CHUCK’S STORY: PART TWO [Chuck Abraham, a maintenance technician at the Savannah, Georgia, Nuclear Power Plant, found himself confronted with a hippie who had somehow infiltrated the plant during a protest. In the events that followed, he discovered that he has apparently been gifted with superhuman strength, and the ability to absorb radiation. The hippie sabotaged the reactor and escaped, but Chuck, with “help” from a mysterious glowing person who absorbed all power in the facility and then disappeared, manages to avert the crisis. He has now been offered a “job”, working with a shadowy government agency.] ====================================================== ==================== [GM] "We can leave right now," Agent Radecki says. "No need for you to talk to anyone. Don't worry; we'll deal with the investigation." <><><><><> Chuck eyes Radecki suspiciously. "'No need to..' or is it you don't WANT me to talk to anyone. Listen, pal, America suffers too many hidden secrets from the government. I'm willing to use my new powers to help out America, and I'll even join your little club or whatever you call it, but I'm not hiding my identity, and I'm NOT gonna wear a mask. In fact, as soon as I find a news crew, I'm going public with this. This is going to be fun." He grins in Radecki's face. He looks around for Kelly and winks conspiratorially at her. "After that, I'll go home and pack a few things and meet you wherever you want. I want to get a couple things at the store, too. Shouldn't take me more than a couple hours. Where do you want to meet at?" Chuck continues to look for a news crew. [David--My intentions are to have Chuck go public about his powers. I assume he knows a little about the appearance of some paranormals based on Koppel's show and CNN, and he wants to show off a little as well as keep the American people informed that they have a good guy on their side. Just put me on the air--you'll see. Also, I intend to have Chuck go home, pack up, and buy a few items for his travels to Virginia.] <><><><><> [GM] "Great," says Radecki. "That's all we need is another glory hound like Paladin. Go ahead and spout off on national TV. Let's see how eager you are for publicity when Legion comes after you." He turns and stalks off. Donovan says "By the time you're done, uh, talking to the media, Agent Radecki will have your address....and just about everything else there is to know about you." She sighs. "I expect we'll meet you at your house." Outside, news crews are starting to arrive, with stories about the "near metldown" (and plant officials hurrying out with warm, sincere smiles to assure them that the public was never in any danger....) <><><><><> Grumbling, Chuck "shoo's" Radecki off and turns to Kelly. "Why do you hang around with that loser?" >>>Donovan says "By the time you're done, uh, talking to the media, Agent Radecki will have >>>your address....and just about everything else there is to know about you." She sighs. "I >>>expect we'll meet you at your house." "I'll be sure to wear my best cologne," he grins. Chuck saunters over to the nearest news crew with a very Jack Burtonesque swagger (from Big Trouble in Little China ) and gently moves aside anyone in his way. "Alright, everyone...Listen up...You, with the camera, turn this way." Chuck walks toward the news van. "Now that I have everyone's attention: Let me introduce you to America's newest superman...me." He grasps the van's framework under the front bumper and lifts. Walking himself underneath it, he grasps the middle of the bottom framework and hoists the whole van over his head. "Ladies and gentleman, you need not fear terrorists like SCUD-man when you've got people like me around." He sets the van down as gently as possible and wipes his hands on the cloth from his back pocket. "So I don't get sued by any comic book company, just call me Supraman." He gives them a sardonic grin. "Or my real name, Chuck Abraham. Thank you for your time and just one...no...two more things. First," he looks directly in the camera and smiles widely. "Dittoes, Rush! And secondly, I hereby challenge you, Paladin, to a friendly arm- wrestling match. No reason not to have a little fun with this new phenomenon." He winks to the camera. "You up to it?" -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] Donovan: "He's not that bad....well, he can be kind of abrasive...but he's very brave, and he knows what he's doing. I guess. I'm not much of an agent, myself. I can't stand all these people that are trying to kill and destroy, it's just so....rotten!" The news crews eat up your little speech (though the owners of the van you lifted aren't too happy; when you first tilt it, you hear rattling and crashing inside, and realize you probably spilled some equipment.) When you return home, you find Radecki and Donovan waiting outside. The other agents aren't in sight, but you have no doubt they're around somewhere. "Well," growls Radecki, "I guess you can't be all bad if you're another Dittohead. I hope you can learn to control that urge to be in the spotlight, though. Why don't you pack your things, and we'll get going pronto." <><><><><> Chuck stops by the department store on his way home. His head is spinning from the day's events, so much so, in fact, that he forgets to change into his normal clothes and wears the coveralls to the store. What the hell... Searching through the sporting goods section, he finally finds something suitable (no pun intended)--a scuba diver's wetsuit--charcoal grey legs, arms, and back, with a bright purple chest and stripes down the sides of the legs. Moving on to the garment section, he searches out and finds some black dye and a stencilling kit. He purchases these items, with a nod and "howdy" to nearly everyone he passes. He's in an unusually good mood, almost euphoric. *This* he tells himself *is going to be FUN.* He finally returns to his pickup and drives back home. When Chuck returns home, he finds Radecki and Donovan waiting outside. The other agents aren't in sight, but he has no doubt they're around somewhere. "Well," growls Radecki, "I guess you can't be all bad if you're another Dittohead. I hope you can learn to control that urge to be in the spotlight, though. Why don't you pack your things, and we'll get going pronto." "No problem. Maybe I can start my own show." He winks at Kelly. At Radecki's horrified glance, he laughs, "Just kidding, I'm only kidding. I may be able to earn a little with this arm wrestling thing, though. Good, old fashioned capitalism at work, here, nothing less." It takes maybe ten minutes to pack a bag with some casual clothes, toothbrush, etc., and some paperbacks. He spends the rest of the time preparing his suit. He stencils a radiation symbol on the chest of the wetsuit in black. That ought to look fairly impressive, he thinks. The suit gets packed with the other clothes. He takes a shower, shaves (David-- you'll have to let me know if this works) his mustache completely off, and changes into a pair of Levi's, a Ga Tech T-shirt, and sneakers. "Ready to go," he announces to the agents. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The razor goes *scccrriittch* against your mustache, and when you look at it, you see the blade is nicked and abraded. It was brand new. Radecki and Donovan have a large government car. Donovan lets you take the front seat, while she sits in back and Radecki drives. Radecki stops at a McDonald's to get some coffee- "Long drive to Virginia," he says, then hits the highway. "You'll make the fifth super-type we've recruited," Radecki says, as you head north. "Although I just heard from HQ that they brought a couple more in recently. Donovan's one," he nods to the shy woman in the back seat, "we've got another with electrical powers, and a third who can turn into a shadow, if you believe that." "We started noticing superhumans showing up about a year ago. We've been trying to keep it quiet to avoid a panic. Though that's a wash now, with Deathstorm and Paladin brawling in Israel right in front of friggin' CNN. Our agency was formed almost immediately, and up til now, we've had broad powers to act outside normal channels. This is considered a vital national security issue. Imagine someone like Paladin deciding he wants to waltz into the White House, or Pulsar frying satellites and whatever else he feels like. We've already got a couple of super-psychos out there. We know that telepaths exist, and if the idea of someone who can control minds messing with Congress, or the Joint Chiefs of Staff, doesn't scare you, you haven't thought about the possibilities. We think that that nutcase Zhironovsky wasn't just talking out of his hat, by the way. There's some evidence that the KGB really is, or at least was, ahead of us in superhuman research and intelligence gathering. And we don't know what limits there are to what you people can do." "So our agency has been gathering info, and recruiting people like you, for two reasons. First, to get a better handle on what's causing this phenomenon, so maybe we can do something about it. And second, because we need people like you, to counter psychos like Lucretia and Legion, or rogue independents like Paladin who think this is all a big game and they can just do what they want." He sounds very loathe to admit that 'people like you' are needed. <><><><><> Chuck gawks at the ruined razor. *So much for my new look* I guess this will have to do. *I hope Kelly doesn't mind mustaches* he thinks presumptively. At McDonald's Chuck orders a coffee. He's not really tired, feels pretty good in fact, but wouldn't mind a shot of caffeine. After drinking half the cup he looks over to Radecki, "What the hell..." he says grumpily, "Did you get me decaff? This stuff is as bland as my sister's chicken soup." He tosses back the rest of it anyway. Chuck looks back at Kelly inquisitively. "So you're one, too? What can you do--detect supermen or something like that?" He looks back at Radecki. "Why were you at the plant anyway? That's what I would like to know." "...we need people like you, to counter psychos like Lucretia and Legion, or rogue independents like Paladin who think this is all a big game and they can just do what they want." "Hey, you're damn right. We can't have freaks running around doing whatever they want to, ignoring the law. People need to learn to respect authority in this country. I mean, when I was growing up, if a cop told you to do something, you said, 'Yes, sir,' and, by God, you did it. None of this 'police brutality' B. S. If you break the law, you've given up your rights, if you ask me." Chuck nods firmly, as if there is no argument. "You know, Radecki, you're not too bad a guy yourself. I don't care what they say about you," he grins. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "You're a riot, Abraham." Radecki sips his coffee. "Donovan can explain what she does, 'cause I barely understand it myself. But I know she can detect superhumans, among other things, and that's where she comes in most handy." "As for why we were at the plant; they recieved an extortion threat. Someone calling himself 'Cheshire' said he was going to cause a meltdown if they didn't pay him ten million dollars. And based on information I'm not at liberty to share with you, *we* heard about it, and had reason to believe there was superhuman involvement. Unfortunately, you and Donovan dropped the ball where Cheshire is concerned. But I figure that 'hippie' getup is as phony as Clinton's promises. Someone concerned about the environment might demand they shut down, or demand they use cleaner methods, or donate ten million dollars to Greenpeace or some crap like that. But this guy's a mercenary. And by the way, according to the engineers at the plant, the way he sabotaged the damping mechanism, he's got more than a passing familiarity with nuclear power plants." <><><><><> Chuck doesn't like him refering to Kelly like she's some sort of tool, and he feels his pulse in his head again, but decides to subdue it. He turns back to where she sits in the backseat. "So, what is it you can do? I mean, your power..." he blushes. "I think you had a lot of courage going in there when you knew a maniac was running around. Can't say I'd've done the same. And I'm not trying to be patronizing." Chuck blushes again. *Damn, screwed that up, didn't I...* >>>"...the way he sabotaged the damping mechanism, he's got more than a passing familiarity >>>with nuclear power plants." "Damn straight he does. I saw it myself. It'd take a pretty decent knowledge of that mechanism to know what to remove--there are so many backups to it. Even I'd have trouble figuring that out, using the technical drawings at that. And the exagerrated hippy routine, in retrospect, looks pretty phony. Man! I shoulda pounded that guy in the ground when I had the chance!" Chuck catches his fist in his other hand. Next time...pound first, ask later. Chuck reads a Western paperback the rest of the way to Virginia... -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] Kelly Donovan says "I'm...they call it 'physiopathy'. I can't read minds or anything, but I can sense someone's biochemistry, and any little change in their metabolism. I can tell when people are lying, or what they're feeling, by the changes in their blood pressure and body chemistry. I can 'read' lots of other information too, like genetics, and I can tell, somehow, when someone is another superhuman. I don't know how though." Radecki snorts. "How'd you like to have a girlfriend who can tell every little thing about you by the way you breathe, or the way your heart beats, Abraham?" Donovan blushes. "I can't help it!" she says, somewhat defensively. "Anyways," she goes on, "I'm learning how to make sense of the information I can 'read'. Before, I couldn't tell much about someone by looking at their genes, now I can tell a lot, almost as much as a genetics lab. And I'm learning to read more subtle changes in body chemistry and metabolism, and what it means." <><><><><> Chuck hears the portion of Kelly's explanation that includes "what they're feeling," and blushes severely. He looks out the window and then flips through a book to try and end the uncomfortable conversation. "Alright, alright..." growls Chuck, "I'm sorry for asking." He does not like the idea of someone who can in effect read his mind--or at least feelings. He cannot even bring himself to look back at Kelly, much less make eye contact, but he listens to the rest of her explanation anyway. When she finishes, he is silent, staring at a page in his book for ten minutes, but not reading it. Finally, he closes it and looks at a roadmap from the glovebox. *Are we there yet?* he thinks childishly. Feeling very uncomfortable with Kelly in the close confines of the car with him, but also kind of nice since he's obviously attracted to her, he looks over to Radecki. "Is it a little warm in here to you?" he asks casually, rolling down the window for some fresh air. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] Radecki snickers, which makes you blush more. Kelly doesn't say anything. The drive to Virginia takes a while, but eventually you find yourself on a country back road. Radecki pulls into a modest ranch spread, with a large farmhouse surrounded by green fields on all sides. "Home sweet home," Radecki says. "Looks nice and innocuous, don't it? Trust me, if we hadn't been recognized miles away, we'd have been stopped long before now." He parks in a lot behind the house, where you notice that there are quite a few cars, and a few unmarked vans. <><><><><> Chuck looks around and nods in approval. "I like it. I like it. Radecki, you got real class, my friend." It's not clear whether he's refering to the scenery or the cleverness of the secluded place. Radecki parks in a lot behind the house, where you notice that there are quite a few cars, and a few unmarked vans. Chuck gets out quickly for someone his size and reaches back to open the door for Kelly. As she gets out, he offers a massive arm to help her out of the car. Chuck retrieves his gym bag and immediately begins walking toward the house. "This must be where we're going," he says pointing toward the house. Regardless of what the other agents do, Chuck continues to head for the nearest door to the house, walking in front, and simply opens it when he reaches the door. He is, after all, in charge here. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] You find several men waiting for you inside. They're wearing white lab coats, just like stereotypical "scientists in a secret laboratory." They look over your shoulder at Radecki and Donovan (the latter is grumbling as he catches up to you.) "Meet our newest super," Radecki says. "What was it you called yourself? Oh yeah, 'Supraman'. Real catchy." "We saw the newscast," says one of the scientists. "We've been hoping to find someone with superhuman strength, like Paladin. He can't possibly lift objects like an oil platform and a tank with sheer muscle power. Maybe by analyzing you we can figure out if it's a telekinetic manifestation, or-" "Told you!" Radecki laughs. "You're not even in the door and they can't wait to get you into the lab!" <><><><><> "Yeah," says Chuck with a furrowed brow. "He's right. I'm here to kick some Third World ass, not to sit in a damn lab. Let's start talking about missions, rescues, that kind of thing, not tests." Chuck looks around at all the pencil-necks with disdain. "And when do I get to meet the President?" -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The scientists look at each other, then you. "The President?" one asks. Radecki says "Whaddayou wanna meet the President for? I don't think you're going to get an audience with him just you can tell him you think he's a putz. 'Specially after that little nationwide 'Ditto' you gave." Another man enters the room, a muscular fellow wearing jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt. Radecki says "This is Special Agent Lyle Mabe, who's in charge of our field operations. He's the one to talk to about 'rescue missions'. 'Cept we ain't that organized yet, right now we're just trying to keep on top of the superhuman situation." Mabe looks you up and down. "You're the strongman from Georgia, right? 'Supraman'?" A faint smile crosses his lips. "Eager to go bust some heads, huh?" He looks over at Radecki. "Maybe we should introduce him to Lucretia." Radecki snorts. <><><><><> Chuck's faint smile spreads into a large grin at Radecki's words. He announces loudly to the room, "My man, you know me too well! Too well!" He laughs heartily. Chuck looks the muscular agent up and down and gives a quick nod of approval. Here was someone who took care of himself. Maybe go pump some iron later on with. Ooops. Hadn't thought of that before. Might be kinda difficult to workout now with normal weights. Chuck wondered how he was going to handle this little change to his routine. Chuck snorts right after Radecki. "Lucretia, huh? So what is this...Addams Family? Let's get one thing straight, partner. I don't hit women. And as far as the name goes, you can call me Supraman, Chuck, or Abe. Abe was my football nickname." Chuck gazes around the room to see just what kind of place he's in. He is nearly a head taller than anyone else here, so it doesn't take much effort to look around. "All- state champions, by the way," he adds with a sniff. Chuck glares at the assembled scientists and agents. "So neighbors, what's next?" -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "You don't hit women, huh?" Mabe narrows his eyes in an unpleasant smile. "Not even psychotic killers who rip the wings off airplanes- in flight- just for the heck of it? This lady is a real charmer, and she's also damn near invincible. 'Lucretia' is just a nickname we gave her, because of her charming personality, until we learned her real name." "What's next is hopefully you let these gentlemen perform some tests, so maybe we can get a better idea of what you're capable of. You might discover you have other powers besides super strength. Besides, maybe you'd like to know if you really *are* as strong as Paladin, before you embarrass yourself in public. He hasn't been cooperative enough to drop in here, but from what we do know of him, you'll have to be able to lift a lot more than a van to be in his league." <><><><><> "Sounds like a real sweetie-pie, this Lucretia." Chuck rolls his eyes. He starts to make a lewd comment about her and then swiftly remembers Kelly is in the room with him. uh...never mind. "Tell you what, I'll let you do some tests, but I think I'll take my chances with Paladin. It doesn't really matter if I win or lose. This is a chance for me to make some cash, and I'm not going to pass it up. In fact, I don't WANT to know how strong I am. We'll just let it turn out how it turns out. If I have some other powers, that WOULD be interesting to know, so I guess we can go ahead and work on figuring that out." Chuck tosses his gym bag on the nearest table. He glares at the nearest scientist. "So, Einstein, where do we start?" he says impatiently. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "A physical" says the scientist nearest you. "Exam, blood tests, that sort of thing." The first problem comes when they want to draw your blood; their needles won't penetrate your skin. "We thought of this," says Dr. Miller, the one in charge of the team that's converged on you. He produces a sinister looking apparatus, power cords connected to gleaming silver machinery and a wicked point. "It's got an almost microscopic diamond point, and can vibrate a couple thousand times per second. Don't worry, it won't make a bigger hole than a normal hypodermic, but it should penetrate anything softer than diamond. If that doesn't work, we can always try the laser...." You're not sure if he's joking about the laser, but fortunately, the diamond-tipped needle goes in, though not easily. They draw some blood, and it withdraws. While biologists and physicists mutter about "tensile strength" and "psychokinetic augmention" and such, they finish examining you, and the immediate conclusion is that your body has somehow been transformed into something other than normal human flesh, on a cellular level. Your skin, though still pliable, is now as hard as steel. They actually use some pressure gauges and other, more arcane instruments to test it, after which Miller tells you, "I'd guess you could withstand any sort of small arms fire, though indestructible you're not. I wouldn't stand in front of a tank gun, if I were you." The second shock comes when the blood tests come back. There is much conferring, with several biologists and physiologists huddled together looking at microscope slides and computer printouts. As you start getting impatient, Miller returns to you and asks, "Can you try something else for us? I'd like you to hold your breath. As long as you can." He puts a stethoscope to your chest as you comply. The funny thing is, you don't seem to get tired. Your lungs don't start burning, like they usually do after a while. Your eyes don't water, and you don't feel lightheaded. You realize, rather unnerved, that you haven't taken a breath in a long time, but you feel fine. A long time. Finally, Miller says, rather shaken, "Mr. Abraham.....I don't think you're breathing any more." It seems a rather obvious comment, and you say so, but he says "No, I mean you don't breath, not really, at ALL. You were inhaling and exhaling this whole time, but only from habit. Your blood...we drew it from a vein, which carries blood *into* the heart. It should have been oxygen-depleted. But it had a higher level of oxygen than anyone has even in arterial blood. That, and some other things that Ms. Donovan told us.....we think your body is somehow creating oxygen *internally*. But I don't know what the hell that means about what your lungs are doing." "There's another thing-" he hesitates. "Well, we'd better wait and see how the next batch of tests comes out." <><><><><> Chuck: Chuck is really wierded out by this whole thing, but he doesn't let it show in his expression. "Go ahead and tell me, pal. Am I dead?" he asks sarcastically. He takes a deep breath and tries to feel for his pulse anyway. "I tell you what. This is some strange happenings, friends." He shakes his head. He almost forgets he's impatient, but then remembers. "When are we going to be done with all these tests anyway? It's probably getting kind of late, isn't it?" He glances quickly at his watch. <><><><><> [GM] "Umm, yes, I suppose you must be tired." The scientist goes back to his colleagues, while Mabe shows you to a moderate sized, comfortably furnished room, like in a good hotel. "The cafeteria is always open," he says, "if you get hungry in the middle of the night." But after lying in bed for a while, you realize you're not tired, at all. Nor are you hungry. You close your eyes and stop breathing, waiting to feel the familiar ache in your lungs urging you to inhale. It doesn't come. You lie there, unbreathing, as it dawns on you just how much you've changed. It's a lot more than super strength and radiation resistance. But what are the scientists hiding? <><><><><> Chuck: Not feeling at all tired, Chuck tosses and turns and finally heads out of his room to wander the place for a while. He looks for anything carelessly left out to read that might give him more info on the superpowereds running around. He doesn't get too nosy, but will pick up anything he finds lying about. If nothing else catches his interest, he looks for any other rooms like his which might be occupied by other paranormals. He knocks on any doors which look promising. [CONTINUED IN “THE VIRGINIA GATHERING”]