Penobscot bay was a large, irregularlyshaped thing and many small inlets
and harbors dotted it’s coast. Many boatsand ships never went further than this
and didn’t make the trip up the windingPenobscot river to Bangor. From one
of these small inlets a powerboatshot out into the bay itself. Low and fast
this Cigarette boat was designed forone thing only; going fast. This one was
rocketing along at over 90 knots!Throttle wide open. Some would say it’s just a
turbine engine attached to somewood and fiberglass. Four people were crammed
into the opencockpit of the boat. All were strapped into their seats but were
still hangingon as the craft bounced each time it hit a wave. This jolted
everyone andeverything inside. “We need a plane!” The woman shouted overthe
roar of the massive engines. The woman had shoulder length blonde hair
thatsnapping about in the wind and the spray like it was a living thing. She
waswearing a full body suit that could only be described as LOUD! It had
broad,bright green and blue stripes and looked more appropriate for a
circusperformer. Thatdidn’t bother her. Since she had been Trickshot the
Amazing! Worlds greatestshooter. Using her astounding shooting skills to
entertain audiences. At leasttill the Rickti invaded. She turned her skills
from shooting harmless targetsto shooting the invaders. “Aren’t superheroes
supposed to be able tofly or have some cool hover car?” The man shouted. He was
huddled in the backcorner of the boat. He was wearing a t shirt and jeans and a
faded denim workjacket that had clearly seen better days. Tucked under one arm
was a largepottery jug of the type usually used in old movies to carry
moonshine. “Now Moonshine those high-tech gadgets don’tcome free. This was a
gift from the city of Bangor,” Orca countered. She waswearing a skin tight
wetsuit that was colored white and black in imitation ofan orca or killer
whale. Her black hair was slicked back with a gel that Olympicswimmers used to
protect their hair. Moonshine laughed. “They confiscated it fromsome drug
runners.” Orca laughed. “There’s something karmic aboutthat.” At the wheel
of this boat. Was the only onedressed for the wet ride. The man was wearing
yellow, rubberized hat, jacket,pants and boots. The type of wet weather gear
that New England sailors had beenwearing for centuries. His code name was
Nor’easter. With his ability to control the wind and theweather he could fly
but not as fast as this power boat could do. And he wasthe only one who could
drive it. He weaved the high-speed boat around trafficand out into the open
bay. With the traffic cleared away he pushed the throttlewide open and the boat
rocketed along even faster! “Slow down a little,” Trickshot shouted. “Ineed
to get off a few shots.” She stood up and tried to balance herselfagainst
the windshield. Slowly she brought up her rifle. It was a large beast.
Handmadeand specifically turned and balanced for her. The gyroscope built in
activatedand no matter how the boat bounced and swerved the rifle remained rock
steady. The woman peered through the scope andcaught sight of the ferry.
Bolts of electricity arced out from the ship. Thatmarked where Biker Bob was.
So she followed one of the bolts and spotted a halfdozen figures buzzing along,
just about the water. One seemed to be held aloftby a pillar of water. She
concentrated on him trying to be sure itwasn’t a friend. The first thing she
noticed was that he wascolored in alternating patterns or dark and light blue.
Even his hair was lightblue. The color of deep ice. The man was dressed in a
close-fitting suit of protectiveclothing made of exotic fabrics and plastics.
Not truly bullet proof butoffering at least protection from the cold wind and
rain. Not that he neededit. His powers of cold and water control made him
immune to the rain and cold. The woman recognized him as Killer Storm, anold
enemy. “You first,” muttered and pulled the trigger. Killer Storm seemed to
shiver and thendropped to the water. He tumbled a few times before coming to a
halt. Sendinghuge gouts of water in all directions. She smiled. “Gotcha!”
Killer Storm rose out of the water seeminglyunharmed. He slowly brought up both
arms. His hands clenched and each fist wascovered by a ball of water and ice
the size of a bowling ball. He motioned botharms at the approaching power boat
and the balls of ice rocketed out. “Incoming!” Trickshot shouted and
droppedback down into her seat. Nor’easter twisted the wheel and the
boatheeled over to port that the rail was underwater for a moment. In spite of
themaneuver both balls struck the boat dead amidships. The boat shook and
bucked and then came tohalt. It bobbed there rocking in the waves.
Nor’easter stood up and stepped into thepassenger seat. “Take over. I’ll give
us some cover!” “All right!” Moonshine shouted. He hoppedinto the drivers’
seat. The man took a long drink from his jug! “GREAT!” Orca snarled. “Now
both boat anddriver are gassed up.” Moonshine bent the wheel hard over with
hisleft hand as he jammed the throttles wide open with the other. Sending
Nor’eastertumbling backward over the seat and into the one behind him. “God
help us if the Coast Guard is watching!We’ll get a thousand tickets!” “We’re
heroes!” Moonshine shouted betweenswigs from his jug. “We’re allowed to do dumb
things!” Another figure among the approachingvillains had something long and
thick in his hand. He threw it at the heroes.The large, 3-foot-long missile
went a short way before the rocket motorignited. The guidance system locked
onto the cigarette boat. And moving at 500miles per hour it went racing at the
power boat. Moonshine didn’t seem to have control and turnedthe power boat
into a tight loop to port sending everyone it (but himself)tumbling to
starboard. Still moving at over 90 knots the out of controlspeedboat narrowly
missed the rocks of Little Bermuda island. The approaching missile tried to
compensatefor the sharp turn but couldn’t. The deadly missile missed the boat
completelyand slammed into the rocks of the island. Moonshine then spun the
helm around to theright and the powerboat swerved wildly to the starboard.
Sending everyone in it(except him) tumbling to the port side. Another missile
flashed past the boatharmlessly but again hitting the island. “The ferryboat
Moonshine,” Orca shouted. “Goto the ship. And try not to hit it too hard.”
“What?” Moonshine asked. Seemingly confused.He turned to the woman and his arm
brushed the throttle, pushing it all the waydown. Into reverse. Thrown into
reverse the boat nosed down as it slid to ahalt. Sending the people (except for
Moonshine) tumbling forward. Nor’easterbounced off the windshield and then slid
off and to the deck. Moments later two balls of ice and snowzoomed past the
bow. Where the boat should have been. Nor’easter got upoff the floor and
pushed the throttle forward sending the powerful boat againtowards the enemy.
“Ferryboat,” the man shouted. “Get us to the ferry.” Moonshine nodded and
aimed the boat at theferry. Which grew larger with each passing minute. Their
own boat was weavingback and forth like a drunken sailor. Trickshot was
trading shots with KillerStorm who was still not able to hit the speeding boat.
But she was having ahard time hitting him as he didn’t stay still long enough
for a decent shot. Nor’easter held up both hands and slowlywaved them. A
soft breeze started blowing and with it came a light haze, thatquickly became
thicker and thicker until the boat was engulfed in a world ofgray fog.
Moonshine slowed the boat down. “Keep going straight,” Nor’easter
ordered.“The ferry is right up ahead.” A massive shape loomed out of the fog
infront of them and resolved into the form of the ferry boat. “Pull
alongside,” Nor’eastersaid. “Get close and we’ll use the magnetic mooring
line.” “I’ll get the line!” From a small lockerOrca took out a long length
of rope. One end was tied off to side of the boat.The other end had a large,
flat metal disk attached. She used her great strength to toss the
magneticdisk at the side of the ship. It hit with a loud clang and stuck. With
just herstrength she pulled the boat closer till it bumped against the ship.
A rope ladder came down from above. “Hurry up,” a voice called. Looking
up they saw a sailor leaning overthe rail. Nor’easter scrambled up the
ladder aware ofjust how exposed he was. When he got to the top he climbed onto
the deck. Theship around him was shrouded in fog and all he could see was vague
shapes inthe blanket of gray. Standing there was a tall black man dressedin
the clothes of a sailor. He was holding an old M1 rifle. “Where’s Bob?”
Nor’easter asked as heclimbed onto the deck. “Bridge,” the sailor said and
pointed towardthe bow. Afigure charged at them. Wickedly long spines on his
arms ripped through theair, barely missing Trickshot. “Keep going,” The
Drunken Master said. “I’llentertain our friend here!” His opponent was
dressed in a full body suitthat was gold with stripes of red lines slashing
across it at odd angles. Longand deadly sharp spines covered his arms, legs and
his whole body. Moonshine took a long drink from his jug andstaggered toward
his opponent. “I brought the drinks,” he said and waved thejug around. “You
bring the chips and dip?” ***************
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