DP 7 Issue Guide #5

Issue 11:
Haven

Early in March, we catch up with David Landers, out in the middle of nowhere with the Woodsman, where the two are sparring. Having wandered deep into the wild north of Wisconsin with David, the Woodsman has managed to stymie any efforts by the Clinic to find his friend, mostly because not even David himself knew where he was. All he could see for miles and miles was snow and trees and wilderness.

Finally free of pursuit for a time, the Woodsman opted to teach David everything he knew - how to survive in the wild, and how to fight - a particularly useful skill considering the raw physical nature of his paranormal abilities. This only left David with one question: why had this old man, a complete stranger before the two had met under such dire circumstances, gone to such lengths to help him?

When asked just that, the Woodsman explained that, long ago, he was much like David. Left to his own devices in the wilderness, with no hope of survival... until someone helped him - just as he'd now helped David. He went on to explain that David would subsequently do the same for another person down on their luck some day, and that the cycle of good will would continue on through the ages.

David felt really guilty at that, believing himself unworthy of such aid. Having run out on his friends while the Clinic pursued him, David didn't think himself deserving of such good company, much less all the good the Woodsman had done for himself. Brooding over this, David ultimately left the Woodsman's camp that night, observed by his mentor who only hoped the best for him and his future trials.

Elsewhere, Stephanie Harrington was having terrible nightmares, which were suddenly cut short when she woke up abruptly - despite the intense sedation that had been pumped into her body. Mr. Charne tried to pump her full of drugs again, but before he could do so Stephanie swatted him away like a fly. Seeing Lenore on the bed next to her, similarly doped up, Stephanie used her healing powers on her friend.

Just then, Mr, Hackbarth showed up to knock her out with his unique paranormal power - and noting that Lenore was regaining consciousness, did the same to her. Scolding Mr. Charne and Ms. Speck, who'd lost control of Stephanie, Mr. Hackbarth then told the orderlies to up Stephanie's dose of drugs somehow, and that if that didn't work he'd be forced to deal with the troublemaker... quite permanently!

Elsewhere, David made a call to an old friend, Sue, to let her know what was up. He explained how he'd been to the Clinic after his... change. Of course, he learned that Sue's mother was dying, and felt lousy about not being there for her - what with her being at his side when his own mother died. Resolving to return the favor, he said he'd meet her in but a few days - once he'd saved his friends from the Clinic.

Hopping on a truck transporting logs, David hitched a ride in secret... though he was already being tracked by the Clinic's headhunters. They hit him with a few darts while he was a sitting duck on the truck, which caused him to leap off, into the woods on the side of the road. Intending to use what the Woodsman taught him, he was going to pick them off one at a time, but had already taken three dart hits upon entering the woods.

Succumbing to the drugs upon a fourth hit, this time with much longer needles designed to pierce even his tough hide, David fell into the snow... only to wake up a short time later in a mysterious house. Exploring it as he tried to determine just what the heck had happened to him, David ultimately found six individuals cowering in a broom closet, who said he - and all paranormals - were welcome in their home!

Back at the Clinic, the trio of paranormal 'fixers' Voigt employed were once again having problems with Stephanie, her powers simply being too great to succumb to drugs for very long. Reaching out with his powers, Mr. Hackbarth decided to end the threat she posed once and for all, though Mr. Charne had a better idea - to overwhelm her mind with his powers, and at least put her on 'hold' for a time.

The two used their powers at the same time, and as a result Mr. Hackbarth got the same psychic trauma that Stephanie did. Both were blasted into a coma almost instantly, and even Stephanie's sparkles quit going off around her body. This left Mr. Charne in something of a panic, as he hadn't meant to smash the mind of his coworker as well... though Ms. Speck, who he'd brainwashed earlier, told him everything would be fine.

David, meanwhile, got to know his six rescuers a bit, who explained how they'd saved him from those headhunters who'd been chasing him. They then offered him sanctuary in their home, the lair of the ESPeople, but David declined, feeling that he was needed elsewhere. He asked the sextet for aid in rescuing his friends, but they declined out of fear for their own, personal safety.

Understanding that, David went to leave, though he was given a gift of sorts before doing so. The leader of the ESPeople, Walt, installed a 'padlock' in David's mind, which would prevent others from learning of the ESPeople through his memories... though this also had the effect of making David forget them as soon as he left their spooky lair. Of course, this lock also gave him serious protection from mental powers!

Such as those that Ms. Speck was using to track him (a feat which brought David into the perception of the ESPeople in the first place). Of course, disoriented as he was while exiting their home, David was easy pickings for the headhunters who were still out looking for him. They gunned him down before he knew what hit him, and drug him back off to the Clinic once more...!

Issue 12:
Redemption

A short time after his capture at the hands of the Clinic's headhunters, David Landers found himself wheeled back into the facility he'd escaped so many months ago, unconscious and with an almost lethal amount of tranquilizers swimming in his system. The goons who finally caught him handed him off to the Clinic's staff, and then subsequently went to see the Clinic's head, Philip Nolan Voigt, for payment.

After getting the details of David's capture from them, Voigt did indeed give the men what they wanted, however much he detested dealing with the likes of such... inferior men. Voigt debated eliminating them on the spot, but wasn't sure if he would need the services of such... experienced individuals in the future. Therapy group c escaped his grasp for a while, after all - what if another band of paranormals fled his grasp?

Elsewhere in the Clinic, most of said therapy group were working with Dr. Semple, and talking about their experiences outside the Clinic since they 'left'. While most of their memories were basically intact, various details had been heavily edited out by Mr. Charne, particularly the bits where the Clinic had been hunting them... though a few echoes of this here and there remained in a couple of the paranormals.

Of course, Stephanie wasn't amongst them, her mind having been shattered by Mr. Charne. That fellow was in the process of exploring the damage he'd wrought alongside Ms. Speck, though as it turned out Stephanie wasn't quite so broken as they thought. Her self-image actively fought off the two paranormal interlopers as soon as it detected them in her mind, and seemingly blew itself up rather than let them affect her.

Mr. Voigt took that opportunity to enter Stephanie's room, and redirect his two remaining paranormal staff to start work on David immediately. Voigt wanted to know how the big man managed to elude his headhunters for so long, as he really didn't like an unresolved mystery on his hands. Having no luck with Stephanie, Mr. Charne and Ms. Speck went ahead and did so, not realizing the man was actually awake already.

Though he was planning violence against them, this turned out to be completely unnecessary. When the two Clinic paranormals tried to enter David's mind, they were immediately affected by the mental lock that Walt had installed in David's subconscious before his capture. Instantly knocked unconscious by this, the two were unable to stop David from standing up, and making ready to leave the Clinic with his friends again.

Starting with Randy. He was on a bed right next to David, and was unconscious as well, having strange dreams likely due to Mr. Charne's influence. David shook him until he finally woke up, at which point Randy realized he'd been immobile for too long, and his muscles had atrophied. Since he couldn't move under his own power, Randy had David carry him out of the hospital room, and towards the rest of their friends.

David tried to collect the others, but found that they were already too far gone; the Clinic's brainwashing had them not remotely wanting to leave. Refusing to fight his friends to take them with him, David then stomped out, insisting on seeing Stephanie. Dr. Semple led him and Randy to her, but as it turned out it wasn't Dr. Semple there at all, but instead it was Mr. Voigt himself!

When Voigt taunted him, David attacked the man, only to see the Clinic's head snap his wrist like nothing! He then showcased his own ability, by 'borrowing' Stephanie's healing power and repairing the man's arm in no time. Having 'outed' himself, Voigt expounded on his paranormal origins, and how he was a lowly psychology instructor who was struck by the White Event while he was mountain climbing last summer.

He went on to explain that, at that perfect moment, his mind was expanded geometrically. He knew everything, such as why the White Event occurred and what it meant for the world. This knowledge, including the true reason the White Event happened, quickly faded, but Voigt was left with new purpose - and new power! He quickly contacted an old colleague, Mr. Charne, who had also developed paranormal powers after the White Event.

With his aid, Voigt took over the Sawyer Sanitorium, and remade it as his Clinic for Paranormal Research. He went on to state his reasons for doing so, that he believed the paranormals were going to inherit the earth... as a sort of master race! Having heard enough of this, David attacked him again, this time joined by one of Randy's antibodies - a new one, since his last had died while he was comatose in the Clinic a bit back.

Voigt quickly copied Randy's power, and created his own, larger red antibody. This bigger energy creature tore up his normal-sized one, at which point Randy surprised Voigt - and himself - by producing five more! Between them and David's continued attack (after being flung away for a short time), the two managed to seemingly defeat Voigt, the man being vaporized after his red antibody swallowed him and was subsequently blown apart.

Which left David and Randy with one question: what next?

Issue 13:
New Management

Moments after they defeated Voigt, or so it appeared, Randy and David came to an immediate disagreement - this about Stephanie, of course. David wanted to take her out of the Clinic immediately, and Randy thought that in her current condition, she was right where she needed to be. After all, if Voigt was the 'bad apple' amongst the Clinic's staff, perhaps things could return to normal (for a given value of such) with his 'leaving'.

Just then, Dr. Semple arrived along with several security guards, which immediately set David off. She managed to calm him down once she sent the guards away (even if they were a sensible precaution, what with the racket he made), and Randy used his antibodies to show her just what had happened for real. This stunned Dr. Semple of course, who had no idea that Voigt was a paranormal - much less a major nutcase.

The two paranormals then hashed it out with her, since she seemed to be on the level above and beyond anyone else in the Clinic they'd encountered, and were left to her own devices as she informed the rest of the Clinic's management of Voigt's 'departure'. As she did so, Randy and David went to check in on the others, even as David vowed to kill whoever was responsible for Stephanie's current condition.

At just that moment, Mr. Charne and Ms. Speck awoke from the mental 'zap' they'd received upon trying to enter David's newly shielded mind, and as they tried to figure out what was going on, David came crashing into the room he left them in. Demanding answers, David got Mr. Charne to talk, and he revealed that Mr. Hackbarth was responsible for what happened to Stephanie... conveniently editing out his part of her situation.

David then stalked off, and found where Mr. Hackbarth was being kept. In a coma just like Stephanie still, Hackbarth was helpless before David, who subsequently tried to kill the man. He was stymied by Randy's antibodies however, who managed to hold the enraged man off just long enough for Randy to talk sense to the man. If he wanted vengeance after all, he'd already received it - Hackbarth was virtually brain-dead.

Elsewhere, the Clinic's management was called together by Dr. Semple, who detailed Voigt's departure from the Clinic (such as it was), though she left out a lot of the details. She then had them vote on who would head up the Clinic, and while Mr. Charne tried to influence others into making him the Clinic's new leader, he simply didn't act fast enough, and the Clinic's financier, Craig Lagraves, was elected in his stead.

As the others left, Charne fumed about this turn of events to Ms. Speck, claiming that he was going to 'fix' things in his favor one way or the other - though one of Randy's antibodies once again overheard him, as they were 'looking for trouble' while their creator cooled his heels in the Clinic for a bit. Just then, Randy himself was wheeled into the Clinic's gym by David, where he met the rest of his therapy group.

As David and Randy reunited with their fellows, they also met a few additions to the Clinic's patients: Bazooka and Scrap Iron. David showed off to the two strong-men for a bit, while Randy talked with the others about Stephanie's condition. He also asked if they knew about anything that had gone down there recently, but in their mind-wiped states, most of them were completely clueless about recent events.

Later that day, Dr. Semple walked in on Mr. Charne shortly after he had attacked Lagraves with his powers, rendering him comatose as he had Hackbarth and Stephanie before him. Not wishing to leave witnesses, Mr. Charne tried to turn the rest of the Clinic's staff against her by sowing lies that indicated that she was in fact responsible for his condition somehow! In a panic, Dr. Semple turned to the only people she could.

David and Randy.

After they debated what to do for a while, David took matters into his own hand, and tromped off towards where he assumed they'd be: the Clinic's video surveillance room. They indeed were there, but Charne was ready for David. Though his powers were completely ineffective against David, the man had backup in the form of a semi-auto handgun, which he mostly emptied out in David's chest!

David fell after this assault, but wasn't seriously injured just yet. No, Charne was going to finish him off with a bullet to the head, but Randy's antibodies came to the rescue. While firing at them, Charne managed to hit Ms. Speck in the neck, killing her almost instantly! Furious with this, David recovered in time to seize Charne bodily, but before he could kill the man himself, one of Randy's antibodies did!

Shortly after this, the Clinic's medics showed up to help David out... and to wheel the dead paranormals away. As Ms. Newhouse debated how she'd manage to avoid the Clinic being shut down after this incident, Randy was pondering the nature of his antibodies. What scared him the most was, if one of his antibodies killed someone, did that make him, too, a killer?

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