by A. E. Lucky
***
And now that the benevolent doppelganger has been equipped with the proper wardrobe for the clone of a hero, it is time for the final battle! The showdown between creation and creator--plus the DNA donor! Some dramatic music would be appropriate here. Maybe someday literature will be able to make use of audio for cases like these, but alas, today is not the day. Maybe you can just hum your favorite dramatic theme.
You humming? All right! To the action!
Dr. Red twisted on the cap to his odd gun--and I do mean odd. It had a banana-shaped tank on top with some strange orange liquid inside that looked like crayon scribble... just imagine what crayon looks like on paper and then translate that into a liquid form in a banana-shaped tank. That wasn't your head exploding, was it? Hope not because I need you coherent enough to get through this exciting conclusion. Just forget about the orange crayon liquid in the banana-shaped tank and move down the gun where various tubes full of variously colored liquids and gases trailed to various parts of the gun--including the trigger--variously... Ooh, that sounded like it hurt. Anyways, he lifted it into the air.
"At last, my other evil invention is finished! I am now armed with a weapon that fries and this one that..."
The door burst open. Dr. Red whirled around and found the Superkid clone in the doorway, glaring at him.
"It's about time you got here!" the evil doctor snapped. "But you interrupted me in the middle of my rant! Anyways, did you deal with 'your clone'?" He used his fingers to emphasize "your clone."
"Well actually," said Superkid, stepping in next to his clone, "me and him came to an agreement."
The evil doctor's brows jumped up. "You did what?"
Superkid clapped his double on the back. "Guess you forgot to make him evil."
The mad scientist frowned. "Actually, I wasn't trying to create him at all. I was going for a mutant monster that would destroy you."
The clone said, "You mean like all those other giant monsters that I--er--he beat up?" and pointed at his original self.
Red's mouth twitched in annoyance. "No, I mean a hybrid monster... like an eagle-cobra, a spider-scorpion, a bear-pony."
The clone and Superkid both gave the maniacal medical professional a strange look. "A bear-pony?" The clone repeated.
"Speed of a pony, the viciousness and strength of a bear," Dr. Red explained. "But I won't need to go through the trouble of creating that when I can just destroy you with these--" he whipped up his strange guns, "--the Pyro-Blaster and the Frost-Launcher!"
Superkid's face became strained. "Any points for originality?"
The evil doctor shrugged off-handedly. "A little overdone, perhaps, but still effective. Allow me to demonstrate." With an evil grin, he aimed his Pyro-Blaster at the two heroes.
They immediately split and circled around toward the doctor. He spread the guns so that both Superkids were facing the ends of gun barrels as they ran toward him.
"Roast Superkid tonight, and for dessert, chilled clone!" He laughed and fired both guns. The two Superkids skidded to a halt, but they were too late: the guns both blasted straight at them.
But it wasn't fire and ice that came out... at least, it didn't look like it. Instead, out the gun with orange-crayon liquid splashing in its banana-shaped tank came a gob of metallic green goop, and out the other gun with a big nozzle that looked like honeycombs shot a silvery purple light.
Superkid dropped backwards onto one hand, dodging the green goop. The goop slapped onto the concrete behind him. SuperKC flipped sideways away from the silvery purple light. Unfortunately, his elbow was hit as he was flipping onto his hands and he ended up falling back in the other direction with a painful thud. He cried out.
Doctor Red turned to him curiously, noting the metallic sheen on the clone's elbow. "Interesting."
"Doesn't look like fire or ice to me!" Superkid said just before he flipped into the air, kicked the diabolical doctor in the back and then flipped backwards to land on his feet. Red pitched forward onto the ground with a grunt, his weapons clattering away on the concrete.
"Grrr!" Doctor Red scrambled forward and snatched the gun with the honeycomb nozzle. He wheeled around, which put him in a seated position, and fired. The silvery purple light struck Superkid directly in the stomach. He doubled over with an "oof," fell onto his head with a crack and then slumped to his side with a groan.
"Interesting," said the doctor, inspecting his gun, "an incapacitating ray. Out of curiosity, what does it feel like?" At a sound behind him, he wheeled around and fired. SuperKC leaned back to dodge the ray and then blew up his balloon-cape and rose into the air.
"It felt like my muscles were dead," he admitted. Then he quickly blew cool air into his balloon and yanked the hose, jetting himself away just before the villainous medical expert fired again.
Superkid got to his feet. "Fortunately, it seems to be temporary," he said and then sprinted away before Dr. Red spun around and fired his weapon. He stuck the hose into his mouth as he ran to the wall. Then after he leaped at the wall and kicked off into a backflip, he puffed up his balloon, which suddenly flipped him forward and lifted him into the air.
"What are you planning now?" Doctor Red asked and fired his gun at the kid hero's legs. They drooped lazily.
"Distracting you," SuperKC replied and dive-bombed the maniacal medic in the shoulders. His left leg was still floppy, so this caused Dr. Red to spin to the ground with a loud "oof!" His landing was made all the more painful by a lump under his back.
He roared in pain. He rolled to his stomach and turned his head to see what it was that he had landed on, with the irrational intent of making it pay for its crime. He was made rational pretty quickly when he saw the orange-crayon liquid rippling in the banana-shaped tank.
Though he was still in pain, he forced himself to reach for the blaster and secure a grip on it. He then dragged it toward himself until he could use it to slowly push himself to his feet.
"You all right?" SuperKC called from the air in mock concern.
Dr. Red straightened himself and grimaced when a bolt of pain shot through his spine. He grunted, "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern."
"That looked painful," Superkid remarked with a grin.
"Yes, it was," the evil doctor agreed. He lifted the so-called Pyro-Blaster at him. "But probably not as painful as what will come out of this gun!" He pulled the trigger. He had been looking the other way when he had first fired this gun so he was surprised when metallic green goop shot out and engulfed Superkid's limp foot.
Superkid's leg jerked straight with a pop of his knee and he began to descend. His still-full balloon wobbled in the air as he descended as though desperately trying to pull him back up. The green goop was pulling him to the ground!
He landed on the concrete with a "clack." The green goop had hardened and was now anchoring his foot to the ground. The rest of his body was trying to get back into the air and it was creating quite a tug-of-war between his leg and his hip, which meant a lot of pain for him.
After watching with a surprised look on his face, the evil doctor chuckled, "Looks like you're grounded. What are you going to do now?"
Superkid puffed cool air into his balloon-cape and yanked the hose. But rather than shoot forward, his goop-covered foot dragged across the concrete with a scraping sound. After scraping forward about three feet, his balloon fell limply against his back and he dropped onto his feet then his knees and hands.
The malevolent doctor grinned nastily as he pointed his gun at him. "I've got you now."
"Don't forget I'm here," said SuperKC behind him. Dr. Red turned just in time to get kicked in the stomach, which sent him staggering backwards. Superkid dropped onto his hands and flung his goop-covered foot outward with all his might, kicking the doctor as he was stumbling and causing him to reverse direction. SuperKC dodged out of the way since the evil doctor was waving his guns so wildly. Dr. Red stumbled forward, twirled, and stumbled backwards but managed to recover his balance
after a moment.
"You little traitor!" he roared, lifted both guns at SuperKC, and fired them both. The clone of our hero leaned backwards to avoid the beam and the goop. Superkid behind him was already leaning back and so the beam and goop missed him also, most fortunately. After kicking Doctor Red's back, his goop-covered foot had continued its momentum and flipped him into a crablike position. And a good thing too.
But while this had been a good position to dodge the hazardous projectiles for both Superkids, Dr. Red also smelled opportunity for him in it. Wasting no time, he aimed his honeycomb-nozzle gun at SuperKC as he was erecting himself and fired. SuperKC's legs suddenly went dead and he fell backwards again with a clonk to his head.
The menacing medical professional hurried to the carbon copy of his nemesis and planted his foot on his chest. He pointed the Green Goop Gun--the GGG for short... or maybe Triple G... yeah, we'll go with that. He pointed the Triple G at the clone and growled, "You have been a thorn in my side for far too long..."
"You created me only three weeks ago!" the clone protested.
Red just growled, "Regardless, I'm exterminating this pest once and for all! I'm going to shoot this into your nose. I'm curious to see what happens, aren't you?" He grinned nastily.
SuperKC responded by clapping both hands over his mouth and nose. He wasn't at all curious because he had a pretty good idea what might happen. He had seen enough to know that a) it was a green goop that became hard, and b) it was very heavy, which meant that if that stuff got in his nose, either he would suffocate to death or his nose would be pulled into his brain! Yech! Sometimes mad science can really test your appetite.
The duplicate Superkid was valiantly shielding his nose and mouth from certain goop--as opposed to "doom" ...it's a pun... never mind--but the villainous doctor was not going to be thwarted that easily! He simply raised the other gun with the honeycomb nozzle and fired. It wasn't long at all until the clone's arms became limp then slithered to the ground with a flop. His nose and mouth were now completely exposed.
Dr. Red grinned evilly as he raised the Triple G. "I have you now. Nothing is going to stop me from destroying you. Say goodbye, Superkid."
SuperKC could only glare defiantly at his evil creator--with his arms lying limply and unhelpfully beside him--and wait for the really evil doctor to fill his head with liquid metal.
Now you would think the certified doctor would have learned by now to watch his back for the other Superkid. Maybe he was just so focused on eliminating any and all evidence of Superkid's existence that he shut everything out? It's a stretch, I know, but it is possible, isn't it? And besides, we wouldn't want the bad guy to have too many advantages, now would we?
Rewinding a bit to where the green goop and purple light passed over Superkid in his crablike position, we find that after his close brush with... uh... mad science, he lifted himself just high enough to see Doctor Red shoot the Dead-Arm Laser--DAL for short; I am on a roll today!--at SuperKC, knocking him to the ground. When our hero saw the mad doctor going for our hero's duplicate, he started to circle around behind Red but was yanked back by the heavy goop cemented around his foot. He shot a glare at it in frustration.
I need to get this stuff off! he thought. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to figure out how. His clone was at the mercy of the mad doctor and it was up to Superkid to stop him.
He put his uncovered foot forward and then heaved his hardened-goop foot forward. He nearly fell into the splits when his lead-heavy foot swung ahead of him and landed with a clonk on the concrete. After stabilizing himself with an irritated grunt, he did this again, stepping forward and then swinging his heavy foot forward but with less force this time. This seemed to work for he had done it without accidentally trying to rip his legs apart. So utilizing this technique, he awkwardly clonked his way around the back of Dr. Red. But as he was clonking, he noticed that chunks of the green goop were breaking off. He looked back and saw a trail of green-goop chunks behind him.
He grinned to himself. "So there is a way to get this stuff off, after all! The stuff's brittle!"
He could break it if he could swing his foot at something with enough force. But what could he swing it at? He quickly looked around and almost immediately discovered the worktable. Its legs appeared to be solid steel rods about an inch in diameter. It might just work.
He quickly clonked his way to the table. Then he twisted himself to the side, got on his hands and then heaved his goop-covered foot at the table leg.
With a crack, the goop broke apart and fell into a pile. Superkid pumped his fists and yelled, "All right!" Then he spotted Dr. Red with his foot on SuperKC. His clone's arms were lying limply on the ground at his side, which Superkid guessed meant the doctor had used the DAL on him. And now the evil doctor was aiming his Triple G at SuperKC with the apparently evil intention of drowning him in heavy goop!
Superkid didn't have much time. He could probably make it if he ran at him, but there was something else he could do that was faster. He seized a chunk of the metallic green goop that had previously encased his foot and grunted in surprise when he discovered how heavy it was. Though it was the size of a toy truck, it felt like he was hefting a brick of solid iron! But mustering all of his strength, Superkid swung his arm back and then slung it forward with a mighty grunt.
He had been aiming for Dr. Red's arm. But as heavy as it was, it was still a pretty good shot. It struck the side of his knee instead, causing him to buckle, which caused him to wave his gun away from SuperKC's face. When Red recovered, he turned with a scowl on his face, only to be tackled by Superkid. This only succeeded in pushing him off of SuperKC for he was still upright. Still, it was rather annoying to have a kid clinging to your waist. So he used his DAL to club his nemesis on the head. Superkid immediately let go to clutch the lump that was forming where the malevolent medical professional had struck him. The malevolent medical professional, meanwhile, stumbled back from the sudden release but managed to raise his gun and fire.
The goop struck Superkid right on the chest--right over the symbol. It splattered in a lumpy circle before it hardened and became heavy. It dropped, ripping off the cloth from Superkid's chest and leaving it bare before clacking to the concrete. In surprise, Superkid looked down at it then at the gaping hole in his costume. Finally, he looked up at the diabolical doctor.
"What is it with you and my clothes?" he asked.
Dr. Red grew purple in the face. "I never intentionally try to remove them; it just happens!"
"Right." Our hero suddenly slammed his shoulder into the evil doctor, sending him stumbling away. Dr. Red flailed, which as a consequence caused him to smack Superkid's head with his gun. Superkid went reeling, and Doctor Red who had recovered lifted his gun at his arch-nemesis.
From behind, SuperKC kicked him. Doctor Red grunted and then whirled on him. SuperKC used his elbow to knock the Triple G out of the evil medic's hand. He tried to grab the other gun but when he tightened his grip, a bolt of pain shot through it, knocking it dead. He figured, it must be the effects of that ray of Red's, so instead the clone lifted his leg and, with the flat of his foot, pushed Dr. Red back. Red stumbled backwards where Superkid was waiting with his foot stuck out. The malevolent doctor tripped and fell onto his back with a painful thud.
SuperKC scooped up the Triple G but dropped it when the gun's weight sent another bolt of pain through his arm that killed it again. Superkid had seen, so he hurried over and snatched up the gun instead. Then he turned it toward the fallen villain.
"Don't move," he commanded.
It looked like this doctor was about to get a taste of his own medicine. But doctors are more used to giving prescriptions than taking them--especially this one. The malevolent Doctor Red propped himself on one elbow, took aim with his DAL, and fired.
Reflexively, Superkid fired the Triple G. The goo appeared to absorb most of the light when it turned a rather ugly brownish-purple as it sailed through the air. Much of the remaining light p
ermeated the Triple G, which Superkid held protectively against his chest, while the rest saturated his fingers. As a result, the Triple G slipped out of his fingers and clattered to the ground. A crack appeared in the banana-shaped tank.
On the other end of the draw, the metallic green goop sailed toward Dr. Red. His eyes widened and he immediately began scrambling backwards to avoid the goopy missile, but he only managed to scoot back three feet when the goop splattered all over his foot. He tried to wipe it off by raising his foot and using his gun, but he only managed to shape it into a funny-looking haircut before it became as hard as a rock and just as heavy. His foot fell with a clack. He tried to lift it, grunting with the effort, but he soon dropped it again. He looked down at it in surprise.
"That is heavy."
SuperKC picked up the Triple G and aimed it at his original self's archenemy. His original self's archenemy lifted his DAL in response but grunted in surprise when he discovered hardened green goop clinging to the honeycomb nozzle, dragging the gun from his grip. Still he struggled to keep it from bobbing as he tried to aim for the clone pointing his own gun at him.
The clone aimed briefly at Doctor Red's other foot and pulled the trigger. The goo splattered the other foot and within five seconds was hard and heavy.
He came around to the mad doctor's right side. The doctor wheeled his heavy weapon to him in a desperate attempt to stop him. But SuperKC calmly aimed the Triple G and fired the goo, which splashed against Red's wrist. Red, who hadn't learned yet, frantically tried to wipe the goo off. But within five seconds, both his hands were dragged to the floor, pulling him forward so that he was leaning toward his feet painfully.
"You little pests!" Doctor Red snarled. "How dare you do this to me! Aaaaaaargh!"
SuperKC winced at the evil doctor's discomfort. He motioned to his original self and said, "Help me lay him down."
Superkid wasn't one to let anyone suffer needlessly, even if they were evil villains, so he did as his duplicate asked. On either side, they helped to first raise him away from his feet then lower him to the ground. Doctor Red attempted to lift his arms to beat at his foes, as to be expected, but the goop weighed them down too much. Once they had him rested comfortably on the ground--as comfortably as you can be on cold concrete--they studied him. He glared at them in return--absolutely no gratitude for the kindness they showed him.
No, rather than gratitude, he showed them contempt when he asked, "So what's your plan now? Leave me here until I die of dehydration?"
"Oh no, you won't be here that long." Superkid grinned. "We'll just leave you here until the police come to pick you up. They've been itching to cuff you."
The evil doctor growled and tried lifting his arms again. He eventually gave up, letting his hands clonk to the ground, and said, "To think I created a second you--the most nettling thorn I have ever had in my entire life!"
"Oh, Red!" Superkid gasped in falsetto while pretending to blush. "We've only met twice and here you are, paying me with the greatest compliment I've ever gotten!"
The mad doctor roared as he gave a great heave in an attempt to get to his feet, but the goop still held him down. With a vein pulsing in his sweaty forehead, Red snarled, "I swear to you, Superkid--and you too, clone!--for as long as I live, I will haunt you. I will threaten your friends and your families. I will torment your every waking moment. I will make you wish you were never born! I will..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Superkid, waving dismissively. "Revenge, watch my back, blah blah blah."
SuperKC added, "It just means we just beat you and now you're being a poor sport."
The mad doctor growled. "But what about what you promised me? I thought you were going to destroy Superkid."
SuperKC glanced at his original self. His original self looked back and shrugged. Then SuperKC turned back to Red and explained, "We got a few things straightened out with each other. We now know who the real Superkid and the real clone is."
Doctor Red glanced at the insignia on the duplicate's chest. "KC... Kid Clone?"
"Exactly. I'm now known as SuperKC." He puffed out his chest. Then he turned, waved to the anchored villain over his shoulder, and said, "That was fun. If you ever escape from jail, we ought to battle again."
"No! You little vermin! Come back here! Get me out of here! No! I will get you! Nooooooo!" And on and on he spat and cursed as Superkid tossed him a smug grin and a wave before hurrying after his duplicate self.
