🚀 go-pugleaf

        At the battle that effectively ended the tide of anti-magic sentiment
rising against magic practitioners and their supporters, the Awesome Force
One, the monolithic and semi-rigid airship as well as symbol and sample of
the Awesome Forces's power, was heavily damaged.  Its defenses were one
strafe away from total collapse and in the end it had to limp back to the
Awesome Amalgamated Headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut with the use of
hastily improvised engine repairs.  Despite the heavy damage, and
inexperience of the skeleton crew of Damien Wilson and Chris and Anne
Enger, the Dalek cruiser was driven off and the Quantum Absurdity Beam was
locked on to the Industrial Revolutionaries.  The threat of which ended the
battle effectively.
     It was a tremendous victory for the Awesome Force whose beleaguered
year included the retirement of Bink and Kevi, the deaths of Miche and
Skids, and most humiliating of all: the softball loss to a relatively
obscure and backwater 'super team' called Team Cynical.
        Now, almost two months later, the Awesome Force One has been not only
repaired, but modified.  Andy Awesome himself, the bearer of most of the
criticism against his team, is confident that the Awesome Force is once
again ready to take center stage as the world's premier and most awesome
force for peace, justice, protection, and good will.
     However, Andy knows, that like  his impressive airship, his team has
been tested.  Faults and flaws and rooms for improvement have been
discovered.  In other words: modifications must be made.

                Andy Awesome and the Awesome Force
                       by Dominic A. White
                       Episode 28: "Names"

     "I know I'm getting armor," Damien said with enthusiasm.
        Rat rolled her brown eyes up in her fuzzy eye sockets. She-Devil held ba
ck
no laughter.
        "No, really, he's been watching the Ginsu World Class tapes from Bob cit
y
for days.  He's been locked in his laboratory for days, and he hasn't let
any one in."
        "Damien," said T, "your vehicle skills amount to motorcycle.  That's it.
You can't even drive a stick shift.  I'll admit that you're a great shot
with the dual repeater turrets, and you have a load of guts, but there's a
lot of difference between a housed gun unit and a suit of sophisticated
battle armor."
        "Besides," Figuremaster began, "I don't see how even Andy could rig one
up
to have controls similar to your motorcycle."
        "No, really, he's gonna make me a suit of armor, I can feel it.  Every
other team has one, why not the Awesome Force, I mean you used to have one,
right?"
        "Yes, we did," Figuremaster said with a reminiscent smile on his face.
"But we don't need one.  We haven't needed one for a while."
        "Cal Force and the ALU don't have any canned meat," She-Devil growled fo
r
now apparent reason.
        "But they've got Mighty Guy and the Masked Bruce, not much need for armo
r
there."
        She-Devil dropped her nail file and glared. "Listen up Wilson, just when
 I
start to like you, you open your mouth.  We've got tons of Awesomeantium
surrounding us.  We've got the Awesometonium driver.  We've got the Quantum
Absurdity Beam.  We've got Andy Awesome for Author's sake!  You tell me,
what do we need flying SPAM for, huh?
        "Sorry, it's just that I'd really like a suit of armor. I feel kind of
outclassed here."
        Chris and Anne were sitting on the couch in the lounge outside Andy
Awesome's ward room.
        "Damien," Chris said, "you saved our lives over Bob City.  You dragged
yourself into that turret when you had every right to just lose blood and
consciousness."
        "Yeah, give yourself some credit, Damien. You're good at what you do.
Just like the rest of us."
        "Thanks Anne. I just feel overwhelmed sometimes."
        "Must be Angi's half-shirts," quipped T.
        "Bite me!"
        "I vote for the cutoffs," Dan voted.
        "Lick me!"
        "I think it's the spike-heeled boots," thought Rat.
        "That does it!" Angi snarled.  "You're all gonna die!"
        She leapt at her friend and dug her thumbs into Rat's vest covered ribs.
        "Hey!  Stop it!  That tickles! Somebody help!"
        The rest leapt into the fray reaching for She-Devil's ribs. Rat tried to
unlace the Devil's boots to get at her especially ticklish soles.
        "Free for all!" Someone shouted as the games began.
        Furniture tipped over.  Vases broke. Glasses broke.  Guitars came untune
d.
A door opened.
        "Ahem!"
        The pile of squirming bodies that writhed on the floor suddenly stopped
and sprouted six faces all looking at the awesome figure that stood in the
open door.
        "The Awesome Force is about to begin a new direction and this is how you
prepare for it?  I'm at least glad to see Linda isn't involved in this.  At
least she has some sense of the appropriate."
        Suddenly, Rat's head sprang up from the center of the many-limbed mass.
        "Thank you Andy, I really appreciate that," she smiled and then looked
down at her team mates.  "He's really ticklish in his navel, guys."
        "Linda! That's not...arrrrghh! Ow, hey, cut it out!"

        Later, T brushed his hand lightly through his thick billowing hair.  He
used his the reflection in his "Best Hair" Grunion to make sure it was
suitably flowing.
        Rat brushed her fur back into a unified direction while the others tidie
d
up the best they could before following Andy into his ward room.
        Andy was no longer disheveled as he stood at the head of the table.  The
Awesome Force all took their seats around it. Andy sat down and leaned
forward.
        "I will not mince words with you," he began. "We have had a tough time o
f
it.  Some circles are saying we have lost our edge.  Some are saying we
never deserved the awesome reputation we achieved.  I know those thoughts
are false.  Those people forget quickly in the modern world where the
prevailing sentiment is 'what have you done for me lately.'
        "They forget the many occasions on which the Awesome Force was
instrumental and sometimes solely responsible for ensuring that 'lately'
continues to arrive.
        "I will be forthright in admitting this is not the most powerful Awesome
Force assembled. The cats are not as powerful as Bink. Chris, you are
brilliant and the most awesome hacker I have ever known, but we lost a lot
when we lost Skids' power to log in with out the aid of an interface.
        "It has also been quite a while when the Awesome Force has had powerful
members like Demon-Ick, Silly Wizard, and Ultimate Ginsu."
        Damien glanced quickly at Figuremaster and arched his eyebrows quickly.
        "Of course," Andy continued, "it must be noticed, that back then we had
no
airship. Neither did we have a Quantum Absurdity Beam. And I do not believe
I have ever seen even a superguy display the determination and strength of
will shown by Damien and Anne above Bob City."
        Andy stood up and started to the door that led to his laboratory.
        "While I am fully confident that although this may not be the strongest
Awesome Force ever assembled, it is definitely the best.  But there is
always room for improvement.  And that improvement begins with me.  Awesome
Force, please follow."
        He turned with his lab coat tails flourishing awesomely behind him.
        The rest of the Awesome Force rose and anxiously followed him through th
e
doors.

        The veteran members of the Awesome Force, the ones who had seen all the
incarations of his laboratory, the ones who knew him before the accident
that created them and had seen the make-shift lab he set up in his dorm,
were impressed yet prepared.  But the newer members, the ones who had never
passed through the doors to where the theory of Quantum Absurdity was
conceived, where Awesomeantium was developed and Awesometonium discovered,
where absolute zero was reached and cold fusion achieved, where
superconductors were perfected and where the Ozone replenisher was
invented, to these heroes it was like looking through a window into the
history of the greatest modern scientific achievements.  The window,
however was misty and steamed with an infinite amount of indecipherable
equipment that overwhelmed even the most technically appreciative person.
They were in Andy's world now.  The one where he became as awesome as he
could possibly be.
        "Dan." Andy's voice broke the silence that had fallen as the doors close
d
behind them.
        Figuremaster turned sharply from a schematic of the new airship which he
was noticing already had Andy's hand writing strewn about it noting where
new modifications could be made.
        "Yeah?" He replied.
        "This is for you."
        Figuremaster took the box Andy handed to him and opened it. Inside were
two sets of grey and white camouflaged baggy pants and black turtlenecks.
Underneath was a shoulder bag that looked just like the one he already
carried with him, only it had a few more side pockets.
        "Gee, Andy a couple more costumes, thanks."
        Andy smiled.  "Ah, but these are made with a new Awesomeantium fiber I
just developed. It is bullet and blade proof as well as shock absorbent,
water resistant, and machine washable."
        He smiled as the others applauded.
        "Thank you.  Thank you, I do my best.  Now open this one, Dan."
        Figuremaster took it from his leader and opened it too. Inside was a hat
which matched his pants, and an unpainted metal replica of an Ictus from
the 'Renegade Legion' strategy game. The exception was that a handle jutted
down from underneath so it could be held like a gun.
        "After the situations you became involved in recently," Andy explained,
"I
decided you could use a reliable side arm. Its weapons are to scale of a
full sized model and while it is much larger than your other figures, once
you paint this, you will be able to fly back to you should it get taken. I
am not sure if you will be able to control other figures while you do this.
You will have to find that out with practice."
        "Thanks, Andy," Dan said quietly as he pulled it out and tested it for f
it
in his hand.  "I really appreciate it, but I don't know if I can accept
it."
        "What, are you nuts, Rossi?" exclaimed the She-Devil.  "Take it!  It's a
kick ass weapon!"
        Figuremaster raised his eyes from the gun and glared at her.
        "That is enough, Angi," Andy cautioned as he saw Dan's eyes. "Dan, if yo
u
do not want to accept it, I can understand.  But having it with you, does
not mean you have to use it."
        Figuremaster hefted the ugly weight in his palm and put it on top of the
box with his new uniform.
        "Thank you, Andy.  I'll think about it.  What's with the hat?"
        Andy smiled.  "This piece of equipment is not so morally burdensome," th
e
awesome hero said as he snugly fit the cap onto Figuremaster's head and
lightly touched the edge of the cap's brim. A thin sheen of green light
lowered down to just below his nose. "If it were dark in here, you would
notice you have total night vision. Also, special cybernetics in the hat
allow your natural ability to see through the 'eyes' or cockpits of your
figures at night as well."
        "Wow!" exclaimed Figuremaster.  "Now this is pretty damn cool."
        "Nearly my exact thoughts."  Andy turned back to the table and grabbed
another box. "Linda, this is for you."
        Rat took the box and opened it expectantly.  Her eyes grew wide and her
small pointed teeth became visible in a wide rodent smile.
        "Andy!  Thank you!  You shouldn't have!" She shouted joyfully as she
ripped a dark gray, double breasted, chalk-stripe suit out of the box.
        "It was my pleasure. You were beginning to express your dissatisfaction
with the trench coat so I thought this might be a nice change. The material
is of the same Awesomeantium fibre as Dan's uniform.  Here."  He handed her
a hat box. "A matching fedora is, of course, necessary."
        "You bet your cute butt it's necessary!" She leapt up and gave him a
strong hug.
        Andy reached under the table and produced a plastic guitar case and hand
ed
it obviously to T.
        T cocked an eyebrow and took it from him.  "Let me guess, a new guitar?"
        "Observant as always," Andy replied.  "This one is twice as loud as your
old one, but half the weight. It has teflon coated, Awesomeantium strings,
is fretless, and has a doppler radar mounted on the top of the neck so you
can chart weather patterns in a two mile radius to help you compensate for
wind currents when controlling sound waves."
        "Um, gee, Andy, think of everything, don't you?"
        "Yes. I do.  Try these on." Andy handed him a pair of black and red
fingerless gloves made of a leathery material.
        "They fit great Andy, but I'm afraid to ask what they do."
        "Do see the microphone mounted on the edge of the strap just below your
left shoulder?"
        "Um, no," T confessed after examining the mesh closely.
        "Good. It is hidden in the weave, but it is there. Now say the word
'classical'."
        "Classical," T replied.  No sooner had the breath left his lips five
finger picks shot from the holes in his right glove and slid up his fingers
and thumb and instantly coming to rest at the phalanges' tips.
        "Say 'slide,'" Andy suggested,
        T repeated the word and just as quickly, a clear, metallic tube telescop
ed
up the ring finger of his left hand.
        "You can customize the voice commands, adjust the angle of the picks, an
d
choose which finger the slide appears on," explained Andy.  "There is one
other feature as well.  When your left palm comes in contact with the back
of the fret board, opposing magnetic fields are created allowing you
frictionless contact along the guitar."
        T slowly brought his left hand up to the fret board.  His thumb rested
gently on the top of its sleek black surface. A brief, barely perceptible
beep sounded and T felt the palm of his hand be lifted not even a
millimeter off the neck's surface.  His hand slid up and down it even more
effortlessly than usual. His fingers glided expertly along the smooth,
almost glassy strings. He quickly played the most challenging modes,
scales, appreggios, and etudes he could think of.  Chords changed and
modified as cleanly as if they were single notes.
        T ceased playing and glanced down in amazement. He looked at Andy.  He
looked back at the guitar, and then back to Andy once again.
        "You are my God!" he exclaimed. A worshiping gaze shone in his eyes.
        Andy turned back to the table. He saw that it was empty and turned back.
        "Damien, I want you to know I have thought long and hard about building
you a suit of armor," Andy said to the eager normal.
        "And?"
        "I decided against it.  The ability to master a suit of fully functional
battle armor, let alone put it through the most basic of maneuvers requires
intense training and natural skills that need years of honing.  Those,
Damien, are not your strengths."
        "Oh," he said, trying not to sound dejected.
        "Now do not worry, Damien, you have a place with us. Chris."
        "Yes, boss?"
        "You already have everything you need.  This airship is your baby now, a
nd
I want you to learn it inside out. Then you tell me what modifications you
think it needs."
        "You got it, co-cheese. I couldn't ask for more," Chris said genuinely h
appy.
        "Good," Andy smiled once again.  "I am glad you are so agreeable.  Now I
would like you all to go to the hangar deck.  There are some things I want
to show you."
        They all left through the door they came in and walked through Andy's wa
rd
room.
        "Anne," Andy said resting a hand on her shoulder. "I would like to talk
to
you privately for a moment before we head down."
        Chris turned in the doorway.  There was a slightly worried expression on
his face.  Anne smiled weakly and winked. He smiled back and turned to
follow the others.
        Andy sat in one of the other chairs located at the corner.  He beckoned
her to sit down next to him on the other side of the corner. She did.
        "Look Andy, before you start, I know what you are going to say," Anne
blurted out.  "I am really sorry about what happened and I've already
written a letter of resignation.  It will be on your desk in an hour."
        Andy sat back and exhaled.  He clasped his hands contemplatively over hi
s
chest.
        "I am glad to see you have thought things over and taken decisive action
s
as a result.  However, Anne, I must insist you tell me what you are talking
about."
        "What?" Anne said incredulously.  "I locked the cats in the sick bay whe
re
they were all almost killed!  I destroyed the Awesometonium driver!  I
slammed the entire ship into the dalek cruiser! What do you think I was
talking about?"
        Andy smiled and put his hands on the table. "That is what I thought you
were talking about.  Anne, your conduct above Bob City was an awesome
display of leadership and creative thinking.  I am not reprimanding you. I
am thanking you.  I am also depending on you to be responsible for the ship
while I am not aboard."
        "Wait'" Anne said, stunned.  "Are you making me commander of the Awesome
Force One?"
        Andy laughed.  "This is not the ALU, Anne.  Nobody has seniority over
anyone else. No one is anybody's subordinate. All the members have their
certain responsibilities and expectations. I do not have to put you in
charge, Anne.  You have already proven to me that you possess the ability
to take charge."
        Anne looked at Andy for a brief and silent moment.  She started to giggl
e
and then laughed out loud. It was a good healthy laugh.  "Thank you, Andy.
I'm sorry about the outburst.  I guess I'm just not used to working for
someone like you."
        "No one on the Awesome Force works for anybody, Anne.  We all work
together.  Now, shall we join the others?"

        Chris walked around the hangar bay looking in every direction as quickly
as he could. He looked around and around and wondered if there was any
space on the walls of the Awesome Force One that wasn't covered in
technology.  He was in heaven.  Again.  Geek heaven, but blissful just the
same.
        He turned as Andy walked in with Anne following close behind. They came
up
to the others who stood near five hulking forms cloaked under dark tarps.
        "What's going on, Andy?  Why are all the ships covered and where did the
fifth one come from?"
        "Patience, T." And took his place in front of the first shrouded mass.
Andy gripped a wrinkle near the base.  "I decided that while we were
repairing and upgrading the Awesome Force One, I might as well revamp the
rest of them too. Fanfare, T?"
        T played the appropriate music and as it echoed off the floor and ceilin
g,
Andy pulled the tarp down.
        "Awesome Force," Andy began proudly.  "I present to you the 'A.F.S. Jara
."
        The shuttle that was formerly the Awesome Force Four stood before them
now. Shades of its original design were still visible, but barely stood
apart from the now sleeker, more heavily armed and armored, ship to ground
transport.
        Andy unveiled three of the following covered crafts revealing an
amphibious/aircraft named the AFS  Lou Foster, the fastest atmospheric ship
ever developed (the AFS Lightning Hopkins), and a completely re-engineered
Awesome Mobile now known as the AFV Kilohertzman.
        They then followed him to the final tarp which was much lower than the
rest of the crafts and seemed to gain width as it went back.
        "After reviewing satellite and television video of the air battle over B
ob
City, I could not help but wonder what difference a second ship would have
made in that battle.  To partly satisfy my curiosity as well as add a new
dimension to our versatility, I built this."
        Again, Andy's powerful arm effortlessly pulled bolts of heavy cloth off
the form.  The collective gasps of the Awesome Force were audible, but none
more than Damien Wilson as it slowly dawned on him what it was he was
looking at.
        It looked vaguely to him like someone took a sport bike, something like
a
Katana or a Hurricane, and spliced the body of a peregrine behind it. Then
the mad, he must be mad, scientist grafted frightening weapons onto the
wings and nose. As well as top bottom and rear.
        Damien looked quickly at Andy who was smiling.  He noticed the rest of t
he
team was smirking.
        "You all knew about this!  Didn't you?" Damien accused them happily.
        "Mmmaayybee." they all said in unison.
        "Take it for a spin?" Andy asked, tossing Damien a key ring.
        Damien caught the ring and slipped it over the middle finger of his righ
t
hand.  There was a small indentation on the side of the bike portion that
it fit into.  The entire housing slid back and he climbed into it.  It then
slid back and fit itself around his body.  He wheeled it around and as soon
as the bay doors open he took off, nearly passing out from the unexpected
acceleration.
        "Wow," thought Damien.  "Andy Awesome's my God."
        He rose up above the Hartford skyline and banked around.  He buzzed
underneath the train bridge near the bus station. He circled around the
base of the two-sided building that housed Phoenix Mutual and then shot
straight up barely skimming its glassy surface. He banked around again.  He
could feel everything with this craft.  The wind, the engines, the
turbulence.  He might as well be flying without it.
        He shot into the clouds and came down above the Awesome Amalgamated Towe
r
where the Awesome Force One was moored.  Its new surface reflected clouds
so perfectly Damien thought for a moment a hole had opened in the earth.
        He came up close around the nose and then shout out from it and did a
upside down u-turn.  While inverted, he noticed the 'Awesome Force One' was
no longer emblazoned upon the nose of the airship.  Instead it read
'eromdikS evetS dna ellehciM .S.F.A'. He inverted himself so he could
actually decipher the new name.  He recognized it, smiled, and hit full
throttle rising up into the fair sky above the Awesome Force Ship 'Michelle
and Steven Skidmore.'


What will Damien name his ship?

What adventures await the Awesome Force this season?

Will they get a chance to use their new toys?

Why didn't She Devil get anything?

Will the author succeed in keeping a steady writing scheduele?

Find out only on SUPERGUY DIGEST!!








Dominic A. White <ick@artiste.wa.com>

Author of "Andy Awesome and the Awesome Force"...
Only on Superguy Digest! <SUPERGUY@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu>

Creator of Slugs! cartoons...
gopher site: Seattle-USA <gopher.seattle.wa.us>