HCC/MISC: A Genre Story

[Dave Van Domelen]

                              "A Genre Story"
                         A Miscellaneous RACC Tale
                      Written by Dave Van Domelen, 2011
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     Genericman gazed coolly across the windswept plain at his rival.  His
muscles rippled under his costume and he spared a glance around at the
scenery.  There were no Greyhound buses to throw.  Not even his Genericmobile
seemed to be present.  He wasn't entirely sure how he'd come to be here, but
then again, he was used to ending up in improbable places for poorly defined
reasons.  It was part of the job.
     "So, how do we do this?" Generic Man (tm) asked, looking as uncertain as
Genericman felt.  "I mean, we're both generic, right?  Are we supposed to be
having a name rights battle, so I can defend my trademark?  Thing is, we're
both supposed to be generic, typical of our genre, so I'm not sure even a
Lethal Lawyer would want to touch that case.  My trademark may be purely
ironic, for all I know."
     Genericman shrugged stoically.  As a reporter for a great metropolitan
newspaper, words were his business.  Well, fighting crime was his business,
words were more of a convenient sideline to help drive the plot.  Names were
important words, and genres had to have conventions.  The name battle was
certainly a convention of the genre he typified.
     After a long pause, Genericman said, "I think part of the problem is
that we're not exactly the same genre.  One might argue we're both
Subgenericmen, but that's not very flattering.  I typify the Golden Age sort
of hero, with truth, justice and so forth.  I can alter the course of raging
rivers, I'm more powerful than a locomotive...that sort of thing."
     "While I'm from more of an Iron Age genre," Generic Man (tm) nodded.
"My powers are bog-standard for the age of trying to tie things together
under some sort of pseudoscientific umbrella, while angsting about how my
powers make me an outcast."
     "Still, our genres do have enough in common that some sort of agreement
will have to be made," Genericman pondered.  "Perhaps there is a middle way,
a sort of Silver Age counterpart who will reveal to both of us that we're
part of an interstellar corps of generic men and women?"
     As if on cue, a man in a white bodysuit with a UPC symbol burst into
view in a halo of pale blue radiation.
     "I am Generic 9999 9999 9999, The Final Genericked Player, and the
Menders have sent me back in time with a dire warning!"

WHAT IS THIS DIRE WARNING?

WHAT UNIVERSE IS THIS STORY SET IN, ANYWAY?  

WILL THE AUTHOR and/or WRITER MAKE IT TO CLASS ON TIME?

     No answers are expected to be forthcoming, on the next Superguy, Legion
of Net.Heroes, or anywhere else, so stop asking all those questions, CAPTAIN
CAPITALIZE! 

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Author's Notes:

     Just a quick bit of nonsense for the "Use Other People's Characters"
High Concept Challenge.  Genericman is Ben Brown's, Generic Man (tm) is
Martin Phipps's.  I didn't ask either, but hopefully they won't mind given
that this is aggressively out of continuity.  ;)  And Generic 9999 9999 9999
is a character idea I've been kicking around for City of Heroes.