Now Comes the Doodlebug

(“Thus Comes the Spider” part two.)

By Jeff Baker

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Continuing the superhero story from last week.—-jeff

Arn and Bryan’s off-campus apartment wasn’t much; a few hundred square feet on the fifth floor of an old building just off campus, but it had been refurbished as apartments and they had their own bathroom as well as a kitchenette and a working ‘fridge. “All the comforts of home,” Bryan had said. The two bedrooms were cramped but since they decided to just use the one bed the other was relegated to the computer room, including some gadgets Arn had rigged up.

But the living room couch was probably what got the most use. Part bed, part dining room, part study area. Bryan had quipped that “this is the only area we ever need to vacuum.”

It was early Saturday afternoon and Arn was sprawled over one end of the couch, his Trigonometry book in his lap, a bowl of chips balanced on his stomach.

The TV was playing a few feet away and Bryan was playing a video game at the other end of the couch, his right leg draped over Arn’s left leg.

“Hey, Arn! Give the books a rest! You’ve been at this since you got up this morning.” Bryan said.

“Gimmie a bit,” Arn said. “I’ll be no good in class if I don’t finish this last chapter.”

“C’mon,” Bryan said. “Take advantage of this lazy afternoon!”

“I am!” Arn laughed, pointing at the book.

“Your idea of lazy would make Stephen Hawking blush,” Bryan said. “Hey! Look! There’s the varsity team!”

He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the TV. On the screen, several young men wearing shorts with the University logo were jogging an a path through some trees as the announcer was babbling about the weather.

“And it’s a beautiful day here in the metro. Clear skies, 73 degrees. Looks like these guys have the right idea. Checking the forecast…”

“Yeah, and check out the guys!” Bryan said. “Cute!”

Arn looked up. “Not as cute as you!”

Arn and Bryan had met their Freshman year. They’d started dating by the end of the term and had discovered each other’s secret identities that summer. They had moved out of the dorm into this apartment the next summer. They joked to themselves that the apartment only had one closet and they weren’t in it.

Bryan blushed and was about to say something mushy when the TV announcer’s voice changed.

“Wait up folks…there’s something…Oh my God! There’s a huge bug-thing crawling out of the woods and, and it’s following the runners!”

“Wha?” Arn said, sitting up and nearly spilling his chips.

“I think we know where Phobos and Mechanical Man are striking next, after a couple of nights ago.” Bryan said.

“Yeah.” Arn said pointing at the TV. “Where’s that coming from?”

“Ditko Park, it looks like.” Bryan said.

“Action time…” Arn breathed.

In moments, he bounded out the door and up the back stairs to the roof to change into his costume. In another instant, the green-clad Grasshopper bounded out of the concealment of the bushes over the rooftops. In the Apartment, Bryan blazed with light, becoming the yellow-clad Lifewave who soared out an open window with blinding speed heading for the park.

Meanwhile, the half-dozen college runners were being pursued by the mechanical bug the size of a bus. The driver of the van with the TV cameraman gunned the engine and followed beside them, but not for a picture.

“Slow down!” the cameraman yelled. When the van was alongside the bug the cameraman leaned out the window and threw a box of discs at the bug, hitting it with a metallic CLUNK! But the bug didn’t even slow down.

“Pick on somebody your own size!” the cameraman yelled. This time he pitched the bag with what was left of his breakfast at the thine. It hit between the glassy eyes, covering them with butter, syrup and what was left of an egg bagel. The bug slowed down, unable to see where it was going. The driver of the van cheered. The runners kept running.

Approaching the park in the air, Lifewave suddenly began to glow brighter and rise higher into the air.

“I’ve absorbed too much sunlight!” Lifewave yelled down at Grasshopper who was bounding from rooftop to rooftop. “I gotta release this power! I can’t control where I’m going!”

Grasshopper remembered that Lifewave generally would try to use some of his powers at the apartment to bring down his energy level because sunlight charged him up fast. And he hadn’t been doing that today. Grasshopper could see the doodlebug a ways ahead of him. He glanced up at Lifewave and grimly aimed for the roof of a convenience store by the park, hoping his calculations were right.

As Lifewave rose upward, he saw a green streak zip past him and Grasshopper yelling “Get ready to blast that thing!” In another moment, Grasshopper fell onto Lifewave and immediately propelled himself upward, pushing Lifewave downward towards the runners and the doodlebug. Reacting instantly, Lifewave hit the bug-thing with every bit of light-energy he had. There was a crackle and the doodlebug collapsed on its side, it’s legs flailing, smoke pouring out of a fresh crack in its head.

Lifewave landed sprawled out on the grass. Bruised but not injured. The runners kept on running.

Grasshopper landed nearby and rushed over to Lifewave.

“You okay, buddy?” he asked.

Lifewave nodded, panting and out of breath. “I was just able to slow down enough. Rough landing but I’m all right. “

“Yeah,” Grasshopper said. “Let’s look at that thing and make sure it’s, uh, dead or deactivated.”

The two of them ambled over to the bug.

“Hang on,” Lifewave said reaching in and pulling out a few wires. “That ought to make sure that…”

There was a loud scream and even more commotion from a short distance away.

(Obviously to be continued next week—jeff)