________________________________

Boss Dragon closed his hands around the coin, and looked around the car.

The key to glory, power, and everything the Underground Crime Alliance had ever wanted was in his hand.

With some nameless grunts riding in the ordinary vehicle with him, he arrived at his destination.

An ordinary old worn out warehouse, with old worn out paint on it's walls.

He walked to the back, and ordered all the bricks be pulled from the wall. The grunts obeyed, prepared for the situation with crowbars, hammers, and other weapons.

A mechanical clink echoed throughout the warehouse.

The hammer fell to the floor. Boss Dragon walked up, and placed the coin inside a specially built slot.

A smaller, duller click. The chamber, seemingly unwilling, gave up it's treasure.

Nothing.

Boss Dragon stormed out of the warehouse with blood on his hands, and fury clouding his mind. Solely, while they attempted to defend themselves with an assortment of blunt objects, he had killed all eight of them.

_________________

The would-be assassin looked about the deserted parking garage. Mr. Seventy simply held onto the bars on the window and gazed at the moon. Marty was working tirelessly on trying to defuse one of the bombs.

The assassin named "NightVision" sat down on the cold cement, and looked at Mr. Seventy.

He asked, "So what's your name?"

Mr. Seventy didn't reply immediately, but continued looking out.

"My name is 'Fool', My name is 'Wrong', and my name is 'Death'." Mr. Seventy looked down.

Marty sighed, and stopped examining the bomb.

"It's no use, Mr. Seventy. I can't.. it's too well made."

Mr. Seventy gave him no reply.

"What's with the old guy, kid?" NightVision asked.

Marty replied, "Any number of things. He's a thinker."

Mr. Seventy laughed, and looked at him, tears running down his cheek.

"You're a good man, Marty."

The television burst into life again.

Boss Tiger looked at them with tearful broken eyes

"Michael!" She cried, out of breath.

"I.. I've been trying to help you, Boss Dragon.. He's.. he's going to kill you. Where are you at?"

Mr. Seventy looked back at her.

"Get away from there, Rose. He'll kill you, you know it. I'm not telling you where we are."

NightVision started to speak, but Marty hit him hard in the side.

"Michael, I can help you, I can get you out of there, please, let me. Michael--".

Bang.

Boss Snake walked up to the camera, with a disheveled looking Boss Dragon behind him. Tiger yelled out,

“Norman..” Boss Tiger cried silently.

“Now, Rose. Look at what I had to make Luther do to you.” She continued to cry.

“And now I-” From off-camera, Rose begin to sing:

“We all.. Got.. Up to dance..”

Boss Dragon looked at his monitor at Mr. Seventy, who was openly sobbing. He looked puzzled.

“What are you… Boss.. Luther. Kill her.” But she continued to sing.

“Oh.. But we never got the chance..” Boss Snake fumbled with his gun, and pointed it at Rose.

Mr. Seventy sobbed and whispered something.

Boss Snake ended her life, her brown eyes gazing up through nothing.

Mr. Seventy continued where she left, through his sobs.

“The players tried to take the field…”, and Marty, accustomed to the peculiar habits and loves of Mr. Seventy, noted the familiar song that he was singing quietly.

“But the marching band refused to yield.”

NightVision looked at the two men with a strange look, and sat down.

Mr. Seventy continued: “Do you recall what was revealed, he day the music died?”. This alerted NightVision to what song they were actually singing, and he joined Marty and Mr. Seventy in singing the chorus.

“We started singing,
‘bye-bye, miss American pie.’
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die.”

Boss Dragon’s rage visibly soared, and he destroyed a glass panel with his fury. He yelled to Boss Snake:

“Activate the bombs, now. DO IT. AUTHORIZE THE WEAPONS“. Boss Snake quickly darted for a control panel off-camera.

Boss Snake did something that caused a bell to begin ringing on their side of the camera.

Marty cried out:

“Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend!”

Mr. Seventy continued it:

“Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that Satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died”

Then the voices blended together, as the bell rang louder, and Boss Dragon screamed and poured sweat over whatever it was he was typing.

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

They were singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die."

Mr. Seventy cried aloud,

“And this is the day that we die.”

Boss Dragon roared with laughter, and slammed his mighty fist onto a large red button. His connection with the three men was cut immediately.

The Tanas Building imploded, starting from the top down to the bottom. The fire from the buildings explosion roared outward. The moon stared down, and cried.

Thunder, dust, and blood echoed and spread. The city was quiet. Filled with dread.

The debris was cleared, the bodies recovered. News reports cried “Terrorism“. No one bothered to identify the mangled corpses.

Some stories end with victory. Some stores end with defeat.

This story ends with sorrow. With three forgotten men, who only wanted to fulfill their dreams, no matter how strange they may seem to us.

And in the streets, the children screamed. The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.

Villains will not go unpunished.

Someday, their end will come. By a good man. A good man, with a good heart,

And a will to fulfill all his dreams.

The end.