DP 7 Issue Guide #10

Issue 26:
Flesh

On August 4th, 1988, the CIA put its so-called Femme Force into action in the jungles of Brazil. They were air dropped a few hundred miles from the Amazon River, with a top secret mission to find a biological weapon that the Army had 'lost' in the area. The Femme Force in particular were chosen to do this because the CIA's regular operatives had mysteriously gone silent, and their handlers feared the worst.

The five paranormals employed by the CIA worked their way from their drop point into the tropical rain forest, noting over time that the overgrowth was becoming harder and harder to traverse. Furthermore, the trees and other plants seem to have been uprooted, as if something incredibly large had barged its way through the area. This culminated with an almost impassable wall of wrecked foliage before the group.

Jenny Swensen was the first to climb to the top of this heap of broken trees, and she discovered that it was the edge of a veritable canyon, carved through the rain forest. Broken trees lined this strange canyon on each side, indicating that something immense had to have passed through the area. But what? Sadly, the CIA made no mention of just what this biological weapon was, so the paranormal ladies were clueless.

In America, David Landers was being given a final check-up by Randy O'Brien, and it appeared the strongman had in fact fully healed from his attempt at suicide. While Randy offered to 'cover' for David for a few more days, the man decided to face the music once and for all, leaving when Sgt. Haldeman came looking for him. Alone once more, Randy then went to check on his other patient, Evan Huebner.

Back in Brazil, the Femme Force had decided to camp for the night. While the others went to sleep, Jennifer stayed up to keep watch - seemingly physically unable to sleep any longer. She daydreamed about the circumstances that led her to her current situation, wishing she hadn't ever put on that MAX suit, much less hadn't signed up with the CIA in it... or dived into the Pitt to save that family.

The one that had been dunked in Pitt-Juice alongside her.

Just then, Jennifer heard something rustling around in the woods. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but Stephanie Harrington had noted that there weren't any animals in the area - just a few insects. Strange for a tropical rain forest, it seemed that this sudden noise was even stranger. Investigating, Jennifer found some mysterious, pink and shiny material outside the camp... slowly surrounding it!

Freaking out at the strange, seeming wall of flesh closing in on them, Jennifer woke the others up in a panic. While the others tried to shake off their sleep-induced haze, the Famileech struck - its eerie tendrils of flesh oozing out of the trees and launching at them from all directions! The other four paranormal ladies then panicked as well, not sure what to do next...!

Back in America, Randy gave Evan a final check-up as well, though the kid had nowhere to go, really. Seeing how crestfallen he was upon learning that his Shadowman had died, Randy decided to help him out by giving Evan another antibody. Evan then gleefully reshaped it to match the recently passed Shadowman's appearance, climbed into him, and then flew off for parts unknown. Unfortunately for Randy, this did not go unnoticed.

Major Zentner saw the whole thing...

Down in Brazil, the Femme Force was inundated with a flowing, unstoppable mass of skin and flesh. FLESH. While Stephanie tried to hop away from the Famileech's grasping pseudopods, Lenore Fenzl used her vampiric light upon it, and Jennifer began to beat on it. Merriam Sorensen tried to absorb as much of its moisture as possible, while Charlotte Beck made herself frictionless, to avoid its touch.

The latter three were quickly subsumed into the mass of the Famileech, leaving Stephanie and Lenore to fend for themselves. Stephanie fought the Famileech back with burning branches, and later a blazing tree, while Lenore continued to drain its energies with her power. This worked until a wayward pseudopod tripped Lenore however, and with her on the ground the Famileech pounced, oozing right over her.

Before Stephanie could react, the Famileech made off with Lenore, leaving little trace of her passing - save for her mask and clothes. Fearful of following Lenore's fate, Stephanie leapt up into an intact tree, hoping to stay out of the Famileech's reach... and barely managed to do so. There she stayed, fearing for her life, until the crack of Dawn. That was when she was spotted by Jennifer and Charlotte.

The two had managed to avoid being touched by the monster thanks to their paranormal gifts. Searching the area, they eventually found Merriam as well, who had been deposited in a husk of dead Famileech tissue. This incredibly dry mass was what held Merriam at bay, apparently dead tissue that was cast off as Merriam lethally drained it. That just left Lenore... who had vanished without a trace!

The ladies looked for three hours, at which point they had to leave for their extraction helicopter, but couldn't find Lenore at all. Thus, despite the fact that they didn't want to, the ladies then went back home... hoping that Lenore had survived her encounter with the formless, fleshy monstrosity somehow...!

Issue 27:
The Ditch

After the Army became aware of the return of Randy's antibodies, they quickly put him to work in their Special Powers training at Fort Benning. Sergeant Haldeman was putting Randy through his paces in the course, trying to train the man to effectively fly while 'wearing' one of his antibodies. Randy, on the other hand, quickly found that the more he focused on flying, the worse he was; the antibody seemed better doing the flying itself.

David, on the other hand, was rotting away in the brig at Fort Benning, awaiting his court martial. He was there with two other paranormals deemed unfit for service: Hamilton Hart, Bliss, and Darrell Schissel, Dirt Bag. Not that they would be there long; instead of holding them indefinitely, the Army decided to dispose of David and his new 'friends' by sending them off on a trumped-up suicide mission into the Pitt.

In Langley, Stephanie was throwing a tantrum at her CIA handlers, still quite upset about the apparent demise of Lenore. She and Jennifer were both hot about the incident, but their bosses were having none of that. Dismissing them after Stephanie broke an expensive desk, the overseers of the CIA paranormal program lamented the passing of Emmett Proudhawk, and wondered how they'd continue to maintain paranormal discipline.

Later, at Fort Benning, Randy learned that David was being shipped off to the Pitt again, once the antibody that was hanging with him finally got back to Randy about that. Wishing to at least see his friend off, Randy suited up in an antibody and flew off after his helicopter - thinking that he could possibly get back before anyone noticed his absence. Little did he know that he wouldn't be coming back...

That night, at Langley, Stephanie returned home only to find that her dirt bag husband and her kids were gone. Chuck had even left her a taunting note after the fact, which totally set her off. Her power flaring up, Stephanie began to vent her rage, rampaging through the CIA provided pre-fab house and utterly destroying it in the process. Even with the house tore down, she continued to trash what was left!

At the Pitt, David and his misfit 'friends' were dropped off by helicopter, deposited in the so-called Ditch, an area that lay between the Pitt's edge and the massive volcano rising up at its center. Bliss quickly decided to stop and levitate, not caring about the future or any mission (real or otherwise) the Army had planned for him. That left David with Dirt Bag... who quickly ditched him as well.

Back at Langley, Stephanie's bedlam had been noticed by the area's security force, who tried unsuccessfully to get her to stop rampaging. When this failed, they called Jennifer in to control Stephanie, but she wasn't having any of that - and a brawl quickly ensued. This continued until Jennifer feigned defeat (though she didn't have to try too hard), finally snapping Stephanie out of her mindless rage.

As Randy arrived at the Pitt, he sent his antibodies out to find David, who was already being stalked by Dirt Bag... who intended to kill him for his rations. Dirt Bag had already killed Bliss for his food, and thought David would be a pushover as well. Dirt Bag was wrong, and when David began to fight back against his earth control powers, Dirt Bag actually managed to kill himself with his own ability. Whoops.

During his search for David however, Randy was caught up in a geyser of Pitt-Juice, and paralyzed. Furthermore, any antibodies he made would suffer the same fate once they touched him. This prompted Randy to attempt to summon more antibodies than he ever had before, an effort possibly aided by the mutagenic Pitt-Juice geyser that had struck him (he's never made so many before, or after, since).

As David was located by one of the antibodies, Randy was being menaced by a lava stream that had leaked out near the geyser which downed him. Having no other way to save himself, Randy produced a veritable wall of antibodies to block the lava - though it only bought him a few seconds. And, of course, caused him no end of guilt due to him watching all of his creations die horribly before his very eyes.

Moments before he, too, was consumed, Randy was rescued by David, who carted him off. Randy was concerned the strange paralysis which affected his antibodies would hit David as well... but this didn't happen. Luckily. With Randy in tow, David leapt away from the active volcanic area in the Ditch and made his way towards the Pitt's edge... to climb the two of them out of the Pitt once and for all...!

Issue 28:
The Candidate

In mid-September, Stephanie finally managed to track her husband, Chuck, down to a seedy hotel in North Carolina. Busting down the door, she found her three children unattended, her husband having fled through the bathroom window. Making sure her kids were all right, Stephanie then left her brood with Charlotte and Merriam, and ran off after the clown - her powers actually allowing her to catch up with his speeding car!

Leaping on top of the speeding, stolen vehicle, Stephanie tried to get her husband to stop, but he only sped up, swerving in an attempt to dislodge her from the government car. Realizing that Chuck was willing to kill them both rather than stop, Stephanie then tore the car open and pulled Chuck out before the car careened off the road. She saved the suicidal dirt bag, though he hit his head on a nearby rock in the process.

Elsewhere, David finally completed his ascent out of the Pitt, having taken several days to finish the climb with him carrying the paralyzed Randy all the while. Collapsing at the lip of the immense crater, the two debated their imminent future. David figured the Army was done with him, likely not going to bother looking for him (since it did seem like a suicide mission), and Randy would likely be considered M.I.A.

Since, you know, he could easily 'disguise' himself as just an antibody. Of course, Randy was getting the sinking feeling that he was stuck within that antibody from now on - after having seen the effects of Pitt-Juice on the Robinson family. As he sulked about his sudden, obvious paranormality, Randy passed out from exhaustion, and David did as well soon after, what with even his immense strength having been tested to the maximum.

Down in a South Carolina hospital, several hours later, Stephanie had finished doing what she could for her errant husband. She had healed all of his various injuries to the best of her ability, but now the hospital had to take over to give him various treatments. Which was okay with her; she had had just about enough of Chuck and his chicanery. Collecting her children, Stephanie stepped out of the hospital.

As she and the others loaded the kids into her car, Stephanie was greeted by Jennifer, who had just tracked the trio of paranormals down. It seemed that the CIA had a new assignment for its Femme Force, namely observation of up and coming Democratic Presidential candidate Philip Nolan Voigt - who Stephanie and the others from the Clinic had quite a bit of experience with...!

That next morning, David and Randy were making their way away from the Pitt at long last, the latter having finally recovered enough mobility to walk on his own. It was slow going at first, since the duo couldn't get a ride to save their lives. Ultimately, David had to trick a truck into slowing down enough that he and Randy could hop into the back while it dodged some debris in the road, and they took that ride until it stopped.

Planning to beg or work for food at the truck stop they'd landed at, David was instead shocked when, upon seeing a newspaper vendor, he saw the face of Philip Nolan Voigt on it! Ever cynical, David figured that it was 'too easy' for Voigt to have died during their battle at the Clinic, and thus wasn't surprised to see him alive and well again. Though aimless before, David decided he now had a Mission in life...!

Later, outside Voigt's New York City campaign office, the CIA's Femme Force is setting up a surveillance operation across the street, when Voigt himself teleports from said office into their room. Surprising them, Voigt downs them with his mental powers, and immediately rewires their heads. Though they were all still 'themselves', the four paranormal ladies were now subject to Voigt's will, and they couldn't do anything about it!

Arriving in the city and looking for a fight, David and Randy make a bee-line for Voigt's office. Voigt greeted them upon their arrival, and talked about what he'd been up to since his untimely 'demise'. After realizing he couldn't perform the same mind control trick on them as he had on the ladies, Voigt simply summoned said ladies to beat David and Randy senseless... which they did in very short order.

Voigt had the ladies stop short of killing the two paranormal men however, who were unwilling to defend themselves with lethal force against their friends, to tell them the Score. This whole exercise was to show them they were a non-threat to him, and that if they told anyone about him or his history, he'd simply have the ladies kill themselves instead. Not wanting this, the two reconciled their utter defeat...!

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