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We sit in front of a woman with a glass head, and two other men.
This new mystery woman, Mysterio nearly blew Kate and I up in the sewer and now she’s captured us. Turns out she’s working with Hobgoblin and Chameleon.
“Long time no see Hobby old pal, still losing your mind?” I ask sarcastically.
“Oh Mr. Kingsley is long gone, I’ve been using some of my magic to keep him from going over the edge.” Mysterio explains.
Hobgoblin has seemed much different, he stutters when he talks as if he’s on the edge as Mysterio said. He also changed his costume, now he has this weird orange scaly armor and dark blue sleeves and pants. He kept his old mask but added a white cape.
“What do you want with us?” Kate asks
“Well it’s not us you see, it’s our boss.” Chameleon says.
“How long have you been working together?” I ask.
“That doesn’t matter, but it’s been long time. Remember when you first met Chameleon? I was there, helped him escape, same with Hobgoblin when you first met.”
“So you guys have a history.”
“Yeah, see boss wants revenge on you, retribution as he called it. He said to wait till be got here but, why not have a bit of fun.” Chameleon says as he stands up pulling a knife from his pocket.
“Hehheehee! Let’s h-have some fun-n kids!” Hobgoblin yells as if he’s a child on a sugar high.
Chameleon opens up the knife and sticks it to Kate’s throat, then Hobgoblin takes of his glove and slaps me in the face with it.
“HeehEeHaHeH!” Hobgoblin laughs.
“So what’s it gonna be sweetheart? Painful or extra painful?” Chameleon asks.
Kate stares him in the eyes, or where they would be if you could see them, and then she spits at him.
“Extra pain it is!” Chameleon says as he cuts Kate across the arm.
“AUGHHH!” She screams.
Meanwhile Hobgoblin is dancing around and randomly kicking me and punching me, he then reaches for the table and grabs a pistol. He brings it right up to me and shoots right beside my head, causing my ears to ring. He is then frozen still by Mysterio, she pulls the gun from his hand and replaces it with a metal pipe.
“No guns Hobgoblin! Remember what boss said!” Mysterio says.
Hobgoblin grips the pipe tightly and starts to bash me it the knees and arms. Chameleon is just watching as Kate bleeds and Mysterio is standing by watching. I struggle to move but I’m just able to trip Hobgoblin and grab his pipe. Mysterio runs to help Hobgoblin and I throw the pipe at Chameleon, causing him to drop his knife for Kate to get. She manages to get through Mysterio’s mist and pick up the knife.
“Kate, pass!” I say.
Kate passes in to me and I throw it at Mysterio, it hits her in the leg and the mist fades away just long enough for us to escape, and for her to lose control of Hobgoblin.
“You bastards!” She yells.
Hobgoblin appears to be having some type seizure, Mysterio is bleeding and Chameleon is just getting up.
“Nice try Barton, but you’re not getting away!” Chameleon yells.
“Two against one? I think we’ll be fine.” Kate says.
I lunge at Chameleon and Kate runs for the pistol on the table.
“Kate find a phone! Call the team!”
“Will do!”
She grabs the pistol and hits Mysterio with the handle of the gun, knocking her out. Then, she searches the room for a phone. Meanwhile Chameleon and I fight against the hard, cold stone floor. I reach to punch him, but he knees me in the gut, knocking the breath out of me. I roll on to my back and Chameleon starts to hit me over and over, eventually ripping off my mask. Kate finally finds a phone and calls the team and Luke.
“Guys! You have to come to the sewers, Clint and I are…”
BANG
A bullet come straight out from the main part of the sewer, hitting the phone right out of Kate’s hand. Everyone stops and looks to where the bullet came from. In the middle of the hole in the wall is a bald man, with stubble in a plain black suit and tie.
“Bullseye.” The man says as he lowers his gun.
TO BE CONCLUDED…
105mm Howitzer design reverse-engineered from the Brickmania M2A1 Howitzer.
Read the write-up on The Brothers Brick.
"I want an APB sent out immediately," Ira West shouted, rushing from his office to the CCPD breeding room. "Every available officer needs to be searching this city up and down, every damn apartment!"
Inside the room sat August, his eyes locked onto the floor. When paramedics arrived, he refused to be taken to the hospital, electing to have a quick patch up and be taken straight to the precinct. The gauze wrapped around his head was stained red, but it didn't bother him at the moment, his mind was occupied.
"Sir, everyone is already here," Patty replied with a frown. "The fire at Iron Heights was worse than Trickster's breakout; multiple wings were able to escape."
"Damnit…" the commissioner cursed, clenching his fist. "We need to contact Keystone, see if-"
"Ira!"
August's head final rose, looking towards the doorway. Joe stormed into the room, Flash following in behind him.
"What are the patrols looking like?" he demanded, his face flushed red. "Do we have any choppers out? Wh-"
"Joe, Joe!" Ira called out, interrupting his brother. "Take a breather, please."
"It's… but…" Joe mumbled, before stopping himself, breathing in deeply. "How ma… is this everyone?"
Ira frowned, nodding his head solemnly. "Everyone here is what we have available," he said. "Everyone else is dealing with the breakout."
"Ira… you… you know that- that he took him, right?" Joe whispered out, Flash placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "Him."
"Yes, I do. And you know how much I want that fucker's head on a block, but I can't," Ira replied, gaze shifting to the new footage of Iron Heights. "He's my nephew. I want him home, safe, but I can't just drop everything for him. As Commissioner I need to th-"
August quietly stood, the group in the room not taking notice of him. August watched the Commissioner's mouth continue to move, but no words could be heard. The television was running a fast food ad, but the commercial was silent. August's eyes were fixated on Ira, his fist balling at his side. He could feel his breath pass through his teeth, gritting together tightly.
"He's some random dealer who got shot in an alleyway, it happens everyday. We aren't dropping everything going on right now just to start an investigation for him and that's final."
"Detective."
August flinched as a red-gloved hand was placed onto his shoulder. He quickly brushed the hand off, staring at the hero in front of him. He then noticed Joe, Ira, and Patty were all looking at him as well, causing him to unclench his fist.
"You okay, Detective?" Flash asked with a small, endearing smile on his face. "I know you and Daniel are close, if there's anything-"
"You can do to help?" August interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the hero. "How about stop standing around like everyone else and go find him."
Flash frowned, nodding. "I'm here to get CCPD's patrol routes," he explained, looking back at the group. "Once they start sending cars out, I'll know where is getting covered. It'll help us find him faster."
August stayed silent, nodding lightly before stepping past Flash and out the door. He paused as he reached the hallway, looking back into the room. "You should know by now…" he said, staring into Flash's eyes, "the right way isn't the right way… not always."
-^-
You must be swift as a coursing river, (Be a man!)
Blue lightning bounced off Wally's body as he slid to the right, dodging the cane strike.
With all the force of a great typhoon, (Be a man!)
The next strike came rushing at Wally's head, but the boy raised his arms to block the attack.
With all the strength of a raging fire…
Wally's other hand shot up, grabbing onto the cane and pulling it free from Eddie's hands.
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!
Spinning the object, he pointed it at Eddie's face, panting lightly as the song on the radio ended. After a moment of silence, his eyes widened, reaching forward to catch Eddie as he stumbled backwards.
"I'm sorry Mr. Jones," he apologized, handing the man his cane back and guiding him to the chair. "I, uh, guess it got kinda intense back there."
Wally was surprised to see Eddie chuckle once more, sliding his sunglasses off and placing them next to the radio. "I'm not sure what you're apologizing for, Wallace," he said, turning the radio off. "If you didn't notice, you were able to stay in complete control for three whole minutes."
"I… huh," Wally mumbled, sitting down next to Eddie. "I guess I did… I did! What… prompted it? The music, I mean."
"Heh… well, would you believe me if I said it was you?" he asked, his smile falling slightly, but becoming evermore sincere. "Remember the day I met you? Christmas at your uncle's place?"
"I mean, yeah," Wally said, chuckling slightly. "August hit you in the head with a snowball and you decided to join us."
"Yeah that's it," he said with a nod. "That day, I hated you."
"Huh?"
"For three years I just… I didn't even like looking at you," he explained, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "When Barry told me what happened with Trickster, that we'd be training you… I wanted to opt out."
"Wait wait wait, go back a bit?" Wally asked, a confused frown on his face. "Why did you hate me? We hardly even saw each other."
"I know. I made sure of that," he said, taking a deep breath. "I… I hated you because you just… you remind me of her, so much."
"Her?"
"My daughter, Colly," Eddie mumbled with his eyes closed. "Your kindness, your sass, your carefree attitude, your ability to get knocked down and get back up laughing… it was like her ghost was haunting me."
"That's why you call me-" Wally began, stopping as Eddie nodded. "So… so what changed? I mean, I assume you don't hate me now?"
"You're still a pain in the ass, but I don't…" he said smiling again. "When Barry and Jay asked for my help with that fake Clariss, when I had to use my power for the first time since she… it was like a fog in my mind cleared. You aren't some spectre looming over me with the spirit of my baby girl held hostage. You're a reminder of her. Her heart, her brain… her soul. I told Barry he was the reason I broke out of my solitude and was able to smile again. You though? You gave me something worth more than a thousand smiles, so thank you, Wally. Thank you for being you."
"I uh… I'm not sure exactly what to say," Wally chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well I say, we head upstairs and get some grub," Eddie said, brushing away a tear before putting his glasses back on. "Once we eat, I've got something special to show you, I think you'll really like it."
-^-
The crowd roared as a man in robes performed a roundhouse kick, knocking the other to the floor with a thud. The man was quickly back on his feet, throwing a wild uppercut at his opponent. August stood in the entrance to the club, the music blasting loud and the building reeking of sweat and alcohol.
Goldrush: An underground night-fight club located just outside the city border. Its owner, Damion Poitier, had run the club for a decade now under the alias of Bling. Through the years Poitier accumulated wealth and power through Goldrush, making a name for himself and dipping his fingers into the CCPD as well as the KCPD.
August began to survey the room, searching for the head of the establishment. Poitier, more than anything, was a businessman. A businessman who made sure he knew what went on in the gem cities at all times.
It was a long shot, but August had no other options.
As he searched the dancefloor, his eyes were drawn to the bar, narrowing as he spotted the bartender. 'Is that…' he thought to himself, pushing through the crowd, confirming his suspicions as he approached the bar and taking a seat.
"And what will it be f-" the woman started, before gasping. "August?"
"Didn't know you worked here, Becky," he said, staring at the woman, dressed in a white button down with a crimson vest.
"Well, things happen after you don't talk to someone for five years," she responded, a slight venom in her words. "I don't think you really should know, either. What's one of CCPD's finest doing here?"
"I-"
"And that is round two, we have had a great fight on our hands so far ladies and gentlemen, it shall continue shortly!"
"I need information," August said, noticing the unphased look on Becky's face. "If you could point me in the direction of your boss, I'll be out of your hair."
"Pretty ballsy to walk in here demanding to speak to Bling," she said with a coy smirk, leaning forward on the counter. "I'm not too sure he'd enjoy me sending a cop to his doorstep."
"I'm not playing games, not today," August growled, causing Becky to frown. "Tell me where he is, or I'll make sure this club comes crashing down."
Becky sighed, crossing her arms as she pulled back from the counter. "You're not much fun anymore," she mumbled, jutting her thumb to the side. "Door behind me, it'll take you to the VIP lounge. If they ask, say you threatened me with a knife or something, 'kay?"
August didn't respond, stepping through the opening and past Becky through the door. He quickly made his way up the carpeted stairs, finding himself on a balcony positioned to view the arena and dance floor.
August spotted a plethora of mobsters, CEOs, and high ranking officials sitting at the various tables lining the balcony. It didn't take long to find his target, however, as he sat at the largest of them all. August approached the table with a quickness, his eyes locking onto Poitier's.
"Well, well, well," Poitier said, an invisible smile forming under his mask, "what an interesting turnup we have here. Never expected to see you in here, Detective Heart."
August stared at the man, who sat on the couch of the VIP lounge, scantily clad men sat around him. He was dressed in a crisp white suit, arms splayed across the back of the couch as he chuckled, a drink in one hand.
"Bling," August said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't have time for any bullshit, I need information."
"I do like someone who can cut to the chase," he said, raising his glass to August before sticking the straw through his mask and taking a sip. "You need information, I've likely got it."
"Eradicator, where is he?" August asked, crossing his arms, watching the man's golden eyes narrow.
"Eradicator…" Poitier mumbled, bringing his free hand to his chin. "Ah yes, Eradicator, good old Mr. Phillips."
"Well?"
"Well?"
"Where is he!?" August shouted, his fists clenching.
Poitier was silent for a moment, his eyes staring into August's. Then suddenly, he began to cackle, throwing his head back and holding his stomach. "Oh… oh that… that's rich," he wheezed, trying to contain his laughter. "Yo- ha. Do you think you're Batman or something? Why in the hell would I be afraid of you?"
"Do you want to find out!" August shouted, reaching forward and grabbing onto the man's collar. "I'm not playing around, Poitier! My family is-"
Suddenly, a large hand clasped onto August's shoulder, tearing him from Poitier and lifting him into the air. August began to struggle, but the grip tightened, making him groan in pain. A cold blade was pressed against his throat, the edge pressing into his skin. August's eyes shifted slightly, eyeing the man that held him up.
He stood tall, much taller than August's own frame. He was clad in a blue suit, pieces of silver armor covering his body. His face was rough and mean, a scar running from his cheek through his lips. The blade pressed against August's neck was attached to the man's gauntlets, the silver stained red.
"It seems I forgot to introduce you two," Poitier smirked, slipping the straw through his mask once more. "Razor, meet Detective Heart. Detective Heart, meet Razor, my personal bodyguard."
Poitier gave a slight nod, causing the large man to drop August to the ground. "You've got a supervillain working for you?" August grunted, rubbing his shoulder.
"I've got supervillains working for me," Poitier corrected, shooing the strippers away as he leaned forward. "Razor's good at his job, earns his paycheck and then some. Now, you wanna try being a good boy and continue our conversation?"
"I need to know where he is," August said, standing up from the ground. "I don't have time for your games. He has my… my brother."
"Yes, I know," Poitier said, nodding his head. "It would be a shame if something were to happen to Daniel. Here's the thing though, Detective. I am a businessman," he explained, placing his glass onto the table and bringing his right leg over his left. "When I do something for someone, I get something in return. If I just started handing out things, all of this wouldn't last."
"And Crowbar goes down! Your winner for the match, the beastly, Kung!"
"I've got an uneven amount of fighters tonight," Poitier said, raising his hand into his coat pocket, pulling out a stack of cash. "If someone were willing to, say… help me fill that spot…" the man's eyes narrowed, "well, let's just say I like to help my employees with their troubles."
August stared at Poitier, his own eyes narrowing.
"I can't lose anyone else either."
-^-
"Get ready folks, you won't want to miss this next matchup!" the announcer shouted, riling the crowd up.
August sat in the small locker room located in the back of the club. His jacket, shirt, and gun were all placed in the locker Poitier had given him. He stared at his gauzed wrapped hands, mind flooding with the events that occurred earlier that night. Eradicator beating him effortlessly, Daniel being dragged out of the house after trying to save him. His teeth grit, hard.
"You've seen him here before," the announcer returned, introducing his opponent. "He strikes like a winter wind, give it up for… Chillblaine!"
August turned to see his opponent discarding an aviator jacket into the locker. The man smacked his head a few times, before turning towards the arena.
"Get ready to die, piggy," Blaine said with a devious smirk before rushing out into the arena, earning a roar of applause.
August looked down to the bench he sat on, lifting his badge from the seat.
"If having this badge means I can't even help a child in need, then maybe I shouldn't have it."
"Facing off against Chillblaine," the announcer began, causing August to stand, throwing the badge into the locker before slamming it shut, "he's a never before seen fighter here at Goldrush. Taken straight from the other side, Detective August Heart!"
As August exited the locker room, he was met by a barrage of negativity. Food was thrown at him, hands tried to grab ahold of him, and insults were loud enough to drown out the music. His head stayed down, eyes locked onto the stage in front of him.
They could think whatever they wanted. He was here for one reason, their words didn't matter.
Stepping into the cage, the door was slammed shut behind him. As the lock ticked, the ref mumbled out a threat, but August was unable to decipher it. Blaine stood across from him, chatting with a woman outside the cage.
"Are… you… ready!?" The announcer asked, earning another roar from the crowd. "Alright! Let's get ready to rumble!"
The sound of a bell ringing caused Blaine to turn. August kept his head straight, eyes locked onto Blaine. He readied his fists and began to sidestep around the cage.
"I'm gonna kill you in here," Blaine said, taking a similar stance to August and following his movements. "Filthy fucking pig ruining my night."
August didn't speak, the events from earlier once again flashing through his mind. 'Powerless,' he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes.
Blaine charged forward with a quick jab, one August was able to block with his forearm. The man followed up quickly with a low hook, connecting with Blaine's abdomen. Blaine easily tanked the hit, responding with another two jabs, one right one left. August attempted to use the opening, but was met with a rising knee to the stomach, the force causing him to stumble. Blaine didn't let up on the attack, rushing forward with another jab and a right hook. August was able to block the first strike, but the second connected with his skull, putting him into a daze.
"How you like that, hog!?" Blaine shouted, sending another hook into August's head, knocking him to the ground. "Gonna be joining old Jorgy soon, fucker!"
Blaine brought his foot down, smashing it against August's abs, vomit spilling from the detective's mouth.
"Screw dad, he's not family, not real family, I mean."
Another stomp was against his chest, causing August's vision to darken.
"Real family is… well, it's the people who you care about. Not just like friends, but people who've changed and impacted your life so much that… that you'd do anything for them. People who you'd steal for, kill for… and even die for. That's what a real family is."
August laid on the arena's floor, Blaine's foot tauntingly hovering above his face. Blood trickled down his face, from new wounds and his cut from earlier reopened. As he watched Blaine taunt, the image of Daniel passed through his mind once more, causing a guttural cry to be ripped from his stomach.
August grabbed Blaine's foot in one hand and leg in the other. With all the force he could muster, he pushed in opposite directions until he heard a pop, as well as a cry from his opponent. Stumbling to a stand, he still held Blaine's now broken foot, panting. His body rushed forward as fast as it could, slamming Blaine's back against the cage. Once there, he brought his elbow crashing down onto his opponent's kneecap, attempting to break it. Blaine was quick enough to bend his knee, stopping the attempt, but drawing August in closer in the process.
Still holding onto Blaine's foot, August slammed his free fist into Blaine's abdomen. Blaine doubled over at the strike, allowing August to let the man's foot fall and perform a devastating uppercut. August then sent his fist into Blaine's face, smashing the blond's nose and slamming his head back into the cage. A second strike connected with his upper jaw, with a third again hitting the bridge of his nose.
Grabbing him by the hair, August hit him with two more quick head punches before throwing him to the ground. August quickly straddled the man's hips, his breathing erratic. Blaine raised his hands in a weak defense, but August pushed them aside, bringing his fist down. He began pounding the man's face, each strike causing another crunch, every hit staining his wraps a deeper red.
"Please…"
August paused with his fist ready to strike again. He panted heavily, a concoction of blood and sweat dripping from his chin. His eyes widened as he truly looked at the man beneath him.
His head was smothered in crimson, his skin torn all along his bruised face. Blood was pooling underneath him, coloring his blond hair an orange-y red. His nose was broken, his bottom lip split open, and his right eye was sealed shut.
With uneven breaths, placing a hand on his knee, August pulled himself to a stand. It was only now when he noticed the crowd, completely silent.
"A-a-and… I'm sorry," the announcer stuttered, gulping audibly. "Your winner, Detective August Heart!"
August looked up to the balcony as the crowd began to roar. Poitier was looking down at him, slowly clapping his hands. August could tell, even with the mask over his face, the man was smiling.
'It was for Daniel,' August thought, looking up into the blinding lights as he panted. 'It was for Daniel… anything for family.'
-^-
"That was a spectacular fight," Poitier said, his feet kicked up on the table, clapping as August entered the VIP lounge. "I'd say the best we've had in this place in years, at least since that blond kid with a temper came in a few years back."
August stood across from the man, his wounds crudely wrapped in gauze and his jacket laid over his shoulder. "Eradicator..." he mumbled, "where is he?"
Poitier sighed, dropping his feet to the floor. "A deal... is a deal," he said, pulling out the same stack of bills from before. "I had one of my informants follow them after they took down that building. Apparently, he and the fire fella are heading to the northern power plant. What for, beats me, but you should find them there."
August stared at the Poitier, the stack of cash, then back at Poitier. "Keep your damn money," he mumbled, turning away from the man.
"You're welcome to step into the cage again anytime, detective," Poitier called out, causing August to stop.
"When all of this passes," he mumbled, looking over his shoulder, "I'll be back to shut this place down."
"I cannot wait to see you try," Poitier chuckled, as August left Goldrush
-^-
"Nothing… we've got nothing," Joe said, slamming his fist against the wall. "What are we supposed to do!?"
"Joe, calm down," Barry said, placing his hand atop his shoulder. "We'll head back to CCPD and check in with Patty, I'm sure they've got some updates."
"I should've brought him to the station…" Joe said, his voice wobbly. "If he was there instead of home-"
"Nothing would've changed, Joe," Barry said, causing Joe to look at the blond. "What would've been different if you had him at CCPD instead of home?"
"I… I could've…"
"Nothing," Barry continued, giving Joe a sad smile. "You… you have to accept the things you can't change… it's the only way you can make real change."
"I… Yeah… I just-"
bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt
Barry looked at Joe, confused, before tapping the wing on his cowl. "Hello?"
"I found Daniel, get to the Northern Power Plant, now."
"A-August? Wait, what? How did you? A-alright, I'll text Joe and-"
"Cut the act, Barry," August responded, a drive Barry had never heard before in his voice. "I know you're him. Bring Joe if you want, but get here, now."
As the line cut, Barry was frozen in shock. Before he could let the reveal get to him, he turned to Joe, a small, but hopeful smile on his face.
"August found him."
----------------------------
NEXT TIME: Faceoff! The Flash vs The Eradicator!
A late-teen Girl kept padlocked in leg braces and in school uniform as part of a psychology experiment - by Angela Fox, inspired by a tale written by Garth Toyntanen (INSTITUTIONALISED volume 3) toyntanen.blogspot.co.uk/ note the padlocks used to secure the leg braces and the card marked "stutterer" hanging around the girl's neck.
Here psychological pressure is going to be applied in an attempt to deliberately induce stammering as part of a residential experimental psychology study the poor thing has been fooled into volunteering for by her scheming stepmother.
More of Angela Fox's artwork can be found on Garth Toyntanen's website beyondthebarredwindow.weebly.com/ and her books on LULU, for example www.lulu.com/shop/angela-fox/the-wardress/ebook/product-2...
Had great hopes for this location, but in the end, it became a confused mess in fading light. However, nice idea to take the steam train to the beach.
The bathers must have wondered what was happening as thirty-odd (odd) elderly men arrived wearing anoraks and sensible shoes in the tropical heat, and commenced to bark out 'pleasantries' such as "You're in the shot!".
The luxury Mount Lavinia hotel overwhelms the “B1a” class loco and train making its stuttering way back to Colombo from Galle.
Sri Lanka. February 2020. © David Hill
Yellow-belled Sapsuckers perch upright on trees like this Jamaican dogwood (Piscidia piscipula), leaning on their tails like other woodpeckers. They feed at sapwells—neat rows of shallow holes they drill in tree bark. They lap up the sugary sap along with any insects that may get caught there. Sapsuckers drum on trees and metal objects in a distinctive stuttering pattern.
Little Torch Key, Florida
TW: This issue contains depictions of self-harm and drug addiction, as well as mentions of murder. Read with caution.
A tophat is thrown haphazardly beneath a bookshelf.
It’s been thirty minutes since the death of Alan Dell. The butterflies are gone, but the body is still there.
John paces in circles around the room. Zatanna is rolled up into a ball in the corner, rocking back and forth - she scratches the back of her neck, leaving marks so deep she’s close to bleeding.
“Jesus fuck… What to do… What to do…” John itches the stubble on his chin. “Whoever did this is a bloody asshole - we can’t call the cops, we’d be put on trial… We can’t send the body to a void, that’d just be discourteous… Shit! Bet the bastard gets off on it, this… Twisted, murderous, manipulative… Hey, you don’t think they’re watching us right now, do you?”
John stops pacing, turns to Zatanna - she’s silent, still rocking. He tilts his head, notices her scratching.
“Hey!” John rushes to her, kneels, slaps her hand way. “Stop that!”
She looks up, teeth clenched, and tears spilling from her ducts. She’s stopped rocking. She swiftly extends her wand toward her sweater, which is draped over a wooden chair. “Gnirb em eht etteragic!” The thin, two-toned cylinder that once sat in her pocket flies into her hand. She brings it to her lips. “Eting-“
John smacks the cigarette from her grasp, before clutching her upper-arm with one hand, and extending the index finger of his other - pointing it toward her face. “No.”
“You gave it to me,” Zatanna stutters.
“I know what I did, I wish I didn’t, and I’m sorry. Just… Take a deep breath, everything’s gonna be okay.” John sits at Zatanna’s left, with a grunt followed by a sigh. “Fuck. Not very good at this, am I?” He lights his own cigarette and blows it to the side opposite Zatanna, as to not let smoke get near her - that isn’t how smoke works, but she finds it thoughtful.
“Better than you used to be…” Zatanna wipes her eye, but the tears have not yet finished pouring. “Why do you stop me, but not yourself? From smoking.”
“I’m long dead. You’re not.”
“Hm,” she snickers. “Edgy.”
He snickers too. “Yeah.” he pauses. “Don’t think I ever told you, that I had lung cancer.”
Zatanna’s demeanour changes as she turns her head. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine - I did say ‘had’ - swindled the ol Prince of Darkness into curing it for me. But…” John’s smirk shifts straight. “Even after pleading, begging to not die, and getting what I wanted, I haven’t stopped feeling the same - like I’m at the brink of death at every moment… And I haven’t stopped smoking either, obviously. Dangerous habit, hard thing to beat.” The two make eye contact. “Without all the glitz, that’s my raw answer to your question: I don’t want you to go through what I’m never gonna stop going through. Ciggies don’t solve any problems - they’ve given me a fuckton - I’m just too far gone now.”
“That’s not true,” says Zatanna, after a pause - she’s still yet to finish crying, but past that, a classic glimmer of hope is back in her eyes. “It’s never too late. You could always go to a rehab, a therapist…” She pauses again. “Even a good friend can help a lot.”
“I guess.” John sighs. “Y’know, you really should heal yourself. Neck’s not lookin’ too great. You should say, uh… La… Laeh…” he waves a hand nonchalantly. “Whatever ‘heal myself’ is in backwards, you should say that.”
Instant silence, ridden with hope diminishment - like a yellow bird once flying, now shot in the wing.
“…It’s not your fault, what happened to Alan - if that is what’s on your mind” John assures.
Still silent, as she turns her head away.
“We did everything we could’ve done, Zee.”
“Doesn’t feel like it,” she mumbles.
“Hm?”
She turns back, with an exhale. “I said it doesn’t feel like it. Honestly, it feels like we caused this. I mean - we brought him here, tied him up in chains, forced him to answer questions, and then he just… Died! Right in front of us! Seems to me like we killed him - and really, what other explanation is there?”
“If it helps, I actually think I’ve got a pretty good theory about what happened. ‘Been piecing it together in the back of my mind - I’m getting pretty good at multitasking.”
“You’ve still been doing detective shit this whole time?”
“Yeah? I mean, your pain’s valid, ‘course, sorry again - but the longer we wait, more people out there are gonna die. Best we make use of the time we got.”
Zatanna pinches the bridge of her nose. “Fair point, I guess - what’s your theory?”
“Okay, so,” John quickly stands up, struts to the desk, grabs his briefcase before coming back to the wall and sitting back down. He opens the briefcase, quickly jots down the name ‘Delevingne’ with pen on a sticky note, and puts it beside the other sticky note phrases and police photographs on the case’s beige inside. “I bet Delevingne’s a front for an illegal operation, like, a black market, if you will, for sorcerous weaponry - which, would pro’lly make it the place the late Alan Dell first got his hands on the Enchantress artifact. Can’t say I have too much of a hunch when it comes to who might be running the biz, beyond it being the same wanker as Dell’s mysterious ‘family friend’ - who, is also the one that killed him! That’s the part I’m especially sure of, the timing just makes it obvious. And,” John stands up, walks toward Alan’s body. “I realize now there’s no way someone like that, some mystical lowlife, is watching us outright - bet they just put bugs on their buyers, heard one was was about to snitch, and then…” John hesitates at the notice of Zatanna’s frown. “…Well, you know the rest.” He takes a knee beside the corpse. “Cónrahuud,” a flashlight appears in his hand. He uses it for inspection. “Aha, yep, just as I suspected,” he tugs a circular, golden object from the roof of Alan’s mouth, and holds it up for Zatanna to see.
“What is that?”
“It’s called a ‘DITO’, or… ‘Dispos…itivo dI Tras...missione Ora’-”
“You mean ‘dispositivo di trasmissione orale’. ‘Oral transmission device’.”
“Ah, you know Italian?”
“Mhm.”
“…Oh, right, right, yeah.”
“So, does this ‘DITO’ sorta act like a wire?” asks Zatanna, before casting a spell to cause a tissue to appear in her hand. She uses it to first wipe her eye, then her nose.
“Precisely! Ancient equivalent to a wire, with sorcerous properties and a shit name - I get it, it’s like ‘ditto’, but the acronym’s rubbish, and that’s not even mentioning the sexual connotation-”
“There has been a magic microphone in this room all night, listening to us talk about the case, and you’re not freaking out about that?”
“Well, you see: a DITO automatically shuts down once their wearer pops their clogs - or ‘kicks the bucket’, as ‘y’all’ say in ‘Murica-”
“Alright,” Zatanna puts her hand on her forehead, “thanks for letting me know, but I reaaaally don’t think this is the right time for jokes - especially ones about death.”
“Hm. I thought it might cheer you up, but my apologies.”
Zatanna stays in that facepalm position for a moment, her only movement being to use the tissue again - but, after a while, her eye opens. She looks to the briefcase on the floor. She picks it up, brings it to her lap, looks at the photographs - her eyes follow from image to image as she tries to think of ways to extend upon John’s theories. “Hmmm. Wait, I have an idea.” She reaches for her wand once again, points it at her bookshelf. “Gnirb em ehT aidepolcycnE fo suorecroS snopaeW dna seciveD, yrtne ytnewt-evif!” An encyclopedia flies to her grasp. She opens it, presses her wand against the first page. “Piks ot noitces D fo eht elbat fo stnetnoc!”
“With the miss of just one syllable, that ‘backwards magic’ of yours could completely backfire - yet it never does, least not when you use it. That won’t ever cease to amaze me.”
Zatanna smiles at John. “Thanks.” She looks back to the pages, parts some hair behind her ear to keep it from her eyes. “Okay… The Deception Sceptre… The Dial of Divination… Aha, DITO…”
“Got any new info?”
“‘The energy used to power a DITO is taken from the wearer… thus deactivation occurs once the device is no longer powered… deactivation cannot be reversed’, shit, there goes my idea.”
“You were gonna reactivate it and track the transmission’s other end, I’m guessing.”
“Mhm...” she continues reading.
John turns to an analog clock over the kitchen’s archway - it’s forty-six minutes past midnight, thus the first hour of October 30th. “Hey,” he turns to the opposite side of the room, at Zatanna’s bedroom door. “How’s about you get some rest?”
“But you said ‘the longer we wait, more people out there are gonna die’, and ‘best we make use of the time we got’-“
“We both said a lotta things, Zee. And we’re still human - humans need sleep. I’ll take the sofa, ‘kay?”
“Hm… Okay. Yeah. Might be a good idea.” Zatanna closes the book, puts it beside herself. She then casually points her wand between the grey sweater on the chair, the crimson long-sleeve draped underneath it, and the leopard print pajama pants that lay on the floor. “Hctiws ym sehtolc!” In a poof of rose coloured smoke, Zatanna’s clad once again in said sleepwear. She stands, enters her bedroom. She smiles slightly, past few rebel tears, at the poster above and beside her bed - the advertisement for her 2003 magic show. ‘Those were the days’, she thinks to herself, wishing things could revert to the way they were back then. She then lays down, pulls the duvet over herself. She rests her head on the pillow, one arm bent and beneath it. She closes her eyes, but they open again at the sound of light laughter. She sits up, sees John standing in the doorframe, admiring the same poster she was just looking at.
“What’s so funny?” she asks.
“Oh, I’m just reminiscing about the good ol’ days - y’know, John and Zee, the magic couple, duking it out with, I dunno, the Demons Three… Whatever happened? When did everything get so… Real?”
Zatanna stares blankly. It is now, upon hearing the words from his mouth, she’s hit with a realization: “I grew up, John.”
John’s pupils dilate. Then look to the corner. Then his lids half-close. He replies, “…right…”, and closes the door.
Zatanna lays back down, but on the other side of the door, John falls to the floorboards. His back is pressed against the wall as he takes another puff of his cigarette, only now beginning to cry.
American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 233/01. Photo: Universal Pictures. Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).
British actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969) is one of the true icons of the Horror cinema. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. In the following decades, he worked in countless Horror films, but also in other genres, both in Europe and Hollywood.
Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in 1887 in London, England. Pratt himself stated that he was born in Dulwich, which is nearby in London. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard. ‘Billy’ never knew his father. Edward Pratt had worked for the Indian Salt Revenue Service and had virtually abandoned his family in far-off England. Edward died when his son was still an infant and so Billy was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder brothers and sisters. As a child, Billy performed each Christmas in plays staged by St. Mary Magdalene's Church. His first role was that of The Demon King in the pantomime Cinderella. Billy was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered. He conquered his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. After his education at private schools, he attended King's College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, the 22-year-old left university without graduating and sailed from Liverpool to Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs. In Canada, he began appearing in theatrical performances and chose the stage name Boris Karloff. Later, he claimed he chose ‘Boris’ because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that ‘Karloff’ was a family name. However, his daughter Sara Karloff publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, Karloff or otherwise. One reason for the name change was to prevent embarrassment to his family. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (T. Hayes Hunter, 1933), opposite Cedric Hardwicke. Karloff was distraught that his family would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs. In 1911, Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company and later joined the Harry St. Clair Co. which performed in Minot, North Dakota, for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. While trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of difficult manual labour in Canada and the U.S. to make ends meet. He was left with back problems from which he suffered for the rest of his life. In 1917, he arrived in Hollywood, where he went on to make dozens of silent films. Some of his first roles were in film serials, such as The Masked Rider (Aubrey M. Kennedy, 1919), in Chapter 2 of which he can be glimpsed onscreen for the first time, and The Hope Diamond Mystery (Stuart Paton, 1920). In these early roles, he was often cast as an exotic Arabian or Indian villain. Other silent films were The Deadlier Sex (Robert Thornby, 1920) with Blanche Sweet, Omar the Tentmaker (James Young, 1922), Dynamite Dan (Bruce Mitchell, 1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (J.P. McGowan, 1927) in which James Pierce played Tarzan. In 1926 Karloff found a provocative role in The Bells (James Young, 1926), in which he played a sinister hypnotist opposite Lionel Barrymore. He worked with Barrymore again in his first sound film, the thriller The Unholy Night (Lionel Barrymore, 1929).
A key film which brought Boris Karloff recognition was The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931), a prison drama in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. With his characteristic short-cropped hair and menacing features, Karloff was a frightening sight to behold. Opposite Edward G. Robinson, Karloff played a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931), a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931), based on the classic Mary Shelley book, propelled him to stardom. Wikipedia: “The bulky costume with four-inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and extensive makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each.” The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?." The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932). The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) with Charles Laughton, and the starring role in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932) quickly followed. Steve Vertlieb at The Thunder Child: “Wonderfully kinky, the film co-starred young Myrna Loy as the intoxicating, yet sadistic Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's sexually perverse daughter. Filmed before Hollywood's infamous production code, the film joyously escaped the later scrutiny of The Hayes Office, and remains a fascinating example of pre-code extravagance.” These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom. Horror had become his primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal Horror films. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in two other films, the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939), the latter also featuring Bela Lugosi. Steve Vertlieb about Bride of Frankenstein: “Whale delivered perhaps the greatest horror film of the decade and easily the most critically acclaimed rendition of Mary Shelley's novel ever released. The Bride of Frankenstein remains a work of sheer genius, a brilliantly conceived and realized take on loneliness, vanity, and madness. The cast of British character actors is simply superb.” While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ullmer, 1934). Follow-ups included The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935), the rarely seen, imaginative science fiction melodrama The Invisible Ray (Lambert Hillyer, 1936), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945). Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides Horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in Howard Hawks' classic Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni.. He played a religious First World War soldier in John Ford’s epic The Lost Patrol (1934) opposite Victor McLaglen. Between 1938 and 1940, Karloff starred in five films for Monogram Pictures, including Mr. Wong, Detective (William Nigh, 1938). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (Rowland V. Lee, 1939) as the murderous henchman of King Richard III, and with Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence (Terry O. Morse, 1940). In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve his chronic arthritic condition.
Boris Karloff revisited the Frankenstein mythos in several later films, taking the starring role of the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1944), in which the monster was played by Glenn Strange. He reprised the role of the ‘mad scientist’ in Frankenstein 1970 (Howard W. Koch, 1958) as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original creator. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his face (i.e., Karloff's) to the monster. From 1945 to 1946, Boris Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945), The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945), and Bedlam (Mark Robson, 1946). Karloff had left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. Karloff was a frequent guest on radio programs. In 1949, he was the host and star of the radio and television anthology series Starring Boris Karloff. In 1950, he had his own weekly children's radio show in New York. He played children's music, told stories and riddles, and attracted many adult listeners as well. An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. In 1962, he reprised the role on television with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley. He also appeared as Captain Hook in the play Peter Pan with Jean Arthur. In 1955, he returned to the Broadway stage to portray the sympathetic Bishop Cauchon in Jean Anouilh's The Lark. Karloff regarded the production as the highlight of his long career. Julie Harris was his co-star as Joan of Arc in the celebrated play, recreated for live television in 1957 with Karloff, Harris and much of the original New York company intact. For his role, Karloff was nominated for a Tony Award. Karloff donned the monster make-up for the last time for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66 (1962), which also featured Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. In the 1960s, Karloff appeared in several films for American International Pictures, including The Comedy of Terrors (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, The Raven (Roger Corman, 1963), The Terror (Roger Corman, 1963) with Jack Nicholson, and Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965). Another project for American International release was the frightening Italian horror classic, I tre volti della paura/Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963), in which Karloff played a vampire with bone-chilling intensity. He also starred in British cult director Michael Reeves's second feature film, The Sorcerers (1966). He gained new popularity among the young generation when he narrated the animated TV film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. 1966), and provided the voice of the Grinch. Karloff later received a Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children after the story was released as a record. Then he starred as a retired horror film actor in Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968), Steve Vertlieb: “Targets was a profoundly disturbing study of a young sniper holding a small Midwestern community, deep in the bible belt, terrifyingly at bay. The celebrated subplot concerned the philosophical dilemma of creating fanciful horrors on the screen, while the graphic, troubling reality was eclipsing the superficiality so tiredly repeated by Hollywood. Karloff co-starred, essentially as himself, an aged horror star named Byron Orlok, who wants simply to retire from the imagined horrors of a faded genre, only to come shockingly to grips with the depravity and genuine terror found on America's streets. Bogdanovich's first film as a director won praise from critics and audiences throughout the world community, and won its elder star the best, most respectful notices of his later career.”. In 1968, he played occult expert Professor Marsh in the British production Curse of the Crimson Altar (Vernon Sewell, 1968), which was the last Karloff film to be released during his lifetime. He ended his career by appearing in four low-budget Mexican horror films, which were released posthumously. While shooting his final films, Karloff suffered from emphysema. Only half of one lung was still functioning and he required oxygen between takes. he contracted bronchitis in 1968 and was hospitalized. In early 1969, he died of pneumonia at the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, in Sussex, at the age of 81. Boris Karloff married five times and had one child, daughter Sara Karloff, by his fourth wife.
Sources: Steve Vertlieb (The Thunder Child), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
Soundtrack // Bande-son: GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS ("Uncertian Country"): www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajm4eYcv5oU&t=5s
"Static in the frame, and with a stutter... Not in flight, on the road, on foot... Can’t reach it... UNCERTAIN COUNTRY... Uncertain country..;"
Sur la route menant de Timbaki à Agia Galini, sur le littoral sud du district régional de Réthymnon (Crète).
Sure enough, just as I reach the end of the mine shaft leading outside, my powers fail me, sending me crashing into the gravel in front of me. Owwh! I try flying, but no dice. No constructs either.. Strange.. Haven't had this happen before . I check on the pod kids, to make sure they're alright. Other then some being completely freaked out, they're fine. Can't say I blame them. Being stuck in a pod and getting experimented on. Nothing good comes from that. Hard to believe that was me once. Along with Detonator, and a few others. Honestly, it's still a lot for me to fully process. I take this time to call the public Archon number. Within a matter of minutes, there they are, dropping out of their jet. Archon ! It's a weird feeling, seeing them all face to face, especially after losing a key member of their team in Big Time. Titanic, Paragon, Brightstar, Shockwave, and a newer face that I don't quite recognize. Guess they've got a new member.
"He-y, thanks for coming! Record time too!" I say, stuttering throughout, clearly nervous. I mean, these are the cities biggest heroes, after all. I give them a brief rundown on everything I know of what went down here, with plenty of uhms, and likes throughout, trying to regain my thoughts. Of course I didn't say anything about my flashbacks. Wouldn't want them locking me away or something..
"You should probably head home. Thanks for the help and everything, but we've got this now." The newest member replies after my rundown is over.
"Yeah, about that.. Would I be able to get a ride? My uhm powers are kind of malfunctioning on me.." I say with a shrug. This causes Shockwave and newbie to chuckle.
"Right.. Hey Brightstar, this bloke here needs a ride home. Fly him home, alright? I'll send you the coordinates." By the way Shockwave phrased it, it was more of an order than a request. Rather than rolling her eyes like I thought she would, she just nodded, and smiled.
"Sounds good."
"Wait, how do you even know-?" I give a look of confusion, as Shockwave gives me a sly smirk.
"Facial rec software in the visor. Not hard to pinpoint where ya live after that. Should defo consider getting yourself a helmet, or some goggles if you don't want people recognizing ya, mate. Assuming you keep getting yourself into trouble like this. Can't say we're too keen on that idea, but we can't be everywhere." Shockwave interrupts me mid sentence, the smirk still there, as he continues to talk with his thick Australian accent.
"That's not scary at all..." I say with a slight pause, before continuing. "But thanks, I appreciate the advice, and safe passage home!" It's then that Brightstar lifts me up into her arms, and flies off. Can't say this is how I was expecting the night to end, but there's no way I'm complaining.
--------------------------------------
It didn't take long for her to fly me home. I give a quick thank you, before she flies off. That's just great. Now all of Archon, not just the Judgement branch, knows who I am. In addition to Watchman, Detonator, Architect.. The list goes on. Wow, I'm really bad at this secret identity thing. Like Shockwave said, I really need to invest in some headgear. As I step through the front door, I notice my parents watching the news. No surprises here, there's already a report on Cooper's Landing's experiments. Dad turns around, and sees me walk in
"Where have you been?" He questions, noticing I'm in costume.
"Well, you're looking at it." I say, pointing to the TV.
"You were there? Why?" My mom pipes in.
"Recently, I've got these headaches, along with these occasional flashes. Still images, of things that at the time, I had no recollection of. One of which was of Cooper's Landing itself. I figured if I went down there, I'd get some answers. I didn't really want to bring it up, cause I knew it'd only cause you more grief."
"Of course we would be worried! You should have told us! That way we could've helped."
"Olivia, please.. Yelling at our boy won't do anything now... All that should matter right now is that our Andy is back." Is all my dad says, trying to console my mom. After a few seconds, he speaks up again. "So? Did you get any answers?"
"Thank you, dad. Yeah, I did. It all started with the time I went missing as a child." It's then I told them everything that I remembered from my repressed memories. How I was kidnapped, and experimented on by the Watchman, and his scientists. The greyish liquid, and how it was the source of my abilities. Project Beacon. How it all happened on Cooper's Landing, and that I was eventually saved by the man in the black and white costume. The story caught them off guard, and got them emotional. Which of course, got me emotional. They stood up, silent, and just pulled me into the group hug. We just stood there in silence, occasionally tearing up. As satisfying as it was to find the answers I've been looking for, it's even better getting to share in this moment with my parents. We finally know the full story of what happened. We can almost close that chapter of my life, and move forward. There's two questions that I still haven't gotten full answers to. Who is Detonator? And who is the Watchman? That's not even including the recent power malfunction either. It's a lot to think about, but I'll leave that for tomorrow. Right now, I need some sleep.
Halloween 2 PJL
————————————————————————————————
Scarlet pulled up her glove to complete her costume as Jason stepped into the room using his hand to cover where she stood.
“You finished getting ready?” He asked. Smirking, Scarlet answered,
“Yes, I am.” Jason dropped his hand to see her costume and nodded while saying,
“Well, you look…” He searched for a word to say that wouldn’t directly give away his new affection for her before settling on, “…accurate.”
“Accurate?” Scarlet said with a laugh as she adjusted her boots and exited the room with Jason.
“Yeah, accurate. I mean, I never saw or read Watchmen but from the posters online…”
“You look great.” Scarlet said, cutting off Jason’s stuttering as she examined his Nite Owl costume.
“This old thing?” Jason asked, looking up and down his suit, “Found part of it in a trash can. It’s not the best or accurate but, you know.” As they spoke, John and Landon approached in their costumes causing Scarlet to burst into laughter.
“I couldn’t find that weird black thong Manhattan wears so this had to do.” John said as Jason raised his eyebrows while mouthing the word ‘bulge’ to Landon. The latter nodded before saying,
“I don’t think my voice is raspy enough for Rorschach.” Jason shrugged before asking,
“So…should we get this show on the road?” The group nodded as they all exited their hideout and joined a crowd of various boys and girls in different costumes.
“What is it with people dressing as supervillains?” Scarlet asked as they passed two children dressed as Sinestro and Captain Cold, “Doesn’t that put their egos into hyperdrive?”
“They’re a product as long as they’re out of the spotlight I guess,” Jason answered before stepping towards the first apartment and saying, “Trick or treat.” A man in a skeleton mask handed the group candy before Jason turned to Landon to ask, “How’s it going with the Sionis lead?”
“Alright,” Landon said as he made a ‘so-so’ gesture with his hand, “He’s just hired some kids called the Skull twins. Hear they’ll be pulling off a series of major heist in the next few months.”
“Any word on his connection with you-know-who?” Realizing Jason was referencing the Joker caused Landon’s heart to skip a beat in remembering exactly what the man meant to him.
“None. But Sionis is definitely hiding something. Something he knows about the clown.” Jason smiled,
“At least we have that.” All of a sudden, a figure leapt out from behind a row of bushes nearby, yelling,
“Boo!” Scarlet screamed, as she was the closest to the figure, prompting Jason to quickly retrieve his pistol and aim it at the new person’s head. It turned out they were just a kid in a costume, who immediately began to cry and run away as Jason lowered his weapon. In the rush of everything that had just happened, he had not noticed that his other hand had ended up wrapped in Scarlet’s, whose body was now pressed to his. Noticing this as well, she moved away slightly, but left her hand in Jason’s as John and Landon both whistled in between bouts of laughter. Jason and Scarlet continued to walk ahead of the group to the next apartment before the latter moved the former’s arm around her shoulder, bringing them close together again as they said,
“Happy Halloween Scarlet.”
“Happy Halloween Jason.”
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Sorry that took much longer than I had anticipated (as I wrapped the first part of the special yesterday my friends showed up at my house and we ended up out and about until about midnight so it took until now to upload the last two parts). That being said, this will be the last Red Hood released for a little while (at least until Chris' Batman and my Robin catch up) because all of our stories need to be at the same time as this new arc starts for fear of spoilers. In the meantime, the last issue in the first volume of my Robin reboot will end tomorrow most likely and the second issue (which will lead directly into the end of the year event) will begin some time this week. I hope you enjoyed this and had a Happy and spoopy Halloween, but either way thanks for reading!
"The moth stutters,
stares, voracious,
knots staying,
cloud, cloud.
Silhouette
of the cold,
bat,
tides,
relamps
pride,
cricket, cricket.
Night
lightnings,
fireworks
in a jar,
floods
its river
with an iris."
© 1999, George Mario Angel Quintero
From: Tentenelaire
Publisher: Editorial Párpado, Medellín, 2006
© Translation: 1999, George Mario Angel Quintero
Overhead shot showing the printed floor tiles from Citizen Brick.
Read the write-up on The Brothers Brick.
This was from the day of IWA MID SOUTH WRESTLING's 500th SHOW in Joliet, Illinois.
My tongue is green because during the match between TOBY KLEIN and DAVEY RICHARDS, I spit a max capacity load of my trusty SNAKE VENOM into RICHARD's eyes, temporarily blinding him, which secured the win for TOBY.
Later in the match between CULT FICTION's VULGAR DISPLAY of POWER - BRAIN DAMAGE and DERANGED and IWA Mid South legends MEAN;N HARD - MEAN MITCH PAGE and ROLLIN HARD, well I got a little Boo Boo...when MEAN 'N HARD's manager JIM FANNIN blasted me in my pretty face with a bat covered in UPHOLSTERY TACKS. Despite that inconvenience my boys still won the match and that's what counts, CULT FICTION winning both matches. The hard wood floor of the venue had a three foot wide, insane amount of blood even for this shit, trail lmao that lead all the way from the ring to the exit door and continued down that marble floor all the way passed the locker room to the exit door that opened to the playground covered in six to eight inches of snow, across the snow to the sidewalk...,see I went right from the ring outside to smoke a cigarette AND a joint, then the trail lead back across the snow halfway back down the hall to the locker room and into it. They had two guys with mops and a third with towels cleaning it up.
Upon sight of me, my pal, Montreal Legend SEXY EDDY smiled and said. "BILLY THAT IS NOT ANYTHING AVERAGE, YOU DEFINATELY HAVE A VAGINA ON YOUR FOREHEAD."
"Aww, THANKS BRO. I appreciate it.", I responded.
Just at that moment someone from the crew came to inform me, my boys were all waiting for me, with the photographer to take some CULT FICTION shots on this momentous occasion of the organization's FIVE HUNDRETH EVENT.
As I approached, the photographer, half looking at me said, "Oh, guys let me grab a couple of Billy alone first. Billy can you step in front of the screen." When I did she really focused, went to raise the camera and kind of stuttered and missed a beat, "OH..(wide-eyed) you're...um, you're still bleeding. I mean a LOT, like badly." She looked a little pale green suddenly. "I am?" I I asked. I leaned forward and saw that I was still on rapidly dripping faucet mode, I did my own version of the patented BRAIN DAMAGE heart beat work the bleed gimmick, when I did it really doubled and hit the floor with an audible splat. lmao
I looked at my boys, DAMAGE was outright grinning, teeth showing from ear to ear, TOBY chuckled and DERANGED smiled quietly and nodded his head up and down and gave me a thumb's up.
Right then, I lifted my hand up like a cup and the blood was filling my palm, overflowing on all sides...I instantly said look a fountain, stuck my tongue in to show the depth of it in my cupped palm, and snap , this photo was shot.
All that was just a tidbit against the whole of a typical day at work, hahahahahaha \m/ OO \m/
MY HEART BEATS PAIN
Martin Kesici
My Memory lies
In the hand of your warm embrace
In the night
I pray
I call your name
Since I fell into your wheels of pain
Desires lost It's rage
Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
(My heart beats pain)
In my dreams
Your life has been so close to me
I've become a slave
Of something in between
My blood runs dry
When I have to face reality
You recover me the signs through me
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
All I wanted is that you'll be mine
I'm afraid
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
My heart beats pain
Hammer since the day
Life's taken you away
But one day I will be with you again
My heart beats pain
My heart beats...
My heart beats...
My heart beats pain
My heart beats pain
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Michelle Leonard / Christian Neander / Martin Kesici / Christian Bader
My Heart Beats Pain lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Gmbh, Tinseltown Music Publishing, Ed. Neandertal
I hadn't lowered the resolution before recording the video for this, so the low framerate and stuttering caused some issues.
A junction of copings provide the basis for a multiple exposure.
Hand-held nine frame ICM multiple exposure. Frames exposed in a short sharp upward sweep, following the line in the left of the frame. Big amends in Lightroom.
ChunkaChunkaChunka at Pelcomb Portraits.
Festination is the rapid stuttering walk that people with Parkinson's, like the prof, sometimes adopt, especially when stopping or turning corners. These new Birkenstocks make it harder to festinate and they discourage corns too. It's a pity they're more expensive since we left the EU.
uploaded with Uploader for Flickr for Android
Otto grabs Norman in one of his tentacles! "What in the-" Norman is interrupted... "Shut up! You idiotic moron! I am stronger, smarter and more powerful then ever! And definitely more powerful then you will ever be, Osborn!!!" Otto shouts. "I- I made a mistake, Otto!" Norman stutters... "DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!! From now on... I AM DOCTOR OCTOPUS!!!" Otto yells, in triumph...
~Scarecrow
Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots.
journey through my unconscious, semi-conscious and consciousness
hidden world of underneath with a deep wave of unique despair
Tuyll van Serooskerkenweg 17/07/2021 17h27
Bartje from Drenthe in Amsterdam South next to the Stadionweg in the street with the most impossible name: Van Tuyll van Serooskerkenweg. Written stuttering advanced!
Bartje Bartels is the main character in a series of Dutch books written by Anne de Vries from 1935 on.
In 1972 Willy van Hemert adapted the stories as a drama series for television. The series aired on the NCRV in seven episodes, beginning on December 26, 1972.
BARTJE [2019]
original by Suze Boschma-Berkhout (1922-1997)
ArtZuid
ARTZUID is an international large-scale sculpture exhibition which takes place every two years in Amsterdam.
ARTZUID was established in 2008.The initiative came from United Art Consult led by Cintha van Heeswijck. From 2009 on, the exhibition takes place every odd year in the monumental Art-Deco district in Amsterdam, designed in 1917 by Hendrik P. Berlage. ARTZUID sculpture route starts at the Museum Square in front of the Rijksmuseum and stretches for 2,5 kilometers south along the Minervalaan, the Apollolaan and Churchilllaan and finally up to the Station Zuid.
Over a period of 4 months, 60 sculptures of established and emerging artists form an eye-catching spectacle. The biennale is attended by the average number of visitors of 375,000.
ArtZuid 2021 is from 1 July to 17 October, under the direction of curator Ralph Keuning. [ Wikipedia ]
* GMC CCKW Maintenance/Recovery Truck
* GMC CCKW Dump Truck with M2A1 105mm Howitzer (latter reverse-engineered from Brickmania)
Read the write-up on The Brothers Brick.
In case of technical problems (movies on flickr tend to stutter), just find a better copy at youtube.com - I'm dmaclego there as well.
About the mechanized Panther: it works but I would say the Tiger was a little better, for several reasons. First of all, front wheels drive may be a good idea in a real tank but not here. Secondly, front wheels in my Panther tend to slide, since they work outside of the tracks' grooves. The turret is another story - I had to restore the extra layer of plates, a sort of turntable, to reduce friction. The barrel, filled with metal axles, is quite heavy and only one stud connects the turret to the micromotor, so obviously it's not the toughest connection....
But still - as you can see, it works :) .
Edit: I have no idea why, but the movie was clipped by flickr. Youtube version is slightly longer.
There were Mods and Rockers , Punks and Skins
And the guy who sang Elvis as he emptied our bin
Outside City Hall on a Saturday they`d congregate
Abusing each other with words of anger and hate
The council wanted them moved on from outside their gates
But the police in those days had enough on their plates
It was late `77 or perhaps `78
When I first heard S.L.F. and to them I could relate
Their songs of love for this wee land
Never heard before , I could understand
Suspect Device left us stuttering thrice
While Alternative Ulster made you blood flow with ice
We have Danny Boy and Ireland`s Call
Anthems that won`t cause a brawl
But the opening bars of Alternative Ulster it has to be
The national anthem for an old punk like me
Just think for a minute of how it would be
At an International event the opposition would flee
On hearing the start of that lone guitar
The minds and spirits would forever carry a scar
................. Copyright (c) Rodney Harrison 2014
Alternative Ulster Can be heard Here
• opens new window •
American postcard by Zoetrope Images Ltd., Boston, no 432. Photo: Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).
British actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969) is one of the true icons of the Horror cinema. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. In the following decades, he worked in countless Horror films, but also in other genres, both in Europe and Hollywood.
Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in 1887 in London, England. Pratt himself stated that he was born in Dulwich, which is nearby in London. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard. ‘Billy’ never knew his father. Edward Pratt had worked for the Indian Salt Revenue Service and had virtually abandoned his family in far-off England. Edward died when his son was still an infant and so Billy was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder brothers and sisters. As a child, Billy performed each Christmas in plays staged by St. Mary Magdalene's Church. His first role was that of The Demon King in the pantomime Cinderella. Billy was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered. He conquered his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. After his education at private schools, he attended King's College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, the 22-year-old left university without graduating and sailed from Liverpool to Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs. In Canada, he began appearing in theatrical performances and chose the stage name Boris Karloff. Later, he claimed he chose ‘Boris’ because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that ‘Karloff’ was a family name. However, his daughter Sara Karloff publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, Karloff or otherwise. One reason for the name change was to prevent embarrassment to his family. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (T. Hayes Hunter, 1933), opposite Cedric Hardwicke. Karloff was distraught that his family would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs. In 1911, Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company and later joined the Harry St. Clair Co. which performed in Minot, North Dakota, for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. While trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of difficult manual labour in Canada and the U.S. to make ends meet. He was left with back problems from which he suffered for the rest of his life. In 1917, he arrived in Hollywood, where he went on to make dozens of silent films. Some of his first roles were in film serials, such as The Masked Rider (Aubrey M. Kennedy, 1919), in Chapter 2 of which he can be glimpsed onscreen for the first time, and The Hope Diamond Mystery (Stuart Paton, 1920). In these early roles, he was often cast as an exotic Arabian or Indian villain. Other silent films were The Deadlier Sex (Robert Thornby, 1920) with Blanche Sweet, Omar the Tentmaker (James Young, 1922), Dynamite Dan (Bruce Mitchell, 1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (J.P. McGowan, 1927) in which James Pierce played Tarzan. In 1926 Karloff found a provocative role in The Bells (James Young, 1926), in which he played a sinister hypnotist opposite Lionel Barrymore. He worked with Barrymore again in his first sound film, the thriller The Unholy Night (Lionel Barrymore, 1929).
A key film which brought Boris Karloff recognition was The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931), a prison drama in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. With his characteristic short-cropped hair and menacing features, Karloff was a frightening sight to behold. Opposite Edward G. Robinson, Karloff played a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931), a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931), based on the classic Mary Shelley book, propelled him to stardom. Wikipedia: “The bulky costume with four-inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and extensive makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each.” The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?." The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932). The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) with Charles Laughton, and the starring role in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932) quickly followed. Steve Vertlieb at The Thunder Child: “Wonderfully kinky, the film co-starred young Myrna Loy as the intoxicating, yet sadistic Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's sexually perverse daughter. Filmed before Hollywood's infamous production code, the film joyously escaped the later scrutiny of The Hayes Office, and remains a fascinating example of pre-code extravagance.” These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom. Horror had become his primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal Horror films. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in two other films, the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939), the latter also featuring Bela Lugosi. Steve Vertlieb about Bride of Frankenstein: “Whale delivered perhaps the greatest horror film of the decade and easily the most critically acclaimed rendition of Mary Shelley's novel ever released. The Bride of Frankenstein remains a work of sheer genius, a brilliantly conceived and realized take on loneliness, vanity, and madness. The cast of British character actors is simply superb.” While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ullmer, 1934). Follow-ups included The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935), the rarely seen, imaginative science fiction melodrama The Invisible Ray (Lambert Hillyer, 1936), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945). Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides Horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in Howard Hawks' classic Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni. He played a religious First World War soldier in John Ford’s epic The Lost Patrol (1934) opposite Victor McLaglen. Between 1938 and 1940, Karloff starred in five films for Monogram Pictures, including Mr. Wong, Detective (William Nigh, 1938). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (Rowland V. Lee, 1939) as the murderous henchman of King Richard III, and with Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence (Terry O. Morse, 1940). In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve his chronic arthritic condition.
Boris Karloff revisited the Frankenstein mythos in several later films, taking the starring role of the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1944), in which the monster was played by Glenn Strange. He reprised the role of the ‘mad scientist’ in Frankenstein 1970 (Howard W. Koch, 1958) as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original creator. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his face (i.e., Karloff's) to the monster. From 1945 to 1946, Boris Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945), The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945), and Bedlam (Mark Robson, 1946). Karloff had left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. Karloff was a frequent guest on radio programs. In 1949, he was the host and star of the radio and television anthology series Starring Boris Karloff. In 1950, he had his own weekly children's radio show in New York. He played children's music, told stories and riddles, and attracted many adult listeners as well. An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. In 1962, he reprised the role on television with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley. He also appeared as Captain Hook in the play Peter Pan with Jean Arthur. In 1955, he returned to the Broadway stage to portray the sympathetic Bishop Cauchon in Jean Anouilh's The Lark. Karloff regarded the production as the highlight of his long career. Julie Harris was his co-star as Joan of Arc in the celebrated play, recreated for live television in 1957 with Karloff, Harris and much of the original New York company intact. For his role, Karloff was nominated for a Tony Award. Karloff donned the monster make-up for the last time for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66 (1962), which also featured Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. In the 1960s, Karloff appeared in several films for American International Pictures, including The Comedy of Terrors (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, The Raven (Roger Corman, 1963), The Terror (Roger Corman, 1963) with Jack Nicholson, and Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965). Another project for American International release was the frightening Italian horror classic, I tre volti della paura/Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963), in which Karloff played a vampire with bone-chilling intensity. He also starred in British cult director Michael Reeves's second feature film, The Sorcerers (1966). He gained new popularity among the young generation when he narrated the animated TV film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. 1966), and provided the voice of the Grinch. Karloff later received a Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children after the story was released as a record. Then he starred as a retired horror film actor in Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968), Steve Vertlieb: “Targets was a profoundly disturbing study of a young sniper holding a small Midwestern community, deep in the bible belt, terrifyingly at bay. The celebrated subplot concerned the philosophical dilemma of creating fanciful horrors on the screen, while the graphic, troubling reality was eclipsing the superficiality so tiredly repeated by Hollywood. Karloff co-starred, essentially as himself, an aged horror star named Byron Orlok, who wants simply to retire from the imagined horrors of a faded genre, only to come shockingly to grips with the depravity and genuine terror found on America's streets. Bogdanovich's first film as a director won praise from critics and audiences throughout the world community, and won its elder star the best, most respectful notices of his later career.”. In 1968, he played occult expert Professor Marsh in the British production Curse of the Crimson Altar (Vernon Sewell, 1968), which was the last Karloff film to be released during his lifetime. He ended his career by appearing in four low-budget Mexican horror films, which were released posthumously. While shooting his final films, Karloff suffered from emphysema. Only half of one lung was still functioning and he required oxygen between takes. he contracted bronchitis in 1968 and was hospitalized. In early 1969, he died of pneumonia at the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, in Sussex, at the age of 81. Boris Karloff married five times and had one child, daughter Sara Karloff, by his fourth wife.
Sources: Steve Vertlieb (The Thunder Child), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
Crossing from St Peter Port to Sark, the ferry docks at Maseline Harbour. This isn't it. This is the more sheltered Creux Harbour. Maseline Harbour is more exposed so with a swell running on the return journey, negotiating the gang plank was halting; stuttering as the ferry was first pushed against the jetty — board now, one at a time — or wait as the ferry was pushed away until the lines strained against the tide. Such was the swell that those intrepid sailors on the rear deck disembarked on Guernsey more moist than when they left Sark.
Guernsey's highest elevation is at Le Moulin on Sark. Negotiating the cliffs about the Maseline Harbour is via a tunnel through a small headland. For a fee, one then climbs the hill on a trailer towed behind a tractor, or on foot up Harbour Hill.
There's another headland roughly at right angles pierced by yet another tunnel. This leads to the more business-like Creux Harbour. Here a no-nonsense breakwall shelters a quiet anchorage with a little shingle beach in its corner.
Had I not dropped my wide angle lens this view would have been brought to you by my venerable 60D. Instead I had to resort to this phone camera. There is far too much magic in these devices. There's an inevitability that .jpeg processed in camera will be pushed just that little too far. True, I could shoot in RAW. But for one reason and another processing RAW images on the road is a nuisance. So here you have it: a not great, too much magic view of the delightful Creux Harbour taken using digital witchcraft just before I left Sark.
Girl kept padlocked in leg braces as part of a psychology experiment - by Angela Fox, inspired by a tale written by Garth Toyntanen (INSTITUTIONALISED volume 3) toyntanen.blogspot.co.uk/ note the padlocks used to secure the leg braces and the card marked "stutterer" hanging around the girl's neck.
Here psychological pressure is going to be applied in an attempt to deliberately induce stammering as part of a residential experimental psychology study the poor thing has been fooled into volunteering for. In the background can be seen a spiral device used for hypnotherapy by the psychologist in charge.
More of Angela Fox's artwork can be found on Garth Toyntanen's website beyondthebarredwindow.weebly.com/ and her books on LULU, for example www.lulu.com/shop/angela-fox/the-wardress/ebook/product-2...
People are so ungrateful for what they have. They have so much, yet they complain. It makes me so mad, as I am never able to have that. I've never known the feeling of a home, or what a true family looks like. Ever since I was born, life has found ways to kick me down. I grew up in the Leavenworth Orphanage. To this day, I still don't know why I was abandoned, and I probably never will. So I had to make the best of things. While there are thousands of children in the orphanage, it never really felt like family. That is until four people, who I now consider best friends, came along. First was Landon Conway. For some weird reason, we just instantly clicked as friends. We would always dream big like kids do. Looking back, it was silly to think it could happen for people like us. After Landon, came the other three at relatively the same time. Troy Stevens, Alexa Stanton, and Sybil Gallou. Not going to lie, it was really tough to communicate with Sybil at first. I remember trying to start a conversation with her, and she would just look at me with her big brown eyes. I didn't realize back then that she couldn't actually speak. But once she sat down at the piano, you could hear her speak through the music she played. As the time went on, Troy fell for Sybil, and became quite protective of her. Poor sucker, but I guess the love arrow strikes us all at some point. For me, it happened when Alexa came to the orphanage. I often found myself stuttering, sometimes not able to speak to her at all. But of course, she only really saw me as a friend. Anyway, enough of that. The five of us became thick as thieves, becoming a family of sorts. We would always be there for each other. Especially at the age of 14, when we were all kicked out of the orphanage.
Unfortunately, the population of the orphanage just kept growing and growing, so they have to let kids go once they hit 14 years of age. The five of us decided to stick together, and we did anything and everything to survive. Am I proud of the things I've done? No not really. But sometimes, that's what you're forced to do when given a crappy hand. We would work our way up, starting with small convenience stores, eventually getting to banks. Landon gave me the nickname Ignition, for my skills at stealing cars, and being the getaway driver. The score from Sky High Financial Group was supposed to be a clean and easy job. Get in, get out, no problem. But of course, that was ruined by luck of the draw, with those two superkids there. So we went to jail, but a month or so later, I got my first visitor. I remember tapping on the floor of my cell to the beat of a song that popped into my head. Then this woman appeared at the door of my cell.
"Corey Bennett?"
Corey: "Yeah, that's me, who wants to know?"
"Amanda Spence."
Corey: "Am I supposed to know who you are?"
Amanda: "No, but you'll be thanking me soon enough. The organization I work for has an interest in you and your friends."
Corey: "Why? I mean this all sounds great and all, but why?"
Amanda: "You and I have a common enemy. The two Supers."
Corey: "There's not much that bullets can do against those two."
Amanda: "Who said anything about bullets? We can give you power."
Corey: "What's in it for you? There has to be something you aren't mentioning."
Amanda: "No ulterior motive Corey. I just see this as a way to remove the problem of those supers. You get to do what you want, and by proxy, I get what I want. Now, are you in?"
Corey: "Yeah definitely, though the others may need convincing.
Amanda: "Oh, they already agreed."
Corey: "So when do we get out of this hellhole?"
Amanda: "I've already made the arrangements."
Minutes later, the cell door opens, and I follow Amanda out of the facility. As I walk outside, I feel the raindrops falling on me as I look up.
Corey: "Freedom at last!"
Landon: "C'mon Corey, it wasn't even that long.." I recognize that voice anywhere! I look down, and see Landon at the bottom of the stairs, with Troy, Alexa, and Sybil.
Corey: "Landon! Oh man, it's great to see you." I go in and give him a hug.
Landon: "Great to see you too Corey!"
Amanda: "Alright, reunions over. Got places to go.."
Corey: "Didn't even get a group hug."
A couple of people dressed in black and red put bags over our heads, and direct us into the van. Guess it's supposed to be some sort of secret.. Well whatever it is, it got me out, so if this what it takes, fine by me. I hear the door shut, and the van starting up. Moments later, I hear the roar of the engine as we drive off to who knows where. After what feels like an hour of driving, we suddenly stop.
Alexa: "I'm guessing we're at the super secret place now."
I hear the door open, and they lead us out of the van. Finally they take the bags off our heads.
Amanda: "Welcome to the Agenda." It's a pretty massive facility, with scientists and labourers everywhere.
Amanda: "Now if you'll follow me, we've got work to do."
Family Gathering - #AlleyBoys - Teddy, Diamond, Victor, Radical, Stutters, and Bruce #GritStreet #Chicago
From the initial sneaky 'sly' twitch (that stutter) on, the crowd were mesmerised.
Jarry needed to scoot over.
Vintage playing card.
British actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969) is one of the true icons of the Horror cinema. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. In the following decades he worked in countless Horror films, but also in other genres, both in Europe and Hollywood.
Boris Karloff was born as William Henry Pratt in 1887 in London, England. Pratt himself stated that he was born in Dulwich, which is nearby in London. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard. ‘Billy’never knew his father. Edward Pratt had worked for the Indian Salt Revenue Service, and had virtually abandoned his family in far off England. Edward died when his son was still an infant and so Billy was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder brothers and sisters. As a child, Billy performed each Christmas in plays staged by St. Mary Magdalene's Church. His first role was that of The Demon King in the pantomime Cinderella. Billy was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered. He conquered his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. After his education at private schools, he attended King's College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, the 22-years-old left university without graduating and sailed from Liverpool to Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs. In Canada, he began appearing in theatrical performances, and chose the stage name Boris Karloff. Later, he claimed he chose ‘Boris’ because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that ‘Karloff’ was a family name. However, his daughter Sara Karloff publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, Karloff or otherwise. One reason for the name change was to prevent embarrassment to his family. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (T. Hayes Hunter, 1933), opposite Cedric Hardwicke. Karloff was extremely worried that his family would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs. In 1911, Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company and later joined the Harry St. Clair Co. that performed in Minot, North Dakota, for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. Whilst he was trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of difficult manual labour in Canada and the U.S. in order to make ends meet. He was left with back problems from which he suffered for the rest of his life. In 1917, he arrived in Hollywood, where he went on to make dozens of silent films. Some of his first roles were in film serials, such as The Masked Rider (Aubrey M. Kennedy, 1919), in Chapter 2 of which he can be glimpsed onscreen for the first time, and The Hope Diamond Mystery (Stuart Paton, 1920). In these early roles, he was often cast as an exotic Arabian or Indian villain. Other silent films were The Deadlier Sex (Robert Thornby, 1920) with Blanche Sweet, Omar the Tentmaker (James Young, 1922), Dynamite Dan (Bruce Mitchell, 1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (J.P. McGowan, 1927) in which James Pierce played Tarzan. In 1926 Karloff found a provocative role in The Bells (James Young, 1926), in which he played a sinister hypnotist opposite Lionel Barrymore. He worked with Barrymore again in his first sound film, the thriller The Unholy Night (Lionel Barrymore, 1929).
A key film which brought Boris Karloff recognition was The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931), a prison drama in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. With his characteristic short-cropped hair and menacing features, Karloff was a frightening sight to behold. Opposite Edward G. Robinson, Karloff played a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931), a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931), based on the classic Mary Shelley book, propelled him to stardom. Wikipedia: “The bulky costume with four-inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and extensive makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each.” The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?." The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932). The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) with Charles Laughton, and the starring role in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932) quickly followed. Steve Vertlieb at The Thunder Child: “Wonderfully kinky, the film co-starred young Myrna Loy as the intoxicating, yet sadistic Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's sexually perverse daughter. Filmed prior to Hollywood's infamous production code, the film joyously escaped the later scrutiny of The Hayes Office, and remains a fascinating example of pre-code extravagance.” These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom. Horror had become his primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal Horror films. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in two other films, the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939), the latter also featuring Bela Lugosi. Steve Vertlieb about Bride oif Frankenstein: “Whale delivered perhaps the greatest horror film of the decade and easily the most critically acclaimed rendition of Mary Shelley's novel ever released. The Bride of Frankenstein remains a work of sheer genius, a brilliantly conceived and realized take on loneliness, vanity, and madness. The cast of British character actors is simply superb.” While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ullmer, 1934). Follow-ups included The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935), the rarely seen, imaginative science fiction melodrama The Invisible Ray (Lambert Hillyer, 1936), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945). Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides Horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in Howard Hawks' classic Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni.. He played a religious First World War soldier in John Ford’s epic The Lost Patrol (1934) opposite Victor McLaglen. Between 1938 and 1940, Karloff starred in five films for Monogram Pictures, including Mr. Wong, Detective (William Nigh, 1938). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (Rowland V. Lee, 1939) as the murderous henchman of King Richard III, and with Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence (Terry O. Morse, 1940). In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve his chronic arthritic condition.
Boris Karloff revisited the Frankenstein mythos in several later films, taking the starring role of the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1944), in which the monster was played by Glenn Strange. He reprised the role of the ‘mad scientist’ in Frankenstein 1970 (Howard W. Koch, 1958) as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original creator. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his own face (i.e., Karloff's) to the monster. From 1945 to 1946, Boris Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945), The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945), and Bedlam (Mark Robson, 1946). Karloff had left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. Karloff was a frequent guest on radio programs. In 1949, he was the host and star of the radio and television anthology series Starring Boris Karloff. In 1950, he had his own weekly children's radio show in New York. He played children's music and told stories and riddles, and attracted many adult listeners as well. An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. In 1962, he reprised the role on television with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley. He also appeared as Captain Hook in the play Peter Pan with Jean Arthur. In 1955, he returned to the Broadway stage to portray the sympathetic Bishop Cauchon in Jean Anouilh's The Lark. Karloff regarded the production as the highlight of his long career. Julie Harris was his co-star as Joan of Arc in the celebrated play, recreated for live television in 1957 with Karloff, Harris and much of the original New York company intact. For his role, Karloff was nominated for a Tony Award. Karloff donned the monster make-up for the last time for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66 (1962), which also featured Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. In the 1960s, Karloff appeared in several films for American International Pictures, including The Comedy of Terrors (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, The Raven (Roger Corman, 1963), The Terror (Roger Corman, 1963) with Jack Nicholson, and Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965). Another project for American International release was the frightening Italian horror classic, I tre volti della paura/Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963), in which Karloff played a vampire with bone chilling intensity. He also starred in British cult director Michael Reeves's second feature film, The Sorcerers (1966). He gained new popularity among a young generation when he narrated the animated TV film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. 1966), and provided the voice of the Grinch. Karloff later received a Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children after the story was released as a record. Then he starred as a retired horror film actor in Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968), Steve Vertlieb: “Targets was a profoundly disturbing study of a young sniper holding a small Midwestern community, deep in the bible belt, terrifyingly at bay. The celebrated subplot concerned the philosophical dilemma of creating fanciful horrors on the screen, while graphic, troubling reality was eclipsing the superficiality so tiredly repeated by Hollywood. Karloff co-starred, essentially as himself, an aged horror star named Byron Orlok, who wants simply to retire from the imagined horrors of a faded genre, only to come shockingly to grips with the depravity and genuine terror found on America's streets. Bogdanovich's first film as a director won praise from critics and audiences throughout the world community, and won its elder star the best, most respectful notices of his later career.”. In 1968, he played occult expert Professor Marsh in the British production Curse of the Crimson Altar (Vernon Sewell, 1968), which was the last Karloff film to be released during his lifetime. He ended his career by appearing in four low-budget Mexican horror films, which were released posthumously. While shooting his final films, Karloff suffered from emphysema. Only half of one lung was still functioning and he required oxygen between takes. he contracted bronchitis in 1968 and was hospitalized. Early 1969, he died of pneumonia at the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, in Sussex, at the age of 81. Boris Karloff married five times and had one child, daughter Sara Karloff, by his fourth wife.
Sources: Steve Vertlieb (The Thunder Child), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
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