The Void Scholar still doesn't seem to know Liu Xi very well. Kissing for her doesn't mean as much as he thinks it does - so there's a strong possibility she kissed Danny purposely as a distraction. Or it could have been a bribe to get the truth out of Danny. Either way, the Void Scholar may be overestimating it.

An amusing aside, not sure if you want to use it or if you'd rather I tie it in: If the Psychic Samurai has been replaced by a Space Fandom, that would be really amusing because she's highly self-aware with her extended abilities. If the Space Fandom copied her accurately enough, it too would be self-aware. It would know it's a Space Fandom, and annoyingly cooperate with the heroes.

I guess Shen Rae will get to talk to Mumph now. The question, if I tie that in, is how aware she needs to be of the changes that have happened to Earth. Or if the Psychic Samurai should be involved. As an aside to that, Shen Rae does have a secret she hasn't even told Lara or even most of her own people. It has to do with her family line.

The Carnifex sure is useless at this time. Only time will tell if that's because he believes everything is working as it should.

btw, I have a feeling that Danny threatened Vinnie ever so subtly. And I like the penguins.

And I knew the Hooded Hood was back. What might be interesting is whether he's using the aid of another highly illusive being who's been absent all this time, Faite.

There's every possibility that he could be being played.


I'm guessing that since Chiaki was in the Arctic battle zone at the time of the big transfer she'd be left behind as one of the genuine humans. And since most of the Space Fandoms don't know they're Space Fandoms until the thing they're programmed to do comes round then that might give her some very confusing psychic inputs.

But if you have a good story to tell with it the other way round, with Chiaki being substituted, then go for that one instead.


It really depends when the meeting is. If she's talking to Mumph in the first few hours after his return then nobody much will be aware of the substitution. If it's later than that but within 24 hours then she'll cut into the crisis and action of the LL's realisation. If it's more than 24 hours then the Earth will be completely empty except for our heroes.


Since the Carnifex sicced the Void Scholar and the Moderator onto the LL to test them he's not about to interfere now to save the Juniors.


Danny may well have intimidated Vinnie. Penguins are good but needed replacing in this instance.


The Hood wasn't due to return yet for a while, but he's a useful character to use when you want to cut to the chase so he pops up here to help me bring a speedier resolution to this storyline.

As I've said before, Liu Xi is stronger than the Void Scholar estimates. Culturally, I suppose he guesses that Liu Xi will just accept her place after a time, but she's a lot more stubborn that he thinks she is.

And also persuasive. She also would believe that she can easily convince Danny and anyone else she meets to help her.



Oh, I missed that part. I thought it was anyone on Earth who wasn't stuck in the Land that Time Forgot.



I thought it was amusing right up until the part where it becomes story destroying. If Chiaki has been substituted, the substitute would probably know about all the replacements and screw things up.

The alternative would have been her replacement being discovered early, or killed early, because it lacks the perceptiveness that keeps the real Chiaki a couple steps ahead of everyone.



I'm posting it tonight or tomorrow. Mumph is intercepted at the Safe, right after he drops off his prisoners (the last moment he's seen in your story). He'll be returned shortly after to the Lair Mansion. It's a short and interesting meeting.

I have an "empty earth" story in reserve if I need it. Right now it's in the "hold" pile.



It might be more interesting that way.

That reminds me though. I have to send you an email about something relating to that.



I guess either there will be a pissing contest to show whether Danny or Vinnie is more scary, or someone will yell at the two of them for creating one.

I still say penguins are better.



One time I had the Hooded Hood and Faite work together briefly. They're perfect complements of each other - they can't destroy each other, and therefore aren't at all afraid of each other. It also, of course, means they bicker constantly about everything, and annoy each other.

Their abilities also complement each other - the Hooded Hood re-writes the past, and Faite re-writes the present. If they stop bickering and work together, they can make permanent changes that leave no sign anything has been changed (of course I bet the office-holders and the Carnifex both want to prevent just that).

But getting them to cooperate, that's another matter.

I like the nesting descriptions of the placements of the Void, the Parodyverse and the Void Scholar's home.

I'm also a bit confused on Danny's timeline, since things seem to be happening to him simultaneously in the "past" and the "present," with the Void Scholar acting as though Danny's "past" is still running concurrent to the Void Scholar's "present." I'm willing to gloss over that because Time Moves Strangely in the Void Scholar's home, and also because one of the Dannys might not be Danny.

So, we got the explanation for the lighthouse's origins, and I can accept linking its past and present "selves" to bring the Comic Book Limbo inhabitants into our world, but did we figure out how the stitched-together lands of the Land that Common Sense Forgot got stitched together, or what the origins of the stitch-gates (or the craters) actually were (beyond just being impossibly old)? This is becoming a bit like Battlestar Galactica, in that there have been so many extended mysteries that I'm starting to lose track of which ones have been solved and which ones haven't yet.

Good to see some of the extended non-Legion, non-core-Juniors cast making an appearance again. The Ausgardian gun was an unexpected Chekhov's gun, and Denial's bluff toward his friends would leave Dream torn, because while it was cold as hell of him to leave Kerry twisting emotionally like that, it was also an excellent lie, and we know how Dream feels about lying.

Good to see the FMRC went out like heroes, and good for Garrick for actually being a human being and wanting them to be recognized. That's twice in a row, counting his shooting of Cromlyn, that I've approved of his actions.

Ha ha, Beth is a dumbass. Spaced Fandom or not, I can't imagine trusting anyone named "the Minion," because in genre fiction, that's like naming yourself "Obsequious Toady Who Will Stab You in the Back."

Who knew Onslaughter could actually simplify a fight, by reducing the number of active combatants left for the Legion and Juniors to take care of?

The "Vworp" sound effect is probably one that not even a lot of American Whovians are going to get.

So, it really is us against the whole world, then? Heh.

And have the Hood and Dream met since Dream's marriage? Because I don't think they have, and much later on, it would be awesome for them to have a catch-up scene. Dream is a very different guy from who he was when the Hood first met him, and the loves of Dream's life might not get his lingering fondness for the Hood. April, in particular, has never had an affectionate "best friend enemy" relationship with any of her foes, so I'd imagine it might mystify her, whereas Bettie would recognize that sort of relationship too well, and see a certain pirate captain in the Hood, and I suspect the Hood might be drawn to her in turn ...

Danny is tricky.

> > > An amusing aside, not sure if you want to use it or if you'd rather I tie it in: If the Psychic Samurai has been replaced by a Space Fandom, that would be really amusing because she's highly self-aware with her extended abilities. If the Space Fandom copied her accurately enough, it too would be self-aware. It would know it's a Space Fandom, and annoyingly cooperate with the heroes. > > I'm guessing that since Chiaki was in the Arctic battle zone at the time of the big transfer she'd be left behind as one of the genuine humans. And since most of the Space Fandoms don't know they're Space Fandoms until the thing they're programmed to do comes round then that might give her some very confusing psychic inputs. > Oh, I missed that part. I thought it was anyone on Earth who wasn't stuck in the Land that Time Forgot.

I'd considered doing it that way but decided it missed too many characters out on all the fun.

> > But if you have a good story to tell with it the other way round, with Chiaki being substituted, then go for that one instead. > I thought it was amusing right up until the part where it becomes story destroying. If Chiaki has been substituted, the substitute would probably know about all the replacements and screw things up. > The alternative would have been her replacement being discovered early, or killed early, because it lacks the perceptiveness that keeps the real Chiaki a couple steps ahead of everyone.

I guess Chiaki would sense a general wrongness with the planet but could only pinpoint the problem when a Fandom remembered the truth and came to kill her.

> I have an "empty earth" story in reserve if I need it. Right now it's in the "hold" pile.

I think we should be ready for that in a week or so's time. I might get delayed by a planned trip to London for the episode after that.

> > Danny may well have intimidated Vinnie. Penguins are good but needed replacing in this instance. > I guess either there will be a pissing contest to show whether Danny or Vinnie is more scary, or someone will yell at the two of them for creating one.

Vinnie's not really into that, and he's not really into scary (although he would be scary of he allowed himself to be). Now Danny and Tom Black, that would be a pissing contest.

> I still say penguins are better.

In the end the part went to the puffins.

> One time I had the Hooded Hood and Faite work together briefly. They're perfect complements of each other - they can't destroy each other, and therefore aren't at all afraid of each other. It also, of course, means they bicker constantly about everything, and annoy each other. > Their abilities also complement each other - the Hooded Hood re-writes the past, and Faite re-writes the present. If they stop bickering and work together, they can make permanent changes that leave no sign anything has been changed (of course I bet the office-holders and the Carnifex both want to prevent just that). > But getting them to cooperate, that's another matter.

The Hood is moving very circumspectly, both because the Carnifex's gambit right now is to lure out, map, then neutralise each guardian of the Parodyverse as they get involved, and for another reason yet to be revealed.

It's also true to say that only Flapjack - and through him the Hood - is aware of the Carnifex's involvement with the Moderator, the first hint that anyone might have that he's not what he seems.

Sometimes I like to zoom in from a distance. I'm also a bit confused on Danny's timeline, since things seem to be happening to him simultaneously in the "past" and the "present," with the Void Scholar acting as though Danny's "past" is still running concurrent to the Void Scholar's "present." I'm willing to gloss over that because Time Moves Strangely in the Void Scholar's home, and also because one of the Dannys might not be Danny.

The Danny with Liu Xi comes from a later timeline than the Danny with the Juniors.

> So, we got the explanation for the lighthouse's origins, and I can accept linking its past and present "selves" to bring the Comic Book Limbo inhabitants into our world, but did we figure out how the stitched-together lands of the Land that Common Sense Forgot got stitched together, or what the origins of the stitch-gates (or the craters) actually were (beyond just being impossibly old)? This is becoming a bit like Battlestar Galactica, in that there have been so many extended mysteries that I'm starting to lose track of which ones have been solved and which ones haven't yet.

We haven't established who that created the lighthouse, but we have mentioned that "the Architect" restored and reused the lighthouse to gather and stitch the stitchlands for some purpose.

> Good to see some of the extended non-Legion, non-core-Juniors cast making an appearance again. The Ausgardian gun was an unexpected Chekhov's gun, and Denial's bluff toward his friends would leave Dream torn, because while it was cold as hell of him to leave Kerry twisting emotionally like that, it was also an excellent lie, and we know how Dream feels about lying.

Danny's getting pushed harder and harder in these plotlines. That's part of the point. And then he pushes back.

> Good to see the FMRC went out like heroes, and good for Garrick for actually being a human being and wanting them to be recognized. That's twice in a row, counting his shooting of Cromlyn, that I've approved of his actions.

I prefer my pain-in-the-ass adversaries to have their positive points occasionally too. I enjoyed Frank Miller's DD take on J. Jonah Jameson because as well as all his bluster and prejudice he showed him as a crusading publisher with some guts.

> Ha ha, Beth is a dumbass. Spaced Fandom or not, I can't imagine trusting anyone named "the Minion," because in genre fiction, that's like naming yourself "Obsequious Toady Who Will Stab You in the Back."

To be fair, the Minion had been replaced with a Space Fandom.

> Who knew Onslaughter could actually simplify a fight, by reducing the number of active combatants left for the Legion and Juniors to take care of?

It was neccessary, or we'd still have another eleven chapters of battle to go through.

> The "Vworp" sound effect is probably one that not even a lot of American Whovians are going to get.

Too bad.

> So, it really is us against the whole world, then? Heh.

It really is. Proceed.

For example, Betty is presumably replaced; and meanwhile Oliver is imprinting in his Herringcarp Asylum Daycare Sanctuary.

> And have the Hood and Dream met since Dream's marriage? Because I don't think they have, and much later on, it would be awesome for them to have a catch-up scene. Dream is a very different guy from who he was when the Hood first met him, and the loves of Dream's life might not get his lingering fondness for the Hood. April, in particular, has never had an affectionate "best friend enemy" relationship with any of her foes, so I'd imagine it might mystify her, whereas Bettie would recognize that sort of relationship too well, and see a certain pirate captain in the Hood, and I suspect the Hood might be drawn to her in turn ...

That would be an interesting encounter or two.

Possibly, but Liu Xi has two things that will give her an edge: She believes he's a friend, and she's also female, so she already has his attention. Even more so if he likes Asians.

That, and she can do the equivelent with Danny of pointing Donar in a direction and saying "the bad guy is over there".



Noted.



On a micro level, Chiaki would know something is wrong with one particular person when his or her behavior suddenly is way outside of what she expects. That's the same way she could tell the difference between the real and fake Hatman. While most people would ignore the side comments Doorman makes, Chiaki would fixate on them. She might not react right away, but she'll be making plans, and she'll be on alert.

A side possibility, by the way, might be that Chiaki's secretive nature might work against her. That whoever replaced all of Earth's people with Fandoms thought Chiaki was still in Paradopolis, so now the real one is in Antartica and her doppleganger is also in Paradopolis, becoming self-aware and screwing things up for its master. That might be one of the catalysts for what happens in 24 hours - because if the ruse is up, there's no purpose for the charade anymore.



Noted.



True, but they aren't both involved with Kerry. Yet.



Too bad.



Good thing Lara Night is off-planet then. She may not be a guardian of the Parodyverse, but she's known as one at home. If her timing is right, she might be at home returning Sharon when the Carnifex looks for her, so he ends up missing her entirely.

This is probably why Faite has an annoying habit of vanishing entirely whenever these things happen, and also why she never fights with anyone directly unless the situation is a choice between that or losing everything. She knows that staying off-radar is key to being the thorn in any super-villain's side. Ironically, she respects the Hooded Hood, so she doesn't hide from him - she knows that as evil as he can be, he respects the balance of the universe.



Does that mean Flapjack will be tortured again? He hopes so.

Danny's fairly experienced with girls and he's shrugged off the wiles of VelcroVixen (at least since he's been with Kerry). But he's sometimes a decent kid in spite of himself and might respond to genuine and honest friendship.

> That, and she can do the equivelent with Danny of pointing Donar in a direction and saying "the bad guy is over there".

I'm fairly sure Danny's worked out where the bad guy is. He might not be as clear as to which side Liu Xi is on.

> On a micro level, Chiaki would know something is wrong with one particular person when his or her behavior suddenly is way outside of what she expects. That's the same way she could tell the difference between the real and fake Hatman. While most people would ignore the side comments Doorman makes, Chiaki would fixate on them. She might not react right away, but she'll be making plans, and she'll be on alert.

I could forsee an excellent and dramatic free-for-all with Chiaki fighting her way out of police HQ while fake-Graham and every cop in the city tries to frag her.

> A side possibility, by the way, might be that Chiaki's secretive nature might work against her. That whoever replaced all of Earth's people with Fandoms thought Chiaki was still in Paradopolis, so now the real one is in Antartica and her doppleganger is also in Paradopolis, becoming self-aware and screwing things up for its master. That might be one of the catalysts for what happens in 24 hours - because if the ruse is up, there's no purpose for the charade anymore.

Previously the Space Fandoms have worked like Marvel's Space Phantom; they shift their victim to another dimension and use their genetic template to substitute for them. When the Fandom dies their victim usually returns (but not in the current situation). Usually Fandom and victim never coexist in the same reality.

Of course, that's not to say that couldn't be overcome for the sake of a good story.

> > The Hood is moving very circumspectly, both because the Carnifex's gambit right now is to lure out, map, then neutralise each guardian of the Parodyverse as they get involved, and for another reason yet to be revealed. > Good thing Lara Night is off-planet then. She may not be a guardian of the Parodyverse, but she's known as one at home. If her timing is right, she might be at home returning Sharon when the Carnifex looks for her, so he ends up missing her entirely.

The Carnifex is already aware of Lara and her capacities from the Moderator Saga.

> This is probably why Faite has an annoying habit of vanishing entirely whenever these things happen, and also why she never fights with anyone directly unless the situation is a choice between that or losing everything. She knows that staying off-radar is key to being the thorn in any super-villain's side. Ironically, she respects the Hooded Hood, so she doesn't hide from him - she knows that as evil as he can be, he respects the balance of the universe.

The Hood's a good ally to have - 90% of the time. It's the 10% that's the killer.

Fortunately wiles isn't really Liu Xi's thing (she doesn't try, because she believes others are so much better at it). Her way *is* to try to be friendly and honest.



That might work out well. Liu Xi is only unsure if Danny has the motivation to help her, or if he doesn't care. I guess he might be sympathetic after Liu Xi hints that she wants to go home.



As dramatic as that is, Chiaki might consider such a fight unnecessary. She would most likely notice something subtly wrong with the way Graham is behaving, and find some excuse to leave the room, perhaps for some water or coffee, without giving a hint that she's suspicious. Then she would slip away, like she did in the Safe.



That depends just how she ended up in Antartica. If she was brought there suddenly, the space fandom who is replacing her in Paradopolis may have thought she was switched but she wasn't. It's like intercepting a transport.



So the trick then for Lara is to stay out of his reach.



Faite isn't someone you want to make angry either. Fortunately she's difficult to anger.

After meeting him once, Lara has a good description for him: Someone to listen to, but never to trust.

Noted.

> > > That, and she can do the equivelent with Danny of pointing Donar in a direction and saying "the bad guy is over there". > > I'm fairly sure Danny's worked out where the bad guy is. He might not be as clear as to which side Liu Xi is on. > That might work out well. Liu Xi is only unsure if Danny has the motivation to help her, or if he doesn't care. I guess he might be sympathetic after Liu Xi hints that she wants to go home.

Possibly.

> > I could forsee an excellent and dramatic free-for-all with Chiaki fighting her way out of police HQ while fake-Graham and every cop in the city tries to frag her. > As dramatic as that is, Chiaki might consider such a fight unnecessary. She would most likely notice something subtly wrong with the way Graham is behaving, and find some excuse to leave the room, perhaps for some water or coffee, without giving a hint that she's suspicious. Then she would slip away, like she did in the Safe.

Where's the drama in that?

> > Previously the Space Fandoms have worked like Marvel's Space Phantom; they shift their victim to another dimension and use their genetic template to substitute for them. When the Fandom dies their victim usually returns (but not in the current situation). Usually Fandom and victim never coexist in the same reality. > > Of course, that's not to say that couldn't be overcome for the sake of a good story. > That depends just how she ended up in Antartica. If she was brought there suddenly, the space fandom who is replacing her in Paradopolis may have thought she was switched but she wasn't. It's like intercepting a transport.

Indeed. As a default, however, I'd guess that Danny did the honours with the Portal of Pretentiousness.

> > The Carnifex is already aware of Lara and her capacities from the Moderator Saga. > So the trick then for Lara is to stay out of his reach.

Well, the Carnifex is aware of lots of powerful entities. The trick is not to appear to threaten his plans.

> > The Hood's a good ally to have - 90% of the time. It's the 10% that's the killer. > Faite isn't someone you want to make angry either. Fortunately she's difficult to anger. > After meeting him once, Lara has a good description for him: Someone to listen to, but never to trust.

Very apt.

She can also be confrontational but only when she feels insulted or threatened.



Depends on how it's written. So far Chiaki holds the record for the shortest yet most dramatic fight in recent memory.



If he did intercept that transport, that means there are two Chiaki's right now. Unless that causes the transfer of the Fandom to fail.



Lara never really appears threatening - she often greets potential enemies with a smile and tries to talk with them - but she also doesn't want to be wiped out as a precaution either.



She has a talent for good assessments of people. Too bad it doesn't help her all that much except philosophically.