Remix: Waking with the Marmalade

Archived Event: Waking with the Marmalade

Max awoke. He was lying on a bed in a small room, and no one was saying "Poke him again," which was a good sign.

He glanced around his room; the window was open and he could hear the sound of the city beyond it.

His first thought that he was somewhere European, maybe a bed & breakfast kind of establishment. 

He swung his legs from the bed and touched the wooden floor, and as his feet moved he could feel a tingling sensation shoot up them.

Outside his window he heard Frank arguing with a man, though it sounded French.  

I don't know French. 

And yet he could make out the gist of the conversation. Frank was asking the man about a tall slender fellow that was rumored to appear in a blinding flash of light, naked as a jaybird.

Max leaned out the window and saw Frank standing below, and off to one side he could see Angst leaning up against a car painting her nails. He was going to say something but the door to his room opened.

Max turned to see who entered. He instinctively reached for his guns but they weren't there. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Are you Max?" she asked back. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Karen."

Max could still hear Frank outside. He was feeling pretty confused and vulnerable, and he thought about calling out to Frank and Angst.

"Wait," Karen said. "This is probably going to sound strange..."

Max smirked. "I'm okay with strange..." 

Karen continued. "Have you ever heard of keeping a dream journal? I keep one, but every night I've been on this vacation I haven't been able to remember my dreams..."

Max was very aware that Karen was blocking the only exit to the room, except the window. He couldn't hear Frank anymore; it made him nervous. He slowly edged his way towards the windowsill, glanced outside. Frank still down there, talking to Angst.

"Until last night," she said. "Last night I had a very specific dream, very vivid. A young girl, I think she was Japanese, told me an address - this address - and said... Well, I wrote it down..." 

She reached into the pocket of her coat. Max tensed. Frank and Angst looked up to the window and saw him. Karen pulled out a piece of paper and read from it:

"She said, 'Max, that's not Frank and Angst. They are LEGACY shape-changers.'"

Max saw Frank and Angst start towards the front door of the building.

"What does it mean? What does all of this mean?" the woman asked.

Max held out his hand. "It means, Karen, that we have to get out of here."

Remix: Cube

Archived Event: Cube

Max sipped from a water bottle while waiting in a lounge room. He wiped sweat off his brow with the towel draped over his shoulder. He was tired and very sore and he didn't think he could press on. 

So this what it feels like to be past your prime. 

"Man, that was intense," Goner said as he strolled over. His t-shirt was soaked through and he was starting to reek from sweat. "Best yet, I'd say."

Suki smiled from the corner where she sat tuning her guitar.

"Well, like wine one improves with age," Maggie said. She was sitting on the edge of a sofa teasing her hair. 

"Or turns into vinegar," Frank added after taking a long pull from a beer.

"You always have to see the negative in everything, don't you Frank," Goner said to him, shaking his head. "That's one thing that I didn't miss."  

Suki said, "Frank's just a realist." Then she started humming a melody.

"You know, I never thought I'd be back here today with you guys," Frank said. He was sitting on a director's chair, with a bucket of beer on ice beside him. "I think I'm getting too old for this kind of shit. But when an opportunity like this comes up, nostalgia kicks in."

"You'll never get old in my books," Angst said as she emerged from the bathroom. She was having trouble doing up the zipper on the back of her mini-dress. She turned her back to Max, who reached over and zipped her up. Angst noticed the tune that Suki was singing, saw her begin to pick out some notes on the guitar.

"Didn't you wear that in Vegas?" Aqua chided Angst. "Looks like the same one."

Aqua received only the finger from Angst.

"Getting bitchy in our old age, eh?" Aqua shot back at her with a smile. She dropped down into the corner beside Suki, listening to the quiet music coming from the instrument.

The door to the room opened up and Morganfokker strolled in. "I think you guys better get back out there. It's going to get wild if you don't."

Max nodded and he turned to the rest and said, "Let's rock." 

Goner ripped off his t-shirt and grabbed his drumsticks off the stand. "What's the encore going to be?"

Max noticed the song that Suki was playing. Everyone paused for a moment, all together again after so long, the faint roar of the crowd like a storm in the distance. They all listened to her play and looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's do something new," Max said. "Anyone got any new material?"

And Suki looked up with a huge smile on her face.

Remix: Into the Well of Darkness...

Archived Event: Into the Well of Darkness 

 
"You sure about this?" Goner inquired. He stood at the edge of the well and looked down; he was shaking off the unsure feeling. Of all the weirdness he had been through in the past few days, this was certainly unnerving. 

Joy scanned the treeline, shadows and branches and fog woven together. Menacing and spooky. She could tell that Goner was getting creeped out, so she put on a brave face and joined him at the well's edge. Gave him a playful tap with the barrel of her shotgun.

Max walked up beside them and glanced down. "The old lady said this was the way." Joy was pretty sure that Max sounded less-than-certain, and she hoped that Goner wasn't picking up on it.

Goner picked up a brick that was off to one side and dropped it over the edge; they watched the brick disappear into the darkness without a sound. Joy saw Goner shiver.

"I hope the hell you are correct with that old lady," Goner said. "I hope she didn't lead us into a trap. You know there could be that demon girl from that horror movie I watched waiting to feed on our souls." Joy could tell he was trying to make a joke, except given how the last few days had gone, it wasn't all that funny.

Max took a long puff from the cigarette; he exhaled the smoke into the air and then he flicked the cigarette off to one side. He was stalling. Joy had been through enough shifts with him to know that was a bad sign.

She holstered her shotgun over her shoulder and pulled out her phone. Tapped the screen. "There's this new app..." she said. "Measures the ectoplasmic vibrations of nearby spatial nodes that could indicate the presence of paranormal entities..."

Goner looked at Max. "Is she joking? Paranormal entities?"

Max said, "AKA Ghosts." He smiled and winked at Joy.

Goner looked at Joy. "You're joking, right?"

Joy looked up from her phone. "We're clear," she said. And shoved Goner into the well. Max nodded a thank-you and jumped in next. Joy unholstered the shotgun and jumped in after them.

Remix: A Realization In Time Saves Nine

Archived Event: A Realization In Time Saves Nine

The bullets zinged past him like angry hornets after a bear. Max stood there looking about the scenery, assessing the situation. Suki was firing the godhammer back at the pack of hellhounds down one hallway, while Mags did her dance among two dozen no-named mooks with the katana sending body parts parcel post. Frank watched it all from the van, studying the streaming feeds from the drone hovering just above Max.

He saw Max bring his hand to his face, staring intently at it. Frank tweaked the camera angle to get a better view - the Dragon Girls were in the thick of it, but something about Max was making Frank uneasy... He saw Max take the pointing finger from his right hand and slowly bring it to the palm of the left, and Frank saw Max's finger disappear into his hand. Like a magician amused at a parlor trick he did it a few times. Frank checked the feeds to make sure it wasn't a glitch in the camera.
 
Max muttered something, too low for the drone's mic to pick up, looking up at the ceiling, as if looking up from a table-top. Looking directly into the camera. He spoke again, louder. "Show yourself, you bastiche."

Frank toggled the panel-mic. "Max? Who are you talking to? What the hell just happened?" Then he saw the hellhound on the second camera feed, it managed to dodge the blast from Suki's weapon, it was leaping towards Max, Max was still staring at the drone, the strange look on his face, the hellhound's teeth like razors and fire...

"Max! Be here or don't be here but pick one!" Frank shouted into the mic.

Max blinked and spun and drew his guns.

The Director's Version...

Max pulled the trigger. He felt the gun vibrate in his hand and the bullet spat forth in a wake of bullet time, leaving a trail for those to follow. It seemed like he was falling into forever, his body still gliding across the sky as he pulled the trigger a second time.

It was like a scene in a summer blockbuster where it's all style and the story takes a back seat. He hoped whoever was playing him in the movie was cool looking.

He could see the scene like a movie, and his peripheral vision was catching the camera crew off to one side. He was wondering at the moment during battle who was calling the shots on this one, and whether this story they were working on was going according to plan.

Enter the Twins

Mags ran towards the edge of the roof and before she jumped off she turned and threw two darts at her pursuers. She sailed away from the building and felt gravity call to her, but she wasn't answering. She continued to sail straight across, turning and preparing to land on the rooftop of another building 40 feet away.

Legos was hit in the shoulder with one of the darts; she felt pain for the first time in a long time. 

"OW!" she said, which stopped her partner as he dove from the dart.

"She hit you?" questioned Meelos. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"I think we've been misinformed about our target," Legos said as she took the dart from her shoulder and looked at it like a child at a bug.

The Element of Surprise...

clickety-clack
Angst sat looking out the window, watching the city and listening to her mp3 player. She was listening to a classic song and moved her head to the rhythmic beat. 

Suki sat behind her reading an X-Men comic book and sipping on a soda. She missed a few issues so she was catching up on the adventures of her favourite team (other than the one she with).

clickety-clack
On a subway platform several men in dark suits came down, each taking a position on the platform. The began ushering out people waiting for a train; flashing fake id's and assuring them that all was going to be okay. 

"What's going on?" a woman ask. "Terrorists?"

A LEGACY man just nodded his head and told her politely to move on.

clickety-clack
"No way," Goner said. "Did you even watch the same game as I did?"

"Yeah I did," Frank said. "You must be watching some fantasy version in your head."

"Clearly Redgrin had the ball in his possession before the whistle blew," Goner stated.

"The whistle blew before Redgrin could do the recovery," Frank grinned. "You are just a sore loser. You still owe me."

"Well, I don't have the cash on me," Goner said. "Wait to see if there's an ATM and I will get it to you."

Frank rolled his eyes back and said, "That's if you do have an account in this version."

clickety-clack
Once the last of the platform patrons were gone, another team moved in carrying some cases and setting them down. They moved with the purpose of a strike team. Opening up the cases revealing heavy weapons. They began to mount them on the platform; with pressured drills they were putting the mounts into the floor.

clickety-clack
Max sat on the seat up front, close to where Bishop was looking at the wheel. Max sat there with one foot up, his hand draped over his knee holding a drifting cigarette. He was watching the smoke rise and show him something.

His eyes intent on the smoke and then he frowned and turned to Frank.

clickety-clack
There were three dozen LEGACY members waiting. Three mounted cannons and each soldier armed to the hilt with weapons.

Falon open-tapped his head set.

"We're set." 

"They should be arriving any moment," the voice said. "Make this one count."

"Consider them terminated," Falon said as he felt the breeze of the train approaching. He flicked the headset off and turned. "Here they come!"

clickety-clack

> Chance in Plureality 3

Temporal distortion detected.

And they danced....

Feathers and red hair sway. Black shoes glide quickly and deftly across confetti covered concrete. The green dress twirls past colored lanterns and crackling sparklers. The band plays, faster. Every phrase echoed in their movements.

Pulling her arm just so, the fire-haired woman with the feathers in her hair darts back towards him. He steps to one side, as she floats by, one long slender leg with a stiletto-tipped heel reaches out. A flash of light followed by cheers, that nearly drown out the crash of wood and paper. The band begins to slow.

Back together now, the pair sways from side to side, locked closely together. The two stare into each others eyes for a momentary eternity. He presses his lips to her forehead.

The back of his jacket explodes, as the band quiets. The crowd screams, and the panic starts.

Darius looks down to the smoking gun in Twofeathers' hand. She smirks. Glancing over his shoulder, the man with the shotgun falls backwards into a plastic table with a sucking chest-wound.

Strewn about the street are the barely conscious bodies of the hit squad. Some crumpled in heaps amidst paper lanterns and tables. Others inexplicably dangling from awnings overhead.

"You sure know how to show a lady a good time." Twofeathers smiles with intoxicating radiance as she slides the cannon back into the holster under Darius' arm. 

Darius pulls a stray coil of hair from Twofeathers' face with a hand that carries a fading glow of its own. "You said you wanted to go dancing after all..."

"Not quite what I had in mind." She wraps his arm around her and tucks herself under it.

"We should probably get out of here..."

The pair calmly make their way out of the square, leaving the hit-squad moaning in the wreckage of the nightmarket. As the paper lanterns sway on into the night.

A Critical Juncture is Fragmented

"You're alright for now," Mags told Suki. She put the wet cloth on girl's forehead and made sure that the blanket was wrapped tight. "Help should be arriving shortly. Just hang in there, Soo."

"Is that my name?" Suki asked weakly. "Can you say it to me again?"

"Suki," Mags comforted the child. 

Suki smiled, "That's such a pretty name. Sounds Asian. Am I Japanese?"

Mags smiled and nodded as Suki opened her eyes; a tear streaked down Mags' cheek and Suki reached up to touch it.

"Are you taking me to heaven?" Suki asked with the innocence of a child. A fascination in her voice as if she had seen Mags for the first time.

"Not today if I can help it," Mags said with a wink.

Refractions of Oneself

"What you are saying is that we are all the same reflection of someone's fingers in a glass of water?" Goner questioned. He watched as Max took a cigarette out of a pack and lit it.

"You are not getting the point," Max told him as he leaned forward, and he pushed the clear bowl of water to the center of the table. "We all could be just one entity living different agendas."

"I call bullshit on that," Goner stated.

"Let me prove it to you," Max said; he held out his left hand and spread his fingers apart. "Like fingers on a hand, each are the same but different in a way. Varying in length. Now look what happens when I dip it in the water..."

Max dipped his hand into the bowl and leaned down to look. He pointed out the refraction angle to Goner. Goner was still trying to figure out what the whole thing was.

"The top of the water is a barrier. Outside the level it is air while below is water. You see my fingers, they are being shown at a different angle from the barrier I penetrated."

The Train Kept On

Suki happened to be playing a gameboy; she was kicking serious ass on the game that she was playing. Aqua was glancing over her shoulder and making the odd "watch out" comments now and then.

Akimoto was sitting lotus position on the floor near the back; he was meditating, and the fragrance of incense floated throughout the subway car like a summer breeze through an alley.

Max happened to be chatting with Bishop at the conductor's booth. Both were going on animatedly about their lives and what was the current course of action.

"You know it never ceases to amaze me of what worlds await," Bishop said after sipping a cup of coffee. 

Max gazed out the side window and saw the blur of several realities intermixing like a sample on a DJ's turntable.

"This is just tip of the iceberg stuff," Max replied. "Wait til we get to the fun stuff."

Saga of a Dimensional Universal Footbal Player

Max walked through the foyer with a soccer ball tucked underneath his arm. He wore a bright yellow t-shirt with a red letters declaring "DENY". He was stopped at a checkpoint by a security guard and passed through a metal scanner. 

You could tell it was a soccer ball and that the words "Official" were printed in bold red letters on it. He hit the 'up' button on the elevator and stepped inside just as the muzak version of Momma We're All Crazy Now started.

Max smiled.

He answered his cellphone since it was vibrating against his leg like a dog in heat.

"Yo," he said.

"Where are you, Max?" Goner asked. It sounded like he was involved in a huge battle as explosions and gunfire could be heard in the background.

"I'm just about there," he said. "Keep your pants on."

The line went dead as Goner hung up.

As he stepped through the door onto the roof he dropped the soccer ball onto the gravel and gave it a tiny kick up. He keyed his cellphone and hit *666 and then spoke, "You got it."

He gave the ball a kick and watched it sail into the air.

The Ballad of Siskel and Ebert...

It seemed like they had backed themselves into a corner that they couldn't get out of.

Hundreds of rounds smacked the cement pillar that Angst was standing behind; she didn't dare move from the haven yet. She was waiting for a lull in the hail of bullets to return firing. She was down to using just one uzi, since she had lost its twin earlier in the evening.

"So how many do you think are out there?" Angst asked. 

"I gather a heck of a lot," Frank quipped. He was reloading his gun and he shot her a wink.

"So what are we going to do?" she questioned.

"Do I look like Butch Cassidy?" Frank quipped. "And you are no Sundance."

She stood there trying to decipher Frank's cryptic code. Trying to figure out what the heck he was getting at.

Max slid across the floor and stopped at Frank's feet.

"She's lost, isn't she?" Max told Frank. "Once we get out of this we are going to have to download that movie for her."