Dinosaur Island

Uh oh.

Does this situation seem tense?

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Fanfic saves the day.

Maybe.

Great, now I need the AEGIS Ops team-up of Charade, Hot Mess, and Agent 1337. Bill, why you got to do this to me?

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Any love for SNOWMAN on that team?

Agent Parker …

… is unsure about that. Which probably means it’s all a good idea.

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I think “I’m sorry I lied to you about the volcano” is one of my favorite lines. Only in Masks.

The first panel comes from Mess Effect, the last text cutscene for Hot Mess. I like callbacks like this.

The guy in the second panel is Mr. Big, Emma’s villain mentor and (I HOPE) all around likable dude.

Meanwhile, big brother’s gonna big brother.

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A New Hope.

What’s the idea?

Don’t worry, we left her in the car with the window rolled down.

Look out, Jordan!

Surprise!

Dinosaur Island As Metaphor.

Oh shit character development?

So that’s the end of “Dinosaur Island”. Chases, ruins, emotional confrontations, even a volcano! But of course I subvert all that stuff.

Open-ended stuff:

  • What did Nono read in Leo’s journal? Just him writing, basically, a story - but it reminded her of what she does.
  • Will Alycia train Hot Mess, turning her into “Agent Em”? Only Dave knows.
  • Will Jason and the Quill Foundation agree to fund Dinosaur Island Adventure? Only Dave knows that too. :slight_smile:
  • What do the Amaris make of their daughter being missing for hours or days? I suspect they were out of town or on a long trip - or Adam will take the hit and say that Nono called him for permission and he gave it.
  • Did Adam go to the island because he was worried, or because Jason and Alycia phoned him about Jordan? Only Mike knows.

What did we all think? Not only of the adventure, but what it means for these three girls?

“Hot Mess asked me to train her to be a super-spy.”

“That’s interest – wait, isn’t she, like, that crazy pyrokinetic that --”

“Yes.”

“So …”

“Yes?”

“I was about to say that sounds like a horrible idea, or laugh it off as a horrible idea, but you are neither laughing nor glowering, which tells me you are thinking of it as a possibly good idea.”

“Yes.”

“Would it help if I said it sounds like a horrible idea.”

“Probably not.”

“Okay, Um … can you tell me why you are considering it?”

“Emma – that’s her given name – is an interesting individual. Very passionate. Very driven. Totally undisciplined, but with two potentially useful traits. Three, in fact: remarkable willpower, a weakness for being influenced, and she is in love with (and evidently loved in return) by a good person.”

“Huh.”

“…”

“By your pause, this is where I’m supposed to say something.”

“If you don’t see it, I’m not going to be the one to point it out.”

“Oh, I’m not that dim. But I’m too humble to call myself a good person. And I don’t think you have a weakness for being influenced.”

Fèihuà! I am quite aware that I gravitate toward people to give me direction, even while I resist it outwardly. Father. Parker. You.”

“Since when have I ever been able to give you directions?”

“Direction. Guidance. Routing of my impulses. Giving me permission to be a better person. You serve as a check on the demons of my lower nature.”

“That’s … kind of poetical. And creepy. So … you see yourself in Emma.”

“In certain ways. And if I can take the opportunity to teach her discipline, following instruction, sticking to practices that are unpleasant or boring or even painful – which the sort of training she’s looking for absolutely requires – then I may be able to influence the direction toward which she is headed, away from self-indulgent destructiveness to something more … useful. To society, to Nono, to herself.”

“That sounds kind of manipulative.”

"That’s why I’m telling you. As a sanity check.

“‘Direction’?”

“Perhaps. But if I didn’t think Emma wants this, that it isn’t part of why she’s asking, I wouldn’t do it. I’m not – not proposing to act as military school for her.”

“This could also make her even more dangerous. Right now her being a – well, hot mess, uncontrolled, like that, that’s her major weakness. She defeats herself. And when she doesn’t, she leaves herself open. Adding to her skills … that makes her a bigger threat.”

“Grinding a blade can add balance, but also means it can cut things more easily. But that’s how you make a blade useful.”

“Huh. Yeah. Y’know, maybe it’s not a horrible idea.”

“Oh, it is absolutely a horrible idea. And my – my track record with reforming people – is not that good. But this is different. It’s – it’s something I can do, a difference I can make. If I succeed, I have done something good for the world – and, yes, don’t interrupt, for her. Something she wants.”

“And if you fail?”

“Then I’ll be in the best position to correct my mistake. Whatever that requires.”

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Nassir and Khamala Amari traded furtive glances at each other. Both were nervous but neither wanted to admit it. Each moment that passed was the longest either had been separated from their daughter Jordan and it just gnawed away at them.

Nassir was the first to break the silence, barely getting out “I think” before Khamala interrupted him. “It’s silly, she’s fine. We are worrying about nothing.”

“Worried?” Nassir said, trying to put on an (unconvincing) pained look. “Who said I was worried. Are you worried?”

“Of course I’m worried, Nassir. Our daughter could be anywhere doing anything and we’re just sitting here.”

“Anywhere?” Nassir said, his tone growing increasingly amused. “She’s probably watching one her dinosaur videos while Adam’s friend is playing on her phone.”

“I don’t trust that Rodriguez girl,” Khamala remarked, crossing her arms. “I know her type.” Nassir chuckled at bit and Khamala shot him a look. “Always daydreaming, lost in her own mind. She’s probably forgetful and flighty.”

“Nona is a nice young lady. I know her parents. They’re good folks and I’m sure she is too.”

Khamala’s jaw clenched and she stared ahead, not really focusing on anything.

“We could call her and check in,” Nassir offered.

“Call her?!” Khamala said entirely too loudly and then quieted her voice. “And what? Look like we’re scared of everything? No, we’re not doing that.”

Nassir now crossed his arms, mirroring his wife’s posture as they sat in their beach chairs. Unlike Khamala, however, Nassir let his eyes drift as he took in everything. Daytona was lovely and he wanted to be happy he could be sharing what he could of this weekend with his family between meetings and demonstrations at the Southwestern Police Officer’s Conference. He wished Jordan could be here too, but she was heartbroken to learn that it would mean missing the first game of her tee-ball league. So they made arrangements and got one of Adam’s friends to stay the weekend at their home and look after Jordan while the rest of the family travelled.

This had had unexpected consequences.

As Nassir’s eyes drifted, he spotted Adam giving an excited wave as he took his spot on the pool diving board. Nassir smiled and waved back, watching as his son performed an (admittedly awkward) cannonball. “At least someone’s enjoying themselves,” Nassir thought before his mind snapped to any idea.

Office Nassir leaned in conspiratorially close to his wife and whispered, “What if we didn’t have to call?”

“What are you talking about,” Khamala questioned with a deep amount of suspicion.

“Well, what if Adam…”

“No,” Khamala said flatly, “we’re definitely not doing that.”

“He does it all the time. Adam just does whatever he does with other people’s feelings and tells us what Jordan’s feeling right now. If she’s happy and having fun, everything’s fine. If she’s upset, we check in.”

“No, we are not doing that. We are not.”


Twenty minutes later, the Amaris sat in their room, cooling down after being out in the bright sun. Adam sat on one of the hotel beds while both his parents sat across from him on the sofa.

“So,” Khamala continued to explain, “you check in and she how she’s feeling. If she’s happy and having fun, everything’s fine. If she’s upset, we check in.”

Adam gave confused glances at his parents, but both had matching looks of steely resolve.

“So you want me to use my powers for you? To spy on Jordan and Nono?”

“No, it’s not spying,” Khamala said. “We’re just checking in.”

Nassir sighed. “Yes, it is spying. But it’s no different if we had a home security system. We’re just worried about your sister.”

Adam frowned. He could see the worry and anguish rolling off the both of them and he knew neither wanted to do this other than to appease their nerves. With a sigh Nassir recognized Khamala give frequently, Adam stood and reached a hand out. It didn’t take long to find his connection to his sister.

“She’s excited,” Adam announced flatly, describing the emotions as he felt them. “Something about dinosaurs. And plants. And she wants to be friends with them.”

A wave of relief rolled over Nassir. “See, just watching one of her videos.”

“Yeah,” Adam agreed, not so sure himself. “Maybe.”

“What was that ‘maybe’?” Khamala inquired.

“It’s a good guess,” Adam said with an unusually flat tone. “Probably what it is.”

While Khamala gave Adam a questioning look, Adam reached out to his Concordance Core. A long time ago (like six or eight months) Solaris had done something to link his Concordance with his cellphone so that he could receive and respond to texts while as Concord (he’d done something similar with the commlink Jason had given him too). He needed something from one of his friends…

A few moments later, Adam’s pocket rang and Adam snatched his cellphone out. “Hello?”

Khamala put out her hand and gave Adam and expectant look. He handed over the phone and Khamala raised it up to her ear. “Hello, who is this?”

“Hello Alice. I’m sorry but Adam is on vacation and won’t be taking any…”

“I don’t care what’s happening to the city. Concord is also on vacation.”

“I said… oh, that does sound bad.”

“Oh.”
“How long do you think… well if he is back before dinner… okay… okay… okay… But he cannot be out after six, understood? Thank you.”

Khamala hung up and handed the phone back to Adam. “Your friend Alice said that Professor Midnight took some hostages and they need you to help find them, but I need you to promise me that all you’re going to do is help your friends find them and then you’re coming right back.”

“I promise, mama.”

“Alright, but remember we have dinner plans at six, so be back beforehand so you can get dressed.”

“Okay, mama.”

Adam gave both his parents a hug and then disappeared with an quiet “plop!” as the air rushed in to filled the void that he had left.

“That Alice Chan seems like a nice girl,” Khamala commented. “Do you know her?”

Nassir shrugged. “I think?”

If Nono has a canon first name, I could not find it and it amused me probably much more than it should have the idea that her real name was so close to her nickname.
I probably won’t do an “Adam goes to the island” vintage because I think him just sort of watching and taking stock like he did in Bill’s comic was enough. But maybe one day Adam and Emma will have an encounter…

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