Blue Fire Meets Old Sam

Jack Knapp, a University of Toledo student majoring in Biochemistry (and secretly the new heroic mystery man "Blue Fire") was downtown in Toledo to visit an off-campus exhibit set up in a storefront building by one of his professors (so he could charge admission), the nationally-known world traveling adventurer and Emeritus Professor of Archeology, "Holy Toledo" Johnson. A few years ago, Johnson had participated in the excavation of the Egyptian tomb of the famed 'Grandfather of Alchemy' Hermes Trismegistus, author of The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, the famous text on which was based all later study of Alchemy. Jack was about to head back to campus when there was a loud commotion just outside the exhibit's exit - loud, angry shouting and repeated blasts from a police whistle. He rushed outside where he saw two men in a tussle - a policeman he recognized as beat Officer Flaherty, and a tall, thin man with dark hair, a thin mustache and small pointed beard on his chin, in a very expensive evening suit, who had also been viewing the exhibit earlier.



"I saw you put those gems into the bag!" the cop shouted between blasts on his whistle, pulling his pistol and cautiously approaching the man, who was carrying a small valise. "Put your hands or I'll ventilate you for air conditioning!"



The thief didn't seem worried. "Ho, hum, I didn't think I'd have to deal with the police!"



"It must be the gems that Hermes was reputed to have transformed from lead," Jack thought in a flash. "They are supposed to have mystical powers, if you know how to use them... one is a philosopher's stone, another grants immortality, another grants wishes... but 'Holy Toldeo' says the legends are hogwash!" He looked around to make sure no one was able to observe, pulled out a small object like a tiny teabag from a pouch on his belt, and crushed the bag in his hand. Blue mist leaked out around his fist - he yelled 'FIRE UP!", then bent his head to his closed fist and inhaled the mist with a deep breath, and went into the Blue Fire!



His body quivered, he felt a small chill and goose bumps popped up, and his senses were momentarily overwhelmed as the world around him was hidden by thousands of small spots of blue light that exploded silently... and when the momentary disorientation cleared, Jack had been transformed into Blue Fire, that flaming champion of justice. He floated up off the sidewalk, consciously and meticulously mentally suppressing any 'side effects' that might occur around him at the sudden appearance of a blazing human torch!



Meanwhile, the thief had sprung forward, ignoring the threat of the pistol and catching Flaherty off-guard. Although Jack knew from experience in some of his other adventures that Flaherty was an adept brawler, the villain easily caught him with a powerful blow to the face. "How DARE you interfere with ME?" he roared as the cop dropped his gun and fell to the sidewalk.



Blue Fire was now overhead, and he spoke to Flaherty as the stunned cop struggled to get up off the sidewalk. "Save yourself the trouble, Flaherty. I'll take some of the steam out of this character!" Perhaps Flaherty winced, or perhaps he was still dazed by the blow.



As the villain leaped into his car, he spared a quip for the approaching hero: "Don't you feel a bit silly, going around in a BLAZE of Glory all the time?" On the sidewalk, Flaherty appeared even more dazed than before. The villain leaned out the window as he zoomed away, and taunted the pursuing hero. "Come and get me... IF you CAN!"



This unusual behavior caught Jack's attention. Bad guys these days either knew who he was already and were anxious to get away, or they hadn't heard of him yet. This was the first villain since he'd first encountered Frost who seemed unworried to be confronting him. "He seems awfully sure of himself. I wonder what's up?"



He zoomed ahead, dropped down to the hood, and thought off the Blue Fire. "Pull over to the curb, or else!" he ordered. "Do what I say!"



The villain seemed amused. "Your dialog bores me. Sorry, I don't give rides to hitch hikers!" He slammed on the brakes and as the car squealed to a sudden stop, Jack tumbled forward over the hood - calling the Blue Fire back instantly, so instead of falling off the front of the motionless car, he was back in the air. He missed the next words of the villain, who mused reluctantly, "I suppose I'll be seeing you again... Don't think it hasn't been a pleasure, but... it HASN'T!"



By the time he zoomed back to the car, it was... empty. After a few minutes inspection, Jack noticed a button on the driver's side door handle. He pressed the button and the passenger seat flipped up and revealed a hole through the floorboards - and under the hole was an open manhole.



"Blast it! A trap door in the seat? No wonder he was so sure of himself - he had his whole escape mapped out in advance!" He dropped through the trap, and noticed that it snapped shut again as he climbed down the ladder in the manhole. He'd suppressed the Blue Fire again, in case there might be explosive gasses in the sewer pipes. "PHEW! This place stinks! But I guess, if he can stand running through the sewer, so can I!" He heard some splashing to his right that quickly stopped, and decided to go that way. A hundred yards along, there was a junction leading the the left - he guessed and continued straight ahead - and was startled when a voice spoke behind him!



"I bid you welcome to my cozy retreat. Won't you join me?"



Without thinking, he released the Blue Fire as he turned, and he saw the tall figure of the villain, standing in the side tunnel, where there had been no one an instant ago, holding a handful of glittering gems. "Glad to!" he replied, while wondering 'I wonder what he has up his sleeve THIS time?' Blue Fire rocketed at the man. "I'll take those jewels!" The villain didn't reply, or even move. "Oh, so now that you're caught, you're going to come quietly?" He suppressed the heat of his fist. "Well, stand frozen if you like, but I'll take the gems." He reached out a grabbed the gems - and they squished like a handful of gelatin! And still the villain didn't move... or speak.



"Fooled AGAIN!" Blue Fire exclaimed in disgust. "It's a... wax dummy, and the jewels are fakes! He's a clever operator, whoever he is. But I'll GET him!" In the back of his mind, Jack was recalling another clever operator who got away (Frost) and he was determined that this guy wouldn't also get away!



As he stepped back, he noted a business card at the feet of the dummy. "A business card? Don't tell me that this genius master mind was careless enough to leave me a clue?" He eagerly picked up the card, and then snarled in rage and frustration when he read it.



"Sorry to disappoint you. My silent double here is not very formidable, is he? But a warning... I AM! Old Sam"



"So you call yourself Old Sam, do you? OK, Old Sam, this is personal! Blue Fire is pretty damn formidable himself!" Jack could see daylight in the direction he'd been going. Now that'd he accidentally proved that the sewer was clear of explosive gas (accidentally), he zoomed off in that direction. "This is absurd, the way he keeps getting away. The sewer leads down to the Maumee River, which empties into Lake Erie." In a few seconds, he zoomed out of the open end of the sewer tunnel, over the minor falls where it emptied into the river. Far away, he saw a speeding boat.



"I should have known he'd have a boat waiting! He seems to have planned for everything! Well, here's where he gets something he HASN'T planned on - BLUE FIRE!" He willed high speed from the Blue Fire, and zoomed toward the Lake.



Old Sam was standing at the wheel, every now and again glancing backward, so he saw Blue Fire coming as he arced over the tall plume of mist the speedboat was throwing up. As the mystery hero got closer, he spoke conversationally, "I guess you have a tiny bit more brains than I thought. Care to join me for a ride?"



Blue Fire was on the end of his patience with this arrogant thief! "Less talk and MORE action! We're going to shore, and you're going to jail!" He zoomed down to the boat and grabbed the wheel. Old Sam staggered to the side as the boat leaned into a turn.



"You're an impetuous young flash in the face, aren't you, you snot?" Old Sam sneered, as he reached into an open compartment in the boat's dashboard and wrapped his hand around a heavy steel railroad spike that coincidentally just happened to be there... or was it coincidence, and not the result of Old Sam's advance planning?



"Come to think of it, I think I'll take the REAL jewels this time - if you don't mind?" Blue Fire suppressed his blue fire again - he didn't want to destroy the wheel right now, or set the boat aflame, and temporarily turning off his power was easier than trying to concentrate on not setting everything around him ablaze.



"Oh, I don't mind at all!" Old Sam sneered triumphantly. "I don't need them... right now. I don't even need BRAINS for a fade-out like THIS!" He slammed his hand, heavily weighted by the large railroad spike, into the back of Jack's head, knocking him to the deck, stunned. "Thanks for reminding me of the gems - I want to put them in a safe place!" He reached to pick up the valise, confident that there was nothing Jack could do to stop him. "OOF!" He was wrong!



Jack swung his left arm around, and managed to catch Old Sam in the side of the head with a backhand blow. "Neatly done, Jack, if I do say so myself... as I shouldn't!" Jack congratulated himself. "I feel better now - that makes up for the crack on the head!" He rolled to his knees.



"You are beginning to annoy me!" Old Sam sounded quite petulant. "I think I shall take steps!" He stood on the side of the boat, but couldn't resist the last word. "It's a well-known fact that water and fire don't get along too well - let's TEST it!" He dove over the side. Or tried to...



Jack lunged and caught him by one ankle, and for an instant, Old Sam was dangling over the side of the boat, inches from the water - in fact, his face actually hit the surface of the river before Jack started pulling him back up. "Come now - Let's not be childish about this!" the villain scolded angrily. "Besides, I may get a rush of blood to the head!"



"Oh, that would simply move me to TEARS!" Jack laughed sarcastically. "You're coming back on board!" He hauled the thief back up and threw him to the deck.



"Oh, this is SO undignified!" Old Sam complained. "What would my subjects think if they saw me this way?"



"That jumping in the water would make you ALL WET?" Jack laughed. "Uh, uh, I can't let you do it!" He kept hold of Old Sam's collar with his left hand and reached for the valise with his right.



Old Sam was well past being amused by Jack (Blue Fire) Knapp by this point. "I suppose there's only one thing to do with you..." he grunted. He tensed the muscles in his gums - and bit Jack on the wrist, injecting venom!



"Aargh!" Jack screamed as he tore his wrist free. Old Sam twisted free and dove overboard, sans the valise. Jack wrapped his wrist in his left hand. "This is futile! I'll get you when you come up!" he promised.



"Will you? I wonder!" Even as he fell into the river, Old Sam managed a final sneering quip.



Jack's wrist felt as if it were on fire - not HIS kind of fire, either! And the feeling was spreading quickly. While he could still concentrate, he did... "Back into the BLUE FIRE!" he ordered mentally, with all the will power he could gather. He felt a tingling, and the world vanished in a spray of blue dots exploding, and then he was Blue Fire again - and the pain in his wrist was gone. He floated over the boat and the river for a good 10 minutes, flying a circular search pattern that extended from shore to shore and a couple of hundred yards each way up and down the river... and Old Sam never surfaced..



He turned back to Jack again and realized that apparently the Blue Fire had purged from his system whatever venom Old Sam had injected... but his wrist still sported jagged rips and tears from the villain's teeth. He was going to need medical attention... soon! He found a signal flag in one of the compartments on the boat and wrapped his wrist, then steered the boat to a dock and tied it up - and went back into the Blue Fire, and flew back to campus, where Jack staggered into the campus infirmary, apparently in shock, with a story about being attached by a vicious dog. They wrapped him up and gave him a bed in the clinic for a few hours rest.



Then he dropped into the police station and returned the jewels. He gave the story, and the valise, to Flaherty. "He never came up. I recovered the loot, but the thief drowned."



"Begorra!" the cop exclaimed at the conclusion of the story. "But what might this card be meanin?" He pulled a business card from the valise - a card that Jack had somehow missed. "It's for you, me boyo!" He handed Jack the card.