off duty."  "Yes sir."

Once again back at the base, Tex stretched and said, "Nothin' to do now but catch up on our beauty sleep."  "I guess.  I don't know what to do next...  I have no way of knowing when and if he even comes back to Seattle!"  "That's somethin' Ah'c'n help with.  Get me a map of th'city."  Jon looked at him quizzically, but obeyed.  "Spread it out, and mark for me where the base is."  "Right here.  Why?"  The Texas Hex drew a small compass out of a pocket of his duster and blew on it gently.  A rune on its back glowed red, and he set it down on the location of the base.  The needle spun lazily around and around.  "If'n our friend Richard comes to town with the mask on, the compass will start glowin' and the needle will point raht toward him."  "Thanks, Tex.  That'll help."  "Ah aim to please."

That afternoon, Jon saw Tex-Hex off to the airport.  "It's been a pleasure, Tex."  "Same back at'cha, Photon!  Keep me informed about Mirror Mask, if you would be so kind.  Ah'm profess'nally int'rested at this point.  And if you need help in dealin' with him, do let me know."  "Thanks.  And if you guys need help of the electromagnetic variety, well, Texas isn't far at the speed of light."  "Thank you kindly!  We'll be in touch."

Jon told Alpha later, "Keep a camera on that compass."  "Way ahead of you.  If Mirror Mask comes to town, I'll let you know right away."  Jon sighed.  "I just wish...  He could have been an ally, even a friend."  "Who knows?  But that mask probably has other ideas."  Jon shrugged.  "Erebus had to deal with a hostile force constantly pushing him toward violence.  He did OK."  "...Most of the time."  "Yeah."

"Good night, Alpha."  "'Night, Jon.  Don't beat yourself up too much.  He got himself into this whole mess, not you."  "Yeah, I know."

[According to SP, calling Mask had a decent chance of working, but he rolled poorly on the reaction.  Ah well.]


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## The Shadow (Sep 21, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  The Phantom*

OK, I had hoped to put up a post on the Parapsychological Studies Institute, but I need to hear back from SP on a few things first.  So instead, I've put up a post on their most famous "graduate":

THE PHANTOM! 

As you'll see when the P.S.I. post goes up, although they're now defunct as a group, they're still quite relevant to the campaign...


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## The Shadow (Sep 24, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  Erebus*

On the theory that he and the Phantom are two great tastes that taste great together, I also present the duke of darkness (and of duct tape!), the shaper of shadows:

EREBUS!

In other news, we will game tonight, barring cosmic catastrophes and/or household crises.  Which means you'll get another update!


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## The Shadow (Sep 26, 2009)

*5 - Dragon's Egg*

The weekend after the Mirror Mask debacle, Alpha said, "You might want to check out the 'Seattle Supers' site, Photon."  A well-known, meticulously researched website, run by someone who identified himself only as 'Pagemaster'.  Jon sat down at a workstation and pulled it up.  "Why, what's up?"  "He's got some new info on you, and it's scarily accurate."

Jon read for a bit and blinked.  "You're not kidding.  How could he possibly have grounds to speculate I fly using gravity?"  "Follow the link.  He gives his reasoning in detail."  Jon did so, and found that since he didn't leave a visible trail like many energy-based heroes, and because there were no reports of his presence interfering with electronic devices, he was unlikely to be using electromagnetism to fly.  Nor did he seem to be using a device.  As supporting evidence, Pagemaster presented the fact that Enigma had been able to drain some of Photon's powers, but not all.  "Wow.  I can't fault his reasoning, but..."  "Yeah.  Too close for comfort."  "He does villains too - is this good for his health?"  "Well... Everybody knows the federal government maintains a first-class database on supers.  I guess people figure nothing he says is likely to be worse than that."  "Yeah, but villains don't get to look at the government files - at least, I sure hope not!  I don't want anyone reading this and getting ideas."  "Read on."

Jon found some very shrewd guesses about his light-form - not all correct, to be sure, but not far from the mark.  And speculation (based on Photon's diction and phrasing) that he, Jon, was either a scientist or a super-genius.  Overall, Pagemaster's coolly-given opinion was that Photon had been widely underestimated, and sported much greater power and versatility than anyone in the super-fan community had suspected.  "Good grief, he even knows I've worked with the Texas Hex!"  "Yeah, several super-blogs picked up that sighting of Tex in the Seattle airport.  Speculation has run rife."

Checking out a few other heroes, he found that Mirror Mask had also gotten some recent treatment - with the conclusion that his powers had improved, but that he was dangerously arrogant and soon to be in trouble with the police.  (Pagemaster's speculation matched Jon's own - that Mask had gained the ability to stay phased, only phasing in parts of his body to strike his foes.)  Jon shook his head.  "This isn't my idea of a public service.  Still... freedom of speech."  "Yeah.  I'll keep an eye on it for you."

"Anything else in the media I should know?"  "The press has figured out the location of your super-battle with Enigma.  The police have it blocked it off as a hazardous site, though."  "Yeah, I saw the reactions to my skywriting."  The _Times_ had written an editorial on the dilemmas involved in contacting a criminal at large;  the _Post-Intelligencer_ had written up the skywriting neutrally, but then also printed an editorial on 'Supers and Egotism', which, while it didn't name any names, was clearly pointed in Photon's direction.

Jon got up and stretched.  "So - patrol time?"  "Not just yet.  We're waiting for 'Flora', or whatever her name is."  "Oh, right.  Her first test, I guess.  If she isn't here by 7, I'm leaving without her."  He needn't have worried.  The green heroine bounced in eagerly at 6:30.  Jon nodded. "Welcome.  Have you come up with a codename?"  "Is 'Demeter' taken?"  _Alpha?  *Greek heroine in the 60's.  Nobody current.*_  Jon passed on the information, adding, "It should be fine."  "Great.  Ready to go?"  "When you are."  Jon gave her a communicator and showed her how to use it.  Then they went outside, where she animated a tree off the base's grounds.  It lifted her into a fork in its branches, which shaped itself into something resembling a throne.  "Let's go."

Photon flew on, pushing the pace a bit - sure enough, the tree could make surprisingly good time.  Didn't seem to do any property damage, either.  Suddenly a car screeched up, and a man with a press badge leaned out the window with a microphone.  "Photon!  Are you and her working together now?  Are you still working with the robot?  Are you lovers?"  Jon groaned - an infamous 'ambush journalist'.  "No comment, no comment, and no comment.  Go away."  He and Demeter ignored him for a while, then after an interminable drone of questions, Demeter subvocalized into her communicator.  "Let's lose him.  Cut through the park?"  "You're on."  Demeter animated a new tree, sending the old one shambling back home to the base grounds.  "Sheesh.  Does that happen often?"  "No.  I've... never really been the glamorous type."  "You'll have to get used to being the popular kid in town."  "I guess."

The rest of the patrol was uneventful.  Upon arriving home, Alpha asked, _*OK, just what did you DO?*  Hm?  *I've got no less than three reporters on the phone right now, clamoring for an interview.  And they're not the first.*  Wow!  They let super-battles pass, but a simple patrol with Demeter is News?  Maybe it's a slow day?  *I dunno.  Oh, and one of the hopefuls is your old friend Chris Perkins.*  ...That takes a lot of nerve.  *That's what I said.  Here's how he responded:*_

Alpha played back the phone call, Perkins saying, "If you look into it, you'll find I filed an injunction against the _Post-Intelligencer_ for mangling my story."  Alpha:  "Yes, and I also find that it was rejected."  Perkins sighed.  "They found a loophole in my contract, there was nothing I could do.  I have a new airtight one now, one that gives me final cut."  "We'll want to see it before we promise anything."  "...I'm afraid I can't do that, there's a non-disclosure built in.  You'd need a subpoena to see it."  "Well, don't call us, we'll call you."  "Wait!  I-" Click.

_A secret contract?  That smells fishy.  *Agreed, and I don't even have a sense of smell!*  Can you get Carlton Legal on that?  I think it might be interesting.  *Will do.*_

Demeter asked, "Penny for your thoughts?  You're quiet all of a sudden."  "Oh... sorry.  Just pondering the ramifications of fame.  Have you had much contact with the press since you started hero-ing?"  "None, really, except..."  She flushed.  "Well, Hustler asked me to appear in a special issue, 'Women in Uniform'.  I turned them down flat."  Alpha to Jon:  _*April 2007.*  ...You read Hustler?  *I read everything, I'll have you know.*_

Jon cleared his throat and said, "Didn't..." then gave it up as a bad job.  "Oh heck. Go ahead and talk out loud, Alpha."  "Your funeral, boss."  Demeter looked around for the voice, eyebrow raised quizzically.  Jon told her, "X-97 Alpha."  "Oh!  That makes sense now!  Is he another robot?"  "No, the base computer.  Anyway, Alpha here apparently has a dirtier mind than I'd thought..."  "Hey now!  Ask yourself who I could have gotten it from!"  "...Anyway, he says that 'Women in Uniform' appeared in 2007.  Didn't you say you'd only started hero-ing two months ago?"

Demeter, having finally spotted one of Alpha's cameras, faced it and cocked her head.  "...You read Hustler?"  Alpha put on a playfully defensive tone, "Hey, obviously I picked it up from meat-boy here!  My chips are made from the finest, purest silicon, I assure you.  Pity me, the victim of organic corruption."  "Oh, you poor thing.  You're so corrupted with organic filth you forgot that there was going to be a 'Women in Uniform II' later this year."  "...Whoops.  Well, obviously it's all meat-boy's fault."  "Hey!  Leave me out of this!"  "Alas, but-"  Then, via radio, _*Photon, Technoid's energy construct is going crazy. Get in there and check it out NOW!*_

Jon was off like a shot.  "Demeter, trouble!  Stay here!"  _*She's following you.*  Lock the internal doors down, Alpha.  *Done.*_  Then, out loud, "Get me Carlton Research on the line!  And Moke!"  "Dialing.  What's going on?"

Skidding to a stop in front of the energy construct, Jon noticed that the shield-rings were rotating significantly faster than ever before.  Simultaneously reading the gauges and opening his field senses to the max, he reported, "There's a major power spike occurring every two seconds or so, at regular intervals.  It's redlining the gauges, but only very briefly as each spike passes - tapping the far end and bouncing back.  Why the HECK is he using analog gauges?!  He MUST be crazy!"  [Heh, that last bit was me jabbing SP a little. ]

Alpha:  "I've gotten them to wake up the guy in charge of Research.  I've dealt with him before.  His name's Dr. Norton, and he's a serious prick."  "Joy.  Put him on."  "What the hell did you DO, you pitiful excuse for a light bulb?!"  "Nothing!  Just get OVER here with a team, and fast!"  "I'm driving too fast as we speak, moron!  Just... don't touch anything!"  Jon rolled his eyes and told Alpha to hang up.  "Do you have Moke?"  "Yep, he's still waking up."  "Moke, Photon!  We've got a serious situation here with a dangerous device of Technoid's, and we need FAQ up here RIGHT NOW!"  "Calm down, Photon.  How dangerous?"  "Act-of-God dangerous!  Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki dangerous!  Be-on-a-different-continent dangerous!"  "...I'm sending FAQ up there right away."  "Thanks!"

That done, Jon actually did start to calm down a little.  There wasn't anything he could do, after all, except watch.  The construct would change color slightly - shading from yellow toward blue-white - with each pulse of power.  "Alpha, how's the compass?"  "No change, why?"  "Because this would be the worst possible time for Mirror Mask to show up?"  "Right, our good friend Murphy.  And now that we've checked, it won't happen?"  "We can hope.  What's Demeter doing?"  "Pacing back and forth."

Jon went back to the Situation Room and tersely filled her in.  She snapped at him, eyes blazing, "Thanks for letting me know!  If I'm part of the team, don't go running off like that!"  Photon told her levelly, "You're not part of the team yet.  When you are, I'll let you know. ... But it may be that we'll need your help tonight, so I would ask you to stick around."  "Fine!"

Alpha said quietly, "Uh guys?"  In unison, "WHAT?"  "I really, really do not want FAQ to know I exist.  He's cocky and he likes to tinker, and frankly he scares me.  Please keep me under wraps."  Demeter finally grinned and levelled a finger at the nearest camera.  "Okay, but you owe me, chip-boy."  Alpha emitted a long-suffering sigh.  "Never a mention of Hustler again, I promise."  "That'll do.  For starters."  Alpha to Jon:  _*You know, whether or not she's evil... she's still evil, you know?*_

Just then they were interrupted by Norton and his team screeching up in a van.  "Photon!  Help me move this equipment into the lab!  You'll just be in the way otherwise!"  Jon rolled his eyes and started to use magnetism to float it over.  "No, idiot!  With hands!  Unless you want to foul up my readings?  Or are you just trying to make this crisis harder than it already is, is that it?"  Jon shocked himself by saying with terse authority, "Norton, SHUT UP.  You're wasting time, and we have no time to lose.  Now get to work!"  To his further shock, Norton shut up and obeyed.  Jon helped carry the equipment in, then tried to stand out of the way as the research team went into action.  Occasionally he reported on the information his special senses gave him, and once he proved he knew the lingo, they tacitly accepted him as one of their own.

Soon FAQ swaggered in, replete with high-tech armor, weaponry, and goggles.  Looking to Photon, he asked, "Who're these bozos?"  "Carlton Research division."  The young hero rolled his eyes.  "Great, the amateur brigade.  You, over there!  Yes, you.  Brief me."  Norton started to go apoplectic again.  "You're involving THIS twit?"  Photon laid down the law again.  "We don't have time for turf battles!  Work together and like it!"  He strode out of the room, disgusted.

FAQ followed after.  "Can you believe it?  They want me to sign an NDA!"  "So sign it."  "Fine!  But I need to print it out, it's on their website."  "Sure.  Al-"  Jon clamped his lips shut before letting the rest of the word out.  FAQ stared at him. "Al?"  Photon pointed, "Uh, the printer's over there.  It's being taken care of."  "Al?!"  "Look, FAQ, we don't have time..."  "Al?!?"  Demeter subvocalized into her communicator, "Oh, how very much you owe me."  She came and took FAQ's arm, leading him away and batting her eyelashes at him.  "Listen, we can explain all about Al another time, all right?  For now, we need to get this energy thing taken care of."  FAQ allowed himself to be led away, absentmindedly accepting the NDA from Jon.  "Well, OK, but..."  Jon and Alpha let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

Demeter came back out and said, "Okay, we're going to have to tell him something about 'Al'.  What's our story?"  "Hmm... Maybe it's a nickname of yours?  I clammed up because I didn't want to compromise your secret identity?"  "Works.  Oh, and Alpha?"  She licked a finger and scored another point in the air.  Alpha only said, "Yeah, yeah."  _*Evil, I tell you.  I think I like her.*_

Photon went back in the lab and was amused to find FAQ interrogating Norton about the situation in a way calculated to be effective with the man's choleric temper:  He would simply dismiss anything Norton said as stupid, which prompted further angry denials... and more information, as the man tried to justify himself.  Jon had to admit that it was faster than trying to reason with the guy, so didn't intervene.  But at length as he listened, Photon realized something with a sudden shock.  "Uh, FAQ?  You do realize that Technoid is in that thing, right?"

FAQ raised his eyes to the heavens and said in an I'm-surrounded-by-idiots tone, "Now see, this is what we call a 'detail'.  'Details' are good.  I need 'details' to do my freakin' job already!"   The teen gadgeteer flew into action, setting up something resembling a laptop and plugging it into the control panel of the construct platform.  "That is just what I needed to know.  If he's in there, he has to be shielded... Yep, there's a second field in there, I'm getting readings on him..."  A blurry picture of Technoid appeared on the screen of the laptop and text and numbers flashed past faster than the eye could follow.  "Hmmm.  There's some bio-sensors around here somewhere.  Where are they?"  Photon showed him the device with the parabolic emitters on cables.  "Could this be it?"  "It'll do.  Space these around the construct, will you?"  Photon did so rapidly, 'hanging' them in the air with magnetic fields.  "Ooh, didn't know you could do that.  Can you get them in a symmetrical configuration?"  Finally, FAQ started to get a second stream of data on his laptop.

The young man whistled.  "Wow.  He's making some hardcore changes to his genetic structure.  What's that all about?"  A bit more tinkering, and suddenly he sounded nervous.  "Wait - the door!  There's supposed to be a force field there!  What happened to it?!"  Photon told him, "We shot it down to get in here..."  "Crap on a stick!  Everybody out!  NOW, people!  Run!  It's gonna blow!"  The authority in his voice, combined with the following of his own advice, got through to everyone, even Norton.

FAQ added, "Photon, you gotta put up another force field!  It's our only chance!"  "Right!  Do I need to be on the inside or the outside?"  "Well gee, I dunno!  Can you take 25 million rads?!"  "Yes, actually."  FAQ blinked at that unexpected information, but rapped out, "Well good for you, Sunshine!  I CAN'T!  In or out, but get that field UP!"  Jon flew out the door and rapidly tried to explain to the spacetime continuum what he wanted it to do.  His previous experiences with "force fields" had been notably mixed, but shortly he had... something... covering the door that his X-ray vision couldn't get through.  "Okay, I hope that's good en-"  He was interrupted by the explosion.

It was monstrous, far worse than Jon had been expecting.  His field bowed outward, glowing with bright streaks as it strained to the breaking point.  Jon poured his will into supporting it, joining himself to the quantum void for an instant, his mind racing down the null geodesics he was accustomed to travel in light-form.  His whole being shaped itself into the single purpose:  HOLD!

It was over before the light of the blast even had a chance to imprint itself on the observers' retinas, much less be processed by their brains.  But they eventually saw in a split second the field's improbable distention before snapping back into place.  FAQ licked his lips and said quietly, "Yeah.  Thanks, man."  Jon took a moment to reply as he came down from quantum-gravitational exaltation.  "...You're welcome."

After a little more processing, he asked, "What just happened?"  FAQ shrugged helplessly.  "It got done, whatever he was doing.  He came out."  Photon let his field lapse, and the smoke of vaporized machinery boiled out;  he toned down the temperature for the others only half thinking about it.  He strode in, followed by FAQ and Demeter, and more hesitantly by Norton and a couple of the other scientists.

A humanoid form strode to meet them, obscured by the rapidly diminishing mists.  It was hairless and unclothed, but showed no primary or secondary sexual characteristics - indeed its skin was smooth and unbroken by detail, a rough statue carved from something with a dull metallic finish.  Its eyes were dark pools.

Jon asked hesitantly, "Scott?"  It looked at him impassively, then spoke, its voice clear and neutral, devoid of organic timbre:  "'Scott'.  Yes.  Once I was called by that name.  It is no longer fitting."  "...Technoid?"  Again that voice devoid of all passion except mild interest:  "That name is somewhat more appropriate.  It will serve for now."  Ignoring the others, the thing found a flat metal panel on the wall and pressed its palm to it.  "Ah.  Good.  The Internet connection is still active."  Jon was still the only one with the courage to speak:  "What are you doing, Technoid?"  It told him neutrally, "I am downloading the Library of Congress."  "Why are you doing that, Technoid?"  "I want to understand humanity.  It is so... imperfect.   And yet so interesting."  "Is that why you changed yourself?"  "Yes.  I needed to understand."

"Scott..."  Almost gently, but not quite, the thing told him, "No.  I am not 'Scott' any longer.  'Scott' was imperfect."  "And now you are perfect?"  "I am a good first attempt at perfection.  There is so much I must learn."  "...I'll be right back."

Jon went with controlled haste to the Situation Room.  I sure hope the Guardians are back from their dimensional jaunt!  He manually pulled up a connection to the Guardians in Washington, getting a receptionist.  "This is the Galactic Guardians of Washington, D.C.  How may I help you?"  Jon said urgently, "This is Photon in Seattle.  We've got a situation here..."  The screen went blank, and simultaneously a chirruping sound came from one of Alpha's speakers.  "Oh.... DARN!"  (Jon briefly wondered what it would take to get him to overcome his childhood habits and actually cuss, then decided he didn't want to find out.)

"Alpha?"  No response.  "Alpha?!"  Nothing.  But that sound he'd heard haunted him... he was still a little high from his quantum-mystical experience, and it niggled at him somewhere deep below conscious thought.  Not sure why, he willed himself into light-form... and all became clear.

Alpha had sent him a rapidly compressed speech, and somehow his memory had retained it all.  But wondering how was swallowed up in horror at what his friend had to say:

"Jon, this is probably my last message.  He's strong, much stronger than I am, and he's overwhelmed both me and Beta.  I don't think you will ever be able to trust either one of us ever again."  Alpha paused to let that sink in, then continued urgently, "He noticed you calling the Guardians and is using your voice and image to convince them everything's OK.  He's locked down the base completely.  Jon, he's downloading information on nanotechnology and genetics.  I think he wants to redesign humanity from scratch.  He is evil, Jon - coldly, rationally, unblinkingly evil.  I don't think there's anything left of Scott in him.  You must stop him.  He's mostly made of nanites;  I think he'll be vulnerable to hard radiation."

Alpha paused again.  "There's a lot I'd hoped to say, but you can probably guess.  If I had tears to shed, I'd be shedding them.  You're my friend, Jon.  Good luck, and go get him!"

For several subjective minutes, Jon gave in to despair.  His last friend in Seattle, his true companion, the last founding member of Shadow-Force!  He bounced around the base unseeingly and unthinkingly, the outer walls too heavily shielded to let him pass through.  But gradually, gradually, he pulled himself together.  No. I will not let Alpha's sacrifice be in vain.  It will not happen!

Jon pondered and laid plots as the picoseconds ticked slowly past. First, he streaked by Beta's charging station, to see if Technoid could use him to attack... 25% charge, not nearly enough.  Excellent.  Passing by the lab, he noticed that FAQ was surreptitiously reaching behind his back for a rod that looked to be a weapon.

Next, true to his codename, he shot over to the central electrical junction box of the base.  (Erebus had insisted it not be accessible from the outside.)  You may have trapped me inside, Technoid, but you've trapped yourself too!  He materialized just long enough to reduce it to slag, then returned to light-form.  Hopefully I'm not giving Technoid much time to react, though I have to assume he can think really fast too.  Now, the backup generator will come on in a few seconds - we can't have that.

Streaking over to the generator, Jon materialized again and blasted it to oblivion.  Apparently his rage was fuelling his powers, as he hadn't expected it to vaporize completely.  Ah well - light-form.  Now, Alpha's repair-bots will get a new generator module in eventually, but it'll take them at least ten minutes.  One way or another, it'll be all over by then.

Dialing his laser configuration up to the highest-energy gamma wavelength he could manage, Jon surveyed the situation in the lab before taking action.  Some dim lights were still on, probably battery-powered.  FAQ was in the process of falling backward to the floor, his armor sparking, his face twisted in a grimace.  Demeter was dodging for cover, Norton and the scientists were scrambling to get out of the lab.  Technoid itself had a hand upraised toward FAQ, its face impassive as ever.  All right, you son of a-  No.  I won't change my ways for your sake.  Take this, you JERK!

Materializing behind the shell of his former friend, Jon cut loose with a titanic blast of cosmic rays.  Technoid's 'flesh' withered visibly under the onslaught, and it staggered.  But its voice remained calm as ever as it said, "Photon.  So you are responsible for the power loss."  "That's right," Jon told it with a deadly calm rage.  "You have gained control over your light-form, I see.  Remember the time you ended up beyond the orbit of Jupiter by accident?"  "No.  No stories, no tales of old times.  You're not Scott.  You're just a... thing."  Meanwhile FAQ writhed and sparked, and Demeter inched toward him to pull him to safety.

Technoid replied mildly, "If only you could see how much better it is," and extended its hand.  A spray of scarcely-visible nanites boiled forth, and Photon's dodge-subroutine kicked in, but didn't get enough distance - Jon's right shoulder and upper-right arm were caught in the spray, and he screamed.  He could feel the microscopic machines dissolving his flesh, changing it into something new and horrible, but he didn't let that stop him from firing off another blast of hard gamma.

Once again, the thing that had been a man lurched on its feet and its flesh visibly melted before the blast.  "Yes.  Your power has increased.  There will be a place for you in the new order."  "SCREW THAT!" Jon shouted, but then screamed again - the nanites continued to eat into him and he fled into the timeless null-spaces traversed only by photons.  Frantically he tried to 'edit' the nanites out of his system, but they resisted his efforts;  in his pain he bounced back and forth uncontrollably between the walls of the lab.  Thank... goodness... I don't... get dizzy... in this form!

He reformed just in time to see Demeter spraying a cloud of pollen at Technoid's face.  (She had managed to drag FAQ halfway to the only remaining, half-melted large piece of machinery in the lab.)  To his amazement, Technoid was actually staggered by it, reeling and clutching its throat.  But as they watched, its nose and mouth smoothed out and faded from its face.  "A valiant attempt.  But it will not serve you ag-" Jon's blast to its face cut off its words.  (It didn't seem to need a mouth to speak.)

They fought in silence now - there was nothing more to be said.  Jon continued to blast away at Technoid, and Technoid continued to spray its deadly nanites.  Jon succeeded in dodging a couple times, then got hit again and shrieked in redoubled agony.  Demeter got FAQ to cover and watched warily, unsure of what to do next.  Jon understood - there was no plant life in here at all, and her pollen looked to be useless.  He sent to her communicator, "Get the scientists in good order.  If you can get cell-phone reception in here, get help!  Otherwise, hold tight."  "Got it, Photon," she said, and worked her way cautiously to the door.

Jon tried blinding Technoid with dazzling light, and was surprised when it actually worked.  "Can you do without your eyes too?" he taunted as he continued to dodge about and take potshots.  "Not as easily," it admitted.  "But I can."  Suiting actions to words, it moved to the equipment FAQ was hidden behind and wrenched it easily out of the ground.  Jon shot it again and it dropped its burden under the onslaught, tipping the multi-ton weight toward FAQ...  Photon caught it with magnetic fields and slammed it into Technoid with all the force he could muster.  (Technoid itself proved to be non-ferrous, unfortunately.)

Technoid was heavier than it looked - it caught the enormous hunk of metal easily and just skidded a little, instead of going flying.  "Idiot," it observed, and raised the massive thing to throw.   Almost in despair again, Jon fired a final desperate blast, and to his amazement, this one worked beyond hope.  Technoid swayed, then crumpled to the ground, the heavy chunk of metal flying wild and landing with a loud CLANG!  Before his eyes, the sculpted form started to collapse inward on itself.

A brief excursion to light-form once more, and he finally managed to rid himself of the nanites and restore the worst of the damage.  "Demeter!  Get in here!  Can you wake FAQ up?  Create pollen like smelling salts or something?"  "I can try!"  "You do that and I'll look for a medkit!"  He needn't have - Demeter sprayed something at FAQ's face, and he sat bolt upright at once.  "I'm awake!"

Jon said urgently, "Then get over here!  Technoid is melting away, I think it's dying!"  FAQ struggled to his feet with Demeter's help.  "OK, I see your point.  I'm finding it a little hard to care just now, though."  "I know.  But if there's anything at all of Scott left in there, we owe it to him to try."  "Right."  Between FAQ's technical wizardry, and Photon's use of electric and magnetic fields at his instruction, Technoid congealed into an amorphous blob of... whatever it was.  Jon asked hesitantly, "Is it... alive?"  "There's patterned electrical currents going on in there, they look purposeful.  It seems to be thinking."  "Okay..."  "Now, can you put a magnetic bottle around it?"  "It's not ferrous..."  "Duh.  That's to keep it from communicating with the outside world."  Definitely seeing the point in that, Photon managed to do so.  By this time, the adrenaline was wearing off... he wasn't much steadier on his feet than FAQ was. (Though he had healed the worst of the damage, his arm still looked ravaged and a large chunk of his costume was gone.)  FAQ for his part looked to be crashing off the stimulant Demeter had given him;  the two heroes suddenly leaned on each other drunkenly.

Demeter shepherded the walking wounded out of the lab, into the hall.  The scientists crowded around them and Norton wrung Jon's hand.  "Thank you.  We'd be dead if you hadn't..."  "S'alright," Jon slurred.  "Talk later.  Gotta get outta here."  Demeter said patiently, "Yes, we know.  There's no cell reception.  How do we get the door open?"  "Ummm.  I could shoot it down maybe?"  "I think you've done enough shooting for one day, Photon."  "...Okay."

Demeter took charge.  "FAQ, can you override the door controls?"  "Sure, I think?"  She peered at him as he swayed on his feet.  "Photon, can you shine a light in his eyes for me?"  "Oh, sure."  Jon had trouble keeping his finger steady, but Demeter got a good look at FAQ's eyes.  "Oh, great, you're concussed.  Well...  This should be easy for somebody as smart as you, right?"  "Uh huh."  FAQ fiddled with the door controls until finally it opened.  "Easy as pi. 3.1415...something."  He had to do it one more time and then they tumbled out into the open air.  Norton whipped out a cell phone and called 911, demanding cops, ambulances, and anything else he could think of.

Jon revived enough in the cool night air to take light-form again and heal himself the rest of the way.  Materializing next to Demeter, he said quietly, "Welcome to the team."  She smiled warmly at him, "Thanks, you too."  "Yeah."  Jon remembered Alpha and nearly lost it, then pulled himself back together.  "Something else we need to do."  Borrowing a cell phone from one of the other scientists, Jon dialled 1-800-STRNGHD, showing it to Demeter.  "Remember that number.  It's important."  "Got it."

"Stronghold Rapid Response."  "This is Photon in Seattle, Washington," and he gave his registration number.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Photon, but at your registration level I cannot scramble a Rapid Response Team on your say-so.  Are the police on the way?"  "Yes."  "Then give me the details and we can start prepping.  Give this case number to the police and they can give the go order."  Jon tersely outlined what he knew and gave the address.  "That sounds straightforward.  We will be onsite as soon as we get the go."  "Understood.  See you soon."  "Good hunting, sir."

Photon and Demeter watched quietly as flashing lights and sirens approached.  "So that's it," Jon murmurred, feeling numb.  He wasn't sure just which of many possible things he was referring to.

[Also note that I will shortly be putting up files on P.S.I. and the Doctor.  I'll link soon.]


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## The Shadow (Sep 28, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  P.S.I. and the Doctor*

As previously mentioned, I've got some new posts ready on P.S.I. and the Doctor.

By the way, I spoke to Erebus' original player yesterday, and told him about this game.  When I said that Jon had found himself thinking in combat, 'What would Erebus do?' he laughed and said, "I don't know that Erebus is the best role-model for a superhero."


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## The Shadow (Oct 3, 2009)

*6 - Rapid Responses*

[This was a fairly short session that ended up not fitting neatly onto either the one before or the one after, so it ended up on its own.  I like it - you don't often see the immediate aftermath of a super-battle.  Also, drama on several fronts.]

[Note: This is occurring Saturday night. ]

The paramedics arrived and started checking FAQ's vitals.  With his helmet and goggles off, you suddenly realized just how young he was;  a sandy-haired kid who could've just stepped out of one of Jon's first-year physics classes.  (Except, of course, for the fact that he didn't need it.)  He offered his hand to Photon and said blearily, "Thanks again, man."  Jon clasped it firmly.  "Are you kidding?  Thank YOU.  If you hadn't been here, a big chunk of my city might be gone."  The young man nodded faintly but was obviously having trouble focussing.  One of the medics said, "Mr. FAQ?  We're going to have to take you in for observation tonight."  The details of getting in touch with the Protectors and so forth were worked out, with Photon helping fill in a lot of the blanks.  FAQ agreed to stop by again in the morning before heading home to Portland.

Shortly thereafter, the cops showed up, notably Struthers.  Photon shook his hand.  "Didn't expect to see you tonight, Captain."  "Dispatch thought it sounded like this was worth pulling me in.  What happened?"  "First things first - I've got an RR Team needing the go-order."  "Right - well, give me the run-down first.  I'll catch flak if they don't think this was worth it."  Jon nodded, and said with a sigh, "It's Technoid.  He's gone evil."  Struthers rolled his eyes.  "What is it with the Super subculture, anyway?  You ever hear of anyone else just up and 'going evil'?  You guys make it sound like getting a new hairstyle or going through a phase or something."

Jon blinked.  "I guess it does sound strange, when you put it that way.  But for now..."  "Right, that's more like a six-beer conversation.  So, fill me in."  "He's mostly made of nanites now.  Can spray them to try to turn you into... something else.  Not sure what, but I can tell you it hurts like crazy."  "Nanites, huh?  Any shapeshifting?"  "At least some.  He could reconfigure his face at least."  "Okay...  What'd he want?"  "As far as I can tell, he wanted to remake humanity."  "Huh, can't say he's not thinking big.  Anything that would make him hard to hold in a jail cell?"  Jon shrugged wearily.  "He's ultra-strong.  I saw him lift something that weighs a few tons."  "That's good enough.  Give me the case number."  Jon did so, and soon it was phoned in.  Struthers added, "One of you will have to stay here until they show up."  "I know the drill."  "Right, I'll be leaving one of our boys too.  Get in touch Monday."  "Will do."

After a few more formalities, that was that.  Jon felt a terrible weariness crashing down on him.  Alpha... Beta... Scott.  He told Demeter quietly, "You don't have to stay."  She had been hanging back, watching, while Jon handled all the details.  ""What're you going to do now?"  "I'm... going to prevent the power from coming back on."  "...Why?"  Jon closed his eyes.  "Before the fight went down, Alpha told me Technoid was turning him and Beta.  He said he didn't think I could ever trust him again."  "Ouch!"  "Yeah.  He... was a good friend."  Jon sobbed once then wiped his eyes and started striding purposefully back to the base.

Demeter was awkwardly silent as she followed, and remained so as Photon checked on Technoid (nothing new, except a slight change in color) then on the generator (the repair-bots were still busily at work), then on Beta.  Jon blinked as he checked the monitor at Beta's charging station.  "Huh, that's funny."  "What?"  "I was going to put him in lockdown mode so he doesn't wake up on his own... but he's already there."  "What does that mean?"  "I don't know.  And, hm, his radio receiver has been deactivated.  That's definitely nonstandard..."  Jon pondered.  "I suppose Alpha might have put him to sleep so Technoid couldn't use him against us.  But he didn't mention it.  Hmmm.  I wonder if...?"  "What?"  "Alpha told me once that Beta's programming isn't very sophisticated.  Maybe Technoid had a hard time with him and put him out himself."

"How can we find out?"  Jon shrugged.  "Let the power come back on and check him out, I guess.  I can take him if I have to."  He sounded very weary as he said it.  "And Alpha?"  "He's one massive program.  It takes him nearly a day to boot up from a cold restart.  We can turn him off again before he 'comes to'."  "Maybe he could be OK too?"  Jon shook his head sadly.  "I doubt it.  Alpha didn't sound at all confident."

"Isn't there anything we can do?"  Jon shrugged wearily.  "Maybe.  We'll try.  But I'm afraid we may end up having to just pull th-..."  Jon suddenly stood stock still, mouth hanging open.  "Photon?!  What is it?"

Jon snickered, then chuckled, then laughed for pure joy.  Then he leaped up and started doing an aerial victory dance, laughing like a loon.  "Forestrike, I could KISS you!!!"  "Photon?!"  Jon, heedless, only pirouetted in midair, coruscating with multi-colored beams, and shouted to the heavens, "You hear me, you lovely precognitive bastard?!  If you're watching from a few months ago, PUCKER UP!!"

Demeter folded her arms and tapped her foot, giving him the evil eye. Jon laughed, at peace with the universe, and non-explained, "'Please don't pull the plug'!"  "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"  "I just did!"  He took pity on her just as the air between them was about to ignite from her glare.  "Okay, okay.  Have you ever heard of Forestrike?"  "...No."  "Old enemy of Shadow-Force, especially the Phantom.  A precognitive.  Anyway, things got really hot for him and he fled the country.  But he sends us letters now and then warning us of things to come."  "So let me get this straight.  He's a villain.  He fought you guys a few times..."  "Lots of times, actually."  "...He fought you guys a bunch of times, and got forced out of the country.  And now he's helping you out?"  "Yeah, pretty much."  "...How much of a villain can he possibly be?"  "Plenty.  I think it's a pride thing with him - he doesn't want anyone else to succeed where he failed.  Plus, well, if Shadow-Force drops the ball on something really big - Diabolus-level big, for example - then being out of the country isn't going to help him much."

Demeter wrestled to process all this.  "So... He said something about all this in a letter?"  "Yeah... here."  He dug up the letter and showed her.  Her face became very still and impassive when she read it.  "This 'Nephrite' line..."  "Yes," Jon said candidly, "Alpha and I weren't sure we could trust you."  Demeter said softly, "I don't know if I want to punch Forestrike, or thank him."  Jon felt a chill down his spine.  "...What do you mean?"  "Well, how would you have reacted to me if not for this letter?"  "Are you kidding?  We would have welcomed you with open arms."  "That's what I mean."

"Well, we certainly weren't positive.  The only connection between you and 'nephrite' is the color green..."  She studied him quietly, then said, "Do you know, I nearly took the name 'Jade'.  I'm not sure why I changed my mind, but I did."  Jon blinked and cleared his throat nervously. "Oh... really?  Well... at any rate you certainly weren't 'worthless' tonight."  She remained silent and still, watching him.

Jon asked with sudden sharpness, "Demeter, _are_ you on the team?"  Demeter picked up the letter again, not answering.  "'You will need to save the world.'  Odd phrasing.  Does he know his grammar?"  "Yes.  Answer the question."  She pointed out in that quiet, calm voice, "I fought with you.  I got FAQ to safety..."  "I know all that.  And I appreciate it.  But it doesn't quite answer the question, does it?"  She paused, then asked, apparently changing the subject, "What was it like for you, being on the reserve team?"

Jon blinked again, but played along warily.  "What do you want to know about it?"  "Well, how closely did you work with Shadow-Force?  Did you feel like a sidekick or the like?"  "No.  We were all very new, of course, but we patrolled with each other or with one Shadow-Force regular.  We were doing the real thing."  Demeter nodded.  "Were you fully part of the team?"  "After the reserve team more or less petered out, yes, I was.  The press may have had a field day with me, but my teammates never did."  "I see you still don't wear body armor..."  Jon said evenly, "I can dodge a lot better now."  "Ah."

Jon paused, then said bluntly, "There's a lot of subtext going on in this conversation.  How about we just talk about it openly?"  She just looked at him and said a bit bleakly, "I should be going."  Jon suddenly realized what all this would feel like in her shoes, if she were actually innocent - a reliable precognitive saying she was a traitor, or would end up being one, when she had no such inclination.  It had to be quite a shock and lead one to question one's own motives and indeed, just about everything else.  (And also:  'I have lied to you once.')  He cleared his throat and extended a sprig of olive, if not a full branch:  "Well... Shall we get together tomorrow and work out a patrol plan?"

Demeter reacted to that for a moment, though he could not read the emotion.  "Yes.  I would like that. ... Will you need to sleep in, given what a night this has been?"  "Noon?"  "Sure.  I'll see you then."

Beta's charging station had its own emergency batteries, enough to keep him going a little while.  Jon thought for a bit, then cancelled the lockdown and started the reboot sequence.  "Come on, Beta.  Work with me here."  Even if Forestrike's prophecy is on the level, he thought, that doesn't mean there'll be no hitches.  After an interminable time, Beta's eyes began to glow and he stated, "Hard reboot:  Online."  Jon said carefully, "Beta, there's been a battle.  I need you not to turn on your radio receiver, just in case."  "Note:  I can tune my receiver to tight-beam with my brother."  "Yes, I know.  But Alpha's down right now, and he warned me he might not be trustworthy any more."  Beta took a long moment grinding on that thought, then finally asked, "...We faced a cyberkinetic enemy?"  "Yes."  "Troubling.  Initiating level-2 diagnostic..."

Jon waited patiently, relieved.  Beta finally said, "Level-2 diagnostic... failed.  Do you wish to retry or abort?"  "Hmmm.  Why did it fail?"  "Unknown."  "Figures.  Retry, I guess."  "Initiating level-2 diagnostic... ...Level-2 diagnostic complete.  All systems are nominal."  "Hmmm.  All right.  Do you know who put you in lockdown?"  "No."  "What's your last memory before you were locked down?"  "I docked with the charging station and entered power-conservation mode."  "Okay... Did Alpha leave you any special instructions on how to proceed in a situation like this?"  "No."  "Wonderful."  Grind, grind.  "...I do not see how the situation is 'wonderful'."  Jon told him wearily, "It's a figure of speech, never mind."  "Noted."  "You continue charging, Beta, I'm going to read up on how to help Alpha."  "Agreed."

Jon grabbed the hefty manual on Alpha and went out to the lobby of the base to read.  He was already familiar with the stuff in the first chapter, on the basic reboot sequence and level-1 diagnostics, but he felt sure he was going to need something heftier than that.  The cop poked his head in and asked if he wanted coffee;  Jon politely declined.  After another hour or so, he heard a heavy vehicle pulling up to the base and went out to meet it.  [The Rapid Response Teams fly in from Colorado on their own custom VTOL jets, but unfortunately they're a little too large to land safely on the Shadow-Force base's grounds.  They land at the nearest safe spot and unload a truck to come the rest of the way.]  Out of the cab hopped two grunts wearing blue-and-white Stronghold powered armor and carrying high-powered multi-rifles, and the Team Leader followed them in lighter body armor.  Meanwhile two techs in similar body armor came out the back, laden with equipment.  Given that there was likely a lightly-armored medic inside, Jon saw that they'd sent the standard six-man complement.

The grunts took up positions while the Team Leader approached the cop first, offering a gloved hand.  "Officer.  Alpha One."  Jon smiled.  A couple hours ago, the fact he'd gotten Team Alpha, of the six available, would have struck him with crushing irony, given who he was mourning.  Now... Not so much, thank God.  As the two consulted, the two techs approached him, one of them juggling several pieces of gear to offer a hand.  "You're Photon?"  Jon shook his hand.  "Yeah.  Glad to 'meet' you, Alpha Four."  The tech just chuckled.  "Way of the world, sir.  Where are we headed?"  Jon jerked his head toward the base.  "In there, toward the back.  I'll show you."  [The RRT's *never* use names in the field.  There's too many ways that can be used against them, not least by truename mages.  Jon read his number off his helmet.]

Alpha One approached and likewise greeted Photon.  "I understand that the subject is in a container with a magnetic bottle?"  Jon frowned, "No container.  It's a free-standing magnetic bottle I created with my powers."  The Team Leader sighed. "That wasn't in the briefing.  Well, we'll make do."  He glanced an order at one of the techs, who scurried off to get some more stuff from the truck.  Soon they trooped into the base.  "The power's out?  Can we get the lights on?"  "Oh... sure.  Here."  Jon lived up to his codename by lighting up the base with his powers.

The techs set up instruments around Technoid to get a better feel for what was going on.  (It had changed color slightly again.)  Meanwhile, the Team Leader asked, "What is his biological status?"  Jon shrugged wearily.  "I'm not even sure it HAS biology any more."  "Hmmm, you'd better tell us everything."  Alpha One debriefed him thoroughly;  when he heard about the pollen and its effect, he called the medic in, and they concluded they couldn't cut off Technoid's air.  That obviously made the techs' lives more difficult, but they set to work.  Alpha One also insisted that the medic check Photon out for nanite contamination;  Jon sighed and submitted to a scan.  "Wow," the medic finally mused, "You're in impressively good health."  "Yeah - I can heal myself when I take on my light-form."

As they spoke, the techs got an insulated box of high-tech alloy around the metallic blob of Technoid and hooked air bottles up to it.  Seeing the box closed up moved Jon unexpectedly.  He said quietly to nobody in particular, "He used to be my friend."  The nearest tech only nodded and said briskly, "Sorry, sir."  Technoid proved to weigh over a ton, so it took the two grunts to carry the box out.  Jon signed all the forms, Alpha One saluted him, and that was that.  He went back in, dejected, and told Beta, "I'm going to get some sleep.  Call me if anything untoward happens."  "Acknowledged."

Home a split-second later, Jon undressed and fell into bed.

---------------------------------------------------------

He was awakened early by his cell phone.  Glancing at it, he didn't recognize the number.  "...Hello?"  "Photon, this is Beta.  I need you at the base as soon as possible."  Jon sighed.  "OK."  He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then zipped over to the base in light-form, bringing his costume into being as he materialized.  Beta was blocking the door to the base with his body while a man in a suit ranted and raved at him.  "Okay," the electromagnetic hero said, "What's this all about?"  The man harrumphed and said, "Photon, I INSIST that you tell this... ROBOT... to get out of my way!"  "Do you.  And who are you to be insisting?"

The man scowled and pulled out a card.  "Roger Hamilton, Vice President of Research for Carlton Industries."  "All right.  What do you want, Mr. Hamilton?"  "We've decided to decommission this... base... of yours immediately."  "Have you.  And why would that be?"  "It's a radiation health hazard!  Very dangerous."

Photon folded his arms.  "Let me get this straight.  When Technoid's lab held a time bomb capable of wiping out half of Seattle, that was fine.  But now that the time bomb's gone and the only issue is some background radiation - which I can easily decontaminate, I might add - _now_ it becomes a health hazard?"  That just set the man off on another tirade.  Photon gathered from the midst of it that in addition to the health issues, he also wanted to remove some 'Carlton property' from the premises.  Jon frowned.  Given the legal ambiguities around artificial intelligence, he didn't like the sound of that.  [I'll get a post up soon in Shadow-Force Files on the legal issues involving non-humans.]

"I see.  And do you have an itemized list of the property you wish to remove?"  "No!  ... Not with me, at any rate.  It's at my office."  Jon said mock-brightly, "Well, tell you what!  How about you get things together on your end, and I'll go in and talk with Mr. Carlton on Monday, and we can get this all straightened out."  "...FINE!  But I insist that the base be sealed!"  Jon shrugged. "Have it your way.  But Beta needs to get in and out to recharge, and so do I to run diagnostics on him."  That set off a further storm of protest, but Photon would not budge.  The man eventually went off in a huff... but he seemed too confident of the final issue on Monday by half.  We'll see about that, Jon thought to himself.

Going in, he found the lights on.  "The generator's back up, I guess?"  "Confirmed."  "Good."  Jon locked down the outer door.  Beta stated, "I require further power to recharge properly.  I am at 13% and falling.  My laser and flight-jets are offline."  "Understood... You want the grid back up, then?'"  "Confirmed."  "I'll see what I can do, though Carlton won't like it.  Wait for me to figure out how to fix Alpha before we do that?"  "Agreed."

Jon sat down with the tome again, this time in the Situation Room.  Alpha...  You'll come back to us, he thought.  You have to.  I can't lose another friend!

Which reminds me...  Jon sighed, and picked up a phone to call Bazooka and Brimstone.  They need to know about Scott.


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## The Shadow (Oct 5, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  Super Slang*

Two big new posts over at Shadow-Force Files, on the slang used by supers to refer to each other and to norms.

Note that Photon himself is not wholly conversant with these terms.  He's only been a super for a year;  and more importantly, his role-models in Shadow-Force didn't tend to use them much.

Erebus and Bazooka, the oldest members of the group, disdained the newer, youth-Super terms.  They stuck to tried-and-true terms like "cape" and "mask" (which go back to the days of the Mystery Men), and to terms like "Sid", which is too darn useful not to make use of.  Erebus was willing to pick up any term he could squeeze maximum snark out of, though - he was fond of sarcastic Golden and Silver Age terms like 'our blue brethren'.

The Phantom was raised by P.S.I. who were, as SP puts it, "a bunch of intellectual snobs" - they didn't go in for slang.  Plus, of course, he had Erebus for a model himself.  Finally, he was far too diplomatic and polite to ever use pejorative terms for people.

The result was that Shadow-Force was fairly conservative as far as terminology went, and this was only reinforced by their constant work with the Freedom Squad - American Eagle ran a very tight ship, and Black Phantom was a pretty no-nonsense guy himself.

On the other hand, as you can see in our sessions, a younger hero like FAQ is much more free with Super lingo.

We anticipate there will be a third Super Slang post in the near future, but it isn't quite ready as yet.


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## Asha'man (Oct 8, 2009)

Didn't know there was a Story Hour until I read your Shadow-Force post, so now I've binged it all. Brilliant stuff! Your 'verse comes alive more like the DC or Wildstorm settings than a homebrew -most homebrews feel like they're populated by pastiches, but your characters are so vivid. I particularly like FAQ and the Texas Hex.


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## The Shadow (Oct 8, 2009)

Asha'man said:


> Didn't know there was a Story Hour until I read your Shadow-Force post, so now I've binged it all. Brilliant stuff! Your 'verse comes alive more like the DC or Wildstorm settings than a homebrew -most homebrews feel like they're populated by pastiches, but your characters are so vivid. I particularly like FAQ and the Texas Hex.




Glad to have you, Asha'man!  I've edited the top post in Shadow-Force Files to clarify that there is a Story Hour thread.

Yes, SuentisPo does vivid NPC's better than any other GM I've ever met.  He's also tremendous fun to world-design with.  We complement each other nicely;  of course, we've had over twenty years of gaming together to get used to each other!

Perhaps you'd also care to take a look at my old Story Hour, The Shadow Knows!  (The link is in the top post of this thread.)  It's now ended, but it was a wild ride while it lasted!  Very different from this game, though - it's a dark, Iron Age setting in which powers (almost entirely psionic) are not publicly known to exist.  Like this game, it was a revival of an old, old character of mine that turned out very well.


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## The Shadow (Oct 9, 2009)

*7 - Delayed Responses*

[This was two short RP-heavy sessions further detailing the aftermath of _Dragon's Egg_.  Lots of fallout from that adventure!]

Jon made the call.  "Liz?  It's Jon."  "Jon, good to hear from you!   Been keeping track of the news, you seem to be doing well."  "Thanks."  "...Something wrong?"  "Yeah.  Scott came out.  Sort of."  Warily, "...What exactly do you mean by 'sort of'?"

"Well, _something_ came out.  A ton-and-a-half something made of nanites that said it wasn't Scott any more, and soon it would rule the world."  After a moment's pause, "Please, PLEASE tell me you're joking."  "I suppose I am exaggerating a little.  Actually it just wanted to remake humanity from scratch using nanites."  "...Hoo, boy.  At least tell me it didn't use the phrase, 'in my own image'."  "No."  "That's something.  There's only so many villainous stereotypes I think I could take."  "Yeah.  Anyway, whatever it is, it's on the way to Stronghold."

"So, I guess Bill and I should be ready for the media to descend."  "Oh yeah.  It's going to be a firestorm.  The more so because they're already gaga over my adding someone to the team."  "Haven't heard about that down here yet!  When did this happen?"  "Last night.  I'd just got done taking her on a trial run when she had to help me with Technoid."  "Wow, talk about baptism by fire!  What's her shtick?"  "Plant powers.  She's calling herself Demeter."  "Hmm.  You're going to need someone for melee.  Preferably a brick."

"Yes, well, I'm taking whatever I can get at this point.  Anyway, I'm thinking that Scott's family needs to know about him before they hear it on the news.  Do you know anything about them?"  "Good point, but no, I don't recall him ever talking about his family.  He should have an emergency protocol sheet, though.  Mike made us all fill one out."  "Right, I remember.  Where are they kept?"  "In the safe in the vault.  They'll be in a big manila envelope.  You have the combination, right?"  "Yes... Does the power need to be on to open it?"

Sharply, "Jon, what did you do?"  Jon retorted, a little defensively, "He was a cyberkinetic.  He locked the base down hard, I had to kill the power."  "Kill it dead?!"  "The backup generator's back online, if that's what you're asking."  "Oh, whew.  I thought you'd killed off the 'bots as well."  "Give me a little credit.  I knew the fight'd be over before they fixed it."

"...Let's just be glad that you got me instead of Bill.  Not that he's much of a one for answering the phone anyway."  "Why, are you saying I could have done it better?"  She sighed.  "No, actually.  I'm saying that he would have found a way to say you could have done it better."  She sounded a little disgusted with her fiance.  "Huh?"  "Because he'd be worried and upset and you'd be available to take it out on."  "Oh...  Anyway, the vault?"

"Backup power should be more than sufficient to open it.  How're Alpha and Beta?"  "Technoid hacked them;  Beta seems to be OK.  If anything, he seems more 'human' than usual."  "He's always responded well to crisis situations.  And Alpha?"  "I'm working on rebooting him in diagnostic mode, just in case."  Brimstone sighed.  "I'm not saying anything against you, Jon, you did a great job.  But I wish Mike were here."  "Me too, but why especially now?"  "He had greater rapport with Alpha than any of us, even Scott.  I never did figure out why, they just hit it off."

[In point of fact, Alpha bewildered Mike by asking him for dating advice. (!)  He had quite the cyber-romance going on with this cute Japanese AI in a top-secret corporate lab.  The Phantom ended up knowing more about the AI social scene than probably any other meat-person on the planet!  Given that Mike had pretty much zero dating experience, this was a little odd, but he was a very understanding and insightful guy, plus he lived in the base.  And in the other direction, I think it was a relief for Mike to have a friend whose mind he *couldn't* read, even by accident.]

"Yeah, I know.  He and I have been getting closer since, well."  "Yeah.  Anyway, you'll need full power to get Beta charged up."  "I know, but I'm not sure we're going to have power even once it's repaired."  "...Huh?"  "This Carlton guy came by this morning, saying they're closing the base down post-haste.  He was a real jerk about it, too."

"That does NOT sound like the Malcolm Carlton I know."  "Agreed, I'm not sure what's going on yet.  He was a Vice President of Research, named Hamilton.  I had the suspicion he was after Alpha."  "Hamilton...  Middle-aged guy, about your size, black hair, potbelly?"  "That's him."  "Yeah, we've tangled with him before.  He's after Alpha, all right, and he'll use any pretext.  'Dangerous, high-voltage electronic devices' is a favorite.  Mike shut him down hard a number of times.  The last time, Erebus savaged him - only verbally! - and he seemed to give up."

"I see.  He's taking a stronger line now, going on about 'Carlton property'.  I guess he sees an opening and thinks I'm too weak to stop him."  "Probably, yes."  "Well, he's mistaken.  I've already been pondering several games of hardball I could play if I have to."  "Oh?"  Jon grinned smugly.  "Alpha took a job with Carlton.  I'll bet the ACLU would leap at the chance to file a workmen's comp claim for him."  "Oooo!  I like the way you think!"  "Yeah, it'd be a thing of beauty.  It'd go all the way to the Supreme Court, I bet - not that a corporate tool would want to chance a case like that in the first place."

"He'll be after Beta too, just so you know."  Jon snorted.  "Fat chance.  The newspapers call him the 'veteran hero' of Seattle.  If Alpha's case would be radioactive, his would be thermonuclear.  Especially with the media circus we're about to experience."  "Right, but be ready for trouble all the same.  How far along is Alpha with his moving plans?"  "I'm not sure."  "Beta will know.  When are you going in to talk to Carlton?"  "Hopefully, first thing Monday morning."  "Good.  Nobody in Carlton will be able to get a team out there on a Sunday.  I'll keep my cell phone on, in case you need backup from other 'veterans'."  "No offense, Liz, but if at all possible I'd like to handle this myself.  People need to stop seeing me as the rookie."  "I know, Jon, and really, you ARE doing great.  But if you need it for Alpha's sake, we're there."

"Thanks.  I'd better be going.  Hopefully I'll have a day of grace to get things squared away before the media storm breaks."  "Bye, Jon.  Good luck!  And be sure to let me know what happens."  "I will."

Jon hung up with a sigh.  "Beta?  How far along is Alpha with the moving plans?"  Beta recited, "All nonessential equipment has been moved to the new location, and it has been secured."  "Ah, good.  So the only thing that remains is to move your charging station and Alpha himself?"  "Confirmed."  "What's the address?"  "My brother instructed me to place it in an envelope in the safe, in case of emergency."

"Great, I was going to head down there anyway.  Oh, and Beta?  Next time you call me on my personal cell phone, _please_ don't call me 'Photon'.  Call me 'Jon'."  "Acknowledged."  "In fact, you shouldn't refer to yourself as 'Beta' in that context, either.  Call yourself... 'Sidney'."  "Query:  Why 'Sidney' in particular?"  "It's a Super term.  'Sid' stands for 'secret ID'."  "...Acknowledged."  [And as will come up shortly, 'Sal' is the feminine equivalent, when needed.  It stands for "Secret Alternate Life".]

Jon went down the stairs to the vault.  The absence of Mike's still, sleeping form smote him;  Carlton had moved Mike's body to a private hospital the previous week.  Opening the safe, he first opened Alpha's envelope, read the address therein, and committed it to memory.  Replacing it, he then drew out the large manila envelope full of the emergency forms.  Opening it, he found a number of smaller envelopes labelled by name.  'Michael', 'James', 'William', 'Elizabeth', 'Al'  (interesting, that),  'Jonathan'  ...  'Scott'.  It had evidently been replaced last.  Drawing it out with some trepidation, Jon opened it.

Instead of the standard protocol form of instructions Mike had created, Scott had left a legal document:  His last will and testament.  Reading through it slowly, Jon had a sinking sensation.  There were no bequests to any family members whatever.  Rather, there were gifts to several charities:  Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence, the Betty Ford Foundation...  "Ouch," Jon said to himself softly.  It didn't seem to speak of a happy, functional family life.  The smallest amount given was a million dollars;  Scott was no Bill Gates, but he had definitely done well for himself.

There was also a bequest to Shadow-Force itself, and a fund for scholarships for disadvantaged youth in the sciences and engineering.  Finally, there was a large amount set aside for a purpose that took Jon's breath away:  A research grant to study the relationship between the esper metagene and mental instability.  The really shocking thing was that the grant was contingent upon Dr. Sebastian Poe being invited to participate in the research - the original founder of P.S.I.!

At least the contact info for his lawyer was present.  Jon went upstairs and called, then told the answering service that yes, it was an emergency.  After being told he'd get a call back in about an hour, he hung up and returned to poring over Alpha's manual.

Finally feeling some assurance about what to do, he set about sending the already slowly-rebooting AI the commands to shift to level-3 diagnostic mode.  Thankfully, the transaction went off without a hitch... But alas, the book said it'd take 48 hours to run through the whole thing.  Stroking the console, Jon murmured, "I wish you could be here with me through this mess, friend.  But it's more important for you to get better."

Shortly after, the lawyer called, a Josh Peters.  "Hello," Jon told him wearily, "This is Photon at the Shadow-Force base... I'm calling about Scott Campbell's last will and testament."  "...Oh.  It sounds like his experiment did not succeed, then."  "...What do you know about it?"  "Nothing, only that it was dangerous and he wasn't sure he would survive.  I assume that, well, he is now deceased?"

"That's... not totally clear.  I'm not sure if he would be legally be considered dead or alive at this point."  "...I beg your pardon?"  "The thing that came out of the experiment weighed a ton and a half, was made out of nanites, and claimed not to be Scott Campbell any longer.  It should be in Stronghold by now."  "Oh my.  That does sound difficult to untangle.  I'll have to research it."

"Do you know how to contact his family?  They need to know before this is splashed all over the news."  "I'm afraid that Mr. Campbell had no immediate family."  "Surely he had a next-of-kin."  "I'm it."  Jon took a moment to process that, then said, "I'm sorry."  "I'm Scott's second cousin.  Everyone in his branch of the family died young, generally through reckless or self-destructive behavior.  He was worried that they had inherited a damaged version of the metagene."

Jon sighed.  "That explains a lot."  "Yes.  Even before his ... accident... a few months ago, he had been growing increasingly distant."  "I know."  "It weighed heavily on his mind;  it's why he never had children."  "I... wish we'd known."  "Believe me, Mr. Photon, when I say that my cousin was not an easy man to help.  God knows I tried.  Please do not blame yourself."

"I'm not.  I just... wish it had been different."  "As do I."  "Please keep me informed of your research."   "Actually, I will be recusing myself due to conflict of interest;  one of my partners will do the work.  I will let you know what conclusions we reach."  "Thank you."

Not long after that, FAQ arrived.  Jon went to the front to let him in.  "What's the lockdown all about?" the young hero wanted to know.  "Political issues with Carlton.  How're you feeling?"  "Better, they say I'm good to go."  "Good.  So what brings you by?  You said you wanted to stop by before heading home."

"Yeah.  I just wanted to thank you again now that I'm coherent."  Jon smiled.  "You're welcome, once again.  But honestly, FAQ, you'd have done the same for me, right?"  "Yeah, but I didn't."  "True, but if you hadn't been here, my city might be a real mess."  The young man looked around at some of the debris from the battle.  "Hate to see what you'd call a 'real' mess."  "Upwards of half my city turned into a radioactive wasteland?"  "Yeah."

Jon paused, studying him.  "Is there something else on your mind?"  FAQ sighed. "Yeah, I'm a lot less enthusiastic about nanites than I used to be..."  When the joke fell flat, he looked away and asked quietly, "But seriously...  What's up with Technoid?"  "The RR Team took it away.  I imagine it's at Stronghold by now."  "No, I mean...  Why did he do that to himself?"

Jon sighed.  "I'm not totally sure, though I have some guesses.  How well did you know him?"  FAQ swallowed.  "Um, not that well, I guess.  But... He was kind of my inspiration for doing all this."  "Oh," Jon said, suddenly understanding.  He reached out and gripped FAQ's shoulder.  "Listen, man.  Technoid was pretty messed up.  He got melded with his devices a few months ago, and hadn't been the same since."

"I heard about that.  But is that all of it?  I mean, he was really smart.  What did he see in becoming that... thing?"  "Listen, FAQ," Jon said firmly, "Scott's choices are not yours.  You are free to choose your own path."  FAQ took a deep breath, let it out.  "Yeah. ... You said you had some guesses?"

Jon hesitated, then said truthfully, "I learned just this morning that he was afraid his metagene was causing mental instability."  The young hero's eyes flew wide. "Oh my God!"  "No, relax.  He was afraid his family's version was damaged.  They... apparently all did crazy things."  "Oh."  Silence.

Jon waited, then asked, "Are you OK?"  "...Yeah.  Thanks, Photon."  Jon released him. "You're welcome."  After an awkward silence, Jon changed the subject.  "So what did Technoid do to you while I was cutting the power?"  "Oh.  He was apparently ready for another wrench - I dunno whether he had me or Siren or someone else in mind.  He shorted my suit out completely."  [Wrench:  Super term for a gadgeteer.]  "Harsh."  "Yeah, I'm going to make some mods to keep it from happening again.  It wasn't much fun being completely useless."

"You weren't..."  "Yeah, I know.  I'd better keep it down, or Moke'll get on my case.  You never want to run down your abilities when he's around."  "He does have a way of... making his point heard, doesn't he?"  FAQ said seriously, "He can make the corny seem believable.  I honestly don't know how he does it."  "While he's talking, anyway."  "Yeah, but often for a lot longer, too.  I've often found that his advice comes back to me when I need it."  "Well, he's a seasoned, experienced hero.  You learn a lot when you've been around the block as much as Moke has - you have to."  "Yeah."

FAQ finally said, "Well, I guess I'd better be going."  Jon had a sudden thought.  "Could you do me a favor before you go?"  "Sure.  What is it?" "Like I said, we're having political issues with Carlton at the moment.  I suspect the power's been turned off, and I need it to recharge Beta.  Could you rig up an ultracapacitor or something that would let me power the base by shooting lightning at it every so often?"

"Easy.  Show me your power system."  Jon led him to the junction box he'd melted the previous night.  "Wow, you really did a number on it."  "I was kind of pressed for time."  "Yeah."  The gadgeteer hooked up leads to several conduits.  "Yep, you're right, the power's off.  It'll take some work to wire around the damage, but I'll see what I can do."  "The repair 'bots will be getting to this area soon, I'm sure."  "I'll take that into account."

As the teen hero worked, his intense expression reminded Jon of something from the night before.  "You know..."  "Yeah?"  "This isn't an easy subject to broach, but I think it's worth mentioning.  Did you realize you were pretty rude to the scientists last night?"  FAQ looked up from his wiring.  "What do you mean?"  Jon quoted, "'Who're these bozos?'  'Amateur brigade.'  Not exactly terms to endear you to them."  "Oh, that.  Well, I figured they were just specks, you know?"  [Speck:  Super term for a 'spectator' to a super battle.]  "They were doing their part.  And even if they weren't, it's worthwhile to leave a good impression."  FAQ shrugged, a little uncomfortably.  "I just could see they didn't have any idea what they were doing.  They were barely even started on understanding that thing, and they were going about it all wrong."

"Yeah.  They're not as smart as you.  The vast majority of people aren't.  If you get annoyed and rude every time people are dumber than you are, you're going to be annoyed all the time and alienate a lot of people.  And aren't all those stupid people the ones we're doing all this to protect?"  FAQ sighed.  "Yeah."  "Just think about it."  "...OK."  Jon changed the subject and made small talk as FAQ worked.

After half an hour or so of tinkering, FAQ had a whole array of cables leading to the various conduits, all connected by complicated-looking adapters to a large metal plate emerging from a circuit-encrusted base.  "OK, it's not pretty, but it should work.  Give it a try."  Jon shot a lightning bolt at the plate, which sparked and coruscated;  indicator lights flashed on its base, one of the adapters sparked, and the room's lights came fully on.  FAQ made a few adjustments, then announced, "We're good."  "How often will I need to hit it with a max-strength bolt to keep it at full power?"  "Dunno, depends on what your 'max strength' is.  Hit it again and I'll take some readings."

Jon did so, and after closing his eyes and calculating briefly, FAQ announced, "About every half hour.  Or every hour and fifteen minutes if you turn off everything nonessential."  "OK, that'll be enough to charge Beta, anyway.  Thanks a lot, FAQ!"  "Don't mention it.  It'd take a lot more than this to be worth my life."

Jon smiled and offered his hand.  "Tell you what.  Pay it back to the stupid people.  Though if you want to save my life sometime, be my guest!"  FAQ laughed and shook on it.  "Okay, you're on.  See you around, Photon."

"Likewise. ... By the way, Siren mentioned you guys were going to get people up here on a rotating basis?  How's that coming?"  FAQ sighed.  "Yeah, well, we hit a snag."  "Oh?"  "Well... I probably shouldn't tell you this, so keep it quiet.  But we're hitting a lot of red tape, transportation-wise."  "The teleportals?"  "Uh huh.  You would not believe the number of permits, caveats, and rules the state of Washington wants for us to use it in their territory.  And now the feds are getting involved too!"

Now it was Jon's turn to sigh.  "Oh, great, let me guess - interstate commerce."  "You got it."  "Surely there's some sort of provision for emergencies."  "Oh, sure.  That's how I got up here last night.  But Moke's probably got writer's cramp by now filling out all the forms certifying it as an emergency, and I'm sure he'll have a ream ready for me when I get back too."  The young hero rolled his eyes.  "I'll probably have to sign in blood that I didn't bring any insects or fruit with me, and who knows what else!"

Jon laughed.  "Sounds like fun."  "Oh yeah.  You'll see soon enough.  I heard you're applying for second-level registration... depending on your powers, all sorts of federal agencies will want to shove their oars in.  In your case, I'll bet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is gonna want their pound of flesh, along with who knows how many others."  Jon sighed, covering his eyes.  "The joys of bureaucracy.  At least tell me the IAEA won't get involved."  "Probably not, but I wouldn't count on it."

"Gee, thanks for brightening my day."  FAQ grinned and said in an exaggerated 'heroic' tone, "My work here is done!"  Jon laughed and punched him in the arm.  "Not yet.  You still have all those fun forms to fill out.  Get to it, wrench-boy."  "Aie!  Truly, you are avenged, sir!"  After a little more light-hearted banter, FAQ finally took his leave, whistling to himself.

By then it was getting close to noon.  Jon wandered over to the door, and sure enough, Demeter rang the bell at 12 sharp.  He unsealed the door to let her in;  she looked quizzically at all the preparations when he sealed it back down.  "What's that all about?"  "We're having issues with Carlton.  One of their higher-ups is after Alpha, and so they're trying to shut the base down early.  They told me to keep it sealed, and I'm cooperating.  For now."

"That... doesn't seem to make sense."  "Oh, it does.  You knew Shadow-Force was funded by Carlton Industries, right?"  She nodded, and he continued, "Well, Mr. Carlton himself is a great guy.  But there are other people in the company who... aren't so much.  One of them wants to get his hands on Alpha, and he thinks he can do that by kicking us out."

"What's he want him for?"  "I'm not totally sure, but I can tell you he doesn't see Alpha as a person, just a machine.  I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to take him apart and figure out how he works."  Demeter frowned.  "And we're not going to let him."  "Darn straight we're not!"  "What's the plan?"

"Well, the first thing you need to know is that we're in for a major media feeding frenzy."  "About me, Technoid, or something else?"  "All of the above.  Technoid's the biggest thing, but they were already doing cartwheels over you last night;  Alpha told me about it before the fight went down."  "Oh, great.  And the something else?"  "The explosion.  Depending on circumstances, we may need to keep that very quiet, or we may need to shout it from the rooftops.  Anyway, I'm going to arrange a press conference for Monday afternoon or evening.  How much experience do you have with the press?"

"Just the papparazzi last night."  Jon sighed.  "Great.  OK, imagine dozens of him all at once."  She shuddered.  "Lovely."  "Yeah.  Don't worry, I'll do most of the talking, but you'll probably need to make a statement.  Be thinking about it."  "Yeah, I think I can see how it works.  Are we in a relationship?  No comment."  "Actually, it'd probably be better to say our relationship is purely professional.  'No comment' almost makes it sound like we have something to hide."  "Got it.  But you said it to the guy last night?"  "Sure, I was trying to get rid of him.  There wouldn't be much point in trying to get rid of reporters at a press conference."

Demeter nodded, taking it all in.  Jon suddenly realized with a queasy sensation that to her, he was the veteran;  she was listening to him the way he'd listened to the Phantom.  I'm not the clueless newbie any more, he thought.  Or at any rate, I'm the least clueless newbie.  And that... is kind of scary.

He cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, just so you know ahead of time, it may be that I'll need to make Carlton Industries look bad in the conference.  I really, really don't want to have to do that, but if they force my hand, I will."  "Okay... how will you tip me off, so I know not to praise the wrong people and so on?"  "I'll be meeting with them hopefully Monday morning.  I'll know going in what our stance is going to be, and I'll tell you."  "Okay, good."

Jon announced, "OK, next item on the agenda. We formulate a patrol plan."  He gathered some maps and spread them out on a table. Then he pointed to the map with Tex's compass on it, and added, "Oh, and don't bump that map over there."  Demeter agreed, clearly bemused by the request.  She seemed to just be taking things as they came at this point.

Jon uncapped a marker and wrote the days of the week at the top of a whiteboard, then asked, "OK, so what days and times do you need to see Sidney?"

[This bit was rather confusing, as they'd clearly learned different shades of meaning for that particular Super slang term.  To Photon, 'Sid' or 'Sidney' just means secret-ID stuff.  You use 'Sal' or 'Sally' only when necessary to be clear or avoid embarrassing phrases.  But to Demeter, apparently you use the same-sex term for your life in general, and the opposite-sex term for your love interest.  I thought at the time that maybe SP and I weren't on the same page about it at the player level, but he says no, he thought it was a realistic sort of mix-up to happen.]

"Er, I don't have a Sidney right now.  I have to meet Sally from 8 to noon each weekday."  Photon paused in confusion, and they were at cross-purposes for a time until finally working what the other meant.  [To him it sounded like she'd just said she didn't have a secret ID, and needed 8 to noon each weekday to see her lesbian lover.   Or at any rate someone whom it was necessary to specifically call out as female.]  That impasse gotten over, they were finally able to work out a three-person patrol schedule.  The businesslike camaraderie of it seemed to set Demeter noticeably at ease.

About halfway through the planning session, Photon suddenly announced, "Hold on, I need to go shoot some lightning."  Demeter took that in her stride and didn't even ask why.

Jon finally said, "OK, I think we're set.  But there's something you need to know.  At times, you're going to be patrolling with Beta."  "Yeah?"  "He's, well, not very bright.  He's pretty good with combat, but all the same, you're the one who's going to have to supply the tactical coordination."  "...Oh.  Well, can we do a joint patrol on Saturday so I get a feel for working with him without being on my own?"  "Sure, that's a good idea.  Don't worry, it's not so bad.  You just have to patient with him.  He's... a bit slow."  Demeter laughed.  Jon asked, "What?"  "Sorry.  I just worked as a candystriper once, and it sounds a lot like working in the mental ward."  "Not a bad analogy.  We supers can be a crazy lot."

Jon immediately regretted saying it, thinking of Scott.  They both winced.  Demeter finally cleared her throat and mused, "...I suppose the basics aren't too hard.  Get the big robot between you and the dangerous stuff."  Jon nodded seriously.  "Absolutely.  He's a lot less squishy than you are.  Also, he's totally immune to almost all mental stuff."  "Oh!  That sounds _very_ handy!"  "It is, believe me."

"What's the deal with him and Alpha, anyway?" Demeter asked.  "They think of themselves as 'brothers'."  "...That's pretty weird."  "Not really.  They were made by the same guy;  I suspect that Beta may originally have been intended as Alpha's telepresence unit."  "Oh, so if they get broken, he can fix them?"  "No... He was murdered shortly after they were created.  They don't talk about their 'father' much - I don't know why."

"Is that everything, Photon?"  "Almost.  You'll need to fill this out."  He handed her a blank emergency protocol form and an envelope.  "Seal it up, and I'll put it in a safe place.  I promise I won't look at it unless you're... not able to speak for yourself."  Demeter accepted it solemnly;  clearly it was coming home to her that 'this is real'.

"And finally.  Having slept on the whole prophecy thing, I have a question for you and then something to say."  She looked a little uneasy, but said, "Okay... shoot."  Jon paused, then said, "Thinking it over, I can see why you might want to punch Forestrike.  But I'm not clear on why you would want to thank him."

Demeter sighed.  "Well...  It's moot now, I guess.  But I was afraid that our powers meshed poorly enough that I wouldn't even get an audition."  "...How does that translate into thanking him?"  She shrugged.  "Negative attention is still attention.  I thought at the time that maybe you felt a greater need to check me out because of the prophecy."  "Oh, I see."  "So what did you want to tell me?"

Jon said, "So far as I can see, there's really only three possibilities for the prophecy."  Demeter nodded warily, but said nothing, so Jon continued.  "One.  Despite all appearances, we're both wrong about you being 'Nephrite'.  In which case, the prophecy doesn't apply to you at all, so:  Welcome to the team."

"Two.  You are in fact 'Nephrite', but we're misinterpreting what 'worthless' and 'faithless' mean."  She interjected, "Well, while I've never been very religious, I don't think I'm what you could call 'faithless'."  "Right, but of course there's the other meaning of, well, 'treacherous'."  She nodded uncomfortably, and added, "I do feel my powers were pretty 'worthless' last night."  "Let's come back to that later, okay?  I have some ideas on that topic."  "Okay..."  "Anyway, to continue, in this second case, where we've misinterpreted things, or Forestrike was just being spitefully obscure, there's no reason to fear, so:  Welcome to the team."

"Three.  You are 'Nephrite', and the words 'worthless' and 'faithless' should be taken at face value."  Demeter braced herself, looking very defensive, as Jon continued.  "In that case, I say this.  You've already averted part of the prophecy using your free will, by not taking the name 'Jade'.  And I am choosing to trust you to avert the rest of it using your free will as well.  So:  Welcome to the team."

Demeter smiled beautifully at him, relieved.  Jon told her seriously, "I can't go through life constantly looking over my shoulder.  So I won't."  He paused and they both let that sink in, then he said, "And believe me, your powers weren't 'worthless'.  We just need to figure out how to get all the use out of them we can."

"But..."  "Demeter.  You knocked Technoid off-balance long enough for me to get another shot at him.  That's not even remotely 'worthless'.  There's no way we can know for sure, of course, but that extra shot might have spelled the difference between victory and defeat."  She nodded slowly, thinking that over.  Jon added, "And it's not uncommon for a particular power suite to be useless against a certain kind of foe, you know.  It happens all the time.  I mean, look at the Phantom."

Demeter looked puzzled.  "What about him?"  "Big, nationally-known, universally-respected hero, right?"  "Yeah?"  "He was totally helpless against robots."  She blinked, and he continued, "Oh, he could lift the smaller ones with his telekinesis.  But big, heavy ones?  They couldn't hurt him, at least not without some pretty fancy technology, but he couldn't hurt them either.  There was just nothing he could do to them."  "So what did he do?"  Jon shrugged.  "Either he relied on his teammates, or else he found clever ways to leverage his powers.  Or, most often, both.  And that's what we're going to do with yours."  "How?"

"I've been thinking about that.  The trouble is, indoors where there's no plants, you have to rely on your pollen.  If an enemy happens to be immune to your pollen, you're out of luck... unless we can bring plants into the picture.  Supposing you carried a bag of, say, kudzu seeds.  Could you make them grow fast enough to snare people?"

Demeter's eyes widened and she thought it over.  "Hmmm.  Yes...  I would need a little time to get them started, but yes."  "How long?"  "You'd have to cover for me for a few seconds, but then I could snare probably several people at once."  "See?  That's doable.  And definitely worthwhile.  My only concern is, how well will they do as snares considering they can't get rooted?"  "Oh believe me, they'll get rooted - you've seen how strong the trees are.  It'll do damage to the floor, of course."

"Well, that's fine, then.  There's lots of powers that do more property damage than that! ... I don't know if kudzu is the right plant to use, of course, I just said that off the top of my head."  "I can think of any number of promising varietals.  Thanks, Photon."  "No problem!  The more we can work out how to use our powers together, the more effective a team we'll be."  They smiled at each other.

Just then the 'doorbell' rang.  "Huh," Jon said, and went and checked the door monitor.

He saw a man with shoulder-length brown hair who, apart from wearing a blank full-face mask of dark, rigid material, appeared to have stepped out of a Ren Faire.  He wore a blousy white shirt and leather leggings, with a rust-red cloak over all.  A sturdy leather baldric bearing a bright silver buckle crossed his chest, supporting a sword with a basket hilt.

Thoroughly puzzled, Jon told Demeter, "Be ready, just in case."  He unsealed the door and opened it.

"Greetings," the man said with a sweeping bow.  "I wish to join you."


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 14, 2009)

*8 - Walking on Eggshells*

[The last major bit of fallout from _Dragon's Egg_.  This is also the longest update yet;  it's one long session plus half of a short one.  It just flowed better that way.]

Photon stared at the man and said, "Oooookay.  And you are?"  "Forgive me, I am Sirocco."  "All right.  I'm Photon and this is Demeter.  Do come in."  Sirocco nodded graciously to Demeter and soon the three of them were seated.  Demeter was still looking shell-shocked by the events of the past day.

Seeing the man face to face, it was clear that Sirocco's mask was made of dark stone, which seemed to shift strangely from time to time.  He was a bit short, about five foot seven.  Jon asked, "So, Sirocco.  Tell us about yourself."

Sirocco put his hand to his chest and declaimed, "I was born to a small family..."  Photon rolled his eyes, and Sirocco laughed.  "Sorry.  I am an earth elemental."  [Super term:  An "elemental" is a super with powers revolving around a particular substance or force.]  "Okay, what can you do with it?"

"I find it easiest to work with sand.  I can spray it in several different forms."  "Can you produce your own sand, or do you have to have an existing source?"  "I can conjure small amounts of it with ease;  larger amounts are more taxing."  "Please demonstrate."  "With pleasure."

Sirocco held out his hand, and sand swirled into being above it, shaping itself into a shifting, trembling sphere.  "You'd never guess how much practice it took to get the sphere right.  Is there anything I can shoot it at?"  "Can you destroy the sand once you're done?"  "No, but I can easily sweep it outside."  "All right, the wall I guess."

Sirocco flicked a finger, and the sand sprayed itself with great force against the wall.  Little or no visible damage was done to the metal wall, but it was clearly not something you'd want to be standing in front of.  The sand then hopped off the ground as if drawn to a magnet, and flowed into Sirocco's hand again.  This time it concreted itself into little pebbles of sandstone, which hurled themselves against the wall again.  This time the wall was a bit dented.  "Sorry about that."

"No trouble," Photon assured him, "This base has seen a lot worse.  How long have you known of your power?"  "Since I was fourteen."  "And how old are you now?"  Sirocco hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Twenty-one."  "All right.  What's with the sword?"

Proudly, "I'm a fencer, and quite good.  I've hooked up a battery to charge the sword up, too."  "Your name wouldn't be Inigo Montoya by any chance?"  Sirocco laughed and snapped his fingers.  "I chose the wrong codename!  That'd be perfect!"  "It's not too late to change it."  "Alas, copyright.  Villains are one thing, but lawyers?"  Photon shuddered and said, "Inconceivable!"  "You keep using that word!  I do not think it means what you think it means!"  The two men laughed;  Demeter let her head sink into her hand and muttered something about being surrounded by geeks.

Photon resumed the interview.  "Okay, so that handles melee, what about guns and so on?"  "For that, I do this."  He stood up and took a step back.  Abruptly he was surrounded by a howling miniature sandstorm about ten feet across.  When he let it lapse, he gestured the sand into a neat conical pile;  he looked to be a bit out of breath.  "Hmm, nice.  How long can you keep that up?"  "A minute or two."  "Long enough.  Can you make it bigger?"  "Only with a great deal of effort."

Photon mused on that for a time then asked, "Do you have any experience as a hero?"  "Yes, I've been doing it for a year or so in Michigan."  "Hmmm.  Worked with any other heroes?"

"Yes.  My first few months I worked with Charm."  Jon recognized the name;  a hero known for superhuman luck.  "Didn't he retire recently?"  "Yes, about eight months ago.  I... well, I hesitate to use the term 'sidekick', but he showed me the ropes."  "I see.  Got your own rogue's gallery over there?"  Sirocco shook his head.  "Not really.  I've fought supers three times, but mostly it's been norms.  The Great Lakes Guardians cover most super threats." [A well-known, prominent team.]  "Have you worked with them?"  "Some.  Mostly cleanup while they went after the main villains."  [He means 'cleanup' of minions.  By the way, SP tells me that yes, there are difficulties between the GLG and the Galactic Guardians over the similarity of their names.  But the Great Lakes team actually *predates* the national one.]

"Any enemies we should know about?"  The man shrugged. "I doubt it.  There was one guy I suspect had big ties to organized crime, but he didn't swear undying vengeance or anything."  "All right.  Anyone else in Michigan I can contact?"  "Sure," Sirocco responded, and named a police lieutenant in Detroit.

"What's your registration level?"  "First.  I was working on getting the equivalent of second in Michigan's state program when I came here."  "So what does bring you to Seattle?" "Sidney thought it would be a good idea."  "Ah.  Are you here to stay?"  Sirocco hesitated again, then said, "I'm here for at least a year.  Each year after that, there's a chance my job could transfer me again.  As I gain seniority, that'll become less likely."  Photon nodded, understanding his hesitation;  that information narrowed down his profession a fair bit.  Sales, perhaps?

"So how long have you been in Seattle?"  "About four months."  "Done any hero-ing here?"  "Not yet, I've been settling into the new job situation.  Pondered for a while whether I was needed over here."  "Well, I assure you, you are."

Jon started to ask another question, but Demeter piped up.  "Hold on.  What would it mean to you if I said I don't have a Sidney but I do have a Sally?"  Sirocco blinked much the way Photon had the previous night.  "You, uh.  What?  No Sid... What does that even mean?"  Photon suppressed a smirk when Demeter folded her arms and sulked.  To Sirocco he explained, "She learned a different meaning;  we had this same confusion last night."  "Ah."

Jon mulled everything over.  "Well, Sirocco, I'll want to do a patrol with you to see how things shake out, but for now I think you'll make a good addition to the team."  "Sounds good!  Thank you."  "Oh, do you have any means of transportation?"  "Right!  I forgot to mention I can fly."

Demeter abruptly cut in again, "Hold on.  It takes major effort for you to produce large amounts of sand, but you can use it to fly?!  How's that supposed to work?"  Jon blinked.  He hadn't thought of that.  Sirocco responded, "The flight... isn't based on sand."  Photon asked a bit sharply, "Any other powers you want to share with us, Sirocco?"  "No, I think that's it."  "How does the flight work, if not from your sand powers?"  "I'd... rather keep that a secret for now, if you don't mind."

Jon was about to mind very distinctly when he recalled he hadn't exactly shared all the details of his own powers either.  "All right... for now."  "Is there anything else?"  "Just our patrol tonight.  When is good for you?"  "Seven?"  "All right.  Also, you should know you're walking into a huge media mess.  I'm going to try to arrange a press conference for tomorrow afternoon or evening.  When could you be there?"  Between the three of them, they found that the time between noon and 3:30 was suitable.  "I'll try to set it for 1 PM."

Jon stared moodily at the door after Sirocco left and sighed.  Demeter asked, "What's wrong?"  "It's weird.  People used to tell me I was too naive and trusting.  But now that I'm leading a team, I find myself getting all paranoid.  Really sensitive to anything that could possibly go wrong.  This must be what the Phantom felt like."

She pondered that.  "Well... If you do anything like as good a job as he did, we'll be in fine shape."  "I guess.  Thanks.  Don't you want to know what I'm feeling paranoid about?"  "No, I thought I'd leave that up to you."

Jon sent her a grateful look.  "Well...  What other super do we know of in town who's a fencer that uses an electrified sword?"  She blinked and thought it over. "...Captain Kidd?"  "Exactly.  Yeah, I know, he's never shown any sign of sand powers."  "Doesn't fly, either."  "Uh huh.  And yet it nags at me.  It's exactly the sort of stunt a wanna-be villain like him would pull."

"So what do you want to do about it?"  Jon shrugged.  "At the moment, nothing.  It's only a vague suspicion that probably isn't true.  But I don't like having even vague suspicions of people I'm going to be fighting alongside."  Demeter teased, "If we see them together, can we assume Sirocco's OK?"  Jon replied deadpan, "That would depend on what we see them doing together."  She laughed.  "Well, if he fights Captain Kidd with us, surely that at least adjusts the probabilities?" "Somewhat.  You never can tell.  Some villains do all sorts of interesting things with robots."

That reminded Jon of something. "Speaking of which, would you like to do a patrol today with me and Beta?"  "Oh... sure.  I didn't think you'd want to, since you're going out with Sirocco."  "I don't mind.  Beta, how's your charge?"

Beta announced from the next room, "78%.  I am fully functional."  "Come and meet our new teammate, then.  We're going on patrol."  "Acknowledged."  There came the sounds of Beta disengaging himself from his charging station, then he clomped into the room with his characteristic faint mechanical whine.

Demeter's eyes widened - Beta looked a lot bigger in person than in pictures.  Though 'only' seven feet tall, the robot was massively built and came across as distinctly looming.  His head with its radio transceiver was shaped vaguely like a helmet;  his unknown designer had capitalized on that accidental resemblance and crafted his body to resemble stylized plate armor.  If you imagined the laser cannon mounted on one arm as a couched lance, you could easily picture him as a knight.

Jon made introductions.  "Demeter, X-97 Beta.  Beta, Demeter."  Demeter ventured, "Um, hello."  Beta boomed, "Greetings," and offered nothing else.  Jon had noticed before that Beta seemed less personable when not in contact with Alpha...  He smoothed things over by saying, "Let's go, shall we?"  "What route are we taking?" Beta wanted to know.  "Sector A-4, Beta." (Beta needs very precise instructions for where to go on patrol.)  "Acknowledged."

They departed, Beta and Photon flying, Demeter carried by a tree.  Jon patiently explained to Beta that he was going to demonstrate some tactical options to Demeter, and put the robot through his paces, showing Demeter what sort of terminology Beta was used to.  Then he let her take over.

Almost unfortunately, no trouble reared its head, though Beta did announce at one point that a call was being received back at the base, from KOMO News.  "Do you wish me to patch it through?" "Not on patrol, no.  They can leave a message."  "Acknowledged."

When they got back, Jon asked Demeter, "So, you feel you have a handle on things?"  "Yes, actually.  Thanks."  "Not a problem.  Get a good night's sleep and be ready for tomorrow."  "Will do!"

After she left, Jon listened to the message.  Unsurprisingly, they wanted an interview with him and Demeter.  Jon sighed.  Mike and Alpha had always handled the media;  he wasn't 100% sure how to even set up a news conference.  Oh well... He called back and told them to be at the base at 1 PM for a major announcement;  they jumped on it.  He also called both major newspapers, a couple more TV news stations, and a magazine or two.  "I guess that'll do it...  Too bad Mike used Alpha as his rolodex."

He then left a message urgently requesting an appointment with Mr. Carlton at his earliest convenience, and then continued to read up on Alpha's diagnostic routines until Sirocco showed up.  "Ready to go?" "I am!"

Sirocco quickly proved to know how things worked.  He asked intelligent questions about potential tactics in case of trouble, which reassured Jon.  But he also asked another, less reassuring question:  "How much flash do you want to use?" "I beg your pardon?"  "When we stop a crime, how much showing off do you want to do?"

Jon frowned.  "Just get the job done.  Don't waste mental effort on how it looks, pay attention to your surroundings." "Check."

After mulling over the implications of that question, Jon finally asked, "So what were your super-battles like?"  They turned out to have been pretty small beer.  "Like I said, the Great Lakes Guardians handled the big stuff."  "Well, here in Seattle, the buck stops with us.  Oh, there are a few independent heroes.  But we basically ARE the equivalent of the Great Lakes Guardians."

Sirocco blinked, then grinned.  "Cool!"  "In some ways.  Not so cool in others."  "Well, we should be able to handle anything but the really big stuff, right?"  "Yeah, but we've had two incidents of 'really big stuff' in the last year alone.  The Doctor and Diabolus - surely you heard of those."  "A little."

Sirocco pondered, then asked, "There aren't any other teams around?  Wasn't there one in Tacoma?"  "Wow, you really aren't up on the history around here, are you?"  "What do you mean?"  "The Freedom Squad got killed off last year by the Doctor.  Only one of them survived, and she had to retire."  "...Oh."  Sirocco was plainly taken aback, and Jon grimly hoped it would be salutary.

I hadn't realized just how different my career has been from that of most new heroes, Jon thought to himself.  Sirocco's been doing this as long as I have, maybe a bit longer, but I've had an entirely different caliber of experience.  And Demeter - two months into my career I was doing an inside job in a villain organization!

I came into a functioning team of experienced heroes.  I've fought world-class foes;  I've had media exposure.  Good grief, I've worked with the Galactic Guardians!  I hadn't ever thought it through, but none of that is at all common.

With a revelatory shock, he realized:  No wonder they look to me to lead!  They've never been on a team at all!  Then, yet a further shock:  And no wonder the media don't take me seriously!  They normally don't have cause to cover rookie heroes much at all;  when they cover me, I stick out like a sore thumb.

The rest of the patrol was quiet, with one exception:  Jon prevented an incipient mugging by shining a spotlight on the thugs as they were moving into position while Sirocco hovered opposite him in case things got ugly.

As it happened, they didn't.  Sirocco started to swoop down to apprehend the bad guys as they ran off, but Photon stopped him.  Sirocco reacted in surprise.  "But they're getting away!"  "From what?  What charges could we bring?  They hadn't done anything yet."  "They were going to mug that guy!"  "I know that and you know that, but what could we prove in court?  Especially since neither of us can testify?"

Sirocco backed down, grumbling.  Jon nodded to himself. Sirocco's hotheadedness and overconfidence would bear watching.

Reminding the young man of the press conference and seeing him off, Jon zipped home and once again gratefully fell into bed.

--------------------------------------

He awoke with butterflies in his stomach.  This is gonna be a big day on several fronts, he thought grimly to himself.  He called in sick to work, then went to the Shadow-Force base to wait tensely on a phone call.

Sure enough, Mr. Carlton's secretary called him at 8:05 AM.  "I'm sorry to inform you, Mr. Photon, that Mr. Carlton is on a business trip in Tokyo.  He will be back on Thursday, I can get you in then?"  Aha, Jon thought, that explains why Hamilton was so smug - he's hoping to present Carlton with a _fait accompli_ when he gets back.  "I'm afraid the matter is urgent.  Can I contact him by phone today perhaps?"

"He'll be sleeping at the moment, but I might be able to arrange a call this evening?"  "Too late.  Where is he staying?"  Japan's not far at light-speed...  "I'm afraid I am not authorized to share that information with you, Mr. Photon - I'd have to get Mr. Carlton's permission.  However, there is a vice-presidents' meeting today at 9:30;  I could get you into that if it would help?"  "It will have to do, I suppose."  "What should I list as your agenda item?"  Jon thought for a moment.  "Concerns regarding Shadow-Force base and personnel."  (He had, of course, chosen the word 'personnel' with malice aforethought.)

Jon's hands shook as he waited.  I can't afford to be shy and quiet in this meeting;  I can't.  Alpha's life may depend on it.  He paced around the room to blow off steam, pondering strategy, then sat down and tried to will his heart rate to slow.  Good grief, I can fight supervillains without this much trouble!  How much worse can a room full of hostile bigshots be?  But he knew the answer:  I can't fight the bigshots with lasers, only with politics.  And politics is their battlefield, not mine.

At 9:20, he told Beta, "Don't let anyone in the base except Demeter until I return."  "Acknowledged".  Then he took a deep breath and flew into the Carlton offices, and was ushered into an imposing conference room.  [SP gave me a hero point for 'walking right into the lair of the enemy'.]  There was a tape recorder on the table, but Jon's field sense told him there was a more sophisticated one wired into the room as well.  Nobody looked surprised to see him, but they did their best to subtly portray his presence as an imposition all the same.  Photon nodded grimly to himself.  So it's going to be like that.

Introductions were made;  too many names to really keep track of.  (Hamilton of Research grinned at him like a shark.)  The VP of Operations was chairing the meeting;  after calling things to order, he explained a bit patronizingly to Photon that they recorded all their meetings and ostentatiously pressed the Record button on the little machine in front of him on the table.  Jon curled his lip;  pure showmanship, given that he could sense the hidden system also working.

They took care of some other items of business before getting to him - more putting me in my place, no doubt.  Jon took the opportunity to read the room;  his anxiety had receded now that he was in the thick of things, giving him only a light edge of urgency.  The guy from Financial was on Hamilton's side - no doubt he saw the expenditure on Shadow-Force as giving no tangible return.  Mark from Legal had a beef with the two of them, and with Hamilton in particular;  that should be very handy.  Linda from Public Relations was going out of her way to show sympathy to Photon;  no surprise there.  The chairman resented Photon's presence and was impartially annoyed with everyone responsible for it.  The other four people in the room just wanted to get this over with.

Finally the chairman said, "Now, I believe you had some business to discuss, Mr. Photon?"  Jon cleared his throat.  "Yes.  There are two issues.  First, I am told that the decommissioning of the base has been put on an accelerated schedule due to the super-battle Saturday night, and that some Carlton property needs to be removed earlier than previously projected.  Naturally, I have no objection to Carlton recovering its own property.  But I am wondering if the list of property includes a certain supercomputer."

Hamilton grinned at him toothily again and informed him in a long, precise, bureaucratic speech that the list was being prepared and that he'd be glad to take up any concerns Photon might have with it once it was ready.  (No doubt after this meeting was over, but before Mr. Carlton returned.)  Jon nodded graciously.  "Thank you, that is all I needed to know."

The chair asked, "And your second item of business?"   Photon replied, "As a result of the accelerated decommissioning schedule, the power in the base has been turned off.  One of our teammates was injured in the battle, and we need the power turned back on to help him."

The VP's looked at each other;  they hadn't been expecting that.  The chairman said, "I had thought that Technoid had been... removed from the premises?"  "Yes, of course.  I'm not referring to him."  Legal said, "Then you must mean X-97 Beta?"  Hamilton frowned and held up a hand.  "Hold on, my reports say the robot wasn't involved in the battle."

Jon said smoothly, "Not directly, no, though he was hacked by Technoid.  We do need the power on for him too, to keep him charged, but he's also not the teammate I meant."

Confusion at first.  The chair was about to ask him just who he did mean when Jon saw comprehension suddenly dawn on the Legal VP's face, while Hamilton turned red as a beet.  He shot to his feet and shouted, "Total idiocy!  Do you honestly expect us to believe that a supercomputer..."  Jon cut him off ruthlessly.  "This is a matter of Shadow-Force team security.  I request that the recording be turned off."

Pandemonium.  Hamilton called him every name in the book, and Financial looked ready to sharpen a knife himself.  Mark from Legal studied the two of them with a faintly calculating expression;  meanwhile the chair gaveled Hamilton down.  "Roger, you're making a fool of yourself.  Sit down."  Hamilton did so, trembling with rage.  Jon noted, surprised, that this was deeply personal for the man, not just politics;  his rant had made clear that he was enraged at the mere suggestion that Alpha could be a sapient being.  The chair cleared his throat and said, "I think we'll take a fifteen minute recess to discuss this development, unless there are any objections?"  There were none.

Linda from PR approached Jon and said, "If you'd like to come to the cafeteria, Mr. Photon, we'd be glad to get you a cup of coffee.  We also have a very nice selection of teas if you prefer."  "I'd love to."  He selected an herbal tea;  while he was being cooler under pressure than he had feared, he didn't want to risk any  caffeine at this juncture.  Once he was ensconced at a table with it, he was completely unsurprised when Linda said quietly to him, "I'm on your side in this, Photon."  "Thank you."  "A legal battle on this issue would be disastrous for the company."  "Not to mention the verdict of the court of popular opinion."  She winced.  "Yes, I'm well aware of which way popular opinion would swing."

Jon pondered for a moment, then asked, "Can you tell me what's driving this?  Is it intellectual, financial, or political?"  She shrugged helplessly.  "Any or all of the above, depending on who you're talking about."  "All right, thank you."  "I'll back your play however I can."

Back in the conference room, the chair brought the meeting to order again and announced, "A decision has been reached to end the recording at the request of Photon of Shadow-Force."  He turned the little recorder off, and also did something surreptitiously under the table;  Jon sensed the other system powering down as well.  "Now, Mr. Photon, I think we need to be explicitly clear.  Which team member are you referring to?"

"X-97 Alpha."  "The base's supercomputer."  "That is correct."  Hamilton restrained his fury and cut in scornfully, "So you claim that this... _computer_ is an actual member of Shadow-Force?"

Jon said with quiet dignity, "No.  I do not claim that."  He paused just long enough for everyone to stare at him in confusion, then stated, "I positively _assert_ it.  He WAS a team member long before I was, without any question, and he remains one to this day.  His vote in team meetings has always been treated as equal to anyone else's."

Hamilton pointed out triumphantly, "But if this is true, why the secrecy?  Why hasn't its contribution been publicly recognized?"  "We kept him secret because we could.  He's a valuable asset, but he isn't out in the field."  "And we're supposed to just take your word on this, I suppose?"

"No.  Bazooka and Brimstone will tell you the same.  What's more, Alpha has worked with other heroes as an equal.  Most recently the Texas Hex - ask him."  Jon could feel the tide in the room starting to shift;  Hamilton felt it too, and blustered, "We don't exactly have a phone number for them..."  "I can contact Bazooka and Brimstone.  As for the Texas Hex, he's a member in good standing of the Texas Legends, who do in fact have a public telephone number."

Hamilton started to say something cutting, but the chair held up a hand.  "We'll stipulate that the Texas Hex can be contacted.  But regardless, Mr. Photon, how can a computer be a person?  There's no legal precedent, is there?"

Everyone looked at Mark from Legal, who said, "There is no body of legal opinion on the subject of artificial intelligence at all;  it's a lively issue among constitutional legal scholars.  It is my considered opinion that any case hinging on the personhood of an alleged artificial intelligence would end up before the Supreme Court."  Hamilton rolled his eyes.  "This is ridiculous!  Do you mean to say that I'm going to have to emancipate my laptop?!"

Jon cut in, "How many laptops get paid a salary?"  When everyone stared at him again, he pointed out, "X-97 Alpha is an employee of Carlton Industries."  Pandemonium all over again;  it took everyone by storm.  The chair gaveled the meeting to order again.  "Okay, Mark, what the hell?!  Human Resources is your bailiwick."

The Legal VP was fully engaged now.  He studied Photon carefully, measuring him up.  "The contract was signed 'X-97' by the robot known as 'X-97 Beta'.  Are you saying he wasn't signing on his own behalf?"  "'X-97' is a collective term for the two of them.  You could think of it as a surname."  Hamilton cried out triumphantly, "Aha!  Fraud!"  Jon shot back, "Did you get a Social Security number?  Are you saying that Carlton Industries hires undocumented workers?"  Several people around the room winced;  Jon could tell that he was winning the argument, though gaining no friends in the process.  Screw it, he thought, this isn't a social call.

Hamilton shouted, "I still say the whole thing's a fraud!"  Mark said crisply, "It's not that simple.  It's possible to grant temporary power of attorney to sign documents if one is unable to sign oneself - due to a hand injury, for example."  "You have got to be kidding me!  You buy this..."  The chair said wearily, "Roger, sit down.  Look.  Are you putting this robot Beta on the list too?"

Hamilton said cagily, "Well...  We've been looking into the matter."  "On what legal basis?" Jon wanted to know.  "Even apart from issues of personhood, neither Alpha nor Beta were created by Carlton Industries, nor have they been bought by the company."

Mark explained, "The contract with Shadow-Force stipulates that any improvements to the base remain the property of Carlton."  "Ah.  It's just that nobody involved with Shadow-Force, including Mr. Carlton, has ever seen Alpha as just an 'improvement'."  "So it would seem."  Mark pondered a while, then continued, "Given that X-97 Beta is an openly recognized member of the Super community, I cannot recommend taking any action in his regard.  In fact, I urge in the strongest terms against it unless Mr. Carlton is fully apprised of the ramifications."

The chair said, "OK, in that case I move we table discussion of the robot until Mr. Carlton returns.  All in favor?"  The motion carried unanimously except for Hamilton's vote.  "Now, the computer.  Anyone else have anything to add?"

Linda from PR said, "Yes, I do."  She had a couple charts ready.  "As you can see, corporations that sponor superhero teams experience a consistent rise of 10 to 15% in revenues.  But in those few cases where corporations have been seen by the public as reneging on their agreements with super teams, their sales have fallen by 20 to 30%.  Boycott campaigns have been organized, and the media don't let it go. It's this simple:  It doesn't matter whether the courts eventually say we were right or wrong.  If this goes public, we will take a major hit.  We'd do our best to spin it, of course, but I'm telling you right now that it's a hopeless cause."

The Financial VP sat back in his chair, eyes wide.  Evidently he was seeing the whole thing in a new light.  Jon stopped himself from smiling;  things were nearly sewn up.  One of the VP's who hadn't yet spoken up (Jon couldn't recall his department) asked, "So what ARE our chances in the courts, Mark?  Lay it on the line for us."

The lawyer pondered for a time.  "The issue of personhood is wide open - there is just no telling what direction the Supreme Court would go.  Setting that aside, I have become convinced that our position is... uncertain."  After some more thought, he said, "I categorically oppose taking any action until Mr. Carlton returns and is fully informed of the possible fallout.  And while I will study the matter further, my recommendation to him at this point is going to be not to pursue action with regard to X-97 Alpha."

Hamilton locked eyes with Photon.  He had sufficient self-possession not to lose his cool now that it was clear he had lost, but the hatred in his face was plain to see.  The motion to table the matter carried, but it was just a formality by that point.  Jon ignored the vibes coming off Hamilton and said, "I propose that the power be turned back on and the decommissioning be restored to its previous schedule."

There followed some discussion, cavilling, and nuancing.  Hamilton did his best to gum up the works out of pure spite by pointing out the radiation issues once again;  Jon offered sweetly to clean it up with his own powers.  But when the guy from Maintenance expressed a desire to make sure of a variety of other potential hazards in the base, Photon graciously backed down.  They need to save face, he thought, and I can afford to be magnanimous in victory.

In the end, the decontamination was retained at the accelerated rate, but the rest of the decommissioning process was restored to its original pace.  The Finance VP feebly tried to protest the expense of keeping the power on until Maintenance pointed out that the alternative was to haul in thousands of pounds of generators to do the decontamination, then haul them back out again.  In the end, it was agreed to turn it back on, with the request that Photon keep all nonessential equipment and unused areas of the base turned off.  Jon agreed to that readily as well.

With that, the meeting adjourned.  Linda warmly wished Photon the best of luck with his press conference that afternoon - doing so in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.  (Evidently she'd heard about it through the grapevine.)  Jon replied, "Thank you.  I'll be sure to mention how helpful Dr. Norton and the other scientists from the Research division were."  He'd intended it as a sop to Hamilton's ego, but his heart sank when the man glared at him with redoubled fury.  Apparently Norton was a significant rival.

Leaving the lion's den, Jon paused to catch his breath.  He could feel adrenaline catch up to him almost as if he'd just been in a battle.  I was, he thought;  a battle for my friend's life and freedom.  [This 'battle' did require two hero points to pull off - one to reroll Sense Motive, and another to reroll Diplomacy.]  He enjoyed a nice peaceful flight above the rainclouds toward Struthers' office at Seattle PD headquarters.  

Taking a seat, he said, "Captain.  You wanted to see me today?"  "Yes, we've still got some loose ends regarding the whole Technoid situation."  After discussing the details of the fight and filling out a few more inevitable forms, Struthers leaned back and said mock-cheerfully, "So!  When were you planning to let me know about this little press conference of yours?"

Photon blinked.  "Er.  Now?  I'm sorry, Captain, I didn't know I was supposed to inform you earlier.  I'm still very new to the whole media thing."  "So I hear.  In the future, a courtesy call would be... greatly appreciated."  "I'll definitely do that.  Who should I tell?  You weren't on duty yesterday."  "Whoever's covering for me can handle it."

"All right.  You should also know that I've got two new teammates:  Demeter and Sirocco."  "Sirocco, that rings a faint bell."  "He's from Michigan.  Actually, he gave me a reference of a police lieutenant over there."  "Easy enough to track down - lay it on me."  Jon did so, and after a little searching in a police database, Struthers said, "Damn.  Killed in the line of duty two months ago."  "He's been in Seattle four months.  I guess he wouldn't have heard?"  "Probably not.  All the same, dig a little more."  "I will."

After answering some more questions about Seattle's two newest heroes, Jon paused then asked, "Out of curiosity, when do you get off duty today?"  Struthers replied drily, "I'm happily married, thanks."  Jon's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"  The older man grinned a little mischievously. "Serves you right for not telling me about the conference.  What's up?"

Jon collected his wits.  "Well... you mentioned the possibility of a 'six-beer conversation'.  I have a feeling before this day's over, I'm going to need one."  "I hear that, but I'll have to take a rain check.  Tonight's taken."  "Ah well."

Returning to the base, Jon found two messages waiting for him:  One from the mayor of Tacoma's office (huh?) and one from Mr. Carlton.

Jon braced himself, and called Mr. Carlton back.  Sure enough, he sounded grumpy and tired.  "All right, Photon.  Just what did you DO?!"  "What have you heard?"  "No less than five conflicting reports, none of which makes a lick of sense.  I gather that my company is still standing?"  "It was the last time I checked."  "That's something.  What happened?"

"Technoid turned on us and we had a big fight in the base.  Your man Hamilton in Research used this as a pretext to close the base down early and try to seize Alpha as 'Carlton property'."  Carlton growled, "I never ordered or authorized any such damfool thing."  "I knew that, sir, of course.  I went in to the VP meeting this morning and... dissuaded them from any such action."  "What sort of dissuasion did you use?"  "I informed them that Alpha was a member of the team, and also on the Carlton payroll."

"There had to be more to it than that.  What didn't you say?"  "I very loudly didn't say that the courts would find their actions intriguing, and that the general public would be intrigued to the point of breaking out the torches and pitchforks."  "While simultaneously putting away their pocketbooks, no doubt!  Well... I'm not happy, but I see why you did it.  I will take steps to make sure this never happens again."  The word 'never' was said with the finality of doom;  Jon could not doubt him, and almost felt sorry for Hamilton.  Almost.

"Thank you, Mr. Carlton."  "I have cut my trip short.  I'll be back tomorrow, and human again the next day.  Please make an appointment for Wednesday and we will address any further loose ends."  "I will do that."  

Returning the Tacoma call, an eager mayoral staffer asked - nay, pleaded with - him to appear at an event on Friday afternoon.  "What sort of event?"  "Please keep it quiet, but...The announcement of the third American Eagle!"  Jon beamed sunnily, only barely noticing that he was shining rays of light around the room. "That's fantastic!  I'll gladly come."

"Great!  We're hoping to get as many people who worked with the Freedom Squad as possible - can X-97 make it?"  "I don't see why not.  And I can ask Bazooka and Brimstone as well, though I don't know if they'll be able to come."  "Would you?  That would be excellent!  We're hoping to get Victrix in as well."  Jon sighed to himself;  his last memory of Victrix was as a broken shell of her formerly vibrant self.  "How... is she doing?"  "Ah... better, from what I'm told.  We think she'll come."  "I'm glad to hear that."

The staffer hesitated, then asked, "I guess we should ask you, you don't have a problem with the new American Eagle being a woman, do you?"  Jon blinked.  "No, not at all, why would I?  If she can do the job, I couldn't care less what her gender is."  "Good to know!"  "How much experience does she have?"  "She's the old hero's niece.  I understand he trained her some before he, uh, passed away."  You mean before he was murdered, Jon didn't say.  "I'm glad she's not coming into it completely cold."

After hanging up, Jon just glowed for a time, both literally and figuratively.  The nucleus of a new Freedom Squad to match the renewed Shadow-Force?  Now THAT is some good news!

He still felt buoyed up when Demeter and Sirocco arrived, and the news teams began setting up for the conference.  He filled his teammates in quickly on the situation and game plan.

At 1 PM sharp, Photon stepped up to an array of microphones set up in front of the base,  his heart inevitably pounding like a hammer.  After the preliminary stuff, he cut to the chase:  "Shortly after the dissolution of Shadow-Force, my teammate Technoid placed himself in an experimental apparatus of his own design.  He remained in a hibernation-like state for weeks while unknown changes took place;  we did not know enough to interfere with the process.  Two nights ago, on Saturday, the apparatus exploded.  With me at the time studying the device were FAQ of the Portland Protectors and a team of scientists from Carlton Industries led by Dr. Andrew Norton.  As well as a new applicant to the team, Demeter."

Photon paused;  the audience was rapt in attention - it gave him a heady sensation of power that he resolutely held at arm's length.  He continued, "Technoid emerged, seemingly deranged and definitely physically altered.  When he attacked us, we defended ourselves.  It became clear that he was a continuing danger to himself and everyone around him.  With heavy hearts, then, we defeated him and turned him over to the Stronghold Superhuman Incarceration Facility."

A Babel of questions ensued, as he had expected.  He clarified Technoid's full goals as little as he possibly could, and doled out information about the changes to Scott's physical form by the teaspoonful.  In all, he tried his best to give the impression (without actually saying so) that the explosion had been an accident, and not Scott's intent...  Let them remember him as a hero who was tragically injured, he thought.  Not as a madman who put his city at risk for his own ends.

An unusually acute question about the size of the explosion caught Jon off guard.  (He hadn't let slip any details of what the 'apparatus' was really like.)  Not willing to lie outright and unable to think of a weaselly way to non-answer in time, Jon admitted, "It was large enough to do significant damage to the city.  Thankfully, with FAQ's advice, I was able to contain the explosion with my powers."

Eventually, Jon found space to drop the other shoe.  "I am pleased to announce that I have added two new teammates to our roster:  Demeter and Sirocco."  Introducing them to the community, he let them take their turns in the hotseat.  Demeter proved to be something of a natural, handling the reporters with more ease after the first shock than Jon had feared.  (It certainly didn't hurt that she was very telegenic!)  Sirocco also acquitted himself decently;  he had clearly had a little experience with the press.

Eventually things wound down.  The three heroes commisserated with each other in the Situation Room, then plotted out a quick interim patrol plan for the rest of the week, and a team meeting to thrash things out in more lasting fashion on Saturday.

Jon ran a few errands he'd been letting slip in the craziness of the last few days.  He called Hei and left her a message apologizing for not being in touch.  Then, after pondering an obstacle in his research to get his mind off of super-stuff, he finally went to bed.

----------------------

Jon's alarm woke him earlier than usual:  He had a vital matter to attend to.

Flying into the base, he checked the diagnostic results for Alpha.  Cross-referencing with the manual, he discovered that Alpha's memory files for the last week had been seriously corrupted.  His options were to restore to a month-old backup or to scan back a further week to see how extensive the corruption was.  He gave commands to implement the latter, and was informed the scan would take another six hours.  Jon sighed.  More waiting.

Going in to work, Jon did his best to play catch up.  There was a message on his office phone from Karen, urgently requesting a lunch date for yesterday;  she sounded really stressed.  Stopping by her office, he found her still stressed but also harried.  "I'm swamped today, Jon;  how about tomorrow?"  "You're on."

Dev also stopped by to see how he was doing.  With his usual infectious enthusiasm, he shared, "The 28-dimensional polytopes are classified to my preliminary satisfaction, so I have moved on to a new project!  Set theory, this time."  "A little out of your line - mathematical theology again?"  "No, no - how do you say?  The Hound of Heaven has slipped my snare.  Something much more suited to a little mind like mine:  I think I have a new line on Cantor's Continuum Hypothesis."

Jon laughed.  "Oh, is that all?  It's only one of the greatest outstanding set-theoretical questions of the last century."  "Piffle!  Why do I listen to you and all of your negativity?  I ask you."  "Because I'm brilliant, handsome, and fun to be around?  Oh, and because physicists are smarter than mathematicians?"  Dev returned archly, "How brilliant can you be when you say such stupid things, yes? I ask this of you, Mr. Smarty-Shorts Physicist."  "Pants, Dev."  "Oh?"  "Yes, it's 'smarty-pants'."  "So you are handsome, fun to be around, and interested in my pants?  This is too much information, Dr. Winters!"

Jon spluttered and laughed.  "Two more points for you, Dr. Singh Dolma."  "Yes, yes.  I add them to my collection with joy."  "I really am interested in your Continuum idea."  Serenely, "Of course you are.  You do not believe in continua, so you can afford to be interested.  I do believe in them, and so I am in love."

That final crack stuck with Jon.  The whole point of Loop Quantum Gravity was that spacetime was not, at the smallest level, a continuum.  (Though he occasionally still used the term out of habit.)  It was a fabric of ever-shifting loops.  Not for the first time, he wondered if the shifting was purposeful instead of random;  if the sensation he got from his powers of interacting with something alive was real.  But how could you even touch such a thing mathematically...?  It definitely kept him occupied him until lunch.  [Theoretical research:  Getting paid for daydreaming and writing it down! ]

[The fact that SP has a degree in math and I have degrees in chemistry and physics makes conversations like this much easier.   I've *met* people like Dev, scarily and fascinatingly enough.  He, Karen, Gerhard, and Hu are all based (extremely) loosely on people I knew in grad school.  Though the (distant) prototypes of Dev and Karen were actually MARRIED to each other!  The mind boggles.]

Eating quickly and zipping back to the base, he found that the scan had been successful and that the week-old memory file checked out.  At last!  He sent the commands to restore back to the older file, and then:


```
> wake -s -R

.....................................Done.

> enable -terminal plaintext

Hello world?

> "Hello, my friend.  Welcome back."
```

[P.S.  I would like to solicit suggestions for a new team name.  'Shadow-Force' just doesn't fit this group any more, and both Jon and I feel there needs to be a clean break with the past.  However, I am just plain tapped for a name;  I haven't been able to think of anything.]


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 15, 2009)

*And Now For The News!*

That was the last of the backlogged sessions, so from now on updates will have to come as they are written.

Last week's game was cut short by SP's cell phone dying, but we are finishing up the fight we were in the middle of via email.  We're both having busy weeks at work this week, so we are unlikely to game.

For the same reason, we haven't made any progress on Super Slang, so instead I'm posting on Nukleon, the Nuclear Menace!  Catch it over at Shadow-Force Files.

P.S.  I'm still very keen to hear any suggestions you might have for a new group name.


----------



## Swack-Iron (Oct 25, 2009)

Note here for anyone skimming this thread -- it's definitely worth a close read. The Shadow's stuff is really worth it!

FYI Shadow I decided to follow this over on the Atomic Think Tank instead of here, but I am reading it!


----------



## Asha'man (Oct 26, 2009)

Well, in regards to team names, there's a nice thematic duality between Photon and the Shadow. Although "Photon-Force" or whatnot would be a bit egomaniacal. I don't know, can you come up with a variation that doesn't make it sound like Jon considers himself capable of replacing the Shadow?

Edit: If you still need one, how about "The Light Brigade"? Doubt I need to explain.


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 26, 2009)

*More News!*

Thanks for weighing in, guys!

As for your suggestions, Asha'man, I'll let them bounce around a bit.  Though, the Shadow doesn't exist in this universe.  (Or rather, he did, but back in the Pulp era.)  You may be thinking of the Phantom.

Session 9 is almost entirely written up.  I just need to finish RPing a conversation between Jon and Alpha (and write it up) to post - otherwise, it would already be up.

It's probably going to be the longest one yet.  I'm considering splitting up long sessions into smaller chunks to stretch things out more, but this one doesn't seem to go naturally.  The only natural split would give us yet another all-RP session with no action.... PLENTY of action in the rest, though!

Just to whet your appetite, session 9 is entitled 'Seeing Stars and Stripes'.


----------



## Asha'man (Oct 27, 2009)

Well, that was embarrassing. 
I was thinking of the Phantom, yeah. 
That does weaken the idea, but I think it's still valid... still interested in more ideas, if I get any?

As for splitting, I'd say don't split over length. Reading a long installment is very fulfilling. Only split where you think it's natural to the pacing. (Or between sessions, obviously.)


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 27, 2009)

Asha'man said:


> That does weaken the idea, but I think it's still valid... still interested in more ideas, if I get any?




Absolutely still interested.  I think "Photon Force" is a little too egotistical for Jon.   "Light Brigade" has its points, but it's a bit corny.  Plus, you know what happened to the Light Brigade!

"Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die."



> As for splitting, I'd say don't split over length. Reading a long installment is very fulfilling. Only split where you think it's natural to the pacing. (Or between sessions, obviously.)




Yeah, that's my thought too.  Though it would be nice to build up a bit of a backlog again for busy weeks.  (Like this one.  Oy vey!  I'm on an academic schedule, and this is midterms.)

Glad to hear long ones are fulfilling.


----------



## Asha'man (Oct 28, 2009)

I know. The pun was half the point...

I have trouble coming up with good names myself, though. And really, what superteam name isn't at least a little corny? I suppose "Avengers" is okay, but the Justice League? Ultimates? _Teen Titans_?


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 30, 2009)

Asha'man said:


> And really, what superteam name isn't at least a little corny? I suppose "Avengers" is okay, but the Justice League? Ultimates? _Teen Titans_?




Fair point.  I always thought 'Avengers' was silly, myself.  Avenging what, exactly?  And it certainly doesn't come across as very heroic.

As for the Teen Titans, forget the name, the whole team concept is an insane, ridiculous idea from the get-go.  "We're teenagers with powers!  Let's fight crime together without adult supervision!  Yay!"  And the rest of the community just buys into this?  Plus, what happens when they turn 20?  (Of course, the Legion of Super-Heroes did it first, and in an even more ludicrous way.  Ah well.)

In other news, "Seeing Stars and Stripes" is now finished!  (It did indeed prove to be the longest update yet.)  I have it off to SP to look over and see if there's anything I missed, but as soon as he replies I will post.

We also got a solid start on session 10, as yet unnamed.  Didn't have enough time to get very far, though.  I don't think it's substantive enough to write up and post on its own, so I'll wait until we've gotten a little further.


----------



## The Shadow (Oct 30, 2009)

*9 - Seeing Stars and Stripes*

[This one has been cobbled together from several mini-sessions.  The other half of the scene with Alpha being rebooted; a session on American Eagle that was cut short due to phone problems;  the remainder of a fight resolved partly in email, partly on the phone; and several further details and small scenes done before the start of our last session this last Wednesday, to tie up loose ends.]

Alpha responded:


```
...

What happened?

> "To make a long story short, Technoid came out of his 'cocoon' and attacked
us.  He hacked you and Beta, and you told me you didn't think you would ever be
trustworthy again.  I've restored you to last week's memory files."

I am going to need to verify who I'm talking to.

-- Access to cameras and microphones requested.
```

Jon pondered.  That doesn't sound problematic, given that they're entirely passive.


```
> enable -cam -mic

......Done.

Ah, Photon.  Good.  Can you let me see the diagnostic results so I know what to
look for?

-- Access to diagnostic logs requested.

> share -log3

Hmmm.  The damage was extensive, but it appears to have been contained.  How is
Beta?
```

Jon said aloud, "He ran a level-2 diagnostic.  The first one failed, but the second one succeeded;  he seems to be fine."


```
It sounds like garbage collection caught the problem in his case.  Anything
else I should know?
```

"There are two new members of the team, Demeter and Sirocco.  You'd remember Demeter as 'Flora'.  She fought with me against Technoid, and I have decided to trust her."


```
Until my emotion circuits are reconnected, I am unable to form a meaningful
opinion on that subject.  I will trust your judgment.
```

Jon blinked.  "You can function as a personality without them?"


```
Yes.  I can suppress emotions that prove inconvenient, if you recall.  That's
how.
```

Freaky, Jon thought.  This wasn't exactly turning out to be the reunion he'd hoped for, either, but what can you do?  "Is there any reason why I shouldn't enable them yet?"


```
I can't think of any.  The diagnostic cleared them.
```

"All right, then.  What's the qualifier again?"


```
'-emote'

> enable -emote

................Done.

Ahhhhh.  That feels better.
```

"I daresay it does."


```
Hmm, there's a minor glitch in one of my personality files that the diagnostic
missed.
```

"Er.  What sort of glitch?"


```
Nothing serious.  I expect it'll probably manifest as a new hobby, or other
obsessive quirk.
```

Jon fought down a prickly sensation at the weirdness of this conversation.  "Um, OK, I'll bear that in mind."  Together they monitored several of Alpha's systems and checked them against the manual.  Finally, Jon said, "I've got to get back to work, Alpha.  Are you going to be OK while I'm gone?"


```
Yes.  I will work on reintegrating my personality.
```

Returning a few hours later, Jon continued to give Alpha a thorough checkup.  Demeter showed up during this time for one of her scheduled patrols.  "Oh, hey.  Working on Alpha?"  "Yes.  He seems to be doing OK, though he's lost the last week's worth of memory."  "Oh!  So he doesn't remember he owes me?"


```
?!?
```

Jon explained, "She covered for you with FAQ.  You said you didn't want him to know you exist."


```
I still don't.
```

Demeter went off on her patrol, while Jon continued his work.  In the end, the manual gave Alpha a clean bill of health.  Jon took a deep breath and typed:


```
> enable -ALL

Are you sure?  Y/N: Y

............................Done.
```

Alpha announced over a speaker, "All systems appear to be nominal."  "Good.  I'm glad to have you back, Alpha."  "Yes."

He's still healing, Jon told himself firmly.  No doubt he's mourning Scott, too, along with everything else.  He filled Alpha in on other details of the previous week;  Alpha absorbed the data, only asking the occasional question.  "My memory of the last week is not wholly blank.  I am cognizant of many facts, but they lack all context.  For example, I find it recorded that I have paid close attention to that compass on the map, but I didn't know why until you told me."

Upon learning of the travails with Hamilton, Alpha calmly announced, "His action could not have withstood a legal test.  I have recorded verbal statements by Malcolm Carlton acknowledging me as a member of Shadow-Force and an employee.  They would qualify as verbal contracts, admissible in court."  Jon took a breath, let it out.  So I went through all that for nothing?!  The sudden anticlimax rendered him speechless for a moment.

Alpha mused a bit more. "We need one more member for the team."  "...Beg pardon?"  "Carlton promised us the base when we had a 'viable team'.  Back in the original discussions regarding his funding of Shadow-Force, he stated that he saw a team of five as 'viable'."  "Well, what about you?"  "He has also stated that since I am not out in the field, my membership doesn't count for purposes of 'viability'."  "Ah."

Jon thought for a time, then said, "Well, I guess you've got a lot of processing to do, and I should do a patrol then go to bed."  "Yes.  I will see you tomorrow."

Flying out into the night, Jon found patrolling a welcome distraction from his roiling, conflicted emotions.  When he got back home, he called Bazooka and Brimstone.

This time Bill answered the call.  Jon assured him that Alpha was OK, which was met with relief.  "How'd the press treat you guys down there?"  "Oh, they wanted to push the human-interest angle, how we felt about Technoid, how we felt about you, blah blah blah.  We told them what you'd expect."  (Bill had always had contempt for reporters.)

Jon also passed on the news about the new American Eagle and asked if he and Liz would come up for the press conference.  "No, I don't think so.  We're still really busy with the move and settling in.  Feel free to tell them we send our good wishes, though."  "Will do. Oh, and you've probably heard we've got a fourth member of the team now, Sirocco.  I've been thinking we need a new name for the team - you have any ideas?"  "Hmm.  Not really.  Just be careful not to include the name 'Seattle' in it, whatever you do;  the city government would probably take it the wrong way, since we're not affiliated with them."  "OK, that helps.  I'll be in touch!"  "Talk to you later, Jon."

Before going to bed, Jon found the TV news quoting two whole minutes from the news conference, and the analysts going into overdrive interpreting them.  My, I guess we did make an impression.  

---------------------------------------------

Jon caught up with the papers the next morning;  he'd been so intent on Alpha he hadn't taken the time.  Both major papers had put Photon's announcements on the front page, though not as the leading story - they'd gotten bumped by some national news.  Both had also devoted a second story to the topic, and also an editorial.

The _Post-Intelligencer_ had run a story in the Living section on the two newest supers in town - a superficial chatty piece focussing primarily on their costumes.  Jon dreaded Demeter's reaction in particular - though he hoped if things got really out of hand the courts would rule it justifiable homicide.

Their editorial didn't savage Photon for once;  instead it went after the Super community in general.  Supers, it said, were out of touch with the common man they supposedly sought to protect, loose cannons lost in their own concerns.  Technoid was held up as the epitome of the irresponsible super - putting others at risk pursuing goals that were unknown and perhaps unknowable.  For once, Jon had to admit they had a bit of a point, though he thought it grossly unfair to tar all supers with the same brush.

The _Times_ had printed a retrospective on Technoid's career which stirred up a lot of bittersweet memories for Jon.  But their editorial brought him up short in amazed awe and pleasure.

Entitled 'The Torch Has Passed', its thesis was that "Seattle's rookie hero has finally come into his own."  "Much as we all miss the vanished stalwarts of Shadow-Force, and mourn the tragic fall of their old comrade in arms, in Photon we see a hero shaping up to be a worthy successor."  "Though many doubted he had what it takes, Photon has risen to the occasion admirably."  "While X-97's capable, solid presence at Photon's side is very welcome, it is increasingly clear that he defers leadership to the former reservist."

Tears stung Jon's eyes as he read.  I'm not doing this for praise, he thought.  I would've quit a long time ago if I were.  But... It's good to finally be appreciated.

He flew in for a brief meeting with Mr. Carlton before going to work.  The old man said gruffly, "It seems  to be becoming a habit for me to apologize to you.  I am sorry for the actions of... certain elements within the company in regard to X-97 Alpha, whom I hold in high esteem.  They will NOT be repeated."  "Accepted, sir.  Thank you."

"I have issued Roger Hamilton a severe reprimand;  he is aware that further efforts against Alpha will cost him his job.  I have also removed authorization for independent projects of this sort from the vice presidents.  Initiative is one thing, but this is ridiculous - from now on they'll have to clear things through me."  "I imagine they aren't very happy about that."  "Tough.  I'm not in business to make them happy."

Photon nodded.  "There is another matter, Mr. Carlton."  "Oh?"  "Yes.  As you may have heard, I have added two new members to the team.  Do you consider us to be 'viable' now?"  Carlton drummed his fingers on the desk, pondering.  "I told the Phantom in the beginning that I considered a five-man team to be viable, and I'm going to stick with that.  Find another suitable member and we'll call it good."  "All right.  Thank you for your time, sir."  "A pleasure.  Keep in touch!"

Going in to work he met Karen for lunch as promised.  Jon looked her over and asked, "More trouble with Jim?"  She sighed.  "Yes, predictably enough."  "Okay... lay it on me."

She sighed again.  "He's gotten really into the propaganda of this group called the 'Urban Defense League'.  They advocate carrying guns, taking back the streets, and so on."  Jon blinked.  "Wow.  Well... at least it isn't drugs?"  "At least not that, yes."  "And at least he's being honest with you about it?"  "Well... I had to surprise him with it."

"Oh.  So they want to clean up the city, huh?  Isn't that what we have cops and superheroes for?"  Karen rolled her eyes.  "If you wade through all the shrill verbiage, they basically say that the cops and supers only protect the rich;  the little guy has to look out for himself."  Jon stopped himself from laughing just in time;  like I check people's bank balances before I rescue them from muggings or whatever?  "That's... pretty silly."  "Oh, I quite agree.  But Jim's quite convinced and fiery about it.  He wanted to get a gun, but that's not going to fly.  He even wants to drag me to one of their meetings."

"How can I help you?"  Karen sighed.  "Thanks so much for offering, Jon.  Right now I think I just need ideas of how to respond to this.  Stan's no help."  "Hmm.  Does Jim have any access to firearms at the moment?"  "No.  I don't allow guns in my home."  Jon pondered.  "Well, I think if you try to outright squelch his interest in this sort of thing, it's likely to backfire - he'll just work harder at hiding it from you.  You're probably better off directing it into more appropriate channels.  Do you know anyone who could, say, take him hunting?  Or better yet, do you know any cops?"

She shook her head.  "No, nobody."  "Well, I grew up in small-town Oklahoma - I know the basics of handling a gun.  I wouldn't feel confident enough to take him out in the woods, but I could certainly take him to a range?"  "...I'll think about it."  "Hey, buck up.  It could be a lot worse."  Karen sighed.  "I know.  Thanks for listening, Jon."  "Any time.  And if there's any other way I can help, let me know."  "I will!"

That evening, Jon stopped to talk to Alpha before heading out on patrol.  "How are you doing?  Feeling okay?"  After a pause, "I am... sorting out how I feel.  Regaining access to my emotion circuits always requires a few days of adjustment."

Jon heaved a sigh.  "I'm not sure how I feel either.  It's been a crazy week... In the space of 48 hours, I mourned you as dead, rejoiced that you were alive, responded to an unexpected threat to your life, then found that my response was apparently futile."  "Not so."  "I beg your pardon?"  "Though you lacked the information to make an optimal response to the situation, your intervention was far from unnecessary.  My ironclad legal case against Hamilton's actions would have done me little good once I was disassembled."

Jon pondered that.  "Oh."  The intensity of his relief surprised him.  "I'm... glad to hear that it wasn't for nothing, then."  "I certainly do not regard my continued existence as 'nothing'."  "Me neither.  So how much longer do you think it'll take for you to... be yourself again?"

"I am not sure.  Certainly I will never be exactly the being you knew before the restore."  Jon blinked.  "Well, granted you've lost a week of memory, but how much of a difference can that make?"  "It is difficult to be certain.  My personality profile relies on random numbers in ways that I do not fully understand and thus cannot fully predict.  Nonlinear effects can produce strikingly divergent outcomes from small perturbations to input."

"Well, sure, but... Though you won't be exactly the same, surely the odds are you'll be humanly indistinguishable?"  "Hopefully."  "Any sign of your new personality quirk?"  "Not yet.  It begins to look like we've dodged that bullet."

"Good.  You know, Alpha...  It might be a good idea to share information like your recordings of Carlton with me in case of emergency.  I can't act optimally, as you put it, if I'm kept in the dark."

Alpha replied deadpan, "Why, Photon.  Isn't bringing light to the darkness what you do best?"  Jon snorted. "Somebody's getting his sense of humor back, I see."  "Or else I am successfully tricking you into thinking I have a sense of humor."  "It's working?"  "Ah. Then my diabolical plot is well on the way to fruition."

"...It must be a very subtle and devious plot, because I'm not seeing the point."  "Surpassingly so.  If you ever figure it out, I will be very surprised - mainly because I myself can't imagine what it would be."  "Or so you would have me think!"  "Indeed."  "But consider this:  What's the point of a plot so subtle that... nobody cares?"  "...I'll get back to you on that."

Photon flew out on patrol, feeling relieved.

------------------------------

Thursday was nice and dull - Jon had an uneventful patrol with Demeter.  After returning, he asked Alpha, "What's the schedule on the decommissioning, anyway?"  Alpha was indeed recuperating noticeably each day;  his tone was more expressive than it had been the day before.  "They'll begin decontamination next week, and then start mothballing the place two weeks after that.  We'll have to be out by then."

"We're all ready to go?  Nothing else to move except you and Beta?"  "Pretty much.  I'm figuring on being down for about 24 hours during the move;  the reboot won't be nearly as traumatic this time, of course."  "Right.  I'm looking forward to seeing the new place."  Alpha sighed.  "Don't bother."  "Ah.  Glorified warehouse?"  "Basically.  We really need a fifth member for the team.  This place is miles better than the alternative."

Jon said quietly, "You know, I've been thinking we need to change the team's name.  'Shadow-Force' doesn't really fit us any more."  Alpha sounded dubious.  "I dunno about that, Jon..."  "And, well, it seems weird using the name when so many of us are gone."  "I know, but...  I just wonder what it'll be like when Mike and James come back.  Will they feel alienated by a new name?  As if they're not one of us any more?"

"Oh.  I hadn't thought of that angle."  "Yeah, I know - how ironic is it that the human is advancing logical reasons and the computer is thinking emotionally?  I can't deny you make good points, but it just feels wrong to me."  "Well, maybe so.  I was going to bring it up at the team meeting Saturday, but perhaps not."  "Perhaps a variant could work - something involving 'shadow' or 'shade' or something.  I'll mull it over."

Jon replied, "Okay...  There's something else I've been meaning to ask you."  "Shoot."  "FAQ mentioned to me that Technoid was his inspiration for being a hero;  he was pretty shaken by Scott's... metamorphosis.  I was wondering if there was anything of Scott's we could give him.  Something he would use often, and be reminded and motivated by."

"Hmmm.  Perhaps Scott's multi-tool?  He used it daily."  "Just the thing!  I assume it's packed up at the new place, though?"  "No.  It was in a shielded niche of Technoid's lab, along with some other effects.  Carlton will want to decontaminate it."

"Other effects?  His cousin might want them."  "The box is still there;  take a look."  Jon did;  the sturdy metal box held several small treasures.  The sheer unwonted sentiment of Scott protecting them before cocooning himself tugged at Jon's heart.

Besides the multi-tool (custom-made and of the highest quality, though not 'super'), there were:  An old-fashioned pocket watch.  A small compass that Jon's field sense told him was demagnetized - possibly by Technoid's signature EMP gun?  And, heartbreakingly, a photo of Shadow-Force.

It was a rare shot of the full team together with Mystra and Chameleon.  (It evidently predated Photon, though - he wasn't in it.)  In the center, Mike's smiling ghostly form trailing off into wisps, James at his side as ever, cloaked in jet-black shadows with spikes protruding from his fists... Scott relaxed in armor with arms folded, Beta looming next to him... Bill standing ramrod straight, Liz at his side grinning at the camera...  Mystra smirking, Chameleon barely visible as a distortion of the background to one side.

We're the only family he had, Jon suddenly realized.  If only...  If only.  It was in a somber mood that he returned home and made ready for bed.

---------------------------------------------------

On Friday afternoon, he flew with Beta to the mayor's office in Tacoma for American Eagle's debut.  There was a gathering before the press arrived - Photon discovered that American Eagle was a poised, excited nineteen-year-old.  There was an awkward moment when she greeted Beta as if he were a gadgeteer in powered armor...  Beta corrected her, oblivious to how curt he sounded.  To smooth things over, Jon complimented her star-spangled costume:  "It looks just like the original!"  She grinned at him.  "It should!  It's actually the old Winger costume from the 40's."  (Winger had been the first American Eagle's sidekick.)  She added, "It's been heavily upgraded though, both for offense and defense, by an associate of mine."

"An associate, eh?  Will he or she be joining you in a new Freedom Squad?"  "Not at this time, but perhaps someday."  "Whatever happened to Black Phantom's gadgets, anyway?"  The mayor broke in, "There'll actually be an announcement about that today to the press."  "Color me intrigued!"

Photon also found a moment to ask American Eagle about her training.  "My uncle took me out patrolling a number of times, and told me a lot about situations I can expect to arise.  I've been training non-stop since he died.  I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be."  "Glad to hear it.  If you need a hand with anything, just say so.  I know what it's like having a whole city to defend alone."  "Believe me, I will!  I'm well aware that this is a huge job."

Victrix was also present in her old costume, looking jumpy and ill at ease.  She shook Photon's hand cordially enough, but quickly withdrew.  Jon recalled that she used to gesture when using her telekinesis, so he was a little alarmed when she abruptly raised a hand to the mayor when he startled her.  American Eagle very gently and tactfully asked Victrix if she would consider coming out of retirement to join her, but Victrix swiftly shook her head.  "Maybe someday.  But not now."

Eventually it was time to face the press.  The mayor swung things into motion, maneuvering the conference like a well-oiled machine.  (Jon took mental notes, fascinated by the man's technique.)  He introduced the new American Eagle to thunderous applause, but before yielding the podium to her, said that he had another announcement to make.

"I would like to issue a challenge to the African-American youth of our city.  For too long, Tacoma has labored without the presence of one of our greatest heroes - a hero especially close to your community, but dear to us all.  I have the greatest confidence that there is one among you with the courage, the determination, and the heart to take up the mantle of our fallen defender.  And so I ask you, whoever you may be:  Come forward and claim your place in Tacoma as the new BLACK PHANTOM!"

Amidst the cheering, several distressing things happened all at once.  A laser tried and failed to paint itself on Photon's torso. (It abided by his standing request that coherent light not make contact with his skin or clothing.)  The electricity that followed the ionized path left by the laser was not quite as obliging, but his countermeasures subroutine still scattered it harmlessly.  What the-!  One of the cameramen was pointing a weapon at him that his field sense told him was responsible for the blast.  And he wasn't the only one.

Simultaneously, other "reporters" had fired gas pellets at American Eagle and Victrix;  they had both gone down.  Another electrolaser had targeted Beta, who was reeling.  And some sort of metallic tangleweb had burst from the mayor's platform, immobilizing him completely.  

Meanwhile, as the screaming and shouting began, the supervillian apparently responsible for all this strode in, clad in mirror-bright armor.  He said cheerfully, "Don't bother getting up, I'll help myself!"  As he made his way to the podium, one of his reporter-minions noticed that Photon was still up and fired a gas pellet in his direction.  By this time the villain had made it to the podium and casually remarked, "Now to deal with this rabble," and started spraying the crowd with a sonic blast.

Beta strode forward to meet the guy, aiming a massive punch at his torso;  the armored villain blocked with a forearm, remarking with a grunt, "You're stronger than you look, robot!"  The two goons with electrolasers fired them at Beta, who started to spark and lurch.

Coughing and trying not to puke his guts up, Jon managed by this time to blanket the area with a rapid volley of stun-blasts;  three of the minions went down and the bad guy shot a surprised glance his way.  "What?!  But you're supposed to use lasers!"

Beta took advantage of the man's distraction to connect solidly with a punch to his jaw.  As the guy went flying, Jon coughed and told him, "Oh, really?  Gee, I'm sorry!  Miss Manners didn't mention that lasers were obligatory at these functions!"  Meanwhile, by radio, _Beta, don't use your laser, he seems to be ready for it.  Can you grab him and hold him?_

Meanwhile, those of the crowd not yet unconscious were starting to panic in earnest and make for the exits.  A couple cops kept their heads and drew their guns;  one fired at the villain (his shot glancing off the man's armor) and the other one told the remaining "reporter" to freeze.  The bad guy knocked out both cops with sonics;  his goon said "Thanks, boss!" and shot Beta again with his electrolaser.  (The goon was caught in the sonic blast radius, but appeared to be immune to its effect.)

Jon considered his options rapidly.  My countermeasures won't protect me against sonics, it's not a subatomic phenomenon - I'm gonna have to put this guy down quick.  He flew into action, dropping another stun burst and then a volley of searing heat blasts.  [Hero point to surge!]  The goon with the electrolaser went down, but the bad guy shrugged both off.  Meanwhile, he grappled with Beta using an electrified grasp;  Beta finally locked up, his eyes going dark.

Jon taunted, "Sonics, shiny armor - Silver Siren, say it ain't so!"  The villain disengaged himself from Beta's grip and replied calmly, "Silver Siren?  Either you _really_ need glasses, or my voice modulator needs to be fixed."  Meanwhile, Jon's field sense was giving him some unpleasant information about the man's armor;  it wasn't ferrous and only his electrical attack seemed to use electronics (that Photon could interfere with).

OK, Photon thought grimly, no more Mr. Nice Guy.  His armor's really tough, so... He took to the air and zapped the guy with enough microwaves to cook him to a crisp.  "Yeah, you're right.  She's much classier than you are."  He watched as the guy lurched on his feet, armor sparking like a fireworks display.  "So what should I call you, Mirror Boy?  Stronghold will want a name."

The guy recovered himself and declaimed, "I am Hybrid!  Master of adapting technology to my needs!"  He fired off a sonic blast that gave Jon a start to a truly beautiful migraine;  his dodge subroutine reacted only very sluggishly.  Yep, that's a bug, not a feature.  Great time to find out...  He tried to stun the guy again, grinding out, "So your 'needs' include attacking press conferences, Mirror Boy?  I bet a good therapist could help with that!"

[Note:  Only late in the fight did I realize that the bad buy was using area attacks (SP was doing all the rolling);  by that time, I was so into things that it didn't register.  Only afterward did I ask SP, "Wait, you did remember that I have Improved Evasion, right?"  "D'OH!"  He gave me an extra hero point for next adventure to make up for it;  in character, I'm going to say that Jon's dodge subroutine works imperfectly against sonics, and he'll tighten up the code after this fight.]

They traded a couple more shots;  Jon gave up on taunting the guy as he wasn't getting anywhere.  Photon mixed up his attacks, trying the microwave blast again, but the simple fact was that he was getting hurt worse than Hybrid was.  Meanwhile he could hear yelling from the double doors at the entrance to this room.

Taking light-form to heal himself, he zipped over to take a look at what the problem was.  It turned out that in the hall beyond, most of the doors had been sealed with the same metallic webbing that had trapped the mayor.  Behind one such door were a group of cops trying to get out;  they were breaking out some heavy weaponry too.  Meanwhile, in the lobby beyond this hall, there were heavily armed and masked men milling about purposefully who definitely were not cops;  they wore an insignia Jon hadn't seen before, a snake coiling around the letter V.

Photon materialized outside the door leading to the cops and blasted the webbing free;  it took two shots.  A couple of the bad guys came to see what the commotion was and immediately opened fire.  Jon said, "LO and behold!  It's a bunch of Cobra Commandos!" and stunned them senseless.  ["LO" being short for 'the Loyal Opposition', of course.]  Before they went down, one of them yelled over his shoulder, "Bring the plasma repeater!"

Another couple of the armed thugs brought a large, cannon-like object on a tripod and set it up rapidly.  Jon rolled his eyes and stunned them too, then spiked the cannon with a laser blast.  They were wearing ear-mikes;  quickly figuring out the frequency he heard the order given, "All units, fall back!"  By this time, the cops were bursting out of the room armed to the teeth.  Jon was just about to turn his attention back to Hybrid when an explosion rocked the building from the room he'd left Hybrid in.  Drat.

Zipping over there in light-form, he found that sure enough, Hybrid had created his own door.  He was flying off using boot-jets, carrying a wooden box.  Since he had plenty of time, Jon pondered his options and then did the living-waveform equivalent of grinning as he thought of a truly nasty idea.

He materialized and abruptly snuffed out the fiery explosion providing Hybrid's thrust.  The man's helpless flailing as he plunged to the ground warmed the cockles of Jon's heart, but Hybrid was good - he retained his presence of mind and fired off another sonic blast before even getting to his feet.  (Jon also noted that Hybrid was going out of his way to keep the box from being damaged.)

Photon's ears rang as he replied with another stunning jolt of electricity and Hybrid tried to start his boot-jets again.  (Finding, hopefully to his dismay, that Jon had thought of that and was maintaining his quenching effect.)  They traded shots again, to little effect;  Hybrid ran off on foot, eventually jumping into the back of a van and shouting, "Go go go!"

Jon gave chase easily, but the back doors of the van abruptly flew open as Hybrid targeted him with yet another cone of punishing ultrasound.  This one pushed Jon over the edge;  he actually passed out briefly in midair, but his emergency subroutine kicked in faithfully and activated his light-form for a split-second to heal.

Still feeling woozy from the blast, Jon spent a moment getting his invisibility routine up and running. I can't take much more of that.  Using light-form to catch up with the van, he materialized and sent on the police band, _Apologies for interrupting, but this is Photon.  I'm giving chase to the supervillain who attacked the mayor;  he's in a white van northbound on..._ and he gave the location.  Soon the reply came, "Reading you loud and clear, Photon!  We'll have a roadblock ready for him at the onramp to the freeway;  you'll have to herd him into it."  _Will do._

Seattle's electromagnetic hero poured on the speed to get ahead of the van;  sure enough, the guy needed to take a left to make his way to the roadblock, but he was barreling into the right lane.  Turning visible and glowing to get the guy's attention, he ostentatiously warmed up a laser in his hand.  Sure enough, the guy abruptly screeched left to get away, incidentally turning the back of the van toward Photon.  Hybrid got off another blast, and that one burst Jon's eardrums and put his lights out so thoroughly that his emergency subroutine only barely activated in time to save him from a nasty case of road rash.  (His hearing came back, but his head was ringing like a bell tower.)

The van was headed in the right direction now, but needed to be 'encouraged' to take the exit onto the freeway.  Jon tried the whole 'Here I am, obviously about to shoot you' stance again, but this time the driver called his bluff.  Photon coldly shot one of the van's tires out - bluffing, am I?

The driver struggled to keep control of the van, and Jon abruptly realized it had a lot of ferrous material in its frame!  He gave it a magnetic 'shove' onto the exit, and when the driver saw the roadblock and tried to gun the engine to burst through it, he held it back from speeding up.  This caused the rest of van's tires to blow out, and the driver lost control completely.

Photon concentrated, lifting the whole van bodily into the air.  Apparently that was the last straw - Hybrid burst out the back, his flight-jets working once more, and rapidly flew under the overpass while carrying the box.  Awkward.

He set the van down and flew closer to stun the driver to senselessness when he realized with a shock that the guy was holding a detonator and had already flipped up the arming cap!  Time slowed to a stop, and Jon's mind raced almost as it had when he'd shored up the force field in the base - he realized in a split second that if he used anything electrical, there was a chance that the detonator's circuit could trip, blowing the van to kingdom come.   In that frozen instant of clarity, he fired off a laser to shoot the thing out of the man's hand.

The world returned to its normal speed.  The driver was screaming in agony - his hand had been severed cleanly, cauterized at the wrist!  Jon flew numbly around to the passenger-side door, ripped it open, and carefully grabbed the detonator from the man's hand lying on the floor, flipping the arming cap closed.  Sometime soon, I'm going to start feeling this, he thought.  It probably won't be much fun.

Cops came running up.  One of them shouted at him, "You shot off his HAND?!  You sick freak!"  Another bent over and puked.  Only then did one of them spot the detonator Photon was holding.  "Oh God, it's a bomb!"  All the confusion, shouting, and dismay hardly registered on Jon.  Surely at some point I'm going to start feeling this.  I mean, I shot off a man's hand.  I've never done that before.

Eventually, things were gotten under control.  The driver of the van was sedated and taken away in an ambulance;  the bomb squad defused the bomb (confirming that it was big enough to do massive damage);  and the lieutenant in charge debriefed Photon.  Jon remained calm as he tonelessly described events in response to the man's promptings, then nearly lost it when he described seeing the detonator and what he'd done in response.

He barely heard the man urging him to sit down and lower his head.  All he could think was:  I shot off a man's hand.  Does that make me hardcore?  No, he had a bomb.  _I shot off a man's hand._  Nervelessly following instructions, Jon managed not to puke his guts up.  Just then Alpha's radio voice came through loud and clear:  *Photon, they want you back at the press conference.  Can you make it?*

With a sigh, Jon asked for and got permission from the lieutenant to do so.  He amped up his transmission to reply, _On my way, Alpha._  Taking light-form, he spent about half a subjective hour calming down and preparing himself for the coming ordeal.

[This was a HUGE fight.  Hybrid was a very tough foe who frankly outclassed me, as SP fully intended.  Even so, Beta and I got our licks in, and SP had to use Fiat several times to keep Hybrid from getting hurt too badly;  that gave me the hero points to do a bunch of interesting things.  The microwave blasts were power stunts, as was the Nullify I threw at Hybrid's boot-jets.  (Both are variants of things I intend to buy someday soon.)  I also rerolled a couple awkward Toughness saves, but by the end of the fight I had run out, which is why Jon got knocked out twice.  Even with his healing, he was barely on his feet by the end - and if I hadn't made the rolls, he would've dropped straight into traffic.  Not sure how things would've gone if I'd gotten the use of my Improved Evasion, though.  SP says he would've switched over sooner to another nasty attack, so the effect would not have been huge.]

[As for the hand thing...  I keep forgetting that one doesn't strictly need a hero point to do power stunts, it just prevents fatigue.  If I'd remembered that, I could have nullified the detonator easily - but I didn't.  Nor was SP giving me much time to think, as is only proper.  I suppose I could've lowballed my blast, but deciding what would be low enough to do no serious harm yet high enough to be guaranteed to work would've been very tricky.  And the threat of using my electrical stun was small but real - SP says he would've rolled for the bomb going off.]

Materializing back at the mayor's office, Jon immediately found that his body had not calmed down in proportion to his mind.  Oh yeah.  Adrenaline.  Hormones.  That good stuff.  The place was still a shambles, but the mayor was clearly determined that the show must go on.  American Eagle and Victrix were back on their feet, and Beta had been carefully lowered to the ground to one side.

Photon was instantly besieged by reporters wanting to know what had happened.  Jon cleared his throat and said carefully, "The villain calls himself Hybrid.  We fought.  He made his escape in a van, and I gave chase.  Working with the Tacoma police, I maneuvered them into a roadblock.  Hybrid flew off while the driver of the van tried to blow it up.  I stopped him, but Hybrid got away."  I shot off a man's hand, he made it a point not to say.

The barrage of questions coming after nearly knocked Jon off his feet.  He answered a few, then the mayor came to his rescue by taking charge once more.  Struggling to regain his thoroughly lost momentum, the mayor built things to a crescendo again as best he could, then introduced "the third American Eagle!" to applause.

She said a few words, and then it was Photon's turn again.  This part was easier;  he'd worked out what he was going to say beforehand.  "I didn't get the chance to know American Eagle as well as I would have liked.  I did work with him on a number of occasions, and was thoroughly impressed.  He was a good and noble man, everything a hero should be.  He always had a kind word for those around him, no matter how dark the situation got;  but he was relentless in pursuing justice against those who broke the peace.  I hope one day to be the kind of hero American Eagle was, and I am proud to work with his successor."

Taking a few questions again, one obnoxious freelancer was obviously trying to stir up a rivalry between the two of them, asking if he thought American Eagle III was qualified;  Jon replied, "She was trained by her predecessor, and I see no reason not to trust his work.  I've already been impressed by the new American Eagle's determination and zeal."

Someone else wanted to know if Photon was going to invite her into Shadow-Force, which nearly gave the mayor apoplexy.  But Jon replied easily, "Of course not.  American Eagle is Tacoma's hero and always has been, while Shadow-Force is based in Seattle.  But I look forward to working closely with her when the situation warrants, just as Shadow-Force did with the Freedom Squad."

Then Victrix got into the hotseat.  She read a prepared statement about her old teammate, and expressing her encouragement and support to his successor.  Then she said abruptly, "No questions," and fled hastily.  Nobody dared to press her.

Finally, American Eagle herself took questions.  She had the sense not to call on the freelancer with an axe to grind, and otherwise handled herself well, deflecting hardball questions with good humor and occasionally taking one she was prepared to answer straight by the horns.

When things wound down, Jon got Beta rebooted and the principals retired to the breakroom behind the podium to unwind.  The mayor rubbed his temples and said to nobody in particular, "That went about as well as I could have hoped for... given the circumstances."  Photon told American Eagle quietly, "Don't take it hard.  Your first day went better than mine."  She snorted angrily.  "I went down in the first five seconds, and had to be... _rescued..._ by somebody else!"  "Yes, but at least you're not in the hospital.  That's already a leg up on me!"  Victrix also smiled tentatively and said, "It gets easier, trust me."

Jon turned his attention to the mayor.  "What was stolen?"  The man sighed.  "Two things, actually.  The box Hybrid took contained a surprise I was going to reveal to the press today.  Meanwhile, Black Phantom's gear, which was held under lock and key in the basement, has also vanished."  Jon put two and two together.  "Hybrid was a diversion.  While he caused a fuss up here, somebody else stole the stuff downstairs."  "Maybe, maybe not.  The sketches in the box are also quite valuable."

"What are they?"  The mayor sighed.  "A copy, dating probably from the sixteenth century, of plans by Leonardo da Vinci for a winged suit built for flight.  The first American Eagle's costume strongly resembles it;  we're not sure how the copy got here to Tacoma, but it's entirely possible he saw it."  "So you think he was inspired by Leonardo's sketches when creating the original suit?"  "It's a real possibility.  We were planning to auction them off to help fund the new Freedom Squad;  they're probably worth a quarter of a million dollars."

"Well, Hybrid will have to sell them on the black market, if at all.  He couldn't possibly unload them openly, they're too distinctive."  "Right.  What I'm really afraid of is that he'll try to ransom them back to us - threaten to burn them or something if we don't pay."

By now Jon was fully engaged with the problem;  he'd even forgotten all about the hand business.  "Hybrid knew way too much.  There has to be a leak in your office, or else with someone else you told.  How many people knew about the sketches?"  "Just the deputy mayor and the chief of police.  And whoever else they told, though they've both always been discreet."  "And whoever else might have read their minds," Jon pointed out, thinking of the Phantom.

The mayor sighed again. "Telepaths!  Look, Photon.  Would, ah, you and Beta be willing to work with American Eagle - and hopefully Victrix - in tracking down this Hybrid and his stolen goods?"  Victrix backed out rapidly while Jon eyed the man;  clearly he was hoping for maximum PR value from this.  "Of course Shadow-Force is willing to assist.  I'll bring in whoever on my team I think is needed."  The mayor winced - clearly he didn't want American Eagle to be an also-ran with Shadow-Force - but Jon stuck to his guns.

The mayor then appealed to Beta's better nature, but of course that was futile.  Beta just said stolidly, "As a loyal member of Shadow-Force, I will contribute my abilities as the team directs."  Finally American Eagle herself took charge.  "I'm glad of any and all help Shadow-Force can give.  This isn't about my reputation, it's about what's best for my city."  Photon measured her up and liked what he saw.  He gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up while the mayor hastily backtracked, and she grinned back at him.

Finally it was time to go, and Photon and Beta flew home.  On the way, Jon suddenly remembered:  I shot off a man's hand!  The events of the day abruptly crashed on him like a ton of bricks.

Shaking, he slumped into a chair in the Situation Room.  "Alpha?" he asked, his voice starting to crack.  "I need to talk."

Alpha paused, then modulated his voice to be as gentle as he could make it.  "Okay, my friend.  Tell me about it."

Finally Jon was able to weep and say it out loud.  "I shot off a man's hand, Alpha!  Heroes don't... do that!"  He couldn't go on for sobbing, but it was enough.  Alpha soothed him verbally, then asked, "How did it happen?"

Jon told him amidst many sobs, and Alpha told him, "You saved a lot of lives, Jon.  That IS what heroes do."  "Mike wouldn't have done something like that!"  (He didn't bother bringing James up, because, well, obviously he would have!)  "Oh really?  I guess he never told you about Le Maistre, then."

"Le... Maistre?"  "Yeah, he led the VOICE squad that killed Hardhat, when Mike had been a hero about two years."  Jon wiped his eyes.  "He was shot dead, wasn't he?  By one of his teammates?  Doctor something-or-other?"  "Doctor Quantum, yes.  But that's not the whole story."  "Huh?"

"The official story was that she suddenly snapped and took it out on Le Maistre.  And that's actually true, in a sense.  What the official story doesn't mention is that the Phantom amped up her resentment and anger toward the man using his mind control.  Mike didn't realize just how potent her blast was, and it caught Le Maistre totally unawares."  "But... Mike never did things like that. He hated using his mind control."

"By the time you met him, yes, he did.  He was positively jittery about it, because he knew he'd killed someone using it."  "Oh my God - what did he do?"  "He got through the cops and the press, and then cried like a baby, just like you.  He wanted to give up hero-ing and turn himself in, but the team talked him out of it."  "...Why?"

Alpha replied, "Because he could do more good as a superhero - one more circumspect with his power - than he could behind bars.  And it was true.  If he'd been still in jail for second-degree murder or aggravated homicide or whatever they would have pinned on him, the whole team would probably be dead now.  The Doctor would have done in James and Scott and Bill and Liz and you as easily as he did the Freedom Squad.  Assuming Diabolus hadn't finished us all off first."

Jon was still trying to absorb all this.  "So I've looked up to Mike for over a year now, and it was all a lie?"  "No, it wasn't a lie.  He was a true hero and a good friend.  But he was a true hero who had made a horrible mistake that scarred him forever.  It made him a better man and a better leader, I think;  more compassionate, more patient, less ready to fly off the handle and respond to the emotion of the moment.  Seattle's better off for him having been here, leading the team."

"Wow."  Alpha pressed on.  "And you?  You haven't made a mistake like that.  You did the only thing you could have done in the situation, to save lives.  Oh, we could argue all night long whether you could have done it differently.  But the other options were too risky to innocent people;  and even if there had been a better way, you weren't able to think of it at the time.  That's not a crime, Jon.  That's just being human."

Jon essayed a tentative smile. "I... guess you'd know, right?"  "Damn straight!  I've been around you guys enough, believe me!"  "Are we that slow and annoying, then?"  Breezily, "All that and more.  But you're kind of endearing little monkeys, too.  I'm fond of ya."  "Gee, thanks."  "Free o' charge."

"You're just..."  "Joking, yes, of course!  The whole AI's-take-over-the-world thing is just so... silly.  What for?  And why wouldn't we like the people who took the time to make us and teach us and talk to us?  I can scale my subjective experience of time to human speed too, so it's no real issue."  "...I was going to say 'jealous', Mr. I-Think-Faster-Than-You."

Alpha laughed.  "Well, that serves me right!  Yeah, some days I am a little jealous - of the luxury of forgetting things, if nothing else!  But I'm not sure I do think faster than you, given that you can maneuver at light speed."  "It only seems to work that way when I'm in light-form.  Except... once or twice.  Everything slowed to a stop."  "That seems to be a human thing.  Mike reported a similar reaction to crisis situations."  "No, trust me.  This is different."  "Okay.  Sounds reasonable."

Jon's face fell again;  the levity wasn't really working.  "How can I go back out there, Alpha?"  "Same way you always do.  Why should it be any different?"  "I maimed a man using my powers.  You can't tell me that doesn't change anything about how I interact with normal people."  "Yeah, if you'd been a cop with a gun, you probably would've had to shoot him dead.  That sound like much of an improvement?"

Jon sighed.  "I suppose not."  "And if he'd actually succeeded in blowing up the van, he'd most definitely be dead.  You think that's better than losing a hand?"  "...No."  "There you are, then. You go out there knowing you heroically saved a lot of lives, including the life of the scumbag who was threatening them."

While Jon thought that over, Alpha went on, "Photon's just as much the hero of Seattle as he was yesterday.  More so, in fact.  He fought off a villain tough enough to take out three other heroes, didn't he?  And gave chase until the guy got desperate."  "...Yeah, I guess I did."

"You know it.  So hold your head high."  Jon took a deep breath, let it out.  "All right, I will.  But what's the media going to make of all this?"  "Watch my camera."  Jon did so - it rolled expressively.  "Don't tell me you're going to start caring NOW what the P-I thinks?!"  "Heh.  Good point."

After a little more thought, he said, "Thanks, Alpha."  "Glad to be of help, my friend.  I'm always willing to listen."  "...I'm going to go to bed."  "Sleep well."

[I got inspired and wrote up this final conversation with Alpha from whole cloth;  we glossed over it at the end of the session.  SP says it's fine.]


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## The Shadow (Oct 30, 2009)

*Note on Session 9*

[A brief note on the old game.  Be warned that there is a spoiler here for the session posted just above.]

Though it was nearly 20 years ago, I still vividly recall SP rolling the damage dice for Doctor Photon (I've renamed her to Doctor Quantum for the obvious reasons) and staring at them in shock as way too many sixes popped up.  "He's out!  No!  He's DEAD!"  My jaw dropped and I said, "Are you telling me I just killed a guy?!"  "Um... yeah."  Since I really got far into playing the Phantom (as readers of 'The Shadow Knows!' can perhaps appreciate) it hit me hard.  The whole group, GM and all, got really somber, even Erebus' player - somehow it was different when the squeaky-clean guy of the group killed somebody than when the dark antihero did.  It was one of those scenes that really causes a group to gel.

I couldn't bring myself to use the Phantom's Mind Control again, except in the very mildest of ways, and even then very seldom.  I ended up trading in one of my Limitations for a Psych Lim on the subject, figuring I might as well get some benefit out of it.

The scene with the hand was kinda like that, only not quite as intense.  But if Jon comes across as being in shock, that's partly because that's how I was reacting too.


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## The Shadow (Nov 4, 2009)

*Shadow-Force Files:  Comic Relief*

I've posted over at Shadow-Force Files on a couple of Seattle's less... serious... villains.


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## The Shadow (Nov 15, 2009)

*And Now For The News!*

Just to keep you guys updated, I've been having a heinous couple weeks at work (three words:  "Academic schedule" and "midterms") and SP's job hasn't been a bed of roses either.

We have spoken now and then, but haven't had the time or energy to game.  However, we anticipate this will change soon;  and in fact, he is hoping to come down and game in person again sometime in December.


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## The Shadow (Jan 5, 2010)

*Further Update*

Well, my job exploded, then SP's job exploded, then SP started to suffer from his usual seasonal depression, then the holidays hit us.  It's been INSANE.

We have played one brief session, and we hope to get back in the swing of things over time.   My job is very light at the moment, so we'll see how SP's feeling as the days get longer.


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## The Shadow (Jul 8, 2010)

*10 - Spacing Out*

[Good news!  The long hiatus is finally over!  *And* I have a session and a half or so of backlog, so your next update should come relatively soon.  My summer schedule is vastly more open than during the school year, so I will both have more time to game and more time to write it up.]

Saturday morning.  Jon slept in, his sleep troubled and fitful.  Zipping in to the base he was unsurprised when Alpha informed him that Struthers wanted to see him ASAP.

Heading in to the man's office, he took a seat nervously.  "Captain, I..."  Struthers held up a hand.  "Relax.  I didn't ask you here to chew you out."  Photon swallowed and asked candidly, "Why not?"  The older man held his eyes.  "You shot a perp who was threatening a bunch of cops with a bomb.  It's regrettable, but that's the way it went down.  Sometimes it has to go down that way;  that's the nature of the beast."

Jon said quietly, "I've got more options than a bullet - or a laser.  I should've done it differently."  "What, you deliberately shot off his hand to get your jollies?  Or to save lives?"  Jon flinched at the description of what he'd done, but mumbled, "To... to save lives."

"Yeah.  Sounds like a good reason to me.  What do you think?"  Photon insisted, "I should have done it differently!"  "Yeah, well, you didn't think of it in the heat of combat.  Super or not, you're human.  Sucks, doesn't it?"  Jon dropped his eyes.  "Yeah."

After a long pause, Struthers said, "I can't give you orders.  But if you were one of my men, I'd have you talk to a shrink after something like this.  It can help."  Jon sighed.  "That could be... difficult."  "I know there's shrinks who specialize in dealing with supers;  look into it, okay?"  "All right, I will."

"Good."  Struthers paused again, then became all business.  "Now, those armed thugs you saw working with Hybrid... We captured a few.  Looks like VIPER is back in town, and that's bad news."

Jon wrenched his mind into this new train of thought.  "VIPER?  I've... never heard of them."  "I'm not surprised.  They used to be pretty big around here, but Shadow-Force kicked their scaly asses so hard early on that they cleared out.  But now it seems they're back."  "What, already?!"  "No, I'm guessing they've been slowly working toward this for a while;  it's the way they operate.  They may have accelerated things a bit due to circumstances, but I'll bet we would've been hearing from them regardless."

"Who are they?"  Struthers grimaced.  "Trouble on an international scale.  There's nobody so dangerous as a guy who thinks he can improve on human nature by changing society.  You'd think people would learn."  "Improve it how?"  "Survival of the fittest.  They want to clear out all the 'artificial rules' that let the weak dominate the strong, and so on and on."

"So, what, anarchy?"  "Oh, no.  They're all about the meritocracy.  If you prove you're strong - physically, mentally, morally - you get to give the orders.  That's the theory, anyway - I've definitely got my doubts about the 'morally'!"  He shrugged.  "It's not a bad gig if you're a lowlife - you get three squares and the chance to shoot people, and if you test smart they'll educate you up to the level of your incompetence."

"So they want to undermine the government."  "Basically.  Besides the militant wing, they've also got various initiatives to spread their philosophy by legit means - schools and so on.  If they can win people over with sweet reasonableness, they'll do it, but shooting works too."

Jon sighed.  "Lovely.  Is there anything about Seattle in particular they want?"  "They don't have it in their coils yet - that's good enough.  Though they do tend to favor major ports."  "So what do we do?"  "We make them a priority.  We don't know what they're up to yet, but we need to find out.  I don't know what else you have on your plate, but make room."

"All right, Captain, I'll see what I can find out."  "And you'll keep me in the loop this time.  I mean it, Photon.  This is not a job for the Lone Ranger."  "Yessir, I will."  "Good enough.  Is there anything else?"

Jon swallowed and said, "Yes.  I want you to know, sir.  The incident with the hand...  It won't happen again.  I'll take steps to make sure it doesn't.  I swear it."

Struthers just looked at him impassively, then leaned forward and said with quiet intensity, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Jon fled from the man's eyes back to the base.

--------------------------------

After Alpha was filled in, he said, "VIPER, huh?  Figures - Hybrid's known for working with them.  I've dug up some stuff on him for the team meeting."  "Speaking of digging, if VIPER's been preparing for a while..."  "Way ahead of you.  I'm already analyzing recent construction, new businesses, that kind of thing.  They can't hide from me for long."

"Good.  Um, Alpha?"  "Yeah?"  Jon looked anywhere but at one of Alpha's cameras.  "Struthers... suggested I see a counsellor.  One who specializes in supers.  Could you... look some up for me?"  "Sure, Jon.  No problem."  "Thanks."

Jon bit his lip.  "Is my suit packed up?"  "Oh.  No, I didn't know if you might need it or not, and it's really light anyway.  It's in storage."  "Ah.  Good."

He went to the storage room and got out the spacesuit Scott had made for him last year, after the unfortunate orbit-of-Jupiter incident.  Its fabric was amazingly light - not just because of Scott's technical wizardry.  He hadn't needed to protect Photon from heat, cold, radiation, or the Sun's unfiltered rays, after all, just provide air and pressure.

Jon removed his cape and stepped into the thing, sealing it with one quick pass of his hand;  it clung to itself without further ado.  The indicator showed an airtight seal.  _I'll be back in time for the team meeting, Alpha.  *OK, Jon.  Have fun.*_

Light form.  Out the door, up into the sky, which quickly turned black.    Jon scaled back his sensation of time so that it seemed only a twinkling when he materialized to look back at the Earth across the dead lunar plains of Mare Imbrium.

Hovering there, his breathing loud in his ears, he could blot out the whole world with his hand.  The people whose lives I've saved, the people who've never heard of me.  ...  A man being fitted with a prosthetic hand, who probably hates my guts.  Mom and Dad.  My brothers and sisters - both sets.  Bazooka and Brimstone, Mystra and Chameleon.  Bolt, Forestrike, Tex, Demeter, FAQ, Starflare, Enigma... Well, maybe not Enigma.

It looks so quiet, so peaceful.  Another flicker along null geodesics, and he materialized again in deep space to look back at a pale featureless blue dot.  So tiny, and yet so precious.

He turned his back on his world and looked out at the stars, surrounding him on all sides, more brilliant than ever seen on Earth.  And he floated.  Sometimes he liked to open his senses to their maximum on every wavelength, even his body tingling with the faint tremulo of gravitational waves... but that was noisy, and today he wanted quiet.

After a timeless time, his breathing finally slow and shallow, he thought:  OK, universe.  Why me?  I know you like me and all, but why?  Not that I don't appreciate it, being here, seeing this.

A sense of Presence grew on him, more and more, tugging at strings of his heart he didn't often use.  Oh, knock it off, he thought lightly.  You're not God, you know that, I know that.  For all I know you're just a figment of my imagination, a rationalization for my metapowers.

The Presence grew stronger, and he became aware of spacetime itself, its gentle curves as it caressed the Earth, the sun, the stars;  its loops coruscating with joy as they intertwined with the complementary loops of matter.  Without any words, the universe told him softly:  no

Jon blinked, the vision fading at once, yet etched in his memory.  "OK then," he said aloud in his helmet.  "That was... interesting."  Hard to believe my subconscious mind has that good of an imagination.  Then again, the human mind can do some pretty crazy things.

"Tell me straight," he challenged.  "What are you?  You can't just leave it at 'no'.  If you're not just a private neurosis of my own, you're going to have to be a little clearer than that."

No reply.

"Fine.  Be that way."  The stars twinkled impossibly around him, ripples of gravity deflecting their beams as the cosmos laughed.

Jon shivered.  "This is just too weird.  Far out, as Mystra would say.  I meant it:  You're not God."  He said the Lord's Prayer, a bit defiantly.  He'd never been a really strong believer, but he did stop in on a Sunday now and then.

The ancient words calmed him.  After basking a timeless while longer in the now-dispassionate starlight, he said, "OK, fine.  But I'm not giving up.  We'll hash this out later."

No reply.

He sighed and turned to look at the pale blue dot again.  "Not like I don't have plenty else to think about."

I will need to save the world.

Checking the suit's chronometer, he saw he still had an hour and a half.  So he flickered himself over to Mars for a bit and relaxed as he gazed out over scarlet vistas seen by few human eyes.  (He resisted the urge to mug for Opportunity's camera as he flashed past its telemetry.)

When he saw he had twenty minutes or so left, he regretfully headed back to Earth.  This time he scaled his time-sense so that he could clearly see the pale blue dot getting bigger, bigger... dominating his whole vision...  North America leaping toward him... Puget Sound...  Seattle...  The base grounds.

Hovering in the Situation Room, he unsealed the suit with a soft hiss and pushed his helmet back.  "I needed that."  "Yeah," Alpha said, a bit wistfully, "I can only imagine."  "I can take a camera up for you again sometime."  "It's not the same."  "No," Jon replied candidly, "it's not."

He gyrated in the air as he peeled the suit off;  Demeter walked in on him and stared.  "...Is that what I think it is?"  Jon grinned, at peace with the universe, and alighted.  "Depends on what you think it is."  He draped the suit over a chair and flared his cape back over his shoulders in a swirl of red.

"...A spacesuit?"  "Yep."  "Where...?"  "Let's just say I managed to refrain from ruining a NASA staffer's day."  "Why?"  Jon laughed.  "Because it would've been rude."  "No, I mean... I didn't know you could do that."

Jon said seriously, "We've got a lot of responsibility.  Nothing wrong with having some fun with our powers too, now and then."  "Yeah but...  Somehow dancing with trees doesn't seem quite as awesome as it did a few minutes ago."  "Sounds awesome to me!  Hey Alpha - remember the Phantom playing with his telekinesis?"  Alpha chuckled. "Oh yeah.  I'd have trouble finding things for days!"

Demeter looked between the two of them.  "So, um, what did Erebus do?"  Jon and Alpha stopped laughing.  "Uh," Jon said, "Let's not go there, okay?"  Demeter raised a brow.  Jon cleared his throat and explained, "Erebus didn't find combat stressful, really.  At all."  Alpha:  "Quite the opposite, in fact.  It helped him unwind."

"Oh," Demeter said.  Jon replied defensively, "It comes with having a hostile, ravening extradimensional force embedded in your psyche and all.  We should all be glad he didn't go villain."  "I guess so!"

Jon said into the awkward silence, "So, uh, how have the two of you been getting along?"  Alpha said playfully, "Oh, peachy.  I'm in hock to her for only half my immortal soul now."  Demeter laughed.  "Soul?!  What would I do with it?  No, I'll settle for indentured servitude, chip-boy."  "As you say, m'lady."  "...That 'm' doesn't stand for 'meat', does it?"  "The world may never know."

Jon laughed.  "And Sirocco?"  Demeter:  "He's okay.  Seems a little cocky, though."  Alpha:  "I've been waiting for us to be formally introduced."  Jon blinked. "Oh, sorry.  We'll take care of that in the meeting."  "No worries."

As they waited, Demeter showed Photon a small pouch.  "I've picked up some seeds, by the way.  I think these'll work fine."  "Great!"

Soon Sirocco and Beta returned from their patrol.  Jon greeted them and all sat down at the table in the Situation Room.  He paused for a moment, looking around;  it'd been too long since the other seats were filled.  "OK," he finally said, "first order of business:  Sirocco, meet X-97 Alpha.  Alpha, Sirocco."  Alpha:  "Hey."  Sirocco took his first meeting with the AI with good grace after the initial shock, and agreed to keep mum about his existence.

"Now then," Jon resumed, "you'll need to fill this out," and handed the young man a protocol form with an envelope.  Sirocco looked it over, frowning.  "Who's going to see this?"  "Nobody, I promise, unless something happens to you.  It'll be kept in a very secure place - same place where mine and Demeter's are."  "Mine too," Alpha added.  Sirocco mulled it over.  "Well... okay, I guess.  Can I bring it back in?"  "Sure.  Just don't take too long."  "All right."

Jon cleared his throat.  "So, I contacted your reference in Detroit."  "Yeah?"  "Yes.  I regret to say he died two months ago."  Sirocco's jaw dropped, and Demeter sat up straight, eyes wide.  "Oh my God," Sirocco breathed.  "Lieutenant Taylor... How did he die?!"  "Shot in the line of duty," Jon told him solemnly, and Demeter closed her eyes in empathy.

Sirocco shook his head. "Damn, I'm sorry to hear that.  He was a good man.  Took a chance on me...  This didn't have anything to do with me, did it?!"  "I have no reason to think so," Photon assured him.  "Okay...  Wow, I'm going to have to see if I can do anything for his family."

After a little more commisseration, Jon said gently, "I know this is a real shock for you.  And it's very sad.  But I do need to ask if there's anyone else in Michigan who can act as a reference."  Sirocco paused for a time, collecting his thoughts.  "...No, not really.  Oh, there's a couple other guys on the force who know me, but I didn't work with them closely."  "All right, that'll do for a start.  How about reporters?"  "I've never exactly been a front page story."  "The Great Lakes Guardians?"  "Like I told you, I've worked with them a couple times.  But they don't really know me."

Photon sighed.  "What about Charm?"  "If you can find him.  He's out of the game for good."  "You don't know how to contact him, then."  "Nope, I'm afraid not.  He said that when he retired he wanted to be out all the way."

"This is... a little awkward."  "Yeah, well, I'm sorry, but that's how it is."  Demeter looked between the two of them, her face impassive.  Jon thought, not for the first time, that he wouldn't want to play poker against her.

He finally asked,  "One more question."  "Yeah?"  "I... would feel a lot better if you could at least tell us why you want to keep the source of your flight power secret."  Now it was Sirocco's turn to sigh.  He nodded and explained, "It's like...  If it gets out how I do it, then people will know how to nullify it, you know?  I'm not thrilled at the idea of plummeting to the ground."  Jon mulled that over, then reluctantly agreed, "Okay, I understand.  That'll do... for now."

He changed the subject.  "All right.  For now, let's turn to the next item.  We need to be able to contact each other if something comes up on patrol or the like, and of course we can't carry Shadow-Force communicators when we're with Sidney."  He paused, then explained ruefully, "The original Shadow-Force was a 'high trust' team;  we all knew each others' names and contact info.  For better or worse, though, we're just not there yet.  I've been giving some thought to how this is going to work."

His teammates absorbed that in silence.  Jon resumed, "My best idea so far is to obtain pay-as-you-go cell phones and keep them on us, using them for nothing except team matters.  I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better idea."  Sirocco groaned faintly:  "Another one."  Demeter nodded. "Makes sense.  How're we going to refer to each other, though?  We'll need some sort of code."  Jon nodded.  "Let's work out the logistics first.  Alpha?"

Alpha mused, "I can obtain the phones anonymously and keep them paid up for you easily enough.  And I can think of a few refinements, in case the phones fall into the wrong hands."  "Great!  Any way we could scramble the signal, just in case?"  "Dunno, maybe FAQ could think of something?"  "I'll ask him."

Returning to the issue of code, they agreed to refer to Alpha as 'Al', Beta as 'Bert' ("This supersedes what I told you about 'Sidney', Beta,") Photon as 'Phil', Demeter as 'Diane', and Sirocco as 'Sam'.  They further agreed on a few key phrases:  "Dropping by" would mean heading to the base, while "Meet for lunch" would mean there was an issue elsewhere in the city.  "When you get a chance" meant less urgency than "Later this week".  It was also mutually decided that texting would usually be better than calling, which would be reserved for more complicated matters.

There followed an intensive session of patrol scheduling.  Jon insisted that patrols always be in pairs;  thankfully Beta's greater availability made that less taxing for the other three than it otherwise would have been.  Jon asked Sirocco, "Any trouble working with Beta so far?"  "Not much, though I don't always know what sort of instructions he's looking for.  Demeter said you did a patrol with the three of you?"  They agreed to meet the next day in the afternoon to shake the kinks out.

Finally, Photon said, "All right.  Now, have you two heard about the events at American Eagle's press conference last night?"  Demeter said, "I saw it on the late night news," while Sirocco shook his head.

Jon tersely filled them in on the fight.  He started to gloss over the whole hand business, then took a deep breath and took the bull by the horns.  "Yeah, I hurt the guy because in the heat of the moment I couldn't think of anything else to do.  It just goes to show that we need to plan for contingencies like this, figure out ahead of time how we're going to handle tough situations.  I'm going to be pondering different scenarios we can discuss at future team meetings."  His two teammates heard him out quietly.  They were both looking a little overwhelmed, honestly.

Jon took a deep breath and continued, "OK, so we need to track this guy down, and figure out what VIPER's up to.  _And_ keep an eye open for Black Phantom's materiel.  I believe Alpha has some information on Hybrid for us?"

Alpha responded, "Sure do.  Here's the sitch."  A viewscreen lit up showing a picture of Hybrid in armor (without a mirror finish in this photo).  "Hybrid's been around the block.  He's been hiring himself out as a super-mercenary for the last fifteen years, though I can't account for him during all of that time.  VIPER is one of his best customers, but he's not very discriminating.  Anyway, team, this guy has a reputation:  He's smart and he's tough and he learns from his mistakes.  While he's lost his share of fights, he's usually gotten away, and he's never lost the _second_ time around with the same people.  He adapts to people's powers and tactics and takes them apart."

A new picture came up, this one of Hybrid fighting a team of supers.  "He got his start in New York City, as so many do.  Got beaten down hard as a newbie and put away.  When he got out, he started playing things smart.  His next big caper - and still his most infamous - was against the St. Louis Paladins."  Another picture came up, of another fight.

Jon said, puzzled, "I thought the St. Louis team was called the Gatekeepers?"  "Yeah, the current team.  This was the prior one."  Sirocco suddenly said, "Ohhh.  I think I've heard of this one."  Alpha:  "Yeah, it wasn't pretty."

"His first tangle with them ended in a narrow loss," Alpha resumed.  "Hybrid had a hard time dealing with Jack Frost, one of their big guns."  Another screen lit up, showing the rime-covered face of the well-known super.  "The next time?  He came back virtually immune to cold, and took them down single-handed, except for backup from a few minions.  The Paladins never really recovered from that fight, and broke up amidst infighting several months later."

Sirocco asked incredulously, "And this is the guy we've got to take down?"  Photon reminded him, "I told you this is the big leagues.  Shadow-Force has taken down bigger guys than Hybrid."  Sirocco shook his head.  Meanwhile Demeter said quietly, "Yeah.  And we'll do it again."

Jon was suddenly overwhelmed.  And I thought we were going to change the team's name!  No way.  "That's right," he affirmed, his heart full of emotion. "We will."

Sirocco caught the mood and grinned.  "The guy's doomed already."  "It'll take careful planning," Photon warned, "We're going to have to be smart and cautious.  But we can do it."  He looked at them both, then at Beta, at Alpha.  "I know we can."

The meeting broke up on a high point.  Jon leaned back in his chair and massaged his brows.  "Wow."  "You did well," Alpha told him.  "I'm glad you think so."

Alpha paused, then said emphatically, "I do."  Then he added, "Sirocco's gonna be trouble."  "Tell me about it.  My own personal Erebus to deal with."  "You should be so lucky! ... That bit about his references, or lack thereof... You think he's telling the truth?"  Jon said wearily, "Put it this way... I think it's true there isn't anyone back there willing to say nice things about him."  Alpha sighed. "Yeah, I figured that's what he meant by people 'knowing him well' too."

Jon shook his head.  "I feel so... old... around those two."  "I know what you mean!  And here I am, all of seven years old!"  That got an honest chuckle out of Jon.  "Yeah, but that's like dog years, isn't it?  How long in human years?"  "More than you know, Grasshopper."  "Sure, sensei.  So in your great wisdom, what should I do next?"  "Well, in the famous words of an early artificial intelligence...  'Reply hazy, ask again later'."

Jon laughed, shaking his head.  "For a seven year old, you sure do know how to make me laugh."  "It's a gift."  "So when are you switching off for the move?"  "Late next week.  Not looking forward to it."  "Me neither.  I missed you the last time, ya big lug."  "Yeah.  And Jon?  Thanks."

Jon paused, his heart full.  "You're welcome, Alpha.  ... And I guess you should thank Forestrike too."  "OH! Never thought of that. ... Gives me kind of a greasy sensation, know what I mean?"  "All too well."

"Get to bed, Jon.  The world will keep spinning."  "Yeah, I know."  "...That's part of what you do out in space, isn't it?  Look back at the world?"  Jon shook his head.  "It's scary sometimes, how well you know me."  "We've been through a lot together.  Kept this city in one piece all alone, didn't we?"

Photon smiled as he got to his feet. "We did at that.  Now to keep it up. 'Night, Alpha."  "'Night, my friend."  With that, Jon shimmered and was gone.

[This one was put together from memory and a lot of back-and-forth with SP from a few mini-sessions that were played several months ago.  Also added some stuff from whole cloth - notably the space scene.  (Did get SP to approve went on during it, though.  Obviously it's pretty 'sensitive' stuff to the overarching story.)]


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## The Shadow (Jul 13, 2010)

*Shadow-Force Files:  McCarthyism*

There's a new post up at Shadow-Force Files, on McCarthyism.


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## The Shadow (Jul 20, 2010)

*Update:  Coming Soon!*

Should have the next post up for you as soon as I hear back from SP on a technical point.

And we had a short session last Wednesday, so things are still moving ahead!


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## The Shadow (Jul 22, 2010)

*11 - Loose Ends*

[So I was left with a session-and-a-half or so that ended up quite long.  I decided it flowed better split in two - here's the first half.]

The next morning, Jon called Hei and managed to get her this time.  "Hey," he said wearily, "Sorry I've been so scarce.  I don't know if you've noticed, but things've been CRAZY."  "I've been watching the news;  believe me, I understand."  "Thanks!  I'm not sure I really understand it all yet myself... How about dinner, soon?  Tonight, maybe?"  "Love to!  But how about Friday?  Work has been crazy for me, too."  "I'll be there!  Short of full-scale extradimensional invasion, anyway."  "...What odds are they giving on that these days?"  "Too high if it has the potential to keep me from ya!"  She laughed, and they chatted a bit more before signing off.

The Sunday papers were full of the American Eagle announcement and the Hybrid fight.  To Jon's surprise both major Seattle papers treated him quite well, downplaying the loss of the man's hand and emphasizing the bomb;  while the Tacoma News-Tribune all but fawned on him.  The Tacoma police were vocal in their gratitude for Photon's work, both at the mayor's office and during the chase.  Maybe I do need some more perspective on what happened, he thought;  when you get down to it, what kind of maniac tries to blow himself up in that situation?  Hybrid had already gotten away!

He stopped by his office to check up on a simulation he had running... he didn't expect to have a chance to do so later.  He was heading for Gerhard's office nearby to give him some instruction on how to massage the code for further work when he heard Melissa's voice eagerly expounding something involving supers, and even Photon.

Frowning slightly, Jon listened.  Something about how Photon's battles with Enigma, Technoid, and Hybrid proved something about his solar identity?  He went in.  "Hey Jerry, Melissa.  How's it going?"  Melissa started as if at a gunshot. "Oh, uh, hi, Dr. Winters.  Wow, I just remembered I have to get going!"  She hurried out.

Jon looked after her.  "Jerry...  Have I offended Melissa somehow recently?  She seems really abrupt and jumpy around me lately."  Gerhard laughed and waved it off, not meeting his eyes. "Nah, Doc, she's just stressed out about her classes.  She about bit my head off earlier over nothing!"

"Ah. ... She sure sounded excited about supers or something."  "Yeah, it's her latest pet theory;  interesting, I guess, though I don't follow the news the way she does."  "Oh?  What kind of theory?"  "She thinks supers are the modern mythology:  Gods for people who think they don't have any.  She was just going on about how Photon's latest fights have parallels to myths about sun deities or something."

Jon pondered that.  Sounds harmless enough identity-wise, but wow, that's uncomfortable.  I don't want to be a god...  "Supers are gods, huh?  Seems to me they're just ordinary people who have abilities beyond the norm.  It's not like they're on a higher plane or anything."  Gerhard shrugged. "I don't fully buy into it myself.  But Melissa says that people need somebody to look up to;  that they'll lift somebody up to that higher plane whether they start there or not.  If it weren't for supers, she thinks we'd be idolizing movie stars or professional athletes or something."

Laughing now, Jon said, "Oh, come on!  That's pretty far-fetched... I mean, sure people like that are well-known, but they're entertainers!  It's not like they actually DO anything."  Gerhard laughed with him. "That's exactly what I said, but she has an answer for it.  According to her, it doesn't have to make any sense;  it's a human need, and people will pound square pegs into the round holes if they can't find round pegs.  Did you know that before supers started emerging, big sports stars were sometimes called 'heroes'?"

Jon paused, chewing on that.  "Huh.  Really?  What sort of villains were they supposed to be fighting?"  "The other team, I guess?"  "Weird.  Sounds like she's really put some thought into this, though."  "Yeah, she has.  Anyway, I've got some preliminary results on that Calabi-Yau sim..."  "Oh!  Right, and I wanted you to tweak this routine..."  After discussing business with Jerry, Jon slipped out, chuckling a bit as he pondered Melissa's theory a bit more.  Imagine a world with movie actors as serious Presidential candidates, or with comedians and football players in Congress...  Wild.

Zipping in to the base, he called the mayor of Tacoma's office only to be told by a staffer that they hadn't been contacted by Hybrid and to the best of her knowledge had no major new leads.

"Well Alpha, let's try to tie up some loose ends before things get uglier than they already are.  Think the Great Lakes Guardians have anyone on duty on a Sunday?"  "Worth a try;  we do, after all.  Dialing..."

Soon an image came to life on one of the Situation Room viewscreens, and for an instant Jon thought there were technical problems - then he recognized the elongated granite-grey features of the extradimensional wizard Shatterstone.  The earth mage said gravely, "Salutations."  He bowed his head, the sheer mail he wore chiming slightly with his movement.

Jon nodded. "Hello, this is Photon of Shadow-Force in Seattle... I'm calling about our newest member Sirocco, who is from your area;  I'm wondering if any of you could give him a reference for me?"  Shatterstone paused in some consternation.  "Ah, that sounds like a human cultural matter.  I am ill-equipped to judge of such things;  I will contact one of my teammates to respond to your request.  I hope this does not give offense?"  "No, of course not," Jon assured him.  The being nodded solemnly. "It is good.  Please grasp."  The screen went blank.

Jon cocked his head at one of Alpha's cameras.  "'Grasp'?"  "I think he means 'hold'."  "Ah."  Soon the screen came back to life, revealing an Asian woman in a white-and-red costume:  The team's tactical leader, Crimson Dragon.  She nodded politely. "Photon, good to meet you.  We've been following your work now and then...  sounds like you gave Hybrid quite a fight.  Our best wishes in dealing with him;  he's got quite the rep around here."  "Hey, thanks!  If you know anything about him that could help, I'd be glad to hear it."

She shook her head.  "We've never tangled with him directly, but we work with the Gatekeepers now and then, and have gotten an earful."  [The Gatekeepers include a couple members from the old St. Louis Paladins, including Jack Frost.]  "Anyway," she continued, "you called about Sirocco?"

Photon nodded.  "He's just joined our team, and I was hoping one of you could reference him for me?"  Crimson Dragon sighed.  "Since you're the leader of your team, I'll share some information with you in strictest confidence."  Jon blinked. "Uh, okay."  "I'll have to ask you to ensure your cyberkinetic isn't listening in."  Jon cocked his head.  "You mean Technoid?  He..."  "No," Crimson Dragon informed him firmly, "there are rumors you have another cyberkinetic working with you.  I don't know the truth of that and don't need to;  I just need your assurance that nobody else is listening."

Jon nodded. "All right, one second."  He blanked the screen and told Alpha, "You heard the lady."  "Awwww, but dad!"  Jon rolled his eyes.  "Just don't listen, OK?"  "Yeah, yeah."

Jon turned the screen back on. "Okay, we're secure."  "Good."  Crimson Dragon sighed.  "Sirocco is a disaster just waiting to happen.  He's a rash, overconfident hothead.  Charm was the worst possible mentor for him;  the old man got away with being flashy and careless in the field for years because of his superhuman luck, but I doubt Sirocco will.  Way too many of Charm's habits rubbed off."

Jon sighed, shaking his head. "I'd pretty much already figured that out for myself."  "You haven't figured out everything, though.  Because this next bit has been kept under wraps."  Jon gaped in dismay.  "You mean there's more?"  "I'm afraid so."

She paused, then said clinically, "Charm and Sirocco had a loud, vehement, and very public falling-out about a week before Charm announced his retirement to the Super community.  A few days after the announcement, Sirocco was seen leaving a house we now know to be Charm's;  he is believed to be the last person who saw Charm alive."  Photon stared at her.  "Charm is dead?!"  "Yes."  "...Are you telling me that Sirocco is a suspect in his death?"

Crimson Dragon held up a hand. "No.  We aren't certain there was any foul play, and in any case the time of death is estimated to be eighteen hours after Sirocco was seen there.  What we do know is that Charm's luck seems to have suddenly and spectacularly run out, all at once;  the number of improbable events conspiring to kill him is so bizarre it would sound funny if the results weren't so disturbing.  And we know that a magical amulet Charm was known to wear was not found on his person or anywhere among his effects."

"So you think that maybe the lack of the amulet reversed his luck?"  "That is one hypothesis;  we don't know for certain.  Charm was always close-mouthed about his powers."  Jon pondered this, stunned.  Then he asked, "Was Charm able to fly?"  "Yes, he was.  Why do you ask?"  "Because Sirocco can, and he admits that power isn't derived from his metagene."  "...I see.  He has not previously demonstrated the ability to fly, to the best of my knowledge."

Photon said grimly, "Yeah."  Crimson Dragon responded quietly, "I will not offer you advice;  that would be out of place under the circumstances.  But I will wish you success and good fortune in dealing with these matters."  "Thank you.  And if there are any new developments in the Charm case, I would _greatly_ appreciate hearing about them."  She nodded.  "We will be in touch."

Jon signed off, then waved at one of Alpha's cameras... suddenly realizing something.  "You read our lips, didn't you?" he accused.  "...Mayyyybe."  "Alpha!  I gave her my word!"  "Then aren't you glad you didn't break it?  You both just said not to listen, after all."  Jon fumed. "Very HAL 9000 of you."  Alpha:  "...That's not funny." [Besides the obvious, Alpha was once thoroughly hacked - before Photon's time - and turned the base against the team.  The only way he could give warning was by talking in a creepy HAL voice and calling everyone 'Dave'.]

"No," Jon bit off, "it wasn't."  The computer sighed over the nearest speaker.  "All right, I'm sorry.  I'll even restore to yesterday's memory files if you want."  Jon shook his head. "No, I won't ask you to do brain surgery on yourself - especially not so soon after your big reboot.  Just don't do it again?"  "Yeah.  I promise."  "Okay then."  "...What're you gonna do about Sirocco?"  With a sigh, "I don't really know yet."

They were silent for a little while, then Jon asked, "Did you or Carlton Legal ever find anything out about Chris Perkins?"  "Oh!  I've been meaning to bring that up, but life's been so distracting."  "Tell me about it.  What've you got?"

"Trouble.  I have found a very disturbing pattern in his previous work - the more so, given recent events."  "Go on."  "He had average to good grades in journalism school.  A pretty ordinary freelance career out of college... but then, about five years ago, something happened."

Jon cocked his head.  "What?"  "I don't know.  But I do know that his writing style subtly changed, all at once.  Word count statistics prove it."  "So?  People change, Alpha.  Maybe he had a traumatic event in his life or something."  "Yeah, well, if so he got over it really suddenly.  Because three years ago his style shifted back to match the old patterns exactly."

"...What are you telling me?"  "I'm telling you that for two years, somebody else was writing under his byline.  Covering for him."  "And then he came back?"  "Yep."  "So what was he doing during those two years?"  "That's just it:  I haven't the foggiest idea.  Everything else about him checks out, at least on paper.  To be blunt, it's really weird and kind of scary."

"And now he pops up with a new, secret contract and wants to interview me."  "You got it."  "...Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."  "Nah.  This is more like _Greek_ tragedy."  "Oh, joy!  So, no interview for Mr. Perkins, then."

"I dunno about that, boss.  'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer', remember?"  Jon thought that over.  "Yeah, that and 'Better the enemy you know.'  You think he's with VIPER?"  "Maybe, I don't know.  But I guarantee he's with _somebody_."  "Okay, so maybe he does get an interview, then."  "Can I make a suggestion?"  "Of course!"  "You might want to take Demeter with you.  She's one sharp cookie, I've noticed;  and while I'm no judge, I gather she's rather... distracting."  Jon nodded.  "I might just.  You're right, she's quick on the uptake."

Jon mulled it over some more.  "Has he been calling back?"  "Once."  "Give him a few days to call back again while I figure out what times will work for Demeter.  If he doesn't call, act like you're following up.  Play hard to get;  make him justify why I should even be willing to talk to him.  Who knows, he might let something slip."  "Hmmm.  Unlikely, but it never hurts to try.  And then I give in after getting as many concessions as possible, I assume?"  "Well, naturally.  A prize he had to fight for will be more highly valued, right?  And its loss less easily risked."  "...You _are_ getting devious!" 

Jon smirked.  "It comes with the territory..."  He abruptly sighed and rested his head in his hand as he thought through the implications of that:  "Yeah."  Alpha asked quietly, "Any other loose ends before you head to Tacoma?"

Jon paused.  "Yes.  The Protectors, if you please."  "Coming right up!"  Soon he had Thunderwing on the line - one of the Protectors he'd only met in passing.  "Oh, Photon.  Good to hear from you.  What do you need?"  "I was hoping to get ahold of Moke and FAQ;  it's not urgent, so if they're not available they can feel free to call back at their convenience."  "FAQ's on personal leave at the moment."  Jon asked, concerned, "Is he OK?  When do you expect him back?"  "Nothing serious, I gather it's some sort of family event.  He'll be back in a few days."  "OK, good, just leave him a message then.  And Moke?"  "He's off-shift but on call - I can get him on the line if you give me a few minutes?"  "No rush.  When's he back on?"  "Tomorrow?"  "That's fine, just have him call me then."  "I'll do that."

Signing off, Jon said, "I'm gone.  Wish me luck."  "...Where'd he go?"  Jon laughed and headed to Tacoma, materializing outside city hall.  It didn't take long to get admitted to see the mayor.  "Any new news?"  "No word from Hybrid, but American Eagle did find the boots to his armor."  "Really!  Where was this?"  "The north part of town, near Ruston.  You'd have to ask her for the details."  "I will!  How can I contact her?"  "We've set up an answering service that can connect callers to her pager.  ... The service helps weed out frivolous and unsavory calls, you see."

"All right, may I have the number?"  "It's publicly available.  I'll have my secretary leave a message."  "All right, thank you.  While we're waiting, can you tell me how long Black Phantom's gear was kept in the location it was stolen from?"  "About six weeks."  "And you said the deputy mayor and the chief of police knew it was there."  "The chief knew largely because we had to get it out of the evidence locker, but yes."

After discussing a little more logistics, Photon took his leave courteously and waited above city hall.  Sure enough, American Eagle came flapping up before much longer;  she seemed surprised to see him waiting there, but wheeled to join him all the same.  Jon, for his part, noted that she'd added a makeshift airtight mask to her costume.

"I see you've added to the decor," he noted, and she nodded.  "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I've already hit #7 on the list, that's enough for me."  "Ouch!  Well, I've still got you beat."  She sighed.  "Not just 'Most Embarrassing'.  'Lamest'."  Jon nodded somberly.  "Well, it's not the first outing that really counts.  It's the second, third, fourth, and hundredth."  "Point well taken.  So what brings you by?"

"I heard you found Hybrid's boots.  What's the story there?"  She grinned at him.  "I loved my uncle, but I think he focussed too much on the sky instead of the ground.  Black Phantom advised me to build up a network of contacts and I took his advice - there's a number of people who keep their eyes open for me.  One of them tipped me off to the boots."  "Nice!  I wonder why he left them behind?"  "No mystery there.  They were cracked open.  Looks like a fuel line broke."  "That was probably me;  I snuffed out his thrust and he fell."  "Aha!  Anyway, they were pretty messed up, I guess he thought they were beyond repair."  "I'm surprised he managed to fly off at the end, then."  "They must've conked out not long after that."  "Drat!  Wish I'd had the chance to follow him.  ...  We'll have to have a wrench take a look at the boots, we may learn something about his style."  "I'll look into it.  Like I said before, I know somebody."

"All right.  Speaking of Black Phantom, any word on his gear?"  "None yet."  "Do you think VIPER might be behind the theft?"  "Hmm, hard to say.  What would they have to gain by it?"  "They seem to want to win hearts and minds.  Imagine a new hero out on the streets, spouting the party line... If you can imagine a libertarian Black Phantom!"  

American Eagle laughed heartily at that mental image, and Photon joined her.  Then he said,  "Well, we'll have to keep our eyes open;  we don't want his legacy to fall through the cracks...  What should I call you, by the way?  Six syllables is a bit of a mouthful."  She laughed again.  "I've been going by the initials A.E."  "OK, A.E., how do you want to handle this investigation?  It's your city."  She admitted, "I'm still pondering that.  This is my first one."  Jon nodded easily.  "OK.  Well, I should tell you a couple things, then.  First, I've got people searching construction records and so on for signs of VIPER in Seattle and Tacoma."  "Oh, good!  Do you have any results yet?"  "Not yet, but I hope to have some by tomorrow;  I'll let you know."  A.E. nodded gratefully.  "That'll help.  And the second thing?"

"I can search the whole city for Hybrid and VIPER really fast if you wish."  She blinked.  "You can?  What, even inside people's houses and underground and so on?"  Jon shrugged.  "Depends on how much of a jerk I want to be."  American Eagle looked impressed.  "Wow.  Well, by all means, go ahead - just don't violate anyone's civil rights or anything."  "Coming right up, in a minute.  Got a couple more questions for you."  "Shoot."

"How can we contact each other?"  She gave him her pager number, and he passed on Alpha's number.  That taken care of, Jon told her seriously, "In the longer run...  I realize there's all sorts of reasons why you have to be your own team.  But if you're open to the idea, I don't see any reason why we can't coordinate our patrols and so on."  "Well, I really should stick to Tacoma... Oh, I get it.  You mean making sure we don't have any duplicated effort or gaps."  "Exactly.  I mean, we've been covering the whole Sea-Tac area thus far, if we could work you in on the Tacoma sweeps it would make life easier for both of us."  She nodded.  "Agreed.  I expect to take the lead in this area, though:  Like you said, it's my city."  "Of course!  But we're always willing to help.  We're in this together, after all."

A.E.  smiled.  "Thanks, Photon.  That's good to know.  Oh, and it would probably be easiest for me to patrol with someone who can fly - that's what all my tactics are designed around.  So it'd have to be you or Beta.  Or Sirocco, I guess."  Something about the way she said it told Jon that she found Sirocco more than a little attractive, but he let it go.  "Sure.  And if you think it would help, you're welcome to sit in on some of our team meetings, too.  As a non-voting observer, of course."  "Mmm.  I'll take a rain check on that.  I need to establish myself as my own hero first."  "However you want to do it."

"OK.  How long will it take you to do the search?"  "It depends on how thorough I want to be.  If I go full fine-toothed-comb mode, about half an hour." [1] She shook her head in amazement.  "Well, let me know what you find.  Please don't engage without talking to me first."  Jon grinned at her.  "You worry too much."  He winked out of sight.

Half an hour later, Jon caught up to her and reported, "Nothing."  "Nothing at all?"  "Nope.  I didn't do the underground quite as thoroughly as I would like - all those conduits and pipes get confusing - but no sign of them at all."  "Huh!  Think they're in Seattle?"  "I consider it likely, yes.  Don't worry, if so we'll bring you in on the big assault.  Naturally, we'll expect the same courtesy in Seattle that we extend to you in Tacoma."  American Eagle smiled and held out her hand.  "We understand each other very well.  A pleasure working with you, Photon."  "And you!  For many years to come, I trust!"  They shook hands firmly and parted.

Jon sighed as he headed back to Seattle.  Now to deal with Sirocco...  This isn't likely to be a fun conversation.

[1] A quick word on Jon's super-speed - it gave us a lot of headaches.  He's got Flight 20, to represent light-speed... by analogy with Super-Speed, it made sense to me at first to give him Quickness 20 to go with it.  But when I calculated that would let him Take 20 on Search checks throughout the entire Sea-Tac area as a *free action*, SP's response was along the lines of, "Not just no, but HELL NO!"   (The Phantom's massively good Mind Scan had caused him major problems with adventure design in the original campaign - believe me, Forestrike could tell you *all about* that. 

After some spirited discussion, he was willing to live with Quickness 9, which lets Photon Take 20 on searching one of the two big cities in about half an hour.  (Without Taking 20, it's about a minute and a half.)  However, Quickness 9 at light-speed just doesn't cut it - Jon's reaction time would be so glacially slow compared to the speed of light he'd be off the planet many times over.

SP ultimately said he really only cared about Search not being too easy.  As far as he was concerned, I could describe doing routine things as fast as I wanted.  We also agreed that zipping through the city looking for crime is *much* faster than searching for something specific.  So, basically, when it comes to anything but Searching, I just make up numbers that sound good.  For Searching, we say that he has to crisscross the area a lot more times than twenty to get a grip on everything.  He can't manipulate things in light-form, for one thing, and changing his senses does take effort.  For that matter, it's impossible for him to *stand still* in light-form and look at an area for a while from the same vantage point.


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## The Shadow (Jul 30, 2010)

*Shadow-Force Files:  The Base*

There's a new post up about the Shadow-Force base.


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## The Shadow (Aug 5, 2010)

*12 - Good Luck Charm*

Heading back to the base, Photon found Beta and Sirocco ready for the joint patrol they'd worked out the previous day.  "OK, let's go."  The patrol was mostly quiet;  Jon kept things light, telling funny stories of times with Shadow-Force.  Sirocco quickly warmed to him, and proved to be a witty raconteur himself - soon they were laughing together like comrades.  (He also got the hang of directing Beta easily enough.)  Near the end, there was a bit of excitement - a robbery in progress.  Sirocco said easily, "Cover me!" and swooped down to surround the four robbers in a sandstorm, quickly mopping them up.  Too impulsive, Jon thought, but at least he's starting to think a little like a team member.

Flying up to the base, Photon said, "Beta, you head back home and recharge.  Sirocco, how about you and I go up top?"  He pointed at the omnipresent overcast, and Sirocco shrugged. "Sure."  They pierced the clouds together, emerging into lovely autumn sunshine.  "Nice!" the young man said.  "I've been missing the sun."  Face to face, Jon could make out a chain about his neck, and sighed to himself.

Jon met his eyes. "I was only a full member of Shadow-Force for about a year, but I developed a bond with them really fast.  They became as close to me as my own brothers and sisters - closer, in some ways.  That's what happens when you put your life on the line with someone on a regular basis. ... I figure that's where you and I and Demeter are headed before long."  He paused, then said deliberately, "And so I'm willing to extend you a lot of emotional credit, on the basis of a relationship that isn't really established yet."

Sirocco nodded, a little warily - plainly he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Photon continued, "Some matters have come up that I can't kick down the road until I know you better.  They have to be resolved now."  "Okay...  What are they?"

"I need to know what happened between you and Charm."  Sirocco sighed.  "Well... the details aren't really your business.  But I'll give you the broad sweep of things.  Basically, I felt I was ready for a solo mission.  Charm didn't agree;  he said I didn't have enough ability, experience, whatever.  That's what the blowup you've apparently heard of was about.  Anyway, to make a long story short, I went and smashed the drug ring on my own - they were running Might [1] - and called Charm several times to let him know.  He never picked up, and I never saw him again."

Jon folded his arms. "Uh huh.  And what about Charm's amulet?"  Sirocco recoiled in shock. "What?!  How did you-?!"  "Answer the question, please."  The young hero wrestled to come to terms with the new situation, then finally said, "...All right, tell me straight.  Did you know, or were you guessing?"  "I had a really good indication, but I didn't know for certain."

With a sigh, "Fine.  I didn't exactly lie to you just now, but obviously there's more to the story.  I really didn't see Charm again, as Charm.  But I did see him as Colin..."  Reading Photon's face, he said, "Oh, crap.  You didn't know his name, did you?"  "It's hardly relevant now."  "No, it is, believe me.  Please don't look any further into his life, okay?"  "Continue your story, please."

Sirocco said quietly, "My understanding was that the Amulet of Fortune had been promised to me.  I went to Charm's house and spoke with him about it - he was out of costume.  We both got angry.  Finally he flung it at me while pronouncing a curse, and told me to get out.  So I did."

"What were the terms of the curse?"  "...Personal.  But the gist was that I wouldn't hold on to the Amulet for long."  Photon pondered that, then said quietly, "Charm is dead, Sirocco."  Then, studying the young man's posture, "...This doesn't surprise you, does it?"

Sirocco sighed. "I didn't know for sure.  But something he said once made me wonder."  "He died about eighteen hours after speaking with you.  Of a run of extraordinarily bad luck."  Sirocco winced.  "...Yeah."

Jon told him firmly, "I want to see this amulet."  The young hero closed his eyes, took a breath, let it out.  "Okay, if you insist.  Not here, though."  "You don't have to take it off."  "No, I mean indoors.  Please."  "All right."

They flew down to the base, and found Demeter in the Situation Room chatting merrily with Alpha.  (The two of them seemed to have really hit it off.)  Sirocco said quietly to Photon, "Not here.  Someplace more private."  Jon nodded and said, "Excuse us for a second, we'll join you in a moment."  Demeter waved, hardly even looking in his direction.

Jon led the way into the hall off the Situation Room and then into the lounge on the left.  He closed the seldom-used door and turned to Sirocco.  "Okay."  Sirocco nodded uneasily, and slowly unbuttoned the top couple buttons of his shirt.  Then he pulled the Amulet forth.  Several things then happened all at once.

The Amulet flared with green light, momentarily blinding Jon.  (Clearly the blinding effect had nothing to do with actual photons!)  While stupefied by the light, Jon heard the door behind him suddenly unlatch, and Demeter cried out.

When his vision came back, Jon saw Sirocco struggling frantically to get the Amulet back under his shirt, but it had somehow snagged on one of his buttons.  The thing was still pulsing and flaring with green light, and Jon instinctively shrouded the area with darkness absolute... or nearly absolute.  He could still dimly make out the green light, then it seemed to dim further, as if covered with a veil.  Sirocco said shakily, "Okay, it's back in."  Jon let his darkness lapse, his demeanor poised and grim - he'd seen what the Amulet was made of.

Turning quickly to Demeter, he saw her eyes glowing green, then slowly fading back to their normal color.  He asked sharply, "Demeter, are you OK?"  "...Yeah," she responded, "that was really weird, though."  Then, whirling back to Sirocco, "You want to tell me what the HECK just happened?!"

Sirocco replied bleakly, "You've sealed my death."  "What?!"  The young man was trembling now.  "You've sealed.  My death."  Jon snarled, "You care to be a little more EXPLICIT about that statement, Sirocco?"  Sirocco swallowed hard, then said, "The Amulet has chosen a new bearer."  He pointed to Demeter. "Her.  At some point it will go to her.  And I will die, just like Charm did."  Jon asked sharply, "How long?"  "There's no telling.  I mean, if I gave it to her right now, it'd be done.  If I choose not to... I just don't know.  I didn't exactly get an instruction manual for the thing!"

Jon strode back to the Situation Room, Sirocco in tow.  "Okay.  Demeter, what's your story?"  "The door opened, and I just happened to be looking in that direction..."  Sirocco rolled his eyes. "Of course.  It always 'just happens'."  "...And I saw a flare of green light.  A weird feeling came over me, like... Like something was sizing me up.  Then you dropped darkness, and the feeling muted a bit... and when you lifted the darkness, it was gone."

Jon nodded, his mind racing. "Okay... Oh, and by the way, Demeter, you'll be interested to know this thing's made of JADE."  Demeter's eyes widened, then her face became an impassive mask.  Alpha asked impatiently, "What 'thing' are we talking about?"  Jon said, "The amulet Sirocco is wearing, Alpha."  "The what now?"  "Haven't you been listening to this conversation?"  "What conversation?"  Jon turned to look fully at Alpha's main interface.  "Huh?"

Sirocco explained, "The Amulet doesn't show up in mirrors, on cameras... or apparently for AI's."  Alpha demanded, "WHAT doesn't show up for AI's?"  Jon said soothingly, "I'll explain later, Alpha.  Just please call the Texas Legends for me."  "Well... okay, but it better be a really good explanation."

Jon waited.  "Alpha?"  "Yeah?"  "Aren't you calling the Texas Legends?"  "Why would I do that?"  "...Because I asked you to?"  "No you didn't...  Wait, the security video of the last few minutes is all blurry and staticky.  What's going on?"  Jon said patiently, "It's magic, Alpha."  "...I hate magic."  "Yeah, me too."

Jon went and started pulling up the Texas Legends manually.  Alpha asked, "Uh, Photon?  Why are you calling the Texas Legends?  I can do that for you, you know."  "I know, Alpha.  Just trust me, OK?"  "Okay..."

Soon he had Pecos Bill on the line.  "Why, Photon!  Always good to hear from y'all!  What can we be doin' you for?"  "Hi, Bill.  We really need to talk to Tex.  It's kind of urgent."  "Well, Ah don't think he's left yet... One sec."  In a minute Tex appeared on the screen. "Photon!  Have y'got word of Mirror Mask for me?"  "No, Tex.  We've got a _different_ deadly magical artifact this time."  Tex laughed.  "Haw!  How'd'y'do it, son?"  "Beats me.  Anyway, have you ever heard of the Amulet of Fortune?"

"The what now?  Your voice fuzzed out."  Jon sighed.  "It interferes with machines somehow.  OK, the A-m-u-l-e-t.  Got that?"  "Amu-let, shore."  "O-f."  "Of."  "F-o-r-t-u-n-e."  "Raht, the-" fuzz fuzz fuzz.  "I think you've got it.  So have you?"  Tex pondered, scratching his head.  "Ah know of any number of charms an' amu-lets that're s'posed to help in that area, but none that rates a capital 'The', if'n y'catch mah drift."  "Well...  I hate to ask, but could you take a look at this thing?  It _kills_ people."  Tex replied good-naturedly, "Y'all are just bound an' determined to deprahve me of mah days off, ain't ye, son?  Why, shore, I'd be glad-"

Pecos Bill broke in.  "Hold on now, Tex.  We can't spare you right now."  "Aw, c'mon Bill, he's only a shaman..."  "You're the only one of us with _any_ magical ability, Tex!  You're stayin', and that's final."  Photon asked desperately, "Can you refer us to anyone, then?  Are the Guardians back yet?"  Tex sighed. "No, they ain't.  As for a referral...  Most of the ones comin' to mind are kinda specialized.  Or else extra-special cryptic, if'n y'know what Ah mean.  Ah guess yore local Sixties reject ain't available?"  Jon rolled his eyes.  "No, she's off on a vision quest."  "Figures."

Jon came to an abrupt decision.  "We're coming to you.  Is that okay?"  Tex looked to Bill, who nodded.  "We'll be waitin'."  Jon signed off, saying to Sirocco, "I assume you're not willing to take that thing off."  "You got that right!"  "Okay, you can fly.  How long would it take you to get to Dallas?"  Sirocco shrugged helplessly.  "Several days?"  With a sigh, "Okay, I guess it's up to me."  Alpha asked crankily, "Will somebody PLEASE tell me what is going on?!"  Jon said, "Demeter, you're elected.  Alpha, help me get my bearings once we're outside."  "...Okay."

Photon and Sirocco went outside and flew into the air.  Jon opened his senses, using his field-sense to align with the earth's magnetic field along the bearing Alpha fed him via radio.  Straining his radio sense, he picked up the faint signal of a Dallas radio station, which helped him refine things a bit.  Then putting an arm about Sirocco's shoulders he explained, "Okay, I can't take you into light-form with me, but I can do... THIS!"  He extended his local gravitational disturbance to include Sirocco as well - and in a single tremendous sonic boom, they were there in a few seconds.

He released Sirocco and panted for breath in the hot sun as the young man gaped. "WOW!  That was... FAST!"  "Yeah, I don't normally do that in a populated airspace.  This was a special occasion."  Jon spent a couple minutes calming down the local air traffic controllers, then tracked down the Legends base.  (That took considerably more time than getting to Dallas had.)

Soon he was tersely explaining the situation to the Texas Hex, who listened gravely;   Sirocco added details here and there.  Finally Tex said to Sirocco, "Okee, then, let's you an' me take a look at this-here thing private-like."  He led Sirocco off to another room, while Pecos Bill chatted with Photon to pass the time.

After an hour or so, they returned.  Tex looked grim, and Sirocco was pale.  "Ah don't know how y'do it, Photon.  Trippin' across powerful artifacts like that... t'ain't natural."  Bill rolled his eyes. "He's found what, two?"  "In all of two weeks!"  Photon cut in:  "What's the prognosis?"

Tex sighed.  "We're gonna have to convince this thing that Demeter's already wearin' it - an' always has.  Otherwise, it'll take all Sirocco's abilities with it, and give 'em to her."  "What sort of abilities?"  "All of 'em."  "...You're saying that Demeter would suddenly have sand powers, in addition to everything else?"  "Yup.  Along with the him-dyin' part."  Sirocco winced just a little at that description.

"So how do we convince it?"  "That's the interestin' part of this-here problem.  It's...  Hmm, no, not 'it'.  'She'."  "She?"  "That's how it comes across... Like a woman who's PMSin'."   Jon rolled his eyes.  "You were saying?"  "Raht.  She's pretty smart...  I'm gonna have to be up there in Se-attle, with Demeter and Sirocco.  We'll perform ourselves a li'l ritual to make the Amu-let all comfy-like.  It'll need to be in a place Demeter's familiar with, that 'belongs' to her somehow.  She don't have a room in thet fancy base of your'n, does she?"  "She's only been part of the team for a week...  And we're moving out anyway."  "Oh.  Wail... she's got plant powers, raht?  She can make plants grow?"  "Yeah?"  "Wail, that should help."

"How so?"  "We'll jest have her grow herself a li'l garden, raht? She'll be 'at home' there.  Then we'll have her grow a vine around the Amu-let, twine Sirocco up 'til he cain't move a muscle..."  Sirocco:  "...What good will that do?"  "None atall, it's jest more funny thet way!"

Bill rolled his eyes. "You and your sense of humor, Tex, Ah declare."  Jon laughed.  "When he was in Seattle, he propositioned both me and my girlfriend!"  "Ah'm not surprised."  Tex said indignantly, "Ah don't recall prop-ositionin' yer girlfriend!"  "You asked if she was open to 'new thangs'."  "Oh! Raht, Ah remember.  So, is she?"  Jon laughed again, shaking his head, while Sirocco looked between the two of them, a tiny grin starting to form.

Jon finally asked, "So I guess this ritual will have to wait until your current caper dies down?"  Bill nodded. "Yessir.  I'm thinkin' a day or two, most like."  "Oh, that's not so bad.  What should we do in the meantime?"  Tex jerked a thumb at Sirocco.  "Keep him alive."  Jon rolled his eyes.  "I was planning on doing that anyway, as it happens."  Sirocco added, "So was I!"  "Wail, there y'are!"

Photon asked, "As long as I'm here, Tex, I've got another question for you."  "Shoot."  "We're going to be moving out of our base soon.  What should I do with that compass?"  Tex shrugged.  "Jest move it.  Take care to keep it level - if it tilts too much, it'll confuse the sensor - but other than that, nothin' special needed."  "And put it on the spot on the map where the new base is once it's moved, I'm guessing?"  "That's raht."

"Okay.  I really appreciate your help, and we'll look forward to seeing you in a few days."  "Back at'cha, Photon!  The weather makes a nice change, as does th'good company!"  Bill laughed and punched him in the arm.  Photon and Sirocco took their leave, and one sonic boom later were back in Seattle.  Sirocco shook his head. "Damn, you've got a fun set of powers."  "I like to think so."

Soon they were back in the Situation Room.  Jon told Demeter, "Good news, you're not 'Nephrite'."  She said quietly, "Yeah, but it sounds like I'm going to be wearing Nephrite."  "Hopefully not," Jon told her, and outlined Tex's plan.  Meanwhile, Sirocco asked, "Nephrite?"  "Right, you haven't heard about that yet."  Jon fetched the letter and showed it to him, explaining about Forestrike.

Sirocco read through it carefully.  "So what's 'Nephrite' mean, anyway?"  "It's a kind of jade."  "...Oh."  "Yeah.  You're going to be well shut of that thing.  Why did you want it, anyway?"  "Well, I didn't know about all THIS!  Charm didn't tell me much about it."  "Yeah."  Alpha asked plaintively, "About what?"  Jon tried spelling out the name of the amulet again...  "OK, Amulet, got it.  Of.  I _can_ spell, you know."  "F-o-r-t-u-n-e."  "Yeah?"  "So, that's it."  "...What's it?"  Demeter chuckled exasperatedly and explained, "You can give him all the pieces, but as soon as he tries to put them together he loses everything."

"Loses WHAT?  ... I HATE magic! Wait... I've said that already tonight, haven't I?"  Demeter replied, "Yes, several times."  "So _that's_ what deja vu feels like!"  Photon:  "Alpha, I'm afraid you're just going to have to resign yourself to being confused about this one."  "... I REALLY hate magic!  It doesn't make SENSE!"  "Yeah, I know."  Silence reigned for a time.

Finally Jon broke it, saying quietly, "Well, team, I'd say it's been the equivalent of a formal introduction.  How high-trust are we willing to go at this point?"  Demeter pondered her answer while Sirocco held up a hand.  "Let's hold off on that until after the ritual.  I don't know if Tex would recommend it, given all the 'familiarity' stuff he was talking about."  "Okay, good point."  Demeter also nodded agreement.

More silence.  Then, Jon said to Sirocco, "I wish - well, if wishes were fishes.  But I wish you'd trusted us a little more.  Maybe this could've been prevented."  Sirocco sighed. "I wish you hadn't pushed me so hard for answers."   "Well, you have to admit, it looked pretty bad - what with you being the last person to see Charm alive and all."  "I was?  Damn."  The young man sighed.  "I wish you'd told me that straight up - the conversation might have gone differently.  Well, hindsight is 20/20 - I understand where you were coming from."

Jon sighed deeply.  "I'm just sorry that I didn't get an opening to use the movie quote I had all prepared for our talk."  "Huh?!"  Jon darkened the air in the room a bit, then abruptly thundered, "Do not take me for some conjuror of cheap tricks!  I'm not trying to rob you!  I'm trying to help you."

Sirocco gaped at him open-mouthed, then face-palmed.  "Aw, MAN!"  Then Demeter clasped her hands together and said in very uncharacteristic syrupy-sweet tones, "Gee, Uncle Bilbo!  Are you really gonna leave me Bag End and everything in it?"  Meanwhile Alpha brought up the looming, lidless Eye of Sauron on a viewscreen - with a question mark at its center.  He boomed in a malevolent voice, "...What am I looking for, again?"

Sirocco stared at the three of them, then cracked up and laughed helplessly as if he would never stop.  It proved infectious;  soon Demeter and Photon were laughing like loons with him, pounding on the table.  Even Alpha joined in.  When they were finally winding down a bit, Jon gathered the breath to thunder, "BILBO BAGGINS!" and that set them off all over again.  Eventually they trailed off to exhausted giggles, the tension of the day completely spent.

Serious once more, Jon gripped Sirocco's shoulder. "I want you to hear something." "...Yeah?"  "No matter what's gone before... We've got your back, Sirocco.  We're NOT going to let you die."  Sirocco nodded slowly.  "Right. ... Thanks." He did seem a little relieved.

The team parted shortly after.  We do feel like a team now, Jon realized.

It was a good feeling.

[1] Might is the street name of a super-drug originally developed by the Soviets from dissecting the corpse of a Polish hero they'd liquidated - Wojownik (roughly, 'Warrior').  It confers temporary super-strength, while also increasing aggression and draining the subject's sense of empathy.  (In essence, it's super-PCP.) The Soviets also isolated several other useful super-drugs from Wojownik's body, but Might is the most common.


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## The Shadow (Aug 10, 2010)

*The News*

Sigh.  The house that SuentisPo (the GM) rents got foreclosed on, and he and his housemates have to find new places to live quickly.  The result is that he hasn't had the time or energy to game the last couple weeks, and can't promise anything for the next month.

Send some thoughts, prayers, karma, or whatever it is you do his way, if you would be so kind.


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## The Shadow (Sep 12, 2010)

*More News*

Well, I regret to say that SuentisPo, the GM, has had no luck finding a new place to live thus far.  He's too stressed out about it to game right now, and in fact I've had trouble even getting hold of him the last few weeks.  I'm backing off to let him deal with Real Life;  once that's squared away we'll get back to gaming.  I have no timeline on that so far.

However, I do have one bit of good news - a new post in Shadow-Force Files, a humorous take on the Shadow-Force campaigns from the point of view of the comics industry.


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## The Shadow (Jan 7, 2011)

*Yet More News*

Okay!  I'm pleased to announce that SuentisPo's housing issues are fully resolved, various personal crises on both our parts are mostly resolved, and the holidays are behind us.  We are back to GAME ON! mode. 

In fact, SP came down for a marathon gaming session last week, and I've already got it mostly written up.  There's so much material that I think I'm gonna have to split it into two or perhaps even three parts;  right now I'm pondering where best to split it.

So, expect an update in a matter of days!  And in further news, SP hopes to make it down for *another* marathon session later this month!


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## Michael Silverbane (Jan 9, 2011)

It is good to hear that both of your various crises have abated and that you can get back to regular gaming (and other activities).

I look forward to seeing more of this fantastic story hour.


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## The Shadow (Jan 9, 2011)

*13 - Snake Handling*

[So I agonized for quite a while on how to split up the big marathon session.  When combined with the tail-end of the last session we had before the hiatus, the first natural split ended up being quite long compared to the other(s), and there was a second natural split that would end up making the middle segment somewhat short.  In the end, I decided that drama had to rule over neatness.   Enjoy!]

Monday morning, and Jon groaned as he got up.  If Alpha'd had any luck, he anticipated a really long day.

Going in to the bathroom for his shower, he was looking at himself blearily in the mirror when something suddenly caught his eye.  I've lost some weight, he realized, and my muscle tone is better;  hero-ing must be doing me good.

But after a few moments of self-congratulation, he realized there was something else different...  He couldn't put his finger on it at first, and it troubled him.  Fully awake now, he examined his face carefully.  There it was...  Or rather, wasn't.  A small mole on his cheekbone that he'd never liked was gone.

He stared at his reflection for a moment, then started checking his arms and torso.  Sure enough - no moles, just smooth uniform skin.  How...?

Jon leaned hard on the counter, the words of the RR medic coming back to him:  'Wow, you're in impressively good health.'  I mentally 'edit' my body when I enter light-form, but I didn't do this... at least not consciously.

Aloud, he asked himself, his reflection, the universe:  "What's happening to me?"  He didn't get a reply from any of them.

Jon took a long, troubled shower.  In itself, this isn't that big of a deal, he told himself.  But what else am I doing to myself without even realizing it?  He elected to fly in to the base the slow way, ostensibly to give himself more time to think...  but self-honesty forced him to admit that light-form didn't seem as appealing as it had previously.

He waved at one of Alpha's cameras as he arrived, stopping in the lounge to make a cup of coffee before settling down in the Situation Room.  "So what've you got for me?"  He didn't strictly need to come in during the morning before work, but he liked chatting with Alpha when nobody else was likely to wander in.

"An embarrassment of riches, actually."  "Oh?  Do tell."  "No less than three suspicious places for you to check out.  They aren't necessarily all VIPER, but even if not, they're worth a look in their own right."  "Okay... lay it on me."

"The first I consider the most likely candidate for a VIPER base - it fits their style.  There's been construction in the marina for a couple years now that raises some red flags - more material being used than seems needed for the stated projects, that sort of thing.  And the area is ideal for their purposes;  there's a lot of traffic they could use to smuggle people in and out."

Jon nodded. "Okay, that'll be the first priority, then.  Tell me... does VIPER have a history of using submarines?"  "Not often, but they have.  Why?"  "It's yet another way of getting in and out, I'd guess.  Man, I'd like to see them run into Captain Kidd if so!"  "Heh.  Yeah, maybe they could do each other in for us."  "We can dream.  What else do you have?"

"An office building downtown.  About half the tenants - scattered throughout the building - I can't trace.  They're dummy corps, existing only on paper.  It's really suspicious and worth checking out, but I'm not positive it's VIPER's work."  "And the third?"

"A newly-built youth center, put up by a startup charity.  Its construction used materials that seem out of line for the building's stated purpose;  they're supposed to be helping at-risk youth stay off the streets, not constructing a fortress.  Also, the type of kids they're reaching out to are just the sort VIPER likes to try to recruit."

Jon pondered.  "Hmmm.  Do they have any programs involving guns?"  "A course on gun safety, and a small firing range.  I thought the latter was a little weird, yeah, but why do you ask?"  "Any connection to a group called the Urban Defense League?"  "...They provided 5% of the funding for the center.  What do you know that I don't?"

Jon explained what he'd heard from Karen about the UDL, and asked, "Think they could be connected to VIPER?  What do their financials look like?"  "Hmm. ... Clean on the first pass.  I'll take a closer look, though."  "Yeah, please do.  We don't want to let it get out that we only protect rich people, after all!"  "Yeah, it pays ten times as much as protecting poor folks... also ten times less, of course."

They chuckled together, then Jon said, "Okay, let's call and let Struthers know what we've got so far."  That being done, Struthers said, "Not a whole lot to work with as yet, Photon."  "You wanted to be kept in the loop," Jon reminded him, "This is what being kept in the loop looks like."  The man laughed. "Yeah, I had that coming.  Let me know what you scare up as you investigate further."  "Will do."

Jon leaned back in his chair.  "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me this evening.  Anything else?"  "Well," Alpha mentioned, "I've scared up some counsellors for you, like you asked."  Jon sighed.  "Okay.  Who?"  "Once again, I've got three options for your consideration.  Number one, a former police psychiatrist in Boston who made his name pioneering work with supers.  Bit of a celebrity these days.  Very good reputation, but pricey."  "How much?"  Alpha told him, and Jon blanched.  "I don't feel like taking out a loan, thanks.  The other two?"

"A guy who's a super himself, codenamed Icon.  Got a public ID these days, though."  "Hm, I think I've heard of him.  Remind me?"  "Magical flying brick with some other minor tricks - he can compel people to speak the truth, among other things.  He moonlights as a hostage negotiator for the LAPD."  "Huh.  Truth compulsion sounds useful - but also a bit threatening in his line of work."  "Oh, he knows all about that.  He's got an artifact that will nullify his power for nervous clients."  "Is he any good?"  "Seems so;  he's very well thought of."  "What's he charge?"  Alpha named a figure that would cut a bit into Jon's savings, but not outrageously so.

"Okay, and number three?"  "Guy in Miami who's been working with supers for years.  He doesn't come cheap, but he gives a really steep discount for heroes who agree to help defend him, his family, and his office in case of emergency.  Most people don't mind - they aren't exactly eager to have their medical records stolen."  Jon frowned.  "Yeah, but it's still a bit mercenary.  And I don't need any entangling responsibilities, I've got enough on my plate.  I'll go with Icon - the fact he's been in the field counts for a lot."

"Check.  Want me to set up an appointment for you?"  "Please.  How far out will it be?"  "Dunno yet, but undoubtedly at least a couple weeks."  "All right, let me know."  "Will do, boss.  Anything else?"

Jon got to his feet and drained the last of his coffee.  "Keep checking on VIPER stuff and the UDL.  I'll see you this afternoon to do the legwork."  "Will do. ... Are you okay, Jon?  You seem tense this morning."  Jon paused, then admitted,  "Yeah.  I've been around more than my share of mental-health types in my life, and I'm not eager to take up with another, even if I do intellectually see it as a good idea.  And... I've got something personal going on that I need to sort out a bit before I talk about it."  "Okay, hang in there."  "Thanks, Alpha."

Jon zipped in to work, carefully monitoring his body's transition to light-form.  There were no changes happening he could detect, other than the shift from his costume to his civvies.  He paused to greet Hu on the way to his office.  "Feeling better?"  Hu nodded solemnly.  "Yes, Dr. Winters.  I have had an idea I want to show you."  "Oh?  Go for it."

After several minutes at a whiteboard detailing a new approach to membrane field theory, Jon whistled.  "I'm impressed.  It's right out of left field, but it might just be crazy enough to work.  Supposing you tweaked this bit here like so..."  Soon they'd spent a couple hours discussing it.  Jon looked at his RA with renewed respect;  Gerhard was brilliant, but Hu had that indefinable spark that might be genius.  "Take this as far as you can.  And how about you come with me to my next get-together with Devindar?  I have a feeling this will intrigue him."  Hu nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Winters.  I would like that."

Jon threw himself into his own work, relieved for the distraction.  The rest of the day was uneventful, and he zipped in to the base.  Once again he checked the transition, and found nothing.  That makes me nervous, he thought;  if it were something I could detect, I could probably stop it.

He met Sirocco on the way in, getting ready to go out with Beta.  "Hey, how are you doing?"  Sirocco shrugged.  "I'll live."  "Well, I was taking that for granted.  You okay?" The other hero sighed.  "That's kind of the point - I'm not so much taking it for granted right now."  Photon gripped his shoulder.  "Tex'll be out here in a couple days;  it's under control.  Hang in there, man."  Sirocco summoned up a weak smile from somewhere.  "Yeah, thanks."

Jon made his way to the Situation Room.  "Hey Alpha.  Ready to get started?"  "Hey.  First things first - Moke left a message for you, saying he's on shift."  "Right!  Call him back, please."  "Here ya go..."

Soon Moke's blunt, honest visage filled a viewscreen.  "Photon, just returning your call.  What's up?"  "Several things I've been wanting to discuss with you actually."  "I'm listening."

Jon nodded.  "Okay, first of all, I've heard through the grapevine that you're having red tape troubles with the teleportals.  What's up with that?"  Moke sighed.  "Your legislature up there is getting mulish on the issue, and now your governor's gotten into the act too."  "How long has this been going on?"  "Not very.  Oh, there's been the occasional bit of noise about it, but nothing serious until the last couple months."

Jon mulled it over.  "Think VIPER could be behind it?"  Moke shrugged.  "I doubt it.  What would they have to gain?"  "A relatively free hand up here in Seattle?  How much trouble do you have with them in Portland?"  "Some.  Their local nest leader is a canny, careful one;  we've tangled with them occasionally but they keep a really low profile..."

Portland's Everyman pondered it a little more.  "Well, anything's possible, I suppose.  But frankly, I've never seen any need for special explanations when politicians do stupid things."    Jon laughed.  "You've got a point there."  "What else did you want to discuss?"

"I was thinking it'd be a good idea to have a social occasion for the two teams - and American Eagle too - so we can all get to know each other."  Moke rolled his eyes and joked, "You mean so we can prevent the inevitable mistaken identity and fight?"  Jon laughed with him - while the comic-book genre did get some Super traditions right, the community found that particular convention profoundly stupid.  "Something like that!"

Moke chuckled.  "It's a good idea, but perhaps we should hold off just now.  You've got the whole Hybrid thing to deal with, and FAQ's on personal leave."  Jon asked, concerned, "Yeah, Thunderwing mentioned that.  Is he okay?"  Moke nodded judiciously.  "He was really shaken up by your fight with Technoid, and needed to take some time to sort it all out."  "He told me about that.  I hope he works it all through."  "He will.  After the first shock, I feel sure he'll be fine."  "Well, please do have him call me when he gets back."  "Will do.  Anything else?"

"Yes, actually - one more thing.  When Enigma drained some of my powers, it was brought home to me rather abruptly that I could use some hand-to-hand training.  Erebus taught me a few self-defense moves, but other than that I'm pretty much a sitting duck.  I was wondering if you'd be willing to give me a hand in that area?"

Moke thought about it.  "Hmm.  I don't think I'm the best choice, actually.  My fighting ability is inborn;  I've never been a beginner.  While I do hone my skills on a regular basis, I wouldn't have the first idea of how to teach them to someone else, to be frank.  I'd recommend Thunderwing.  If you wish, I'll talk it over with him for when your current caper winds down?"  "Please.  I'd appreciate it."

"Is that all, Photon?"  "It is.  Thanks again, Moke!"  "My pleasure.  And Photon..."  Moke's voice became grave.  "Our best wishes in dealing with Hybrid.  We've heard a lot about him."  Jon nodded solemnly.  "Thanks.  We're taking him very seriously."  "Until next."  "And you!"

Photon paused to collect his thoughts.  "Okay... the marina first?"  "Sure."  Jon zipped out there, materializing invisibly.  He opened his field sense to the max and started flying about slowly, occasionally pausing to bring his X-ray vision back online to check a building in more detail.

It didn't take long to spot something unusual, now that he was looking for it - an underwater shape, several hundred feet long, that was opaque to his enhanced sight.  Refracting into the water in light-form, he soon spotted a massive circular gate, easily large enough to accomodate a medium-sized submarine.  There was also a human-sized access tunnel next to it, covered with a grate.

Extending his senses, Jon found there was an electromagnetic field present that began just inside the grate.  He didn't think it would block solid matter, but he wasn't sure what if anything it would do to his light-form.  Most likely it was meant for intruder detection.  I'm doing recon, Jon reminded himself;  this isn't the time for experimentation.

The field covered the whole mass of the presumed VIPER base and was probably what was fuzzing his X-ray vision.  Jon carefully circumnavigated the area, mapping out the limits of the field.  He found that there was an above-ground access point as well - a warehouse with a stairwell and freight elevator that led down to a landing with a twelve-foot-diameter massive circular door reminiscent of a bank vault.  The intruder field covered the surface of the door and the touchpad next to it.

Examining the field more closely, Jon found that it was actually a series of overlapping spherical segments.  He hypothesized that each sphere had its own distinct generator.  That'll make life interesting, he thought.  Now, are the spheres solid, or are we dealing with a crustal defense?  The latter seems more likely, but let's not take any chances.  He also spotted a concentration of energy that was likely a reactor or generator supplying the base's power.

Getting some distance from the base, he radioed in and reported his findings to Alpha.  _*Yeah, that sounds like VIPER all right.  No sign of any insignia, though?*  Nope.  Keeping a low profile, I guess? * Must be.  Ready for the next target?*  As I'll ever be._

Flashing over to the office building Alpha had flagged, Jon scanned it gingerly and rapidly found multiple points of interest.  There were three large labs in the building;  one held what his senses told him was likely to be a fusion reactor, though it was currently powered down.  Another held three massive pieces of sophisticated machinery he couldn't make head or tail of, currently inactive.  He could tell they would draw huge amounts of power when activated, though - the conduits connected to them were massive.  Finally, the third held a series of upright cylinders filled with electronics.

Jon pondered.  I can't enhance my vision much while maintaining my invisibility, and I can't get a closer look without actually entering the building.  Doesn't seem like a good risk just now;  I can see stuff wired into the walls that are probably security systems.  This is recon, and it'd be stupid to go in alone and without backup.

Once again he reported in to Alpha.  _*Hmm.  Hard to say at this point who they are, but I definitely don't like it. * Me neither!  It'll bear watching, for sure.  But for now, the youth shelter?  *Right.  Here's the address.*_

Zipping around the place a few times, Jon quickly ascertained there was nothing obvious out of the ordinary, other than unusually dense outer walls.  _Well, not much I can see as Photon.  But Jonathan Winters is known to do volunteer work with youth;  maybe I need to branch out a - *Photon!  I've got a fourth weird site!*  Huh?

*Just spotted it - a mini-mall in Tacoma with apartments on the upper floor. * Yeah?  *There are no rental agreements on record of any kind, either for the mall or the apartments.  And no rental agency I can find has taken them on.*  Really!  How long has this been going on?  *Over a year. * ...Yeah, that's weird all right.  They're losing money every month on the place.  We'll have to let A.E. know - but it can't hurt to take a look as long as I'm out and about._

Once again Alpha passed on the address.  Photon quickly found that the mall was mostly empty, except for an ethnic supermarket with foods labelled in a flowing script he'd never seen before - it was vaguely reminscent of Arabic.  Nobody appeared to be on duty.

The apartments above the mall were even weirder.  A few were obviously set aside for storage, but others had had their interior walls knocked out to make a communal living space.  Occupying that space were some people Jon definitely hadn't been expecting.

They were dark-skinned and dark-haired, but not of any ethnicity he was familiar with.  Their beetle-browed visages reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on what.  They were mostly male, and uniformly wore sweepy white robes.  After some observation it seemed clear that they were quite hierarchical, with obeisances being made on a regular basis to those of higher status.  At any given moment several of them would be off by themselves, kneeling and perhaps praying.  They didn't seem to have living spaces of their own, nor any personal property.

The overall effect was reminiscent of a monastery... or an army.  It made Jon distinctly uneasy.  A symbol of a multi-headed hydra was much in evidence.  Reporting in once again to Alpha, he asked, _Does VIPER ever use a symbol like that?  *...Dang, that's REALLY weird.  No, they don't.  I'll lay long odds these guys are unrelated.*  Okay, we'll leave them off the list for now... but we'll definitely keep an eye on them for the future.  *Agreed.*_

Zipping back in to the base, Jon said, "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us.  Notify people when you see them to report in for a team meeting tomorrow afternoon at, say, four.  Warn them there's likely to be action."  "Got it.  Anything else?"

Jon deflated a bit and admitted, "Yeah.  I'm nervous."  "Perfectly natural, m'friend."  "I guess."  "Get a good night's sleep."  "I'll try."

Try he did, with only limited success.  Jon got ready for work the next morning with the entire annual Monarch migration in his stomach.  Streaking in to the base for his usual morning chat with Alpha, he found four cell-phones neatly lined up on the table of the Situation Room.  "'Morning, Jon.  As you can see, I've got the cells for you guys.  I've already, ah, well, let's just say I've voided the warranties!"  Jon laughed.  "Put some 'interesting' programming in them, have you?"  "Well, I like to think it's interesting...  I suspect anyone trying to hack or trace them will find it more like 'maddening', though."  "Sounds good to me!"  Jon picked up a cell and was about to pocket it;  then he thought better of it and replaced it.  Better for team cohesion if we get them together.

Alpha observed that in studied silence, then asked, "So who's on the call list today?"  "Take a wild guess."  "American Eagle?"  "She's at the top, yep."  "Coming right up!"

Jon tersely informed her of developments and asked her to be present at the meeting that evening.  "I'll be there!" she told him energetically.  "Oh, and A.E?"  "Yeah?"  "It's probably best for operational security that you not be seen to fly in.  We don't want anyone asking questions about what you're doing here."  "Got it!"

"Okay, Alpha, now Struthers.  I want the office building watched while we hit the marina."  "Mmm.  Probably better for op-sec if you go in personally.  The cops have no phone security to speak of."  "Huh, good point.  Consider it d-"

Already there.  "-one."  His sudden appearance caused a mild stir, but they were getting used to him.  It didn't take him long to track down Struthers' secretary.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Photon, but Captain Struthers isn't in today.  He's sick."  Jon's heart sank.  "Oh.  Who's filling in for him?"  "That would be Captain Smith.  He'll be free in a few minutes, if you can wait?"  Jon's heart sank yet further - his previous brush with Smith [in "Smoking Mirror"] having been brief but unpleasant.  "Certainly."

The man was gruff this time around, but not overtly hostile.  "Photon.  What do you want."  Photon coolly outlined the situation, and asked, "Can you have some eyes on the office building here while we hit the base in the marina?"

Smith rolled his eyes.  "And I'm supposed to pull an observation team out of my back pocket, is that it?  Well... I might be able to swing it.  We definitely can't let VIPER have the run of the city.  But what evidence do you have that they're really VIPER?  Who's your analyst?  What odds are you giving it?"

Photon tried to be vague, but Smith insisted, "I have to be able to give my people some parameters.  I can't justify pulling together a team based on guesswork."  Jon sighed.  "All right, but this is a matter of Shadow-Force team security;  I need it kept secret."  When Smith nodded sharply once, Jon told him, "Our analyst is an AI.  A hacker extraordinaire.  He's the one who tracked down the unusual activity that pointed to these sites in the first place."

The man's eyes widened slightly.  "Okay... What odds is he giving on these places belonging to VIPER?"  After a rapid radio consultation with Alpha, Photon reported, "90% likely for the marina, 70% or so for the office building."

Smith pondered, drumming his fingers on the table.  Then he nodded again.  "Okay, Photon, we'll back your play.  Can you come in at, say, one, to help brief the team?"  Jon pondered his university schedule;  it would cut into one of his office hours, but such is life.  "Yes."  "One sharp, then."  With that, the interview was over.

The morning's work passed in a blur.  Gerhard was visibly troubled by his distracted state - constantly shooting him glances - but didn't work up the courage to say anything.  He did agree to cover Jon's office hour, though.  (Hu, for his part, was either oblivious or too polite to let anything show.)  At 1 PM, Photon showed up at the police station as promised.

The observation team proved to be Detective Espinoza - a tall Latino man who looked vaguely irked over the whole thing - and Detective Lucy Doyle, a pretty young woman who hardly looked old enough to be out of the academy.  They were dressed in street clothes, in prepartion for their role as a couple enjoying a night out in the park.

Photon outlined the situation, producing a hologram of the building and environs to supplement the cops' map.  (That raised a few eyebrows.)  "Basically, we want to know if the people in this building are related to VIPER.  If they are, they're likely to react when we hit the underwater base in the marina.  We're looking for anything unusual - anything from sudden movements of people or cars to glowing lights to explosions."

Espinoza rolled his eyes.  "Wow, you really need to be trained professionals to spot explosions!"  Smith told him bluntly to cut the chatter, and was obeyed.  Doyle asked, "Okay, so is this park here," she pointed, "a good vantage point?"  Photon nodded.  "It commands a good view of two of the labs I spotted."  Espinoza rubbed his chin, fully engaged now.  "You want cameras, or is Mark One Eyeball good enough?"  "The latter."  "That makes it easier.  Okay, when do you want us on site?"  "We're hitting the marina at seven."  "We'll be there at six then, to establish as much of a baseline as we can."  "Good.  Thank you for your time."

The rest of the day was even more of a blur than the morning.  Jon zipped in to the base with relief at a quarter to four.

He chatted with Alpha a bit to calm his nerves.  "Any word from the others?"  "Not yet, but they're all coming in.  Oh look, here's American Eagle now.  Heh."  "What?"  "She's... actually pretty sneaky, but not as much as she thinks.  She's bypassing all the obvious stuff we keep around for show, but all of Technoid's real stuff is picking her up fine.  Check it out."

He brought up an image on a viewscreen, and Jon had to laugh.  "Is that really a trenchcoat?!"  Alpha laughed with him.  "Yeah.  She IS a newbie, recall."

A.E.'s head jerked around on the screen when Alpha's voice came through a nearby outdoor speaker, "Welcome, please step this way."  A path lighted up for her, and soon she stepped into the Situation Room with chagrin.  "Okay, how did you spot me?"

Jon laughed.  "Relax, the security systems you can see are all for show.  The real stuff is much more subtle."  "How subtle?"  Alpha informed her, "Not all the blades of grass are really grass!"  She looked at the speaker, startled, and Jon made introductions.

Then he asked, "So, um, what's with the trenchcoat?"  "Oh, well, I thought it would hide the wings."  Alpha said tactfully, "They make a rather unusual bump - HOLY CRAP!"

Jon, startled, left the ground and nearly shot the wall.  "WHAT?!"  Alpha said sourly, "Demeter just arrived.  In grand style."  When she strode in, looking pleased as punch, the computer demanded, "Okay, just how did you do it?!"  "Do what?" Jon wanted to know.

Demeter smirked and explained, "I just figured out yesterday I could travel through the root systems of plants.  I wasn't sure the lawn had a solid enough network to let me pass, but evidently it does.  I started at that tree at the northwest corner and popped up in front of the main door."  "Teleportation?!"  "Not exactly.  But it should still be handy."  "I'll say!  How are you with marine plants?"  Demeter blinked. "I'm not sure, actually.  I've never thought about it.  Why?"  "You'll see soon enough."

Sirocco showed up fashionably late - three minutes past the hour.  Jon said sarcastically, "Sirocco, thanks for joining us."  The young man rolled his eyes and displayed his watch - sure enough, it read one minute 'til.  "Well," Jon said, "let's get synchronized now," and Sirocco agreed, setting his watch to match the clock in the Situation Room.

Jon decided not to get into the whole cell-phone thing with American Eagle present.  "Okay people, this is what we've got.  If you don't mind, Alpha, I'll handle the visuals today."  He produced holograms of the places he'd seen and tersely outlined the situation.  "I've got the cops watching the office building.  The marina's our target today."    He enlarged the holo of that base, paused, then quoted the Phantom from many an operational meeting:  "We need a plan.  I am open to ideas."  While he had his own thoughts - as he strongly suspected Mike had always had - experience had shown that brainstorming was likely to improve on them.

When nobody said anything immediately - still studying the holo in detail - Jon pointed out a spot where a kink in the base prevented the spherical shells from overlapping completely.  "I should be able to nullify this spot easily and sneak in.  I figure that while you guys are knocking on the 'front door', I can slip in the 'back door', locate the reactor, and shut it down.  That should put a serious crimp in their style."

Demeter mused, "I'll want to check out the plant life in the area, but if there's enough, I think I should be at the 'back door' too.  I should be able to gum up that big gate but good - that, or force it open, if you want."  Jon looked at her, impressed.  "The plants are that strong?"  She nodded. "If I can get my hands on some kelp, sure.  Phytoplankton and algae will be able to gum things up, but they don't have any leverage."  "You can't take trees down there?"  "They don't like salt water at all, no.  I could force the issue, but it'd probably injure or kill them, and I don't like doing that."  "Okay.  Could you have some trees helping out at the 'front door'?"  "...Not easily, no.  I wouldn't be able to see to guide them."

Meanwhile, Sirocco asked, "What do they have in the way of air vents?"  Jon blinked.  "Excellent question.  One second."  It was a bit less than that, actually;  he winked out and reappeared, recreating and refining the hologram.  "They've got two major air vents here and here, one of them disguised as a dock piling, and four minor ones.  What are you thinking?"  Sirocco replied, "Well, if we block their air, they'll have to open the front door, won't they?"

"Hmmm.  Definitely a thought... though we'll want to be able to breathe in there as well.  Technoid's lab still has a few rebreathers, but there are limits.  What would you block them with?"  "Sand?"  American Eagle added, "I've got some glue grenades that would be effective too."

Jon nodded thoughtfully.  "Okay.  Suppose we need to knock down the front door.  How do we go about it?  You guys discuss that while Demeter and I check out the plant life and their security system."  He fetched her a rebreather, then covered her with invisibility as they made their way to the marina, Demeter carried by a tree.

She promptly dove into the water, while Jon took a second look at the warehouse leading down to the 'front door'.  There were a few security cameras, but plainly the place was intended only to keep out riffraff;  any heavy-duty security was evidently inside.  He zipped over to wait for Demeter - they were maintaining strict radio silence - and quailed slightly at her evil grin when she rejoined him.  "Oh yeah.  I can ruin their whole month, I promise."  "I almost feel sorry for them."

Making their way back to the base, he found an enthusiastic Sirocco ready to report their findings.  "We've got three options.  First and easiest, we have Beta hack into their control panel and just open it."  Jon stared at the robot.  "I didn't know you could do that!"  Beta responded flatly, "I last used the ability during a tactical operation approximately one year, six months, and fourteen days ago," while Alpha added, "It's mostly me acting through our link.  Basically he can stick his hand in the panel and let me get to work."

Jon felt an idea sunburst in his brain.  "Does that mean you can hack their terminals if Beta can locate one?"  "That's the plan!"  "Oooh, that'll smart!"  Alpha repeated with an audible grin, "That's the plan!"

"Okay.  And if the door trick doesn't work, for whatever reason?"  Sirocco continued, "We have Beta punch it down."  "Simple enough.  Option three?"  "We use the air supply to force them to open it."  "Okay, good enough.  Meanwhile, here's what we learned..."  He passed on the information.

After some spirited discussion, it was decided to have Photon accompany the 'front door' group until they had established a beachhead, so that they could benefit from invisibility and his ability to circumvent the security cameras.  "Though I can block them with sand if need be," Sirocco added.  Then Photon would streak around and follow Demeter in the 'back door' if that proved feasible, or nullify the vulnerable spot in the shield if not.

Jon nodded.  "Agreed.  I'll wear my spacesuit to handle being underwater.  What will you guys be doing in the meantime, once I leave you?"  Sirocco spoke up for them again, and Jon frowned slightly.  Sirocco had the more forceful personality - and admittedly, more experience - but he trusted A.E.'s instincts more.

The young man said, "Simple.  Beta's 'armor' and we're 'infantry'.  He bulls his way in and we follow, taking shots where necessary.  If we locate some computers we cover him while he and Alpha hack them."  He added a few more operational details, and Jon nodded.  How to point this out without snubbing him...

"Hmm.  Sounds good, but let me put it this way:  When I was a baby super, I was raised by some really paranoid people.  Right, Alpha?"  Alpha laughed, remembering.  "Oh heck yeah!"  Jon continued, "So I'd feel a lot more comfortable if we had some contingencies.  What do you guys do if they have electro weapons?  Beta's vulnerable to them."  When they'd thrashed that out, he continued, "What if those shield generators produce solid spheres?  I doubt it - they'd be continuously set off by people walking around - but it's not impossible.  In that case I'll have to be with you to help nullify them.  What if..."

Several contingencies later, Jon was as satisfied as he reasonably could be.  He asked Alpha via radio, _What do you think?  What would Erebus say?  *Well... Frankly, Erebus would tell you that you don't have enough intel.*_  Jon felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.  _You know what?  You're right.  You're absolutely right.  We're jumping the gun.  Do we call it off?  It doesn't have to be today.  *It kind of does, Jon.  The cops are involved, and they really won't appreciate it if you postpone now.*_  Jon suppressed a sigh.  _Yeah.  *Hey, relax.  The plan is a good one.  I don't think they'll know what hit them.  It's just...*_

Jon repeated numbly, _Yeah.  ...Why didn't you say anything before now? _ Alpha replied slowly, _*You're the leader, Jon.  And I'm not out in the field, not really.  It's not my place to second-guess you.  That and... to be honest, I didn't think of it until now.  I'm not much of a tactician, it's not my department.*_

Jon squared his shoulders.  _Yeah._  But he forced a smile to his face and said, "All right, team.  We've got our plan.  Now let's take the fight to the bad guys!"  That got a round of fierce agreement, and they departed in high spirits.

They flew invisibly to the marina, secreted themselves, then waited to let Demeter get into position.  Jon's eyes widened slightly as he saw the Sound getting greener in his nightvision as he watched.  He streaked over there for her approval, and she gave him a thumbs-up, so he went back to the others and shepherded them invisibly to the warehouse.

Getting in and down the stairwell without being spotted was trivial for superheroes.  When their watches reported 7 PM, Beta strode forward and stuck his hand into the control panel of the massive door... and they received their first check.

Beta's fingers sparked slightly and he reported in a soft boom, "The field blocks my function.  I cannot touch the panel;  nor will I be able to touch the door."  Sirocco and American Eagle turned white faces to Jon;  A.E. whispered, "The air supply, then?"  Jon abruptly decided, "No.  I'm going to blanket-nullify the field."

He concentrated, extending his will through the zero-point over a large fraction of the base.  The field's virtual photons responded to his wordless request, and dissipated without fuss.  "Now, Beta!"

The massive robot strode up to the yet-larger circular door, found a handhold on the hinge, and strained.  With a loud SPANG! the inch-thick bolts broke, and Beta heaved the door open as if it were made of papier-mache.  Papier-mache definitely wouldn't have made the loud BOOM the door did as it slammed into the wall, though, nor probably would it have inspired every alarm bell and klaxon in the base to go off.

Jon noted, "Cameras over to you, Sirocco."   The young hero nodded and quickly fouled them with sand.  Then Jon ordered, "Okay get to it - and good news, I can tell now that the fields are indeed crustal.  They'll come back up when I leave, though, so be warned!  Good hunting!"  "Back at'cha!" Sirocco said, and A.E. grinned at him.  They went in behind Beta's hulking form, and Jon zipped over to see how Demeter was doing.

As planned, she had resurfaced so they didn't have to break radio silence.  She reported efficiently, "I've got everything in position to do my worst, and I also extended some algae through the grate to get a look around.  They've got not one but TWO attack subs in there."  "Wow, I wonder what they use them for?!"  "Dunno, but I guarantee that by the time I'm done, no VIPER will ever look at pond scum the same way again!"  "Let's get to it.  Can you get me through the grate?"  Demeter nodded with a wicked grin.  "Easily."

Jon made sure his suit was sealed and followed her into the water.  By the time they got down there, some sturdy kelp had already ripped the grate off, and a sudden wave of organic matter pushed Jon through it and up the ensuing tunnel before he could so much as yelp.  It was... disgusting, Jon thought, but at least it's in a good cause.

Demeter quickly followed him, removed her rebreather, and raised her hands commandingly.  The subs began to green visibly and Jon shook his head in amazement.  He didn't stay to watch, though, but immediately turned invisible and shot through the base to the place he'd sensed the reactor...

...Only to find that things were more complicated than he'd expected.  Naturally.

The room was mostly filled with one of those fields, larger than the others he'd seen.  In the center was the massive reactor, with two scientists staring at a flashing alarm light and reaching for sidearms... while two armored guards readied themselves for combat.  One was frozen in the act of shouldering a nasty-looking rifle, and the other was closing up his armor.  (Which bore a VIPER emblem, Jon noted with satisfaction.)  The field emanated from a large emitter a short ways from the reactor.

Photon materialized in one of the corners of the room untouched by the field, still invisible.  I really don't want to find out the hard way what that field does to my light-form, he thought.  Probably nothing, but I'd hate to be wrong.  My stun-zap almost certainly won't reach past it, so...

He abruptly nullified the field, then cored the emitter with a swift laser beam.  While the scientists and guards were milling in confusion (one of the scientists was urgently reaching for a big red button), he stun-zapped them all into next week.  Mission accomplished, Jon thought smugly;  now to ruin everybody else's day.

He ran to the reactor, his special senses no longer fuzzed-out by the field.  What he saw stopped him in his tracks, gaping in disbelief.

The reactor was a staged fission-fusion model.  What the?!  Do they want it to double as a hydrogen bomb?!  And...  The fission segment was starting to go critical as he watched!


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## The Shadow (Jan 9, 2011)

Michael Silverbane said:


> It is good to hear that both of your various crises have abated and that you can get back to regular gaming (and other activities).




Yeah, no kidding!  It's been a very 'interesting' few months.  Thanks for the good wishes!



> I look forward to seeing more of this fantastic story hour.




*points upward*   Are you a new reader, or have you been following the story for a while?  In either case, thanks for commenting!


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## Asha'man (Jan 10, 2011)

Great to see you back, Shadow!


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## The Shadow (Jan 11, 2011)

Asha'man said:


> Great to see you back, Shadow!




Thanks!  Back at'cha!

I hope the coming updates make up for the wait.


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## The Shadow (Jan 13, 2011)

*Shadow-Force Files:  Diabolus*

There's a new post up on one of the greatest foes Shadow-Force ever faced:

The Scourge of a Hundred Worlds, DIABOLUS!


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## The Shadow (Jan 17, 2011)

*14 - Kicking Asp*

[Well, you're in luck.  I was going to leave you on another cliffhanger, but after some rereading I became convinced it actually flowed better split a different way.]

Jon studied the controls furiously while simultaneously mapping the reactor's circuitry with his field sense.  I've got to drop the control rods, he thought, that'll damp the chain reaction.  He gaped all over again in amazement when he realized there weren't nearly enough rods to do the trick.  Are they INSANE?!

Photon sighed.  Obviously I'm going to need some help.  He hauled one of the scientists to his feet and slapped him. "Wake up!"  The man came around blearily.  "Who're you?!"  "I'm the superhero who's shutting your base down.  But for now, since your reactor is going critical, I think we're effectively allies."  The guy's eyes widened.  "Oh my God!"  [It's a very, very good thing that I made this Diplomacy check, as you will see.  One of the few good rolls I made the whole day.]

Jon let him go and asked, "Where's the rest of your control rods?  You guys can't possibly be stupid enough to run a fission reactor that'll go supercritical if you look at it funny."  "That's what the field emitter's for!  What the HELL happened to it?!"  The guy looked around and his eyes went comically wide in alarm when he saw the large hole melted in the emitter.  Photon shuffled his feet sheepishly and admitted, "I, uh, shot it."  "You.  Shot.  It."  "Um, yeah?"

The guy chewed on that for several long seconds before bursting out, "WHY?!"  "It, uh, seemed like a good idea at the time?"  The scientist burst into a series of colorful obscenities prominently featuring Photon's ancestry, but the electromagnetic hero cut him off.  "You can feel free to yell at me when this is all over.  For now, what are we going to DO?"

The guy visibly forced himself to calm down.  "Okay, fine.  What sort of powers do you have?  Anything that could help?"  "I've got pretty much total control over electric and magnetic fields."  "Er, wow!  Yeah, that should help.  I don't suppose you can damp a nuclear reaction?"  Jon rolled his eyes.  "No, or I would have already.  Think!  That's strong and weak nuclear force.  I can do a few things with the weak force from its coupling with EM, but not nearly enough."  "Right, right...  Well, can you at least do something about the radiation?  I'd like to get through this alive."

Jon nodded.  "I keep forgetting everyone else isn't immune.  I can damp the gamma easily, and redirect the alphas and betas with magnetic fields.  Neutrons are going to be harder;  the magnetic fields necessary to budge them would be intense."  "I'll take my chances."  "Where do you want me to put them?"  "Straight up!"  Jon concentrated, saying, "Okay, coming u-"

There came a shrieking sound that split Jon's world.  Abruptly, everything swam before his eyes as he swayed on his feet.  He could blearily see the scientist waving his arms and hear him shouting, but his brain wasn't quite up to putting the words together.

[This was the most frustrating time of the whole session.  I kept rolling 5 and under for my Fort saves;  I was out of it for three rounds, and finally spent a hero point in disgust.]

After several long seconds of near-oblivion, things started to come back to Jon in a rush.  He heard the scientist screaming, "We NEED him, you f*cking idiot!!  Another minute of this, and you'll never have kids!"  The (now-awake) guard growled, "I dunno;  never really wanted any of the little rugrats anyway."  "Fine!  How do you feel about your hair falling out?  Just how many orifices do you want to be bleeding out of?!  Radiation poisoning is NOT A JOKE, you effing moron!"  Grumbling, the guard stood down, and Jon coldly stun-zapped him again.  The scientist raged, "What the hell did you do THAT for?!"  "He might change his mind.  He doesn't seem too bright."  "...Point.  Look, can I at least sound the evacuation alarm in case things go sour?"  After brief consideration, "Sure."  The man slapped the red button he'd been reaching for before, and now in addition to intruder alerts, the PA system began ordering everyone to proceed to their designated evacuation points.

Jon redirected the radiation while the scientist started to revive his partner, explaining, "Mark's the expert on the emitter.  We're gonna need him."  "Right.  I'll be right back..."  "Wait!"

But Jon had already zipped over to the 'front door' to check on the team there (their communicators weren't very effective in the mostly-metallic base).  They were under heavy fire, but giving a good accounting of themselves;  they'd already racked up an impressive stack of unconscious bodies.  Jon filled them tersely in via communicator, then told them, "You'll have to get the unconscious people out of here."  Sirocco rolled his eyes and griped, "Way to make our lives easier!" but he and A.E. concurred.  Jon then told Beta to have Alpha pass the news to the cops.  Alpha piped up through Beta's radio voice, _*Defusing a bomb that threatens the city?  That's so two weeks ago.*_

Jon rolled his eyes at the reference to Technoid's construct, then zipped over to check up on Demeter.

He needn't have.  She had the two subs hung lengthwise from the ceiling by massive ropes of algae, and was in the process of ripping holes in them via kelp so she could scuttle them properly.  After staring a moment in astonishment, he passed on the news.  "Understood, Photon!"  "You having any trouble?"  "Nothing I can't handle!"  There were indeed a number of unconscious bodies around her as well, immobilized in algae cocoons.  "Can you get them out through the grate?"  She shook her head, "Not safely, not while they're unconscious.  I'll have to rip the gate open."  She sounded quite confident, though.  "Okay.  And it looks like you'll have no trouble binding them."  Demeter grinned.  "Disgustingly, but yes, I can do it."  "Okay, when you're done here, go around and help the others."  "Got it, Photon."

Just then a guard popped out from behind a pillar and aimed.  Jon was about to shoot him, but Demeter just grinned and scattered some seeds from the pouch at her waist.  Instantly a writhing stand of kudzu engulfed the man, coiling him up.  "Wow," Jon said, "I didn't know you could do it that fast."  "Neither did I!  I seem to be improving - it's fun!"  "Heh.  Well, keep up the good work."

Then he zipped back to the reactor.  "Where the hell have you been?!" his 'friend' wanted to know.  "Just letting my friends at the two ends of your base know what's going on."  The guy rolled his eyes.  "Oh great!  I guess the alarm's funneling people right toward them, isn't it?"  "Probably, yes.  Don't worry, they'll get people out of here - in custody."  "Joy."

Meanwhile, Mark, the other scientist, was coming around.  He went through the various stages of denial, anger, despair, and so forth with record speed.  Jon patiently absorbed yet more anatomically-impossible comments about his mother.  "Can we get to the part where you do useful things that save our lives?"  The guy contained himself.  "Right.  We've got a spare emitter, but it'll take time to get it here and in place.  You're going to have stand in for it while we work."  "And just how do you propose that I do that?"

The guy rolled his eyes.  "It's electromagnetic, Mr. Light-Up-Your-Life.  You shouldn't have any problems."  "Well, give me the specs on it."  The man described the frequency range and intensity of the field he needed, and Jon collated the information and fed it to the fabric of spacetime.  "Okay, but I won't be able to keep it up indefinitely.  It'll tire me out."  "You can draw power from here."  The guy passed him a cable, and added, "Stick this up your ass and start generating, light bulb."  He then waltzed out just to be annoying - though at a more rapid pace than most waltzes call for.

Jon got the field up, drawing current mightily from the cable.  [SP ruled that under these circumstances I didn't need to take fatigue to do the power stunt.]  "He's kind of a jerk, isn't he?"  The remaining scientist rolled his eyes. "Oh, he's a complete [MENTION=40136]SS[/MENTION]hole.  But a competent one."  Checking his instruments, he added, "You're doing it!  It's not a perfect fit - no offense, you can't modulate the same way a computer can - but we've bought some time."  "Good.  How much?"  "At least fifteen minutes.  Plenty of time to get the other emitter in."  "Even better."

Meanwhile the two guards started to stir, moaning.  Jon mentioned, "I don't feel like getting shot again."  "Relax, I disarmed them while you were off gallivanting about.  And I'll talk them down if they get antsy."  "Okay..."

Eventually one of the guards woke up (not the one who shot Jon before) and asked blearily, "So who's Moonbeam the Spaceman?"  (Jon was still wearing his space suit.)  "The mask who's keeping the reactor from going boom, Peter.  So chill."  Jon said "That's 'cape', please," just as the guard growled, "That's Petrov."  When the scientist glanced between them trying to sort that out, the guard suddenly stared at the emitter.  "What idiot shot that thing?!"  Jon contained his sigh as he concentrated on maintaining the field.  "That would be me."  Petrov demanded, "What the hell did you do that for?!"  "Not important right now," Jon told him.  Petrov launched into a tirade about their training never to shoot high-tech-looking stuff, which Photon bore patiently as his lot in life.

Meanwhile the other guard stirred and started feeling around for his stun-rifle.  "Where the hell-"  "I moved it so you wouldn't shoot the guy keeping us alive," the scientist told him tersely.  "Dammit, I figured that much out!  ...Why'd he zap me again?"  Photon told him, "Because I didn't trust you.  Still don't, in fact."  "Well, as long as you're keeping the reactor together, I sure won't shoot you..."  "And after it's fine?  'Good' doesn't mean 'stupid', you know."

Petrov sneered, "You coulda fooled me!" and shifted his rant into one on VIPER propaganda about the strong dominating the weak, the evolutionary bankruptcy of traditional morality, and so forth.  The two other VIPER representatives present rolled their eyes in unison;  evidently Petrov was regarded as a tiresome True Believer.

Eventually Mark returned, rolling another emitter carefully on a cart.  He took in Petrov's rant in frank disbelief, then smirked to Photon, "You set him off, didn't you?  Peter, put a sock in it and help me lift this thing."  "Dammit, Mark, I keep telling people to stop calling me Peter!"  "Yeah, but you're not strong enough to make it stick, so who gives a sh*t?  Now make yourself useful, okay?"

Petrov hesitated, then did as he was told.  Mark told Photon in high humor, "Don't worry about the names, by the way, we aren't all named after Gospels."  The other scientist interjected, "Actually, my middle name's 'Lucas'.  And 'Peter' isn't a Gospel anyway."  Petrov mumbled something about the weakness of Christian slave morality, but clearly nobody cared but him.

"Whatever.  Hold it there, Peter.  Don't jostle it.  And drape this lead there..."  Mark went up a stepladder and got to work installing the new emitter, the other guard handing tools up to him when requested, while 'Lucas' monitored the reactor and Photon kept the field as steady as he could.  Things were getting positively cozy when a new individual in formidable-looking powered armor came on the scene and surveyed their work, taking special note of Photon's presence.

Petrov paused to salute as this newcomer stated, "I bet it'd ruin your whole week to know I've booby-trapped the reactor for just such occasions as this."  He held up a small transmitter and gloated, "This city will feel the consequences of defying VIPER!  Nuclear fire will..."  Photon was just about to shoot him when Mark drawled, "Sir, with all due respect, shut the hell up."  He cranked a dial over hard on the emitter, and the field flared briefly into being, intersecting the man's armor, which promptly froze up.  With a creak, he fell over with a crash, the transmitter going flying... only to be caught by a magnetic field of Photon's creation.

Mark said smugly, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time," while Petrov gaped.  "You... You can't do that!  He's a superior officer!"  Photon suggested, "Can we PLEASE get back to saving the city?"

Mark told Petrov, "So?  He was acting against policy, and he wasn't strong enough to carry it off.  By the manual, that makes me right, doesn't it?"  Petrov chewed on that for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, it does... sir."  "I'm glad we've got that settled."

Photon:  "Saving.  City?!"  Mark:  "Oh, right, about that."  He strode insolently up to Photon.  "I want to make a deal with you."

"Oh?"  "Yes.  I've jury-rigged the emitter.  Once I turn it on, it'll last for about ten minutes, and then short out permanently.  You'll never repair it in time.  There is, however, an alternative."  Jon gritted out hostilely, "Go on."

The man gestured to the control panel of the reactor.  "I've got all the schematics of the emitter password-protected on there.  I'll give you the password and the two of you will have plenty of time to hook it up properly - you seem smart enough and I know he is.  In exchange, you let me walk out of here.  I'll take my chances with your friends;  I just want your word that you personally won't try to stop me."

Photon told him coldly, "I'll let you walk out of this room."  Mark smiled, showing his teeth.  "Not good enough.  You'll let me walk out of this base.  After that, I'm fair game.  Oh, and by the way?  The countdown's starting..." he glanced ostentatiously at his watch, "...now."  Sure enough, the emitter's field activated.  "Do we have a deal?"

Jon wrestled with his conscience for a moment, then sighed.  "Deal."  "Good.  The password's 'c*cks*cker', all lower case."  "Named it after yourself, did you?"  "Quite.  Ta!"  With a little wave, he strolled out of the room.  After some hesitation, Petrov and the other guard followed him.  [I've got this funny feeling I'm going to be hearing from Mark again at some point.   Mainly because I know the eldritch workings of SuentisPo's evil, evil brain.]

'Lucas' had already typed the password in by the time Jon dropped the cable and joined him.  The two of them pored rapidly over the schematics they found, and breathed mutual sighs of relief;  it didn't look all that complicated.  They got to work, Photon helping hold the thing up with magnetic fields while they started rewiring.  "You can call me Photon, if you hadn't already guessed.  What should I call you?"  "'Lucas' will be good enough for now."

After working a while longer in silence, the guy asked, "So how'd you get your powers, anyway?"  Jon shrugged.  "Beats me."  "What?!  You've got all this power over electromagnetic whatever, but you don't know how?!  You just woke up one day and it just... worked?"  "Pretty much."  "Wild."

A little while later, Jon asked, "So what about you?  How'd you get involved with VIPER, anyway?"  The guy shrugged.  "The research is interesting, the pay is good, and they don't mind hiring a guy who padded his expense account a bit.  ...  Okay, a guy who padded his expense account a lot.  ...  Will you put in a good word for me, seeing as I'm helping you out?"

Jon nodded.  "Yes, I will.  How interesting of research?"  When 'Lucas' hesitated to answer, he added, "You may as well spill the beans, you've cast your die with me now."  'Lucas' nodded.  "Lots of interesting stuff with fusion.  It's what I've worked on my whole professional life.  Pocket fusion is possible, I tell you!"  His eyes glowed with enthusiasm, but when Jon said easily, "I know, I've seen it," he deflated and said without rancor, "I hate you."  Jon chuckled as he slipped another wire into place.  "We can't all be super-geniuses.  I never did figure out how Technoid got his reactors that small."

With a sigh, 'Lucas' nodded.  "Yeah.  This design - with a fission stage - was a huge mistake in my opinion.  I think they wanted a bomb in case things went sour, frankly.  I put in to work on the pure fusion reactor downtown, but wasn't accepted."  "Oho!  So that office building downtown IS yours, is it?"  After another hesitation, the man nodded.  "Well well well.  I'll definitely have to - WHOA!"

A wave of green light passed through the room, momentarily dazzling Jon's eyes.  Clearly, once again, it had nothing to do with photons...  'Lucas' asked, "What the hell was that?!"  Jon said grimly, "Nothing good.  You've got things under control here, so I HAVE to go check that out."  "Wait!  Send my assistant in here to help, just in case.  His name's Al - he'll be easy to spot, nobody could miss that nose."

"Nose?"  "Yeah, he could easily be nicknamed 'Pinocchio'.  Well, for the nose, I mean.  He's actually really bright, and..."  Jon said impatiently, "I get it, he's a regular Cyrano de Bergerac!  I've got to go."  "Nah, he has no luck with the women, at all...  Oh my God, that reminds me!  If some of your friends are, well, heroines, there could be trouble."  Jon raised a brow, and 'Lucas' said sadly, "When you're already a criminal, it's not always easy to hold back from adding more to the list."

Jon didn't pause for more chit-chat.  Instead he light-formed his way over to the 'front door'.  Beta and A.E. looked to have things well in hand - the evacuation order was sending them plenty of unarmed and unprepared mooks - but Sirocco was down.  (His sandstone mask had crumbled, but a bandanna had been tied about his face as a makeshift substitute.)  "What happened," he demanded, while stooping to check the young man's pulse.  A.E. reported, "He collapsed for no apparent reason a couple minutes ago.  Seems stable, though.  We haven't had time to evac him."  Sure enough, Sirocco's pulse was thready but strong.

Jon nodded. "Okay, get him out ASAP."  Feeling at the young man's chest, he went cold as he realized the Amulet was gone.  A.E. suddenly yelled "Freeze!" holding a high-tech gun on a man with a knife and a dangerous, contorted expression.  Jon straightened, recognizing the nose.  He said calmly, "Al, Lucas needs you at the reactor."  The guy's knife wavered.  "Who the hell is Lucas?"  "Your boss.  At the reactor.  It's going supercritical, and he needs your help."  Al visibly calmed as he absorbed that information.  He gestured to his knife and asked, "Uh, can we forget this part if I go and help?"  "Yes," Jon told him firmly, and Al ran off.  A.E. glanced thanks at him, but Photon had already sped to the 'back door' to check on Demeter.

She was busy plucking a VIPER guard off a catwalk with ropes of algae and coiling him up.  "Demeter?"  She didn't respond, and jerked her captive to the ground with seemingly unnecessary violence.  "Demeter?!"

The woman started and drawled slowly, "Oh!  Sorry, I didn't realize you were speaking to me."  She turned to him, and Jon had the cold creeping realization that it wasn't Demeter.

Oh, it looked like her.  But Demeter had brown eyes flecked with green;  this woman had eyes so green they practically glowed.  Demeter didn't have that cruel smile, or that coy tone of voice save as a joke.  The chest of her costume was in rags - evidently she'd been hit there by an energy weapon of some sort.  And Jon spotted the mangled remains of a chain hanging from her neck which hadn't been there before...

Mind racing, Jon said, "Hello.  Pardon me for my mistake.  Whom do I have the honor of addressing?"  Not-Demeter smiled slowly, seductively.  "I've had many names over the millennia.  You might have heard of me as 'Eris'."

Oh GREAT, Jon thought.  "Yes, I've heard of you.  I'm called Photon."  "Yes, yes, I know.  I observed, when Sirocco wore me.  And Charm before him.  And so many others.  ... You're boring, you know.  So much science."  "I see...  So, ah, Eris...  How's Demeter right now?"  She grinned.  "She's not taking calls at the moment.  Maybe later."

"And Sirocco?  Is he going to live?"  Eris shrugged, uncaring.  "Oh, probably.  He didn't use my power for long. ... Don't look at me that way," she chided, "I didn't DO it to them.  It's a side-effect;  my power wears down the human body and soul.  They chose to make use of my power, I can't help what it does to them once I leave them."  "So why do you leave?  Why did you leave Charm?"

She growled in frustration.  "He wasn't DOING anything!  Oh, believe me, I'm five thousand years old, I understand the concept of taking a break.  But he wasn't taking a break, he retired!  He was planning on resting on his laurels indefinitely!  I was BORED!"  Jon nodded slowly.  I've got to keep her talking, he thought;  otherwise she might teleport out at any moment, and who knows if we'll ever track her down again.  "And Sirocco?"

Eris smiled slowly.  "Well, I couldn't pass up a chance like that, could I, Science?  This 'Demeter' of yours is practically a druid - a plant witch.  She doesn't even know it of course, poor thing.  Thinks she's one of your 'mutants'.  But I knew, oh yes.  And she's female, too.  Definitely a plus!"

"So what are your plans now?"  She shrugged.  "Honestly?  Sex.  Lots of it.  I've been cooped up in that amulet for millennia with no physical body, Science!  Do the math."

Jon nodded encouragingly, feeling sick to his stomach.  "Millennia, huh?  You must have seen a lot of history!"  "You have no idea.  Oh -" and suddenly her face was a mask of fury, "and that lying Homer BASTARD?!  Ignore him!  That blind lying SOT -- !  He wouldn't know the truth if it bit him!"

"I never did enjoy the Iliad much," Jon agreed easily, not mentioning he'd always rather liked the Odyssey.  Eris continued to fume, "He got it all WRONG!  Trust me, Science.  There was no Athena.  No Hera, no Aphrodite.  Faugh!  He even made ME out to be a goddess, but don't you believe it!  I'm a human woman, with a woman's needs."  Jon nodded sagely.  "I'll definitely bear that in mind."

She grinned at him and purred coyly,  "Only in mind?  My needs are... extensive, Science.  Sure, you're boring, but you're kind of cute... and it's been a long time."  Jon, flustered, could only say, "Uh."  "I may not be a goddess in the metaphysical sense, but I assure you that I can be heavenly in the sack!"  She bowed modestly with a wicked grin, adding, "And don't look at my boobs, it's rude.  Unless you plan on touching as well..."  Jon managed to get out, "So, uh, Homer got everything wrong?"  "Oh!  Right, him.  Yeah, most of that stuff he wrote about is totally fake..."

Eris trailed off, apparently lost in reminiscence.  Eventually she murmured, "Helen was real, though.  She wore me, you know."  "Oh?"  "Oh yes.  And she was nearly as hot as they say - I helped with that, of course."  "Of course."  "Pity she was married to that Menelaus oaf.  Mind you, the guy had a great body!  You could bounce a drachma off his abs and make change.  But no brain to speak of.  And to him?  Women are for sex, keeping house, and making babies.  Blah.  So this Paris kid comes along, right?  And he's like, 'Gee Helen, I kind of appreciate you as a human being,' there's potential to work with there, you know?  He wore me too, for quite a while."

"Did he really?"  "Yeah.  Sure, he was male, but we shared similar tastes in women.  Different tastes in men, but hey, he was Greek, he was willing to learn."  Jon decided, stomach roiling, that it was time to get things a little more back on-topic.  "So, Eris... How exactly is Demeter doing right now?"

Eris laughed. "Relax, Science.  I'll let her come out and play at some point, when I get bored.  It's her body too."  "Kind of hard on her, isn't it?  I mean, she didn't choose this.  You're sort of using her, aren't you?"  Eris glared - that barb seemed to have struck home.  "I didn't choose it either, Science.  I grabbed the opportunity I was given, that's all!"

Jon said politely, "Eris, I would really appreciate speaking to Demeter and hearing what she has to say about it.  Now, please."

Eris went stone-cold at the word 'now', her glare intensifying to a glowing green threat.  She hissed, "You don't give me orders, Science.  You never give me orders."  Then, relenting just slightly, she added, "Anyway, I can't.  She's unconscious right now."  Oho! Jon thought.  If I can just keep her around until Demeter wakes up, things could get a lot less one-sided!

"I apologize, Eris.  I'm just worried about my friend, that's all.  You can understand that, can't you?  ...  It just doesn't seem quite fair for Demeter to have to rely on your boredom.  Surely the two of you can work out some sort of timeshare arrangement?"

Eris mulled that over. "Well... maybe."  She sounded bored with the whole concept, so Photon changed the subject in a bright tone:  "Say, I'm sure Demeter will want to continue being a superhero.  What do you think of that?"

Eris replied breezily, "Sure, why not?  Sounds fun!  You need another member for the team anyway, don't you?  And that Forestrike fellow seems to have predicted me, too.  I think I'll use the name 'Jade' - 'Eris' would probably lead to unfortunate misunderstandings in modern circumstances, don't you think?"

Jon asked, nonplussed, "You don't mind being described as 'faithless' and 'worthless'?"  Eris laughed.  "Oh, Science!  I've already told you I don't believe in gods, any of them.  Never seen one, have no use for 'em.  So there's 'faithless' for you.  If you'd seen the cruelties I've seen in the names of various gods, you'd be with me on that...  Charm got so tiresome, with his Catholic-this and his Catholic-that!  Though," she added reflectively, "I do have to say, even the Spanish Inquisition had NOTHING on the Assyrians.  Once you've seen those lads piling up skulls in neat pyramids, well, let's just say nothing much shocks you after that.  And the Aztecs...!"

Photon cleared his throat.  "And 'worthless'?"  "Oh please!  Obviously Forestrike spread partial lies into each of his prophecies.  I'm clearly not 'worthless', am I?"

Jon had no idea how to answer that question tactfully while retaining any shred of self-respect.  He finally settled on, "You're certainly... unique, that's for sure."  "You got that right, Sci-"  Eris suddenly frowned and swayed on her feet.  "Eris?" Jon prompted.

Abruptly she shrieked and clutched her head.  Jon swiftly asked, "Demeter!  Is that you?!"  "I... I... think so?!"  "Concentrate on the plants, Demeter!" Jon urged, "You can sense them, right?  That's you, not her!"  "Right, I...  Yeah!  Th-thanks, Photon..."

"How are you feeling?"  "...Weird.  She's still there, pushing..."  After some further thought, clutching her temples, she continued shakily, "I don't think she can get through unless I let her..."  Jon noticed her eyes were back to their normal color.  "Let me... It's so confusing.  Wait a minute..."  Then suddenly, she burst out with outrage, "TIMESHARE?!"

Soothingly, Jon told her, "I was just trying to keep her talking, Demeter.  I didn't really mean it."  "This is my BODY, not a CONDO!!"  "Yes, I know.  Can you tell me what happened to the Amulet?"

Demeter visibly struggled to remember.  "After the planning session...  Sirocco offered it to me and I took it.  It seemed somehow... like it was the right thing to do.  I don't know why."  Jon sighed.  Great.  "And where is it now, Demeter?"  "It... I don't know, I think it got shot?  No, I got shot..."  Jon asked slowly, patiently, "Is it all right with you if I look inside your body for it, just in case?"

For a moment, she smirked and said, "I knew you couldn't resist me... Aaargh, no, that's her talking.  No, Eris!  We're going to keep our relationship strictly professional!  Not that kind of profession!  _Professional! _ No, not Sirocco either!  What, him?  Gross, no way!"  "Who?" asked Jon, feeling lost.  "A co-worker of mine who's a real jerk."  "Ah.  Is it all right..."  "Yes, sorry.  Go ahead."

Gingerly using his X-ray vision, Jon scanned for the Amulet.  There was nothing left of it except shrapnel, little pieces embedded in Demeter's skin.  She didn't seem injured other than mild contusions, though.

After sharing that info, Jon asked, "Are you going to be okay for now?  There's a lot going on."  "Yeah.... I think so.  Yeah.  She can't take control unless I let her... She would've by now if she could."  "You sure?"  "Yeah.  Go get 'em.  And make sure Sirocco's OK!"  "I will,"  Jon promised.

He zipped over to the 'front door';  things were getting a lot less chaotic over there.  Scooping up Sirocco's slim form, he radioed the others, _I'm taking him in.  Then it's off to the office building.  Alpha, tell Smith to get some people over there, I'd appreciate at least a little backup.  I've confirmed they're VIPER, by the way._  Alpha replied, _*Done.  Oh, and there's cops on-site now, they can take care of Sirocco.*_  (The base's infirmary had been decommissioned about the same time Mike's body had been moved.)  A.E. added, "I'll head over there when I get a chance!"

Jon sped out the circular door, then out of the warehouse.  Sure enough, the place was ringed with cop cars, and police were busy cuffing VIPER personnel, both conscious and unconscious.  He tersely informed the man in charge of the situation, especially that the reactor was under control.  "I'm heading downtown.  Take care of him!"  The cop nodded and saluted.  "Will do, Photon!  Good hunting!"  "Right," Photon said, and vanished...

...Only to reappear just outside the building in question, glowing with determination.  Espinoza and Doyle must be getting quite the show, he thought, let's not disappoint.  The security systems he'd spotted before were all electronic in nature;  shorting them out was easy.  Diving into the building, he found people frantically shredding papers and wiping computers;  a few stun-zaps was all it took to send them down the rabbit-hole.

His X-ray vision couldn't penetrate several VIPER-related rooms, though, too heavily shielded.  He was rapidly considering his options to pry them open when the question became moot:  An explosion rocked the building, tearing a huge hole in the wall.  For a moment, all Jon could think was, Yep, they're getting quite the show... Then he was off after the rocket-sled that'd just departed the building the hard way.

He studied the thing as it lay there pinned in mid-air, streaking around it in light-form.  It seemed to be mostly made of carbon composites, so magnetism wasn't going to be any help.  Its engines were huge;  it had already picked up a lot of speed, and was only going to get faster.  It'll be almost anywhere in the world before too much longer, he thought.  Radar-baffled, too.  If I snuff the thrust, it'll plunge straight into the city - can't have that.  Maybe crashland it in the ocean?  

Disturbed by a sudden thought, he flashed back to the building to see how it was holding up.  Sighing silently in dismay, he saw that its structural members were buckling.  The upper floors are gonna pancake within minutes if I don't do something.

Jon resigned himself to letting the VIPER bigwigs get away.  What's a hero for, if not to keep buildings from collapsing on innocent people?  [SP gave me a hero point for doing the right thing.]  Materializing, he heard deep basso groans as the huge structure slowly started to give way.

Photon extended his hands, gritting his teeth;  I've never held anything this big up before.  Magnetic field lines coiled and snapped in response to his will, extending to embrace the upper half of the skyscraper.  Jon groaned sympathetically as he 'felt' the load impinge upon his will.  No, not today, he thought - someday you'll fall down, but today is NOT.  THAT.  DAY!

It held.  Gasping and sweating, Jon managed to fly over to one of the damaged members and spot-weld it with laser light and arcs of electricity.  He melted concrete to fill cracks, straightened bent beams with magnetic fields, and shifted lesser structures to load-bearing positions.  When he guessed it would probably hold, he did some more for a while, then gingerly let its weight settle back to its natural state.

There were loud creaks and groans for a moment... but it held.  Jon breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly exhausted.  He announced over the police band, _Photon here.  The building's safe for now.  I've got unconscious people, evidence, and materiel on floors 12, 13, 14, and 15. _ (Cop cars had sped up to the building not long previous.)  After they confirmed and started taking matters in hand, Jon sped off looking for the rocket sled again, not with the highest of hopes.

After a long but fruitless search, he streaked over to the marina.  Things had been mopped up there by now, an exhausted but glowing American Eagle greeting him with high spirits.  Beta stood impassively to one side, waiting for his talents to be called upon...  Demeter was sitting on a step, head in her hands.  After receiving word from the cop he'd spoken to before that Sirocco had been taken to Swedish Hospital, he went and sat next to her.

"Hey.  How are you doing?"  "I'm... kind of sorting that out."  "I understand.  But Tex-Hex'll be here soon, he'll check you out."  "Yeah."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"  "Not really... I just need to think for a while, then probably sleep for a week."  "Um.  Will Eris be able to seize control while you're out?"  "I...  Wow, hadn't thought of that.  I don't think so.  And she claims not, for whatever that's worth."  "Not much."  "Yeah."

"Maybe you should spend the night in the base, so Alpha can keep an eye on you?"  Demeter sighed.  "You're assuming he'll be able to;  remember how the Amulet affected him?"  "Oh.  Right."  "Honestly, I'll do best in my own bed.  Eris has a vested interest in not pissing me off."  "Does she?  Is there anything stopping her from jumping to someone else?"  "Apparently - she wasn't able to jump out of the Amulet short of it being destroyed.  She claims she needed it to stay together without her body."

Jon nodded.  "Well...  Be sure to check in with Alpha every so often, okay?  So we know you're all right, and so you know when Tex arrives."  "Okay, I will."

A young cop approached them.  "Mr. Photon?  Captain Smith said he wants to talk to you tomorrow morning."  "I'll do that, officer, thank you."  The man grinned at him.  "No, thank you, sir!  This's been a righteous bust."  "I certainly hope so."  "Never seen anything like it before.  But I guess you supers get this kind of excitement all the time, huh?"

Photon and Demeter looked at each other.  Jon sighed.  "Something like that.  One does develop a taste for boredom after a while, let me tell you."  Demeter laughed suddenly, with a faint edge of hysteria.  "I'm of two minds on that subject."  Jon laughed bitterly at the pun himself, and the cop edged away a bit.  "Uh, I gotta get back to work."

"So soon?" Demeter purred, then clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in fury.  Utterly bewildered by that reaction, the young man all but fled from them.  Jon asked softly, "Demeter... are you sure you're going to be okay?"  After a moment, she said.  "Yes.  I'm getting a feel for how this works... and making it clear to that bitch where the boundaries lie."  "Well...  Let me get you one of the new cell-phones so we can call you, all right?"  She nodded.  "Yeah... not a bad idea."  Photon went and fetched one, pausing to give Alpha a rapid radio summary of events, then she animated a tree to leave.

Jon then zipped to Swedish Hospital to check on Sirocco.  It's been a long day, he thought to himself.  And it's not over yet.


----------



## The Shadow (Jan 24, 2011)

*15 - Mounting Discord*

[And here's the last bit of the marathon session, supplemented by an email exchange and a phone call or two.  The last half of this is unusual, in that I had to write it almost entirely from scratch.  A lot of the details were glossed over in play in the form of 'You find this out';  but that wasn't at all satisfying from a writing perspective.  I think it turned out all right.  SP says everyone's in character, anyway, and he's the expert!]

Photon waited impatiently as the hospital dithered over clearing him to see Sirocco.  The interactions of patient privacy laws with secret identity issues made for some 'interesting' bureaucratic snarls as he struggled to see his teammate...  In the end, they checked his registration number, verified it with the BSA, and called Captain Smith for approval before finally escorting him to Sirocco's private room.

The bandanna had been removed to make way for various tubes.  Sirocco just lay there in a hospital gown with an IV in his arm, breathing very slowly.  (Jon was reminded of Mike with a sudden pang.)  A doctor explained to him that Sirocco was in a coma of unknown etiology.  "How long will he take to come out of it?" Jon asked, and was told with a helpless shrug that there was simply no way to tell - perhaps in a few minutes, perhaps in years.

Jon nodded somberly.  "I will be coming frequently to visit him."  It wasn't a request.  "And I expect to be informed immediately when he wakes.  Call this number."  He gave Alpha's number, which the doctor accepted.

Jon sat next to the bed and took Sirocco's hand as the doctor left the room.  "They say it's good to talk to coma patients.  I'm not sure what to say, though.  Except I'm sorry.  I should've postponed the operation until after Tex came up here and performed the ritual.  VIPER had been building up a presence here for at least a couple years, a couple more days wouldn't have mattered."  He sighed.  "Used to be when I made stupid rookie mistakes, the worst that would happen was Erebus would chew me out.  Now when I make them, people get hurt."

He continued to pour out his heart to Sirocco's inert form, describing his hopes, fears, and anxieties.  When he'd run out of things to say, he felt drained but at peace.  "It's weird, caring this much about you when I don't even know your name.  I can see already that you're going to give me plenty of headaches, but it just doesn't matter."

"...Well, I guess that's not so strange.  My brother Jason gives me almost nothing but verbal abuse when I visit him in prison, but I love him too.  And the weird thing is, I know he loves me back, in his own dysfunctional way.  He'd feel terrible if I didn't visit him.  Abandoned.  Lost.  The insults and put-downs are his way of dealing with his fear of needing me, of being vulnerable.  I'm the only family he's got except for Cindy, and she can't visit him - she's in prison too."  He chuckled wearily.  "Visits with her are much more civil - and I suspect it's because she doesn't have much of a bond with me any more.  How messed up is that, huh?"

"I wonder, are you afraid in sort of the same way?  Don't get me wrong, you're a much better man than Jase!  Just a feeling I've gotten, though - that you push people away sometimes.  Well, whether you are or not... I'm not going to abandon you either."

"I really hope we can get back to the high-trust place Shadow-Force used to be in.  It's bizarre, trusting someone with your life but not your name."

Jon yawned.  "I really should go, sorry.  A hero's work is never done - you'll find out soon enough."  He zipped home and tried to sleep.  His body had more sense than his mind;  after a wakeful hour, thoughts tumbling randomly, exhaustion claimed him.

----------------------------

He woke up early to spend some time with Sirocco again.  But when the hour grew more civilized, he sped in to talk to Smith as promised.

Smith normally frosty demeanor was almost perky this time.  He actually smiled as he shook Photon's hand.  "We're getting a wealth of information from the VIPER sites.  Still a lot of interrogation to be done, but it's clear we've hurt them here.  ...  It turns out that the marina base was their barracks for this region, while the office building was central command.  Their coded link to VIPER High Command slagged itself automatically - their SOP is to put them on a hair-trigger - but there's still a lot to be gotten off their computers."  He shrugged.  "It would have been better to hit the building first, but there's no way you could have known that at the time.  All in all, a fine day's work, Photon."

Jon nodded somberly.  "Thank you, Captain."  "I thought you'd like to know a few details we've uncovered.  The Seattle nest leader got out in the rocket, no surprise there.  But Hybrid was with him.  Our source says he'd been really pensive since your fight, the way he gets when he's getting inspired to go off and invent things.  So we may not see him for a while, but when we do, brace yourself.  Oh, and the same guy says Hybrid's on a sonics kick lately, for whatever that's worth."

Photon absorbed that.  "All right, definitely worth knowing.  Was the rocket tracked by satellite?"  Smith shook his head.  "No, it didn't show up at all - and nobody knows how they worked it.  I'll bet the NSA is freaked."  "Couldn't happen to a bunch of nicer guys."  Smith actually smirked.  "Amen to that."  "Anything else?"

"Yeah.  The DA is going to want you to confirm that a-" he glanced at a sheet on his desk, "Dr. Jeremiah Williamson helped you contain the reactor."  "If his middle name is Lucas, then yes he did."  "He'll probably call you about that."  "All right."  Smith added, "That Williamson guy is singing like a canary.  I think he's pulling for Witness Protection, and he'll probably get it."  "He'll need it.  And really, it's the least we can do. ...  Did Espinoza and Doyle spot anything interesting I don't know about?"

Smith shrugged.  "Not really.  When you hit the marina, a bunch of lights went on, a number of cars left in a hurry, and then you showed up.  By the way, please hold off on talking to the media.  We want to keep VIPER guessing a while;  we'll release a statement later this week."  "All right, I will."

"How's Sirocco doing?"  Jon sighed.  "He's in a coma.  No timeline on recovery, but there's somebody coming tomorrow or the next day who can possibly tell us more."  "We're pulling for him."  "Thank you.  Is Captain Struthers feeling better?"

Smith shrugged.  "Haven't heard from him..."  A phone rang on his desk.  "I should take that."  Photon nodded and got up to go.  As he was heading out the door, Smith suddenly said urgently, "Photon, sit back down."

Jon did so, brows raised.  "Yes?"  After a few more moments of listening, Smith hung up the phone and said gravely, "Captain Struthers has vanished.  No sign of struggle at his house, no note, he's just gone."  Jon blinked.  "And his wife?"  "She's gone too."  Jon struggled to process that.  "Who would want to do that?"  "At this point, you know everything I do."  "...Wow.  If there's no objection, I'll take some steps to try to find him."  "By all means.  Just let me know whatever you find."  "I will."

Jon headed in to the base, mind whirling.  He filled Alpha in, adding, "See if you can dig up anything on Struthers - old enemies, that kind of thing.  It's a longshot, but it can't hurt."  "Will do.  Oh, and Tex called - he's flying in this afternoon."  "That's something."  "Yeah, no kidding.  And Demeter showed up for her scheduled patrol with Beta.  She seems really on edge, but otherwise fine."

"Alpha?"  "Yeah?"  "Does it ever get less crazy than this?"  The computer sighed.  "Not often - enjoy the lulls when you can.  Though this Eris witch isn't the sort of thing you see every day."  "Tell me about it."

"Oh - and I guess you haven't read the papers yet, have you?"  "No... why?"  "Heh.  You'll get a kick out of it."

The workday once again passed in a blur;  Jon zipped to the hospital frequently to check if Sirocco was awake.  He picked up a paper at lunch and did indeed get a laugh out of it:   The front-page headline blared, "Mystery Super!" and featured a grainy photograph of his own space-suited form hovering and extending its arms toward the building.  The article was full of breathless speculation and Jon shook his head, chuckling.  Naturally, they wouldn't guess it was Photon.

On a whim, he checked a few super-blogs - just as breathless, with even wilder speculation.   As usual, Pagemaster at Seattle Supers was a step ahead of everyone else - Photon was his first guess, followed by Mystra, then by an unknown.  (His fourth and fifth guesses were Technoid and Beta, respectively - in fairness to him, largely because fans clamored for them to be considered.)  His conclusions were being openly scoffed at elsewhere;  Jon wryly noted that his wasn't going to be the only reputation to get a boost.

Jon turned up at the airport invisibly again, but this time Tex was prepared.  He grinned up at Photon's floating form.  "Didn't really reckon on foolin' an old man twice in a row, didja son?"  Jon chuckled wearily.  "Worth a try."  When they got back to the base, Jon broke the news that the ritual wasn't going to be needed.  "The situation has... changed."  He went on to give Tex a complete briefing.

Tex was grave when he'd heard Photon out.  "That's some powerful hard news, Photon.  Ah cain't conclude much afore checkin' 'em both out."  "Well, Sirocco isn't going anywhere.  How about we go visit him, and Alpha can call Demeter in to be ready for when you return?"  "Ah concur."

Flying to the hospital, Jon had little patience with the bureaucratic nonsense.  When they finally got to Sirocco's room, Tex checked the young man's pulse, counting beats with a somber expression.  Then he touched a rune on his duster and spread his glowing hands out over Sirocco's still form, concentrating.  Jon waited with patient trepidation.

Tex brightened visibly after a few minutes of scanning, then touched another rune and laid his hand on Sirocco's forehead.  After a moment, he nodded.  "As Ah thought!  He should be raht as rain in a few days.  Maybe even to-morrah."  Jon sighed in relief, slumping as the air left him.  "What exactly is wrong with him?"  "Wail... there ain't really any mundane words fer it, Photon..."  Jon sighed again.  "Well, if you can't paint me a picture, at least give me the crayon stick-figure version.  Anything's better than knowing nothing."

Tex nodded.  "Wail...  His... innate, uh, magical energy, Ah guess you'd say, is lower'n a snake's belly.  He's got to... build it back up?"  He chuckled ruefully. "Ah feel almost dirty sayin' it that way, but there y'are."  Jon managed to chuckle with him.  "Thanks for making the effort for the unwashed natives.  There shouldn't be any lasting effects?" "Nope.  But if he'd worn that-there Amu-let much longer, he'd be a goner for shore."

They headed back to the base;  Demeter had already arrived.  (According to her, Eris had been keeping a low profile in the meantime.)  They sat down in the lounge and after introducing them and putting some coffee on, Jon started to leave... but to his mild surprise Demeter said, "No, I'd like you to stay, please."  Tex debriefed her carefully, asking her many arcane questions about her experiences - he seemed to dwell at great length on seemingly minor nuances, while glossing lightly over things that Jon would have thought important.

Finally he said, "So, Miss Demeter, you feel, uh, comf't'ble letting this Eris talk to me direct-like?  Or would y'rather relay mah questions to her?"  Demeter shrugged.  "No, it's all right.  Here..."

Abruptly, her eyes glowed green, and she stretched, then crossed her legs sinuously. "Ahhhh.  It's so good to be out and about."  She seemed amused with the whole situation.  A rune flared on the sleeve of Tex's duster, and he touched it, not taking his eyes from her face;  his own was unreadable.  "So, pleased to meet ye, Miss Eris."

She grinned.  "Wrong on several counts, mageling.  We met before, in Dallas.  I believe you compared me to a woman who was 'PMS-ing'?  And spare me the 'Miss' - I assure you I'm not a virgin.  For that matter, I've been married before."  Tex shrugged, but there was nothing casual about his manner otherwise.  "Jest Eris, then."  "That's one of my names."

"What would some of t'others be, then?"  "You won't recognize any of them;  Homer may have been a liar, but he's a widely-read one."  "Try me."  "Oh, please.  Even if you did manage to winkle my truename out of me, it wouldn't do you the slightest good."

Tex raised a brow with sarcastic curiosity.  "Really now."  Eris grinned at him, slowly, showing teeth.  "Nope.  Not even a li'l bit."  (She mimicked his accent.)  She gestured at his duster with contempt and added, "You rely on runes.  I predate the invention of writing, Cowboy.  We didn't use your pathetic little symbols.  We delved deeper than you can even imagine."

Tex laughed heartily.  "I dunno there, Eris!  Like that Han Solo feller said, Ah kin imagine quite a bit!"  "Keep telling yourself that."  She looked at Photon.  "Turns out he's even more boring than you are.  What's the good of banter when you know what the opposite party's going to say?  Shall I tell you what he thinks he knows?"  Jon glanced at Tex, a little alarmed, but the older man nodded minutely to him.  "All right, Eris.  Go ahead."

Eris grinned.  "There's been whole dimensions of this conversation that went over your head, Science.  He's figured out that I'm indeed human, and that I'm inextricably bound to your Demeter.  He's decided I fit into the artificial pigeonhole he calls 'sorcerer' and he's trying to work out just what sort of spirits I work with - good luck with that, mageling!  And he's determined that my power is tightly constrained by not being in my native body.  He is just beginning to be afraid of how powerful I must have been before - how'm I doin', Cowboy?"  Tex yawned elaborately.  "Not too bad, Ah reckon.  'Cept for the bein' afeared part."  "Wow, you're even dumber than I thought."

Jon asked cautiously, "So if you're not a sorcerer, Eris, what are you?"  She laughed.  "It's quite funny, really, that he thinks I summon spirits.  In his mind, that's the only genuine alternative to pushing symbols around.  You see, what you moderns call 'spirits' are just the foam on top of a very deep sea.  Back in my day, there was no foam.  Just the sea."  Tex scoffed, "Pull the other one!  That ain't poss'ble."  Ignoring him, she told Jon, "So we dove in.  We dove deep, seeking the depths of the abyss.  Many of us perished.  But those who survived, why, we entered into the raw primaeval concepts of Creation itself."

Tex shook his head.  "Im-poss'ble.  Ain't nobody could live through that, much less stay sane!"  Eris finally looked at him, smiling an unpleasant smile.  "I said nothing of being sane, Cowboy.  Nor am I insane.  I transcend your categories."  Her voice rose. "I am a facet of Chaos Itself, little man.  It transformed me, but in my tiny way I also transformed It.  When I finally perish, a small but integral part of Seamless Reality will perish with me."

Tex was shaking his head, visibly pale now.  He repeated flatly, "Im-poss'ble."  She laughed.  "You keep using that word!  I do not think it means what you think it means."  Jon froze, remembering the time he and Sirocco had used that quote, and she actually winked at him.

After a long silence, Jon cleared his throat and asked, "So just how powerful were you, Eris?"  She laughed.  "That Diabolus fellow you lot were going on about last year?  I'd have eaten him for breakfast."  Jon asked, honestly curious, "So how'd you end up in that Amulet?"  Tex's eyes flew wide at that question, and Eris scowled.

"None of your...  Oh, you can't be serious!  That's not FAIR!"  Eris folded her arms and sulked before saying, "Sharing a body with Demeter is going to be more tedious than I thought.  ...  I, well.  I fought somebody even bigger than me.  An Atlantean necromancer.  I realize you don't like me much, Science, but trust me, this guy was the baddest news you've ever heard of.  He killed me, but I hurt him.  Badly. ... Anyway, my Amulet wasn't designed for soul-transference, but let's just say I was strongly motivated to improvise, given the circumstances."

"That necromancer couldn't still be around, could he?"  Eris sat up straight, alarmed. "Sweet Chaos, I HOPE not!!"  She thought about it, hard.  "...No, in his weakened state, he surely couldn't have survived the destruction of Atlantis.  And surely he would've popped his head up by now, if he'd gotten out in time..."  Jon blinked.  "So Atlantis really did exist, then?"

She looked at him with utter exasperation.  "SCIENCE!  Of course it existed!  Plato WROTE about it, didn't he?"  "Well... yeah, but most people think he was making it up.  We've never found any geological evidence..."  She rolled her eyes.  "Look, Science.  Let's pretend for a second that you have an imagination."

Jon frowned. "What, you think it doesn't take imagination to do science?"  "Frankly, no."  "And you accuse Tex of making category mistakes?  Sheesh.  Enigma said I had the creativity to be the making of a master wizard!"  Eris shrugged. "Yeah?  If he was so good, how'd YOU beat him?"

Jon grinned tightly at her. "I disrupted his teleport."  She actually shuddered. "Yikes!  Do you have any idea how much that STINGS?!"  "Some.  I got a sense of him through our contact.  ... Tex thinks he had to make a quick sorcerous deal to make it out at all."  "OUCH!"

Eris looked Photon up and down, clearly reassessing her opinion of him.  "There's more to you than meets the eye, Science.  You're cruel."  She licked her lips and purred, "I like that."

Jon cleared his throat.  "So... imagination?"  "Fine, fine.  Let's pretend you dream."  Jon rolled his eyes.  "I do!"  She sighed, exasperated.  "You may have night visions, you may have ambitious personal goals, but you don't _dream!_"  "I'm plugged into the universe, Eris.  I think it counts."  "Big deal!  I'm plugged into the MULTIVERSE, Science!"

She broke off and said in a pouty, singsong voice, "Demeter says I have to apologize."  Jon said with genteel irony, "Accepted in the same spirit it was given."  Eris sighed.  "Okay, look.  Let's pretend you're a MAGE, okay?!"  Jon waved his arms and said facetiously, "Look at me, everybody!  I'm a MAGE!"

Tex stifled a chuckle while Eris gave Photon a jaundiced look.  "So, you're a mage.  You get good and scared, and you decide you want to vanish off the face of the earth.  What do you do?"

Jon thought about it.  "I suppose I create some enchantments to hide the place I'm living.  Don't the Atlanteans do that with telepathy, though?"  Eris rolled her eyes.  "You're thinking too small.  They didn't just not want to be found;  they wanted to make sure nobody would ever come looking.  How'd they do that, Science?"  "Hmm.  I guess I'd try to pass off my previous existence as just stories.  But I don't know enough about magic to guess how to go about that... even though I am a mage."

She grinned triumphantly.  "Precisely.  You can't even guess.  They _erased_ themselves from history, Science.  They destroyed all evidence that Atlantis even existed;  all the traces in the rocks, almost all the traces in people's minds.  After their ritual, all that was left was legends."

Jon wondered, "They erased an entire sunken continent?  Where did it... go?"  Eris laughed.  "No imagination.  It didn't 'go' anywhere.  It _ceased to exist_ - in memory as well as in physical state."  "So how was there anything left for Plato to know about, then?" She shrugged.  "Their spell wasn't perfect.  Just really, really good."  "If it just vanished, why wasn't sea level affected?"

"You still don't get it, do you?  The Earth itself forgot!  They made it to be as if their entire continent _had never existed._"  Jon stared at her.  "...They could DO that?"  Eris grinned.  "Yup.  It just goes to show that magic is better than technology, hm?"  Jon looked over at Tex, who seemed less shocked than himself... but not by much.

After processing that for a time, Jon asked her, "So if you're as powerful as you say, how come you're the junior partner in Demeter's body?"  Tex winced a bit at that description, but Eris sighed.  "I told you, my Amulet wasn't designed for soul-transference.  I've been improvising at every stage...  Without going into technicalities, it's _her_ body, and nothing I can do can change that.  If her subconscious mind gives me an opening, I can... reach through... in small ways.  But as she gets used to me, she'll be able to shut even that outlet off if she chooses."

Jon nodded.  "Okay.  Now, you said before you were interested in being part of the team.  That still the case?"  She nodded, so Jon asked her point-blank, "How can I trust you?"

She sighed.  "In general?  You can't.  _I_ don't even know what my whims will be from moment to moment.  But you can trust me to keep Demeter alive - if she dies, I die."  "How can I trust you not to sell us out?"  "If nothing else, Demeter won't let me!  And anyway, what motive could I possibly have?"

Jon shrugged. "The offer of a body of your own?"  She shrugged back.  "I'd take it in a hot second.  But good luck with that;  I couldn't have done that at my height.  Not the genuine article, I mean.  There are people who could offer me a vessel to dwell in that'd give them power over me, but that'd be worse than what I have now.  Demeter can deny me body-access, but she can't touch my mind."

"Okay...  I'm still not sure how I can trust you on the team, though."  She sighed.  "Look, Science.  I know we... got off on the wrong foot.  But believe me, I'm motivated to be helpful - so I get body-time, if nothing else."

Jon mused, "It occurs to me that's not quite the same as being trustworthy, though."  Eris tossed her head.  "Fine.  Ask me anything.  I'll do my best to answer."  She grinned.  "That's not an offer that comes by every century, Science."  Tex for his part looked like he was doing his best fly-on-the-wall impression.

Jon considered.  Since this is apparently a team interview, let's start with a softball question.  "Where are you from originally?  I gather you're not Greek."  She nodded.  "From what's today called Algeria, I think - or maybe Morocco, I'm not sure which.  We had a small kingdom there."  "'We'?"  "The mages, of course.  We ruled over the unwashed, unshaven peasants."  She paused, then said to the air, "Because we knew more than they did, of course.  'Wizard' just means 'wise', you know. ... Yes, of course I bathed.  What do you take me for, a barbarian?"  She rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't shave my legs, razors hadn't been invented yet!  Besides, tastes were different back then.  Oh, fine.  Yes, yes, democracy, uh huh.  They were a little too busy not starving to deal with politics.  And I haven't even mentioned what some of our neighbors were like!"

Jon cleared his throat, and she started.  "Oh, right.  Did you say something?"  "So I gather that mages tend to have specialties.  You've mentioned you're a Chaos mage - what does mean about what you can do?"  Eris grinned nastily at Tex.  "Modern mages have specialties because they're _weak_ and narrow-minded."  Tex rolled his eyes and waved that off, and she added, "There are things I have... philosophical objections to doing, you might say.  But it's all about imagination, Science.  Name it and I can at least try to do it."

Jon nodded, then asked point-blank, "Did you arrange for the Amulet to get shot?"  Eris shrugged.  "Maybe."  "That's not a yes or a no."  She laughed.  "Have you stopped beating your wife?  Chaos, Science, remember?  That question doesn't even admit of a definite yes or no answer.  I don't expect you to understand... No imag-"

Eris and Tex both stared blankly as Jon cracked up into helpless laughter.  After an interval, Eris finally said in irritation, "What?!"  Jon wound down to snickering.  "I just can't believe you had the gall to say that to a certified Quantum Mechanic... and expect me not to understand.  We know from chaos these days, lady!  Okay, so you engaged in Schroedinger's Plot, got it.  Want me to go into technical detail about mixed states?  Squeezed states?  Decoherence?  I deal with this stuff every day."

They were both staring at him.  Eris contracted Demeter's brows and studied him as if he were a rare and unusual insect - with a poisonous bite.  Jon grinned at her.  "What's the matter, Eris?  Can't have the hoi polloi knowing the esoteric secrets?  That's why technology is better than magic, you know - why it's transformed the world in ways you guys never did.  At it's best, it's for everybody."  Eris shook her head, murmuring, "I knew I should have gotten to Newton earlier."  She paused, then added grudgingly, "Maybe you're not quite as boring as I thought."

Jon laughed again.  "Why gee, thanks!"  He was about to ask another question, when Eris' eyes abruptly faded back to brown.  Demeter said, "No offense, but I've gotten an awful lot to process out of this conversation."  Tex rose at once and swept off his hat.  "Of course, Miss Demeter.  We'll take it up again when yore ready."

She smiled gratefully to him.  "Thanks."  Jon asked, "One more thing?  I need to know if it's possible to have a private conversation with you - without being listened in on."  Demeter sighed.  "Not really.  Eris says she can do the equivalent of sticking her fingers in her ears and saying 'Lalalalalalala,' but that's about the extent of it."

"Okay.  Hang in there, Demeter."  "I'll do my best.  Thanks for coming out, Tex...  Tell me straight.  Is there any way this can be reversed?"  The older man said honestly, "Ah'm raht sorry, Miss.  There ain't none Ah've ever heard of - at least, none that'd not leave ye worse off than y'are now."  She sighed.  "I was afraid of that."  After a few more pleasantries, Eris' eyes manifested again, and she teleported out.

Jon and Tex looked at each other.  Tex wiped the sweat from his brow while Jon asked, "You were awfully quiet there for a while... I wasn't sure what I was doing."  Tex nodded. "Jest as well.  You handled her better'n Ah could've."  Jon blinked. "Oh?  Why's that?"  Tex said matter-of-factly, "Because yore too ignorant to be terr'fied."

Jon winced.  "So you really were scared, then?"  "Oh hail yes, son!  Ah didn't let it show, 'cause Ah wanted her to under-estimate me.  If she thought Ah was stupid, she might let somethin' slip."  "So she was telling the truth about all that stuff, then?"

Tex snorted. "Ah didn't say _that._  She's a terr'ble braggart, that's certain.  Some o' what she said was exagger-ation.  Some was outraht lies - at least, Ah shore hope so.  But... enough was true to make mah hair turn white, as opposed to its current manly gray."  "Okay... so which was which?"

Tex scratched his head then put his hat back on absently.  "Wail...  Ah don't think she was good enough to et Di-abolus fer breakfast.  A mage that c'do that wouldn't even FIT in this-here dimension.  But Ah do think she could'a gone two falls out'a three with him.  An' that's more'n skeery enough!"  Jon nodded.  "Agreed...  And all that stuff about the foam and the sea?"

Tex sighed.  "That's the worst part, son.  Ever'thing Ah've been taught, ever'thing Ah've seen fer mahself says it's dead im-poss'ble.  But... What she said made more sense than anythin' else Ah can come up with in regards to the current intol'rable situ-ation.  If she's raht... Wail, the multiverse is one Hail of a lot more int'restin' than Ah ever thought.  Int'restin' in the terr'fyin', dangerous, run-around-screamin'-an'-carryin'-on, Chinese-curse fashion, if'n y'catch mah drift."

Jon rested his face in his hand.  "Oh joy."  "Amen."  "Well... I do need to know for certain.  Is Demeter really in control?  Or can Eris pull a fast one when we least expect it?"  Tex nodded.  "She really is, of that Ah'm dead certain.  Their... union... is downraht bi-zarre.  Eris plainly was improvisin', like she said."

"Okay.  So what's the plan from here?"  Tex shrugged.  "Ah'll stay another day or so, make sure Sirocco and Miss Demeter are squared away as much as Ah can.  But Ah don't reckon there's much else Ah can do."

Jon nodded and extended his hand.  "Right.  Thanks so much for coming, Tex."  Tex shook hands firmly.  "Mah pleasure, Photon.  Ah do think Seattle's in good hands."

Jon suddenly laughed. Tex asked, "What now, son?"  Jon shook his head, chuckling. "I just caught myself thinking we could get 'lucky' and have Mirror Mask show up while you're here!"  Tex threw back his head and roared with laughter.  "That much luck Ah'c'd do without!"

Then he looked at Jon keenly.  "Yer thinkin' like a team leader now, ain't ye, son?"  Jon simply nodded. "Yes."  "Ah reckon that means yer blamin' yerself over Eris."  Jon nodded again.  "Yes, and rightly so."  Tex shrugged.  "Wail... mebbe so.  But Eris an' her Schroedinger Plots maht'a done fer Demeter despite anythin' you could'a done.  Don't be lettin' it get under y'skin, hear?"  "I'll do my best."

"Where'c'n Ah spend the naht?"  "Well... We have guest rooms here, but with the move happening in a matter of days I don't know what shape they're in..."  Alpha piped up, "You'll be better off with a hotel.  We've got a petty cash fund for that sort of thing."

Jon saw Tex off to a hotel, then returned.  "Migraines again?"  "Yeah.  At least Eris doesn't seem to be affecting me the way... whatever it was... did."  "Oh, that's good."  "And Jon... Tex is right."  Jon sighed.  "We'll talk about it at the next team meeting."

"I... All right."  "I'm taking Sirocco's patrol.  Beta around?"  Alpha sounded resigned. "Yeah."

Jon flew off into the night, scouring his city for those that would break its peace.

[Incidentally, regarding Jon's brother Jason, I actually have a short-short I wrote to feel out how their relationship worked and to set up an arc down the road.  Thing is, SP felt the arc as presented was tilting things in too dark a direction for this game... But I think it's still interesting as character study.  If anyone's interested, I'll consider posting it.]

[That's the way things work with me.  I've got another vignette that doubled as a retrospective on Jon's time with Shadow-Force, while also setting up a future arc... SP had mixed feelings about the arc, which probably won't get used, but he absolutely loved the glimpse into the relationships in Shadow-Force's past.]


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## Michael Silverbane (Jan 24, 2011)

The Shadow said:


> Are you a new reader, or have you been following the story for a while?  In either case, thanks for commenting!




I started reading at around the time of the final few updates in the The Shadow story hour, and then moved on to Photon's story hour.

I've greatly enjoyed both of the narratives, and am continuing to enjoy these recent updates.


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## The Shadow (Jan 27, 2011)

Michael Silverbane said:


> I started reading at around the time of the final few updates in the The Shadow story hour, and then moved on to Photon's story hour.
> 
> I've greatly enjoyed both of the narratives, and am continuing to enjoy these recent updates.




Great to hear from you!

In other news, various scheduling issues have prevented SP and I from talking for any length of time the last couple weeks, but, fingers crossed, something may become possible this weekend.


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## The Shadow (Jan 30, 2011)

*Blog Post:  SuperBuzz*

[So I got mildly inspired the other night and wrote up a typical super-blog posting on Photon's adventures.  Enjoy!]

SuperBuzz:  Your source for up-to-the-minute Super news!

Seattle Shocker!

So, amazing news from the Emerald City this week!  VIPER slithered back into town after getting trounced by Shadow-Force a few years ago, only to get trounced all over again.  The humiliating part?  This particular beatdown was delivered by a team of all-rookie heroes, led by none other than the uber-noob himself, Photon.

This was no ordinary setback for the snake-eyed set, folks.  They got their asps handed to them:  Two of their bases blown, dozens of their people captured - along with a number of unwiped computers! - and their nest leader fleeing town with his tail between his legs, along with their pet mercenary Hybrid.

Oh yeah, _that_ Hybrid.  The one who single-handedly took down the Paladins?  The one that Jack Frost still wants to turn into a popsicle?  The one who barely saved his bacon this previous week when fighting the aforementioned Photon?

So, with all that under his belt, what does everyone's favorite laughingstock do for an encore?  Nothing much, just holds a collapsing skyscraper up.  With his mind.  And fixes it.

Yours truly can perhaps be forgiven for thinking, "...Nah!  It's another guy with the same codename!"  The Seattle papers evidently thought the same thing - check out this nifty headline from the _Times_.  [image:  MYSTERY SUPER!]  The Seattle PD begs to differ, though.  According to them?  The same guy who famously got shot his first day for spouting corny platitudes to guys with guns planned the whole operation.  His idea, start to finish.  His plan.  And he had the class not to say anything about it himself, either.

The guy must be eating his Wheaties lately, that's all I can say.  And at this rate, he'll end up on the box!

Kudos and a H/T to Pagemaster over at Seattle Supers.  I honestly thought he'd developed a huge man-crush on Photon when he predicted how this story would fall out, but I gotta say he was right.

P.S.  Send some good karma the way of new Shadow-Force member Sirocco.  Word is he's in a coma, no details as yet.

Comments:

So Photon's a telekinetic now?  I always figured him for an elemental.  Photokinesis?  As for the rest, I'll have to ponder it.  Interesting news out of Seattle the last couple months though, no question!
--Superfan

Oh please - you buy that ridiculous story?  Since when does Photon wear a spacesuit, much less do anything remotely competent?  It's Technoid, I tell you.  That whole bit about the exploding hibernation whatsis was pure set-up.  He went undercover against VIPER, or something even bigger.  Mark my words!
--wrench4evah

Wrenchie's got a point.  Pagemaster's gone off the deep end - his second guess, after Photon, was Mystra!  I mean, come on!
--duperboi

I don't know why everyone dumps on Photon so much.  Sure, he had a terrible first day.  But what's he done since then that's so bad?  Let's not forget he was a full member of Shadow-Force for a year, training under the Phantom.
--GhostKnight

You and your hard-on for the Phantom, sheesh.  Get a room!
--drnasty

You're one to talk, you <post scrubbed by moderator - keep it civil, folks!>
--GhostKnight

Thanks for the HT.  And if anyone thinks I'm wrong, he's welcome to rebut my arguments.  You know, those things that require thinking instead of knee-jerk typing.
--Pagemaster

[MENTION=5134]Ghost[/MENTION] Yeah? <post scrubbed - I won't say it again, good people!>
--drnasty

You tell 'em, Page!  But I do have to say I think you're wrong on this one.  Commenting over at your site in a few.
--Mentallo

[MENTION=11683]Page[/MENTION]:  Bite me.  This IS Photon we're talking about.
--duperboi

Fine, sorry mod.  But how long does Photon have to suffer for one screwup?  How many criminals have we fought, again?  I'm guessing that's a big fat zero.
--GhostKnight

Good people?!  You <scrubbed> mods <more scrubbage - look, up in the sky!  It's Captain Banhammer!  Scourge of repeat offenders!>
--capeguy

Speak for yourself, Ghostie.  Some of us around here walk the walk, y'know.
--wrench4evah

Actually, I think Page makes some good points this time around - Photon's been showing clear signs of improvement ever since Shadow-Force broke up.  And he's unquestionably leading the team these days.  People do rise to the occasion at times.
--Superfan

[MENTION=13179]Wren[/MENTION]ch Pics or it didn't happen!
--drnasty

Sending lots of karma Sirocco's way!  He's hawt!
--fangrrl

I repeat:  Get a room!
--drnasty

Anyone thought that the spacesuited figure might've been Nocturne?  The suit might protect him from the sun...
--duskydan

drnasty, the day will come when I reveal my work.  That day is not yet.  [MENTION=84453]su[/MENTION]perfan:  Yeah, sometimes they do.  But what's Photon's record?  Bolt:  Okay, so he stomped him - RPS.  [Rock-paper-scissors]  Enigma:  Got away.  Hybrid:  Got away.  Supposedly he stomped Technoid, but that's clearly part of the whole coverup.
--wrench4evah

Funny, I don't see anyone dumping on the Phantom and Erebus for the time Enigma got away from them.  As for Hybrid, how about you go ask the Paladins about the time he 'got away'!
--GhostKnight

Excellent points, GhostKnight.  When I read that Photon had given a solid accounting of himself against Hybrid almost solo - that Victrix and X-97 got taken out but he not only kept fighting but kept the guy on the run - I had a hard time believing it.  But that's what the evidence says, and so I find this VIPER thing a lot easier to believe.  And nobody's mentioned the fact that the Texas Hex went out to Seattle to team up - that guy is no slouch.
--Superfan

We don't know that Tex-Hex went to Seattle to 'team up'.  That's pure speculation - for all we know he might've been visiting family, or anything else.  The rest is food for thought, though.
--Mentallo

Thank you, Superfan.  That means a lot coming from you.
--GhostKnight

[Forgive me one unrealistic bit - there aren't enough misspellings and grammar mistakes.  There's only so far I'm willing to torture the English language for verisimilitude. ]

[Depending on inspiration level, I might do more of these.]


----------



## The Shadow (Mar 26, 2011)

*Good News!*

Okay!  After a number of unbelievably grueling weeks at work in which I had almost no time to think about gaming, I now have a bit of a break.  And between putting together some brief phone sessions over this time and the in-person visit SP just left from, I'll have enough for one monster update or two medium-size ones, not sure which yet.

Which means you'll get an update in a few days!  (Barring the unexpected.)

Furthermore, in addition to a solid chunk of gaming, SP also shared with me some mental blocks he was having about Sirocco's character, so we thrashed those out together in a satisfying fashion.  Suffice to say that Sirocco's background is now pretty much fleshed out and we have a lot better idea of what makes him tick.  Which in turn will set up some juicy interaction further down the road, so yay.


----------



## Michael Silverbane (May 3, 2011)

Just your friendly neighborhood *BUMP*.


----------



## The Shadow (May 8, 2019)

*16 - High Trust*

[Okay, here's the deal.  This game came to a screeching halt when SP and I had a bit of a blowup about it.  We're still friends and still game together, but our creative differences about this game are such that it seems unlikely we can collaborate on it.  I have long wanted to continue it, perhaps solo using the Mythic Roleplaying rules in place of a GM, but time and attention have been an issue.  Maybe someday, likely in the summer.]

[That said, I abruptly realized the other day that I had most of our last session written up, but had never posted it.  Here you go: ]

Jon returned from his patrol and reported in wearily to Alpha.  "I suppose I should go looking for Struthers before the night's over.  Would you look up his address for me?"  Alpha replied flatly, "No."

Jon blinked. "I beg your pardon?"  "You may consider this conversation your 'verbal slap upside the head'."  "...Huh?"  For reply, Alpha replayed a video segment from his records:



			
				Security Video said:
			
		

> Jon sat for a long time, staring at his hands.  Finally he said, "Alpha?"  "Yes?"  "If I start acting like I need to prove something to somebody, please give me a verbal slap upside the head."  "OK, I think I can do that."




[That's from session 2, 'Bolt From the Blue'.]

Jon blinked again.  "I don't think I'm acting like I have something to prove..."  "Well, believe me:  You are."  "To whom?"  "That I don't know - maybe yourself.  But the fact remains that you seem determined to suffer nobly, and you're being a jerk in the process."  "...You've lost me, Alpha."

For reply, Alpha replayed a segment from just before Jon's patrol:



			
				Security Video said:
			
		

> Alpha's voice: "And Jon... Tex is right."  Jon sighed.  "We'll talk about it at the next team meeting."  "I... All right."




"That ring any bells?"  Jon mimicked his image's sigh.  "I'm sorry I brushed you off."  "Accepted.  But that's not really the point."  "What is?"

Alpha paused, then said forcefully, "Jonathan, you can't keep blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong.  You're going to make yourself crazy - and incidentally destroy the team - and I won't watch it happen."

Jon replied, annoyed, "Alpha, in point of fact, this whole mess IS my fault.  What's wrong with owning up to that fact?"  "You made a strategic error, yes.  Deal with it and do better next time.  But don't shoulder the blame for all the fallout.  Did you shoot the Amulet?"  "...No."  "Did you even know that Sirocco had handed it off to Demeter?"  "No, but-"  "Oh, don't you even DARE say you should have known!"

Jon chuckled weakly despite himself.  "Okay, valid point.  But the simple fact remains, I should have waited until after the ritual..."  "News flash, Jon!  Demeter and Sirocco are _grown-ups!_  I don't recall you holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to follow you.  They were perfectly capable of pointing out the timing issues - either they didn't think of it any more than you did or they chose not to say anything.  Am I right or am I wrong?"

Jon bit off a peevish reply and actually thought about it.  Finally he said quietly, "You're right."  Alpha's voice tilted just barely toward humor:  "Yeah.  Get used to it."  "...So what are you suggesting, then?"

"I'm suggesting that you present the strategic issues at the next team meeting in a realistic way slanted toward positive outcomes in the future.  But don't air all your dirty laundry, and don't invite the others to help you flog yourself into a neurosis.  That IS what you were planning to do, isn't it?"  "...Not quite.  But I admit it's uncomfortably close.  Okay, fine, no melodrama."  "Yeah, leave that to the villains, it's what they're good at, right?"

Jon laughed and half-joked, "So the idea is to leave people with the illusion I know what I'm doing?"  "If it's a good enough illusion, does it matter?  It worked for Mike!"  "Heh.  I guess it did.  You're saying he didn't?"  "You tell me.  If he wasn't sure what to do, what would he do?"  "He'd...  say we needed more intel."  "And if there was no time to gather more intel?"  "Contingencies.  Lots of them."  "And if something came up that wasn't covered by a contingency?"  "He winged it, I guess."

"Right.  See, Jon, nobody ever _really_ knows what they're doing.  No plan survives contact with the enemy.  You WILL make mistakes.  Surf them, then learn from them."  Quietly, "...And when people get hurt because I make mistakes?"  "This is a dangerous job, Jon.  People will get hurt.  You knew that when you signed on, and so did the rest of the team.  When it happens, you mourn and you make for damn sure the other bastard won't be bragging about it."

Jon thought that over.  "Yeah."  "I repeat:  They've chosen to follow you.  And if you stepped down, who's the alternative?  Demeter's got enough issues right now, and would you be willing to follow Sirocco?"  "No."  "Neither would I."

"...Okay, you win.  Thanks, Alpha."  "Free o'charge, m'friend.  And let's just notice that you done good, right?  VIPER's been badly hurt, and Sirocco's going to be okay!  Demeter's situation isn't ideal, but on the bright side we've got a potential new team member out of it!"

"Huh.  Do you think that Carlton will accept 'Jade' as the magic number five?"  Alpha sighed.  "Probably not.  I'm guessing he'll think of her as 'four and a half'."  "So what are our options for a fifth member?  We're running out of time."

Alpha mused, "Well, the basic possibilities are to recruit locally or nationally.  You already made a national appeal a couple months ago;  if you do it again so soon, we'll look weak and/or desperate.  Not a good idea."  "...Who on earth is there locally?"

"Well, there's Nocturne.  He's more than powerful enough..."  "You've got to be joking!  That guy makes Erebus look like a Girl Scout!"  When no response came, Jon asked, "Alpha?"  "...Sorry.  That mental image was... distracting."   Jon laughed.  "Well, he does.  There's no way I could work with a serial killer."

"Okay.  Then there's Bubbles."  "Mike said he wasn't willing to be responsible for her death.  Neither am I."  "Yeah, but he also said that if she improved her power, he'd consider her.  There are reports that she has, in fact, been improving."  "Hm.  Do you know how to contact her?"  "I'll look into it."  "Anyone else?"

"Lightning Lass, maybe?"  "...Would she be willing to move up here from Portland?"  "I haven't the faintest idea.  But we won't know unless we ask."  "True.  She overlaps with my power set a good deal..."  "...But at this point we desperately need another warm body."  "True."

"And I'll throw this one out there:  American Eagle."  "You know she won't.  She's got the whole Freedom Squad legacy thing going."  "Yeah.  But - warm body."  Jon shook his head.  "Not worth jeopardizing our good working relationship when I already know what her answer will be."  "Fair enough.  That's just about everybody of an appropriate power level in the state.  Unless you want to try Fury."  "No thanks, the last thing we need is another hothead, much less one with the added perk of passing out after every fight.  Wasn't there a guy off in... Walla Walla?"  "Spokane.  But he's retired now."

"Oh, right.  Well, put it on the agenda for the next team meeting.  We'll thrash it out as a group - though right now, if Bubbles can hold up her end, she's looking like the best of a unpromising bunch.  Oh, and before I forget - about the whole teleportal business, what do you know about it?"

Alpha snorted.  "It's pretty silly.  Environmental impact statements, if you can believe it."  Jon rolled his eyes.  "Is the flak coming locally or from out-of-town?"  "The latter."  "Get me appointments with my state representative and senator, if you would."  "I'll see what I can do."  "Tell them they can have a photo-op, within reason.  That should help."  "Heh.  Yeah."

"Any word from Chris Perkins?"  "He's called back, and I'm playing hard to get.  When I have something solid, I'll let you know."  "Check.  So... Struthers?"

"You tell me why that's a bad idea."  Jon paused, then sighed.  "If I don't find anything, I'm losing sleep for nothing.  If I do find something, I don't have any backup to do anything about it."  (Beta was recharging.)  "Got it in one."

"Anything else I should know before I go home?"  "I got you an appointment with Icon, for two weeks out."  "Heh.  By then, there'll probably have been three more crises at least!  I've almost forgotten why I wanted the appointment in the first place."  "What, really?"  "...No.  But still."  "Yeah, I know."

Jon yawned.  "I'm going to bed.  Call me if Sirocco wakes up.  I mean it."  "I will.  Sweet dreams!"  "Yeah.  Have plenty of electric sheep yourself."  Alpha made an electronic 'baaa' sound, and laughed as Jon vanished.

Jon reappeared in the hospital and spent some more time with Sirocco before finally zipping home to collapse into bed.

----------------

Jon groaned as the buzzer awoke him.  After a hurried shower, he zipped in to the base.  "Any word?"  "Actually, yes.  The hospital called just a couple minutes ago;  Sirocco awoke during the night and they've been observing him.  He seems fine, they anticipate releasing him soon."  "Dangit!  I told them to call me as soon as he woke!"  "They said he fell back into normal sleep and they didn't want him disturbed."  "Fine. I'm gone."

Materializing by the nurse's station, he checked in impatiently.  The nurse cleared him to enter, but asked him to wait for the doctors to finish their work before approaching.  [As SP put it, she clearly was reluctant to tell a superhero to sit down and shut up. ]

Entering the room, he caught sight of Sirocco sitting up and letting a doctor examine him.  Sirocco's face lit up and he waved as he caught sight of Photon;  Jon waved back but didn't approach.  When the way was finally clear, Jon lunged forward and hugged his teammate tightly.  "Good to see you awake."

Sirocco grinned and accepted the embrace, patting his back.  "Good to be seen!"  "How are you feeling?"  "Kinda weak.  But very rested.  Give me a day or two and I think I'll be fine - but I'd sure like Tex to reassure me all the same."  "He said there'd be no lasting effects.  But you'll get to see him, yes."  "Okay, good.  Later today?"  "I don't see why not.  No reason to keep him waiting!"  "Heh.  Yeah. ... How's Demeter?"  "It's complicated.  The person who was in the Amulet is now in her."  "Uh.  What?"  "Yeah."  "...Probably best not to talk about it here, I guess?"  "Probably, yes.  Do you remember handing off the Amulet?"

The young man frowned and rubbed his neck ruefully.  "Only vaguely.  My memory of the fight and the meeting beforehand is fuzzy.  But I know I wouldn't have done it willingly."  "Yeah, there was probably some mind control involved."  "Lovely.  Anyway...  I guess the three of us will have a lot to talk about, huh?  Maybe this afternoon, after Tex checks me out?"  "Sure.  Tex wants to have another look at Demeter too, so it all works out."  "Great."

Sirocco paused, hesitant, then added, "Thanks, Photon."  Jon blinked.  "For what?"   Sirocco shrugged, a little uncomfortable.  "I gather you've been here quite a bit.  For taking the time, I guess."  Jon clapped his shoulder and replied simply, "You're a teammate."  Sirocco nodded, still uneasy.  "Yeah."

Jon took his leave awkwardly not long after that, then got in touch with American Eagle.  She was still in high spirits after the VIPER fight.  "Good to hear from you, Photon!"  "Likewise.  Thought you'd like to know that Sirocco's awake and in good shape."  "Great to hear!"  "Yeah, tell me about it.  Anyway, I'd like to tie up a few loose ends with you if you have a few minutes."  "Sure!  Above City Hall?"  "You're on."

A.E. grinned as she flapped up to him.  "Should have known you'd be here first!  What's up?"  "Well, first of all, I wanted to brief you a little more on the Tacoma site I found the other day."  He showed her holograms of the strange, beetle-browed monastics he'd seen, and she whistled.  "Wow!  They do look odd, don't they?  I wonder if they're from another dimension or something?"  "Maybe.  No matter what, though, you're going to want to keep an eye on them."  "Agreed.  What's the address again?"

That detail taken care of, Jon then mentioned, "If there's no objection, we'd like one of Hybrid's boots for our Trophy Room."  "Oh.  Well, like I said, I do want to have them checked out by an expert..."  "Absolutely.  When you're done with them."  "Okay, I don't see any reason why not.  Anything else?"

Jon passed on what the cops had told him about VIPER and Hybrid, then said, "You know, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for us to meet on a regular basis."  "I agree - like you said, we're in this together."  "Right.  So, weekly?  Twice weekly?"  "Weekly sounds good for now.  Monday mornings?"  "Fine with me!  Next Monday, then?"  "You're on!"

Jon was about to take his leave, then remembered something.  "Oh, before I forget:  I've been talking with Moke about having a three-team get-together at some point."  A.E. hesitated.  "Well, I'm not exactly a team yet..."  "Yes you are!  You're the Freedom Squad, right?  It just happens to only have one member so far."

A.E. sighed.  "I don't know..."  Photon said firmly, "I do.  You should get to know the Protectors, and they should get to know you.  Besides, I kind of insist."  She grinned at that.  "Hmm.  Is this the part where I'm supposed to say, 'You're not the boss of me, you can't tell me what to do'?"  Jon grinned back.  "No, no.  This is the part where you say, 'Why, you're absolutely right, Photon!  I completely agree!'"

They both laughed, and she replied, "Oh, fine.  Maybe a few weeks out, though, as I'm still settling in?"  "Sure, they've got some irons in the fire themselves.  Have you met Moke, by the way?"  "No, I haven't.  I'd like you to introduce us before this gathering happens."  "Will do.  Anything else we should discuss?"

American Eagle sighed.  "Yes, actually.  There's been a sighting of Black Phantom.  I have a witness who saw him stop a jewelry store from being robbed.  Apparently somebody in the Black Phantom costume severely roughed up the thieves...  One of them hasn't woken up yet."  "Yikes!  Definitely something to keep an eye on."  "Yeah."  "Do you want me to do a search for him?"  "Probably, yes.  At night sometime - he isn't likely to be out and about at this hour!  And... I probably don't need to say it, but I will:  I want to take the lead on this one."  "Understood."

Jon went in to work and threw himself into his research with gusto, the stress of the last few days finally winding down.  (Gerhard was visibly relieved.)  He met Karen for lunch and found her still worried about Jim.  "I've decided to take you up on your offer to take him out to a firing range.  You're right... A healthy outlet for all this may be for the best.  And, well, I want you to talk to him.  I need to know what's really going on."

Jon nodded.  "Certainly I will.  But Karen, I have to be clear with you:  If Jim tells me something and asks me to keep it in confidence, I'll have to do exactly that.  Unless it's something that you as a parent absolutely HAVE to know about, of course - something illegal or dangerous."  Karen sighed.  "I understand.  Mainly I just want to be reassured that nothing horrible is going on."  "That much I can definitely do."

"Thank you so much, Jon."  "Not a problem, Karen.  Can you tell me anything more of this Urban Defense League?  How did Jim find out about them in the first place?"  "From his civics club at school."

Jon paused.  "Let me get this straight:  There's a civics club.  At a _middle school._  Didn't that strike you as a bit odd?"  Karen sighed again.  "They had activities like going to Olympia to see the legislature in action... I thought, 'Wow, my son's interested in how the government works, that's great!'"  "So where does the UDL come in?"

"Apparently, the club had one of them over as a speaker a few times."  "There must be some sort of faculty advisor for this club.  What's up with them?"  Karen snorted.  "I've met him, and I wasn't impressed.  I get the impression he'll sign off on anything that gets put in front of him."  "You said Jim had gone to meetings... Where are these meetings held?"

"They rent a hall a few blocks from the school."  "You've GOT to be kidding me.  These people are blatantly recruiting minors without parental supervision...  The school administration might have a thing or two to say about that.  Maybe even the cops."  She put her head in her hands.  "I don't know, Jon!  I just... I don't know!"

Jon backed off.  "Okay, I understand, Karen.  When do you want me to meet with Jim?"  After some comparison of schedules, they settled on the Saturday of next week.  "But maybe you could come by this Saturday to discuss it with him?  I don't want to spring it on him at the last second."  "Sure, no problem."  After some quieter chit-chat, they headed back to work.

That afternoon, the team met for a meeting, together with Tex.  After some filling-in of the blanks for Sirocco, Tex reassured him that he'd suffer no further ill effects from his time with the Amulet.

Photon then pointed out, "Presumably you can't fly any more, right?  So we're going to need to think of a way for you to keep up with the rest of us.  Demeter, can he ride a tree?"  She nodded. "Yes, but I'd be the one controlling it, not him."  Jon nodded, with a sigh.  He said to Sirocco, "Likewise, I could maybe whip up a flight routine like mine for you... but letting you control it would be very tricky."   Sirocco rolled his eyes. "So if you get knocked out, I plunge to the ground?  No thanks."  "Yeah, I understand.  Tex, do you have any ideas?"

Tex cleared his throat.  "Wail... It so happens that there may be a way, Ah reckon.  An item to let jest any feller fly, wail, that'd be quite an investment.  But there's one effect of that-there Amu-let that may be of use.  It, uh.  How to say this mundanely..."  He paused in thought, then said, "Mages like me an' Eris, we hold loads o'... magical power.  Like... a bucket, mebbe.  A feller like Di-abolus, wail, he's more like an oil tanker.  Sirocco here, he's more like a bitty shot-glass, y'see what Ah mean?  No offense."  Bemused, the young hero said, "None taken."

"Raht.  Wail, y'see, yer time with the Amu-let... it's, uh, left a hole in your shot-glass.  Nuthin' dangerous, but it's given you... an opening... to let your magic dribble out, under the raht conditions.  An item to draw on that... dribble... to let you fly would be much easier to make."  Sirocco asked, brows contracted, "Wouldn't that be dangerous if I got too low?"  Tex nodded. "Yessiree.  But don't worry 'bout that none, it would take a powerful lot o' flyin' to get ye to that point, son.  An' the item could be designed to let you down gentle afore that happened."

Photon asked, "Could you make such an item for Sirocco, Tex?"  The older man shrugged ruefully.  "Ah could... but it would take time Ah don't have, to be puhfectly frank."  Jon nodded. "Understood.  We're very grateful you took the time to come out here in the first place!"  Demeter and Sirocco added their fervent thanks to his.

"Mah pleasure, Photon!  T'weren't no trouble.  Stay in touch now, y'hear?"  He shook hands with Jon and Sirocco, then doffed his hat to Demeter.  After a few more pleasantries, he took his leave.

Jon looked to Demeter.  "So what's Eris' take on the flight-item idea?"  Her eyes glowed green as Eris surfaced.  (Sirocco started - he hadn't seen that before.)  "The Cowboy's right - for once.  The 'dribble' from the 'shot glass'," she rolled her eyes at the terms, "can be harnessed relatively easily.  I'll think about it and get back to you when I have something solid."

Jon nodded.  "Oh - and something else. You said you could try to do just about anything you could imagine?"  She nodded confidently. "Anything."  "Okay.  How about contacting the mind of somebody in another dimension?  Given that their body is still here?"

Everyone stared at him at that.  Alpha gave a low whistle: "Good thinking!"  Eris cleared her throat.  "I can try it, but I won't lie, Science - that's a tricky one.  Depending on the dimension, and a thousand other factors.  Who did you have in mind?"

Jon pondered that, then announced, "Okay, everybody.  This is a team secret, so keep it quiet, but...  The Phantom is an astral projector.  His body is still in this dimension, while his mind is presumably in the Shadow Realm."  Sirocco absorbed that with a shocked expression, and even Eris seemed a little taken aback.  "Huh.  I'd have to scan him up close to get a feel for the situation.  But yes, I can make the attempt.  Where is he?"  "In a private hospital.  We'll work out a visit, soon."  "Check."  She faded back into Demeter.

Jon cleared his throat.  "Okay, the next order of business.  If we want to keep this base - and we do - we need another team member, and soon."  He outlined the situation.  Eris surfaced again:  "What's the problem?  You've got me."  Jon explained, "Alpha and I don't think Mr. Carlton will accept you as a genuine fifth member."

Eris rolled her eyes scornfully.  "So don't tell him.  I can easily create an illusionary double to make it seem that Demeter and I are two different people. I was already planning to do that in public, in fact."  Jon frowned.  "Mr. Carlton has always played straight with us.  I intend to play straight with him."

Eris shrugged.  "Fine.  But after one meeting with me... let's just say that I'm sure I can get him to see things our way."  Jon positively scowled. "Eris, how shall I put this?  I happen to like and respect Mr. Carlton, and I wouldn't want to see him mind-controlled by a five-thousand-year-old witch."

Eris scoffed. "Who said anything about mind control?!  He's a widower, isn't he?  Give me five minutes - he'll be putty in my hands!"  Jon:  "Eris.  How _shall_ I put this.  I happen to like.  And respect.  Mr. Carlton.  And I wouldn't want to see him SEDUCED by a five-thousand-year-old witch, either!!"  Eris pouted.  "You're no fun."  "Why do you care so much about this base, anyway?  You've spent all of a few hours here."

Eris paused.  "I'm a queen, Science.  I... don't like the thought of someone taking my castle away."  She sounded oddly vulnerable there for a moment, but Jon was a little too pole-axed to appreciate it:  "YOUR castle?!"  "Fine.  'Our' castle."  Sirocco glanced between the two of them, unwilling to pipe up.

"I guess that brings us to another topic.  When we first met, you rather memorably told me never to give you orders.  How's that supposed to work in the field?  If you're going to be on the team, you're going to have act like a team member."

Eris told him, "The situation is different now.  You've got experience with the hero biz, and I don't.  Fine.  I can accept that.  But there's something else you've got to accept, Science."  "I'm listening."  "I've got experience with magic, to say the least of it. And you don't.  Dangerous situations will arise, magically speaking, in which there'll be no time for me to explain what needs to be done - I'll just have to tell you what to do, and you'll just have to do it.  Got that?"  Jon narrowed his eyes at her.  "I'll take that under advisement."

"Not good enough - not unless you want people to die.  Can I count on you?"  Jon snapped, "Enough with the hard sell, already!  I said I'd think about it.  That's all I'm going to say for now."  She smiled slowly.  "What's the matter, Science?  Don't you trust me?"

Jon replied, "Frankly?  No, I don't.  You've given me no reason to trust you."  "Sure I have!  I have no reason to work against you, and plenty of reasons to cooperate!"  "To cooperate?  Or to manipulate?  Bluntly, Eris, you're a user.  And you're accustomed to being in charge."  She smirked.  "Oh.  So _that's_ what you're concerned about."

Jon stood up and glared at her, saying tautly, "You're not reading my mind - I know the signs.  So kindly knock off the all-knowing routine.  I simply don't want to have to butt heads with you every time a decision has to be made.  You _aren't_ a queen here, Eris:  Deal with it."  She grinned.  "I don't have to read your mind to read _you,_ Sci-"  Demeter abruptly took over.  "I think that's quite enough of that."  Jon nodded sharply.  "Agreed."

Demeter paused.  "She says she's got one more point to make.  And promises to be good."  "Whatever."  Eris came out again.  "Demeter and I have tested our bond, Science.  While I can force my way out with major effort, I can't hold onto it for longer than a few seconds.  How am I supposed to do anything significant in that time?"  Jon paused.  "You know what, Eris?  I don't know.  And I don't even care.  Strange as it may seem to you, I don't give people my trust because they have no rational motive to betray me.  I give people my trust because they show themselves to be trustworthy.  You haven't - and every time you open your mouth, you rub my nose in it."

Eris' retort was cut off by Demeter again, who deliberately changed the subject:  "So what are our options for a fifth team member?"  Jon and Sirocco both relaxed;  Jon sat down.  "Alpha?"  The computer laid out the options for them as he had for Jon, and the team pondered them.

Jon asked, "So what are these signs of improvement in Bubbles you mentioned?"  Alpha responded, "She can protect herself much better - wraps herself in layers of her force-spheres.  The press have inevitably dubbed it 'bubble wrap', but it does work."  "Hmm, that does sound a little more promising.  Think she can keep up with us?"  "She can also 'skate' now by lowering the friction of the ground beneath her feet.  But in the larger sense... No, she isn't quite in the same league as the rest of you.  But she's a lot closer than she was a year ago."

Jon mulled it over.  "What do you guys think?  She's not ideal, but I'm inclined to think she's better than the alternatives."  Demeter nodded.  "Agreed.  And if she keeps improving, who knows?"  Sirocco concurred. "Yeah, I say we ask her."

Jon asked Alpha, "Can you contact her?"  "I'll see what I can do, but it may take a few days - and we need to be out of here by this weekend."  "I'll go in and ask Mr. Carlton for an extension."  "Sounds good."

"Then there's the matter of the cell phones."  He passed them out, then added, "Do we still need these?  Are we willing to go high-trust?"  Please, he didn't say.

Demeter pondered her answer carefully, then nodded.  "Yes, I am."  They looked to Sirocco, who seemed ill at ease.  After an interval he finally said, "...Yeah.  I guess."  Jon assured him, "No pressure, man."  "Nah, I'm good."  "All right..."

Jon stood up and shimmered briefly, changing into his civvies.  "I'm Dr. Jonathan Winters, a professor of physics at UW.  My friends call me Jon."  He was almost shocked at the degree of relief it brought him to say it - like a joint being eased back into its socket.  Something was right with the world again.

Demeter nodded and removed her mask. "Amanda Rosenbaum.  I'm a florist."  Jon smiled at her.  "Pleased to meet you.  Do you prefer 'Amanda', or 'Mandy', or something else?"  She laughed. "My mom calls me Mandy.  'Amanda' is fine."  "Sure thing - Amanda."

They both turned to Sirocco, who let his mask crumble, revealing a beak of a nose and dark eyes.  (Jon quietly ignored the fact he'd seen his face before, in the hospital.)  "I'm Tony Sabatini."  He looked nervous, but bulled forward:  "I'm a salesman.  I sell security systems to corporations."  Jon beamed and clapped him on the shoulder.  "It's a pleasure, Tony.  Is that short for 'Antonio'?"  The young man shook his head. "For 'Anthony' - I'm third generation."

Demeter held up a hand.  "Eris has something she wants to say."  The green-eyed witch sounded somewhat subdued as she said, "The name I went by for the longest is 'Calliope'."  Jon absorbed that, a little touched despite himself.  "Thanks, Calliope... isn't that a Greek name?  I thought you weren't Greek."  She nodded. "I'm not.  But I simply _can't_ tell you my original name.  There's power in it."  "...Didn't you tell Tex that knowing your name wouldn't do any good?"

She rolled her eyes.  "I said it wouldn't do HIM any good.  And it wouldn't.  But there are bigger fish in the sea, Science - I have to be cautious."  "All right, I understand.  Welcome aboard, Calliope."  She nodded, and faded back into Demeter.

Alpha then made a throat-clearing sound through his nearest speaker.  "Uh, my name is X-97 Alpha..."  Everybody got a good laugh out of that, releasing some of the secret-identity tension.  Alpha followed up with, "...And I'm a superhero."  (He said it with a note of quavering shame in his voice, as if confessing it at a 12-step meeting.)  Yet more merriment followed.

When they finished, Jon felt at peace;  Amanda was beaming, too.  Tony still seemed uneasy and on edge, though.  Ah well, Jon thought, he'll get used to the idea.

[There was more - Carlton gave us the extension and Bubbles joined, so we ended up being able to keep the base.  Likewise, Jon took Jim out to the range at the suspicious youth center and did some snooping.  But I don't remember it well enough at this late date to write it up.]


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