🚀 go-pugleaf

     "Ahh...  It's good to be back."
     The Author known as Ergh threw his jacket on the couch as he
entered his Authorial abode for the first time in months.  He coughed
slightly at the dust that had accumulated, and made a mental note
to dust later.  Immediately, he made his way into the computer room,
which was miraculously dust-free, and sat down at his machine, a
Pentium 200 running Linux.
     Behind him, a short, red-haired girl -- no, not *that* short,
red-haired girl -- carefully hung her own jacket up on the coat rack,
then sighed and hung Ergh's, as well.  As she did this, she fought
hard to keep from choking to death on the dust, and grumbled.
     "You know, you should hire somebody to clean in here when you're
gone," she said as she entered the computer room.  "This dust is
horrendous."
     Ergh shook his head.  "No can do, Dori.  Cleaning services in
these parts are expensive, and I don't really have the money to spare
right now."
     "Meaning?"
     "I'll call 'em tomorrow."
     Dori smirked and walked over to where he was sitting.  "So, just
why *did* we come back so soon?  I thought you were keeping your
Superguy series on hiatus."
     "I got inspired," Ergh grinned.  "And I wanted to get a jump on
the year-to-date statistics for the logs."
     "Aha."  Dori thought for a moment, considering something.
"Say, wouldn't it be a good idea to post a synopsis of what's gone on
so far in Team Formerly Known..."
     "TFKATHP?" he asked.  "Hmm.  Yeah, that'd be a good idea.  Thanks,
Dori," he said as he was Inspired.
     "No problem."  _After all,_ she thought.  _Somebody's gotta keep
an eye out for you..._


Authorial Productions,
in association with
Fourth Wall Productions
and Mademoiselle Muse, Inc.
presents

THE HIGHLY ESSENTIAL AND ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT
GUIDE TO
THE DECIDEDLY WEIRD AND AWFULLY CONFUSING SERIES
KNOWN AS
THE TEAM FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE HERO PATROL

Version 2.0


     Earth Girl, Misfit, and Soundbyte took their first stab at heroing
in October of 1993, helping Jon Perceptor stop a group of robbers. They
didn't try again until April of 1994, when they went up against Acronymic
Atrocities, Inc., again crossing paths with Jon.  This time, the four
superguys, along with Starwave, who had gained her powers during the
adventure, decided to form a team, calling themselves the Hero Patrol.
     Things started out slowly for the fledgling superteam.  They stayed
out of the Industrial Revolution, instead focusing on smaller situations.
A few months after they formed, they acquired their headquarters, and
added two new members, Hugs and Kisses (don't laugh), who proved their
worth during a series of events involving the Fashion Victimizer.
     Shortly after that, Misfit was kidnapped by aliens from the planet
Televar, who wanted his powers, which apparently came from their world.
The rest of the Hero Patrol followed to rescue him, but in the end,
he gave his powers to someone who was willing to *stay* on Televar and
use them, while he himself returned to Earth and retired from the Hero
Patrol.
     Months passed, during which time, the team dealt with various and
sundry situations, including the Pedestrian From Hell(tm), who was out
to get revenge on Rob, though he didn't know that Rob was Soundbyte.
In June of 1995, the team was accidentally tossed into the Television
Dimension, which they spent a few days in before reuniting and finding
a way out.  With the not-inconsiderable help of Task Force Aurora, they
were able to stop Doctor Entertainment, the villain responsible for the
crisis, and save the universe.  They also wound up stopping Hugs, who
had been emotionally scarred by her experience in the Television
Dimension, from beating Entertainment to death.
     Later, Rebecca, Amy, Rob, and Laurie went on vacation to St.
Petersburg, Florida, but wound up dealing with Carson Winter, who was
plotting to steal all of the sunglasses and suntan lotion in Florida,
and his minions, including the villain known as Sunburner.  They also
met Captain Suntan, who turned out to be an old friend of Laurie/Hugs.
When the vacation was over, Laurie decided to stay down there, in
hopes that the time away would do her good.
     And then came the *other* Hero Patrol.
     Convicted of stealing another team's name, our Hero Patrol was
forced into mandatory retirement... which ended less than two months
later when they briefly appeared to stop a bomb -- only to vanish
shortly thereafter.
     What happened next would give the Swede a headache.  The four
superguys found themselves in another altiverse, on an Earth where
humor didn't exist.  Fortunately, they were able to escape, but they
didn't go home right away, instead spending a few weeks in an altiverse
dominated by shopping malls thanks to an encounter with the mysterious
villain, Lord D'Terminant.
     Several weeks later, they had their second encounter with
D'Terminant while staying in an altiverse populated by anthropomorphic
characters (don't ask).  He was looking for a special Key that would
allow him to enter an altiverse he was looking for -- and the key was
in the possession of the local version of the Hero Patrol.  D'Terminant
managed to successfully force them to hand over the key, and captured
Jon Perceptor, Earth Girl, Soundbyte, Starwave, Birdseye Perceptor,
and Soundbat before heading for the altiverse he was looking for,
000PRECOGS.
     The heroes managed to escape, along with a young woman named
Search Lass, whom Soundbyte and Starwave recognized from a brief multi-
universal adventure.  They were later joined by Search Lass's friends,
Reverb Boy and Neon Lad, and teamed up with the Keepers and Guardsmen
of 000PRECOGS to defeat D'Terminant.
     But the victory did not come without its price.  During the final
confrontation with D'Terminant, it was revealed that Jon Perceptor, who
had been secretly working with the Keepers, had gone back in time to
pose as D'Terminant's assistant.  Even more shocking was the revelation
that Jon had enlisted the aid of Acronymic Atrocities, Inc. to provide
the events that would kick off the former Hero Patrol's multiversal
adventure.  While the others tried to stop D'Terminant's ship from
decimating 000SUPERGUY, Jon faced off against D'Terminant in a final
swordfight... a fight that was interrupted when the others succeeded
in forcing the ship to "jump" again.  Neither combatant has been seen
since.
     It was later discovered that Reverb Boy had been saturated with
altiversal energy, and would be killed if he attempted to leave
000SUPERGUY.  His friends chose to remain there with him, and they
settled in for what could have been a long stay.  In the meantime,
the remaining members of the former Hero Patrol have put away the
spandex for good and gone their separate ways, knowing full well that
they're wanted for going against a court order.  But they also know
that there will come a time when they will be needed again, no matter
the consequences. Question is, will they be ready?

The current members of the former Hero Patrol:

Earth Girl (Rebecca Daylin).  Unofficial leader of the Hero Patrol,
if the team still existed.  Able to control the natural elements --
air, water, fire, and earth -- to varrying degrees of difficulty.
Stands 5'10", with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes.  Her
costume is a green-and-blue jumpsuit, with a green jacket added if
it's chilly out.  Both have an image of the earth over the left breast.

Soundbyte (Rob Jones).  The former Hero Patrol's resident wisecracker,
with the power to generate any sounds and noises he can think of.  In
his early twenties and standing about 5'8", with shoulder-length blond
hair and hazel eyes.  Wears a blue-and-gold costume that I can't
remember the details of.

Starwave (Amy Myerdon).  An immensely-powerful energy-wielder who
gained her powers when she was exposed to an extra-dimensional energy
cannon.  Also in her early twenties (do you see a pattern here?), but
stands taller than the others at 5'11".  She has blond hair reaching
past her shoulders, and wears a silver-and-blue costume.

The stranded members of the Legion of Net.Heroes:

Search Lass (Courtney Allbin).  Former partner/assistant to Roger
Rescue.  Able to psionically search for someone provided that she's
met or has a picture or belonging of the person.  She can also search
for non-living objects in her immediate vicinity if she knows what
she's looking for.  Just barely twenty, she stands about 5'8", with
light brown hair and green eyes.  When heroing, she wears a red-and-
white costume, but she hasn't had need to wear it since her arrival
in 000SUPERGUY.

Reverb Boy (Gary Markowan).  Would-be sidekick, and a cyborg for a
short time.  Able to manipulate the sonic energy in his immediate
vicinity.  This usually takes the form of turning criminals' shouts
into sonic blasts to knock them down.  The nineteen-year-old stands
about 5'10", with short black hair and blue eyes.  In an event that
occurred off-camera (for now), he changed his codename to Resonance,
and adopted a new costume that consists of a green bodysuit with a
series of three dark green concentric circles coming out from the
center of the torso, and dark green gloves, boots, cowl, and cape.

Neon Lad (Jeff Warren).  Was temporarily turned into a cyborg after
a failed attempt at becoming a sidekick.  With nothing better to do
after he was rescued, he joined the LNH and became best friends with
Reverb Boy.  Able to generate light, usually in the forms of spotlights
or energy blasts, but only in neon colors.  The twenty-year-old stands
6'2", with reddish-blond hair and blue eyes.  He wears a blue-and-
red costume, but hasn't really bothered to do any heroing since his
arrival in 000SUPERGUY.

Other heroes in the local area:

Magnetic Personality (Marc DuShere).  Appeared briefly around the time
of the Flatphoot Phollies, but was retired until May of 1995, when he
helped stop the Pedestrian From Hell(tm).  Possesses magnetic powers
that allow him to generate and control magnetic fields.  He's in his
mid-twenties, and stands exactly six feet tall, with black hair, hazel
eyes, and a blue-and-silver costume.

The original Hero Patrol.  This is the first Hero Patrol, who sued
our guys for trademark violation after returning from deep space.
They gained their powers from a mysterious occurrence in the desert
of the American Southwest, where they were active before vanishing.
Curiously enough, they didn't return their after winning the lawsuit,
but rather set up shop in Manchester.  Nobody knows why.  All of them
possess enhanced strength and the ability to fly, but each of them
seems to have unique abilities, as well.
     Heroman - Generates force constructs.  As in force fields.
     Herowoman - Can affect the emotions of others, though only one
          at a time.
     Heroguy - Can move at super-speed.
     Herogal - Can fly really well.
     Herodude - Can generate sonic blasts.
     Heroboy - Can pass through solid objects as if they weren't
          there.  Tends to use this ability to spy on girls in the
          bathroom.
     Herogirl - Generates electrical bolts.

Other characters:

Max (Makks).  The Computer Intelligence that came with the former Hero
Patrol's headquarters.  He's seen a lot in his thousands of years, and
his smugness shows it.  Believe it or not, though, there's a curious
side to him, as the behavior of humans is still a bit alien to him.
His appearance tends to vary depending on who he's around, so I'm not
going to even bother describing him here.  Plays virtual chechers with
DOYLE.

Laurie Bennett.  Once known as Hugs, she has since retired as a result
of emotional stress and the feeling that she just isn't as suited for
the role of an active superguy as she had originally thought.  Possesses
the ability to heal all but the most serious injuries of others, but
needs to be intimately close to them to do it.  No, really.  The
nineteen-year-old Laurie stands about 5'7", with blond hair and brown
eyes.

Darrell Snobbisher.  The original Hero Patrol's lawyer, who's only in
this list because he threatened to overwhelm me with his snobbishness.
Apparently able to generates obscene amounts of snobbishness.  Picture
Dabney Coleman in a bad mood and you'd be pretty close.  (No offense
to Dabney Coleman; that's just the mental picture I keep getting
whenever I try to think of what Snobbisher looks like.)

Joe Teller.  Occasionally known as Larry, reluctant fellow criminal
of Moe (Dave) and Curly (Benny).  Stands about 5'11", with brown hair
and green eyes.  Currently serving time in Browngate Prison for his
involvement in the Television Dimension Crisis, even though he turned
against Doctor Entertainment, Dave, and Benny and helped the Hero
Patrol save the universe.

The missing one:

Jon Perceptor (Jonathan Pierce).  Former leader of the (second) Hero
Patrol, and the one who came up with the team's name when the others
couldn't think of anything better.  Possesses superhuman senses that
include thermal vision, x-ray vision, and enhanced hearing.  Presumably,
his other senses are also enhanced.  Standing about six feet tall,
he's in his mid-twenties and has brown hair and brown eyes.  Currently
missing in action following the events of TFKATHP #40-43.

Of course, there are many, many other characters, but it would take
far too long to cover them all.  The ones listed here are the basics;
you should be able to figure out the rest as you go along.  Or you
could just check out the Hero Patrol/TFKATHP archives at my Superguy
writings page at http://www.eyrie.org/~ergh/FWP/sgwriting.html.  Plug,
plug.

Coming tomorrow...
TFKATHP #45: "Ten Months Later..."

--
Mike Escutia - mre@hopper.unh.edu - http://www.eyrie.org/~ergh/
"Sidekicks 'R' Us -- You need an assistant, we'll give you a Boy Wonder!"
             -Frank Marzan, "Pliable Lad: Stretching the Truth"