Wink of an Eye (Justice)

[Ice Pirate]

It had been weeks since Don Karnage led the raid on that inventor's laboratory, stealing a host of inventions which he hoped to turn to profit. Figuring out what they did and how to use them was turning out to be tougher than he'd imagined, however.

But, at last, the pirate was ready for the first field test.

There were three of the little devices, about the size of a cigar box with a dome light on top, plus a lot of annoying little dials and switches. And on the side, a word stencilled: Interstitial-Enhancer.

But Karnage just called it The Blinkinator. Because, when it was turned on, it enabled you to move in the blink of an eye, while those around you stood like stupid-headed statues by comparison.

It had taken a lot of trial and error to figure out how the thing worked: it sent out an adjustable aura that let you, assuming you were inside that aura, move three or four times to everyone else's one.

The perfect accompaniment to a little bank robbery, yes, no?

And so, Ice Pirate and two of his henchmen, each armed with a Blinkinator, flew into Epcot City, landed on the top floor of a nearby parking tower, and made their way to a convenient bank.

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

Basil strolled into the bank to cash his paycheck from the theatre, just as any ordinary citizen might do. The transaction proceeded without incident, until the mouse was on his way out, where he passed three tough-looking characters, one of whom he instnatly recognized, even without the blue skin, as the notorious Ice Pirate (though, truth be told, the villain wasn't exactly trying to hide his identity).

It didn't take a detective to realize this trio intended to rob the bank. But they hadn't counted on dealing with a hero in their midst!

Basil continued out the door so as not to arouse suspicion, dashing into a nearby alley to emerge as Justice, the Cloaked Cavalier!

Rapier in hand, he paused at the door, peering inside to assess the situation.

[Ice Pirate]

"Greetings, ladies, and gentlemen, and banker-type persons." Karnage rarely did anything without attaching a speech. "You are having the privilege of being robbed by the world-famous handsome villain known as the Ice Pirate. Pay attention; this is something you will want to tell your little kiddies."

Naturally, the bank guard immediately reached for his gun. One touch of the Blinkinator, however, and the three would-be thieves seemed to disappear and reappear a few feet to the left. The guard, understandably rattled, shifted his aim first one way, then another, trying to get a bead on the vanishing felons.

The bank patrons gasped appropriately, which Karnage accepted as a sort of applause.

From the pirates' point of view, the guard would simply freeze, giving them ample opportunity to move aside.

"Enough of this oh-so-amusing game-playing," ordered Ice Pirate at last. "To work, my unwashed minions, and empty that vault!"

Rivet used his anti-gravity power to make the sacks of cash lighter, enabling the felons to carry huge armloads of the stuff. Karnage even lowered himself so far as to grab a couple of sacks.

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

Ice Pirate! Basil had encountered him before. Fires beams that create ice and freeze adversaries. Plus one, no, two thugs. They were an unknown quantity in the equation, as he was unfamiliar with whatever super-abilities they might possess.

All eyes were upon the felons as Justice slipped inside. Measure the distance...calculate the angle of trajectory...not forgetting the rate of deceleration due to friction...

The rodent hero leaped to the rim of a dustbin. His energy was at its peak, enabling Basil to carom off at an angle to a nearby potted palm, and bound up toward one of the pirates. He'd decided to attack the minions first--better the devil you know than the devil you don't, as the saying goes.

True as an arrow, Justice sailed on a direct line toward the miscreant's head, rapier pointed before him, firing a bolt of energy as he flew.

[Ice Pirate]

The air pirates chuckled as they continued their bank robbery.

Although it was fun at first to dodge the befuddled bank guard, Don Karnage tired of the constant jumping back and forth. So, with two sacks of money in one hand, he yanked the pistol from the poor sap and tossed it into a trash can. As the whole thing was done during a "blink," it appeared as though the weapon simply vanished; none of the onlookers saw it fall into the garbage.

The sacks of cash were now lighter than air, thanks to Rivet's super power, and a rough-looking pirate by the name of Blackie began to haul the floating booty toward the exit.

A gasp from Rivet made him turn...just in time to receive a face full of energy blast.

The pirate doubled over, holding his face in his hands, letting the money bags float aimlessly in all directions.

"What is this?" began Karnage before he recognized the small, dark projectile. "Again it is the annoying little rodent?" This was turning into a tedious habit.

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

Bullseye! Justice's energy beam struck the pirate full in the face. The rodent detective couldn't resist a triumphant "Ha!" as he soared over his target's head to land upon one of the floating sacks. There he paused a moment to strike a pose, brandishing his weapon dramatically as he cried, "Surrender, you fiends! Or face the wrath of Justice, the Cloaked Cavalier!"

Of course, Basil knew better than to remain in that exposed position for long. No, just long enough to irritate his foe, then, before Ice Pirate could freeze him solid with his frost powers, the Mouse of Mystery leapt once more, this time at an acute angle to the right, where he would come to rest safely atop the teller's cage, there to fire another blast at his foes.

[Ice Pirate]

Ice Pirate seethed with anger. Until he remembered his secret weapon.

As the tiny crimefighter sailed through the air, Karnage merely pressed a button and Justice's flight slowed almost to a halt. So slowly, in fact, that the air pirate could reach up and swat him like the insect he was.

But, no, there was no style in that. Instead, he gauged his enemy's trajectory and shot a freeze blast at the teller's counter, creating a slick surface for the rodent to land on.

Now, that was a move worthy of Don Karnage! In only a few seconds real time, he would be rewarded with the utter confusion that would wipe that smug look off Justice's face.

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

While in mid-air, Justice was astonished to see his foe vanish for a few seconds, before reappearing across the room. The Ice Pirate had acquired a new super ability? Perhaps multiple abilities hitherto unknown.

This could prove rather a sticky wicket. He would have to focus more attention on the blue miscreant and quash him quickly.

All this thinking took up barely two seconds; Justice was poised to land, spin on his heel, and fire at the pirate's current location, before that villain could vanish again.

It was not to be, however. The teller's cage was suddenly and inexplicably covered in a sheet of ice!

Basil had time neither to consider how this could be, nor to change direction. His heel struck the ice, sliding out from under him, and the Midnight Mouse sprawled in a heap, continuing to slide gracelessly across the counter to slam head-foremost into a stapler.

The room spinning round him, Justice tried to stand but found no purchace on the sheet of ice. The best he could manage was to lurch to his knees.

[Ice Pirate]

Oh, this was rich! Karnage had timed it perfectly, which was easy when you had so much more of it than your enemy.

And now, for the coup de grace, he raised his cutlass high over the puny super-hero. But, no, a quick death was too easy and not nearly as much fun as taunting a foe. Better for him to see his end coming.

"Rivet," commanded the pirate chief, "Our teeny-tiny enemy cannot get up. Help him."

"But, Cap'n, wouldn't it be better if I used my power to make him float?"

"Yes, oh, stupid one! Float him in the air! Make him rise! That is why I said 'help him up!' It was clever villain banter!"

Ice Pirate punctuated the reprimand with a slap across the face. Oh well, at least the peasants in the bank could appreciate his rapier wit.

Rivet might not be much in the brains department, but he did know how to use his super-power. With a wave of his hand, he made Justice lighter than air.

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

I must've struck my head harder than I suspected, pondered Basil, surprised at how light-headed he felt.

No, no light-headed. His whole body felt lighter than air. And no wonder, for the Mouse of Mystery found himself floating above the counter like a dirigible that had slipped its moorings.

Justice clutched at the teller's cage as he floated past, but, alas, it was beyond his reach. Up, up, he soared, to a (for a mouse) dangerous height, there to bobble in mid-air for all to see, a helpless object of ridicule.

[Ice Pirate]

"That is more like it," crowed the air pirate, surveying his miniscule foe with obvious relish. "Now, get back to work and load all of my beautiful money into my plane. And be speedy-quick!"

The cash was his, but Don Karnage felt he just had to torment his captive a bit before making his grand exit. What good was being a super-villain if you couldn't savor the perks?

"So, my tiny mousey enemy," he began, bringing his evil sneer close to the floating do-gooder, "How does it feel to be the useless waste-of-time, scorned by millions, eh?" Oh, this was good stuff!

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

Behind his mask, Justice's eyes narrowed with hatred as the loathsome villain leered in his face. Though Basil tried to maintain a dignified hauteur, Ice Pirate had truly struck at his weakest point. The onlookers no doubt thought him a failure and scorned him in their hearts. He would never be able to endure the public's disdain.

Seething within, Justice would've liked to reply with a scathing remark, but nothing suitable came to mind. In anger, he loosed a bolt from his rapier at the despised pirate, a foolish move motivated more by emotion than rational thought, for hadn't Karnage already proved he could dodge each attack by simply vanishing at will?

And yet, a remarkable thing happened: Justice shot backward, in the opposite direction of his energy blast, striking the far wall with a thud.

Of course! Newton's laws of physics: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Basil's weightless condition removed the friction that would keep him stationary, thus his bolt propelled him through the air as surely as an oar propels a boat through the water.

His contact with the wall was painful and embarrassingly graceless, but at least it gave Justice the means to move about.

[Ice Pirate]

The black-clad hero fired another of those energy bolts toward Ice Pirate. That would've hurt, but the pirate simply pressed the button on his electronic best friend, and the energy slowed to a fraction of its normal speed.

Actually, it was Karnage who sped up, but it amounted to the same thing. With a simple side-step, he allowed the ray to pass harmlessly by him, snickering at the uselessness of it all.

Once back in normal time, he felt the time was right for a taunt. "You stupid little rodent-type person! When will you learn that the great and fearsome Ice Pirate is much too speedy for your puny little powers?"

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

Think, Basil, think! he chided himself mentally. Now was not the time for mere physical reaction. There must be a solution to this problem.

Justice pondered his foe's last words. Ice Pirate is much too speedy for your puny little powers 'Til that moment, Basil had assumed the pirates were somehow vanishing and reappearing. Was it possible they were actually moving at such a fantastic rate that his eye was unable to follow? Yes, it seemed a reasonable hypothesis.

If so, then why did they not simply complete their robbery in ten seconds and be off? Basil's eyes widened behind his mask as he divined the answer: Because they can only maintain this speed in short bursts. Yes, that was it. The interval of increased speed was brief and temporary.

Now, how to turn that to his advantage...

His back pressed firmly against the wall, Justice brought his sword to bear once again and, calling out the challenge "Surrender, you villains," fired his energy blast. But this time, he swung his arm in a wide arc, aiming not at the pirates, but at the floating sacks of money.

The ray cut through the sacks, scattering notes all over the bank's floor. If he'd merely cut open one bag, the pirates could easily have scooped up the money. But, even with their short bursts of speed, they could hardly gather up the deluge of bills which Justice had unleashed, not unless they were prepared to remain the better part of the afternoon.