Hi, my name is June Summers and I am a Channel 4 reporter. Recently I’ve been asked by Pulp City Planet to brief readers on all-things-Supreme going on in our city. So here it is, my Pulp City Alphabet. Don’t come to Pulp City without reading it!
Ape Revolution Committee. Ideals of freedom and equality for all apes and monkeys in the world are one thing, but Apes know how to make sure the cash flows to support their goals. In the steel grip of Guerilla’s leadership, the mercenaries have evolved into a highly specialized team able to cope with any situation. Whatever problem can’t be solved by Guerilla’s and Howler’s massed gunfire, the answer might be a couple of Dr. Red’s specialty grenades, Apebot’s steel fists, Chimp-Chi’s blades, or the pure computer genius of Virus.
So what’s hot with the monkeys these days? It seems like they are after something big. I do believe even Guerilla is intrigued with the possibility that one other shuttle full of apes and monkeys might have been launched after the failure of the initial phase of the Soviet project. Are the passengers of that shuttle still alive?
Blood Watch. These guys are dark. All the goth kids adore them. Though maybe not as spectacular as other teams (you know, not much spandex and cape stuff), Blood Watch does a great job of keeping us safe from the Necroplane threat. They don’t do interviews, but hey, what do you expect from guys that have a teenage werewolf and a nine foot giant on the payroll? Their leader, V.H. (which is supposedly his initials, standing for Victor Helsing, see the ties?), managed to gather a truly unique bunch of Supremes that get in the way of MANY Villains. First and foremost, Necroplane . Blood Watch’s HQ is located just outside of the city, next to the only known active gate to Necroplane, so rarely do any Necro Supremes makes it past the welcoming party!
The Coven. See, I got this problem with The Coven. Every time I do a story on their Strike Team’s infamous exploits, they sue Channel 4. And man, they can afford good lawyers. The Coven’s influence over politics, media, and business has a long and bloody history. There is no written evidence about how a group of white people from the South, mostly slavers and plantation owners, has managed to turn into Coven Enterprises. Look around. I’m pretty sure you will find at least one of their products.
Their Strike Team is an extension of their politics. They love to recruit the best. It is said that Papa Zombie, a guy that looks like Rob Zombie’s cheap imitation (or maybe it is the other way round), was a faithful servant of one of the founders. 200 years old? Come on, even voodoo can’t be that good! If I’d have to describe their team’s methods in a couple of words, I’d say: well aimed bullets from nowhere backed up with a few voodoo gimmicks.
Diplomacy. It is becoming a common practice to open diplomatic facilities and Chambers of Commerce in Pulp City. Why? The movie industry, more Supremes per capita than anywhere in the world, and politics.
Excalibur. I interviewed this guy, Arthur Black, for the weekly reality show Who Wants to Be a Supreme? He was British, tall, handsome, and insane. See, talking about the mission, the prophecy, the magical sword, the assembly of the Dark Round Table, and that sort of crap is nothing unusual. Most of the contestants do that. The problem proved to be real when this guy showed up at the City Hall, wielding a sword that was crackling with lightning and started severing heads before Heroes stopped him. And what’s wrong with his sidekicks, Lancelot the Dark and Shadow Percival?
The Forgotten. It all started with a teenage cheerleader exacting revenge on another teenage cheerleader who supposedly stole her boyfriend. Enter the long forgotten manuscripts, a bloody ritual, and voila, we have the first long forgotten evil deity awakened in the middle of Pulp City, who proceeded to devour most of the neighborhood. It’s a chain reaction; I guess these guys feel misunderstood and lonely so instead of going to a shrink, they resurrect their kin.
See, fallen gods get off on emotions. And since there’s not much love for those bloodthirsty murdering beasts, they usually pump up their strength by drawing on fear and terror. There is much more of it coming in the future.
Grimm Under Empire. Grimms are SO photogenic. Love them! They make the loveliest of invasions. First, a hole in the city center opens, cars fall in, people scream, then hordes of biped humanoids burst out and pursue their current agenda. Robbing, pillaging, and food hunting are the most common. After a couple of minutes, all that is left is a gaping hole.
Grimms are controlled by smarter Grimms, called Alphas. Sometimes they bring a beast or two with them, just to create some distraction for the Supremes. There is a hive mind structure to Grimm activities and behavior; some claim that it is actually a human that pulls the strings.
Heavy Metal. Shiny knights in shiny armor. Immaculate. They are more than celebrities, more than role models for children. The C.O.R.E sends its Heroes to battle for everything that common people care for. They are some of the few Supremes that use their power to help the city deal with mundane tasks like building bridges, fire fighting, and such. Heavy Metal are great ambassadors for many causes: Iron Train is an honorary president of city Unions, Androida is a feminist, Dr. Mercury researches alternative power supplies and is an UN expert, while Chronin is strongly involved in Little Asia’s promotion. Good folks, I’m telling you.
Invasions. Bread and butter of our lives, we love to watch them from afar. Ulthar aliens, Grimm, Necroplane, sea monsters. Yep, we got it all.
June Summers. I had to mention myself. Duh! Specializing exclusively in Supreme affairs.
Kodo Island. This small island used to be a favorite location for sunny holidays, just two hours southwest of Pulp City Harbor. The tourist traffic stopped after something went awfully wrong in a biological facility dedicated to restoring endangered and lost species. I hope I can get there one day to investigate, but the only way to do so is on the board of a military plane or on the back of a flying Supreme!
Little Asia. This cozy little touristy district turns into a battlefield when night falls. It is a constant conflict of various ethnicities fighting for supremacy.
Mysterious Man or Hooded Man. Is he really the infamous Doctor Van Der Beek coming back from beyond the grave? Or just a guy that wants us to think so? Just let me name several things that he might be involved in: Nuke, military facility raids, quantum holes to 1940’s, Kodo Island. That makes him a major player.
Necroplane. Don’t want to go into the scientific speculations, so in a nutshell: there is a parallel plane of existence where the dead rule, and these dead need life essence to thrive. Since they are sort of low on it these days, their government, the dreaded Lords of Necroplane, developed a new policy: punch a hole in the fabric of reality and sip on our energy. Yes, that requires killing us. Of course, there will be always a couple of traitors willing to work for Necroplane. With their help and the back-up of Scourge, the Necroplane’s Supreme team, these guys are getting more and more dangerous.
Oppahua Tribe. Used to dwell in these lands, now just a handful of them run a casino northeast of the city. Supposedly Pulp City was built on their burial grounds and, as Ace of Wraiths claims, this makes it a whole lot easier for the Lords of Necroplane to tear reality and open gates. Angry spirits don’t rest easy.
Pulp City. We are hotter than Miami and more dangerous than New York. We are more beautiful than SoCal and weirder than Portland. Come and visit us on the West Coast!
Quantum Holes. Instant time and space travel is possible for a few lucky Supremes. Chronin for instance is able to slow time around her for seconds thanks to Quantum Holes. Twilight travels short distances by punching Quantum Holes in reality. Neat, huh? Now think about somebody vile enough to travel back to 1940’s and support the Nazis. Or assassinate the father of a business competitor. I hope Quantum Holes won’t be the future trend in business and politics.
Royal Investments. The major business player, just next to Coven Enterprises. Quite frankly I love to watch the big bad guys bleed out combating each other. Guilamme Sanguine, the owner and the CEO, is one bloodsucker. And that is literally beyond the early capitalism cartoons depicting businessmen as vampires. He is a vampire. Just forget that garlic and mirror crap. Being an extremely smart player, he is on very good terms with Lords of Necroplane and The Forgotten.
He gets off by resolving most of the issues personally. Either as a tough negotiator or… as a cold blooded combat monster.
Stygian. Since her hairdo is made mostly made of hissing snakes, she will not win a beauty pageant any time soon. The petite, olive skinned lady is a bitch from hell and probably the most powerful Villain ever to walk the streets of Pulp City. A goddess revered in ancient Stygia (where the heck is that?), Stygian is dead keen on awaking an army of gods. To avoid suspicions, she mostly hires mercenaries to do the dirty work.
Trinity Inc. are mercenaries. High end, that is. If you can afford them, they will deliver the punch. Don’t mess with them. There are no late payments with these guys. And they have a couple of Supremes to boot.
Ulthars. They are a warlike race of aliens travelling to Earth through Quantum Holes. Yes, they do have the technology. It’s funny because they do embody every damn stereotype of an alien we had before: green, funny language, high pitched voices. Even their ships look like flying saucers! Ulthars come to Pulp City quite often, I guess it is the old grudges and unsettled debts; since so far they’ve been beaten badly every time.
Villains. Supreme Villains are so funny. They are so narcissistic that they demand to be interviewed. It happened to me twice this week, a Villain boasts about his future plans only to be immediately knocked down in front of the camera and carried away to the prison cells for Supremes located under Heavy Metal’s HQ.
The Weird Well. This bottomless pit just right out of the city leads to… oh well (lol), we truly don’t know where. What we know is that twice a year, on the night of the solstice, a beam of light shoots out of the Well and turns the night into the day. Some believe that if you immerse yourself in the light, weird things may happen. There is at least one Supreme I know who claims his power comes from the Weird Well.
Xen is a new generation enhancement drug. Hot with rich kids, very expensive, but for that money you get a glimpse of what it is to be a Supreme. Xen augments the senses and enhances strength and speed. The problem is that it is highly addictive and there is no going back after the first dose.
Y. There is nothing interesting going on in Pulp City that starts with “Y”.
Zen Studios. Famous film studio, on the top in 70’s, now struggling to survive the competition. But their celebrities still believe they’re the best!