Writing Prompt Responses | Short Story | Superhero fiction

Explosive Action

Part 4 of a 5-part superhero story.

This story is a response to Monday Mashup #26, and it continues on from Top Team — Woof!, No Rest or Comfort, and Gremlins and the Pizza Hideout.

Previously… Poofie (a pomeranian-featured human) put together a team of people who were all mutated by an event called the Progenitor Incident. The team includes Coop (a pigeon-person), Jill (a.k.a. Camel-Girl), Hop (a big sapient grasshopper), and Twister (a blind snake with mysterious powers).

They learn that a mysterious foe named Doctor le Fay has been transforming people into gremlins via magic cookies. They race from their base, and track down le Fay’s at his headquarters…

“Stop, Twister!” called Poofie. “We gotta work as a team, remember?”

But the snake-hero was already flashing away towards the door, a mist rising as he moved.

Poofie turned to the others. “If we are going to defeat this Doctor le Fay, we need to use synergy.” He glanced at the angry crowd, wondering how to get them out of danger, then spotted a briefcase near the wall of the next building. The top of it was glowing yellow. It surely shouldn’t be glowing...

“Bomb!” he yelled.

Coop took flight, Jill tensed, while Hop looked in the wrong direction. Poofie knew he needed to act fast. “Coop, get the civilians out of here,” he called. “Round them up. Nobody likes being swooped at by a pigeon.”

Coop began to circle the crowd. Jill yelled at them like a sergeant major, then ran closer to the glowing briefcase.

Poofie hurried alongside her, and they stopped to stare at the object. “Le Fay must have put that here to kill the protestors. What the heck to do with it... Hop?”

“Here,” said the human grasshopper, who had followed a short distance behind, munching on a cake from a take-out carton. “What you looking at?”

“Can you put that case up on top of the building, girl? Leap up there, then back down fast?”

“Take what, exactly, bud?” replied Hop, her mouth full. “Sorry. So hungry.”

Three gremlins now emerged from the pizza restaurant on the ground floor. Each had a lasso, and was chewing on a matchstick. Poofie swore. “More of le Fay’s lackies.”

“Leave them to me,” said Jill, then charged.

Poofie could see that time was critical. He ran right over, grabbed the case, then returned and held it out at arm’s length. “Important, Hop! Go — jump!”. Hop dropped what she was holding, grasped the case, and jumped, a vast leap taking her on top of the block.

Then there came a shriek. The three gremlins had managed to rope Jill with their lassos, each pulling from a different direction. She was struggling to break free.

Across the street, Coop was swooping from side to side, moving the civilians on with some success… but he was now too far away to help. Twister was already out of sight. “Ugh… it’s down to me,” muttered Poofie, as he ran forward. “I’ll help you, Camel-Girl!”

Jill growled in Poofie’s direction. She was swiping out at the gremlins, but due to the length of the ropes, was unable to connect at them. Things changed when Poofie raced in, yapping. He sank his teeth into one gremlin, then shook it around like a rag. The creature flew out into the street, at which point Poofie bit a second, who sank to the ground.

With two of the ropes released, Jill was freed. She grabbed the third rope and began to swing it around, the gremlin still holding on and shrieking. Then she let go, flinging the creature far across the street. After a stomp onto the gremlin that Poofie had just bitten, she and Poofie hurried to the entrance to the building.

Just then, there was an enormous explosion from above, and parts of the buildings roof began to fly in every direction.

“Oh, no…” said Jill.

“Hop!” yelped Poofie in shock.

But there was no sign of their friend.

With nothing else for it, Poofie and Jill ran inside the building. Twister was now on the upper landing, and something was on fire…

The snake didn’t look at the companions. “Thank you for your help, but I really can take it from here,” he called out sharply. “A subtle approach is essential with this guy. He mustn’t hear us coming.”

“It may be a little late for that,” said Jill.

Poofie winced, wondering if there was any way that le Fay could have missed the explosion, the fight with the gremlins, or the huge flying pigeon outside. Then he focused again on the door, a sheet of fire across it. “Hey, did you do that?”

“Not me,” hissed Twister. “Some kind of defence system. My nemesis has magical powers. This is no doubt designed to keep out unwanted guests. But…”

Without saying another word, the huge snake again summoned mist, which gave way to drizzle. Soon, tropical sheet rain was falling, even though they were inside the building. The flaming door fizzled for a moment, then began to burn again despite the deluge, but less fiercely. With a frustrated huff, Jill stepped forward to thump a hoof upon it, breaking it down in a single movement.

Inside was a surprisingly normal looking apartment with a sofa, TV and fish tank. It was occupied by a very abnormal-looking tall man with red eyes, flanked by a pair of monstrous bugbears.

“Visitors,” sneered the warlock. “I hoped it might be you, snake. And you brought friends. Perfect.”

“I can take this dude,” cried Jill.

But it was Twister who lunged forward, shrouded in blue smoke. When his body shaped to circle the warlock’s legs, le Fay lifted his staff, and lines of energy surrounded him like a cage. Twister rebounded, stunned. Jill charged towards their friend, but one of the bugbears shoved her into the energy field too, sending her crashing forward into the wall. She and Twister lay stunned against the TV unit. One of the bugbears pulled out a roll of duck tape, and began to secure them.

Le Fay now raised his staff, the lines of energy spreading. Despite himself, Poofie found himself walking towards the energy. It felt comforting. “That staff,” he murmured. “I feel connected to it.”

Le Fay laughed. “You should. It created you.”

Poofie stopped, his eyes glistening. “The Progenitor Incident?”

“Indeed! Basically, I made you,” said the warlock with a cruel chuckle. “But the experiment was a failure. Too many humans unaffected. I’m going to finish the job. And this time, they will all be gremlins.”

Next — the finale!! Coming soon.

Thanks for the challenge, Jonathon Sawyer! It was fun to get back to these characters. Maybe Cathylouise, Nevena Pascaleva and Kelly Ronayne would have fun with the same challenge:

My scorecard:

Main prompt:
Your hero is being tempted by a magical influence (the staff/energy, 2 points)

Elements:
A glowing object (the briefcase – 1 point).
Three matches (in the gremlins' mouths – 1 point).
A half-eaten cake (Hop was eating it – 1 point).
A fire that just won’t go out! (the door – 1 point).
This box (1 point)
(kind of worked in the bugbears, too – not sure if they were hungry!).

Hardcore Constraint:
The BBEG (Big, Bad, Evil Guy/Gal)... an evil warlock (2 points).
(the main characters in this story are already enchanted animals that can speak 😂)

Literary Device:
Worth 5 points (Flip a coin or choose one):
Simile (the energy is 'like a cage' and Jill shouted 'like a sergeant major – 5 pts)

TOTAL: 14 points

Thanks for reading! You can find more of my fiction here, as well as all of my advice and guidance on creative writing right here. Want stories like this in advance, along with thoughts on the creative process? Check out my Ko-Fi! 🧠