Inner Man Theatre

    Charlie goes on.  “My favorite villain is the former wrestling champ Bruno Siderian who had become the shape-shifting freak known as Power Hog.  Because of a bizarre accident involving protein shakes, Bruno was able to alter his form kind of like Elasticia, but in a liquid capacity rather than a stretchy type of technique.  Bruno became the villainous Power Hog because he assumed his accident would cause his fans to turn on him, so he tried to cause mass destruction in retaliation, but my brother convinced Bruno that this assumption was wrong, and it was Siderian’s biggest fan, ME, that got to save the day by meeting him and telling him what a cool guy he was and all that fun stuff.  The big guy was so moved by this little geeky kid’s heart that he turned back into his human form and gave me his championship belt.  I kept that thing for the rest of my life!!  He still went to prison for his actions…which leads us…to the war.  Dana?”

    Dana stares at the ground, an unexpected wave of solemnity overtaking her as she thinks back to the carnage the world endured during her childhood all because of one young boy’s moment of cowardice.

    Duplica tilts her head, slightly surprised by the change in demeanor.  “Dana, are you alright?”

    “Yeah,” she answers, still taking a moment before continuing.  “Think of how long ago this happened for me, and we’ve been hanging out with all our friends in the Drawing Board, like, forever, and yet, for some reason, I found myself hit with the gravity of the situation I faced as a kid.  Sure, I was safe at the base, giving commands from my computer chair, but I still remember all the death, a lot of death, and it all started on Valentine’s Day, my seventh birthday.”

    After the others voice their understanding of her sorrow, giving their loving support, Dana nods in confidence and presses on with the discussion.  “I’m sure you’re aware of the attempt at bringing the System Guards into XL during the lifetime of Key and Kina.  Well, the only thing we had close to this was our government producing its own superheroes, with hopes of making the Ultimate Being.  My siblings, myself and the Foxes worked for the USSND, the United States Supernatural Department, while the branch most associated with what’s known as the Happy War was the USPSNC, the United Stated Prison of Supernatural Criminals.  They had just promoted a new administrator, Molly Kensons, and had gained permission to inject inmates with a “happy serum” to brainwash them into doing right.  The only problem was that the definition of right and wrong depended on the one giving the serum.  Miss Kensons was using this to take over the government to get her revenge for things done to her by an individual who hadn’t been alive for centuries.”

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