Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Episode in which Mister Sarcastic tries to be nice

Team Falcon HQ is looking kind of empty this week, as Rift and Field Effect are still MIA.  Strobe is apparently trying to catch up on coursework, and is not to be seen.  Centaurii, though he has financial incentive to stop by HURT to talk to the team, has yet to show.  (Maybe he threw a shoe, and is having trouble finding a farrier?)

Mister Sarcastic appears anxious to find out why The Astrologer wants the souls of the clones, but nobody seems to be having much luck yet in gathering data.  Agent Randall counsels patience.  Mister S agrees to try.

Doctor Strasser approaches Mister S, and initiates a discussion of Stephanie's actions during the last battle.  He stresses that Stephanie reacts completely differently than he (or most humans) would, and hopes Mister S can help to keep her in line.  Mister S, deciding to volley that ball back to Strassers side of the court, suggests that the doctor meet with Steph, and educate her on the differences between their two worlds, so that each might have appropriate expectations of what the other might do in response to whatever situation might arise.  The good Doctor, having not considered that option, appears to think it a reasonable way to address the issues.

Max appears to still be figuring out how his powers work, and the comm link is behaving somewhat erratic.

Stephanie has been talking to her little hard drive friend, Beta, who desperately wants a new body.  Steph promises to try to get one for him (her? it?).   To that end, when Mister S inquires as to her activities, she professes that the team needs a robot, who can provide fire support, drive the van, etc.  While an odd request, Mister S tries to be helpful, and calls his old teammate Technomancer, so see if he can supply a robot.  Mindful of Techno's previous inventions, he's careful to specify that it not only be AI-free, but that it should actively seek and eradicate any AI that might try to invest the unit.  Technomancer, with typical abruptness agrees and ends the conversation.

Doctor Strasser,  deep in thought contemplating scenarios for approaching his discussion with Stephanie (or perhaps invading Poland), leaves HURT HQ, and is immediately hit with an intense, disabling headache.  Believing it to be a stroke, he calls for help.  Mister Sarcastic arrives, and sees that Strasser is actually under attack by a flying hyper with an oddly shaped head.  Sarcastic calls for backup, and begins his attack, with only moderate effectiveness.

Agent Randall arrives, and quickly identifies the attacker as Cerebro - a foe from days past, but with seemingly updated/enhanced abilities.  The brief fight becomes too one-sided for Cerebro, who flees the scene.

After-combat investigation reveals that Cerebro is actualy Malcolm Shaughnessy,  one of eight brothers and sisters in the Shaughnessy crime family.  Malcom is apparently addicted to a long-named chemical that enhances his powers, but will kill him if he stops taking it.  Apparently he was attacking Dr. Strasser in the hopes of forcing him to provide said pharmaceutical.

Further investigation reveals that two of Malcolm's sisters are currently serving terms in The Mesa.   The gang takes a field trip out to interview them.  With the rest of the team watching from the observation room, Mister Sarcastic enters the interrogation room to meet with the sisters. (Maureen and Meghan?) They are each older than him, and quickly point this out.  Undeterred, Mister S explains that he would like to find a way to help Malcolm out of his addiction, and that the ideal situation would be for Cerebro to leave behind a life of crime.  The sisters don't think it is possible to help their brother, and are very reluctant to become involved, lest he take revenge upon them.  The interview, and the episode ends as amicably as one could hope for with two apparently conscience-free killers.

1 comment:

  1. At some point it was suggested that Dr. Strasser by chained to a stake and left out like a sacrificial goat. That is my one abiding mental image left over from the run.

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