The Tricryptogon

Banny And Lissa
by Dave Lerner

Sorry about the absence. I hope to be back by September 15 October 6, with a full explanation. Or, at least, a decent excuse.


Banny: if a naive sea lion Jedi master who drove Nascar and made Thor sick as an astronaut couldn't do this, how can I?
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Part 1: Ante Up
Chapter 13: Lucky 13

As the heat rose Banny looked around. The vent in the ceiling... maybe Rosemary could have stretched through it, but no human could. And he certainly couldn't go through the fire. Banny started to sweat.

He slowed time. It would give him some more time, to think what to do. Well, it wouldn't really be more time, but it would seem like it to him. Well, to him it would be more time, even if....

The heat's affecting my brain. I'm not logical and coherent, like I normally am.

Banny pounded on the door. The noise echoed, as if he'd hit it with a sledgehammer.

Banny remembered the fight with the girl a few days ago. He barely slapped her, and she acted like he broke her hand. She hit him with a chair, and it bounced off him.

Could there have been something going on besides the strange gravity?

Maybe slowing time made him stronger.

Boy, is Lissa going to be pissed!

The air was stifling, hard to breathe. Banny tried to get the best grip he could, and p-u-s-h-e-d. The door did not actually laugh at him, but it ignored him.

The metal was now too hot to touch. Banny kicked the door in frustration. The metal dented.

Okay, somehow I hit things harder, even though I'm not stronger? That makes no sense! There has to be... use this...

Banny's grip on time weakened. He re-established it.

He took off his sweat-drenched t-shirt, wrapped it around his arm to protect it from the heat. Banny knew from experience that if you touch a hot stove quickly, it hurts less than if you hold it there for a minute just to win a dare. But did time of contact count as Banny's time, or the door's time?

Banny body-slammed the door. It certainly seemed loud. At least on the inside. He slammed it again, and again, and again. He lost count of how many times he'd hit the door, even though it had only been five. Yeah, but how good a mathematician would you be, trapped in an oven watching your brain melt?

Banny couldn't hold time forever. It seemed like each hit was less powerful than the one before it.

Banny was at normal speed now. He fell to his knees, burning them on the metal floor.

The pain gave him a new energy burst. Pushing himself as fast as he could, and pushing the hot air along his path so it wouldn't slow him down, Banny slammed into the door. Somehow he knew he was hurting something, like pulling a muscle, but he could not afford to care about that now. He also knew that pulling a muscle meant he made too much effort, did too much work, and that he wasn't relaxing and being lazy like he should.

Luckily, he didn't think of that last part till he actually hit the door.

Outside, Chuckie had just locked the oven, set it to a full three thousand, and was about to head off when he heard banging from inside.

The banging itself didn't surprise Chuckie, he'd expected it. That's why he'd took care that he was the only one nearby. But the noise was louder and faster than any one before. Like a jackhammer. Was it loud enough to be heard elsewhere in the factory? He had to be ready, to act as though he was trying to rescue the fool, not kill him. He grabbed the key, put it in his pocket, began to act as is he were looking for it.

Sandra came in, followed by Robbie. She asked, "What the hell is that noise?"

"Banner somehow managed to lock himself in the oven." Even as he said it, Chuckie knew how lame it sounded.

"Along with a Rhino?" Robbie asked. "Where's the key?"

"I'm looking for it. It's not here."

Sandra glared at the lock. "He's probably got it with him. I knew he was dumb enough to do something like this!"

The latch burst. The hot air threw Banny out. He let go of time and hit the ground. Hard

Chuckie looked at the broken latch, the dented steel door, and Banny, barely breathing and bright red, but still alive. "Damn! What are you, Banner, the Incredible Hulk?"

Go to Chapter 12: Antonio

Go to Chapter 14: Going South

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