Sign In Sign-Up

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

Lodestone

" Bright Lights, Big City " by Martin Maenza

"Hand over the bags now!"

The brunette woman could see her own terrified reflection in the robber's shiny armor. Michelle Hayes quickly put the sack, overflowing with the contents of her drawer, on the counter next to those of the other tellers. The last thing she wanted to do was to invoke the wrath of the person in the armor. The security guard pinned to the wall by two large steel spikes was proof enough that this was no ordinary robber.

With his right hand, the criminal snatched the remaining bags and fastened them to hooks in the armor around his waist. He then spun around and half-saluted to the few patrons and bank employees pressed against the walls in fear. "Thanks so much for your donations to my retirement fund," he joked. "I'll drink a toast to you all from my beach chair in Tahiti." He crossed the floor in two steps, pushed open the doors, stepped out into the parking lot and stopped.

"Well, well," he said as found his path impeded by two Police cars and four officers with their weapons drawn. "Some naughty teller must have hit the silent alarms. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way!"

Swinging his right arm across his chest in front of him, suddenly a half dozen steel spikes rose up from the armored sleeve and launched in the direction of the Police cars. The officers dove for cover behind their vehicles as the spikes shredded the hoods and sides of the cars. The criminal in the armor laughed. "Bet you'll think twice about trying to ambush Pincushion!"

"Pincushion? Nice name -- not! Is that the best you could do?"

The armor criminal turned around and looked up to where the taunting voice came. Standing on the edge of the bank's roof in a gray spandex costume with red boots, gloves and a mask was the blonde young woman known as Lodestone.

The molded face mask of the armor hid the man's surprised expression as his confidence faded. The Police he could handle; Victoria's latest super-heroine was another matter entirely.

Pincushion realized he had one option, to go all out. "No, this is the best I can do, Lodestone!"

Suddenly, from most of the exterior surfaces of the armor, steel spikes of varied sizes rose to the launch position. Less than a second later, he released nearly every projectile in the armor's arsenal, all in the direction of the heroine. Without even watching to see if any hit, the man bolted down the asphalt parking lot to the east.

It wasn't until his own spikes showered down upon him that he realized what had happened. Lodestone had used her own magnetic powers to control the deadly spikes in midair and to propel them in the direction he was fleeing. Though the spikes were only strong enough to put a few dings in the armor, their unexpected assault was enough to distract him from where he was going. Pincushion crashed through a tall hedge of bushes and slammed into the trunk of a thirty-five foot tall oak tree.

Before he could recover from his collision, the armored man felt his whole body lifted high into the air and pulled back towards the bank and the awaiting Police officers. He looked down and saw Lodestone standing next to them, her telekinetic powers keeping him trapped within the armor ten feet off the ground.

She smiled up at him. "Well, Pincushion, you've a decision to make. You can surrender now and deactivate the armor, or I can open you up like a can of sardines. Your choice."

***

By the time the Police officers interviewed the witnesses and had Pincushion dearmored and in custody, television crews had arrived on the scene. Lodestone hung around long enough to give them a sound bite or two before preparing to fly off.

Suddenly, she noticed a familiar face in the crowd and approached the brown haired man. "You're the camera man who was there when I stopped Assault a few months back, right?" Lodestone asked. ¹

Rick Gates put down his WVTV camera and smiled. "Why, yes, it was me. Thanks to being in the right place at the right time, they've moved me up from filler pieces to the more juicer assignments." He extended his hand to her. "I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Just doing what needs to be done," the heroine said after shaking his hand. "I just wanted to say hello." She noticed a crowd was starting to form around them; she stepped back and slowly rose into the air. "Well, my business here is done so I'll be going."

"Wait, Lodestone!"

She turned midair to face the direction the voice had called. She then saw a dark haired man pushing his way through the front of the crowd. "Yes?" she said. "Can I help you?"

When she made eye contact with him, a huge smile crossed his face. "There is one more thing you need to do here!" He thrust his right hand into the air. "You need to die!"

Lodestone barely had time to dodge the burst of energy that shot from his hand. When she recovered and looked back at the man, his entire body was lambent with energy. She instantly recognized him. "Lumiere!"

"Oui, mon petite!" the villain said. "Our business will not be finished until you have taken your last breath!"

Lodestone kept hearing her father's voice in her head, how someone obsessed with killing a person was dangerous to everyone in the area. Lumiere definitely fell into that category. She instantly knew she had to get him away from the crowds and somewhere she could take him out safely. If only she could get him to follow her.

"Hey, Glowworm! If you want me so badly, you're going to have to catch me." She lifted up into the air and flew down Lombardy Street, hoping he would take the bait. After going a bit of distance, she slowed down and glanced back. She wasn't really sure if Lumiere could fly or not; he hadn't done so the first time they had fought.

When she looked back, she saw his figure pursuing her on foot. Then, in a flash of light Lumiere vanished. He was no longer there! "Good going, Clare," she said to herself. "Way to lose the homicidal Frenchman."

So caught up with berating herself, she did not see the blast that hit her from behind. Lodestone slammed into the ground hard.

She rolled out of the way and to her feet just as a second blast struck the concrete she had been lying on. Lodestone looked up to the third story ledge of One Atlantic Center. As the afternoon sun struck the sides of the building that housed the Worldwide Computing Machines' offices, she could still make out Lumiere's form. So he hadn't vanished at all but somehow transported himself ahead of her! It seemed he had a few new tricks up his sleeve.

Knowing that his interest remained and that he had the means to follow her, Lodestone felt more assured of her plan. "You have to do better than that, Lumie!" she taunted as she took to the air once more. This time, she raised her force field around herself just in case he came close with another blast.

Lodestone knew of a golf course just a mile or so northeast from where they were. Her father would play there now and again, and she recalled him saying just last week that it closed due to repairs and renovations at the clubhouse. That would do for what she had in mind.

She continued to fly up Lombardy and then cut east just after passing the building where once stood the home of famed Victoria author Margaret Mitchell. She could tell Lumiere was still on her tail, from both the periodic blasts that whizzed by her and the curses in French he shouted at her.

Just as the golf course was within her sight, Lodestone became startled as a large, silver armored figured swooped into her flight path. "What is this -- gang-up-on-Lodestone day?" she said. "Looks like either Lumiere has got an ally or Pincushion has a brother." She fired one of her magnetic blasts at the figure, knocking it unexpectedly backwards into the air.

***

Caught by surprise, the armored figure quickly computed the speed of its spin and pulled out of the somersault with the required amount of thrust from its boot jets. As it approached the heroine again, it held up its hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Whoa, hold up, Lodestone." A slightly mechanical, deep baritone voice came from the armor's headpiece. "I'm not here to cause you any harm. I was hoping that we could engage in conversation."

Lodestone flew towards the armored form and then down to the right. "Well, as much as I'd love to chit chat, I am in the middle of something." Just as she flew past it, an energy blast from below caught the armored form square in the chest.

The flying figured shrugged off the blast, righted itself in the air and focused its retinal sensors downward quickly. Alas, whoever had fired upon it was no longer there but an infrared scan indicated there was an energy trace left where the assailant last stood.

"Oh, guess I overlooked that before," the figure said aloud. It then scanned the ground again before rocketing in the direction that Lodestone had flown.

When it touched down on the construction site near the port-a-john, its auditory sensors quickly pinpointed the location of a struggle. Lodestone was utilizing a large diamond shaped construction sign to reflect the energy projections hurled by her attacker. A spectral analysis revealed the projections and the energy making up the being had the same frequency as that which struck the armor a few moments ago.

***

"That energy guy had to be moving awfully fast to beat me there," Edward Hackett said. He sat in the room he liked to refer to as his "laboratory". His mother referred to it as the room above the garage, a place where Edward spent every free moment of his time.

The twelve-year old red-haired boy swiveled around in his chair quickly to examine the various newspaper clippings he had tacked up on the wall. Together they chronicled the exploits of Victoria's newest heroine. Straightening his thick glasses and locating one particular article from late February, he quickly recalled why the energy being was familiar. This very well could be the Lumiere person whom he had witnessed Lodestone battling in downtown Victoria. 2

"Now is my chance to show her what my Mobile-Enhanced-Computerized-Henchman can do!" Edward spun back to the console before him, placed the silver helmet with various wires attached back upon his head, and prepared once more to take control of his armored drone. His hands danced across the controls before him. "Lodestone, prepare to be impressed!" he said to himself.

***

The hydraulic motors in the armored figure's powerful legs propelled it across the construction area. Moving around and to the left, it was able to keep out of the combatants' lines of sight until the last moment. It scooped up the blonde heroine and carried her safely behind a large pile of dirt, much to the surprise of both her and the villainous Lumiere.

As smooth as the maneuver was, the armored figured misjudged the slope of the hole behind the pile; it tumbled to the ground but managed to absorb most of the impact itself.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lodestone protested as she pulled away from the grasp and scrambled to a squatting position. "I was holding my own perfectly fine until you showed up, whoever you are."

"You can call me M.E.C.H." the armored figure said after taking a similar position. "And while indeed you were keeping your opponent at bay, you were not making any progress towards bringing the confrontation to a speedy conclusion. Inevitably, by maintaining a defensive strategy only, your opponent would find a weakness in your tactics and exploit it. Never underestimate the element of surprise."

The mechanical words were punctuated when a blast of energy exploded the top of the dirt pile, showering them both with soil.

Lodestone spat, trying to clear the dirt from her mouth. "Well, Mr. You're-so-smart, I suppose you have a suggestion as to how to put a stop to that French villain."

"In fact," M.E.C.H. beamed, "I do."

***

Fils de...! Lumiere fired once more at the dirt pile but then concluded it better to hold back. He thought to himself, No, Michel, do not waste the power needlessly. Though you have considerably more resources to draw upon this time, you must not let your anger get the best of you. You can still make the fille pay as well as the armored interloper!

The glowing villain was about to move around to the other side when the two heroes rocketed into the air, heading towards the skeletal frame of what eventually would be the new Northridge clubhouse. Lodestone led the retreat while the armored figure held back before turning mid-flight. "Get to safety, Lodestone!" the mechanical voice ordered. "I'll provide the distraction." From the topside of the hero's gauntlets shot two thin red beams of energy.

Lumiere laughed as he increased the intensity of the field around him. His own energy was sufficient enough to refract the attack. He then took the offensive and hurled his own tendrils of energy at M.E.C.H. "You I shall deal with later, fool!" he announced as the energy formed an entanglement around the armored hero's torso. "My first priority is the girl!" The villain sprinted off in the direction the flying heroine had gone.

Pleasantly surprised by finding her down on the ground at the foot of the steel structure, Lumiere smiled. She supported herself against one of the steel girders and appeared to be breathing heavy, as if exhausted from the chase. "The game is over, mon petite!" he said as he moved under the first beam and cautiously approached her. "I promise you a swift but painful death!"

She kept her hands clenched to the girder but turned her head to face him. Their eyes met. The Frenchman could see that her arrogant confidence had faded, to be replaced by uncertainty and genuine fear.

His hands began to glow more intensely as he got within a few steps of her. Like he had done to others before, Lumiere envisioned his lambent energy filling her throat and nostrils, tearing her apart from the inside. He felt a rush of excitement at the mere thought of it. He reached forward to make his fantasy a reality. He was going to kill the meddling girl.

"Please don't...." she cried softly.

Lodestone waited until the last possible second before lashing out with her telekinesis. "...make me laugh!" She hit the unsuspecting Lumiere straight on and knocked him back towards one of the girders. Her intent wasn't to stop him with that blow but to get him as close as possible to the steel building frame that she had been magnetizing for the last few moments. Next, she encased him and part of the frame in a magnet field, similar to her own force field.

"You only delay the inevitable," Lumiere cursed as he began to discharge his own energy into the field.

Lodestone hoped M.E.C.H. knew what he was doing. He barely had time to explain her part in his plan before they had to put it into action. Something to due with electromagnetism and diffraction of light; she really wasn't in the mood for a science lecture so he gave it to her in a much quicker, simpler way. Now, she continued to concentrate on keeping the magnetic fields strong even though the villain's own efforts were starting to cause some stress in them.

"Say, light bulb!" a mechanized voice called from above. "Looks like you could use a bit more voltage to help you along!" Lodestone and Lumiere both looked up and saw M.E.C.H. hovering above with a live electrical line in his armored hand. The armored hero dropped the line directly into the magnetic field, causing the whole field to electrify.

Lodestone felt a slight jolt of feedback when the live current hit the fields she was generating. She knew that was her cue to pour her power on. The electrical current on her field made a great, brilliant glow so she was hard pressed to see what was happening.

From inside the field, she heard Lumiere scream in incredible pain!

"Keep it going, Lodestone!" M.E.C.H. called to her. "It's working just as I calculated. He should be realizing right about now that the electromagnetic field we've created will continue to draw his own light energy from him despite his own efforts to the contrary."

"Easy for you to say, Mechie!" Sweat was pouring from Lodestone's brow. This was definitely the hardest stunt she had tried to pull to date.

Finally, the pressure from the fields and the electrical current was too great. Lodestone felt the fields collapse with a great explosion, and she dropped to her knees exhausted. The air was charged with the current.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the form of Lumiere slump to the ground as well, no longer glowing with energy. They had done it. She and M.E.C.H. had managed to short circuit Lumiere's powers.

M.E.C.H. landed next to her, offering his armored hand. "Your execution was flawless! I knew you had incredible potential, especially when guided correctly."

Lodestone took it and rose to her feet. "Thanks alot," she smiled. "I really appreciated all your help too." She never would have been able to stop him without M.E.C.H.'s plan, but she had a strong hunch he already was aware of that.

The armored hero then, finally released her hand. "Say, now that the battle is over and the threat has been neutralized, can I outline the proposal that I was attempting to present to you earlier?"

Lodestone cocked her right eyebrow curiously. "Umm, okay, I guess."

***

Lancelin's eyes fluttered open as he found himself lying with his face pressed against cold dirt. He tried to rise from the ground but his weakened muscles were not responding to his request. He managed to turn his face to the right side, which allowed him to look out into the late afternoon sunlight.

Slowly he gathered his bearings. It appeared that he was in the small area underneath some form of temporary structure. There were two-foot high foundation supports on the ends and in the middle of the sides but for the most part it was open. It was dark and shaded under the structure, and this made him feel it was safe where he was. It would be a good place to recover from whatever he had just been through. His head throbbed just thinking about it.

Focusing his eyes again towards the afternoon sunlight, Lancelin began to make out to the forms of two individuals some fifteen yards away. The light glinted off the metallic armor of the one, while the other appeared more slender. The two seemed to be standing together, talking, but he could not make out what they were saying.

On the ground before them laid another individual. Lancelin squinted to try get a better look. It was hard at first to make out the details but his eyes soon adjusted to the light. That was when he recognized the limp form of his brother, Michel, and suddenly all of the pieces came together!

Some time ago, days or maybe weeks, Lancelin had returned to the motel at which they were staying. Michel was growing mad with power and thirsted for revenge against Lodestone. This scared Lancelin, and he tried to flee the scene. 3

Yet somehow, Michel managed to use his power to absorb Lancelin, to send him to some place deep within Michel's being. While Lancelin's consciousness lay dormant, Michel was able to tap into his sibling's powers to become even stronger.

Somehow, something must have happened to Michel, something that ended with the expulsion of Lancelin from his body! Lancelin's own shadowy powers must have sought out this dark, secluded spot as a way of self-preservation. His powers seemed to work instinctively as they had done so once before.

He breathed a small sigh of relief. Michel would finally get the help he needed, possibly to be recover from the effects his light powers were having upon him.

And Lancelin was safe from his brother's influence for now. He was not sure where he would go or what he would do. For the moment, though, he closed his eyes and permitted the darkness around him to slowly heal him.