ic Media Frenzy

[Kolohehonu]

Hyperactive stepped gracefully from the car and strolled out over to Zyte. He was forming a plan, but it would take some planning still. And he wanted to know what Zyte knew away from what he suspected were Bloom's prying ears.

 

"Hey you down for a trip out of town to somewhere we can talk? No offense but I don't like the thought that this town may be crawling with goons." Hyperactive asked. "Actually I don't think anyone's been there with a camera yet so may be a good deal for you."

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Zyte nodded. "This town is crawling with everything. Goons, tramps, spies, even amazon women with sharpened cucumbers" he conceded. "Its a horrible and delightful mess"

 

He powered down his camera and waited for a ride. 

 

"I'd better bring my glamorous assistant though! She oozes awesome!" he said with a thumbs up and a wink at Michelle, who turned away and rolled her eyes to the heavens. 

 

"Sure Zyte. Awesome!" she sighed. 

 

Zyte quiffed back his spiky red hair in preparation. "Lets go, Mr Whizz!" he smiled at Hyperactive. 

[Kolohehonu]

From Zyte, Michelle, and Zane!'s perspectives they had teleported. Here on the streets of Hollywood to there in the next. There being the Attometer. It was a base that looked like it had been decorated by Chip and Joanna from Fixer Upper, because it had. Shiplap walls and high vaulted ceilings. It had a touch of sleek modern that meshed, if not well then at least not painfully with it, sleek black with green striped countertop and a modern looking black couch. A tv was off, but the real entertainment was outside. The ever howling winds of the shadow zone tossed the red and black sand around. The sky churned with lightning that started and ended abruptly. Hyperactive found he could watch that forever.

 

The trip for Hyperactive had been slightly different, he had to run at the speed of light to traverse the multiverse and so he'd built up speed zipping around the earth before grabbing and moving the crew across the dimensional barrier and into his home. He had taken them to one of the rooms where he could meet with people, just like the Seasonal, it looked like a very private space, but everything there was strictly declassified. 

 

"So let me give you the rundown and we can figure out a plan." Hyperactive declared as he caught his breath. "Anybody want a drink, water, Dr. Pepper, I think I may have some energy drinks too."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Whoa!"

 

Zane! looked pretty impressed. Michelle did too, but was taken up with observing rather than commenting. 

 

"What a place! The light! The shadows! The distilled awesome!" sang Zyte, spinning around, arms alternatively akimbo to hug the universe, and brought together to form a frame. 

 

"You could have told us about this before! We could interview you here!" he said, doing a little dance of joy. 

 

"Energy drinks would be awesome, dude!" said Zane! giving a dopey thumbs up and a dopey smile. 

 

"I'm good" said Zyte, who had enough energy all the time, it seemed. "So, what did the queen of cruel say to you? Any scoops?"

[Kolohehonu]

"Be right back." As quick as thought an energy drink was in Zane!'s hand. Hyperactive also went and knocked on Emily's door. "Hey we have guests, a movie producer." 

 

"Really?" Emily asked as Hyperactive nodded emphatically. She gave a roll of her eyes before shooting him away. 

 

"Ok let's talk." Hyperactive declared as he arrived, changed into a casual shirt, jeans, and boots. "So here's what I've learned. Parrot was her goal. She wants him to get to the younger. She wants people with powers in her movies. She has one, but she's a crappy actress." Hyperactive paused. Made sure he wasn't using Speedster speech and continued. "Girl who got impaled by the cucumber, she can regenerate." He made sure to shrug, cool power, super speed was cooler. "Now here's the speculation. She doesn't want the younger Altman for his acting, he's kinda messed up and not a great actor. But she did suggest that he'd be a good athlete or body builder. And we saw what she did with those stuntmen. I'm thinking she wants to use Parrot to 'fix' his son, get rid of that empty look." He was starting to high speed ramble. 

 

"Also she wanted me in a movie. Told her I needed to have that negotiation with my agent." He nodded at Zyte. "Might be an in." 

 

"Also if my girlfriend shows up do not mention the naked amazons."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Hey, you could be a star, darling!" said Zyte, enthusiastically, with jazz hands to accompany. It was not entirely clear if he was being serious or sardonic, or, as very probably the case with Zyte, both. At the same time. To the max. 

 

"Look, I can make you a star. In anyway you want. And I am an artist. The Queen of Cruel is a businesswoman who will chew you up and spit you. Spit you out of both ends. With a side salad of bile and destitution!" he said, bitterness creeping into his voice for the first time. 

 

"So don't go there. My bet, I...I mean we. Hey, teamwork right!...we have a better story with a kind of gestalt multi-lens realty docu-drama. Unfolding between your eyes. I mean.yes! yes! tears...laughter...joy...regret!" he span around, imploring the heavens to rain yet more inspiration on him. 

 

"I can get some stock footage of you contemplating the echoes of history in a solemn post in the desert of solitude! You can do a bit of acting, yes? Just strike an intellectual pose, cry a bit, gaze into the distance..." he said, zooming his hands across the horizon. 

 

"And...yeah...whatever you have planned, I'll film it all, my old buddy!" he said, clapping his arm around Hyperactive. 

[Kolohehonu]

"I think step one is to go find the younger Altman. See if he maybe went to go check on his dad. See if we can't talk with them, get footage. Then hey maybe we can get the Altman's outta town." Only question was where to have that conversation. Well ok one other question. "Hey Zyte, Michelle, Zane!, y'all ever hear of anything well physically bad happening to those who cross Bloom?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Hmmm...sounds like a plan" nodded Zyte, stroking his dyed red goatee. "Although...out of town dosen't sound like drama!" he said, sparkling his hands. He looked slightly disappointed, mulling over the best story and script. 

 

"I've never heard of Bloom actually hurting anyone..." he added. 

 

"But the smokin' wheels have" added Zane!, almost ashamed. "Those guys have a bad rep. Not sure if they are linked to Bloom though..."

 

"She does like to keep her hands bleached clean" conceded Zyte. "And she is very good at it..."

[Kolohehonu]

"Well in that case we should head back to the nursing home, find Altman, do the filming and see what comes of it." Hyperactive declared. "I assume no one is opposed if this turns into a real life crime drama right?" 

 

"Yeah well if we see anyone associated with Bloom we'll assume they are willing to attempt physical violence." Hyperactive deftly flipped a coin into the air and snatched it as it returned back down. "Emphasis on attempt. They will not succeed."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I think she is more subtle than that" pondered Zyte. "She operates with words, laws, and manipulation. I don't doubt that if push comes to shove she would stab you in the back with a sharpened cucumber. But make no mistake..."

 

He paused. 

 

"Look, I know I am great. You might think that's an idle boast, but I have a natural talent honed by hard work. Top honours in film and business degrees. I can hack....I mean program, I can film, I can play the social media like a maestro"

 

Michelle did not disagree. Zyte was a young prodigy. 

 

"But look, Violet Bloom scares me. She is as smart as me and brutal with it. Plus she has thirty, forty years of experience, money, and contacts behind her. I wouldn't want her as an enemy. Because she is cautious, but doesn't forget..." he wiped his brow. 

 

"That said, if you can take her down, you will be the toast of Hollywood...she isn't exactly popular. Just influential..."

 

"I doubt she will make a direct move. She has something else up her sleeve. We will be dealing with the chess pieces she plays with, not the player herself..."

[Kolohehonu]

"Then it's time to get to work." He smiled before changing back. "I suppose it's time to get back to the nursing home and then to find the Altmans." Hyperactive pondered. He shot a quick text on over to DM2.0 about it. 

 

-2.0 we found Parrot. We're keeping an eye on him. I'll keep you posted.- 

 

"ok well when your ready we can use the transporter pad to get back. It should be calibrated for Prime, I'll check before we depart." Hyperactive said escorting his guests to the simple transporter room, which looked like any other teleporter pad. Simple and sleek green and silver in the black room. "I'm sure we'll be back afterwards." Hyperactive began to initialize the process. "Should let you know we may have been gone shorter or longer than it seemed. If you see yourself do not talk to them. Standard Archetech disclaimer!" That was always the better disclaimer to give people. Going back in time was more harmful to time, but less harmful than the thought of being tossed too far into the future.

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so, back at the Gold Star Nursing Home...

 

The shattered glass had been swept up. The place looked as good as new, which was, lamentably, not very good. 

 

It appeared a few days had passed. Such was the quantum nature of time when forced through paradoxical dimensional lensing. Or some such effect. 

 

It was now dusk, and the hot, sticky air was hotter, and predictably more sticky. The low sun cast long shadows and amber light with its own beauty. And all was quiet. 

 

And, it seemed after a moments inquiry at the nursing home. Mr. Altman Jnr had taken Mr. Altman Snr out for a trip...to Bloom Studios...

[Kolohehonu]

Hyperactive took in the news quietly. He had known that was a risk of making a base in the Shadow Zone. It was the price he paid for security. 

 

"If that car is still on the road, I can catch it." Hyperactive declared before zipping away. He wasn't waiting for a response. He turned and hurled himself forward with all his might accelerating to relativistic speeds as he darted all over the city. The world was still, everything blue shifted as he ran around at that speed. He did locate the Altmans, or rather their car wheels still hot at Bloom Studios. Well that was bad, but not insalvable. 

 

"Ok so we need to make our way to Bloom's and I think you and I might be making a movie." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

And in mere moments later (same hyper time, same hyper channel)...

 

The road to Bloom studios was full of cars. Pedestrians walked on the street. A man dressed in Tin foil and wearing a saucepan on his lead shuffled along, mumbling about the "Psychotrons" beaming "Brainvapour" into his head. 

 

But there was no sign of Altman Senior or Junior. Such was the nature of dimensional temporal lensing, one would imagine. 

 

And so, mere moments later after those mere moments...

 

At Bloom Studios...

 

Another scene of "Amazon Blade of Lust" was filming, and all eyes were on Sugar Foxx kung-fu fighting some buxom zombies who hacked and slashed at her with sharpened vegetables. 

 

She was a tall afro carribean woman with a funky afro, a bosom that screamed silicon, and a pretty face. She was a halfway decent actress and a decent kung-fu practioner, dancing around with some numchuks and a few appropriate avian screams when she kicked and whipped. The buxom zombies fell to one side or another. 

 

Of more concern, some thugs wearing "Smokin' Wheels!" jackets were loitering about, everyone giving them a wide birth. At least they didn't seemed armed. Firearms not allowed on set. 

 

And just to one side of the action, out of shot, was Blooms personal mobile office, with a "Stay out!" sign on the door. It was swinging slightly...

[Kolohehonu]

Hyperactive took in the set. The unarmed smoking wheels weren't much of a threat. 

 

"Ok I'm not going to be where I look like I am." Hyperactive whispered to Zyte. Then in a burst of speed he rushed over to the side of the office invisibly. He all but pressed his ear to it in the hopes of learning anything.

[Supercape]

GM

 

All eyes were on Sugar Foxx. Maybe because she was magnetic. Like a sweet canid. Or maybe everyone was making a very deliberate attempt not to look at Bloom's makeshift office. 

 

Bar the smoking wheels and Zyte, who, as usual, was filming everything. 

 

Ear pressed against the thinnish walls, Hyperactive could hear shouting. Ms. Bloom was on a roll. It was not exactly aggressive, more like an iron coated pep talk. 

 

"This man ruined your life! Brought you up with fists and belt! You don't owe him anything. He has tried to control you, live out his dreams whilst he festered and failed. You can do anything! Let me help you be everything, anything!..."

 

There was a grunt of twisted rage from Altman jnr. A whimper of fear from Altman Snr. 

 

"Finish him!" ordered Bloom. 

[Kolohehonu]

"Well that's interesting." Hyperactive mumbled before actually stepping through the wall. He had phased right in. It was time to settle things. 

 

"What in the world is going on right here?" It had sounded like she was trying to get the younger to kill he older. Quickly, Hyperactive called DM2.0 if he was going down, or if someone started talking, well he'd rather have something flawed than nothing. 

 

"Mr. Altman, i think we have more to discuss." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Bloom and Adam Altman spun around. Bloom was shocked. Adam had a thousand yard stare, like dead fury. Not a tear was shed, but his eyes were dilated, his muscles trembling from...well...something. 

 

A somewhat cruel smile came from the Parrot. A sense of relief, perhaps. A sense of irony, maybe. 

 

"That's right I'm going to commit murder! Wait, I didn't say that! Murder I say! What? Murder! Aren't you going to stop me? Stop! You can't do that! I thought you had a stroke! But I'm still going to murder you!" gabbled Bloom, before she out her hands to her mouth, shocked and scared. 

 

"Grwwaaah! You beat me till I was half dead, old man!" grunted Gold Star, angry now. 

 

His face zoned out, a pseudo calm falling over him. 

 

"But I am IN CONTROL. I survived. And now I am everything you were not!"

 

He tore of his sweatshirt. 

 

Underneath, was a suit of high tech kevlar armour, black. Emblazoned with a huge gold star over his chest piece. 

 

"I am your son! GOLD STAR!"

 

"Kill him, no don't kill him do it!" gabbled a horrified Bloom. 

[Kolohehonu]

"Adam lets talk about this like Adults." Hyperactive said as he laid the phone on the floor. Both hands up he took a few steps closer. "I'm sorry your father mistreated you. I am so so so sorry. But killing him won't make things right. It won't." He took another step. "You want to point that gun at someone point it at me. Come on, you want to be a villain? That what you want? Then aim the gun at me." Hyperactive tapped his chest. 

 

"But you want to be something more than a villain, than a pawn in her game, put the gun down. We can help you if you want help. But if you don't want help. Then we can settle this like men." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"There are men of weeds, and men of steel" replied Gold Star, his face firm and confident, his eyes glazed, impassive. 

 

"And I am cut from diamond. I do not answer to you. The world shall no my name, and I shall bend my knee to nobody..."

 

He threw off the remainder of his clothes. His kevlar fibre costume was rather impressive. A rather splendid and heavy gun hung on its belt. 

 

"My father forged me with his fists and his words. He shall be suffer the consequences of his brutality, and those consequences will, in turn, be suitably brutal. Not quick or noble, not for him" he said, half tuning to the Parrot, whose rather weak gambit had stuck in his talented throat. 

 

"He failed. I will not abide it...prepare to be removed..." he said, reaching for his fathers with gripping fingers advancing towards trembling throat. 

[Kolohehonu]

Before Gold Star could snuff the life from his own father Hyperactive intervened. First he kicked open the door. "Zyte! Camera!" He shouted. Yeah he'd ruined someone's take, but hey he was sure Bloom was going to try the defense that he had saved her life from the vicious and unhinged Gold Star. So she probably wouldn't be too worried about one lost take. Problem for another minute. 

 

"So you don't like shame?" Hyperactive asked as he interposed himself between the two men. He had wanted to pants him, but Gold Star had beat him to it. "Don't like failure? Well remember your father never beat my parents, I'm twice the hero they ever were." To the untrained eye Hyperactive was in a dozen places at once, flipping and tumbling all about in a black and green blur of distraction. 

 

"And you? You just proved you're half, no a quarter, the man your father was." He tapped Gold Star right on the star. "So that makes me what, eight times your superior?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Draaa-maaa!" yelled Zyte, zooming in with his camera. Somehow, despite wielding his impressive tool, he was able to do jazz hands at the same time. What talent!

 

Bloom took the opportunity to run out of the door, kicking off her heels as she did. For a short woman of several years, it was remarkable to witness her turn of pace. Fear gave her wings. 

 

"It makes you in my way. Nothing less. Nothing more" said the glazed Gold Star, bluntly. Whilst he had previously been a nervous firecracker with simmering rage, Gold Star now seemed to radiate unbreakable certainty, like a horribly cold, still, but brutal sea.

 

He swung hard. He was trained, although no expert. Rather, his strength and determination was the cause of his prowess. A focused brutality seemed to drip from him... 

 

 

 

 

[Kolohehonu]

Hyperactive was not where the brute of a villain swung. His mind relaxedness in a sense as he raised his fists. Tyson could hold his own talking, he could manage words better than any of the other Warriors. But a one on one bout of fist and foot was where his talent and power truly shone. 

 

"Condor, this one's for you." Hyperactive declared as he dropped into a combat stance behind the mass of a man. His foot jabbed out in a blow to the back of the knee, one of Condor's favorite openers. It was designed to bend the knee not break it, a symbolic gesture to add insult to impending injury. With a quick turn he flipped landing a blow with his other heel to the back of the skull. As he landed he brought his leg rocketing up in a powerful roundhouse right to the jaw. Quick, accurate and exactly as the old man had taught him. 

 

"I'm in your way? No I'm a road closed dead end sign." Hyperactive shouted as he darted out of reach. "You should have stopped while you were ahead!" 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Gold Star pulled back, too slow, but still, he was quick. The force was unquestionable, but he had a jaw of iron and a will of steel. 

 

And as soon as the blow connected, Hyperactive felt a blistering pain. It felt like he had been punched in the jaw. And hard, too. He felt the wail of psychic agony, the vague and obscure memories of a endless beatings and cruelty. Of something deep inside Adam Altman shutting off, shutting down, putting the pain elsewhere. 

 

In this case, straight into Hyperactives brain. A retributive psychic strike. 

 

"Hurr hurr..." clucked the Parrot, seeing what happened. "You felt that? Why did you think I stopped beating sense into him?"

[Kolohehonu]

"Geez coulda warned me." Hyperactive grumbled as he felt the waves of psychic pain wash over him. Right psychics... he either needed one on his team or needed to train against some. Probably both. He gritted his teeth. He'd fought through worse.

 

"You wanna play who hits harder? I can go all day Gold Star!" He shouted getting ready to pile on his blows again.

Edited June 9, 2017 by Kolohehonu