If you’re confused, check out The Coming Of The Crucible from the archives on the left and get caught up for God’s sake!!

I’ll leave the physical character descriptions mostly to your own imaginations, as they exist within mine. Haven’t gotten around to giving all of them a physical manifestation yet, because I have difficulty drawing stick figures. Enjoy and leave comments on the board.

 

CRUCIBLE #1-
TESTING THE WATERS
-1-

PANEL ONE: All four panels will stretch from one side of the page to the other for a panoramic view of the surrounding area. Feel free to spice things up with as many little details as you can muster. The setting is a military base on the East Coast located in the New York countryside. There are trees and bushes prevalent in the area, and you can even throw a rabbit or something in there if you wish. The main focus of this panel will be the control booth that sits at the entrance of the base. The booth is next to a driveway that leads to the base itself. The top of the booth has been blown off, and a plume of smoke is wafting into the air. The guard stationed there is slumped over through the greeting window, and a trail of blood has dripped down the side of the booth to make a tiny pool on the ground.

 

1 CAP: SINCE JOINING THE CRUCIBLE SIX MONTHS AGO, I HAVE TO ADMIT TO YOU…I’VE SEEN SOME PRETTY FUCKED UP THINGS.
2 CAP: AND BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, THAT’S SAYING A LOT.

3 CAP: IN A COUPLE OF HOURS I’D LEARN THAT I HADN’T SEEN NOTHING YET.

PANEL TWO: Same theme, but the angle can switch to whatever you’re comfortable with. We’ve moved past the gate and are now on the main lawn. Located there are a series of gun turrets that have been ripped off their hinges. The broken mechanics are leaving oil stains on the bright green grass.

 

4 CAP: THE DOMINION WAS MISBEHAVING AGAIN. YOU’D THINK THAT OUR GOVERNMENT’S CONCESSION OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT OF ANTARCTICA TO THEIR CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO KEEP THEM OUT OF OUR HAIR.
5 CAP: AND USUALLY IT IS. BUT THIS IS THE SECOND SUCH SIEGE IN AS MANY WEEKS.

PANEL THREE: We’re getting closer to the base and seeing that after the enemy penetrated the perimeter defenses, a legion of soldiers rushed out to the front of the base to defend its front door. Bad idea. The area is riddled with the bodies of fallen soldiers and overturned military jeeps.

 

6 CAP: STILL…THEY WERE JUST A BUNCH OF SENTIENT TOASTERS WITH ATTITUDE PROBLEMS. SENTIENT TOASTERS THAT SPROUTED LEGS AND DECIDED TO VAPORIZE THEIR CREATORS.
7 CAP: ONLY THREE OF US WERE DISPATCHED TO SEND THEM PACKING AGAIN, SO THAT SHOWS JUST HOW SERIOUS WE WERE TAKING THIS.

PANEL FOUR: We’ve finally reached the exterior walls of the base, and a robotic figure is crashing through the granite wall and sailing through the air.

 

8 SFX: CRASH!
9 CAP: MY TEAMMATES GOT THERE AT 2:00 PM…

10 CAP:…AND STARTED BREAKING THINGS BEFORE THE CLOCK STRUCK 2:01.

-BREAK-

-2 & 3-

PANEL ONE: Double page splash. This is the money shot. We have three members of the Crucible kicking robot ass inside the base and taking names. PARAGON, the world’s last boy scout, decked out in a costume displaying his country’s red, white, and blue colors is standing at the far left of the page, defiance and overblown ego oozing all over the place. Behind him is the hole in the wall he just created from throwing a member of the Dominion through it. A ray of light is shining through the hole and a blast of wind is causing Paragon’s long cape to blow in the breeze. Elsewhere on the scene, AEGIS, a robotic humanoid figure, is swooping over the area, blasting every evil robot in sight. Speaking of the evil robots, just create something human sized and sleek. I’m leaving this up to you because I need you to draw a lot of these, so settle on something that’s easiest for you to replicate many times. One last member to include, this would be GALE, who can control and re-direct powerful gusts of air. He’s picking up a pile of wreckage and propelling it at excessive velocity through the mid-section of an approaching robotic adversary.

 

1 PARAGON: HIT THEM HARD AND HIT THEM OFTEN.
2 GALE: (whisper) HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING THAT LINE?

3 SFX: SHRACK! SHRACK!

4 SFX: CRASH!

5 CAP: MEET PARAGON, THE LEADER/EGO OF THE CRUCIBLE. HE SPITS AT YOU AND YOU DIE.

6 CAP: IT’S REALLY THAT SIMPLE.

7 CAP: AEGIS, BEFORE THE EXPENSIVE FLYING BODY CAST, WAS A U.S. SOLDIER BADLY INJURED IN A TEST EXERCISE.

8 CAP: GALE GREW UP IN A CORNFIELD IN IOWA UNTIL A TWISTER UNEARTHED A FEW DOZEN BARRELS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL ON HIS DAD’S FARM.

9 CAP: HE USED TO LEAD THIS OUTFIT BEFORE PARAGON HIT THE SCENE. HE’S NOT BITTER ABOUT IT…

10 CAP: ….REALLY.

-BREAK-

-4-

PANEL ONE: Gale performs a nonchalant hand gesture and a small self-contained funnel appears underneath a robot, cleaving it in two.

 

1 GALE: HATE TO BRING THIS UP…BUT THESE THINGS ARE
RE-GENERATING.
2 SFX: BASH!

PANEL TWO: Close-up of Paragon as he fires beams of blue light from his eyes at a target off-panel.

 

3 PARAGON: THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE.
4 SFX: SHRACKK!

5 PARAGON: AEGIS, CAN YOU SHUT THEM DOWN?

PANEL THREE: Aegis swats away one of the Dominion and touches his hand to his temple, as if analyzing something. His robotic eyes are glowing bright red.

 

6 SFX: SWAK!
7 AEGIS: SCANNING…

8 AEGIS: THEIR BINARY FUNCTIONS ARE FAR TOO COMPLEX FOR MY INTERNAL MECHANICS.

9 AEGIS: IF YOU’D LIKE, I COULD ENHANCE THE PROFIENCY OF MY OWN CPU BY SIPHONING POWER DIRECTLY FROM LOCUS CONTROL.

PANEL FOUR: Paragon slams two of the robots together face first.

 

10 SFX: BASH!
11 PARAGON: HOW LONG?

PANEL FIVE: Close up of Aegis as his eyes glow red once again and the super computer taking the place of his brain makes precise calculations.

 

12 AEGIS: ROUGHLY FIVE MINUTES.
PANEL SIX: Paragon uses his heat vision to fry a robot that was creeping up behind Gale whose expression is one of shock and disbelief. He’s never needed help before.

 

13 PARAGON: MAKE IT TWO.
14 SFX: SHRACKK!

15 SFX: BOOM!

-BREAK-

-5-

PANEL ONE: Gale and Paragon are fighting back to back as the robots encircle them. Time’s running out.

 

1 CAP: ACTUALLY….
PANEL TWO: The bots are virtually on top of them and Gale’s face is beginning to show the signs of panic. Paragon is wearing his usual confident expression. After all, he can’t die.

 

2 CAP: ….IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF.
PANEL THREE: The robots fall away from our heroes. Their strings have been clipped.

 

3 GALE: DAMN!
PANEL FOUR: The three heroes are standing amidst the wreckage wondering just what the hell is going on.

 

4 PARAGON: THAT WAS A BIT CLOSE. EVEN FOR ME.
5 GALE: SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE PARAGON. THE DOMINION CAN’T REGENER—

6 AEGIS: WAIT.

PANEL FIVE: Paragon is confused and stares inquisitively at his robotic teammate.

 

7 PARAGON: WHAT IS IT?
PANEL SIX: Aegis’ eyes are glowing again and two small antennae have protruded from his helmet.

 

8 AEGIS: LOCUS APPEARS TO BE PICKING UP SOME SORT OF DISTURBANCE IN IOWA CITY.
PANEL SEVEN: Pull in closer on Gale. He’s obviously concerned about his hometown and his face is a mix of anger and panic.

 

9 GALE: DISTURBANCE? WHAT KIND OF DISTURBANCE?
PANEL EIGHT: Same shot, but this time, there’s nothing but panic on his face. Obviously, something is very wrong.

 

10 AEGIS: (off-panel) IT’S MISSING.
-BREAK-

-6-

PANEL ONE: Takes up about half the page. Wide spanning shot of the three heroes flying through the afternoon sky. There are clouds among them and the sun is shining brightly in the right corner of the panel. Everyone is sporting a serious visage.

 

1 CAP: MINUTES LATER…
2 CAP: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW GALE FELT AT THAT MOMENT.

PANEL TWO: Close-up of the intense eyes of Paragon.

PANEL THREE: Same shot, but he’s seen something shocking and his eyes show his disbelief. That whatever he’s seeing can’t be real. Or that it shouldn’t be.

 

3 PARAGON: (whisper) what the hell?
PANEL FOUR: Gale dives off panel and his agonized cry follows him in a spiral as he rockets to the ground.

 

4 GALE: NOOOOOOOOO!!!
PANEL FIVE: Paragon and Aegis are still airborne. Aegis, being a bit of a stiff, has no reaction to the horror that is present several feet below.

 

5 PARAGON: MY GOD.
PANEL SIX: Close-up of Paragon. His confident demeanor has been disturbed, and for the first time in a long while, he’s completely shocked and horrified at something he’s seeing.

 

6 PARAGON: (whisper) Call them.
7 PARAGON: (whisper) Call them now…

-BREAK-

-7-

PANEL ONE: Shot of a young man (Taylor Hunter) entering a pub. He’s a young African-American teenager wearing a black leather jacket and Ray-Ban sunglasses. His hair is fairly short, but not bald, and there’s an earring in his left ear.

 

1 CAP: NEW YORK CITY.
PANEL TWO: The young man is looking around the pub, obviously attempting to locate someone, while the hillbilly denizens of the establishment, drinking and shooting pool, stare at him in disbelief and indignation.

 

2 CAP: WHERE THE HELL IS HE?
PANEL THREE: His facial expression tells us that he’s identified his quarry, but for reasons not yet revealed, he doesn’t appear the least bit happy at making his discovery.

PANEL FOUR: A large scruffy man is sitting at the bar, beer in hand, with an ashtray a few inches away from him. Scary guy. If you were to meet him in a dark alley, start praying, it’s not going to be pretty. The young man is approaching the stool directly next to him, but his face isn’t in the panel.

 

3 CAP: REMEMBER WHEN I MENTIONED PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN ALL THINGS FUCKED UP?
PANEL FIVE: The man takes a swig of his beer while the young man sits down next to him.

 

4 CAP: MEET ROOSEVELT WEST. PROFESSIONAL PEDOPHILE.
5 CAP: THE MAN WHO MURDERED MY TWIN SISTER.

PANEL SIX: The young man is speaking to West, but the large man appears to be ignoring him, staring off into space and only concerned with his beer bottle.

 

6 HUNTER: DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN WEST? COME ON, BE AN ADULT ABOUT THIS FOR ONCE.
-BREAK-

-8-

PANEL ONE: West belches in Taylor’s face.

 

1 WEST: BUUURRRPPP!
2 CAP: HE’D BE DEAD IF MY LIFE WASN’T LINKED TO HIS.

3 CAP: YOU SEE, IF ONE OF US DIES, THEN THE OTHER SHOULD START LOOKING FOR A MATCHING TOMBSTONE. FAST.

PANEL TWO: Taylor has not been shaken in the least bit by West’s display of ignorant defiance and stares back at him in annoyance.

 

4 HUNTER: HAVE IT YOUR WAY.
PANEL THREE: Taylor stands up from the stool and begins walking off, leaving West to sit alone at the bar, hugging his beer.

 

5 CAP: SIDE EFFECT OF THE ALIEN SOURCE THAT GIVES US OUR POWERS.
6 CAP: “SPECIAL ABILITIES CAN ONLY BE ACTIVATED AND MAINTAINED BY CLOSE PROXIMITY BETWEEN BOTH HOSTS.”

PANEL FOUR: Same shot except West’s head has jerked upward suddenly and his eyes are blank. And I don’t mean that his eyes have a blank expression on them. I mean that both of his eyes are completely black.

 

7 CAP: “PRIMARY HOST CAN EXERT PHYSICAL CONTROL OVER SECONDARY HOST.”
PANEL FIVE: Taylor is heading for the pub’s door, and West is following obediently behind him several feet back. The rednecks filling the place are looking on with shocked expressions. If there were two testicles to split among them, they may try to attack the young man…but there aren’t.

 

8 CAP: NOT THAT THIS IS EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT.
9 CAP: IT’S JUST THAT HE MAKES ME DO THIS…

10 CAP: EVERY.

11 CAP: TIME.

-BREAK-

-9-

PANEL ONE: Taylor is outside of the bar now, leaning against a street pole with an annoyed expression on his face as West exits the pub.

PANEL TWO: The two men are now facing each other and Hunter is calmly speaking to West while the large man stares blankly ahead.

 

1 HUNTER: UNGRATEFUL BASTARD.
PANEL THREE: A metallic substance is flowing over the face of Taylor Hunter, and he has a determined grimace on his face.

 

2 HUNTER: ENGAGE.
PANEL FOUR: An intense flash of light.

 

3 SFX: FLASH!
PANEL FIVE: Splash. COUNTER-BALANCE flies off into the afternoon sky. The duo is decked out in metallic bodysuits with helmets that mask their true identities. Since Hunter and West are quite dissimilar in body type, this is reflected by their respective costumes, with Hunter appearing small and lithe and West being a large brute.

 

4 CAP: IN AN HOUR, KEEPING WEST IN LINE WOULD BE THE LEAST OF MY CONCERNS.
-BREAK-

-10-

PANEL ONE: A woman wearing a business suit with shoulder length blond hair and wire frame glasses is being pushed aside by a man with a camera slung over his shoulder.

 

1 CAP: MIAMI.
2 WOMAN: YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO STAY BEHIND THE LINE, JERK!

PANEL TWO: The determined paparazzi pushes past the young woman, knocking her to the floor. The man is heading toward a dressing room blocked off by a curtain.

 

3 SFX: BUMP!
4 WOMAN: OOF! ASS.

5 PAPARAZZI: JUST ONE SHOT. ALL I NEED IS ONE SHOT.

PANEL THREE: We see the man’s silhouette in the dark green curtain he’s getting ready to pull it back.

PANEL FOUR: He pulls back the curtain and there’s a woman attempting to dress inside. This will be our first glimpse of Timbre. She has her back turned to him. She’s slipping into a sleek one-piece bikini/spandex number, and it’s covering the area of her body from her crotch to just below her bust line.

PANEL FIVE: Close-up of the back of Ms. Blaire’s head. She has beautiful flowing blond hair.

 

6 TIMBRE: IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN…
7 TIMBRE:…AND I’M CERTAIN I’M NOT…

PANEL SIX: Timbre has turned around to face her irritator and she appears pissed. Even PO’ed, she’s still a looker. Pick a model, I don’t really care, but this woman has to stop traffic. We’ve got a full body shot coming up on the next page, so hang tight.

 

8 TIMBRE:…MY LOVELY AGENT INFORMED ALL BLOOD-SUCKING PAPARAZZI…
PANEL SEVEN: The young opportunist has been thrown through the air and is sailing through the curtain at an amazing speed. Told you she was pissed.

 

9 TIMBRE: …TO STAY BEHIND THE DAMN LINE!!
10 CAP: ALLISON BLAIRE, a.k.a. TIMBRE.

11 CAP: SHE HAS A SMALL PROBLEM WITH ANGER MANAGEMENT.

-BREAK-

-11-

PANEL ONE: Splash. TIMBRE has emerged from the dressing room ready to bust heads. One-piece bikini, stylish design, beautiful thighs, amble bust, you know the deal, and before you think I’m stereotyping or objectifying women…that’s the point. Timbre is supposed to be a stereotype. There’s a very good reason for this. Honest.

 

1 CAP: AND SHE’S STILL FINE.
PANEL TWO: Timbre sees her young agent sprawled across the floor attempting to regain her composure.

 

2 CAP: THEN AGAIN, MAYBE THAT’S JUST MY TEENAGE HORMONES TALKING.
PANEL THREE: Close-up of Timbre as her face ignites in rage.

 

3 CAP: NAH.
PANEL FOUR: Close-up of the downed paparazzi rubbing his neck in pain. The lens on his camera shatters suddenly. Something’s coming.

 

4 CAP: SHE’S HOT.
5 SFX: KREESH!

PANEL FIVE: The man grabs his ears in pain as an intense wave of sound washes over him.

 

6 CAP: EVEN WHEN SHE’S SPLITTING EARDRUMS.
7 PAPARAZZI: AAAAGGGHHH!!

-BREAK-

Next time: The Continuation…

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