The moon tried to tear through the clouds and shed its light on Pacific City but to no avail. The thunder and lightning frightened it behind the dark ominous beings that gathered over the city and proceeded to attempt to wash it clean.

I tilted my head back and let the rain fall on my mask and through the eye sockets and over my face. It felt nice and cool, soothing even. The heat of the evening was tearing me up and this was much welcomed refreshment.

It also meant the rest of my night would be relatively simple. Bad guys hate the rain almost as much as good guys.

Personally, I love it. I'm not a dreary person and all, but there's nothing like a good rainfall. Lightening is an amazing thing to watch and the sound of the drops of water falling from the sky are really something else.

Wow, I sound like some sort of poet.

Maybe I should go goth?

I looked back to the street below me and reached for the bottom of my mask, pulling it out to let the water rainwater drain out.

Main Street was quieter than usual, especially here. Combination of the rain and events from the night before. No one wants to drive through a crime scene. Oh, they'll drive by it, gotta have a peek, but no one wants to go through it. Bad omens or something.

Me, I thrive on crime scenes. If I'm not creating them (by stopping the crime, of course) then I'm looking at them and trying to figure out what to do next.

Some guys tried to rob Pacific City First Bank last night and they were stopped. Bad. The paper reported talk of some sort of robot tearing through the baddies, leaving one dead and the other two in the hospital.

With how roughed up the baddies were you'd think the Grimm Knight had left Harbour City for greener pastures.

But, as I looked down on the 2200 block of Main Street, I realized there was nothing here for me. The police had a 24 hour head start on me and they didn't even leave any table scraps behind. Darn.

Oh well, I make a horrible detective anyways.

Bush43
Issue #5
"Rainy Day"
(Presentation Part Three)
by Jason S. Kenney

He smiled as he lifted the syringe and plucked it, pushing the remaining air out.

"Ah, sweet release," he thought to himself. He looked down at the black box clamped around his ankle. Yes, release would be very nice.

He cringed slightly as he pressed the needle into his arm and sighed as its contents flowed into his body.

Release.

Revenge.

Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored.

Did I mention I was bored?

Yeah, no one does anything when it's raining. I mean, am I the only person who likes the rain? Surely there's a bad guy out there who loves the rain or, even better, capitalizes on it! Yeah, the RainMaster or Water Blaster or Thunder-and-Lightening-Man!

Something like that.

Sigh.

So I ended up jumping around, looking like an idiot running around in the rain, letting my nice suit get all wet and soaked and stuff for no reason other than to be a jackass.

So the evening wasn't a total bust.

He straightened his tie in the mirror and again afforded himself a smile. Tonight was going to be the official start of it all. Not that failed attempt a few weeks back, no, tonight was the real beginning.

He looked down at his ankle again, at the black box that attempted to cage him in his home.

It didn't take him long to remove it, not for someone of his intelligence.

Tonight it would begin. Tonight they would all pay.

Starting with the one man who dared stand in his way.

He laughed as he grabbed his mask and headed out the door.

I ran across a rooftop and leapt across an alley, purposefully landing on the side of my legs on the other roof and sliding across on a plastic tarp I had laid out there. Yea, makeshift slip and slide!

Lightening tore through the sky and a roll of thunder followed as I jumped to my feet with my arms raised, belting out a loud "woo!" in excitement.

Okay, so I was REALLY bored.

I stepped to the edge of the roof to take another look around and see if there was maybe someone possibly doing something that might be considered even remotely illegal or wrong or something.

And there was nothing.

Sigh.

"AHA!" I heard gasped behind me. I turned around to see some guy stumble off the fire escape and onto the roof, falling to his knees and gasping for air.

"Now *gasp* I've got *pant* you..."

He looked up and I just froze.

Hole.

Lee.

Shit.

The man attempted to laugh as he leaned forward to catch his breath, his hands resting on his knees.

"Now you'll pay," the man said between pants for air.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, throwing my arms up. "Take that stupid thing off."

"The mask?" asked the man, standing up right. "No, I think I'll keep it. Quite fitting, don't you think? Bush43 will finally meet his match at the hands of Al Gore!"

Jesus Christ. Rain = nutcases.

The man charged at me and I quickly stepped out of the way, grabbing the back of the man's suit coat before he went toppling head first off the roof.

"Watch that first step," I said, leaning back to dodge a swing from the man. He pushed off of me and I swear I felt a tingle at his touch. It felt strangely familiar.

"You made a fool out of me!" shouted the man, pointing at me. Sparks leapt into the air as raindrops pelted his bare hand. "Just like all of the others. And, just like the rest of them, you will die!"

"Don't I know you?" I asked, the man suddenly lunging at me. I stepped to the side and stuck my leg out, watching the man fall forward and over it. He reached out and grabbed my leg. There was that tingle again. Only stronger.

I pulled my leg away with a shout, stumbling back and falling on my ass.

"Stacy?" I said.

"IT'S STATICY, YOU MORON!" the man shouted, lunging for me.

Then I felt that electrical thing he does. I pushed him off of me, smarting from the little charge.

"Dude, cut it out!" I shouted as he gathered himself to his feet. "I thought you were in jail?"

"I got out," he said, coming at me again.

He was about halfway to me when he was suddenly thrown back into the air. He flew a few meters and then hit the roof and rolled to the edge.

"What the hell?" I said, looking from where he lay to where he was whacked.

And then I saw it.

Well, I didn't really "see" it, but I kinda did. The rain fell from the sky and struck it, leaving an outline of some big ass thing that really scared the shit out of me.

"I can see you," I said.

I doubled over as I felt a strong punch in my gut. A hand of some sort grabbed one of my arms and pulled it back, then another claw grabbed my other hand. Whatever this thing was, it was strong, as it pulled my arms up and held me down on my back.

I quickly tried to roll back, kicking my legs up and connecting with a part of this thing, continuing my roll and sending it up and over my head.

I kept going and ended up on my feet, jumping to the side quickly to try and get some distance between me and whatever this thing was.

I felt something grab my shoulder and I was spun around and hit again, this time in the face. I stumbled back and then doubled over as another punch hit me in the gut. I balled my fists together and brought them up, quick and hard, connecting with the thing and knocking it back. I saw it land with a splash on the roof and smiled to myself.

"Yeah, what now?" I shouted.

I watched as its rain outline stood upright. Then I noticed where it was standing. On my little slip and slide.

I ran towards it, dropping to my knees as I reached the tarp, dodging what looked like a punch, and I slid right into it's legs, covering my head and rolling as hard as I could out of the way as it fell again.

I could do this all night.

I came to my feet and turned to face it, but it was gone.

I looked around for the rain outline but couldn't find a damn thing.

"Damn it."

I spun around just in time to go face first into a punch that sent me sailing back. I landed hard near the edge of the roof and shook my head as I tried to push myself up. A kick came quick into my gut, sending me up and over the edge.

The wind rushing by as I fell helped me keep my senses, but senses or no, there was nothing I could do but fall.

Halfway towards the ground I was hit again, but this time it stayed on me, it's weight on my back pushing me down faster. I tried to shift out from under it but ran out of time as the asphalt quickly greeted my arrival.

Simon Cooper held his head with one hand while he pushed himself upright with the other. He sat on the roof and leaned back a bit, trying to remember what the hell just happened.

He was charging at the Bush moron and then a truck came out of nowhere and slammed into him.

Or something to that effect.

He heard a crashing sound on a side street to the building he was one and made his way to another edge, that Bush guy firmly implanted in the asphalt below.

"Yeah!" shouted Cooper as he pumped his fist in the air. "That's right!" He stood up and put his hands on his hips all heroic like, looking up into the sky. "Look out, world. Staticy's on the war path!"

And then he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Cooper looked back down to see a dart stuck in his leg, a wire extending from it all the way down to its source on the street below.

A huge robot thing looked up at him, the wire extending from its arm.

"Holy shit," said Cooper right before an electrical charge surged through his body.

I rolled out of the hole and onto my back, trying to ignore the pain that ran through my body.

But everything got pushed out of my head when I finally saw it.

And I mean really saw it.

It looked like something out of an anime flick. Seven feet tall and shaped like a person, it was plated from head to toe with some sort of armor. Its arms looked hideously huge and it's head poked out between ungodly shoulders, looking up at the roof above. One of its arms pointed up, a wire extending from it and up towards the sky. I followed it to see the other end stuck in Stacy.

Suddenly the wire lit up, Stacy's body stiffening briefly as something hit him hard. He started screaming but it soon turned to a yell, his body starting to spark.

The robot seemed not to notice, turning to look at me, extending his other hand towards me, palm out.

A bright flash blew from its hand.

Cooper yelled as his body surged with electricity. It felt raw. It felt powerful.

It felt good.

He reached down and grabbed the dart in his leg, pulling it out and trying to focus his electrical charge back down the wire.

The dart was snatched from Cooper's hand as the robot reeled it in before he had a chance to fire off a bolt.

"DIE!" shouted Cooper for lack of anything better to say as he leapt off the roof and towards the robot below.

He landed on the robot's back, quickly wrapping his arms around its neck, ignoring the pain that jolted through his body upon impact. He focused and sent an electrical charge through the robot, it's arms reaching back and grabbing at him. Cooper laughed as the electricity ran from his body and into the machine.

He stopped laughing as the robot got a hold of his leg and swung him off its back and into a wall.

The robot held Cooper's unconscious body up by it's leg, it's other hand reaching out and pulling the Al Gore mask off of him and dropping it to the ground. It stood still for a moment, studying Cooper.

It quickly swung out its other arm, but had it swiped away. It dropped Cooper as a punch connected with it's head, sending it stumbling back slightly as it tried to correct it's change balance.

"Wanna take another picture?" I shouted, swinging at the thing again, rocking its head back. Whatever the hell that flash was, it hurt. But not enough to keep me down. I am super-strong, after all.

Though, it did make me sluggish. And a wee bit tipsy.

I swung again but was stopped as the machine brought up a leg and kicked me, pushing me back. I tripped over Stacy's unconscious body and fell to the ground.

"Bush Forty-Three," said the robot in a metallic voice, "you are under arrest."

"Is that what this is about?" I asked.

It reached towards me and a dart fired from its arm, hitting me in the shoulder and falling to the ground.

"Nyah!" I said as jumped to my feet. "What was that supposed to do?"

Then it disappeared again.

Oh, crap.

A punch connected with my jaw and sent my head back, another punch hitting my gut and bringing my body forward. The thing then kicked me in the chest, sending me back sprawling on the ground. Then I was grabbed by my shirt and lifted into the air. Another punch hit my face, knocking my head back. Then an invisible claw wrapped around my head and squeezed, pulling up and removing my mask as it tried to crush my face in the process.

I tried to kick my legs out but couldn't connect with the machine. I brought my legs up and wrapped them around the arm that held me in the air, trying to do something, anything to free myself from it's grip.

I smiled as I heard a tear.

"Later, tin can," I said, letting go and falling to the ground, leaving half of my shirt in its hands. I scrambled to my feet and started running in a zig zag pattern and tossing stuff I passed to the ground, anything to make me a harder target and harder to follow. I was almost to the end of the alley when I heard a stomp and saw indentions form in the ground right at the exit. The rain flowed off of the machine and outlined it perfectly for me.

I kept running and pushed straight into it with my shoulder, the two of us stumbling into the street.

I looked up to see a car slamming on its breaks and I dove out of the way, cringing as I heard the sound of metal against metal. I stood up and turned to see the car's front end crumpled and hovering slightly in the air. I assumed it was on top of the robot thingy.

And I was right. The car began to move and was suddenly lifted into the air, about as high as it would be was it lifted above a seven-foot tall killer robot's head. I fully expected it to toss the car at me.

"Wait!" I said, moving forward. "There are people in there!"

The air shimmered and broke, the robot appearing in front of me, the car held high above its head.

"Jeffery Carter," said the robot's metallic voice, "you are under arrest."

"Put the car down!" I shouted, ignoring the robot's words. "Those people need help!"

The robot threw the car at me.

Now, I may be super-strong and invulnerable and stuff, but I've never tried catching a car, nor would I recommend it to anyone else. Not fun. And probably not very possible.

Pretty much you just end up being in the way of the car crashing into the street. Or wall. Or both.

As I was.

The car hit me in the chest as I thought I might be able to catch it or stop it. It hit the ground and pinned my legs but had just enough momentum to continue across the street, over the curb (quite comfortable on my ass and legs, let me tell you) and into the wall of a building.

I shook my head to clear it and looked through the shattered windshield and saw the car's driver slumped to the side, red coating the inside of the car and his passenger, a woman who was now missing her head.

I struggled to move the car but couldn't get enough leverage to do anything but squirm a bit.

That stopped when the car pinned me more thanks to the robot jumping onto the hood. It leaned toward my face.

"Jeffery Carter," it said, my face reflecting off it's shiny head, "you are under arrest."

"You killed them, you son of a bitch," I said through clenched teeth.

The robot extended a hand palm first into my face.

"You have the right to remain silent," it said, a bright flash punctuating its words.