Marcus V. Calvert's Blog, page 47

December 21, 2016

Writing Prompt #31--The Reset Option

You’re kind of a glorified sidekick within a massive super hero organization. Something of a legacy, your parents were both precogs. Unfortunately, you weren’t born with their power or anything remotely cool (like telekinesis or mind reading). Nope, you’re a normal person who dies very easily. The thing is, once you die, your mind shoots back one day into the past. Thus, you could undo today’s catastrophe—as long as you die within 24 hours of it. The problem is that they never let you in the field (even though you constantly train). You sit a bunker inside of main HQ, ready to blow your brains out whenever something goes horribly wrong in the field. At thirty-two, you’ve helped avert doomsday a number of times . . . yet this is gettin’ old.
What happens next?


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Published on December 21, 2016 12:44 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 20, 2016

Writing Prompt #30--The Super PAC

You were a rising star in the GOP, a lobbyist without peer with a silver-tongued gift for gab. They called you “Snake Oil” and put you on all the talk shows to defend all kinds of unpopular candidates, issues, or whatever. Unlike the other pundits, your arguments weren’t (completely) shit-filled or nonsensical. Then came the zombie apocalypse. It wasn’t as fun as everyone wanted. Nor did it last very long. A ruthless military response, a couple of well-placed nukes, and it barely spread beyond the Bible Belt. The problem would be the surviving zombies. Some of ‘em are actually quite nice . . . as long as they’re fed 10 pounds of raw meat every 12 hours. One of the poor bastards happens to be a multi-billionaire tech genius and an admirer of yours. She wants you to create a Super PAC called “Dead Lives Matter” and pursue the cause for zombie rights. Basically, she wants all law-abiding zombies (including herself) to have the same civil rights as everyone else. She then puts a check for $8 million in your hands, with the promises of more if you spearhead this campaign. As a lover of winning unwinnable arguments, the appeal is difficult to resist.
What happens next?

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Published on December 20, 2016 12:23 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 19, 2016

Writing Prompt #29--The Washout

You never wanted to be a super spy. It was sort of your mom’s thing. A retired super spy herself, she wanted you to follow in her footsteps since you were sperm. As you grew up, you developed a true gift for journalism. Yes, you spoke eight languages, mastered three different fighting styles, and could outshoot four gunslingers with your eyes closed. But when mommy threw you into the Agency’s Elite Training Academy, you intentionally got yourself washed out. Disowned and “disgraced,” ended up becoming a respected investigative journalist.
Your unique upbringing and dangerous contacts afforded you unprecedented levels of access to all kinds of people—from reclusive billionaires to wanted terrorists. About five years after you washed out, you ended up in a certain Third World country that’s briefly came into possession of a black market nuke. Facing U.S.-led sanctions (over some humanitarian sins), this nation’s long-standing dictator was crazy enough to retaliate by having the nuke shipped to the U.S. via commercial freight. You get wind of this and warn the usual intelligence agencies, who scoff at the rumor (that you believe but cannot prove). Your boss won’t run the story without more evidence, which would be useful . . . seeing as you don’t know the details of this imminent terrorist act. Just that the blast will be in the megaton range.
What happens next?

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Published on December 19, 2016 20:29 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 18, 2016

Writing Prompt #28--Hero Temps

Imagine you’re leaving a tribute service for your former super hero team. They died saving the day, against an old archnemesis who knew your fallen comrades way too well. For the fifth time, you’re the sole survivor (only because you’re the toughest). You’re approached by a group of temps who specialize in crime fighting. These five bummy-looking supers charge by the hour, with extra fees for world-saving and not killing villains. Disgusted by the candidates’ attitude and ethics, you grudgingly offer them a shot at the job. All they have to do is subdue you inside of five minutes. Being one of the strongest super heroes on Earth . . . you get your ass kicked inside of sixty seconds.
What happens next?


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Published on December 18, 2016 17:13 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 17, 2016

Writing Prompt #27--Prelude

Guess what? The world's gone straight to hell. A mix of post-war apocalyptic strife, global anarchy, famine, lawlessness, yadda-yadda. 90% of all nations don't exist anymore. You've been around since the good ol' days of pre-Class War globalism--as an alien spy. Your people sent you to observe the human race and settle a dispute. Some of your ruling Elders want to help humanity avoid extinction and explore the stars. Others want to wipe them out and turn the Earth into a penal colony. As you encounter all shades of humanity, you compile a report that will be vital to the fate of this desolate little world.
What happens next?


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Published on December 17, 2016 15:31 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 16, 2016

Writing Prompt #26--Leaked

You’re a Secret Service agent responsible for a little-known unit which targets domestic terrorists: the worst of the worst. People too dangerous for even the feds to go after. Made up of sociopathic ex-special forces types, they think like villains but get the job done. At first, things go swimmingly. Under your watch, they’ve thwarted 35 individual acts of terror in their first four years of existence, with far more kills than arrests. Things go south when someone in the Secret Service leaks the unit’s existence to CNN. The scandalous story slams the President, who honestly didn’t know this unit existed and orders it shut down immediately (during the middle of an investigation into the theft of some stolen chemical weapons). Worse, the leak exposed the names of everyone in the unit. A day later, the wife and twin daughters of the unit leader disappear—without any contact from the kidnapper(s). The unit, against orders, gears up for a rescue/vendetta op.
What happens next?

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Published on December 16, 2016 14:08 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 15, 2016

Writing Prompt #25--Cavemen & Astronauts

In the near-future, a virus cripples human civilization by de-evolving us. Airborne and (thus far) incurable, it turns 70% of the population into psychic Neanderthals. The remaining 30% can still catch the virus through a bite, which the infected are more than happy to do. See, by biting a normal human, the infected would turn a human into a willing slave with a psychic hive mind. So, these psychic cavemen are splintered into warring factions, each able to communicate via global-ranged telepathy. So, while humans have the smarts, they lack the organization and weapons to retake their world.
What happens next?

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Published on December 15, 2016 20:26 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 14, 2016

Writing Prompt #24--The Drunken Gun

You’re an Old West bandit who just stole a trainload of gold while it was in transit. Along the way, you shot up some private security guys and a few of the passengers. Then you split the profits and headed south, with the idea of meeting up in Mexico. The problem is that (out of your eight-man gang), only three of you made it. The other five (including your brother) were systematically gunned down by one old man—a drunken ex-Marshall who gave up the badge for the bottle when his wife left him. That same ex-wife YOU gunned down. The telegraph’s abuzz with stories of this stumbling drunk who’s rarely sober and can barely stand upright. Yet, (when hammered) he never misses, has the reflexes of a snake, and tracks people like a hungry beast. And he’s after you.
What happens next?

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Published on December 14, 2016 15:10 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 13, 2016

Writing Prompt #23--Nine Labors

A respected super hero’s framed for murdering his team. Jailed and abandoned by friends and family, he endures the hardest time. Even loses an eye. Yet he survives inside—even thrives. 8 years into his 90-year sentence, he’s approached with an offer from the President himself. He pulls nine black ops suicide missions, in return for a full pardon. To add insult to injury, the hero’s told that the only reason this offer’s being made is that the President KNOWS that the hero’s innocent and could be trusted to do what’s right. He has proof and will share it if the hero does the nine jobs and survives.
What happens next?


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Published on December 13, 2016 10:32 Tags: murdersaucesquare

December 12, 2016

Writing Prompt #22--Winnings

What if you won the lottery on your 21st birthday and never told your family or friends? You collected your winnings, paid your taxes, and invested conservatively—while working a day job. Then came marriage, two kids, and a boring life in the ‘burbs. But then, while hanging out somewhere, a shooting takes place between two rival criminal organizations. Your kids die right in front of you. The police know who the shooters are but have no case. These bastards will get away with it and that infuriates you. You want justice and have almost $130 million lying dormant (after taxes).
What happens next?

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Published on December 12, 2016 11:50 Tags: murdersaucesquare