FIRE IN THE HOLE! Part III (Issue #1, chapter viii)
Again, "Adventure Boy" is the first to react, his adolescent synapses afire with raging bio-potentiality. Bounding forward, charred scraps of clothing and strawberry locks trailing behind him, he uses his transhuman strength to wrench the hood of the stretch limo off. Curling it up as a bothered husband might roll up the evening paper to swat a tenacious fly, he uses his bare hands to fashion the four-foot-long steel sheet into a weapon and readies himself to tee off on one of the Tekagi goons as Big Bill Tilden would lob a tennis ball. The phenomal display of micro-muscle blows a tire on the already much-abused executive limousine and causes the trunk to pop as well; if it ever was going to be, this car won't be used as a getaway wagon now.
Gouka, hearing the mighty hissing creak of Detritus' junked-out wormgears, realizes that the mechanical might of the menacing machine will surely turn on him. Somewhere deep in his withered, chopped and charred soul, he decides to fight rather than flee, and turns his scorching, searing hands against the thing from the junkyard. From his black and skeletal hands comes a fearsome heat infinitely worse than any hot wind that ever blew in from the deserts that surround Omnipolis; although the Junkheap is programmed to feel neither pain nor fear, a strange set of sensations pulse through his circuits as the burning wave washes over him. In fire was he forged; might not in fire he perish? But it is not to be, not today. The surface of his skin blisters and bubbles, and a terrible cranking whirl sounds inside his massive metal body as his cooling units vainly attempt to compensate for the huge rise in temperature. His internal settings take a pounding the likes of which he hasn't known in any of the memory banks he can access, but in the end, he still stands. He stands, smoking and sputtering, and turns his mind to a single purpose. He was designed for vengeance, and now he'll have it.
But before he takes that revenge, there are other people with murder on their minds. One of the Tekagi security goons, attempting to avenge a fallen comrade, takes aim with his Taisho automatic at the Conductor, whose sonic superpowers stunned and deafened one of the other goons. His aim is off, but not by much: a 7.65mm slug rips through Mahler's body, just at the juncture of his neck and right shoulder. The musical mastermind drops like a wet sack to the superheated tarmac, without the strength even to cry out in pain; he clutches at the wound, still alive but hardly in fighting trim.
Some distance away, the fleeing Insomniac manages to flag down an emergency vehicle already on its way to the scene in response to reports of mayhem on the flight line. Hopping aboard the truck and flashing some gray-market credentials, the sleepless superspy directs the crew towards the combat and barks out an order that the police be summoned at once. The Tekagi thug who was pursuing him, however, is somehow lost in the shuffle, presumably having seen the way the tide was turning and deciding to seek employment elsewhere rather precipitately.
Meanwhile, back in the limo, the security chief Akinori mutters imprecations in Japanese as Elasto keeps him trussed up like a Christmas goose. The Tekagi executive, Morimoto, at first scrambles for something in a small storage cabinet in the rear of the car, but, frustrated by the elastic avenger's attempts to stop him, kicks open the side door of the car and makes a break for it. Surprisingly quick and agile for a man his size and age, it almost looks as if he'll make good his escape -- until he runs head-first into Jeff Dell, who has circled around the other side of the car. Neither man knew the other was there and as a result, they collide full-on and when the stars stop circling their heads, Jeffrey is still on his feet and the corporate bigwig is down, attempting to regain his feet while holding on to his briefcase.
Junkheap, having regained partial control of his near-melted mechanical musculature, rumbles out an awesome response: seizing the hellfire-hurling Gouka, he grasps his charcoal-like cranium and hurls it down onto the tarmacadam, where it bounces up sickly like someone dropped a bowling ball, then crashes back down. The monstrous madman lies perfectly still, and the temperature in the immediate vicinity instantly drops forty degrees.
The last goon standing, showing a sense of duty and loyalty either admirable or perverse depending on one's perspective, takes a bead on young Jeffrey Dell, attempting to peel his head back so that boss-man Morimoto can beat a hasty retreat. Just as he's about to squeeze the trigger, though, the kid dynamo, "Adventure Boy" O'Malley, gives a swing of the curled-up metal hood like Bobby Jones teeing off on a long hook shot. With an almost comical KERRANG!!!, the goon goes flying out of his socks, landing in a heap a few feet away, his fatal shot never fired.
Okay, gang. That's round 2 of combat, and you're in pretty good shape. Junkheap is damaged but in working order; A-Boy is likewise wounded but still capable of getting around. Insomniac is on his way back with police and fire authorities. Elasto has Akinori tied up. Jeff Dell is standing over Morimoto, who's still looking like he's gonna try and run for it. The Conductor is the only one in seriously bad shape -- he's alive, but needs immediate medical attention or he won't make it.
As for the bad guys, Goon #1 is still down, deafened and stunned by the Conductor. Goon #2, who was chasing the Insomniac, has disappeared. Goon #4, who was taking aim at Jeff Dell, has been pounded into unconsciousness by A-Boy. Gouka might well be dead; he certainly isn't moving. Akinori is essentially helpless, wrapped up in Elasto's rubber limbs. Morimoto, as I said, is trying to make a getaway. The limo driver is sitting there doing nothing and has raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. Goon #3, who shot the Conductor, has his pistol raised and is moving it back and forth, ready to take a shot at anyone who approaches him, and looks like he's scouting for a getaway run.
Your move...
Gouka, hearing the mighty hissing creak of Detritus' junked-out wormgears, realizes that the mechanical might of the menacing machine will surely turn on him. Somewhere deep in his withered, chopped and charred soul, he decides to fight rather than flee, and turns his scorching, searing hands against the thing from the junkyard. From his black and skeletal hands comes a fearsome heat infinitely worse than any hot wind that ever blew in from the deserts that surround Omnipolis; although the Junkheap is programmed to feel neither pain nor fear, a strange set of sensations pulse through his circuits as the burning wave washes over him. In fire was he forged; might not in fire he perish? But it is not to be, not today. The surface of his skin blisters and bubbles, and a terrible cranking whirl sounds inside his massive metal body as his cooling units vainly attempt to compensate for the huge rise in temperature. His internal settings take a pounding the likes of which he hasn't known in any of the memory banks he can access, but in the end, he still stands. He stands, smoking and sputtering, and turns his mind to a single purpose. He was designed for vengeance, and now he'll have it.
But before he takes that revenge, there are other people with murder on their minds. One of the Tekagi security goons, attempting to avenge a fallen comrade, takes aim with his Taisho automatic at the Conductor, whose sonic superpowers stunned and deafened one of the other goons. His aim is off, but not by much: a 7.65mm slug rips through Mahler's body, just at the juncture of his neck and right shoulder. The musical mastermind drops like a wet sack to the superheated tarmac, without the strength even to cry out in pain; he clutches at the wound, still alive but hardly in fighting trim.
Some distance away, the fleeing Insomniac manages to flag down an emergency vehicle already on its way to the scene in response to reports of mayhem on the flight line. Hopping aboard the truck and flashing some gray-market credentials, the sleepless superspy directs the crew towards the combat and barks out an order that the police be summoned at once. The Tekagi thug who was pursuing him, however, is somehow lost in the shuffle, presumably having seen the way the tide was turning and deciding to seek employment elsewhere rather precipitately.
Meanwhile, back in the limo, the security chief Akinori mutters imprecations in Japanese as Elasto keeps him trussed up like a Christmas goose. The Tekagi executive, Morimoto, at first scrambles for something in a small storage cabinet in the rear of the car, but, frustrated by the elastic avenger's attempts to stop him, kicks open the side door of the car and makes a break for it. Surprisingly quick and agile for a man his size and age, it almost looks as if he'll make good his escape -- until he runs head-first into Jeff Dell, who has circled around the other side of the car. Neither man knew the other was there and as a result, they collide full-on and when the stars stop circling their heads, Jeffrey is still on his feet and the corporate bigwig is down, attempting to regain his feet while holding on to his briefcase.
Junkheap, having regained partial control of his near-melted mechanical musculature, rumbles out an awesome response: seizing the hellfire-hurling Gouka, he grasps his charcoal-like cranium and hurls it down onto the tarmacadam, where it bounces up sickly like someone dropped a bowling ball, then crashes back down. The monstrous madman lies perfectly still, and the temperature in the immediate vicinity instantly drops forty degrees.
The last goon standing, showing a sense of duty and loyalty either admirable or perverse depending on one's perspective, takes a bead on young Jeffrey Dell, attempting to peel his head back so that boss-man Morimoto can beat a hasty retreat. Just as he's about to squeeze the trigger, though, the kid dynamo, "Adventure Boy" O'Malley, gives a swing of the curled-up metal hood like Bobby Jones teeing off on a long hook shot. With an almost comical KERRANG!!!, the goon goes flying out of his socks, landing in a heap a few feet away, his fatal shot never fired.
Okay, gang. That's round 2 of combat, and you're in pretty good shape. Junkheap is damaged but in working order; A-Boy is likewise wounded but still capable of getting around. Insomniac is on his way back with police and fire authorities. Elasto has Akinori tied up. Jeff Dell is standing over Morimoto, who's still looking like he's gonna try and run for it. The Conductor is the only one in seriously bad shape -- he's alive, but needs immediate medical attention or he won't make it.
As for the bad guys, Goon #1 is still down, deafened and stunned by the Conductor. Goon #2, who was chasing the Insomniac, has disappeared. Goon #4, who was taking aim at Jeff Dell, has been pounded into unconsciousness by A-Boy. Gouka might well be dead; he certainly isn't moving. Akinori is essentially helpless, wrapped up in Elasto's rubber limbs. Morimoto, as I said, is trying to make a getaway. The limo driver is sitting there doing nothing and has raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. Goon #3, who shot the Conductor, has his pistol raised and is moving it back and forth, ready to take a shot at anyone who approaches him, and looks like he's scouting for a getaway run.
Your move...