Fiction Challenge #5:
One night in Patriot City....
by Glitch Girl

It was early evening in Patriot City and in the afterglow of the sunset, someone was leaping across the rooftops even though he was supposed to be reading the next three chapters of "Silas Marner" for English class.

Liberty Lad didn't care. He also didn't care that Minute Man and the others were on a mission that was "too dangerous". As far as Minute Man was concerned, EVERY mission was too dangerous for him, and the only way he was going to prove otherwise was to show him that he could handle himself.

He wasn't completely sure what the mission was tonight, only that it had to do with Pinstripe's former mob. How hard could it be, he thought, those guys are a bunch of wimps compared to the Freedom Force.

He paused for a moment on a rooftop and scanned the city. Somewhere there was a crime being committed, and he was going to find it wherever it was.

--------

A truck rolled along first street, trying to look as inconspicuous as a fish truck could look on cool autumn evening.

The driver, a man named Tom "Tommy Gun" Henrik, glanced nervously in the rearview mirror of the "Happy Mariner's Fresh Fish" delivery truck. He'd done this run before, but usually he wasn't the one driving, and privately, he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again. Being driver meant you had to pay attention to everything around you and try to drive at the same time, and it was making Tom very nervous. Ever since Pinstripe had been arrested by that group of freaks calling themselves "The Freedom Force", things had been shakey for the mob, but business had to continue as usual, even if he had to drive.

He also hated this run in general. First of all, it involved lots of fish, and fish tended to stink, but they also kept people from looking too hard when checking the truck. Under a layer of dead mackerel was several crates of machine guns, pistols, and other assorted things of illegal nature that always carried the odor of dead sealife for days afterwards. Second, he hated the truck, a big lemon yellow monstrosity with a large sea captain in yellow slickers, harpoon in hand, riding the back of some large fish that Tommy couldn't identify. It was easily the most obvious truck he'd ever been in, but as Pinstripe said "Hey, it's so obvious that no one would think we'd put anthing in there, right you mooks?"

Pinstripe always had a way with words.

"Hey Tommy!" a voice from the back of the truck shouted, "We almost there yet? It's starting to reek back here!"

"Almost there Rizzo, just passing..." Tommy peered out the window at a street sign, "...Third and Monroe."

"Geez Tommy, are you drivin' this thing or is your grandmother?"

"Shut up," Tommy snapped, trying to ignore the laughter in the back.

It was only a few more blocks to the drop off, he reminded himself, then he'd be done and...

Tommy swore and slammed on the brakes as the road in front of him burst into flames.

"Hey Tommy! Wha' was THAT?!?"

Tommy starred up at the sky in time to see a man hovering overhead, jets of flame coming off his feet. He'd see his picture in the paper along side several others people in costume.

"Cheeze it guys," he yelled over his shoulder as he slammed the truck into reverse, "It's the Freedom Force!"

"WHAT!!" Rizzo's head stared out the small window between the front seat and the cargo area.

"Up there!" shouted Tommy, trying to point while steering a truck going backwards. "See!"

"Oh no way! Stop the truck Tommy!"

"What!? Are you insane?!?"

"Just do it!"

Tommy slammed on the brakes again and the truck lurched to a stop. The hovering man (what was his name again? El...Devil-o? Something like that) floated lower until he was only a few feet over the hood of the car.

"It's all over Hombre," the floating superhero said, "We know what you got in the truck so don't try anyting funny, okay?"

"Um..." Tommy stammered. Behind him he heard Rizzo's harsh whisper of "Get ready to floor it!"

The hovering man continued. "Now, why don't you be like a good little mobster and step out of the truck."

"Um..." said Tommy again. His foot was still poised over the gas, ready to twitch at the slightest signal.

It was then that the "Happy Mariner" atop the fish truck launched his harpoon straight at the flying hero.

"FLOOR IT!" Rizzo shouted, and Tommy did. Tires squealed against the pavement as the truck shot backwards down the street not even waiting to see if the harpoon had killed the flying guy or not.

It hadn't.

What it had done was graze the ribs of the hero known as El Diablo and successfully pinned him the far wall by his shirt.

"Madre de Dios," he muttered under his breath, "I should have seen that coming! And I said I had everything under control. Ai..."

He tugged at the fabric, but the flame-resistant material refused to tear. He tugged the harpoon, but it wasn't moving either. Finally frustrated, he slipped out of the shirt and left it pinned to the wall as he flew after the retreating truck. Hopefully, he could catch up to it before the others found out what happened.

--------

The truck swung dangerously as it made a tight turn and then as Tommy wrenched it into first gear sped off down the street.

"Be careful Tommy! We're trying to reload back here!"

"You're the one who said to floor it, Rizzo!"

"Hey, relax! We got him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

"What about his friends?"

"What about 'em!"

As if to answer the question, two costumed figures appeared in the road ahead of him. Tommy let out a yell and in a panic pushed the pedal to the floor. The truck surged forward intent on mowing down the costumed duo ahead of it when the one in green started glowing and there was a green light and...

Tommy wasn't even aware he turned the wheel but suddenly the truck spun around, slamming most of the contents of the truck and most of the occupants against the weak back doors which burst open sending fish and thugs flying out the back like a mackerel tidal wave at the luckless hero who happened to be standing in range and was too slow to get out of the way. Fish and thug impacted metal suit housing unstable energy and there was a flash of light and an explosion and the smell of cooked fish and then the road was littered with scorched seafood, unconscious thugs, and one extremely stunned Man-Bot.

The truck continued its skid until it came to an abrupt stop when it hit the nearest building, completely smashing the facade.

Tommy numbly opened the door and half stepped, half collapsed to the pavement below. He could hear Rizzo cursing from inside the cab, trying to turn the "Happy Mariner" and his harpoon around to fire at the costumed heroes but he could tell by Rizzo's voice that something wasn't going right.

The next thing he knew, the one dressed like something out of a Fourth of July parade was on the roof.

"I don't think so," the hero known as Minute Man said, and with hardly any effort, tore the harpoon and its housing from the roof and lobbed it skyward...

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It should be noted at this point that Frank Stiles, alias the Minute Man, was still getting used to his newfound strength and had discovered not long ago that it was one thing to say on paper that if x=tan(y) then you hit your target and another to judge how far you can throw a large heavy object - like say, a car - until you've had a lot of practice.

He'd meant to send the harpoon gun into the alley way.

His aim was a bit off.

--------

Liberty Lad had heard the squealing of tires several blocks away and rushed over the city rooftops in hopes of getting there in time.

He arrived in time to see Minute Man and Mentor almost get hit by a truck which skidded out of control into a storefront. He hoped he wasn't too late to get in on the action and so, he jumped from the rooftop to the street below.

About halfway down he saw the harpoon gun going the other direction.

The gun was falling apart as it flew, its cracked housing scattering debris as it tumbled through the air straight towards him. On instinct, Liberty Lad shielded his face with his arms as the first bits of metal bounced off and braced himself for the worst.

Somehow, the bulk of the harpoon gun missed him; however, as it passed, a length of cable caught him around the midsection and yanked him back against the wall as the rest of the machine embedded itself in the bricks and entangled itself in the shattered windowframes.

Liberty Lad hung there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He felt the wreckage shift slightly, then settle once more.

He looked down.

It was a very long way down.

It was one thing to jump from a rooftop to the ground. It was another to plummet down amid a shower of big metal things.

The wreckage shifted dangerously again.

It looked like he may need some help on this one.

--------

El Diablo arrived in time to see Mentor and Minute Man attempting to push the truck back onto the street where several police cars and officers gathered. The firey hero landed a few feet away and walked the rest of the distance on foot.

"Looks like you did a nice job of handling it without me, eh? What happened? Did Mentor put the whammy on those guys?"

"If you are referring to my mental powers, the answer is I only put the, ahem 'whammy' on one of them. Our friend Man-Bot took care of a majority of them himself."

"He did? Bueno! Where is the tin can anyway?"

"He is over there," said Mentor, indicating the pile of fish and thugs.

Diablo looked. Then he looked more carefully.

"He's under that? Is he okay?"

"It appears that fish do not agree with him," Mentor said in a perfect deadpan.

El Diablo gave him a funny look. "Wait.. Did I just hear Mentor crack a joke?"

The alien mentalist's face was impassive. "Perhaps."

Diablo laughed. "Hey Minute Man, did you hear that? He just cracked a joke!"

"I heard, Diablo, I... Stars and Bars! What happened to you?"

Diablo glanced down at the gash under his arm that stretched across his side. "Ah, this is nothing. Just a flesh wound. My costume got the worst of it anyway. Say, didn't there used to be a big guy with a harpoon on top of that truck?"

"There was," said Minute Man, dragging the truck the last few feet onto the road, "but I took care of it."

"Bueno. Guess that means we're done here."

"Perhaps not," said Mentor. He pointed off towards a cluster of nearby buildings.

After a moment, Diablo said "Isn't that Liberty Lad?"

"The boy promised me he was going to be at the library tonight! What is he doing here?"

"Apparently waving for help," said El Diablo matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, I'll get him down."

"And when you do, he and I are going to have a little talk," grumbled Minute Man as he and Mentor followed after the flying Freedom Forcer, leaving behind an unconscious Man-bot obliviously dreaming about life without his metal suit, summer days, and fish.