James has been writing poetry for many years now and has finally acquired a bit of a following. Most of them are gang members and street kids who have turned James's warped sense of humor into a small movement, complete with t-shirts, sneakers, and decaled firearms. But 99.999 percent of the world recognizes James's work for what it is: Incredibly badly written psycho poems.

Everything was going well for James who had appeared for readings in a few lower class bars and was constantly surrounded by his fans. But now a wave of crime has begun, the mutilations and killings closely resembling events described in James's work. He has been taken in for questioning but with no direct evidence linking him to the crimes the police have no choice but to let him go. They are convinced he is behind the events.

But they're wrong. James has no idea who's bringing his writings into reality but won't directly deny his involvement either. Since the crime wave started his popularity has grown, and he doesn't want to stop what is, to him, a good thing. The crimes are actually being committed by a small street gang called the Fabulous Five who, ironically, don't even like his work. They're all just a little bit nuts and thought it would be fun to raise a little Hell.

So why have the runners been hired? Because the director of the James investigation, Margaret Jenkins, is absolutely convinced that James is the culprit. Not only has she stopped all other investigations on the matter but also does her best to stop any unofficial investigations as well. So the runners have been hired by someone in the police department (through their Johnson, of course) to find out exactly what is going on. But not only do they have to deal with actually finding the gang and capturing or wiping out the members but they also have to watch their tails for Margaret who will be doing everything in her power to stop somebody from messing up her operation and making her look bad. The runners will occasionally receive information regarding investigations into the individual murders and mutilations to help them along. Margaret will have someone monitoring these transactions.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Jims. Jims has a smorgasbord of personality disorders, one of which is his tendency to occasionally think he is James. He will pop up from time to time, looking very suspicious, but actually having no connection to the crimes whatsoever.

James The Poet

Archetype: Human Poet

Information: A runt of a man, James stands five feet tall, is over weight, and has a beard which looks like a sweater after it's been assaulted by moths. He is, for the most part, a complete idiot. He always responds to any attempt to speak with him by reciting one of his crappy little poems. James lives in a middle class apartment where he spends his time watching combat bikeing on the trid, occasionally scrawling out another crappy little poem.

Examples of his work:

The little kitty
Hair aflame
Scampers softly
In the rain
How did the kitty get this way?
I had a blow torch, so what the hey....
----
The family walked
The family played
The family got 
In my way
My truck was big
Bigger than them
I ran them down
Then backed over them again
----
The little man had a suit
Which suited me just fine
But one day he looked at me to long
So I poked out his eyes and he went blind

Margaret Jenkins

Archetype: Human Detective

Information: Now aged sixty years, Margaret has been on the police force longer than most runners have been alive. She is cold as ice, has no sense of humor, never stops for pedestrians crossing the street, and never travels without a bodyguard. She's on a thousand payrolls but also has a thousand people on her own. After losing face when a citizen video taped her running over a puppy she has become bitter towards those she is supposed to protect. Her current investigation has to succeed or her competency as a police detective will be in a position to be challenged. As far as she is concerned James is guilty as sin. There is nothing that can change this opinion.

Glort Ketter

Archetype: Troll Bodyguard

Information: What personality Glort may have had has been destroyed by Margaret's constant insistence that he simply shut up and guard. He rides shotgun in Margaret's armored and unmarked police, the back of which is filled with every conceivable piece of weaponry, including an MP Laser.

Jims

Archetype: Dwarf Poet Wannabe

Information: Jims lives a miserable psychologically erratic life, has no friends but the trideo, and eats nothing but Spam and Snickers bars. One of the few times he leaves his rotting, festering, pit of an apartment is when he attends James's poetry readings. At these events he usually has to be removed when he starts going nuts and insists that he is the real James. As the crimes occur he will show up at the crime scene and act suspicious, as if he wants the cops to think that he is behind everything.

Poe

Archetype: Human Gang Member

Information: Poe is a twenty five year old female with a warped sense of morality. She sets up little goals for her gang, the current one being the imitation of James's poetry, but will only allow the atrocities she and her gang commits must fall within the guidelines of this goal. She may set a bunch of kittens on fire in order to mimic a poem but would consider it as being wrong if the action was committed outside of the context of the situation. She and her gang, the Fabulous Five, operate out of an old abandoned strip mall. Her primary area of expertise is arson but she also dabbles in explosives. All members of her gang have their own hacked up Jackrabbits armed with a variety of jerry rigged weaponry.

Seed

Archetype: Human Gang Member

Information: Seed is Poe's boyfriend and is completely under her control. He is so whipped that he won't tie his own shoes without her command. Poe cares little about Seed's safety and basically uses him as a body guard. He will also keep watch if the need arises.

Touble Snod

Archetype: Troll Gang Member

Information: Touble is stupid as dirt, unclean, and clumsy. He is usually left behind because Poe is afraid he might break something if they bring him along. He is used, however, when the situation calls for a dismembering or mutilation. He carries around a set of Ginsu steak knives for just such an occasion.

Round Boy

Archetype: Human Gang Member

Information: Actually tall and skinny as a twig, the name Round Boy was simply a bad joke that stuck. Round Boy is mute (but not deaf) and is incredibly good at being quiet. He can pick just about any lock and his athletic skills are astonishing. His only weapon is a Colt Manhunter with a special silencer which is three times the length of the gun and which makes absolutely no sound.

Vicks

Archetype: Human Gang Member Mage

Information: At the age of fifteen, Vick's magical skills aren't spectacular but are still good enough to be a threat. He has specialized almost completely in illusion spells, his favorite being a custom made one called Cartoon. It makes the targets believe they are a giant purple animated flower named Henry who's job on this planet is to pollinate evil.