“Sidearmed”
Bumblebee knelt behind a display as force blasts hammered around her. What now? she wondered. How had this happened? “Come on!” Paco Ramone yelled. “You cannot expect me to believe that you broke a million points on Centipede!” CM3 shrugged. “I’ve got super-speed,” he said. “It’s not that hard.” “Not that hard!” Paco rolled his eyes. “There’s only one thing to do, then.” He went into his closet and started scanning a rack of Atari cartridges. Finally he selected the one he wanted. He pulled it out and held it aloft like the Holy Grail. “YARS REVENGE!” he announced. CM3’s eyes widened as he took in the spectacle. Jason Parker walked through a field. He wore a Monkees t-shirt and jeans that were rolled up to mid-calf. The sun was shining brightly and the grass was soft and cool beneath his bare feet. As he neared a tree, he saw something beneath it. He squinted, but still couldn’t make it out. Finally he reached the tree. “A picnic basket?” he asked no one. A hand clapped onto his shoulder. He whirled around and saw Charley standing there. As tears filled his eyes, Jason embraced his brother. “It’s good to see you,” Charley said. “You too,” Jason said as he wiped tears from his eyes. ”What’s wrong?” Charley asked. “It’s just been so long since I’ve seen you,” Jason said. “I thought you were gone and weren’t coming back.” Charley smiled. “I’ve had a lot going on,” he confessed. “But I know what you’ve been up to.” ”What do you mean?” Jason asked. “I know about what you saw at the wedding,” Charley said. “Is it true?” Jason asked. “I have to know!” Charley thought a moment. “I can’t tell you now,” he finally admitted. “All I can say is that some things from the past should remain buried.” Jason’s eyes flew open. He was back in his dorm room, where he’d fallen asleep while studying. Karen Beecher sighed as a knock came from her door. “Come in,” she called. Mal peeked around the door and Karen waved him in. “How’s it going?” he asked as he sat down before her desk. Karen waved at the piles of paperwork littering her desk. “How does it look like?” she asked wearily. “If we’ve got an experiment that is working to clone documents, I’d say it’s a success.” ”That bad, huh?” Mal asked. Karen nodded. “I’ve been letting all of this pile up to do as much with the team as I have. When my office blew up, it made the problem go away for a little while, but it’s back with a vengeance now.” “Can’t you have your secretary filter some of this out? You know, look for unimportant stuff.” Karen closed her eyes. “That’s what’s left after she filters it.” “Wow,” Mal said. “I know.” Karen said. “But this is my job, and I love it.” She took a deep breath. “Besides, once I step back from the team I’ll be able to keep this down to where it’s manageable.” “That’s the spirit,” Mal said with a smile. “Now howsabout I take you out to lunch?” ”Sure,” Karen said as she signed off on a lab equipment requisition and placed it in her woefully unfilled outbox. “I’m sure that all of these papers will be waiting for me when I come back. They’ll probably have invited friends along, too.” Mal laughed as they walked out. Meanwhile, at a conveniently located nearby mall, a familiar figure walked inside. He glanced around at the bustling stores and smiled. With a flourish, he flipped his jacket off. It fell to the ground as servo arms whirred into position. “Attention!” he yelled as a cannon folded from his back and fired a shot into the ceiling. In response, the shoppers dove for the floor. “You are now prisoners of the feared Sidearm!” Sidearm smiled darkly as he began collection jewelry and money from the terrified shoppers. “Great,” Karen said as she folded her cell phone shut. ”What is it?” Mal asked. “Call from the computer,” Karen said as she slid the phone into her purse. “Gotta go.” She gave Mal a peck on the forehead and hurried away. ”Great,” Mal said. He looked up as the waiter approached. “Is everything all right, sir?” the waiter asked. “Wonderful as always,” Mal said. “But it looks like we’ll need some carry-out boxes.” ”Of course.” The Titans assembled outside the mall. “Any word on who’s in there?” Golden Eagle asked. “Sidearm,” Bumblebee said. “I just got confirmation from the police.” “Cool,” Vibe said, cracking his knuckles. “Didn’t Superboy used to take him out in five minutes flat? Should be no problem.” ”I hope you’re right,” Bumblebee said. “But I don’t want anybody getting overconfident.” ”What’re we waiting for?” CM3 asked. “There could be people getting hurt in there.” “Let’s go,” Bumblebee said, trying to hide her nervousness. “I love this place!” Sidearm yelled as he helped himself to a window display filled with diamonds. “So friendly, so cooperative, and no Superboy!” His mood soured as that name crossed his mind. “Superboy. That little punk. I’m surprised the little twerp’s not out here trying to screw this up, too.” Sidearm kept muttering as an arm with a fist on it unfolded from behind him, smashed a display case, and started grabbing jewelry. “Guess you’ll just have to deal with us little twerps!” Sidearm suddenly felt himself flying toward the back of the store, where he smashed through a display and landed awkwardly on a mannequin. He turned his head and coughed, then pulled the dummy’s hand free and stood. Vibe stood in front of the Titans West, his hands still outstretched. “Oh, you are so dead,” Sidearm sneered. Behind him, his cannon whirred into position. ”Move!” Bumblebee yelled just as the cannon fired. As Vibe dove for cover, the cannon fired again – into the ceiling directly above him. A chunk of debris caught him in the head and he went down. “Vibe’s down!” Eagle said. “I see it,” Bumblebee said as she flew up to join him. “We’ve got to take care of arm-boy first, though.” “Excuse me! Remember me? I’m the bad guy!” Sidearm yelled as he fired again. This time the blast caught Golden Eagle in the chest. He fell to the ground with a dent in his chest plate. Bumblebee pulled him to safety behind a store display as CM3 retrieved Vibe. “We’re doing well,” CM3 remarked. “Where’s Dagon?” Bumblebee asked. “He should be able to take this guy down with no problem!” ”Recharging his batteries,” CM3 said. “He ducked into his coffin right before sunrise.” ”So he’s out of commission. Great.” Bumblebee started frantically sorting through options in her mind. Beside her, CM3 grimaced and held his temple for a second. When he looked up again, his face was filled with an uncharacteristic rage. “Superboy takes this moron out in five minutes and he’s picking us off?” he spat. “This is ridiculous!” He stood. “I’ll handle this myself.” Bumblebee could only watch as CM3 approached Sidearm. Sidearm sneered as CM3 walked slowly toward him. “Take this, kid!” he yelled. “Full power!” A bolt of light so bright that Bumblebee had to shield her eyes flew from the cannon and struck CM3 in the chest. When the bolt faded, CM3 stood there, totally unharmed. “It tickles,” he said with a smirk on his face. He dove forward and tackled Sidearm. In a matter of moments, he had ripped all the weapons from Sidearm’s tech-vest and had punched Sidearm in the jaw, knocking him out. “And that’s how you take care of that,” CM3 said as Bumblebee walked toward him. He turned to face her. “I’ll take him to the police station personally. Can you take care of the others?” ”Sure,” Bumblebee said. CM3 nodded once and launched himself into flight carrying the unconscious Sidearm by his vest. “Are you okay?” Bumblebee asked as she helped Vibe to his feet. “I will be as soon as I get about fifty Tylenols into me,” he said, rubbing his head. “How’s Eagle?” ”Very sore,” Eagle replied. “I think I’m turning purple under this armor. That thing really packed a punch.” “Well, let’s get out of here,” Bumblebee said. Suddenly they heard growling around them. They turned and discovered a pack of the new feral Wildebeest creatures surrounding them. “Oh, this day just gets better and better,” Vibe said. To Be Continued... Next Issue: The team battles the Wildebeests and Flamebird returns! Plus, a hint at a special upcoming TW solo story! Previous Issue | Next Issue |
