Chronicle 50

Duperman set down Bierguardian and Beaver Claw on the street. They both wore unkempt beards and had dark bags beneath their eyes. They looked awful. As if they’d been inside an interdimensional monster for ages. Jarawangadananan raged in the background, flailing side to side. It seemed to be building in irritation, some kind of pressure behind the desire to return to its own realm. A wild cry came from the beast and the ground around it tore upwards. It was growing.

Jara’s head rose higher above the buildings and the intersection it occupied was now only a small portion of the area it inhabited. The skyscraper that it was only grazing before had toppled in the opposite direction, the smaller buildings surrounding were rubble being bulldozed away by the expansion of the Unending One’s carapace.

“We have to end this now. If it grows that much again, we’re looking at an entire other block to evacuate.”

Beaver Claw extended his hand, a mass of muscles and veins empowered by his otherworldly weapon. “Take this.”

“I swore I’d never touch Big Knife again.”

“But, my friend… you can stop this thing.”

“We can use it. But not by my hand.”

Duperman looked deep into Jarawangadananan’s eyes. It looked around as it thrashed, clearly confused being summoned for so long. It wants this to be over. He told himself.

With Big Knife in hand, Beaver Claw held the point outward and Duperman lifted him by the waist. He carried the Beave to Jara and waited for an opening when Jara would rear back to expose its underbelly. It swung forward at them first, pincers striking at Beaver Claw, Duperman blasting them with light to melt them in midair. It bent left. Right. Backwards.

Now.

Duperman flew near top speed, worried about the g-force affecting Beaver Claw. The Beave held the blade out firmly against Jara’s upper neck and Duperman descended quickly, keeping a close distance to the Never’s body. They reached the ground and retreated.

Bierguardian patted them on the back on either side of him. “See, you did it.”

A multitude of screams rang through the air as elongated entrails spilled from the insectoid. Its face was horrified looking down at its own body and the damage it took. It cried out, not to intimidate, but in an unmistakable sadness. Duperman stood without a comment to make, a rare moment for him.

“Nice work.” Beaver Claw congratulated.

“Yeah.”

Jarawagadananan slumped over to its side and then slid into the hole it emerged from. A helicopter landed between the heroes and the gaping hole in the ground. They watched as a purple creature stepped out onto the street and removed diamond encrusted sunglasses. From behind, they heard the cheering that Duperman was seeking at the beginning of the battle. But it wasn’t for him.

“WUMPUS! WUMPUS! WUMPUS!”

The people went wild for Big City’s most famous hero. She soaked it up, posing for the distant crowd.

“Why do they cheer for her?” Bierguardian asked, utterly lost.

“I truly don’t know.” Duperman said, exhaustion in his voice. Not physical, obviously. Bierguardian looked closely at him. “I feel like the reflection of a hero beloved by the people he saves. But I’m just the one in the mirror.”

“Popularity is overrated. Safer to be anonymous in this line of work.” Beaver Claw said.

“Duperman… you are beloved. The people you save misplace that love. They know you don’t need it.” Bierguardian consoled Dman.

“Don’t I?” Duperman turned from his allies to see the approach of another eggplant shaped monster. “You happy, Monday? It’s dead.”

“The moment I get back to my office. THE MOMENT. I’m getting you off this planet.”

 Duperman’s eyebrows dropped low. “Look at this. It’s all rubble, you moron.” Tango Monday kept walking to the edge of the hole, which still smoldered. “How are we going to fill this?”

Duperman noticed a low rumble coming from below the city. It grew slowly until everyone began to notice.

“And now what?! What else have you done, HERO?!” Tango shouted from the edge of the hole.

Just then, directly in front of the heroes, the street erupted with a brand new, undamaged Jarawangadananan. It extended high into the air, taking only Tango Monday as its nourishment. A spray of blood showered lightly on the heroes and Jara descended back into the ground, back into its realm. Duperman wanted so badly to let out a comically loud sigh of relief, but held himself from doing so. Right behind him, however, Mike Nasty couldn’t resist.

“Ahhh. Guess we’ll need a new Sheriff.” he chuckled.

Wumpus was slackjawed. “Holy bananas. That was NUTS!” She looked over at Beaver Claw. “Something’s wrong with your arm sweetie.” She then rolled away to sign autographs for the crowd.

“Look.” Bierguardian pointed to the sky. Dark Duperman hovered, staring downwards beside the machine that scooped up the summoner.

“It’s Charles Masters. He plotted this.” Duperman shared.

“Why would Charles do this? He’s a good man.”

“He plays a good man in public.” Beaver Claw answered. “My parents were patrons of his. Probably still are.”

As Dark Duperman and Charles flew off, Bierguardian and Beaver Claw dispersed. Mike Nasty returned to the precinct and Duperman was left to clean up the destruction. There was a lightness to him, however. Tango Monday was no longer an issue. He was free to protect Big City as he pleased. He cleared debris from Jara’s rampage and helped workers bridge the enormous hole in the street, speeding up the rebuilding process exponentially.

After a couple days repairing the city and clearing his mind, Duperman decided he needed to get face to face with his nemesis; to find out what Charles wanted and why Dark Duperman was helping.