by Adam Graham
Powerhouse flew over the reporters, picked up the van, and redirected it toward a park.
Clapping boomed from a speaker and an old enemy’s voice said, “Bravo, Powerhouse, but here’s the question. Can you stop them all? I placed my little control boxes on hundreds of cars. They’ll rampage through the city, driving on the wrong sides of the street and similar nasty business. Good luck.”
“Remote Master!” Powerhouse growled and flew into the sky above I-5.
Forty driverless cars had entered the Freeway the wrong direction.
Powerhouse dove under the carriage of one of the cars and grabbed the remote box. A voice boomed from a car radio. “Powerhouse, this time it won’t be so easy. I changed my signals each time you capture a box, so you can’t merely trace it back to its source.”
Powerhouse sent the driverless cars flying to a nearby parking lot and dropped them.
Yawning, he closed his heavy eyelids. Can’t go to sleep. There are hundreds of these. He called the chief’s number.
It rang six times and then went to voice mail.
Can’t leave a voice mail. He hung up and dialed again.
It’s such a long wait for anyone to pick up.
“Powerhouse?” the chief’s voice said over the line.
He forced his eyes open. “Yeah, you have to shut down all the freeways. The Remote Master has got cars driving around without drivers and entering from the wrong way. I’ll keep patrolling the freeways until you get this closed.”
“Can you find him?”
“Last time, he wanted me to find him. This time, I’m not so sure.”
“Okay, on your advice, I’m closing down the freeways and making him our highest priority for all available units.”
Powerhouse flew up into the sky. His head ached. “God, I need the help of a genius, but Half Brain’s not here. He’d know what to do. God, please show me what I can do.”
Of course, there was a genius available. Powerhouse bit his lip. They’d have to play it perfect, but once they closed the freeway, and he got five more energy shots, he’d be ready to take on the Remote Master.
Powerhouse and the chief entered the interrogation room.
The Quandary put his feet up on the table. “What’s buzzin, cousin?”
“Get your feet down off there.” The chief snapped at Quandary before shaking his head at Powerhouse. “You’re wasting your time, pal. This guy’s just a hood with a long record.”
“Excuse me?” The Quandary slapped his feet on the ground.
Powerhouse rubbed his chin. “Maybe you’re right, chief. I mean, it’d take a real genius to answer the question.”
“You cats blitzed? I have a groovy IQ of 165.” The Quandary raised the pinky finger of his right hand, then six fingers between both hands, and then all five on his left hand.
The chief chortled. “I bet the Remote Master’s smarter.”
“Oh yeah.” Powerhouse smirked. “He’s way smarter.”
Quandary fumed. “Stop that jive. Gadget man is an over-rated square.”
“Go ahead and ask him.” The chief shrugged. “Just don’t expect much.”
Powerhouse leaned in toward Quandary. “I’m thinking about setting up a facility to remotely control objects around the city.”
Quandary raised an eyebrow. “Establishing a private police state?”
“Nah, I’d just want to control some vehicles and tap into traffic signals to stop crooks from getting away. Where would be a good spot to do it?”
“Near the traffic control office. I’d also steal a satellite or launch one, so I could control all the devices in the city and see whatever’s going on.”
Powerhouse grinned. “I’ll be sure to say hi to Remote Master for you.”
The chief laughed. “You outsmarted him again.”
Quandary glared. “How could a nosebleed like you lay a trip on me?”
“Welcome to being a villain.” Powerhouse shrugged. “My superpowers are boosting my IQ with no sign of a plateau in sight.”
If only there was any sign of responsible shut eye.
Farrow slammed the restroom door, plopped into his chair at his CEO desk, and dialed Fournier’s number on his cell phone. “Update me.”
“Sir, I’m working on a plan that could stop the Invisibility Master.”
“Good. That leaves only our mystery man.”
“I’ve found out who he is. Dr. Nathan Steros.”
“Who’s he?”
“A genius at the use of chemicals to enhance the body. He’s also a highly paid international assassin and thief. He’s wanted by a dozen countries and lives in Rio, but he’s been away from home the past week.”
“Could he defeat Powerhouse?”
“At this point, yes, particularly if the Invisibility Master and the Remote Master prove formidable.”
Farrow leaned back. “Powerhouse needs back up. Anonymously contact the most powerful guy on the Clown Squad, if anyone in his sidekicks’ harem can measure up.”
“The best sidekick he’s got is Steel Rottweiler, and I don’t think an NFL star will be quite a match.”
“Find someone who is.” Farrow gulped.
If this didn’t work, he could kiss Rosie goodbye.
Powerhouse hovered his ship above the Earth’s atmosphere and headed towards a satellite. It was nice up here. Quiet and dark. He could take a good nap. He shook his head. Not while the Remote Master was wrecking havoc.
He spotted the illegally launched pirate satellite. Powerhouse yawned and imagined the satellite disabled but it remained in the air.
“Uh-oh. Need more energy. Like a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew.”
His imagination was strong enough for that. He removed his helmet and gulped it down.
Okay I’m ready for this. He disabled the satellite mentally.
Now to go after the Remote Master. In this case, he’d use some remote technology of his own. He pressed a control button on the view screen and his ship re-entered the atmosphere. He created a robot Powerhouse and launched it out of the ship’s airlock.
He switched the visual to Powerhouse Robotcam 1.
The robot flew down and landed at the Remote Master’s lair. A figure slumped in a chair facing a computer console. The Powerhouse robot walked up behind the chair and spun it around. The figure was a dummy wired with explosive. The decoy blew up, destroying the Powerhouse robot.
Powerhouse maneuvered his airship back inside the atmosphere. He deployed robot number two to a nearby parked van and switched to Robot Cam #2 on the view screen. Inside it, the villain was wearing his traditional sweater. The robot ripped off the door.
Powerhouse turned on the robot’s microphone. “I can use decoys, too.”
A slightly metallic voice came from the villain. “I knew you’d expect a decoy and send a robot, so I went ahead met your expectations.”
The android exploded and took out Robot Cam #2.
Powerhouse exited from the hovercraft and dived with his force field on, turning on his jet pack to slow his descent.
Hundreds of remote controlled helicopters approached, firing bullets.
He activated his energy cannon and flipped on the widespread beam.
The helicopters hurtled towards the ground.
He landed. “Remote Master, I’m all out of androids and patience.”
A sewer grate flew up from the ground.
Powerhouse caught the sewer grate and put it back in place. He followed the signal of the remote to a three-story, abandoned office building covered in graffiti. He stopped outside and x-rayed the building.
The villain stood on the third floor, operating remotes. Sensors on the walls, the ceilings and the windows had an array of machine guns set to fire when an intruder entered.
Powerhouse flew up to the second floor and fired an energy beam at the window. It disintegrated. He flew in through the window and burst up through the ceiling to the third floor. He scanned the Remote Master.
&nbs
p; Flesh and blood, no explosives.
Powerhouse grabbed the Remote Master by the shirt.
The Remote Master whistled. “Coming up through the floor, eh? I didn’t think of that.”
“You’re going to pay for your crimes.”
“No, I’ll be paid for them. You can’t possibly keep in me jail. I’ll be alive long after you take a bullet trying to catch someone who is only going to be released again. You are pathetic.”
Powerhouse groaned. “You’ll never win in the end as long as you stand with evil.”
“Is that a religious statement?”
“All I know is that good will triumph.” Powerhouse yawned.
Remote Master sneered. “How touching and nauseating.”
A rocket whirred through the air.
Powerhouse grabbed the villain and rocketed out of the building.
The building exploded into flames.
Powerhouse dodged debris. “Can’t deal with defeat?”
“That wasn’t me.” Remote Master snarled. “I haven’t had time to re-enable my internal remote.”
“Must be the Invisibility Master.”
From the left came another rocket along with maniacal laughter.
Powerhouse turned on his personal shield. “Invisibility Master, I know you’re there.”
The Invisibility Master laughed. “And I know you can blend in to your surroundings, but you won’t with that prisoner there.” He appeared on a building across from Powerhouse. He waved. “You can’t see me.”
He jigged for the whole world to see. “I’m in complete stealth mode. By the time you find me, you shall have faced the deadly sting of death, and the Remote Master shall be in the house of our father below.”
Powerhouse imagined the Invisibility Master tied up. “You know, if I’d tasted the sting of death, I couldn’t actually find you.”
The Invisibility Master looked down and cursed. “I’m visible? How’d that happen?”
Powerhouse landed with the Remote Master. “You really stink at this.”
The Remote Master smiled. “Maybe someone deactivated his toy.”
The Invisibility Master gasped. “You couldn’t have.”
“I could have and I would have, if you didn’t simply have crummy tech, you double-crossing jerk. Why did you assault me?”
“Duh. If you die, my cut goes up to $200 million. Plus there should be only one supervillain with Master in their name, and I am that Master.”
“A Master of Evil.” Powerhouse bit his lip. “Though not in the sense that you’re a member of Baron Zemo’s Marvel supervillain team, but you know what I mean.”
The Invisibility Master cursed. “Yes, you accursed idiot.”
“If I’m idiot, what does it say about you that I keep beating you?”
“I’m your Joker.”
“Take a number.” Powerhouse snorted. “You’re a joker, but you’re not even in my top five. You never learn a lesson. You keep coming around with your ridiculous one-trick routine.”
The Invisibility Master sneered. “You’re right, I’ve got to step it up. All the time I’m in Super Max, I’ll be plotting and scheming to come up with new ways to wreak havoc and destroy you. Next time, I’ll bring my A-game. Thank you for inspiring me to go to the next level.”
“You’re welcome.” Was he supposed to do that? Why was he taunting a captured villain like this was a comic? It was time to call the police and get these two taken back to jail. Powerhouse superimagined them tied up, put one under each arm, and hurtled through the sky to the city jail.
He led them inside. “Here’s your missing prisoners.”
The officer at the desk said, “Okay, we’ll take care of them. Thanks.”
Two officers escorted the captured supervillains away.
“Don’t let them escape again. They’re a lot of trouble to catch.” He plodded out of the jail and yawned. Maybe he should try and get some sleep.
He took off on his rocket pack.
A missile whizzed up from the ground. Powerhouse ducked out of the way and dived down to a missile launcher. The Invisibility Master shouldn’t leave his toys lying around.
Powerhouse landed by the empty launcher.
As soon as he touched the ground, several songs began to play at once.
“John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, his name is my name, too.”
“It’s a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater.”
“Green Acres is the place to be.”
A lullaby played, too, and also a death medal song with incomprehensible lyrics. Powerhouse’s head throbbed.
From across the street, a hulking man injected himself with something and smoked a cigarette. “Aw, Powerhouse. Does your head ache? Are you having trouble focusing? Are you bleary eyed? Having trouble staying awake?”
Powerhouse grasped his head as it pulsed with pain. All the different music and the lullaby and tired. Couldn’t think.
“Don’t worry, I’ll treat your pain, Powerhouse.” The villain sneered at him. “I’m Dr. Nathan Stero, and I prescribe death.”
Chapter 14
Racing Time
Dr. Stero charged over the curbside with what looked like a purse, his eyes glinting with hate.
Powerhouse pressed the button to turn on his personal force field but instead it beeped an error code.
He strained to focus on the force field generator.
“Whenever we go out, people always shout—”
“I wouldn’t eat you.”
“Land stretching out to far and wide, take Manhattan, just—”
Powerhouse screamed as his head exploded in pain. What’s wrong with me? I can’t focus. He threw a punch blindly.
Stero dodged and punched him in the stomach with the force of a bus, knocking him half a block away onto the ground. Stero jogged up, jumped on his chest, and pounded his armor like it was a punching bag.
Powerhouse laughed. “You’ll never get through it.”
“I don’t have to.” His enemy reached in his black satchel and pulled out a circular device. “This sonic bomb will kill you and take out six city blocks.”
Powerhouse growled and threw Stero off.
Head swirling, Powerhouse lifted himself and staggered to his feet, the world spinning like he was on a tilt-a-whirl.
Stero came back and delivered ferocious blow to his skull. “Don’t worry, I didn’t plan on you giving up too easily. A little exercise before you die is just what the doctor ordered.”
In the saloon-motif coffee bar, Naomi’s alter ego Marie sipped a frozen strawberry latte.
A purring cat bounded up the stool beside hers onto the bar. It dropped a dead mouse before her. “Great one, I honor you for stopping the evil boy.”
Mike gasped and slapped at the animal. “Get!”
The cat charged out of the coffee bar, leaving the dead mouse.
“So sorry, folks.” Mike ran out from behind the bar with a paper cup, a rag, and a bottle of sanitizer. He swept the bloody mouse into the cup and scrubbed down the bar. “That’s the third time this week.”
Marie sighed. The cats’ insistence on bringing her gifts was a health code violation. Why couldn’t the mask of Justice Woman fool them?
Mike glanced at his cell phone. “Powerhouse is having a major fight. We got to pray.”
She stiffened. “He beats all of his opponents easily.”
“Not this time.” The barista switched on the television.
A man wearing a black muscle shirt was pounding Powerhouse.
Marie covered her mouth. “Mon dieu.”
People gathered around the coffee bar. Mike muted the TV.
This wasn’t a time to pray. Marie tightened her fists. She had to get back to Seattle and save Dave. She slipped out to her BMW
After she’d driven half a mile away, the area was finally deserted. “BMW, become rocket powered and fly to Seattle.”
God please don’t let me be too late.
Powerhouse
staggered backwards. Dr. Stero followed and pounded him.
“Mind if I cut in?” Steel Rottweiler said as he tackled Dr. Stero.
Dr. Stero latched onto Powerhouse and slammed him to the ground, too.
Steel Rottweiler wrestled Dr. Stero off of Powerhouse.
Stero flicked Rottweiler off and stepped towards him. “Stay out of this, you two-bit minor leaguer. This is between me and Powerhouse.”
Rottweiler stood. “Powerhouse is my boy. You mess with my boy, you mess with me.”
“You have no choice.”
He couldn’t let Rottweiler take his beating. “No.”
Powerhouse raised his right leg. His body screamed in pain. He bit down and pulled himself onto his feet. “You’ll get hurt.”
Rottweiler frowned. “I got this.”
Stero approached Rottweiler.
Rottweiler pressed a button on his suit and fired two retractable taser wires at Dr. Stero. They hit his exposed shoulders.
Stero laughed. “Oh, the coursing of electricity through my body fills my heart with joy, not terror. I’m not your typical hood. I’m manmade physical perfection. I’m Dr. Stero.”
He ripped the wires out, pulled on them, and dragged Rottweiler towards him. “Now, you will pay for your interference.”
Powerhouse sped at interstate speeds, his legs aching.
Stero stepped back, twisted sideways, and grasped for Powerhouse. He missed. Powerhouse did a u-turn in the deserted street and charged at Stero.
Stero scowled and pressed a button on his pants. Marbles dropped from his pants and spilled all over the sidewalk.
Powerhouse stumbled and fell.
“Now, I’ll finish him.” Stero lunged at Steel Rottweiler, pinched a nerve on his neck and grabbed Rottweiler by the throat.
A metal boomerang slammed into Stero.
He screamed and dropped Steel Rottweiler.
A hundred yards away, the Boomerang Bloke stood dressed in black and holding a gleaming metal boomerang. “You’ll never win the day with me and my associates.”
Out of a black van poured the Final Five, all in black trench coats.
