ic Jinn and Tonic

[Supercape]

GM

 

As the amazing Geckoman scuttled around a corner, using floors, ceilings, and walls, he spied Doctor Tonic in wait. Around him, a peppering of screams and yells, and one concussed security guard out cold on the floor, having been thrown through a window.

 

He had a slightly bent wheelchair in one hand, his hand crushing one of the metal rods in the chair, a sign of his prodigious strength.

 

"I knew you wouldn't give up, lizard! The holy Jinn told me!" he yelled, furious, before looking to one side, the air, and listening to the hallucination.

 

"What's that? Throw the wheelchair at the cursed reptile?" he asked, cocking his head, before leaning back and throwing the wheelchair at Geckoman's  face... 

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman effortlessly bent straight backwards, head nearly touching the floor as the wheelchair soared over his head. With a wrench, he snapped back upright, cursing the muscle memory which had made him do such a painful maneuver. 

 

"Your aim's a little off," he sneered, backing a few paces off. If he could get that wheelchair, he'd have his speed advantage back a little, and this'd be so much easier. So... much... easier. He took a couple more steps. "You think you're going to get peace to work. Look at the backup I phoned in. They're surrounding the place. They'll be here soon. This is futile."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"They? They?" Tonic looked panicked for a moment, turning his head one way and another. 

 

"They are...they are always after me! For my genius! They don't understand! They fail to see divine inspiration, instead seeing only madness! But, verily I say unto you, they are mad! It is I who have my eyes wide open, yes, wide open in every direction...who see the beautiful connection of the all! It is only with such greatness of vision that man can aspire to the..."

 

He stopped, his finger half way through wagging in the air to accompany his rambling monologue. 

 

"What are you doing with that wheelchair?" he asked, stunned for a second. 

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman yanked the wheelchair upright, and then slid himself into it with a contented sigh. "What am I doing?" He popped a couple of wheelies, and spun it around in a tight circle. "Oooh! I like this. Very awesome. Don't even need to use my legs!" He waggled lycra-clad legs at Doc Tonic, just to prove he could.

 

He turned to squarely face the mad doctor. "Simple. What I'm doing is negating any speed advantage. You're wounded, I'm dog tired, and you seem set on running. Feel free to stop." Geckoman reclined back in the chair, arms behind his head. "Or not, it's not like if you keep running I won't catch you. Got a chair." He inclined his head at one of the wheels. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What unholy force drives you! Why wont you stop! How do you keep going?" said Tonic, sinking to his knees and raising his fists at the heavens, caught in despair. But, quick as mercury were his moods. 

 

He bounded to his feet again. 

 

"Exhausted, are you? Well, you know what the doctor orders? Bedrest!"

 

He picked up a hospital bed, lying abandoned in the corridor, and held it over his head, laughing. 

 

"What that, you say? Give him it? In the face, you say?" he said, eyes focussing on his hallucinations for one moment. 

 

"With pleasure!" he finished, throwing the bed full force, like a cannon...

 

...less than an inch past Geckomans left ear. 

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman deftly spun the wheelchair to the side, even as the bed ploughed past him. "Well, wheelchairs aren't necessarily for bed rest, sometimes they help you get around if you're not in a condition to walk." He took a quick spin of the wheels, careering towards Doc Tonic from the left side at a rapid pace, even though clearly slowed by the chair and fatigue.

 

At the last moment, he pivoted backwards and rapidly spun, the wheelchair rising off the ground on one wheel to let Geckoman deftly deliver a punch to the kidneys of Doc Tonic at still impressive speeds despite his beaten, tired condition. How much blood had they taken?

[Supercape]

GM

 

"ooof!" cursed Tonic as he took the fist to his Kidneys. Geckoman once again felt the wave of tonic rigidity in his fingers, his fist clenching painfully in a spasm. 

 

"I got ya...ya little...." muttered Tonic, swinging his fist lazily through the air in retaliation. For all his speed and strength, and he was strong, and he was fast, he was not a fighter. Geckoman was clearly more experienced in that department. His telegraphed hook sped through the air that Geckoman had been. 

 

Nevertheless, his face was red with fury and his eyes mad with lunacy. 

 

"I got ya good, infidel lizard! I bruised your knuckles with my amazing kidney attack! Muahahahaha!"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman effortlessly dodged the blow, letting the momentum roll him slightly. With a pained grunt, he came to his feet, grabbing the wheelchair as he went. He managed to heft it up, and draw it back in a pitcher's swing. "I know this isn't how you're meant to talk in a hospital, but will you goddamn just lie down, you maniac! Stop this now! I am sick of this, OK? Look at everything you have done!"

 

He swung the chair at Doc Tonic's head. "All you have done today is hurt everyone, and I am tired of trying to help you!"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What do you think you are doing?" screamed the livid Doctor Tonic as Geckoman raised the wheelchair. 

 

"You are no match for the mighty...gnnnk!" he gasped as the wheelchair crunched into his face. He slumped to his knees, and the bottle of Geckoman's blood fell out of his hand, smashing on the floor, and leaking the precious fluid...

 

"My...my...daughter..." mumbled Doctor Tonic as his eyes crossed and he fell, face first, onto the floor. Fortunately the wheelchair was wrapped around his head and neck, one wheel gently spinning, the rest bent and contorted out of all recognition. 

 

There was a moments pause. 

 

"Freeze, Geckoman!"

 

Four cops had brought up the rear, and were pointing there guns at the Green Crusader!

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman sighed and took a step back from Tonic's prone form. Great. He'd stopped a man trying to cure his daughter of a deadly illness. He blearily looked at the cops, lidded eyes looking at them through his goggles.

 

"Freeze, or what? You'll set up an ineffective cordon? You'll fail to pick up from dispatcher that an ambulance got hijacked? Did nothing to stop said hijacked ambulance heading to a hospital you'd been warned was about to be attacked? Y'know what?" Geckoman sighed and wheeled, hands held high. "I'll freeze. If you shot me, you might have the satisfaction of having actually contributed anything today."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Yeah, um...well...we know are you are Geckoman and all...but...you just shot out an Ambulance which went careering into a hospital. Coulda killed somebody. Maybe it did. And you stole a cops gun..." said the cop without much conviction and with ample confusion. 

 

"I mean...lets sort it all outside, back in the police station. I'm sure it can be cleared up..."

 

Dr Tonic groaned, still unconscious. 

 

"Who the hell is that guy?" asked the cop, pointing his Gun at Doctor Tonic, complete with wheelchair around his neck. 

 

"Why is he wearing a wheelchair like a necklace? He looks like a doctor...ah! aaaah! Look Geckoman, I don't want any trouble..." said the Cop, disagreeable to the notion of having hospital apparatus bent around his body. His feet started shuffling backwards, with the other cops in tow...

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, I know I gave a really rushed description and all, but he's the guy I needed you to stop getting into paediatrics to inject a girl with an unstable mix of chemicals which were intended to cure a degenerative disease, but would in all likelihood kill her." He sucked in a massive breath after the long sentence he'd hurried out in sheer exasperation. "C'mon, guys."

 

He took a couple of steps back. "Y'know what, I get it. You think I don't know launching an ambulance into a hospital wasn't bad? Really, really bad? But I was in a terrible situation. I had no options. I had no armaments. I had nothing, except a phone call. Which turned out to lead to a situation which ends in me having to hit a man with a wheelchair because he wanted to help his daughter. And... this. This is the outcome."

 

The greenclad detective leaned in towards the closest officer. "So here's my compromise. You guys have helped me before, but today..." Geckoman shrugged. "Today is not one of those days. So I go outside, without handcuffs, because I'm just too tired for the charade that they'd do anything. I give my statement to the press in my own words, without your input. Then we go sort this out at the station." He blinked and shook his head. "And... I can't actually believe I'm saying this, but if you can figure out a way to shut down his powers, let the man see his kid, even for five minutes." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The cops looked at each other nervously, and placed handcuffs on Geckoman even more nervously. In order to seem equitable, they put cuffs round the thick wrists of Doctor Tonic, still out cold, too. Whether they would hold the man, would be another matter. 

 

Then came the long march out of the Hospital, to a crowd of whispers, gossip, and speculation. 

 

Spearheaded by one woman, none other than Lana Loeb, the publisher of the Daily Herald, who had used her considerable clout to muscle in through the police cordons. 

 

"Geckoman! I should have known an irresponsible fool like you was behind this! Demolishing a hospital, shooting an ambulance...reckless, and dangerous! My Son is in hospital right now...you could have killed him! The city shall hear of this, you can bet! Front page in tomorrows Daily Herald! Have you any lies to throw out in your defence? I may even print them!" she said, voice hoarse with anger. 

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman gritted his teeth, and clicked his neck from side to side. He leaned in close, and gave Lana Loeb a crocodilian smile. "You have no interest in what I have to say. You have no interest in who was actually driving said ambulance, or what they intended to do to anyone in that hospital. You did see the driver paralyze a police officer, right? Oh, no. No interest in reporting any of that." Geckoman smiled any wider. "So print the same lie you print daily. And that lie is... 'Lana Loeb Is A Journalist'."

 

The greenclad hero yanked away from the police. "What is true is that yes, what happened here was a tragedy, and what happened here should not have happened. And what is true is that tomorrow, the city will know. To that end, as I said to the police, I will give a full unedited statement to the press, then be taken in by police for questioning." He turned back to gaze Lana Loeb in the eye. "So, again." He spoke to the crowd, but fixed his gaze on her. "I'd like to talk to a journalist to give that statement please."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I may not be a Journalist" hissed Lana in a manner that suggested she actually had contempt for her underlings, "I am a Newspaper Editor! You can stick that up your Geckotail and smoke it!" she retorted. 

 

Lana had a reputation for a fierce tongue. It suited her demeanour. 

 

"Geckoman! Menace or Threat?" she said, spreading her hands to reveal an imaginary headline infront of her eyes. 

 

She gave him a glare and stormed off to the Hospital, demanding to see her Son. 

 

Other Journalists started crowding Geckoman, with flashbulbs illuminating him and boom microphones swinging into his face...

 

"What happened?"

 

"Can you comment on your alleged destruction of the hospital?"

 

"Why did you target innocent people?"

 

"Given your behaviour, are you resigning?"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman shook his head. "Right. You're reporters, much of the necessities of your job are taking in information, and using words. I said I'd give a statement, not take questions. Apparently some of you didn't take that in, or didn't understand that. Just sayin'."

 

He took a deep breath. "Right, there are two versions of this story. One, the warped one the likes of that foul harp will spit out. I don't know that story. Go to your offices and start typing if you want to tell it. I hope it's interesting, and I know some of you are already planning it." Geckoman sharply inclined his head away from the hospital. "Go on, scram. You've got a deadline here."

 

He squatted down on his haunches. "Now, children, here's the second story. On a patrol, I investigated a robbery. This turned out to be a kidnapping..." He launched into a detailed, comprehensive account of his capture, draining of blood, and the chase of Doc Tonic to the hospital, including the Doc's motives, but deliberately leaving out his name or description. For all his crazy, unlike the journalists or cops, at least that man had tried to help someone. He explained that the ambulance had contained this man, that the police had made no move to stop the hijacked ambulance, necessitating a hasty action gone wrong in an attempt to stop said ambulance plowing through bystanders and police.

 

"So, there's my side of the story. I know some of you have no interest in printing that. I know some of you do, but your editors prefer a nice second Mercedes with their sales bonus to integrity. So, go ahead, go be judgey or what have you. Because you know what, I don't know if I'd do this the same way if I did it again, I don't even know if that serum of my blood would have cured the daughter. But you know what, I tried to do something. So, like Lana Loeb so courteously put it, throw out some lies. Throw out some lies over what you'd have done. Because if, as I strongly suspect, that serum would kill that girl, don't delude yourself into thinking you'd have done better. The vast majority of you would have done nothing, and if the girl died, not felt a goddamn thing." Geckoman bowed his head. "I tried to do something, and if, if miracles do happen, noone got hurt here, even then I will still feel guilt. I didn't do the right thing here. There's going to be a lot of digging here, but remember. A lot of you just stood and watched this happen. Don't pretend you'd have done better." He leaned back to shout at the police. "Take me away, boys!"

[Supercape]

GM

 

~ Epilogue ~

 

And so the papers the next day exploded, each of them eager to paint the truth of what happened that day. Each of them determined to dismiss the other papers. But the Daily Herald came out most bold, most vicious, eager to crucify Geckoman's reputation, whilst staying just within the law, using very careful language and legal loopholes. Lana Loeb may have been a tyrant, but she was not stupid. She had been playing this game for a long time and had got very good of it. 

 

Doctor Tonic, aka Doctor Ahmed Khan was carted off to the Providence Asylum, judged unfit to stand trail due to psychiatric illness. He was not an easy patient, but a heavy dose of neuroleptic mediation awaited him and his left gulteus maximus on arrival.

 

And finally, in the Paediatric ward of the hospital...

 

Larry Loeb was fifteen and ill. Namely, a lymphoma. His prognosis was good, but still. He was thin, bald, and fed up. He wandered out of his bed, weak but determined, and sat by the bed of his new friend. 

 

"Hi Larry...how are you?" smiled the girl. 

 

The girl was also ill, a mystery progressive neurological illness that had also made her weak, bed bound, and suffering intermittend hallucinations. 

 

"I'm good thanks, Amber, you know, gotta fight it..." he smiled back weakly. 

 

"You will make it, I know you will" said Amber. "I'll help you. My dad can help everybody!"

 

So said Amber Khan. 

 

~ Fin ~