The Dover Boys, v2.0 Chapter 3

"What do we do now, Jawbreaker?" asked a somewhat short guy with a crew cut and piercings all along his ears.

"Shut up, Chainsaw! I'm thinking!" Dan snapped back at his accomplice. It was then that another one of the goons piped up.

"I got it! What if one of us gives the others a boost over the fence?" suggested Flamethrower, a wiry character with a bright red Mohawk that stuck up like bird plumes. Then reality hit him: whoever helped the others over the fence would have no way of getting to the other side himself and would be caught by the cops for certain. "Wait, no. We can't do that. Then one of us gets left behind." Dan glared at Flamethrower.

"Really. What made you figure that out, Einstein?!" he shouted at his none-too-bright fellow biker. "Come on, Backslide! Think!" The gang leader scrunched up his face. Now it was Sledgehammer's turn to speak up.

"Boss, I know what we could do! One of us could go back and steal some ropes from the ROTC room, then we'd climb over that way!" Crowbar, the only gang member with long hair tied back in a ponytail and shades covering his eyes, butted in.

"That'd never work. The Rangers'd find the ropes missing and get really pissed. Besides, do you even know where the ROTC room is, you nimrod?" Sledgehammer, a huge guy with more muscles in his arms than brains in his head, paused to think for a second, then said:

"Uhhhhhhhh...no." Backslide slapped the big lug up side the head.

"You know why else it wouldn't work?" he asked. "'Cause we don't have that kinda time to run back and get ropes! We gotta blow this joint, fast!" Dan started pacing as he again attempted to formulate an escape plan, but a voice from out of nowhere interrupted his thought process.

"You will not be going anywhere," boomed an unearthly tenor from somewhere above them. The five on the ground looked all around to see who was talking to them; suddenly, Sledgehammer was on the grass with a great "OOF!!!" and four heads whipped around to see a figure, partially visible in the light nearby. It was an incredibly strong, muscular man in red spandex and ebony-colored armor trimmed with gold decoration. His face was not recognizable because of the shadows, as well as the dark visor across his eyes.

"Hey, buddy! This ain't Halloween! And what's with you busting up my pal?!" shouted Backslide to the man with a foot up on the chest of the knocked-out Sledgehammer, who had taken a flying side-kick to the neck. The costumed stranger lifted his heavy boot off of the large bully and stepped closer into the light, cape swinging from side to side as he lumbered towards Dan and his followers. Crowbar, Flamethrower, and Chainsaw backed away as their jaws dropped in fear at the massiveness of this guy's body, yet Backslide stood firm. The man paused for a moment, letting their dread sink in, then there was a loud *whoosh!* and a flash of metal as he pulled out his sword. Quicker than lightning, he had the tip of the blade pressed up against the throat of the one known as Jawbreaker. He did not intend to actually pierce Dan's throat, but instead used this as a threat to hopefully inspire some fear in the enemy.

"How DARE you insult me!" he bellowed in his heroic voice. "Give me one good reason why I should not take your head off here and now!"

"Look, man! Just who the hell do you think you are?!" continued Dan, putting up a good front to hide his inner cowardice.

"You ask who I am?" the spandex- and armor-clad young man spat angrily. "I am the one who strikes terror in the hearts of craven bullies such as yourself and swiftly punishes anyone who would harm the innocent. I am..." There was a flourish of trumpets as he proclaimed his name:

"Magnum Centurion Maximus!" Dan stared at the superhero for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Hey, Geeksimus, that the best you can come up with? I've heard better challenges in those cheesy superhero comic books everyone likes to read!" he sniggered, taking delight in watching Maximus pull his lips back, revealing gritted teeth. He picked up right away on one of the hero's weaknesses—the fact that he was easily offended—and decided to use this to his advantage. "Maybe you should take lessons from the comic book heroes in how to scare an enemy with a new challenge phrase! At least they sound professional!" Backslide's henchmen, who were watching this whole event take place, started to get up courage and once again stepped forward, standing behind their leader. Maximus simply took slow, deliberate glances at the four punks, opting for the "cool-and-collected" approach this time.

"I have an idea of my own," the Magnum Centurion stated unflinchingly. "If you troublemakers wish to see your leader alive for another day, I would suggest that you give yourselves up here and now. It will most certainly go easier with you." To make sure the boys knew it was the real deal, he did not move the point of his longsword from Dan's neck, but instead applied slightly more pressure to it. A light breeze began to blow, rippling his dark cape.

"Forget it, you loser hero wanna-be! Sic 'im, boys!" At Jawbreaker's command, the other three leapt for Maximus. His first reaction was his wide, tapered jaw dropping in surprise, then with one swipe of his shielded forearm he swept the punks backwards as they jumped him. Before he made this motion, the superhero had to remove his blade from Dan's neck; this left him open for another attack. As Backslide lunged, Maximus brought one muscular leg up and gave the gang leader a sharp roundhouse to the head, throwing him off-balance. But, his defensive maneuvers apparently had little effect in deterring the hoodlums because he soon found himself surrounded on all sides. Maximus knew that he could not fight to kill, or else the police would have no leads to go by since there would be dead suspects. So, he sheathed his longsword and strapped his shield onto his back, then lowered himself into a fighting stance.

"If that is the way you want it..." he muttered in a low voice, then raising it on the next sentence, "come and get me!" The boys did not hesitate to jump at the superhero, who fended them off with his sheer strength, as well as a few good martial arts techniques. His hands and feet flew as he blocked the blows the aggressors delivered, then he flung their own attacks back at them. Dan's buddies were soon beaten up enough that they turned chicken once more and started to flee the scene.

"No enemy of justice escapes from Magnum Centurion Maximus!" The hero pulled out a bola and whirled it around over his head before releasing it in the direction of Chainsaw, Flamethrower, and Crowbar. The three were effectively tied up and simultaneously hit the ground on their rear ends. Sledgehammer was still out cold at the moment, so that left Dan to fight for himself. Forcefully swirling his cape behind him, Maximus turned to face his enemy. "There is no one to help you now, foul villain. You cannot run or hide from the truth, for it will always find you in the end." The mighty Magnum Centurion advanced into the electric lamp light again, now seeming to shine with an aura of triumph at his impending victory.

"It is over! Justice has won, and your days of doing evil are finished!" he boomed in his powerful superhero voice. A shadow suddenly crept up from behind and gave him a hard whack in the head, sending Maximus to the ground on his face. Fortunately, his large hands broke the fall, but he shook his head violently to keep from blacking out. Then he felt himself leave the grass completely, lifted up by the bald-headed bully, Sledgehammer. He had wrapped his beefy biceps around the hero's torso, pinning his arms to his sides. Grunting, Maximus strained against the tight grip he was held in, attempting to wriggle free. Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open behind the visor that protected his real identity: Dan Backslide was barreling straight at him, and Sledgehammer was the "bear- trap" holding the superhero ready to become the gang leader's new personal punching bag. With split-second timing the armored man brought his powerful legs up, just before the slick-haired biker was about to throw him a monster uppercut, and sent a fierce kick to Backslide's mouth. There was a loud crack! as Maximus's bootheels made contact, Dan's teeth knocking together from the impact. He was thrown backwards and hit the ground with a thump, moaning through gritted teeth; his jaw felt like it was superglued shut, he could not open his mouth at all. The superhero then flexed his broad chest to loosen the vice grip of the huge hands around his midsection; this allowed him to slide one arm out and give Sledgehammer a few sucker-punches to the face. After a couple of hits, Sledgehammer released Maximus by involuntarily putting his hands up to cover his nose, which had started bleeding after having the superhero's hard fist bang it up some. The Magnum Centurion quickly moved a short distance away and spun around to face his hulking nemesis, cape flashing behind him. One hand grabbed it and roughly whipped it around himself as he assumed a fighting stance, staring down Sledgehammer.

"What is the matter, you oaf?" he asked mockingly, trying to draw the big guy's ire. "Are you actually afraid of me? Do you fear a man who is smaller, not as strong as you, and is dressed in a costume?"

"I'm not scared of you!" roared Sledgehammer. The taunting apparently worked, because he came at Maximus at ramming speed, but the hero bent his thick legs and leaped up high, backflipping over the bald biker's head. The armored man landed opposite where he had been and motioned for the bulky guy to try it again, practically daring him to strike.

"Is that all you can give me?" Maximus continued, a cocky smirk on his face. "I am sure you can do much better!" The huge guy called Sledgehammer charged for the superhero again, and once more he evaded being hit. However, this was making Maximus more overconfident with each miss by the bully, and for a moment he lost his sense of concentration; Sledgehammer took advantage of the opportunity and, with all his might, gave the hero a powerful smack in the face with just one swing of his muscle-packed arm. The blow sent the Magnum Centurion flying into the wrought-iron fence, his armor clanging hard against it. His helmet took the brunt of the nerve-numbing shock, sending a piercing, hollow ringing sound through his ears. The caped hero staggered off the fence, holding his head as the noise continued, grunting as he grimaced and tried to fight off unconsciousness.

"Had enough, weakling?" Sledgehammer taunted as Maximus stumbled to the ground, one hand to his head. Strong as he was, the ringing was becoming too much for his sensitive ears, and it was sure to knock him out cold soon. Struggling to stave off the blackness that would inevitably come down on him, with blurred vision the armored hero turned to look up at Sledgehammer towering over him. Maximus gritted his teeth tightly as his sight began to darken.

"Believe me...you...have not...won yet," he managed to rasp, his eyelids lowering. "This is...far...from...over..." It was there that his voice trailed off as he sank into unconsciousness, falling forward on his stomach and lying motionless on the cool, damp grass.

"It will be, soon enough," snickered Sledgehammer as he reached down and hefted the hero's limp form over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He then walked over to Dan, who was trying to recover from the trauma dealt to his jaw. The gang leader attempted to sit up but was having trouble doing so; the strongman of the group lent him a broad hand and easily pulled Backslide to his feet. Dan then went over to the three still tied up and, after pulling out a knife, cut them loose. The five punks then looked around, trying to find a place to hide from the police.

"Guys, I got an idea!" Dan blurted. "We'll hide out in the basement of Vernon Hall. You know, the place they call 'The Dungeon'. The police won't think to look there, plus..." Here a devilish grin came to his face as he eyed the knocked-out superhero Sledgehammer was lugging.

"What, boss?" asked Flamethrower, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Pukesimus won't be able to escape us torturing him," Dan replied, rubbing his hands together with glee. "Let's split, before the fuzz gets here!" The bikers made tracks for Vernon Hall's basement just as cop cars were pulling up to the gates at the entrance of the Pimento University campus.