And here we are…right back where we started from.
With me…
Nicholas Michael Grey. Dynamic Nick.
I've been through a lot. I'm only 14, and I've faced down more demons than a kid should have to.
And now look at me.
I'm trying to beat up a dangerous, possibly insane young woman who has incredible powers over reality…VFX powers included!
I don't think that I can win…
But I know that I can sure as hell TRY!
And I'm not gonna give in!
I know it looks bad. I know I'm gonna probably die. I know that I may never see my family again…
But letting Goldie off the hook is wrong. Not trying to stand up for what's right, that's a crime.
And besides…
Imagine how cool my brother will think I am if I win!
David sighed as everyone ran down the hallway, towards the backyard exit where Nick had run through.
"Nick's gonna get himself killed, and you wanna play MUSIC?"
"Hey man, never blame the beat." Joe said. "The power or Rock is strong."
"Why couldn't you conjure up a bazooka instead of a guitar?"
"Well there's a funny story about that. You see, I was a young hero in Movieland, and I had this contract…"
"I don't wanna hear it."
Sylvia looked over at Joe. "I hope that Nick wins...wait, did anyone find Cameo Leon's soul?"
Joe shrugged. "No...I think that only Goldie knows where it is...so Nick's gotta beat her to save him."
Eda bit her lip. "I just hope Nick's okay…"
Was Nick okay?
What do YOU think? He was getting bh slapped around by Goldie, who was sitting on a stump, reading a book with one hand and slapping with MACH SPEED with her other hand. Nick's attempted assault had not gone well.
Here's how it started…with a musical aid!
BGM: Dark Hero (Heroes Crisis)
FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO…
Nick rushed forward, fist flying. Goldie yawned and stepped to the side, grabbing Nick's shirt collar. With a yelp, Nick was thrown onto his back, and then Goldie jumped on him, delivering a very nice flurry of jabs to his stomach. Then she jumped off and started kicking him in the sides.
BAM! "Ow!"
BAM! "Ow!"
BAM! "Ow!"
BAM! "Owwww!"
Nick rolled over, groaning. "You…you urgh…you jerk!" He grabbed Goldie's shirt and got up in her grill. "That's it! No more bullsting around! I'm gonna keep it real!"
What Nick failed to realize was that he was saying this all in SLOW. When he DID realize it, it was way too late.
"All that "Keep it real" talk just got me so pissed off!" Goldie would later say. "I tell you, I SAVORED that ass-kicking."
What followed as indeed a fine ass-kicking. Goldie head-butted Nick, then kicked out, getting him on the legs. Nick fell to his knees, and what followed was a rapid series of chops to his shoulders. Nick's body shuddered over and over as if he was on a vibrating chair. Then Goldie twisted around, kicking out with her foot and sending Nick flying through the air. He landed with a heap. Goldie smirked and snapped her fingers again, and a tree stump and a copy of "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams appeared in her hand. She sat down to read. Nick rushed forward again…
Which brings us to the bh slapping. Nick was finally slapped extra hard, and he flew back, groaning. He was really wiped.
(Music ends.)
So it was a good thing that Joe and the others came when they did.
Nick looked up, and slowly got up. "Mom? Dad? Dave? Everyone? You're…you're…"
He rushed forward, and hugged them all save for David, who was standing to the side. Tears were flying freely. "Oh, God…I…I missed you so-so…much! I'm sorry guys, I didn't help…"
To his surprise, David suddenly walked over and hugged him tightly.
"Nick…I…I'm glad you're okay."
Nick smiled and gave his brother, who had hated him for years, the biggest hug he'd ever receive as a pre-teen. Goldie snickered. "How touching! A nice little family reunion…"
She took up a fighting position.
"But the reunion's over! NOW! HENSHIN A GO-GO, BABY!"
She transformed, and was now in sexy attire like Sylvia. She had light blue chest armor, long white gloves, a white skirt, and golden pom-poms, as well as a laser gun (gold, of course) on a pink belt. She also had a huge visor that covered all of her face down to her nose, and it was golden as well.
"Radiant Goldie here to kick ass!"
"Radiant Goldie, huh? Nice name." Nick said. Joe stepped forward. He had a guitar strapped around him. He turned to the other heroes, who also had instruments. Blue had drums, Sylvia had a mike, Alastor had the bass, Jet was standing behind a DJ's stand, and Rachel's chest was a sterero.
Nick resisted the urge to look. David didn't.
"Shame, David!" Barbara said, dragging him away by the ear, much to everyone else's amusement. Nick started to laugh, but got serious quick.
"You got a plan, Joe?"
"Uh huh. "Hey Goldie…stop me if you've heard this before…"
BGM: Henshin a go-go, baby!
Nick perked up. "All right! Now this I like!"
"You'll like this even more, Nick. Say the words!"
Nick nodded.
"Okay…TIME TO ROCK! HENSHIN!"
It was amazing.
Rainbow light cascaded from Nick's chest. It spread out, shooting out like a radiant shower, and sparkles of light descended over them all. Nick began to glow, and slowly but surely, he transformed from head to toe. The headband/visor, the cape, the chest insignia, the gloves, the pants, the boots…
He smiled, and turned towards his family.
"I'm Nick…" He said, saluting with his middle and pointer finger.
"Dy-nam-ic Nick!" He said, twirling around and then jumping into the air, giving the "rock on" symbol. He landed deftly and grinned.
"And I'm back, baby!"
(Music ends.)
"Nice suit." David said. Nick nodded and turned to face Goldie.
"Goldie…you need to be reminded what it means to be a true hero. You see, with the help of my peace-loving friends and with my family behind me…it's all worked out! I don't know how, I don't know why…but I know I can win now! I've got the hero in me, Goldie…can you say the same?"
Goldie rolled her eyes. "Quit the melodrama…and let's cut to the chase."
"Fine by me!...but first…a nice tune."
Nick pressed a button on his belt, and the song…and final fight…began!
BGM: True Heroes (Final Battle)
Nick jumped into the air, twisting and flipping as he did so. Goldie pulled out her gun and fired off a barrage of bullets at Nick, who simply used SLOW to dodge them. Then he rushed down, foot first, and Goldie jumped out of the way. She fired again, but Nick ducked, sliding and hitting her foot.
Goldie jumped up and down, hollering. "Ow-ow-ow! You rotten jerk!"
Nick felt kinda bad for doing that, but fifteen seconds later he wasn't, because Goldie suddenly used MACH SPEED to rush forward, and she kicked Nick's stomach. "WOAGH!" He said, arms flailing as he was sent flying back. He landed hard but got up quickly as Goldie ran towards him at MACH SPEED.
Nick grinned, and activated ZOOM. He turned his left fist left, and then rushed forward.
BOP.
Fist met face, and Goldie stood there, looking at her nose where Nick had hit. Then she fell to the ground, groaning as it bled a little. Nick quickly rubbed the blood off on his pant legs.
"Ew. Gross!" Nick said. "Reminds me of when I got a bloody nose from fighting with David…" "You were a such a wussy back then…" "Key words, Dave. "Back then"."
"What the heck did you just DO?" Jordan asked. "And how can I do that to impress chicks?" "It's an original move. Hmm…I think I'll call it the Blitzkrieg Bop, since it's so fast…and it's musical too! Oh, they're boiling in the backse-EEEYOOOWW!"
Goldie had just stomped on his foot with SLOW and ZOOM, and Nick was now hopping on one foot, rubbing his sore foot with his hands. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-owie! You…why I oughta…I WILL oughta!"
Nick jumped into the air, dodging a MACH SPEED punch she threw. He raised his leg into the air, and it glowed with a greenish-blue aura. He then slammed it down onto her helmet in a circular motion, and she fell to the ground, helmet visibly cracked.
Nick grinned. "Man, I feel all Street Fighter doing that stuff!" "Dude, did you just do a Crescent Kick? That is so cool! Sylvia's an expert at that stuff, man!" "Really?" Nick asked. Sylvia blushed a little. "Well I don't like to brag…"
POW! Nick went flying through the air, and uppercut punch harshly delivered to his chin. Goldie snarled, whipping out her gun again. "You stupid brat! I'm the strongest one here, not you! It's finally time I got some RESPECT!"
Nick quickly got up and activated SLOW just as the bullets whizzed toward him. He basically limboed underneath them, towards Goldie…and then activated MACH SPEED a moment later, rubbing his hands to get a spark going.
His fist flew towards her chin, rising up…
KA-POW!
His entire fist flaming with MACH SPEED flames, he uppercut punched Goldie into the air. She landed harshly as Nick blew the flames off of his hands. Her helmet was now VERY cracked. "Cool, a flaming dragon punch. And Goldie, you would have gotten more respect if you had stayed a hero instead of joining the dark side just to get attention. You're not getting respect…you're getting FEAR." Nick looked over at Joe. "Hey Joe, outta curiosity, do YOU do that-"Yeah, Joe can pull that trick off really well. Me, I'm…not so good." Sylvia said. "You guys must really play a lot of Street Fighter…" Nick said.
"You and Team Viewitful." He thought, thinking of the Viewtiful Joe series game designers.
Suddenly Goldie jumped up, kicking out with her foot, whacking Nick in the crown jewels.
"Owwwww…" Nick said, slowly sinking to his knees.
"Oh! He'll be singing soprano from now on." Alastor said, snickering. Rachel whacked him over the head. "YOW! Whatcha do that for!"
"There's not going to BE a "from now on" for him!" Goldie said coldly, walking over to Nick. She pointed her gun at his head. "Game over. You LOSE. Now I'M gonna be the best hero around."
Nick looked up, grinning. "Not yet!" He said, and head-butted her in the stomach, sending her gun flying away. He then jumped back as Goldie wheezed a little, trying to catch her breath. Nick held his right fist high. "I'm gonna end this, now!"
His fist shone with rainbow light, growing brighter and brighter, the light swirling around his fist. He rushed forward. "You wanted to be a true hero? Then you should have remembered…"
He drew his fist back…
"That true heroes don't throw their consciences away…and they always win in the end!"
KA-BOOOOOOM!
(Music ends.)
Fist met helmet, and it shattered into pieces. Goldie's eyes widened…
Then everything in the world went white all around, as the light engulfed Goldie and Nick, blinding those gathered…save for Nick and Goldie.
Goldie was hanging from a shrubbery, the endless abyss threatening to suck her in, a result of her power being lost. Now everything was going chaotic, the balance radically shifted. She was losing her grip. She couldn't hold on. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.
She had lost.
She let go.
A few minutes later, everyone was lying down, dazed and confused. There was dust everywhere, and they were out in a grassy field somewhere.
"Where are we?"
"I think we're in the end scene." Blue mused. "But…where are Nick and Goldie?"
Then the dust began to clear. Everyone looked around. No sign…
"Wait…over there!" Sylvia pointed far away, and they saw, in a cloud of clearing dust, two shapes…
Then it cleared, and there was Nick, on top of a hill, with grassy fields and blue skies around him, gently helping Goldie walk by supporting her on his shoulder. She was in a plain white t-shirt and blue shorts now, with yellow sneakers and golden earrings. Nick was back in his regular attire as well, wearing that "Life is Good" spring-green t-shirt, with the Celtic cross, the khaki cargo pants and the white and blue sneakers.
"Hey guys." Nick said. "Had to go save the lady in distress, all part of being a hero."
He beamed broadly. "You know how it is." He said simply.
Author's Note:
The final battle…complete! Nick's inner hero triumphant, but there are still things left unsaid and unsolved. Coming up…the Epilogue…and extras!
