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DISAPPEARING INK
The "I-Maniacs Fan Club" Newsletter
Issue #23
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<*><*><*><*><*> TABLE OF CONTENTS <*><*><*><*><*>
1. A Word from the Publisher
2. Special Events Update
3. Spotlight on: The San Diego Comic Con
4. Sound Off!
5. What Happens Next?
6. Important Addresses
<*><*><*><*><*> A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER <*><*><*><*><*>
Hi Fellow I-Maniacs!
First of all, I'd like to mention that there is no "word from the president" section this time because Stacey's CTS has been acting up making typing painful :( However, I think there should be plenty to keep you busy this issue!
In an attempt to keep the newsletter fun and fresh, we asked for suggestions from all of you in the last issue. As a result, we’re ready to start a new section suggested by FawkesFox. It’s an advice column with a twist! Each newsletter we’ll have one I-Man character from whom you can ask advice on any topic (keep it clean though, this is a family publication :) The first volunteer for this duty is Hobbes… so you can all “Ask Hobbes” by sending your questions to imannewsletter@yahoo.com and he’ll be sure to answer them for the next newsletter. Please send them early so he has time to put a lot of thought into his answers. He won’t steer your wrong, my friend!
I had the pleasure of attending Comic Con again this year and was able to tape the entire I-Man Q&A panel (which involved a lot of squirming in my seat to try to get the right half of the group on film :) I realize I could be getting myself in deep here, but I’d like to extend the offer to make a copy for any I-Maniac who wants one. I have asked the cast for their permission to distribute this to club members and they wholeheartedly gave the thumbs up (Vince even asked for a copy)!
Let me first tell you about the quality of the tape. It’s done with non-professional equipment and no tripod, meaning I had to hold it up to my face for 45 minutes (and boy were my arms sore the next day!) It’s shaky, especially when it’s zoomed (every movement looks like an earthquake’s hit when you zoom in)! The sound isn’t great because the con people had the actors’ microphones too low at first and Eddie and Brandy are quiet to begin with. Plus they didn’t bother to give the questioners a microphone until two thirds of the way through the session, so you can only hear the questions of those who were sitting near me.
To make things easy on me, I will send all orders through priority mail. Therefore the cost including the tape, shipping & supplies would be $7.50 (if you’re outside the US, we’ll work something out). I can only tape a few copies per night when I’m home so this could be a long process. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to please email imantape@yahoo.com if you’d like a copy and I’ll put you on a list. I will then ask you to send money only when I’m ready to make your copy. I reserve the right to renege should my vcr eat the tape or anything else catastrophic (here’s hoping everything goes smoothly) And finally, I’d like to plead for your patience while I dub as quickly as I possibly can :)
Unfortunately, as our membership grows so does the number of members whose email addresses aren't working for me. I'd like to make you all aware of these poor unfortunate souls. They are: tessa, IMFREAK, InvisibleManiac, i, Alsatia1, Eilie, CandyMarie1, DarkFlame, biddygirl, chapis, diane, Megra, Fawkseylady, Invisibl_grl, Casey, canadiannational, kento and Wyld (these last three have been on the list for months so if we can’t find them this time, I’ll assume they don’t want to be found and take them off the list). If you see them in the chat room or on the bboard, please do me a favor and send them my way at imannewsletter@yahoo.com so I can get things straightened out and make sure they don't miss out on anything more!
Gina
<*><*><*><*><*> SPECIAL EVENTS UPDATE <*><*><*><*><*>
Hey all!!
I’ve finally returned from sunny San Diego! This article is going to be a bit short (and not nearly as detailed as I would like) – I’m still suffering from jet lag from the red-eye flight back to the east coast this past Saturday/Sunday. I’m just a bit punchy.
It was wonderful meeting all of you who made it to the con. The party we had on Friday night at Planet Hollywood was wonderful – a total of 50 ppl attended. Thanks to Mike McCafferty & his wife, Sarah, Jason Makiaris (fishtaco a/k/a Dr. Murav from FtB) and Gira (BackgroundGirl) for making it to the party - it was wonderful to have ppl from the show join us. Bravo to TheMalteseHobbes for the party favors and GinaS for her help with the I-Maniacs Keychain Crap tags.
The panel discussion with the cast (and last-minute additions Craig Silverstein & Michael Grossman) on Saturday was great – and both the cast and the crowd enjoyed themselves. I’m sure a transcript of the Q&A session will be posted (eventually) on the web site.
A big round of appreciative applause has to go out to the cast during the autograph session – they stuck around for 4 hours on Saturday at the Sci Fi booth, signing autographs. They all took an extra moment or two to chat with the I-Maniacs there.
I’m going to leave it to my fellow I-Maniacs who attended the con to fill in the many blanks to this experience. Again, it was wonderful meeting all of you – can’t wait until we all get together again!
On that note, a separate I-Man Con is in the preliminary planning stages – VERY preliminary. As always, I’ll keep you all posted as things progress.
TTFN
KatrynSedai
Special Events Director
<*><*><*><*><*> SPOTLIGHT ON: THE SAN DIEGO COMIC CON <*><*><*><*><*>
I thought it would be fun to hear about the I-Maniacs’ experiences at the San Diego Comic Con this year. So, in previous issues I invited anyone who attended to tell us all about it and here is what they had to say:
[***fawkesieladyandEd***]
OK, I just got back home about an hour ago and here I am writing you about the Con...
hhmmm, I wonder if I had a good time? hehehe Ok, well, I totally loved meeting the cast on
the panel and getting their autographs and stuff... they are all GREAT people. ok, we all
know now that I am from Indianapolis, Indiana.. home town of our very own Vincent
Ventresca. So, I bought him a shirt, I got an orange one cause I think he is totally hot
in Orange :) and it has a big N, under that it says Nap Town in big blue letters and under
that it says Indianapolis in little blue letters. ok, I gave it to him and he went nuts...
He really loved it... believe me, his reaction was *NOT* fake :) He thanked me *ALOT* for
the shirt. He asked me if I was from there (Indianapolis) I said yes, he told me he misses
it here. He asked me where I got the shirt, I told him, then he said (and this is the
important part) "I totally love this, I'm going to wear this on the show." It
took every bit of strength I had left to keep my feet. OMJ... Vince said he will wear the
shirt *I* got for him on the show!!! Be sure you look for it in the future. :)
Ok, there are so many things that are my fave parts of the Con... but to tell them all would take up three news letters if not more :)
[***Kitkat***]
How do I sum up the best 6 days of my life in a few short paragraphs? This is going to be
tough...
The anticipation leading up to the Con was torture. I was afraid that I had set my sights too high, and that I would be disappointed. In fact, quite the opposite happened. This trip exceeded my expectations in every way possible!
To finally meet the friends I have made via internet was exciting. It was like we all had known each other for years, and yet we've never even met. Everyone was warm and friendly, and we all got along wonderfully. It's nice to finally have faces to go with all the names. Trying to remember real names was tough too. We intermixed real names with handles. It got confusing.
I'm glad I attended preview night (wed) at the Con. Because this was the only time I was able to walk around and see what else was happening at the Con besides I-man. Thanks to our fearless leader (and incredible special events planner KatrynSedai), we had activities every single day. I can't tell you how many pics I have of Kat on the phone, arranging things for us. *I'd hate to see her next cell phone bill!*
The location crawl was a lot of fun. The beach from Beholder really is the crappiest beach around. There was a dead skunk right on the sand. *UGH!* We must have walked 20 miles around downtown SD, finding locations from various episodes. The F&G building is this huge, vacant building. It says Dept of Fish and Game right on the door! The looks we got from people walking by as we stand in front of this run-down building and snap tons of pics. It was hysterical! People must have thought we were crazy. Hey, we are Imaniacs and very proud of it!!
Saturday's Q&A panel went very well. I think the cast was thrilled to see this sea of grey I-Maniac tshirts in the front rows. (the shirts were a raving success. I had so many people walk up to me and ask where they could get one). And then the grueling autograph session after the panel. I heard the cast was up til the wee hours of the day before-- filming. But they made sure that no one walked away disappointed. They spent the extra time to not only to sign autographs, but to take pics and briefly chat with each and every fan. That is going way above and beyond the call of duty! They are the greatest group of people, and their love for their fans really shows! Thank you for making each one of us feel important and appreciated.
Well, this is getting longer than I anticipated. It really is impossible to consolidate 6 days of non-stop excitement into a brief synopsis. Bottom line....this was, by far, the BEST vacation I have ever had. And I've already started saving up money for next years' Con. Although it would be rather hard to top this one. But, we can still try!
[***SugarFreeKelli***]
Well, I'd have to say that without a doubt, Comic Con 2001 was the best thing that has
happened to me in a long time! Let me tell you, my friends, I have *never* seen so many
fans of Sci-Fi gathered in one place. It was total and utter bliss for this couch
potato/scifi nerd. The Highlights of my trip:
Touching Vincent. (Though, sadly, it was only above the waist.) lol. Giving Paul Ben-Victor a mini-backrub on the Sci-Fi couch. *sigh* Almost having my eye gouged out by the wildly waving hands of PBV (Not to mention having his arm around my shoulders...*thud* That man is SO touchy!) Getting hugs from cast members! Eek! Sharing the madness with all my I-Man pals. Publicly displaying my love of I-Man and Sci-Fi to the world, minus all of the weird looks!
So I would have to say that the main Highlight of my trip was finding out that the cast, crew, and I-Maniacs are all so FRIENDLY... lol The entire trip was a dream, and I loved every minute of it. I truly enjoyed meeting all of the I-Maniacs, and I'm glad that we all got along so well! (Although I'm sure that our mutual love of the guys had *something* to do with that...lol) Many thanks are owed to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen! It was an incredible experience!
[***Delka***] It was one of the best weeks of my life. The joy of getting to put handles/names to faces was the best! And all the things that happened, well just were amazing! San Diego is a very nice city to visit and I'd gladly visit there again! Getting to see the beach, meeting the cast Saturday, the Hobbes H. dinner, the I-Maniacs dinner, finally meeting Sang, Kat, ShelBel, Underdog, KitKat, Hobbeschick, MH, Mrs. Spooky, Misbe, Adel, SmartyPants-well it just was the best meeting everyone and doing everything!!
It just wish it would have lasted longer! And I can't wait to do it again! I'll always have my memories.
[***Fawkes_fan***]
When I arrived in San Diego on Thurs. afternoon (7/19) there were no I-Maniacs to be
found. I settled in to my room, rested a bit then decided to wait downstairs for any sign
of I-Maniacs. Finally, I saw a face I recognized from the fan club site and went up to
introduce myself. My only problem was that I was tired and my brain wasn't functioning
completely. I said, "excuse me but are you Julie?". The young woman said,
"No, sorry" and continued dealing w/ her bags. I knew I recognized this face and
then realized it was Lauren, aka OboeCrazy! I said, "Lauren?" She said,
"yes". I said, "Hi, I'm Fawkes_fan!". We hugged and then I felt like
I'd known her all my life! I was so thrilled to meet our favorite reviewer. That was my
first experience. Then a little while later I met Beth (LoganLover) and went to dinner w/
her and her hubby and niece. After dinner we went to the I-Maniacs suite and found the
others watching The Pilot episode. It was so cool to put names w/ the faces. It was so
cool to meet Misbe (*Ff waves to Mis), with whom I'd chatted probably the most other than
MrsSpooky. I didn't meet MrsSpooky until Fri. night at the I-Maniacs dinner and it was so
great to finally meet her in person! Meeting Mike and his lovely wife, Sarah, was special.
He is such a sweetheart.
Other than meeting all my fellow I-Maniacs, the most exciting thing was going to the
I-Man panel discussion (had fun w/ ShelBel getting to the conference room to get front row
seats! - what?? No, we weren't RUNNING!) and seeing the cast in person for the first time!
What a thrill it was. Then power walking (aka slow running but don't tell the con security
On Sun. a.m. I saw Misbe off to catch her flight and as I watched her ride away in the cab I must admit I got teary-eyed. I didn’t want to say goodbye. (Yes, Mis, I'm a sentimental sap, what can I say? Then Sun. afternoon some of us stragglers went to Mission Beach. KatrynSedai was renting a beach house there for the remainder of the week (lucky woman). She was telling me, Underdog, and Kelly (aka krpm1) to take a left at the beach and head south to get to Belmont Park (what a beautiful beach and a nice walk). I was puzzled because where I live (CT) if you took a left at the beach you'd be going north. Then all of a sudden it dawned on me that I was on the West Coast and left IS south! (Sorry, just had to share my blonde moment w/ you all.)
Well, my brain is still processing all the information and believe it or not still trying to catch up from lack of sleep (I wouldn't recommend taking the "QSM-eye" flight home. I barely slept a wink. Especially after getting to bed late and still waking up early on East Coast time) All in all it was a trip I was thrilled to be able to make. I'd dreamed of it for months and when it really happened it all seemed like a dream. Now it's finally getting processed in my brain and I have some excellent memories to keep me company.
It was truly a pleasure to meet all of you. I don't want to list you all by name because I don't want to forget anyone! Thanks for the memories guys! I'm working on my hubby so I can go back next year. Here's hoping.
[***Smartypants***]
I think most everyone knows MrsSpooky/Deb from the chat room. Online she seems like the
most lovable person and I can tell you that she really is!! She put up with me for four
days and was a sweetheart the whole time.
I guess the biggest surprise we had, was after the I-Maniacs party on Friday night. We were walking back to our hotel room to crash for a while. Almost there, we are standing at the corner waiting for the light to change so we can cross. Looking across the street, "Debbie, that looks like Paul and Brandy over there." Then we notice one of the crew waving and pointing for us to go down to the other corner to cross. We duck behind columns, head down to the other corner and run into more crew and a few I-Maniacs. Helena, Misbe and Loganlover's husband. (Loganlover had to go somewhere?) I explained to the Supervising Producer, Ed Ledding, that they were filming in our hotel. Marriott suites is in the same building as Symphony Hall. They were kind to let us hang around. So we had the pleasure of meeting Shannon's stand in, Vincent's stand in and various other crew members. Paul was gracious enough to head over after the shot and talk for a while before heading home. By then it was around 2a.m.
Loved meeting all the Imaniacs!! Can't wait till we do this again!
[***mcnamcj***]
Wow, what a day!!! I waited patiently outside the entrance to the meeting rooms for
approximately an hour waiting to see the panel. When the Con staff gave the go ahead, I
hauled my booty to the room. Got front row seats too, but then we all had to move back to
make room for families of the cast. Shannon's husband Nestor ended up sitting almost in
front of me, so that actually turned out pretty well :). I tingled with excitement when
the cast members entered the room one by one. They were fabulous and funny. They were all
really nervous too, which I found pretty cute. Now on to the autographs. I once again
hauled my booty downstairs to get my ticket for autographs. Got one and than I stood
around. Then the cast shows up. At the time I was talking to Jeff, one of the members of
the 2nd unit and I mentioned I really wanted a pic of Vincent. He grabbed my camera out of
my hand and walked up to Vincent and said that I wanted a picture. Vince turned around and
looked at me, flashing a huge smile. "Sure," he said. I walked up to him
petrified and Vince proceeded to wrap his arms around my body, pulling me right up against
him (sighs, faints, thud) What a sweetheart and what a pic. So then the autographs
started. I was like number 999 so I had a good 2 hour wait before I got to get in line. I
killed time just sitting there, watching the cast. I saw Vince's wife and child and
various other family members. That was really cool. Finally it was my turn to get in line.
I stood in line for about a half hour, my back absolutely killing me. But it was so worth
it when I got up there. I talked to Eddie first and then on to Paul. I got to Vince and he
was like hello again. He got out of his chair and hugged me (faint, sigh, thud). He asked
if I wanted my name on the picture and I was like sure. He wrote To Carol, You rock on it
(sigh, faint, thud). Then I took a picture of the whole cast. Then I went back up to Vince
to get my pic and I lost it. I totally started freaking out, telling him how much I loved
him and how talented he was. He was just soooooooooo frelling nice. I said thanks and
gently tapped him on the shoulder. Then I walked outside the convention building and sat
down with tears in my eyes because it was such an emotional moment and it was over. I will
remember those few minutes with clarity for the rest of life. Words can't even describe
getting to meet someone you love so much and have them be so nice back to you. The cast
and crew of I-man rules!!!
[***Invisible Mom***]
The highlight of my trip was meeting Vincent Ventresca face to face. The first thought
that popped into my head is, “The camera really does add 10 lbs!” He is so THIN,
yet he is in great shape. You can tell he works out. And even though I wanted to run my
fingers through his fabulous hair, I restrained myself.
He is also very articulate and funny, very focused and intense. The show is not just a job for him. He is as much a fan of the show as we are. He is also very easy to talk to and expresses himself well. When I talked to him, he was totally focused on what we were discussing, and not only does he maintain eye contact at all times, but he actually made me think we were the only two people in the room. What a shock to realize that there were other people standing around who also wanted to talk to him. I felt guilty, feeling like I was keeping him all to myself, but he has such a beautiful voice I swear I could stand there and listen to him talk all day. He is just amazing.
<*><*><*><*><*> SOUND OFF! <*><*><*><*><*>
In this section of the newsletter we offer all of you the opportunity to give us your opinion on various Invisible Man subjects.
Before we get into the new topic, let's check out the results of the last "Sound Off". If you remember, I asked you to choose your favorite wacky mode of transport; Arnaud’s bike, Darien’s skateboard, Hobbes’ scooter, The Official’s chair, or Darien’s mail cart, pushed by Hobbes.
This was a close race (get it… transport… race… okay, bad joke) but in the end the mail cart won out! I’m guessing it’s because it involves both Darien and Hobbes :)
As redcat72 put it, “I think I'd like to go for a ride in that mail cart!”
New Topic:
Who is the creepiest I-Man character? Is it Tommy Walker/Augustin Gaither (Insensate),
Benjamin Scarborough (Tiresias), Charlie Fogerty (The Catevari), the Dream Clinic guy
manipulating sleeping people (Perchance to Dream), Simon Cole (The Other Invisible Man),
Charlie with her zapping needles (Bad Chi), or Arnaud as Eberts (The Importance of Being
Eberts)?
You can Sound Off by sending your choice (as difficult as it may be, please choose only one) to imannewsletter@yahoo.com by August 13th and be sure to put the words "Sound Off" in the subject of your email.
<*><*><*><*><*> WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? <*><*><*><*><*>
In this section of the newsletter you get the chance to get your creative juices flowing and write the next part of an ongoing story. Below, you'll find the story so far. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (unlike The Official, we give you the choice :), is to write the next part of the story in about 125 words or less. It'll be a tough choice, but I will pick one submission and post it in the next newsletter and continue from there. Ready? Here goes!
The teaser:
Darien was a happy guy. He had just gotten a shot of counteragent and wouldn't need a new
one for a while, things were quiet at the agency, and most importantly, he was going to
spend a nice relaxing evening at home with a home-made meal and his favorite book
"The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest
Philosophers". "It doesn't get any better than this", he thought as he
headed toward his apartment with a bag of groceries in one arm.
As he unlocked the door, the scene inside made him stop in his tracks. "Aw
crap!" he said as the smile disappeared from his face and was replaced by a look of
dismay. His apartment had been ransacked and very thoroughly at that. After taking a
moment to digest the situation, he walked cautiously into the apartment careful not to
step on anything breakable, which had not already been broken, and checked to make sure
that whoever made the mess wasn't still there.
Part 2 by R2:
Glass crunched under Darien's feet as he made his way through his destroyed apartment.
Nothing had been spared and Darien felt violated. Unknown hands had rifled through his
possessions, going over his personal affects. The intruder, or intruders, had been quite
thorough. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his small abode abnormally quiet.
With a deep breath, Darien allowed the quicksilver to coat his body, neatly rendering him
invisible. If whoever had done this was still here, he saw no need to give them the
advantage. There was a small noise from inside the bathroom, Darien's head snapped around
at the sound as he began to make his way toward the closed door.
Part 3 by R2
Slowly, Darien reached out and grasped the cold handle in his equally cold hand. Fear and
anger were vying for attention, whoever had ransacked his home was still stupid enough to
be here. Big mistake.
He flung the door open and blindly launched himself inside, grabbing a stunned individual
around their waist. There was a startled shout as he and the intruder fell to the ground
in a tangle of arms and legs, Darien could feel them struggling to get out from under him
and he knew that he had the upper hand.
Darien gripped a flailing hand tightly as he glanced down at the person who had destroyed
his apartment. His breath left him in a horrified gasp as he recognized the man,
"Hobbes?"
Part 4 by Kathy Czechowski, a.k.a. Hei_Mao
Hobbes snorted, jerking from Darien's grip and standing. "Thanks for the hospitality.
Love what
you've done with the place," he said, brushing broken glass from his sleeves.
"What do you mean by that? I didn't do this." Darien's brow furrowed as he let
the quicksilver fall
away.
"What, and I did? You called me here."
"No, I didn't." His voice trailed off as he stared at the mess.
"Yeah, you did. You said you wanted to talk to me about something, the door would be
unlocked, I
should just walk in. I walked in, and POW! I woke up in here. Then you came barreling
in...."
Darien paused, shaking his head. "I didn't call you. This doesn't make sense."
"Right. If someone wanted to frame me for tossing your apartment, why call me
here?" Hobbes rubbed the back of his head. A large bruise was rapidly purpling
beneath a dozen small cuts. He winced, mumbling curses.
"Somebody wanted us here at the same time. The mess is just a distraction. Someone
wanted us out of the
way," Darien declared.
Hobbes nodded, his expression grim. "I was thinking the same thing."
Part 5 by FawkesFox
Hobbes' cell phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket and answered it,
"Hobbes... What?... Where are you?... Stay there, we're on our way." He hung the
phone up and turned to Darien. "There's trouble partner." Hobbes started for the
door, Darien following closely behind him. Within minutes they arrived at the Agency. Once
they got there, they knocked on the door of Charlie's office. There was no answer so
Darien kicked the door in. Inside, Charlie was tied to the chair, a gag in his mouth.
"Hello, Darien." A familiar voice said from behind the door. Darien turned to
see the man who was responsible for his brother's death.
Part 6 by Allison Riley
Darien's couldn't speak. He never, in his wildest dreams, thought that Arnaud would come
back for a third time. Then, the memories of Kevin dying in his arms came back to him. His
speechlessness disappeared. Darien tried to punch Arnaud, but he wasn't quick enough.
Arnaud grabbed his fist and squeezed it tightly. Pain rushed through Darien's arm. Then he
let go. The pain vanished. Darien ran to the center of the room and quicksilvered. Arnaud
just laughed. Darien tried again to punch him, thinking that he couldn't stop his fist
this time. But he did. Hobbes had been standing there staring. Now he could see Arnaud
holding something in midair. Arnaud squeezed Darien's fist even harder than before.
Forcing him to become visible again. Arnaud laughed. "How did he do that?"
Darien, Hobbes, and Charlie all said quietly to themselves.
Part 8 by jakgirl
"Are you selling me out?" cried Darien.
Arnaud perched on the Official's desk. "I think we should tell him, don't you?
Otherwise he will waste his time and my patience trying to discover the answers." He
quirked an eyebrow at the Official and continued,
"The explanation is simple. Using nanotechnology, I've perfected special contact
lenses with tiny viewers, which enable me to see quicksilver: a superior version of the
Agency's viewers. I have proven to your employer that they work. Now he knows I can find
and kill you anywhere, at any time, and he has agreed to let me…borrow you for a
little job I have. Otherwise, I shoot you and harvest the gland. Don't think I won't do
it."
"What's the job?" asked Darien warily.
Part 9 by FawkesFox
"My neice has been kidnapped by some very ruthless people." Arnaud said.
"More ruthless than you?" Darien quipped.
Arnaud ignored him and continued, "I can't stand seeing my sister so upset."
"Well, well... Never would have figured you for a softie." Darien said.
Part 10 by Sasscat
"Ordinarily no," Arnaud said smoothly, "but Jessica shows a lot of promise.
Her mother is right to worry."
Darien froze, barely hearing Arnaud's next words. He knew he was being stupid - it wasn't
exactly the most uncommon of names - but somehow he had a feeling, low in his gut, that he
was about to hear some unpleasant news. "Your niece is called Jessica?"
"Jessica Semplar. She's in grade three at Heatherfield Elementary. If you'll come
along I'll give you all the information you need."
"My god," Darien said softly. "Jess." He stumbled backwards until he
found the wall, and clung to it for support. Jess had been kidnapped. Jess was related to
*Arnaud*. And that was something even her
invisible best friend Ralph couldn't save her from.
But he could try. Darien lifted his eyes to Arnaud's, coldly determined. "I'll do
it."
Part 11 by Mandy, a.k.a. fawkesielady
"Good" Arnaud said with a slight smile. They walked out of the building, guards
on either side of Darien just incase he decided to change his mind, and got in Arnaud's
car.
"So, what do these people want with Jessica?" Darien asked as the car pulled out
on the street.
"That I am not sure of yet. She is a very bright girl, very bright for her age."
Darien thought he saw a tinge of hurt behind Arnaud's hard exterior. He would have felt
sorry for him if he wasn't Arnaud.
"Yeah, I know." He mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Tell me what you want me to do. But understand one thing, I'm not doing any
of this for you."
Arnaud chuckled, "I'd hope not. After this is over, we can go back to hating and
wanting to kill each other. But for now, I'm afraid we have no choice, we must work
together."
Part 12 by The_Mad_Fangirl
"You hate me?" Darien asked. The guards flanked him in the limo's back seat.
"Why? I mean, I hate you because you killed Kevin, and," his voice hardened,
"I will kill you for that, but what did I ever do to you?"
"You're in my way," Arnaud replied, leaning over the limo's back seat, gun
sideways. "That's always been sufficient for me, but even if it weren't, there's the
small matter of nine or ten invisible grenades."
"Oh, yeah," Darien replied, smiling slightly. "Yeah, that was a good
one."
"Obviously not good enough. Story of your life, Fawkes, which is why you'll be dead
and I'll have the gland, but not until after Jessica is safe." Arnaud turned forward
again and looked out the front window. A few minutes later, "Ah. We're here."
Darien looked over a guard's shoulder. "Jessica's house."
Arnaud's head whipped around. "And you know that how?"
Part 13 by Maxdout
"Well, It's too small for a villain such as yourself," Darien remarked
cautiously but slyly. Arnaud seemed unimpressed so Darien added, "and your oversized
ego."
Arnaud still seemed unconvinced, "I suspect it was just a lucky guess."
The driver opened the door and Arnaud got out while staring at Darien probingly. Darien
glanced at Arnaud's thugs as he pointed to the door and said, "Ladies first."
They were not amused. They grabbed Darien, one on either side, and pushed him out the
door. It was apparent they were fighting the urge to throw him.
They all walked together up the drive to the door of Jessica's house and Arnaud rang the
doorbell. Just then Darien became very afraid that Jessica's parents might recognize him
from Jessica's painting of Ralph.
Part 14 by liz_Z
Mrs. Semplar opened the door, a curious expression on her face. "Arnaud, what are you
doing here?"
Arnaud gave her a wan smile. "I'm here to help find Jessica."
Mrs. Semplar's lip trembled for a moment, and then she broke down into tears. Arnaud
immediately pulled her up in a hug, whispering soothing words in her ear.
After a while Mrs. Semplar began to calm down. Darien watched in surprise. He had never
thought that Arnaud was capable of anything like compassion.
Mrs. Semplar frowned and gestured at Darien. "Who is this?"
"Someone who can help us."
"He looks familiar... Oh well, it must be my imagination. His face just reminded me
of... a painting Jessica made..." She broke down into tears again.
Arnaud frowned. "What painting?"
"The one of... her invisible friend..."
Arnaud pulled her up in another hug, but his eyes were filled with cold anger. "I
see."
Part 15 by IMFreak
After a moment Mrs. Semplar took a deep breath, pulled away from Arnaud enough to wipe her
eyes briskly, and said in a voice that sounded as though she were trying to be cheerful,
"Well, where are my manners? Come in, come in."
Arnaud kept an arm around his sister and after a quick glare backward at Darien they
walked into the house together. Darien was practically hustled inside by the two
bodyguards behind him. Once they were in the living room, Mrs. Semplar sat down on a
couch, Arnaud beside her. She gestured toward the other chairs arranged in a semi circle
around the room for the others to sit in. Subtly, the two muscle men pushed Darien toward
one that was pretty much between the other two. Just enough nudging so that Mrs. Semplar
wouldn't notice.
"Thanks. How are you holding up Mrs. Semplar?" Darien asked once he had sat
down, a look of sincere concern on his face.
Mrs. Semplar, who had been looking more at the beige rug than anything else, brought her
head up sharply to look at him. "Fine, thank you." Her voice was a bit tight.
"It's alright, Dear, I told you. He's here to try and help."
She looked earnestly into Arnaud's face, "But why? What makes you think some stranger
can find Jessica when the police can't? I mean, how well do you know this man?"
"Trust me. He will do his best to find her." Arnaud looked at Darien with stern
eyes that seemed to add "or he will be very, very sorry" to his last statement.
Part 16 by Mandy AKA fawkesieladyandEd
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Semplar said to Darien. "I just can't get over how much
you look like Ralph."
"Ralph?" Darien asked trying to sound confused.
"Yes. Jess's invisible friend." She said as she stood up. Mrs. Semplar left the
room and returned a moment later with the painting. "See, this is a painting of
Ralph."
"Wow." Was all Darien could force out of his mouth.
Mrs. Semplar sat down wiping away fresh tears. "It's alright dear." Arnaud said
as he put his arm around her shoulders. "We'll bring her home safe."
He looked at Darien with angry eyes. "May I speak with you a moment?" He said
through clenched teeth. He had tried to sound friendly, but his sister flinched at his
tone.
"Sure." Darien said and left the house with Arnaud.
"Do you want to tell me why Jessica painted a picture of you?" Arnaud asked when
the front door was closed behind them.
Part 17 by bookwormgirl
Darien stepped up to Arnaud real close and said, “Do you want to find Jessica or do
you want to waste time with a history lesson?”
Arnaud stared back at Darien. “We’ll talk later, after Jessica is safe. But
trust me, Ralph,” he said with venom in his voice, “we will talk.” With
that, Arnaud opened the door and the two reentered the house.
“Is there a problem?” asked Mrs. Sempler.
“Not at all, my dear. We were just discussing the best place to start our
investigation. Mr. Fawkes and I have different,” Arnaud paused,
“techniques.”
“Mrs. Sempler,” asked Darien, “did the kidnappers leave a note? A clue of
any kind as to who they are or what they would want with Jess?”
Part 18 by Veronica aka Scout
Mrs. Semplar ran into the kitchen and returned with a piece of paper and something else in
her hand. "Here is what we found on the front stoop yesterday morning. A letter and a
dead butterfly.
What does it mean?" Arnaud shrugged his shoulders and looked confused.
Darien knew exactly what the butterfly meant, "Crysalis."
Arnaud grabbed Darien's arm, "What?"
Darien repeated, "Crysalis is behind this and I know why they went after
Jessica."
Part 19 by RGtwilight
Arnaud's grip on Darien's arm tightened even more and Arnaud seemed to turn purple. Darien
turned away from Mrs. Semplar and quicksilvered his arm. Arnaud quickly released his grip
and said “Merde!”
“What is Crysalis?” asked Arnaud’s sister. She wondered why both men seemed
to be so agitated with each other.
Darien shook off his quicksilvered arm and studied Arnaud—he seemed to recognize the
name Crysalis! Darien then said “Look I am sure these people won’t hurt Jessica
but I think we should stay calm and look at the note to see what they want.”
Arnaud, still agitated grabbed the note from his sister and began to read it. But before
he finished he looked up at Darien and hissed, “What do you know about
Crysalis?”
Darien asked Mrs. Semplar “Can I use your phone?” Then he dialed a number and
looked at Arnaud and said, “I really think I am going to need help with this. I need
Bobby Hobbes. He will know the best way to infiltrate Crysalis. Now what does the note
say?”
Part 20 by Sasscat
Arnaud pressed his lips together for a moment, then handed the note over.
"Very well, but warn Mister Hobbes not to come armed. I don't think he'd like the
consequences."
"Armed?" Jessica's mother looked worried. "Arnaud, is this man
dangerous?"
"Of course not, _ma chere_," Arnaud said soothingly. "You know I would
never do anything to put you at risk." He looked daggers at Darien, as if daring him
to argue.
Darien managed to keep his mouth shut, barely. He turned his attention back to the phone,
rattling instructions off to Bobby as he held the note up to the light.
_In lieu of promised payment, the girl is ours. Consider your debt discharged. J.S._
Stark. Darien scowled and resisted the urge to crumple the note up into a ball. It looked
like Arnaud and Chrysalis had had some business dealings. But Arnaud had double-crossed
them, and they'd trumped his double-cross.
If Jessica weren't caught in the middle of it, Darien would have been inclined to sit back
and watch them fight it out. Instead... well, he could only imagine the things Chrysalis
could do with an impressionable kid.
Part 21 by fawkesieladyandEd
"Story?" What the hell does that mean?" Darien asked as he looked at
Arnaud.
"You are the one that knows Chrysalis so well, you tell me." Arnaud returned.
Darien thought for a moment, "I don't know." He said finally.
"Hello boys, good morning Mrs. Semplar." A voice called from behind them.
Darien turned, "Hobbes? What are you doing here?"
"You called Darien."
"Yeah, but you never answered the phone."
"Let me see that." Hobbes said as he took the note from Arnaud. He read the note
then looked up at Darien. "It was Chrysalis, and they want a story."
"We figured that part out Hobbes, but what kind of story?" Darien asked.
"This is a clue Darien. Chrysalis wants us to have a little treasure hunt. The next
clue is in the children's section of the library."
"Alright then," Arnaud said, "Let's go."
Part 22 --- Well, in all the Comic Con excitement, everyone forgot to submit a story bit. So, the story remains where it left off... with many unanswered questions. What is Arnaud’s connection with Chrysalis? How did Hobbes know Darien had called and where he was? What’s in the children’s section of the library? Who framed Roger Rabbit... hang on, that’s not part of this story!
Your turn! Send your version of What Happens Next to imannewsletter@yahoo.com by August 13th and be sure to put the words "What Happens Next" in the subject of your email.
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