Fiction | Writing Prompts | Superhero
No Rest or Comfort
Part 2 of a 5-part superhero story.
This story continues on from my previous story, Top Team — Woof!
It is also a response to Sweet Chaos’s Hodgepodge Challenge #8:
I hope you enjoy. Part 3 is coming soon!
An hour later, the three animal-featured superheroes — the bird-featured Coop, Poofie the Pomeranian, and Camel-Girl — were at their new base.
“Damn, this place isn’t much, even by pigeon standards ,” said Coop, stalking around the concrete-floored area of the disused warehouse. He still felt hot and flustered from flying, and now disappointment was layered in. “How can we rest here? I mean, I’d imagined some….”
“Comfort?” asked Camel-girl. “Facilities?”
Coop paused, swivelling his head. “Can’t you magic some up, Gillian?”
“Very funny.” Camel-girl grunted, and then leaned back against the only piece of furniture — a huge, oak table, and began to mutter a blessing.
“We’ll get there, you’ll see,” said Poofie, hanging his car-key on a wallhook, and lingering by the open door of the building. “Besides, it’s roomy — a blank canvas. Just what we need for our head-secret base-quarters.”
Camel-girl grumbled again. “So what now? We just wait for some crime to fight?”
“First, our team’s due a couple of new additions,” replied Poofie. “Ah, here comes one now.”
There was a clicking noice as an insect-like person ducked under the doorway and paused, looking around at them. Long green legs, a compact body. Antenna.
“It’s… a grass hopper?” said Coop.
*wheeze*
“Much more than that!” declared Poofie, patting the new arrival gingerly on one spiny limb. “Friends, please meet the latest addition to the team. She’s the mighty grass-smoking hopper! Or just ‘Hop’.”
Hop extended one leg towards until it was pointing at Camel-girl. “A horse gonna get a saddle!” she rasped.
“How dare you!” Camel-girl responded, stepping forward with fists balled.
“Team, stay calm,” soothed Poofie, hurrying to step in between the pair. “I should have mentioned. Hop is a bit drug-addled at times at times, but she’s the muscle of the team. Her exoskeleton is indestructible, and she can leap to the tops of buildings.”
“Well, keep it less personal next time, would you?” muttered Camel-girl sourly.
Hop didn’t attempt to placate Camel-girl, and instead unslung a picnic basket from her abdomen, throwing it to the concrete floor. “The legless one summons food before the fight.”
Coop picked up the picnic basket, and deposited a handful of its contents over the table — coloured cubes, not unlike dice. “That’s no food,” he cooed, looking down at the objects. “Drugs?”
Hop shrugged, then pulled out a large joint, and lit it. A sweet cannabis smell began to fill the warehouse.
Poofie laughed nervously. “Before our final member arrives, there is something you should know. He’s blind. Don’t judge him, ‘kay?”
“Oh, don’t tell me,” said Camel-girl. “He’s some kind of Bat-ma…”
“Don’t say that!” Poofie hurried towards the door again, rubbing his paws together. “Far from a bat. Have you every heard of a blindsnake?”
“B-b-blind person, bat-snake?” muttered Coop.
“Think of him as a bit like Daredevil, but, uh… without limbs.”
At this moment, they were interrupted by a roaring engine outside. Poofie hurried over. “Yes! Here he comes, and he brought us some new wheels. What a hero!”
Coop joined him, looking out at the large, shiny car. “So, an SUV?”
“Not exactly. He promised us a people-or-superanimal carrier, specially adapted for our needs. Looks roomy at the back. I wonder if it can be driven by an anthropomorphic dog… my feet are far from standard.”
As Coop looked on, not wishing the conversation to shift to the peculiarities of bird feet, a huge snake-like creature slithered out of the back of the vehicle. Its scales were brown, and it had a mouth, but no eyes, and it moved with half of its body on the ground, the other half reared up.
“Is that thing… sentient?” asked Camel-girl quietly, coming to stand at their shoulder.
Whatever it was, it was quick.
“I am Twister, the legless hero,” said the snake in a sharp, clipped voice, and then swished past them and inside.
“What can he…?” began Coop, turning as Twister entered the base. Before Coop could finish his question, he noticed mist rising around him. It was already up to his knees, and had begun the moment that Twister had started hissing. “Hey… there’s something weird about our warehouse, or ware-mist-house.”
Seconds later, though, the hissing stopped, and so did the mist. In its wake, the dice-like blocks had transformed to food. Chairs had appeared, including a hammock from the ceiling which Hop clambered into, and a very large saddle chair. There was even a carpet.
“Looks like you really needed my help,” said Twister sharply. “For you, madam,” he added, nodding his gleaming head towards the chair. With a grunt, Camel-girl made herself comfortable.
“First dinner as a superhero team?” said Poofie, raising a meaty chew in one paw, and his phone in the other. “Selfie?”
“Now, eat up,” said Twister. “I hear that a fey creature is going door-to-door selling magic brownies. I fear that this could be the work of…”
“I like the sound of those,” interrupted Hop enthusiastically.
But Twister shook his scaled head. “People, children included, are turning into murderous gremlins when they eat them. We have to stop the evil...”
Coop swallowed a mouthful of seeds. “That doesn’t sound like a priority,” he said.
And almost as soon as he spoke, he knew that for a hero team, no such complacency could be tolerated.
No rest, no comfort.
The scraping noise outside had turned into a banging at the warehouse door. The five heroes stood up, just as a dozen gremlins charged into their base and attacked.
Read on… part 3 is here!
Thanks for reading! Do you fancy the Hodgepodge challenge? Maybe John Fanidis and Morgan Schmidt will give it a try next... Here’s the link to the Hodgepodge challenge again.
SCORE:
Someone blind can see — but not as you do (Twister) - 1 pt.
Delirious ramblings are premonitions (Hop's statements) - 1 pt.
An insect(s) of your choice (grasshopper) – 1 pt
A feast, real or mirage (sort of both) - 1pt
You put a saddle on something (saddle chair) - 1 pt
A vehicle of your choosing - 1 pt
Your landscape has magical properties (after Twister's powers) - 1pt
The characters are anthropomorphic - 2 pts
Bonus: 1 pt for each compound word you take apart into something more exciting!
- head-secret base-quarters
- the mighty grass-smoking hopper
- B-b-blind person, bat-snake?
- a people-or-superanimal carrier
- ware-mist-house
5 pts
Total: 14 ptsYou can find more of my fiction here, as well as all of my guidance on creative writing right here. And check out a couple recent stories: