Monthly Archives: February 2013

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 5

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“Rook?” Larry tried to remember if he’d ever heard the name before. “What, does he have some kind of chess theme?”

Alexis shook his head. “I don’t think so. He has wings.”

Larry frowned. “What’s a rook look like anyway?”

“His armor is black. It seems very like a crow. I do not think we have rooks in Cuba.”

Larry gave an grunt in reply, and looked back toward his suite. Could Lim be done debugging the room yet? He doubted it, and he doubted that the Feds would understand why he was friends with Alexis at all. Most of them wouldn’t have the clearance to read the reports they’d need to find out either.

“You want to go somewhere? Talk, maybe?” Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 5 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 4

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When they landed, the runway crew had the mobile stairway next to the plane practically as soon as it stopped—which wasn’t until it was inside a hangar.

Larry followed Lim down the stairs, stopping as they met the greeting party. It didn’t include any midgets.

It did include a woman, and three men in tuxedos.

Larry guessed the woman was his age—mid-twenties. She had a wide smile, and wore what he would have thought of as a business suit if it weren’t pink, and didn’t include a mini-skirt.

“Welcome to the Metafight Games, Mr. Mori?” She looked up at Lim for confirmation.

Isaac nodded.

“And, you sir, you’re a late entrant, and I don’t know your name. What should I call you?” She held a pen and a notepad.

“I’ll be wearing the Frog suit, so call me Frog,” he said.

Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 4 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 3

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Larry exhaled. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Joe told me not to take the Rhino suit.”

Agent Lim looked up to meet Larry’s eyes at the sound of Joe’s name.

“Yeah? Did Joe tell you anything else?”

“Not really. He just explained about the jurisdiction issue, and how you guys wouldn’t mind if I blew the whole place up.”

Lim gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I don’t recommend it,but it might make things easier. Metafight Games was incorporated in the Seychelles. The company’s owners are US citizens, and the island’s only a little outside territorial waters. I don’t have any jurisdiction there, but the island doesn’t have a government so it’s hard to say who would. Legally, I’m not allowed to give you directions, but if you did kidnap the leadership or Armory, I wouldn’t complain—not that I’m directing you in any way.”

Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 3 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 2

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Larry shrugged, raising his hand as he said, “I won’t try to. If he’s green and can’t handle it, it’s not my fault.”

Joe leaned forward, “I know, but you can make it harder or you can make it easier. So, make it work. Besides, everything I’ve heard about him is good. He’s just new.”

“I wasn’t saying I wouldn’t work with him. So, what’s the plan?”

“Well,” Joe frowned for a moment, “they’re not telling us everything—“

Larry laughed, and said, “As usual.”

“But,” Joe continued, “here’s what I know. Metafight Games owns an island. It’s just outside US territorial waters near Florida, so technically the Feds don’t have any jurisdiction. On the other hand, no country claims it, and the owners of Metafight Games are US citizens, so I’m sure the Feds think they can get away with more than usual.”

Joe smiled and said, “This whole mission exists because of the confusing jurisdiction issues and because of what Metafight Games is—“

“Supers fighting supers,” Larry said. “Heard about them.” Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 2 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 1

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March, 1984—No doubt about it, Larry thought, the kitchen sink’s plugged. Worse, he didn’t have a snake that would fit through the little holes in the goddamn drain.

Both sides of the sink were filled nearly to the top with water. Annoying. And their drains shared the same pipe—which would make it just a little more difficult.

He decided to start with the plunger anyway. If he got nowhere he could still open up the pipes. It’d probably be what he’d do in the end anyway. He thought about that, and considered grabbing a wrench and cutting out a step. Then he reconsidered. He’d try the plunger first, and maybe it would work.

The stupid plunger.

An hour later, he found himself putting a bucket under the sink. As he picked up the wrench to start on the pipes, the dogs started barking.

He decided he’d better get out there before the dogs scared the visitor off, or, depending on who the visitor was, maybe he’d let them.

Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 1 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 23

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Then Red Lightning took to the air, flying out to the street where Günther inspected the living and the dead.

Grandpa stood in the street, staring down at the asphalt.

I turned away from watching him, and back toward Ghostgirl. She’d been watching him too, but turned her head back toward me.

“That was weird,” I said.

She turned to look behind herself again, looking out of the alley and toward the street. When she turned back to look at me, she said, “Weirder than you think. We don’t exist in their universe. A supervillain attacked Mom, and she lost the baby.”

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 23 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 22

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“Hey,” I said.

She held up her left arm, looking down at the League communicator on her wrist. It looked just like the ones Nick made for us when we were in costume.

She tapped on the screen, waited, and then said, “It’s her. Thank God.”

Then she pulled a roll of duct tape out of her utility belt, floated down, and taped Julie’s mouth shut.

I laughed. “Duct tape? Did Nick put that in there?”

She froze. “No. I… Wait a second.”

She pulled up the communicator again, and this time she pointed it at me. After tapping the screen she said, “OK, this is going to be weird, but we split off early last summer—your time.”

“My time?” Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 22 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 21

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Not that we had time, and to judge from how they handled the True, if they were anything but decent, we were so screwed.

I’d never seen Vaughn target more than one person at a time with lightning. He’d told me that he didn’t think he had enough control to do it without straight out killing people. Whoever the person behind the lightning I’d just seen was, he’d taken out everybody near the entrance to the alley all at once.

Glancing upward identified him instantly—the red costume with a lightning bolt under an arch with Egyptian hieroglyphics on the chest? That was Red Lightning’s costume. I’d always thought the lightning, plus the arch, plus the hieroglyphics was a little busy, but I’d never gotten to complain to Red Lightning himself about the questionable logo design due to him being dead.

It appeared that I might get the chance now. This wasn’t Vaughn. This wasn’t Vaughn’s cousin Lucas, or his Uncle Russ, Lucas’s father. It was Giles Hardwick, the original Red Lightning.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 21 →