“If I don’t get the lead in the Hollywood remake, I’ll be well p****ed off!” - Danny John Jules (Red Dwarf)

Short story art trade

by

As part of this month’s Fanart Friday, we did a short story art trade. What this means is artists did a picture and we wrote a short story based on those picture. Below are the results, hope you enjoy!

Before we start here’s the featured art from the short story trade plus some additional bonus art!

Please note- if you want an individual short story, you can also click each individual one on our Deviantart page.

The Kid

Art by JoshStudio

Art by JoshStudios

“Help me!” Vibes was startled as she saw a young kid panicking through the streets of Reynard City. It was almost like he was doing an impression of that opening scene from Trainspotting, only it seemed he had some rather weird looking technology on him.

Vibes was not a fan of bullies, especially those chasing after a small child. If she had taken a step back, maybe she would have considered that there may have been more to this than she thought.

But in that moment, Vibes saw a scared child and her immediate instinct was that this child needed to be protected and whoever was chasing after them could explain what they were doing afterwards.

Vibes took a quick look at the guy chasing the child. Was it a fox or coyote, she wasn’t quite sure. He had a similar costume to her, all sleek and minimal, plus what appeared to be various cool looking gadgets.

Of course, it was hard to miss her AK Girl costume, the red and black standing out, matching glove and boots as well, all part of the iconic package. But Josh only got a quick glimpse, as Vibes grabbed the child.

“SPEED MODE!” she yelled, trying desperately to get away. She headed toward her favourite café. It was nice, it was safe, she could give the kid a milkshake while calling their parents.

They stopped in the back alley. Vibes smiled at the child. On the surface, they seemed normal. Just a regular, freckled boy with a slightly odd haircut. But then Vibes looked closer. There was a blank expression, no reaction to the fact that she had just saved him.

It was then Vibes realised something was up. The kid didn’t seem scared at all, not even questioning anything.

“So what’s your name?” Vibes asked. “It’s okay you can tell me.”

The kid didn’t respond.

“Is your Mum or Dad here? Someone who looks after you? Anyone I can call?”

The kid’s expression remained weirdly blank.

Vibes could feel it, something was up. She had to get to the bottom of it.

“PSYCHIC MODE!”

As she tried to read the boy’s mind, nothing happened. There were no indications of thought.

It was then Vibes felt the strange glow, something radiating from whatever that weird doo-hickey was that the boy had stolen.

Vibes flopped to the ground, feeling drained.

She looked up, as the boy’s figure melted away, revealing a massive robot underneath.

“Psychic energy extracted. Full potential form achieved.”

Vibes strained as she looked up. That creep had drained some of her psychic power!

She looked round. Josh had rushed round, a look of panic on his face.

“You…you’re one of the good guys” groaned Vibes, as she struggled to get to her feet.

“I…I’m sorry. I came through a portal and ended up in this strange city. This robot is one of a number of rogue creations, seeking power. Unfortunately, it must have picked up on your psychic energy signature.”

“Awesome. My name’s AK Girl by the way. At least, that’s my superhero name.”

“Josh” Josh smiled, grabbing Vibes by the hand before getting them both out of the way of a massive laser blast.

“Nice to meet you Josh” laughed Vibes. “Maybe next time we should schedule a coffee or something.”

“While that’s cute and all, we need to work what we do about this thing.”

Josh threw a flash grenade, temporarily blinding the robot. As he went to fire a laser blast, the robot revealed two additional limbs, hurling Vibes and Josh to the ground.

“Come on!” Vibes groaned. “Got to get back.”

“What do you mean ‘Get back’?”

“My power depends on my focus. That robot may have got a bit from me but I can still regain it if I concentrate.”

Josh fired laser blasts, clearing off the two additional limbs from the robot.

“No pressure or anything but I could really use you getting your focus back!”

“You’re not helping!” Vibes snapped back.

As she shut her eyes, Vibes focused. But before she could attack, the robot developed massive fists, sending Josh and Vibes flying.

“Please tell me you have a plan” Josh groaned. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a giant truck full of trucks.”

Vibes strained as she got to her feet. It seemed like the robot was getting stronger. Then she realised- this thing had taken her power, so it made sense that this was also what could take it down.

“I need you to focus with me.” Vibes stated.

“What do you mean?” Josh looked confused.

“On the count of three, say ‘PSYCHIC MODE’ and think of a big blue wave” Vibes explained.

It seemed insane, but Josh wasn’t ready for another massive hit to the gut.

“1…2…3… PSYCHIC MODE!”

With a massive effort, a big blue wave slammed into the robot, overloading it and causing the machine to explode.

Josh sighed. Bits of his tech laid in pieces around the street.

Vibes put her arm on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I know a guy who can fix things. While we wait, you can tell me your story.”

LATER…

Josh explained “My portal technology allows me to explore multiple dimensions. Unfortunately, I am not the only one with that tech. That robot is just one example of the kind of things I deal with on a daily basis.”

Vibes looked intrigued. “What other things?”

Josh smiled “Warp beasts, intergalactic pirates, black marketers, all sorts. There are a lot of things out there. Some cause chaos without meaning to and you just have to control them. Others are the result of evil folk. You just destroyed an evil folk creation.”

Vibes smiled “Yeah, that’s what I like to do!”

Josh looked round. The café, the hustle and bustle of the streets and the feeling of community was something that appealed. For the first time, it felt like he could settle in one dimension.

“You know, we could use someone like you on our team” Vibes grinned.

“Sorry” Josh sighed. “As much as I’d love to, I’ve got my own issues to take care of, and there’s a lot of universe that needs to be looked after. But thanks for the coffee.”

They arrived in the garage, just as Rotecol had fixed up Josh’s portal transporter. His grey beard and oily clothes made him look like a typical mechanic, but underneath it all was a technical genius (with a speciality in warp technology).

“You’re good to go” Rotecol smiled. “Next time take better care of it.”

Josh laughed. “That’s cute. Anyway, I’d better go.”

Vibes sighed. “Will we see you again?”

Josh shrugged. “You’re the psychic, you tell me.”

Vibes rolled her eyes. Being psychic wasn’t quite as simple as that.

“It’s just…you seem pretty cool. And I’m sorry about how things got messed up back there.”

Josh smiled. “It’s okay, happens all the time.”

And with that a portal emerged, Josh waving goodbye as he travelled off on another adventure.

“So… who are we going to get for our next guest appearance?” snorted Rotecol.

Vibes laughed. “I don’t know. Just hope next time they make it a bit more obvious they’re the good guy.”

“Or you could, I don’t know, ask them” Rotecol shot back.

“You are so lucky I like you…”

THE END… FOR NOW.

Strike A Pose

Art by Shaneoid77

“Vibes, can you explain this?”

Sal slapped the photo onto the table.

“It’s a good photo.” Vibes shrugged. “Love the lighting on that, really works on the fur.”

Sal glared at Vibes angrily.

“What?” Vibes ill-advisedly shot back at Sal.

“Does the phrase ‘secret identity’ mean anything to you? You’re a superhero, not a bloody…glamour model.”

“What’s the big deal? I do a lot of side stuff, how do you think we pay rent every month?”

“What do you mean ‘side stuff’?”

“Repair work, kid’s parties, that kind of thing. Thanks to speed mode, I can be in and out pretty fast.”

Sal was now red-faced with anger.

“You’re an idiot.” Sal glared at her. “We’re supposed to be protecting the city, and you’re doing odd jobs and…posing.”

Vibes then made a massive mistake. “Oh…so that’s what it’s about.”

Sal tried to stay calm. “Vibes, I’m asking you to be more careful. If someone were to find out who we really are…”

“Bullcrap Sal! This is about you taking your issues out on me.”

Vibes stormed off.

“This conversation isn’t…over.”

Sal sighed. The conversation was over.

LATER…

Sal looked in the bathroom mirror. To anyone else, Sal looked like a tall, attractive blond woman. Indeed, anyone who was with her in a meeting could see she was organised and hard-working.

But when she was alone and looking in the mirror, she saw her reflection. She hated what she saw, rolls of fat and puffed out cheeks. The look of the girl who tried so hard but never got better than third place.

Be honest, you’re jealous.

“I…I’m not jealous. She’s just…reckless.”

You keep telling yourself that Sal. She’s getting all the attention you would have got. But you never got better than third place.

“I…I put that behind me. I’m an adult now. I have work to do…two jobs actually.”

Yes, but look at the jobs you chose- you’re the producer behind the scenes at the studio, while everyone is looking as AK Girl takes centre stage. But then, she’s the future saviour of the universe isn’t she?

“I… I know what you’re trying to do.”

You know, I could make her blow up like a big fat balloon. You could have her power.

“No… I…I won’t give in to you. Not again.”

Fine, Sal. It’s bedtime now… sweet dreams…

That night, Sal tossed and turned. In her dream, everyone was dressed in AK Girl shirts, posters for her to sign, buildings seem to sprout posters everywhere. And then, to top it off, Sal’s mother walked hand in hand with her.

“Mum!”

“I’m sorry Sally”

“But you always said she was a bad example…”

“Now now Sally, nobody likes a tattle tale.”

Sal was now in tears. In desperation, she grabbed more and more food, the crowd laughing as her body ballooned up. And there at the head of the crowd was Vibes.

Sal woke up, groaning. She had no idea what time it was but didn’t really care. Guillermo snored loudly next to her.

Stop lying to yourself Sal. I can see into your subconscious desire, I know you want to humiliate her just as much as I do. Just remember, I am the one that gave you that perfect figure, that grants you that power. Without me, you’re the big fat blob from New Jamestown!

Sal sighed. “I…I know I might need you again…but not now.”

The next day, Vibes arrived in the office. There on the table was a cup of coffee and a doughnut waiting for her.

“What’s this in aid of?” Vibes asked.

“I…I guess I was a bit harsh on you before. You weren’t doing any harm.”

“Thanks. I…I guess I crossed the line as well. I’ll try and be more careful.”

Sal and Vibes hugged. Vibes knew there was something else there. As a psychic, she could have easily dived in and read her friend’s mind. But Vibes had her own code. While she didn’t mind using her powers to get to work on time, invading her friend’s privacy was not something she was prepared to do.

As Vibes left the office, Sal sighed.

You’re pathetic.

“I know.” Sal groaned.

When the time comes, you will need me again. And everything will come out.

“Maybe. But for now…I’m just going to have to live with it…”

Sal winced, looking back at the bathroom mirror. They can’t know the real me she gulped, they just can’t…

THE END…FOR NOW…

Vibes Meets A Fan

Art by Elie Renard Delisle Lafortune

It had been another great rescue. Vibes couldn’t help it, giving the crowd her usual bravado, throwing in a few dances and poses. Granted, she knew that Sal would grumble about it (Guillermo would too but tended to be less vocal).

But hey, she had done the rescue and therefore she had earned the cheers. If she wanted to do the Ghostbuster strut, then she was going to do the Ghostbuster strut.

But then something weird happened. She saw a face in the crowd. It was a kid, one who looked like a small fox cub. Instinctively, she grinned.

“Nice costume” she laughed, going in for the fist bump.

What was weird was how the kid reacted. He seemed happy but also a bit confused.

“Don’t you remember me?”

“Umm… I think if I saw a kid who kind of…Nah, it’s silly.”

“What’s silly?”

“Well if I didn’t know better I’d say you look like…”

It was then it hit Vibes like a train full of bricks.

“Come on, we need to get a coffee.”

“I’m a kid, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Well okay, I’m getting coffee, you’re getting a milkshake or…whatever.”

Vibes took a closer look at the kid as he carefully sipped his vanilla milkshake. Yeah, there were definitely traits there. On the one hand he had Guillermo’s darker look, but there was elements of Sal in there too, a certain hesitancy in how he spoke and reacted to Vibes.

“OK, enough buildup, who are you?”

“I…I was hoping you’d recognise me…Aunty V”

Now Vibes was creeped out. Aunty V? Vibes was no aunt…was she? Did Guillermo and Sal have a kid then neglect to tell her? No, they wouldn’t just abandon a kid…would they?

“Alright, I need to know, how do you know my name?”

“You’ve always been there. If Mum or Dad both had to go out, you were the one looking after me. You let me stay up later and showed me all the tricks to complete Smash Street 2.”

Now Vibes was really freaked out. She had literally only just discovered the bug trick to beat the bosses on Smash Street 2.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Roman”

“Cute name”

Vibes then had to think. This didn’t make sense. Why was he here?

“How did you get here?”

“I…I don’t know. One day I’m at home, the next thing I know I’m here.”

Vibes tried to stay calm. It was so weird. It was like she couldn’t get a read on him. Normally when she focused, she could see someone’s thoughts. But there didn’t seem to be anything there.

“Roman” asked Vibes “When did you last see your Mum and Dad?”

“I…I can’t remember”

“Roman” asked Vibes again, the tone very direct “What did you last get for Christmas?”

“W…What does that have to do with anything?”

“Can you remember? Do you remember any Christmas? Birthday? School plays?”

“W…Why do you keep asking me these things?”

“Because I can’t read your mind. And if I can’t read your mind, it makes me suspect what you actually are.”

Roman cried. As he did so, the fur peeled off, revealing metal underneath.

A minigun emerged from Roman’s arm, the blasts causing everyone to run out of the café.

“You could have died peacefully” the robot scowled.

“Sorry, dying for me is very…difficult” Vibes laughed.

Vibes once again dived away from a stream of bullets.

“Your nephew really did love you.” The robot stated.

Vibes turned red with anger. If it was the robot’s job to annoy her, job done.

Without a second’s hesitation, she slammed into the robot, tearing it to shreds.

Sal and Guillermo rushed in, seeing Vibes on the floor in tears.

As she gathered her thoughts and calmed down, Vibes recounted the story.

“So…is this really what’s going to happen in the future?” Sal asked.

“That’s if this thing genuinely was from the future.” Vibes shot back. “It could be all a trick. We don’t know.”

Sal and Guillermo hugged Vibes as they headed back for home.

As they sat and ate dinner, it got each of them thinking. There were so many possibilities. Maybe it was a trick. Maybe Roman was still out there. Whatever the truth…one day they’d find out…

THE END…OF THIS STORY

It Came From Another Series

Vibes meets Sticks from Sonic Boom (Crossover art by John Paul Guerra)

Art by John Paul Guerra

Sonic Boom based on characters by Sega, full credits on the Imdb page

“GAH!”

Sticks yelled, flailing her arms in a state of panic. She kept looking behind and then running again.

“Oh, hi Sticks” Sonic shrugged, barely looking up from his comic.

“Sonic you have to listen to me!” Sticks grabbed furiously at Sonic’s scarf, the look of desperation more manic than usual.

“Yes, I’m sure this insane ramble is of vital importance” Sonic verbally shrugged.

“You fool! Don’t you see her?”

“Who?” Sonic warily asked.

“The psychic vixen in the black and red costume! She can read my thoughts! “

Sonic sighed, looking up to see…nothing at all.

“Let me guess, she can turn invisible?”

“No! I mean yes, but she’s not here right now!” Sticks babbled.

MEANWHILE…

“You really have to do something about your friend” The mayor grumbled.

“I already told Knuckles not to eat your plants Mr Mayor” Amy reassured, though there was a layer of menace underneath the polite sheen.

“No not him. The crazy jungle badger has been running through the streets yelling more than usual. You can practically set your watch by her.”

“You know you are Mayor” pointed out Knuckles. “You could just…arrest her?”

Amy glared at Knuckles. “We’ll handle it Mr Mayor.”

“Be sure that you do. We can’t have panic on the streets, like in the Discount Wars of ’16.”

LATER…

The team all prepared to stop Sticks in her tracks. As much as she was their friend (and they realised she was prone to conspiratorial flights of fancy) this seemed excessive.

In unison, they whipped out their energy ropes, tying Sticks in place.

“Sorry Sticks” Tails groaned “But we think you could do with…a break. Like, a nice spa break.”

“Yeah” Knuckles agreed. “A nice spa with padded walls that you’re unable to leave.”

“You don’t get it!” Sticks yelled. “The psychic vixen is coming and she is bringing a terrible conflict with her. Something that is totally at odds with the tone of our happy go lucky village!”

As Sticks yelled this, they looked round as Vibes sped in and then stopped.

She looked as everyone gasped at her. “Is it the costume?” Vibes asked. “I realise my look is kind of different. I mean for a start this costume has trousers and…”

“No, it’s more the fact that Sticks’ panicked rambling was actually right” countered Tails, letting her go from the rope’s grip.

“STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!” yelled Sticks, pointing desperately at Vibes.

Before Vibes had a chance to say something, she dodged Amy swinging her hammer at her.

“Look, I’m not…”

Knuckles thumped down on the ground, sending Vibes flying. She cushioned herself with her shield mode, just as Tails bombarded her with laser fire from his plane.

“PSYCHIC MODE!”

Vibes’ yell sent a blue wave, knocking the heroes down.

“OK, I love a good scrap as much as anyone, but I’ve come to warn you.”

“Oh really?” Amy eyed her cynically. “About what?”

“About that…”

Vibes pointed out Dr Eggman alongside Mega Fox, Caramel Girl, Insect Girl and a combined army of megabots, ninjabots, Powerbots and badniks.

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

“I tried to but Sticks kept shutting me out, while the rest of you were distracted by run of the mill tasks like putting together furniture or complaining about the service in a fast food joint. And Knuckles had a tune in his head and it was really bloody distracting.”

“Can she say that?” Amy turned to Sonic.

“Meh, it’s a fanfic, you can say slightly rude words heck butt damn farts.” Sonic laughed.

“Well this exposition has all been fascinating” Eggman groaned. “But I’m bored now. I want to show my might and crush…”

Mega Fox glared at him. “I think you mean OUR might.”

“Oh…right. Ours. Of course.”

And so they geared up for an epic battle, the likes of which would require five 11 minute episodes of a TV show.

Hey wait a minute. He’s written this story and he’s not going to describe the epic battle? That is breaking Chekov’s gun, the fundamental principle of setup and payoff. Oh well…do do do do do do do do do.

Pointless end credit bonus scene

Vibes and Sonic both eyed each other, a standoff that was almost Leone-like in epicness.

“We all knew it would come to this” Vibes scowled.

“It’s the epic battle all the fans want to see” Sonic agreed.

The pair both bowed…before sitting down to gorge on chilli dogs.

“Loser buys dessert!” Vibes grinned as she gobbled down.

Amy sighed, getting some air freshener and breath mints ready. “Given the rate they’re eating, whoever wins, we both lose…”

What? We’re not getting an ending for this either? I have so many unanswered questions. Like how Vibes got there, how Eggman and Mega Fox teamed up and why Comedy Chimp wasn’t in this story?

THE END

Super Strangeness

Art by SebasChavez

Based on characters from Sabrina The Animated Series (Originally from Archie Comics, click here for Imdb page)

Sabrina couldn’t be sure, but she felt she was being followed. Normally, her world was a world of bright colours and fun. But there seemed to be a strange atmosphere and what she could have sworn were small footprints.

As she entered her room, everything seemed to be normal again. She got out her backpack, with the normal mess of pens, books and other items that should have been cleared over the course of the school week.

But among all the items was something different- A comic book.

Now a comic book in and of itself wasn’t weird, Sabrina bought them on a pretty regular basis. But even the most expensive variant cover limited editions didn’t tend to sparkle like something out of a teen vampire film.

She then looked closer at the comic. As she looked closer she then heard…

“What’s that you got there?”

Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Salem, her cat. Her talking cat. Nothing weird there (at least not for a young witch).

Salem then saw it- Sabrina, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda all on the cover, all in superhero costumes. And they were accompanied by a fox in a superhero costume.

“Who’s the foxy lady?” laughed Salem.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how this comic got in my bag.”

“Did you steal it?” Salem asked, half-joking.

“No!”

“I was kidding…Did you though?”

“No! I don’t get why this has got us on there and…whoever this is?”

Sabrina sighed. “I’d better talk to Aunt Hilda and Zelda.”

Hilda smiled as she saw the colourful costume, while Zelda eyed it with suspicion.

“It looks a bit violent to me.”

“Oh lighten up Zelda, it’s just a bit of…”

Before they could finish the sentence, the comic opened up, sucking Sabrina, Zelda and Hilda into it…

“Hello?” Zelda looked round the strange, anonymous looking city, like someone had drawn up a basic background to save on time and meet a deadline. She looked down, then realised her body was stretching up and over buildings.

“I’m…Elastic Zelda?” Zelda realised, looking in a skyscraper’s reflection and seeing her red and white costume.

“And I’m…Pumpkin Girl!” declared Hilda confidently.

Sabrina looked down at her tree costume, raising an eyebrow. “I’m…Tree Girl? This looked cooler on the cover.”

“So…where is this fox girl from the cover then?” Zelda asked. Something didn’t add up. It then got weirder as she saw AK Girl speeding out from a bank.

“She’s a bad guy?” Sabrina gasped. It didn’t add up…but then nor did being sucked in a comic book world.

“Well, we’re superheroes, so I guess it’s our job to stop her” Hilda shrugged.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. Hilda seemed a bit too willing to dive into her role, enthusiastically hurling pumpkins at AK Girl with a cry of “Stop evil doer in the name of…pumpkins.”

Sabrina stretched out her tree limbs, gripping and tripping AK Girl over. “Looks like I’m…branching out!”

AK Girl twisted round, kicking Sabrina over. Her eyes were glazed over, her actions almost robotic.

Zelda couldn’t shake it. It all seemed a bit too simple.

She tried to stretch out, but then AK Girl grabbed her.

“STEAL MODE!” she yelled, taking on Zelda’s stretchy form, gripping the heroes together. She then flung them away, before running off.

In a puff of smoke, a man in a wizard’s costume appeared. In true Silver Age style, he was the most stereotypical grey bearded wizard.

“You have been sent here to stop this powerful psychic.” The wizard declared. “She must be destroyed.”

“We…don’t usually do destroying” Sabrina gulped hesitantly.

“The fate of the world depends on it.” The wizard stated. “She has a strange weakness, one you can exploit.”

“What’s that?” Sabrina was hesitant to ask.

“Caramel causes her body to inflate.”

“Of course. That’s a totally natural, normal thing that makes total sense.”

The wizard disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“You heard the wizard, let’s grab some caramel.” Hilda stated, with a worrying lack of self-consciousness.

“This all seems a bit…excessive, don’t you think?” Zelda asked. “We don’t know her. And she had a strange look in her eyes.”

Sabrina nodded. “I’m getting a strange feeling about this. Before I found the comic, it felt like I was being followed.”

They looked round. While they were talking, Hilda had already smashed a window and grabbed some caramel.

LATER…

Hilda hurled pumpkins at AK Girl, who swatted them away in her stretched form. As the steal mode faded, she switched to her speed mode, casually dodging the pumpkins.

Hilda decided to use this to her advantage. Faking to throw a pumpkin, she waited for AK Girl to head toward her before dunking caramel on her head.

She grinned as AK Girl started to inflate, but the grin immediately faded as she saw the look of desperation in the superhero vixen’s eyes.

“MUMPH!” she said, desperate.

As Sabrina and Zelda rushed to the scene, it had become clear…they had been set up!

“This…this is all a trick!” Sabrina realised. “That fox lady isn’t evil at all, she was under a spell. We…we all are.”

The wizard’s face appeared before them “Yes….and the only way to break the spell is to destroy her!”

Hilda prepared to throw more caramel at AK Girl but then Zelda stretched around her and Sabrina trapped her with roots.

“No! Nobody is getting destroyed today!” Sabrina yelled out. She and Zelda turned desperately to Hilda.

“Please…”

Hilda stopped. They didn’t know why, but they all shut their eyes, focusing on AK Girl at the same time. As they did so, the comic book world disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The old wizard turned robotic, fading as he did so. “NO! This was supposed to work!”

Soon, they emerged back in Sabrina’s room, the comic book gone.

“Phew, that was a close one” smiled AK Girl.

“OK, we’re going to need an explanation” Zelda insisted.

“Alright here goes- Magicobot here was using his magic to trap me in this pocket dimension. He wanted to finish me off and sensed your magic here. He managed to enslave me and trick you. Fortunately because you’re good people you didn’t fall for it and now we can go out and celebrate with some chilli…my shout because you saved my life and all that.”

Sabrina, Zelda and Hilda smiled. “Um…sounds good uh…”

AK Girl grinned. “The name’s Girl…AK Girl.”

THE END…FOR NOW

The Festival Fiasco

Haley character by Button The Lugia

Art by Secretbetweenthewars

Feels good to get out of the city, Vibes thought to herself. Breezeville was a fairly large town by the sea, about ten miles from Reynard City. While it was mainly known for seafood and tourist trinkets, it was also known for a music festival in the local park. For three days, the quiet town was rocked by a range of musicians, with a section at the side for people who fancied seeing some standup comedy.

“Vibes” Sal’s voice chimed into Vibes’ head.

“What is it Sal?”

“Remember Vibes, you’re not just here for the DJ set.”

Vibes nodded. There had been talk that Breezeville had its own hero. Some folks called her Elastic Vixen, others called her Stretchy Fox. There was also talk that some called her…Haley.

She stopped and saw her trailer. It was pretty basic- some snacks, tea and coffee making facilities, a bed and a shower. But then Vibes reminded herself that it could’ve been worse, she could have been in a tent covered in mud!

Later that evening…

As the sun set, Vibes sat back with an overpriced drink as the DJ took to the stage. There was no mistaking the bright purple costume and mask. No doubt, this was who she had come to see.

Vibes saw Haley shared the same love of music. There was the look of someone in total control, feeling the reaction of the crowd and playing to it. Haley couldn’t resist some cheeky tricks, throwing in weird moves and scratches that could only be performed by someone who could stretch their limbs.

“Are you having a good time tonight?” Vibes couldn’t resist cheering along with the crowd. As the sun set, everything felt right. After the intensity of Reynard City, this place felt like somewhere she could enjoy a proper vacation.

Alas, that feeling couldn’t last…

At first, people mistook the thumping noise for excessive bass. But Vibes read Haley’s eyes. This was not part of the set.

In theory, Vibes transforming into AK Girl in the crowd would have shocked everyone. But amongst the stilt walkers, neon furry trousers and people holding meme signs, a superhero vixen in a costume wasn’t so weird, and those who thought they saw a person transforming into said superhero vixen looked down at their drinks.

Haley looked round, seeing the mass of robots thumping toward the stage. She stretched out, gripping the bots and crushing them.

Vibes punched and kicked the robots, desperately trying to get to the stage. Maybe Haley could handle herself, but Vibes couldn’t chance it.

“I’m coming!”

A massive Powerbot stomped, towering over Haley. Vibes charged in, going to grab the robot.

“STEAL MODE!”

Unfortunately as Vibes reached out, she accidentally grabbed Haley. Vibes looked down, her limbs stretching out.

“What the…?”

“Look no offence…”

“AK Girl”

“AK Girl, but I can handle this.”

“Look no offence…”

“Haley”

“You’re not bothering with a secret ID?”

“I don’t see the point. I’m a superhero fox with human parents, they don’t care, so I don’t.”

“Anyway, I’ve come from Reynard City. Heard good things.”

“While it’s great to be scouted out from a big shot from the big city, this isn’t really…helping…”

Vibes’ stretching resulted in Haley and Vibes both tripping over each other.

“OK, this is only temporary” reassured Vibes, though Haley did not seem so convinced.

Before they had a chance to react, a megabot fired a flame blast toward them. The heat caused them to stretch up more, twisting and literally tying them both in knots.

“Ungh…ungh…Come on, untie us!” Vibes scowled.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?”

On the screen, the unmistakable face of Mega Fox appeared.

“Look at your so-called protectors” Mega Fox growled. “Rendered powerless by their own incompetence.”

“Got to love smug villains who don’t show up for the battle” groaned Haley.

“Trust me, you don’t want to be there when he is” Vibes countered.

Haley saw the look of fear in Vibes’ eyes. Despite her power, Vibes was still afraid of this villain. Even though Haley didn’t know Mega Fox, she could feel that this was someone not to be messed with.

“OK, please tell me you have some kind of a plan” Haley sighed.

“Just one. Grip me tighter.”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

“You ever play Sonic The Hedgehog?”

Haley laughed. This was either brilliant or insane, she thought to herself. With a massive effort, they gripped their limbs together, squeezing each other into a fused ball.

“SPEED MODE!” yelled Vibes, flinging them both desperately, pinging into the bots and smashing them to bits.

Eventually, they looked around to see robot debris everywhere. With painful effort, Haley and Vibes removed each other from their fused form.

“OK, be honest with me- did you really know that insane idea would work?”

“It was an educated guess.”

“You did the first thing that came into your head didn’t you?”

“Yup.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Then, Haley laughed.

“You are completely insane, you know that?”

Vibes laughed as well. “I get that a lot.”

Vibes looks round to see the crowd had all gone.

“Looks like I won’t be playing my set” Vibes laughed. “Want to have tea or coffee in my trailer with tea and coffee making facilities?”

Haley nodded. “Sure why not? Won’t be sleeping after that…”

As the pair slumped down on the trailer’s sofa, Haley began to open up about her life. Just like Vibes, she had come from the planet Animal Kingdom. The difference was when she arrived in Breezeville, she also had human parents who found her. They accepted her fox form and did their best to give Haley as normal a life as possible.

Vibes also opened up. She talked about how she had to re-learn about her psychic power and her AK Girl superhero form, plus all her various modes, as well as the friends she had met in Reynard City.

“Dang, that’s a heck of a story” Haley smiled.

“You know, we could use your skills in the city” Vibes offered.

“Hmmm” Haley pondered. “Maybe, but you might want to watch what you do with that steal mode.”

Vibes laughed. “Duly noted.”

A few days later, Vibes headed back to the city.

“So…what did you think?” asked Sal.

“She’s got it where it counts” smiled Vibes. “I mean, she doesn’t quite have my style, but I like the way she’s working.”

“Well, here’s hoping we see more of her…”

Haley was on the phone, talking to a mysterious stranger…

“So, is she the one they talked about?”

“Got to say, for the legendary future saviour of the universe, she wasn’t quite what I was expecting.”

“ Well, you’d better keep an eye on her. We want to make sure that Mega Fox is stopped.”

“You’ve got it Chief! Agent Haley, out.”

Haley smiled as she saw her train pull into Reynard City station. OK Reynard City, laughed Haley to herself, let’s see what you’ve got…

THE END…FOR NOW

Thanks to all the artists for taking part in the short story art trade. Another Fanart Friday request will be posted up soon.

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