Under the Mask

Under the Mask
Volume 1	Story 2
Preceded by Not Very Secret	Followed by That's What You'd Think

To keep some Thugs talking instead of killing her, Emp convinces them that she's actually a guy.

Preface

An apologetic Emp explains her frequent appearances as being a result of short episodes.

Plot

Empowered has been captured by a group of Thugs. They remove her mask to see if she's anyone famous, and are disappointed not to recognize her. To keep them talking, Emp lies to them and says that she's actually a man, and her suit "gynocamouflages" her. She continues to make up absurd lies about the gender, and even species, other superheroes and supervillains, distracting the thugs until the other Superhomeys arrive and rescue her. While the rescue doesn't make the news, Emp's stalling tactics do. The Superhomeys are outraged to find tabloids alleging gender bending, with info credited to an "anonymous inside source".

Participants

Dialogue

• Captain Rivet
• Empowered
• Major Havoc
• Mechanismo
• Sistah Spooky

• Thugs (Generic)

Appearances

• Protean
• Yummy Mummy

References

• Drudge Report
• Hooters
• Kinko's
• Hewlett-Packard
• Paris Hilton

Quotes

• "She could be a Hilton. She's got the hair..." --Thugs
• "Hey, did you used to work at Kinkos? Or Hooters, maybe?" --Thugs

Trivia

• The boat Emp's trapped on is the "Hampton Bay Manila".
• While Emp's costume is removed on a regular basis, this is one of the few stories in which her captors actually remove her mask as well.