Previously: Twain escaped with the cup and the mask, leaving Digger stranded and powerless in a strange city. And now…
Digger sat on the curb outside the motel’s office. He tried to ignore the irritated glare of the motel’s balding manager. Digger didn’t know his nationality–maybe Persian, maybe Pakistani or Indian or Turkish or whatever. The only thing he knew for sure was that if he guessed, he would guess wrong and piss the guy off even more than he already was, what with the long-distance calls and everything.
Which made no sense, because he’d reversed the charges, so the guy wasn’t out any money. But for some people, profit missed was money lost.
When Digger had first found the door locked, he’d immediately tried the door again, but it appeared the door wasn’t simply messing with him. It had shut and locked behind him at some point after he had run out in pursuit of Twain. He checked his pockets, but the room key wasn’t in them. He was pretty sure he remembered setting it on the dresser by the TV. He slammed his shoulder against the door once, but the door was pretty solid. More solid than his shoulder, at least.
He limped down the stairs and headed to the office, where he’d found the manager. He’d tried unsuccessfully for what seemed twenty minutes, but was probably closer to five, to get the guy to open up the room for him. Problem was, Twain had done all the room booking. The guy had never even seen Digger before, and sensed that he was being played somehow. So he had refused to open up the room.
[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”left”]What had his powers ever really done for him? At worst, they seemed to be some kind of danger magnet…[/blockquote]So Digger had spent another chunk of time–brief, but stil too long–convincing the guy to let him use the phone. And not having his own phone in his pocket–it having disappeared to an alternate dimension along with his clothes, wallet and superpowers–he’d had to use directory assistance to call Jill collect at the Traveler’s Tavern and ask her to get in touch with Davey Lopez. He wasn’t sure exactly what he hoped Davey would do, but Davey was his best bet to get money fast.
And now it was just down to waiting and figuring out his next move. Which on the one hand was a no-brainer: Twain had the mask, and Digger needed the mask to get his identity back. But did Digger really want his old identity back?
What had his powers ever really done for him? At worst, they seemed to be some kind of danger magnet, sucking him into all kinds of peril. Even if they weren’t attracting trouble, people certainly turned to him to solve it once it arrived. It was almost physically impossible to be super and live a peaceful life. Did he really want to go back to that? Wouldn’t it just be better to go back to being plain old Mason Ryan, normal guy with a normal life?
Which is when the gust of wind came out of nowhere, and a familiar voice said, “Dude, what the hell happened to you?â€
Who is this? Find out tomorrow in our next exciting episode!
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so Digger’s name is Mason Ryan. for a second there it seemed more like Peter Parker
Yeah, I was piling it on, but this is the place for it. All the plans have fallen apart, and Digger’s not sure exactly what to do next. But soon, Digger will be launched in a new direction with a new goal as we get into the second act of the story.
it definitely fits there. still it feels like it lacks something of Digger that is blunt with a really unique perspective like in Hero Go Home when he goes off on the reporter after the space egg incident about how being a super hero is really about hitting things and having to tip toe around normal people really doesn’t fit well with it. maybe it’s a little hard to identify with because I don’t know anything about Mason Ryan pre-whatever happened to make him Digger (isn’t whatever that was mysterious and uncertain even to Digger?)
I understand what you’re saying. The only explanation I can make is that in Hero Go Home, he was still in shock after a pretty intense fight, and angry about the way it had turned out. And even though his Drillers had stopped working, they were still attached to his arms and he still had his other powers, so there was no going back to a normal life.
Here, he’s starting to get used to the idea of being able to pass for normal, of actually *being* normal. And the idea is not entirely horrible at the moment.