Nuklear Age (63 page)

Meanwhile, near the busted out entrance, Dr. Genius tried to enforce some order. “Überdyne will cover the costs,” Dr. Genius said in her, non-Superion shirt. It was white and had a faded print of a kitten hanging on to a clothesline on the front of it with the phrase
Hang In There
printed across the bottom. “So it’s more like acquisitioning supplies than stealing.”

The other heroes with Superion shirts began sifting through the grocery store’s assortment of ill-fitting, poorly designed T-shirts near the registers. Impulse items for the fashion inept.

Norman rubbed his head. “Man. What hit us all?” he asked, now sporting a rainbow of colors that clashed like opposing religious ideologies. “And could these shirts be any uglier?”

“It’s Superion. He’s got some kind of mind control power. A Superior CharmTM,” Atomik Lad answered. “And no.”

“Why weren’t you affected?” Norman asked.

“I don’t know, really,” he said.

“The Field,” Dr. Genius answered. “Probably just a side-effect of its manifestation. The very fact that it exists has made our Atomik Lad rather isolated from others. He would subconsciously resist any kind of outside influence. Combine that with the anger he was no doubt feeling about the trial and, well you’ve got something of a mental barrier working for you.”

“Well, that explains that.”

“But what it doesn’t explain, is why this mind control has begun to wear off on the rest of us.”

“Basically,” Atomik Lad said. “Superion is nothing more than a pawn in Dr. Menace’s latest ploy to take over the world which started with getting Nuke put into jail and getting the rest of us off the streets. But he, Superion that is, went a little insane, got super charged, and used his Superior CharmTM to make you all do his bidding so that he could take over the world instead. So Dr. Menace and I got together to free Nuke and—”

“What?!”
everyone else exclaimed at once. Well, except for Shiro and Angus who were still arguing elsewhere in the store.

“Just hear me out,” Atomik Lad said. “If it weren’t for Dr. Menace, you’d all still be slaves to Superion.”

“If it weren’t for Dr. Menace, none of this would be an issue!” Dr. Genius retorted.

“Look, I know. But she’s helping us. This is all part of her plan. Nuke is out there distracting him so she can put a stop to all this madness.”

“I don’t like it,” Genius nearly growled. “She knows nothing outside her own insane wish to lord over all of humanity. She’d only cooperate with us because it is a means to her ends, it serves her interests to rid herself of competitors like this Superion. As soon as he’s out of the picture, she’ll revert to her megalomaniac ways, back to endangering innocent lives and using people for her own mad ambitions. You said yourself that this Superion started off as one of her pawns and now look at what it’s done.”

“This sounds a little familiar,” Atomik Lad mumbled to himself.

“All I’m saying is that you cannot trust that woman.”

“...Yeah. Yeah, I know,” Atomik Lad said.

“Hey,” Norman piped up with a thought. “I just had a thought. If this mind control thing is wearing off on us, then don’t you think it’s wearing off on at least some of the populace?”

“That stands to reason,” Dr. Genius agreed. “They’ll be terribly disoriented and in need of our help. Any idea where they are?”

“Metroville Industrial Park,” Atomik Lad said. “Superion has them building an invasion fleet or something.”

“All right, heroes,” Dr. Genius took charge. “We’ve got to get there and take care of the civilians, keep injuries to a minimum, and get everyone back to their homes. Norman, you’ll use your Magno Powers to float us over there. We’ll need you to do the heavy lifting once we get there. Minimum Wage Warriors, collect all the first aid kits, headache medicine, and snack foods, preferably with high concentrations of carbohydrates, that you can find in this place. Coming with us, Atomik Lad?”

“Er, no. I don’t think my powers, I mean, probably more dangerous with all those people. Besides, Nuke might need me here for back up.”
Genius nodded in agreement. “Especially if Menace arrives to ‘hold up her part of the bargain.’”

“She will.”

“Even more reason to be alert.” Dr. Genius turned to the gathered heroes and organized them into an efficient airborne medical evac unit headed for the Superindustrial Park via Magno Power, but she stayed behind.

“You’re not going with them?” Atomik Lad asked.

Dr. Genius ran her hands through her long tightly curled hair and sighed. “No, it’s nothing they can’t handle. As long as I get back to Überdyne anyway. Metroville may be shut down, but the rest of the world is still operational. I’ve got to make some calls, set up some relief programs for our refugee citizens, make sure they’ve got food and shelter while we get families back together and then back to their homes.”

“Überdyne is quite a ways off, are you sure it’s safe to walk?”

“I haven’t been collecting KI data from you boys for ten years for nothing, you know.” She tossed open her lab coat to reveal a technologically enhanced belt that gave off a silvery light.

“Theoretically, this device should alter the KI of the air within a four foot radius of me such that I’ll be levitated along with it.”

“Well. I guess there’s more than one way to fly.”
She smiled. “Superpowers or superscience? Soon, there will be no difference.” And she took off with the air around her shimmering like a heat mirage.

“That’s not quite what I meant,” he told her diminishing form.

__________

Superion and Nuklear Man battled in the dark skies as scarce droplets of water fell around them. The Sinister Scoundrel sneered at his opponent as they grappled and hung in the air. “I’m almost going to pity destroying you, Nuklear Man. This little bout has been entertaining and I fear this world is incapable of producing another individual of your strength.”

“Well,” the Hero puffed up proudly. “I don’t like to brag. But yeah.”

“So you can see the tragedy your death holds for me.”

“My death? No, no, no.
I’m
the Hero, see. I win. No one dies. That’s how it goes, trust me I’ve been doing it for years. Now then, in light of this new evidence, why don’t you just give up and save us all a lot of trouble, hm?”

Superion gave a deep and haughty laugh.

Nuklear Man followed suit, albeit nervously since he didn’t quite know what was going on, “I sure am glad you see things my way. Woo. Let’s go.”

“I’m not giving up, you fool!”

“Oh.”

“I’ve already won!”

“So...you’re not giving up then?”

“Why should I give up? I possess powers beyond your understanding.”

“Well, I
doubt
that,” Nuklear Man said with a bit of a chuckle. “I’ve got Plazma Powers, y’know. Lots of ‘em.”

“Perhaps, but what you don’t know is that my Negaflux powers can cancel yours and use them against you, even multiplying them until you are crushed into a pathetic cinder by your own alleged might!”

“Oh yeah? Well, what you don’t...know...um, about my. Er, can you really do all that? Use my own powers to defeat me?”
Superion nodded.

“Oh. Wow. Man, that’s just. Wow. That’s so
awesome!
I mean, yowza. That’s got real style, you know?”

“I know.”

“I mean, I just fly around and punch and zap things. I can’t compete with that kind of stuff.”

“No, you can’t.” Superion raised his mighty fists.

“Hey. Are you gonna—” and he brought them down on the Hero’s skull with a thunderous boom that had a slight echoing quality to it “—hit me?” Nuklear Man weakly uttered just before smashing through the roof of a pharmaceutical firm. The whole structure crumpled in upon itself like a giant had sat on it. In the middle of the massive pile of rubble, Nuklear Man coughed a cloud of dust. “Okay. It’s time to drop the hammer!”

__________

Dr. Menace idled through the Superindustrial Park. Random red-shirted civilians were already wandering the streets, stumbling and holding their heads, like an epidemic of drunkenness and hangovers had assaulted the area. “Hm, the Nuklear Oaf haz been more effective than I thought he would be. I loathe to admit it, but he continually zurprizez me.” She wound the cycle through the meandering foot traffic, all the while following the prompts given to her by the Evil: Heads Up Display super-imposed on her vision through her wrap around goggles. She took a sharp turn into the employee parking lot of a metal working factory and nearly ran over, “Rachel!”

Rachel stumbled back a few steps and shielded her eyes from the cycle’s headlight. “Watch where you’re...wait. How do you know my name?”

“Rachel, come with me. It iz vitally important.”

“What? I’m not going anywhere. Who are you? How did I get here?” Rachel kept one hand in front of her eyes and her gaze cast down on herself. “And where did I get this damn idiotic T-shirt?”

Dr. Menace let out an annoyed huff. “Lizten, girl. I,
we
do not have the time for thiz converzation. Pleaze, juzt get into the sidecar and I will explain on the way.”
Rachel was silent for a moment. “Wait. I know you. That voice, your accent. You were on TV. You were demanding we relinquish control of all the world’s governments or you’d use the Earth’s magnetic field to freeze the planet’s rotation and hurl us all into space.”

“Yez, and it would have worked too if not for the accurzed meddling of that incompetent Nuklear Dolt!” Menace cursed.

“You’re Dr. Menace. There’s no way I’m coming with you,” Rachel spat.

Dr. Menace stifled her reflex reaction and went with the exact opposite: niceness. “Rachel, dear. You are going to have to truzt me. Atomik Lad needz you. You muzt come with me. We are working together, for the time being, in order to rid ourzelves of a greater evil. Superion.”

“Superion? Yes, that’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I can’t remember exactly, this damn headache makes it hard to concentrate.”

“Yez, it’z a side effect of Superion’z mind control.” She dug in her pockets and pulled out two tiny pills. “I had anticipated it. Now, pleaze. I promize no harm will come to you while you are with me.”

Rachel hesitated. “How can I trust you?”

Dr. Menace’s goggles warned her that a pack of humanoids were flying to her general location. “There iz nothing that I can say to convince you,” she said plainly. “You simply muzt come with me.”

Rachel took the pills and climbed into the sidecar. “Honesty is the last resort of desperation. Let’s roll.”

The Menacycle squealed into the night. Dr. Menace’s goggles guided them to Superion. His Negaflux field was like a massive beacon for her sensors. The Venomous Villainess watched from the corner of her eye as Rachel dropped the two pills into her mouth. Dr. Menace’s face melted into a cunning and satisfied smile.

Yez, all part of the plan
.

__________

“It’s time...to drop, gaaaasp...the hammer,” Nuklear Man panted as he stumbled up to Superion.

The Sinister Scoundrel wore an aggravated sneer. “Yes, so you keep saying.” Red-purple energy swirled around Superion’s fists. He delivered a karate-style open palm strike to Nuklear Man’s chest, breaking the sound barrier at the moment of impact.

Nuklear Man careened down the street into a music store. The entire storefront and most of the inventory exploded into the city. He stood shakily in the rubble, one eye blinking at a time.

“Ish tiiiime....” The roof fell on him and clouds of dust roiled out into the street. “To hhhhammerer...the drop.”

__________

Deep inside the fourth sub-basement of the Überdyne Building, Dr. Genius jumped into her comfortable Scientific: Observation Chair. She was instantly surrounded by two dozen Scientific: Monitors. “Computer, open a full KI sweep of the city. Search for Plazma and Negaflux concentrations. Stream the data through these monitors for my observation.” She paused while the computers complied with her commands. “And you’d better open a log for all of this. Just in case. I don’t want to miss a thing.”

__________

“It’s time—”

A magic shop.

“To drop—”

A Gorge Clothing and Apparel store.

“The hammer—?”

A Cow Butt Burger Hutt.

Nuklear Man crawled out of the rubble. His limbs moved only due to an incredible effort of will. He shook with every movement and ached from every particle of his being.

“Time...hammer...is dropping?”

Atomik Lad shook his head. “Sorry, Big Guy. Superion is over there.”
Nuklear Man’s bruised and bashed head turned around, quivering from the effort. “B-but. But no.”

“Yeah.”

The Hero’s big blue eyes looked up at Atomik Lad. “But it’s so far.” Superion hovered in front of a street lamp one block down. He loomed in his own shadow.

“Yes, yes. I know. It’s not that bad, you only have to stall him until Dr. Menace gets here and gives him the big zap.”

Nuklear Man climbed up Atomik Lad by desperately grasping at his crimson and blue spandex. The Hero’s sheer weight nearly toppled Atomik Lad over. “Is she here yet?” Nuklear Man asked with a desolate, empty quality to his voice.

“Nope, not yet, Bright Eyes.”

“...Then it’s too late,” he whimpered. “You don’t know what it’s like. He hits hard. Really,
really
hard.”

“Now, now. You can do this,” Atomik Lad said with consoling little taps on Nuklear Man’s head.

“Really?” the Hero asked in a tiny high-pitched voice approximating a whisper.

“Yes. Now get back in there and give that nasty ol’ Superion what for.”

“For what?”

Atomik Lad blinked. “What?”

“What for, for what?”

“What are you…? Look, it doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? Doesn’t
matter?!
Yer darn tootin’ it matters!”

“Great.”

“You’re not the one going in there! You’re not the one getting kicked around like yesterday’s potatoes—”

“Potatoes?”

“Don’t interrupt. Now that little speech of yours got me all worked up until that last part, a bit vague it twas, so I was merely asking for some clarification.”