Dial H for Heroics

Jack watched as the caravan passed. The trees were his friends as he crouched down in their shadows. He had already picked out a guy he could talk to when most of the wagons had gone by.

He put aside any questions he might have until he could talk to his chosen victim. He came up with ten reasons off the top of his head a wagon train full of slaves were being transported in the north. He wanted to make sure which one was in play before he went to the second part of his plan.

And the second part of the plan meant introducing these guys to Gravity and seeing how things worked out for them.

The wagons pulled by his position, and no one seemed to notice him. He dialed in Gravity and waited through the change. He yanked the last man in line into a tree on the side of the road. He pulled the man deeper into cover as he watched for an alarm to sound.

“How’s it going?,” Jack asked. He kept one eye on the rolling wagons, and one eye on his captive. He had a few minutes to act according to his watch. “I just wanted to know who you are and what’s going on.”

The guard went for the sword hanging by his side. Once he got that out, he was killing this wizard. It weighed more than it should. He looked down at it.

“Sorry,” said Jack. “I’m doing that so we can just talk. So what can you tell me?”

“I can’t tell you anything,” said the guard. “And I don’t see how you’ll get by when they notice I’m not with the train anymore.”

“The thing is it doesn’t matter if they notice if you’re missing, or not,” said Jack. “I don’t much care about that. What matters is how they look for you, or if they actually come back to do the search at all.”

The guard saw the trail of the threat and realized he could be an example for the rest of his traveling companions. The thought made sweat break out on his forehead.

“So what are you guys doing out here?,” asked Jack. He put on his friendliest grin.

“The boss is looking for something to take back to Hawk Ridge and get rid of his rivals,” said the guard.

“Does he know what’s out here?,” asked Jack.

“I don’t know,” said the guard. “All I know is he had everything packed up, and

decided to come out here looking for the thing.”

“What kind of thing are we talking about here?,” asked Jack.

“I don’t know,” said the guard. “We were just told to load the cargo and get ready to go. He has some kind of map in his wagon. He thinks he’s close to where he wants to go. I heard at least two more days.”

“You guys work for the Montrose?,” asked Jack. The answer to that had to be yes thanks to the makeover the guards sported.

“We financed part of the shipping according to some of the guys,” said the guard. “The Montrose is its own thing.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re being hunted down,” said Jack. “I think you should run and not look back.”

“Where would I go?,” asked the guard.

“Not back to Hawk Ridge,” said Jack. “That would be a bad move on your part. You’re better off heading east or west, then heading south from there.”

“How would I survive exactly?,” asked the marked man.

“I guess you would have to get a job and work for a living instead of trading women and committing other crimes,” said Jack. He checked how much time he had left.

“I think that would be too much,” said the guard. He rushed forward, swinging a scarred hand at his interrogator.

Jack activated his gravity power and blasted the man as high as he could into the sky. He turned off the persona and moved away from where the scream had started. He knew the caravan would be on full alert after seeing someone launched into the sky.

He paused behind a tree. He watched the direction the wagons had gone. He had enough pieces of the puzzle to guess what was going on, and he didn’t like it.

Mister Guin’s enemy worked with and funded the Montrose. He had left Hawk Ridge to look for the Dark Rider’s crypt. He might even have a map to get him to the right spot. Everything he owned was in that wagon train.

Did he know how to wake the Dark Rider? And did he know that the Dark Rider accumulated followers as he rampaged across the countryside?

Jack moved again. He heard people trying to figure out what had happened to the guard. He heard some guesses, but nothing that pointed to them thinking he was in the area.

That could change at any moment. How did he take advantage?

He decided that he should flank around the caravan and see if he could move in on the side. He needed to know what they were carrying. If it was women, he had to move them out of there. He had no way to take them to Hawk Ridge and take care of the rest of things.

He really needed a phone to call Josie and let her know what was going on. He had no idea if she was done with her thing. He smiled at himself as he moved to a bush.

He sounded like a kid without the Internet in his head. He needed to think about what he could do with what he had at his disposal. Then he could think about turning wishes into reality to make his life easier.

He moved again as he waited for the watch to reload. He wanted to be at full power when he made his next move. He might need some extra umph to get things done in a hurry.

Waking the Dark Rider seemed like a lot of problem looking for a solution. He

couldn’t see where it got anyone anything unless it was used as a weapon, but not approached directly.

Just pointing in a direction where your enemy lived might be enough if no one

stopped him.

But Jack was there, and Josie could defend Hawk Ridge if she was done with her job. She was quicker on the uptake than he was, and probably already knew six ways to take a Wild Hunt down from reading Kevin Matchstick’s adventures.

The watch let him know it was at full power. He should come up with a plan to deal with the rest of the problem in front of him.

He needed information first. He moved to a bush where he could see the road and the frustrated guards waiting for him to attack. He called on Vision. He made mental notes as his x-ray vision lit everything up for him so he had a good idea of where everyone was and where he should move.

He needed to get the women out of the way without using too much of his own resources. A flying brick would be great, but the watch already distorted the names he could call on. Gladiator would probably get him some musclebound fighter dude.

And he knew the type of people he was getting ready to confront. As soon as trouble started, they would try to use the women as hostages.

Makkari should be fast enough to take a bunch of the clowns down before they realized he was in action. He could protect the women by making sure that their guards couldn’t do anything.

After he completed his offensive, he could send them back to Hawk Ridge to take care of their lives with a little money from the wagon master in their hands.

His use of Vision had caused a small dip in his power pool. It was ready again as he thought about his plan. He nodded to himself and hoped no one was smart enough to try to grab a hostage.

Jack called Makkari. The speedster was fast becoming his favorite hammer to solving this world’s nails. He smiled under the armored helm.

He blasted through the trees, avoiding obstacles with ease. He swept the road. Bodies flew as he passed by, thrown by punches exceeding the speed of bullets. He paused when he was sure everyone was down.

That went better than he had thought it would.

The owner of the wagons and his personal guard was in the center of the train. A wagon of treasure sat behind that. Two wagons full of women in cages were at either end of the line.

Jack went to the wagon at the end of the line. He switched to Scarlet Witch. He needed something that would open the cages in a hurry. A hex should do that.

He hexed the lock on the door and opened it. The women moved away from the light. He frowned. He didn’t have a lot of time before the personal guard came out of their wagon and tried to turn the tide.

“I’m going to let you out of here,” said Jack. “I need you to move away from here in case someone tries to set the wagon on fire. Ready?”

He hexed the cages open and waved the women out. Some ran toward the door and freedom with abandon. Others cowered in their cages.

He wanted to help them, but he had to open the other wagon first.

Jack jogged down the train, looking for anyone trying to attack him. The Witch had a set of powers, but wasn’t a good defender unless he knew where the attack originated.

On the other hand, he hadn’t seen much of a defense against the Witch’s hex power.

He opened the front woman wagon just as easily as the other. He warned the women to clear out while he went about his business. Some of them did what he wanted immediately. Others had to be coerced.

Jack put the Witch away as he thought about what he was going to do. He had used half of his power in the three minutes of his attack. He needed to stall for time before he cracked open the big boss’s headquarters.

Once he broke open the wagon, and put down the guards, he could do something to help the women. He wished he had listened better when the Army had gave him their small regimen of refugee handling training when he had been in.

He decided he should set the main wagon on fire. That would get him something.

He wasn’t going into an enclosed space with four good fighters trying to put an axe through his neck. That would be beyond reckless, and against most of the things he had been taught.

He undid the horses from the wagon and let them go. He didn’t need them in the way, and the resulting flame would scare them into doing something stupid. It was better they were out of the way so he could carry out his plan.

He called on the Human Torch. His body caught fire. He grabbed a wheel and let the flame start working its way up the wagon wall, and along the floor. He added fuel with an exhalation of fire. He stepped back to watch the results.

Men burst through the front door, weapons at the ready. They saw the bonfire

standing next to the wagon. They fled into the trees to avoid having to deal with their strange enemy.

“Come out, or I’m coming in there,” called Jack. “You don’t want that.”

A man carrying too much weight, and a little less hair, came to the door. He waved his hand at the smoke drifting toward him from the fire on the side of his transport. Tattoos marked every inch of visible skin.

“What do I owe this?,” asked the wagon master. He coughed into a handkerchief.

“My curiosity, I suppose,” said Jack. He drew the fire back, stopping the harm done to the innocent wagon. “What brings you out this way?”

“I don’t think that concerns you,” said the wagon master. “I have a goal in mind that will make me the master of this region, and beyond.”

“I have a goal too,” said Jack. “The Dark Rider is to be destroyed, and I can’t allow you to try to wake him.”

“I guess we’ll see whose will is stronger,” the wagon master said. He raised his hand. Orange lightning blasted Jack to pieces.