Blazing! Adventures Magazine

Presents:

In this world of mankind, justice comes from the strength of one who is a......

Chimp:

Investigator

~

The Missing Leslie Masonite

Part 1-

Collin's bar, McDougal—between Houston and Bleecker.

A Friday night

.
Me & my partner just finished our fourth case as private detectives and were trying to unwind. Hard thing being in the rags all the time when ya crack a case. This one was a missing person’s type.
Not someone of import, nor was there anyone with the green on the payroll saying, 'I'll pay any amount if you just find my missing wife!' whose name was Leslie Masonite by the way. It was just some Joe average with a modest income, and a torn piece of paper with our ad printed in ink.
What always had us in the papers you ask?
Whelp, my partner—was a chimp.
Now, don't laugh. If you'd have told me 6 months ago that after I did my tour in the Pacific & getting wounded in the line of action; honorably discharged & deciding to go into the shamus business; that I’d find myself partnered with a Chimpanzee, I'd have called you nuts!
But Chimp, he was no run of the mill like in them Tarzan Movies. Chimp could talk. Not the way you mean—he could communicate!
He used Sign Language. We’d a version of what he used in the trenches over on Rendova Island, Solomon Islands. That's why I could understand him when I found him on a fishing trip near the Canadian border. Damnedest thing; I was driving my Packard down a dirt road, heading for the highway, when I see this small body just laying there on the side of the road. I pulled over, seeing that it was still moving.
I got closer, seeing that it was an animal, a chimpanzee. I slowed a bit. There was a wound in its leg and scratches all over. A wounded animal could be dangerous as they taught us in the boy scouts. I was going to turn, heading for the nearest town, seeing if I could find an animal doctor or something, when its head turned toward me. His eyes were glassy—tears were falling over his round mouth. His lips pouted. He struggled to raise his right hand, flattening his long chimp fingers out palm facing me.
I stared, thinking I was losing my marbles. I'd swear this chimp asked me to 'Stop' in sign? I shook it off—about to continue, but then, his hand changed. He brought over his other hand, in a fist, placing his right hand flat palm up, his fist on top. He pushed them forward towards me bringing it back to his chest. "You-help-me?" was what that meant.
His hands dropped, his eyes closing.
I ran over to the Packard's trunk, pulled out an old quilt my mother made me. I rushed back, rolled him up in it, carrying him back to the Packard. I heard voices and dogs off in the woods.

That was my time to beat it!

¥

“Buddy, why do you humans insist on hurting each other over little things?” Chimp signed to me, staring into his Jack chaser.
“I-don’t know how to answer that, Chimp,” taking a slug of Meister.
“Can you explain to me maybe, why did Mister Masonite do what he did?”
The case.
“I’ll—try to, Chimp.”
Simple kinda day that Wednesday was. Chimp and me were in the office trying to get situated in the new digs. We didn’t have a place to work out of for the first two cases, but found it necessary to have one since the novelty of a ‘Chimp Detective’ was generating work to warrant a store front. I took the desk with the office window. Chimp took the desk near the John. The place was on the corner of Avenue A and East 3rd Street, second floor. I was busy setting up the file cabinets. Chimp was moving the medium-sized divan in the outer seating section for clients.
A loud noise came from that room, like the front door was thrown open! I grabbed my .45 out of the desk top, slamming clip into grip, running and chambering a pill.
I heard a loud scream as I rushed into the front office, .45 out front, ready to throw lead into anyone that was there. Crazies come to Chimp and me sometimes just to see if the ‘talking chimp’ was real.
A very small and nervous lookin’ guy in a wrinkled suit and bushy mustache had Chimp on his chest; Chimp had him by the collar, signing the same thing with his left paw over and over, ‘Who are you, what do you want!’.
I’m guessin’ this guy caught Chimp in deep thought when he’d came rumbling in. The guy’s eyes were wide with fear.
“Get it off me! Please. It’s going to hurt me. I need help.” Chimp was screaming full into the guy’s face. I’d laugh, if I knew Chimp wasn’t dead serious. I holstered the .45 walking over to Chimp, placing my hand onto his hairy shoulder, “Chimp, let the guy up, okay? I’m pretty sure you scared the devil into ‘em. If he was a threat, you’d have killed him by heart attack alone.” Chimp looked at me, eyes watery, and then looked at the flush pink face of his victim. He pushed off with his feet, forcing the guy to exhale.
Chimp went and sat on the turned over trash pale.
I helped the mug up and onto the divan.
“What can we do you for Mister….”
“Masonite. Byron Masonite. Will, will I be all right with that-”
“Watch what you say Byron. He can understand you, & yes you are. You must’ve caught Chimp in deep thought. You startled him. So, what can we do you for?”
He straightened himself out, fixing his bookworm-type glasses.

“I-I need you to find my wife. Here’s a picture.” He pulled it out of his inner coat pocket, handing it to me. I looked it over, seeing a dish that was best served hot!

-to be continued-

Blazing! Adventures Magazine

Presents:

Dash Courageous & The MorningStar Legion

-Jungle of Evil-

Part 3-

When we last saw Dash Courageous & The MorningStar Legion, government Intel had located one of the secret bases of the Black Brigade. Following this lead, Dash & The MorningStar Legion descended upon the small uncharted island off the coast of Malta, somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, when suddenly, they were in a dogfight for their very lives--against the deadly threat of two heat-seeking swords of Kali Baki's Black Brigade! The swords--were missiles!
One had missed, but the other turned, and struck the left wing.
Dash & The Legion were hurdling their way--towards death!

"Strap in and hit the triggers on the emergency units above your seats! Jammer?" I set what was left of the guidance system on auto. This was a habit when a aero-plane pilot had to leave his seat. Didn't do much good now! I turned, seeing Jammer knocked cold by the impact of the last missile, hunched over the comm. seat. A gash bled from the side of his head.
I looked out of what remained of the wind shield, watching the speeding approach of the jungle below.
"MorningStar? Where's Jammer? We're all set back here but he's not." Hunter screamed.
"I got him up here. Can't tell how bad he's hurt, but it'll have to hold. We're coming." I fireman carried Jammer and quick stepped into the back where Legion was strapped in. I slipped him down into his seat, strapping him in.
"Dash, I've calculated our descent as 100 kilometers per second and accelerating. If you don't strap in, you'll most likely wind up at least 200 yards ahead of us--" Dante, always the bearer of the obvious. "Put a sock in it, Dante. I know, I'm strapping in now!" And with the final click, Legion simultaneously hit the emergency buttons placed above their individual seats. This activated the experimental white poly-foam that was embedded in the walls of the modified transport. It was supposed to protect us from impact by covering Legion in a shock-absorbing material the tech boys at Camp X HQ said.
Though they also said it was still experimental, not field tested, and would be overjoyed if we could test it and give a detailed account of how it faired.
Blazes! If the stuff worked I'd buy each of them a war bond and take 'em out for drinks at the Stork Club!

The stuff came out of the wall ports like melted marshmallow fluff, quickly filling the whole compartment. Each of Legion slipped his breathing mask over. Hunter slipped Jammer's mask on for him.

Everything turned white......
...........
...........
...........impact!
I heard steel rip, bend, glass shattering, small explosions, trees cracking, a loud wrenching...........then nothing!
I used the small button hidden in my glove to activate the electric pulse the tech boys said took to return the hardened form to liquid.
I waited.......nothing happened! Damn those eggheads! I swear by the all that's wholly, if we are trapped in this man-made tomb, I will haunt them to the ends of the eart---suddenly, the foam loosened, then became soft, splashing in a white puddle beneath my feet. It turned to vapor, disappearing into nothingness.
Those tech boys--will hear about it.......
"Everyone okay? Legion, sound off!"
"Dante!"
"Blowout!"
"Hunter!" who was holding Jammer up who was groaning, holding his head.
"Good. Hunter, you crack open the med kit, look over Jammer, see how bad his head wound is. Dante, set up a perimeter in the surrounding area. Make sure it's clear. Blowout, set up a gauntlet of mini-traps to prevent any surprises. Legion move!"

And like ghosts, Legion went to work.

I had to think. Jungle noises made thinking just that more difficult! I cleared the area around us. Using remaining parts of our transport as seating. Setting up camp helped me figure out our next move. Blowout was putting out the remaining fire left by the wreckage so's not to leave a smoke trail for the Black Brigade to follow. They may think us dead, but might come looking for the plane wreckage to make sure.
I walked over to the clearing Hunter made as a mini-med center. He had the medical kit open and setup on small boulders, making it look like a triage center. I knew we had to be on the move, Kali and his weren't the types to sit and wait. Besides, something about this forest wasn't right. Something in the earth, as I bent and felt the soil, was off. A strange feeling was upon me, but I had to shake it.
"How's he doing, Hunter?"
"He's a little shook up & that gash isn't too bad. Some antiseptic & this gauze patch should help the healing. I've given him some of those pills the Docs from Camp X gave us to help speed up his body healing the cut. Stuff's already doing its job." I looked over Hunter's shoulder, the gash looking more like a paper cut by the minute.
"How you holding up, Jammer?" A smile planted on his round-cheeked mug.
"I'll be ship shape for action in no time. Count on me, MorningStar!"
"Good man."
I turned from Hunter and Jammer, seeing Dante and Blowout in the camp circle, looking over equipment and comparing notes.

We had to get moving, but that strange feeling was still there.
"Dante, Blowout, see anything on recon?"
"Nope, just jungle and a lot of vines. I hate bugs!" Blowout was as city kid that never left Brooklyn.
"Everything seemed fine, but, there was something strange." Dante, Oklahoma native born with a sharp eye. "What was that?"
"When I was working on the R/F scanner, seeing if I could pick up any chatter of the enemy, I got severe static, but not the normal kind."
"What kind?" Hunter joined us with Jammer following.
"The kind I'd expect to get from being in a city-type area. The metal in a city plays havoc with signals, but out in this jungle, that shouldn't happen. It's almost like--" movement, trees scrambled, twigs snapped.
"Legion, on guard!"
Suddenly, the forest trees ripped apart, flying to the left & right, and barreling out of the thick-black forest, was the biggest ape I ever saw!

It was the size of a brick wall and had arms thick as tree trunks. Its teeth shined a bright white, dripping with saliva, and its claws slammed and shattered a large boulder near Blowout.

It was red-eyed rage--and was coming straight at me!

---

to be continued…..or not!

Will Dash Courageous and The MorningStar Legion escape the Powerful peril of the Giant Ape & the Jungle’s unknown seething evil?

……Wait with baited breath next week’s thrilling and exciting installment!!!

DASH COURAGEOUS & THE MORNINGSTAR LEGION FLY OFF TO ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!

Blazing! Adventures Magazine

Presents:

When the USA was threatened by a nefarious evil, they called upon one man whose fantastic powers could save them from the clutches of that unknown horror:

They called upon-

Agent G-9

The Battle for Heaven’s Gate!

Part 2-

The daemons came in droves, creating a tidal wave of ebony bodies and blazing red eyes! Sharp-white spectral teeth tried to rip tired living flesh from my body. I was feeling the weight of my own muscle, but the power kept charging me forward! Refusing to give an inch. It boiled within me, seizing my insides, charging my body with renewed vigor!

It. Wanted. Chaos McHenry. Badly!

With one great surge of power, I parted the daemons from around me, lighting the sky in neon green, forcing the black clouds above to open like god parting them. Chaos was clapping his gloved hands in enjoyment. "Oh, G-9, you never fail to amuse me! My hordes will overrun this despicable island of Manhattan, then the entire state, oh; I may even aim for Washington! Oh, oh, but the Black Brigade wouldn't like it if I had that much fun, drat it all! Oh well, guess I'll have to just be satisfied with killing! you now won't I?!"

The flood of daemons increased, flowing over cotton candy stands, crushing them under daemonic weight. Shooting galleries become smoldering craters from contact with the other worldly physics that animated the daemons. I jumped back, using the barrier behind me as protection from them enveloping me.

A static transmission clicked through my mask's comm link.

'A-ent G-9. T'ere's troub'e......other side.....lower east.....brigade.......' then nothing but static.
I had to finish with McHenry, closing that rift before Manhattan was engulfed, burning to a cinder!
I flew into the sky, a daemon horde flowing after like following a jet stream or the eruption of a great Geyser! "Oh, no, you're not going anywhere, G-9! Think I didn't hear that little communiqué, hm? The Black Brigade has many things in the works, but you are not to interfere!" Chaos waved his hands like an orchestra leader. The daemons split, becoming two great geysers! They were trying to crush me from either side!

........not today, Chaos. Your evil will not destroy me. I fight the fight for justice!

The power began as a small glow in the center of my stomach, expanding outward rapidly. My body, the power reached an flowed to every limb!
"You will not succeed, Chaos!" I screamed, as the power shooting from my body, a wide beam, pouring over the daemons, scorching them. Their screams shattering every glass within the barrier and all over the Heaven's Gate Fair grounds.

I hurled myself forward, the power ripping and blazing! Thrilling in the unbridled release.
I was aiming myself right at Chaos McHenry and the rift.

One of us would not see another dawn!

to be continued......

-