Mission Park Pulp: The Six Magic Coins - Part 6 ….. Page 3. • Chris Ember Pulp:
Without My Power - Part 1 ….. Page 5. • Faux & Orchard Pulp: The Pleasure Pill ...
“RECREATING CLASSIC COMIC & SCI-FI PRINT ADVENTURES FOR THE DIGITAL AGE.”
ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY, 2012
PERRO WORLDWIDE COMICS PULP SERIAL MAGAZINE
THE SIX MAGIC COINS - PART VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS •
Mission Park Pulp: The Six Magic Coins - Part 6 ….. Page 3
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Chris Ember Pulp: Without My Power - Part 1 ….. Page 5
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Faux & Orchard Pulp: The Pleasure Pill - Part 4 ….. Page 7
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Victor Strength Pulp: Out of Body - Part 6 ….. Page 9
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Timothy Note Pulp: Fallout From Victory - Part 1 ….. Page 10
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"You'll notice the markings... I did it myself. They're membership coins. We'll each have one." Valerie looked surprised as Chris placed a coin in her hand. "Why me? I'm not a member of Team Mission Park?" "Tessa, Apple, Victor, Timothy and myself might be the founding members, but at some point, we're going to have to grow. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of us. And even if you weren't... You helped us find the coins. You deserve to be included." Tessa wasn't so sure that it was a good idea letting everyone have their own coin. "I don't know, Chris. This might be too much power for anyone. Coming back from the dead? It's crazy!" Chris agreed. "You're right, Tessa, but we went on a mission to find the coins, and I don't want anyone feeling as though they were cheated out of what we found. This ensures that none of us try to take the originals. "So, we're going to store the other five original coins here?" Chris turned to Apple. "Yes. Because they're too powerful for any one person to protect, or to use over and over. These coins, together, are Team Mission Park's greatest weapon... Immortality... So, that's why we only get one. Nobody lives forever. Tessa sighed. "I still think someone could steal them." "Unlikely. We'll display them in plain sight, as membership coins representing the five founding members of the team, nothing more. Nobody will consider them valuable."
MISSION PARK PULP: THE SIX MAGIC COINS – PART VI - BY CHIP PERRO The flight back home was rough. Timothy still wasn't feeling all that great after vomiting up so many coins, and the rest of the team wanted to be back in Boston with Chris, working out the details on a secure storage system for the coins. Why couldn't Chris have simply zapped everyone back to Boston when he left? Tessa was sure it was so he could get a head start by himself. When the rest of Team Mission Park did arrive, Chris had already secured the five original magic coins behind glass, in a small display case. A single duplicate coin was placed in the center, now branded with a Team Mission Park logo. "Bullet proof glass! Top of the line! The rest of the duplicates are stacked up underneath." "I don't know, Chris. You sure that's enough?" Victor had a point. Bullet proof glass was a start, but it wasn't overly secure. "I was thinking more like a safe, within a safe, within a safe." Chris smiled. "Not a bad idea, Vic, but it's unnecessary." Chris took the moment to hand each member of Team Mission Park a duplicate coin, similarly branded with the Mission Park logo.
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Tessa decided that it made sense, though she didn't admit it. Chris continued. "I gave it a lot of thought. But when we found these coins, we took on the responsibility to guard them. With all their power, they become the reason why we have to stick together. I know none of us are friends... Not really... Now we have something to bind us. And as we grow, we'll acquire new members. They'll be given a membership coin, just like the ones I gave you. One chance to come back if the unthinkable happens... At first, I wasn't sure that finding them was a good thing. But now... I know that they're going to be the glue that holds us together, through thick and thin." THE END NEXT MONTH: HEROES ON TRIAL - PART 1
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secret. Not even Chris' closest friend, Anthony Salia knew about it. Chris had it all worked out. Everyone at Ember Command was told that he would be spending a week in Paris with Monica Tello. In reality, Chris was off to New York. He'd be keeping a low profile, doing his best to blend in like everyone else for a week. It was s good plan, but the second that Chris was going to leave, the Command Center was put on high alert. Alarms sounded. Something was wrong! Anthony caught up to Chris before he was out the door. Not that Chris had any intention of leaving without knowing what was wrong. "Chris! You'll have to put your vacation with Monica on hold. We've got a serious problem!" Chris didn't like what he was hearing. Especially now, after he was powerless. "What's going on?" "It's the Ski-Mask! He's back! And he's looking for you!" That was not good news. The Ski-Mask was not normally a threat, but without powers, he suddenly became extremely dangerous. "Where is he?" "Right now... He's in a bank, attempting a robbery. You have to get down there." What was Chris going to do? At the moment, there would be no zapping from point to point. "Can't anyone else from Team Mission Park take care of it?" "Tessa and Apple are on assignment. Timothy is on the road promoting a new album. Victor... To be honest, I'm really not sure where he is. You're all we've got!"
CHRIS EMBER PULP: WITHOUT MY POWER – PART I - BY CHIP PERRO Chris Ember considered himself the most powerful superhero on the planet. His only possible competition was Timothy Note, but that guy's powers were way too unpredictable. He also relied on a device to make them go. Chris was sure he could take down the self proclaimed "Keeper of Songs" in an all out fight. That's why it was so important for Chris to spend one week a year living like everyone else... Powerless. The whole world knew that Chris' powers were symptoms of an incurable, engineered virus. What they didn't know was that there exists a treatment that suppresses symptoms like a cold medicine. Chris always hated spending a week without powers. He felt completely vulnerable. But he also knew that living like everyone else every once in a while was a good way to gain perspective. A quick trip to the medical bay at Ember Command and one injection later, Chris was powerless and just as mortal as anyone else. When he did this, it was important to take the week off. Chris would not be effective in an emergency, and it was necessary to keep the knowledge of the "power suppressant" a
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"Prepare my car. I have to get in uniform." Even without powers, Chris had to do whatever he could to help. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH
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That doesn't make sense, Tessa. "It doesn't need to. All I know is that it's happening. Right now, for example, I know that I'm going to be stopping a shooting at a convenience store in thirty minutes." Tessa smiled. "I think you're upset because my new power makes your power nearly useless. Not only can I see everything, I see it before you." Apple was incredulous. "You can't be serious. I'm upset because you think it's okay to be on drugs. It isn't. You have no idea what the side effects are! Tessa, you could die!" "I really don't see that happening, Apple. Believe me, I should know." "Well, how far ahead can you see?" Tessa had to think about how to respond. It was hard to put in words. "I think I can see it all. But I have to focus... It's easier to just see ahead a few hours. But if I concentrate, I can see days, years... It's really all the same. But what's most interesting is that how I respond changes what I see. It's like my own personal butterfly effect." Apple was beginning to get curious. "Can you see how you die?" At first, Tessa didn't answer. It was a scary question. "I haven't looked." "Maybe you should. If you do, you might be able to change it." "Perhaps later! Right now, Apple, I have to go. That burglary isn't going to stop itself. You don't have to come if you have a problem with how I'm handling all this." "Then I won't come. Soon enough, you'll be out of pills. It has to end."
FAUX & ORCHARD PULP: THE PLEASURE PILL – PART IV - BY CHIP PERRO Apple couldn't believe it. Tessa Faux was on drugs! "You've been taking the pleasure pill? Are you insane?" Tessa shook her head back and forth. Apple clearly wasn't understanding the complexities of the situation. "The pleasure pill isn't like other drugs. It's giving me insight that I've never had." "That's no excuse, Tessa." "Tonight, I knew that we were going to save that boy, and we did. If I wasn't on the pleasure pill, he would be dead." Apple agreed that saving the boy's life was good, but it wasn't a good justification for taking drugs. Tessa continued. "Because I can see the future, I know what I'm going to do, before I do it. I had no idea the boy was being kidnapped, but because I saw the future... Saw myself saving him... I knew what I had to do." Apple was still unsure what Tessa was trying to say. "The pleasure pill shows me what I'm going to do before I do it, and it makes all investigation unnecessary. I already know who I have to save, so I don't question why, or how."
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"That's where you're wrong, Apple. I already know that I'm getting more. The pleasure pill has just become my best crime-fighting weapon. Even if I didn't know that I'm buying more, I'd know that I was buying more. Does that make sense?" And then, Tessa was gone, without Apple. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH
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It did, but Valerie wasn't surprised. "Most of these guys aren't smart. Besides, he didn't think anyone would be able to find the body." Victor nodded. "That's true. We know where it is, and it's still tough digging." The two had been digging for hours. They were told that the body and gun were buried deep under a very specific tree, but even then, it was difficult work. The dirt was soft, but they had to dig deep. And if they weren't careful, they could dig out bones, or the gun, and not even know it. Eventually, they struck gold... In a manner of speaking. "Val! I've got it! The gun! It's here." It wasn't long before the two started finding bones. This was it! All the evidence needed to put a guilty man behind bars forever. Unfortunately, there was a slight problem. The gang leader suspected that Victor and Valerie might go looking for the evidence. And at that moment, he was hiding behind a large tree, only yards away, ready to strike.
VICTOR STRENGTH PULP: OUT OF BODY – PART VI - BY CHIP PERRO Victor Strength was having a bad day. It all began with a trip to the afterlife to confirm a dead source's murderer. Unfortunately, the murderer was a gang leader, and while Victor's soul was traveling the beyond with girlfriend, Valerie Sarah, several thugs attempted to kill them. After a very close call, Victor managed to snap back into a conscious state and permanently subdue the men. Valerie snapped back into a conscious state shortly after that. And she had good news! The dead source provided her with the location of the evidence needed to put away one of the biggest gang leaders in the city. Unfortunately, getting the evidence would mean taking a trip to the country, and digging up both a body and a gun. "You sure about this Val?" She was sure. "They buried him out here. Everyone knew he was dead, but without a body, it's tough to convict someone of a crime." "I don't get it. Why would this guy bury the body, along with the gun that killed him? Doesn't that seem kind of stupid to you?"
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH
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"For fuck's sake, Lynette! My hair looks like garbage. Please tell me you were using the right gel?" Lynette rolled her eyes. Timothy's hair looked great. It had been a trying week. Timothy's ego was big enough, but with the parade, it had managed to swell even bigger. "You know, Timothy, saving the city doesn't give you license to treat me like crap." Timothy turned back, to face Lynette directly. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I treating you like crap?" "Well..." "Because if you don't like how you're being treated, maybe you should go fuck off! I'm a superhero, baby. You don't get to tell me how I'm supposed to behave!" That was it! Timothy had crossed a line. Without thinking, Lynette picked up the electric clippers sitting on the counter and shaved off a strip of Timothy's hair, right down the center. "What the fuck!" Timothy was beside himself. Did Lynette actually just do what she did? "That's it, bitch! We're through. We're so through that..." "Save it, Timothy. That was me breaking up with you. I've had it with self absorbed losers!" "How the hell am I going to fix this before the parade?" Lynette didn't care. She grabbed her coat and purse and started for the door. "Maybe you can scare up a song that regrows hair... Oh, but that's right... I'm your manager. It's my job to hunt for new music. We'll, I've got news for you... I'm dropping you as a client!"
TIMOTHY NOTE PULP: FALLOUT FROM VICTORY – PART I - BY CHIP PERRO It was an incredible fight. The biggest that Boston had seen in years. When the Sonic Punch decided to use his hydraulic prosthetic arms to pound away at the sides of skyscrapers in the downtown area, it looked as if half the city would need to be evacuated. But then Timothy Note arrived on the scene. An epic battle ensued, and it ended with the villain going down for the count! The police arrived, detached the Sonic Punch's mechanical arms, and hauled him back to prison. Boston was saved! Timothy could hardly believe that an entire week had passed since it happened. And now, he was being honored with a parade and keys to the city. Timothy was assigned to the first float in the parade. A small dressing room was set up in a building on the corner of the street where the event was set to begin. And in a few minutes a PA would come and lead him to the float. The dressing room was sparsely decorated, but it was equipped with several outfits and makeup kits. Timothy sat in a swivel chair, facing a mirror. He studied his face intently. Lynette stood behind him, primping his hair.
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And then she was gone. Timothy didn't care. He was far more concerned about concealing his idiotic hairdo. It was at that point that the PA in charge of getting Timothy to his float swung open the door to the dressing room and stepped inside. "Mr. Note... We're ready for you on... Holy hell! What in gods name did you do?" There was no need to share the details. What was done was done. "Please tell me you've got some way we can hide this..." TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH
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