Electricity could be felt in the air as the Mobile Command Center rolled on through downtown Asbury Park, New Jersey. They were nearing the worst part of town, still all but abandoned, where they could still find their quarry. Satellite imagery wasn’t real-time, but this was surely a salvage operation by the Big O.G. and would take most of the day. At least this was what they hoped.
“Care. Just about to the drop zone. You suited up?” Harvey, already in full gear, called back to his partner, voice filtered through a future tech helmet. The neck of his suit’s cuirass may have been compromised but the suit was modular, the old neck-piece and pauldrons sitting on his bed at home, waiting to be shipped back to their creator for repair. He tugged at the seal of the fresh, never before worn neck-piece. It seemed tight, immobile, but he thought he remembered the original being similarly stiff at first. He felt lucky; the helmet, at first thought damaged, engaged perfectly with the replacement part after he pried it free of the damaged one.
“Almost! Hey, you think we could get my goggles retrofitted with night vision like your helmet? I don’t want to get caught like last time ever again, y’know?”
“Sure, sure, we can drop a couple K on that. Hey, listen; you notice how Johnny never answered earlier? I asked him how he knew who we were and he deflected. Right?”
“Uh, well, yeah, but I don’t think it was a deflection, man. More like confusion. As for how he knew? I think we’ll figure that out when we figure out why he doesn’t remember who he is, y’know?”
“I guess.” Harvey engaged the optical controls on his helmet; focus on the ‘command button’ in the HUD, blink three times fast, then issue a verbal command. Speakers off until commands complete. He said “comms, open line” and the transceiver fired up. “Okay. Bouncer online. Everybody hear me?”
“Roger” said Carroll, who had just remembered his earpiece, hastily pushing the nearly invisible button on the equally invisible piece of tech. “Roger, that is. Mandusa online.”
There was a long pause. Harvey sighed deeply. “Johnny, buddy, again, tap the earpiece, gently, and then speak. Not too hard; you’ll break it and it’ll take work to get it out of your ear canal.”
Another pause. Then, finally “—r, Megadude online. Whoo!”
“Good enough” said Harvey, shaking his head, maybe chuckling just a little. “Listen, those earpiece comms are in push-to-talk mode by default. Push the button in for two seconds and let go, they’ll stay open, we’ll hear everything so long as we’re all within range of a cell tower. Say ‘open’ to acknowledge completion of this task.
“Open” said Carroll with virtually no delay. Grinning, he hadn’t waited for Harvey to stop talking first before opening comms.
There was a rush of wind that quickly timed out but, within ten more seconds, Johnny chimed in as well “Uh, open? Right? I do it right?”
“You did, Johnny. Now, list—”
“Hell yeah! Eyes in the sky! Oh, hey, I should have a codename! Like … ‘Screaming Eagle’!”
“What? No, Johnny, buddy, you already have a codename. You’re Megadude, remember?”
“Oh yeah! Or Progenitor?”
“Let’s not get into that again…” groaned Harvey.
“Good job, Johnny!” called Carroll, earnestly.
“Okay! Listen, Johnny, just circle the collapsed warehouse I showed you in the satellite pictures, right? High enough to where nobody on the ground can tell what you are, okay? You with me?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry Harv.”
“Awesome! When I say ‘you’re going down’, you land between us and the great big guy about to squash us, right? All dramatic and stuff. Bet you he’ll give up on the spot. If not, you just knock him out while we subdue his crew. Easy peasey!” shouted Harvey, his adrenaline spiking. Finding a spot in the shade he parked, shut off the engine and moved to the rear of the vehicle where Carroll was waiting.
“How do I look?” asked Carroll, wearing his typical blue jumpsuit with the red collar and green goggles.
“Just perfect. Like an epileptic seizure ready to take someone out.”
“Okay, I … hey!”
“It’s a compliment! Let’s do this thing!”
Placing a hand on Harvey’s shoulder, Carroll gave him a look of concern. “Hey, this is a big deal so … nothing crazy, okay?”
“Yeah man, it’s all good. Better than good.”
“And that unregistered gun? The one you took off Enrique, that Chupacabra gangster?”
“Oh, long gone. Turned it in at the police station.”
“What?” asked Carroll incredulously. “When?” There was a thunk somewhere in the RV.
“When you weren’t looking. Now let’s rock!” and out the hidden trapdoor in the RV Harvey slipped.
“What was that noise, H—Bouncer? Dude! Oh, he totally tossed it under something just now.”
“No I didn’t!” came a voice over Carroll’s earpiece.
“Oh, what, I … dammit, wait for me! For once Carroll dropped out the bottom as well, hustling after his partner. For once it just felt right.
Although they came from the opposite side of the building it was immediately clear that everything was different from their last visit to the Wildcorp warehouse. For one thing the building was much flatter than it had been previously. They knew what caused that. For another it was daytime whereas their stealthy approach in the initial visit was in the dead of night. Finally, a number of men in black suits milled about, overturning the rubble, searching for something. These were the same well-dressed gentlemen of color backing the B.O.G. before so no surprise there. “So, we’re clear on the plan, right?” asked the Bouncer.
“I think so. We approach, in the open. Shooting us didn’t work well last time, plus, the area may be clear, but it’s daytime and gunshots carry. Figure they’ll want to talk, at least at first.”
“That’s right. Plus you can pretty much bet that the Big O.G. is gonna want to squash us himself. Probably would if it weren’t for our eye in the sky.” There was an elation in Harvey’s voice.
“That’s me!” blurted Megadude, somewhere, but still on the shared audio line.
“And you’re okay to do this? What if we do have to fight?”
“That’s what the pain pills are for! Honestly, I hope we do have to bust some heads.”
Grimacing, Carroll, now the Mandusa, followed Bouncer’s lead. He couldn’t quite pull off the confident swagger like Harvey, which may actually be less swagger and more how Harvey’s body compensated for the eighty pounds of equipment he wore everywhere, but he tried. As they got within a block of the flattened warehouse, the dark figures stopped milling about, came together, then arrayed to all face the incoming Bouncer and Mandusa. “They see us, Bouncer.”
“Don’t I know it. Just keep walking. Just look at that fat bastard. You’d think he’d stay off the street, knowing we got away after learning who he was.”
“Yeah. Heh.” Carroll started to sweat a bit, remembering the immense strength brought to bear upon him by the B.O.G. when he’d been isolated, cut off from his partner. He didn’t want to engage the giant. Not directly. Not again.
“That’s far enough!” called out the Big one. “Guess we can stop lookin’ for your corpses in this pile, huh? Got a lot of nerve comin’ back here…” The pair did stop, less than a hundred feet separating them from Big and his gang.
“What? Not happy to see us? Or … can you see us? Looks like you found yourself an eye patch!” shouted Bouncer. He grinned huge under his helmet as several of Big’s own men covered their own mouths, stifling laughter.
And he was angry, instantly, tossing a flat-brimmed hat to the ground, fingers curled as if to choke the air. “Why!? Why are you fucking with me!? All I ever did was try to engage in commerce!”
“You know the story! We heard about a weapons deal but you were selling Wildcorp androids. Which is worse, honestly!”
“But why!? What business was it of yours!?” His exasperation was clear and extreme.
For a villain Big sure tried to reason with people a lot, thought Mandusa, who snorted. “You were basically selling people, Big man! We had to stop you. We’re heroes!”
“Bullshit!” echoed Big, fairly spitting the word. “You ain’t heroes! I had a check run on you boys. B.O. Man here wants to be a big-shot, but all he’s good at is beating up meth addicts, so he can’t get sponsorship! ‘Fro Man, you barely on the radar, so no sponsorship, not even an attempt to get in good with the cops. That means you can’t even apprehend me like a cop would. Fuckin’ citizen arrest or something. Serious, man, You ain’t heroes! You ain’t shit…”
Oh, he was good. The words hit hard on Carroll, who tried to shrink behind his partner, even his hair seemed to cringe. Harvey though was fully submerged and the Bouncer was in command. Taking a few steps forward, he called out “If we’re so inconsequential, why do you want us to stay back, huh? Is it because the last time I got you alone I just about took you out?”
“What … are you fucking serious?” Without thinking Big took a few steps forward himself, whipping his jacket off and flinging it aside. It was a sign of aggression and, more importantly, an indication that he was preparing to transform into his taller, more muscular self. “You barely escaped with your lives! I thought you were dead or I would’ve already hunted your asses down!”
“No, you weren’t looking because you were having whatever doctor was willing to service a criminal off the clock tend your injuries! That a little brace I see on your nose? Man, I wonder what that face of yours looks like under all that hardware.” Bouncer was having way too much fun with this. What’s more all but one of Big’s boys, a diminutive fellow with a mustache, were really enjoying the show.
That one, a little guy, took a step forward, drawing his pistol. “Get the fuck back!” shouted Big, kicking his shoes off. “This dumb little sucka’s mine.”
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“Look at how eager he is to get his ass kicked again, Mandusa! Last time I saw him all he could say was ‘Oh! I can’t see! Oh, I can’t hear! Ow, my eye!’ and now he thinks he can go!”
“You sawed-off little punk! Who the hell you think you are!?” shouted Big, his emotions getting the best of him, his shape changing. “You gon’ get it now!”
“I’m gonna get it? Y’know where you’re going?” shouted Bouncer with maximum base shouted out; “You’re going down!”
Flesh rippling, undulating, Big’s body swelled upwards, tearing his shirt to shreds, pants falling off, revealing the black wrestling singlet beneath. The fat man was a muscular giant again. “When I’m done they’ll have to do a DNA test just to prove you were human! You hea—” and he fell silent, staggering back, as a distant whistling became a violent impact mere feet in front of him. “The … fuck?”
As the dust cleared Big saw for himself what Bouncer and Mandusa already knew; a third masked man accompanied them. Down on one knee, fist to the pavement, he’d made a small crater and, slowly, he rose to his feet. Giving a casual wave towards Big, he called out; “Uh, hey. Wassup, bro’?” Turning back towards Bouncer he called out “I did it good, right?” and got a thumbs up in reply.
While his crew were falling all over themselves to find cover, Big himself was instantly befuddled. Anger forgotten, he moved forward again, hands up as if wanting to, but afraid to, touch this newcomer and confirm his reality. “What is this B.O. Man? You siccin’ a luchador on me now? This some kinda shit…”
“Dude, you’re, like, freakin’ tall.” Blurted Megadude, cocking his head to one side. “Like … wow.”
“Who the hell are you anyway, kid? This is between me and these two wannabes.”
“Huh? No, like, I’m between you and these two … well, we’re kind of a team. Heh. Yeah.”
“You … okay, enough of this. Normally I’d just let it go, too much trouble, let y’all walk, but these two know who I am. Obviously they haven’t told anyone or they wouldn’t be back here, trying to be bigshots. So out of my way.” Big said curtly, attempting to move around Megadude.
Beginning to hover, Johnny thrust an arm out in front of Big. “Sorry bro’, not gonna happen. You done bad so, y’know, jail or something.”
Gritting his teeth, the titanic gangster could only shake his head. “Connections I got in Jersey? Ain’t nothin’ stickin’ to me, son. But if you’re dumb enough to pick a fight—” and, with that, Big reached back, went low, and, with the sound of a lightning strike, hit a massive uppercut. Megadude disappeared up into the air and behind another nearby building.
“Oh. Oh shit…” muttered Mandusa, what was left of his own adrenaline rush breaking instantly.
Bouncer was feeling a touch of shock himself. “Okay. Unexpected.” Taking half a step back he pondered; what did he expect? Acting confident, faking it until he made it, he’d never seen a brick like the Big O.G. throw a haymaker uppercut on a flying, stationary target before. Was it over? Also what was that noise that sounded like a growling airplane?
Grinning, pounding knuckles into his palm, Big slowly approached the Bouncer. Mandusa stood behind, rearing up, his hair becoming the legs of a massive spider, but the intimidation technique that worked on common thugs in the dead of night did nothing to a high-level power in the bright of day. Big was simply too experienced. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick. Any last words, boys?”
“Yeah! Don’t kill us!” shouted Mandusa, falling back a pace. His panic made clear that this wasn’t just funny banter.
“Christ, Care. Keep it together.” It was Harvey. The sound came only from the earpiece. “Hear that noise? Dude? You still with us?” The sound like a plane was increasing in volume. Mixed in was heavy breathing and a faint growl.
“Enough of this.” Bellowed Big, taking a single step forward before suddenly flying backwards, a second mass striking him at high speed in the chest and splitting the rubble of the Wildcorp building and making a wide gap almost ten feet deep. An alert on Bouncer’s Heads Up Display half a second before prompted Bouncer to tackle Mandusa out of the way, the both of them aware that the resulting impact would have otherwise killed them. Megadude was back!
“Asshole! That hurt! Ngah!” roared Megadude, raining clumsy hammerblows down on Big, who covered up like the trained fighter he was. “You suck! You suck!”
“Holy! Shit!” grunted Big, shocked at the force and speed of his newly returned foe. Seeing an opening, he grabbed Megadude, whose head disappeared into the big man’s hand, and slammed him into the rubble. Megadude gripped his thumb and pinky finger painfully. It wasn’t clear who was stronger but the flying powerhouse was at least close. Twisting his hand away Big went ‘ground and pound’, dropping onto Megadude and hitting combination blows. “Shoulda stayed gone, punk! Now you’re in for it!” The force of the blows was breaking the deep, cured concrete foundation of the former Wildcorp warehouse to bits.
At this point the two groups not involved in the brawl arrayed around it, acting as spectators. Various calls of support from Big’s crew sounded like a decent crowd of rabid fans. By contrast the two heroes were in a tense fear, their overconfidence having nearly been their undoing. “It’s cool, man, he’s got this” whispered bouncer, his tone unconvincing.
From his back Megadude kicked up with both feet sending Big about ten feet up, but he, himself was in the grip of the giant and so both men pinwheeled up. Climbing up, wrapping Megadude up in a head-and-arm choke. Spinning in air, clearly struggling to breathe, Megadude spiralled back down, both men impacting at high speed, not only further destroying the foundation but bringing rubble down to cover them up.
“The hell? Boss?” asked the little man on Big’s side. He didn’t wait long. Standing up to his full height, still choking Megadude, the Big Original Gangster roared. It wasn’t a triumphant call though, as blood was spraying from his arm where a crazed masked man had bitten through both his own mask and the super-tough hide of the B.O.G.. Grip loosened, Big had no chance to hold on as Megadude used his power of flight and the artificial leverage it provided to slam him down into the pavement.
“You crazy sonuvabitch!” shouted Big. “What kind of man bites someone in the middle of a fight!?” He was backing away now. “You on crack!? Huh? Crank or somethin’!?” Hovering ever closer, Megadude just stared down at his opponent, all joviality, all loose silliness, all gone; what was left was a barely contained rage that could be felt by everyone looking on, friend and foe alike. “Say something, damn you!” he finally shouted, gripping his bleeding arm, still shocked that his bulletproof hide had been penetrated.
For a moment all that could be heard was a whistling wind, then a distant siren no doubt unrelated to their fracas. Tick off ten seconds, Megadude’s breathing finally slowed and he spoke, breaking the tension, if only slightly. “That’s it. You’re goin’. In the sun...” Beat. His voice deep, serious, Megadude made this ridiculous statement with a perfectly serious, menacing tone.
“Wait. Heh. What?” chuckled Big. Still shaken but not so much as to ignore this seemingly impossible threat. “You must be out y—” and they were gone.
Snatching Big by his white dreadlocks Megadude flew straight up, from zero to sixty in under a second, a sonic boom sounding, at least a mile up, ten seconds later. They seemed to accelerate still more, coming apart as Big thrashed, various sounds of impact and the distant, garbled sound of what seemed to be two people shouting and cursing, and then both men were completely gone. Even Megadude’s comm went silent with a click.
Finally, five seconds after all signs of the two were gone, as one, the Big O.G.’s crew drew high-caliber pistols and took aim. Instinctively, Mandusa’s hair formed a defensive mesh to deflect or destroy projectiles but Bouncer just stood there, shaking his helmeted head. “Really? You’re gonna draw on us?”
“Yeah, man! Damn straight!” it was the little guy from before. Right around five-foot-four, he had the air of small man syndrome about him, a real Napoleon type. “Gimme one good reason why we shouldn’t just light you up right now?”
“Okay.” Bouncer fired up the red lights behind his external lenses, just for show, since his advanced sensors weren’t needed right now. “What’s your name, son?”
“Don’t call me son, cracker! I’m twenty-five! I’m a grown man!”
“Fair point. Okay, sir. What do people call you?”
“I’m Bougie. Big’s number one man, fool, now answer my question.”
“Bougie. That’s good. Like bourgeoisie. That’s cute.”
This fired the little guy up. “Cute!? Are you … c’mon, man!”
“Bougie, let me ask you something; your boss tell you guys who broke his nose?”
Bougie’s eyebrows knitted in curiosity. “Uh, no. Just … thought it was from the fall or somethin’. Roof cavin’ in.”
“No. No, I shot him in the left tear duct so he couldn’t see me, boxed his ears so he couldn’t hear … and then I beat the fuck out of his face.” Bouncer laid the patronizing tone on thick. “So if a seven-hundred-pound brick gets his face fucked in a fight with me … what are you guys gonna do with those little pea shooters? Hm?”
Message received. All around him, Bouncer watched as all eight men disarmed willingly, muttering curses all the while. Under the helmet his Cheshire Cat grin was starting to hurt but this, this was just too good.
Behind him though, and through the comms, concern choking up his voice, Mandusa asked “Uh … Bouncer? Where the hell did J—where did Megadude just go?” Both men looked up, seeing nothing. Nothing to be done for it but notify the authorities and move on once they arrived. Finally, they’d won their first big fight.