Sophomore Year Fall Semester

2. The Cool Ranch Connection (8/88)
While the Lancaster students are returning from summer break, several S.H.R.I.M.P. thugs and Stryke "borrow" a Mecha-Mole, planning on taking it for a "test drive". This test run takes them to Store 24 for a robbery of Cool Ranch Doritos. Fortunately for the world, Section Eight arrives, capturing all of the goons and Frigia. Core & Warped Warrior's opposing powers violently interact, stunning Warped Warrior and throwing Core a quarter mile. The heroes turn the demolished Mecha-Mole and the S.H.R.I.M.P. goons over to the police.

3. Opening Day (9/88)
Forced by his henchmens' actions to step up his plotting, Baron Mind begins S.H.R.I.M.P.'s spree of Mecha-mole assisted bank robberies. On the day before their first class, Section Eight investigates, to find that the robberies made off with millions and left no trail they could follow. Apparently even S.H.R.I.M.P. is effective with the right leader.
    The team attends the first class of Variant Studies 114, meeting their Professor, Gideon Staff, and reacquainting themselves with Simon, who is the TA. After class they are tested - Shriekback and Gypsy show massive potential for growth but more surprising is Talon, who overloads the Aura-Reader when she is hooked up to it (much to Simon's amazement). Staff informs them that they will receive a midterm at some point, a surprise inspection as it were.
    During the testing, Lena notices a familiar person watching her. When confronted, he reveals himself as Mike McCullich, a Variant Studies major who happens to be in a lot of her classes. The two start up a friendship, and begin studying philosophy together with Shriekback and Talon.

4. Art is what touches you (9/88)
As S.H.R.I.M.P. continues its string of bank robberies, Pygmalion robs the Randolph Wells Museum on the Lancaster campus of a collection of Kresnick Glass sculptures (Kresnick was a disciple of Tiffany). Section Eight investigates with the sideways approval of the campus and state police. While they are able to track the elusive art thief, they prove unable to capture him, as he animates several statues to delay them, turns Excellent Woman temporarily to stone and vanishes with his loot. Death Penalty and Shriekback begin a romantic relationship, and on their first "date" they see several people spontaneously break into dance sequences from West Side Story.

5. West Campus Story (9/88)
The West Side Story events continue, leading the heroes to realize that the players are actually going to act out the entire bloody affair. They manage to stop "Bernardo" from killing "Riff" with seconds to spare, and deduce that Daniel Wilson is responsible for these events. When approached, Wilson reveals that he is trying out for WSS, but isn't consciously doing anything. During the questioning, a S.H.R.I.M.P. agent appears and shoots Wilson with a hallucinogen dart - Wilson's powers go nuts, killing the agent and disrupting reality in a two mile radius before Excellent Woman can calm him down. Simon's tests reveal that someone, presumably S.H.R.I.M.P. has been drugging Wilson subtly for weeks, causing his powers to manifest more quickly and with less control.

6. Takedown (10/88)
Section Eight begins to "take the fight to the foe," tracking down S.H.R.I.M.P. bases. Their raid on the organization's Haborview facility captures several dozen S.H.R.I.M.P. agents, three Mecha-Moles, Menagerie and Airborne. Within the base, they find some machinery that Simon Barr identifies as a flawed time machine (one possessing the ability to warp time, but not space—the lack of orbital correction would deposit the traveler in open space, as the planet has changed position over time). Section Eight gleans other base locations from the captured agents, but examination finds them evacuated. S.H.R.I.M.P. vanished without a trace.

7. Mobius' Trip III (10/88)
Section Eight is attending a VS114 class covering the political and propaganda importance of Variants in societal organization (focusing on the critical role the locally born variant Genocide played in the growth of White America before his death in the Plovian invasion) when they are attacked by an armored opponent calling himself Mobius. He defeats them soundly, and promises further humiliation later for "all the times they have thwarted him, and for other reasons."
    After the initial attack, the group is interviewed by Virginia Holly, a local television reporter who is working on her masters at Lancaster, and does research, coming to the disturbing possibility that this might be the same Mobius who routinely battled the Host and was an arch-foe of the Great Hunt in the 1950's. Mobius re-appears later only to find Section Eight prepared. Their desperate strategy works, but their victory is a close thing. Excellent Woman attempts to use her powers to erase all knowledge of the group from Mobius' mind, but is unsure of her success before he vanishes.
    That evening Jennifer suffers the first in a serious of nightmares about a serial killer named One-Eyed Jack.

8. Anarchy on Park Avenue (10/88)
Anthony Taurus, mayor of New York, founder and former CEO of Taurus Industries and Talon's stepfather, invites Section Eight to New York for some fun and relaxation. Unfortunately the group is beset by the Janitors of Anarchy while the loons are on a crime spree. The fight is funny to behold, as the heroes manage to slip, slide and succeed in defeating the variant nutballs. The JoA is taken into custody. Warped Warrior begins planning for his martial arts tournament.

9. Allhallows Eve (11/88)
Excellent Woman has a precognitive dream about Genocide rising from the grave and killing hundreds, if not thousands of people. Section Eight heads to the Tremayne cemetery where Genocide's body lies, discovering the Society of Syrynx attempting to raise the entire cemetery form the dead—just to see if they can do it. The Society is the variant studies class from the year ahead of them, consisting of Syrynx, Machiavelli, Prophet, Rhiannon, Lurch, Bluesjay and Silverfool. The two groups clash, as the Society is superstitious, insular, and on edge because of the workings of the spell.
    During the fight, Talon manages to defeat Machiavelli (whose blessing states that he can't be defeated by any mortal), presumably due to her android form. Warped Warrior is able to convince Machiavelli moments before the spell is finished to stop the ritual, and the Syrynxian shoots his own leader out of the sky with a rubber bullet to prevent the spell's completion. When Genocide's body is checked, it is found to have rejuvenated into perfect condition, and simply lacks an animating force. The groups re-bury him.
    The next day, Excellent Woman begins a campaign to have his body exhumed and cremated, both for public safety and to prevent such a heinous villain from being buried with honor. This slowly but steadily attracts media attention, and the project moves forward. It also draws White America's attention, who want to stop this desecration of their "Fallen Hero".

10. Midterm (11/88)
Section Eight undergoes their midterm examination for VS 114, without knowing it of course. A carnival comes to campus, the hobby of the millionaire shipping magnate and industrialist Thomas Prest. Prest is revealed to be a vampire, hunting after the beautiful Virginia Holly to become his new Bride of the Night. His mysterious allies include William "Billy" Jimson (a voodoo priest), and Tim Vanesk (an albino with the ability to control bats). The team goes through a series of tests in these encounters, denied any direct access to their foes until the end, when the final battle is pre-empted by professor Staff stepping out of the shadows and telling them they'll get their grades next class.
    Prest explains he isn't really a vampire, just a minor variant whose powers mirror those of vampire lore. He's even a Lancaster Grad, taking classes in Variant Studies in the late 70's before inheriting the family business, and an old friend of the professor's. It really is his circus—he keeps it as an amusement. Vanesk is another Lancaster Grad and employee of the circus, but Jimson never reveals the source of his powers. A friendship is struck between the groups, (save Death Penalty, who's still pissed at being fooled), and Prest agrees to bankroll Warped Warrior's tournament.

11. Mobius Trips II (11/88)
After weeks of intensive preparation, Warped Warriors "Lancaster College Variant Martial Arts Tournament" begins, boasting such famous visitors as Phoenix Talon, Blind Faith and Powerhouse. During the tourney (while Jay is getting his clock cleaned by Blind Faith), Mobius attacks again: a horde of dinosaurs appears about campus, wreaking havoc. The combined heroes scatter to deal with the assault—Mobius controlled the dinosaurs by a sub-sonic device that Shriekback blocks, making the horde easier to contain. The heroes regroup and track down Mobius, who escapes by time-shifting. During the confusion, Silence enters the school's physics department and steals their working Plovian Warp engine, presumably for S.H.R.I.M.P. Barr sees him, but is knocked unconscious before he can sound the alarm.
    Later, Lena is called to the dean of students' office, where she is met by Shtorm, one of the Soviet Union's national heroes. Shtorm politely asks her to return to the USSR to help protect her homeland. He is tactful, and accepts her refusal with good grace. Later still, Section Eight learns of Menagerie's escape from jail.

12. Nutball Nightmares (12/88)
The team, except Talon, begin being attacked by illusions pertaining to people and situations in their past, highlighting their insecurities, fears and failures. These are projected directly into their heads by Mobius in an attempt to weaken them before this, his first encounter with them (as far as he's concerned, as the heroes have discovered that Mobius moves backwards though time). Interestingly, Lena's visions include her family's escape from the Soviet Union, her being locked away in a room while troops came, the sound of rain on a clear day and the sounds of energy attacks in the conflict, from which her father escaped unscathed.
    During this mental onslaught, Section Eight is attacked by the Janitors of Anarchy, out on bail and mad as, well as mad as usual. They appear at the school and want revenge for their last defeat. While the distracted heroes eventually triumph, it is not before Jay takes 14 points of damage from a banana peel. Slapstick and Rubbermaid escape in Doombuggy as the clown car folds itself through its own door and disappears.

13. Mobius Trips I (12/88)
Even though the Janitors were defeated, the deadly illusions continue, as Jay, Jen, Lena and Chris find themselves unable to function properly, driven by old ghosts and past failures. The situation worsens as they begin to suffer wounds from the previous experiences. Talon remains unaffected, and eventually succeeds in tracking Mobius down to the same abandoned farmhouse that he used as the staging area for his last assault (for him, it's the first time he used it...). Section Eight mobilizes and defeats Mobius, despite their weakened state—Mobius seems significantly less powerful and experienced this time than last, and certainly nowhere near the power level he was at when fighting the Great Hunt. With Mobius defeated, the illusions vanish and life returns to normal.
    Excellent Woman manifests her teleportation powers for the first time to escape the collapsing farmhouse. This is well outside the scope of her current powers; Simon and Staff hypothesize that she might be capable of developing any psychic power given time and incentive, making her one of the mot potent ESPers in history.

14. A Matter of Timing (12/88)
While in a conversation with Simon Barr, Chris and Vivian make the startling connection between the S.H.R.I.M.P. time machine's inability to warp space and Daniel Wilson's power to manipulate reality—Wilson's power is key to a successful time travel device! The revelation come seconds to late to prevent Baron Mind from stealing Wilson out from under Talon's grasp. Section Eight is again forced to track down S.H.R.I.M.P., finding their new headquarters in Rhode Island. When they arrive, Death Penalty's reconnaissance reveals that Wilson is strapped to and integrated within the complicated and powerful machine, the disruption of which could have unguessable consequences. So they barrel in to attack anyway.

15. Infinite Loop (12/88)
The battle breaks out in the S.H.R.I.M.P. base while Lena unhooks Wilson from the machine. Under Warped Warrior's direction, Excellent Woman mind-controls Core, forcing him to build up to an explosion in hopes that it will stun the S.H.R.I.M.P. agents. Unfortunately, Core is hurled into the time machine by random fire, and the resulting chronal explosion turns him into Mobius before he vanishes backward into time.
    The explosion stuns everyone, and Baron Mind uses the confusion to summon Portal and escape. Jennifer recovers while the wormhole is closing and jumps in after him. A brief fight leads to Excellent Woman and Baron Mind absorbing one another's memories before Mind readies himself to snap her neck. Jen's life is saved by Portal's intervention, teleporting her away. Something in Baron Minds memories throws Jen into deep shock, and when she awakes, the memories are firmly suppressed in her head; they are full of things her conscious mind doesn't want to acknowledge, and it will take years for them to re-appear.
    Back in Rhode Island, Menagerie escapes—she isn't found in the rubble. Of Core/Mobius, there is no sign.
    Two days later Death Penalty is approached by Mike McCullouch in order to present her with a 'thank you' present for helping him pass philosophy. He uses the opportunity to make physical contact with her, revealing himself as the Soviet variant Doppleganger and absorbing her powers. Her last cry is a confused "Help, help, Mike's a sleep...." that is broadcast to all the other members of Section Eight.

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