Alister rode through the street, his third beer clutched in his hand and halfway empty.
Damn, I wish I could get drunk. I almost forget what it's like. The euphoria, the bad decisions, the hangovers... good times.
He began to wonder what he was doing out here. He supposed that it was because the base bored him. Nothing to do, no one to fight. This city probably didn't even have any fun villains to mess around with.
I wonder how my hometown's doing without me. Bet the Rogue's Gallery is going nuts without me around to play with. Oh, God, I bet Larry's cooking up some sort of shark attack right now. I wish there was somebody I knew around here, make the whole integration easier.
As if to answer his prayers, Alister spotted several police cruisers surrounding a bank. He rode within ten meters or so before dismounting, tossing the now empty can to the ground. An officer hiding behind his cruiser saw this and called out "Hey, are you drunk?!"
"I wish, mate." was Alister's only response. He approached a SWAT officer behind the same cruiser and asked for the situation.
"There's some maniac in there, calls himself the Mechanical Bull. He crushed up our van and threw it at us," he said, pointing to a ruined slab of metal on the other side of the street. "Now he's holed up in the bank and wants an armored car and a locksmith, or else he's going to start killing hostages. He's got 5 tied up in the lobby."
Alister smiled a bit. "Good to see Mel managed to find his way out here. I'll handle him, officer."
----
Mel was a very muscular man, and stood at 11'8". Astonishing until you realized about 8' of that were his legs. Just before he started his career in villainy, Mel replaced all of his limbs with mechanical prosthetics, giving him superhuman strength. However, he was left in constant pain from the procedure and had to keep himself on a variety of pain medication. This strange cocktail had the side effect of turning his eyes blood red. Doctors were baffled; Mel was inspired.
Mel, or the Mechanical Bull as he called himself now, was stumped. The door to the vault proved far too well-made for him to move, despite his increased strength. And the police STILL hadn't brought a locksmith. He decided he needed to up the ante, and that a dead hostage might speed them up.
He walked down the hallway and into the lobby. Standing in the center was a familiar face, if he ever saw one. His arms were crossed and had a noted look of joy in his eyes.
"Warrior King."
"Mel, old buddy!" Alister exclaimed. "I have to admit, I'm touched that you would come out all this way and go through all this trouble just for me!"
"Damn it!" Mel shouted in a jarringly high voice. "I go through all this trouble finding a new city to settle in, and you're HERE too?! When will I get a freaking break! Oh well," he said with a maniacal chuckle. "maybe this is some sort of reward. For starting fresh, I get to crush your little skull!"
Without another word, Mel charged across the room, his weight causing imprints in the floor. Alister flung open his cape and pulled Excalibur from his scabbard. As the massive villain approached, he jumped into the air, landing on his back.
"Man, I love this sword!" Alister shouted. He adjusted his grip so that he struck with the flat of the blade. "Batter up!"
He smashed the steel blade into the right side of Mel's face, bruising him as well as disorienting him. Alister leaped off and took a slash at his leg, cutting up some of the circuitry. Mel fell to one knee, cursing again. Then spun around, knocking Alister away with one of his massive arms. He hit the wall before sliding down.
Oh-ho-ho, jeez that one hurt!
"You've gotten some upgrades, Mel!" Alister said, coughing up a bit of blood. "I think you broke a rib!"
Mel rose back to his feet, grinning with pure, or rather, corrupted joy as a small gun barrel arose from his right shoulder.
"Oh, this is just the beginning, My liege."
