Clearly Pogo's uncle who pretends to not understand English is a giant Stooges fan, 'cuz that's the only way a girl Pogo's age would have heard of them. Not that I disapprove of her hanging around her Uncle Whatsisname. (I'm imagining Ernie, a good Chinese uncle name.)
I still need to go back and make adjustments to this and earlier stuff, such as replacing Mandarin with Cantonese (Thanks again, Lawnmower Boy!) but all the above is the rough draft of the story. I'm 5000 short of my overall goal. Thanksgiving in America is coming up so I will be out of pocket for a bit
Getting into the cannery wasn’t hard. A few bounces and I was on the roof. There was an outside stairway that lead in and down to the rest. There was a lock on it, but it wasn’t anything too strong or high tech to foil me. Oh, even if there was I would have broken in, I just thought maybe stealth would be the best way to go.
Of course, as a rule, I’m not stealthy. Also? I can’t see in the dark. So I had hit something of a snag here as I snapped the lock and went down into the dark. If I was lucky, the villainess, whoever she was, couldn’t see in the dark either, and had a light source out of necessity. The light from above faded so fast I was soon plunged in total blackness.
And I nearly slipped on the step more than once. Now, this sucked but it would suck for me to fall less than a lot of other people. My power is rebounding. Hit me with kinetic force, and I bounce around like nuts with little to no harm to myself. We may have a lot of bullet proof heroes in this city right now, but yours truly is the queen of taking blunt attacks and staying pretty.
Sharp objects are a bit more of a problem, but I’ve been practicing on using my powers on those too, and I’ve got a knife resistant weave in my costume so there’s that. But a fall? I could handle that. I could bounce down the whole way superfast.
But that would also surely give away my location or at least my arrival and put Aspirant in danger. What if there was a weapon to his throat, or he was strapped to a bomb? Not for the first time my mind raced with possible hostage scenarios, each one worse than before.
I have an active imagination, and it is not always a blessing. I found a rail, and I took it slow, agonizingly, nerve-wrackingly slow. It was all I could do not to grit my teeth in frustration. I’d never had someone I loved before used against me this way. I mean, if you believe the comic books, every superhero eventually does, but I really prefer reading about it to experiencing it.
My head was making noise anyway so I kept it busy by having a conversation with myself.
Easy, Pogo. Aspirant is a hero too. Even hurt, he’ll try to get free on his own. And if he can’t, we at least know he knows the drill. You’ve practiced for this, Pogo. Lady Obsidian has put everyone through a dozen simulations for moments like this.
Of course, the simulations usually pushed for backup and teamwork, both very much in doubt now. No, positive thoughts, assertive, but not cocky. Cool, but not cold. Hopeful, not harried.
I heard a voice, just a single one.
“No, mother… I haven’t issued my challenge yet. I have to find some way to do it without getting the whole team on me,” The voice was a woman. It was hard to be sure but she sounded roughly my age. I couldn’t place the accent beyond American.
There was a pause, as if someone else were speaking and the first voice had to wait.
Then she continued, “He DID take on more than one, mother, and he lost because of it. I… no mother. I didn’t mean it that way. I won’t fail you. I’ll avenge him. You’ll see!”
And somewhere in the dark, I hit the bucket someone had left on the steps! They clattered down down down with a clank clank thunk!
Damn it, if I wanted noises like that, I would have made them myself!
“Who’s that?” the voice called up, “Mom, I got to go. I think she’s here…”
To hell with it, it was too late. I was made. I had to move! So I dropped and followed the bucket and began to bounce down the steps. I put full force on my feet, with my hands upraised to catch contact with the ceiling before hammering down again. Each bounce feeding me more and more energy to redirect and use for my own. I don’t get sick. I don’t get dizzy. I do get kind of pumped up! And when I get pumped up, I can’t help but start rambling.
I get a lot of grief for this, but you know I’m not the only one. I mean, I like Eel, but he talks way a lot during his fights too! Besides, I was made, might as well give whoever this woman was the old razzle-dazzle and hope to distract her.
“Hello,” I declared as I shot into the floor level of the cannery where my costumed beau lay blindfolded, and shackled with a nasty swelling on his head, “You have kidnapped my team mate” And Boyfriend, I thought angry before yelling, “Prepare to get bounced, trounced, and thoroughly denounced!”
“Finally!” the villainess whirled, and then, almost an after thought, “Mom, I gotta go. She found me. Yes, vengeance will be...”
I crashed into the gray and black clad woman causing her to drop her phone as I slammed her into a large stack of old cans which scattered like bowling pins with a lot of force, but not to lethal levels. Angry as I was, I did remember the first rule of superheroes. We don’t kill! We’re not executioners, we’re the good guys. And darn it, the world needs that. There’s an old Chinese saying, darn if I can remember who the source is, I presume an old Chinese guy (Who by now is really, really dead): Without standards, no boundaries are set.
My boundaries were simple, solid walls, objects much heavier than myself, and no fricking killing!
I wasn’t above giving into curiosity though, and even as I was flying back from contact with her, I snatched the dropped phone up and asked, “I’m sorry, Pogo here. What’s her name can’t come to the phone right now as I’m about to kick her ass for hurting Aspirant and bothering me during a really bad day. Can I take a message?”
There was a stream of cursing in my ear that was as passionate as it was unoriginal. She compared me to a female dog, she declared my birth illegitimate, and I think she even threw in something vaguely antisemitic, which made NO sense. Then she finished up with a part that stood out.
“You’ll pay for what you did to my son! For the way you made him a laughing stock in the villain set!”
I was about to ask just who the hell was her son even as I reached for Aspirant to get him the hell out of here, when something glowing and green lashed about me, and yanking me back even as pain from a strange discharge arched through me.
“YOU!” Said the villainess who I had knocked into the cans. She’d gotten to her feet faster than I thought she would. Projecting from her were strange emerald energy coils, that reminded me a little of Bramble’s vines even if they were not made of any form of plant life. It was a constricting maneuver, and that, that was a problem!
Eel had long ago pointed out that grapplers had ways of taking me out more effectively than punchers. So energy coils wrapping about me, and starting to tighten? That was more than a little alarming. And it was a darn good thing that I’m a lot more serious a hero than folks give me credit for. I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and when I was told that grappling was a weakpoint for me? You know what I did?
I started practicing my escapology and hold escapes, that’s what I did!
Before the noose of energy could completely tighten, I redirected my motion and lunged through the eye of it, inhaling, and thinking thin thin thoughts! There was an almost digitized snap sound behind me and the pain ended as I slipped loose from it.
Despite her mask, the girl in front of me couldn’t stop her expression of shock and surprise and I came at her and delivered a good right cross right along her kisser and a lecture to boot!
“Your mom is very rude, and you’re not much better! Are you crazy, coming into THIS city and kidnapping a member of the New Samaritans? On your own? I don’t know who your brother is, but he can’t be worth embracing a plan sure to get your ass handed to you eventually no matter what! “
“My mother made me.. I mean, my family….” The villain was tough, but not super tough. I’d bloodied her lip. She rubbed, and then snapped, “Wait, you don’t even know who my brother is? After you helped disgrace him? You didn’t even take him seriously? He was a walking BOMB, you smug sugary twit! My brother could wreck whole streets, my brother is DEVASTATION! And you WILL remember him!”
Another emerald energy coil shot out of her, striking out like a glowing whip! It was not purely kinetic, and while my powers protect me from everything a little; it wasn’t enough. This hurt like hell, and I could feel it threatening to cut through not just my costume, but the flesh of my back!
I think a cry of pain escaped me despite my best effort. Moving, keep moving. She was right about one thing. I remembered Devastation! It was back when the rookies had really just arrived, and I was, comparatively, the old pro for once. And still I needed help from Valerosa and Eel then to beat him. I have to admit, using his own power against him was rather satisfying despite the dangers. He really couldn’t hurt me, just knock me around and once I got under him? I took control of the fight and got him into the water which made him easy pickings for Eel.
This woman, her powers were different. This woman could hurt me.
And you know something?
So what? I’ve been brain fried, electrified, strangled, and bespelled! I’ m not going to say pain didn’t scare me. I’m saying no hero worth her salt can let the fear of pain keep her cowed! I kept tumbling, and kept rolling, building up momentum again then kicked the wall. She could hurt me if she hit me, but first? She’d have to hit me and a lot more than once!
I was angry more than scared, but neither was good in this fight. Aspirant was injured and nearby. I needed to keep my focus to keep the fight away from him. If she threatened to hurt him if I didn’t surrender.
Yeah, I’d surrender to save him.
He’s my guy.
So I better make sure she doesn’t think of that. Fortunately, not only did she seem to have an easy button to press when it came to smack talk, she had labeled it for me.
“Oh, yeah, Devastation, I remember him! He was a real jerk, so confident how bad he was just because he had zero finesse and a big boom. But his best blasts? All they did was fuel me, make me more powerful, and then, when I got under him, he was my personal play toy. You’re the sister of THAT loser?”
“SHUT UP!” She send out twin energy coils, one from each hand at me. One high, one low.
Which is why I went middle, and answered, “Never have, never will. I’m a talker. What you want me to do? Lie? One minute your bully of a brother was willing to put the lives of innocents at risk, the next he was crying out because the tables had turned. You want me to say I’m SORRY I saved lives?”
I looked for an avenue to close on her again, but her fast paced whipping certainly made it it hard to find one. The good news? We’d moved well away from Aspirant, further into the halls of the cannery. There were long slumbering assembly lines and devices here, and of course, more and more stacked boxes of cans.
“You didn’t have to humiliate him!” My foe declared, “You didn’t have to ruin his reputation. Do you know much that pissed my mother off? He was the success of the family! He was the big threat! And you made him a joke!”
For a moment I thought her shots went extra wide, but then I realized I wasn’t the target. Each jade coil had latched onto a chunk of factory machine and then they closed them on me, seeking to entrap me! I bounced between the two now closing objects, building up speed but unsure I’d break free!
Crap crap crap! She was mad, but not brainlessly so. I slammed my fists down on the objects as they came close to sealing me in, and popped out, hit the ceiling and came down again, breaking the almost constraints through raw force with a crunching sound. And I leaped to tackle her before she could do that again!
We tumbled end over end, and that was my advantage, because every time she hit the ground, she groaned. When I hit it? I picked up oomph and force to hammer her down anew. She was tough, but she wasn’t Valerosa or Eel tough.
“Your mother pushes you towards this?” I said stunned, figuratively speaking, “She wants you to be villains? Holy crap, I thought my family was stressful! Look, I get it. You want to make them happy, and superpowers don’t make that easier, they make it harder, but you shouldn’t destroy your future just to appease your mom’s twisted dreams of being some criminal matriarch!”
My anger over this girl kidnapping my boyfriend and hurting him wasn’t gone, not by any stretch of the imagination, but now it had been joined by a strong confused streak of pity and, yeah, a weird deja vu. I mean, obviously my grandmother didn’t want me to be a supervillain. She really did want what she thought was best for me, but still, I knew what it was like to feel the weight of expectation. I wanted to make everyone happy. Everyone. But even when I knew what made me happy, I felt bad about pursuing it!
“And go where? Huh? And go where?” My new surprise nemesis snapped, “When Devastation gets out of jail, if he finds out I crossed mom, he’ll come for me to teach me a lesson. If she doesn’t’ do it herself or my sister. We’ve all got powers, all five of us, but I’m the only one who hasn’t made her bones. I’m the only one who is weak! I have to fix that! I need to stand out as RAVAGE!”
As if they had minds of their own, which, maybe they did, the energy coils of hers managed to snag me again. The strange emissions burned and zapped in turn, neither quite heat nor quite electricity. And they squeezed. I wasn’t sure I’d get free this time so instead I kept slamming her against this wall, that floor, and yeah, even the ceiling.
I had hoped her only power was the weird energy lashes she emitted. But Ravage was also plenty tough. An ordinary person would be at risk of broken bones with the bumps and slams I was delivering but while she was hurting, she was in no danger of that.
“Ravage? Really?” I said, “Sure, let’s go with that. Look, Ravage I don’t know your family story and I would feel sorry for you if you hadn’t hurt Aspirant! But if you haven’t committed other crimes, maybe we can keep charges low, get you a safe place and therapy, SO much therapy. Right now, until you surrender, we’re going to keep at it until one of us is out and Urk!”
I didn’t mean to say Urk. That was the consequence of my foe bringing in her coils to crush wrap up tight together in a kind of cocoon. Ravage had gotten time to recover and her coils and I was trapped by the tendrils that had elongated and extended over and over again until the only light I could see was the verdant glow of her own coils about us both. We were nose to nose.
“Now I’ve got YOU trapped,” She said, even as the coils shot waves of pain along me wherever they touched. They didn’t seem to harm their maker, which makes sense, “I’ve won.”
Slowly, inch by inch, I slipped my right arm up between us. I didn’t have enough room to draw back for a solid punch, but I said, “I’m a trained hero, with lessons from veteran superheroes who have,” I gasped as more energy burned me, “taught me tried and tested hand to hand techniques. Don’t make me do the Fu.”
“What? Kung Fu?” She sneered, looking a bit like the Wicked Witch of the West in her own emerald light.
“Nope,” I jabbed my fingers in her eyes, “Stooge Fu, Nyuk Nyuk!” Yeah, this was diving into the old lore. My Great Uncle thinks they’re the funniest thing and got me to sit down to watch them when I was a kid. Let this be a lesson to any future super-heroines, you can pick up tools for your war on crime from the weirdest places.
Valerosa once told me that people had reflexive reactions to certain intrusions. That while a true pro would not be mislead by those hard wired reactions, an amateur might!
Looks like Ravage’s mom had neglected her training! Ravage did what most of us would do if ours were in danger. She flinched! Her Focus disrupted, her coils sprayed open, and I shoved myself out of their grasp and knocked her down again.
She staggered about cursing at me.
“Oh, stop your whining,” my own supply of good humor was dwindling, “I know how much force to apply and I keep my nails short. Your eyes weren’t damaged for good.”
I didn’t give her time to recover her focus or for her watering eyes to clear, bouncing back, and now that I had her measure, holding back less. I hit her, rebounded, built up power, and hit her again and again!
Ravage, sister of Devastation, went down. This time, she stayed down. I rebounded from her, to Aspirant, let my kinetic energy die down and cradled his head gently, “Oh, baby. I got your message. It was weird, but I got it.”
“You did?” He looked blearily at me, “couldn’t focus. Comms were down.”
“I know, and yes,” I bent down to kiss him on the lips gently, “Nobody’s going to hurt you now.”
He was too weak to return the kiss much, but he tried, and he smiled when it was over “Pogo saves the day. Hey,” A hand went up to my mask, “Don’t cry.”
“Can’t help it,” I told him. He didn’t need to be a telepath to know how scared I was I might lose him, or happy I was that he was alive, “I’m a bad-ass who is not afraid of her emotions.”
He gave a weak chuckle and I slowly helped him get to his feet. He had to lean against me. We had both had less smelly days, but that too was okay.
“Wait, Comms are down, how am I going to call to get Ravage in the tank?” I wondered aloud, “Can’t use my personal phone in the car, that’ll be a risk to my secret ID,” Then I spotted the phone I’d spoke on earlier. It was ringing.
“Your mom is calling again,” I told the unconscious Ravage, sighed and with a nod towards Aspirant so he’d understand, I picked up the phone and answered.
“Ravage? Ravage, is it done?” The woman’s voice sounded like she was positively salivating at the idea of her daughter avenging her baby boy.
A dozen flippant comments came to mind, or even a few flat out jokes, or maybe pranking her, but no, I had something serious to say and I was going to say it, “Your daughter is not too badly hurt. Which is the first thing you should have asked about, but I’m not surprised you didn’t. You. Are. A. Terrible. Mother.”
She began to cuss.
“SHUT UP,” I snapped, “Hero talking, coward who sends others doesn’t get to until I say so.”
There was a sputtering sound, and I continued on, “Ravage is your daughter, but she is also her own person. She’s not just an extension of you or even her family, and if you were a mother of any sort of worth you’d know that, but instead you tied up her worth in her brother’s revenge. You made her SCARED of you? You treat her like an appendage that you’re willing to cut off if it’s not useful but in a real family, every person is valued, not just your golden boy son, and certainly not just your personal clan vanity! Your daughter is going to jail because YOU pushed her to this, because you SHAMED her. She is not the weak link in your family, YOU are! You had one job as a mom, and you screwed it up. And I’m coming after you. Not because you’re some cool arch-enemy, not because you’re my nemesis. I’m coming for you because you’re a toxic influence on your own children, and I just find you offensive! Better change your phone number, genius… better hope it’s not traceable with super tech!”
The phone abruptly disconnected. I smiled, Eel might be proud of me for that speech. We both had righteous outrage and little shame about it.
“We’ll get her,” My boyfriend promised, “Better call the Tank next.”
I looked at Ravage, still out. A part of me almost wished I could let her go. What a waste of power and talent, all for fear of a family member. I wasn’t so oblivious as to realize there was a dark reflection thing going on here. I thought of my grandmother and realized I’d been afraid of her. Unlike Ravage’s mother, grandma did it out of love, just like mom said, and besides, Grandmother’s mind was slipping. I could admit that now. It was going to get harder, not easier, but nothing we couldn’t handle, if we faced it as a family.
“Yes, yes you will, and I’ll help,” My boyfriend said by my side.
“Hey, I thought your telepathy was on the fritz thanks to the headbump?” I looked at him.
“This close? I got you,” he said gently, “And while I can’t cure things, if you want? I’ll help her as much as I can.”
I hugged him! He hugged me!
We both went “Ow ow ow!” We’d forgotten we were very, very, sore from his ambush and my fight.
“Let’s not tell the other Samaritans we did that,” Aspirant advised, “We would never hear the end of it.”
“Deal,” I said, “I’ll call authorities to pick up Ravage. Then I’ll get you to medbay, and then? Then I have to deliver a cake.”
“A cake?” he said surprised.
“Yup,” I said as we supported each other, “For others, this escapade would be a challenge, but for the mighty Pogo? A cakewalk.” Maybe it was the exhaustion and pain from the fight, but I thought that was very funny of me and was vindicated when Aspirant gave a soft laugh as if he found it very funny too.
Of course, he was possibly concussed, so maybe wasn’t judging so well but I took it as a win anyway.
(The End)
Movie review: The Marvels (2023). This sequel to the 2019 original links itself to other Phase 4 projects...namely the Wandavision and Ms. Marvel tv series. The plot involves the Kree trying to revive their homeworld while also taking revenge on Carol Danvers. This film works best when it focuses on the interaction between the three leads. The three actresses play off of each other fairly well and they provide most of the movie's best moments. The villain unfortunately isn't all that memorable and certain elements of the story delve into the silly. Still, this is reasonably solid. That end credit sequence though. NIIIIICE!!!!
Traffic had really picked up for the short time I was in the store and was as thick as stew by the time I got on the road again. I didn’t know if there was a convention, or some big game going on in the city I had forgotten, but I could bounce faster than the traffic was moving.
And the team communication network was still down. What the heck was up with that? I took a peek for a text response on my phone while I waited behind a red-light, only briefly. No response there either. Frustrated, I put on the radio. Maybe there would be one of those oddly common clues by media we superheroes get now and then? I know it sounds crazy but it is amazing how often some DJ interrupts their regular play list to mention something weird going on at this or that street, before taking requests. Doubly weird when you consider that a lot of radio today is preprogrammed days in advance.
I hit random scan for laughs and to take my mind off my worries and anxiety. The first station it hit was the local golden oldies station that played 80s music. Walking on Sunshine started, that’s one I actually know! I normally like perky songs, but this time? I wasn’t feeling it so I didn’t sing the lyrics.
The problem? Neither did the radio!
I swore I heard the chorus as ‘I’ve been stalked by a villain, wooah
stalked by a villain, whooah
and I’ve been concussed good!’
I double blinked, and took my eyes off the road for a second to stare, but I had set it on scan mode so it had already moved onto a different station.
A song from a superhero movie, one of the fictional superheroes not a real one like me, was playing..
And the lyrics were wrong again.
You’re not crazy, don’t ignore this tone
I’m trapped by a psycho all alone
I’m in Danger (Danger)
I’m in Danger! (Danger)
Hope I can forge a link you’re in range of
Pogo, I’m in danger…
I had to swerve out of the way of incoming traffic, as to say I was a little surprised! Did that just say what I thought it said? I left the scanner on as I reoriented myself wondering if I was going crazy. But then, the last song said I wasn’t? And if you can’t trust a lyric mutilating radio performance, who can you trust?
Did I need a therapist? The team had free access to a trusted therapist. Eel had been attending one for awhile. He had taken a lot of sessions after his last big adventure. What with his dad having cancer and Caleb blaming himself for that; the guy had been through a lot. So while some in my family might think psychology wasn’t for normal people, I was not sticking my nose up at it. Eel is either remarkably strong willed, or maybe just pig headed. Either way, it is a sign there is no shame in going a little nuts if you’re responsible in reaching out for help when you get there.
The scan went on in my old car, and the lyrics went normal again. I must have imagined it.
The traffic was letting up. Finally I could deliver this cake.
Wait, range? The song said range!
I pulled a U turn and risked scaring some folks. Some bastard yelled something about Asian drivers, which is rude and racist. I yelled something back “My bad driving is my own and I own it, you creep!”
I’m not a bad driver by the way. I maybe mediocre, but I’m not bad.
I switched the radio off, and had an idea. I clicked my phone on search for a particular song. It was from a Canadian Band Aspirant had introduced me to. I guess he would claim it was THE Canadian Band.
“Play something by the Tragically Hip!” I ordered my phone.
And just like that, Locked in the Trunk of a Car began to play, and the more clearly I heard the twisted and completely wrong lyrics, the more I tried to use it to guide me towards wherever it was trying to lead me.
I don’t know where the hell I am
And my focus feels like jelly
This lady says you are her arch-enemy
I don’t know what for, can’t think!
I don’t know where the hell I am
And my focus feels like jelly
Pogo, I’m hoping this gets your attention
You know I think with you she has some contention
Her logo looks familiar, but trouble with memory retention
Warning, she spoke about kicking your backside non-stop
The end of you, she seeks and she says she won’t stop
Where you could say I became her hostage, this is messed up
Get the other Sammies before to my rescue you pop off
“Comms are down,” I said aloud in the car and tried to think real hard. If somehow he was affecting my mind so I was getting a message hidden in music, maybe he could pick up on my thoughts?
But if it was working on that end, it wasn’t showing because the ‘song’ kept going with it’s snippets warning me what I was facing.
She dragged me round some place, it is dark and a bit fishy
It’s a cold, stinking place
Where I hear the click of tins in case
Maybe I’m in cannery with food so squishy?
However, I can’t see; I’m in a blindfold shoddy
Cannery? I’ve been a resident of this city all my life. I didn’t have it all memorized, but I could make an educated guess. I headed near the warehouses and docks area. Damn it, Caleb would be great help on this.
“There’s never an aquatic hero when you need one!” I snapped unfairly.
Then the distorted music got less distorted, but gloomier still, and if you’ve heard the real song you’d know how bad that is.
If you can’t hear this, I wish you could understand
Mourn and Move on, I’ll understand
Yeah
And I’ve seen your face, and was immediately besotted
Your mind’s a warm and kindly place
And you liked me? Who’d have thought it?
You took my heart away, and I’m so glad you caught it
However, I’m asking, please cremate my body
It was romantic, it was sweet, it was tearful and heartfelt.
It was making me irrationally angry!
“Damn it,” I snapped at my boyfriend who apparently couldn’t hear my thoughts back while he worked on the music, “You are not dying. I’m going to rescue you, but I need you to not give up! Come on, remember, you’re a CAN-Nadian, not a Can’t-Nadian!”
As a refrain was going on before the final part of the ‘song’ I saw it, the Rhamnousia Cannery!
My phone played the last words ‘Let me out’ but I couldn’t tell if that was just how it ended normally, or my guy still fighting to transmit.
I don’t know who the hell was claiming to be my nemesis. A part of me always wanted a nemesis, but not if it meant my boyfriend was hurt and a hostage! My ire was rising. If someone wanted to make an enemy of me, hurting him was a good way to ensure it.
With my telepathic boyfriend so dazed he could only transmit on whatever part of my brain that listened to music, and the rest of the New Samaritans beyond my ability to contact? I was on my own.
This wanna be arch-enemy is pushing for a fight with me? Fine. I’m Pogo. Push me, and I push back harder!
***
(TBC)
Yes, Mandarin is much more common among recent migrants, to the point that Cantonese is almost as endangered in California (probably BC, too, these days) as it is in Guangdong and Hong Kong.
Ahem. I've been keyboardless on vacation for the last week, or I would have responded earlier, because my thoughts were having little baby thoughts. Apart from it being unlikely that a family descended from railway workers would speak Mandarin at home as opposed to Cantonese, I liked it! And I was acutely reminded of it when my brother walked in on my niece, K., discussing the graduate school application process at me and held up his hands in the timeout position and said "Pause," just to get a word in.
Lawnmower Boy reacted to Cygnia in Order of the Stick
Lawnmower Boy got a reaction from Hermit in The Adventures of "Fish Guy" (Superhero fiction)
