🚀 go-pugleaf

(Continued from part one, preceeding...)

        "Get him!" one of the men shouted.
        "Uh-oh again!" Soundbyte shouted.  There was a loud -AOOOGA!- sound
from somewhere around him, and he turned and ran as fast as his legs could
carry him.  The henchmen, unfortunately, didn't chase after him, but rather
pulled out their guns and started firing.
        "This is not good!" he shouted as he dove behind a car.  "All I
was doing was looking for a lady with a gun that can change people's cloth-
ing, and what do I get?  Shot at, that's what."
        He noticed then that the henchmen had stopped firing.  "He's behind
that car!" one of them shouted.  "Wait til he comes out and then waste him!"
        Soundbyte grinned.  "Okay, boys, time to play the game *my* way."
        Suddenly, a wolf howled in the distance, and the henchmen turned
around, expecting to see someone they could shoot.  While they were occu-
pied, Soundbyte crept out from behind the car and quietly snuck down the
street.  Unfortunately, one of the henchmen happened to turn back to the
car, and saw him.
        "Aw, no, not again!" Soundbyte muttered as the bullets whizzed past
him.   He shouted out in pain as one of the bullets grazed his shoulder,
and clutched the wound, which was just deep enough to bleed profusely.
        As he stood there trying to gain his bearings, the henchmen quick-
ly surrounded him.  "Hey, it's one of those heroes Joey and Jay and the boss
encountered earlier," one of them said.
        "Well, then, shall we?" another said.
        "We've got to, Marty.  The boss doesn't want these heroes interfer-
ing with her plans to fire that weapon from the top of the convention center,"
one of the others said.
        'Marty' aimed his gun and prepared to fire.
        Suddenly, there was a burst of wind, and Soundbyte felt himself
picked up and carried away from the henchmen.  Before he knew what was hap-
pening, he was standing several hundred feet away from the villains, with
Misfit standing by him.
        "Jeez, Rob, you've been shot!" Misfit said, keeping his voice low
enough so as not to be overheard.
        "Yeah...<ugh> it hurts," Soundbyte muttered, gritting his teeth.
Misfit helped him to a sitting position against a nearby wall, then turned
and blasted the ground in front of the advancing villains before returning
his attention to his teammate's injury.
        "I don't know enough first aid to help you," he told Soundbyte.
        "We can help," said a voice behind him.  Misfit turned and saw two
girls dressed in t-shirts and jeans standing nearby.  They looked young,
maybe 18.
        "You can?" he asked.
        "I can heal people," the shorter girl said.
        "We can take care of him while you stop the rest of those villains."
        "But..." Misfit began.  He looked at Soundbyte.
        "What have we got to lose?" Soundbyte asked.
        "Your virginity, perhaps?" Misfit whispered.
        "Very funny.  Don't worry about me," Soundbyte said.  "The Fashion
Victimizer's setting up that wacky gun on the roof of the convention center.
Betcha she's going to try to zap the whole city."
        "Oh, great," Misfit muttered, quickly turning to blast two more
villains   The girls wisely stepped out of the way, a look of awe on her face.
"I guess I'll have to leave you here.  You going to be okay?"
        "Oh, I'll be fine.  They'll keep me company," Soundbyte said,
gesturing at the semi-conscious henchmen.  Misfit found some rope somebody
had left sitting around and tied them up so they couldn't do anything.
        "We'll be back for you," Misfit said before he zipped down the street
towards the convention center.
        "Barring death, we should still be here," Soundbyte said.  He turned
his head to the girls and grinned as best as he could.  "Hi.  I'm Soundbyte.
Pleased to meet you."
        They giggled.  "I'm Laurie, this is Kelly...oops!" one of them said.
        "Don't worry," Soundbyte said.  "I won't tell anyone...<ugh>owowow."
        "You're in pain!" Laurie said.  "Kelly, help me get him up!"  The
girls reached down and supported him so he could stand.  Or rather, so they
could pull him into a standing position.
        "Hey...wha...?"
        Soundbyte was no medical expert, but even he knew that trying to
get an injured person to stand wasn't a good idea.  He was immediately in
a lot of pain.
        "Relax," Laurie said soothingly.  And then she did something which
was the last thing Soundbyte expected her to do.
        She hugged him.

                                -+=^=+-

        At the convention center, the Fashion Victimizer's henchmen had
muscled their (and her) way up to the building's roof, where a variety
of equipment was already set up.  One of the henchmen opened the box con-
taining the clothes-altering gun, and placed it in a special compartment
of one of the larger pieces of equipment, which looked like a giant ray gun.
        "Soon," the Fashion Victimizer said.  "Within a matter of minutes,
the city of Manchester will pay for my misfortune!"
        "Boss!" one of the henchmen -- this one with a cellular phone in
his hand -- said.  "We just got word from the warehouse: One of those super-
heroes was spotted and engaged.  The superspeedster rescued him, but not
before he was shot in the shoulder."
        "Good," the Fashion Victimizer (Gods, how I hate typing that) said.
"That's one less hero to worry about.  Start up the machine, boys.  It's
almost time."

                                -+=^=+-

        Earth Girl turned north for what must have been the tenth time that
night.  She had been searching for any signs of the Fashion Victimizer for
nearly an hour, and was almost ready to give up when the lightning bolt
whizzed past her.
        Up.
        "Huh?  Oh," she said, realizing that the electricity's source was
Misfit, who was below her and signaling her to go down to him.  She did so,
landing right next to him, and immediately noticed the concerned look on
his face.  "What's going on?"
        "Ro...Soundbyte was ambushed and injured.  I left him in the care
of two girls who said they could heal him.  That's not our only problem,
though: the Fashion Victimizer is setting up that weapon of hers on top
of the convention center so she can zap the whole city."
        "Great," Earth Girl sighed.  "Where's Jon and Starwave?"
        "Right here," Jon Perceptor said as he and Starwave came down the
street.   "We need to move fast."
        "How?" Starwave asked.  "Misfit's the only one who can move fast
enough to avoid that gun."
        Jon looked at her, then at Misfit.
        "Exactly," he said.

                                -+=^=+-

        The Fashion Victimizer supervised as her henchmen made the final
connections on the device that would allow her to destroy the city of Man-
chester.  The device in question was a ten-foot-tall tower with various
control panels set up on its side.  The clothes-altering gun was currently
residing in the center portion of the tower, set up to discharge into a
specially-designed channeling device, which would then redistribute the
energy into the globe at the top of the tower.
        As a safety precaution, the gun could easily be removed from the
apparatus if it became necessary to evacuate the scene.  The Fashion Vic-
timizer had searched long and hard for the gun, and she wasn't about to
lose it.
        "It's ready boss," one of the henchmen said.  "All set to destroy
everyone's clothes in Manchester."
        "No, it's all set to transform the clothes of everyone in Manches-
ter, but I suppose you were close enough."  The Fashion Victimizer walked
up to the tower, and the men quietly stepped back.  "Well, gentlemen," she
said.  "the time has come."
        She was about to push the button that would fire the clothes-alter-
ing gun, thus setting off the process that would eventually result in the
energy exploding out the tower's globe, when a blast of energy shot out
at the tower, only to hit an invisible wall six feet in front of it.
        "You're too late, heroes!" the Fashion Victimizer said.  "You
can't get through the force field, and you're outnumbered!  Get them,
boys!"  Her henchmen advanced on the four Hero Patrollers present.
        "You know, I really hate it when we're outnumbered," Misfit said
as he blasted the roof out from  group of henchmen.  He then switched to
super-speed and started getting up close and personal with some of the vil-
lains.  Fist to face.
        Earth Girl took to the air and hit a group of henchmen with a large
blast of air, scattering them.  Starwave used one of the few tricks she
had mastered with her powers and created an energy barrier, which she then
used to sweep a large number of henchmen into Misfit's super-fast fists.
Jon Perceptor, lacking any useful offensive powers, punched one in the sto-
mach and elbowed another in the ribs.
        One of the henchman was trying to decide between attacking Jon and
going after Starwave when someone tapped him on the shoulder.  He turned to
see a young woman standing there.  Before he could react, she grabbed him
and pulled him into a heart-stopping kiss.
        She let him go, and he just stood there, a glazed look in his eyes.
        "Say, why don't you put your gun down and fall asleep?" she said.
        He did.
        "Nice job," Soundbyte said from where he was leaning against Laurie.
        "Thanks," Kelly said.
        "Looks like we have some help," Jon commented as he punched a hench-
man in the face.
        "Huh?" Misfit said, looking in the direction Jon had glanced in.
"Holy...!  How'd they get here?" he said when he saw the three people stan-
ding there.
        "We have to get through these guys!" Earth Girl shouted.  "The Fas-
hion Victimizer's about to activate that machine!"
        "And you won't be able to stop me, Earth Girl!" the Fashion Victim-
izer said.  She pressed a button on the tower's control panel, and the in-
ner part of the device lit up briefly as the clothes-altering gun released
its energy into the tower's redirection apparatus.  "Enjoy your death by
spandex."
        "Damn!" Jon Perceptor spat.  "The force field's still up."
        "And it'll stay up til a split second before the globe explodes,
releasing its clothes-altering energy upon Manchester.  Not even your speed-
ster will be able to get through it in time!" she cackled evilly.
        [[Thirty seconds til detonation.]] the computer informed them.
        "Start pounding through that shield!" Jon ordered as he wrestled
with a rather determined (and probably highly-paid) henchman.
        [[Twenty seconds til detonation.]]  (This from the computer again.)
        Misfit switched his electrical powers, and he and Starwave began
blasting away at the force field.  "Give it all you've got, Misfit!" Star-
wave shouted.
        "*Two* energy manipulators?" the Fashion Victimizer asked.  "I'm
impressed, but you'd need *three* to even *affect* the force field!"
        "Hang on, guys, I'll cover you," Earth Girl said as she landed
next to Misfit and Starwave.  She reached out her hands towards the force
field, and streams of fire shot forth from them.
        "Oops," the Fashion Victimizer shrugged.
        [[Fifteen seconds.]] the computer said in agreement.
        "No matter.  You won't be able to get through in time!"
        ~Guys!  She's right!~ Soundbyte's voice came from somewhere near
the three heroes' ears.  ~Get down!~
        [[Ten seconds.]]
        The three heroes quickly stopped blasting the force field, and
Misfit grabbed Earth Girl and Soundbyte and ran to join the others, who
were running down the stairs that lad into the building.  The Fashion Vic-
timizer merely laughed evilly (she was getting pretty good at it, too),
while her henchmen looked about in confusion.
        [[Five seconds.]] the computer said.
        "Say goodbye to your wardrobe, Manchester!" the Fashion Victimi-
zer shouted gleefully.
        [[Four.]]
        "Everybody get downstairs!" Jon Perceptor shouted.  "Now!"
        [[Three.]]
        "Omigod," Kelly muttered, silently adding a small prayer that they'd
make it out alive.
        [[Two.]]
        The five heroes -- and Laurie and Kelly -- huddled together in the
stairwell.
        [[One.]]



        [[Detonation aborted.]] the computer said.  [[Critical systems off-
line.]]
        Soundbyte looked up from where he was crouched.  "Buh?"  The others
also looked around in confusion.
        Jon Perceptor signalled to the others, and led the group single-file
back up the stairs.  When he got to the top, he stopped, his jaw hanging.
        "What?  What is it?" Earth Girl asked.  Jon moved to let the rest
of the group up the stairs, and they all surveyed the scene.
        All of the Fashion Victimizer's henchmen were tied up, ready for
the police to take them away.  The Fashion Victimizer herself was also
tied up, and was laying far enough away from the tower so as to not be able
to even touch it.
        The tower itself had been taken apart.  Piece by piece.  Down to the
last bolt.
        Attached to the control panel (what was left of it) was a post-it
note:

                    ---------------------------------------
                    |All-                                 |
                    |                                     |
                    |    Sorry I couldn't stop by sooner, |
                    |but I had to deal with a plane crash |
                    |in Taiwan.  I took the liberty of    |
                    |taking apart the Fashion Victimizer's|
                    |weapons so they can never be used    |
                    |again.                               |
                    |                                     |
                    |    Incidentally, it's been nice     |
                    |meeting you people.  And, considering|
                    |the past few weeks, refreshing as    |
                    |well.  All the other teams are recov-|
                    |ering from the Industrial Revolution.|
                    |    To the future,                   |
                    |                                     |
                    |                    --Superguy       |
                    ---------------------------------------

        "Wow!" Misfit said in surprise.  "A note from Superguy!"
        "Way cool!" Soundbyte said.
        "Come on," Jon Perceptor said.  "The police will take care of the
Fashion Victimizer and her henchmen.  Let's go home."

                                -+=^=+-

        "Tell me again why we're here," Kelly said.
        She and Laurie were standing in what had been designated the meet-
ing room in the Hero Patrol's new headquarters.  They had been invited to
return their with the Hero Patrol to hang out for a few hours, not includ-
ing the time it took to get there, with the team not having any sort of
special vehicle.
        "They want us to join their team," Laurie told her quietly.
        "You're kidding me."
        "Nope," Max said, his voice coming from one of the speakers.  The
girls jumped in surprise, they still hadn't gotten used to him.
        "We could use your abilities," Jon said.  "Someone who can affect
people by kissing them is probably in great demand."  He then turned to
Laurie.  "And every team should have a healer."
        "You can say that again," Soundbyte said.
        "And every team should have a healer."
        "Dohw!"
        "Anyway," Earth Girl said.  "We really need you two, and we'd like
you to be on the team, even if it's only part-time.  What do you say?"
        Kelly leaned close to Laurie and they discussed it.  The discus-
sion lasted for a few minutes, during which Soundbyte and Misfit engaged
in a sword fight using pencils, with Soundbyte providing the sounds of
clashing swords whenever the pencils clashed.  Then the girls turned around
and said "We'll do it!"
        "Awesome!" Soundbyte exclaimed.
        "Welcome to the team," Earth Girl said.
        "Hey, what are your codenames going to be?" Misfit asked.
        The two girls looked at each other.  "We've decided on 'Hugs' and
'Kisses' for now," Kelly said.
        "Not bad," Soundbyte said.  "Corny, but not bad."
        "That just leaves one question," Starwave said.
        "What's that?" Laurie asked.
        She held up the note from Superguy.  "What do we do with this?"
        The seven members of the Hero Patrol looked at each other for a
long, long moment.
        "Frame it!" they said together.

WILL THE NOTE FROM SUPERGUY LOOK GOOD FRAMED?
WILL ANYBODY TAKE HUGS AND KISSES SERIOUSLY?
WILL THE HERO PATROL FINISH EXPLORING THEIR NEW BASE?
WILL MISFIT LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS POWERS?

Will's not here.  Just Superguy.

--
Mike Escutia | NOTICE: If you notice this notice, you will notice after
mike@unh.edu | noticing this notice that this notice was not worth noticing.
Ergh on IRC  | ---------------------Read Superguy!--------------------------
-----Author, "Hero Patrol", Superguy Digest (listserv@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu)----