"Hooray for Holly Wood"
An
Adventure starring Dyna Girl
by
Aaron Storck
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The Shrine Auditorium
Dyna Girl was almost overwhelmed by it all. "You're doing great," her date said to her between waves and smiles for the crowd and cameras which stood just behind a velvet rope. She smiled and looked at her companion as they proceeded toward the next stop on the carpet. The young heroine allowed herself to be led by the arm over to a pair of waiting interviewers, pausing for a few dozen photographers on the way. Dyna Girl smiled as brightly as her date as they approached the talk show maven and her daughter, waiting with video cameras rolling and microphones extended. "Oh, Tim!" the older of the two gushed. "You look wonderful! Tell us, how did you get back into shape so quickly after filming 'Forgotten?' Is it true that you lost fifty pounds for the role?" Timothy Cruz, the industry icon, and one of the best-known faces in America turned on his trademark impish smile that had won him Academy Awards, critical acclaim, millions of fans, and a tremendous bank account. "Well, Joan," he chuckled, "it wasn't quite fifty pounds, but I did lose quite a bit. Not only did I want to look the part of an American MIA, I wanted to sample just a bit of what it must feel like to be in that physical condition." Cruz paused a moment, toned down the smile, and looked at the two in earnest. "My health was monitored at all times by a physician, and I was never really in any danger. But there are men out there, in far worse shape than I was, who do not have any doctors caring for them. "That's why I did this film. That's why I'm wearing this pin," he said pointing to a small shield pinned to the lapel of his tuxedo. "This is a 1st Air Cavalry pin, given to me by Norma Douglas of Pocatello, Idaho. Her husband John was shot down in his helicopter in 1972, but he was never found. I believe that the government has not done enough to find out what happened to John Douglas and the many others lost in Vietnam." The younger interviewer piped in. "Is it true that you are donating all of your proceeds from producing and starring in 'Forgotten?' to a POW group?" "Not only me, Melissa, but others that worked on the film will be making contributions aimed at determining the whereabouts of MIA's and POW's," the actor said curtly. "I'll be happy to talk at length about this in the very near future." Changing gears, the older woman noted the attractive brunette on the arm of the superstar. "Tim, who is this fresh face you're with? I certainly haven't seen her before. Will we be seeing more of her in the future?" Cruz smiled and gently pulled the young woman in the red gown closer, all the while smiling, "This is 'Dinah,' and I'm sure you'll be seeing a great deal more of her soon." Dyna Girl erupted into a beaming smile as cameras zoomed in on her face. ************ 1221 1st Ave, #402 "How many times do we have to go around and around about this, Alicia?" Ken Hollenbeck asked the voice at the other end of his cell phone. "This is the pretty much same reason we broke up in the first place." The dark haired man paused to let his ex-girlfriend rail on about his job, and his music, and his life, and how he's not using his degree and how he's a classic underachiever... what ever that was. She was one to talk, after all Alicia Barnes never met a rave she didn't like. Ken was barely listening to the phone, and was instead watching the Oscars pre-show, worrying that the dinner in front of him was getting cold. "Look, I don't want to talk about this right now. I was just sitting down to eat when you called," Ken jumped in during a pause in the woman's rant. "I..." Alicia cut him off. "It's none of..." He was cut off again. Ken rolled his eyes and wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear, grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started shoveling noodles into his mouth. He was watching that wank-job Timothy Cruz talk about his film 'Forgotten?,' and how he was going to donate all kinds of money to some veterans group... or something. Typical P.R. move. And he's got some young chick on his arm, probably HALF his age. What a jackass showing up at the Oscars with someone else only a few months after divorcing his wife. Ken heard the words "...wake up and DO something..." come out of the phone when the video shot closed on the face of the woman that was with Tim Cruz. Then Ken dropped the phone. "Holly???" ************ Timothy Cruz smiled one more time for the interviewers and waved to the crowd as he turned back to the carpeted walkway, leading Holly Wood, a.k.a. Dyna Girl, toward the entrance to The Shrine. More flashbulbs popped as the pair drew closer to the canopied doorway. Cruz turned to wave at his fans one last time before going inside. Turning with her escort, Holly smiled and glanced around the crowd. After a few moments, she felt a gentle tug on her arm indicating that it was time to move inside. That was when she saw something closing fast out of the late afternoon sky. "Get back!" Dyna Girl shouted, stepping forward and shaking off the actor's grasp on her arm. The startled crowd turned, first toward Dyna Girl's outburst, then around at the object of her attention: some kind of bird-woman swooping downward. As the creature descended, it began to change into a striped female tiger-creature that landed on the red carpet, first on all fours, then stood upright directly in front of the pair of interviewers that Cruz had just spoken to. Flashbulbs popped rapidly and the animal-woman seemed distracted for a moment, but then turned her attention back towards her quarry. "All you're guilty of is disturbing the peace right now," Dyna Girl said taking a step toward the creature. "Let's call it a day, okay? No one has to get hurt." "You'll be the one that'll get hurt if you try to come between Timothy and me!" the cat-creature hissed. Her eyes softened as she looked toward Cruz. "We are meant to be together, Timothy. You know it. I know you left that bitch of a wife after you read my letters. She was never any good for you...” Turning her attention back to Holly, she bared her teeth and claws. "And YOU certainly aren't good enough for him!" The media photographers surged forward with a discordant burst of strobe-like flash bursts, watching as the tiger-woman leapt at Timothy Cruz's date. Event commentators changed in an instant from fluff-piece reporters into imbedded correspondents witnessing an attack on Tinseltown Royalty. Everyone watching, whether at the scene or at home, was convinced that there was no hope for the brunette in the red gown. ************ The Forte Museum Most of the staff had gone home for the evening, and those that hadn't were wrapping up for the evening. Curator and Chief Administrator Wally Wood was reclining at his desk, his jacket off, his tie loosened and his feet up on an opened file drawer. The television in his office was muted, but tuned to the pre-Oscar coverage on one of the cable entertainment networks. Normally, Wood could have cared less about the Oscars. Outside of a few exceptions, regardless of what his daughter Holly said, there hasn't been a good movie since John Wayne died. Well, maybe Eastwood, from time to time... "Knock, knock," a voice said from the other side of the partially open door. "C'mon in," Wally replied in his baritone Texas drawl. Stacy McKone, the museum's intern, peeked her face around the door. "Why are you still here, Wally?" "Just thought I'd catch a few minutes of the Oscars before heading home. How about you?" Opening the door enough to stand in the doorway, the girl adjusted her glasses and smiled. "Oh you know," her voice trailed off. "Research. Work on my thesis. Stuff to do." Stacy fidgeted a bit. "So tonight's the night, huh?" The man smiled, extending his hand toward a chair on the other side of his desk. "Do you want to sit down for a bit and watch?" McKone beamed at the invitation and plopped down into the offered chair. "Thanks!" She pulled a couple of bottles out of the paper sack she was carrying. "I thought you might like something to toast the occasion." Reaching for one of the bottles, Wally took the top off of his Diet Snapple. "What would I do without you, Stacy?" He lifted his bottle, "Here's to the start of a brilliant career." The intern followed suit and clinked bottles with her boss. "Here's to Holly." She took a drink of her own iced tea, glancing over at the television. "Oooooh! Oooooh! Is that her?" Wally turned back to the cable coverage and saw the hosts of the show talking to Timothy Cruz. The camera shot focused on Cruz, but to the actor's right was a tuft of brown hair and a shoulder clothed in a red evening gown. "That's her," said the proud father. "At least SOME of her." "Yayyyyyyy!" Stacy cheered and clapped at the muted television. Wood chuckled at the intern until, unexpectedly, the camera changed focus and framed Holly alone for a few seconds. "She looks more like her mother every day," the barrel-chested man said quietly. Stacy watched his eyes water slightly, and then clear as he blinked them. "I'm sure she would have been proud," she said, welling up a bit herself, reaching across the desk and gently touching the man's forearm. Placing his hand on top of his friend's and squeezing gently, he said, "I know she'd be proud." He pulled his arm back quickly after a few moments in a panic. "Damn!" "What is it??" Stacy asked, concerned. She almost never heard her friend and mentor use any kind of curse word. "I forgot to start a tape in the machine," he confessed angrily. "I wanted to record this." "I took care of it," a third voice said behind them. Both recognized it immediately: Nightsable. The newly arrived young heroine leaned forward and kissed the former superhero known as Electro Man lightly on the cheek. "She looks great, Wally." "I guess that's about it," the man behind the desk said to the two young women. The camera now focused on the two interviewers as the Cruz and his "lovely companion" moved on down the red carpet, pausing to wave at the fans and the media. "When can you get me a copy of the tape, Nightsable?" "I'm recording the pre-show, the Oscars, and the after-show interviews. Give me a day or two to edit together all the shots of Holly. You could even record a message to her, and I could put that on the tape too," Nightsable suggested. "I could take it to her later this week. "Besides," she added with a smile, “it would give me a chance to see Franklin again.” "Look!" Stacy said, interrupting the other two. "Something’s up." All three watched the video shot swing violently from the two interviewers and up the carpet toward the entrance. Wally reached for the remote control and turned the sound back on. "Oh my God!" shouted a voice from the television. The camera had now stopped moving and focused on some kind of female cat-creature threatening Electro Man's daughter and her movie star companion. There was apparently some kind of verbal exchange between the animal-woman and the curator's daughter, but the only sounds coming from the television were the histrionics of the women commentators. Then the felinoid woman leapt. ************ Alicia Barnes was mid-sentence when Ken Hollenbeck pushed the "END" button on his cell phone without a word. His eyes were locked on the television, watching as some kind of "were-cat-woman-thing" was bearing its teeth and claws at his friend. Whatever this thing was, it was angry. "Jesus!" The creature had leapt at Holly. ************ Several in the crowd covered their eyes or turned away, others watched, including those in the media, anticipating bloodshed. The cat-creature landed on top of the young woman and raised its claws. It was estimated by one media member on the scene that the creature outweighed the girl almost two-to-one. Claws came down on the girl while security guards moved in to save the young woman... ... until she stood up, holding the assailant above her head. And pounded her into the red carpet. ************ "Go honey!!" Nightsable shouted, pumping her fist in the air as if to aid her friend in her fight. "Yes!" Stacy McKone yelled, pounding her own fist into her boss' desk. "Be careful, baby," Wally Wood cautioned to the television. ************ "What the hell??" Ken Hollenbeck asked the T.V. set as he leaned forward, agape. ************ Dyna Girl turned to the approaching security guards. "I'm with Armor Security! Get these people out of here!" In an instant, the cat-creature was back on her feet and changing into a gorilla-woman. "Get out of my way you bitch!" She charged again at Holly, pulling back one of her massive arms and catching the young heroine across the jaw, sending her flying up and back through the awning covering the entry to the auditorium. Several security guards stood, weapons raised, between Cruz and his obsessed fan, who was now altering herself into a strange hybrid of a large bird and a lioness. "I don't want to hurt anyone else," she pleaded with the armed men. "Just let Tim and I go, and no one else will have to get hurt." Dyna Girl swooped around from the changeling's blind side and punched her back down the carpet toward the street. Most of the crowd had pulled back to a safe distance, assisted by event security. The heroine spoke into her expensive-looking watch, "Unit one, evacuate the principal to a safe distance. Unit two, protect the crowd." She smiled at the were-woman and kicked off her high-heels. She then tore the bottom of her gown off, freeing her spandex-clad legs. Dyna Girl cracked her knuckles with a big grin. "Round two." ************ Armor Security World Headquarters The Communications and Command Center was crowded. Most of the people there weren't even supposed to be on duty, but Dyna Girl's field debut was best watched from the C&C on any one of the wall-mounted monitors. Most of the non-duty personnel were in the gallery overlooking the center, listening alternately to the television feed and the Armor radio band. "We'll get Leno and Letterman for sure after this," Dalia Rosen, VP of Corporate Communications said to no one in particular. She was seated comfortably in the gallery, looking up at a large television on the wall. The man in the silk suit seated next to her smiled slightly. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, darlin'. The kid has to win first," Nathan James, Armor Security's Legal Vice President, reminded his colleague. "And pray to God no one sues for spilling a cocktail on their Dolce and Gabbana." "Confirm units one and two on Dyna Girl's request. Move it people!" Sergeant Leo Selman barked across the radio feed. "Grav, can we roll Damage Control One outside the containment area at this point?" Dalia asked, speaking into an intercom built into her chair. Selman answered before Grav could speak, "Ms. Rosen, we don't HAVE containment yet. There are too many civilians on scene." Another voice chirped in on the comm line. It was Grav. "We'll roll D.C. One as soon as UNCLE has secured the target." "Commander Wang is monitoring. UNCLE is standing by until the situation is contained," Triphammer added. "Shockwaive and I are on "Ready Five" in the chopper with Palmer if necessary." "Stand by, Trip," Grav replied. He turned, smiling, to Tracker and Riptide, who were standing beside him. "Let's see what our girl can do." ************ Listening in to the radio chatter on a concealed earpiece, Dyna Girl turned to glance over her shoulder to make sure Timothy Cruz was being moved to safety by Armor Security. That was a mistake. "You're ruining EVERYTHING!!!" the metamorph shouted hysterically. She transformed herself into a huge snake-woman and coiled herself around Holly's body, pinning her arms to her side. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, but you wouldn't let us alone." She squeezed tighter around Dyna Girl, slowly forcing the air from her lungs. "Now I have no choice but to KILL you." ************ "C'mon, Holly... FOCUS!" Eyes glued to the T.V., Ken reached blindly for his ringing cell phone and shut it off. ************ "Backup One is rolling, Control," Triphammer said over the radio while closing the door to the Armor Security helicopter. Turning to the pilot, "Get 'em spinning, Nick." "Stand down, backup," Grav ordered over the radio link. "Unit Two, move to support Dyna Girl. Unit One, stay with the client." "Forget it Grav, I'm going," Triphammer countered. "Then you better start running, because that 'copter is not leaving the deck. Do you read me, Palmer?" "Armor Flight Two, acknowledged," the pilot answered. Triphammer sunk into his seat and watched the monitor. ************ "I can't just sit here," Nightsable said as she watched Dyna Girl begin to falter. "I'm headed to L.A." The violet-clad heroine took a step back and was about to teleport to her friend's rescue. "Wait," Electro Man said quietly, watching the screen, willing his daughter to fight. ************ Dyna Girl's vision began tunnel into blackness as the coils got tighter and the life was squeezed from her. Dad, I'm sorry. The snake-woman watched gleefully as the upstart superhero began to go limp in her coils. Soon she would be with her beloved and there would be no one that could stand in the way. She began to scan the crowd, looking for the actor. ************ Wally Wood watched in horror as his daughter's head sagged, trapped in the animal-woman's coils. "C'mon baby, you can do it!" he cried in desperation. Stacy turned to Nightsable, "You had better go." Suddenly, the two women in the room felt a charge go through them as all the hair on their body stood on end. They turned to the only source it could be... Electro Man. ************ "Grav, we need to go now," Tracker said quietly so as not to upset the others in the room. "We need to save her AND the client." The Armor Security leader hung his head. "Unit Two, move to intercept the target. Backup One, punch it!" ************ "No, no, no, no, no," Ken Hollenbeck stared disbelievingly into the television. "This can NOT be happening." ************ It was unbelievable. The power was back, and even more invigorating than Electro Man remembered. The power had been gone for so long. Amazing! He felt 25 years younger... as young as he had been when he was a member of the Protectors. As youthful and vital as he had been before the power faded. Before Holly was born. "Holly," he whispered. And suddenly, he knew. He knew his daughter was dead. Somehow, inexplicably, he knew without question that the power had returned to him because Holly was dead. Just as the power had began to leave him upon the birth of his new baby girl, it returned to him upon her death. Nightsable and Stacy McKone looked on as an electrical charge began
to build intensity around their friend, only suspecting what he already
was sure of. They watched as he focused on the image of his daughter,
limp in the coils of the creature that had attacked her. Within moments,
the air began to smell of ozone while tremendous electrical force built
up all around Electro Man. Wally Wood collapsed onto floor. ************ The changeling squeezed one more time just to make sure that her victim was finished. She was about to release the body from her coils when Dyna Girl's head snapped back and she convulsed as if she had been hit with a defibrillator. The snake-woman looked into Holly's now-alert eyes and saw a crackle of electricity. She tried to squeeze even harder. "That is enough!" Dyna Girl said through clinched teeth. She exerted all of her strength and found she was loosening the coils around her... then she pushed harder. "NO!! I killed you! I know I did!" the snake-woman exclaimed as she felt the superhero squirm from between her grasp. Dyna Girl felt a sudden rush of power surge through her, and she tapped into it, finally breaking free. She fell to her knees as her adversary, equally exhausted, struggled to transform back into her gorilla form. "We all make mistakes," Holly said locked on her opponent's eyes, "and yours was pissing me off." Dyna Girl launched herself at the metamorph, fist cocked and eyes ablaze. ************ "YES!!!! Get that psycho-freak job, Holly!" Ken shouted at his TV. He stood up rooting for his friend as if she was playing for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. "Go baby, GO!" ************ "She's up!" someone shouted from across the control room floor. Grav, Tracker, and Riptide turned in unison to the large monitor behind them. They saw the company's newest hero rocket toward the metamorph at blinding speed. "Go DG!" Riptide shouted, disregarding any need for decorum and professionalism from a senior partner and founding member of Armor Security. Soon he was joined by whistles and shouts as the assembled company piped in, watching their rising star in action. ************ Dyna Girl lowered her shoulder and drove it hard into the she-gorilla's chest, sending the metamorph flying back across the now-cleared terrace and onto the sidewalk. Focus, Holly. It's time to end this. Striking quickly before the changeling could get back to her feet, the Armor Security heroine flew fists-first…up, over, and down into the animal-woman, landing atop the creature. Furiously landing blows before her adversary could recover to counter, Dyna Girl punched as fast and as hard as she could. Then, feeling that power surge through her again, she reached back and focused everything she had into one last punch that landed them both a foot into the concrete. Then Dyna Girl passed out.
"Wow..." Ken slumped back into his couch. He shook his head slightly and smiled to himself. My best friend is a superhero. ************ "Wow." Tracker turned to Grav, who seemed to anticipate his question. "No. I had no idea." "Armor Security, this is UNCLE," the voice of Commander Colin Wang, UNCLE STRIKE L.A. piped in over the comm line. "We are moving in to contain the target." A pause. "Nice job Armor. Convey our thanks, please," the UNCLE agent added. Grav snapped back out of his own thoughts. "Roger UNCLE. Our units will maintain containment until you arrive." Grav clicked over to another frequency, "Sarge, move in Unit Two to contain." "Unit Two, roger!" "How's our girl, Sarge?" "She's fine, Armor Control." Grav could have sworn he heard Sergeant Leo Selman smile over the radio as he responded. ************ "Wally???" The elder Wood opened his eyes and found Nightsable and Stacy McKone kneeling over him. He turned to Nightsable, "Go help Holly, please." Tears welled up in the young woman's eyes behind her mask. "She's fine. She's okay." Wally Wood sat up and saw the television monitor behind the conference table tuned to the news coverage. Standing there with Armor Security personnel and UNCLE agents was his daughter. Alive. Bruised and exhausted, but alive. She still managed a big smile for the cameras. The proud father hugged both women tightly and sobbed quietly.
"The show must go on, dear." "OUCH!" David Sutter was one of the best personal stylists in the city, but he'd never had to do a makeover on a superhero straight from a fight before. His makeup artist was working to hide Holly's bruises and stop the bleeding on her puffy upper lip. Her new gown was ready and the hair specialist had Dyna Girl's locks back in manageable form. "Just hold still for a moment, love. This is your coming-out party. Everyone is going to love you," the stylist smiled, admiring his team's work and applying the final touches himself. "There." Dyna Girl looked into the mirror offered by Sutter. Amazing. Even she had a tough time telling she just survived a fight that nearly killed her. "You're a magician!" "And you are an angel," the stylist replied with complete honesty. David Sutter made a career of making up, and building up, the elite in Tinseltown. He never had a reason to be in awe of any of them, until now. "This is YOUR night, regardless of who wins in there. And they all know it. Have fun." Smiling, Dyna Girl kissed the man gently on the cheek, "Thank you." Stepping out of the RV / Dressing Trailer known by Armor Security as "Damage Control One", Holly took a few ginger steps forward, still sore from her ordeal. She saw several of the local press catch a glimpse of her and rush forward, hoping for an exclusive. She gracefully lifted herself over the crowd and flew to the other side of the velvet rope. As she touched down on the red carpet, the flashbulbs erupted again as they had before, but this time she was the only one on the walkway. She smiled and waved to the press, walking forward under the torn awning and into the auditorium. Only once she was inside did she allow herself to slouch a little and lean against the wall. At least the rest of the evening she could sit and enjoy the show. Inside the foyer, she waited until a commercial break and then was ushered to her seat next to Timothy Cruz. As the show came back from commercial, she was surprised to see her face up on the large monitor behind the stage. Then she noticed the entire audience, including Tim Cruz, giving her a standing ovation. The show must go on, she thought as she smiled and waved at the crowd, which grew louder with shouts and whistles as she did. She sat after a few moments, and the rest of the auditorium followed suit. The crowd turned its attention back to the stage as the nominees for the next award were announced. Timothy Cruz leaned over to Dyna Girl and whispered, ”I know
something about ‘dramatic entrances,’ and let me tell you:
you’ve arrived, Dyna Girl.”
END.
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