Times Past: Doctor Yale's Traveling Medicine Show

[dans]

Doctor Yale's Travelling Medicine Show!

(The Opening Act)

Sometime in the late 1930s...

Yale, Doctor Yale, hey, Doctor Yale's Traveling Medicine Show, Pack up the babies and bring the young ladies and everyone goes! 'Cause everyone knows... 'bout Dr. Yale's show!

*****

It was a beautiful late spring evening. An early-rising full moon was shining through a light fog which mingled with the scent of honeysuckle and mint on a field outside of the small town of Nekova, West Virginia. Eight hours ago the field had been empty; now two brightly-painted long distance tractor trailer trucks were parked in a very shallow capital A, the cabs facing each other, to form a rough half-amphitheater between the trailers. Close to the cabs, a raised stage formed the bar of the A.

Giant, multi-colored letters on the side of each trailer shouted "Doc Yale's Traveling Medicine Show". Every square inch of the sides of both trucks was covered with gaudy words and paintings. Many of the words exhorted the benefits of the medicines offered by the traveling show. Doc Yale's world-famous "Homemade Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup" had the top billing, but there were other miraculous pills and potions available: "Doc Yale's Cough Balsam", "Doc Yale's Blood & Liver Pills", "Doc Yale's Joint Balm". Clearly, Doc Yale had "A Miracle Cure for Whatever Ails You!"

Other panels touted "An Unrivaled Array of Entertainment!" which you could find at Doc Yale's Traveling Medical Show. "Exotic Exhibits of Natural Wonders", "Square Dancing", "Sing Along", "Wild West Stunt Riding and Trick Shooting!", "Madame Seesall, World's Greatest Psychic!", "Euxenio Castaneda, Cuban Wonder Fire Eater". Clearly, this show had "Something for EVERYONE!"

A few dozen people filled the area between the trucks, which was lit by hanging lanterns. The crowd was in a festive mood; earlier they'd witnessed an exciting show and they had just finished a rousing group sing-along.

A handsome, distinguished looking man dressed impeccably in an expensive, well-tailored three-piece suit, a gold chain depending from the watch pocket, and a black silk top hat strode confidently to the center of the stage where he began addressing the audience. He spoke with a cultured accent, his deep voice easily audible to everyone in his audience.

"Friends, welcome! Thank you for joining us tonight! I'm Doc Yale, your host for this festival. I hope you have been enjoying yourselves this beautiful evening!" His voice radiated friendship, warmth and sincerity. The crowd cheered, he smiled warmly and bowed in acknowledgement.

"Friends, let me ask you something." He moved smoothly into his spiel.

[dans]

Doc Yale was an excellent speaker. He spoke about all the normal aches and pains a person might have, the diseases everyone experienced, described them each in such compassionate detail that his listeners imagined that they could feel the symptoms and the pain. Then... "Friends! Do any of you suffer from any of these symptoms or pains? Then you're in luck! Doc Yale's Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup is just what you need!"

There were some scattered cheers from the crowd. But that wasn't enough for Yale. "I sense skepticism and doubt. That's OK, my friends, it's healthy to doubt the unsupported grandiose claims of someone you've never met before. There are many fakes out there! But," he paused dramatically, "suppose I can prove my claims, right here before you tonight?"

"I ask for a volunteer, my friends, one among you who suffers continually from pain, such as rheumatism or a bad back or painful joints, one whom no doctor can help. One who is willing to try this miracle for all of us to witness..." He was interrupted by a weak shout from the crowd - as he always was, the show's advance agents always did their prep work well.

"I volunteer!" A wizened older man in a wheel chair slowly raised his hand, ignoring the attempts to shush him by the pretty woman who was standing behind the chair. "Shush yourself, Leslie!" he scolded her "I''ve been nearly crippled for years and I need a miracle. If Yale's snake oil works on me, it will work on anyone. And if it doesn't, why, so what? I won't be any worse off than I am - and we'll have exposed a fraud." There were other volunteers as well, there always were, but Yale chose the old man. He'd been promised a dozen bottles of Doc Yale's 'snake oil' if he volunteered - and he already knew it would ease his pain, he'd had his own private demonstration yesterday.

Two members of the troupe assisted Leslie as she reluctantly pushed the heavy wheelchair up a ramp and onto the stage. Almost everyone in the audience recognized him as Bernie Baldwin, a former mayor of Nekova and once one of the town's leading citizens, now permanently confined to a wheelchair by painful joint disease. After he reached the stage Yale conferred privately with him for a minute, asking his name. Then he poured about an ounce of thick, brown syrup into a cup from an ornate bottle with a brightly colored label.

"It works fastest if you swish it around in your mouth and gargle for 10 seconds before you swallow," Yale promised, projecting his voice so no one could miss the instructions. As Baldwin followed his instructions, Yale turned his attention back to the crowd. "It will take a few minutes before Mr. Baldwin feels the full effects of my miracle remedy; during that time, let me tell you the story of this marvelous magical potion!"

After he'd graduated from the best medical school in Europe, Doctor Harvard Yale had traveled the world, investigating every rumor, myth and local legend of miraculous healing, be it from a mysterious shrine, a magical spring, magical herbs, or even living spiritual figures who could heal by laying on of hands. He'd been studying in a Tibetan monastery with a famed order of monks, when they had taken him into their inner circle and revealed the source of their magical healing powers; a liqueur made from the fermented berries of the Tartarian honeysuckle bush, which grew only in nearby Chinese Tartary - the local name for Mongolia. Doc had learned the recipe, and he'd brought back almost a ton of dried berries.

"I had planned to return this year for more berries, but with the world at war, that is not possible. Regrettably for me, this is my last batch of Honeysuckle Miracle Syrup, but to your good fortune, I still have stock. I expect to sell out tonight, and until travel is safe again, there will be no more Doc Yale's Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup. Make sure you get YOUR bottle tonight."

Behind him, Bernie Baldwin had thrown off his blanket. He ignored Leslie's attempts to discourage him, and haltingly, painstakingly pushed his way out of the wheelchair. As the entire crowd broke out in astounded cheers, he took two unsteady steps.

"It works!" He was too old to scream, but those closest to the stage heard his astonishment clearly.

"He's not fully healed yet, folks!" Doc Yale cautioned the cheering crowd. "But by the time he finishes that bottle, he WILL be!" He pointed to two counters set up just in front of the trailers. "You can buy your OWN bottle of Doc Yale's Homemade Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup tonight. Don't tarry - when the last bottle is sold, we're sold out. And it may be years before we have more. Get 'em while we got 'em! Only 8 bits - less than a couple of haircuts - to insure your health for YEARS!"

[dans]

The Book of Answers

It wasn't long before the remaining supply of Doc Yale's famous Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup was gone. Coincidentally, there were just enough bottles available that everyone in line was able to purchase at least one bottle, although there had almost been a brawl when one of the last purchasers insisted on buying all the remaining inventory that was on the table - with a half dozen other people in line behind him. Doc himself had intervened, and sent someone to check inventory, who came back with a half dozen bottles. There were dusty and a different type of bottle, but the syrup looked and tasted the same. Doc assured the purchasers that these had been unnoticed in inventory for years - but the syrup only became stronger as it aged, so they were getting an even better deal than the earlier purchasers.

By then a large number of purchasers had opened their bottles and taken a sip - some following the recommended procedure and others just taking a mouthful. Most people found the syrup bitter and tasting medicinal, so the sipping wasn't excessive - but a number of people were feeling VERY spry and some were pain free after years of suffering, and the caravan's band came out and played, and there was a dance party that lasted for another couple of hours, until finally people began heading home, with many of those who had sampled one or the other of Doc Yale's miracle potions or pills being assisted by their friends.

After the last of the townfolk had left, an amazing transformation came over the encampment. The troupe almost magically changed from a group of carefree traveling entertainers to a highly disciplined work team. And the transformation of Doc Yale was the most amazing of all, as he transformed from a jovial, larger than life pitchman to a drill sergeant, crisply barking instantly-obeyed instructions to his well trained team. One of the trailers opened, a ramp was placed, and out rolled a 1934 Stutz Monte Carlo, in mint condition, one of the last 6 ever made, the epitome of luxury and style, opulence seen only rarely in this neck of the woods. The back bumper had been extended and behind the boot a large trunk had been mounted, painted and decorated in chrome to match the car.

The transformed troupe quickly and efficiently broke down the encampment and packed everything into the trailers. Within an hour, the caravan was on the road, headed away from town. All the panels advertising the show had been removed from the sides of the trailers, and they now looked like any 2 anonymous long haul trucks. The caravan split up once they reached a larger highway. They'd meet up again day after tomorrow at a staging area a hundred miles away, and after everyone reached the meet-up, they would redecorate the trucks and set up camp near another small town.

Doc Yale was in the rear compartment of the Monte Carlo, occasionally giving orders to the driver through the fancy car's speaking tube, but more often dividing his attention between the two beautiful women sharing the compartment.

"Tonight's oration was inspired, Harv, honey!" cooed lovely Holly Barnard, to his left, her head on his shoulder, both arms wrapped possessively around his own left arm. Or, wait! Was that her sister Bryn? Sometimes after a long day he got them confused... Well, as long as they were equally attentive, it didn't really matter. "You've never used that story about running out of berries before. Where'd that come from?"

Doc Yale and Holly (or is it Bryn?)

"Sales have been going down for months, now," he replied seriously. "With the troubles in Europe and the Great Depression here at home, our crowds have been getting thinner and sparser, and money's tighter and tighter. Yesterday it dawned on me that I could use the travel troubles caused by the war as part of the pitch."

"We're not REALLY outta the stuff, are we?" Bryn (or was it Holly) frowned prettily. "We ain't gonna be out of business, are we?" Holly and Bryn had only been with the show for a month and were still learning all the angles.

"Pay attention to your grammar! You're not some gangster's moll any more!" he scolded her with a frown, then shook his head in amusement. "No, my dear, I haven't used Tartarian honeysuckle for years in any of my miracle medicines, and they all work as well without it. We use fermented berries of native honeysuckle to provide the distinctive taste, but the medicinal effects are produced by my own secret blend of amphetamines and alcohol which I mix myself, a blend I discovered during my stint as a medic in the trenches during the Big One, and exquisitely refined over the many years since then."

The car was going around a curve, and he was being pressed nicely against Holly's pneumatic body, when he was interrupted by a loud whistle from the driver compartment and suddenly the three passengers crashed against the front of the compartment as the driver jammed on the breaks. The tires squealed and the car skidded from side to side as the driver fought to maintain control. They were almost stopped when they crashed into something with a loud smashing noise and the squeal of crumpling metal, but this damage didn't reach back into their compartment.

"What the bloody hell was THAT?!" Yale screamed as he climbed back onto his seat and opened the door.

"Avalanche blocked the road, boss," the driver replied through the speaking tube. But nobody was listening by then; they were all scrambling out of both sides of the car.

The road ahead of them was blocked with a jumble of mud and boulders; they'd smashed into one of them. The front right fender was damaged, otherwise the rest of the car appeared to be untouched. Prominent among the boulders, Yale could see the ruins of what must have once been a log cabin, swept down the mountainside by the avalanche. For the moment, there was silence - which was instantly broken by the piercing screams of a man in agony. Yale quickly moved to the source of the screams, a man partially crushed by a boulder. One arm was wrapped tightly to his chest, obscuring something bulky, the other bent at an impossible angle inches below the elbow. Instantly, the battlefield medic he had been years before took command. He realized that this man was fatally injured and wouldn't survive much longer - but he wouldn't let a man die in agony if he could help it - and he could! He took a quick look around; Bryn was kneeling on the ground, retching at the sight of the terrible injuries this man had suffered, and Holly was screaming in terror, but he needed instant assistance.

"Holly! Get my bag from the car - NOW!" His stern, commanding tone got through to her; she ran back to the car and pulled out his medical bag, than ran back. "I'm going to need you to hold his head steady," he ordered her sternly as he pulled out a bottle Doc Yale's Miracle Syrup^TM and twisted off the cap. "NOW!"

She gently held his head in both hands as he poured a dollop of brown syrup into his mouth. He gasped for a minute and then returned to screaming. Meanwhile, Yale poured liberal amounts of syrup onto the wound around the broken bone sticking out of the man's forearm, a gash on his forehead, and a gaping wound in his chest. It didn't take long before the numbing affects of the special, not-for-sale ingredient in Doc's personal nostrum lessened the man's pain; the screaming stopped. He tried to speak, but his abused throat could produce only a whisper. Doc Yale bent closer to hear.

"I reckon... I know... when I'm done for.... sonny... but thanks for letting an old man... die in peace," he gasped out, gulping and panting after every word. "Figger I owe ya one. And Hubert... the Hermit... is one what always... pays his debts... the Book of Answers... it's yours..." His good arm move jerkily to his side, revealing he'd been holding a book, then his eyes closed and his breathing stopped. For the rest of his life, Doc Yale swore that the old man, Hubert, had briefly touched Doc's soul as his own departed on his short journey to the afterlife.

Doc Yale was as stunned and dazed by the old man's death as he had ever been on the battlefield. Some things never changed; the emotional distress and turmoil of death close up was one of those things. He reverently picked up the book that old man had been clasping close, and glanced at the cover - and was more stunned when the book's title writhed as if alive, and changed while he was watching it... from Hubert's Book of Answers to Doc Yale's Book of Answers!

[dans]

Holly and Bryn had both run back to the car as soon as Doc had turned away from them, not wanting to be close to a screaming man dying in agony any longer than he forced them too. And Jenkins, the chauffeur, was still puttering around with the damaged fender, so none of them saw Hubert give Doc Yale the Book of Answers. He was totally bemused by the title writhing and then changing to show his name - he wasn't sure if he had believed in magic before or not, but he'd never expected to actually see magic working! He slipped the Book into his medical bag along with the partially empty bottle of Miracle Syrup and returned to the car. Jenkins had the crumpled fender in one hand and his tool kit in the other.

"It's OK to drive, Boss, but the front end will probably need to be aligned, and of course, we'll need a new fender." He tossed the damaged one in the ditch.

"Bring that with us," Yale ordered sharply. "No way we'll ever get a factory replacement, they don't make 'em anymore! Hopefully we can find a smith who can straighten that one out for us." Jenkins looked doubtful, but he wasn't being paid for advice. "Are you sure everything will hold together until we get to Destan?" Doc continued. Destan was about 50 miles from Nekova, about halfway to their next site, and on the mountain roads it would probably take most of the day to get there. But he wanted to get away from here before the authorities arrived and discovered the dead body. Not because he was linked to the death in any way, but just on general principles...

Jenkins nodded. "Sure enough. We could drive all the way to Chicago if we needed to. If we stay on these back roads, though, the side of the car will get pretty muddy and it might wreck the paint job." He looked troubled. "That guy's dead, ain't he?" Yale nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, it wouldn't be right to just leave without burying him."

"We've got no tools!" Yale protested.

"Lotta rocks around," Jenkins swept his hand around the rocky debris partially blocking the road. "And if'n we move some of them outta the road, we can keep going and still get to Destan before dark, 'stead'a goin' back to Nekova. I know ya don't never wanna go back to no place we already ever stopped."

That was rather compelling to Doc Yale, and if he were honest with himself, he realized he would have felt bad about just leaving Hubert out in the elements. He'd occasionally had to leave dead men behind on the battlefield and learned to suppress pangs of guilt, but they had never completely gone away. "OK, but I want to be done quickly. I'll get Holly and Bryn to help us."

Both beauties protested, but Yale threatened to leave them behind, so they pitched in. It was mid-morning before they were done, but no one else had come along this isolated mountain road during that time. Finally, Jenkins made a makeshift cross from some branches and some shoelaces and stuck it into one end of their makeshift tomb. They were all very muddy when they were finished, but during their travels, they were often forced to spend nights on the road in places that were less than reputable, and the big trunk on the bumper had a fair supply of towels and washcloths as well as several changes of clothes for all 4, so they cleaned up as best they could and continued on their way.

As they were passing through a small town in the valley on the other side of the mountain, Jenkins pulled to a stop outside the sheriff's office. "I'm gonna tell 'em the road's blocked back aways we came," he told Yale, not giving him a chance to argue. "That way somebody will find the guy's body and he'll get a decent burial." Doc nodded, a bit relieved - he'd been thinking the same thing, kinda, but he really felt strongly about avoiding the law... He was relieved when Jenkins came back and headed out on their way; he'd been worried that the sheriff might insist on them showing him the spot.

Doc was unusually quiet the whole drive, no matter how much the women tried to 'cheer him up'. When they arrived at the 'hotel' in Destan at around 7 (several dingy rooms above the saloon), they booked their usual 3 rooms. Doc then impatiently shooed Holly from his room, insisting that he was exhausted and disturbed by the death of the total stranger, and wanted to be alone and she should go share Bryn's room for the night. Holly sulked away, and he knew tomorrow's drive would be difficult at best, but he wanted to be alone so he could check out the Book of Answers.

***

When he heard the door in the room across the hall slam shut, and Holly and Bryn started bickering, he pushed the desk chair under the doorknob, sat down on the side of the bed, and pulled out the book. He stared at it uneasily for several seconds, then shook his head and flipped it open to the middle - and shook his head in disbelief.

"All the <blankety-blank blanking> pages are BLANK!" he cursed mentally. He snarled under his breath, "So what good is a Book of blank pages? How am I supposed to <blankety-blank> use this <blankety-blanked> thing?"

He was stunned when the pages started flipping by themselves, ending on a pair of blank pages. Almost too fast to see, tiny text started filling the page, and in less than half a second, both the page he was swearing at and the facing page were covered. There was a title atop the left hand page that read "How to use the Book of Answers". He put on his reading glasses and leaned closer and read for a few paragraphs, then snorted in disgust.

"Idiotic!!! It uses a thousand words to say Ask the Book a <blanking> question!" he interpreted mentally. "How do I get the answers I want if I have to read for <blankety-blanking> hours every time I ask?"

He jerked back in startlement as the pages started flipping again. This time when they stopped, the pages weren't totally blank, they were already filling in with text. The title this time was "How to ask The Book of Answers a Question". Once again he swore; both pages were filled with tiny text again.

"The text is too <blanking> small! How am I supposed to read it?" He almost dropped the book as the text suddenly grew in size until he could read it easily, even without his glasses. "That's better!" he said, somewhat mollified. "Maybe you're not so useless after all!" He started reading again, quickly decided he would just figure it out on his own instead of reading and interpreting the dense text.

"How can I get rich?" The pages flipped, and he started reading again. This time, the text started with a summary, which included: "Inherit riches", "Earn riches", "Finding Riches" "Stealing or Swindling Riches" and several other categories. "Dag nab it, that's not what I mean!" He was livid with anger!! "Where can I find a million dollars?"

The pages flipped again, and when they stopped, he dived in eagerly. What he saw was a map of Destan and it was covered with a lot of small x marks, and next to each x was a dollar figure. Some of the marks were bigger than the others; the biggest one in Destan was the bank, with just over a thousand dollars, and the next biggest was on Doc's car - he knew there was about $500 concealed inside the door of the passenger compartment. He was stunned to see that Holly and Bryn each had about $50, and Jenkins $75. Jenkins made sense, he paid for everything - but what were 'his girls' doing with so much money? And where had they gotten it?

The x that indicated himself showed only $20 which was accurate; he was uneasy carrying even that large a sum of money. Occasionally he ran into former customers, some of whom inexplicably viewed him with disfavor and felt that he should refund their purchase amounts - and whatever else he had on him at the time!

So far the so-called 'Book of Answers' had been useless! He gritted his teeth and tried again. "Show me any lost money in Destan!"

It wouldn't be much, he was sure, but maybe he could pick up a few bucks... and the pages flipped again, and came to a page that showed in big letters "Answer Unknown!" Yale shouted his anger and tried to rip the Book apart, but though he was a pretty strong guy, he was unable to tear even a single page. In a rage, he threw the Book against the wall and stomped out of his room and down the stairs into the saloon, where he ordered a double shot of whiskey, straight up. Just as he threw it back, he had an inspiration and raced back to his room and picked up the Book of Answers.

"Show me the 4 people in Milltown with the most money!" he commanded. Milltown was the next stop for Doc Yale's Traveling Medicine Show. He almost asked for the 'richest' people but he doubted if there were any people in this region who could be considered 'rich'. The pages flipped as expected, and stopped on a map of Milltown, with 4 places marked, and the names of the 4 people the Book had selected. Yale recorded these, then, "Show me 4 people in Milltown who have great pain when they try to walk!" He considered it good news that there were 2 people on both lists! He would contact his agents and suggest that they do their best to get as many as possible of these folks to the show in Milltown. They would have to postpone tomorrow's show by a day to give his agents time to do their jobs - but their schedule was nothing if not fluid!

Finally, satisfied that he had conquered the Book of Answers, he knocked on the door across the hall and offered his abject apologies to his two traveling partners.

 

***

The next day, shortly before they arrived at the staging area outside of Milltown, WV, Doc suddenly screamed in pain, terrifying Bryn and Holly. Not just pain, absolute AGONY! He had been plagued by gout for more than 20 years; he'd returned from The Great War with it. If he'd had to put up with it every day, he would have gone insane years ago, but fortunately if he was careful about his diet, it mostly seemed to be under control. But it seemed to feel the need to remind him every once and a while...

Jenkins was startled, but he'd seen it before, and quickly pulled off the side of the road. While the car was still moving, Doc clamped his lips to keep from screaming and pulled out a bottle of Doc Yale's Mystery Syrup from his medical bag (which had an ingredient not available in the 'for sale' variety of the Syrup) and took a long pull. They he was very careful not to move for several minutes which seemed like weeks, while he haltingly explained to the two women. As soon as the pain began to diminish, he carefully removed his shoe and sock, and finally the pain became barely bearable... not gone, but it felt like it was miles away rather than RIGHT HERE! He felt almost normal, for a while, at least, but he knew that when the pain relieving effects of his syrup would wear off the agony would return full force and last for several days, and he also knew that heavy use of the Special Secret Mystery Syrup wouldn't be a good thing... and then he had an idea!

As soon as they arrived, he shooed Bryn and Holly from the car and pulled out the Book of Answers from his medicine bag. "A cure for gout pain!" he practically shouted in his head. Over the next 15 minutes, Doc learned a bit more about what he could do with the Book of Answers, as he used it to find a magical spell that would temporarily abate his gout pain (for the details, click the 'Spoiler' link, below).

SPOILER: Click to show

The pages flipped briefly, then came to a stop on a page with a disappointing Title. "There is No Known Cure for Gout". He was about to scream at the Book again, but there was more text, so he read on. There were two columns, one headed "Gout Pain Reduction Through Medical Remedies" and the other "Gout Pain Reduction Through Magical Remedies". 

"Never really believed in magic before I got this Book," Yale thought to himself with a shrug. "But I been doing what doctors recommend since the War and I still get crippled; might as well try some of that hocus-pocus stuff." He read that column, paying as close attention as the potent pain reliever coursing through his veins would let him. "I don't believe it - it can't be that easy!" he swore in his head as he read:

Hold an egg-sized crystal of unpolished amethyst near but not touching the joint. Concentrate your entire mind on the crystal. While moving the crystal slowly around the joint, but never touching, concentrate on the pain diminishing while repeatedly chanting slowly and softly:

"Hax Pax Abraxas Max Dax Cadabras"

The malevolent mystical energy that is causing your pain will be slowly absorbed by the crystal. For severe cases, it will likely require that you repeat this ritual a few times a day. Discard the crystal after several repetitions or if it changes color to black. If amethyst is not available, other-similarly colored unpolished quartz crystals can be substituted, but the farther the crystal color is from the purple of pure amethyst the less effective the spell will be.

One of the "Exotic Exhibits of Natural Wonders" featured in Doc Yale's Traveling Medicine Show was 'Crystals and Gems of North America', a large glass case which displayed side-by-side uncut and polished crystals from North America (while the legends mentioned exotic far away places such as California, New Mexico, Greenland, and Alaska, all the crystals on display had actually been found in the Virginias and Carolinas region the show regularly toured). Doc had personally gathered and mounted many of the crystals and he knew there was at least one violet amethyst in the case. He sent Jenkins to fetch him an uncut amethyst crystal, then locked himself in the car.

He tentatively began the ritual, holding the Book of Answers in one hand so he could be sure to read the words correctly, with his leg elevated before him so he could carefully move the crystal over and around his aching foot. By now, the mild opioid in the special Mystery Syrup was wearing off and the pain was inexorably coming closer and closer - meaning it was becoming harder and harder to bear! 

As he hesitantly began chanting, he instantly felt sensations unlike anything he had felt before and he flinched in surprise - and dropped both the Book and the crystal and the sensations stopped instantly! He thought for a few seconds - these sensations had not actually been unpleasant - a tingling that has started in his left hand, holding the Book, which had traveled up his arm, through his body, and started down the other arm before he had flinched. Ignoring the returning pain in his foot, which jolted him whenever he moved, he cautiously picked up the Book: nothing... the crystal: still nothing. He began the chant again, and again the tingling flowed through him, from the Book into? the crystal... but it really wasn't painful, so he continued...

"Hax Pax Abraxas..." he could FEEL it working! The pain was definitely lessening as he slowly moved the crystal around his foot... "Max Dax Cadabras" and as he continued chanting he could see the crystal gradually changing color, fading towards a darker shade of purple. After a few minutes, his foot felt absolutely normal, so he stopped. "Wonder how long it will last?" he silently questioned, then shrugged his shoulders yet again. "Guess I'll have to try it out and see!"

He put the Book of Answers back into his bag, and then stopped and stared at the amethyst. Somehow, it had changed... it was clearly a darker color than before, though definitely not black, but somehow is seemed to have acquired a slightly... hard to describe... characteristic, definitely not something he could see, but somehow sense. "It seems slightly... sinister, is the best word," he thought. "Like the pain it absorbed was somehow... evil..." He thought back on the words of the book "Ah, that's what 'malevolent energy' means!" He found a small leather pouch in his bag, and dumped the contents out the window, then wrapped the crystal in the pouch and dropped it into his bag.

"So... back to work!" he thought sardonically, and got out of the car and joined his crew in making preparations for tomorrow evening's show in nearby Milltown.

[DocQuantum]

I like to see this continuing. Just read the whole story, and it works well so far.

[dans]

And Then Along Came... Wait a Minute! Who ARE These Guys?

"Well, this is a find kettle of fish!" Jadyn (Jade) Knight complained primly, as she danced out of the way of a tipsy amorous attacker, and whacked him on the back of the neck with her sturdy walking stick, the ornately carved brass dolphin handle adding extra weight to the blow. "I thought we came to this hick West Virginia town for a vacation!" Jade was just over average height, slender, had black hair and a stern but attractive visage. She was nattily attired in black slacks, with a white lacy blouse, a tight black lounging jacket and red bow tie.

"Aww, you'll get your kicks later on, when we see these guys in court. Meanwhile, this is MY kind of vacation," a short, muscular curly red headed woman with a round, 'cute' face, wearing a red sweatshirt which left her midriff bare and a knee length brown athletic skirt, replied with enthusiasm in her high pitched voice, as she grabbed a man who was lunging at her by both hands by the front of his shirt, picked him up and used his momentum to throw him against a wall. This was Raquel (Rocky) Young. "Best vacation yet, eh, Tex?"

Tatum (Tex) Tresh, their third companion, sort of shrugged, her symmetrical face beneath her short brown hair expressionless. "I'm not sure what makes this vacation different than any of our others, Rocky. You two seem adept at finding brawls wherever we go." Her powerful voice was seemingly as expressionless as her face, though her words suggested disapproval.

Tex was slightly taller than Jade, and wearing a blue vest over a white tank top and brown jeans. Her words seemed to be definitely disapproving of brawls, but she wasn't having any problem handling herself. A very large man, maybe an inch taller than she and probably 60 pounds heavier, swung a powerful haymaker at her head. She deftly sidestepped, then reached out and grabbed the man by the back of the neck and squeezed. A second of pressure on his carotid arteries momentarily stunned him and he fell into the sawdust of the floor of the small saloon, as silence replaced the bawdy atmosphere of a few seconds ago.

"Hey, you three, get outta here! You broads can't come in here wearing PANTS!" the bartender yelled at the trio. Indeed, by the standards of the time, they were dressed provocatively - 2 of them had pants and were showing a good amount of skin just below their necklines, while Rocky's short sweatshirt revealed her hard-as-rocks abs. 

"Oh yea, what about _that_ bimbo?" Rocky replied belligerently, pointing to a 'flapper' seated at a table with several guys. Her dress was low cut, her arms were bare, and her skirt cut off at the knees. The men at the table didn't look happy about their friend being mocked by out-of-towners.

"Tone it down, Rocky!" Jade replied. "I doubt if we'll find anyone here that would respond to a logical discussion. You'll start another fight!" For someone who had spoken disdainfully about fighting a second ago, she didn't look too unhappy about the prospect. After all, their earlier confrontation, brief as it was, barely even qualified as a 'brawl'!

"I suggest we go to the diner across the street, as I suggested earlier," Tex followed up. "And then go about our business.

"That sounds like you've finally got a lead, eh, Tex?" Rocky piped up eagerly.

"Of course she has a lead, you baboon!" Jade snarled in her best sarcastic manner. Then, eagerly, "You do have a new lead, right, Tex?"

"I have a new lead," Tex agreed quietly. "We'll have lunch while I give you the details." She turned to the bar and the remains of the 'brawl' - a shattered table and three men lying on the floor moaning, not quite as pleasantly intoxicated as they had been only a few minutes ago. "We're leaving. Do behave yourselves better the next time a group of women comes in for lunch, boys - they may not be as forgiving."

[dans]

"I guess if you've got a lead, we're not really on vacation anymore!" Jade said, a bit sadly. "So, Tex, give!" She then demanded as they sat in a booth in a small diner across the street from the saloon. Rocky nodded in agreement as she dug in.

"As you know, the last trace we had of the Microwave Man on my microwave triangulator was somewhere on the line connecting Metropolis to Milltown, before he moved out of range. He wasn't moving with his normal flying velocity, so we presume he was driving. If he was driving, he was fairly close to Milltown when we lost track of him."

"Yeah, we know all that, Tex!" Rocky complained. "Either get to something new, or let me eat!" She stabbed a piece of her rare luncheon t-bone, with the fat burned crispy - just the way she liked her steak!!

"While you two were out cruising the local beefcake," Tex answered. "I checked with the local real estate agent and discovered that not far from town is an abandoned farm that used to belong to a family named Padgett."

"Hey, the Microwave Man's name is Lewis Padgett!" Rocky yelped eagerly. "We better check it out!"

"Remember, our identification of Padgett as the Microwave Man is tentative, based on his academic publications. Nobody has ever seen the Microwave Man with his mask off," Tex cautioned.

"Yeah, but the Microwave Man disappeared a week ago and nobody's seen Padgett in that time either - that's pretty good evidence that your suspicions are correct. Bet he's out at the farm - let's go pick him up!"

"Circumstantial evidence at best," Jade admonished, then continued in a dry, haughty tone: "Even if Padgett IS the Microwave Man, we don't know for sure that he is connected to this abandoned farm. Let's not jump the gun!" A short pause, then, a bit hesitantly, as if she didn't want to agree with Rocky, "But I admit, it is a curious coincidence in a string of coincidences."

"Jade, you go to Town Hall and see if you can learn anything from the land records. Rocky, check out the archives of the local newspaper. I'm going go use some of the theories Padgett published to see if I can improve the sensitivity of my detector. It's my own theory that his body absorbs some of the microwave radio waves that are always present around us, and somehow converts that to energy he can use to fly and emit those 'microbeams' heat rays of his - and that when he is not actually using his powers, his body must re-emit at least some of that energy or he would spontaneously combust. If I can detect that reemitted energy, we'll have a foolproof way of tracking him."

"I hope this 'burg's librarian isn't some grumpy old guy who doesn't know how to treat a lady," Rocky sounded rather dejected - she enjoyed action a lot more than research.

"Well, you'll never find out," Jade taunted. "You've never BEEN a lady!"

"Yeah, well, a stuffy old records clerk is just your kind of guy!" Rocky countered.

Tex sighed. "Suppose we all get started on our tasks, and we can discuss our results at dinner. And tomorrow, we'll swing out to the old Padgett place and see what we can find out ourselves!" She looked at each one. "Don't forget - we're now officially here on business!"

***

The local paper was called the Cowbell Standard, and it had been published weekly since 1898 - and was probably still operating out of the same office. The local library only saved copies going back a couple of months, but Mr. Potts (John), the young, rugged, very handsome librarian told Rocky that the Standard's office was in Milltown, and he thought they might have copies of every paper they had ever published. Rocky managed to find out that John was an ex-Marine Corps fighter pilot - a new science teacher at the local high school who was filling in for the librarian over the summer break. As she headed off to the office of the Cowbell Standard, she hoped their vacation would continue after they wrapped up their current case!

The Publisher of the Standard, Mrs. Spooner, had been with the Standard since just before the Big War, and she DID remember the Padgetts, and was able to direct Rocky to some specific boxes of old editions in the storeroom. In a June, 1916 edition, she found an article with photos of Milltown's first World War 'draft class' that included a picture of Lewis Padgett looking very young along with several other guys, all of whom also looked way too young to go off to war. The only later article she found was, unfortunately, the obituary for Lewis's parents; they had died of the Spanish Flu, just about at the end of the war. The obituary mentioned that Lewis was their only child, and that he would be unable to attend the funeral due to his current posting as the radio operator on a Navy troop ship, currently somewhere in the North Atlantic. If he'd ever returned to Milltown, she couldn't find any mention of it in the paper.

***

Jade had luck of a different sort. The records clerk was much older - Rock's teasing aside, Jade wasn't interested in older men who couldn't keep up with her. But he had had once been young Lewis Padgett's grammar school teacher. He remembered a youngster fascinated with science and electricity, who had built a crystal radio and his own morse code sending and receiving set when he was around 12 years old - and who had gone off to war and sadly, never come back to Milltown again. But they found the deed to the Padgett farm, and Jade was able to get the address.

***

"I'm convinced I've increased the sensitivity of my detector by at least 50%," Tex told the others at dinner. "But I still need to be within a few miles. Tomorrow we'll drive out to the old Padgett place and see if there are any traces of the Microwave Man, or any clues we can find."

[dans]

The First Battle of Padgett Farm

The abandoned Padgett farm was a desolate sight, located 20 miles west of Milltown. As they approached, the group noticed two large tractor trailers parked on the property between the decaying barn and farmhouse. Busy figures could be seen moving around, setting up for some kind of event or show. As they drew closer, a vibrant billboard was being attached to the side of one of the trailers, boldly proclaiming "Doc Yale's Traveling Medicine Show".

Rocky couldn't believe it. "I thought those things were extinct!" she exclaimed. "Who still falls for that snake oil stuff?"

Tex interjected before Jade could respond with a sarcastic remark. "Times are tough, Rocky...there are still many people who can't afford proper medical care. So when a smooth-talking huckster convinces them that a $1 bottle of magical potion will cure all their ailments, it's an easy sale."

Rocky sounded doubtful as she replied, "I guess some folks will buy anything..."

"True - why, you'll pay a buck to watch pro wrestling," Jade mocked her partner. The way the two looked at each other, it seemed like a real wrestling match was about to start in the car!

But Tex quickly redirected their focus. "Let's split up and search the area," she instructed. "Rocky, you take the barn and look for any signs of recent activity by the Microwave Man or any clues that may link him to Padgett. Jade, see if anyone here has seen either Padgett or the Microwave Man. I've got the house."

As the car rolled up the rutted dirt driveway, the three women intently scrutinized the abandoned property while being watched suspiciously by the members of the traveling caravan. The once grand house now sported boarded-up windows and peeling paint. The surrounding land was overgrown and neglected, with even the stone fences crumbling. The only structure that seemed to have survived relatively unscathed was the old barn.

After Tex pulled into the driveway, they all got out of the car with utility belts strapped on and carrying cases a bit larger than lunch pails. She headed towards the house, Rocky hurried toward the barn, and Jade leaned casually against the car's hood. The sight of three women driving together without male escorts was enough to pique anyone's curiosity, and the caravan members were understandably cautious about unexpected visitors.

Deciding to take charge, Jade addressed the approaching men with confidence. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Have any of you seen a flying man around here recently?"

They stopped in their tracks and scoffed at her. "A flying man?! You think we're crazy, lady? What do you want anyways? This is private property!"

Jade stood her ground and retorted, "It may have been private 20 years ago when the owners were alive, but it has been abandoned since then. We are private investigators searching for the son of the owners and thought we might find some clues here."

The men laughed at her suggestion. "A bunch of female detectives looking for a flying man? You must think we're fools! You're probably narcs working for the Feds!" one of them jeered. "Let's toss 'em outta here, fellas!"

Realizing that they weren't going to get anywhere with reasoning, Jade responded with a hint of frustration, "I guess if our job was easy, even knuckleheads like you could do it!" She let out a sigh, knowing this confrontation was inevitable. "But fine, if that's how you want to play it. Do you really think you can handle us?"

The leader of the group sneered and barked orders at his men: "Alright boys, let's show these bimbos we don't take crap like that from anyone!" A group of men started to advance towards each of the women.

Tex simply sighed while Rocky couldn't contain her excitement. The tension in the air was palpable as the two parties prepared for battle.

Jade

"Stop where you are or someone's gonna get hurt!" Jade commanded the men approaching her, as she took a step back to give herself a bit of room. "One more step and you'll regret it!"

The men continued to taunt and ignore her warning as she confidently swung her walking stick, a wooden rod with a brass dolphin ornament on the head end. One of the men was hit in the cheekbone with a wicked backhand, causing him to collapse on the ground. The other two men quickly realized she wasn't joking and split up.

Now that they were aware of her weapon, she adjusted her grip on the stick and began using it to jab and stab at them, keeping them at a distance. She even managed to stab one of them in the stomach, causing him to scream in pain. However, her stick snagged on his shirt and another man took advantage of this momentary distraction by locking both of her arms behind her back. Still conscious and defiant, she took a roundhouse punch to the jaw before collapsing to the ground. The men then continued to hold her down and mock her for being such a "wildcat."

Rocky

Four men closed on Rocky, who stood her ground, her fists clenched and raised in a defensive stance as they circled her like hungry sharks.

"You won't hit a woman?" Rocky asked the four men who surrounded her, a quaver in her voice.

The leader sneered, “Won't even need to with a shrimp...” But before he could finish his sentence, Rocky darted forward with lightning speed and landed a powerful uppercut to his jaw. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The remaining three men hesitated, unsure of how to handle this fierce opponent. They tried to grapple with her, but she was too strong and used every dirty trick in the book to keep them at bay. Their longer reaches gave them an advantage, but she kept backing away until she stumbled into one of the nearby trailers. With a roar, Rocky charged forward and slammed into one of the men, using her impressive strength to push him back. She continued to pummel him until he fell to the ground, then stepped on him as he tried to get up. But in her blinded rage, she didn't see the other two men coming at her from behind.

They tackled her to the ground, their punches raining down on her back. But Rocky refused to give up and fought back with all her might, determined to take down as many of them as possible before they finally overpowered her.

Tex

Tex's body was a well-trained machine, honed by years of studying and mastering various martial arts. She could strike with precision and force, knowing exactly where to aim on the human body for maximum impact. As she battled against multiple attackers, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest and sweat trickling down her back.

As she was engaged with two man in front of her, another suddenly rushed up behind her and threw a burlap bag over her head, obscuring her vision. Tex was quickly tackled to the ground, her arms and legs pinned beneath the weight of several men. She struggled and fought back, but it was no use. The men had overwhelmed her. Despite their victory, the attackers were not unscathed. Tex had managed to land some powerful blows, leaving several men unconscious or writhing in pain.

But now all three women were subdued and captive on the ground. Jenkins sent two of his men to retrieve rope to bind them with, ensuring that they would not be able to escape again.

Doc Yale

Earlier, Doc Yale had secluded himself in his mobile office within one of the trailers, so he was not aware of the arrival of the women. He held the Book of Answers in one hand and the same raw amethyst crystal in the other, reciting the spell to alleviate his gout pain. He was on his third attempt with the same crystal, which had gradually darkened in color, and this time it was taking longer than before. The concentration required for the crystal was greater, and he could sense a mental resistance as he chanted.

Suddenly, the noise from outside broke through his focus and he became aware of loud yelling that had been going on for minutes. He stopped chanting mid-syllable and immediately regretted it, realizing that interrupting a spell caster mid-spell is never a good idea. His pain flared up so intensely for a brief moment that he screamed, before fading to a barely tolerable level. He didn't have time to start over with another crystal; he needed to find out what was happening in HIS caravan.

Despite his pain, he stood up and hobbled to unlock the door before making his way to the back gate where he found half of his team lying on the ground and three unfamiliar women being restrained by the other half of the team. Confused and in pain, Doc Yale demanded an explanation but couldn't fully comprehend what Holly and Bryn were saying due to his discomfort.

After learning that these women were undercover narcs, claiming to be trying to find a 'flying man', he gave the order to bind them and confine them in a cage until they could be dealt with later. Retreating back to his office, he started over with a new crystal in hopes of finding relief for his pain.

As he sat back down and picked up the Book of Answers and a new crystal, the trailer was sent rolling by a tremendous explosion!!

[dans]

The Second Battle of Padgett Farm

The caravan crew was just starting to secure their three female captives when a piercing, mechanical noise erupted from the ground nearby. It was a relentless ticking that reverberated through the air like a Geiger counter, sending shivers down their spines. As they all turned to face the source of the sound, panic washed over Tex's face as she realized what it was.

"Oh no!" she cried out in horror. "Somehow during the fight, the TIME BOMB in my case got activated! It's counting down now - and the closer it gets to exploding, the faster it ticks! We need to run, NOW!"

"I told you not to bring that with us!" Rocky yelled at Tex, her voice trembling with fear. The realization that they were all in grave danger hit the caravan crew hard. As the three women struggled to their feet, some members of the caravan were already running away in every direction while others started to follow suit.

"What bomb?" Jade stuttered, her mind racing as she tried to process this new information. She yelped when Rocky kicked her leg, then started screaming too: "It's too late!! We're not going to make it!" The caravan crew ran even faster!

Tex grabbed hold of Rocky and Jade's arms, dragging them towards their car. "That sound means the Microwave Man isn't far behind and it's getting louder and faster - he's approaching!" she told them, speaking quietly enough not to alert the runners. "We need to get the ponchos out of the trunk and put them on for protection. And we have to find Jade's walking stick!"

"What good is a stupid cane going to do?" Rocky snapped out the question.

"It's not a cane, it's a walking stick!" Jade snapped back in ingrained annoyance. "You'll see..." She quickly snatched two folded ponchos from the trunk and tossed one to Rocky. "Put this on quickly - and help me find my walking stick!"

***

High above his childhood home, Lewis Padgett, also known as the Microwave Man, soared through the sky with determination. As he drew closer to the property, he was disgusted and angered to fury by the sight of two tractor trailers parked among a makeshift campsite. Anger and disbelief welled up within him - on his last day on Earth, all he wanted was to revisit the place where he grew up, only to find it desecrated by a ragged bivouac on what had been his parents carefully tended lawn and garden. Fueled by rage, Lewis unleashed powerful micromatic heat beams at the cabs of the trucks, causing their gas tanks to erupt in flames and explode. He laughed with satisfaction as the trailers toppled over and 1 caught fire and burned. But his victory was short-lived as three silvery ghost-like figures emerged from a nearby car and began firing pistols at him! Reacting quickly, Lewis evaded their bullets and retaliated by targeting their weapons with his beams, causing them to become red hot. The ghosts frantically threw the pistols, and at least one of them exploded. One ghost fell lifelessly to the ground while the others frantically retrieved fire axes from the trunk of their car. Undeterred, Microwave Man focused his attacks on the remaining ghosts but was stunned when instead of being affected by his beams, flames erupted from the grass around them. In his momentary lapse of attention, Lewis was struck by a barbed projectile fired from a strange-looking pistol by the ghost who had fallen to the ground. A thin wire trailed the dart, and as the barb pierced his costume and his skin, a powerful capacitor in the pistol discharged through the wire, shocking him violently into unconsciousness, and he fell to the ground. Jade dropped the single-use pistol into the trunk of their car; it would need a new load and a recharge before it would work again. Tex had built that pistol into the dolphin ornament on her walking stick.  ***

"Now for the Rescue!" Jade's mind raced wildly as she frantically pulled a fire extinguisher from the trunk of the car, her heart pounding in her chest. She could feel the heat of the burning trailer from where she stood and knew she had to act fast. She raced towards the flames, and forced her way through the ragged hole her friends had chopped as the relentless inferno slowly devoured the wooden walls of the trailer.

The inside of the trailer was filled with thick, acrid smoke, making it difficult to see. But Jade pushed through, determined to reach her friends Tex and Rocky. As she neared them, she could see them struggling to carry a limp body out of the blazing inferno. The fire extinguisher in her hands spewed out rapidly-expanding foam that temporarily quenched some of the flames and blasts of freezing carbon dioxide that provided some relief against the intense heat. But it was a deadly race against time - would it last long enough for everyone to escape? The mirrored ponchos they wore provided some extra protection, but they were designed to reflect Microwave Man's micromatic beams, not for this kind of extreme heat.

Jade's heart was racing as she fought through the chaos, desperately trying to save her friends and Doc Yale. Only time would tell if their rescue attempt would be successful. Although she was only in the burning trailer for about 2 minutes, by the time the 4 of them were out, it seemed more like 2 years!

As they worked Doc Yale's body out through the ragged hole, the three were stunned to see that other than being covered with soot and ash, he appeared to be totally untouched by the fire! And he had both arms wrapped tightly across his chest, clenching... a book? Even though he was unconscious, they couldn't break his grip. They laid him on the grass next to the Microwave Man, who was now struggling to sit up. And a few seconds later, Doc Yale sat up as well, apparently totally unharmed, and fully conscious and aware of his surroundings, although he sure looked confused!

Padgett looked at the three women, who had by now removed the hoods of their ponchos, and sighed... "I thought I'd get away from you three when I left Metropolis. Why can't you stop hounding me?"

Tex replied sternly: "You're lucky nobody died here today, Padgett! We're going to hound you right into prison for years, but at least you won't get the chair!"

"I agree, I AM lucky that nobody died when I set that trailer on fire," he agreed. "I was so furious to find people on my parent's property that I just lashed out. Thank you for saving this man's life - I may be a crook, but I've never been a murderer!" He shook his head, ashamed of his out-of-control rage. He turned to Doc Yale. "They saved your life, buddy. It was me who set the trailer on fire. I can't undo the damage I've done, but I can do... this!" He pointed at the burning trailer and grunted with effort - and suddenly the trailer was covered in ice. And then he slumped back to the ground.

"I can't do that very often..." he spoke weakly; they all had to lean closer to hear him. "Way easier to absorb microwaves than heat - they have so much more energy it's like they're pounding on my body, trying to get in and give me my micromatic powers!" He was silent for a minute, then sat back up and smiled. "But they're always pounding, ready to perk me up when I'm tired!" He turned back to Tex.

"You're right - I'm going away for years," he actually grinned at her. "But you're wrong - you're not hounding me any more, ever again!" Before anyone could stop him, he lifted his arm and pointed a finger at the sky. Though they couldn't see it, he released a burst of microwaves. "My space friends are taking me on their Grand Tour of the Galaxy with them. I'll be gone forever - but I'll see things you never dreamed of!"

They had turned their heads in the direction he was pointing, and they saw something flash silently across the sky, faster than the human eye could follow. And then it instantly came to a dead stop, high above them - a 'flying saucer', though they had never heard the term before.

While the group was staring in astonishment strange craft hovering perhaps a quarter mile above them, the Microwave Man spoke once again. "Watch this! You WILL believe a man can fly!"

Doc Yale was dumbfounded when the Microwave Man floated up off the ground, paused when he was about ten feet up and performed an elegant bow to the ladies, then continued straight up until he was about halfway to the waiting saucer. For perhaps a minute, he performed some acrobatics, taking his last chance to show off joyously before an Earthly audience, then zoomed towards the waiting saucer. A beam of some kind flared out of the bottom of the craft, washed over the Microwave Man - and he vanished! And before they could blink, the saucer was gone too!

[dans]

Retcon alert - if you read the prior post before 9:30 PM EST on March 8, read the last few paragraphs again. Padgett did one last good deed before he vanished.

[dans]

Another one - I decided that everyone nearby really needed to see the Microwave Man flying. So he decided to show off one last time before he joined his space friends, and did some aerobatics before they beamed him aboard. I couldn't resist a chance to steal a famous line, either!

[dans]

Doctor Yale's Travelling Medicine Show!

(The Final Act)

After the Microwave Man disappeared, the caravan crew warily returned. They were all abuzz about watching a flying man, and then seeing him disappear instantly - and pissed as heck at the three women for blowing up their trucks with a time bomb! The women got set for a repeat of a very ugly scene, this time determined not to lose again, until Doc Yale stepped between the groups.

"Friends, don't make a mistake! You all saw the flying man that drew these three lovely ladies here; what you didn't see was that it was HE who destroyed our trucks - and almost killed me! These lovely ladies risked their very lives to save me, plunging into the inferno of the burning trailer, headless of the danger to themselves, and carried me through the flames to safety!" This was the Doc Yale from the show, at his charismatic, bombastic, larger than life oratory oratory best!

The crowd listened in astonishment as Doc recounted the story of the Microwave Man, how he had suddenly appeared on the scene and terrorized the good citizens of the great city of Metropolis, defying the best efforts of the police to stop him, and how three women, dedicated to the pursuit of justice, had taken the almost impossible task of capturing him upon themselves, even at the risk of their own lives.

"Wow, who knew we were so great? Somebody outta write us up in the pulps!" Rocky whispered to her friends, thrilled to hear their awesome feats recounted so vividly, to such an appreciative audience. "How'd he know all that about us?"

"You know it's all a wagon load of blarney!" Jade whispered back in admonition. "A total fantasy, woven around the few real facts he has." A pause, then, reluctantly, "Really, that IS a lot like a pulp story..." Another pause for thought, and a final wistful comment: "Can you imagine a lawyer giving a closing argument like that to a jury? He'd NEVER lose a case!"

Finally, Doc wound up his spiel. "I say that rather than greeting these ladies with anger and violence, we should greet them with a cheer! What do YOU say?"

For a moment there was silence, and then, hesitantly, Holly spoke up. "I say...HOORAY for the Girls from Metropolis!!" She was joined instantly by Bryn, and instantly the rest of the crew was cheering loudly as they surged forward to surround 'the Girls from Metropolis' with good cheer!

After a few minutes, Jerzy spoke loudly, on a subject that was weighing on the minds of all of them. "But what do we do now?" The tractor trailers were destroyed, and hundreds of bottles of Doc Yale's Doc Yale's world-famous "Homemade Tartary Honeysuckle Miracle Remedy Syrup" had been shattered, not to mention bottles of "Doc Yale's Cough Balsam", "Doc Yale's Blood &amp; Liver Pills", and "Doc Yale's Joint Balm". "We got nothin' left, the show's kaput... and we wuz supposed ta get paid after the Milltown show!" They all turned back to Doc, and everyone could sense the menacing mood returning, though the target had shifted.

"My friends!" Doc began again, still the Traveling Show orator. "Many of you have been with us for years, and you have all many times showed your loyalty and friendship. It is with great sadness and pain that I must agree with Jerzy - with our trucks destroyed, this must be the end of the line for Doc Yale's Traveling Medicine Show." The crowd's mood was quickly changing to menacing, and Doc continued quickly. "Although we are not able to afford to replace what we've lost today, we are not left totally destitute. The safe in the trailer is guaranteed fireproof - and there is enough in the safe to pay you all more than a month's salary!"

Perhaps his listeners were remembering that Doc had made grandiose promises to his audiences at every show - and they had always left town later that night, before the promises could catch up with them. The mood quieted but remained dubious. And one thing Doc was good at was sensing the mood of the audience. "Jenkins - go open the safe and bring the cashbox here. Set up a table and Jerzy can count it out and then give everyone a share, where all can see!"

It wasn't quite that easy... they had to use fire axes to break the safe free of the remaining ice left by the Microwave Man, but within half an hour, Jerzy was sitting at a folding table, counting the cash into 17 even piles. Doc sadly realized there was no pile for him; everyone else noticed as well, but no one protested...

He was standing with Bryn, Holly, Jenkins and the two women were eagerly asking questions of 'the Girls from Metropolis', Tex, Jade and Rocky.

"Who are you guys?" the twins wanted to know. "And why did you stop the Microwave Man from wrecking our camp, and then rush into the fire to save Doc? You don't approve of Doc or the show - I think 'hucksters' was the kindest term you used to describe us in the last hour. There's no glory in helping out a bunch of hucksters! And us hucksters had just finished beating the crap out of you, and Doc ordered you locked up in a cage! Nobody's going to reward you for saving him or helping us. You could have just walked away laughing at all of us, and instead you risked your lives for us!"

Jade and Rocky had always been a little uneasy about answering those questions, but Tex's voice was firm and confident. "We're just three women who do our best to do what's right. We don't do it for the reward..." she pretended not to notice Rocky jab Jade with an elbow in her ribs "... and we don't do it for the glory..." Jade jabbed back "...we try to always do the right things because, well, because it's the right thing to do!"

A line was forming to collect the shares of cash. Doc spoke quickly as Holly, Bry, and Jenkins started to join the line. "What are you three going to do next? If you want, you can stay with me. I've got some ideas; we should make out OK!" The oratory was missing - Doc's voice was plaintive...

The twins looked at Jenkins, then back at Doc. "Jerzy's got room in the back of his truck for us," Holly replied, as the other 2 nodded. "Goodbye, Doc." The three walked off to join the line.

"Well, it seems like things are under control here, Doc," Tex noted, ignoring the interplay. "We have to get back to Metropolis - there are other things we need to do!"

"Yeah, us 'do the right thingers' always got more to do!" Rocky noted brightly while waving. "Bye Bye! Sorry for your losses, but it sounds like you've got some ideas - good luck!"

"Our good work is never done, it seems," Jade added as she stuck out her hand. Then the three headed off to their car, never looking back.

Doc's shoulders drooped. He turned and walked almost aimlessly, his hands clenched loosely behind his back, scuffling as he walked in the general direction of his car. And then suddenly he stopped. He'd made a decision that would stick with him for the rest of his life.

"My friends," he called loudly. "This is a terrible blow to all of us, and I am sad that we must now scatter. But before we go, let me give you all another gift!" The words sounded similar, but this was NOT Huckster Doc. Even the most cynical of his listeners heard a new sincerity in his voice. "Jenkins - get the other cashbox from the car! It's time for me to start doing the right things!"

He walked back towards the group and into his new life, now surrounded by honest cheers!

[DocQuantum]

Very interesting turn of events. The Girls of Metropolis proved to be interesting characters, sort of like a 1930s Charlie's Angels, and raise many more questions about them that I hope are answered in another story, such as how they are funded and what their motivations are for going after the Microwave Man.

It's a bit of a shame that they overshadowed the title character so much. We don't really have a glimpse yet as to how Doc Yale would typically act as a hero. This story felt more like a prologue to his real adventures. But that's okay, as it leaves an opening for a follow-up story. I might try one myself someday.

Congratulations on completing the story on an original character, especially having so little to work from as source material!

[dans]

It is my hope also that we will see other Doc Yale adventures, plus Mac Maine and the other characters who eventually join up and become the original Sentinels of Magic. Mac Maine's origin was pretty easy, as there was a similar PD character I could rewrite. I may try to do some origins for the rest of the team. Meanwhile, Doc Yale and Mac Maine are new toys for the sandbox!

Two BTWs...

BTW, does anyone recognize Tatum (Tex) Tresh, Jadyn (Jade) Knight and Raquel (Rocky) Young?

BTW, if Doc ever becomes a superhero, his heroic name should be 'the Crimson Bulldog'.