Dr Archeville

Archived due to inactivity.

"I will be sure to forward the information," it intoned, "to the proper authorities, so they may investigate and act on the situation. Did your husband exhibit any manifestations of metahuman ability since receiving the treatments? If so, I shall need to contact the STAR Squad as well as the standard police."

Awww, man... was hopin' she'd wait a bit 'fore askin' me that. The revenant walked forward slowly, and knelt down beside her on one knee. "Don't work like that, Lori. Heck, I don't even know how I got t'be this way," he lied, "but I don't think this is fer you. But, think about it -- this here's Freedom City!" He grinned, and threw his arms up, "there's jes' oodles of stuff goin' on out there -- men flyin' 'round, women tossin' 'round energy bolts, all sorts of awesome stuff -- so who knows? Tomorrow, some egghead might work out a cure for what's ailin' ya!" In fact, I know a few who might be willin' to look in on her. Miss Americana's smart, she- wait, no, I never got her number! Ah, but I got Fleur's, she'd prob'ly know how t'get in touch with her. Yeah, I'll call after I make sure Lori gets back to 'er folks. He lowered his arms, and gave the girl his best 'stern fatherly gaze', "Ya ycain't give up hope, Lori, never do that. There's lots of ways ya might pull through -- safe ways, natural ways, that don't involve forces like what that Necromme was plannin' -- so my advice is t'enjoy the time ya got, with yer friends an' yer family." ~fin~

If it's at Parkhurst, could/should one or more of the NuMidnighters make a cameo? (Dead Head needs threeeaaads, and he 'lives' as much in Parkhurst as he does Lantern Hill.)

Protectron accessed the Lab's phone line to call the respective authorities while continuing to engage the woman. "Apologies, madam," it continued, remaining in the exact same relative position to her, "I meant 'organic' as in 'living being, composed chiefly of carbon atoms.' You are Homo sapiens, human? May I have your name, please?"

In the three months since Protectron's security clearance had been upgraded, the strange robot had been even more visible throughout the building. It still went on the occasional patrol through the city, lending aid wherever it could, but its increased responsibilities at The Lab meant it had to run around to more places. It helped that it could be in two places at once; many a day was there when its head was seen zipping through the air over Lab visitors, delivering some vital component for one of the other Lab founder's experiments, delivering small snack baskets to the scientists working long hours, or bopping along through the air playing a merry tune as it gave younger visitors an animated tour of the facility, all while its body remained in some semi-isolated spot to perform fairly routine tasks. When the woman ran in, Protectron's head was zipping along, a small basket of trail mix, jerked meats, and energy drinks in its maw, to be delivered to Dragonfly. "Greetings, organic," the gold-and-chrome head said in a mostly flat tone. (Dragonfly and Miss Americana had tried working with Protectron to give its voice more inflection, but its self-repair nanites had thus far undone any hardware work they attempted.) It set the basket down on the receptionist's desk, "I am Protectron, a mechanoid devoted to preserving life. You are safe within these walls -- The Lab has excellent defenses. Is your facial wound the only injury which needs attending?"

"It's okay, Jake," the revenant said reassuringly as he offered a hand to help the M.E. up, "it weren't you, it was Necromme. If someone steal yer car than runs over someone, it's their fault, not yers; same deal here." He glanced back at the incinerator, then back to Jake, "probably didn't want Gorsky blabbin', or figured he'd outlived his usefulness. Just talk to the cops, tell 'em all what happened." He patted the man on the shoulder, "this is Freedom City, man, weird things go on all the time. It's not yer fault, Jake." "Now I'm gonna holler fer the cops, so they can come see ya. When they ask what happened, tell 'em the truth. If ya need help provin' you was bodyjacked," he reached into Jake's jacket pocket and took out his notepad and pencil, and began to write a name and number, "you call Nick. He's worked with the cops before, on cases like this." He tucked the pad and pencil back into Jake's coat, "now I'm goin' to go look fer Lori; I'll start in the Lost an' Found. Ya should tell the cops to keep an eye out for her, too."

"Jake? Jake, are you-" he began to call out, then he heard Necromme's oily voice. "Yeah, you just try it, I'll throw ya into an even bigger fire!" He wiped his hands of the remains, wiping off some of his own burning flesh in the process. Right, time to get outta the pool. Or into a pool. The recovering Jake saw the door to the incinerator open, and a charred form calmly step out. The revenant straightened his jacket and ran a hand through his regrowing hair to get it out of his regenerating eyes. He knelt down next to Jake, "you okay, buddy? You see where the girl got to? Where's Lori?"

Toughness save, DC 29 (1d20+18=28) fails by 1, he takes an Injury, which he'll regenerate next round (when he's out of the incinerator!)

A small part of Dead Head wanted to stand there and just watch as the incinerator consumed his supernaturally resilient flesh, which so far was regrowing as fast as it burned away. But there was no time for that! "Hang on, Jake!," he called out to his friend, "ya gotta push this bugger outta yer head! Ya can do it, man!" "An' as fer you," he tuned back to the clock, gripping it tight in both hands. So tight, in fact, his bones pushed through his fingertips, and dug into the magically-toughened wood and brass! "Let's see if'n I can crack this thing open an' get to the chewy bits inside!" His fingerbones, charged with necrotizing energy that could hasten the decay of organic matter, dug in, adding to the crushing damage from his indefatigable strength. An' maybe then I can figure out what to do with lil' Lori...

DMG 12 equals his Impervious, so he will need to make a save. Toughness save vs. fire, DC 27 (1d20+18=36) No problem! Reaction: Use HP to reduce Exhausted to Fatigued. 1 HP left. Full Round Action: Coup de grace the immobile (nil Dex) Necromme/clock. Necromme's immune to Fort effects, so that Fort save won't come into effect, but the "score a critical hit" does. So, Damage equals (15 +7 [str] -1 [Fatigued] +2 [snk Attk] +6 +5 [Crit]) DC 34

You didn't post the link/result for Necromme's Toughness check! Dead Head's Initiative (1d20+2=9) Though since it's just the two of us, and neither of us are surprised, I don't think initiative really matters. DH has 1 HP and is (still) Fatigued. Dead Head did crawl/leap into the incinerator, so that's Damage 10. Which his Impervious 12 absorbs. So his flesh regenerates as fast as its burned away. To hasten the clock's destruction, DH will also be putting the squeeze on it as they are in the fire. It's like a coup de grace, you're effectively power attacking, there's no attack roll, so you can't use Power Attack to increase the damage further. The clock's Toughness is +16, so that's a result of 21. DH's unarmed damage is DC 21 (15 + Str mod +7, -1 for Fatigue). Sneak Attack -- he's got it in-hand, he can see joint and where panel meets and where best to apply pressure -- adds +2 more, to 23. With his Body Weaponry AP on his Necromancey/Stupid Dead Tricks Array -- in this case, pushing magically-charged and -sharpened bones through his fingers to dig into/rake the clock -- brings it up to 29. And he can use Extra Effort to increase the rank of his power by +2, so that brings it to DC 31. In other words, a Damage 16 effect... which equals the Toughness of the clock, so it's broken. What does "broken" mean in this context? Well, for a regular lethal attack, a Toughness save result of 21 vs. a DC 31 Damage effect fails the Toughness save by 10, leading to Dazed (per our House Rules) + Disabled + Staggered. My rough image is that DH manages to rend/tear open the clock, exposing the jerky-like organs within. And then there'll be the save it must make vs. the incinerator! DH will be Exhausted at the beginning of the next round (and still have 1 HP).

A counterpoint: Escher Girls, a site dedicated to superheroine poses that warp spacetime (and that even a trained contortionist can't imitate).

Archeville drew his Screwdriver again while Afareen was turned, and carefully set the controls by touch as he kept his eyes on his hostess. "There were concerns about her Terminus radiation-altered physiology, yes, which is why I was called in. Since coming back to Freedom I have been making a study of the aftereffects of the Invasion, which is why her, ah, condition was brought to my attention. There was some concern she might begin unleashing -- wholly unintentionally, of course," he stressed in his most diplomatic tone, "small amounts of radiation, so I created some power rectifiers for her, that would insure her internal energies flowed in the proper direction and not all, ah, willy-nilly." "And once we became more than just doctor and patient," he took Mona's hand in his free one and held it up to show off the bracelet she wore, "I revisited my design and redoubled my efforts to miniaturize it!" "Ah, yes, my reputation," he continued, showing no sign he'd just set off a wifi-blocking pulse. "It is true that I have had some... bacchanalian moments. But with age and the growing responsibilities of being both a scientific adviser to many of the city's heroes, and the founder and head of my own international chain of research laboratories, I have realized that those types of relationships... dalliances... no longer hold the same lure they once did."

Character Name: Photon Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Trade-Offs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness Abilities: -2 + 14 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 30PP Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 24 (+7) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +23 Attack: +4, +8 Lightfire Grapple: +3 Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -11, -1 w/out Force Field Saving Throws: 3 + 1 + 4 = 8PP Toughness: +12 [imp 10] (+2 Con, +10 Force Field [imp 10]), +2 w/out Force Field Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3) Reflex: +8 (+7 Dex, +1) Will: +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 16R = 4PP Bluff 0 (+2, +6 w/ Attractive) Craft (Mechanical) 4 (+7) Computers 4 (+7) Concentration 4 (+6) Diplomacy 0 (+2, +6 w/ Attractive) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 4 (+7) Feats: 11PP Attack Specialization (Lightfire) 2 Attractive Dodge Focus 4 Improved Initiative 4 Powers: 29 + 12 + 20 + 7 + 15 + 1 = 84PP Lightfire 12 (24 points; PFs: Alternate Power 5) [29PP] BE: Blast 12 (lightblast) {24/24} AP: Blast 8 (laser eyes; Extra: Penetrating [as DMG 16]) {24/24} AP: Dazzle Visual 12 (brightblast) {24/24} AP: Dazzle Visual 10 (brightcone; Extra: Area [100-ft. Cone, General]; Flaw: Range [Touch]) {20/24} AP: Dazzle Visual 8 (brightfield; Extra: Area [40-ft. Burst, General]) {24/24} AP: Teleport 10 (lightspeed I; 1,000 feet / 200,000 miles [Earth to Moon]) {20/24} Flight 6 (lightflight; 500 mph / 5,000 feet per Move action) [12PP] Force Field 10 (prism-field; Extra: Impervious) [20PP] Immunity 12 (electromagnetic energy/radiation damage, visual dazzles; Flaw: Limited [half effect] for EM Radiation damage) [7PP] Insubstantial 3 (light form) [15PP] Space Travel 1 (lightspeed II; 1c) [1PP] Drawbacks: (-3) = -3PP Vulnerability (darkness effects [uncommon], x2 DC modifier [major]) [-3PP] DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 14 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Brightblast Ranged DC 22 Reflex/Fort Dazzle (visual) Brightcone 100 ft. DC 20 Reflex Area DC 20/15 Ref/Fort Dazzle (Visual) Brightfield Range/40 ft. DC 18 Reflex Area DC 18/14 Ref/Fort Dazzle (Visual) Laser Eyes Ranged DC 23 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy), Penetrating Lightblast Ranged DC 27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy) Totals: Abilities (30) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (4) + Feats (11) + Powers (84) - Drawbacks (3) = 150/150 Power Points Colleen Dewey was a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in astronomy. To improve her ability to study the stars, she learned how to design new, improved lenses for her telescopes. Her peers scoffed at her, but she'd show them. She'd show them all! One night, as she scanned the skies with her newest lens, she saw a patch of light smack in the middle of Orion, right where there shouldn't be anything. She focused in, wondering if this would get her in all the journals, but then the light flared and she passed out. Several hours later she awoke, and found the dawning light wasn't the rising Sun, it was her! Something snapped in her mind then: where once she only cared about her studies, friends, and family, she was now a callous, amoral, arrogant, and greedy criminal. She saw herself as a freak who could not take part in normal society, so Photon would make a name in the Superhuman World! But just because Photon (another Champions character) snapped doesn't mean you have to! As I described here, light has long been a symbol of hope, goodness, truth, and all that is right, and so can your heroic character. Be a beacon of hope for others (a good reason for buying up her Charisma and some Inspire and Leadership), or focus on her speedy side and focus on dominating the battlefield with fast-flying Acrobatic Bluffs. She can project blasts of light in various forms (from deadly lasers to blinding flashes), protect herself with a force field of shifting prisms and planes of light, and even (like Living Laser) transform her body into a mostly-light form (her Insubstantial/Energy Form). With her Lightspeed I power (Teleport) she can go pretty much anywhere on Earth in the blink of an eye (though of course, if she hasn't been there before, she's going to have to slow down and search for her precise destination; she doesn't have any heightened/super senses that function with her Teleportation). With her Lightspeed II power (Space Travel), she could journey around the near regions of Earth's solar system easily -- but she hasn't yet developed a way to so wholly transform her body into light that she can survive in outer space (i.e., have Life Support), though this is something she could develop. Her Insubstantial and Immunity to provide a potent combination: the Insubstantial makes her immune to physical damage, and the Immunity protects her from half of all energy damage (though not non-Damage energy effects, like Drains, or non-electromagnetic energy Damage). Lots of room for powers to stunt off her Lightfire, as I've detailed here. (And there's a nasty Complication for you: her powers shift from the visible light region of the EM spectrum to the ultraviolet, then to x-rays and gamma rays!) Lots of potential for stories, too, foremost being what & where did that weird empowering light come from? Was it a stray blast from a Star Knight battle that triggered something in her? A rogue Star Knight who'd unleashed some weird force while trying to augment his armor? Something from the Light of Truth, seeking out new converts/enforcers? Or is the light itself some sort of sentient life form, now bonded to you like a symbiote, whispering alien secrets into your dreams? PL 7 (105PP) Version

Character Name: Doctor Silverback Power Level: 10 (150/150PP) Trade-Offs: -3 Attack / +3 Damage, -4 Defense / +4 Toughness Abilities: 6 + 4 + 2 + 14 + 4 + 2 = 32PP Strength: 24 (+7) [includes +8 from Growth]; effective lifting Str 32 Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+3) [includes +4 from Growth] Intelligence: 24 (+7) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 12 + 10 = 22PP Initiative: +2 Attack: +5, +7 unarmed, +7 Tangleweb Rifle (includes -1 from Growth) Grapple: +18 Defense: +6 (+5 Base, +2 Dodge Focus, -1 Size), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -7, -5 flat-footed (-4, -2 flat-footed w/out Combat Jumpsuit) Saving Throws: 2 + 3 + 5 = 10PP Toughness: +14 (+3 Con, +7 Protection, +4 Defensive Roll), +10 flat-footed +8 (+3 Con, +1 Protection, +4 Defensive Roll), +4 flat-footed w/out Combat Jumpsuit Fortitude: +5 (+3 Con, +2) Reflex: +5 (+2 Dex, +3) Will: +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 56R = 14PP Acrobatics 3 (+5) Computers 3 (+10) Craft (chemical) 3 (+10) Craft (electronic) 3 (+10) Craft (mechanical) 3 (+10) Disable Device 3 (+10) Drive 3 (+5) Handle Animal 4 (+5) Intimidate 2 (+3, +5 w/ size) Investigate 3 (+10) Knowledge (life sciences) 3 (+10) Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+10) Knowledge (technology) 3 (+10) Languages 2 (English [native], French, Swahili) Medicine 3 (+5) Notice 3 (+5) Pilot 3 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Stealth 0 (-2) Survival 3 (+5) Feats: 12PP Animal Empathy Attack Specialization (Unarmed) Defensive Roll 2 Dodge Focus 2 Eidetic Memory Inventor Jack-of-all-Trades Move-By Action Startle (roar) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 2 + 9 + 28 + 13 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 60PP Additional Limbs 2 (feet likes hands) [2PP] Device 3 (Tangleweb Rifle, 15 points; Flaw: Easy to Lose) [9PP] Snare 7 (PF: Accurate) Gadgets 4 (Assorted Devices; 20PP Variable Power, Any Power, Multiple Powers At Once; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) [28PP] Example Gadgets Growth 4 (Large size, +8 Str, +4 Con, -1 Combat, +4 Grapple, +2 Intimidate, -4 Stealth, 10 ft. reach; Extras: Continuous; Flaws: Permanent; PFs: Innate) [13PP] Leaping 1 (x2; running long jump 26 feet, standing long jump 13 feet, high jump 6 feet) [1PP] Protection 1 [1PP] Quickness 2 (x5; Flaw: Mental Only) [1PP] Speed 1 (10 MPH / 100 feet per Move action) [1PP] Super-Movement 1 (Swinging) [2PP] Super-Senses 2 (Acute Scent, Low-Light Vision) [2PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 22 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Tangleweb Rifle Range DC 17 Reflex Snare Shock Baton Touch DC 25 Fort Dazed/Stunned/Unconscious TW Rifle, Enhanced Range DC 23 Reflex Snare Totals: Abilities (32) + Combat (22) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (14) + Feats (12) + Powers (60) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points Here's a PL 10 build for Doctor Silverback, the Simian Scientist who serves as a tech adviser to a number of heroes in the Champions universe. (A truer conversion would be around PL 8, but have even more points sunk into INT, CHA, and skills and feats; he's both super-intelligent and super-personable, a dynamo equally adept at giving lectures at Harvard, cheering for his favorite sports teams, or wining & dining a string of [human!] girlfriends... yes, fine, he's Doktor Archeville as a silverback gorilla.) He was an ordinary gorilla experimented on by a mad scientist who wanted to uplift animals so they could commit crimes and secure funding for even more experiments, but Silverback realized the man was a crook and aided the local heroes against him, then went on to join human society with great gusto. With the help of several superheroes he'd aided over the years, he won a landmark case establishing himself as legally equal to a human being and a naturalized citizen of the British Empire, a precedent that became a landmark in superhuman law cited repeatedly in cases involving robots, aliens, and the undead. He continued to work as a powerful advocate for superhuman rights and environmental protection, as well as whatever new hobby struck his interests. He later moved to America (where there were more superheroes to aid and more experiences to have), and quickly rose to celebrity status... and became a bigger target of speciesist hate groups. As the pic shows, in casual situations he favors tailored shorts and loud Hawaiian shirts. He's a fully grown mountain gorilla with great strength and agility -- though not as high as some other ape builds -- but his real asset is his mind and the many devices and gadgets he's made. Like AvengerAssembled's Ape with a Power Ring (which I borrowed from heavily), he's a solid PL 7 without his gear, but with it is a respectable PL 10. His skills aren't as high as a dedicated Gadgeteer (or even some of the Ape Scientists linked above), but he does have an impressive breadth of them (and like AA's Vampire Gadgeteer, he's got +7 on any INT skill he doesn't have ranks in, so he can chime in on most anything). His assortment of Gadgets -- not to mention his raw strength and speed -- help make up for it. Keep mobile, keep your friends close, and keep exploring!

You should put the time/date info at the top of the IC thread. And add it to the Timeline (which, yes, does need some serious updating). (Speaking of our Wiki, I've made skeletal entries for you and your character. Yes, this is something else we've fallen behind on.) Is this thread to be open to anyone who'd like to meet Penitent? Or did you have specific players/characters -- or even specific types of characters -- in mind? Is this just to be a meet-and-greet, or did you have plans for action as well?

"If'n it's a crypt he wants, I think I know there one he'd want. C'mon!," the revenant called behind him as he charged on, heedless of any danger to himself. One thought kept running through his mind, drowning out all others. Gotta stop Samedi! Gotta stop Samedi! Gotta stop Samedi! Which is not to say he had no other thoughts -- though he could act as such, Burton Lee was not a one-track mind type of undead. Where the heck is everyone? This place is usually hoppin' this time of night. Heck, even when Hades & Samedi threw down last year, I could sense the spirits hidin' out. Either they've gone real deep, or... no, ain't gonna think about that! Gotta stop Samedi!

"Me? No... no, no," he murmured as he was seated. "I am fine... just... working. Working to free you. We went to the Terminus!," he exclaimed, then his voice dipped back down, "but then we got separated. Carrie...." He glanced over at her, then back to Mona, "well... she did not tell me much of what she went through. I was on a desert! I was a gladiator! I saw a slave revolt, then helped rebuild a city's infrastructure, and fought an army, and saved an angel, and helped a Shadow King fight a Forest Goddess, and almost got eaten by hobbits, and saw a bug go insane, and, and, and then I broke The Order to stop them from using a piece of you to dominate the world!" He grabbed her hand tight with both of his, "and I used that piece to track the rest of you, and we brought you back!"

"What gives you the right to steal other people's lives, the lives of yer children an' grandchildren an' on an' on an' on? It ain't right, Necromme." Now let's see if I can remember anythin' I learned in theatre arts class... He lowered his hand, and took in a deep breath so he could let out a sigh, "'course... it ain't right that a sweet lil' thing like that got cancer, neither. The radiation an' the chemo... the weakness an' pain... but that's jes' how it goes, sometimes." The revenant's shoulder's sagged a bit, "the sawbones an' such can do what they can to prolong her life, fight the cancer, but there's only so much they can do... an' even then, what quality of life can they offer her? Is it jes' quantity they'd be givin' her? Maybe she would be better off in the clock." He reached into his torso and began to pull the phylactery out, "'least that way, she won't feel no pain, right?" He paused, with the clock sticking halfway out of his stomach, "wait, no, she would feel somethin' -- utter loneliness, cut off from everyone she knows! An' while she goes batty from isolation, never able to feel her mother's touch or hear he dad sing 'er a lullaby, you'd be runnin' 'round in her body, raisin' who knows what kinds of hell! Sorry, Necromme, but this," he stood up straight, "is yer last stop on the body-swap express!" He turned and leaped into the incinerator, instantly setting his clothes alight! With one hand he removed the clock from him, exposing it directly to the flames, not allowing it any protection from his burning flesh; with the other he reached out and closed the door, holding it so Necromme could not throw Jake in after him to take the clock back. "This'd better work..."

"Been crushed. Got better." Dead Head shifted slightly, as if giving the matter some deep consideration. "So... you'd save her, cure her of what's ailin' her... an' you'll get outta this here clock... but her spirit'll be put into it. So... you'll get to live, inside her, a' she'll be a knick-knack fer the mantle? How's that gonna be better for her?" "That's the thing 'bout you necromancer types," he spat, pointing accusingly at Jake. "Ya get so wrapped up in the quantity of life, in prolongin' it, ya never consider the quality of it. Ya think she'd want to exist as a clock? An' you -- ya think yer gonna like livin' as a girl? You know what her hormones are gonna be doin' to that thing in a few years?" "'Course not," the revenant went on, "'cuz ya don't care 'bout livin', just existin'. An' 'cuz you don't really car one bit 'bout her, just her body, long as it can anchor you t'this world. Yer the only one yer concerned 'bout, it's jes' yer life yer tryin' t'extend, an' you don't care how many of yer descendants ya gotta go through t'do it. What makes you think you deserve to go on forever? What made you so a-feared of death?"

from io9:

Viktor gave Mona such a look, "you only say that because you have some unfathomable aversion to mustard and horseradish. And your reactions to my chocolate cakes were anything but dull!," he added with a grin. He smiled and waved at Fatima when he saw her poke her head out, and stifled a chuckle when she disappeared. "Teamwork is a vital skill," he opined as he drew his Electromagnetic Screwdriver. Mona recognized the mischievous look creeping across him, "but knowing what to do when cut off from your allies is important, too...." He quickly pocketed the gadget and wiped the impishness from his face, "oh, ha ha, no, not at Oktoberfest, though I am hoping to take her one year. We met due to... work-related issues. She had some concerns about her powers, and came to ArcheTech for some tests. One thing lead to another, and, well..." He grinned like a schoolboy as he took Mona's hand in his.

Dead Head smashed the door open, and saw the great incinerator before him. Hope this thing ain't too hard to work! It was not. McNider Memorial Hospital, while once the largest in the city, had over the years been overshadowed by the newer and more modern Freedom Medical Center, and thus some of its equipment was not as up to date as it could be. The faded instructions on the control panel were still legible, and this furnace did not have the failsafes of more current machines, such as only lighting once the door was closed and sealed. In moments Dead Head had the thing going, an intense fire within ready to reduce anything to inert, sterile ash... and his mind-controlled friend had reached him. "Hey, Not-Jake!" He tuned to face him, back to the open furnace; a lesser, living man would feel uncomfortably warm standing where the revenant was. "Looks like we both got somethin' the other wants. So ya wanna tell me what this is all about, see if we can reach some sorta compromise?"

I'd heard AMC's Comic Book Men was bad -- I couldn't get past the horrible 'jokes' in the pre-opening credits scenes of the first two eps -- but this review of the first ep shows it was even worse than I'd feared. And then one of the cast member responded to the review...