Prelude. As part of my job, I'm expected to not take some well-deserved downtime after my last mission. Instead, I'm supposed to volunteer to help look for the superhuman former professional wrestler Crusher Joe Corrigan.
- Instead I find a hulking fugitive I've met before (during that Second Pequot War business in Connecticut), with an atrocious paste-on Fu Manchu mustache. With the mustache, he could almost be a body double for Crusher Joe. Could be he's here to draw attention. (22 Jun)
- I'm not fooled. But I'm also a friend of this guy, and I'm not going to rat him out. But I'm obsessive-compulsive and will not pretend to do my job either. I will instead take this job and shove it... with results seen elsewhere.
Return to Crusher Island. The hulking pro wrestler Crusher Joe Corrigan is at a clerk desk, reviewing immigrants. He's gotten so many superhuman applicants, he's kind of impressed when a baseline human shows up. But it's just for a news interview. (16 Jul)
- Crusher Joe is a superhuman. He's had an up-and-down life. When I met him in 2000, he'd been through a hellish war of superhumans, and retreated to a small island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca of the State of Washington, USA. He was in such a bad mental state, he'd become a public menace and I had to cure him with Jehovahpower.
- After that, Crusher Joe was the governor of California. During that extradimensional invasion that I helped repel in 2003, Governor Crusher led the worldwide response.
- Then came the reality shifts which brought us superhumans to a new Earth. Here, this California seems to already have its own outlandish governor, so Crusher Joe was redundant. This point was driven home when his girlfriend didn't recognize him.
- So, by the time yet another extradimensional invasion had come along to specifically target the world's superhumans, Crusher Joe had retired to the same old island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. He actually owns the island, and keeps a goat ranch there. And he publicly refused to respond to the call to action.
- His attitude is catching. There are superhumans who are tired of it all and want to retire to an island somewhere. Crusher Joe's declared them all welcome on his island.
- The Patriotic Homeland Corps is getting ready to raid the island, though, with a team equipped like Hulkbusters. It seems they're not eager to allow superhumans to congregate together without sanction, especially on an island that small boats can sail to from Canada. Oh, joy, the next front in the Villain War is about to flame on. (17 Jul)
The Adventures of Cap'n Bill. There's been a mutiny on board a freighter filled with beer. Its captain Bill put it down, by unleashing the beer crates at the right time. (23 Jul)
- The Patriotic Homeland Corps is blockading Crusher Island! But ship's captain William Erhart is in charge of getting the kegs of Guinness through, and he won't be stopped.
- On his latest run, he got boarded by Patriotic Homeland "Hulkbuster" agents. The ship was heaving due to weather, so Cap'n Bill just loosened a strap while the agents were inspecting.
- The agents weren't crushed, because they were equipped to survive an attack by Crusher Joe Corrigan. But they weren't able to move the kegs, because they hadn't planned on matching strength for strength with him. So they were trapped until the ship arrived on Crusher Island.
- Legally, Cap'n Bill was in the right. The Corps is sanctioned for homeland security only on Lakes St. Clair, Huron and Superior in Michigan state and Ontario province. They're just overenthusiastic on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington state near Crusher Joe's private island.
Polls say, if Cap'n Bill were to run for U.S. President, he could get the Republican nomination. (24 Jul)
- The popular backlash against the Patriotic Homeland Corps is underway! Wow, even master villains (such as the one who runs the Corps) have to worry about public reaction.
Encouraged, Crusher Joe and his friend Leo go to a museum together for publicity, with a trampoline so as to equalize Leo's leaping ability with Crusher's. (25 Jul)
- Hooray, the heroes of our New Superhuman World are coming back from vacation! I don't always get along with all the heroes, but Leo and Crusher are cool. And anything beats the Patriotic Homeland Corps.
Mothers for Crusher Joe. Stonewater, superheroine-leader of Total Conversion, has been offered a contract to invade Crusher Island. But she's decided against it, because Crusher Joe's gotten some mothers to march in a parade. (7 Aug)
- Mothers for Crusher Joe!? It's really more of a Mothers for Peace March. Crusher Island is just a convenient venue, now that the famous Cap'n Bill offers passenger boat service there. And Crusher Joe is perfectly happy to have some human shields in residence.
- The mothers are backed by Zenobia! Yes, the Queen Zenobia from ancient Roman Syria, but kidnapped by aliens and brought to 1988. She's built up her power base since then and had a daughter, because that's what queens do. Zenobia's daughter Hipolyta is 16 years old now, and on Crusher Island for the march.
- By our old world's standards, Zenobia was a superhuman. But she didn't get to our new world the same way most of the superhumans did. Instead of evacuating the world before reality shift, she stayed behind. She no longer has Warrior Princess combat powers... but she's still a power, like unto Oprah Winfrey. And she's backing Crusher Joe.
For the moment, it looks like the superhumans are helping build a new world, but in a peaceful way for once. And the normal population's supporting it. This could be interesting.
