Sugar High!

Halloween! The only night of the year where there are more citizens roaming around pretending to be zombies while they are actually hopped up on sugar and chocolate!

I have a fondness for Halloween simply because I believe it is the one time where all the citizens of Metro City come closest to feeling (or, perhaps, understanding) just what it is that The Mysterious Minute-Men experience on a regular basis!

The Power of the Sacred Soda imbues us with so much energy that the closest we can come to explaining it is to compare it to the highest of sugar highs, the rushest of chocolate rushes.

The difference, of course, is that The Sacred Soda sparks our internal abilities. Regular people on sugar highs just get very edgy.

So, remember, although you believe you may be capable of doing the things we can... you can not! We are Professionals. Do not attempt to try our stunts at home.

Have a safe Halloween! And should you have any spare Aero bars, feel free to send them to me!

Kooks

Tonight, there was a man... a very strange man, who did all he could to get my attention during my patrol. He finally succeeded when he set fire to a gas station, the resulting explosion much more intrusive than a phone call.

I swung down from up high and landed right in front of him. As I stood to my full height, wrapped in my cloak, and glared down on him, I growled at him to speak.

"Speak miscreant!" said I. "Or know the fury with which I shall unleash my fists upon thee!"

He seemed to have been in his own little world for he tilted his head, his face gleaming white like a porcelain doll, and with a twisted smile upon his lips, he asked, "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?"

I had no choice but to plant my size 10 boots into what passed for his blank stare.

"The only dancing I do with punks like you is SLAM Dancing!" I told him.

It wasn't long before Metro City's finest were on the scene wrapping up the baddie. I helped the Firefighters clear out the area while they tackled the flames. Those are definitely men and women worthy of respect!

"Say what, Jack?!" asked Orion when I filled him in on the story. "Dancing Devils in the Moonlight? What kind of candy-assed bad-guy threat is that to say to a super-hero!?"

I must admit, I had to agree with him there.

Night Owls?

A citizen recently asked if I were a true nocturnal creature. She immediately apologized when I struck her with my Minute-Stare and asked what she meant.

Did I sleep all day and patrol all night?

Ah. I understood and eased my grimacing.

Although it may seem like I am as nocturnal as an Owl, I am not. I do not stay up all night. I stay up late. Sometimes, very late. But such is the nature of the criminal element that they do not commit their crimes in broad daylight. Except for those wearing business suits. But I leave those criminals to the police.

I do sleep in which allows me to be rested at night. And, of course, by the power of Stan's amazing coffee, I have plenty of energy to keep me going!

In the end, I do not let something as silly as day cycles interfere with my duties to this city. Wherever, and whenever Minute-Man is needed, I shall be there!

And, of course... when I am not needed... there is always Stan's Donut Shoppe! :)

Minute-Senses Tingling!

I have been on alert for a while. I have felt an... uneasiness... in the back of my skull for way too long.

Some evil is afoot.

Somewhere, out there, someone is plotting something. The Power of the Sacred Soda has never let me down (yes, yes, except when it was tampered with!) and it is from the heightened senses brought to me by this ambrosia that I know.

Something wicked this way comes.

I am not yet certain what form it will take. I am only certain that The Mysterious Minute-Men are ever ready for whatever challenge comes our way!

Progeny

One of the things that not having a voice does is to allow one the ability to be introspective without drawing attention.

During tonight's patrol, I found myself alone, sharing roof space with one of the many gargoyles that line the buildings downtown. I used to wonder why there were so many gargoyles in that area but the answer was revealed many years ago. Perhaps, one day, I will share it.

As I was saying... or rather, typing, I found myself surveying the city and instead of feeling alone, I felt comforted. There is something about my statue friends that calms me and I joined them in their silence. I thought about Orion, running around at street level chasing a pickpocket and wooing the women as he always does. I thought about Eclipse, patrolling the West end of the island.

And then... without warning, I thought about... a child.

I could suddenly see, in my mind's eye, this little "being". A tiny, blond, child, nestled against my chest, reaching up to grab at my mask... It felt so real I could almost smell his skin and feel the warmth of it.

And then I wondered. Is there a child lurking in Minute-Man's future? Yes, I know I've met Nano once before... but this child was not him. Is there more? Have I begun to feel the need to leave a legacy?

At just that moment the head snapped off the gargoyle I was leaning against and I found myself plummeting towards the sidewalk. Another typical end to an a-typical day...

My Voice! It is Gone!

'tis true! Some dastardly villain has absconded with my voice! Tonight's patrol had been a quiet one. I believe the oncoming winter weather has started sending the criminal element slinking back into the underbrush. At any rate, I was not saying much, allowing Orion the pleasure of sharing his exploits of the past weekend. Finally, he noticed that I had been more silent than usual.

"Yo, Jack! Wussup with you tonight?" he asked as we landed on the roof of the Viewing Point Conference Halls. "Is it Christmas or something? Cause I sure didn't get no memo!"

I didn't reply. I just turned my back and surveyed the city.

"You know, cause of the whole 'not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse' thing?" he continued.

I sighed and looked back at him. "I lost my voice," I croaked.

He burst out laughing.

I turned my back on him.

"Oh that's precious, man!" he laughed.

I called it a night and headed back to Stan's. As we walked through the door, Orion shouted out, "Evening, Stan! I think double-M is going to skip out on his coffee tonight. How about a lemon tea with some honey in it?"

Try as he might, he could not keep a straight face and fell about laughing again. I just slipped into my booth. Eclipse was already there and the smile on her face showed that she was trying not to join in on the mockery.

"I think it's cute," she said to Orion as he finally joined us.

"Cute is NOT a word that is used when describing a super hero!" I growled, trying to raise my voice and failing.

"Well it is," she replied while Orion doubled up in laughter again. "You sound like Mickey Mouse!" she added.

That broke through Stan's defenses and he had now joined Orion in the guffaw-ing. I put my hands on my head and my face on the table.

It's going to be a looooong night...

Heroic Coffee

Orion and Stan both think I should be using this blog to share more information about myself. Of course, knowing how clever evil-doers are, my Minute-Senses are always on alert. Revealing too much about anything might be my undoing one unfortunate evening.

However, I'll start off with the obvious. Coffee. Ha! You probably thought I was going to bring up the Sacred Soda: Minute-Maid Orange Soda! Well, that would be too obvious.

There is nothing I like better than to kick back with a large mug of French Vanilla after an active night of patrol. Metro City is too big for one hero to patrol alone, which makes my heart proud to have the rest of the Team around so we can cover it all. We all have our favorite beverages, but for my coffee nothing beats one of Stan's famous French Vanillas!

This is not to say that I'm not open to trying new flavors. Eclipse doesn't like to stick with the same flavor for too long. So, to keep her happy, I experiment with different flavors. Stan doesn't mind, of course.

Recently, I've been brewing her a mix of half Mocha, half Hazelnut and it has definitely made our taste buds dance. Unfortunately, my stock of Hazelnut beans has been depleted and while waiting for a new shipment, we have been experimenting again. Today's brew was half part Mocha, half part ground Gourmet Espresso coffee beans from the Dominican Republic! A little sour, but with a nice kick, too!

And now, you must excuse me. Breakfast awaits!

Stan goes Digital

When Orion and I strolled into Stan's Donut Shoppe after our nightly patrol, my oldest friend waved us into our regular booth.

With a conspiratorial wink, he pointed at the table in front of where I sat.

"Tap 3 times," he said.

I did and suddenly the table became transparent. There, in front of me, was what looked to be a touch-screen keyboard and monitor.

"It's your new interface to the Minute-Computers in the cave!"

"Not too shabby, Jack!" said Orion. "Nice and sleek! Streaming video, too?"

"Of course!" Stan smiled proudly.

"This is all well and good," I said. "But what reason is there to go through the trouble of implementing such things?"

"Ha! We're gonna take you into the Digital age, my man!" laughed Orion.

"What do you mean? All our technology is hooked through the Minute-Mobile and the electronics in my mask. What more do I need?"

Orion and Stan looked at each other, smiled, looked back at me, and answered in unison. "A blog!"

Truth be told, that idea never came to me before.

And so, here I sit, trying to organize my thoughts into some coherent whole in order to share it with you. But the only thought that is winning out is this: I am in Stan's Donut Shoppe and have yet to ingest any coffee.

That is something that must be remedied immediately before any more can be said!