Time Man #5

DOOM!
DOOM!
DOOM!
DOOM!
DOOM!

Employees arriving at the museum heard the pounding and it got louder as they went to their workstations on the ground floor. Dr. Schnebly followed the sound to his office and saw the giant mummy pounding on the door to the research lab. Fist-sized bulges had started to show up on the door.

“What do we do?” another museum employee asked Dr. Schnebly.

“For the time being, hope that door holds,” Dr. Schnebly said. “Call the police and tell them what’s happening. And possibly the military.”




Eleanor woke up and saw Harold sitting in a chair holding Maggie and staring out the window. “Harold? Is everything all right?” she got out of bed and walked over to him.

“I’m thinking about Time Man. I know I’ve been back and forth on whether or not I should still be Time Man. I don’t think I’m making a difference at all. If anything, it seems like there are more bad guys out there,” Harold explained.

“Maybe it seems that way because you are seeing them more. You’re on the front lines seeing this. Sometimes they actually come after you. I think there is the same amount of crime in the world, you’re just seeing it all differently now,” Eleanor explained. “You’ve taken on a huge responsibility that no one asked you to do. If you want to quit, then quit.”

But knowing what I know makes it very hard to do that. I could always just put the sundial back on the shelf of the fix-it shop but I wouldn’t be able to forget it. I’d always want to grab it and help someone.”

“I think you already know the answer on whether or not you still want to be Time Man,” Eleanor said.

Harold looked up at Eleanor and smiled. “I should get downstairs to work,” he said. He and Eleanor kissed and she took Maggie from him.

Harold went downstairs and saw Martin sitting on the sill of the window, waiting for the fix-it shop to open. Harold smiled and unlocked the door. “Sorry I’m late, Martin,” Harold welcomed enthusiastically. “Good morning, how are you?”

“I’m good, Mr. Banner. You seem in a chipper mood.”

As Harold closed the door, tires squealed nearby. A car roared by, nearly hitting somebody. A couple of shots rang out from inside. “I have to go stop them,” Harold said, reaching for the sundial on his wrist. “Martin, I’m going to show you something. Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure can,” Martin replied. Harold activated the sundial and turned into Time Man. Martin’s eyes grew big and his jaw dropped. “You’re…?”

Harold smiled and nodded.

“How?”

Time Man took off toward the car. “We’ll talk when I get back.” Time Man flew after the car. The car was speeding and driving up onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting people, still shooting at random out of the window. Time Man caught up, grabbed the car and lifted it over his head. He brought it down, smashing it several times against a fire hydrant. “There. Now you’re all ready for the police.”

Time Man flew up and disappeared. Harold returned to the Fix-It Shop. “Did you get them?” Martin asked.

“Yep. About four blocks away,” Harold thumbed,.

“So you’re just Time Man?”

“Come into the workshop and I’ll tell you all about it.”




The mummy was free. It had laid waste to the museum, the employees, and anyone else who got near. The plan was to evacuate and keep everyone away. It was the only plan that was feasible. The mummy was tearing up a path through a good section of Golden City. It had gotten to the Golden Plaza when Harold got word of the destruction.

He turned into Time Man and rushed to the Golden Plaza where the monster had destroyed several buildings and killed numerous people. Time Man flew down and immediately dove into the mummy. For a couple of minutes, Time Man had the upper hand, striking the mummy repeatedly, keeping it off-balance and away from the people.

But the mummy regained its composure and began giving Time Man a taste of his own medicine. Dazed by the hits, the mummy grabbed Time Man and threw him into McLaren Tower and then jumped after him.

The mummy tossed Time Man around the building. Time Man’s uniform became tattered. The mummy held him up by the neck and raised his other fist for a crushing blow. Time Man attempted to reach for his sundial but the mummy, using quick reflexes, grabbed Time Man’s wrist and squeezed, crushing his wrist and destroying the sundial.

Time Man screamed in pain as he changed back into his civilian clothes. Harold began to panic and struggle to get out of the chokehold the mummy had him in. Harold started to pass out when the mummy’s grip loosened. Someone else had slammed full force into the mummy causing Harold to be let go.

Harold regained his vision and saw a figure in a blue suit and red cape. “Supercat?” he barely remembered the name of the so-called hero that was supposedly under hypnosis when he leveled a neighborhood in New York City. Seeing the six foot cat was an odd sight but short-lived as they fell through the floor.

“Come on. Get up,” someone said, pulling Harold to his feet.

Harold made it outside and to safety. He watched as a paramedic bandaged his wrist, Supercat and the mummy battle through the windows of the nearly ruined building. From the crowd, Harold heard a couple people ask about what happened to Time Man. He couldn’t tell them that the sundial had been destroyed and Time Man was no more.

A corner of the Tower collapsed and all noise from the fighting stopped. No one came out of the rubble. People began moving toward where the fight had stopped. Several minutes later, Supercat and the mummy barrelled their way out of the rubble. People ran away in terror for both the mummy and Supercat. Supercat was trying to keep the mummy--who was less like a mummy now that its wrappings had been torn off and more like a bulky gray husk.

Hitting him and having buildings fall on him aren’t working, Supercat thought. Maybe this will do something. Heat vision shot out of Supercat’s eyes and hit the mummy with full force. The mummy screamed and began to smoke.

“It’s working,” Supercat said. The heat vision ate away at the mummy until only ash remained. Supercat headed down to the police. As he approached, a crowd gathered. The police kept their weapons drawn. He got closer and someone threw a bottle at him. It shattered and the crowd grew unruly. They booed and threw more things at Supercat.

Supercat lowered his head and then flew off away from the city. Harold saw how everyone treated Supercat and hung his head as well, turned and began walking back to the Fix-It Shop.

When Harold got back to the shop, Martin was still there. “What happened?”

“Giant mummy. Another superhero--a cat in a blue suit--stopped it. The mummy destroyed the sundial. Time Man is essentially dead.”

“Can’t you fix the sundial?”

“Maybe but I think this is a sign. Maybe Time Man will be back. Maybe not,” Harold smiled and put the sundial back on the shelf where he originally found it.




Supercat inspired by characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Time Man #4

The three men had pulled Ray Hampton into the alley and demanded his money and gold watch. Two pointed guns at Ray while the third impatiently waited for the money and then for Ray to remove the watch.

“Hurry up, we don’t have all night,” he said. Ray put the watch into the one man’s hand and the other two lowered their guns. “Thank you. You have a good rest of your night now.” They turned around and saw a big man standing behind them. “Uh, can you get out of the way, tiny? We have places we need to go.”

“Like Hell?” the man said and a large gun suddenly materialized in his hand. The two thugs held up their guns and the man went for them first.

The bullets scattered through the back of the men’s heads and they collapsed to the ground. The other man held up his hands. “Hold on, maybe we can come to an agreement. You can have the watch?”

The gun went off and the thug went down like his buddies. “I don’t like criminals,” the man said.

“Oh, thank you, sir,” Ray teared up and was ecstatic. “I was hoping someone would walk by and help me.”

“I don’t like criminals,” the man said again and raised his gun at Ray. “But I hate negroes more,” and he pulled the trigger, bullets scattered out of the back of Ray’s head and Ray collapsed with the other three.

The man’s gun disappeared and he walked casually out of the alley.

“Three of these bodies match the description of these robbers we’ve been trying to catch,” Officer Murdock said about half an hour later when the police were called to the scene. “My thought is these three were robbing Mr. Hampton when somebody interrupted.”

“Maybe a fourth member of the gang?” Officer Laretti suggested, pointing at the three criminals. “Turned on the other three and killed the victim?”

“Money and valuables are still here. The assailant clearly wasn’t going for a robbery. Just murder.”

“Maybe a vigilante taking the law into his own hands.”

Murdock nodded. “Could be. What about Mr. Hampton?”

“Bad aim? Collateral damage? Mistake?”

“Here’s hoping that until we find this...person, let’s hope there are no more mistakes,” Murdock said.




The man was walking several feet behind a white guy and his black girlfriend. They were holding hands and every so often she would lean her head onto his arm as they would kiss. He ducked into a doorway as they waited to cross the street. The first bullet blew through her head like a melon and the second tore out his throat as he turned to look at what happened to her. The people on the sidewalk screamed and ran off in different directions. The gun was already gone and the man was off again.

“Watering down our gene pool,” he muttered. “She wasn’t fit to scrub his toilet, let alone have his children.” The man got lost in the screaming crowd which softened to a normal crowd a couple blocks away.

“Think it’s the same person?” Officer Laretti asked Murdock.

“Highly probable,” Murdock thought out loud. “And nobody saw anything?”

“They heard the gunshots and saw a non-descript man in the area who they are all sure is who we’re looking for. Most witnesses say the shots came from over there,” Laretti pointed to the doorway.

“Sir, there’s a situation at Braley’s. We think it’s our gunman,” another officer came up to Murdock and Laretti.

“Get as many officers as you can down there. And see if we can find Time Man,” Murdock said and began running in the direction of Braley’s.




Braley’s was an institution in the neighborhood. Opened in 1922, it served the best food on this side of Golden City despite being considered a diner. The police surrounded Braley’s. Nothing had happened in several minutes but they were being cautious. Time Man landed among the officers and was debriefed by Officer Murdock.

“We think he is still in there but we’re not positive. There hasn’t been any sound or movement in about ten minutes,” Murdock explained.

“Let’s see what’s going on,” Time Man, followed by Murdock and Laretti with their guns drawn, walked up to the restaurant and went inside. As they stepped inside, Time Man’s face dropped upon seeing the scene. Blood was everywhere, dozens of bodies lay on the floor or were slumped over tables or in booths.

Murdock noticed Time Man’s reaction to the scene. “You never get used to it by the way.”

“No, I can’t imagine that you ever do,” Time Man cleared his throat.

Another officer came in. “Suspect has been spotted at 72nd and Grover.”

“Get officers there. I’ll cut him off and hopefully detain him,” Time Man said and flew back out the door. Another two victims were in the intersection. A solitary man was walking away, toward a crowd of people. Time Man swooped down and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. “You’ve done a lot in a few hours.”

“Yeah. I guess I found my niche,” the gunman said. A gun suddenly appeared in his hand. He shifted and aimed at Time Man, pulled the trigger and Time Man was knocked back, dropping the gunman.

The gunman landed hard on the street but on his feet. Time Man was still in the air, his shoulder in pain and his suit there in tatters. “He didn’t have a gun when I grabbed him. Where’d it come from? Can he make guns magically appear?” The police began arriving. “He’s there. Right there,” Time Man pointed. The gunman took a couple shots that tore through a couple of officers.

“I’m prepared for war,” the gunman said. A grenade appeared in his hand after he had moved the gun into his other hand. He began running into a building followed by Time Man. As Time Man grabbed the gunman again, the grenade went off. The large explosion brought the building down. It was a hotel and several people were buried along with the gunman and Time Man.

After several minutes, Time Man pushed his way out. “How many buildings have fallen on me?” he asked himself.

The next couple of hours was spent digging people out of the rubble of the hotel. Thankfully, most of the people survived but were a little worse for wear. They never found any evidence of where the gunman went or who he was.




“Careful! Careful,” Dr. Schnebly directed the men moving the giant tomb. The men gently lowered the tomb to the ground and then were waved away by Dr. Schnebly.

“Why is this sarcophagus so large?” Schnebly’s assistant asked.

“Because inside,” with gloved hands he carefully removed the lid and slid it to rest on the floor “is the largest mummy we’ve ever seen.”

The mummy was gigantic. Over six feet tall and as wide as two people with broad shoulders and thick legs. The body seemed untouched by decomposition but without seeing the body, it wasn’t known what the body looked like.

“The tomb it was found in was completely barren. No hieroglyphics, no jewels, nothing. Archaeologists even thought it looked like its tomb had been purposely caved in,” Dr. Schnebly said.

“I wonder which pharaoh it is,” the assistant said.

“We’ll start finding out tomorrow,” Dr. Schnebly said. The two of them left the room. The door closed and the mummy was left alone in the room. The room was sealed--nothing could get in or out. The mummy was alone in the room for a couple hours when, barely noticeable to the naked eye, it began moving.

Time Man #3

Harold helped load Martin’s bicycle basket with the smaller items that had been fixed and ready for delivery. “Here is the list of addresses,” Harold gave Martin a piece of paper with names and addresses on it. “This will take you most of the day so when you are finished the rest of the day is yours. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Harry,” Martin waved and pushed off.

Harold turned to go back into the Fix-It Shop but didn’t make it. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, Harold disappeared.




The planet Colossus slowly careened through space, a plume of fire shot out the back, rocketing the planet where it needed to go. Colossus was ruled with an iron fist by Gladiator. Gladiator traveled the universe in search of people to fight and worlds to conquer. Most of the population on Colossus were enslaved people, forced to work either to serve the natives or to keep the planet running.

“Time Man has arrived in the arena,” Claxur, Gladiator’s right-hand man said.

“Good. We can see what I’m up against when I arrive on Earth,” Gladiator growled. “Time Man is supposedly Earth’s greatest champion. We’ll see about that.”

Gladiator went down to the arena where he saw Harold Banner standing there. “What’s the meaning of this? Who are you?” Harold demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Gladiator said and put his arms behind his back. “I was expecting someone named Time Man.”

Harold tried not to give away his identity. “Sorry to disappoint,” Harold said. “I’m far from being a Time Man. But I do fix watches for a living.”

“Mm. Must have been a crossed wire,” Gladiator turned around to leave. “Dump him into the dregs.”

The guards went over to Harold, grabbed him and dragged him out of the arena. They threw him down into the crowds of slaves who quickly swarmed him to take anything of value. Somehow he was able to keep his sundial and put it on so he could become Time Man and push the people away.

From the looks of these people, I’m clearly not on Earth anymore. And if that big guy got me here then he’s probably my only ticket back. He heard a commotion in the crowd and saw one person, a shop-cart keeper, grabbing a woman while another was pushing her into the shopkeeper’s arms.

Time Man went over and picked up the shopkeeper by the shirt collar. “What’s going on?”

“The woman is mine now,” snarled the keeper.

“I don’t want to be his,” the woman cried.

“She has to. I needed food for myself and my--our--kids. She’s the only thing I could pay with,” the other man explained.

“Perfectly legal transaction,” the shopkeeper said as Time Man put him back on the ground.

“You can’t just buy and sell people,” Time Man said. “Or barter them.”

“Maybe not where you are from--although it probably happens anyway,” the shopkeeper said. “It’s perfectly legal here. It keeps the planet moving so to speak.”

“I’m sorry, Kaora,” the other man cried. “But our children will be fed. We will see each other soon.”

“I will return her when she’s all used up,” the man groped and fondled his new piece of property. “You can then have the remains.”

Time Man was bothered by what he saw but as he looked at the other stores and street carts he saw the same transactions. People trading kids or wives and even themselves to buy what they needed to live. “This isn’t right,” Time Man said and looked at the massive tower that was attached to the arena he had been thrown out of. He flew up and smashed his way through a window. Two guards quickly descended on him who he easily handled. An alarm was going off which would probably bring other guards.

He was right. A group of guards came around the corner but Time Man was ready. He easily took out the guards. When the last guard was out, a voice come on over an intercom. “Time Man,” it was the voice from earlier in the arena. “You are here. Follow the hallway behind you to the arena. I will meet you there.”

“Can you hear me?”

Silence. Then, “Yes.”

“I’ve only been on this rock for a few minutes but I don’t like what I see.”

“That is not my concern. I’m not listing all the problems with Earth to you, am I?”

“Earth may have its problems but it’s better than this hellhole,” Time Man said. “So, you brought me here, are you ready to send me back?”

“Prepare him battle,” Gladiator turned around and began walking away. “We’ll just take care of Earth’s mightiest hero right now.”




Gladiator’s fist slammed into Time Man’s jaw. Time Man could feel it crack. He fell to his knees and reached for his sundial. Gladiator picked him up where his cape met his suit and held Time Man up to his face. “I expected more from you,” Gladiator spat. Gladiator struck Time Man in the ribs. More cracking. Gladiator dropped Time Man to the floor. He, again, tried to reach for his sundial. Gladiator stomped his foot onto Time Man’s arm.

Time Man screamed and worked to get himself back up and to reach his sundial to stop time. Gladiator began cackling to the few who were watching. “If this is the best that Earth has to offer then it is ripe for the taking.”

“No,” Time Man groaned and painfully got his hand over to his sundial and stopped time. “I’m not a fighter but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” Wincing through the pain, Time Man picked up Gladiator and carried him over to the window. He broke it and moved the glass out of the way. He lifted Gladiator onto the edge of the window. He pushed Gladiator out but with time still stopped, Gladiator just hung there. Time Man then restarted time and Gladiator fell into the throngs of citizens down on the street below the arena.

The population freaked out as their leader and captor landed among them. Time Man turned, not wanting to witness what could happen to Gladiator or the citizens. He grabbed someone who looked important by the throat. “Send. Me. Back,” Time Man demanded.

And just like he appeared on Colossus, Time Man was back on Earth.

Time Man #2

One year ago…
The strange wrist sundial had been brought in nearly a decade ago by someone who didn’t leave a name. It was repaired and left on the shelf since then unclaimed and untouched.

Harold Banner found the small sundial fascinating. It looked ancient while also looking very modern. The previous owner of the Fix-It Shop, Franz Reznicek, gave the sundial to Harold. He thought it was nice but impractical as an actual way to tell time. After work, before he went home, he slipped on the sundial and his street clothes were replaced with a skintight blue suit with a yellow cape and hood.

Harold discovered that the sundial gave him super strength flight, and invulnerability. Turning the dial slowed down and stopped time. Harold became a protector of his beaten down neighborhood in Golden City. He became Time Man and immediately began rubbing Councilman Lucius Goebel the wrong way.

Lucius felt like he should be the hero of Ward 9 even though everything he did was to further his own career and line his own pockets at the expense of the poverty-stricken residents. Lucius was currently serving ten years in prison for conspiracy to assassinate the mayor.
Despite the hard and dangerous work, Harold enjoyed being Time Man and helping out his neighbors and being a beacon of hope for people who desperately needed one.




Time Man lifted the giant chunk of concrete over his head.and tossed it a few feet away. Trapped under the rubble was a young girl and her younger brother. The building had been knocked down by a man named Sledge, a hulk of a person with a sledgehammer instead of a right hand. Everyone had been accounted for except for these two.

“I told Conner you’d save us, Time Man,” the girl coughed.

Time Man picked up the girl who was holding her brother. A paramedic quickly took them and began checking on them. Time Man spoke with them for a minute before flying off. Quickly, Time Man realized that a metal orb was following him.

Strange, he thought as he noticed the orb followed his every move. He moved toward it and it backed away. Is it a camera? He noticed a lens on the front shimmering in the sun. He stopped time, crushed the orb between his hands and restarted time.

“Nice try,” he said and flew off.

Conrad grunted and huffed. “Luckily we have a plan B,” he said. “We know who he is so he won’t be able to hide from us.”

When Time Man arrived back home, his wife Margaret was sitting down in the living room with Jessica Milch, a young woman they had met when Harold, worried for his family due to his powers, moved his family to a small town in Iowa.

“Jessica? What a surprise,” Time Man said as he took off the sundial and returned to his civilian clothes. Harold was surprised to see Jessica. He didn’t think she was the type to visit a big city, preferring small town life to big city stresses.

“I thought I’d visit. I miss you guys living next door,” Jessica said.

Harold cocked his head when he noticed that Jessica had a black eye and she looked much thinner. “Are you okay? What happened to your eye?”

“Accident back home,” he gingerly touched the massive bruise on her eye.

Harold noticed the worn and irritated skin around her wrists. “What’s wrong? What happened?” he pointed at her, looking at her wrists.

Jessica rubbed her wrists. “Someone took me. They wanted to know about you. They wanted to know about Time Man. I tried to hold back on giving them anything but…” she sobbed and covered her face. “They tortured me and starved me and beat me and…”

“It’s okay,” Ellie went over to hug Jessica. “You’re safe now. We’ll protect you. Do you know who took you?”

Jessica shook her head.

“I have an idea,” Harold growled and turned to leave.

When Time Man got through security and to the visiting room, Lucius Goebel was sitting patiently waiting for him.
"Lucius!” Time Man bellowed. Lucius calmly pointed to the phone on the wall. Time Man angrily picked it up. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“You came here,” Lucius said. “Oh, you mean the kidnapping and such. We had to learn more about you, Harold, so after we ‘triangulated’ that Time Man appeared in both Golden City and Duquesne, Iowa, we researched who was in both of those places, found where you and your family lived and figured Ms. Milch might know more about you, especially as Time Man,” Lucius explained.

“Kidnapping and torture. Your sentence just gets longer,” Time Man said.

“Oh, please, none of that can be traced to me and I’ve been here so I couldn’t have kidnapped and tortured that poor young woman. Don’t worry, I will leave her alone and you and your family. I just wanted to know more and now I do,” Lucius smiled.

Time Man stared at Lucius for a few seconds.

“Please, visit again, Harold,” Lucius kept his smile and hung up the phone. He stood up, turned and walked away back to the cells with a guard following closely.




As he flew home, Time Man happened to hear the faint screams of a woman down below. He flew down and found a man holding down a young woman and attempting to wrestle her pants off. As she struggled, he hit or slapped her. Time Man landed and pulled the man off of her. He lifted the man over his head. “I am not in the mood for this,” Time Man said and threw the man, kicking and screaming, into a brick wall. Some of the bricks and cement cracked as the man landed hard on the ground. “Are you okay?” Time Man asked the lady.

“I’m fine. Going to be a little bruised.”

“Call 911 and tell them what happened. I don’t think he’ll try to hurt anyone again,” and Time Man was back in the air.

Time Man #1

“Take him dead or alive men!” the lieutenant shouted and the other officers began charging into the apartment building.

On the sixth floor, Butch Matson was cowering in a corner with a gun watching the door to the apartment he was in. “I didn’t do it!” he shouted. “I didn’t do it,” he said softly and put the muzzle of the gun underneath his jaw. He closed his eyes and waited for the police to burst in. He heard the feet on the stairs , quick movements outside the door and the splintering of wood and the door swinging open against the wall then he heard silence. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the police standing still--frozen.

Time Man stood just off to the side in his blue and yellow uniform. “Come on. Get up. I’ll get you out of here.”

Butch got up and Time Man grabbed him and they went out the window. As soon as they were away from the building, Time Man restored time. “You saved my life.”

“Police shouldn’t be acting like that.” Time Man said.

“Especially toward an innocent person,” Butch said. “They think that I killed that old landlord and his family but I didn’t. Neither did Melissa Stasi, the woman in jail for the murder.”

“Who is the murderer?”

“Julia Stack, she’s a singer at the club that’s in the building the landlord owned. He was going to raise the rent so the club was going to close. She was just made headliner--the club closing would mean her having to start all over. She killed the landlord and framed Melissa and me.”

“I’m going to drop you off at the Golden City Herald,” Time Man said. “Gail Porter is a reporter there. Tell her everything. I’m going to find Ms. Stack.”

“She is probably at the HiLow Club rehearsing,” Butch said as Time Man landed on a narrow balcony at the Golden City Herald building.

He softly tapped on the window and Gail Porter opened the blinds. “Time Man, what are you doing?” she asked as she opened the window to let them in.

“This is Butch Matson. He has some information on the Melissa Stasi murder. I’m gonna go check it out but I thought you’d be good at writing the story,” Time Man said.

“What? Sure. Well, Mr. Matson, let me grab my notebook,” Gail ran to her desk.

Time Man flew back out to the HiLow Club. When he went in, it was nearly empty. There was a drunk at the bar and the bartender and a couple wait staff milling about. “Time Man?” the bartender asked, seeing the brightly dressed, caped man in the club.

“Julia Stack? Is she here?”

“In the back, probably her dressing room. Through the stage back there,” the bartender pointed.

Time Man went behind the stage and found a dressing room with Julia Stack’s on the door. He tried the door but it was locked. He knocked lightly and heard a shuffling behind the door. The door unlocked and a woman opened the door. “Julia Stack?”

“Yes. What’s the meaning of this?”

“You’re the one that killed that landlord and you framed two innocent people.”

“Mm. I don’t know how you found out but let’s talk about this,” Julia said.

“I spoke with Butch Matson,” Time Man said. “He told me everything and he’s telling a reporter and the police now.”

“And you just believed him?” Julia laughed.

“Why would he lie? He has nothing to lose and nothing to gain. But you…” Time Man lightly shrugged and pointed. “You have everything to lose.”

“I should’ve known I couldn’t get away with this,” Julia said. She suddenly pulled a gun out from behind her and pointed it at Time Man. “I know I can’t kill you but I make sure I go out on my terms.”

Julia pointed the gun at her temple. Time Man quickly went for his wrist sundial. Time slowed and stopped making it possible for Time Man to walk over and take the gun from her hand. He restored time and she realized that she no longer had the gun.

“Come on, the police are here,” Time Man said, hearing the faint sounds of police sirens. The two of them left the club. Police were waiting along with Gail and Butch. “Here’s Julia Stack. She’ll confess, Officer,” Time Man said.

“Thanks, Time Man,” the officer said and cuffed Julia.

“Thanks, Time Man,” Butch said again.

“No problem, Butch,” Time Man smiled.

“Time Man,” another officer ran up to the three of them. “We have a report of a robot robbed a bank a few blocks from here.”

Time Man and Gail looked at each other. “You want to come with?”

“A robot robbing a bank? Of course I want to see this,” Gail said.

Time Man picked up Gail and they flew the few blocks to the bank reported to be robbed. Time Man landed and he and Gail carefully went into the bank. A robot was robbing the bank. It had smashed through a wall and ripped the vault open and was currently tearing through the money although it looked like it was just doing mindless destruction. Time Man walked over and threw a punch at the robot. The robot easily took the punch and backhanded Time Man as hard as it could causing Time Man to fly across the bank and through a wall. Time Man came back in and barreled his way back to the robot.

“Gonna have to use a bit more strength to stop this thing,” he said before slamming into the robot sending both of them through a counter and into an office. The robot grabbed Time Man by the throat and threw him back across the bank, through a couple of pillars and into a wall. “Everyone needs to get out. This building isn’t going to last much longer,” Time Man snarled as he stood back up.

The few people in the bank and Gail left the bank. Police had arrived and were keeping a perimeter around the bank. The robot easily took the next several punches that Time Man threw at it. “You can’t stop me, Time Man,” the robot suddenly spoke. “I may be in jail now but my presence in this city and your life will always be there.”

“Lucius,” Time Man whispered, recognizing the voice.

The floor above them collapsed and within seconds, the rest of the bank building fell to the ground. The rubble was silent and unmoving for several minutes. As time went on, people carefully got closer, worried about Time Man and if the robot was stopped. The robot came shooting through the bricks and metal and wood holding Time Man’s tattered cape, cackling. He took off into the sky and disappeared.

A few seconds later, Time Man clawed his way out of the destruction. “Time Man,” Gail exclaimed and ran to him. “Are you okay?”

He coughed. “Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. That robot was a threat from Lucius Goebel,” Time Man said.

“But he’s in jail,” Gail said.

“I know but it was his voice coming from that robot. He may be in jail but he’s still going to find a way to control this city,” Time Man said.




The robot landed on a rooftop docking bay at Genesee Labs. The robot walked down to one of the labs and handed the tattered cape to Conrad. “So Time Man isn’t as strong as we all thought he was,” he said quizzically. “Now, all we need is to know who he is and he should be easily defeated.” Conrad shook out the cape and brought it with him into another room.

Incredible Comics #17

The riverfront Goebel Building was ready for its grand opening. It’s lower floor, looking out over the street was to be filled with half a dozen commercial businesses. The next several floors were to be a casino, the only part of the building that was open and ready to use at the moment. After that, was office spaces. A few of those were occupied and Alderman Lucius Goebel, who had commissioned and built the skyscraper, had his company’s office and campaign headquarters in it. The next six stories was a hotel, the first in the neighborhood. Nobody spent a night along the harbor unless they absolutely had to. This building was going to change that. Above that were residential units for the wealthy elite. A couple had been purchased by Lucius’ friends but they hadn’t moved in and the residences were still bare.

Everybody who was anybody was at the opening gala for the casino. Numerous news outlets were there along with all the aldermans of Golden City, many business owners and other upper crusts. Even the mayor was there. For the Golden City Herald, Gail Porter was there to take photos and get a write-up for it in the social section. It was going to be her first written assignment for the Herald so even though it was just a simple society piece, it was a big deal that could lead to other thing. She took pictures of attendees milling about and talking. She figured that this might get a full page spread so out of a hundred or so she’d take, maybe six would be used.

The party had been going for almost an hour when Lucius Goebel showed up. He immediately began shaking hands with everyone around him. With women, he would take their hand gently in his and give them a fake peck on the cheek. Gail hated all this fake appreciation. She hated things like this that glorified money. Maybe she’d think differently if she had any money.

A man came out of the kitchen and Lucius quickly made a bee-line to him. Gail followed and got a couple of pictures of Lucius and the man shaking hands. “Who’s that?” Gail leaned in and asked someone near her that looked important.

“I don’t know. He came out of the kitchen. Maybe the caterer,” the person responded.

“The caterer?” Gail exclaimed. “Lucius seemed really anxious to shake his hand,” Gail took another picture.




A couple hours passed. Dinner had been served and Lucius stood up and walked over to a podium. “Ladies and gentlemen. Fellow Golden Citians. I thank you for being here tonight. I am pleased and honored that you are here to witness and be a part of the revitalization of Ward 7. As you all know, I’ve been alderman of this ward for seven years and have been working with the city to take this neighborhood back from crime and poverty. We have demolished half a dozen abandoned or terribly dilapidated buildings. The building this casino and hotel and office space are in once had a derelict warehouse. It housed hundreds of homeless people and was used to traffic children. When it collapsed, it nearly killed hundreds of people. I bought the ruins of that warehouse to create a beacon of hope for the neighborhood.”

Applause.

“It’s only the beginning but an important one. I can only do so much as an alderman. But I want to be able to do to the whole city what I want to do to this neighborhood. With that, I am announcing my intention to run for mayor. Sorry, Mr. Mayor,” Lucius smiled with his teeth at the current mayor, Donald James. The audience laughed. Mayor James blushed slightly, smiled back at Lucius, and waved to the crowd. “Tonight, the casino is open to all of you. All money that the house wins will be donated to two local charities--The Golden City Rescue Mission and the Willow Street Women and Children Service Center--so this is the one and only time you want the house to win.”

Laughter, and then louder applause.

People began getting up and heading to the casino. Gail followed with her camera. For almost two hours, everything was fine. People were having fun and more than willing to let the casino take their money. Gail learned that Lucius filled the remaining empty space in his building. It was a really good night for Lucius Goebel.




The man stood in the robotic suit on a rooftop across from the casino. This was going to be an easy job. The jet boots he wore would fly him over to the casino, he’d break through the window and begin shooting, wounding several people including Lucius Goebel but killing Mayor James. Then he flies back out the window and ditches the suit. The suit would be unidentifiable and not be traced back to the manufacturer, himself, or the boss.

He took a deep breath and stepped off the roof. The jet boots ignited and he flew gracefully toward the casino. He came through the window, shattering the glass. In the confusion, he found Lucius and Mayor James. He began shooting into the crowd but taking care to hit Lucius in the arm and Mayor James in the head. He missed Mayor James, hitting his shoulder.

“I should’ve known you were up to no good and stopped you before this,” Time Man came up behind the man and pulled his arm up, keeping him from aiming into the crowd.

“No,” the man bellowed. He wasn’t sure if this suit could stand up to what he heard Time Man could do and he didn’t want to find out. Get away from him and get out.

“Who are you?” Time Man asked, crushing the arm gun built into the suit.

“I was hired,” he answered and tried to get away from Time Man. His attempt failed and Time Man crushed the chest shield on the suit. It sparked and smoked.

“By who?” Time Man clutched the suit’s helmet. The man felt as though once he gave up a name, Time Man would rip his head off. He remained silent. The helmet was ripped off of the suit an thrown down. Police had started coming up to the casino. The man knew he was done. Few recognized him. Gail recognized him as the strange man who shook Lucius’ hand earlier in the night. “Who are you?”

The man inhaled deeply then exhaled. If he was going down then Lucius was going with him. “Rance Brookings. I was hired by Lucius Goebel to assassinate the mayor.”

“Lies from a criminal,” Lucius said. “I’ve never laid eyes on this man before.”

“You met him earlier tonight,” Gail spoke up. “I have a picture,” she held up her camera.

Everyone looked at Lucius.

“Until we get this sorted out, you should come with us,” one of the policemen said, putting his hand on Lucius’ shoulder.

“Get your hands off me,” Lucius demanded. “I, and several others, require medical attention.”

“We’ll take care of that. Come with us, sir.”

Lucius refused to move.

“I’d go with them,” Time Man said, standing taller than Lucius with his arms crossed.

Lucius then went with the police.




Gail’s story didn’t make the society page. Her pictures and her write-up about the night appeared on the front page along with several of her photos and Lucius Goebel’s mugshot. She had also been promoted with a pay raise. She sat at her new desk in the bullpen of the Herald and smiled. It was a really good night for Gail Porter, reporter and photographer.

COMING IN JANUARY 2018!!

Incredible Comics #16

Henry Johnson was driving to work, as he normally did every morning. He was also taking the same route and passing the same places at the same time. Today, however, there was something different as Henry Johnson approached the 119th Street bridge over the Dearborn Canal. A small animal, he wasn’t sure if it was a cat, a small dog, or some other animal like a squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, or whatever was in his lane. He swerved to avoid it. He thought he jerked the wheel just a little bit but the car turned quickly and veered off of the road and headed into the canal. His car plunged toward the concrete and water. I’m going to die, he quickly thought and closed his eyes.

His car jerked and the falling stopped, replaced with what felt like an upward motion. Henry Johnson slowly opened his eyes and saw himself being carried, in his car, into the sky and then gently lowered onto a side street. “Time Man?” he said, almost in shock.

“I just happened to be flying by and saw what happened. You okay?”

“Yeah,” Henry Johnson exhaled. “Thanks.”

“Any time. Drive safely,” and Time Man was back in the air.

“Oh my...Time Man?” Gail Porter looked up from walking to her job as photographer at the Golden City Herald. “Time Man. He’s back. He’s my ticket into becoming a reporter.” She quickly held out her hand and flagged down a taxi. “Follow Time Man.”

“You crazy?” the driver asked.

“Just do the best you can,” Gail said.

The driver took off in the general direction of where Time Man was flying. For the most part, Time Man flew in a straight line so the driver just had to follow the basic grid setup of the city with numerous turns. But then, Time Man stopped and headed southwest. The driver tried to head that direction but lost sight of Time Man through the buildings.

“Thanks for trying,” Gail tossed some money at the driver and got out. She ran to a nearby policeman in a car. “Officer, have you heard of any crimes or problems to the southwest of here?” she asked.

“What?”

“Time Man just flew that way,” she pointed in the direction Time Man disappeared. “I need to speak with him. Any chance you can figure out where he’s going?”

“What?”

“Get on your radio and ask dispatch if Time Man is helping any police or fire units right now.”

“What?”

“Stop saying that,” she yelled. “Never mind.”

She looked in the direction that Time Man disappeared and began running toward it.




“Thanks for stopping those robbers, Time Man,” the bank security guard said. “They weren’t too smart with this heist but it still would’ve taken days to find them.”

“No problem. Hopefully they’ll learn their lesson and this will be the only time we see them unless they are making a withdrawal or deposit--legally,” Time Man said. “You can take it from here.” Time Man leapt off into the air and over the buildings.

Gail ran up to the security guard and robbers, panting. “Time Man. Where did he go?” she inhaled deeply.

“He flew off that way,” the guard pointed to the northwest.

Gail threw her head back and made a gurgling screaming noise before running off in that direction. She ran, half watching where she was going and half looking into the air. She finally caught a glimpse of Time Man over the buildings. A horn blared and tires screeched. Gail looked and saw a delivery truck racing toward her, trying to swerve out of the way. Gail stopped, held her arms out, and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Gail didn’t feel the ground underneath her feet. She felt her hair blowing around in the wind. She opened her eyes and saw herself in the air, in Time Man’s arms. “Don’t worry, I got you,” he said. He carried her down the street and placed her back on the sidewalk. “Good thing I looked behind you. Remember to look both ways when you cross streets,” Time Man smiled and turned to fly away.

“Wait,” Gail said softly, stunned by what just happened. Time Man didn’t hear and began flying away. “Wait!” Gail screamed at the top of her lungs. Time Man hovered in midair and looked back at Gail.

“Yes?”

“I’m Gail Porter, a photographer for the Golden City Herald. I was on that airplane you saved back in Iowa. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

Incredible Comics #15

The experimental airplane was to make its journey from Golden City, where the prototype was built, to Chicago and then Kansas City, Denver, Las Vegas, and, finally, Los Angeles. Aboard the plane were about two dozen people including Senators from Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada, and California, reporters from Golden City, Chicago, and Los Angeles and the people that made the plane possible. From the Golden City Herald, reporter Ronald Kent and photographer Gail Porter sat in the fifth row of seats. Gail had taken pictures of just about everything imaginable despite only one or two pictures actually going to be used.

The flight from Golden City to Chicago had gone well and, so far, Chicago to Kansas City had gone just as smooth. Until it didn’t. Over the town of Duquesne, Iowa, one of the props had gone out and the plane began losing altitude. Working in the fields, Harold Banner saw what was happening. He only had seconds to act. Harold ran into the house and to an upstairs bedroom. Inside a desk drawer, Harold took out a small sundial and slipped it on his wrist. His regular clothes were replaced with a bright blue and gold uniform with a gold cowl and cape. He then set the sundial and everything stopped, except for him.

As Time Man, he flew out of the house and toward the failing plane. He positioned himself under the plane, ready to catch it and glide it down for a safe landing. He unfroze time and took hold of the plane. He gently floated the plane down into a field and everyone on board began exiting. Gail began taking picture after picture of their savior.

Overwhelmed by the people from the plane and a gathering crowd from town, Time Man flew away. “We need to get this news and pictures back to the Herald as soon as possible,” Ronald said to Gail. “After more than a year, Time Man is back.”




“I don’t see what the problem is,” Ellie said to Harold at dinner. “Do you want to become Time Man again?”

“Yes and no. I loved being Time Man but I love the life that we have here.”

“You can’t be Time Man in Duquesne?”

“I could but I’d be of better use in Golden City.”

“We could go back. You still have the Fix-It Shop. We could live upstairs until we found a place.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I’m happy here,” Ellie said, and she took a bite of food. “But I was happy in Golden City, too.”




Resnicek’s Fix-It Shop looked just like Harold left it a year ago. He unlocked the front door and he and Ellie, who was carrying Maggie, went inside. Again, everything was exactly how Harold left it. “We can look for a bed later and redo the upstairs to make it more homey. We’ll need to because there’s nothing like a kitchen up there or a bathroom or anything like that.”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do,” she gave Harold’s cheek a peck. “But first, you should let Golden City that you’re back.”

“Are you sure? I mean, we just got here. We have work to do around here,” Harold said.

“Just go,” Ellie smiled.

Harold took the wrist sundial out of his pocket and slipped it on his wrist. He turned into Time Man and then went upstairs, through the roof access and out over the city. “Hello, Golden City,” he said. “I’m back.”

Incredible Comics #14

Time Man grabbed Adam and pulled him away from Caleb. He lifted him over his head and slammed him into the pavement. “You killed a good man,” Time Man said, hitting Adam, trying to keep him from getting back up.

“I’ve killed many good men,” Adam shouted, trying to block the hits.

“It ends now,” Time Man said. Time Man stood over Adam, breathing heavily.

“And how will you do that? I’ve been around longer than humanity itself,” Adam sneered. “Many have tried and all have failed to put me down.”

“Then I guess I better hope this works,” Time Man pulled Caleb’s watch out and grabbed Adam. Time Man clutched the watch and then pressed a button. Both Time Man and Adam disappeared.




They reappeared in nothingness. Time Man let go of Adam. Both floated in the nothing. “Where did you bring us?”

“If I did it right, the end of time. Soon entropy will engulf us and it may not kill you but it will stop you.”

“It’ll kill you,” Adam said. The darkness began enveloping them.

“I have a way back,” Time Man held up Caleb’s watch. “And if it doesn’t work, I’m comfortable with my decision.”

Adam moved toward Time Man just as he pressed the button again. Time Man disappeared into the darkness, leaving Adam alone at the end of time.




“I should’ve told you,” Harold said as he approached Ellie and Maggie as they sat on the stairs to their apartment building which was now surrounded by police cars and ambulances. “I didn’t know how you would handle it and I thought you would try to talk me out of it. I also thought you not knowing would help protect you. I guess I was wrong.”

“We could’ve died, Harold,” Ellie said, tearing up. “I don’t have a problem with you being a hero, being Time Man, but I need to know so that I can prepare for what could happen. We have a child to think about.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m going to take a break from Time Man for a while,” Harold said and sat down next to Ellie. “In fact, I was thinking of taking some time off from the city as well.”

“Where would we go? What about our life here in Golden City?” Ellie asked.




About four miles south of Duquesne, Iowa, Harold was standing on a ladder hanging a large wooden sign that read “Banner Farm” on a wooden arch that was built at the end of the driveway. Ellie was cleaning the kitchen while Maggie played on the floor in the living room. They had lived at the farm for the last six months and everything was going great. Harold not only did some farming but also took in repair work.

“I got the sign up,” Harold said, coming into the kitchen from outside.

“Are you happy that we did this?” Ellie asked him.

“Yeah, I love this. Are you happy?” Harold returned the question, worried.

“I do like this. We both do,” she motioned to Maggie. “You don’t miss the city? I know how much you liked the city and the fixit shop.”

“I also love small towns and quiet and I don’t need a building just for fixing things,” Harold said. “I’ll be in the reading room for a bit if you need anything,” Harold gave Ellie a kiss on the forehead and went into the reading room, a bedroom that was downstairs. He went over to the desk and slid open a drawer. Inside, was the sundial and Caleb’s watch just in case he ever needed them again.

Incredible Comics #13

Adam had just about always knew that he was different from the other early homo sapiens. He had outlived his entire tribe by the time he was 35. As the oldest member of his tribe, he set his eyes on a very young tribal girl to marry and mate with. When she, along with her family, rejected him, he killed them all with his bare hands and left the tribe to see what else this pathetic planet had to offer.

He had stopped aging around age 40 and had seen all that time had to offer and now he wanted to conquer it. He watched Time Man and the time traveler arrive at an apartment building. He saw them disappear into a roof access door. He ran inside the building and tried to hear which apartment they went into. He heard talking and a door close but wasn’t sure which one was the one he wanted.

“Ellie, I hope you don’t mind,” Harold said as he closed the door. “I brought someone by for dinner.”

“What? You never do that,” Ellie said, coming out of Maggie’s bedroom. “What’s the occasion?”

“This is Caleb. He’s a...scientist. He came into the store today to ask for some parts.”

“Hello, Mrs. Banner. Pleasure to meet you. Your husband and I have a lot in common.”

“A scientist, huh?” Ellie smiled at him. “What kind of scientist?”

“I, uh, mainly work with timepieces. Always trying to perfect the watch. You know how it is,” Caleb tried to explain.

“Okay,” Ellie kept smiling at him. “I haven’t started dinner so it will be awhile.”

“Do you need any help Mrs. Banner?” Caleb offered.

“What? Why? Please, call me Ellie. Of course I don’t need any help. You boys run off and talk about science-y things. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“Here, we can sit and talk in my study,” Harold laughed and showed Caleb two chairs and a small table next to a window. “I do all my reading--books, newspapers, magazines--right here. It’s not much but it does its job. So, what brings you here?”

Quietly, Caleb went through how he created the gauntlet and how it worked. He explained how he had been trying to figure out a way to move through time and that it seemed he succeeded but he wasn’t sure what he did or if it would work to return him to his time. When dinner was ready, the three of them sat down at the table and they got halfway through when Adam smashed his way through the door.

Along with his halted age, Adam also had superhuman strength and quick reflexes. The wood of the door splintered onto the floor. Harold and Caleb quickly got up. The loud noise woke up Maggie in the other room and she began crying. Ellie wanted to tend to her daughter but couldn’t get past her husband and his guest and the man who just smashed through her front door.

“You,” Adam snarled. “You’re the time traveller. I must know how you do it.”

“I don’t think that’s information you need,” Caleb said and readied himself for a fight.

“We need to get him out of my apartment,” Harold said, pulling his sundial out of his pocket and putting it on. His gold and blue uniform and cape appeared, shocking Ellie.

“Harold…? Time Man?”

“I should’ve told you. We’ll talk about it later. I have to get this guy away from here.”

He reached toward Adam, who was still focused on Caleb. Time Man grabbed Adam’s arm and pulled him toward the window. They both smashed through the window, taking some of the wall with them, and fell to the ground, landing hard on the pavement of the street.
“I need to know how he can go through time,” Adam screamed and punched Time Man. “I need to know,” he emphasized.

“To be honest,” Caleb flew down and landed on the sidewalk. “I don’t even know how I did it. But I’m certainly not going to help you figure out time travel.”

“I have lived through millennia and will live through millennia more,” Adam said. “I will find out how to time travel sooner or later and right now, you are my best chance.”

Adam leapt toward Caleb. “If you figured out time travel, wouldn’t you know it by now? Realize that your life is different or get a visit from your future self? Something like that?” Adam’s fist grazed Caleb’s cheek as he dodged the attack.

But Adam’s reflexes were able to quickly turn him around and catch Caleb on his cheek, sending him to the ground. “Caleb!” Time Man exclaimed as Adam continued pummeling Caleb into the ground.

Time Man stopped time with his sundial and ran over to Adam and Caleb. He removed the watch from Caleb’s wrist, pocketed it, and restarted time. He shoved Adam away from Caleb and knelt down to him. “I guess going back in time was a bad idea,” Caleb groaned.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll get you help,” Time Man said.

Adam suddenly landed on Caleb’s chest. Loud cracks and crunches echoes through the street. Caleb’s eyes went wide then closed. “Now I just need to get rid of you, and all of time is mine,” Adam looked at Time Man.

Incredible Comics #12

“You’re a terrible sniper,” Caleb Kennedy shouted as he flew through the sky between the buildings of lower Manhattan. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be seen. I guess it’s easier shooting helpless people of color in other countries than being a supervillain.”

“Not much of that happening these days,” the sniper in rocket boots said. “That’s why I became a mercenary. Gotta kill something.”

“No, you don’t.” Caleb made a sharp left turn on his airfoil. The sniper tried to follow but his turn wasn’t as smooth and he nicked the corner of the building with his shoulder. “Well, that bought me some time.” Caleb pulled a small ball bearing out of his belt and tossed it at the sniper. It hit the sniper, causing a small electrocution which caused the rocket boots to shut down.

“What happened?” he shouted and fell hard to the ground below.

Caleb landed gently. “The electricity shorted them out. I just needed to slow you down so I could get the ball sent to you,” several police cars surrounded the alley. “Ah, looks like you are under arrest. See you,” Caleb lept up and slid the airfoil underneath him and flew up into the sky.

Caleb Kennedy was one of the smartest people in the world. He started his own technology company at 18 after graduating from high school. He ran the business while going to college during which he created the airfoil, a safe mode of aerial transport for individuals, the ball bearings that held small electrical charges, and a gauntlet that could manipulate and travel through time. Caleb had used it very rarely to stop or slow down time and never to actually go to another time period. Caleb had used the gauntlet and the ball bearings, along with the airfoil, to become the superhero known as Time Man. Caleb arrived back at the apartment he shared with his friend, Alex.

Alex Wintermantel was Caleb’s best friend. They lived in a relatively small apartment together which was odd considering that Caleb could afford to live just about anywhere that he wanted. Alex was certainly not as smart or brilliant as Caleb, he worked in I.T. and drew webcomics on the side. Caleb said that Alex kept him grounded in reality.

Caleb hopped off the airfoil and landed on the balcony. He slid open the glass door and walked into the apartment. “Hey, Alex. How you doing?”

“I’m good. Just trying to get a backlog of comics posted while I have some downtime. You?”

“I’m good, too. Just stopped a mercenary from killing me.”

“That’s good,” Alex said nonchalantly.

“I’m going to go tinker with my time gauntlet, let me know when you are ready for dinner. There’s several bags of pizza rolls in the freezer we can eat,” Caleb said.

“Okay,” Alex nodded.

Caleb went into his bedroom and sat at his desk. He unstrapped his time gauntlet from his wrist and took a small screwdriver to it, opening it up. This was where he got the name Time Man. The gauntlet was able to pull him out of the time stream while keeping him in our dimension. Since he was essentially ‘out of time’, he didn’t use it too often, using his airfoil and ball bearings as his main powers. Every night he worked to make the gauntlet better, he was currently trying to make it go through time so he could visit whatever time period he wanted but so far he hadn’t been able to come close.

Tonight would be different. A ball bearing placed in an unassuming place would be the lynchpin needed. The gauntlet crackled and engulfed Caleb and soon he was gone. He reappeared in the same place but in the air and above what was now a five-story building instead of his twenty-seven story one. Caleb began falling and didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have his airfoil or any way to soften his landing. Suddenly, he landed in someone's arms. He looked and saw Time Man in his blue and yellow hooded and caped glory.

“I got you. Lucky I was passing nearby,” Time Man said. “What were you doing up in the air like that?”

“Long story. You’re the original Time Man,” Caleb smiled.

“I think I’m the only Time Man,” he smiled back. Time Man landed on another apartment roof and sat Caleb down.

“Well, I’m from the future, if you can believe it, and I’m also a superhero and I go by Time Man,” Caleb revealed.

“Really? The future? How’d you get here?”

“It’s why I was up in the air. My gauntlet sent me back in time. I guess my 27-story apartment building didn’t exist yet.”

“Well, glad you’re okay. When in the future are you from?”

“2020.”

“Almost a hundred years from now,” Time Man was astonished. “What else can your gauntlet do?”

“It can take you out of the time stream, kind of like your sundial,” Caleb pointed. “And I guess now it can travel through time although I’m not really sure how I did it. Sadly, it doesn’t help me fly or make me strong.”

“Then how do you fight?”

“I created this thing called an airfoil that I wasn’t able to bring and these electric ball bearings that can short stuff out or incapacitate someone. I’m well-armed.”

“That’s good. Do you know how you are going to get back?”

“No, I need to work on my gauntlet some more. I barely know what happened when it sent me here.”

“Why don’t you come home with me. You can have some dinner, meet the family, and we can go to the fixit shop and see what we can do.”

“Thanks, that’d be great.”

“Harold Banner,” Time Man slid his hood off, revealing his secret identity.

“Caleb Kennedy.”

The two of them smiled and shook hands. Nearby, a mysterious figure listened to them.

“A time traveler? That will be perfect for taking over the world across all of time,” he sneered and began watching Time Man and Caleb leave.

Incredible Comics #11

Finally back,” Reznicek grumbled when Harold walked into the store.

“I told you that I was going to take some time off when the baby came, Frank,” Harold said. “At least a week maybe more. I was gone eight days. It’s not like you need my help.”

“The principle of the thing,” Reznicek grumbled again. “Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Harold said. “I liked being home with Ellie and the baby but we need money coming in.”

“You’ll get paid in full,” Reznicek muttered, barely audible. Harold heard him but ignored him, not wanting to somehow start a fight or something. Reznicek pushed himself away from his work table and began shuffling through the store. “I’m closing up shop,” he said as he walked by Harold.

Harold heard this, too, but ignored him, not wanting to somehow start a fight or something. He would say something later.




Martin was out making deliveries. His next stop was the apartment of Leland Decker. He found the complex and began hunting down the apartment. When he found it, he knocked softly. He always did this just in case there were babies or little kids sleeping. He heard a scream come from the apartment and knocked again, loudly.

“Oh, thank God,” a woman’s voice came from inside. “Please come in.”

Martin walked in and saw a very pregnant woman lying on the floor, her head propped up against the couch, legs splayed out and no pants on. Martin immediately gasped and turned his head. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am. I thought you said to come in.”

“I did,” she panted. “I’m going into labor. I’m been screaming for nearly thirty minutes. You’re the first one to hear me. I can’t hold this in anymore.”

“Uh, well, where’s your husband?”

“Boyfriend, and he ran off a month or so ago. What do you have there?” she nodded at the package Martin was holding.

“Uh, Mr. Decker brought in his watch to be repaired. I was delivering it to him.”

“Keep it,” she tried to chuckle. “He’s not coming back for it. Just like he’s not coming back for me or our baby. Can you help deliver a baby?”

Martin had helped his mom deliver his baby sister and had seen plenty of babies being born in the poor neighborhood he lived in but he didn’t know if he could do it on his own with no guidance. He shrugged. “I can certainly try. I know a lot of it is automatic. Nature knows what to do. Should I call an ambulance, ma’am?”

“Please, call me Angela. We’re going to get pretty acquainted here in a few minutes,” Angela tried chuckling again but it turned into a moan.

“I’m Martin Hogue. Pleased to meet you.”

“Angela Matney,” she then winced in pain. “You better go wash your hands, I don’t think it’ll wait any longer.”

Martin went into the kitchen area of the apartment and called 911 before washing his hands and preparing himself for delivering a baby. Both Martin and Angela thanked God that it was an easy delivery, there were no problems, nothing went wrong. Paramedics arrived shortly after the baby came out and were able to finish things up and take Angela to the hospital.

“Wait, wait,” Angela called out as she was wheeled out of the apartment. “Martin, thank you. When I get back here, maybe you can stop by and I can repay you with lunch or dinner sometime.”

“No payment is necessary but I’ll keep that in mind,” Martin smiled. “You and that baby come home soon.”

Angela was wheeled out of the apartment and down the stairs. Martin picked up the watch he was there to deliver and took it with him as he left.




Harold’s work day was just about over. “What was that about closing up shop?”

“Just that. I’m closing up,” Reznicek said.

“When? What about me? What about Martin? Did you think about us when you made this decision?”

“Of course I did. I was going to ask if you’d want to take over the shop. You could even train Martin on how to fix stuff and get a new delivery boy. It’d be your shop, you can do what you want with it.”

“Really?” Harold was stunned. “Why didn’t you say that? Why didn’t you just say you were thinking of handing the shop over to me?”

“I’m not one to get all emotional,” Reznicek grumbled. “So you want it?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ve loved working here and I’m good at it. I would be honored to continue your tradition.”

“Okay, we’ll talk about it more in the coming days. You still have fifteen minutes before you’re off so get back to work.”




The collapsed warehouse was going to become Lucius’ first major upgrade for his ward. He wasn’t sure if it going to be the new home for beautiful apartments and lofts or a hotel and casino. He’d decide when all the rubble was removed and he could see what deals he could get for each. “How’s the clean-up coming, Conrad?” Lucius asked.

“It’s going fine, sir. There are no salvageable parts of the old warehouse and most of it has wound up in a now-flooded basement that is currently being drained. It’ll be about a month before this lot is cleaned out.”

“That’s fine. So glad that Time Man was able to hasten the owner’s decision to sell this property,” Lucius smiled.

“Mr. Goebel, Mr. Goebel. We found something that you have to see,” a worker ran up to Lucius and Conrad. “We think it’s a body,” he whispered.

Lucius looked at Conrad. “Show me.”

Lucius and Conrad peered over the edge of a part of the basement that wasn’t flooded. A massive pile of rubble had just been removed exposing the still body. Neither of them knew what they were looking at at the moment but the forgotten golem had been found.

Incredible Comics #10

Off the coast of Alaska, a ship floated on the waters. Onboard the ship, with 32 crewmembers, was Captain Cornelius Blake and his daughter, Isobel. She had been begging for months to see his ship and was finally granted permission. It was supposed to be a peaceful visit but a fleet of Kiddonese planes tore through the bay they were in, bombarding and shooting at the ship. The ship sank immediately and as it lowered, sinking front half first, Isobel lost her balance and was sent tumbling into the electronics room where she was electrocuted into a quick death, saved from drowning.

With her death is normally where her story would end but Isobel Blake would be spotted again in her home city, walking down the street. She couldn’t remember her name, sparks and lightning flew out of her, and she was nude.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” a police officer cautiously walked up to Isobel, making sure to keep a distance from her sparks.

“I...I don’t know,” Isobel said, in a flighty, forgetful way. “I was drawn here. This area must be very important to me.”

“Maybe you can come down to the precinct with me. We can help you find what you are looking for and maybe get some clothes on you,” the officer suggested.

“No, I”m good. Thank you, though,” Isobel smiled.

“Ma’am, I’m afraid that I have to insist,” the officer reached out his hand to Isobel.

“I said,” Isobel electrocuted the policeman “‘No!’ I am not some helpless bimbo. I just need to remember.” Isobel began throwing lightning bolts and expelling electricity all over the neighborhood. “Get away from me,” she screeched.

People ran to get off of the streets and away from Isobel. She continued to throw lightning bolts in various directions, clearly upset with this change in her life and her amnesia. As her bolts calmed down, she was suddenly lifted up off of the ground and was soon in the clouds. “I had to get you away from those people. You already took one life, you don’t need to take any more.”

Icarion, carried Isobel as far as he could before she released a couple of bolt of lightning from her back, shocking him off of her. “Unhand me.”

Icarion looked at the two scorch marks on his tunic. The shocks kind of hurt. “I guess I’ll have to get tough,” he launched himself at Isobel who, in an instant, used her lightning to flash herself back down to Earth. “Maybe I won’t be able to use brute force,” Icarion said to himself.

Isobel began electrocuting people in the street with her lightning bolts, a cold smile on her face. Icarion thought for a couple seconds on how to handle this but couldn’t think of a good idea. He knew that he had to stop her senseless killing and began flying down to grab people and move them out of the way--into open windows, onto rooftops, over into the next block. Within minutes, it was just Icarion and Isobel on the block. Police had arrived and blocked off each end of the street and the intersection.

“You can’t stop me,” Isobel grinned.

“Maybe,” Icarion noticed something out of the corner of his eye. “Maybe not.”

Isobel began shooting at him as he flew toward a fire hydrant near her. He narrowly dodged her lightning and kicked the hydrant off of the street. Water began pouring out. Without thinking, Isobel threw a bolt at Icarion who flew into the air just a couple of feet. The bolt hit the water and shorted out her bolt and traveled back to Isobel.

Isobel screamed in pain as she went down onto her knees. She then collapsed onto the street and stopped moving. Paramedics rushed to the scene. “Her heart stopped,” one of them said. They began loading her onto a gurney and into an ambulance.




“Her name is Isobel Blake,” Conrad told Lucius Goebel. “She was lost at sea after the Kiddonese bombed a ship. Everyone on board was killed with, I guess, one exception.”

“Will she be okay?” Lucius asked.

“Yeah. We’re going to take it slow with her. But she’ll be fine.”

Incredible Comics #9

The North Shunga Creek Asylum was a place for children on the low-end of the spectrum. Idiots, retards, mongoloids, all resided here in relative peace and tranquility. One of the children was just about to “graduate”, as the doctors and nurses called it, on to the Hoyt Ohio State Asylum where he would more than likely spend the rest of his life.

The consensus was that Alfred Humphrey’s mother was a whore on drugs and his father, probably one of his mother’s customers, was a drunk resulting in the mentally impaired Alfred eighteen-years ago. He was a friendly boy who was very docile and didn’t know his own strength. While Alfred was a good-natured kid, he did have a temper when he felt an injustice and had thrown tantrums bad enough to break furniture and injure an orderly.

Two days before Alfred was to be sent to the Hoyt Asylum, Lucius Goebel and Conrad came into North Shunga and personally choose Alfred to be part of an experiment. Thrilled that Alfred would no longer be a ward of the state, the Asylum happily signed the paperwork and soon Alfred was off to Genesee Labs.

For years, Alfred went through a series of tests designed to harness his strength and increase it. He also endured numerous intrusions into his brain to look at his synapses and his responses to various stimuli. He would be trained to be a soldier but only a soldier when under control of someone else. Alfred would be the first in a new line of defense. Children and adults abandoned by humanity would have a new purpose. But then the government learned what was happening and quickly nixed the plan. Lucius, however, kept Alfred at Genesee, continuing the tests while keeping him sedated in case he would ever need him. Lucius didn’t know when or why he would ever need Alfred but he liked knowing he would be available.




Time Man was the only thing the city could talk about for days after the warehouse collapse and the discovery of the orphans. While everyone knew Time Man existed, this was the first time clear photos and an interview of the hero were obtained. Harold had forced Time Man to come out of the shadows and into the light and he loved the inspiration that he gave the community. It was difficult for Harold to work and be Time Man at the same time and the balancing act made him tired.

There was one person unhappy with the public show that Time Man was now a part of. Alderman Lucius Goebel kept close tabs on Time Man and wanted to know where he got his powers.

“We have so little information on him,” Lucius sighed to Conrad. “We need to get rid of him.”

“Why, sir? He’s making the city safer.”

“He gives people hope. When people have hope, you have no power over them,” Lucius thought for a moment. “Get Genesee Labs, I have an idea.”




Alfred slammed his way down the street creating small craters with his feet and overturning cars, even throwing a couple into the buildings. He was outfitted in a suit to protect him, a mace to use for attacks along with his fists, and a shock collar around his head that gave his brain little pricks to keep his rage up. After rampaging through almost a block of the city, police cars surrounded the area and Time Man soon arrived.

Time Man landed a few feet in front of Alfred. “Hold on there,” he began. “What’s the meaning of all this?”

Alfred swung his mace and hit Time Man in the jaw sending him yards away down the block and drawing first blood. “Get Time Man!” Alfred screamed.

“I guess he can’t be reasoned with,” Time Man rubbed his jaw and chin. He got back up and cautiously approached Alfred. “I don’t want to hurt you. Who are you? What’s your name? Why do you have to ‘get’ me?”

Time Man was ready for the mace this time and dodged the attack. Alfred stumbled forward, nearly falling. Time Man punched Alfred, but lightly, only sending him stumbling to the ground. Alfred regained his composure and quickly got back up, throwing a fist toward Time Man. “Get Time Man! Bad man! Killer!” he screamed.

“What?” Time Man asked, dodging the punches and mace.

“Bad man!” Alfred screamed again, swinging down his mace and embedding it in the street, getting it stuck.

“I don’t even know you. What’s going on?” Time Man tried to reason. He noticed the headband that Alfred was wearing and saw it briefly spark causing Alfred to scream and pull the mace violently from the street and swung it around his head, yelling. “It’s the headband,” Time Man said outloud but to himself.

Time Man made a couple motions on his sundial and time stopped. Time Man reached over and grasped the headband, pulling on it. It slowly detached from Alfred’s head, sparking and jolting. It broke into several pieces and the sparks stopped. Time Man crushed the remaining pieces in his hands and unfroze time.

Alfred fell hard to the ground, not moving and barely breathing. “Call an ambulance,” Time Man shouted. Medics and police quickly arrived at the scene and soon Alfred was being whisked away.




“That madman clearly was after Time Man and Time Man alone,” Lucius announced over the radio waves that evening. “If Time Man wasn’t around, that man wouldn’t have had a reason to nearly destroy an entire city block. Time Man needs to be held accountable. He needs to answer to someone in charge, not just to himself. I call on every police officer and citizen out there that if they see Time Man, to arrest him and bring him in so he can answer a few questions.”

Harold, at home, sat in his favorite chair and listened to the radio broadcast. When Lucius stopped talking and began answering questions, he turned off the radio. “What do you think about Time Man?” Ellie asked.

“I have no issue with him,” Harold said. “I think he’s doing a lot of good.”

“I do too. The neighborhood seems brighter with him. I do wish we knew more about him though.”

Harold looked at his wife. “We will someday,” he said, he wanted to tell her but chickened out and picked up his newspaper.

“Oh,” Ellie moaned. “Harold?”

“Yeah?”

“I think the baby is coming…”




“Alfred is back at Genesee?” Lucius asked.

“Yes, sir,” Conrad answered. “He’s been sedated and will be resting up for quite awhile. He’s had quite the day.”

“He has and the experiment worked. I am positive I will be utilizing Alfred in the future. For his reward, make sure he is treated like a king in the lab.”

“Will do, sir.”

Incredible Comics #8

The monster, or whatever it was, was at least eight feet tall and was walking slowly out of the bank carrying bags of money stolen from the bank. Time Man ran toward the creature and struck it with his fist doing nothing to slow it down or stop it. “It feels like it’s made of clay,” he said to Officer Murdock.

“Clay? Like a golem?”

“Do you think that’s what it is?”

“Nothing really surprises me anymore,” Murdock chuckled. “We should just follow it and see where it goes. If it is a golem, it’s being controlled by someone.”

The golem lumbered down the street as Murdock and Time Man followed it, keeping their distance so as not to cause it to attack again. They followed it from the bank to the west toward the docks and warehouses. It lumbered toward a huge, abandoned warehouse. Murdock and Time Man ducked into the shadows and watched the large door open up for the golem and then close. They slowly approached the warehouse and looked it. All of the windows were boarded up. It was at least three stories and it looked like it went under the water as well.

“Can you get the door open?” Murdock asked.

“Let’s see if there’s another way in. There’s got to be a door on the side.”

They got to the warehouse and found a door on the south side, locked and bolted with ‘Keep Out’ signs plastered on it. Time Man gave the door a slight push and it came open. They stepped into the large warehouse and saw numerous platforms all the way to the ceiling, a few figures moved along the catwalks along the walls. A giant cement pit went below the water line in the rear of the warehouse.

“What is going on here?” Murdock whispered as he walked into the warehouse. As he got a better view of the figures, he was shocked at what he saw. “These are children,” he exclaimed.

“Trespassers!” someone shouted.

“Grab them,” shouted another.

A bunch of kids started running toward them but they stopped when they saw who it was. “Time Man?” one of them asked.

“What are you kids doing here?” Time Man asked.

“We live and work here,” one stepped forward. “We don’t have homes or parents. Mooch sends us out on jobs so we can make money and get food.”

“Mooch?” Officer Murdock asked. “Is he, like, your leader?”

“Only because he’s really old. He’s 18.”

“You kids just can’t live here. You need more than just shelter and food. You need doctors and better protection,” Murdock said.

“Where are we supposed to get it?”

“We can take you someplace that will help you find families. They will love you and take care of you.”

“Mooch loves us and takes care of us,” a couple kids said.

“We followed something here that stole money from a bank. What’s Mooch going to do with that money? With what he stole, he could buy a couple houses that you could live in. What’s he going to do with it?” Time Man asked.

The kids were silent but one spoke up. “He’ll buy us food. Maybe medicine.”

“Can we talk to Mooch?” Time Man asked.

“He’s down below. We’ll take you down there.”

A group of kids led Time Man and Officer Murdock down underground. Mooch was sitting on a throne made of barrels with the golem standing still next to him. There were several bigger kids standing alongside Mooch.

“Mooch, this is Time Man and police officer Murdock, they wish to speak to you.”

“Fine. What do I owe the honor of this visit?” Mooch asked.

“We followed your monster,” Time Man said. “These kids need homes. They need someone to take care of them.”

“Can everyone please leave the room?” Mooch said and waited for everyone to leave before he continued talking. “They have someone who takes care of them. Me.”

“You don’t take care of them. There are numerous sick ones out there, you get money through thievery and crime, this barren warehouse is barely a shelter, and you don’t actually do anything to care for them,” Murdock said.

“They still get better than they would by themselves on the street or, in some cases, at the children’s home,” Mooch replied.
“I’m going to call this in,” Murdock said. “We’ll just take the kids away. I thought we could do this civilly. Hello, Dispatch? This is Murdock. I’m at the warehouse along Water Street, across from 129th Street. I need every available unit, a supervisor, ambulances. I have a couple hundred orphans here in some kind of youth-oriented criminal gang.”

Mooch sighed and began writing something down on a piece of paper. “I’m sorry that it has come to this. This is a good thing and no one here wants to see it end,” Mooch folded the piece of paper and slid it into the golem’s mouth. “You started this so you have no one to blame but yourself.”

The golem began moving, approaching Time Man and Officer Murdock. Time Man pushed Murdock toward where they came in. “Try to get the kids out of the warehouse. I’m going to stop the golem.”

Time Man threw himself at the golem and was able to knock him back a little bit. The golem took Time Man by the arm and leg and threw him across the and into the stone wall. As the wall collapsed, water began pouring in. Time Man flew at the golem and drove him into the floor and a load-bearing pillar that immediately caused the floor above to creak and shake.

The floor beginning to buckle helped Murdock get the kids out faster as the police cars and ambulances showed up. As the floor collapsed, a couple kids fell in, and the walls began folding inward. The fight continued underground until the whole building fell into the river. The dust from the stone and wood cleared but nothing else moved.

After a little more than thirty minutes, a hand came up out the rubble. Time Man clawed his way out and tried catching his breath while staying on his knees. “Time Man! What happened? Could you see any other kids down there?” Murdock shouted.

“No. Mooch and the kids that fell in, I couldn’t grab because of…” Time Man hesitated when seeing the crowd, not wanting anyone to get scared or find the golem. “I could barely get out of there so I don’t think anyone else will be able to.”

“Time Man, would you like us to check you out?” a paramedic said.

“Yeah, that’d be great. I have a lot of places that hurt,” Time Man groaned as he stood up.