“Monster” is given to anyone or anything that is non-canon/fan-made. Monster hunters see them as anomalies since they believe they “have no soul” and seek to destroy them.
The name is Joe Rover. Gamer. Writer. Superhero. With the help of my friends, I protect Megaton City from all sorts of villains whose only desire is chaos & destruction.
What causes a paradox?
One is a new timeline. The other is caused by fan-made events.
Fan-made events both exist and don’t exist. The fan gives life to the event, but the event isn’t official/canon. The event becomes a paradox or anomaly. Monster hunters then seek to destroy it.
The name is Joe Rover. Gamer. Writer. Superhero. With the help of my friends, I protect Megaton City from all sorts of villains whose only desire is chaos & destruction.
“This is Sally Pine reporting live for WAG News. I’m here with the driver of the car that’s been dangling over the edge of Wackmore Bridge for nearly six hours.”
Danny turned his head towards the driver’s side window so that his Omni-Cuff camera could record what he saw. The driver, a college-age male with a baseball cap and Van Dyke mustache, waved. Danny returned his view to Sally.
“Mr. Brinks,” said Sally.
“Call me ‘John.’ Mister is my father.”
“John, you’ve been hanging here for almost six hours…”
“Five hours, forty-nine minutes, and sixteen seconds, but who’s counting.”
“…what has been going through your mind?” Sally finished.
“Hmm…” John tapped his chin a couple times. “Not much. It’s kind of boring actually.”
Sally wanted to make sure she was hearing things correctly. “Boring?”
“Sure, the first hour or two, I was terrified, but after some time the adrenaline wears off. Afterwards, I read some books, watched a movie, and beat some Russian at Chess: Battle Royale.”
Danny switched the view back to Sally so she could ask her next question. “Any idea why it has taken rescue workers so long?
John yawned then shook his head like he was fighting off sleep. “Probably has something to do with the lava.”
The video zoomed in on Sally; she raised an eyebrow. “Lava?”
John pointed over the bridge–the best he could without causing the car to rock more. Sally and Danny peeked over the edge. Orange-red lava bubbled and popped below.
Danny kept his eyes on the lava so his camera could continue recording the street full of lava. “What do you know?” he said. “There is lava.”
“But why is there lava?” asked Sally.
John leaned back in his seat and turned his eyes to the sky. “The police said a semi carrying lava for Vulcan Labs overturned.”
“Why would someone be shipping lava?” asked Sally.
Danny didn’t break eye contact with the driver but did answer Sally. “I think Vulcan Labs is owned by Hephaestus.”
“Oh,” said Sally feeling foolish for not knowing. “Never mind then.”
Hephaestus, the Olympian smithing god, was used to working inside a volcano. Made sense he’d want some lava in order to feel at home.
Sally was about to ask another question, but the sounds of the crowd breaking into cheers interrupted her. Danny and Sally turned towards the sound. The Dogcar, a white and purple vehicle that looks like a dog in car form, rolled to a stop. The gull-wing doors opened; I stepped out. The crowd cheered with whoops and wows followed by chants of “Dogboy! Dogboy!”
I approached Sally and Danny. The claws on my feet, which stick out from my black boots, clicked on the bridge’s concreate.
“What kept you?” asked Sally.
“I had to stop Blackfeather from stealing mail,” I said.
“Why on Earth would he steal mail?” asked Sally.
“He didn’t want to pay for the Cheese of the Month Club.”
Danny chose a groan from his Omni-Cuff digital sound board.
I walked over to the car’s bumper.
“What’s up, dawg?” said the driver.
I knelt to pick up the car.
“Remember to lift with your legs,” said Danny.
I grabbed the bumper and let the telekinetic energy flow into the car. Golden lightning traveled down my arms and into the vehicle. The lightning was barely visible as it surrounded the car. I lifted the vehicle. It wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t light either. It was like lifting a bed mattress.
The phantasmic/psychic energy kept the car from falling apart under its own weight or from gravity.
I sat the car down. The cheering and applauding of the crowd drowned out the creaking and groaning of the car as the telekinetic energy faded from it and “normal” physics took hold.
“Thanks, Dogboy,” said the driver as medical workers assisted him.
“Yes, good job, Dogboy,” said Sally trying to stay professional but also wanting to cheer. “Now, what are you going to do about the lava?”
I glanced towards the edge of the bridge. “Does anyone have an ice pack?”
Copyright Joe Rover 2021. All rights reserved.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!
The villainous Glue laughed wildly within his hidden lair. “Ah-hahahah!! That fool Dogboy has taken the bait!” Glue twisted and squeezed his hands in excitement. “Soon he’ll be in my clutches. Now, what deathtrap should I use?”
Glue gazed over his wide collection of deadly machines. There was the giant mousetrap. There was the classic tank of sharks. “Maybe the Spinning Blades of Doom!” said Glue.
Bzzzzt!…Bzzztt!
“Oh, now what?” huffed the villain.
Glue stormed through his lair as the doorbell continued to buzz. Glue grumbled, “I’m coming. I’m coming.” He passed by gold statues of himself and walked under the 15 foot portraits of himself. He kidnapped the famous artist, Art with Sam, in order to commission them.
Glue flung the door open. “WHAT?!”
“Good evening, malicious sir,” said the man wearing a tweed overcoat and brimmed hat, which he tipped in greeting. “My name is Salesman. I am a lair-to-lair salesperson for the Omega Institute. Would you be interested in–”
“NO!”
SLAM!!
Glue followed his door slam with a door lock. He grumbled some more then turned. “GAH!” he yelped with a jump that made it look like he’d just seen a spider in his shower.
Salesman tipped his hat again.
“How’d you get in?” asked Glue.
The man held up a small black circle. “With the handy-dandy Portable Hole. You just stick this little beaut on any surface and voilà instant hole.” The man sat down his sale’s bag. With a click of the lock, he opened it and began riffling through it. “I’ve got boxing gloves on springs, acid spraying squirt flowers, gasses of all varieties; and of course, the ever popular freeze ray,” the man said, pulling the items out one by one.
Glue folded his arms. “Not interested.”
Salesman would not be deterred–his commission rested on getting a sale. “For the more modernist villain: I have swords that can slice an atom. I have bombs with misleading timers. I’ve got drones, spy cameras, and backdoor codes to various government databases.”
Glue let out an annoyed and warning sigh. Salesman either ignored him or didn’t hear him. Instead, he put a hand on Glue’s shoulder. “But, I can tell you are a…” He surveyed Glue’s black and orange containment suit. He could hear the sloshing of glue within. Without the suit, Glue would be a large glob of dried glue. “…uh, man of tradition. I’ve got cartoon bombs and sticks of dynamite…two for one.”
Glue groaned.
“How about some exploding pies?”
“What flavor?”
“Coconut creme.”
“Ew-yuck! I hate coconut creme. How about an ejector trap made to look like floor tiles?”
Salesman lifted his hat enough to scratch his head. He glanced down at his sale’s bag. “Gee, I don’t think so.”
Glue grunted a quick, dry laugh. “I do.” He tapped a button on his wrist computer panel.
SPOING!!
The spring loaded ejection title under Salesman launched him into the air and out through the hole in the roof–Glue had opened the roof; he didn’t want to clean up the mess.
“You’ll regret thiiiiiisss…” said the trailing voice of Salesman.
Glue closed the roof hatch then clasped his hands together. “Now…where was I?”
If you’d like more adventures starring Dogboy, check out the Joe Rover eBooks–available at many online retailers.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!
Copyright © 2019 Joe Rover
Dogboy and related characters Copyright © 2016-Present by Joe Rover
All rights reserved. No part of this post may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews or as a repost/share with link to the original post.
All characters, organizations, and locations in this post have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author are purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Peña–Chapters 17-31. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
This last section was hard to put down. The action picked up as did the suspense. At the end of each chapter, I wanted to read more.
In this section, Clark finally asks his parents about what’s in the old barn (like any fan of Superman didn’t know). But, we do get a nice look at Clark’s reaction; we get about two or three chapters dealing with how he feels about his origins. He does think about it for the rest of the novel, but it was during these few chapters that it is really spotlighted.
We also get to see Clark’s reaction to his suit and find out how Martha was able to make it.
But, the most important part is we finally find out who’s been taking the townspeople and what they want with them. We also learn why Wesco is so interested in the craters–green meteor rocks of course, but we learn why they care about them so much.
We find out if Bryan is a friend or foe and discover the real reason Lex was in Smallville.
Finally, we see Clark get his Superman name.
These last chapters were a whirlwind of action and emotion as everything finally fell into place. I enjoyed this new telling of Clark’s youth and origin. I felt like it didn’t drastically change things, just added or filled in some holes. I felt like this story could be standalone or have pieces that carry over into other stories.
Even though I could guess at most of what was going to happen–there wasn’t really a shocking plot twist–I still found the book enjoyable and reminded me why I like the Superman stories so much. I enjoyed the investigation bits. I enjoyed the action. I enjoyed the descriptions of Clark using his powers and how it felt to him–something that you don’t hear or see much of. I would recommend this book to any Superman fan or fan of any superhero. 4.8/5
What are your thoughts on the ending? What did you think would happen once Bryan learned about Clark’s powers? Was this a good Superman story or should it be forgotten?
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading.
Here’s the complete playlist: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Infinity Train is a (as of now) mini-series airing on Cartoon Network from Aug. 5-9. For now, it is ten 11 minute episodes. Each night two episodes will air. The show is also available on the Cartoon Network app.
In the first two episodes, Tulip is on her way to coding camp. She is already working on a video game similar to Space Invaders. Unfortunately, her divorced parents are unable to take her at the last minute. She decides to make her own way there. Soon, she discovers a train. Upon entering, she is transported to a seemingly endless train where each car contains its own–and sometimes bizarre–universe. She needs to make her way to the Conductor in order to leave.
The first episode gives us a few theories to work with. Tulip meets a round robot that can divide itself called One-One. One side is depressive while the other is more upbeat. Both are pretty naive. One-One is looking for its “mother,” which it doesn’t know who she is or what she looks like. Since Tulip is a coder and interested in video games, it is possible that she is One-One’s “mother.” She could either create the robot as a video game character or as an actual robot.
The next big theory that I have comes from what happens after Tulip tries to escape the train. Outside the cars is a desolate wasteland. She soon runs into a cockroach-like creature that can age people/suck out their souls. It would seem like Tulip has been transported to the future, but I think the train cars are actual other worlds–either imaginary or real–with the train as some sort of hub or container. I am thinking that the train is more symbolic like the place is a dreamworld or the mind. The soul-sucking roaches might be things that cause us to give up on our dreams; they kill us on the inside.
More evidence to my dreamland theory shows up in the second episode. On Tulip’s hand is a glowing number. In the first episode it is 115, but it changes to 114 in the second. The thing is it doesn’t change during her “fails” through the other cars. She has trouble in the crossword, evil plant, and pinball worlds, but the number stays the same. It only changes after she yells at One-One for causing her trouble.
If One-One is her creation and she yells at it, and later tries to sell him/it in order for a way off the train, her dropping a “health point” could mean she’d been tempted to give up on her dreams. She states that all she wanted was to get off the train; she is willing to give up on going to camp (i.e. give up on her dreams) in order to escape.
When Tulip asks One-One what happens if the number reaches zero, One-One says she’ll be gone. He doesn’t say she’ll die–Tulip assumes she’ll die. There are other ways “to be gone,” such as giving up on your dreams or just simply getting kicked off the train. In the first episode, we do see someone getting vaporized by a strange light, but we don’t know if the person was killed or just transported away.
For now, my theory is that the Infinity Train is some kind of dreamland filled with imagination (possibly other worlds). People are brought there to come up with ideas, fight for their ideas, or learn some lesson–this part I haven’t completely figured out. It does seem the main point of Tulip’s story is her fight for her dreams. It is almost like she is deciding something–maybe does she continue running away or does she return to her family.
What’s your theory? Let me know in the comments.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading.
If you’re interested in more reviews, theories, stories, and more, don’t forget to follow and turn on notifications. Or you can check out more of my posts in the archives.
Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Peña–Chapters 5-7. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
Not much to say about these chapters that wouldn’t be a lot of spoilers, but I did enjoy the Smallville TV show reference where a certain billionaire almost runs Clark over with his car.
I do enjoy how hints of the plot are sprinkled throughout. You don’t feel like you’re being hit over the head. You get little clues like how Lana, the girl who knows just about everything that happens in Smallville, doesn’t know about the missing persons. That tells you that whoever is behind it has some power/money.
Also when Clark meets up with Gloria, the one who told him about the missing people, she acts as if she doesn’t remember telling him. There isn’t a moment where he straight up asks her and she says, “What are you talking about?” but she does seem confused or she wants to change the subject. Did someone get to her? Threaten her? Pay her off? Does the villain have some kind of mind-erasing power or serum?
About the only problem I have with the book, at this point, is that it is kind of slow moving. It seems like it is taking a long time for Clark to get moving. He seems concerned about the missing persons but also doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. At times it is almost like he goes, “Oh yeah! That’s right! There are people disappearing. I should look into that.”
I think it is great that the main villain might not be a Luthor. I just hope that Bryan doesn’t pull a Lex and turn out to be the bad guy. They’ve always done it where Lex and Clark were friends and then Lex turns evil; I hope they don’t do the same with Bryan, so far he seems like a good friend to Clark.
So, what do you think? Who’s behind the missing persons? What do you think is happening to the missing people? Why is Bryan’s brother so interested in the Kent Farm? Tell me your theories in the comments.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading.
Consider following and turning on notifications so you know when the next update is available.
Kkktt!!
This is Captain Stone of the International League of Super-Transbeings. The date is May 16, 2003. We have just received the following message.
Series of text messages sent from Unknown on July 10, 2019
Unknown: It’s all a lie.
Unknown: Ten years ago extraterrestrial life invaded Earth. That part is true.
Unknown: It is also true that the battle was over in three days.
Unknown: But it wasn’t the aliens that were victorious. Earth won that day.
Unknown: The governments saw this as an opportunity. War, famine, crime, violence, hate, climate change, and terrorism were all on the rise.
Unknown: They saw a chance to change all that. The drones, the ships–those are controlled by the Earth Unity Federation pilots. The few aliens we see on patrol are really Earth Unity Federation military units.
Unknown: The EUF scavenged the technology left by the aliens. They pretended to be the aliens. They created the peace treaty in order to set up new restrictions and have the aliens as the scapegoats.
Unknown: The aliens haven’t been on the Earth since July 6, 2009. It’s all been a ruse to keep us in check.
…
…
Addendum: It is now July 10, 2009. The alien invaders did arrive as predicted by the message. We, however, were able to intercept them before reaching Earth.
The Citizens remain unaware of any supernatural presence.
Kkkktt!!
Thanks for reading! Joe Rover eBooks are available at many online retailers.
Copyright © 2019 Joe Rover
International League of Super-Transbeings, Dogboy, and related characters Copyright © 2016-Present by Joe Rover
All rights reserved. No part of this post may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews or as a repost/share with link to the original post.
All characters, organizations, and locations in this post have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author are purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
DING.
You’ve got a message from Glen.
Glen: What’cha doin’?
Ace: Stakeout with Watermark and Windmaker.
Glen: What kind of stakeout?
Ace: Someone’s illegally smuggling domesticated kaiju. They plan to use them in kaiju fights.
John Watermark: What part of “secret mission” did you not understand?
Ace: It’s just Glen.
John Watermark: I don’t care.
Ace: How’d you get into this conversation anyway?
John Watermark: That’s exactly my point. You never know who’s listening.
John Watermark: Or in this case texting.
John Watermark: How do we know that’s really Glen?
Ace: It says so right above the message bubble. Sent by Glen, March 19, 2012.
John Watermark: < : (
Ace: Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to do that!
John Watermark: I’m not *that* old.
Ace: How old are you?
John Watermark: Classified.
Glen: You should’ve let me come. I can help.
John Watermark: Sidekicks aren’t allowed on missions.
Glen: Sidekick??!!
Ace: Glen’s not my sidekick. He’s my friend!
Glen: Thanks!
John Watermark: By all means, that makes it better. Now I really should have brought him.
David Windmaker: Is this a private conversation or can anyone join?
David Windmaker: We have movement. I see three razorbacks, a bladebeak, five deathfoots, six screechers, and
David Windmaker: Is that a mousecat? What’s a cute kaiju like that doing here?
John Watermark: Probably breakfast.
Ace: WHAT??!
John Watermark: The “cute” kaijus end up as meals for the customers.
Glen: I think I’m going to be sick. You gotta do something!
John Watermark: What do you think we’re doing here!?
John Watermark: Now get off the line so we can get to work.
Glen: Who says “get off the line” anymore?
Ace: Old people…like John.
John Watermark: *sighs*
Hope you enjoyed this short tale. Consider leaving a like and sharing it with your friends.
Until July 31, 2019, many of my eBooks–like the Ace Journeyman book Alliance–will be on sale, only on Smashwords.
Thanks for reading! And until the next wormhole…bye!
Copyright © 2019 Joe Rover
Ace Journeyman and related characters Copyright © 2016-Present by Joe Rover
All rights reserved. No part of this post may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews or as a repost/share with link to the original post.
All characters, organizations, and locations in this post have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author are purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
To celebrate the release of “Alliance” my other eBooks will be on sale (Smashwords only) until May 14.
“Not So Secret Origins”–free
“Rebels”–$0.99
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Joe Rover 