8FOLD: Darkhorse # 1, "Young Hearts, Be Free Tonight"

Drew Perron pwerdna at gmail.com
Sun May 15 22:22:30 PDT 2016


On 5/8/2016 1:22 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
> Melody Mapp was fourteen and dying when her mother gave up her own
> life to give her six more years. Since that day, Melody has used this
> borrowed time, and the super-speed that came with it, to protect the
> Earth and make a difference.
>    She has six days left.

DUN DUN DUN. :D

> PREVIOUSLY, IN THE EIGHTFOLD UNIVERSE
>    Kate Morgan (Dr. Metronome II) has been missing for four months.
> There have been scattered and brief sightings across the globe, but
> she disappears as soon as she's seen. Melody has resolved to find her
> and bring her back for good.
>    It hasn't been going well.

Awwwwww. ^^;

>    There might be worse ways to spend the Saturday before Christmas
> than working her way through the cybernetic defenses clandestinely
> installed in the intestines of the U.N. Secretary General, but she
> can't think of one.

Oh my god. XD

> "Almost always" because people like Microdot have an extremely
> rare gene that allows their bodies to exist on various planes of
> reality, leaving an infinite amount of room for an infinite number of
> atoms.

What? How is that genetic? XD

(The Encyclopedia Ununnilica reports that the first time Drew said "What? How is 
that genetic?" was in early 1993. When picking up New Warriors #32 off the 
spinner rack at their local mini-mart, they discovered that it contained a 
character that had the mutant ability to contact the Darkforce Dimension. 
Eventually, they got used to the idea that literally any manipulation of reality 
or consciousness can be achieved by folding proteins, but the embogglement still 
crops up from time to time.)

> Since speedsters are able to vibrate their molecules so as to
> co-exist with solid matter, they're the only ones without that gene
> that can survive miniaturization.

I mean that makes sense.

>    Which means: Ugh City, Population: Melody. On the bright side, when
> the job is done all she needs to do is vibrate her way out of the
> Secretary General, instead of the more conventional exit for visitors
> to the intestines.

Heeheehee

>    "The body adapts to it eventually," says Microdot as the process
> begins. "After a few dozen shrinks, you can do it just like that," she
> snaps her fingers, "but the first time, you're looking at six hours,
> easy."
>    "Six hours!"
>    "Yep," says Microdot apologetically. "And you can't nap,
> unfortunately. If you dream while your brain is being enlarged, it can
> cause permanent brain damage. Pinpoint found that out the hard way."

Why. XD

>    "No offense, but shrinking is a pretty dumb power."
>    "No argument from me," says Microdot. "I guess you can say that I
> kinda drew the short straw. Ha!" (She snorts when she laughs.)

That's adorable.

>    Melody's met her only twice before. The only thing that sticks out
> about her, besides the terrible jokes and snort-laughing, is that
> Microdot's a huge film nerd: obsessively, narrowly so. She seems
> incapable of talking about much else. In the middle of a fight,
> Microdot is always trying to sell her fellow four-colors, and even
> black capes, on languid three-hour French movies about librarians who
> eat magic time-travel candy so they can solve a murder mystery.

Oh man, that sounds really fun. :o

> It's just
> going to make her angry, and angry's not who she is. "I appreciate the
> offer," she says with extra sweetness, "but I actually have some work
> to do. Could you patch my head-set into Medusa?"
>    "Sure, sure," says Microdot. She sounds hurt; Melody might not have
> sounded as sweet and kind as she intended. That seems to be happening
> a lot, lately, rubbing people the wrong way, coming across on edge.
> That bothers Melody: that's not who she is.

...hmmmmmm. I dunno, honestly she's always come off as having a frustrated, 
slightly raw edge, mostly manifesting as snark.

>    Medusa's synthesized voice is low and flat, a monotone, rich with
> vocal fry. A deliberate choice to appear more human, or at least
> that's what Melody had thought when they were first introduced. Once
> she had gotten to know her, however, Melody realized it was less about
> Medusa trying to pass as "human" and more about Medusa trying to
> making humans feel more comfortable. Less about herself, more about
> the rest of them. That went a long way toward earning Melody's trust,
> especially given the fact that Medusa is an off-shoot of a computer
> virus dedicated to the eradication of all human life.

Awwwww, that's nice. :>

>    "Well, actually, it's increased by a factor of 5.563. I received an
> upgrade courtesy of CTS." (Blue Boxer knew Anders Cradle from way back
> in Jolt City. After the Pulse attack in August, Cradle and his
> company, rebranded Cradle Tech Solutions, started donating free
> technology to the Daylighters, a huge boon in their fight against
> FEVER.)

Ohhhhhhh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. o.o;;;

> Her optimism, even joking, was unwarranted. They go over everything
> twice. Even the Daylighters' other resident AI, Kid Enthusiastic,
> joins in. They end up empty-handed. "Thanks anyway, guys," says
> Melody. "I'd appreciate it if you could keep going over it in the
> background."

Awww. <3

>    "No," says Medusa. "On the contrary, I am almost certain that Dr.
> Metronome will be found. And I believe the work we've done together
> will be instrumental in bringing her back to our physical reality.
> That your time, effort, and dedication in particular will bring about
> this result."
>    "There's a 'but' in there somewhere."
>    "I am less certain however that it will happen between now and next
> Thursday."

Awwwwwwwwww. :<

>    "Look, I get it. You're worried, all y'all are worried, that if I
> can't bring Kate back before I die, I'm going to feel miserable and
> depressed and feel like I was a failure my whole life or something.
> But I'm not going to feel like that."
>    "I am glad to hear it, Melody."
>    "And the reason I'm not going to feel like that is that I'm going
> to bring her back."

^^;;;;;

>    She checks her email. She's got one from Simon Morgan-- Kate's
> younger brother. Kate had basically raised both Simon and her little
> sister Calliope since their mother died about ten years back. Simon,
> always a serious and strange little boy, has retained those qualities
> now that he's an adult, and has been taking Kate's disappearance with
> remarkable maturity.

Oh nice! The passage of time, eh. <3

> Calliope, always prone to throwing fits and
> making awful decisions, and the latter usually on purpose and out of
> spite, has likewise been acting true to form.

^^; Ha boy. This description... reminds me of someone else who's been under a 
lot of stress lately.

>    That made her think of Aunt Dani in the kitchen. Aunt Dani always
> had something hot and ready for her when she got home. (Whether or not
> it was edible was another question.) But that's all gone now; Aunt
> Dani's been gone for almost a year now. Melody couldn't bear to keep
> living in that house in Atlanta after that; it was too dark and silent
> and empty. Not that this apartment makes her feel any less alone. She
> doesn't want to die alone. She doesn't want to die at all.

:<

>    "Enough of that," she says, wiping at the corners of her eyes with
> her fingertips. "Enough. I don't have time for this. Neither does
> Kate."

awwwwwwwww. :< :< :<

>    Prince Terak, heir to the undersea kingdom of Lemuria. "Good
> evening, oh black pearl of the sea."
>    "I kinda told you to stop calling me that," she says, feigning
> irritation. (Really, after awhile, it has a nice ring to it.)

Heeheehee. ^.^

>    "Then, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you in."
>    He reaches out and cradles her cheek in the palm of his ice-cold
> hand. The cold feels nice against her hot skin. It feels right. He
> kisses her. That feels right, too.
>    "Okay," she says. "You can come in."

awwwwwwww <3

>    "But it's just not for me," she says. "Honestly, Terry? Even if I
> wasn't dying. Even if I had my whole life ahead of me. Even if we
> could grow old together. Even though you love me and, yeah, I love you
> too. Even with all that. It wouldn't be for me. It's just not who I
> am. Just not who I want to be. This, this..." She waves her hand
> around in frantic circles. "All this stuff that I do, running around.
> People think the only reason why I'm doing it is because I got sick,
> because I'm running out of time, so I'm making it count, whatever.
> That because of it I don't let myself live my life.
>    "But Terry, this is me living my life. This is what me living my
> life looks like. Because this is what I want my life to be. And if I
> had more time-- and God, Terry!, I want more time!-- then I think I'd
> still be doing exactly what I'm doing."
>    He's silent for a moment. Then: "I will miss you sorrowfully, oh
> black pearl of the sea."
>    "I ain't dead yet, Romeo." She throws him on the bed.

awwwwwwwwwwwwww. ;.;vvv I love it.

Drew "SHE'S SO FREAKING COOL" Perron


More information about the racc mailing list