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As Issue 10 opens, Kevin wakes in bed next to Magda. As the two get up, Kevin mentions that stake-outs at the cemetary have been fruitless. The heroes have encountered no Nasties at all, and to make matters worse, Joe has been noticably lazier. Magda mentions there will be snow soon and she leaves to join her sisters on their cleansing rounds. |
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Kevin tries to wake Joe, unaware that the speedster Hero is in the thrall of a bed-mate of his own -- an energy-sucking Leahaun Sidhe. |  |
After finally emerging from his room, a woozy and head-ache suffering Joe Phat joins Kevin to go discuss strategy. Kevin believes the on-coming snow-storm could cause a massive Nasty evacuation from the mountain-top cemetary. He wonders which other Heroes he could convince to join their patrols. Joe, however, remains unable to focus and feels a constant pressure to return home. |
| Back at the heroes apartment, Wally Ut senses the presense of the she-demon dwelling in Joe Phat's room. He confronts the succubus and banishes her from the apartment. The self-proclaimed Mage decides the heroes he has allied with will be needing additional help. Meanwhile, a puzzled Pale Incanter notices his agent has been routed. He summons his sons to find the succubus, only to find them missing as well. |
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The errant Sprigginflints are in fact, hunting a small Nasty when they run into Kevin and Joe. |
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While Joe manages to grab
the Sprig's victim, he finds his headache suddenly worsening and he is unable to keep hold
of the small Nasty -- it quickly runs away. During the battle, Kevin is bit by one of the Sprig's. A burst of energy from the bat flows through the Pendragon and knocks the Sprig unconscious or dead. An escaping Sprig speeds off on his flying skateboard and right into the fist of John Strider, the Presbyter -- an old companion of Kevin's. |
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| As Kevin and John prepare to interrogate the captured Sprigginflint, Joe Phat excuses himself and rushes home -- right into the arms of the waiting Succubus. Still disguised as Madga and Isis' sister Ishtar, the Leahaun Sidhe leads the enamored Hero away from his home. Magda arrives just in time to witness the heroes abduction. |
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As Joe is kidnapped, Prester John and Kevin Matchstick begin interrogating the Sprigginflint. Kevin's threats with the bat prove useless and Prester John uses some hypnotic ability to gain answers from the uncooperative Nasty. They learn that the Pale Incanter is behind the Heroes gathering, but his only concern is with Kevin. The Sprig claims that the Pale Incanter knows Kevin from "before" and considers the Pendragon the "source of all his pain." The Incanter desires revenge. |
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| Examining the Sprigginflints spurred elbows, Kevin realizes that one of the Grackleflints he had encountered when discovering his identity must have survived the destruction of the Styx Hotel. The question is: Which brother survived? Kevin can only dimly remember three of the Grackleflints demise. |
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| Prester John points out that Kevin has been pursuing Nastys since the building -- a focal point of dark energies, and home of many Nastys -- had collapsed. Indeed, he implies that the collapse of the Styx may have released the Nastys the Heroes collectively battle. | |
| Kevin and John return to the apartment where Magda informs them of Joe's abduction. She explains that she's dicovered a very strong sorcerous protection barring entry to Joe's room. Kevin uses the bat to break down the barrier and the door where they discover the Succubus' nest. |
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| Kevin chastises himself for being to self-involved to notice Joe's dilemma, and begins planning both Joe's rescue and an assault on the cemetary portal that evening. Suddenly there's a knock at the door and a surprised Kevin opens it to find, not Wally Ut -- but Kirby Hero! |
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All Artwork and the Story of Mage:
The Hero Defined are © Matt Wagner
Site Design and Conception by Tech-Style
