Evil Genius (Part 4)

Chapter 5
Megan and Terry lay next to each other in a post-coital embrace, passing a cigarette between them. He knew that she was going to attempt to pry information out of him now, but he was fine with that. It just came with the territory when you were involved with a journalist. The amusing part of it was that she always approached him after sex, figuring that he was most vulnerable and thus susceptible to reveal more intimate details then. The reality was that he would decide far in advance what he would and would not share with her, but he always held out because he knew she’d end up sleeping with him. It was a nice little dynamic they had worked out.

She rolled over onto one side and looked up at him. Here it comes, he thought. He was right.

“So what’s going on with you? What is it the Doctor is planning this time?” She asked, attempting innocence. She was very convincing and if he had not already been prepared for it, he probably would have been fooled.

“Not sure.” He replied. And that was actually the truth. “That’s what’s got me worried. He’s usually so straightforward with his intentions and demands. But not this time. He is being very cryptic.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, with genuine curiosity now.

“Well, neither I or anyone else has heard anything from him in over 2 years, and all of a sudden from out of nowhere I get a message from him yesterday saying that I have to meet him at some nuclear power plant in the middle of rural Illinois and that if I don’t he will remove the control rods and cause a meltdown in the reactor.”

“Oh my god! Do you think he can really do it?” She was getting a little worried now. She always got worried when he told her about the evil schemes of these lunatics.

“Well, all we’ve been able to confirm so far is that he has indeed taken control of the plant and has punched holes in the containment building. We have to assume that either he or more likely someone he has hired knows how to trigger a meltdown.” He got up and started gathering up his clothes. It was time to get ready.

“What kind of casualties are we looking at if he succeeds?” She asked. Casualties. She was back in journalism mode. He was surprised she hadn’t referred to it as “collateral damage”.

“Well, that’s pretty tricky, actually. People hear the word 'nuclear' and they instantly think 'nuclear bomb'. But a power plant’s not like that. There’s not going to be a huge explosion that’s gonna vaporize people like at Hiroshima. But what will happen if he goes through with it is the creation of a huge cloud of radiation that will escape into the atmosphere. How much damage that does will depend a lot on which way the wind is blowing and how long it drifts before it hits a major population center. If we’re lucky, there will only be a couple hundred deaths. If he’s lucky, it could be a couple hundred thousand or more.”

“My God! So what are you gonna do?”

“What else can I do? I’m not gonna just let him kill all those people. I can’t take the risk that the winds will favor us.”

“But what if it’s a trap?” She was pleading with him now. The journalist was gone again and was being replaced by a semi-hysterical woman that didn’t want her man going headlong into danger.

“Oh, I’m sure it IS a trap, but I don’t have a choice. I’ve got to find out what he’s up to, and this is the only way.”

She was silent. She just sat there looking at him with a slight frown. He supposed it was a kind of pout, but if it was designed to make him reconsider it wasn’t working. She was very important to him, that was true, but this was something far more important. She just lay there in silence as he finished dressing. Then, he sat down and looked back at her, trying to look gentle and stern at the same time.

“Alright Meg, I gotta go.” He said, preparing to battle against her last minute pleadings, but none came.

“I know” is all she said.

He walked over and kissed her, lightly at first and then with a deepness that surprised them both. He had left her on dangerous and important missions before, but somehow this just felt different. That uneasy feeling came back to him again. At last he pulled away from her and brushed his hand lightly against the side of her face as he walked away. As he reached the bedroom door, she called after him.

“Terry” He turned to face her. “Come back to me quickly, OK?”

“Of course, babe” He said, as easily as he could manage. “There's nothing to worry about.”

But nothing could be further from the truth.


Chapter 6
A crimson and blue halo surrounded the nuclear plant in Decatur, IL. Every available police car within 100 miles had turned up to create a perimeter. And since just about every citizen within 100 miles had turned up as well, they were pretty much all available. The fact that a large civilian crowd had decided to crowd around a nuclear power plant that was under the control of a madman might seem unusual. But the people knew they weren’t in any real danger. They knew that Captain Invincible was en route and would have the situation resolved in no time. Their faith was such that their number one fear was failing to get a glimpse of their hero as he majestically arrived on the scene. Total annihilation via gamma rays was a distant second. Public speaking was third.

A great cheer went up as a small bright comet became visible in the eastern sky. No had ever asked the Captain if the light he emitted during flight was a natural by-product of whatever miraculous process gave him his gift or if he just did it for effect. In truth it was a little of both. The friction caused by his body skipping across the atmosphere like a stone created a natural incandescence, but he had the power to either maximize or minimize its effects. Tonight, as with most nights, he chose to maximize it. But unlike most nights, tonight he did it to portray the kind of confidence that he did not feel.

From about 30 miles out he had spotted what appeared to be the biggest hub of police cars and landed there. He was greeted immediately by a heavyset middle-aged officer in blue.

“Captain! Thank god you’re here! We’ve got a madman . . .”

The Captain raised his right hand to interrupt the officer.

“Yes officer, I was briefed on the situation in New York. Anything changed in the last 20 minutes?”

“No sir. He holed himself up in there yesterday, demanded to see you, and hasn’t said a word since.”

“Any casualties?”

“Unknown. We’ve reviewed the exterior surveillance cameras and the only thing we know is that no one’s come in or out of the facility since he entered it sometime after 11 yesterday.”

“Do we have any surveillance inside?”

“Negative. One of the first things he did was disable all the cameras. That’s actually how we first found out something was wrong.” The officer paused briefly and looked off towards the plant, and then back at the Captain. “What do you suppose he’s up to?”

The Captain thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

“Not sure. But you can bet I’m going to find out.”

And with that he started walking slowly but purposefully towards the plant entrance. The officer pleaded after him.

“Wait! Captain! What if it’s a trap?” But the Captain just kept moving.

The wail of the sirens was replaced by the hum of the power plant as the Captain drew nearer to the entrance. The rounded dome of the containment building, which had seemed so insignificantly small from 1000 feet up, now rose up and seemed to double in size with every few steps. He hesitated for just a moment as he reached the doors ,placed his steel fists on the handle, and took a deep breath. A sudden fury erupted inside of him and with a mighty swing of his arm he sent the two metal entry doors flying into the interior of the plant. He stepped inside.

“Doctor!” He boomed. “I am here!”

“That’s absolutely perfect.” A voice over the intercom replied. “Because I’m not.”

And with that a small atomic bomb planted in the bowels of the nuclear plant erupted. Captain Invincible, the police at the plant, the adoring crowd, and everyone and everything within a radius of 30 miles was vaporized instantaneously.


Frequently Asked Questions
Q: So, what happened to Captain Invincible?
A: He’s dead.

Q: Dead dead?
A: Yes

Q: Really?
A: Yes

Q: OK, but it’s one of those things where he’s in some kind of cryogenic freeze while his body regenerates itself, right?
A: No, it’s one of those not breathing, no longer living, completely vaporized kind of things.

Q: Come on!
A: That’s not a question.

Q: I don’t believe it.
A: Fine. He still is.

Q: Ok, so he’s dead. But it’s a death where he needs the kiss of his true love to resurrect him, or something like that right?
A: Are you high? He’s been vaporized! There’s not even anything left to kiss.

Q: OK, so let me get this straight. He’s really dead-dead and is in no way, shape, or form in any kind of healing process and can’t be resurrected in any way?
A: Right

Q: So how does he come back?
A: I hate you.