[Herr D]

“Zoom, Foldout, Rammit, Mix, Match, Rage, and Stretch. I checked the footage myself. Octopus was very upset. He recognized two of them.”
“I used to know Octopus in his prime. That’s sad. So you’ve figured out this ‘Leader’s’ secret?” Tony leaned on the arm of his chair.
“Yes. His name is Mike Ledraheim. He writes comic books.”
Silence fell in the darkened office. The Shadow tried not to fidget. Time seemed to stretch out forever. At last Tony let out a long, disgusted breath. “HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Get out. I’ll make a few calls. See what happens.” He spun a business card at the Shadow.

The Shadow got out.

[Herr D]

“I had no idea the simple life could sound so appealing. You don’t even want to be in villain work OR hero work anymore?”
“No. I want to be free of all of it. To go straight. I might even join a church someday.”
Tony sat back. “So you trick someone into doing it.”
“There’s a problem with that. The only one who knows where it is IS the Leader. A fearsome man with the capacity to end every villain and every hero in the city. Maybe more.”
Tony snorted. “There will always be heroes and villains here. How fearsome could he be?”
“It took me a while to understand how he got this way. He knows how to kill everyone and everything I’ve seen him interact with. It’s terrifying to watch him wade through the gore. Do you know he has OCTOPUS on his cleaning crew? He took out seven heroes just last night, and no one even knew because Octopus and the others are so fast.”
“Which seven?” Tony was leaning forward, the Shadow thought, just like someone studying a menu full of interesting choices.

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 11

“A man has a glass relic. I want it broken. I will be free.”
“Why not do it yourself?”
“If I do it, it will end me. If someone else does, it frees me.”
Tony nodded. “Free to do what?”
The Shadow froze. “I—I . . .”
“What?” Tony sounded irritated.
The Shadow raised pleading hands of jet black. “I’ve always wanted to be a hotdog vendor.”
Tony cocked his head. “THAT’S your dream? HOT DOG VENDOR?!”
“To work for myself. A simple trade. To be no one’s lackey.”

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 10

He was hiding that same smile the next day, when he slipped into the non-descript office in the swanky building on Main Street. There wasn’t even a name on the door.
The backlit figure at the desk looked up at him. “Stop right there.”
The Shadow stopped, respectfully. “I want to make a deal, Tony.”
‘Tony’ shook his head. “Demon? Sorry. No deals with demons.”
The Shadow lengthened. “I am no demon. I think—I am an outcast djinn. In any case, I don’t want YOUR soul. I want mine.”
“. . . Keep talking.”

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 9

The Shadow appeared in the doorway. Slowly the eyebrows turned light gray and raised in surprise. “How!?” He recovered. “What happened HERE?! How could you make such a MESS? I was in here five minutes ago! You don’t have that many lackeys LEFT to kill!” He pulled up one of the dismembered hands and examined the fingers. The right size, but not pink enough to look right on a bun. The big body stretched out twelve feet and half-melted had lumps sticking out of his dead mid-section. The Shadow poked at it. “Gyro,” he thought.
Mike, the Leader, nodded as he warily watched the Shadow poke idly at the dead bodies. Mike noticed the Shadow displayed no sign of attachment. “You’re right. Those were heroes. Check Security. If they’ve been arrested or the police are on their way, we may have to move quickly. Then come here and let me know. I’ll call the cleaning crew.”
The Shadow nodded slowly, incredulous, trying to imagine a bus full of vegans shaking their pointer fingers at him. He startled then. “I should check and see if there is a warrant for this address or your legal name, if they’ve figured that out. I’ll be gone longer for that.”
Mike nodded wordlessly, cupping a hand over the phone. He pulled his driver’s license out of his pocket and expertly flipped it right into the Shadow’s hand.
The Shadow melted into the darkness. Several minutes later, six blocks away at the police station, an officer left his terminal for the bathroom. The Shadow stepped up to it, fingers flying. The screen showed no active warrants for the area of the Leader’s penthouse. Not so much as a noise complaint—which did seem odd. The Shadow shook his inky-black head. He typed in searches for the owners of the three buildings surrounding the Leader’s building on the three sides away from the ocean. One at a time, he discovered them. After two minutes of straight typing, he leaned back. One warehouse, one factory with permits to operate during daylight hours only, and one housing project for the deaf. All of them partly owned by one Michael Ledraheim. No warrants out for the Leader. The Shadow shook his head in wonderment again. He looked at the ordinary driver’s license in his hand for a moment. Then, he googled the name in desperation. After a few mouse clicks, the Shadow smiled an ugly smile. He glanced at the policeman’s half-eaten meal in the garbage, nodding. “One with and mustard.” He smiled that ugly smile all the way back.

[Herr D]

Stretch faced Mike alone. His arms bent at the elbow and started undulating forward. “You can’t just do things like that! I’ll—” Stretch fell over choking. His face turned scarlet.
Mike smiled and turned off the x-ray machine behind Stretch. “Yes, I can.” Mike walked away from the kill zone he’d created and sounded a small gong.

[Herr D]

Rage turned three shades of purple, vibrating. “But you have to have a THEME, man! A motif, a signature fighting style, or—” He stomped forward.
Mike pressed another button. The cuckoo clock’s door opened, and instead of a cuckoo, a tube stuck out. There was a puff of air, and a dart was sticking out of Rage’s head. “No, I don’t.” Rage fell over, foam coming out of his mouth.

[Herr D]

Mike ducked and rolled to the right, easily evading the bull-charge. Rammit went right through the wall and tumbled out of the skyscraper. Rammit, falling some twenty stories, probably didn’t hear Mike as he stood and said, “Anything I want.” He pulled a remote out of a pocket and pushed a button. Mix and Match, walking around what they had assumed was a regular television, watched in horror as it unfolded. Six blindingly fast robotic arms holding machetes stuck out and chopped them up. Rage and Stretch gasped at the carnage. Mike pushed another button on the remote, and the arms folded back up into what looked like a television.

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 8

“Stop right there.”
The team of heroes looked confused. This was an ordinary man in front of them? He wore business casual and had a dour expression on his face.
Foldout shook his head. “Who ARE you? I mean, what do we call you?”
The Leader pulled a small pistol out of a pocket and shot Zoom, the only speedster, while he was still stunned at the ordinary-looking person in front of him after all that buildup. “Mike.”
Foldout cringed at Zoom’s blood all over his face. “Just . . . MIKE?!”
Mike, the Leader, nodded. “Yes.” He shot Foldout in the left eye.
Rammit grabbed the gun right out of Mike’s hand. “You shoot people, eh, Mike? That what you do?” He stepped closer and swung.
Mike ducked, “Nope.” He put his back to the wall.
Rammit turned and squared off, measuring the distance with his eyes, carefully. “What do you do, then, MIKE?!” He pawed the floor twice with the outsized running shoe he wore on his right foot. He charged.

[Herr D]

“Rammit? I’ll have to check, but those three DID disappear about the same time as Octopus. Let’s check the approach Octopus would have to make to the M-L Building.”
A grunt sounded in the quiet street. The two figures walked purposefully away to the south. A mere hour later, six figures rappelled down a single rope onto the roof of the M-L Building. The nearly silent mini-helicopter landed, its padded outriggers bending upwards to prevent any creaking, and silently stopped running. One figure stepped forward, folded a heavy tool to stick out of his vest, and snapped the doorknob off the roof stair access door. He pulled the door open, and the six figures trotted quietly down the stairs into a large penthouse apartment.

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 7

“Who did he kill?”
“He killed Snakeeyes, Ropadope, and Juker in ten seconds flat. He killed quite a few others. Octopus is bound to work on his cleaning crew for life. You know how he was with promises.”
“Octopus is alive? He’s been missing for two years!”
“In exchange for his life, he swore to clean up messes for the Leader. He’s working as a night janitor. Closed gig. He works for the Leader’s messes in town and out-of-town stuff only.” The Shadow faltered. “Could you—get between me and the streetlight? It hurts, and I have to get back before I’m missed. Thank you. Portsrow Office Park. M-L Building. Top floor. Watch out for security cameras and traps. Take your time, of course. I want you to succeed.” The Shadow fled. Two shadows paused, slightly away from the streetlight. One of the shadows had horns.

[Herr D]

“I want out,” said the Shadow, “I don’t want to be a villain’s lackey anymore. I don’t expect you to trust me or sympathize with me. I just want to tell you who my master is. And caution you so you won’t die.”
“How do I know it’s not a trap?”
“I want you to assume it IS one. I’ve seen him kill three heroes in ten seconds flat. Maybe you should bring ten. Maybe you should have ten waiting across the street in case ten isn’t enough. Let me just give you the address. If he sees you coming, he might try to make me fight you. If you just shine a strong light on my chest, it might be enough to paralyze me. I’m really not sure how much control he has over me.”
“What’s in it for you?”
“If you destroy him, I have no master. I am free. I might ask you to break something for me, to make it permanent. I won’t have to do anything he tells me anymore.”
“You could do evil on your own.”
“That’s true, but you could watch me. I wouldn’t be in hiding.”
A softer voice spoke then. “Like, how do you mean?”
“I mean, no one knows where I am, where I come from. But if I took a job as a street vendor, maybe right between two tall buildings during the day, EVERYONE would be able to find me during the day. You’ll probably have to kill him. He WILL kill you otherwise. I’ve seen it.” The Shadow shuddered, feeling very like a french fry under a heating lamp turning extra crispy.

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 6

The Shadow returned after serving the Leader his nightly drink. Right to the corner. He walked, cringing and squinting, right out into the streetlight’s glow, held up a blank piece of cardboard, and made a long, sooty mark on it.
“Put your hands on your head.” The voice was hoarse, bass, menacing.
The Shadow startled, and did what he was told. “I do hope you’re a hero. I need one.”
“You don’t look it.”

[Herr D]

ETS: Djinn And Tony, Part 5

The boy thought a moment. “You could place an ad, maybe?”
The Shadow shook his head. “Quicker than that. You probably don’t know where their lair is, do you? I couldn’t be that lucky.”
The boy squinted, “BAD guys have LAIRS.”
“Maybe a phone number, or a place they hang out? A bar and grill or a donut shop?”
The boy laughed. “That’s POLICE. You don’t know ANYTHING about heroes.”
“You’re right. I don’t. That . . . is why I’m asking you.” The Shadow took a deep breath. At least this wasn’t any worse than explaining things over and over to Granite.
The boy nodded. “They have to know when people are in trouble. They probably listen in at the police station.”
The Shadow nodded. “Thank you. I’ll look there. You may have helped save someone. I hope so. I hope to have a job soon. I hope I get to sell to you. A bright boy.” He faded back out of the light.
The Shadow crossed the city blocks out of view of passersby. He crossed the lighted areas right behind the larger people or slow-moving cars. He found a pile of discarded boxes right near the police station. Tearing out a panel, he took some black, sooty residue from a gas pipe, noting in satisfaction it was only as black as his own carefully tended skin, and wrote a quick sign. “Please meet at 3rd and Main. 2 a.m. Need a hero.” He watched as a homeless man set down his own sign to pick up a penny and swapped it. The homeless man lifted up the new sign without noticing a difference as the Shadow flitted away.

[Herr D]

I actually want to know what his other dances were. Hibernations? That would explain the partial costume of a bear, I guess.

You win, Keric. Pick 3 and a deadline.

[Author]

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