issue #14, part II
“Ananka, you need to calm down,” the detective said emphatically.
He and Slipstream circled Dragonfist cautiously. Dragonfist tried to keep both of them in front of him.
“Ya man. You
seriously need to chill.”
“No! I’m not going to chill. I want to be recognized. I want to be first on the list. You know you owe me! I’m the best. ”
“Well ya know, dude. Like, when we advertise Legion Extreme. It’s like in alphabetical order, and ummm, I think Darkfire comes before Dragonfist, and sorry to rain on your tirade, dude, but Somnus is the most powerful.”
“Shut the
up!”
“Anaka,” responded Jae Sun in the most calm voice possible given the situation, “I think you should lower your voice.”
“I think. I think. It doesn’t matta what Slipstream thinks! It doesn’t matta what Jae Sun thinks! And it doesn’t matta what Somnus thinks! It only matters what Dragonfist thinks!”
“Really?” came a new voice to the group.
Somnus floated it from the hole in the alleyway. The annoyance in his voice was evident, though his expression was hidden behind the
scintillating sphere
“I tire of your rants, Dragonfist. Are you ready to be taken down a notch?”
Captain Valor, in his black, battle dress flew in behind Somnus.
“I arrived as fast as I could.”
“And just in time, Valor-dude. D’s about to blow!”
Valor McCoy quickly assessed the situation and its thick, near explosive tension. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth for the pain that would come from his mental exertion.
Seconds later, Dragonfist’s shoulders slumped. He furtively glanced at all the opposition.
“Perhaps you’re right. Get rid of it…her…whatever.”
Quickly now, Somnus. Subdue him so that we can get to work.
Within thirty seconds, Dragonfist was a sleeping drool monkey. Kindly, Jae Sun had caught him as he lost the ability to stand. Slipstream brought him a chair.
Jae Sun, Slipstream, and Somnus watched as Valor McCoy, Ph.D went to work….
Five minutes later, beads of sweat collected on Captain Valor’s brow. His open hand stretched across Anaka Ai Lee’s face. Slipstream beamed like a fan boy as he watched Valor work, Vulcan-style on his buddy Dragonfist.
Found the Hummingbird imprint. Gone. Deeper, seeded secret. Anger. Can’t take care of that now. Will work on later.
Somnus nodded as he received the impressions through the
mindlink he had with Valor.
Interesting. Are you sure you cannot take care of that right away?
Too taxing. Head pounding. Must eject.
Valor quickly cut the connection to Dragonfist's troubled mind.
“It is done,” he said with a sigh.
“So how long is he gonna be down, Doc, Sleepy?”
Slipstream smiled at his own inside joke. The reference was lost on the others.
“Not long,” commented Somnus dryly. “Are we finished? If so, I will take my leave. I have other business to attend to.”
Slipstream shook his head, and gave a knowing look to Jae Sun as the mentalist departed. Valor rose slowly.
“Hungry?”
Valor’s stomach growled.
“Well, I got a table waitin’,” he said thumbing in the direction of the Emperor’s Garden.
“Thank you, Slipstream. I think I will stay with Anaka until he comes to.”
“Jae Son?”
“Certainly.”
“Hey Cap’n, we’ll bring ya somethin’ from take out.”
Valor nodded his head. Then Jae Sun together with Slipstream walked away. They had much to discuss…
**
The next day…
It was all over the news. Early in the morning, the challenge had come out.
Hypnos of Psi had sent a tape to the local stations. Good Morning New England had been the first to air the video. Primus had buzzed the S.U.B. and Jae Sun. Jae Sun shook his head upon hearing the news. There was no respite.
Around 9 am the rest of Legion Extreme, minus Cosmic Knight gathered around the larger screen and watched the replay:
The bald, slightly over-sized head of Hypnos dominates the screen. He wears his Psi uniform. The background was a plain bluescreen…
“Somnus or whatever you’re calling yourself these days, we call you out. It’s time we settled our differences once and for all.”
The scene panned to the Pit Patio at Bunker Hill Community College. Students walked back and forth heading to their morning classes….
“Meet us here at high noon or we’ll start hurting your precious students. I am sure that we’ll get someone close to you eventually.”
**
Jae Sun Lee asked S.T.A.N. to stop the video. Somnus spoke first.
“I guess they have given us no choice. I must go and confront them. I would prefer to do it alone.”
“You know it is an obvious trap,” said Jae Sun
Nightmare neighed an affirmation.
“You ain’t goin’ by yerself, Sleepy.”
Somnus began to protest.
“And I ain’t taken ‘No’ for an answer, neither. Me and Grumpy here can give you support,” he motioned to Dragonfist.
“I do not think it is a good idea. I will call PRIMUS for back up,” added the detective always cautious.
“NO!” they shouted in unison.
“This one is ours, Jae Sun Lee.”
“Ya man. Let the Wolfie out. He’ll agree.”
The immortal detective shook his head.
“You go. I will stay in reserve...and arrive with the cavalry if it come to that.”
“I say let’s get there early, and whack ‘em hard. Surprise-like.”
Before the others could debate, Slipstream was out the conference room, and headed for the air lock.
Minutes later, Legion Extreme gathered in Charleston, a block away from BHCC.
“Ready. Break!” called Slipstream and he once again zipped ahead.
He circled the school twice before the rest arrived. He saw Somnus hover at the edge of the pit, about twenty feet high, then his vision clouded and he had a terrible headache.
He saw red, and Somnus had been very uppity lately. Condescending. Arrogant. Yes, that’s it…
He needs a good beat down!
Dragonfist, arriving on the Primus-cycle, and Nightmare, invisibly waiting on the roof beneath the martial artist, saw the speedster blaze towards the
prismatic sphere that was Somnus.
The mentalist didn’t even know what hit him. Slipstream leaped above him after getting a running start, and knocked Somnus into the ground. The colored
force field flickered and then went out. Somnus lay sprawled awkwardly on the pavement. Students began screaming and running.
Round One went to Psi.
