by Adam Oster
“And what makes you think we will? You've spent most of the time since I've met you telling me how I can't do anything.”
“Hey, I still don't think you're anything special, okay. But, my dad seems to think you are the key to getting rid of Damon and we're running out of options here.”
“Okay, so what do I do?”
“Hell if I know. Just do it already.” And with that, Jeff left the group, Mr. Smith and Mr. Frederick clearing a path for him as he went.
“Alright kids, you got any ideas?” The hordes were thinning out as more and more awakened agents joined the fight. Buddy decided to have fun with the few that happened to make it to him. He delivered a poorly-executed roundhouse kick to the zombiefied agent in front of him now. He had aimed for the woman's chin, he hit her hip.
“I say we attempt to go at the man head on,” Zero yelled.
“No one else seems to be anywhere near him,” Alexa responded.
“Tis true, milady. However, we are The Defenders!”
“I'm up for it,” Ryan offered.
“Really?” Buddy asked. He had been enjoying taking out the hordes of simple enemies, who barely put up a fight, but the idea of fighting the man who controlled so much seemed to be a suicide mission.
“You chickening out now, Buddy?” Ryan asked. “I thought you were all about this fight.”
“Well, yeah, but this all seems a little too, I don't know, impossible.”
“It's not impossible, chum. Merely improbable.”
“Sure, but, I don't know. . . couldn't we die?”
“I know where you're coming from Buddy, but from the looks of the folks who have already gone up against these monsters, no one's been injured yet.”
“Right,” Buddy said slowly. “Yet.”
“So, are we going?” Zero asked, looking twitchy.
“Wait,” Buddy said suddenly. “I've got an idea.”
Buddy ran ahead to Jeff. Jeff covered his face at Buddy's arrival.
“Relax, Jeff,” Buddy laughed. “I think I've got an idea on how to get rid of Damon.”
“Okay, fine, go ahead and do it. My men are almost ready to get out of here.”
“No, I need you all to stay. I need your help.”
“Yeah? And what kind of help is that?”
“What I need you to do is gather all your men to form a wall around us.”
“Right, of course. We don't want the legendary Buddy Hero to get hurt.”
“I don't think that's what he means, Mr. Flores,” Mr. Smith cut in.
“Right,” Mr. Frederick added. “You want to create a phalanx, correct?”
“Um,” Buddy answered. “Maybe.”
“Well,” Mr. Smith continued, “it wouldn't be a proper phalanx. But you want to move as one unit, having an ever shifting group of men on the outside, defending the central unit until we arrive at our destination.”
“Yeah, that sounds kinda like what I meant. Do you think you can make that happen?”
“Of course we can make it happen, Buddy. In fact, I was just about to mention how we should do that before you came over here and started babbling.”
“Perfect,” Buddy laughed. “So, how do we--”
Mr Frederick put two fingers to his lips and blew a loud whistle. Immediately a crowd formed around the group. Zero, Alexa, and Ryan also appeared beside Buddy.
“Men,” Mr. Smith yelled. “Formation attack Alpha Romero Omega!” The men and women jumped into action and suddenly Mr. Smith, Mr. Frederick, Jeff, Buddy, Zero, Alexa, and Ryan were in an opening surrounded on all sides by the army, all facing in the outward direction.
“Hmm,” Buddy said, “very impressive.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Smith replied.
“What the heck's going on here?” Alexa asked.
“Simple, we're going after Damon.”
“Like this?” Ryan asked. “How are we getting up the giant altar thingie?”
“That's something we'll just have to deal with when we come to it.”
“I like it, chum.”
“Okay, fine,” Alexa added, “but we're going to need someone to stay back to wake us up in case this goes south.”
“Oh, I'd be more than happy to do that,” Jeff sneered.
“Should've seen that one coming,” Buddy joked. “Alright, everyone ready then?”
“I say we go for it,” Ryan yelled.
“Mr. Smith?”
“Men,” Mr. Smith yelled. “Move out!”
The walls of people immediately began moving.
“See you suckers on the other side,” Jeff said as he disappeared into the wall.”
The foursome was now a sextet as Mr. Smith and Mr. Frederick stayed with the new Defenders. The group moved slowly with the walls around them. The sounds of battle echoed through the area.
“Hey, we're just one short of the old team,” Zero said joyfully.
“Yeah,” Buddy responded sarcastically, “if only Jeff had stayed. Then it would be like old times.”
“You're right, chum! Ahh, old times!”
“Alrighty, so, do we have any sort of plan for moving forward here?” Alexa asked.
“I say we just move forward,” Zero cheered.
“Right, but, I mean, you know, do we have any clue how to fight Damon?”
“No,” Buddy replied. “Anyone have something?”
“If I may be so bold,” Mr. Frederick opened. “From what I have seen, Damon's quite well protected. The only chance we may have for beating those defenses is speed.” The group looked at Alexa.
“Sure, I can get up there, but what would I do when I get there? I mean, I'm not really all that strong, and I'm definitely not too flame-resistant.”
“But Mr. Jackson is both,” Mr. Smith continued, “is he not?”
“You'd have to tell me,” Buddy responded.
“Okay, fine, but I can't pick him up,” Alexa argued. “No offense Buddy, but you are a tad overweight.”
“None taken.”
“Ah, but that's where I come in, young Alexa. I can create a field around him which will cause him to weigh next to nothing. You should be able to carry him without trouble.”
“Wow, okay, that seems pretty easy then.”
“Yeah,” Ryan scowled. “Too easy.”
“Too easy for who?” Buddy asked. “I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do when I get up there? I haven't had too much success against him so far.”
“Ooh,” Ryan's face brightened. He pulled a device from a container strapped against his back. “Here you go, Buddy, it's a miniaturized version of the goo gun.”
“Brilliant!” Buddy exclaimed. “So, we get him rocked up and then wait for the device Carl's bringing, right?”
“Right!” the group agreed.
“Awesome,” Buddy beamed. “For the first time since I've met you guys, things actually seem to make sense.”
“Good,” Mr. Smith spoke. “Because it would appear the time has come to make your move.” The group looked outward and saw their location being overwhelmed by the little minions Buddy had seen in his dream.
The army was outnumbered and the minions were approaching the heroes' location quickly.
“Okay, Zero,” Buddy yelled, “do your field thingie!” Zero closed his eyes and Buddy was lifted into the air. “Whoa, that's a weird feeling. Okay, Ryan, gimme the gun!”
“Here you go, captain,” Ryan cheered, throwing the gun at Buddy.
Buddy caught it. “Ready Alexa?”
“Always.”
“Get me up there and get out as fast as you can, okay?”
“You won't even know I was there.”
“And I want every last one of you to get to the tank as fast as you can. Who knows what will happen, whether this works or not.”
And with that, the group disappeared from Buddy's view and was replaced with the ugly visage of Damon Memphis. Damon saw Buddy appear in front of him as soon as Buddy became aware of his new surroundings.
&n
bsp; “You!” Damon screeched. “How did you manage to get past my dark army?”
“I'm Buddy Hero, chump. No army can stop me.”
“Maybe not, but the fire of God can.” Damon raised his finger at Buddy. Buddy smirked and raised his weapon just as fire erupted from Damon's fingertip. A look of fear crossed Damon's face as he was covered in goo, which immediately hardened into a dense crystal.
“Goo gun. For those hard to extinguish fires of God.”
The altar began shaking under Buddy. He looked down and saw pieces falling off at a rapid rate. The army of monsters all approached his location.
Buddy jumped.
CHAPTER 25
Inside the vehicle, the sound of pounding against the walls was overpowering. Outside, the vehicle was covered the by evil minions Damon commanded, trying their hardest to enter the mobile encampment. The group covered their ears while talking.
“Buddy, that was freaking awesome, man!” Ryan yelled.
“What?” Buddy yelled back.
“I said, that was outrageous, dude!” Ryan yelled even louder.
“What'd he say?” Alexa yelled as she leaned close to Buddy.
“What?” Buddy yelled.
D.A.W.N.'s voice could be barely heard over the ruckus.
“Was that D.A.W.N.?” Zero yelled. “What did she say?”
“What?” Buddy yelled again.
“Oh for Pete's sake,” D.A.W.N. said as the sound subsided. “I asked you if you would like me to turn on the noise cancellation software.
“Oh, yeah, that'd be great,” Buddy said.
“Sometimes I just don't know what to do with all of you,” D.A.W.N. said, sounding disapproving.
“Wow, alright, so, is everyone okay? Anyone get hurt or anything?” Buddy asked.
“We're all good, Buddy, just, you know, a little shaken up,” Ryan responded.
“I don't know,” Zero disagreed. “I think I've got a bit more fight in me, if the need were to arise.”
“Well,” Alexa said slowly, looking out the view screen toward where Damon was, “it may just have arisen.”
The group turned to look and saw the altar was faltering, but Damon's demons were holding it up. And in the center of it all, the crystalline structure Buddy had created around their enemy was now rising into the air and on fire. D.A.W.N. zoomed into the action.
“Ryan,” Buddy asked quietly, “isn't that rock supposed to be flame resistant.”
“Um,” Ryan spoke. “Yeah. It is.”
“So, that right there. That's a bad thing, right?”
“I'd say so, yeah.”
“Great.”
“This is wonderful,” Zero exclaimed. “I had thought our battle thus far had been too easy. I forgot all about the point in which the bad guy comes back and we have to put him down again.”
“Oh yeah, that part.”
“D.A.W.N.,” Ryan began anxiously, “where's that device Carl had promised?“
“I'm teleporting it in right now, Ryan.”
Near the flying, flaming Damon-ite, a blue light appeared and a device morphed into existence in its place. Just as the device appeared, the rock cracked.
“D.A.W.N.,” Ryan spoke again, his voice cracking, “activate the device, please.”
“Activating, sweetheart.”
The device lit up brightly and began spinning.
“So, anyone know what this device is supposed to do?” Buddy asked. The group looked at Ryan.
“Dude, even I couldn't understand Carl when he was talking about it. I think it was something to do with thought suppression.”
“Well,” Zero started, “it better start suppressing.” The cracks in the rock became larger until a loud KRAKOOM was heard and Damon's form appeared in the sky once again.
“D.A.W.N.,” Ryan said again.
“It's activated, Ryan.”
“Then make it do something,” Buddy yelled.
Damon saw the whirling dervish that stood on his altar and with a flick of his wrist, threw a fireball at it, sending it out onto the road. It shattered as it hit the ground.
“Well,” Alexa spoke softly, “I guess that's the end of that idea.”
“Don't sound so discouraged, young Alexa. This is the fun part.”
“How is this the fun part?”
“Now we get to figure out what will work. I'm going to go try fists.” Zero was beaming from ear to ear as he began to make his way up the hatch.
“I think about the only thing that will work now,” Buddy said, “is to wait until he has to take a nap or something.”
“Oh, chum. Evil never rests. You know that.”
“Wait,” Alexa shouted. “Buddy might be on to something.”
“I am?” Buddy asked.
“Maybe,” Alexa turned to look at the computer panels on the side of the vehicle. “Ryan, is there any way to get a message sent out?”
“Of course there is, dear,” D.A.W.N. responded cheerfully. “Who would you like to talk to?”
“Can you get Special Agent Parker on the phone?”
“Parker?” Buddy asked.
“Do you have a plan of action, young Alexa?”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
“See,” Zero cheered. “I told you this was the fun part. So, what is it? Are we going to call the the army? The nukes? Biological warfare? What's the plan?”
“I've got Agent Parker for you,” D.A.W.N. chimed.
Buddy covered his ears. The group looked at him. “Sorry, I've had bad experiences with Agent Parker in the past, I'd rather not hear his voice.”
“Umm. . . Buddy, Parker's a mute, he can't talk,” Alexa said quietly.
“Oh,” Buddy said.
“Okay, D.A.W.N., open the line.”
“Kent here,” Agent Kent's voice sounded tense. “What do you want?”
“Kent, I need you to get a message to Parker for me as fast as you can.”
“He's right here, Ms. Rose, what do you need?”
“You know Damon's taken over Barber Street, right?”
“Of course we know, Ms. Rose. We're the federal government, there's nothing we don't know about.”
Alexa laughed.
“If you are aware of the battle, why are you not engaged in it?” Zero yelled. “Shouldn't this be your fight?”
“We are currently working with the president on the Sun City situation. I'm not at liberty to discuss the options currently on the table.”
“Nukes?” Zero asked excitedly. The line was silent.
“I need you down here. Now. I've got an idea on how we can get rid of Damon without destroying the city.” Alexa sounded confident.
“I'm sure the president would be pleased if you could pull that off.”
“Great, can you use your little watch things to find our location?”
“I never said we were going to help.”
“Kent,” Alexa yelled, losing her composure, “we don't have time for this crap. Get Duff on the line so we can settle this!”
“Sergeant Duff has much more important matters to attend to right now than the whims of some rich spoiled runaway felon.”
“Tell Sergeant Duff,” Ryan spoke with authority, “if I don't hear his voice in the next 30 seconds, I'll make sure my father gets him fired so quickly he won't even have the chance to pack up his desk.”
“Yeah? And who the hell do you think you are?”
“This is Ryan Reed, son of Oscar Reed.”
“What do you want?” an angry voice quickly sounded on the line.
“Sheesh, Duff. I didn't think you'd be able to break that easily,” Alexa laughed.
“Don't you know, sis? Dad's one of the president's top advisers now.”
“I don't have time for this,” Duff yelled into the phone. “What do you want?”
“I need you to send Parker down to our location immediately. I've got a way we can take care of Damon Memphis once and for all.”
“Fine,” Duff answered gruffly. “Is tha
t it?”
“I could also use some water,” Zero added. The group looked at him. “What? It's hot in here.”
The phone went silent and a loud popping noise filled the cabin. Agents Parker and Kent appeared.
“Here's Parker, you better return him in the same shape you got him.” Kent spoke quickly and with another loud pop, he was gone.
“What's up with him?” Zero asked.
“I don't know, but whatever it is, Duff seems to be dealing with the same issue,” Alexa added.
“You still seem pretty calm, Agent Parker,” Ryan said. Parker nodded slightly. He looked at Alexa questioningly.
“Right,” Alexa began. “We should move quickly. Buddy said that every time he gets knocked out, he has a dream where he sees through Damon's eyes.”
Agent Parker looked at Buddy for confirmation. Buddy nodded his head.
“She's right. I can't control him or anything, but I'm definitely hearing his thoughts.”
“Right,” Alexa continued. “So, with your goofy mind powers, Parker, I figured there might be something you could do that would allow Buddy to get inside Damon's head and do some real damage.”
A smile spread across Agent Parker's face and he nodded.
“So, I'm on the right track?” Alexa asked. “If you can get into Damon's head through Buddy's you can do the same thing you did when you re-wrote everyone's brain?”
“Alexa, that's--” Buddy started.
“Freaking brilliant!” Ryan interrupted. “It's so freaking simple, I don't know why I didn't come up with it.” Zero patted her on the back with a look of pride on his face.
“Alright, so everyone agrees this is the plan, right? We conk Buddy on the head, take Damon out, and call it a day?”
“Sounds good to me,” Zero cheered.
“Wait a second,” Buddy began. “We're doing what with me now?”
“Well,” Alexa answered, “Someone's going to have to knock you out in order to get you and Damon connected, aren't they?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so, but--”
“I thought you were a fan of the idea.”
“Well, I am, but--”
“Buddy does have a point,” Zero agreed. “It will take quite the person to knock him out now that it appears he is back to his full strength.”
“Right,” Buddy joined in. “So, who do we have that can actually get me unconscious?”