Inexplicable Speck, The

The Inexplicable Speck!

First Appearance: Surreptitious Machinations (Prologue: Rhymes and Ruminations) (November 6, 2001)

Original Comic: Jeff's self-titled, as yet unpublished The Inexplicable Speck!

Creator: Jeffrey T. Darlington

Professor Ebenezer E. Dermis is a sentient four-foot-tall flea from an alternate universe. Dermis, an undergraduate physics professor working to obtain his doctorate, accidentally bombarded himself with highly volatile radiation during a delicate experiment. This radiation endowed him with miraculous super powers and, being the nerdy guy he is, inspired him to become a superhero. Donning the mantle of "the Inexplicable Speck!," Dermis began to fight crime throughout his home city. To his surprise, while some of his powers (such as super strength and limited invulnerability) are stable, his "main" power is tied to the unstable half-life of the radiation that empowered him. As this half-life expires, his primary and strongest super power changes, often at inopportune times.

The crew of GPF Software first encountered the Speck! when Nick attempted to use the MUTEX to enter his comic books, bringing his friends with him. The Speck!, then pulled from his own home dimension by the Gamester for unknown reasons, entered one of Gamester's dimensional spheres and wound of up in Nick's "simulation." This was no simulation, however, but an alternate universe that Nick's subconscious mind tapped into while "creating" his comic book heroes. Eventually, Nick and company returned home, while the Gamester transported the Speck! back to his universe. It is assumed that he is back to fighting crime as always.