StarFall: Silver Arrow #6: Trapped!

[Phantasm]

On Apr 6, 7:47 am, Andrew Perron <pwer... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 4 Apr 2011 21:52:16 +0000 (UTC), Phantasm wrote:
> >   "Silver Arrow turned you against me!"
> >   "You did that yourself!" she called out, falling to the floor,
> > openly sobbing.  "I don't know you anymore, Frank! How can I love
> > someone I don't know?!"
> >   Silence was the only answer she received.
>
> Interesting.  I like how her helplessness isn't the focus here; it's her
> and her brother facing off.

Which was my intent, so I'm glad it came through.  To be honest, this
was one of the harder scenes to write for this issue, even though I
wrote it first.  I'm still not fully satisfied with it.

> > Most jarring to all witnesses, however, was the
> > fact that anything small and not secured shook uncontrollably as Arrow
> > was wheeled past it.
>
> ...hmmmm, interesting.  So this, essentially, means Silver Arrow *does*
> have some form of powers.

o/` Not sayin' a word o/`  Let's just say, as he's shooting arrows
with some very non-aerodynamic heads - you *did* catch my description
of the bolas arrowhead in #1, right? - with pinpoint accuracy, there's
a little bit more than just skill at work, even if he doesn't realize
it.

> >   "I had cosmetic surgery," she told him, smiling nervously.
> >   "You mentioned that before you went on vacation," he said.  "You
> > didn't tell us how extensive.  Full anthromod package, it looks."
>
> Yet more interesting.  I wonder where the technology for this came from?

GURPS Bio-Tech. ;)

Seriously, though, all shall be explained... in time.

> >   "I don't, sir.  I ... I've been moonlighting as a dancer," she
> > explained.  "The Catwalk.  Fourth and Wilcox.  They wanted to go
> > themed...."  She paused and looked at him with big, pleading eyes.
> > "Please don't fire me over this."
> >   "Tabitha, Tabitha," Robert said, leaning back in his own chair.
> > "Why would I fire the best assistant I ever had over something as
> > petty as an anthromod?"  She smiled at this.
>
> My question is, why does he pay his best assistant ever so little that she
> has to moonlight? `` Or is it less 'has' and more 'wants to'?

More like "wants to".  Tabitha's sub-plot will intersect the main plot
sooner or later, and not just because SA busted down the crack house
in #5.

> >   Slowly he closed the door behind him and took a closer look at the
> > place.  He'd never been here before; Fran didn't exactly hang out with
> > Hugh and his friends, not attending UCLA.  He wasn't even sure if she
> > had even graduated high school or gotten a GED, now that he thought
> > about it.
>
> Tsk tsk.  You really need to give more care and attention to reformed
> supervillains than that.

And yet, even with no formal education to speak of, she runs a package
delivery service.  She's uneducated, but not stupid.  She's also not
looking for a handout in getting said GED.

> >   The apartment was in a low-rent neighborhood, and was in a complex
> > that charged weekly rates, no questions asked.
>
> Man, my rent's low and I had to sign a 12-month lease!

I lived in a place almost exactly as I described it for several months
while living in Las Vegas a few years back.  About $99/wk for a
studio, $139/wk for a 1BR, payable in either weekly or monthly
installments.  This wasn't just "low-rent"; it was essentially
"slums".  Which was ironic since it was in walking distance of the
Fremont St. Experience.

> > Opposite the sofa-bed
> > was a small television atop a dresser, currently on DisneyXD and
> > showing _Spectacular Spider-Man_ with the volume turned down low; Jeff
> > couldn't help but chuckle at the irony.
>
> See, in universes with a superhero tradition stretching back to WWII or
> further, something like that existing would feel odd.  Here, though, it
> works.

Thankye.  I was wondering if it would go over well or not.

> >   Hugh ran through a mist-enshrouded forest.  He could hear the sounds
> > of pursuit coming from behind him, as arrows flew past him.  He knew
> > it was only a matter of time before one found its mark.
>
> Ah, the classic Dream Sequence Battle Symbolizing Inner Struggle.

Of course!  This, too, was one of the harder scenes to write - or at
least to get started.  Two dozen false starts and a full waste basket
of notebook paper later, and I got something suitable, I think.

> >   "I know."  Suddenly a thought occurred to him.  "Can you still still
> > fit into your Catwoman Halloween outfit from a few years ago?"
>
> ...interesting.

Never underestimate the power of a costume store!

> > Hugh fights Artemis, Apollo, Robin Hood, and Lu Bu in the dream world
>
> Ah, that's who that was.  I think "oriental warrior" needed a bit more
> detail.

Yes, it did.  I just couldn't find a suitable image of him to get a
decent description that wouldn't dominate the paragraph. :/

Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious (what with the "Orlando Bloom"
comment), the elf was meant to be Legolas.  Due to copyrights and
whatnot, however, I couldn't call him by name.  Referencing the actor
who played him in the movies, though, doesn't violate things - I hope.