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DISAPPEARING INK
The "I-Maniac Fan Club" Newsletter
Issue #32
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. A Word from the Publisher
2. A Word from the President
3. Merchandise Update
4. Our Treasurer Speaks
5. Special Events
6. Cleya's Con Commentary
7. Sound Off!
8. I-Man Art Contest
9. What Happens Next?
10. Important Addresses
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A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER
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Hi Fellow I-Maniacs!
It's time for another fun-filled issue of Disappearing
Ink. We've got updates on contests and special events,
an "Eberts Dictionary" to fill, and just wait until
you read about the merchandise we've got in the works.
you'll feel the money flying out of your wallet in
anticipation!
We are also extending the "What Happens Next?" story's
final chapter since everyone was too timid to submit
their brilliant finales after the last issue. So,
don't be shy, let us know how you think the story
should end.
Gina
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A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT
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Agenda
*Greetings*
*Rumor Control*
*B-day Greeting*
*Shannon's Baby*
*Coming Up*
*Greetings*
Hello everyone!
As promised here is the next installment of
Disappearing Ink, the best source for I-Maniac fan
club information. I spoke with Gina about the
frequency of putting out these newsletters, and we
both decided that monthly would be a good idea. Gives
us all a chance to round up info for ya, not to
mention the fact that it takes awhile to disseminate
information. So, once a month, you can expect to see
these wonderful bits of fan club info and fun popping
up in your inbox.
Thank you all for your continued support of the show
and your desire to see it come back in one form or
another. Your dedication is reaching those who need to
hear our voices and your hard work will pay off.
Please don't give up on I-Man, I know that sometimes
the road seems long and that there's no light at the
end of the tunnel, but remember that nothing worth
having is ever easy. Besides, we're having so much fun
bombarding these mullet-heads with postcards and
letters, the likes of which they've never seen!
*Rumor Control*
Okay. I know that we really ... really ... REALLY want
our show to come back, but putting out theories and
opinions only serves to start the rumor mill going,
and before you know it something that was only a
thought has suddenly become a fact.
I want to tell you all right now that we do not know
why I-Man is not being picked up. Origianlly, we had
thought that perhaps USA was not selling the rights to
the show, however we have now heard that the asking
price is just too high. So, in essence, we don't know
what's going on. I will try to find out, first hand,
what the story is and then pass that info on to you so
that we're all on the same page. We're fighting a
strong battle here, the last thing we need is
inaccurate information to sabotage our efforts. So,
until I find out the whole truth, please refrain from
putting out gossip, half-truths, or other such
information that could lead to a misunderstanding.
*B-Day Greeting*
Well, I finally got the tape back from my radio
station that has Vince's B-Day greeting on it. I'm
going to be sending it off to Mrs. Spooky so she can
upload it to the I-Maniacs site, that way you can
listen to the greeting I sent out on all of your
behalf to our favorite leading man. I plan to do this
again in July for Paul.
*Shannon's Baby*
In case you all didn't hear, Shannon had her baby ---
a little boy. Now, I know that all of us would love to
send the happy parents cards, gifts and well-wishes,
but we don't have a current addy to send stuff to her.
So, PerseusProject has jumped in to help us out. You
can go to www.perseusproject.com and
click on the
Billboard link, you can leave a message for Shannon
there. I have been told that she does check it when
she can, and so she will be able to view your message.
*Coming Up*
The Board of directors have a lot of cool stuff to get
you all caught up on, now that I'm done rambling and
taking up all of your precious time. Among other
things, Lauren will give you all the 4-1-1 on our Art
Contest and Adel is going to be letting you know about
a new order form we're going to be sending out for
when you want/need to order merchandise. This way, we
can keep track of who ordered what and nothing gets
lost between the cracks.
Thanks so much for putting up with us as we institute
new changes and try to keep all our ducks in a row.
You're the best group of fans and I-Man is lucky to
have you all.
Stacey/R2
Club President
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MERCHANDISE UPDATE
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Hey I-Maniacs! ShelBel the Merchandise Guru here. New
stuff. You want it. I've got it. So far, this is what
we have in the works! (All prices include shipping for
our US members; if you live overseas shipping may cost
a bit more. Email me at
shelbel@imaniacs.org before
you send any money so I can determine how much.)
**"Need to Know" t shirts: ash, with the I-Maniacs
logo and Bobby's "Need to Know" speech on the front,
and the top things every I-Maniac "Needs to Know" on
the back! $10 each (S- XL).
**Baseball hats: black or red, with the I-Maniacs
logo. $10 each.
**Long sleeve t shirts: ash or black, with I-Maniacs
logo on front and "Visible Fans of the Invisible Man"
with a QS-type effect up one sleeve. $15 each (S- XL).
**Hospital scrubs: blue, purple, or orange with the
I-Maniacs logo. $40 for set (top and bottom) (S- XXL).
**Tote bags: black with white lettering, using the
same concept as the "Need to Know" shirts. $10 each.
**Mugs: white, bistro-style (14 oz.), with
color-changing effect, and perhaps some text (design
still in development). $6 each.
**Keychains: Your own keychain crap! Multiple designs
(still in development), white, rectangular. $.50
each.
**Temporary tattoos: the snake, what else? $.05 each.
**I-Man Music Videos: I'm just the bearer of good
news. Adelheide will tell you more in a minute....
Now, this is what I need YOU to do. We need ideas
for... ...Our color-changing mugs! I was thinking of
the snake tattoo design with "Caffeine is my
Counteragent!" beneath it. In the interest of keeping
the cost down, we should stick to three colors.
..."Keychain Crap". I was thinking 3 to 5 sayings
would do it. Try to keep them short and sweet.
...Any other bright ideas you have for merchandise!
All submissions are due to me (shelbel@imaniacs.org)
by 5pm Central time, Friday May 25th.
The ordering page and form will be up on the website
as soon as all the designs are finalized- in other
words, Friday night. At that time, you will have until
June 15th to get your order and money in (we're trying
to get everything in time for ComicCon). Shipping will
hopefully occur within 2 to 4 weeks, but don't quote
me on that...
Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to a deluge of emails
in the next couple days! And now, I turn you over to
our esteemed treasurer, Adelheide.... What?!?
Love, ShelBel (shelbel@imaniacs.org)
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OUR TREASURER SPEAKS
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Hello everyone! As Shel noted, the Fan Club is as
pleased as punch to announce that the music videos
seen at this years I-Manicon 2002 are now available!
$10 includes the cost of the video AND shipping. Order
soon, order often!
MrsSpooky has posted an order form on our website
(http://imaniacs.org/main.htm). Just print that out,
fill in all the fields, get out your checkbook, and
send that puppy in.
Right now, we do not have a PayPal account. I'm still
annoyed that we have to pay and am looking for other
ways to do this electronically. So, right now, use the
old-fashioned snail mail, check or money order. If you
have any questions, you can contact me at
Adelheide10@hotmail.com. Please
make money payable to
me (Carrie Rockenhauser) and send your orders to;
The Invisible Man Fan Club
PO Box 72266
Roselle, IL 60172-0266
Orders should take 2-4 weeks to fill. You may order as
many videos as you like. The cut-off for the first run
of videos is going to be June 28, 2002. So place your
orders quick!
Adel, anxiously staking out the PO box
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SPECIAL EVENTS
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Hey all!
Comic Con International is fast approaching! To
register for I-maniac exclusive events during the con,
please email me at
katrynsedai@imaniacs.org with the
following information:
your I-maniac handle
real name
snail-mail address
contact phone number
age at the time of the con
email address
I apologize to those folks who may have sent me this
information, and still not received an invitation to
the yahoo!group established for the con. I goofed
while setting up this email addy in Outlook, and folks
who replied to that mailbox were sent to never-never
land. If you could resend your info, it would be
greatly appreciated!
Please note that I will need your registration
information before you can join the
ImaniacsComicCon2002 yahoo!group.
Remember, registering with the I-maniacs won't
register you for the con itself. Visit the official
website at http://www.comic-con.org/ to
register. You
can also book your hotel room online. Rooms are
filling up quickly, so be sure to register soon!
***
On another note, we're still looking for suggestions
on where to hold ImanCon2003. If you have a city to
suggest, please forward the following info to
katrynsedai@imaniacs.org
City and State
Proximity to a major airport
Names of airlines that service that airport
Hotels in the area with room suites and meeting rooms
Prices of the hotel(s) rooms, meeting rooms & A/V
equipment rental
URL(s) (if available) for the hotel(s) website(s)
Discount on hotel rooms for con attendees?
Can we reserve a block of rooms?
Free transportation to/from airport & hotel?
Cheap eats nearby/walking distance from hotel
Tourist attractions nearby
Do you live nearby & can check out the location
personally?
Please try to be as SPECIFIC as you can (e.g. SPECIFIC
hotels, their URL's, SPECIFIC airlines servicing the
nearby airport, etc.). The more information you can
supply will help us "narrow the field." We hope to
move the convention around each year, to give everyone
the opportunity to attend the con.
Also, if you know of any science fiction, fantasy or
comic book conventions that will be held during the
next year, please let me know. We DON'T want to
schedule ImaniCon to conflict with another major con!
Also, we can post a link to the other con on our
website.
Thanks for your input!
ttfn!
KatrynSedai
Special Events Director, I-maniacs
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CLEYA'S CON COMMENTARY
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Regular con reports (including Emerald's) can be found
at
http://sparklingemerald.com/imanicon If you don't'
want to read the report, or if you get bored during
the report, just skip to the end for a little
announcement. :)
Unto her fellow I-Maniacs does Emerald send greetings!
Hello I-Maniacs! I hope you're all having a wonderful
May. I had hoped to get this into the previous
newsletter, but I just didn't get it together in time,
so you get the rundown this time, along with the con
reports. :)
I had a wonderful and stressful time running I-ManiCon
2002. It was worth every bit though. I met, in person,
some truly wonderful people, and was so pleased to be
able to share so much with fellow fans of a wonderful
show like I-Man.
Someone suggested that I give a little bit of insight
into the trials and tribulations of running this first
Invisible Man convention, so here goes.
The first order of business was finding a location for
the con. I wanted something easy to get to from the
airport. It also had to be a decent place that could
accommodate about 50 or 60 I-Maniacs and the
activities I had in mind. I'd gotten some tips from a
few Hercules fans who've run Herc-Fests the past few
years and that helped quite a bit. After checking
around on the web and some phone books, I finally
decided the best course of action would be to just go
to the airport and drive around the area to see what I
could find. This worked out very well. I found the
Embassy Suites Hotel.
The Embassy Suites is a beautiful hotel. It's open in
the middle, all the way up to the roof. So you can
stand at the restaurant on the first floor and see the
doors of the rooms all the way up to the eighth floor.
Made for easy communication. (Just imagine Emerald on
the 2nd floor terrace calling up to Adel on the 5th
floor, asking her to bring something down with her.
Fortunately, this kind of thing seems to be the norm
for that place, so it was very relaxing and fun.)
(Cheerleader convention notwithstanding) My worst
problem was how to arrange the deposit. I don't keep
credit cards, and I didn't have the cash required for
a cash deposit. That's where my friend Jon saved us
all. He let me use his credit card to hold the
reservations. Jon goes by "godling" in the I-Maniacs
book I believe. And he made it possible for this
convention to happen.
I did some math and came up with the figures for the
cost of the con per person and set the price. Then,
there was the website to develop. I wanted all the
information to be available to anyone at all times.
Since I make websites anyway, I rather enjoyed that
part.
Then there were the emails and calls back and forth to
Mike and the others about arranging for things to be
signed for prizes and the charity auctions.
Ultimately, I ended up in San Diego with a suitcase of
stuff that Mike took and had signed for us. Then he
shipped them back to me in time for the con. Isn't he
a sweetie?
Getting other interesting items proved a challenge. I
tried to reach Josh Props, but had no luck with that.
Fortunately, Dungeon Dan made a fantastic donation in
the form of one Arnaud Quicksilver Gland.
As it turned out, the number of attendees was too few
for the budget involved, so money had to be paid out
of pocket for this con. This is where another person
came in and saved the day. I was able to come up with
about half of the money necessary, but Mardel paid for
the other half. In addition, she paid for special con
t-shirts for the people who had volunteered to work at
the convention as well as putting together the
fanzines and lanyards for the name badges.
applause for mardel
I have other convention heroes too. Adel is definitely
my hero. She flew into town the previous Wednesday and
helped index the prizes and auction items and decide
which items would go with which events. She provided
cheering up services, and she made me go shopping. She
helped keep me from panicking altogether, and helped
me put everything together at the last minute when I
had to rush off and deal with a crisis. applause for
Adel
Crisis? What crisis? Well, as many of you know, we
showed music videos at the con. (More on that in a
moment) My friend, Mark, and I had been trying to
arrange to put them on videotape to be shown at the
con. After several unsuccessful attempts (including a
very late session the Thursday night before the con)
Mark assured me that he would be able to take care of
it Friday during the day, and would bring the video
tape with him Friday night. side note One of the CD's
had gone missing, so I copied the files onto zip
disks, then had my roommate transfer them to new
CD's.** Anyway, late Friday morning, Mark called me
and told me that those 4 files were corrupt. ACK! So I
freaked out, looking all over the house for that
original CD, to no avail. Now, I had been on medical
leave for nearly 2months at this point. I was sure I'd
taken all my things home, but I called the office
anyway to see if the CD was lying around there. It
was!!! So I rushed over there, snuck in (not supposed
to go there when you're on leave), got the CD, rushed
over to Mark's place (40 minute drive), made sure the
whole thing was working and that they videos were in
the right order, and then drove back to my place where
Adel was busily working away. Crisis averted! But it
had taken a big chunk out of my prep time. I had to
pack still, and it was 2:30!
I packed as fast as I could, and then Adel and I went
on over to the hotel.
Back to the music videos. I had fully intended to do
at least some of these videos myself. I had them all
laid out in my head, and I even started working on one
of them before I ended up in the hospital and then on
medical leave. My computer at home just couldn't do
those things. And that's where Crimson_eyez stepped in
and saved the day. Crimson_eyez created all of the
music videos for the convention, and she did a
fabulous job! She's re-working one of the videos for
us, but after that's done, we'll be able to make
copies available to folks on video tape. So keep an
eye out for the announcement! applause for
Crimson_eyez
On Saturday, I had scheduled things a certain way to
accommodate the fact that Mike and Co. were going to a
baseball game. I'd tried to give them extra time above
and beyond the time Mike gave me, but I got a call
from Mike saying they were stuck in traffic. So we had
to rearrange the schedule a bit. I was worried because
I knew that we were supposed to be out of the room at
6pm. Mike and Co. showed up and were very gracious
about answering questions and chatting with us. Mike
was very candid about the show and Sci Fi and was
awarded a special trophy by the fans, labeling him
"Friend to Fandom." Fortunately, the hotel people were
not the least bit pushy about getting us out of the
room. They didn't give us any hassles at all, and they
were very accommodating to any requests we made.
Wow, this thing is getting really long! Okay, not
"getting." It is really long! LOL! There's so much to
say!
The costume party got off to a slow start. It was due
to start at 8, but a lot of people were still talking
to Mike & Co. until 7. That only gave them an hour to
get dinner and get ready. So the troops trickled in
slowly. I have to say, I was rather disappointed that
so many people chose not to wear a costume. But on the
upside, there were some really great costumes among
the people that did dress up. C-Thru was a hit with
his Quicksilvered Darien costume. And some folks
thought that Vince had surprised us until they
realized that this person was about a foot shorter
than Vince. Darien's Muse was gratified to be the
object of so much attention, and with the white
contact lenses she wore, she made an extremely
convincing Stage 5 Darien. There were some people
dressed as the Gland, the Official, and Claire, though
no Hobbes or Arnaud or Eberts. But we had the real
Eberts! Doing the monkey dance no less :) Other
costumes included Trinity, from the Matrix, Wonder
Woman, a Pirate (though I feel like I was missing a
joke with Carl's costume), and others. My own costume
was Satine, from Moulin Rouge. I made it all myself,
so I was pretty happy with it. I have to say though,
it looked better in the mirror than it does in
pictures. I should really take pictures of outfits
before wearing them, to see if they actually look
good. :) I suppose I should have kept the dj longer.
We only had him until 11, and we snuck the Family Feud
game in there as well. (Thanks to our terrific
hostesses furryknight and Krysalis!) So the dancing
was somewhat limited.
Afterwards, people just hung out at the bar (including
Mike & Co.) and generally had a good time. Mike was
kept up way past his bedtime and wasn't up to
rejoining us on Sunday. Naughty I-Maniacs! ;) But Mike
had a great time too. In fact, he wanted to let us
know that he and his friends all had a great time.
Matt, Jason and Kim all felt welcomed by the I-Maniacs
and were very impressed at how nice you all were.
There weren't really any other major crises that I
recall. I may have repressed them, but I don't think
so. Many folks noticed that I did a bit of smoking
this weekend. I'm really a smoker unless I'm under a
great deal of stress or in a very smoky place anyway.
Well, I was a smoker that weekend. I was so terrified
that everything would go wrong! But things were great.
Everyone was so supportive and sweet. I couldn't
possibly ask for a nicer bunch of fans. At one point,
I got claustrophobic when everyone sort of crowded
around Mike and Co. Between that and the stress of the
day, I sort of had a panic attack. I went into the
hallway by myself and tried to get it under control,
but I couldn't stop the tears from leaking out. R2
came out, spotted me, and thought someone had
something mean to me! She was ready to go on the
warpath. LOL! Luv ya R2! Heck, I love all you
I-Maniacs!
Things went pretty smoothly on Sunday. The auction was
a blast. Selling off the Arnaud Gland was so exciting!
I really didn't want to let it go. (For those of you
who don't know, I absolutely adore Arnaud) They had to
pry it out of my hands. But with the $252 that was bid
for the gland, we raised $2000 for charities! Yippee!
Other event heroes:
Invisible_Mom did a fabulous job putting together the
goody bags for the I-Maniacs and put some very cool
items in there. Nikki Bitters got some fabulous
syringe pens for us, with I-ManiCon 2002: CONteragent
on them as well as making some awesome I-Maniac door
hangers for the attendees.
Cathy Hurley laminated the con badges for us and she
and her husband created and ran the OCRAP (I-Man
Bingo) game. Misbe, furryknight and Adel helped run
the registration table and keep things going smoothly.
AmazonEMT was our fabulous auctioneer
I_Mom and OboeCrazy put together the I-Man Jeopardy
game and ran it, with the help of R2 And we had tons
of other folks doing things from donating prizes to
baking oatmeal cookies and gingerbread I-Men to
helping with videotaping to photography to tabulating
votes for the costume contest to tallying things for
the auction as well as the general helpfulness and
willingness of pretty much everyone to do something if
it was needed.
I meant to say all these kinds of things at the end of
the con, but I got so flustered there at the end. What
with weeping over that final Eberts File and the last
music video among other things, My brain just froze.
Perhaps it's better this way. I'm almost sure I would
have broken down into sobbing just trying to thank
everyone who had been so sweet and kind during the
planning and execution of this event. I know I've left
names out here, and I want everyone to know that I
haven't forgotten you! I'm still trying to sort out
everything about who did exactly what, and then I'll
put it all up at the Con site. But I appreciate every
last one of you who was there, and many of you who
weren't, but were still instrumental in bringing this
event together. Thank you so much to everyone.
Little announcement: Contest to be announced. But the
prize will be a special I-ManiCon 2002 Commemorative
package. It will include the following (possibly, but
this much at least)
Official Program Booklet for I-ManiCon 2002
Large I-ManiCon 2002 door hanger
Side 1 - Do not Disturb - I-Maniacs Obsessing Side 2 -
See you soon, but will you see me?
Set of 2 black door hangers - only 7 other sets made
Side 1 - I-Maniac Inside
Side 2 - I-Maniac gone Quicksilver Mad
Side 3 - Closed Briefing - Do Not Disturb
Side 4 is blank so you can write in your own phrase or
picture
White Gel pen (so you can write on that black door
hanger)
Operation: Visible Ink Booklet
Operation: Visible Ink button
Troll key chain
Purple lanyard (hangs around your neck to hold id
badge or keys, etc.
I-Maniacs Counteragent bubbles
Counteragent Soap
I-ManiCon 2002 CONteragent syringe pen
Fanzine of fan fiction and artwork
Set of buttons with catchy phrases from the show.
Music video - "Crazy" created by an anonymous fan
Complete set of the music videos from the convention
I-ManiCon 2002 video
When we figure out what the contest is, we'll let you
know.
Cheers!
Emerald
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SOUND OFF!
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In this section of the newsletter we offer all of you
the opportunity to give us your opinion on various
Invisible Man subjects.
Last newsletter I asked you to see if we can come up
with a personal dictionary for Darien. Here's what
some of you creative I-Maniacs came up with:
From bookwormgirl:
Quote A profound statement, originated by
someone famous (or a heck of a lot
smarter than me) used to sum up a
particular event in my life.
Aquamama Hot Chrysalis chick with a great set
of...uh...lungs. See also GIRLS I'M
NOT
SUPPOSED TO SLEEP WITH.
Arnaud Thorn in my side, dead man walking, a
good excuse for bringing back public
executions. See also ARNIE, JERK,
SLIME, and (insert swear word here).
From ChldProdigee:
Day Interval between when I get my butt
kicked
From Amberly:
Aw Crap! A situation when you are out numbered
and out of bullets. (Aw is optional)
From Maxdout:
Hair 1) No touching zone 2) My concern 3
hours out of every day, 6 on the week-
ends
Vintage The only thing that touches this skin
Partner The guy who's always got your back
(even when he needs to know but
doesn't)
From nowUCme:
Nemesis Arnaud, that Swiss Miss mother
fuuuCHOO!
Hero Superman, Wonder Woman,...my brother
Kevin
Friend Someone who won't run when you're eyes
turn silver
Freedom Something not to be taken for granted
From Rihard (from Russia!):
Oh crap! My favourite phrase
Madness Surplus of substance amalgams in blood
Neutralization The preparation which reduces quantity
amalgams in blood
Snake Tattoo The parameter amalgams in blood. If
red is time for entering
neutralization
Crysalis Bad organization.
New Topic:
We've all heard of "Webster's dictionary" but who
really needs to know all those words! I think to get
to know some one, it would be great to have their
personal dictionary containing the words most
important to them and their definition of them. We've
created a dictionary for Hobbes and Darien, now let's
see if we can come up with an "Eberts" dictionary.
What words do you think Albert Eberts would include in
his personal dictionary and how do you think he'd
define them?
You can Sound Off by sending your opinion to
imannewsletter@yahoo.com and be
sure to include your
handle and put the words "Sound Off" in the subject of
your email.
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I-MAN ART CONTEST
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Hi all you fellow QSM Artists!
We're down to the final week to submit your artistic
creations to the First I-Maniacs FanArt Contest! We'll
accept submissions until midnight (your time) on the
26th, so get those wonderful pieces in to
I-Maniacs@worldnet.att.net soon!
Now you WILL get a confirmation e-mail from me when I
get your submission...HOWEVER I am going to be out of
town from the 21st until the evening of the 26th. So
if you send it that week just be aware you won't get a
reply from me for a few days. However Sunday night
(and a bit of Monday morning since I'm not gonna be
staying up till midnight on the west coast!) I will
respond to all that e-mail, and so if you don't get a
confirmation e-mail from me by the time you wake up
Monday morning drop me an immediate line!
Get painting!
Lauren (OboeCrazy)
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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
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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. The mission I put forth in the previous issue
was to write the FINAL CHAPTER! I think I scared
everyone off with this mission so I'm going to give
you another chance. I know you agent I-Maniacs have it
in you to fulfill this mission, so get writing! :)
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 7 by jakgirl
"Back off, phoneboy," snapped Hobbes, aiming his gun
between Arnaud's eyes. Arnaud nodded and stepped back
as four goons came out of the shadows to grab Darien
and Hobbes. Arnaud snatched Hobbes' gun and
pistol-whipped the agent unconscious.
"Hobbes!" shouted Darien.
"That's 'Fohn'", said the terrorist. He gestured to
the Official. "Free him," he told a goon. "Sssso.do we
have a deal?" he asked the fat man.
The Official glared with bloodshot eyes at Arnaud.
"Take him," he snarled. "And bring him back in one
piece or I'll destroy you myself."
"Wait, whoa, do you mean me?" Darien struggled.
"No deal!" Arnaud laid the gun over Darien's heart.
"Move or quicksilver and I blow your ear off."
"Just do what he says, Darien!" bellowed the Official.
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 wondering
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 by KAT_bboard_lurker
Apparently, the local library didn't realize a girl's
life was on the line. They had yet to open the
massive, locked doors, when Darien, Bobby, and Arnaud
arrived. Arnaud thought it best if his sister stay
behind and his thugs guard her.
"Go find a way in, Fawkes," he barked.
"Yes, my Swiss Miss," Darien said under his breath.
Bobby started to follow, but Arnaud stopped him dead
in his tracks by firing his gun so close to Bobby's
face, he could feel it pass by.
"Oops, I missed," Arnaud said innocently enough. "I
wonder if I will next time."
"I think I'll stay here with him, Darien," Bobby
squeaked out.
Darien walked behind the building. There was a small
window, towards the ground, perhaps to a basement. He
climbed down into the black abyss. What's that moving?
He couldn't see. "Oh my." he thought. "HEY YOU GUYS!!!
YOU BETTER COME LOOK AT THIS RIGHT
NOW!!!"
Part 23 by dakFinv
Arnaud and Hobbes ran to where Fawkes had entered the
library. "What is it Fawkes?" questioned Hobbes.
"It's one of Stark's guys. He looks pretty beat up,"
answered Darien
Darien helped Arnaud and Hobbes into the library.
Fumbling around in the dark Hobbes found a light
switch and lit up the dark room. The room was
completely trashed.
"Whoa. It looks like a wrestling match took place down
here," said Hobbes.
"You. What happened here?" Arnaud snarled as he shook
the already half-conscious Chrysallis agent.
"I...I...I can't...a struggle...gunshots...other
people...other than Chrysallis," stammered the man. He
slowly started to create more understandable
sentences. "My partner and I were supposed to wait
here and watch you while you were at the library, but
there were other men here other than us. I don't know
who they were, but they took my partner."
"You have no idea who they were?" asked Darien.
"No, but they left this. Maybe it will help."
Part 24 by Kimpire
Darien reached out to take the note from the Chrysalis
agent, but
Arnaud slapped his hand away and grabbed it himself.
While Arnaud read the
note to himself, Hobbes pulled Darien over. "Why the
hell is he offering
this information up to us?" he asked.
Darien frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," said Hobbes, "That if this guy really was
attacked by someone
else, he wouldn't freely tell us that. It's obvious he
recognizes us,
so why is he volunteering information?"
Darien paused for a moment. "Hobbes..."
"Trust me, Fawkes, I'm the expert here, and we're
being set up, my
friend."
Darien sighed. "Well, only one way to find out." He
turned to Arnaud,
who had finished reading the note. "What's it say?"
Part 25 by iwomans_sister
Arnaud looked at Darien, than back at the note. "It
says: There are new players on the team. We have the
girl, and we want the Invisible Man in trade. Signed,
A.F.C."
Darien and Bobby's mouths dropped open. "Aw crap!"
they both said, at the same time. Darien started to
fidget a little.
"What, do you know who they are?" Arnaud asked.
"Lets just say we have ran into them before." Darien
answered.
"Listen Fawkes, if we are going to find Jessica you
need to tell me what you know."
"This could take a while." Darien replied.
Part 26 by Quicksilvermad
Meanwhile...
"Where's my mom?!" Jessica strained her little arms
against the duct tape and tried to blink away the odd
feeling of the same tape over her eyes. Her captors
had her stuck to a very uncomfortable chair. No answer
came to her, and she began to wonder.
*Did they just leave me? Are they going to kill me? I
wish Ralph was here...*
Ralph? Where did that come from? She hadn't really
thought of him in a while.
Jessica's chin jerked up from its place on her chest
as the door to...wherever she was clicked open.
"Who's there? Where am I?"
An unexpected tug came on the tape over her eyes, and
Jessica shrieked. She swore that most of her eyelashes
and eyebrows came off with it.
"Shut up, kid! We're waiting for someone, okay? Just
shut up until he gets here!"
Jessica couldn't help it. She tried not to look at the
guy. "Who gets here?"
The man raised his hand as if to contemplate cuffing
her, and she cringed.
"The Invisible Man."
Jessica's eyes widened.
Part 27 by Fawkesfox
The door suddenly fell in. Two enemies stood together,
focused on a common goal. Though no one could see
either of them. Darien had quicksilvered Arnaud so
that they could get Jessica out safely.
"Jessie! Are you okay?" Arnaud shouted as he punched
one of the kidnappers.
Jessica looked up, "Uncle, Arnie? I'm okay. Why can't
I see you?" Jessica scanned the room, still unable to
see Arnaud.
Then she heard another familiar voice. "Hang on, Jess.
We're going to get you out of here."
Jessica looked up again, "Ralph?" She said as more
sounds of fighting echoed through the room.
Send your finale of What Happens Next to
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sure to include your
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