🚀 go-pugleaf

COPYRIGHT NOTE:
   The following scenes are extracted from the Super Seven
series entitled "Caverns of Gratuitous Death." and are
reposted with the permission of Mr. Greg Fishbone.  Although
the first draft of each scene was written by Roger Christman
(after some dialogue collaboration with Mr. Jesse Taylor and
Dr. Louise Freeman), they still fall under the domain of
that series.  Other characters appear with the permission of
the three Authors listed above.

CONTINUITY NOTE:
   All of the following occurs as part of the above series,
and occurs in the first week of August, 1995.  As far as the
Jackson Six series, it begins after the conclusion of the
"Sayonara! Farewell!" arc in episode 10, and runs more or
less concurrently with episodes 11 through 19.


                    Jackson Six Special

                    from the tale of the
                 Cavern of Gratuitous Death


   Richard Jackson relaxed in his easy chair.  It was good
to be home (in more ways than one).  Even if West Reno
wasn't as splashy, high-tech, or unpolluted as Neo-Reno, it
was home. He could again enjoy all the pleasures that were
unavailable in the other reality -- hunting on weekends,
drinking late at Mel's, getting a good rare steak any time
he wanted.
   As he relaxed, the doorbell rang.  His visitor was his
former commanding officer, General Tripper.
   "Ah, good morning, sir."
   "Good morning, Jackson.  Mind if I step in?"
   "Oh, please do, sir!"  Richard ushered the General in,
shutting the front door behind him.  'I would offer you a
drink, sir, but I'm afraid my habits are not quite as ...
particular as yours."
   "That is quite all right, Jackson.  This is not entirely
a social call."  At this point, he summarized the Super
Seven announcement [announcing openings in the team].
   "I thank you for your consideration, sir," Richard said
to his commanding officer, "but I really do feel that I'm
too old for that."
   "You're right," General Tripper replied.  "You *are* too
old.  You are not expected to join the team; merely to
observe and report."
   "Observe what?  A bunch of superhero auditions?"
   "Yes. We have all of these potential superheroes all in
one place at the same time.  Now, think of the
possibilities.  One: this could be ruse similar to the
Flatphoot Phollies, to destroy our children -- our future;
Two: the Japanese may have plans on coopting all of these
applicants, creating the single largest unified Superguy
force known to man.  My former associates in CRASH don't
like this, since the danger to our national security is
obvious.
   "But frankly, if you ask me, I think both scenarios are
off the mark -- they're too obvious.  No, I think the
Communists are planning to poison all these young minds, so
they can undermine our great society from within..."
   In true form, General Tripper produced argument after
argument, proving that this was the most sensible
explanation.  Many people would think he was totally off his
rocker (including anyone who read Jackson Six #3), but
Richard had never known him to make a wrong call.
   "Very good, sir.  Are there any specifics to this
mission?"
   "You will keep your distance at all times, and will be
maintaining communication with your contact inside."
   "And who will this contact be?"
   "Someone you already know well."  With this he went to
the front door, opened it, and signaled outside.  In walked
a demure girl, dressed all in black, with a short-sleeve
blouse, tight shorts, and a black bowler cap.  She looked
very much like a cabaret girl, if you overlooked the vigor
with which she was chewing her bubble gum.
   "Mary?  But she's just a kid--"
   "Come on, Dad!  I'm *sixteen*!" Mary insisted.
   "They're getting younger every year," General Tripper
replied. "She'll fit in perfectly."
   "How is she supposed to be able to join a superhero
team?"
   "Well, for one thing, she doesn't need to.  All she needs
to do is get an interview.  The rest is your job."
   "And how will she get to the interview?"
   "She has a few useful skills.  It seems you have trained
her to be a very good pilot, and she can be very perceptive
sometimes."
   "Ah, yes.  That magic hat."
   Mary smiled sweetly, adjusting the bowler on her head.
   General Tripper chuckled.  "Ah yes, the hat.  I had a few
of my associates examine it.  It turns out there is nothing
at all unusual about this hat.  It seems you have one very
Special daughter here."  He smiled.
   "She's not my daughter."
   "Daddy!"
   "She says different," retorted Tripper, suddenly all
serious.  "And I'll not have family squabbles interfere with
a mission!  Here, toss me your cap."  Richard did so.
   "Okay, Mary.  Which way is north?"
   "North?  Let's see, that's left when the sun rises,
right?"  She stood in thought for awhile, and then picked a
direction.  Somehow Richard knew she was off by about
fifteen degrees.
   General Tripper then removed the bowler from Mary's head,
and replaced it with Richard's cap.  "Okay, Missy.  Try
again."
   This time there was no delay whatsoever -- she was
pointing unerringly towards magnetic north.
   Tripper spoke up again.  "Let's just say she just learned
something from dear old Dad.  I expect you will find it very
easy to maintain a covert radio link during the entire trip,
and I expect you to use it."
   "But how--" Richard began.
   "It will be explained later; you have a plane to catch.
Oh, her code name will be Handmedown."

                           *****

   Nina reviewed the list of signatures in her hand, and
scanned the room.  So far it had been a busy day, but there
were still a lot of people to go, including that teenager in
the corner, wearing a derby and dressed almost entirely in
black leather.  Apparently she was known as Handmedown.
   "Can I have your autograph?"  the Tornado Knight shouted,
as she shoved the paper and pen into the girl's face.
Handmedown looked up in surprise, more from the question
than from Nina's appearance.
   "Wait!  You want *my* autograph?"
   "Like, sure! If you're here, you must be kinda famous,
right?"
   "Um, no.  This is my first time."
   "Cool!  I'm kinda, y'know, new to this big-time hero
stuff too!"
   "Really?  Wow!  Do you have, like, powers too?"
   "Yeah, the dread power of Incessant Happiness," muttered
Lori, who was keeping tabs on Nina's activities.  She
listened carefully for Nina's response.
   "Like, no...  I've just got this, like, armor suit they
gave me.  It's, like, really keen!"
   "Armor?"  Handmedown pondered.  "You mean like knights in
shining armor?"
   "Yeah, Tornado Knights!  You've heard of us?!"
   "Er, no.  Do you ride on horses and visit castles?"
Handmedown asked doubtfully.  Nina stalled, trying to make
sense of the question, and then plowed on.
   "We're, like, this secret organization that, like, aids
the evil schemes of--mmmphmmmm!"
   Shana and Lori suddenly appeared, as if by magic, and
dragged Nina aside.  "Nina, do you know who that girl is?"
Lori asked.
   "A heroine or something!" Nina said.  "Isn't this cool?
I'm gonna get her autograph and everything!"
   Shana rolled her eyes.  "Nina, she's a heroine.  And
who's the guy we work for?"
   "Uhm...  A villain?"
   "So what does that make us?"
   Nina looked thoughtful.  "Employed?"
   "No, you twit, it makes *us* villains *too*!" Shana
hissed.  "Now, unless you've forgotten, we're practically
neck-deep in heroes here..."
   "Don't I know it!"  Nina sighed.  "I'm gonna run out of
space in my autograph book!"
   Lori and Shana glanced at each other, and sighed.  "Look,
just... don't tell her about Garbage's plans, okay?  Or
we'll have to hurt you."
   "Uhm... okay."
   Nina returned to Handmedown, who had apparently been
patiently waiting for her.  "Hi, again!  Sorry about that!"
Nina glanced back at Lori.
   "Hi." Handmedown replied.
   "Like, anyway, we fly around and..."  She glanced back at
Shana.  "...oppose the evil plans of, like, GENUHM and
stuff."
   "'Jennum'?  Is he like one of the Communist guys?  That's
all my Dad and his one boss talk about -- the Communists."
   "Like, I dunno...  It's like, uhm, a company or
something.  They make, y'know, big robots and stuff."
   Handmedown shuddered, and then quietly asked, "Big
robots?  You mean like giant spiders, and monster robots?"
   "Like, yeah!  Big mean ones!"
   Handmedown looked really disturbed.  "And like an
airplane becomes part of a bigger robot monster?"
   "Like, an airplane?  Like, uhm, I dunno.  Maybe I slept
through that part..."
   Handmedown relaxed ever so slightly.  "Maybe that was
something else," she said, half to herself.
   Nina continued, "There's, like, a guy named Ray Sterling
who, like, has a transforming plane...  Like, maybe you
were, like, thinking of him?"
   "Um, I don't think so.  I think this guy was like
Chinese, or something."
   "Chinese?  Like, whoa!"  Nina looked thoughtful.  "Wow,
y'know, I could really go for some Chinese food right n--"
she trailed off, noticing something.  "Hey, it's the Two
Guys and a Lemming!  Cool!  I have *got* to get their
autograph!!"  She sped off towards the aforementioned
heroes, waving at Handmedown.  "See ya 'round!"

                           *****

   Richard left the tour group in disgust.  Many of the
other tourists were amazed at the highly complex set of
machinery that whirled, swirled, and stirred several colored
liquids together.  Richard knew that this was not the real
process, but just a demo to impress the visitors.  He had
seen the same sort of thing in the US.
   Since his arrival, Richard had been wondering what the
presumed Communists were up to, and now he wondered how he
could have been so blind.  Jusanbashi's major business was
the manufacture of food additives...  Their headquarters was
in Japan...  One of their stated objectives was an increased
market share in the United States...  As far as Richard was
concerned, one plus one plus one equalled Nipponapa, Phoc
Dhat, and Communist conspiracy.
   The tour was not limited to showing off Jusanbashi's
chemical advances, however.  There was also a whole display
room devoted to the company's sponsorship of the Super
Seven.  There were publicity stills with corporate heads,
Japanese celebrities, and some guy named Bud-Lite Man.
There were stunning on-the-scene shots with various
incarnations of the Supreme Warlord.  Hell[tm], the gift
shop was full of Super Seven memorabilia.
   All of this was notable, but one particular observation
struck Jackson: the armor the Super Seven wore.  Aside from
Defense Squad's fund-raising attempts a couple years back,
Richard had never seen an American team sport such uniforms.
The seemed almost straight out of a Japanese television show
he had once heard of.
   The consequential deduction was one that General Tripper
would have been proud of: the members of Super Seven had
been Japan-ified.
   He *had* to alert all the new superhero arrivals.
Unfortunately, he could not yet communicate with Mary.
"Handmedown" insisted that the black bowler was much more
stylish than his old baseball cap, and she would die before
wearing the latter in public.  Richard was inclined to
agree.  Besides, with the bowler, she was more likely to
overhear something interesting.
   Richard left all the gawking tourists to return to the
privacy of his hotel.  He would want to be alone when Mary
ever got around to calling, and getting rid of the Hawaiian
print shirt and disk camera would also be a blessing.
   Richard sat in his hotel room for a while, brooding.
What connection could there be between Phoc Dhat and the
Jusanbashi corporation?  Phoc Dhat did not seem to be on the
board -- or at least he was not in any of the Super Seven
publicity photos.  Perhaps he had some other controlling
influence.
   On the other hand, hadn't his Author promised him that
Nipponapa would no longer be a problem?  Well, granted his
Author was not quite himself at the time, but he should
still keep his word.  But then, the Super Seven had been
active here even before January.  Maybe they were the first
test subjects for Nipponapa wine?  Yes, that had to be it --
there was no other explanation, and the implications were
obvious: Phoc Dhat was using Jusanbashi to advance his own
plans in America.
   =Daddy!  Daddy!= Mary's broadcast interrupted his
thoughts.  =I've got to talk to you!=
   =I'm here, Mary.= Richard replied.  =What have you got?=
   =Just like you said, there are bad guys here.  There's
this bunch here called the Tornado Knights.=
   =What do they do?=
   =I dunno.  Something about armor.=
   Richard remembered the pictures of the Super Seven
uniforms.  He then remembered the winged mech that Mary had
driven. These memories did not please him.
   =Okay.  Find out anything you can about that stuff.=
   =Okay, Daddy --=
   =--- and Mary?  Whatever you do, don't eat anything they
give you.=
   =You're telling me.  They tried feeding me octopus balls.
Gross!=
   =Mary, I'm serious.  Jusanbashi puts chemicals into their
food --=
   =Oh, yeah.  These apples are, like, really hard.=
   =That's the least of it.  Some of these chemicals are
dangerous.  So don't eat anything, or drink anything.=
   =But I'll starve!=
   =I'll make it up to you; I promise.  Just be careful now.
And tell everyone else you see, too.=

                           *****

   Windswimmer took another reluctant bite from her tofu-
flavored rice ball, as she looked around the banquet hall.
One of these hours, someone was going to come and announce
the new membership of the Super Seven; but with sixty
minutes in each hour, and sixty seconds in each minute, the
waiting was hellish.
   It didn't help that she was alone.  So many of the other
young heroes had come in groups, and tended to hang out in
their cliques.  Also, so many new applicants already had
made a name for themselves, which meant people came to them.
But Windjammer was still a nobody, and just sat there
munching on her rice ball.
   Slowly she became aware of a young teenage girl several
seats down who seemed to be staring off into space, taking
no notice of the conversation just across the table from
her.  Feeling the urge to commiserate, Judy picked up her
bowl and relocated to a vacant seat next to the younger
girl.
   "So, Handmedown, is it?" Windswimmer  asked, noting the
characteristic bowler the young hero wore.  The girl turned
with no hint of surprise, and nodded silently.  "Have you
been doing this hero stuff long?"  Judy continued.
   "No," Mary replied quietly.  "This is my first time.  Uh,
my Dad said it would be good experience, or something."
   "Your Dad knows?" Judy asked, flabbergasted.
   "Yeah, he knows." Mary replied simply.  "He wouldn't let
me come any other way."
   Windswimmer laughed with envy.  "My parents think I'm on
an international lifeguard exchange program!  I didn't dare
tell them!  They'd freak if they even knew I had
superpowers!"
   "But isn't that good?"
   "Well, let's just say it's not what they had in mind when
they sent me to Dillweed City for college!"
   "Oh, you're in college?  Wow!"
   "Yeah, I'll be a sophomore next year.  How about you?"
   "I'm still in high school."  Mary shrugged.  As the
conversation paused, her stomach growled audibly.  She
looked down at her plate with distaste, her food apparently
untouched.
   "Food's pretty bad, isn't it?" said Judy.
   Mary grimaced.  "Yeah, They tried to feed me octopus
balls."
   "Want to go find a McDonalds or something after this
thing is over?"
   "Well, my Dad was -- " Mary paused suddenly, looking up,
ignoring Judy's questioning eyebrow.  She was again looking
in the same direction as when Judy arrived, apparently
across the room, but when Judy followed her gaze, she saw
nothing but the usual banquet conversation.  After a few
seconds, Mary nodded.  "Um, sorry.  Yeah, I'm really
hungry. I wonder if they'll let us go."  She let her eyes
wander about the room.
   "Well, we should probably stick around a bit longer, for
appearances sake."
   Judy paused.  "So, is your Dad a superguy too?"  Mary
stopped cold and looked back at Judy.  "Oh, sorry.  Didn't
mean to be nosy."
   Handmedown shrugged.  "'Sokay.  He just doesn't want me
to tell."
   Her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered again, coming
to rest on the final remains of Judy's rice ball.  "So, do
you get any funny feelings when you eat that stuff?  My Dad
thinks they put stuff in it."
   "Believe me, it's nothing compared to what...  Listen,
can I ask you something crazy?"
   Mary shrugged noncommittally.  "Sure."
   "Okay.  Did you ever have this strange feeling that a
garbageman once ruled the world?"
   Handmedown paled.  "Um, well, kinda, but it wasn't real."
She spoke utterly without conviction.  "I mean, if it was,
then the streets would be really clean and stuff, right?"
   She turned and looked, as a rather small bearded figure
ran up, to snatch the untouched dish in front of her.  "Hi!
If you're not eating that, can I have it?  Yay!  Oh, hi,
Judy!"
   "What!!?"  Judy emitted a sputter of surprise and nearly
coughed up her rice ball.  "Hey, kid, how did you know
my..."  But the child had already darted off in hot pursuit
of a cold sushi plate.
   Windjammer fingered her red mask in disgust and took a
sip of tea.  "And they swore the Mask Principle never fails!
Hah!  If I *do* get accepted to the Super Seven, remind me
to request a new one!"

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