8FOLD: Mighty Medley # 16, April 2015, "The Last Story" - Dramatis Personae

[Tom Russell]

----IN RECOGNITION OF TEN YEARS OF GREAT STORIES----
-------------EIGHTFOLD PROUDLY PRESENTS-------------
----------------------------------------------------
##     ## ####  ######   ##     ## ######## ##    ##
###   ###  ##  ##    ##  ##     ##    ##     ##  ##
#### ####  ##  ##        ##     ##    ##      ####
## ### ##  ##  ##   #### #########    ##       ##
##     ##  ##  ##    ##  ##     ##    ##       ##
##     ##  ##  ##    ##  ##     ##    ##       ##
##     ## ####  ######   ##     ##    ##       ##
-------------- ISSUE # 16  APRIL 2015 --------------
##     ## ####### ########  ##       ###### ##    ##
###   ### ##      ##     ## ##       ##      ##  ##
#### #### ##      ##     ## ##       ##       ####
## ### ## ######  ##     ## ##       ######    ##
##     ## ##      ##     ## ##       ##        ##
##     ## ##      ##     ## ##       ##        ##
##     ## ####### ########  ######## ######    ##
----------------------[8F-141]----------------------
-----------------------[PW11]-----------------------
-------------------The Last Story-------------------
-----------------Dramatis Personae------------------
--------------- Editor, Tom Russell ----------------
----------------------------------------------------

"And old-time friends and twilight plays
 And starry nights and sunny days
 Come trouping up the misty ways
 When my fire burns low."
          -- Poet unknown


Character notes, comprising two parts:
 I.   Organizations
 II.  Old-Time Friends


I. Organizations

FEVER.
Mysterious terrorist organization, led by the vile CARACALLA.

The PULSE COLLECTIVE.
Alien empire, millenniums old, that has of late declared war upon the Earth.

The DAYLIGHTERS.
Loose-knit world-wide social network of superheroes, mad scientists,
and other specialists created by BLUE BOXER to combat FEVER.

II. Old-Time Friends

Roughly in order of appearance, following the form:

Name, ALIAS. Summary. (SERIES)

*-*-*

David Rossi, THE LIVING VIRUS.
Villain-turned-hero, symbiotic relationship with a virus to which his
own body is immune. An expert on non-traditional diseases and
pathogens. Formerly a member of The Nostalgics, now affiliated with
the Daylighters. (THE NOSTALGICS)

Jerome Saylor, THE CHEMIST.
Retired villain, brother of WHISTLER (deceased), partner of GALLERY.
Together, the three of them often opposed DARKHORSE II. Saylor has
lost his ability to spontaneously generate chemical compounds, but
remains an expert chemist. In that capacity, he is affiliated with the
Daylighters. (JOLT CITY)

CARACALLA.
Mysterious head of the body-terror organization FEVER. Sometimes
called KARA CALLER. (JOLT CITY)

Rebecca "Becky" Glass.
Agent for the Department of Homeland Security who is charge of
investigating FEVER. (JOLT CITY)

Derek Mason, BLUE BOXER.
Former sidekick to GREEN KNIGHT II, founder of the Daylighters. No
powers, rubbish fighting skills, and his gadgets often malfunction.
Most of the general public consider him a joke, but he has come to be
respected by his fellow four-colours. Highly intelligent, he often
comes up with innovative, big-picture solutions to knotty problems,
but usually leaves the details and execution to others. (JOLT CITY)

Rachel, THE BLUE WITCH.
In childhood, called THE TEARDROP PRINCESS. Now an adult, blue and
translucent. Water given human shape and life through fairy magic.
(JOURNEY INTO)

Gregory Dingham, sometimes called THE VOX.
Troubled young man who alters reality with his voice. Generally denies
the label of black cape, but his actions, even if accidental, tended
to be destructive. In 2005, he was responsible for the devastating
Wisconsin earthquake. Facing the death penalty, he removed himself
from existence later that year. In 2014, he returned. (SPEAK!)

Kate Morgan, DR. METRONOME II.
Concert pianist and outlaw superhero who phases through matter using
the Metronome Belt. Formerly a member of the Nostalgics, now
affiliated with the Daylighters, which has protected her from
prosecution for illegal superheroing. (JOURNEY INTO, SPEAK!, THE
NOSTALGICS)

RAINSHADE.
Umbrella-wielding superheroine of whom Kate Morgan is not fond. Also a
Daylighter. (JOLT CITY, JOURNEY INTO)

INSPECTOR THREE-NINE.
Robot Tokyo policeman charged with punishing all robocrimes. Armed
with a Martian beam pistol. (JOLT CITY, MIGHTY MEDLEY)

GREY GELDING.
Robot horse from the Golden Age, shut down by court order and stored
in the Goodman Museum. Decades later, restored to operable status by
DOCTOR FAY after the destruction of the Goodman Museum in the
Wisconsin earthquake brought renewed attention to the Gelding's story.
(JOURNEY INTO)

Edvark, THE BLACKFIN.
Pretender to the throne of Lemuria. His attempts to dethrone his
half-brother PRINCE TERAK were often thwarted by DARKHORSE III.
(MIGHTY MEDLEY)

John Danisee, LIGHT EAGLE.
Semi-retired telepathic superhero turned guidance counselor and
teacher at BURLINGTON COLLEGE. In a relationship with Muriel Muunoki,
the powerful telepath called GALADRIEL. (MY FATHER'S SON)

Melody Mapp, DARKHORSE III.
Speedster whose powers derive from a high-tech wristwatch that is also
keeping her alive. By all calculations, she will die on Christmas Day
in 2014. The niece of DANIELLE "DANI" HANDLER, former paramour of
GREEN KNIGHT II and roommate of BLUE BOXER; her aunt passed away in
2013 from breast cancer. Affiliated with the Daylighters. (MIGHTY
MEDLEY)

KING KUDZU.
Sentient, evil plant. (JOURNEY INTO)

THE GORGON.
Self-evolving computer virus bent on the extinction of the human race.
The oldest and most implacable foe of the first two Darkhorses.
(JOURNEY INTO, JOLT CITY)

Brian Clipper, DARKHORSE II.
Retired speedster. Well-liked. Imprisoned in 2013 for a crime he did
not commit. (JOURNEY INTO, JOLT CITY)

Phil Whaley, DARKHORSE I.
Retired speedster who lost his physical speed, but not his awareness,
in battle with GREGORY DINGHAM. With JULIE ANN JUSTICE, he was one of
the first teenaged heroes to debut after the High Roller tragedy. A
member of the SEVEN WONDERS while active. Went on to serve as
Secretary for the Department of Four-Colour Affairs for Presidents
George W. Bush and Barack Obama before stepping down in 2009. (SPEAK!,
JOURNEY INTO)

Kid Enthusiastic.
Helpful artificial intelligence. (MIGHTY MEDLEY)

Bethany Clayton, KNOCKOUT MOUSE.
Geneticist and superheroine whose Singularity Gauntlet allows her to
adjust the density and mass of her mean right hook. Popular and
beloved, her affiliation with the Daylighters is a major reason for
the project's success. (JOLT CITY, JOURNEY INTO)

Julie Ann Justice.
Invulnerable, super-strong, flying superheroine who was the last
leader of the legendary and now-defunct SEVEN WONDERS. In that role,
she saw them through the late 2013 Red Hart crisis. Wife of the HUMAN
ZEPPELIN, who is believed, erroneously, to be responsible for Earth's
war with the Pulse Collective. (JOURNEY INTO, RED HART)

Deidre Landowski.
Paranormal investigator who pals around with an angel called JOAN, and
thus has access to the MEME-SMITHS OF HEAVEN. (MIGHTY MEDLEY)

HOTSPUR.
Artificial intelligence, using cased in a variety of robot bodies,
that was driven insane by the works of William Shakespeare and,
notably, only speaks in such quotations. (JOLT CITY, JOURNEY INTO)

Docrates, the Mighty Supragato.
A domestic housecat with a wide variety of super-powers, commonly
believed to be the most powerful mortal in the universe. The pet, at
least ostensibly, of JULIE ANN JUSTICE and the HUMAN ZEPPELIN. His
name has become synonymous with power levels that are beyond human
comprehension; such beings are called Doc-Classers. (JOURNEY INTO)

Dr. Fatima Tarif, DOCTOR FAY.
Mad scientist and bon vivant extraordinaire, inventor of a working
perpetual motion machine. (JOLT CITY, JOURNEY INTO, MIGHTY MEDLEY)

Jamy Lo.
Alien, silicone-based scientist. (RED HART)