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NOTE: Posts are listed in reverse chronological order,
and all posts are copyrighted to their respective author(s).
Comments:
"Hi, Ma! Guess where I'm calling from?
...
"Tuscon has no communications with the
outside world, remember? If I were
calling from there, I wouldn't be getting
through, now would I?
...
"We hitched on the Warp Express to Paris.
It was way cool.
...
"I am taking this seriously! We're
on a break, okay? Apparently it's like
a union thing - two fifteen minute breaks and
an hour lunch -- you know?
...
"Yeah, Warp and Manstalker and some new
people. It looks like Engima is reforming.
...
"No, Ma, I told them I wouldn't touch the
team with a ten foot pole! What do you think
I said?
...
"Ma! I am not going to
ask him about the 401k plan!"
Title of Post: Ahh, Paris...
Author: Sylvia A. Rudy
Characters: Gladiatrix
Storyline: Croissant Break and Membership Drive
Comments:
Jane exhaused what she remembered of high
school French ordering a cup of coffee.
"Oh, sure," she replied to Warp.
"I'd love to join up. You know how
hard it is to make normal friends doing
the superhero thing?"
Title of Post: It Must Be The Romantic French Countryside
Author: Eric Gasior and Laura Redish
Characters: Pulsar and Nova
Storyline: Croissant Break and Membership Drive
Comments:
"What's wrong, Ev?"
"I'm getting huge readings of some completely unknown energy source from this woman, plus she appears to have a physically impossible amount of psychic mass and there's a pocket dimension in her backpack and she says she's a temporal mechanic."
"She's probably one of your people. So how about the pecs on that Rog guy?"
"Maggie! We've got more important things than your love life."
"Don't complain just because you can't get Aries to notice you."
Evelyn blushed. "Anyway, she is not one of my people."
Title of Post: Advice From France
Author: Eric Gasior
Characters: Marc
Storyline: Croissant Break and Membership Drive
Comments:
The waiter noticed Marc. "Monsieur Reilly, a pleasure to see you again.
Will Mademoiselle Bond be joining you?"
"No, not today." Marc replied, trying to hide his feelings from his voice.
The waiter leaned down and whispered, "Then I suggest you pay more attention to the young lady who just changed her costume."
Title of Post: Naming Can't Be This Easy
Author: Eric Gasior
Characters: Evelyn Pulsar and Maggie Nova
Storyline: Croissant Break and Membership Drive
Comments:
Evelyn smiled and answered without missing a beat.
"Pulsar and Nova, respectively, will do."
"For now." Maggie Nova agreed as she picked up her mineral water.
Title of Post: The Important Questions First, As Always
Author: Douglass Barre
Characters: Warp
Storyline: Croissant Break and Membership Drive
Comments:
Warp frowned at Maggie and Evelyn.
"I thought you weren't superheroes. Do you have superhero names? Or
should I come up with some for you? Just something for the ID card, you know."
Title of Post: Jacinta Has Done This Before
Author: Laura Redish
Characters: Kyria Vesper
Storyline: The Wall
Comments:
"Don't forget Maggie and Evelyn," murmured Kyria, ever-inclusive.
"Ya si," said Jacinta, buttering her croissant, "let's give it one
mission with option to renew, okay? I need my city back, and I need a
net connection, of which I assume you have one at headquarters, so I'm
in on this one, but I've got a job and a life and stuff now."
"After we eat," said Aries, looking over Evelyn's shoulder at her unusual
scanning device with interest, "let's head back to base and I'll start
seeing what I can do about an analysis."
"I need some more spare costumes," mumbled Energy Erin, handing Kyria's
bathrobe back to her.
"I'm starting to see the theory behind the flame-retardant spandex,"
agreed Kyria, replacing the robe in her backpack.
Evelyn ran her scanner up and down in Kyria's direction, her brow
furrowing. "That backpack--is larger inside than out."
"Pocket dimension," explained Kyria. Evelyn was giving her a really funny
look. Kyria wondered if the scanner was giving her "immortal symbiotic
life-force" readings or if she just had brie on her face. She wiped her
mouth just in case. "Someone could try tracing Rift's AOL account, too.
I doubt they're stupid enough to put pertinant information there, but
you never know, they are using AOL."
"If he gave them incorrect user information, we can get his account
deleted," offered Jacinta.
"I'll see what I can find," said Marc.
Kyria nodded. "And I'd like to spend a little time running diagnostics
on you," she said to Warp.
"Now we're talking!" said Maggie. "Hey, big guy, need any diagnostics
run?"
Roger was a little taken aback. "What?"
"Maggie, behave yourself," said Evelyn, without turning around.
"Where did you two come from, anyway?" asked Aries.
"Far away," murmured Evelyn, as if distracted by something on her
scanner. "This planet is in danger."
"Yeah, when is it ever not," said Jacinta.
Title of Post: Superhero Management 101
Author: Douglass Barre
Characters: Warp, Manstalker, etc.
Storyline: Enigma: Croissant Break
Comments:
"Well, whatever the wall was there for, I'm sure Aries can tell us, right?" Warp said.
"Um," Aries said. "I only just got the data. It'll take some time to interpret."
"Well, what's a team scientist for?" Warp grinned, trying to cheer the team up.
Evil twins and black eyes and magical walls didn't do much for morale. Fortunately,
croissants did.
"Anyway," Warp continued, "maybe now would be a good time to welcome our
new members... that is, of course, if you guys want to join up. We just got
rechartered, and we could use a few more hands. Gladiatrix? Fred? Fantasma?"
"Can I run for deputy leader in the next election?" S-Guy asked.
"Can I get some jam?" Fred Fiesta asked.
Title of Post: Doug's Other Superpower
Author: Laura Redish
Characters: Kyria Vesper
Storyline: The Wall
Comments:
Energy Erin, wrapped in Kyria's bathrobe, excused herself to the
restroom with her spare costume, still quite red in the face. Kyria
was sneaking some worried looks at Warp over the wine list. She didn't
like the way his powers had been spiking since he'd absorbed that black
warpstone. It was reminding her a little of Ransia's wild magic surges,
and she was suspecting it was the reason he'd overshot his mark as well
as the reason he passed out trying to warp the A-bomb into the sun.
After a beat she realized that that wasn't really what was making her
uneasy, though. "S-Guy?" she whispered, leaning over towards the
jut-jawed superhero. "Warp's eyes are black again."
"Never fear!" announced S-Guy.
Warp looked up from ordering in bad French. "Never fear what?"
"Nothing." Kyria smiled across the table into her friend's clear blue
eyes. She knew that S-Guy's color-changing abilities weren't doing a
damn thing about whatever sinister plot device they were dealing with
here, but she didn't care. She just liked him that way. "Get us some
baked brie."
Marc seemed pensive. "Kyria, how were you able to use magic in Tucson?
Radio waves and other kinds of energy couldn't get through the wall."
"I couldn't cast through the wall either," she reminded him.
"But you're drawing the magic energy from somewhere beneath us. I can
see it when you do it."
"Well, Warp can't block the nexus," she said. "He's not
that powerful."
"You know, I didn't put this wall up," said Warp.
"Says you," said Manstalker.
"Of course not," said Kyria, "but in all other respects it's a heck of a
lot like your Wall, Warp. And no one had any problem using magic on
either side of that."
"Excuse me," said the waiter. "Zere are no firearms allowed in ze
bistro."
"Fascistas," muttered Jacinta. "Hey, Weege, stick this somewhere,
will you?"
"Fantasma," he said, squinting one eye shut. "Were you with the Rangers
or somebody, back in the eighties?"
"How the pingas did you know that?"
"My Superhero Lore roll is just off the charts."
"That's a useful skill," she said, moderately impressed.
"I think so."
Title of Post: Blink and You Miss Something
Author: Douglass Barre
Characters: Warp, Enigma
Storyline: Um, Where Were We Again?: Storyboarders Reborn
Comments:
"What?" Warp asked. "I zoned out for a moment there."
"Those were the Ravagers... I thought they were Ataniel beings... and
dead for thousands of years... I ought to know, I killed two and watched
a third die."
"Different Ravagers," Warp said. "I've had a couple of theories over the
years, but they all sound like bad Voyager technobabble. It's a
chicken-and-the-egg thing."
"I won't try, then," Kyria said.
"Look guys," Manstalker said, "I know that dead Tucson is fun and
educational, but don't you feel like we're only here to be targets?"
Warp frowned. "Much as I hate to admit it..."
"Let me," Energy Erin cried. "He's right!"
"At least I didn't have to say it," Warp mumbled.
"Hey, I live here," Jacinta shouted. "Can we can the dissing of the place?"
"I've gotten all the readings I'm going to get," Aries added.
"I get it! I get it!" Warp cried defensively. "Get things moving again...
message received, people!"
Warp waved one hand and opened a wide warp. "Let's head home and
see if we can get our bearings."
Manstalker stepped through first...
...and found himself in a nice bistro on the bank of the Seine. He was
followed quickly thereafter by Warp and Kyria.
"This isn't Enigma Island," Warp said.
"The man's good," Rog said, grinning beneath his armor.
"This is thousands of miles farther than I intended... but it felt like the
right energy."
"Were you thinking about..." Kyria looked around. "France?"
"Um, I was kind of thinking about a chocolate croissant I had here once...
all that fighting made me a bit hungry."
"Wow," said Jacinta stepping out of the Warp. "Great headquarters. Looks like France."
"Maybe your subconscious overrode your conscious mind... you mentioned
you were tired from the battle," Kyria offered. "I could do a memory read."
"We really need a telepath on this team," Rog offered.
"Monsieur Warp," a waiter approached. "Welcome back to La Cave. If you had
told us you were coming, we could have prepared... but wait un moment, we
will get your team a table."
"Mmm..." Energy Erin said. "Real food."
"Sure," Rog said. "Forget all about my crepes."
The plaza was getting a bit tight as the rest of the team came through, so
Warp stepped down and followed the waiter, speaking in pidgin French.
"Team meeting in Paris!" Fred Fiesta cried. "Way great! But where can I park the car?"
Title of Post: A Retreat, And A Question
Author: Laura Redish
Characters: Kyria Vesper
Storyline: The Wall
Comments:
Kyria turned her head in time to see Diver fling Gladiatrix at high speed
into Energy Erin, who had been beating the snot out of the strangely
spandex-clad Firefall. The impact knocked both superheroines violently
to the pavement. "You haven't heard the last of us!" Diver shouted,
sweeping Lotus' unconscious body off the ground by the back of her collar.
Norna knocked Kyria a foot and a half off and took backwards to the air
after Diver. Firefall was already running after them, now that Energy
Erin was down, and Wagnerfume was nowhere to be seen. "Faighin!" Kyria
yelled after the Valkyrie, coward, and immediately felt guilty for
doing it. It had been thirteen to five, and there was no reason for the
two teams to be fighting in the first place. Kyria herself would have
retreated in a heartbeat in Norna's position, and her own snideness with
Norna was, her high wisdom led her to concede immediately, as much a
function of her own frustrated inability to parse the Fallen Valkyrie's
presence here in the first place as anything else. Norna's total lack
of a reaction to the taunt was not making anything clearer. "Warp?" she
said nicely, sheathing her sword and heading over to see whether
Gladiatrix or Energy Erin needed help. "What are the Ravagers doing on
Ansalia?"
Title of Post: Flying through the air...
Author: Sylvia A. Rudy
Characters: Gladiatrix
Storyline: The Battle of the Wall
Comments:
Jane glanced around, puzzled. She was hearing an odd ... whistling
... sound. Suddenly she dove forward into a roll, causing the plummeting
object to narrowly miss her. Up, up! she berated herself,
How many times has Ma told you -- when you're fighting supers,
up is a viable direction! She scrambled to her feet, brushing
dust from her uniform and trying to pretend that was exactly the maneuver
she had intended.
She turned to face Diver. "Ah, I was wondering where you'd gotten yourself off to."
"You! Nobody hits my girlfriend but me!" Diver charged at her.
Gladiatrix just waited for him to come into range. He didn't look particularly tough. Wait. Why is he running at me when he can -
Diver teleported to a spot half a foot behind Gladiatrix's back and grabbed
on, launching himself into the air.
Title of Post: Different, But The Same!
Author: Laura Redish
Characters: Kyria Vesper
Storyline: The Wall: Combat Banter
Comments:
Kyria Vesper's greatsword sang resoundingly against Norna's. The
Valkyrie was still stronger than she was, but Kyria was older now, and
her swordsmanship had caught the hell up. This pleased her more than
she could articulate, but her historian's mind hadn't stopped running
in the background: what are these people doing here?
Could whatever evil analog of Warp Kyria had been attributing the black
wall to have access to her Ataniel the same way Warp did? The window of
time they could have come in from would have been a narrow one: after
Norna left the Valkyrie and joined Malcar, but before the Sewer Tour had
defeated the Ravagers and Firefall and Diver had died, clearly. Kyria
deflected Norna's overhand blow to one side; then, to her great surprise,
the Valkyrie spoke. "You will accomplish nothing by treacherously
luring us here, Enigma!" she cried.
"What?" said Kyria. "We didn't lure you here!"
"You lie!"
"No, really, we didn't." Kyria couldn't believe she was having a
conversation with Norna in the middle of combat, but the priestess was
pretty good at multitasking. "In fact, we were lured here ourselves.
We think someone or something named Rift might be trying to trap people
with superpowers in here. I have no idea what the connection with Ataniel
is."
"With where?" said the Valkyrie. Their swords clanged. "Why
would anyone do that?"
"I don't know. Why don't our teams stop fighting each other and try to
figure it out?"
"Never!" cried Norna, parrying. "Our teams are mortal enemies! You are
trying to trick us into surrendering to you, and we will not."
"Well, that's typical," muttered Kyria, in Riklandic.
Norna had no reaction.
Title of Post: Another Evil Psychologist, And Her Neighbor
Author: Laura Redish
Characters: Nightmare and Ninja
Storyline: Nemesis
Comments:
"Hi," said the woman with the very straight blond hair. "I'm Amy and
this is Toshi. Are you the villain who placed the ad?"
"That's right," said Edith, in her most coolly professional voice.
"Pantheon, of eighties fame. Are you two together?"
"No, we just live in the same apartment building, and he gave me a
ride."
"Do you have flying motorcycles?" Toshi wanted to know. He was a buff
Oriental guy with curly orange-dyed hair and wonky crescent-shaped
sunglasses. "I really go for flying motorcycles."
"We'll see what we can do," Edith smiled at him. "What kind of powers
do you two have?"
"I kick ass," offered Toshi.
"I trap people's minds in their own nightmares," said Amy.
"Really?" Toshi sounded impressed. "You never told me you could do
that."
A mentalist. Edith was pleased. "Motivations for joining a supervillain
team?"
"Well, I trap people's minds in their own nightmares," said Amy. "What
am I supposed to do, work for Red Cross?"
"I just like kicking ass," said Toshi.
"Any previous experience?"
"Whoa, hell yeah," said Toshi. "I've killed more than three hundred
people. Three hundred and--" Toshi pulled out a mini-spiral notebook
and flipped it open. "--twenty-three."
A psychopath. Well, that was less good, but every supervillain group
needed one. "How about you, Amy?"
"I was with this local group in Philadelphia four years ago. The Terror
Cranes." Edith hadn't heard of them, but it was a pretty cool name.
"It really sucked, though. This isn't going to be a psychodrama antihero
what-dark-forces-corrupt-men's-hearts kind of group, is it? Because
I'm cool with ambushing superheroes and plotting to take over the
world, but I don't want to play therapist to a bunch of angstful evil
people. If I wanted that I would have just finished my psychology
doctorate."
"I wasn't really planning this around the psychodrama angle, no," said
Edith.
"Then you're not doing this because Enigma killed your only love, or
anything like that?"
"No, it's an arete thing. Where there are superheroes, there must be
supervillains. Such is the nature of the cosmos."
"Then I'm in, if you want me."
"Great. Do you two have working names?"
"I'm Nightmare," said Amy. "It's not very original, I know, but I'm
used to it by now."
"I will be Ninja," said Toshi, in his low California drawl, moving his
hands around.
"Okay, well, I brought some Supervillain Costume Catalogs for you to look
through while we wait for other people to show up." Edith tossed them
on the table. "Knock yourselves out, I've got a small start-up
budget."
"Cool," said Toshi, flipping through. "Hey, Amy, I think you should
wear this."
"I was hoping for something my breasts didn't hang out of this time."
"Looks like this might take a while, then."
Title of Post: If you can't take the heat...
Author: Sylvia A. Rudy
Characters: Gladiatrix
Storyline: The wall
Comments:
Jane flinched in sympathy as Erin was bathed in flames. Then the meaning
of the battle dialogue sunk in. Oh, good -- she's immune to fire she
thought, turning her attention to the other attackers. I hope her outfit
is, too.
She drew her sword and prepared to charge the Valkyrie chick but Kyria
broke out of her reverie and beat her to it. The combat sure was filling its
sword quota fast. From the look on Kyria's face, there was something
personal there. Jane figured she should let the ladies work our their issues
for a while.
She scanned around for another suitable opponent. Armor-boy seems to
have "Captain Plummet" taken care of ... I'm not quite sure what to
do about a cloud of poison mist and ... a-ha! ... an enemy
standing back smiling ... heroes acting uncharacteristically ... I'm thinking
we've got ourselves a mentalist here.
Gladiatrix stalked silently as only a trained warrior can and moved up behind
the smug-looking villainess. Reaching out and tapping her on the shoulder,
she held her fist ready. Lotus did a wonderful job of turning right into
Gladiatrix's fist. She hit the ground with a satisfying thud. "I hate
mentalists."
Go on to Enigma Archive 2
Native American Indian language
American Indian children
Arapahoe
Lake Mohegan
American tattoo