“I have to get this.” Hannah groaned, as she struggled up from her bed, searching for her phone, which was blaring out ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’.
“No. Let it ring babe. I have to go back to college in the morning. This can wait.” Matt reached out and embraced his girlfriend, kissing her on the lips, then the chin, progressing lower and lower. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“No, that’s my Boomers ringtone. It’s business.” Hannah giggled, as she squirmed out of her boyfriend’s grasp.
“Oh, the Boomtown Rats. Clever. I knew I liked you for a reason.” Matt smiled. “Guess you’d best answer that.”
“I knew you’d understand.” Hannah smiled back, as she found her phone. “Hyper Girl here… Ok… Yep… Lirabite?… Oh, ok… Yeah, I’m just with my boyfriend… Uh huh… Ok… See you soon.”
“Lirabite? Aren’t they the aliens who were in Canada last year?” Matt asked.
“Probably. How do you feel about team-ups?” Hannah asked, as she pulled her costume out of her drawer.
“Team-ups?… Wait… Did Talon ask…? Holy crap!” Matt said.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Hannah laughed. “You’re so cute when you’re being a fanboy. Did you bring your costume?”
“Always. It’s in my bag. I’ll get changed now.” Matt tumbled out of bed, scrambling across the floor to his bag.
“Amateurs…” Hannah rolled her eyes.
“I’ve been doing this as long as you have!” Matt said, pulling his tights on.
“Of course you have sweetie.” Hannah said, putting her mask on.
<><><>
Mr Universe took a deep breath as Hyper Girl opened the hangar door.
“-so I told Ralph I didn’t mind, I’m sure it was the right decision.” Talon was already waiting, talking to The Freak.
“And you’re fine with it? I mean, we all assumed you were next in line.” The Freak replied.
“No, I think I’ve done alright for myself.” Talon said, looking over at the door. “Oh good, you’re here.”
“And Mr Universe accepted our invitation.” The Freak added. “It’s good to see you again.”
Mr Universe’s eyes went wide. “Th-thank you sir.” He stammered.
Talon smiled. “You can face off against Gauss alone, but we still make you nervous? Kid, we owe you our lives; you’re practically one of us now.”
“Not quite one of us though.” Hyper Girl warned.
“Although, if you’re going to be on the East Coast for a while…” The Freak said.
“We’ll worry about it later. The Gibbon just arrived, so we’re taking off. Nymphette is already on board.” Talon said, making her way up the ramp into the Sonic Boom II.
“Oh, Mr Universe is coming out with us today? Should be an easy one then.” The Gibbon said, as he swung through the doorway, getting down on all fours to bound across the hangar.
“Thunderbolt is meeting us there, he was working in Mexico.” The Freak said.
“Of course. He’ll probably beat us there.” The Gibbon said.
<><><>
The Sonic Boom II ducked and wove between the shots being fired upon it from the spaceships that swarmed the Miami skyline.
“Why doesn’t this thing have guns?” Mr Universe asked, as he clung to his seat for dear life.
“It’s technically a civilian vehicle. We’re not allowed.” The Freak said.
“And just how good a pilot is Talon?” Mr Universe asked.
“We’re not dead yet.” The Freak replied.
“Ok, I think we need to take some action. Hyper Girl, you with me?” Mr Universe asked.
“What did you have in mind?” Hyper Girl asked.
“Distract the ships so Talon can get this thing on the ground.” Mr Universe replied.
“Is that ok with you?” Hyper Girl shouted up to Talon.
“You got it. Freak, Gibbon, Nymphette, grab on to something, I’m opening the hatch.” Talon ordered.
As soon as the door was open, Mr Universe and Hyper Girl released themselves and sailed straight out, using their powers to fly.
“Try not to get hit.” Mr Universe said.
“Thanks sweetie. What would I do without you?” Hyper Girl deadpanned, as she blocked laser fire with her photonic shield.
“I have no idea.” Mr Universe replied, as he dodged an oncoming ship.
<><><>
Thunderbolt flew through the air, a loud roar following along behind him, as he flew at top speed. As he moved, the Miami skyline appeared on the horizon, rapidly getting bigger and bigger. It didn’t take him long to spot the swarm of alien ships flying around the buildings, shooting at two tiny figures in the air. Moments later, he recognised one of the figures as his team-mate, Hyper Girl, and rushed to her aid.
“Hyper Girl! Where is the rest of the team?” Thunderbolt asked, as the sky began to darken, thunder rolling in the background.
“In the ‘Boom, Talon’s going to try landing the thing. We’re up here distracting the ships.” Hyper Girl replied, as she blasted away at a space ship, her blast ricocheting straight off the forcefield that surrounded the ship.
“And this is…?” Thunderbolt asked.
“Oh, right. Honey, this is Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt, this is Mr Universe, my boyfriend.” Hyper Girl said, as she idly deflected another laser blast.
“Hi.” Mr Universe said, waving as he began using his powers to tear chunks off the ship that had fired at Hyper Girl. “Usually I’d start freaking out because I got to meet you, but I’m a tad busy right now.”
“Of course.” Thunderbolt replied, as a bolt of lightning destroyed another ship.
“That is so cool!” Mr Universe gushed.
<><><>
Nymphette looked around. “So if the fliers are up there, fighting the ships, what the hell are we supposed to be doing down here?”
“Saving civilians.” Talon said. “Those ships did some serious damage before we turned up.”
“Or we could take care of that.” The Gibbon pointed at the two ships that had landed three blocks away.
“True.” Talon said. “Ok guys, we’ve all fought Lirabites before. They’re strong, they’re tough, they’re fast. Freak, you’ll head down the middle, charge in, swinging. They can’t hurt you physically, and they’re not likely to fire their blasters at close range. Gibbon and I will flank you, we’re just as quick, and almost as strong as them, so we should be pretty effective. Nymphette, find a water source and hit them hard, but try to keep your distance.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.”
“Ok. It’s Boom Time.” Talon said.
The Freak began charging forward, letting out a primal scream as he crashed into a crowd of the reptilian extraterrestrials, followed closely by his teammates.
Nymphette looked around, trying to find a faucet or a fire hydrant, but to no avail. Sighing, she reached up and touched the communicator on her left breast. “Thunderbolt, make it rain baby.”
“You got it.” Thunderbolt buzzed back, and the heavens opened up.
“Alright then, time to get wet.” Nymphette said, as she began directing the raindrops, sending streams more powerful that firehoses at the Lirabites, knocking them flat on their backs. “That’s right you slimy bastards, take it!”
“That girl scares me sometimes.” The Gibbon muttered, as he uppercut a Lirabite, sending it sprawling.
“Amen.” The Freak said, tossing another two after it.
<><><>
“… So I figure if I hit just the right frequency…” Mr Universe said, as he sent out a wave of electromagnetic energy directly at an oncoming ship. Moments later, the power cut out, and the ship went crashing to the ground.
“Very nice work.” Thunderbolt said, as he swung Mjolnir, crashing it straight through the hull of the ship.
“Thanks. You too.” Mr Universe said, eyes wide.
“Ok, honey… You think you could do that again?” Hyper Girl asked.
“Of course, that was just a test run. Time for the full wave.” Mr Universe said, summoning all his strength.
“Don’t overdo it babe.” Hyper Girl said.
“I got it… Just be ready to catch me.” Mr Universe said, before throwing out his arms. The gesture was pointless, but he did like to look the part.
As the invisible wave of energy erupted from his body, ships began dropping like flies.
It was Thunderbolt’s turn to be amazed. “Incredible.” He said, as he watched a dozen ships just fall out of the sky.
“He really is, isn’t he?” Hyper Girl swooned, as she caught her boyfriend’s motionless body. “Looks like it took a lot out of him.”
“It took more out of them.” Thunderbolt said, pointing at the remaining ships, as they retreated into space.
<><><>
Mr Universe came to on the Sonic Boom II, Hyper Girl sitting by him, his hand in hers.
“It’s about time you woke up. You missed the press conference.” Hyper Girl said.
“Does that mean I’m not on the team?” Mr Universe asked groggily.
“Not this time babe, but you impressed them. I’m very proud.” Hyper Girl said, kissing him.
“What more could I ask for?” Mr Universe replied, a huge smile on his face.
The lovebirds ignored Nymphette’s chortle at that, too interested in each other.