MISC: Transparent Comics - Mr. Transparent #3: "Villainy At The Summit"

Frumpy jmturner at fuse.net
Tue Sep 4 09:09:08 PDT 2007


	One night Vincent Solomon got a big surprise.  He settled into his
chair to read the newspaper, and he couldn't believe what he read.
Mister Transparent was in the news again, but another superhero was
talking about him.  Captain Canine, a human dog from Seattle, gave a
rare interview after solving another case.  In it, Captain Canine
mentioned that he had been hearing good things about Mister
Transparent.  The Captain said he would be coming to the area for the
weekend, and he hoped to meet Mister Transparent during the visit.
Vincent was thrilled!  To Vincent, Captain Canine was practically a
living legend.  Vincent had read everything about him, and Mister
Transparent could probably learn a great deal from the veteran hero.
Vincent was going to do his best to make that meeting happen.
	You could see all sorts of people at the airport on Saturday
afternoon, but there was one person there that you couldn't see.
Mister Transparent was there to meet Captain Canine.  Vincent finally
saw the human dog.  There were several children gathered around him.
	"Is that a costume?," a little girl asked.
	"No, kid," the Captain said in a rough voice.  "This is what I look
like.  Haven't you heard of Captain Canine?"
	"Is that a new cartoon?," another child asked.
	"No!," the Captain growled.  "I guess I don't get much press this far
from Seattle."
	"Oh, my mommy and daddy talked about you once," a chubby boy said.
	"Really?," smiled the Captain.  "What did they say?"
	"They said you were just something somebody made up to sell
newspapers," the boy replied.
	"Is that right?," the human dog frowned.  "Well, you go find them,
and I'll show them that I'm for real.  All you kids should be with
your parents.  What are you all staring at me for?  Go on.  Scram!"
	The children departed.  Captain Canine collected one small bag of
luggage and started to walk through the busy airport.  Someone tapped
him on the shoulder.  The human dog turned to see no one.
	"Mister Transparent?," he asked.
	"That's right," Vincent answered.  "I heard you wanted to meet me."
	"I did," confirmed the Captain.  "Save the conversation till we get
out of this airport, though.  I got enough people staring at me
already without me talking to people who aren't there."
	Vincent followed Captain Canine out of the airport.  They soon wound
up in a quiet spot at the city park.
	"Now we can talk," Captain Canine said.  "I hear you've been doing
some good work around here."
	"I've brought the crime rate down significantly," Vincent confirmed.
"I've never done anything as big as you have, though."
	"You will," the Captain told him.  "Let me cut to the chase.  Once a
year, the dozen or so of us superheroes in America get together for a
big meeting we call the Superhero Summit.  We talk and tell stories.
It's a chance to learn crime fighting tips, and you can make some
contacts in case you ever come across something or somebody you can't
handle alone.  In other words, you can learn a lot, and you can make
sure somebody's got your back if things get crazy.  Interested?"
	"Yes!," Vincent replied enthusiastically.  "Will Waterboy be there?"
	Captain Canine nodded.
	"What about Awesome Girl?"
	The Captain nodded.
	"Black Hercules?"
	"They'll all be there!," The Captain yelled.  "Stop acting like
you're a groupie or something.  You're just as powerful as they are.
When you meet another superhero, don't act like a little kid meeting
Santa Claus at Wal-Mart.  Just treat them with mutual respect.  Got
it?"
	"I see," Vincent said softly.  "Then I don't suppose I should ask you
for an autograph, should I?"
	"You shouldn't," Captain Canine said.  "I wish one of those kids at
the airport had, though.  Sometimes the public just doesn't appreciate
a superhero.  Anyway, you won't think Black Hercules is so great once
you meet him.  He's an arrogant jerk."
	"What's Waterboy like?," asked Vincent.
	"He's a nice kid," Captain Canine said.  "I don't want to spend the
whole afternoon telling you what all the others are like.  You'll meet
them for yourself tonight, and you can make up your own mind.  I want
to know about you.  How have things been going for you so far as a
superhero?"
	Vincent and the Captain talked all afternoon.  It wasn't long before
Vincent took Captain Canine back to his apartment to reveal his true
identity to the veteran hero.  In fact, Captain Canine wound up
hearing almost all there was to know about both Vincent Solomon and
Mister Transparent.  Vincent even showed him some pictures.
	"Who are these people?," Captain Canine asked.
	"That's my sister, her husband, and their two children," Vincent
answered.
"Who's the fat guy in this one with you?"
	"That's Dr. Carlton Curtis," Vincent said.  "He's a good friend, and
you could even say that he was actually the first Mister Transparent."
	"Does anybody else know who you are besides me and that Carlton
Curtis?"
	"No."
	"Keep it that way," the Captain told him.
	"Do you have a secret identity?," Vincent inquired.
	"No, Vince," the human dog answered.  "What you see is what you get.
I can't turn into a normal human like Lon Chaney, Jr. in one of those
old werewolf flicks.  I'm a human dog all the time."
	"How did you become a human dog?"
	"Good question," Captain Canine sighed.  "I guess I was born that
way.  I don't know really.  When I was little, some scientist found
me.  He more or less adopted me.  I was only two or three years old.
I guess I was anyway."
	"Then that scientist that found you is the only family you've ever
known?"
	"Yeah, and he died ten years ago," the Captain said sadly.  "He tried
his best to help me figure out how I got to be this way, but we never
did."
	They talked for another hour or so.  It was almost time to go to the
summit.  Vincent started getting ready while Captain Canine watched
TV.  There was a news item about an unidentified dead woman.  Her body
had been found in the river.  Captain Canine changed the channel.  He
found an infomercial about hair restoration for bald men.
	"Sure don't need that," he muttered before switching channels again.

	The Superhero Summit was in the basement of a reception hall in the
center of town.  From the street, it appeared that the hall was vacant
for the night.  It was that way by design since the superheroes didn't
want anyone to know of their meeting.  Captain Canine and Mister
Transparent went in through a back door.  Black Hercules met them
there.
	"Captain Canine, good to see you," Black Hercules said.  "Were you
able to find Mister Transparent?"
	"Yeah," the Captain confirmed.  "He's right here with me."
	"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Vincent said.  "Hold out your
hand."
	Black Hercules obliged, and the invisible hero shook his hand.
	"You have quite a grip," Vincent marveled.
	"You know it, my man," Black Hercules boasted.  "Go down the hall.
There's a staircase on the right at the end of the hall.  Stay off the
furniture, Canine."
	"Real funny," the human dog muttered.
	Vincent and Captain Canine joined the others in the basement.
Vincent saw all the superheroes he had read about online:  Waterboy,
Awesome Girl, Winglord, Electric Lady, Bionic Boy, Masked Maiden,
Super Knight, the Bouncer, Magic King, the Bulb, and Worm Woman.
Vincent soon realized what Captain Canine meant about Black Hercules.
He really was an arrogant jerk.  He kept bragging about his feats of
strength.  He also seemed to like to boast of his sexual prowess.
That didn't seem to be appropriate behavior for a superhero in
Vincent's mind.  Vincent tried to pick the brains of all the
superheroes.  All but Masked Maiden seemed perfectly willing to talk
to him.  In fact, Vincent noticed that she didn't speak to anyone.
	"Has Masked Maiden always been so quiet?," Vincent asked the Captain
as the two of them looked the buffet table over.
	"No," Captain Canine said.  "I guess she's had a bad day.  She'll
cheer up soon enough.  What's that yellow stuff in that bowl over
there?"
	"I'm not sure," Vincent confessed.
	"We'd better stay away from that then," Captain Canine chuckled.
"Looks pretty nasty anyway."
	Super Knight walked up to them with a large bowl.
	"Have some clam dip," he said through his armor.  "It's delicious."
	Captain Canine and Mister Transparent both declined.  Super Knight
began offering clam dip to all the others.  Vincent got a sampling of
several of the buffet offerings.  Captain Canine only seemed
interested in the chicken.  Everyone began talking about how they got
their names.
	"Why did you choose the name Captain Canine?," Bionic Boy asked.
	"Yeah, dude," Waterboy chimed in.  "You weren't in the military, were
you?"
	"No, I wasn't in the military or anything like that.  I just thought
Captain Canine was a better name than Dogman."
	"No doubt, dude," Waterboy laughed.
	The friendly conversation was soon interrupted as Awesome Girl fell
out of her chair.  She was gasping for air.  The others rushed over to
try to help her, but she died almost instantly.
	"She's...She's no longer with us," Winglord said sadly.
	"What caused it?," Electric Lady wondered.
	"I don't know, but I'm not feeling very well myself all of the
sudden," Winglord replied, and he collapsed beside Awesome Girl
seconds later.  He also seemed to die instantly.
	"What in blazes is going on here?," growled Captain Canine.
	Bionic Boy and Black Hercules soon fell alongside Winglord and
Awesome Girl.  All four were dead.
	"There's something majorly wrong here," Waterboy declared.  "Why
would four superheroes just all wipe out like that?"
	"Could a super criminal have learned about our gathering?," Vincent
asked.  "If one did, it would provide him or her with an excellent
chance to destroy all of us at once."
	"Maybe," Captain Canine said.  "Then again, maybe one of us is
responsible for this."
	"Are you suggesting that one of America's heroes has gone bad?," Worm
Woman asked.
	"I don't like it, but it makes sense," the Captain said.
	"Dude, why would any of us do that?," Waterboy wanted to know.
	"Before we determine who's responsible, perhaps we should first
figure out what exactly killed our four comrades," Vincent suggested.
	"I believe I know the cause of death, friends," Magic King said.
"They all had been eating clam dip.  All the rest of us turned it
down.  The clam dip must have been poisoned."
	"That can't be," Electric Lady argued.  "Super Knight ate the clam
dip, too.  If it had been poisoned, he would have died with the
others."
	"Wait a minute," Captain Canine growled.  "Super Knight said it was
delicious, but did anybody actually see him eating any of it?"
	Everyone either shrugged or shook their heads.
	"You were trying to get all of us to eat that stuff, helmet head!,"
Captain Canine fumed.  "You were trying to poison us!"
	"No!," Super Knight insisted.  "I brought the clam dip with me.  I
sampled it before I left home.  It was delicious...It definitely wasn't
poisoned!"
	"Right," Canine muttered in a disbelieving tone.
	"Wait, Captain," Vincent said.  "If Super Knight had intended to
poison us, would he have been so obvious about it?  I think he's far
more intelligent than that.  Maybe he truly was just proud of the clam
dip he had prepared."
	"It had been sitting on the buffet table for several minutes before
he started passing it around," Magic King pointed out.  "Any one of us
could have put poison into it while it sat there."
	"Well, I'm still going to be keeping my eyes on you, Super Knight,"
Captain Canine warned.
	"I'm not responsible," Super Knight insisted.  "If you ask me, your
new friend Mister Transparent is the most likely suspect.  We've all
assembled before without any problems, but this is his first time
here.  Besides, we can't see him, so we don't know what he might have
been doing since he came here."
	"No way," Captain Canine said firmly.  "I've been talking to him all
day, and he's no killer."
	"How do you know that for sure?," Super Knight asked.
	"You're just trying to get the heat off of you!," the Captain barked
back.
	Captain Canine and Super Knight looked like they might come to blows,
so Magic King stepped between them.
	"Let's not make random accusations, friends," Magic King told them.
"Everyone here is innocent until proven guilty, and we certainly don't
have any evidence yet to incriminate anyone."
	"Okay," the Captain said grudgingly.
	"I'm...I'm sorry for accusing Mister Transparent," Super Knight said
weakly.
	"What should we do?," Waterboy wondered aloud.
	"This is the first thing we should do," Magic King said, and he waved
his wand in the direction of the buffet table.  To everyone's
amazement, the food all hovered over the table.  Then it floated over
to a nearby garbage can where it threw itself away.
	"That should stop any of the rest of us from being poisoned,"
Electric Lady said.  "What next?"
	"I don't know," admitted Magic King.  "Maybe we...."
	Without warning, Masked Maiden fell out of the chair she had been
sitting in.  She seemed to be fine, though.
	"What happened?," Worm Woman asked her, and Masked Maiden just
shrugged.
	"Maybe our invisible guest was trying to attack her," Super Knight
snapped.
	"I told you to stop accusing him!," Captain Canine bellowed.
"Besides, he wasn't even on that side of the room."
	"How do you know that?," Super Knight demanded.
	Captain Canine surprised everyone by seeming to dive on someone who
wasn't there.  There was a thud, and Captain Canine appeared to be
hovering just above the floor.
	"You okay?," the human dog asked.
	"I'm...just a little..shaken up," Vincent said.  "You...knocked the wind
out of me..."
	Captain Canine sprang to his feet.
	"See," the Captain went on.  "We can't see Mister Transparent, but I
can still tell where he is.  I've been around him enough today to know
his scent, so I can sniff him out with my canine senses."
	"Fair enough," Magic King said.  "Still, I think it would put all our
minds at ease if he could become visible."
	"Sure," Vincent said, and he materialized before them in his bright
orange ski mask.
	At that point, all the lights went out.
	"It doesn't matter if he's visible or not now," Captain Canine said.
"None of us can see anything!"
	"Yes we can," disagreed the Bulb, and he clapped his hands together.
His body began to glow.  It became bright enough to illuminate the
room.
	"That's pretty cool," Waterboy grinned.
	"Being the living light has its advantages," the Bulb said proudly.
	"Somehow I doubt the light problem is a coincidence," the Bouncer
said.
	"The magic man could have done it," Captain Canine said.
	"Yes, I admit that I could have, but what would I have gained from
it?," Magic King said.  "I know what the Bulb is capable of, so it
would have been a pointless gesture."
	"I think it's simply something designed to create suspicion," Vincent
said.  "Whoever is trying to kill us also seems to want to toy with us
during the process."
	"It seems like it," Captain Canine agreed.
	"Well, I can only do this for so long," said the Bulb.  "Figuring all
this out might take longer than my powers will allow.  Maybe we should
try to find some candles or something."
	"We can't trust each other right now enough to all go looking for
them," said the Bouncer.
	"We can use the buddy system," Vincent suggested.  "We'll all pair
off, so no one's actions will be unaccounted for.  Captain Canine can
be my partner..."
	"Wait a minute," Super Knight interrupted.  "You two arrived
together.  For all we know, you could both be working together to
destroy the rest of us."
	Captain Canine looked ready to pounce on the armored figure, but
Vincent put his hand on the Captain's shoulder.
	"That's a valid concern," Vincent said, trying to be fair.  "I'll be
someone else's partner then.  Did anyone else arrive together?"
	"Super Knight and Masked Maiden arrived around the same time,"
Electric Lady recalled.  "Waterboy and I came in together, too.
Everyone else showed up alone."
	"You can be my buddy, metal head," Captain Canine told Super Knight
in an unfriendly tone.
	"You might try to attack me," Super Knight countered.  "I won't be
your partner."
	"Chill out, dudes," Waterboy said quickly.  "We can split into two
groups of three and one group of four.  That should make it all cool."
	"Fine, surfer boy," said Captain Canine.  "Then you can go with me
and armor brain."
	Waterboy, Captain Canine, and Super Knight went off in one
direction.  Vincent, Electric Lady, and Masked Maiden went in
another.  Magic King, the Bulb, the Bouncer, and Worm Woman made up
the last team.  Waterboy wasn't able to do much searching because he
was constantly having to keep the peace between Captain Canine and
Super Knight.  None of the other teams seemed to have much luck
finding any candles or a fuse box.  After several minutes of
searching, the lights mysteriously all came back on.
	"Gnarly!," Waterboy cried in triumph.  "Now we can all go back down
to the main room in the basement, and I can stop being the referee for
you two dudes."
	The three of them returned to the basement.
	"Friends, this all gets stranger by the minute," Magic King said.  "I
guess we might as well go back to the basement."
	Worm Woman, the Bouncer, and the Bulb all agreed and followed Magic
King.  The Bouncer was so eager to return there that he used his
powers to quickly bounce down the stairs like a rubber ball.  As soon
as they got to the bottom of the stairs, they all went back up them to
investigate.  A terrified scream and a cry of pain had come from one
of the upstairs rooms.  Waterboy, Captain Canine, and Super Knight
rushed up the stairs after them as well.  They soon found the other
team.  Electric Lady was trembling.  Mister Transparent was down on
the floor.  He looked hurt.  Masked Maiden stood between them as if
she were trying to protect them from each other.
	"What happened here?," the Bouncer demanded.
	"Mister Transparent....He was strangling Masked Maiden," a shaken
Electric Lady replied.  "That's what..That's what I thought I saw
anyway, but I realized he wasn't strangling her at all after..After I
zapped him with my lightning blast.  I'm so sorry."
	Captain Canine rushed over to Masked Maiden.
	"You're the only one who can tell us what really happened, so you
better stop the silent act right now, lady," the Captain warned.
	"Captain Canine is a bit blunt with his words, Maiden," Magic King
said.  "Still, he is right.  You're the only neutral observer here.
You need to tell us what happened to clear things up..."
	"..And you need to stop acting so weird," Waterboy added.  "You
always talked before, so why be so quiet today?  It's pretty weird to
me."
	Masked Maiden cleared her throat.
	"I was walking in front of them," she said.  "I didn't see what
happened until Electric Lady screamed and zapped Mister Transparent."
	"You mean you can't tell us anything?," Captain Canine said in
disgust.
	Magic King stepped forward.
	"On the contrary, she just told us a great deal," the magician said
in a very serious tone.  In an almost violent motion, he pulled her
mask off, but there was another mask on under it.  Magic King reached
for it, but she kicked him away.  She started running as fast as her
legs would carry her.  The Bulb clapped his hands together.  His body
began to glow once again, and he took off after Masked Maiden at the
speed of light.  He grabbed the Maiden before she even knew what was
happening.  The other superheroes gathered around her.
	"She's not really Masked Maiden," Captain Canine said, stating the
obvious.  "How did you figure it out, magic man?"
	"Friends, I must be completely honest," Magic King said softly.
"Masked Maiden and I were lovers not so long ago.  We stopped seeing
each other romantically, but we've remained friends.  We talk often.
This woman has a very similar body type to Masked Maiden, but she has
a totally different voice.  Where is the real Maiden?"
	"If you were her lover once, honey, then I'm glad I'm not really
her," the bogus Maiden said.  "That mustache of yours is awfully
tacky.  You'd look a lot better without it..."
	"Where is Masked Maiden?," Magic King repeated angrily.
	"Oh, she's right over there," the impostor pointed.
	Everyone turned to see another Masked Maiden.  The Bulb was caught
off guard by this, and he unknowingly loosened his grip on the phony.
She broke free and practically disappeared into the shadows.
	"After her!," cried the Bouncer, and he started to bounce into the
direction she had gone.  The other Masked Maiden vanished.
	"It must have been some kind of illusion," Worm Woman deduced.
	The other heroes took off after the bogus Maiden, but Captain Canine
went in the opposite direction.  Everyone else seemed to have
forgotten about Mister Transparent, but the human dog went to check on
his fallen friend.  Vincent sat up, coming out of his stunned state.
	"What...What happened?," Vincent asked.  "I was just walking along
behind Masked Maiden and Electric Lady, and then Electric Lady hit me
with one of her electrical blasts."
	"Somebody's making us see things that aren't there," Captain Canine
said.  "The others are trying to find her.  Masked Maiden isn't Masked
Maiden."
	"You've got that right, honey," someone said, and the bogus Masked
Maiden materialized before them.
	"Who are you, and how the blazes did you get past the others?,"
growled the human dog.
	"I've been here all along," she answered proudly.  "They saw what I
wanted them to see.  As for who I am, the name's Villainy..."
	"Nice name," said Captain Canine.  "Did you just make it up?"
	"No," she replied.  "I've been using it for a little while now."
	While the two heroes looked at her, the mask vanished from her face.
	"Some people call me the Mistress Of Illusion," she continued.  "I
need your help."
	"You want us to help you kill the others?," the human dog fumed.
"You've got to be crazy!"
	"I didn't kill anyone, flea bag," Villainy told him.  "Why do you
always have to fly off the handle?  Why can't you be more like your
friend.  He's always calm and cool.  He's got a nice body, too.
You're the only one here I like, Transy baby, so I hope you'll help
me.  By the way, I'm sorry about that little trick I pulled on you and
Lightning Lady.  I didn't know she'd zap you with full strength."
	"What sort of help do you want?," Vincent puzzled.
	"See," she beamed.  "You're at least willing to hear me out.  Your
buddy over there would tear my throat out with his dog teeth if you
weren't here.  You're really a sweetie..."
	"Say what you've got to say, and then I'll rip your throat out!," the
Captain hissed.
	"I got forced into this," she said.  "Personally, I didn't have any
interest in messing up your little hero get-together.  I'm a thief.
It's better for me to stay as far from you superhero types as I can.
I'm a thief, but I'm not a killer.  One of your so-called friends
caught me.  I still don't know how.  I pride myself on being the best
at what I do.  Anyway, he forced me into this because he wants the
rest of you dead..."
	"Who does?," Vincent asked.
	"You talk far too much, Villainy," a familiar voice declared.  "I
have to compliment you on the way you misled all the others, though.
Even I thought you went the other direction."
	"Super Knight!," Vincent gasped.
	"I was right all along," muttered Captain Canine.  "I never did like
you, helmet head."
	"I never enjoyed your company either," Super Knight assured him.  "I
had a very good time messing with your mind, though.  It was fun
seeing the confusion in all the faces of the so-called superheroes.  I
was the first, you know.  I developed this power armor and all the
gadgets in it.  I was the envy of everyone.  I was the talk of the
nation.  Then you became a crime fighter, Captain.  Then Black
Hercules came along.  After that, Awesome Girl burst upon the scene.
With each new superhero, my fame and respect dwindled.  People even
started to have the nerve to tell me I wasn't a real superhero because
I was just a normal man in a high-tech suit of armor.  I became a joke
to the people."
	"You did all this because your popularity went down?," Captain Canine
thought aloud.  "You're off your rocker!"
	"It's not about popularity, dog," Super Knight corrected him.  "It's
about superiority.  I will prove that America's original superhero is
the greatest superhero by destroying all the others!  No one will ever
know.  When you're all gone, the people will think you were all
quitters, and they'll return all the respect and adoration to me.  It
seems you've taken a liking to Mister Transparent, Villainy.  That's a
shame since he and the human dog will be the next to die."
	Super Knight pulled out his sword.  He pushed a button on its handle,
and the blade turned red.
	"I'm going to enjoy slaying you with my heat sword, Canine," boasted
Super Knight, and he attacked the human dog.
	"Attacking...an unarmed man...shows what kind of bum you are, Knight,"
the Captain panted.
	While this was going on, Vincent pulled out an invisibility capsule.
He quickly swallowed the capsule before anyone noticed, and he became
invisible.  He tried to be an unseen aid to his friend.
	"You're only prolonging the inevitable, Mister Transparent!," Super
Knight claimed.  "I'll have killed you both before the others even
return."
	Super Knight saw Mister Transparent become visible again, so he
lunged at him with the heat sword.  What he actually saw was one of
Villainy's illusions.  He went right through it.  He couldn't stop
himself and crashed into the wall.  The heat sword went flying from
his hands.  Villainy grabbed it.  She pulled her costume down a
little, and there was some sort of collar around her neck.  She used
the heat sword to cut it off.
	"Free at last!," she said happily.  "Make yourself visible again,
cutie.  I don't think Super Knight will give you any trouble now.
Looks like he's knocked out."
	Vincent became visible, and she tossed the heat sword to him.
Vincent handed it to Captain Canine before walking over to Villainy.
	"Thank you for helping me," he said.  "Your story must have been true
about Super Knight forcing you into this."
	"I could never lie to you, honey," she cooed.  "How could I lie when
I'm looking into those pretty eyes?  Why don't you take that ski mask
off, so I can see the rest of your face, huh?"
	"I'm afraid I can't do that," Vincent said.
	"Aw, come on," she teased.  "I bet you have a very handsome face."
	"Thank you, but no."
	"Well, maybe I'll see you again sometime," she said.  "It's been
fun."
	Vincent put his hand on her shoulder.
	"I can't let you go," Vincent told her.
	"Then wrap your arms around me, baby," she said.  "I'll give you a
big, wet kiss..."
	"I don't mean it that way," explained Vincent.  "I'm going to have to
turn you over to the police."
	"Police!," Villainy cried.  "What for?  I mean, I can understand if
you want to handcuff me, but we don't have to contact the police to
get some of those..."
	"Umm...Miss Villainy, please stop talking to me like that," Vincent
pleaded.  "It's only making things more difficult."
	"Why should I stop talking to you like that when I can see in your
eyes that you like it?," She said slyly.  "Give Super Knight to the
police, but don't tell them anything about me.  Then we can go back to
your place.  Besides, I didn't really do anything wrong here.  I was
forced into it..."
	"Yes, but you are still a thief by your own admission," Vincent
interrupted.  "I'm sure there are several thefts you need to answer
for, but I will put in a good word for you at your trial since you did
help me."
	"Don't turn me in, baby," she pleaded.  "We can have something
special..."
	Captain Canine snuck up behind Villainy as she argued with Vincent.
He hit her hard over the head with the heat sword's handle.  It
knocked her out, and she fell to the floor.
	"It wasn't necessary to hit her!," Vincent exclaimed.
	"I think it was," the Captain told him.  "She can't pull any tricks
on us with her illusions if she's unconscious."
	"The others should be back soon," Vincent said.  "When they get here,
we can phone the authorities."
	"We've got a gorgeous female at our feet, and you're worried about
the others?," the human dog laughed.  "You've definitely read too many
Superman funny books.  Be honest, Vince.  She's pretty hot.  You were
thinking about taking her up on her offers, weren't you?"
	"I was not!," Vincent insisted.
	"Some honest and noble superhero you are if you can't admit you were
tempted," teased the Captain.  "You must not even be human if a
redhead like that couldn't get to you just a little."
	Magic King, the Bulb, and the Bouncer took Super Knight and Villainy
to the police.  Without his armor, Super Knight didn't give them any
trouble.  Villainy, on the other hand, used her illusion trickery to
escape.  While all that was going on, the other heroes remained at the
summit to talk a little more.
	"I'm really sorry I zapped you," Electric Lady told Vincent.  "I know
now it was Villainy playing tricks on us."
	"No apology is necessary," Vincent said.  "I just hope I never have
to feel that lightning of yours again."
	Worm Woman and Waterboy examined the dead heroes one last time.
	"Awesome Girl had her driver's license on her," Waterboy said
solemnly.  "Her real name was Sharon O'Neil.  I found Bionic Boy's ID,
too.  His name was Ken Wright."
	"According to the things I found in Black Hercules' Wallet, his true
identity was Clyde Parker," Worm Woman said.  "There wasn't any sort
of identification on Winglord.  It's sad.  Now his family and friends
will never know what happened to him."
	"If we turn the bodies over the proper authorities, they might find
out who he is," Vincent said.
	"We can't do that," Captain Canine said.  "If word got out to
everyone who Winglord had been, all the criminals he'd ever met might
declare it open season on his family for some sick kind of revenge.
Those are the breaks in being a superhero.  We can privately go to
the  families of the other three to let them know what happened.  We
can't do a thing for Winglord."
	The other heroes returned a little later.  They informed everyone of
the status of Super Knight and Villainy.
	"She got away, huh?," Captain Canine mused.  "Maybe you'll get to see
her again someday, Mister Transparent.  You'd like that, wouldn't
you?  I know she would."
	"Stop teasing him," Electric Lady laughed.
	"Dudes, I've been thinking," Waterboy said.
	"I am not a dude," Worm Woman corrected him.
	"Sorry," Waterboy apologized.  "Anyway, I think we could do a lot of
good if we stuck together as a team all the time.  There's strength in
numbers, you know?"
	"I think it's an excellent idea, friends," agreed Magic King.
	"You can count me in," the Bouncer chimed in.
	"Sounds like a bright idea to me, too," said the Bulb.
	"It would be nice to work with everyone," Electric Lady said.
	"Not me," Worm Woman said sadly.  "After everything that happened
tonight, I'm not so sure about this superhero business anymore.  I
think I'm just going to go back to my underground home to think things
over."
	"That's certainly understandable," Magic King said.  "What about you
two?"
	"No thanks," replied Captain Canine.  "I'm itching to get back to
Seattle."
	"How about you, Mister Transparent?," asked Electric Lady.
	"I don't think so," Vincent answered.  "At least not right now."
	Waterboy, Magic King, the Bulb, Electric Lady, and the Bouncer all
left together with plans of forming a crime fighting team called the
Enforcers.  Worm Woman used her abilities to dig graves for the fallen
superheroes in just a few minutes.  Captain Canine and Mister
Transparent helped her give all four of them a proper burial.  Worm
Woman said a few words over their gravesites before beginning to
tunnel her way home through the soil.
	"Well, it's time for me to go, Vince," Captain Canine said.  "Give me
a call sometime.  You take yourself a little too seriously, but I
think you're going to be a fine superhero."
	"Thank you," Vincent smiled.  "That means a lot to me to hear you say
that."




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