Spanner Stilson, Fixer #5

Fist City: Who Else? by Aaron Howard

The dragons approach emitting their fain heat signals. More and more of the giant reptiles fill the frame of Spanner’s security system.

Lingo Proffitt and Jocelyn Tenebreux arrive in the breakfast nook. They see the images in the viewscreens.

Lingo plays the marimba and a variety of keyboard instruments. Jocelyn sings.

Jocelyn: Why do zey come here? We do not want zem.
Lingo: I don’t know if they can answer us. Lizards aren’t very smart.
Jocelyn: Obvieux. I hope zey learn from zair meesetakes.

Jocelyn jerks her long gloves on with gusto. They are iridescent flame retardant, waterproof and flare at the cuffs halfway up her muscular forearms. She stands cocky, hands on hips, chest out.

Lingo: They’re not even here yet. Settle down.
Something Who: Lady gotta plan?
Spanner: I hope you’re not talking to me.
Tiffany: We don’t have any big doors do we?
Spanner: They’re on backorder. I’m no metallurg. All the way from Detroit.
Something: This is Fist City.
Lingo: Fist City.
Jocelyn: Fist City.
Tiffany: Fist City.
Spanner: Break into song already.
Lingo: Where’s Jangles?
Jocelyn: Last I saw her she was breaking green mounts.
Tiffany: Do you girls want some breakfast?

Spanner stands from the breakfast table and walks out down the hall to get some gear.

Spanner has been experimenting with a lot of dangerous devices. Building new ones and improving on the myriad Fist City arsenal which includes many things found or claimed by Fist City in battle.

He walks the hall to his workshop where he finds a giant creature device and a large monster machine and a darkness device and two for rocks and caves and one water wheel. (Not, of course, the mill driving wooden riverrun variety. more like a water wand that makes a wheel of whirling water. Originally designed for mining. Water creates and destroys stone.)

He dons a pith helmet with lights and complicated goggles mounted there-atop.

All this equipment, devices, machines and weapons have him looking like a cyborg. He wonders if these components shouldn’t be consolidated into some kind of body armor robot suit.

Back in the breakfast nook:

The girls have a quick round of breakfasts rustled up by Tiffany.

Lingo munches an english muffic with a soft-boiled egg between its slices. As she takes her first bite toasted (blackened) muffin crumbs and hot yellow yolk squirts out both sides of the sandwich. She put the egg on whole and somehow managed to keep it in her muffin.

Tiffany: Jeez Lingo, at least use a plate.
Lingo: Sorry, it slipped my mind.
Jocelyn: Ze basick use of dishes slip your mind?
Lingo: Who knows.
Something: Shadow.

Tiffany laughs.

Something shakes her head and points out the window into the darkness.

Something: No. Out there!

Everyone stops to peer long into the darkness where it’s pretty much impossible to see. They are thus frozen when Spanner enters the room with a clank as he carries too much gear.

Something: Know the shadows.
Lingo: Turn on the lights Spanner. Something saw something.

Spanner grabs the remote in his free hand which he makes free by handing Jocelyn a large monster machine and Lingo a rock device.

Jocelyn: Did you bring zee extra batteries?
Spanner: They don’t take that kind of batteries. These are actually tiny atomic batteries.
Tiffany: Is that dangerous?
Spanner: No more than anything else.

Spanner points the remote at the window. It should be mentoined here that while the giant lizards have advanced appreciably they are still several camera views away down darkened corridors. He enacts the key sequence to fully light the enormous cavern outside the brakfast nook. The many powerful lights fully illuminate the scene.

There, in our large subterranean cavern, fly (yes fly) a full dozen pterodactyls 8 to 10 feet across.

Jocelyn: Why didn’t we know about zeese?
Spanner: Something did.
Tiffany: How do they fly in the dark?
Lingo: They’re cold blooded. They wouldn’t show up.
Tiffany: They’re not cold blooded.
Lingo: Yes they are.
Tiffany: No. They aren’t.
Lingo: Yes they are.
Something: Let’s kill em.

Something Who grabs a grappling hook gun and moves to the sliding doors.

Jocelyn: Kill em girls.
Spanner: Good grief.
Lingo: Thanks Chuck.

They rush headlong into the roaring cavern to do battle.

Spanner checks what machines and devices remain attached to his body. He drops the remote into his pants pocket and he’s out the doors.

The girls have arranged themselves in a protective formation. Lingo floats gloriously above the breakfast nook. The other girls are on nearby rocks waiting.

And the first scaly non-bird wings down from stalagtite rafters at the so melodiously floating Lingo. Something Who makes use of her grappling hook gun and the attached steel cable. The hook grapples through the leathery flesh of the pterodactyl’s wing and catches snugly on the flying reptile’s enormous outstretched pinky.

The non-birdbeast flaps madly and plummets to an uncomfortably rocky grave on the floor of the cavern. All its angles play unnaturally obtuse or acute sprawled.

Jocelyn makes use of her monster machine and hollers like a madwoman as all Fist City fights.

Jocelyn: Jus like frog giggin.

It does not take long for the girls to dispatch the offending wingéd foes. They do not fly so well with broken wings.

There are a dozen degraded lizardbirds strewn on the rocks.

The dragons approach.