by J L Ender
He repeated this process with the refrigerator, and the suit got a little bigger again while the fridge fell to pieces. The arms grew thicker this time, hydraulic supports sprouting along both elbows to give it extra strength. Last of all, he picked up the toaster, which almost completely vanished, leaving nothing behind but the insulation for the power cable. A pair of small, metal boxes appeared on both hips.
Pockets!
“Wow, thank you.” I filled one with Sandman's silver dust and put my phone in the other. “Why haven’t you made a suit for yourself?” I asked. His giant gun was cool, but it didn’t seem like enough protection.
“Who said I didn’t?” he replied.
“You’re… well then why aren’t you wearing it?”
“Who said I’m not?”
That made no sense. I shook my head. “Never mind.”
"Alright, metal boy. How’s she look? Time to suit up.”
Metal Boy? That was a terrible codename. I remembered what Sandman had called me, too. Tin Man. If I didn’t come up with a better name soon, something was going to stick, and it might not be anything good.
“I have one more idea for the armor,” I said. “And you can call me Steel Fox.”
Chapter 17
I strode into the lobby with Stuffmaker right behind me. He was cradling his giant gun, which he apparently called the Great Twinkie. I wore the newly upgraded suit. It was so heavy now that it made the ground tremble when I walked. The elevator had groaned as we’d ridden it down.
The lobby was empty. Through the ruined front door, the ground was a glowing golden blur. Masses of little men, all shuffling and stamping and waiting, their feet making that tink sound every time they moved.
“What now, Steel Fox?” Stuffmaker asked. The last upgrade to the suit had been visual. I’d had the boy make the armor red and silver, and molded the helmet so it resembled a fox’s head. Even if I couldn’t be a superhero, I could look the part for this one night.
“Now… we blast our way out of here,” I said.
“Yeah, man. Time to test out those jet boots!”
The golden men seemed to notice our presence. Dozens of heads turned to look our way. None of them stepped closer, however. They were waiting for us, confident we had to come to them. Perhaps that overconfidence would work in our favor.
“Alright,” Stuffmaker said. “I’m going to ride on your shoulders. You fly us out of here, and I’ll blast us a path.”
“Works for me.” I was as eager as he was to try out my new boots.
Stuffmaker climbed up onto my neck and sat on my shoulders, his legs dangling over my chest. He held onto one of my suit’s new ears with one hand and held the Great Twinkie with the other hand.
I activated the jet boots, and we rocketed into the air so fast I nearly smooshed Stuffmaker against the ceiling. I stopped just in time, the barrel of the gun banging against the wall as I swerved us back down.
“Careful, careful!” he cried.
I tilted my feet a bit and we flew forward, careening for the shattered door. I held up an arm and we burst through, the metal frame of the door coming apart. Stuffmaker threw back his head and laughed. The little golden men swarmed beneath us, all leaping and trying to grab at us, but we flew forward too fast. Stuffmaker raised his gun and fired. The blast from the gun smashed through the waiting horde with a fat beam of purple light. Golden men flew everywhere, clearing us a path. I flew out over the street. Powerful as they were, the jet boots ran out of juice as I moved away from the building. I landed on the ground near a semi-truck that had run out of gas. A hole had been punched into the side of the trailer by Stuffmaker’s gun.
“That was awesome!” Stuffmaker cried, pumping a fist in the air so hard he nearly fell off my shoulders. I put a hand up to steady him.
“I don’t know if your gun works on them,” I said, indicating the path we’d cleared. The little golden figures had been knocked away by the power of the blast, but as far as I could tell, not one of them had actually been hurt. The street, however, had been gouged badly.
Stuffmaker growled. “Little turkey sniffers.” He tapped on my helmet. “Get us out of here!”
“I’m not a limousine,” I said, but my protest faded as I realized he was right. Sandman’s minions were regrouping. Not good. We needed to move. Somewhere, somehow, we had to find a way to beat the golden creatures.
Before they beat us.
I turned and ran again. I didn’t have a destination in mind. I just raced down the street, hurling myself between cars. Once, I had to shove a car out of the way. The new arms on the suit did their job. I had super-strength through the suit now.
AGAIN, the golden men gave chase.
I was beginning to get kinda tired of running.
And by kinda, I mean A WHOLE LOT.
We ran down the street and out toward downtown, where the skyscrapers reached for the night sky. I thought and thought as I ran, trying to figure a way forward, a way out of this mess.
“Hey, slow down!” Stuffmaker called after several minutes. “They’re gone.”
“Really?” I slowed to a walk and turned around. I couldn’t twist my head too far with the helmet on. “Wow, you’re right.”
“They gave up!” Stuffmaker threw back his head and let out a goofy laugh.
I was not comforted. If they weren’t behind us… where had they gone?
I didn’t have to wait long to find out. An avalanche dropped upon us. The little golden men had climbed to the roof of a nearby building and thrown themselves down in a wave.
“Run!” Stuffmaker cried.
“I can’t!” I replied, panicked. “They’re everywhere!” I tried to walk, but it was like slogging through several feet of snow. The faceless golden men were everywhere, crawling all over us. I pushed my way through the crowd. I made slow, agonizing progress, unable to tell which direction I was moving. The golden things tried to punch and kick, but the reinforced plating did its job, protecting me.
“I— hey! Leave those alone! They’re after my goggles! You’re gonna be on your own, Steel Fox! Don’t let them eat my cookies!” I felt the weight on my shoulders increase as Stuffmaker fell asleep, then decrease as the golden men dragged him away.
“No! Stuffmaker!” I cried. I can’t lose you too. I clenched my fists in frustration. My stomach turned at the thought of being alone.
I stumbled over something on the street and nearly fell. Looking down through the swarm, I saw the Great Twinkie. I reached down and hefted Stuffmaker’s gun and fired. Little golden men scattered everywhere. I charged through the path the gun had cleared, keeping the weapon handy in case they blocked my path again.
After several feet, I stopped and turned. Stuffmaker had been behind me somewhere, but I couldn’t see him in the swarm.
I raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of the gleaming horde. I couldn’t shoot though, not until I found my fallen friend. My eyes scanned back and forth frantically. To my surprise, the golden men treated the raised gun as a serious threat, even though it hadn’t seemed to hurt them.
They scattered, all in different directions. In the space of mere seconds, I was standing alone in the middle of a wide street. Stuffmaker was laid out on the road. His goggles had been pulled from his face then smashed against the pavement of the nearby sidewalk.
I dropped the Great Twinkie and walked to the boy. He didn’t look too badly hurt, merely a few scrapes and bruises. Otherwise he was sleeping peacefully. Being careful not to hurt him myself, I picked up the boy who called himself Stuffmaker and laid him on the sidewalk. There were no cars in the area, but if traffic did happen to pick up, I didn’t want him getting run over.
The thought of traffic driving down the road reminded me of how far I still had to go.
It was on me. I had to do something, or this road might never be used again. I pictured it overgrown with plants, wild animals stalking through knee-high grass, buildings laced with vines. Cars rusting away. Decaying
houses with slumbering families. That was all on me. That was the world if I failed to stop Sandman.
A world asleep forever.
- - -
I had never been so tired. As I rose from moving Stuffmaker to safety, the weariness hit me like a physical force, a blow that I hadn’t seen coming. I wobbled and almost fell. We were deep into the night now. How long would it be until the sun rose? How long could I hold up without sleep before Sandman claimed me not through magic dust, but simple exhaustion?
I went back and grabbed the Great Twinkie, deciding it could come in handy. If it had frightened off the golden men once, it might do so again. My fingertips were just brushing the handle when I heard a shout.
“Found you!” a familiar voice called out. A familiar electronic voice. The Bluejay rocketed down from above, her arms tucked to her sides. She flew slow and level though, which wasn’t like her at all. I saw why soon enough. Someone was on her back. My one and only sister.
“Whoa, what happened to your suit?” Katrina asked as they came in for a landing. “It looks so cool!”
“Stuffmaker happened to his suit.” The Bluejay crossed her arms. “Never could get the little turkey sniffer to do much for me.” I made a mental note to ask about that story later, but decided now wasn’t the time.
“I tried calling you,” I said to Katrina.
She shrugged. “I called you first.”
“My phone was in my pocket,” I said. “Couldn’t reach.”
“You should have that kid add pockets to the suit!” she told me.
“Way ahead of you.” I patted one of my new pockets.
“Blah blah,” Bluejay interrupted. “Where’s my energy drink? We need to get on with saving the city and stuff.”
Katrina handed her a tall, black can. The Bluejay tipped her mask back and took a long gulp. The superhero looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot, the skin underneath puffy and purple.
“That stuff is bad for kids,” I told the superhero.
“That’s what I said!” Katrina shook her head.
“I’m indestructible.” The Bluejay rolled her eyes as she took another sip. “My heart can handle it. And I really, really don’t want to fall asleep. Do you want me to fall asleep, metal man? I didn’t think so.”
“It’s Steel Fox,” I said. “And you’re right about one thing. We need to get on with saving the city. What do you know about Sandman?”
“Nothing useful.” She sighed. “What do you know?” I filled her in on what little we’d learned. About the boy in the hospital bed, and Sandman’s apartment with its dirty yet unused bed.
“So he doesn’t sleep,” Bluejay said when I got to that part of my story. “How does that help us?”
I shrugged. “Every superhero has a weakness, right? We just need to find his.”
The Bluejay scowled at this comment, but nodded. She probably didn’t like to be reminded of her own weaknesses. I had already puzzled over what her weakness might be— in case she ever attacked me again— but hadn’t figured it out yet.
“So what do you want to do?” Katrina asked.
“There’s only one Sandman,” I said. “What if all three of us attack him, try to force him to wake everyone up?”
“That… is a terrible plan.” Bluejay finished her energy drink and dropped the can to the ground.
“That’s littering!” Katrina said.
“So? Who cares? Everyone’s sleeping.”
I bent down and picked up the can myself, crumpling it up without meaning to. “We have to care. We’re the only ones who can wake them up,” I dropped the can into a trash bin near where Stuffmaker was sleeping. “We can’t start thinking like what we do doesn’t matter.”
Bluejay shrugged. “Whatever, kid. Let’s get on with this terrible plan of yours.”
I nodded. “I know where Sandman is camped out. We can—”
Katrina interrupted me. “Do you guys hear that?”
“What?” I asked.
“I don’t hear anything but little kids makin’ noise.” Bluejay shook her head as though to wake herself up.
“Listen!” Katrina hissed. I heard it then. A low boom boom. It came again seconds later, just a little bit louder. Boom boom. The ground began to shake a little. BOOM BOOM.
A massive golden man stepped from around a corner. BOOM BOOM. The sound of his footsteps was like the tink tink of the little ones made amplified up to a ridiculous level. This golden man was at least forty feet tall, his head higher than some of the nearby buildings.
“Um,” Katrina said.
“Well… crud.” I took a step back. “He’s… big.”
Chapter 18
The ground shook again— harder than before— as the giant strode toward us. I took a step backward, instinctively wanting more space between me and the monster.
“Pigeon teeth!” the Bluejay said. “The fight came to us!” She leapt into the air.
I took another step back and, without thinking, held out an arm to shield Katrina. She tensed into a fighting stance. Ninja skills or no, I would have to look out for her. Of the three of us, she was by far the most vulnerable.
The Bluejay didn’t waste any time. She held both arms straight out, hands tightened into fists. A fat blue beam of light shot forward and slammed into the chest of the faceless golden giant. It staggered back a step, legs digging furrows in the street, but it wasn’t hurt by the blow.
Not good.
I had to assume my own weapons wouldn’t do much either, but it was better than getting crushed or whatever. Aiming for the monster’s head, I raised my arms and fired a rocket and a laser blast together. They thudded against the beast’s belly in little starbursts.
No effect.
The monster lumbered on, unfazed. A loud crunch reverberated through the streets. I’d left the Great Twinkie in the middle of the road... and the giant golden man had crushed it.
Not good.
I took a deep breath. We really needed a plan. Fighting this monster would only wear us out faster. Running wouldn’t be much better. At best we’d just be delaying the inevitable. We had to save our energy for Sandman. Before his mysterious plans were completed. Before he unleashed any more horrors on the world.
I growled in frustration. The golden man pointed an arm at me. He was trying to use his powers again, but it was no good. Even super-sized, his daydream ability didn’t work on me. Or so I thought… My head swam. I swayed, feeling dizzy.
My suit suddenly grew to giant size, as tall as the golden man. I rode in a command module in the head of the suit. Now it was more like a huge robot.
What? I thought in disbelief. This isn’t possible.
But there was the golden monster, the Bluejay buzzing around its head. I frowned, still confused, but I drove the giant suit forward. The ground quivered as I tore toward the monster and punched it right in the head. It fell backward, smooth face cracking down the middle.
I won!
Sandman peeked around a street corner, then stepped forward with his hands raised. “Look! I give up!” he said. “I’m sorry, I’ll let everyone wake up now! You’re way better at this stuff than me, and you’re way smarter too!”
That’s definitely not real. I must be caught in a daydream!
I concentrated even harder. My head swam again, and I was back where I’d been standing before, when the giant golden man had first pointed at me. My victory had been a waking dream. Just the distraction our enemy needed.
The Bluejay flew around the giant’s head, which was dented now. As I watched, she landed another punch, which caused another dent. She was strong enough to punch the monster and cause damage. That was something, at least. The giant golden man pointed his handless arm at her, trying to use his daydream power. It had worked before…
I looked at Katrina, sprawled on the sidewalk. She wasn’t just having a daydream, she was out. Some combination of the daydream and Sandman’s silver dust had been enough to make her fall asleep. Which meant the
same thing could happen to the Bluejay. I frowned, feeling sick in the pit of my stomach.
Need a distraction. I charged forward, heart hammering in my chest. “Hey!” I called. “Hey, hey! Look at me! Down here!” The golden man turned, and I leapt into the air, using my jet boots to stay airborne. I soared like a rocket, one arm forward. I slammed my fist into the golden man with a powerful punch. A terrible clanging echoed down the street as my gauntleted fist connected. My whole arm shivered with the impact. Another dent, and the golden man stumbled backward. With no feet, he couldn’t steady himself very easily and wobbled backward. His arms spun as he righted himself.