5 by 5 by 5 Follow-Up Notes

Between the time of the defeat of the Gang of Five and ABC’s trial against Sammy, some of the Justice Squad keeps unusually busy. 

The Captain is stuck in Appalachia with his formerly unknown uncle, tending to his needs, trying to make his last days comfortable.  While the uncle refuses to talk of the past, he mysteriously mentions the house contains something of value to The Captain – but no details. 

Meanwhile Sammy is being cultivated as a contact via his gastronomical lusts by Eduardo Tocci, who keeps him coming back to Baroni’s.  Eduardo mentions that his gang is losing members rapidly due to an “ex-contractor”, Shooter, whose turned bad and is killing them.  He asks Sammy to pass word to Laughton – but without mentioning the special lunches they prepare for him since Hamlet “wouldn’t understand”. 

Sammy also appears on ABC's 20/20 as exposure for his upcoming trial; the story is quite sympathetic and allows plenty of room for Sammy's touching portrayal of his joy of living independently and his fear of ABC.

Hamlet Laughton finds out that the security camera in the bank where they looked for Mosquito's stash mysteriously "malfunctioned" about 2 minutes before they entered the room, at about the time the bank manager was there.  The police do suspect his involvement.

At dinner Eliot Sihn, Bob Rogers, and Gere-luce discuss the Justice Squad, and Sihn's acquaintances resolve to become more involved.  Rogers, an experienced media-savvy fundraiser, begins to work out public relations while Gere-luce wants to work on expanding the group into an underground headquarters in the salt mines below Sihn's lab, as well as merging his lab with Sihn's.

Eliot catches up with Professor X; X counsels him a bit on dealing with Lefty, drawing the parallel between Lefty and himself, leaving Sihn to consider his own reactions and how he doesn't want to be his mother.  Sihn has a crawling sensation on his neck when Professor X off-handedly says, "And say hi to Magneto when you see him."

After analyzing the current batch of villain samples, Sihn follows up on the mutants they’ve fought earlier who are in the custody of Michigan, visiting the penitentiary near Harrison.  He first wants to speak with the Game Show Host and his crew. 

The Game Show Host is led out and seems a bit slow; he's kept drugged.  He slurs his words slightly but still doesn't seem to appreciate that he's not in some sort of game show.  He greets Sihn, "Welcome  back, sir, to the round of the sh-champions.  Only the fin-est contestants reach this round.  You are entitled to ask one bonus question and one only.  Choose it wellll an' you may walk away winner of the wieners.  Choose it poor-ly and [his voice changes eerily to that of a British female] you are the weakest link."

Sihn responds, "One question stands between you and all the marbles, the grand prize, the last question of the final elimimation round.  Take your time an answer thoroughly - its all riding on this question.  How does a man become a Game Show Host?" 

To which the Game Show Host answers, "Ah well for that question you've earned a lovely eggs-planation of a life his-tory, brought to you by the makers of such fine programs as... Let's Make a Deal and Concentration!"

He pauses for a bit.  "Ah, you'd be told by the announcer what you've won but he's not availllable just now, sorry.  But we make do!  It's a live show!  Annnny-thinggg can happen!"

"One goes to school for broadcasting, one sells his soul for hours and days and weeks and months and yessss, even the years as they go by.  One has only one goallll, to get out of the drudgery of a poor household and win all those marbles, be the grand prize winner.  One just studies and studies - and then the big day comes.  You apply for the first job.  You get turned down but you try-try-try again - you spin the big wheel, you guess the price, you take what's behind door number one, and you get out there on the stage dreading the big gong."

"And the gong goes off.   And Charlie Weaver laughs.  So you jussst stay home but you don't want to go home.  So you live in a little flat with crazzy whacky art students who laugh at you 'cause you're the funniest MC ever!  But it's not so official.  You jussst staaay home and watch the black and white TV all day.  And all night.  And you take whatever's in the frig, you know, the squat-mate's sandwiches, his juice, his mushrooms, his sugar powder.  Annnnd it allll becomes so CLEAR!  YOU ARE THE GAME SHOW HOST BECAUSE THE WORLD IS A GAME AND YOOOUUUU KNOW IT JACK!"

"But nobody else knows it.  So you haf to egzplain it over and over,  But you do.  You meet a few othersss.  You find Vanna White and Holly Hallstrom [redheaded model of the Price is Right] and Ferrari Farris [raven-haired olive-skinned model of the Price is Right - sources http://www.tpirsite.com/models/models.htm].  Sssometimes you get new modelsss but you can alwaysss find one becuz you is, you are the Game Show Host.  And I was so good an announcer worked for free.  He was with me from day one."

"What do I win?"

Next up is The Announcer.  Sihn can't hear him.  And nobody can see him directly but he's covered with a sort of powder that outlines him and he is there in his booth and talks into a device such that his replies are transcribed.  He's more sane than the Host.  As Sihn asks him how he came to be he really isn't sure.  He was an art teacher, painter, at Wayne State University, and used to hang out with the freaked out students ten years ago.  He always had a yen for show business and he was over one day, hanging out with the Game Show Host, who was formerly known only as Ken, when the Host "...offered me my big break.  I can't describe it but it all changed.  I went invisible and I was immediately gifted with this VOICE - it's such a pity you can't hear it!  Well I understood the Host's art and how he'd suffered for it.  And I knew I was as good, if not better, an entertainer than he.  So I went for it.  I know it sounds crazy - but it was a good run until we were cancelled"

Sihn prompts him, "I've heard your voice before, and let me tell you it ranks with, or even above the best.  The best of the best.  But looking back over your career, back when you and the Host were practically unknown, do you remember sharing mushrooms or other drugs with him?  Do you remember the name of his roommate?"

The Announcer willingly tells Sihn he "was" Professor Irving Johnson.  He supposes Sihn would like to know more and gives him his family background - he doesn't seem concerned with being investigated nor does he seem to be upset with the Troll.  His parents are deceased but he was married briefly in the early '80s.  His ex-wife was Virginia Pendleton Johnson; he has not kept in touch.  They lived together when he taught in New York, in Greenwich Village.  She's originally from "the city" whereas he grew up in Indiana, near Bloomington.  As far as he knows she stayed there after the divorce while he moved on to accept a post at Wayne "Too much pain in New York."  He doesn't recall sharing any psychedelics with Ken or the other artists, though he did try some things when he was younger (peyote, LSD).  He was never a habitual user, though.  He did smoke marijuana with the students from time to time and probably did with Ken/Game Show Host.  His roommate was a student whose name he vaguely recalls was Chuck something.

The models file out one by one.  But none do anything besides taunt, ridicule, or verbally assault Eliot.  They blame him for "ruining their career".  The most he can get out of Vanna ("Vanna the third" - one gets the sense that the models are regularly replaced though there is zero indication of who the previous models were) is that she was "nobody" before the Game Show Host came along. 

Sihn then speaks with a rehabilitating Pterodactyl, whom he now feels a little badly about using as a club, and a surprisingly bitter and anti-human Octal Fist.  It appears Octal Fist has become a rough and hostile convert to the Magneto-inspired mutant revolutionary movement.  Sihn surmises that some form of communication must be occurring among the supposedly isolated prisoners.  On his way out he speaks briefly with the warden, digging for any stray nuggets of information.  The warden is a strident anti-mutant and while Sihn finds it repugnant, warns him in a vernacular he’ll understand to keep an eye on his prisoners.  Eliot’s afraid the man’s phobia may be causing him to underestimate the dangerous criminals.

Sihn makes some calls and follows up to find out the real identity of the Game Show Host.  After narrowing down a lead to Charles Jameson, who coincidentally turns out to be the son of J. Jonah Jameson and head of the Detroit News, he finds out that Jameson Jr. knew the Game Show Host when he was Ken White, student at Wayne State University.  Later Sihn imparts the information anonymously to that prime investigator of conspiracy theories, Jonas Hell. 

Also, Sihn makes a few contacts and begins to shop around his patented amazing skin cream solution, with which he hopes to fund the developing headquarters being built into the salt mines below.

Meanwhile at SI, Jeremy Shostakovich, a frail figure, takes over as Sihn's new boss.