ic London Calling

[Exaccus]

"Not feeling very talkative any more hmm? maybe i should go say hello to you face to face Doctor?" he says pointing over his shoulder towards the steps he'd spotted armitage on "ill bet if i can stop that mumbling your statue will stop with the moving?" he booms as he turns away and thuds towards the steps heavily.

 

"Awful hard to concentrate when you're out cold, ill wager, that and it'll be awful strange that you were at both those places when things got crazy and out cold when they settled down thinks I Simple cause and effect eh gentlemen?" He says regarding Mr Murk, fiddle and professor Smyth both to bring them in as witnesses and check on their well-being.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The statue froze, for a moment, considering the new turn of events. 

 

"You would not...wait...you would!" mouthed the Statue.

 

With an almighty THWAMM! the statue jumped off the column and landed on the ground below, that duly splintered under the terrible impact, Dust and granite rained down over the square, but...LO! for the statue was completely unharmed. 

 

"If you stop the spell, then you release something from beyond all dimensions...all reason..." shouted the statue, as it advanced towards Dreadnought, sword raised and pointed straight at the Liverpudlian. 

 

"Use your sense, man!" it commanded...or rather, Armitage did, mouthing the words that the statue spoke. 

[Exaccus]

"Im sure you've looked into me quite extensively, tell me, did you ever see me fighting someone who wasn't at their core a thinking, feeling human being?" he asks as he cracks his knuckles with thunderous report "think you i would lash out with my full strength against another human being? think you they would remain alive and intact if i had?" he asks as he Stomps ever closer "i have no compunction about grinding your statue and whatever demon comes out of it into powder and protoplasm jelly."

 

and with that he turns on the spot, having forced Doctor armitage to confess aloud his guilt through nelsons own mouth, truely he felt no particular love for the statue of the national hero, and so poured every ounce of his strength into it as he barrelled back towards the stone giant and lashed out with a meaty fist to the core of its being with a mighty yell!

[Supercape]

GM

 

His fist crunched straight into Nelson's face. Verily! How the old war hero would be vexed if he could see his image now, for the nose was splintered straight into the centre of the stony head, and ragged cracks blossomed. Dust and small shards of stone fell to the ground. 

 

Incredibly, the statue stood! Impossible! you might cry, dear reader, but no! For the venerable noble statue was not mere stone and iron, but 'twined with strange sorcery!

 

"Impressive. But so am I..." came the cracked voice, from cracked stony lips. 

 

And then the sword twisted, and slammed down onto Dreadnoughts head with equally outrageous force!

 

 

[Exaccus]

Incredible force errupted outwards where fist met stone and stone met skull. though it was it poured down and over his shoulders like gentle rain, finding no purchase in in readily tensed body and rolling from his shoulders like a pearl of air rippling thunder as it rang out from him without so much as bowing his legs, his own blow finding purchase in nelsons face lestend its own shockwave but they fed into each other all the same, shattering glass and cracking the less sturdy constructions with deflected might.

 

"Like i said, your Magic runts are no match for me!" flinging him self forwards and a little to the statues side he threw up his limb under the statues armpit and grasped for the back of its neck, there was some irony in putting nelson in the beginnings of a nelson hold that wasn't lost on dreadnought.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"You have no idea of the subtleties, do you?" groaned the stone lips of Lord Nelson. "All brute strength, like a cannonball without a general. A train stuck on its track!"

 

The stone statue was heavier, larger, and just as strong as Dreadnought, but no faster either. And he lacked the brute conviction of Dreadnought, as Armitage had just explained. His stone hands scrabbled for leverage or grip, but found none. There was a stone grunt of frustration. 

 

"Destroy this form, if you can. There will be another, and another. I have machinations that you cannot begin to understand, fool!" whispered both Lord Nelson and Armitage. 

 

He tried some backwards elbows but Dreadnought had him too tightly pinned. 

 

 

[Exaccus]

"yeah yeah, but without that sky hole i done made for ya there won't be one powerful enough will there?" he says cunningly back "its what ya were waiting fer isnt it brainiac?"  he grunts with exertion as he leveraged some of that brute conviction and might on the statue, lifting it onto the tips of his toes.

 

"Though on that note is this irony or Coincidence?" he asked as he attempts to force the statue to lay on its front, firmly held by the eponymous Full nelson hold "You think, on rainy days, Like this one, He wishes he were Wellington instead?" bit of a dumb joke but the banter was important with the talky types, tended to make em slip up a little.

 

"Enjoy your flight." he whispers back to the statue before flinging it upwards with all his might and sending it spinning into the sky with a mighty fling of his burning, bursting biceps!

 

Grunting with exertion as he watches the towering stone form flying into the air with a tailspin with a massive rush of speed, even the beginings of a moisture cone! though that last thing began to worry him, he's pretty sure that anything apporaching the speed of sound is unheard of in this day and age.

 

and it was gonna land, really hard too.

 

Whoops.

 

"Get to cover gentlemen! He's gonna land really hard!"

 

looking around for the pillar and his one chance to avert a devestating impact, spotting it still jutting out of the street where he'd left it only yesterday he thunders over and uproots it from its resting place with all his strength and once more hefting the weight on his shoulders, moves into position and readies himself.

 

Staring unblinkingly into the sky for the first signs of the falling statue coming into view and waiting for the perfect moment swinging his impromptu tool and weapon forth with every ounce of his strength.

 

There is a resounding SMAAAAASH! where the pillar and its animated barer meet mid air and once more the statue or lord nelson is sent screaming through the air and out of the cities bounds, across the ocean.

 

"Im really glad that worked..." he mumbles as he puts the pillar down and turns his gaze towards Armitage "The match Is set sir, 20 Love."

Edited January 3, 2018 by Exaccus

[Supercape]

GM

 

With the tennis match gone to Dreadnought, Armitage groaned. 

 

"That's..bad..." he muttered, before collapsing in a tremulous heap, frothing at the mouth somewhat. 

 

The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. Something about Liverpool, Norway, Giants, and Trolls could be heard in the mesh of raucous celebration. 

 

Even Mr. Fiddle was sufficiently impressed to ignore his burnt arm and give a resounding clap. 

 

"Bravo! Bravo Mr Walker. And thrice Bravo! I must say, I would never have dreamed of such an extraordinary morning! I cannot believe my eyes...what a knockout! Boom! Bash! Pow!" he mimed, mimicking the action that had just occurred. 

 

He caught sight of the catatonic Armitage. 

 

"Oh deary me! What are we to do with the cad?" he asked Dreadnought. 

[Exaccus]

"the same thing we do with all criminals Mr Fiddler, See them tried in a court before a jury of his peers." he says solemnly "He must be shown that our way works." he begins as he thuds on over towards armitage to check on him a little in lieu of the his constructs failiure, magic had nasty rules to it, he knew little of it but that much was true beyond all doubt, such measures as he had mentioned might be entirely unnecessary.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"It will be a tricky business. He is no fool, and no pauper either", replied Mr Fiddle stroking his beard. "But I have a sudden urge to offer my services free of charge for the crown prosecution service!" he smiled. He had judged the balance of evidence, and found the odds to his liking. 

 

Mr. Murk came up, tapping the cobblestones. "I can vouch for Mr. Fiddle. He is the finest lawyer in London, and probably the Empire!" he said, honestly. 

 

The police were scurrying around this way and that. Occassionally, they even did something useful (although this was rare event), like handcuffing Armitage. The doctor was still catatonic, however. 

 

"Although of course he may not be fit to stand trial, if the fellow stays like that" noted Fiddle, rather sad. 

 

"Speaking of sleeping, perhaps you and I should make arrangement for the future...?" suggested Mr. Murk, blind eyes pointed at Dreadnought. 

[Exaccus]

"Indeed! perhaps it is best i vanish into myth and legend with gog and magog above the mayors office no?" he smiles rather broadly "Till i am needed again at least, to avalon and sleep like death i shall go perchace to dream." he mutteres, some mish mash of poetic things he'd heard or thought he'd heard once.

 

"Though perhaps i might lend my arm to your endeavours in Soho when you are ready?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

Epilogue

 

And so...

 

The offices of Mr. Fiddle, fine and dandy, and with a half dozen sleeping Dreadnoughts underneath, was bequeathed to Mr. Murk who thereapon took over as Lawyer upon the death of Mr. Fiddle who lived to a ripe old age and was merry and sharp till the end, when he keeled over suddenly at the age of 93 choking on a cucumber sandwich.

 

Whilst Mr. Murk was of considerable skill in both the practice of law and the acumen to accrue both wealth and contacts, he was not of the same fame, and over the years the practice dwindled; but at the same time, a certain "Club Immortus" was opened in Soho. It was said that in the middle of one cold night, several huge coffins were moved from the offices of Fiddle to the depths of Club Immortus. Nobody said much more, for certain monies moved betwixt certain hands and the whole matter was hushed most effectively. 

 

As for Armitage, he never apparently recovered consciousness, at least to any great degree. He was committed to hospital and cared for, never to stand trial. Whispers of his ghost and presence peppered London (and indeed, further, much further) from time to time. His catatonic body dissapeared from hospital when Armitage was an old man. Some say he sleep walked out of the hospital. But the truth has not, to date, been determined, despite the bold and vigorous attempts of Mr. Murk to investigate the matter. 

 

And as for the Dreadnought of this story...

 

 Dreanought slept with his future brothers, deep and sound in an enchanted slumber, to wake in the new year of 2018 by Mr. Murk, who had most interesting news...

 

~ Fin ~

 

 

But followed straight away, dear reader, by the amazing spark of life!

Edited January 5, 2018 by Supercape