# 3
by Brian Campo (bcampo@hotmail.com)
Visit the Dragon: 2200 homepage ( http://www.angelfire.com/or/icffa/dragonifshome.html ) for back issues and artwork.
This is a work of fan fiction. The Savage Dragon and all related characters are owned by Erik Larsen, and I do not contest that ownership. This story is in no way official and it should not be taken as such. All characters in this story not owned by Mr. Larsen are owned by me, though I would gladly loan them out if asked nicely.
Warning: This story may contain graphic violence, sexual situations and harsh language. If you shouldn't be reading it, don't.
First Day on the Job part three
Maxine tripped. She had been racing full speed ahead, trying for all she was worth to get to Dan in time. She tripped, catching her toe on a chunk of wreckage from one of the downed cop cars. Suddenly, her head was outrunning the rest of her, and she landed on her face on the street. She slid another couple of feet before coming to a stop. In her head, she started shrieking curses. No! This was not how her first day on the Chicago police force was supposed to go! She was cringing, waiting for the crash of the air ship that would mean the death of her partner, Dan Williams. She had failed him.
The crash never came. Instead, there was a loud rush of air and a groan of wood under stress.
Hesitantly, Maxine looked up. The ship was suspended in mid air, only seven feet above the ground. Beneath it stood a man wearing a white costume, a red cape, and a cheesy grin half a mile wide. His teeth were perfect, and they sparkled when he smiled. On his hands, he wore a pair of very large gloves. Arcs of electricity or some other energy were crackling around the gloves as he used them to hold the ship up in the air. Laying on the ground at the man's feet, Dan began to chuckle almost hysterically. "Oh, shit, man. You are definitely on the christmas list this year." He rolled over and quickly crawled out of the ship's shadow on his hands and knees. He kept laughing and muttering about how he needed a clean pair of pants.
The man holding the boat nodded and turned to the girl with the hook. His expression turned to one of mock sorrow and he said, "This is hardly behavior befitting a Campfire Girl, young lady."
Everyone, Campfire Girls and Police Officers alike had been shocked into paralysis from the instant the buoyancy tank had been shot. The girl with the hook on her hand was the first to break out of it. She turned away from the man holding the boat, dropped the gun she was holding, and started to run. Maxine pushed herself up from the ground, got one foot under her, and launched herself at the fleeing pirate. She tackled the girl to the ground and pinned her there. Maxine shouted the girl's Miranda rights into her ear while some of the other officers came running up with cuffs ready. When they had her secure, Maxine let them have the girl.
That was it, the fight was over. Police cars and flying paddy wagons were landing all around the area, and the Campfire girls were being loaded up to be hauled off to jail. All that was left was the cleanup. Paramedics were working frantically to save the officers who had been shot during the skirmish. The street was being blocked off so it could be cleaned up. Road workers were being called in to fix the damage that Maxine and the Gorilla had caused in their fight.
She walked back over toward Dan, and his savior. The man in the red cape was carefully setting the ship down on the street. He was telling Dan that, "It's all very easy. Just remember to lift with your legs." Dan told him to hold that thought and came running over to Maxine.
"Max! Max! Do you know who that is?" He grabbed her by the arm and drug her back over to meet the hero. "Maxine Chalmers, I'd like you to meet Mr. Wonderful."
The man in the cape stood up straight and turned to Maxine with his hand extended. "It's nice to meet you, Officer Chalmers." He was startled for a second when he saw what she looked like, but resumed his cheesy grin an instant later.
"Thank you for saving my partner." Maxine said as she shook his hand. There was power in those gloves, she could feel it. Not just strength or foot pound pressure, but energy. The little hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end when she touched them.
"Think nothing of it, Officer. That's what I'm here for."
Maxine found herself wondering if this guy was for real. He just seemed a little...off.
"Oh, shit!" said Dan. He was looking closely at Maxine's face. "Will you look at that?!" He poked her on the cheek gingerly with his index finger. Maxine could feel a bruise there. "Is that from what I think it is?" asked Dan.
"I got sprayed by one of the cannons." said Maxine.
Dan guffawed. "That is so cool." he said. "How many people can get shot in the face with high velocity 30 mm bullets and walk away from it?"
"I can do that." said Mr. Wonderful. He put his hands on his hips and grinned proudly. Maxine and Dan looked at him for a couple of seconds, and then Dan said, "Yeeessss, well, thank you again, Mr. Wonderful. We really do have to get back to work." He walked Maxine away from the still grinning hero.
"Oh sure." said Mr. Wonderful. "To protect and to Serve and all that. I'm just glad I could be of assistance." The man in the cape spun around, spotted a news crew and headed off in that direction.
"He's a little off." whispered Dan. Maxine nodded in reply. As the two neared the end of the block, they noticed a large group of cops gathered around a stop sign. Dan started jumping into the air, trying to see what the crowd was looking at. Not able to see, he tapped one of the cops on the shoulder and said, "What's going on?"
"Hey! There she is!" said one of the other cops, pointing his finger at Maxine.
"What?" said Max, a look of bewilderment on her face.
"Hey, Dan." said the cop. "Look at what your partner did to the gorilla." The crowd split a little, giving Max and Dan a view. The mechanical gorilla that Max had been fighting was impaled clear through on the stop sign. Blood was dripping from the bottom of the sign to where the gorilla lay on the ground below it, and a pool of it was growing around the gorillas body.
"Oh, no." said Max, putting her hand up to cover her mouth. Her eyes turned glassy as tears began to well up. "Oh, no." she repeated. "What did I do?"
"Hey, relax." said Dan. "It was trying to kill you, Max."
Max shoved through the crowd and planted one foot on the beast's belly. She grabbed the chest plate with her hands and pulled on it. The metal groaned under her pull, bending up around where she had her grip. She threw her back into it and hauled back on the plate. It broke off and Max fell back onto the ground. She got to her feet as fast as she could and jumped back onto the gorilla. She looked down into it's chest cavity and moaned in disgust. Dan stepped up next to her and took a peek into the gorilla. There was a girl in there, at least part of one. She had long since had her arms and legs removed so that she could be cybernetically enhanced. The gorilla was her enhancement. She had wires traveling out of the stumps in her hips and shoulders, and more coming out of different parts of her head. The wires lead into the gorilla's insides, in effect making it's arms and legs her arms and legs.
The stop sign had nearly cut her in half when the gorilla fell on it. The girl was dead, of that there was no doubt. He mouth was hanging open as if she had been screaming when she met her end.
Dan put his arm around Max's shoulder and said, "You can't blame yourself for this, Max. You were defending yourself."
"I didn't even realize that there was a human in there." said Max. "I thought it was just a machine."
"Yeah, well." said a nearby cop. "Human or machine, you sure stopped it's clock."
Maxine wiped at her eyes and tried to turn so that no one could see that she was crying. There were cops in all directions, there was nowhere she could turn to hide her tears. Seeing that she was falling apart, Dan said, "all right, ya goons, get out of the way. Move it!" The crowd split again, letting Dan and Max back out. He lead her over to one of the parked ambulances and told her to have a seat for a couple of minutes. She sat crossways in the back door of the ambulance with one foot up on the bumper. After a few moments of silence, she said, "I didn't know."
"I know, Max. Shit happens. It just shouldn't happen on your first day on the job. You gonna be ok?"
She sniffed and said, "Yeah, I think so."
He slapped his hand on her shoulder and said, "You did good. What do ya' say we get all this shit wrapped up and go get ourselves a much deserved brew?"
"I think I could go for that." she said.
"Good deal. First off, we need to find ourselves a police photographer to get some shots of those marks you got from the 30 mm and the burn on your throat. Documentation, that kind of bullshit."
"These are nothing." Max told him. "The bruises and the burn only go skin deep.They'll be gone in a couple of hours."
"I know, but it's good to have the pics done anyway. That way if anyone tries to bring a lawsuit against us we have proof that they assaulted you. Trust me, I wouldn't be messing with it if I didn't think it was important."
"All right." said Max as she slid out of the back of the ambulance.
"No, no." said Dan. "Just stay here. I'll go find someone, and they can do the shots in the back of the ambulance where you have a little privacy. They're going to want some pics of anywhere else you got hit and you don't want to be stripping down in the middle of the street."
"Ok." said Max, and she sat down while Dan went to find a photographer. She undid the velcro straps on her bulletproof vest and pulled it off. It had taken a lot of punishment when she had been shot, the kevlar plates inside looked like an egg carton where the bullets had punched them in. She could feel bruises all over her chest where the impact of the rounds had slammed through the metal. Her breasts ached horribly as there was no invulnerable muscle coverage there. Her upper thighs had taken a couple of rounds, but her pants hadn't taken any damage and she was happy about that.
Dan came walking back with a man in tow. The man was young, in his mid-twenties, maybe. He had short brown hair and a dark skin complexion. A camera was hanging from a strap around his shoulders, which he was steadying with one hand as he followed Dan over.
"Max, this is Chris Anderson. He's going to take those pics of you so we can get the hell out of here."
Maxine said, "Hello." to the man and he said the same back. "So, what's the deal here?" he asked. "Williams here says you got shot."
"Yeah, about thirty times. They got me in the face, in my chest, stomach and up here on my legs. The gorilla knocked me around pretty good, too."
He glanced at the bulletproof vest sitting on the ground and whistled appreciatively. "That's gotta smart. You wanna hop up into the back of the ambulance here so we can get this over with?"
Max ducked into the ambulance and walked toward the front as Chris stepped in and shut the back doors.
"You a shy girl?" he asked her as he pulled off the lens cap.
"I'm okay." she told him. She unbuttoned her shirt and let him get some pictures of the marks on her chest and belly. She pulled the shirt back to let him get a shot of where the gorilla had dropped the safe on her shoulder and neck and the burn mark on her throat.
"Got it." said Chris. "I just need pics of your legs and then we're done."
"If I'd known I was going to do a photo shoot today I would have worn my good undies." She told him jokingly. She unbuckled her gunbelt, dropped it onto the ambulance's stretcher and then dropped her trousers. Chris snapped off a couple pics of the bruises on her thighs and then turned around so she could get dressed.
"When you get your report filled out on this whole incident give me a call and I'll come sign as a witness. I'm at the twenty-fourth on the West End. Just call and ask for me, I'm usually around the station, doing mug shots and such."
"Sounds good." said Max. There was a zipping sound and she said, "OK, I'm decent."
He threw open the back of the van and stepped out. Max stepped out a moment later and thanked Chris for his time.
"No problem." he replied. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Chalmers."
"You, too." said Max. "You think I have a future in modeling?"
"If you stay out of the brawls, maybe. I'll talk to you later, ok?" He wandered back across the crime scene, taking pictures and asking questions.
"Seems like a nice enough guy." said Dan.
"Yeah, he does." said Maxine. She had a slight smile on her face as she watched the photographer disappear amidst the wreckage.
In his office with the shades drawn, Captain Bill Hughes was watching the latest news on his TV. He looked irritated by what he was seeing. They were already starting in on the new girl, and he had no doubt that they would work themselves into a frenzy soon
"Hello, this is Jackie Lapsmick reporting from out front of City Hall where we are waiting for a last minute press conference with the mayor to begin. It is believed that he called this conference in reaction to the sudden appearance of a new police officer on the Chicago PD. This officer, who was identified as a Maxine Chalmers earlier in the day is the spitting image of twentieth century Freak cop Officer Dragon."
{very old stock footage plays, showing the Dragon fighting a freak with a head like a gerbil. The freak is packing a flame-thrower and is setting surrounding buildings on fire.}
The Dragon was the most well known of Chicago's Freak Cops. Even today there is controversy around whether he was good for the city or bad. Many felt that he did more damage to the city than the criminals he was fighting. His last battle, in which he disappeared, cost the city an estimated 6 billion dollars in damages."
(footage of Maxine carrying the giant pomeranian out of the house that morning rolls)
"Is the new Dragon different? Although she has only been on the job for eight hours, this officer has already been involved in two incidents resulting in high property damage, and even deaths. As seen here, she was called to handle an incident with a Freak dog early this morning, during which several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage was done to the house. Then later this afternoon, there was an altercation in Chicago's financial district when Police Officers attempted to stop a gang of air pirates from robbing the Security Bank of Chicago. When the fight was over, there were eight people dead, two of which were police officers, and five were members of local press. Insurance adjusters arriving on the scene to begin assessing the damage gave us early estimates of twenty to thirty billion.
We contacted Police Commissioner Fred Alloway earlier in the day asking him his feelings on the new officer. He told us this:"
The commissioner's face appeared on the screen, looking a little more than miffed. "I think you are misrepresenting the facts there, Miss Lapsmick. The police officers that were killed in the bank incident were killed before Officer Chalmers arrived. Our men were pinned down and the Air Pirates were winning. Once Officer Chalmers arrived on the scene, the incident was over within minutes. As for the members of the press that were killed, they were aware that there is a risk when you fly your news craft down into an area where heavy artillery is being fired."
"Do you think that the Dragon cop used excessive force on the young woman that was killed?"
"That young girl was hooked into a two ton fully armored exoskeleton. She was trying a kill a Police Officer. She dropped a vault weighing several thousand pounds on Officer Chalmers head. You watch the footage again, and ask your self if she acted accordingly. The Chicago PD stands behind Officer Chalmers."
The scene changed back to the steps of the City Hall, where the mayor and some of his men were coming down the steps to speak to the group of reporters that were gathered there. Jackie Lapsmick shoved her way to the front of the pack, microphone extended.
"What are your feelings on the new Dragon, your honor?" said said twenty five reporters at the same time.
"I haven't personally met this officer yet, but I've seen some of the damage she's done. I just got back form the Security Bank crime scene about half an hour ago, and let me tell you, I was shocked. It looks like someone dropped a bomb down there.
The last thing this city needs is another Dragon cop tearing up the buildings of our fine city and injuring innocent bystanders. And I'm telling you that this administration is not going to tolerate having a Police Officer on it's payroll that thinks so little of human life and property value."
"Are you saying that she will be fired?" shouted a reporter from the back.
"We are weighing our options at the moment, and we are actively investigating the entire incident. I'm sure you will get an answer to that question with the coming weeks. Until then, I hope this Officer toes the line, because her actions are being watched. That's all I have to say, thank you for your time."
The Mayor then turned and walked back up the steps, ignoring a barrage of questions being shouted by the reporters.
Bill Hughes stared at the tv for a few seconds more while the reporter wrapped up her story, an angry scowl on his face. He pressed "power" on the remote and turned to look out of his office's window.
"It starts." he said to himself.
A couple hours later, Dan and Max were at a bar near the 32nd station, Max working on her fourth beer, Dan halfway through his sixth. They were taking turns tossing darts at the dart board, and Maxine's aim was degrading gradually with each beer. Dan was getting pretty buzzed, but was still getting bulls eyes with every toss.
"How the hell can you keep hitting the center?" Max asked. Her speech was a little slurred.
"It's cause I'm such a good shot." said Dan. "I couldn't miss if I tried." He looked away from the dart board and threw the dart without looking. It buried itself in the center circle. "See what I mean?"
"So, do you think the Captain was really happy with me?" she asked him.
"Oh, yeah." said Dan. "He'd tell you if he had a problem with you. You always know where you stand with Hughes, cause he gives it to you straight. If you're doing good he says so, but if you've fucked up." He just whistled and shook his head.
After leaving the crime scene earlier, they had gone back to the station so Max could get her douffle bag and change into her civvies. The captain had stopped them in the hallway and said, "Do you two know what steer clear of trouble means?"
"It was only one city block, sir." said Dan. "We thought you wouldn't mind."
The Captain Hughes gave Dan a not-too-happy-look, and then turned to Maxine. "I saw some of the incident on the news. You did good out there."
"Thank you, sir." said Maxine. "The girl in the gorilla suit was killed, you know."
"I heard." said the chief. "You can't beat yourself up over it, Chalmers. It wasn't intentional, and the thing was trying to kill you at the time. I wouldn't have done a thing differently than you did." He paused for a second and then added, "Except maybe jumping in front of that machine cannon. That wasn't too bright."
"Yes, sir. They got pictures of that, sir?" She looked more than a little embarrassed
Dan cleared his throat and butted in. "We were on our way out for the day."
Hughes looked at his watch and said, "Is it five already? Sure, get out of here. I'll see you guys tomorrow, ok?"
Now, hours later, Maxine was finally starting to relax, having realized that she had done an ok job throughout the day. Dan handed her the darts and she prepared to throw them. When ever she got ready to launch one, the dart board would swing lazily to the left or right and she would have to recover fast to keep from falling over. She closed one eye, stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, and let fly. The dart pinged off of the bar's concrete wall and she broke into giggles. "I think I should stop before someone loses an eye."
Dan agreed and they sat down at one of the tables to finish their drinks. Dan tried one of the complimentary pretzels and chewed it with an unhappy expression on his face.
"Hey, Wally, you got any pretzels that aren't stale?"
"Yeah." replied the bartender. "I save them for the people I like."
Dan grasped his side and threw his head back in mock laughter. It was clear that there was no love lost between the two men. "Pecker." Dan muttered under his breath.
"Is every day going to be as hectic as today?" she asked
"No." said Dan. "There are days where nothing happens. Sometimes I just go park on a high rise, stick the radar detector in the window so it looks like I'm busy, and then I just go to sleep. But when the shit does hit the fan here, it's a big shit and it's a big fan."
"When troubles come, they come not in single spies, but in whole battalions."
"What? Oh, yeah, same thing. What I'm trying to say is that there's some big bad bastards out there and they don't feel the least bit bad about killing you. When it comes down to them or you, you need to make sure it's them."
"I know, but that girl today.. she was just so young..."
"Yeah, and stupid, but if she'd had her way you would be a green splat on the street. What do you think she was doing when she dropped that vault on you? She didn't know you were invulnerable. She was meaning to kill you. We were just lucky that it was you that tangled with her, not some cop with no superpowers."
"You're right. I just don't have to like the idea that I took a life."
"And that's why you're going to be a good cop. The day you're glad you killed a perp is the day you need to quit."
"What time you got?" asked Maxine. Her own watch had been a victim of the fight with the gorilla that afternoon.
"It's a little after seven." said Dan.
"Then I need to get going pretty soon. I don't like to get back to the barracks too late."
"You could stay at my place if you want." he said. It almost seemed like he was blurting the words out, trying to get them said before he could change his mind. His face flushed a deep red, and he avoided looking her in the eyes.
Maxine thought about it for a moment and then said, "I don't think so. I think I'll probably have had about enough of you by the end of every work day. Thanks anyway."
"all right." he said. "I think I'm going to take off, too. You want to share a taxi?"
"No. There's a pay phone back by the bathrooms. I want to call my dad and let him know that I'm ok. I'll walk home after I get done."
"Suit your self." He threw some money on the table to cover the beers and then got up unsteadily from the table. "See you in the morning."
"See ya, Dan. Thanks."
"For what?"
"For getting me through my first day alive. And for talking to me."
He waved his hand at her as if to say, "Whatever." and stumbled out the door.
"Texas Rangers, Dallas office. This is Daphne, how may I help you?"
"Hi, Daphne. It's Maxine."
"Oh, hello Maxine. How's Chicago?"
"Pretty good. I joined the force this morning."
"Well, they would have been fools not to take you. Congrats, Max."
"Thanks, Daphne. Do you happen to know if my dad is in?"
"No, I'm sorry, but he isn't. He's out on border patrol down by the Rio Grande. Would you like me to try to reach him with a Sat-patch?"
"No, that's ok. Can you put me through to his voice mail?"
"Sure thing, Maxine. It was good to hear from you. You remember to come home every once in a while, all right?"
"I'll do that, Daphne. Thanks."
"Hello, you've reached the voice mail for Texas Ranger John Armstrong. Leave a message after the tone."
~Fin-Fan-Fic-Fanatics~Letters and comments from readers. Do I rock or do I suck? Write me and tell me what you think. If you don't want your comments put in this letters column, or if you want them taken out, please let me know.
This has to be one of the better fanfics I've read in awhile (and I don't read many, since
a lot of them are pretty bad). This series is quickly growing onto me, it's so vivid. I
really liked all the little inside jokes and all too. (i.e. Wade and Valentino, Twitch Williams'
great, great, grandson...). Very good stuff. Keep it up!
The Erik Larsen fan page. Comandeered by the Brotherhood of the Fin
http://members.tripod.com/fantom_dragonfan/index.html
Laterz
Johnny Bubbles
Juan Ruvalcaba
--BotF
Thank you. Comic writers and artists are going to have thier names popping up in this series a lot. Names are one of the hardest things to think up when I'm writing, so I just keep referring to my Wizard list of writers and artists.
Hey! Nice stuff man, Maxine seems like a real cool gal. I'd like to see more artwork of her, Do you write proffessionally? It's
real good!
Looking forward to see more Dragon 2200
Hilton
Savage Dragon Desktop theme
http://members.xoom.com/hiltonlee/
No, I don't write professionally. I'd like to, though. I just write this stuff in my spare time. I'm trying to work up a cover for each issue, so there is more artwork on the way. If anyone wants to contribute artwork, I'd be happy to post it for you. Thanks to everyone who wrote in this time. Feedback makes me happy. Here's the stuff I'm reading this month, you might like it, too.
