Lightning Bug

Another bit of character fiction.

"Playtime is over for you kids! Welcome to the Second Age of the Dinosaurs!" The devilish Doctor Dino and his de-evolving device was spreading chaos through downtown as innocent men and women were transformed into ravaging beasts. The Junior Justice Squad arrived on the scene and quickly had their hands full as the mutated and mind-controlled citizenry turned against them.

"Remember, Squad, these are innocent people. Don't hurt them. It's the Doctor we need to stop!" Lightning Bug called out as he generated a blinding flash of light into the face of one of the dinosaurs.

"That's easy for you to say, squirt!" retorted Mauler as he struggled to keep the massive jaws and dagger-like teeth of a carnosaur from closing on his chest. Psion added, "I'm having trouble contacting their minds. They truly are monsters!" "And they're hungry," grunted Caliber as he unleashed his twin energy pistols at a velociraptor who was chasing a businessman down the sidewalk.

It was the penultimate battle of the Junior Justice Squad. The team that he had helped start was mostly grown up now. Everyone but Bobby had given up their sidekick names. Originally, they were just trying to assert some independence from the adults--to show that they had what it takes to step out of their mentors' shadows and be their own heroes. But now, they were the adults (well, close enough) and their club would disband soon. They all felt it. They had grown up and were moving on.

"Just do the best you can and remember who the real bad guy is," Lightning Bug with his characteristic green glow flew directly at Doctor Dino, singling him out as effectively as drawing an arrow in the air. Moments before he reached the villain, a small dinosaur leaped up and snatched Lightning Bug with its mouth.

"Before the mammals came, dinosaurs filled every ecological niche. Herbivores, carnivores, and even insectivores," the villain laughed. Trapped in the dark, slimy maw of the dinosaur, Lightning Bug cried out, "So why are they extinct?" Alas, his defiance was muffled.

Despite the self-contained breathing apparatus of his suit, he quickly began to hyperventilate. He turned off his natural glow as best he could so as not to see interior of his toothy cage. Fighting back panic, he gripped the tongue as best he could so as not to be swallowed. Hours passed--or so it seemed--before he heard a disturbing rumbling and retching come from deep within the dinosaur's gut. He screamed for release and he was suddenly expelled from the creature along with the remnants of the last two meals it had eaten. Surrounding the dinosaur was the swirling mass of black and crimson that followed the magics of Shadowcaster, the most mysterious member of the Squad.

"Ugh gack!" he said as he took flight again, still covered in bile and sludge. "Nothing like some Caster Oil to get the job done," he said, wondering if anyone caught the pun. He winked at the dark witch and teammate who saved him. "I suppose it says something about my life to say this was only the third grossest thing that has ever happened to me." He laughed and shook his head.

"Don't mention it. No, really. Don't," Shadowcaster said in her trademark disaffected monotone, but Lightning Bug was sure he saw the corner of her lips turn up just a bit. He was a theory that she would be much prettier if she smiled and did everything he could to prove it.

He took a quick assessment of the situation, noting where his teammates were. They were still distracted with various dinosaurs and doing their best to incapacitate the beasts without doing any lasting damage. It looked like Doctor Dino was about to make his escape while the Junior Justice Squad was occupied.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked the bad doctor after flying up in front of his face. He looked over the villain's shoulder back to the battlefield. "Hey! Your T-Rex is being defeated by a pack of squirrels."

It might have only been a half-step better than "your shoes are untied," but it was enough. Doctor Dino whipped his head around and looked back. Realizing he had been duped, he turned his anger toward the persistent pest that was Lightning Bug. He pulled up his de-evolving ray gun and fired it several times, but our diminutive hero was concentrating on not being hit. He zipped and zagged, leaving a glowing trail of swirling symbols in the air. But one ray got too close and Lightning Bug let off a burst of light and fell to the ground. He began shaking and growling as he rolled over onto all fours. "Ha! Not even you can withstand the power of science!" Doctor Dino cackled triumphantly.

Lightning Bug flew up to eye level and roared like a wild beast as the maniacal scientist watched on. He then stopped and tilted his head inquisitively, smiled at the villain, and asked, "You think?" just before a left cross from Mauler caught Doctor Dino completely off guard, sending him into a nearby fountain.

"You sure took your sweet time," he told his teammate. "You just wanted to watch me act like an idiot, didn't you?"

"You always act like an idiot," Mauler laughed and Lightning Bug quickly joined him.

The remainder of the fight was mostly cleanup. Caliber reversed the de-evolver ray and the townsfolk were returned to normal. Shadowcaster repaired the property damage. Psion made sure the Doctor would not be slipping away, while Lightning Bug cleaned himself off in the fountain.

"It looks like MOMA is opening a new exhibit on Thursday. How does your calendar look?" he asked her as she placed the last of the mental locks on the villain. With his armor off, his greenish skin still glowed slightly and he slicked back his hair.

"Oh, Bobby," she sighed in a way that told him everything he needed to know. Fortunately, Mauler came up and cut short the awkwardness with a rowdy "Who's up for pizza?" Unfortunately, the way she raised her hand and squealed "Me!" cut him worse than dino teeth.

"Nah, you kids have fun. I have to watch my figure," he said as he patted his tiny belly. Resetting his helmet on his head, he took flight and flew home.