Bright pink smoke filled the air as tiny fireworks light up the tent. Justin had to shield his eyes from the bright random flashes, but he still kept his eyes trained upward. Laughter, dripping with a heavy French accent, echoed through the air and Justin knew that his archenemies had appeared. Looking up as the noise of explosions died down, Force Man was astounded to see two pillars appear out of no wear and a tight rope stretched out between them. In the center of the tight rope, balancing himself on the tip toes of a single foot, was a brightly dressed clown.
He was dressed in bright blue and orange parachute pants, with skinny, sleek boots that looked like a comedic rendition of cowboy boots. His stomach was skinny and sleek as if he wore a black corset. Skinny black leather gloves that reached his elbows and orange top completed the clownish French attire. His face was painted white, with his lips a bright red and a red tear under his right eye. He had long flowing gray hair that poured out from under a green hat that looked like it came out of Pirates of the Caribbean. In one hand, the clown held an umbrella while he juggled three different colored balls with his other. Jester Lord smiled at Force Man with an eerily happy grin.
“Bonjour Force Man. I have been waiting for you.”
“You know, holding an open umbrella is bad luck,” Justin told the clown has he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Oue, but for who is this bad luck for mon ami?” Laughing, the Frenchman jumped from the tight rope and glided down to the floor. As he came down, Force Man got into a fighting stance. He kept eying the tent, making sure he wouldn’t be ambushed by the clown’s groupies. Jester Lord landed on the ground as if he were a light feather and he smiled at the hero as he closed his umbrella. Justin noted that the clown had managed to keep the tempo of his juggling, not missing a beat. If this had been any other circumstances, he would have been impressed. However, because he was about to pound the clown for disturbing the peaceful city, he’d ignore any “tricks” the clown would pull.
“Where are all the missing people Jester?”
“Excuses moi? I have no idea what tu are talking about.”
“Don’t give me that bull. I know people have been disappearing from your little circus show,” he told him, “I’m here to rescue them.”
“My, my. You are such the detective,” the clown laughed at his own joke. “I shall tell them that you had made such a valiant effort to save them.”
“I doubt that.” Justin said and she circled the clown. Jester Lord kept the smile on his face. He wouldn’t admit it, but that stupid smile creeps the hell out of him. It was unnatural for anyone to smile ear from ear for hours on end. But he wouldn’t let that distract him from his rescue mission. He just needed to get information on where Jester Lord was keeping them. “Now tell me where they are and I’ll be sure to make sure not to beat you up too badly.”
Jester Lord laughed hysterically. “Ah oue, your super strength. Super strength for super muscles. C/est belle. But tell me Force Man, can un petit garcon like you stop these?”
In one quick movement, Jester Lord caught all three rubber balls he had been juggling and held them in his hand. “Ta at!” he threw them at the young hero, who flew up in the air to dodge the balls, which exploded into pink clouds of knock out gas. He felt a brief tug, but there was nothing else .Ignoring it, Force Man flew to the other side of the clown and came up, throwing a punch at him. However, much to the lycra clad boy, the punch stopped dead, just inches from his face.
“What the?”
“Have tu not heard of distractions?” Jester Lord said as he held up his hands. Just faintly, Justin could see thin lines of string attached from the tip of the umbrella and his fingers. Force Man could see that they ran up to his arms, wrapping around them and all the down to his shoulders. The tugging he had felt must have been the strings attaching themselves to his body.
“Now sit petit garcon,” Jester Lord said, Force Man felt a tingling and battled against the magical force and forced his body to pull itself into a sitting position. The struggle lasted for a minute before Justin finally broke free from the strings.
“Nice try Jester, but you’ll have to do better than that.” The hero threw a punch and sent the clown flying. Jester lord slowed his flight by opening his umbrella. He laughed.
“That was fun. Now see if tu can stop these.” Throwing jacks at the boy, Jester Lord used the distraction to point his umbrella at the hero and fired a stream of silly string. The silly string wove around the boy. It bound his arms to his torso and spun around, faster and faster, getting thicker and thicker, tighter and tighter. Before long, Force Man could barely move his upper body. He tried to break out of the partially woven cocoon, but to his surprise, it found it impossible.
“What is this stuff?” he asked the clown with a scowl on his face. Jester Lord laughed.
“Diamond particle laced titanium strings. I combined it with the same material in silly string to create a weaving trap even tu cannot break out of.” Jester Lord produced another rubber ball and tossed it up and down in his hand.
“Now that I have tu right where I want tu, I think it’s time to begin mon master plan.”
“And what would that be exactly?” Justin asked as he struggled with the silly string bound. Jester Lord responded by tossing the ball at his face. It exploded before it made contact and a purple cloud spread into his face. He cough and choked on the foul fumes. “Ugh, what is that?”
“A special fume.” Jester Lord said. “Yu asked what happened to the missing people did tu not?” As the clown talked, Force Man noticed his eyes trooping. His struggling was slowing and he stumbled to stay up on his feet. “I’m about to show tu. Personaly mon petit garcon.”
Justin slumped to the floor and then there was black. The echo of Jester Lord’s laughing filling his ear. Jester Lord was over to the bound young hero. He laughed. He had finally caught Force Man in his deadly trap. He knew the valiant boy would come. “Soon you will know the truth.”