Before The SMSB: The Promises of Sheriff Baldric

### **Rating**

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, language, and some crude references.

"*The storm's not over... it's just half-asleep.*"
―Bladepoint**[src]**
***Before The SMSB: The Promises of Sheriff Baldric*** is the second prequel of a series of books of the story before 2029. It was released on March 6, 2017. Set twenty-nine years before the birth of Baby Intelligence, it features Sheriff Bladepoint as a main character alongside new friends Jean Richardson, Gummi the Bare, the Object, and Joseph Abernathy, though Mr. Stupid NoHead returns alongside new antagonists like Nero Richardson, Endar, Mr. Ghastly NoHead and Baron Zarath. It is the third installment of Part Three: The Growing Universe.

## Plot

As a baby, Bladepoint is brought before Sheriff Missile by an old lady who considers his survival a miracle and a sign, urging the reluctant official to adopt him. Much later, a teenage Bladepoint, dillusioned by police brutality, having heard from the criminal Endar that real power comes from being feared, Bladepoint spends the next seven years traveling the star system training in combat and immersing himself in the criminal underworld. Finally, he leaves Wisconsin with a friend, only for them to crash and slowly find their way to a hotel. A celebrity happens to be there and promises to train Bladepoint and help him fight crime and master self-control. He returns to the recently re-occupied Blackwing Sanctum, where he suggests to Sheriff Missile that they create a secret organization to oppose the NoHeads, who are rampant during the rise of the Dark Lord Mr. Stupid NoHead, who seeks to conquer the entire universe. He co-founds what his father founds, the Police Grand Army, consisting of anyone willing to risk their lives to fight the NoHeads.

Years later, Bladepoint has become a significant contributor to the fight against Mr. Stupid NoHead. Joseph Abernathy almost follows through to avenge his family when they were killed by a military girl named Dorphane Giles. Jean Richardson is no longer willing to serve Mr. Stupid NoHead. They also encounter Gummi the Bare and the insectoid known only as The Object.

Centerpoint Headquarters destroys Barvon and three surrounding Mercurian cities. The NoHeads attack Edgewater in search of the Mystic. Sheriff Missile, Joseph, and Jean are saved by Grand Army P-80 fighters led by Saul Cameron. Rachel Bradley arrives and brings everyone to the Blackwing Sanctum, where the Mystic finds Ray, who has long been in a concerning coma. Meanwhile, Mr. Stupid NoHead captures Bladepoint and takes him to Centerpoint Headquarters, but he resists his mind-reading attempts. Left alone and aware of what just happened, Bladepoint realizes it is as Sheriff Missile told him: he truly is a mutant. Meanwhile, several cultists led by Baron Zarath begin a ritual to worship Mr. Stupid NoHead. However, Laborie fails, proving his faith not to be as strong as the others', and Zarath executes him.

As Centerpoint Headquarters prepares to fire once more, the Police Grand Army devises a plan to destroy it by attacking its thermal oscillator. Using the *Pummeller*, Joseph, Jean, and Sheriff Missile infiltrate the facility, find a recently freed Bladepoint, and plant explosives together. Sheriff Missile confronts Mr. Ghastly NoHead and implores him to abandon the Darkness, only to be murdered by his own brother after he ultimately decides to reject the offer. Devastated, Joseph sets off the explosives, allowing Saul to attack and destroy the base's thermal oscillator, unwittingly killing Mr. Ghastly NoHead in the process.

Witnessing this, Nero Richardson pursues Jean and Bladepoint into the canopy. Jean battles her sister to protect Bladepoint before Nero knocks her unconscious. Bladepoint takes the sword and channels his newfound powers of invisibility to defeat Nero in a brief duel; they are then separated by a fissure as Baron Zarath steps forward and creates a storm of dark energy and Centerpoint begins to splinter. Enraged, Mr. Stupid NoHead orders his followers to enact Order 479. Joseph and Gummi find Bladepoint as Zarath's superweapon begins laying waste to the earth, and they are able to destroy the satanic cultist once and for all. As the Grand Army forces depart together, Centerpoint Headquarters explodes. In the Blackwing Sanctum, Bradley, Bladepoint, and Abernathy mourn the ex-Sheriff's death. Ray awakens and reveals the rest of the puzzle, which Bladepoint uses to find the Caribbeans in the *Pummeller*.

On the island, Bladepoint sees the Pit of Holograms and an ethereal voice tells him he has passed a test. In a postscript scene, two students from Superhero School, Laurel and Quincy, arrive in the Class D Girls' Dormitory, only to find Kylee Garcia working on something peculiar that she claims will take away Mr. Stupid NoHead's power, much to her peers' amusement.

## Appearances

### Locations

* Earth
	+ United States of America
		- Blackwing Sanctum
		- Centerpoint Headquarters
* Mercury
	+ Barvon
	+ Chombridge
	+ Onimoth
	+ Vruland

### New characters

* Alison West
* Endar
* Ghastly One
* Jacob Bell
* Nero Richardson
* Mr. Crooked NoHead
* Jean Richardson
* Joseph Abernathy
* Max Cultarena
* The Object