One of the tough parts of doing a story like this is that you can't go back and make changes as your ideas evolve. That happened this week, but I couldn't go back and retroactively rename last week's piece, even though in retrospect, the title for this chapter obviously needed to be "The New Centurion" rather than "The Ice Queen." I also feel like we've spent too much time in backstory here in the early-going, but what can you do? When I do go back and finally edit this thing, some of this stuff may well get the axe. In the meantime, though, you're stuck with the first cut. Hopefully it's at least the best first cut I can put out.
With all of that said, I'm inordinately pleased with this week's piece. That probably means that no one else is gonna like it at all, but I still think it came out well. But my opinion only matters so much; you'll have to let me know what you think.
Finally, this is it. This version of this particular project was only ever supposed to be a sketch, and as much as I think it's going well, I know that I badly need to stick it on the shelf for a while. I'm trying to put out a book next year, and "The Return of Dr. Necropolis" isn't going to be a part of that book, so with that in mind, I need to focus on other stuff. I'll talk about that a little more tomorrow, but for now, what you need to know is that the Doctor is going on hiatus, and he won't be back until late Spring at the very earliest. So get your fix now, because after this, it's gonna be all Sneakatara Boatman, all the time for the next few months.
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The Return of Dr. Necropolis
Chapter 5 (Cont): The New Centurion
Despite his mother’s warning, Blaine found himself in Special Agent Tiffany Trujillo's car the next morning, cruising up the Taconic Parkway towards Sing Sing and Dr. Necropolis. Tiffany had worn a blue pants suit and a professionally-laundered shirt that morning, and for once, she looked more like an FBI agent than one of the world’s most famous former superheroes. She was quiet to the point of being uncommunicative, however, and after twenty minutes or so, it started making Blaine nervous.
Eventually, Blaine tried to break the silence. “I talked to my mother yesterday. It seemed like Dr. Necropolis scared her. You have any idea why? I’d never seen her like that before.”