[AC] Bush43 #13

>From Artifice Comics:
http://www.digitallymystic.com/sites/fiction/ac/

---

Simon Cooper cursed under his breath as he jabbed at the styrofoam cup
on the ground. Clean up duty of Bristol Park wasn't what bothered him.
No, getting out and around like this was a good change of pace, much
better than sitting in the cell and putting up with his annoying ass
cellmate. God, why did they have to put him up with common criminals
like Bill 'Spike' Mathers. The man was a carjacker. Surely Simon
Cooper, known and feared as Staticy, deserved a bit more respect and
higher standards of punishment than that.

He walked across the lawn and stalked a piece of paper that tumbled
along the ground as the wind pushed it. He finally snagged it as it
stopped behind a park bench, nodding to himself at another good kill.

"My, you are very good at that," said a voice. 

Simon looked up to see two men on the bench looking over their
shoulders at him. The one that spoke didn't smile at him, his face
seeming to be frozen in a permanent frown shaded by his dark hat. His
companion did all the smiling necessary for the two of them,
snickering to himself while staring at Simon with wide, insanely happy
eyes.

Simon didn't reply at first, looking around to see if any of the
police escorts were paying any attention.

"As you may notice, Mister Cooper," said the tall, sad one, getting
Simon's attention again, "your babysitters are no where to be seen."

"What..." started Simon, interrupted by the giggling of the short,
overly happy man.

"We took care of them, don't worry," said the man with a wide grin.
"Took very good care of them."

"Who are you guys?" asked Simon, intrigued, slightly worried, but
somewhat excited. Were these people here to help him escape? Was this
the recognition he had been waiting for?

"My name is Sad," said the tall man as he stood up and removed his
hat. "My companion is aptly named Happy. We are here to make you an
offer, Mister Cooper, and ask for your assistance in confronting a
mutual associate."

"You want to enlist my help?" said Simon, trying to hide his smile. 

"I think he likes it, Sad," said Happy as he jumped to his feet. 

"Indeed," said Sad, briefly glancing to his short associate. "Mister
Cooper, how would you like to get your hands on Bush43?"

Simon Cooper gave up his efforts to conceal his grin, spreading it
wide across his face in joy.

"Oh, I think I would like that very much, Mister Sad." 

Bush43 
Issue #13 
"Can You Feel It? It's Electric! Boogie Woogie Woogie" 
by Jason S. Kenney 

The man stood hunched over the object of his affection and giggled to
himself. It would work much better this time, he was sure of it. And
not only would it work better but it'd be brighter and bigger and more
glorious than before.

It would be more than a signal, it'd be a celebration! 

His hero had returned, the city's protector was once more frolicking
along its rooftops in search of the evils that plagued it, the
antibody attempting to destroy the germs that polluted the precious
beauty of Pacific City.

He was almost overpowered with giddiness. 

His hero was free, Pacific City's hero was free, and now he'd be able
to respond, to come, to retrieve his sidekick so they could patrol the
city together and protect the teeming masses from the never ending
tide or corruption that sought to drown the city in a sea of villainy
and filth.

Ah, he couldn't wait to share his wonderful thoughts and glorious
speaking skills with his future mentor and champion.

The man stepped back and shook with joy. He slowly reached for the
switch, as if touching it would destroy him. His finger stayed just
millimeters away, shaking with the nervous glee that overran his
entire body.

And with a quick flick and a flourish, the light was on. He held his
hands above his head and shouted with joy to the heavens as they were
basked in glorious light that leaked around a silhouette, a sign, a
signal to the city, nay, the world that their hero was coming.

A silhouette of Texas shined off of the clouds that hung over Pacific
City, a beacon of hope to the masses looking for a savior.

The man quickly pulled on his Dick Cheney mask in anticipation of his
hero's arrival.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, yeah, this was the good dream. 

It was just like any other day. I was standing all buff and topless
and there were teeming crowds of women throwing themselves at me as I
walked through the masses with a big grin on my face.

Uh huh. 

And the crowd was parting and a path opened up leading to a staircase
that I ascended, the women behind me calling out, wanting me to
return, to simply turn around and grace them with my chiseled features
once more, but, alas, I was a man on a mission.

I reached the top of the stairs and was faced with a large set of
double doors, all big and shiny and decorated pretty like, and I
placed a hand on each and thrust them open.

A blinding light flooded my vision and I shielded my eyes in an
attempt to get a glimpse of what lied beyond.

"Jeffery," the crowd of women called out. 

"Jeffery," I heard in the distance, a voice so soft and delicate it's
like a feather.

"Jeffery," I heard again, louder, deeper, slightly harsher. 

"JEFFERY!" I heard as I woke up to Alfonse shaking the shit out of me.

"God damn it, Alfonse," I said. He stood upright and put his hands
behind his back, his posture and face returning to the absolute
stoicism of a butler.

"I believe your presence is requested in Pacific City," he said. 

"Well take a message," I said, grabbing my covers and rolling over in
a vain attempt to get back to sleep and continue the dream that I
never, ever got to finish. Damnation!

I heard Alfonse walk over to the window and tear open the curtains.
Then I heard him stomp back towards me.

"Ahhh!!!" 

Alfonse picked me up out of bed by my ear, walking towards the window
as I walked very quickly with my head cocked in an effort to keep my
ear from hurting more. Asshole.

We stopped at the window and he pushed me forward. 

"Jeez, Alf," I said, rubbing my ear as I glared at him. "I better turn
around and see a naked chick or something."

I turned around. 

Well, it certainly wasn't a naked chick. 

And, thankfully, not a naked guy either. 

"What the hell is that?" I asked as I leaned towards the window and
squinted to try and make out what was silhouetted on the sky in the
distance.

"I believe it is the state of Texas," said Alfonse. 

"Oh, Sweet Jesus." 

"It's been up for at least a half an hour now. And this is not the
first time it has been seen over Pacific City, though, it is the first
time since you've been out and about."

"The little round guy did it," I said, partly in awe. 

"The little what?" 

"I try to take one night off, just one night to catch up on my sleep,
and this guy's got to go and..." I bitched, storming across my room to
my dresser. "Son of a bitch." I threw open a drawer and grabbed sweat
pants and a t-shirt.

"You're going out in that?" asked Alfonse as I turned around. 

"I'm going out to kick a little ass and then I'm going right back to
bed so I can actually get some."

Alfonse cocked an eyebrow but didn't say a word. 

I went into my closet and grabbed some sneakers and picked my mask up
off the floor.

"I can't believe I'm going to waste my time with this," I grumbled as
I sat and pulled my shoes on.

"I am certain there is a good reason for the alarm," said Alfonse, and
while he wasn't smiling I certainly heard the joy in his voice.
Asshole.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Hey, Dad, can I borrow the car keys?" 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Son of a bitch, making me run into town when there's a big signal
glowing off of the clouds and stuff. I hate not having my own car. I
really should get one. Once I get access to my money. Which I should
really look into.

I lived in the city my whole life, public transportation was good
enough to where I didn't need a car. But Burke Manor isn't exactly
downtown.

It took me fifteen minutes of good running before I reached the
outskirts of PC. Then it was up on the rooftops, click click click.

I was almost there when the impatient bastard turned it off. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He slumped and sighed. He'd had the thing on for over an hour and his
hero never showed. Maybe he was busy.

Gasp! Maybe he was in trouble and couldn't get free to respond! 

No, no, Bush43 was too smart for that, he'd never allow himself to be
caught in a web of any kind, to be trapped or tangled, to be cornered
without hope for escape. He was too good for that, too strong, too
wily, too awesome!

No, his glorious mentor must have been busy kicking ass and taking
names. Yes, keeping the city safe was a real busy job, he was certain
of that. So he didn't have time to respond.

Maybe the signal should be turned on again? 

No, don't want to over use it, to risk exposure. An hour was long
enough.

He'd just have to try again tomorrow night, if the overhang was good
enough. And maybe earlier in the evening. Yes, maybe three in the
morning wasn't a good time to be shining bright lights in the middle
of a crowded city.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Turn it back on..." I hissed through clenched teeth as I perched on
the edge of a building near downtown PC. "C'mon you little turd..."

Nothing. I'd been sitting there ten minutes, waiting, hoping, praying
the little bastard would turn the light back on so I could find it and
shove it up his ass. But, no, he didn't want to do that.

Crap. 

You know, this is the last damn thing I needed. All I wanted was a
little rest. This hero stuff is pretty damn tiring and keeps ya up all
night. Throw on top of that a butler who wakes you near the crack of
dawn to help clean the mansion and you have little to no sleep for our
dear hero here. And now this tubby bitch wants to go and play games.

A little boom a couple blocks away interrupted my grumbling. 

Well, it didn't interrupt it, simply made me redirect it. 

Damn baddies blowing stuff up all the time when I really just want to
be home in bed...

I ran and jumped and ran and jumped some more and came across an
interesting scene.

A man was shooting fire out of his ass. 

It was kind funny in a really messed up sort of way. 

But the flames spouting forth from his ass were licking at an armored
car that sat in front of the bank. Must have been time for a pick up.

But the one shooting fire out of his ass was bent over and glancing
over his shoulder and having a good ol' time lighting his farts on
fire, so he didn't see me leap into the air and plummet towards him.

I landed hard right in front of him, scaring the crap out of him, or,
rather, scaring him just enough to get him to stop pooping flames and
look at me all wide eyed.

"Dude, wipe your ass," I said. 

And then I punched him. 

And then something punched me. 

"Leave FlamingAss alone!" I heard bellowed from behind me as I rubbed
my head and turned around.

And there stood a mountain of flesh that was heaving itself upon me. I
jumped and rolled out of the way.

"Christ!" I shouted. "FlamingAss? So, what are you? FatAss?" 

"No," I heard sensually from the side. I looked over to see a good
lookin' woman standing there, one hand on her hip, the other gently
caressing her own torso, her lips being moistened by her tongue. "He
is LardAss."

"Uh huh..." I said, a little out of it because, well, hot chicks do
that to me.

"And I am CandyAss." Indeed. "And we are the AssMasters." 

That snapped me out of it. 

"The AssMasters?" 

She nodded as she walked, no, sauntered towards me. 

Snicker. 

I broke out laughing. 

"AssMasters? Oh, dear Lord, surely all the other names weren't taken!"

She backhanded me and I felt myself oddly aroused. 

"KILL HIM!" she shouted in a very unsexy manner. 

Next thing I know I'm dodging another fireball shooting from
FlamingAss's, well, ass. Then LardAss came at me again and he leapt
into the air (pretty high, too, considering how huge the man was).

I timed it just right. I fell to the ground and kicked out, catching
LardAss with my feet and tossing him over me and onto FlamingAss.

I leapt back onto my feet and ducked as CandyAss came at me with
another swing.

"Hey, um, CandyAss, I was wondering," I said as I ducked another
swing, "what are your powers and all?"

"I can make any man orgasm with one touch," she said, reaching out to
touch me.

"Really?" I said, stopping my dodging and standing there as she
approached.

Wow, orgasm with one touch? I was intrigued. 

"Really," she said in that sexy voice again. 

"Talk about premature ejaculation," I said. "That must suck for you
when it comes to getting some."

I ducked and ran towards her, quickly grabbing her at the waist and
running with her over my shoulder towards LardAss who was still trying
to get himself off of FlamingAss. CandyAss hit at my back and pulled
at my t-shirt, trying to get to some bare skin to touch, though she
didn't really need to because her powers seemed to work right through
it. And, while it wasn't exactly an orgasm at one touch, it was
awfully damn close and I was tempted to let her continue.

But I had to follow through with my plan. 

I flipped CandyAss off my shoulder and looked at her for a moment. 

"Pucker up, sweetie" I said, leaning in towards her. 

And then I crammed her face first into LardAss's ass. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what exactly it that stuff?" 

Simon Cooper had grown slightly concerned with the bargain he had
made. It wasn't just the way the two men acted or what they wanted him
to do, but being strapped down so you could be injected with stuff
that you had to trust them was good just didn't sit too well with him.

"It is your own formula, Mister Cooper," said Sad as he tapped the
syringe and pressed out the excess air.

"Slightly modified, of course," said Happy as he buckled the last
strap around Simon's leg.

"And could you tell me again why I have to be strapped down?" 

"It is for our own safety, Mister Cooper," said Sad, turning to Simon
and wrapping a plastic strip around his upper arm. "As you are well
aware, your previous formula caused you a slight discomfort
initially." Simon nodded. "Well," said Sad, sliding the needle into
Simon's arm, "I can promise you this is going to hurt a whole lot
worse."

He pressed the plunger. 

The sensation was almost instantaneous. Simon could feel as the
concoction flowed through his body as his heart pumped harder and
harder. It was a burn that started in the arm and then moved up and
out, through his chest, his other arm, up his neck, down his legs. He
clenched his teeth and crammed shut his eyes in pain.

Sad was not lying when he said it'd hurt worse. 

Simon started to scream as the fire tore through his body. And then he
felt it building, pushing, his pores screaming.

Sad and Happy stepped back as Simon pulled at his straps, his body
reacting to the formula as it reworked his body on a genetic level,
creating and enhancing.

And then he stopped moving. 

Simon lay on the table, his chest heaving as he panted for air. He
opened his eyes and stared at the light that hung above his head.

His mind picked up on something, and at first he found it curious and
tried to focus on it. He thought hard and then the light grew slightly
brighter. He thought more and it dimmed. He focused once again and the
light started to get brighter, continuing until the bulb burst. Simon
closed his eyes as the bits of glass fell on him and he smiled.

"I think he likes it," said Happy. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I slept until Alfonse dragged my ass out of bed around one in the
afternoon. It was awfully nice of him to let me sleep in to make up
for having to freakin' get up so damn early. I guess I can't really
get at the signal thing too much. If it weren't for that I wouldn't
have fought the AssMasters and my week would have been that much
duller.

"You are to tend to the lawn today, Jeffery," said Alfonse as I poured
myself some coffee down in the kitchen.

"The lawn? The whole lawn?" He nodded. "Please tell me you have a
riding lawnmower."

Alfonse smiled. 

Crap. 

It was one of those push mowers. And not one with an engine, no, it
was the one with the blades hooked up to the two wheels that I just
pushed across the lawn. And the lawn at Burke Manor is no small plot.
No, think Bristol Park but with fewer trees and more grass.

Even being superstrong didn't make the whole ordeal any less of a pain
in the ass.

I stopped halfway through and plodded inside to get a glass of water.
Alfonse sat at the table in the kitchen polishing silverware with a
half smirk on his face.

"Do you want me to rake up the grass afterwards?" I asked
sarcastically. He looked at me and the half smirk became a full one.
"I shouldn't have asked, should I?"

"Whether or not you asked you would have to do it just the same," he
said.

I guess I can't complain too much, I am living rent free in a mansion
and getting trained to kick some ass.

Screw that! I'm going to complain anyway. Son of a bitch working me
like a slave...

But I wasn't about to tell Alfonse that for fear that he'd kill me and
bury me in the garden.

"Fine," I said, downing my water and going back outside. 

I really should look into getting my own place. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow." That's all Simon Cooper could think as he an arc of electricity
flowed from his outstretched hand to the electrical socket across the
room. He looked over and then pointed at a lamp off to the side,
turning it on with just a thought. "Oh, wow. When does it wear off?"

"It doesn't," said Sad as he watched Simon play with his newly
expanded powers. "Another modification from your original."

"This is so cool..." said Simon, moving his fingers on his
outstretched hand, little streams of electricity stretching from each
into one bolt that ran to the socket. "How did you do this?"

"The formula?" asked Sad. Simon nodded. "It did not take much, really.
It already allowed the creation of electricity. We simply modified it
to where you could use that to manipulate electricity in general."

"Neat." 

"Now, about Bush43..." 

The bolt of electricity disappeared as Simon clenched his hand into a
fist and he turned to look at Sad.

"Yeah," said Simon with a grin, "about Bush43..." 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I made sure I was in town early in the evening. I wanted to catch this
signal thingy as soon as it went up. To keep myself busy I ended up
stopping a mugging, rescuing a kitten out of a tree and stopping a
couple of drunk guys from getting into a fight over whether or not
either of them had made woopie with Mysteria.

I hope Victoria appreciates the trouble I go through for her and her
honor.

It was almost midnight when the guy decided to play with his new toy
and light up the skies of Pacific City.

God, why Texas? Why couldn't he have used the silhouette of some sexy,
hot chick or something? That'd have gotten my attention.

Run, leap, jump, I'm going to kick that little guy's ass. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simon Cooper looked up at the spotlight that reflected off of the
clouds above Pacific City. Sad and Happy had given him the correct
address alright.

He smiled wide. Oh, this was going to be fun. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sat in his lawn chair and waited. He came prepared for a wait this
time, a cooler full of sodas to one side, a stack of magazines to the
other. Yep, he was in it for the long haul. At least until the sun
came up. Because, well, the signal wouldn't really be all that good in
the daylight.

Yes, if his hero was anywhere in the city he was going to show up
tonight.

Dick Cheney smiled and kicked his feet with little boy joy. 

And then he felt something. 

He cursed at himself for drinking all of that soda before coming up
for the night. His mother always told him he shouldn't drink too much
when he was excited. Now he really had to pee something fierce.

But what if his hero came while he was gone? 

He thought of turning off the light. 

But what if his hero then stopped coming, or, worse, thought he was
being toyed with?!!!

Dick stood up and made a silent promise to make it quick. 

And he ran inside. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There it was. 

I leapt onto the roof and walked towards the light. But there was no
one in sight. Someone had been here, though, cause there was a lawn
chair with a cooler next to it.

Got to the light and looked at it, shaking my head. 

Moron. 

After a few seconds searching I found the switch and turned the damn
thing off, looking to the sky just to be sure.

Yep, darkness. 

I walked to the cooler and opened it, finding it full of ice and soda.

So someone had been here recently. 

But where had he gone? Maybe he had to use the bathroom or
something...

"Don't tell me you made your own signal..." 

I turned to see someone standing in the doorway to the stairwell.
There wasn't enough light for me to make out who it was, but I could
tell it wasn't the round guy.

"Oh, this?" I asked, looking at the signal. "Nah, I just came here
when it was lit up and found no one else around."

"Uh huh." 

"Yep." 

The man didn't move and I was getting a little itchy. What the hell? 

"Say, do I know you?" 

The man stepped forward and into the light. 

"Stacy?" 

He visibly cringed but forced a smile on his face. 

"Man, am I happy to see you alive," I said. "I thought that robot
think killed you!"

"You're going to wish it had," he said. 

The roof seemed a lot brighter suddenly. I looked over my shoulder to
see the signal on again. I could have sworn I turned it off. Then the
hair on my arms stood on end.

A bolt of electricity streaked from the signal, tearing into me hard.
It was brief but painful as hell.

I fell to my knees and reminded myself to breathe, my body tingling. 

"That's a neat trick," I said between gulps of air. 

"That was only the beginning," Stacy said as he walked towards me. He
stopped right next to me and I grabbed for his legs.

The shock was more powerful than anything he had done to me before,
even stronger than the bolt from the signal. I tugged my hands away
and scrambled back from him, wincing from my tingling and burning
hands.

"Jesus Christ," I said. 

"I don't like you," said Stacy, "I hate you, actually." He walked
towards me and I stepped away, trying to keep my distance. "But I
think I'll take my time killing you. Just enough to get you to say my
name right, really."

"Where's the fun in that, Stacy?" I said, provoking when I really
shouldn't have. But he didn't snap.

Wait a minute. Did he say kill? 

"Wait," I said, stopping, "did you say kill?" 

He just smiled for a moment and then lunged at me. 

I sidestepped and he went right over the edge of the building. 

Heh, oops. 

I caught his arm and was pulled down slightly, but I stayed on the
roof and held onto him. Okay, so this guy was probably trying to kill
me, but I wasn't about to kill him.

"One of these days you're going to learn," I said as I started to pull
him back up. "Don't lunge at someone when they're at the edge of a
building."

And, without a word, he shocked me. 

Hard. 

I lost my footing and fell over the edge of the building. 

He was lucky enough to land in a dumpster. 

I was not. 

The pavement was an unexpected surprise. I wasn't hurt from the fall,
but I was very disoriented. I rolled to my back and stared at the sky,
the silhouette of Texas shining bright.

God, I hate that thing. 

Then Stacy straddled my body before I could push him off me his hands
were around my throat.

"SAY MY NAME!" he shouted. 

Then I felt a surge of electricity through my body. 

Then it stopped. I tried to catch my breath. 

"What's my name?" he asked through clenched teeth as he leaned close
to my face.

"Sparky the Wonder Dog?" I said with a grin. 

Then I felt another surge of electricity through my body. 

Then it stopped. 

"Say it," he said, leaning closer, "say 'Staticy'." 

"Why?" I said hoarsely. "It's a stupid name." 

Then I felt another surge of electricity through my body. 

Then it stopped as Stacy yelped in pain and fell off of me. 

I laid there for a bit, trying to come to my senses. My body ached, my
mind felt like it'd been cooked, which it probably had. I started to
roll over to push myself up.

Stacy was already on his feet, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Why is it," he said, walking past me as I got to my hands and feet,
"that every time I get going someone has to interrupt!"

I looked to see him advancing on the round guy in the Dick Cheney
mask.

Crap. 



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He stepped back, brandishing his bat before him like a two handed
sword. Dick Cheney's guts quivered as the man kept walking towards
him, electricity lighting and dancing around his fists.

"Do you want some of this?" asked the man, reaching for Dick who swung
the bat at him. The man simply caught it in his hands and tore it from
Dick's grasp.

"And all these stupid masks," said the man as an electric coated hand
reached for Dick's face.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tackled the son of a bitch from behind, pushing him away from the
Dick mask wearing guy before he touched him. Lord knows how bad that
would've been.

Stacy rolled over under me and reached for my mask, the electricity
pulsing through it and onto my face, stinging like hell. I reared back
and punched him right in the face, feeling his nose give under my
knuckles.

He let go with a scream and I jumped back and stumbled to my feet. 

"My nobe," he said, holding his face with his hands and rolling around
in pain. "My fffuckin nobe."

He started to stand up but that Dick Cheney guy came out of no where
and clocked him on top of the head with a bat, knocking that punk's
ass out.

"Ha!" shouted the round guy. "Once again Bush43 gets out of another
scrape with the help of his trusty sidekick Dick Cheney!" He held the
bat high above his head like it was some sort of trophy.

I breathed heavily, trying to just get enough air to speak. God, what
the hell had gotten into Stacy? I don't remember him shocking that
bad. I leaned my head back to stretch my neck and saw that God damn
light in the sky.

"Hey," I said between deep breaths, "uh... can I borrow that bat?" 

He brought it down and looked at it and then to me. 

"Sure," he said, holding it out. I took it and started walking to a
side door to the building. "Hey, what about him?"

"Leave 'em," I said, ignoring the unconscious Stacy as I stomped into
the building and started up the stairs.

"Man, am I glad to see you," said Dick as he started up after me. "I
mean, I was worried after that robot got you and all. I thought they
might have gotten you for good. But I had faith in ya, man, and when
you busted out I was all happy and stuff."

"Uh huh," I said, continuing up the steps. 

"Yeah, so I tried using the signal and all and you didn't come so I
figured you were probably out saving the world, being all heroic and
stuff. But I didn't know for sure, so I kept using it. And today ya
came. See, I finished that Bush Signal, just like you said."

"Uh huh." 

"Yeah, I was getting kind of worried when you didn't show up, though,
because I was all worried that you might have been in some sort of
trouble and I couldn't help you out. I used the signal over and over
and kept hoping you'd show and I'm so glad you've finally come and now
we can go heroing together and be the dynamic duo of justice that
protects Pacific City from the evils that attempt to pray upon it!"

God, does this guy EVER shut up? 

"Ya like that? I made it up myself! I got a whole notebook filled with
great sayings like that. I'll show it to ya, we can start using them."

I threw open the door to the roof and walked towards the Bush Signal,
blazing into the night sky.

"Oh, I'm so happy you came and that it worked." 

I stopped by the signal and he stopped right behind me. 

"So, what do ya think?" he asked. 

I brought the bat above my head and into the light so fast he didn't
even know it happened until I was coming up for a second hit. I
brought the bat down again and again, smashing the hell out of the
stupid fucking signal and getting a hell of a lot of stress out of my
system while I was at it.

I didn't stop until the bat broke and then I just started stomping on
the remains of the signal.

After a good five minutes of pure beatdown I stopped, panting for
breath from my glorious workout.

I turned to Dick who just stood there dumbstruck. I imagined his jaw
dropped behind that mask.

"I don't like it," I said, tossing the bat aside.