Anders Brady stepped from the elevator and navigated the narrow corridors of the cubicle farm to his station. He logged into his computer terminal and dimmed the monitors. Rummaging around in his desk drawer, he pulled a small bottle of aspirin and popped several into his mouth, and dry swallowed them.
A glance at the screens showed the queue was empty, but experience told him that would change. Anders took his water bottle toward the kitchen and filled it from the refrigerator. As the water reached the halfway point, the red light at the controls blinked, and the water trickled to a stop. Heaving a sigh, he opened the fridge. He spotted the empty plastic wrap that usually contained bottles of water the company provided. Moving to the cabinet where the water was stored, he noted no more water flats either. Resigned to get water, he finished filling his bottle from the sink, and it sputtered but ran clear.
Anders slinked back to his station and plopped into his chair. A beep sounded over his speakers, drawing his attention to the queue. One hero was logged in, The Entertainer. Anders clicked on the name, and a basic profile was displayed. The Entertainer was a hero that used various items to capture his opponents, usually ropes or nets. But, his main tactic was to distract his target so they didn’t see the restraints coming. Anders closed the profile and leaned back.
As his chair back reached full extension, the trouble alarm sounded. Anders squinted at his monitor as it pulsed red warning flashes. He squinted at the signal and tapped his wrist panel. Tapping his earpiece, he called out, “EMT Brady responding to Patient The Entertainer.”
The electric voice of dispatch responded. “Understood EMT. Good luck.”
Anders slow jogged to the flyer launch pad and stepped through the double doors. Once past the double doors, Anders focused on his powers. His body enlarged to five times its size, bringing his uniform with it. Orange hair protruded from the cuffs and neck. He vaulted over the street, swung from the provided pole, and traveled toward where The Entertainer was listed.
It took Anders a few seconds to traverse the city in this fashion. He landed in the warehouse district and checked his wrist panel. According to the display, The Entertainer was in the nearest building.
The delivery door was opened and big enough that Anders fit through after ducking.
A prone form lay forty feet away, and according to his wrist panel, it was The Entertainer. “This is easy,” Anders said and walked toward the figure.
He slammed into something but didn’t see it. The resistance stopped around Anders’ gut. Feeling with his hands, he deduced an invisible wall. Holding his hand along the smooth surface, he walked until he found an opening. Once he was through, he found another wall and a walk space. Repeating the process took him on a zig-zag course. After two such turns, Anders was at a dead end.
Placing his snow-shovel-sized hands on the top of the wall, Anders vaulted over the structures. He repeated this, closing the distance to The Entertainer. Anders moved directly toward the prone figure when there were no obstructions. His wrist panel showed that The Entertainer was still alive.
A squat woman jumped from the rafters and landed lighter than diaphanous material. She lifted to her full height of possibly four feet ten inches. She placed her fists on her hips and stood between Anders and The Entertainer. “You can’t have him.”
Anders snorted and stepped to the side.
The woman bounced to block the way again. “I said no.”
Anders puffed his cheeks and let a long blast out. “Look, lady.”
The curvy woman held up a hand. “My name is Rondure.”
Anders pinched the bridge of his flat nose. “I don’t care. I’m an EMT and here to transport The Entertainer, and it’s nothing personal.”
Rondure bounded closer to Anders. “It is personal.” She jabbed a finger up at the enormous ape’s face. “That man has stolen my life’s work and used it to capture various villains and make a fortune on bounties.”
Anders stared at the tiny person. “Look. I’ve got a headache the size of a skyscraper, I just got back from PTO, and my girlfriend dumped me. If that wasn’t bad enough, they’re raising the rent on my apartment, my car keeps breaking down, and now I have to rescue a third-tier hero from some unknown wanna-be villain. So, excuse me if your life sucks.” He sidestepped.
Rondure moved to intercept.
Anders pivoted and juked around her.
Rondure couldn’t redirect in time and continued floating in her previous directory, screaming obscenities. “You can’t help him escape justice.”
“I’m not,” Anders said as he scooped the body of The Entertainer from the floor. “I’m taking him to Angels of Mercy four blocks away.” He ran, skipped, and sprang to the rafters, where he swung toward the exit.
****
Anders swung onto the landing pad and shifted to his human form. Pushing through the doors, he spotted the large television playing a breaking news story. The volume was muted, but the text scrolled along the bottom.
The Entertainer was served a subpoena moments after being admitted to Angels of Mercy Hospital. Bertha D. Kingston is suing the hero for copyright infringement and intellectual property theft. Ms. Kingston was available for comment and had this to say.
That man stole my life’s work, songs, jingles, and even some of the props he used to apprehend villains to earn bounties.
The video cut to a scene of The Entertainer capturing Viscid. The song The Entertainer sang was excellent and sounded amazing. The video then cut to a talent show four years earlier where a younger woman, wearing something vaguely resembling the costume Rondure had worn, was singing the same song. The video advanced, showing Ms. Kingston receiving first place for that performance. Anders admitted that it wasn’t as eloquent as when The Entertainer had performed it, but there was no denying she had done it first.
Anders chuckled to himself. “My headache is gone. Maybe things are looking up.”
Shorts 