Mighty Boy and Solar Boy Meet
The Pawn Shop People
Part 1- A True Shanty Army
By David Wiley
Disclaimer: Mighty Boy and Solar Boy are NOT my creations. They were both created in the 1960’s for DC Comics in Superboy and Adventure Comics respectively. I have no idea who created them, but those guys deserve all the credit. As far as I know the characters are still owned by DC. I’m just using them for these little stories that I won’t be making any profit on. Please, no one sue me. That being said, here’s the story:
It had been a brave and terrible massacre that set Mighty Boy in such high spirits as he soared past the Kwell’non Nebula of galaxy designate Garbon Six. He and his super best friend Solar Boy had finally taught a lesson to the Martyn Armada that no one in the nine galaxies would soon forget. Five hundred ships crewed by ten thousand men against two and they were the only ones to survive. Mighty Boy remembered how good it felt to smack holes into the steel hulls. It was like puncturing through cardboard with a hole-punch only far more rewarding. As his mighty fists tore through metal and heat and flesh and bone all he could think of were these men and how much he hated them. For weeks they had ranted on about Mighty Boy and how weak he was compared to them and how they were going to come to his planet and destroy all of his things and even Mighty Boy himself. They didn’t even make it half way to his planet. Mighty Boy didn’t let them. He lifted his mighty fists and brought them down hard on-
Something struck Mighty Boy on the back of the head of the head. He spun around to see his super best friend Solar Boy staring at him with a very pissed off expression on his face. Mighty Boy was about to hit his friend back when he remembered the reason why Solar Boy probably punched him in the first place. You see, Solar Boy wasn’t like Mighty Boy. Solar Boy’s powers didn’t come from the great silver moon, but from a machine that his father invented. If Solar Boy didn’t recharge with a portable version of the device every few hours or so then he would become a regular boy like every other poor bastard. Mighty Boy shrugged at Solar Boy to communicate a half-hearted apology. Solar Boy nodded and pointed down at the nearest planet, some polluted dirt hovel with a few scattered oceans that maybe even supported something that scientists would laughably describe as life. Mighty Boy nodded back. If Solar Boy had to land to recharge, this planet would be as good as any.The Pawn Shop People
Part 1- A True Shanty Army
By David Wiley
Disclaimer: Mighty Boy and Solar Boy are NOT my creations. They were both created in the 1960’s for DC Comics in Superboy and Adventure Comics respectively. I have no idea who created them, but those guys deserve all the credit. As far as I know the characters are still owned by DC. I’m just using them for these little stories that I won’t be making any profit on. Please, no one sue me. That being said, here’s the story:
It had been a brave and terrible massacre that set Mighty Boy in such high spirits as he soared past the Kwell’non Nebula of galaxy designate Garbon Six. He and his super best friend Solar Boy had finally taught a lesson to the Martyn Armada that no one in the nine galaxies would soon forget. Five hundred ships crewed by ten thousand men against two and they were the only ones to survive. Mighty Boy remembered how good it felt to smack holes into the steel hulls. It was like puncturing through cardboard with a hole-punch only far more rewarding. As his mighty fists tore through metal and heat and flesh and bone all he could think of were these men and how much he hated them. For weeks they had ranted on about Mighty Boy and how weak he was compared to them and how they were going to come to his planet and destroy all of his things and even Mighty Boy himself. They didn’t even make it half way to his planet. Mighty Boy didn’t let them. He lifted his mighty fists and brought them down hard on-
Like cowboy angels, Mighty Boy and Solar Boy descended down to the planet’s surface only slowing down when they hit the atmosphere so the heat didn’t get too uncomfortable. When they landed, Mighty Boy was sorry they ever came. It was an ugly sight to behold. They seemed to have come down in the middle of what passed for a city in this wretched place. Half-collapsed skyscrapers with broken windows and department stores that had been looted and/or burned down long ago surrounded them. The street they stood in was covered in wrappers, cans, old clothes, and a film of black-brown filth Mighty Boy figured once spawned from human waste. Luckily, Mighty Boy couldn’t see any people. For what sort of person could live in a place like this?
Mighty Boy turned to face his friend. “Will you look at this place Dane? What manner of self-respecting civilization becomes this?”
“Not now, Karl, just please not now.” Solar Boy was fiddling with his belt trying to unhook his solar charger. “I don’t need any of your OCD, ‘I hate anything that doesn’t shine like my immaculate ass’ bullshit right now. I wanted to take your head off earlier. You know I have to stop to recharge, I always have to stop to recharge, and yet I have to remind you every single goddamn-“
“Look at this place. They probably never even made it to space.”
“Yeah, I get it Karl, it’s a dump. You know what? The whole universe is a dump and whining like a super bitch isn’t-“
In anger, Mighty Boy lifted a mighty knee and stomped the ground with a mighty foot. For a moment the earth shook like a shaved dog in winter and caused Solar Boy to fumble with his solar charger until it fumbled right out of his hands and smashed down into pieces on the dirty street. When he saw the device was broken, Mighty Boy let out a mighty sigh. This was going to be trouble.
“Dane I’m-“
Two steel hands locked themselves around Mighty Boy’s throat and, the next thing he knew, he found himself pressed hard into the nearest brick wall with a perfect Mighty Boy silhouette forming in the brick around him. Solar Boy was red-faced and nearly foaming at the mouth.
“You fucking child. With that thing broken I’m going to lose my powers. I’m going to be vulnerable, I won’t be able to fly, and I won’t be able to hold my breath in space. How am I going to get off this mud ball now? Huh?”
Mighty Boy couldn’t speak with his wind-pipe closed, so he tried to communicate just how sorry he was with his eyes. He understood why his friend was so angry, but if Solar Boy didn’t get the message and put him down soon then Mighty Boy would have to hit him. He knew neither of them really wanted that so he tried to look as sorry as he could possibly be. Solar Boy threw his hands in the air and allowed his friend to drop.
“Well, all I’m going to say, buddy, is you better fix this. Either find me a new solar charger or find me a ship, but one way or another you’re getting me home,” Solar Boy told him.
Mighty Boy stood up rubbing his throat. “That’s fair. I guess our first step should be trying to find the natives.”
Solar boy laughed. “Don’t bother. It looks like they found us.”
Mighty Boy turned in the direction of Solar Boy’s gaze and saw what he was referring to. A legion of people, mean and dirty people, were making their way toward them up the street. They were dressed in rags they probably picked up from the filthy street, and it seemed as though they were all carrying something. Using his mighty vision for a closer look, Mighty Boy saw that some had plastic shopping bags filled with comics or books; others had boxes filled with compact discs and video games; and even more were carrying crates of old tools and car parts. There were grandmothers pushing shopping carts of old ornaments and knick-knacks like woodcarvings and napkin holders. Children were rushing them with old baseball card collections and plastic figurines. One woman was trying to drag an old washing machine up the concrete to them. They all got closer and closer until a true shanty army carrying arms of old, useless junk surrounded the super duo. Puzzled, Mighty Boy looked to his friend who just seemed annoyed.
“What in sweet hell do you people want?” Solar Boy shouted at the mob.
In response, a man who was at the head of the pack lunged forward toward Solar Boy and launched into a sales pitch. “Like comics, kid? You look like you like comics. Well, check these out.” The man reached into the plastic bag he was carrying and pulled out a comic book. “Look, all first issue limited editions with holo-foil covers. A friend of mine who knows this stuff said I could get more, but I was thinking I’d let you buy ‘em for ten bucks ‘a piece.”
While Mighty Boy tried to process what that man was saying to his friend, a woman with a speaker in each hand invaded his own personal space. “Hey, I have these great speakers if you’re interested. I used to use them for my stereo but I could let you have them for twenty five bucks.”
The woman’s smell alone made Mighty Boy feel nauseated, and the stalwart hero could only gag in answer. He lightly pushed the woman aside only to find a new salesman behind her. “Look at this music collection, man. It’s got all the classic symphonies and all the cleanest recordings. I was looking to get at least fifty for the whole box.”
And another one next to that one. “ –in fine condition. My cousin’s an expert himself-“
And another one. “-paid seventy, but could let it go to you for as low as-“
“-they only made two hundred in the known universe-“
“-served me well for as long as I had it-“
“-my entire collection for so little-“
Mighty Boy looked over at Solar Boy to see that he too was now surrounded by sales pitches, but was trying to deal with it a little more vocally. “Out of my way, you insignificant peons. Do I look like I need your garbage? What the fuck’s wrong with all of you? All the planets in the universe and we came to the one that never invented jobs. Fuck off.” Truly Solar Boy’s verbal assault was spectacular, but the people seemed not to notice it at all. They continued on with offer after offer, sales pitch after sales pitch, like nothing else mattered in the world.
Finally, the mightiest of boys had had enough. He lifted a mighty arm and shoved a group of salesmen aside. Then he grabbed Solar Boy (who Mighty Boy knew was almost out of power) and one of the closest sales reps and took them into the air with him. If they were going to get any useful information at all from these people, they were going to get it from one of them alone. Mighty Boy couldn’t take the collective noise or stench of the crowd any longer.
