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Post by dans on Aug 22, 2020 22:26:45 GMT
Carol (Sunbeam) Clews and Dan Dare / New Life, Old Foe
San Diego, CA, Earth S, 1986 (This story takes place after Shazam’s Squadron of Justice: Voyagers)
Moving In
"You know, Dan, it's nice to have an office again. But do you suppose we'll ever use it? I don't think we spent more than a week total in the old one in the five years we rented it!" The speaker was Carole Clews, a fairly tall, graceful, athletically built woman with long blonde hair and a flawless face, perfectly made up even though she was currently wearing faded pink sweat-shirt and pants. She was speaking to Dan Dare, her partner. Dare was tall and strongly built, with a rugged face with a wide, expressive mouth and cleft chin below deep-set dark blue eyes. The two were engaged in setting up an office; the just-painted sign still drying on the frosted glass window in the door read "The Daring Duo Detective Agency". Dare was opening a wooden chest; he swore and started coughing as dust billowed out. "Sure seemed that way, eh, honey?" he spoke around coughs. "We'd fly to one spot, solve a case no one else could, get paid a bundle, and before we could come home, always a telegram begging us to go somewhere else, to solve another impossible case! Jumping here, there and everywhere!"
"And you always went and dragged me along, and we never had time for a even a short vacation!" Carol shot back, as she pulled open a file cabinet drawer and started loading it with folders from another chest. "Want to bet we NEVER use any of this stuff again?"
While he'd been speaking, Dan had pulled something about the size of a trade paperback from his chest and had been unwrapping the cloth around it. His eyes lit up as he saw the framed photograph inside.
"Speaking of flying here, there and everywhere, I wonder what ever happened to the PI Flyer?" He showed his partner the faded black and white picture of an airplane, formerly his. "One of the first things I checked, once we were relased from that magic time stop spell. I guess she sat around at the airfield on Rarotonga Island for years after Lance O'Casey and Mr. Hogan picked us up there in 1943 - and we never came back (see Bulletman and Bulletgirl: The Castaways). Then one day, shortly after the end of the war, she was gone. Somebody flew off with her in the middle of the night. Hope wherever she ended up, they treated her well…" He paused for a moment of reflection.
"Kind of amazing, doll, that we've still got a picture - that we've still got all this stuff, actually, after going missing almost 45 years ago! Including all our 45-years-out-of-date files, which, you're right, are not likely to ever do us any good again. Wish we could thank your folks for saving it all." He waved his hand to include the half dozen dusty trunks scattered throughout the office space.
She smiled sadly. "Yeah, me too. And my sister. Gotta say, it was sure weird finding out I have a brother-in-law I'd never met before - and living in my parents' house." Apparently, after Carol and Dan had disappeared in the South Pacific in 1943, Carol's parents had collected everything from the pair's old office into trunks that they had then stored in the attic of the family home. When they'd passed away, Carol's younger sister Daisy and her husband Jake had inherited the house. Jake still lived there but Daisy had also passed away a few years ago. Carol had never met Jake before - it had definitely been an awkward meeting. But he'd been glad to get rid of the trunks.
They were both startled when someone knocked loudly on their door, which then banged open and a kid, who Carol knew was 14, pushed into the office. "All done, Ms. Clews! Pay up!" he demanded.
Carol laughed. "You posted them all? How far away did you go? Did anyone try to stop you or say anything?"
"All hundred, Scout's Honor!" He raised his hand in the three finger Scout's Honor hand signal. "All over National City and Southcrest. Always on the corner posts, always at eye level. Nobody tried to stop me but a few people asked me questions about you guys. I told 'em they should call you at the number on the poster."
"Thank you, Terry, you did a great job. Here you go!" Carol handed the youngster a $20 bill. He looked a little concerned.
"But Ms. Clews, you said $15. This is too much," he reminded her, perhaps a bit reluctantly.
"A bit extra for doing the job so quickly," Dan told him. "We figured you wouldn't be done until tomorrow. It's a 'thank you' reward."
"Wow - thank YOU, Ms. Clews and Mr. Dare! I hope you get lots of business, fast!" He put the bill in his pocket. "I gotta run - got a ball game over in the Village in a few minutes. If you ever need help again, let me know!" He rushed out, perhaps not wanting to give the two time to change their minds. Dan and Carol went back to work. With their posters now in place, they hoped it wouldn't be long before they got their first paying job in over 40 years, and the office needed to be ready.
Out on the street, a short, thin bald man, who looked like he must be in his late 60s at least, stopped on a street corner to wait for the light. Suddenly, his head snapped around and he stepped closer to one of the poles on the corner, examining the photos on the latest poster that had been slapped up there. His mouth fell open in amazement and an unconscious growl issued from deep in his throat.
He reached out and tore down the poster, shredded it into pieces which he scattered onto the sidewalk, then stomped into the street, ignoring the cars that swerved or jammed on their brakes to avoid him. Everyone nearby backed away, turned away, started walking away, pretending they hadn't seen anything unusual. But they all heard him scream: "I don't know where the two of you have been for so many years, or how you've remained so young, but now that you're back, I WILL have my revenge!"
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Post by dans on Aug 22, 2020 22:32:23 GMT
Well, folks, let's see how this goes. I hope the energy that helped me write this chapter sticks around!
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Post by johnreiter902 on Aug 23, 2020 1:57:22 GMT
I really like how this has started.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 23, 2020 17:01:45 GMT
Ditto. I also liked the explanation you gave, Dan, about Carol's family and the way the duo's files were preserved. That old man at the end sounds like nothing but trouble!
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Aug 23, 2020 18:40:37 GMT
Great start. I like the way you accounted for how the passing of time changed ordinary things in life for them although they didn't experience those changes personally. Also, agree that old man sounds like trouble.
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Post by dans on Aug 24, 2020 1:12:45 GMT
Carol (Sunbeam) Clews and Dan Dare / New Life, Old Foe
Revenge Long Delayed
When he reached home, Heinz Weber stormed through the house, stomped down the stairs into the dusty basement, and weaved his way through the mounds of clutter and junk accumulated over the past 30 years. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. He quickly reached a small wooden door which he forced open; the rusted hinges creaked and moaned in protest. He swore when he touched a switch on the wall and the lights failed to come on - he went back to the larger basement and soon returned with a a flashlight, some fuses and some light bulbs. He continued to swear as he worked, first screwing in a replacement fuse in the wall box, and then replacing the bulb in the ceiling lamp.
He giggled as the light came on. "You see, my ancient foes, that nothing will block my revenge! Your hour of doom is fast approaching!"
The room was a cluttered workshop, and everything was covered in dust. As Heinz swiveled his head, mentally reviewing the room's contents and history, he spoke loudly but very slowly to the air, his voice harsh.
"First the two of you sent Hypno Harry to prison in 1938 for bank robbery. And then, after I escaped and came back for my revenge, as Dr. Phoebus Weber you stopped me again, and then I rotted in prison for 15 more years. For my whole sentence, my reason for living was reduced to plotting my terrible, victorious revenge!" He stopped talking and laughed loudly for several minutes. When the laughter died down, the slow, loud muttering continued. "Finally, when I was released in 1956 and began searching for you, I discovered that the two of you had simply vanished without a trace in the early 40s... unfairly stealing my revenge and my only reason for living!"
"Still, I made my plans and built my weapons in secret. It took me 5 years, and for that whole 5 years, and another 5 beyond, I always watched the news in anticipation of your return, and still you never returned. And finally I gave up hope, and stored away my weapons, and suffered a boring, mundane, hopeless existence. For years, I was just another rat, endlessly trudging on the wire wheel, never going anywhere, never accomplishing anything. I had even almost forgotten you and my secrets hidden away here. Yet now, you have returned. Now, I return to claim my mighty weapons. And now, I shall complete my revenge!"
He opened a cabinet - there was much less dust inside - and pulled out a small jar. Inside was a glass eyeball! He touched his left eye, popped out a similar glass eyeball, and replaced it with the one from the jar. He squinted and a beam of yellow light pulsed from his left eye. "HA! The mighty Hypno-Ray is ready for use!"
He then pulled a dusty canvas tarp off a table, revealing a mound of what looked like… coarse brown hair, so dark as to be almost black, with a number of shiny claws sticking from the pile at random. He reached into the pile, grasped something, lifted, and shook it out into a weird shape. It appeared to be a giant spider, covered with coarse brown-black hair, claws on the ends of all 8 feet, and a pointed snout on the front of the head. It hung limply, and seemed to be somewhat longer than Heinz was tall.
"Beware, Dan Dare and Carol Clews - armed with the deadly Hypno-Ray, the Spider Sinister stalks you anew!"
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Aug 24, 2020 13:58:16 GMT
I have a feeling he's not a typical member of the AARP! I like the concept of a villain who has pretty much devoted his life to revenge seeking. We see so many villains who face a foe over and over again but in his case in the absence of a specici enemy, he just did normal things except for activities in his workshop! Kind of like the Master Criminal next door!
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Post by dans on Aug 24, 2020 20:46:36 GMT
I have a feeling he's not a typical member of the AARP! I like the concept of a villain who has pretty much devoted his life to revenge seeking. We see so many villains who face a foe over and over again but in his case in the absence of a specici enemy, he just did normal things except for activities in his workshop! Kind of like the Master Criminal next door! Thanks, Lib!
Actually I'd like as much feedback on this guy as you guys are willing to offer.
My take on him is that his stint in prison traumatized him, to the point where when he got out, he found himself incapable of breaking the law in any way - he couldn't even break the speed limit. He was still driven by anger, and he finished building his weapons, but as time went by and he lost hope for revenge, he settled into despair. He took a menial job and lived a miserable life, with no friends, no vacations, no hobbies, nothing fun, just waiting to die...
I don't know how to show all that. I'm not sure I need to... this is Earth-S, and certainly not a lot of comic books go to that level of characterization, so maybe what I've already written is enough?
What do you guys think?
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Post by johnreiter902 on Aug 24, 2020 23:09:11 GMT
This is great. Don;t feel like you can't expand on his characterization. Just because this is Earth-S doesn't mean it doesn't need deep characters (quite the opposite actually).
However (this is just me) I would like to plot to progress quickly to the action.
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Aug 25, 2020 13:49:02 GMT
I think you're doing a good job at showing his personality by what he says and does. I feel like I can "see" him very vividly. Nice setting of his workshop too. I can imagine the layers of dust etc.
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Post by dans on Aug 25, 2020 22:45:40 GMT
Carol (Sunbeam) Clews and Dan Dare / New Life, Old Foe
Sinister Rebirth
Heinz struggled into the spider costume. That material was fairly thick and quite stiff, like heavy corduroy, and the wizened old man was having considerable trouble pulling it up over his legs - but then he stopped abruptly and laughed while he wiggled his head into the headpiece. His head was covered in an almost spherical black helmet, with a long narrow pointed projection, like a fat knitting needle, sticking out from over his nose; mutli-faceted circular 'eyes', about the size of dinner plates, covered the sides the helmet from behind his ears to the bridge of his nose on either side.
After a second, the middle 4 limbs on the torso began jerky, tentative motions, seemingly on their own. It wasn't too long before these arms began pulling up the material over Heinz's legs, and then they helped him pull the two uppermost legs of the costume over his arms. He shakily stood upright on his own two legs, now covered with bristly dark brown hair and ending in claws, and walked unsteadily across the room. The 4 middle arms frequently reached out and closed claws on some nearby item of furniture when he was in danger of tumbling; a faint whirring noise came from the torso of the costume as those arms moved. One of the claws closed violently on the iron leg of a lab table, crushing it, another grabbed the edge of a marble countertop along the wall and it shattered.
The spider walked unsteadily to a big cabinet and opened it with one of his artificial arms - and the heavy cabinet door tore loose. He roared in laughter and threw it across the room, where it splintered against the far wall. With one of his human arms, he started pulling a number of objects from the wrecked cabinet and dropping them into a travel bag. When the bag was full, he laughed again - it was a harsh, hoarse laugh, much louder than his normal voice, perhaps amplified by some device in the helmet. "The first test of the hypno-ray will be recruiting allies!"
It's Not the 40s Any More
"Well, Sweetie Pie, it's been a long, boring day, but if our first client walks through the door tomorrow, we'll be ready!" Dan had just dropped the last empty chest into a storage closet. They had put in a long day - it was dark outside. From experience earlier this week, they were probably the last people in the building.
"Daniel Dare, there's something we gotta get straight first. It's the 80s, now, Hawkshaw, and you can't talk to women - including me - the same way you did in the 40s. You might not have noticed it, since you've been sequestered for your broken leg, but I've been out, dealing with people by myself and I sure have. Sue Barr has told me a lot about the changes through the years. Those change were long overdue, even in the 40s, and they are tremendous!"
He hadn't really noticed any changes in society or male/female relationships. Or maybe he had, but hadn't paid much attention. "Why, doll, whatever are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about all those cutsie little sweet, girly nicknames you use all the time. Like Doll, Sweetie Pie, Honey, and all the rest of those unconscious diminutives men used for years to keep women in their places - seen and not heard, always running the errands but never considered for the 'man's work'. That's what I'm talking about!"
He didn't get a chance to reply; just at that moment, the door exploded inwards!
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Post by dans on Aug 25, 2020 22:46:27 GMT
OK, John, time for the action to start.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Aug 26, 2020 0:40:22 GMT
It's looking good
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Aug 26, 2020 13:45:15 GMT
Nice point. Dan would not really have any reason to assume his manner of speech was unacceptable and that kind of assumption would be a logical side effect of suspended animation time displacement etc. I'm surprised Buck Rogers didn't have more trouble adjusting to new words and new attitudes in the 25th century.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 26, 2020 17:58:25 GMT
It’s not every day that people come back from a decades long absence, at least outside of Fawcett City. I wonder if Dan and Carol would be sought out by reporters for their story. It might give them some extra publicity for their detective agency.
If they were superheroes with secret identities they’d probably try to assume new names, or pretend they’re the long lost children or relatives of the originals, but they have nothing to worry about in that regard,
I did kind of laugh at the idea that the first thought the old man with the hypno eye had was that they were the same people but still inexplicably young after 45 years. Most normal people might assume they couldn’t possibly be the same, even on Earth-S. But it fits his eccentric character to a tee.
Also, I’m getting some Doc Ock vibes from this guy. Not sure if it’s intentional but it works!
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