Herald City Music Hall. For over a century, this grand hall has been home to many classical music performances. But as time moves on and musical tastes change, it will be closing soon so that a venue catering to rock and roll concerts can be built in its place. Tonight, a final classical music concert is taking place......
Outside the grand Herald City Music Hall, one could hear the beautiful orchestral score filling the air. A concert was going on, but it would unfortunately be the venue’s last concert of this type.
Herald City Music Hall, Final Sendoff Concert. Coming Soon: Herald City Rock and Roll Center, read the sign outside the door.
The plan was to tear down the building and rebuild it with the acoustics—and space for dancing crowds—that were more befitting a rock concert. But right now, an audience of classical music fans were enjoying the orchestral melody, guided along by the aging conductor.
As the music began to reach a crescendo, the concert hall began to shake. Audience members looked around, confused at what was happening. It took a moment for the orchestra to realize what was going on, and they ceased their melody as they realized that something was wrong. As they stopped playing, the building stopped shaking.
“Why, how strange. I could have sworn the building was shaking,” said the conductor.
“It certainly was, good sir. The concert hall itself must have loved your beautiful melody,” said a voice from the back of the hall.
Everyone turned to see the strange pair of figures. The two individuals—a man and a boy around 11 or 12—stood confidently in the back. They wore the same costume, a full body skin tight purple supervillain suit with a jet black torso piece. They wore silver gloves and boots, and a silver musical note covered their chests like a logo. Their silver and black masks also bore the musical note symbol.
“I wish you could all stick around. It’s a shame that this is supposed to be the last classical musical concert that this historic hall is supposed to host,” continued the man, pulling out a strange black box from a pouch on his silver belt. In a bright flash, the box transformed into a violin.
“But I think we can keep this concert going,” sneered the boy next to him, doing the same.
“Agreed. You see, you’ve been a great opening act. But we are the headliner,” said the man, playing his violin, the boy following suit.
The building began shaking more violently this time. Cracks began to form along the walls and ceiling, and small bits of debris began to fall.
“Oh my God! We’ve got to get out of here!” cried a woman.
“Everybody out!” ordered the conductor. “Run for your lives before this whole place collapses!”
Everyone began to flee for the exits as the music continued and the shaking intensified.
“Feel free to leave! Because despite what you thought coming here for, this won’t be the last concert of the Herald City Music Hall, or any place in Herald City which treasures true classical music!” said the man. “So enjoy the show! Music is about to become the most destructive force the city has ever seen!”
In the Dufraine household, Jack Dufraine, better known as Switch the Blue Eaglet, is focused on his studies while listening to the newest hit rock and roll song on the radio. Suddenly......
Jack sat at his desk, finishing up his math homework while a rock and roll song played on the radio next to him. He was so focused on his work that he didn’t notice the vibrations of his chair at first. It was when the desk began to shake violently that he noticed.
“Hey, what’s going o-AGH!” he cried as his chair fell backwards, sprawling him out on the floor.
The door burst open. “Jack! What’s going on!?” asked David.
Jack pulled himself to his feet. “I’m fine, but everything else isn’t.”
“I’ve noticed. The whole house is shaking, but it’s worse in here!”
The shaking of the room began to intensify. Books fell off shelves and the bed started to turn counterclockwise and move towards the door.
“What do we do?” asked Jack.
“I’m not sure. But can you shut off that radio? It’s distracting, and I don’t want it to become an electrical hazard,” said David, pointing to the radio still playing the rock song.
Jack obliged and shut the radio off. The music stopped. So did the shaking.
“Everything’s calm now. How did that happen?” wondered Jack, looking at his radio.
“The music was causing the tremors,” said David.
“But how? It wasn’t at its lowest volume, but I don’t think that music was loud enough to cause an earthquake!”
David scratched his chin. “Something strange is going on. Let’s go visit the Chief and see if we can get to the bottom of this!”
And so—as Blue Eagle and Switch the Blue Eaglet—our heroes make haste to the Chief of Police. There, they are met with startling news.....
“The whole city!?” repeated Switch.
“That’s right, Blue Eaglet,” said the Chief. “For some reason, music is causing destruction throughout the city! Even someone humming a tune can break glass. And we’re at a loss to explain how this is happening.”
“How does someone turn music into a destructive force?” wondered Switch.
“And, more importantly, how do we stop it?” asked Blue Eagle.
“We’ve got officers scouring the city looking for clues, but they haven’t found--”, started the Chief, interrupted by the ringing telephone on his desk. “Excuse me,” he said, picking it up. “Hello, this is the Chief—What's that, Mr. Mayor!? You got a call from whom!? He said what!?”
Blue Eagle and Switch exchanged worried glances.
“Yes, yes, they are both in my office right now. I’ll send them out right away,” the Chief said, finishing his conversation and hanging up the phone.
“Problems, Chief?” asked Blue Eagle.
“That was the mayor,” explained the Chief. “He was just contacted by the person responsible for all of this. A supervillain named ‘Music Major’.”
“Music Major?” repeated Switch.
“The villain has made demands,” continued the Chief. “He wants all popular music—rock and roll, jazz, blues—anything that isn’t classical music to be banned. Until we do, this will continue.”
“Then it’s time we found this Music Major and stopped him,” said Blue Eagle.
“But how will you find him? We have no leads on him,” asked the Chief.
“If we’re looking for someone who manipulates music, I think he’ll make himself known eventually,” said Blue Eagle, pointing to his ear. “With my super hearing, I have the feeling that I’ll pick up his trail shortly. Quickly, Switch! Before any more damage to the city is caused!” With that, he turned to leave.
“Right behind you, Blue Eagle!” said Switch, following his father.
And so Blue Eagle and Switch take to the skies to find any possible signs of the Music Major’s location. But after what seems like hours.......
“I can’t believe there’s no sign of Music Major. Haven’t you heard anything out of the ordinary yet, Blue Eagle?” asked Switch.
“Not yet, Switch. We need to have patience,” replied Blue Eagle, soaring through the air. He held Switch around his waist so the sidekick would not be without his powers in a moment of emergency.
That moment came almost immediately. While flying through the skies of Herald City, Blue Eagle was listening intently for sounds that were out of the ordinary. He found none, but his ears picked up the sound of three children sitting on a fire escape on the top floor of an apartment building. Two of them sat on the railing while the third sat on the windowsill. Ignorant of the strange events going on, the child on the windowsill turned on a small radio nearby, which began playing a rock and roll song. The force from the music was enough to push the other two children off the railing, and they began to fall.
“Help! Help!” they screamed frantically as they plummeted towards the ground.
“Switch?” said Blue Eagle, readying his sidekick to take action.
“Ready, Blue Eagle!” said Switch.
As fast as he could, Blue Eagle soared straight for the children. He released his grip on Switch, who activated his flight. Together, they swooped down and caught the children, lowering them safely to the ground.
“Wow! Thanks, Blue Eagle!” exclaimed one of the children, his fear giving way to the excitement of meeting a superhero. “Another second and we would have been goners!”
“That was so strange,” said the other child. “Nobody touched us, but when the music came on, it was like somebody shoved us.”
“Well, it’s good that you kids are alright,” said Switch. “But for a little while, it’s better that you don’t listen to any music.”
“And you should never sit on the edge of a fire escape like that,” added Blue Eagle. “It’s dangerous and you can fall.”
“Got it, Blue Eagle. Thanks again!” said the kids, waving as they ran off.
Blue Eagle’s eyes narrowed as he suddenly found himself deep in thought. He absentmindedly stroked his chin.
“What is it, Blue Eagle?” asked Switch.
“Strange. When you played music over the radio before, the whole house was shaking. The Chief said that even someone singing would cause glass to break. And yet these kids only experienced a shove?” wondered Blue Eagle.
He walked over to a public trash can. “Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do,” he sang. The trash can fell to the ground as if knocked over by a gust of wind.
“The trash can fell over, but I don’t feel any shaking. What are you thinking, Blue Eagle?” asked Switch.
“I’m willing to bet that the reason there isn’t much of an effect is because we’re far away from the source. Probably across town,” said Blue Eagle. “If we’re close to the Music Major, we’ll probably find the damage caused by music to be much greater.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“Yes. We should split up and test how much damage singing does at any given point. The more damage, the closer we’ll be to Music Major. When singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ becomes far too destructive, we’ll likely be right on top of him. Let’s move out!”
And so, our heroes scour the city, and through trial and error, find themselves at what they believe to be the location of the Music Major........
“‘Little Symphonies’? I think this is definitely the place,” said Switch.
“The damage certainly seems to be the greatest here,” said Blue Eagle. “Let’s go inside. But keep your eyes and ears open. We don’t know anything about what we’re going to face.”
The pair cautiously approached the medium-sized standalone storefront, its purple sign displaying the business name sandwiched between a pair of musical notes. Inside were rows and rows of musical instruments of all types.
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A man leaned on the checkout counter. Seeing the superheroes walk in, he straightened up.
“My my! Blue Eagle! Switch! To what do I owe this honor?” he asked. “Welcome to Little Symphonies. How can I help you?”
“Greetings, citizen. We’re sorry to bother you, but we’ve been investigating strange disturbances throughout the city and were hoping to take a look around,” said Blue Eagle.
“Oh? I’ve been in my shop this whole day and haven’t noticed anything,” said the man. “I hope you don’t believe that there’s anything going on in here.”
“Not at all, sir. But we believe that we may be able to find some clues here. Something’s happened to the music in Herald City, and we want to check out any music-related places just to be thorough,” sad Blue Eagle.
“Of course, of course,” said the man, nodding in understanding. “I’d be happy to help you in any way I can. Please, come downstairs and have a look around. Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for down there.”
The man turned towards the back, and Blue Eagle and Switch followed him. Together, they walked down a flight of stairs.
“Now that you mention it, I did notice something strange going on,” said the shopkeeper.
“What is it?” asked Switch.
“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it for the life of me,” said the man. “It’s a strange sound of some kind coming from one of the rooms. It sounds a little but like music, but I can’t tell. Perhaps, with your enhanced hearing, you can get to the bottom of it, Blue Eagle.”
“I’ll do what I can,” said Blue Eagle.
They arrived at the bottom of the staircase and entered a hallway. The shopkeeper opened up a door and allowed the heroes to enter. “Right this way.”
Blue Eagle and Switch entered the room. There were no other exits, no furniture, and no equipment other than a few speakers. The room was made of dark reflective panels which covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. Before either of them could ask the purpose of the room, the door shut and locked behind them.
“Hey! What’s the big idea!?” demanded Switch.
“Stand back,” ordered Blue Eagle as he reared back his fist. With a thunderous blow, he punched the door with all of his might. While most doors would have been shattered into powder, this door didn’t budge.
“What!?” gasped Blue Eagle.
“The door didn’t budge at all!” exclaimed Switch.
Some of the panels slid away, revealing a video screen. On the screen appeared two individuals—a man and a boy around Switch’s age—dressed in identical music-related costumes.
The man laughed. “Blue Eagle and Switch the Blue Eaglet. How easily the heroes of Herald City fell into my trap!” he gloated. His voice was unmistakable; it was the shopkeeper.
“Music Major, I presume,” growled Blue Eagle.
“Yes, Blue Eagle. It is I, the Music Major! And allow me to introduce my villain sidekick, the Music Minor!” said Music Major.
“Congratulations! You found us!” said Music Minor. “As a result, we have a special tune for you.”
“Would that be the sound of you surrendering?” asked Switch dryly.
“Oh no, Blue Eaglet,” said Music Major, chuckling to himself. “We’ll never allow your generation to ruin music forever with rock and roll, blues, jazz, and all sorts of junk noise.”
“Modern music just falls flat, its quality ever in a decrescendo,” said Music Minor. “It’s devoid of meaning, history, and culture.”
“So this is what all this is about?” asked Blue Eagle. “That people don’t like the same music as you?”
“It’s not about not liking the same music as me!” spat Music Major. “It’s about the giacoso nature of modern music; the carefree nature devoid of meaning and weight, all in favor of catchy tunes that mindless teenagers can dance to.”
“It’s like replacing the great works of art with a can of paint thrown at a wall, and calling that ‘art’,” added Music Minor. “The history of art—of music—is the history of humanity. And in the decades we’ve moved away from the classical pieces of orchestra and opera to the drivel of today, we’ve been losing our history!”
“That’s madness!” said Switch. “Do you really think that we’re going to lose our history because of modern music? Musical tastes are always changing.”
“I don’t expect you fools to understand. If there’s a word I’ll never use to describe you, it’s ‘sharp’. But we’ve got something much better in mind for you,” said Music Major. “Tell them about the trap they’ve walked into.”
Music Minor laughed. “The room you’re in is made of panels that reflect soundwaves. That means music, with all the destructive force it now has. You see those speakers? They will pump music into the room. Classical music. An eternal rondo, a repeating song. It will get louder and louder. And you won’t survive long enough to hear it played at fortississimo.”
“Our powers allow us to turn soundwaves into energy of physical destruction. That includes music, and our powers reach far and wide,” added Music Major. “You’ll be learning firsthand that we can hold a note for a very long time.”
“You’re mad!” said Blue Eagle.
“And your impotent threats are off-key! Goodbye, heroes!” laughed Music Major, the screen going blank. The panels returned to their positions covering the screen.
Classical music began to pump into the room.
“Music! Switch, activate your invulnerability before—OOF!” started Blue Eagle as he was interrupted by a powerful blast created entirely by the music. The blow sent him sprawling to the ground.
“Already on it, Blue Eagle!” said Switch. With his invulnerability, the destructive effects of the music did nothing to him. But this would only last for two to five minutes.
Blue Eagle sat up, rubbing his head. “What do we do now?”
Upstairs, the supervillain duo run towards the shop counter.......
Music Major and Music Minor arrived upstairs and entered the shop floor. Music Major approached the cash register.
“What do we do now, Music Major?” asked Music Minor.
“Easy. Herald City sent its mightiest to bring us down and failed miserably. I believe it’s time for them to learn a new meaning of the word ‘tremolo’,” answered Music Major, pressing a button on the register.
The rooftop opened, a balloon inflating from it. The storefront was now a blimp, the building itself the gondola. The dirigible took off into the air.
Music Major cackled gleefully. “Now, it’s time to give Herald City a new respect for music!”
Flipping a switch on the cash register, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony began to play out of a speaker directed at the Downtown area. “I hope they love a true classic in Downtown Herald City!” he exclaimed, laughing. “Now let’s give the northern part of the city some holiday cheer.” Flipping another switch, a speaker started blaring Jingle Bells.
More songs were being played from speakers directed at different parts of the city. Throughout Herald City, glass began to shatter and buildings began to shake. People in the streets began to run for their lives.
Music Major chuckled to himself. “I think a few hours of these classic tunes will make the people see things from our perspective.”
Meanwhile, Blue Eagle and Switch struggle to escape from the dastardly trap......
The music was getting louder and louder. It wasn’t that the volume was increasing, but that the sounds were bouncing off the walls, creating an ever-deafening cacophony of distorted sounds rather than the level volumed classical symphony that the speaker was actually playing. Blue Eagle lay face down on the ground, struggling to stay conscious, besieged by powerful invisible but physical blows from all sides. Switch was crouched by his father’s side, his invulnerability still holding.
“Blue Eagle! Are you okay? Can you stand?” asked Switch frantically.
“Barely. The impacts are strong enough to overtake even my strength,” gasped Blue Eagle, struggling to get to a kneeling position. “What about you?”
“I’m unharmed due to my invulnerability, but that’s going to be gone in less than a minute. We’ve already been in here for over four.”
“Then listen, Switch. I have an idea. It’s risky, but we’ve got no other choice,” said Blue Eagle. He nodded towards the door. “That door must have been weakened by the powerful destructive blasts levied against it. If we both sing a tune at it at the top of our lungs, I believe it might weaken the door enough for me to break it open.”
“That’s one heck of a flaw in their trap. Let’s hope they didn’t anticipate it,” said Switch.
Blue Eagle got to his feet, and they both stood in front of the door. “Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do,” they sang in unison. With a loud crash and grinding of metal, the door caved in as if hit by a wrecking ball.
“Perfect! Now stand back!” ordered Blue Eagle, rearing back his fist. With a powerful blow, the door exploded off its hinges. “Quickly, outside!”
The pair ran out the door and to the safety of the stairs where they stopped for a moment to catch their breath.
“Great thinking, Blue Eagle,” said Switch. “Another second in there and I would have been a goner.”
“And I wouldn’t be faring much better,” said Blue Eagle. “But we have no time to rest. We need to stop Music Major. Quickly, upstairs!”
They ran up the stairs, only to find a bare and empty lot where Little Symphonies once stood.
“Are they magicians along with musicians? He made an entire store disappear!” said Switch.
“Not quite. Look!” said Blue Eagle, pointing at the sky.
A large dirigible floated over Herald City, the Little Symphonies store acting as its gondola. Different music blared from speakers placed along the bottom of the blimp.
“That thing’s music will tear this city apart unless we do something about it now!” said Blue Eagle.
“A symphonic superweapon? You don’t see that every day!” said Switch.
“Indeed. Can you fly?” asked Blue Eagle.
“Not yet.”
“Then hold on!” said Blue Eagle, grabbing Switch by the waist and taking to the skies.
Inside the gondola, Music Major continued pressing buttons on the cash register, with music playing out of more speakers coming from the bottom of the blimp. “Deck the Halls? Time to deck City Hall!” he laughed.
“I think it’s time for your swan song, Music Major!” came the voice of Blue Eagle at the doorway.
“Yeah. Show’s over!” said Switch, standing right next to him.
“What!? Blue Eagle? How are you still alive!?” cried Music Major angrily. He leapt over the counter and joined Music Minor as they stood opposite the superhero pair. Reaching into his belt pouch, he took out a black box, and his sidekick followed suit. “No matter. It’s curtains for you do-gooders!”
Music Major’s box transformed into a baritone horn. Music Minor’s turned into a trumpet.
“Now, Switch! Let’s take these maniacal musicians down for good!” said Blue Eagle, launching himself forward at Music Major. A loud, low note erupted from the baritone, and Blue Eagle was knocked backward as if struck by a powerful blow.
Music Minor began to play an impressive tune on his trumpet, destructive musical force launching itself at Switch like rocket-propelled grenades. But activating his superspeed allowed the superhero sidekick to dodge his villainous peer’s attacks.
Blue Eagle got to his feet and launched himself again at Music Major.
“Let’s try a different tune,” said Music Major, his baritone changing to an accordion.
As Music Major played his accordion, Blue Eagle halted in place. He struggled as he was lifted into the air by an unseen force, and even his power wasn’t enough to break free.
“What? How--?”
“We have control over soundwaves, you fool,” said Music Major, laughing as Blue Eagle struggled helplessly. “With my ability to manipulate them, I can use my music as a destructive force, or to restrain you so that you are helpless before me. Nothing like a captive audience for my performance!”
Blue Eagle tried to struggle, but couldn’t even move an arm.
Music Minor continued to play his trumpet, his fingers dancing on the valves as he played a melody consisting of short, quick staccato notes. Instruments fell off their display racks, hit by the destructive musical force as Switch dodged each attack.
“Nice tune, Music Minor! But you’re going to have to pick up the tempo if you want to take me down!” taunted Switch.
With his superspeed, Switch ran literal circles around Music Minor, who stopped playing for a moment to catch his bearings. Switch pushed Music Minor at his shoulder, causing the villain sidekick to spin around. Switch continued to run around him at superspeed, spinning Music Minor around like a top. He stopped short, and the young supervillain stumbled around in a dizzy haze. With a hard shove from Switch, Music Minor fell over, unconscious.
“Enjoy your whole rest,” said Switch with a smile on his face.
Blue Eagle continued to struggle out of the paralyzing force emanating from the accordion tunes.
“Can’t...break free.... Must get......accordion.......in my......line of sight.......” His neck muscles straining to look downward toward the Music Major, he finally saw the accordion in his field of view. He fired his eyebeams at the instrument, destroying it.
“What!? No!” cried the Music Major, holding the destroyed husk of an instrument.
Blue Eagle found himself freed and fired another eyebeam at Music Major. The villain began to softly hum “Three Blind Mice”, and the eyebeam dissipated in front of him.
“Darn! His music can even prevent my eyebeams from hitting him,” muttered Blue Eagle to himself. He grabbed a saxophone off a display. “Well, perhaps I can turn his own music against him.”
He blew into the saxophone, his fingers dancing across the keys. He didn’t know how to play, but he was able to produce sounds and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.
Music Major threw his head back and laughed. “You’re even more incompetent than I thought! I control the destructive power of soundwaves! Do you really think I’d allow you to use them against me?”
“I think the more you concentrate your powers on me, the less you do on the city,” said Blue Eagle.
“Well, then I’ll give the city a momentary intermission and destroy you instead!” exclaimed Music Major. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing himself to sing.
“I’ll take this as my cue!” said Blue Eagle. With a sudden lunge, he leapt for the cash register and began to press buttons. “Now, which one of these works the music?”
He hit a button, and classical music began to play inside the store. It took less than a second for chunks of ceiling to begin falling, with holes revealing the inner structure of the blimp itself. Air began to leak out as the gondola began to shake and fall apart.
“No! My dirigible! My plans! Foiled!” screamed Music Major. “If I don’t stop the music from being destructive, the whole airship will tear itself apart!”
“Just what I wanted to hear!” came Blue Eagle’s voice behind Music Major. The villain turned around just as a powerful right hook knocked him out.
“He may be out, but this place is about to blow!” said Switch as the store began sway back and forth as the blimp grew increasingly more unstable.
“Let’s get out of here!” said Blue Eagle.
The heroes flew out of the dirigible, the unconscious villains in their arms, as the airship exploded. It disappeared in a bright flash, reduced to dust and ash.
“Wow! We got out just in the nick of time!” said Switch, Music Minor still unconscious in his arms as he flew alongside Blue Eagle.
“And with these two out, music shouldn’t cause any more damage in Herald City,” said Blue Eagle. “Come, let’s drop these two off at the police station. They should be able to handle them from here.”
Later that day, as David and Jack relax at home after a hard day of stopping supervillains.......
David and Jack sat on the couch watching the TV news. Just hours ago, they had dropped off Music Major and Music Minor at the precinct. The Chief assured them that a special cell was already prepared that would prevent them from using their abilities. The city was once again safe.
“.........and the villainous Music Major’s plans were thwarted by our very own Blue Eagle and Switch the Blue Eaglet,” said the newscaster, finishing up the story.
“Boy, it’s a good thing we can listen to music again without having an earthquake in the living room,” said Jack.
David chuckled. “You sure said it. I can’t believe all of that was the result of someone not liking modern music. But I think a nice long jail sentence should give those two time to think about respecting other’s musical preferences.”
“In other news,” continued the newscast, moving onto the next story, “the Herald City Music Hall, scheduled to be torn down this week, has been saved. The developers for the up and coming Herald City Rock and Roll Center have come across a new property on which to develop: The remains of the music store ‘Little Symphonies’”.
Jack smiled. “What irony. It looks like Music Major managed to save classical music after all, but his own headquarters is now going to be dedicated to the music he hates.”
“I don’t know about you, but I guess you can say this all ended on a high note,” said David. Even Jack had to groan at that joke.