Grrl Power #470 – Knock knock bang smash
The problem with action pages is that I usually feel like there’s less for me to comment on down here, at least in comparison to a more typically neurotically exposition laden pages with a dozen panels.
So… yup. The door blew up. Someone obviously has an issue with The Council. That or the Girl Scouts are getting super aggressive.
Usually phones are kind of all or nothing with the notifications. Either on or off – though there’s probably apps that give you more control than that. I mostly use my phone to browse Reddit when I have a few minutes of down time and I’m not sitting in front of my computer. Of course the team isn’t exactly running stock Android on their team phones, so they can customize their notification with more fidelity than usual. A lot more focus on security, including the inability to install any app willy nilly. (I mean, they can install Peggle, sure, along with some white listed stuff that’ve been thoroughly vetted.) Also there is definitely a “Really silent for real cause I’m being stealthy around bad guys and I want to avoid the trope of my phone going off cause the producer decided there hasn’t been an action scene in 12 minutes” button.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. (As soon as I get up. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
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Now I’m worried about what this grenade is loaded with – If Maxima’s powers are magical in nature, there are things that might get through her skin, and the attackers might have all kind of anti-supernatural ammo.
I’m guessing whoever those people are, they weren’t quite expecting the presence of Max at the meeting.
These people know about the monsters, they know about the meeting place, and they know about the meeting time. They seem to know an awful lot, actually. Given how well informed they obviously must be just to be right there right now, I wouldn’t doubt for one minute that they also know that Maxima and Archon are also there.
Mostly agreed. Sometimes though spies only have access to indirect or hard-to-conceal information. For instance the Japanese had a civilian, looking at Pearl Harbour, from a hill-top, with binoculars (and reporting in via civilian communication channels). So he could see what ships were in the harbour. But did not know when any might be coming or going. Hence why they missed their prime target, the aircraft carriers.
Likewise it would be hard to conceal so many leaders gathering for an emergency meeting. Many will have had to cancel prior engagements, for instance. Some of which might have been public.. So the intelligence might be limited on the attendees front, yet still be able to tell that something big was being discussed.
Although what they clearly do know is enough about the building security, to get this far without the alarm being raised. Well, other than by Sydney. However that kind of information can be obtained by several sources, not all of which might also be privy to guest lists.
If they are the ones responsible for the damage to the Weil, then they even have confirmation of what’s being discussed. Furthermore, they could have staged that damage to force a meeting at a time where they could plan an strike…
If the Veil had been damaged by a physical assault, though, I would have thought they would have had better (and multi-leveled) security.
No, because these guys (as per Sydney’s aura upgrade) appear to be magic-enhanced. Seem to use SWAT gear, but actually have gunwands and spell canisters probably akin to Dabbler’s stuff.
I meant the Council would have increased its security measures, not the attackers.
Well this Council meeting was to discuss their response to that damage. Which may well have resulted in a decree to increase security. After this meeting.
If this is right, then I think we can conclude that there is no Gallifrey faction. Or else they could have gone back in time, to implement the improved security retroactively.
Whilst organisations can delegate emergency response powers to individuals, this is not always the case. So far we have only found out that factions get to take their turns at the central table. Which strongly implies a decentralised power structure, which would not favour granting strong emergency powers to an individual. For fear of someone taking advantage of a crisis and assuming dictator powers!
Given that all factions would have their turn in the leadership role, and that not all are cute and cuddly, the likelihood of this happening is actually quite high. So they might consider bureaucratic inefficiencies, and delays, to be the lesser of two evils. And somebody is exploiting that weakness.
Yeah, if they knew about Maxima’s presence they were likely relying on getting a surprise round in to do most of their work. Which they do not have.
I looks like they got a surprise round. As in Surprise! Maxima just disassembled a round of your ammunition.
Max is all super. Each of her cells has its own force field that interlocks with it’s neighbors.
Sooo, I only skimmed the prior pages. No comments on Sydney’s icon on Maxima’s cell? It looks like she has Dabbler’s hand in her face.
I think it did get mentioned. Max obviously snapped a picture when Sydney and Dabbler were clowning around back here.
Speaking of that Sydney icon, I just had a minor realization! I’m probably the last person here to realize this, but whatever!
Back on page 108 is where Dabbler swiped Sydney’s glasses – see the link in my previous post ad the moment will be down in the bottom right hand corner. When that happens, Peggy and Maxima are text messaging and so Max had her phone in her hand when her two biggest headaches started being silly. Not only did she snap a photo of them, she even sent it to Peggy!
The thing is, all this time I thought that box with Dabs and Syd was just DaveB showing us what they were doing while the grown ups were texting, never realizing that it was supposed to be a photo Max had taken.
Considering that the page in question was posted way back in September of 2012, it can be truthfully said that it took me more than four years to figure this out. I betcha I’ve just set a record!! ☺
Good point. Upgrade the probability of it being a Maxima photo accordingly, rather than a CCTV grab, as mentioned below (simultaneously with your post).
I do recall General Faulk telling Maxima not to break another phone. :-D
Yup. She lost the one she had in the bank because of a discipline issue.
Sorry! Forgot to add that Leon immediately after provided Maxima with a new phone.
Semi-related question: Does she need glasses for truesight?
I was going to say “yes, otherwise she would only have blurry truesight”. However I … ahem… see what you might be getting at. And agree. ‘Nuff said?
It is one of the pictures from the regular rotation, at the top of the comic. So it would have been easy for Dave to just grab it from there, rather than pick a fresh one.
Although I concur, with prior speculation, that it was most likely grabbed from building security cameras. Which would likely have been activated, despite the secret meeting, in order to record Sydney’s demonstration.
I expect a short fight, Maxima there will end it rather quickly. But question is why they are there and what was with the guy in the back in the previous page looking like a Templar knight.
It could be a short fight [just like the one in the restaurant could have been]. The attackers are very outnumbered, and their targets likely the toughest. Maxima alone could catch that oversized bullet and return it to sender, getting out of blast range before it goes off. So our attackers have to act fast or lose.
But short fights are not the style of this comic, or possibly any comic. The odds are better this fight will take the rest of the year.
Points made but I honestly don’t think those guys will last at all, they almost had the element on surprise if it was not for Sydney.
Maybe, but there have been enough bitching and complaining in the past, and DaveB has said he wants to move things along a little quicker, so maybe this time it will be a ‘short’ fight and we can get to Maxi and the Council interrogating Templar Dai
I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that Max has Sydney fighting with Dabbler over her glasses as her image.
So… Go go gadget magical kryptonite gas/dust?
very possible. That weapon/giant bullet hints at super grenade launcher.
It wouldnt surprise me in the least to find its an aerosolized compound of silver, cold iron, and holy water. A giant smoke grenade filled with the most common counters to a vast portion of the council would hold the majority off long enough to make a quick raid and flee.
Don’t forget the jadarite.
But with Max’s speed, she can create a “bow shock” of wind by rushing and stopping in the doorway, creating a few milliseconds of overpressure, pushing the nasty gas away from the council chamber. Sydney’s forewarning may have saved every in there. Forewarned is forearmed. Four armed is half an octupus. (Or one succubus)
Isn’t it traditional just to blow it away?
Or might you consider that one lung-full of air, no matter what speed it was exhaled at, would not be able to clear gas (of sufficient volume to full a room)? Not unless the speed was high enough to cause catestrophic side-effects to the room, its occupants and maybe the rest of the planet. :-D
What! There is now a book out with a short story done by David B in a book called Team ups and crossovers. I just found this on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9GOOQB/ref=la_B007EG8KVY_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1477662802&sr=1-1&refinements=p_82%3AB007EG8KVY
The best part is that it’s on Amazon unlimeted.
Ooh, interesting, I can’t remember anything about that (although there are several reasons why I might not. :-D ).
Marion Harmon is a regular commentator here however, so it would make sense.
Do be careful yourself though, when out and about, in case you bump into RunningWithPencils.
I’m just glad I don’t have their landlord.
:D
One of the features love on my phone is a priority/no notification mode that you can turn on/off with a slide switch. It sounded gimmicky, until I played with it and realized that I can set my phone to be silent other than if it is my wife, parents, or children’s school call.
There are stand alone apps that do the same thing, or you can set up profiles for it with Tasker, which if you have Android is a must install app anyway.
With how techy their IT department is, I’m suspecting no one in Archon would be allowed to touch an android device though… Or iOs, or Windows phone. Not when you can make a security minded ‘nix derivative for every device they carry with applications and layout customized for their use cases.
Halo should level up and get a skill point for this.
Agreed.
For sending a text message? o_O
For using her new power to detect a vast array of magical items, super beings and supernatural ones too. And making especial note of the anomalous ones below her feet. Then reacting promptly, and in a way that could save the lives of many people.
It matters not whether you fire a shot, shout a warning or text one. Alerting your allies, so they are not caught flat-footed (especially important for Maxima) is a vital task, that can swing a battle. However in choosing a silent option, which does not give away her own position, allows her to retain the benefit of surprise for whatever actions she chooses to take next.
Making heavy and good use of her latest skill choice could well be what the orbs require of Halo, before giving her the next skill pick. If not, and it is working to an XP system, then ‘saving many allies’, ‘saving friends’ and ‘preventing a civil war between humans and the supernatural’ are all worth a lot of points. Either way, she should be getting a skill point, by my estimation.
Garfield has done a preview of Sydney’s Halloween costume.
https://d1ejxu6vysztl5.cloudfront.net/comics/garfield/2016/2016-10-28.gif
Not to mention the most simple security method ever. Only giving the number to people who ABSOLUELY need it, and then making it abundently clear that using it for any calls other then “People are going to die” will end up with horrific, yet clever, punishments.
Such as “Swimming in full tac gear”.
That was enough warning for Maxima.
Sidney just use the marker. you know you want to. just listen to the voices.
While many have pegged the “The cleansing is at hand” guy as the likely mastermind behind this night’s festivities, I would like to point out two other likely suspects: “A new player on the scene.” guy and the female next to him, who also have tenatively identified as the two people directly behind Azilus in the last panel of Seating Arrangements (oh, and they happen to be seated, too). Before going into why I think they’re behind the attack, let me address two likely objections that I foresse:
1) Why would they be there knowing about the attack?
To deflect suspicion away from them and to make their outrage at the council being attacked appear more sincere. Also, by knowing about the attack and the nature of the weapons to be used, they could increase the likelihood that they come out of it relatively unharmed.
2) Doesn’t his “I thought he was just being a dick” statement indicate that he’s (at worst) undecided about a superhero-cryptid alliance, but is being swayed by Azilus’ logic?
Or it could be a calculated comment meant to give that impression to those who are undecided.
As to why it’s more likely them:
1) Chekov’s gun: we’ve already seen them and know that they are there.
2) They’re more likely to know about the meeting, where it’s location, and that Archonites were invited.
3) The attackers registered as magical by Sydney’s orb and they’re more likely to be magic users.
Aargh, that should be “its location” rather than “where it’s location”. I was originally wrote “where it’s located” and only partially re-edited it correctly.
I can’t really argue or dispute any of your points until DaveB chooses to provide us with a little more information about what is really going on here. Instead, I will just giggle in a silly and happy manner over the word “Archonites.” ☺
So much better than Archonians . . .
We don’t know if they are magical or why they showed up when Sydney happened to look down, but even if they were magical, why do they have to be controlled by anyone, let alone someone on The Council?
As for why the wire-frame? They make me think of the 3D imaging, as exampled in these clips
likelyhood is that “faith” contains an amount of power. given the christian knight getup of the dude behind the swat dudes, i’d assume a pseudo-religious fanatic arm of the catholic church bent on wiping out vampires… which probably means that the grenade in the last pannel is probably filled with garlic gas or something? if it even works on vamps in this comic :p
Those two have been my favourite suspects from the moment they were first spotted. And that has not changed. However the religious fanatic certainly would be up in arms about Archon consorting with demons. And ‘the cleansing is at hand’ would match very well.
Whilst the cross-faced helmet does provide a tenuous link, it is not exactly a strong one. Especially given that several factions, in the chamber, have armoured individuals of one sort or another. Not to mention that they also have angels in their ranks. Although a religious fanatic could consider that they must be ‘fallen angels’ for consorting with demons and other monsters.
Whereas those two individuals are quite a good match (when accounting for artistic drift), and are here. Using Occam’s razor they are likely to be the masterminds.
However, unless we are mistaken in associating that pair, we could have two villain factions involved, if the ‘cleansing’ suggestion is also valid. Maybe the ‘cleansing’ one being involved in exposing the monsters from behind the Veil, in order to destroy them.
Whilst the other pair are playing the long game, and have some other dastardly scheme. Perhaps the open enslavement of mankind? In which case an alliance with ‘the cleanser’ would be advantageous. Especially if he gets the initial blame, whilst they carry on working their angle from within the Council.
Note that Zephan and Gwen are mages, yet are not showing up under the aura sight (according to our best guesses to date, and Zephan’s position can be precisely determined. Which indicates that 3) is flawed, as the attackers were visible, under aura sight. Whereas mages are not visible.
Unless Zephan and Gwen evacuated the chamber prior to the attack….!! !! !!
Zephan and Gwen can both use magic, true, but that hardly makes them magical in nature. Perhaps the aura vision only detects active concentrations of magic, so Zeph and Gwen wouldn’t appear in it unless they were actively using magic.
Agreed. And even then they may not show up unless the magic was effecting them in some way (although it could work either way). Likewise it may turn out that super heroes only show up if they (like Maxima) have powers that are ‘always on’. Without those they would be indistinguishable from normal humans.
By the way Maxima does appear to be visible, in addition to the magical items (such as Sydney’s own headband) hence we can infer both magic and super powers are picked up. However that is not to say that both will work exactly the same way. For instance magic shows glyphs associated with the items or spells. Super powers (or even supers who do not have any active powers) may just be highlighted.
The fact that all the individuals, in the council chamber, are different shades though implies that some specific information is being carried. Perhaps hinting at their specific powers. Or it may carry other information, such as alignment, or state of health etc.
1) The problem with identifying the cross-faced helmet as a religious symbol is that the crossbar is far too wide for a crucifix. Furthermore, there are other ways its designer could have incorporated a crucifix without weakening the structural integrity of the helmet. Finally, I have yet to see anyone address, much less try to explain, why only one of the four would wear a religious symbol.
2) While Zephan and Gwen may be mages, that doesn’t make them magical (and for the record, I wrote this part of my response before Endilbiach‘s comment). It’s the difference between wielding a power and being the power source itself. But this misses an even more crucial point: whatever the nature of the attackers, it is more likely closer to that of the cryptids/superheros than it is of Zephan and Gwen since Sydney’s orb allows her to see their aura through solid material like it does that of the cryptids/superheros, but not that of Zephan and Gwen (assuming the unlikely departure of those two, as mentioned by Yorp.
3) However, unlike the cryptids/superhero auras, the auras of the attackers show some sort of red line./wire running through much of their bodies, a discrepancy that is hard to attribute to the difference in distance between Sydney and a particular being.
4) As for the wire-frame (if that is what it is), I agree with Guesticus that it resembles 3D imaging, but I would think that makes it more likely that they are some sort of artificial constructs rather than living (or unliving) beings. However, I never claimed, contrary to his assertion, that they were being controlled by anyone in the Council. Rather, I theorized that since much of the evidence points to they’re being magical constructs (and nothing that I have written should be construed as a definite conclusion) and that Mr. and Ms. “A new player on the scene” seem more likely to utilize magical constructs than Mr. “The cleansing is at hand”, then that makes them more likely to be the masterminds than he.
1) & 2) Agreed.
3) I put it down to artistic necessity. It would be impossible to detail all of the council members and guests, given the sheer amount of work involved in drawing those in addition to the rest of the complex scene, and the time constraints in producing the comic on schedule. Presuming that Halo will get to make out more details up close, that is.
Alternatively it is not unreasonable to suppose that people (where they appear at all) only show up as their ‘most dominant shade’, but this is not something we should leap to assuming. We need to see an other(s) up close before we can draw properly informed opinions.
Although I do agree that it is unlikely we will see internal structures, of super heroes for example, unless there is a specific reason for that. For instance if the source of their power is actually a parasite inside them.
However I will be interested to see if symbols appear, when looking closely at supers. Figuring out what they mean could give Halo vitally important insight, into any newly-encountered villain!
4) All reasonable.
As I mentioned before, even (3) is based on limited data and I concede that artistic license may be a possible explanation. However, considering DaveB‘s usual attention to new and important details[1], it strains credibility that Sydney doesn’t seem to see even a faint line running through any of the beings in the Council room, including the light blue lizard(?) dude who is among the closest to her, yet large enough to have such a line included if it existed.
[1] Yes, yes, yes, I know that DaveB has sometimes omitted bruises, nose bandages, and so forth, but such omissions have typically been old details that he may have forgotten and, while perhaps breaking continuity, were not important to moving the story along. Which is why I specifically added the “new and important” descriptors.
For similar reasons, to the ones I laid out previously, Dave does, on occasion draw crowds, background characters and notably the peanut gallery in a simplified style, such as silhouettes. So the precedent is well established.
Whereas detailing the lizard guy would be creating a red herring, making folks assume that there was something special about him. What Dave has done though is remain consistent with treating background characters all the same. Even the ones which are closer and would be easier to make out.
The only purpose of showing them is to indicate that people are there, and to give a general feel about their nature.
Alternatively, if there was something special about one of them, then making a visual difference (such as the blue-skinned guy in the crowd by the Grand Canyon) will draw the eyes (of our eagle-eyed readers anyhow). But only if it has plot significance (or is part of a gag or reference).
Thus I consider this to be a carefully calculated decision, as opposed to an omission. Which is where Dave’s attention to detail, which you mentioned, comes into play. By being consistent with such conventions, it makes it easier for the reader to interpret a scene.
You seem to have missed the “including”. Several of the members of the Council (especially the three on the side of the table closest to Sydney, including the Lizard Guy) seem drawn large enough to have the lines detailed if Sydney had seen them. This is especially so since, as someone recently pointed out to me, the picture, when blown up, shows the runes from Sydney’s hairband in the fourth panel even though they are not easily seen when viewing the picture at normal size. Why include one detail but not the other?
But more to the point: until we do see such lines on the Council members, then it’s just as (if not more) likely that we don’t see them because they aren’t there.
You make reasonable arguments, but I remain happy with the way Dave has done it.
Because it is pertinent. It is something which we know to be a magical item. Thus allowing us to use detective work to figure out the significance of some of the other glowing things, which appear to have auras.
And, more importantly, it is not on a background character. It is Sydney’s first magical item and a personal gift from a demon. Thus is highly significant.
Just as the blue skinned alien was. Or the orb’s reactions to Varia. Important yet subtle.
Something to bear in mind is that each of those items, in the reliquary, almost certainly has runes associated with it. But Dave has not drawn these, and has mentioned in comments that most are trivial items. So they only become of significance if Sydney picks one up, to examine it.
Or, in a later scene, we may see Sydney looking closely at a bunch of them. In which case putting auras on all of them, will allow any with a LOT of runes, to leap out as being something special.
The reader who spots that will then get the nice tingly feeling, that an antique hunter has, and the itchyness on the paws, when spotting a historically important objet d’art.
I failed to point out one important part. In the Grand Canyon scene, all the crowd were detailed fully (and were in the foreground, even though Max and Halo were the focus of the composition). By doing a bunch of cut-outs and one detailed individual, Dave would have ruined the fun of spotting a subtle difference, between two frames, by making it too obvious.
Thus he maintained the convention that if characters are not detailed, then there is no need to examine them carefully. Whereas if they are, it may be.
Black Magician series. Slightly depressing
I don’t think Ingsol is ever going to get through his speech. If it’s not Sydney interrupting him every two seconds, it’s Maxima getting text messages or people blowing the door up. Assuming he doesn’t get killed here or anything, he’ll probably throw his hands up in frustration and give up in the end.
In the meantime, shouldn’t he have gotten a mention in the Who’s Who? His lines are spoken from “off-camera,” I know, but it’s obvious from the accent that it’s Ingsol, right?
At least now the ‘ancient’ (only 700 years was it?) will have some targets to vent his frustrations at all the rudeness on. I’m hoping at least one of them lasts long enough to see what an upper mid level vamp can do.
Did… did these idiots not know Maxima was in there? She can disable all these morons in a split second. They picked the wrong day to assault a room full of ancient magical cryptids, each with their own super power.
…
Come to think of it, I don’t think Maxima had to be there to defend The Council. They probably had it handled by themselves.
Which, now that I think about it, is just silly in the first place. Why would these curs be attacking the council with guns and grenades? It doesn’t make sense. What’s their plan??
If all they wanted to do was attack a bunch of cryptids, all they’d need is a bomb. One bomb, and BOOM! No more Council.
This means they must have some other plan in mind… or they’re just really, really stupid.
One possible plan is a kidnapping, combined with putting the fear of ..whatever.. in everybody. Our strike team rushes in, gasses everybody, grabs the desired prisoner[s] and scoots. This might work well with our plot too, as our girl is nicely placed to block their exit at least long enough for the others to react.
The meeting is attacked because this is where the target is certain to be, and possibly because it is actually a lightly defended place since it is assumed to be a no-combat area.
One might well question the sanity of whoever is behind this, but we already question the sanity of many of those in the comic.
There are several ancient vampires in the room, some robotic aliens that don’t breathe, as well as at least one werewolf, mages, and superheroes. There’s no reality where this turns out well for these guys…
…
Unless they have magic bullshit bullets. That might work.
The guns are visible (albeit only faintly) to Sydney’s aura sight. So they, and/or their munitions, may well be magical. And Maxima has no special defenses against intangible magical attacks.
Had Maxima been surprised, that attack could have hit home (she has her back to the door). Even without it she may not expect a magical attack, so it still could go badly. Potentially taking out two or three of the most powerful supers on the planet, and a bunch of the council delegates, whilst only risking one squad is a cost-effective gamble.
And they might just be one element amongst many.
But, whatever happens, seeing a group of SWAT attacking the council is likely to fuel discontent, or potentially even provoke outright war, between Archon and the Council. Without their top tier supers, not to mention the Arc-SWAT and Arc-Light leaders, things could go very badly for Archon.
Halo’s warning was most timely.
Wait, what if this is the plan of someone within the council? A Big Shiny Thing to distract everyone while they accomplish their primary goals, either the assassination/abduction of another council member, or absconding with something particularly valuable.
That is entirely possible. Albeit that whatever they do must be of massive importance to them, if they wish to take on the USA’s assembled supers AND the rest of the Council. Or have some cunning plan to keep suspicion from falling on themselves. Which seems a super villain kind of thing to do.
If so, I would put my Yorpie Snax™ on it being the couple in the vampire delegates’ box.
I dunno, the vampires in the box strike me as being a bit too obvious. If they were planning this sort of thing I suspect they’d be a little more low key. My money would be on a member of one of the groups we haven’t been introduced to yet. Or the elf, he’s very low key.
No no, Loki is an Asgardian, not an elf!
Now, if you are talking inconspicuous, how about the pixie? Can anyone make out if she has a bushy tail, and no wings, when viewed under aura sight?
Profiling detected.
Profiling detected.
Yes. Evil squirrels are easily identified by their bushy tails and grey fur! Closer examination would be required to ensure that no evil squirrel pantomime players, or other innocent furry critters, were rounded up.
*starts coiling a squirrel-sized hangman’s noose*
No no. They would just climb up that. Mmm? Firing squad?
“The guns are visible (albeit only faintly) to Sydney’s aura sight. So they, and/or their munitions, may well be magical.”
Kinda? Maybe?
I did notice there’s a SWAT guy with a knight’s helmet. That’s weird. I’ve also noticed that they have their bodies completely covered, so maybe there’ll be a big reveal that they’re actually magical themselves.
But your assessment and speculation fits. I’m looking forward to seeing if I’ll be surprised if Maxima gets trumped by these schmucks.
I hoped it might give you a little tingly feeling. :-D
I kind of like the idea that the group behind the Sigil tampering has two factions. One that so much change that not only do they want to be revealed to the world but they also would like the old set in there ways leaders “out of the way” and another faction that just wants the Sigil’s removed so they can get on with integrating into society “naturally” or whatever.
So the second faction acted like they were down with the first so that they could get key powerful members of said bloodthirsty faction to spearhead the attack on the Council as a distraction while they go after the doubtlessly nearby Sigil and disable it.
The second faction we find is just better equipped at infiltration and discovering information so they were the overall groups intelligence agents and uniquely positioned to get the strongest troublemakers to run headlong into certain DOOM!
Although if they are that worrisome power-wise as to have to be gotten rid of it could be that only having Max and such there would be able to tip the scales for sure in the face of a carefully prepared and equipped surprise attack.
Not really surprising that the group who had all the time in the world to plan (say they’ve been working up the basic ideas for the last 50 years or so?) an attack LIKE this one (if not actually this one) and the element of surprise would have some pretty special gear and such lined up for the occasion.
My guess would be that it is more likely they didn’t know Maxima and the other Archonites would be there. I would think, given that Ingsol kept the damage to the Veil a secret, that he would have kept their planned appearance a secret as well. As for how stupid they are, there are too many unresolved factors to know at this point, such as:
1) What is their objective?
2) Is it some sort of suicide mission?
3) If it’s not a suicide mission, what is their exit plan? For example, could the cross-faced attacker be some sort of teleport unit like Opal (if I remember her name correctly, but whoever the woman that tried to teleport herself and the geokinetic from the battle of the steakhouse, but was stopped by Vehemence).
4) Are the attackers willed beings, or are they some sort of artificial constructs or otherwise controlled creatures?
5) Which and how many cryptids did they expect to be in the room? For example, if this is a special session that Ingsol called because of the damage to the Veil, the attackers may have been expecting a much smaller gathering.
Everyone is making well-thought out ideas (not the word meant, but the correct word went into hiding after started typing), but still feel you are all barking up the wrong pomegranate bush, specially concerning the armoured-bodybags
The Matrix was right! Clearly the attackers are from a faction which wants to stop peaceful co-existence with humanity. They want to turn humans into batteries, to further their diabolical schemes!
I do not see that vampires would have any particular need for human batteries. Regular ones probably do just fine, for their ‘sunrise imminent’ alarm clocks. Likewise I cannot see a human battery factory as being a plan ‘the Cleanser’ would come up with.
Who else would have the skill to take on Archon, here in the Council’s Sanctum Sanctorum? There is only one possible suspect!
I think, if I had to send the fast text, my message would be, “Incoming, 4 swat, look odd.” There is only one entrance to the council chamber so “wood door” is unneeded words. Letting her know 4 targets are incoming dressed as swat but there is something strange about them would have been plenty to warn max to be ready. Maybe “sight look odd” to give her the clue that they look different under her truesight orb so dont be surprised that they look human to her. Yes yes, thats after having several days to think it over before reacting but even so.
Sydney will have noted that the delegates, in the peanut gallery, have been coming and going. But without passing her on the main floor or going out of that door. So it is very likely that there are other doors, leading off of the gallery.
Sydney only appears to have glanced around the reliquary, as she picked up an item which was right in front of her, where she was standing, on entering. And there is no sign that any drawers were opened, or covers pulled off of magic mirrors or the like. As such I do not think much time has passed since being deposited through the wooden door.
Therefore I agree that the ‘wooden’ could be superfluous, as there is no other door visible nearby that she could have gotten to in time. Barring of course the entrance, where the chess game is taking place. That is some distance away and up an elevator though. So she really would have had to power on the speed to get there, in the time elapsed.
So the distinction is not wasted, as it provides clarity without Maxima having to think through the above.
Recipient thinking time is as important as sender writing time, in critical moments, like this. Guessing and second guessing can chew up a lot of time. As we demonstrate in these comments.
:=D
Some people can type real fast, even on a phone
Not me. I’m so bad, and my phone is so ‘dumb’, I would have just called and bubbled. Ending up more distraction than pincer attack but still slowing them down and giving an early if not very concise warning.
Everyone’d be dead by the time I typed the first couple words.
Or perhaps they use some kind of voice recognition software that somehow translates what Sydney says aloud into written words? Technology like this does exist, as you can see here, though I’m not sure how she could have said “(???)” aloud. ☺
Except maybe as “Open parenthesis, question mark, question mark, question mark, close parenthesis,” I guess. 🙄
“Badgers imminent, what the heck, question mark. Ampersand woad door exclamation mark. Four instant gear. Monkey cheese dick, how do I edit this. BOOM. Foonk. Stupid rancid mold-licking program, I did not say that!”
You clearly have no faith in American know-how and technology, sir! I like to think that the Edsel and New Coke speak for themselves . . . er, wait a minute . . . 😕
Did you type that on a GalaxyNote7?
Wow Yorp, you do Syndey perfectly. Are you DaveB in disguise?
A video call where you just put your finger to your lips then point camera to the bad guys would be quicker and more precise. Max could probably even identify the weapons and plan accordingly and have a better idea of what the big guy at the back is. All as fast as reading the text message.
Clever idea.
I think an expression I heard in a Marvel comic might apply here.
Captain America and “Lucky” Jim Howlett (later known as Wolverine) are on a mission behind enemy lines in World War 2.
Captain America: Ambush! They were expecting us!
Lucky Jim: They was expecting somebody, just not us! They’re at least a regiment short.
The SWAT guys were expecting somebody, just not Arc-Swat.
Maxima: You have the right to remain silent. Any thing you …
Big Bad Guy: There is no way that an undead or magic construct can move that fast.
Maxima: I’m not a vampire. Did you watch the news a few days ago? Halo, just put those guys down over there; those vampire ladies can guard them now that they are disarmed.
BBG: A few days… Oh, no! You were the one that blew up that tank.
Halo: Hey, Dabbler there and I did a fair number on it too. [ Catches the facial expression from Maxima ] Right, depositing bad guys with the duty guard.
Maxima: Dabbler, are you okay? You look a little unsteady.
Dabbler: [ LOUDLY ] WHAT WAS THAT? I THINK I GOT SOME HEARING DAMAGE FROM THOSE EXPLOSIONS. I’LL GET THE DOC TO CHECK ME OUT WHEN WE GET BACK. I’M HAVING TROUBLE HEARING YOU. AT LEAST I CAN STILL READ LIPS.
Halo: So now she’s going to have bionic ears as well? Ah, man!
Maxima: Damn! Well, at least causalities were minimal.
Harem: *Vorp* [ Panting ] Man, I have never tried that many jumps so quick. Hey, boss. Here’s the knock-out cuffs. I’m bringing some more but I am going to try fewer, longer jumps. [ Collapses on the floor ]
Maxima: Halo, pick up Harem and gently move her over there. She just needs to rest a while.
Harem: *Vorp* [ Panting ] Even knowing where this place is doesn’t make it that much easier. I am exhausted. [ Walks over to the other Harem and sits down beside her ]
Halo: Um, Maxima, what should I do with the one that the werewolves tore apart?
Heh, nicely done.
One thing: I REALLY doubt Harem has the clearance to know about this place. The only reason Sydney’s being let in is because you’re gonna have a bitch of a time keeping it secret from the Truesight.
I hope so. The less information that Harem can pass on to Deus, the better. And Maxima is touchy about Harem teleporting into closed-door meetings, because she may see things she is not cleared for.
Deus is ‘counting on’ Harem being a double agent. Which implies that Maxima may know that Harem is doing this. So restricting her access, to things that they do not mind Deus knowing about, limits the impact of her being a triple agent. Unless she is a quadruple agent, and that is all just a cover.
I suspect Harem is actually a quintuple agent.
I suspect Harem is actually an agent for whoever is willing to pay her enough. So far, she hasn’t seemed smart enough to run an actual risk assessment as to the dangers of providing information to so many different people working at cross-purposes.
Harem may well be in it for the thrill, knowing she is fooling so many smart people [who may well be smarter that she thinks], or she may think Deux is hot [we boys work like dogs because girls do like rich and powerful men.] or… But money directly is not that likely a motivation. her ability to be a perfect courier of small loads would be highly valuable and pay better than any doublecrossing.
And here comes the heroes to save the day. I am hoping for Buffy!
She is presently on vacation, from being stressed out, by a pair of tail-nipping puppies. Buffy is presently staying with friends who are big Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans, coincidentally.
Say, come to mention it, the Buffy from the TV series would have a field day here! Far more useful than a Jack Russel Terrier, in an all-out battle. Unless one of those guys is either a fox or a badger, in disguise.
I FREAKIN CALLED IT!
Since we don’t know what regular people compared to those SWAT people look like through Sydny’s aura vision, there’s a possibility that those people are either supernaturals in disguise or humans that are being mind controled.
Can someone tell me how to view my posts and replies without scrolling through all the comments?
With pleasure.
And both of your options above are good bets.
On a related note, for those who want to keep up with comments in general, but find it hard to pick out new ones amongst all the old ones they have already read, you can use the comments highlighter. This is a very useful utility, which you can download from the links provided at the bottom of the author’s blog above.
Once installed, it just works automatically in the background. To operate it, there are a few controls, at the top and bottom of the page. One of which is the ‘Mark Comments Read’ button. So that once you have finished reading through a particular comments page (and bearing in mind that there are several per comic page), you can hit that, to remove the orange highlight.
The next time you return to the page, any comments or replies, added since you hit the button will be highlighted in orange. Including ones which had been posted, but were not visible, because you had not refreshed the screen, during your lengthy read through.
Pawily, if there are nine or less, then you will also have a similarly numbered set of hot links. So you can click on them to jump to whichever ones you want, without having to scroll and look for the highlight. If there are more than nine, then it just tells you the total. But that is useful to know, in its own right. But then you do have to scroll through manually.
We have been using this for years and I do not recall any pertinent complaints or problems being mentioned. So I am happy to recommend it, for anyone who would otherwise be concerned with installing something like that.
Thanks. :)
Okay, here’s a new theory that I have seen pieces of, but have not seen anyone put together in its entirely (my apologies if I’ve missed that someone has):
1) Sydney’s truesight orb lets her see past the Veil.
2) The Veil is based on code.
3) Therefore, it’s likely that the truesight orb has somehow changed (corrupted) part of the Veil’s code.
4) While using the orb on non-cryptids (who wouldn’t be covered by the Veil’s code) wouldn’t cause any damage to the Veil’s code, it’s Sydney’s use of the orbs on cryptids might (possibly inadvertently by the orbs’ creators, who might not have known about the Veil).
As evidence for this, notice the damage to the Veil occurred soon after Sydney used the orb on a possible cryptid (the waitress[IIRC] at the bar she and a few of the other Archonettes attended) and recently enough that most of the other members of the Council didn’t know about the damage.
No, Greenie is not a ‘cryptid’, she is an alien on a working vacation, and Sydney only saw her about 24 hours earlier, there is very little to no way any possible ‘damage’ from ‘outing’ Greenie could have occurred that quickly
If you want to get technical, everything is based on ‘code’, including life itself
1) “In the meantime, the cover provided by the Veil makes Earth an attractive vacation spot for alien tourism….“. Hence, for the purpose of the Veil at least, aliens (which would appear to include Greenie) are cryptids.
2) One doesn’t have to change a lot of code for immediate and catastrophic consequences.
3) Even if one concedes “everything is based on code” (whatever that means), I was speaking about a particular code that the truesight would have to override in order to see through/past it. And to see through/past it might cause part of its code to become overwritten.
Hey, if we are going to go into WAG-mode, then hows this: everything has been a set-up by Sydney, specially seeing how she is the one narrating everything, and she is the one who has been at the center of everything that has gone down the last few days
1) Did or did not Sydney use truesight to recently (at least two nights ago) see through Greenie’s disguise?
2) Was or was not Greenie’s disguise at least partially provided for by the Veil?
3) Did or did not Dabs describe Sydney’s truesight as “the most powerful… I’ve ever encountered“?
4) Since she did, might it be so powerful because it relies on a brute-strength approach to penetrating illusions?
6) If so, could or could not such a brute-strength approach use a method of penetrating illusions that the coders of the Veil did not anticipate, which in turn might potentially damage the code/sigil?
7) Would or would not a couple of nights possibly be about enough time for Ingsol to get notified of the damage, but not most of the rest of the Council?
8) Does this or does this not mean that Sydney’s use of truesight on Greenie and the damage to the sigil potentially fall in the same time frame?
9) If they do fall in the same time frame, might they not be connected?
Call them WAGs if you want, but “intelligent speculation” seems to be a more fitting term.
2) Undetermined: it could have been either a natural spell for her kind, or an alien device
7) It was one night since Greenie was revealed (and Dabbles boinked her)
Again, you are relying on guess-work and speculation
“Again, you are relying on guess-work and speculation”
Never meant to imply that I wasn’t. In fact, that’s why specifically used the word “theory” in its popular sense in my first post. However, just because something is speculation doesn’t mean that it isn’t based on facts or that it’s merely throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. For example, in On Basilisk Station, Captain Honor Harrington suspects off-worlders of providing drugs to the native intelligent species on the planet she’s protecting, the production of which requires continuous heavy power usage. To narrow down the possible location of the lab producing the drugs, she uses WAGs (her term for them) to guess the likely power needs among the numerous off-worlder enclaves and looks for anomalies among the results..
“Undetermined: it could have been either a natural spell for her kind, or an alien device”
Fine, let me put it another way then: since Ingsol’s statement seems to include all aliens, is it more likely or less likely that the Veil protected Greenie’s illusion, either wholly or partially?
“It was one night since Greenie was revealed (and Dabbles boinked her)”
My bad. I misremembered them going to the club the night before the battle of the steak house. However, that still doesn’t significantly affect the theory any: if the meeting had been previously scheduled, he may have decided to present the subject to the entire council at one time if he had found out about it in the morning..
Note that it is not my intent to present this as a definitive explanation, but as one possible scenario that fits all the known facts (as sparse as they are) and thus should be considered. Nor do I mean that such damage, assuming the Sydney’s orb caused it, was deliberate on the part of either Sydney or their creators.
Overly aggressive they may be, but those girl scouts would have the best cookie sale record EVER.
*opens the door*
*shoves gun in face*
“Where is your cookie money!? WHERE, IS YOUR COOKIE MONEY!!?”
“My wallet’s on the table!! Take it!”
I know it’s a moot point at best when someone proceeds to immediately blow up your door and start shooting at you, but she might have at least set it to vibrate or something. That way, if the emergency wasn’t right there and right then, poor old Ingsol wouldn’t have been interrupted for the umpteenth time and the Council could have finally concluded it’s business.
That is, if she really is worried about the social faux pas, anyway. ☺
Whether it vibrated or played “Who Let The Dogs Out”, she would have still had to interrupt poor Inggie to answer it
A text message? I don’t think so. She could have read it, responded to it, and quietly left the room without Ingsol so much as pausing.
Is Maxima’s phone still in her hand?
Leon must clone up at least 1 every day just in case and 3 on an active day the way she goes through them.
Maybe Dabbler can enchant a glyphed up square of Maxima’s arm to act as a sort of voodoo doll of her phone so she can see what’s on it and control it from there. Her arm is bound to last longer than 1,000 of those phones. (or at least 10 if V stops toking his medicine)
No, in the penultimate panel you can see her returning it to it’s place. For info, Maxima wears her gun on her right hip. Thus narrowing down why her hand was at that location.
In the remake of Total recall, everybody used mobile phones, worn on the back of the hand, that required you to press your hand against any nearby pane of glass, and it used that as a large sized display. Rather than having the small built-in displays that we are used to.
The protagonist had that too, but his was built into his hand, underneath the skin! And had to remove it, to prevent being tracked, by cutting his hand open, with some broken glass, and sliding it out!
Blow down the door, get on the floor, everybody do the dinosaur.
So what is the SMB Hammer Music? Is that for hammer bros. from Super Mario Bros. or something?
SMB – Super Mario Brothers.
I guess this is the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-INuS99s5Q
Or a slightly nicer version of the same: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQBz6Fa_ge4
CONTACT DOOR, ARMOR AND GUNS INBOUND!!!
Faster than what she put there, and more professional. :-P
If this was Borderlands, that guy would definitely be called
“MR. FOONK!”
Cause he has the obligatory explosion and text upon entering the room.