EP 457 – Story #1 – You are comic book shop owner Mrs. Fara Doddy who found her husband murdered in your shop

You are comic book shop owner Mrs. Fara Doddy who found her husband murdered in your shop. All that was at the scene was
 a note from you, saying "I've done it," and a copy of The Phantom of Manhattan which had been ripped out of an issue featuring him. You're being framed for this murder by the villainous Dr. Nefarious, whom everyone calls Nifty because he's so darn fancy!

> You turn through the pages of the comic book for clues.

Narrowing his eyes in concentration as if reading the words with great difficulty, he said slowly, "'There is but one way to escape these deadly clutches -- I must become one of them.
 Only then can I break their hold over me, free my mind once more.'" He looked up sharply when there came a knock on the door. "Enter!" he barked angrily. As the door swung open, the figure revealed itself to be none other than your own wife, who has no memory of
 what happened after she left the party. She looks very upset. She says:
"What am I doing here? What have they put into me?" When you try to explain things to her, she just sits there shaking, looking dazedly around the room before turning back to stare directly at you
.

> You ask your wife to give you a detailed description of their day.

She stares right past you. "It doesn't matter now," she mumbles quietly to herself, her gaze wandering aimlessly about the store. Then suddenly her attention is fixed on something behind you.

> You turn around and see she is looking at
 some old action figures.
The toys were all different colors, each having its own distinctive markings, like little badges indicating what species it belonged to. There was one green monster with yellow spikes sticking out everywhere
.
> You grab the green monster toy.


You hear a scream come from the direction of your house. Your wife comes running down the street, clutching two items tightly against her chest. Her face is deathly pale, and beads of sweat glisten upon her brow.

> You see your wife is covering a wound after she tried to steal your prized Porcupine Man action figure.

Porcupine Man was one of the rarest collectible toys made during that period. His body parts are attached with metal springs and wires. They snap off easily; if any part of his body touches another piece, even briefly, he will explode violently, sending porcupines flying in every direction

> You rush to your wife's aid carefully making sure not to explode the Porcupine Man.

When you get close enough to examine her injury, you notice that her clothing is bloody. It seems clear to you that she tried stealing your Porcupine Man toy and got hurt in the process.

As you attempt the remove the quill you are attacked by Dr Nefarious. You wrestle over the porcupine action figure.

"Don't touch it! That's mine!" shrieks Dr. Nefarious. With a final effort you manage to wrest the toy away from your foe.
He grabs for it, but instead rips his arm open on the sharp spines protruding from the toy's torso.

You pull the pin on the Porcupine Man doll and watch it explode in Dr Nefarious's face.
 He falls backwards unconscious, blood gushing from the holes where he lost most of his skin and flesh.
Now, without your nemesis to worry about, you finally take the time to heal your wife.

You put Dr Nefarious out of his misery with a copy of "The Phantom of Manhattan".

Dr. Nefarious is dead. Now, it's your chance to find the secret entrance leading to the underground lair where he has taken your wife hostage.
But first, you'll need to dispose of his body.

You take your wife to Denny's to unpack what just happened.
 While eating breakfast together, your wife explains everything to you, how she had been abducted by the mad doctor Nefarious and forced to perform horrible experiments on him while wearing a special device, and now she wants to make the whole thing go away, so she stole your Porcupine Man action figure,
 which she used as a weapon against the evil doctor.
Suddenly, your wife gets very serious, and starts speaking very softly and rapidly, as if trying to avoid being overheard. She tells you that the kidnapper has escaped custody, and he might try to come after her again.