The day had gone well mostly. Pete and Sam had been hanging out under a shade tree near the edge of the get-together and had fun tasting and trying out the
various and sundry bar-b-qued meats and variations of "meat on stick" offered by Bishop, Alice and Pooky. Samantha somewhat more so than Pete,
understandably. But they were enjoying themselves none-the-less.
It was as the sun was beginning to set that Samantha leaned over and whispered in Pete's ear. He nodded, got up and went over to Mag Flashlight, tapping
him on the shoulder politely.
"You ready, Mag?" Pete asked.
Mag nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah. No problems on my end. This sort of thing is my specialty after all!"
Pete grinned and gave him a thumbs up, "Great! The mission is a 'go', then!"
Mag tossed off a quick mock salute and then ambled over to one end of the brightly painted blue and gold grill that had been the shish-kebab cooking area
earlier. The coals had died away and now they and the half drum grill were cooling.
Pete walked to the other side of the grill and... shifted... Morphing from a perfectly normal human
male in denim and t-shirt combo to the android form of Cyberman 8. This particular version of his outward shell was the one with the slightly heavier armor and
shock-absorbing boots. A half-faceplate version of his helmet with a scarf wrapped around his neck and shoulders and pulled up over his nose beneath the
faceplate totally obscured his face, the tails of the bright red scarf trailed off to one side in the evening breeze. Samantha always said he cut a dashing
figure in this form.
"Attention please!", Cyberman 8's voice boomed out, amplified to carry above the small crowd, and he struck a "parade rest" pose.
"May I ask that you direct your gaze upon the extinguished coals of todays labors! And very tasty labors they have been, I might add!" He grinned
underneath his helmet and scarf. He was being rather campy with this on purpose. A few chuckles form the crowd indicated to him that he was on the right track.
"Behind me, the flames in the grill have gone out. And..." He held up a finger. "...for the purpose of tonights demonstration, I'll make
certain that they are utterly dark!" He triggered the command that teleported the heavy duty Fire Fighting backpack and harness around his upper body
from the Legendary Base storage. He turned and sprayed the coals liberally with a blast from the Paragon-issued extinguisher.
He dismissed the Extinguisher in the same manner. Then turned back to face his audience.
The setting sun back lit him as C8 gestured towards the grill, "Since the dawn of time, one of man's greatest challenges has been to light the holy
Bar-B-Que! But what to do when fate conspires against the firing of the grill! When rain clouds the day! When coals are not cooperating! Lighter fluid, special
briquettes, tricks and gadgets... most are ineffective!"
"Must we wait in hunger as our flames fail to catch? Do we forsake true bar-b-que with the HERESY of the propane grill? Never!! SCIENCE has the
answer!"
Samantha, who'd conspired with him and Mag about this, was trying and failing to suppress a giggle from behind her hands at her boyfriend hamming it up.
Cyberman 8 whirled and gestured at the grill with an outstretched hand, fully into the moment, now, grinning like a madman, though no one could see it through
his scarf, "the powers of ICE and FLAME will ensure that we do not go hungry! Even the most STUBBORN of coals will light at TEN THOUSAND DEGREES! Mag
Flashlight! If you would be so kind? The LIQUID OXYGEN!!!!"
Mag, grinning like a thief himself, pointed his arm at the grill and a liquid that steamed as it hit the air streamed from a port in his glove and quickly
filled the grill, which creaked and popped with the sudden temperature differential. Mist and fog filled the grill and poured over the sides, drifting to the
ground below. Everybody instinctively stepped back a couple of paces, with the exception of Bella and Braende, who had no fear of fire, and Terrence, who loved
a good show and was intensely curious.
Cyberman 8 withdrew a lighter from a compartment on his belt. He flipped it open and lit the flame then tossed it into the grill.
"IGNITION!"
The evening which had begun to darken as the last of the sun left the sky, was suddenly lit again at the top of the grassy knoll where the Legendary were
holding their picnic. An incandescent flame erupted from the grill in white hot fury. Through the light came an incredible burning, hissing noise as the liquid
oxygen cooked off and steam erupted from the coals, which were quickly consumed. Then the metal of the drum holding the grill softened, and a mass of burning
coals and the remaining liquid oxygen burned through as if it was thermite and fell, hissing and burning into the ground. It continued to burn for another few
moments wildly.
When the smoke and mist cleared, there wasn't much left of the grill. But everyone agreed it had died a death of honor.
various and sundry bar-b-qued meats and variations of "meat on stick" offered by Bishop, Alice and Pooky. Samantha somewhat more so than Pete,
understandably. But they were enjoying themselves none-the-less.
It was as the sun was beginning to set that Samantha leaned over and whispered in Pete's ear. He nodded, got up and went over to Mag Flashlight, tapping
him on the shoulder politely.
"You ready, Mag?" Pete asked.
Mag nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah. No problems on my end. This sort of thing is my specialty after all!"
Pete grinned and gave him a thumbs up, "Great! The mission is a 'go', then!"
Mag tossed off a quick mock salute and then ambled over to one end of the brightly painted blue and gold grill that had been the shish-kebab cooking area
earlier. The coals had died away and now they and the half drum grill were cooling.
Pete walked to the other side of the grill and... shifted... Morphing from a perfectly normal human
male in denim and t-shirt combo to the android form of Cyberman 8. This particular version of his outward shell was the one with the slightly heavier armor and
shock-absorbing boots. A half-faceplate version of his helmet with a scarf wrapped around his neck and shoulders and pulled up over his nose beneath the
faceplate totally obscured his face, the tails of the bright red scarf trailed off to one side in the evening breeze. Samantha always said he cut a dashing
figure in this form.
"Attention please!", Cyberman 8's voice boomed out, amplified to carry above the small crowd, and he struck a "parade rest" pose.
"May I ask that you direct your gaze upon the extinguished coals of todays labors! And very tasty labors they have been, I might add!" He grinned
underneath his helmet and scarf. He was being rather campy with this on purpose. A few chuckles form the crowd indicated to him that he was on the right track.
"Behind me, the flames in the grill have gone out. And..." He held up a finger. "...for the purpose of tonights demonstration, I'll make
certain that they are utterly dark!" He triggered the command that teleported the heavy duty Fire Fighting backpack and harness around his upper body
from the Legendary Base storage. He turned and sprayed the coals liberally with a blast from the Paragon-issued extinguisher.
He dismissed the Extinguisher in the same manner. Then turned back to face his audience.
The setting sun back lit him as C8 gestured towards the grill, "Since the dawn of time, one of man's greatest challenges has been to light the holy
Bar-B-Que! But what to do when fate conspires against the firing of the grill! When rain clouds the day! When coals are not cooperating! Lighter fluid, special
briquettes, tricks and gadgets... most are ineffective!"
"Must we wait in hunger as our flames fail to catch? Do we forsake true bar-b-que with the HERESY of the propane grill? Never!! SCIENCE has the
answer!"
Samantha, who'd conspired with him and Mag about this, was trying and failing to suppress a giggle from behind her hands at her boyfriend hamming it up.
Cyberman 8 whirled and gestured at the grill with an outstretched hand, fully into the moment, now, grinning like a madman, though no one could see it through
his scarf, "the powers of ICE and FLAME will ensure that we do not go hungry! Even the most STUBBORN of coals will light at TEN THOUSAND DEGREES! Mag
Flashlight! If you would be so kind? The LIQUID OXYGEN!!!!"
Mag, grinning like a thief himself, pointed his arm at the grill and a liquid that steamed as it hit the air streamed from a port in his glove and quickly
filled the grill, which creaked and popped with the sudden temperature differential. Mist and fog filled the grill and poured over the sides, drifting to the
ground below. Everybody instinctively stepped back a couple of paces, with the exception of Bella and Braende, who had no fear of fire, and Terrence, who loved
a good show and was intensely curious.
Cyberman 8 withdrew a lighter from a compartment on his belt. He flipped it open and lit the flame then tossed it into the grill.
"IGNITION!"
The evening which had begun to darken as the last of the sun left the sky, was suddenly lit again at the top of the grassy knoll where the Legendary were
holding their picnic. An incandescent flame erupted from the grill in white hot fury. Through the light came an incredible burning, hissing noise as the liquid
oxygen cooked off and steam erupted from the coals, which were quickly consumed. Then the metal of the drum holding the grill softened, and a mass of burning
coals and the remaining liquid oxygen burned through as if it was thermite and fell, hissing and burning into the ground. It continued to burn for another few
moments wildly.
When the smoke and mist cleared, there wasn't much left of the grill. But everyone agreed it had died a death of honor.