Voltage's Week:

It has been a busy week for Voltage, but she's stayed out of the sewers, and has managed to have a mutant-free, ninja-free, Mad-Molly-free week. Scars has more considerable financial resources than Voltage, so he has been able to provide funds for the restoration of his car ... and of course, if Voltage is going to restore a car, she needs tools. It's not quite the same as all the stuff she lost, but she finally has a proper workshop set up in Scars's garage - and a fridge full of Jolt! colas, with an extra case sitting to the side to spare.

As of the end of the week, the car is coming along nicely. It's grand, spending someone else's money! It mostly consists of going through, identifying everything that's busted beyond repair, replacing it, then doing a new paint job to make sure everything matches - and cleaning out a whole lot of broken glass. There was very little that was minor. Cars (normal ones, anyway) just aren't made to be used as bludgeons.

Finally, the car is finished. Voltage installs a new special feature into the car, activated by a shiny red candy-like button (not labeled) set in the dash.

Aside from working on the car, Voltage finds time to go out and mock Kathmandu. Kathmandu and Vixa spend a lot of time out in the back yard, sparring. (And it's a good thing that Scars doesn't have nosy neighbors!) Voltage swipes one of the extra controllers from Scars's video game system - when Turtle Ninja isn't looking - and goes out to the back deck, where she pretends to be "controlling" Kathmandu with the controller. "Left, right, up, kick - SPECIAL MOVE!" She keeps this up until Vixa and Kathmandu chase her off.

A good portion of the week is also spent watching the news and going through the newspaper - though Voltage often suffers from headaches afterward. It's therefore not a pleasing habit - and it's hard enough anyway to wrench the TV remote from Turtle Ninja long enough to check up on things. (Hence, the newspaper.)

Still, from what Voltage sees, there have been a couple of more rampages of a giant cyborg-thing stomping through downtown, on its way to the mall, each time stopped by the National Guard and the police, according to Darla Dazzle's report, with rumors that some mysterious costumed vigilantes might have had something to do with stopping the menace. Even though she recognizes the cyborg, and the area it's stomping through, the details of the repeat reports are slightly different - for one thing, the "rumored costumed vigilantes" are different each time around. In one instance, there's mention of something as bizarre as an "angel" with mechanical wings. In the other, it seems that a whole team of brightly-costumed heroes was spotted, blasting the cyborg with "beams of energy" launched from various body parts (fists, eyes, noggins). The rest of the news is a deja vu scramble, with things that sound familiar, but aren't exactly the same each time around. And there's no pattern Voltage can discern: it's not like the same thing happens every single day, or once every certain number of days. (At least she hasn't seen a "cyborg rampage" get duplicated in the same day.)

Insofar as the "Mad Molly" incident, Voltage doesn't manage to catch it on News Channel 99, but she does find it in the next day's Daily Sentinel. There are a few photos, including a shot of a "mysterious girl in a white trench coat" rescuing Darla Dazzle, atop the back of a "small hovercraft". Apparently, Dazzle's cameraman, left behind, reported the loss of his camera, stolen during the confusion. The story indicates that a group of "concerned, civic-minded citizens" subdued Molly (and many of her rowdy fans), and that she was subsequently taken in by the authorities.

Nonetheless, the next day, there's another report of another "Mad Molly" incident - nearly identical in the start-up, though Voltage and her pals aren't there this time. It's a strange case of deja vu. But even stranger, in that same day's newspaper, there are letters to the editor, making reference to the "Mad Molly" incident of the day before. In particular, there's one fellow who wants to know more about the "mysterious girl in the white trench coat" - and where he can get one of those "hover-thingies". As flattering as it is, Voltage gets a bit of a headache reading it all.

The national news, dominated by reports from a new space mission to attach a probe to a comet, and a terrorist threat on the Skyhook Platform, seem strangely tame compared to local recurring events. Nothing headache-inducing, thank goodness.

In Voltage's hunt through the newspaper (and beating the pavement) for jobs, she finds quite a few. A goodly number of the ads are weird, to say the least. And, even though Voltage can't quite pinpoint any good reason why it should happen, she has a mild headache after her foray through the classifieds. It looks like, rather than posting actual phone numbers or fax numbers for Voltage to call, she has to call the Superior City Sentinel's voice-mail or fax line, and give a "box" number for the ad.

PART-TIME ACE MECHANIC/ENGINEER/COMPUTER OPERATOR. Experience in repair/maintenance of sentry turrets, drones, security systems. Must be available on-call weekends, not afraid of heights. Flexible hours during week. Resume to: SENTINEL BOX A-777.

MECHANICAL MAD GENIUS to maintain large robot security force in Factory area, and deal with uninvited guests. Flexible hours. Bring sample invention(s) for arena demonstration. Resume to: SENTINEL BOX C-405.

PART-TIME HELP AT GAME STORE. USAGE TIME REIMBURSED. Must be articulate and familiar with wide range of games: RPGs, CCGs, CMGs, TTGs, VRGs, VCs, board games, etc. Computer knowledge a plus. Flexible hours. Apply in person at ONIONSKIN HOBBIES.

MAINTENANCE SPEC: experience with force shielding technology and security systems required. Knowledge of Megamon species strongly desired; handling experience a plus. Resume to: SENTINEL BOX M-364.

MAD GENUS! Help hero's fit crime, save the world! Need ace car mechanic/sidekick. No lossers. Resume to: SENTINEL BOX I-666.

(Incidentally, Voltage does not see anything that might indicate that Fire Station #36 is looking for a replacement mechanic. Pity!)

Fireman's Week:

It is a busy, hard week for Fireman. Sunday evening, Firman and all of Fire Station 36 are called out to assist to put out a blaze in part of the Factory district. Fireman finds that it was far more than just a matter of putting out fires; there are riots, and several people deliberately attacking fire engines and police cars - mostly with small arms fire, but someone has heavier gear, including a rocket launcher. Fire Engine No. 2 is totaled. Jim Ellington and Mike "Bravo" Branson are hospitalized, in critical condition. Fireman sees lots of charred bodies. Fireman knows he's seen disasters before, but somehow none of it compares to this.

Monday, Fireman hears that Jim Ellington didn't make it. He also hears, oddly enough, that Mr. Coffee had paid a visit to Ellington while he was in the hospital. Later on, Fireman learns that Mr. Coffee and a few other costumed vigilantes had accompanied Fire Engine No. 2, in an attempt to defend it, but apparently they just draw more attention (and fire). One of the vigilantes, some flying fellow named "Wingman", is killed in the mayhem.

A pall hangs over the fire station. Fireman doesn't remember actually losing anyone on the force before, not even with some of the towering infernos that Fire Station #36 has had to deal with in Superior City in the past. But then, the engines of Fire Station #36 never got called into the Factory before.

Since then, the engines are called out repeatedly. Tuesday, Fire Station #36 has to help put out fires in the Little Tokyo area. Reportedly, all the destruction was caused by a battle between a giant mutant lizard ... and a giant robot that could transform into a truck. Apparently the truck robot won, driving off the mutant lizard, but the bottom line is that lots of buildings were wrecked, and fires are raging.

Wednesday, Fireman and his team help put out fires at the Superior Shopping Center. Yet another giant cyborg rampage. This time, the National Guard has to deal with the menace, but not before the colossus demolishes an entire wing of the mall.

Thursday, Fire Station #36 has to deal with several fires on State Road #1. There is a multiple car pile-up, reportedly as a result of some crazed high speed car chase. Fireman notices several smoking craters, as if bombs had been dropped on the freeway.

Friday, it's as if Thursday's experience was just a warm-up. A whole section of an overpass on State Road #1 is collapsed. Cars are burning everywhere, and there are several explosions even after Station #36's Engine #1 arrives on the scene. Fireman is treated to an insane sight: a couple of battered cars, one of them looking like a red version of the 1966 TV "Batmobile", and another looking like a shot-up version of the "Knight Rider" KITT. They square off, driving full-speed at each other, their drivers hooting and cackling maniacally ... before the two cars finally crash, head-on, resulting in a huge fireball explosion, with pieces flying everywhere. There isn't enough left of the drivers after that to get a positive ID. From what Fireman hears from dazed motorists and early responders, what he saw was only a sample of some of the madness; there was a full-blown "demolition derby" on the road. Fireman is there well into the night, helping to put out fires that had spread to some of the buildings near the overpass.

Not a good week at all.

Scars's Week:

Scars's car has been in the garage for the whole week, with Voltage gleefully working away on it. She claims that it'll be even better when she's done with it. In any case, he's invested in quite a few more tools and supplies (and a whole lot of replacement parts), to make the restoration possible. Fortunately, Scars has rather sizeable resources, and he's normally not an extravagant spender, so the expense isn't really a concern. (Though, it could be eventually, if he makes a regular practice of using his own car as a bludgeon!)

So, he's on foot for the week, though he can still hail a taxi when need be. Fortunately, pretty much anything he needs for day-to-day life is already in walking distance anyway. Not so fortunately, he notices that there's quite an increase in traffic, and the driving is atrocious. During the course of walking to the grocery store, he is nearly run down several times - and each time, the careening driver speeds off before Scars can do anything about it. (Maybe next time....) When he finally gets back with a couple of cases of Jolt cola, he hears from Voltage that she's already had to help over twenty little old ladies cross the street safely.

Scars only occasionally manages to wrench control of the TV from Turtle Ninja. While catching up on the financial news, he notes that he sees many more car advertisements than he recalls seeing in the past. (Or maybe it's just that with all the attention being paid to his car, he's thinking about cars more, so now he's noticing the ads more. Maybe.)

And the styles! He doesn't see a single SUV or pickup or compact car in any of these ads. Not even luxury sedans. It's all about sports cars, what's hot and hotter, what's fast and faster, what's "bad" and even worse. He sees quite a few ads for the kind of car he drives, which is about as close to a "family car" as seems to make it on TV anymore. But for the rest, they're all hot rods or else things that look like something from the "Road Warrior" - but "tricked out".

Apparently, people actually buy these things. Scars is certain he saw something the other day that looked almost like a dead ringer for the Batmobile - the 1966 campy TV show version. Good taste is out of style this year, it seems.

As far as his house goes, it looks like Scars has extended-stay house guests. Fireman, at least, has a real job and somewhere else to be; Scars doesn't see him for pretty much the entire week. Rose disappears for most of the time; there's no telling where she's off to, but at least she's not messing up the bathroom again and swiping all the candles. Kathmandu, Vixa and Turtle have been hiding out in the house. Turtle Ninja hogs up the holo-TV, playing games most of the time, and occasionally watching action shows or cartoons.

Kathmandu and Vixa spend a lot of time sparring out back. (Good thing Scars doesn't have nosy neighbors.) Kathmandu is also an avid reader, as he goes through a lot of Scars's library collection when he's stuck in the house. Scars also catches Kathmandu using his internet connection, doing some sort of online research on the supernatural, and visiting Superior City community message boards. Consequently, Scars has to restock his aspirin supply about mid-way through the week.

In financial news, Scars finds that his portfolio is looking good. In particular, he has a few stocks in an aerospace company that is participating in the Hawking Probe mission launched this week. Since the launch goes off without a hitch, and with all the press coverage, its stocks have soared.

Turtle Ninja's Week:

Turtle Ninja spends a lot of his time trying to recover from the nonsense of the weekend. Fortunately, Scars doesn't seem to make much fuss about him hanging out at his place - at least unless he wants to watch the news. At least there aren't any ninja assassins here. (And if Turtle Ninja really want to find ninjas, it's pretty easy to figure out where to find them.)

Watching the news on TV is almost a sure-fire recipe for getting massive headaches in short order. It seems like whenever Turtle Ninja stumbles across the news while channel-surfing, he run into some story that strikes him with a sense of deja vu. What, they're reporting on the same story over again? Except it's a little different this time - the same thing, more or less, happens on a different day, and there are little details that were different ... and it invariably makes Turtle Ninja's head hurt for some indefinable reason, until he changes the channel and moves on to something else.

Then, there's the Superhero Channel: all superheroes, all the time. There are animated series, old and new, plus a number of live action flicks, and the occasional movie. Some of it Turtle Ninja is familiar with already, though he's found that, in the early afternoon, there's a time block when they show 3D cartoons - the "Superior City Specials" - set apparently in parts of Superior City, with a fairly bland, generic group of superheroes dealing with ninjas in the sewers, mutant giant reptiles in Little Tokyo, giant maniac cyborgs stomping the shopping center, mutants tearing up the parks, Mad Molly robbing banks ... and so forth. If Turtle Ninja thinks about it too much, he gets a headache. At least none of the characters look like him, or any of the fellows he's been hanging out with.

On just about any channel, Turtle Ninja sees a lot of ads for cars. And these are some pretty far-out designs. No SUVs or minivans or station wagons or little pickup trucks - no, these are ads for street rods or for cars that look like they came out of the Road Warrior and then got a decent paint job.

Oh yes, and for a good portion of the week, Turtle Ninja sees ads for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" - a new cartoon series (shown on the Superhero Channel), toy merchandise, and also plugs for the "Ninja Pizzeria" downtown. But ... after Wednesday or maybe Thursday, Turtle Ninja realizes that he hasn't seen any more spots about the "Ninja Pizzeria" for a while. (Thank goodness.)

Another thing about Superior City TV: Every once in a while, even on channels other than the news channel, he sees public service announcement spots, warning citizens to be on the lookout for {insert strange criminal here}. Criminals in Superior City have a knack for dressing really strange. If they don't, then it's probably because they just naturally look pretty strange in the first place. Turtle Ninja sees a few familiar faces (or costumes, anyway) - Captain Chaos, Madame X, Mister Big, Doctor Devastation, Mad Molly (and her band). One thing about these spots is that they list the number of Commendation Points citizens would get for bringing these evildoers to justice. They typically range from 20 or so to as much as 100. There's some cyborg dog-thing, though, named "War Mongrel" that's worth 200. Turtle Ninja recalls seeing him blow up at that big battle with the "giant cyborg" outside the Superior Shopping Center. Surely he couldn't have lived through that! Turtle Ninja also sees pictures posted for "escaped aliens" Vixa and Kathmandu (shown as a saber-toothed cat-thing with a strange metal bangle necklace). Apparently Vixa is worth 50 Commendation Points, and Kathmandu is worth 100.

Tune in next time, as we see what our other heroes were up to in ... Superior City!