by Lucas Flint
“You foolish woman,” said Mastermind. He looked around at the rest of us. “You fools have gone against our agreement. Therefore, I don’t have to uphold my end of the agreement, either.”
Mastermind tapped the button on his gauntlet again and the ceiling of the cage containing the hostages began to fall, this time faster than before. It was falling so fast that I was sure it was going to crush the hostages all at once before anyone could stop it.
But then a shadow hand emerged from within the cage and caught the falling ceiling. The ceiling pushed hard against it, but the shadow hand held it firm; in fact, it actually began pushing up against the ceiling until—with a sound of wires being snapped—the lid of the cage was jerked up and sent flying. It landed on the floor a couple of feet away from the cage, where it couldn’t harm the hostages.
Shade smirked at Mastermind. “What are you saying about not upholding your end of the deal, now?”
Mastermind just growled, but said, “It doesn’t matter. The Apocalypse Switch has enough energy now. Your actions were for nothing.”
He reached for his belt—probably to activate his dimension-hopping buckle—but Shade’s tendrils lashed out and slashed through his buckle. Mastermind cried out in pain and staggered backwards, grabbing his waist and what remained of the dimensional buckle, which now hung limply and uselessly at his waist.
“You aren’t getting away today,” said Shade. “We’ve been searching for you for a very long time and now your reign is at an end.”
“She’s right, Mastermind,” said Triplet above the sounds of our electricity being poured into the Apocalypse Switch. “Game over. You lost.”
Mastermind, however, just snarled and said, “Lost? I haven’t lost at all. The Apocalypse Switch is powered now and will activate on its own soon enough. It is you fools who have lost!”
“I guess you’re not going to give up easily, then,” said Shade with a sigh. “Oh, well. Looks like I will just have to use force, then.”
Shade’s tendrils reared back, while my friends moved toward Mastermind. But Mastermind was quicker than either; he raised his other gauntlet and smashed a button on it.
Then a huge, blinding white light erupted from the gauntlet. The light was so bright that it completely covered the entire room. I closed my eyes shut to avoid going blind, though I could still hear the others crying out in pain, as well as what sounded like someone running away, though I couldn’t tell who.
But the light soon faded, allowing me to open my eyes and see that the Apocalypse Switch was still shaking and glowing with power. Also, Shade and my friends were lying on the floor like they’d been knocked out. More worryingly, however, I didn’t see Mastermind anywhere until I spotted the back of his armor as he vanished into a dark doorway on the other side of the room.
Immediately, I stopped channeling energy into the Apocalypse Switch, causing the crystal above me to stop glowing red. White Lightning did the same in his own tube, but the Apocalypse Switch still glowed and shook with power. That meant that Mastermind had been correct when he said that it had enough power now, but I didn’t care.
I reached down and turned the Teleportation Buckle, allowing me to teleport next to White Lightning, who I grabbed and then teleported out of his tube to the floor below.
We appeared next to my fallen friends. I ran over to Blizzard and, cradling her in my arms, said, “Blizzard, are you okay?”
Blizzard, thankfully, opened her eyes, though she rubbed her forehead like she had a bad headache. “Yeah, I’m all right. But my head hurts. Feels like I got hit by a bus.”
I sighed in relief. “Then the others must be okay, too.”
“Yes, but what about Mastermind?” said Blizzard. She looked around in alarm. “Where did he go?”
“Ran away,” I said. “I think he’s trying to escape, but I’m not going to let him. Not this time.”
I was about to rise to my feet, but Blizzard grabbed my arm and said, “But what about the Apocalypse Switch? It’s still active.”
I looked up at the massive machine, which was now glowing red and blue. “You’re right. We need to stop it, but—”
“Go,” said White Lightning, who was standing near me all of a sudden. “Get Dad. I stop machine.”
“You’ll deal with the Apocalypse Switch?” I said, looking up at White Lightning in surprise.
White Lightning nodded. “Yes. Get … Dad. Get him.” Before he escapes.
White Lightning’s English was as broken as usual, but at the same time the pain and anger in his voice was unmistakable. He was looking at the Apocalypse Switch, his hands balled into fists, sparks flying from his hands like he was starting to lose control of his powers.
That was how I knew I could trust him. “Okay. But be quick about it; we don’t have much time before it fully activates and de-powers every superhuman on the planet.”
White Lightning nodded again and then flew toward the Apocalypse Switch, heedless of its shaking or sparking.
As for me, I made sure Blizzard was still okay, then got up and ran toward the exit that Mastermind had escaped through. I hoped I would catch up to him before he got away, because he could not be allowed to escape.
Chapter Seventeen
The hallways of the alien ship were far more twisted than I thought. It felt like they had been designed for giant worms to crawl through than for human beings, which made me wonder if this ship had been piloted by giant alien space worms.
Because of the confusing layout of the ship, it was very hard for me to keep up with Mastermind, much less catch him. Every now and then I’d catch a glimpse of his back up ahead, but he’d always turn a corner and vanish from my view in the next instant. I would have used my super speed to go after him, but channeling so much of my lightning powers into the Apocalypse Switch had left me very tired. Besides, I didn’t know the layout of this ship and didn’t want to run into a wall or something by accident.
I went around a corner, down some steps, up another set of stairs, and even had to climb a ladder once. At this point, I was convinced that Mastermind had no idea where he was going and was just trying to lose me. Too bad he didn’t remember that I don’t give up that easily.
Also, the entire ship was shaking, like it was activating again or something. I wasn’t sure why until I remembered how the Apocalypse Switch was activated; maybe powering up the Apocalypse Switch had also powered up the rest of the ship. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Regardless, I was starting to catch up with Mastermind. Even though he could run pretty fast for an older dude, I noticed that he was slowing down, most likely because of the injuries that Shade had inflicted on him earlier. But he never looked back to see if I was following, probably because he didn’t want to slow down for even a second.
He did, however, drop several round balls from his belt, which exploded and created huge clouds of black smoke that briefly obscured my view of him. I ran through the clouds, mostly because they had appeared faster than I could react, and suddenly found myself coughing and wheezing as the smoke entered my lungs. My eyes watered and I slowed down slightly, but I didn’t stop entirely. I just kept running until I burst out of the smoke clouds and saw the heel of Mastermind’s left boot disappear around a corner up ahead.
Still coughing, I ran until I turned a corner and found a locked set of doors. I didn’t see Mastermind, but I assumed that he must have closed the doors behind him when he turned the corner.
So I smashed straight through the doors with a single superpowered punch as I shouted, in a slightly hoarse voice due to the smoke, “Mastermind!”
My voice echoed as I looked around and realized that I was standing on top of a very deep pit, a pit so deep that I couldn’t even see the bottom. A long, narrow bridge with railing on both sides ran from my end of the chamber to the other end, and running along the bridge—already halfway across it—was Mastermind, who didn’t look back even when I shouted his name.
; I zoomed across the bridge toward him, pulling back my fist as I did so, but right when I got behind him, Mastermind grabbed the railing and threw himself over the side of the bridge. Taken by surprise, I skid to a halt, sending sparks flying off the surface of the bridge, and looked back over my shoulder at the halfway point, which Mastermind was now climbing back onto.
Growling in anger, I ran at him again, but this time without my super speed. I reached him just as Mastermind put his feet back on the bridge and threw another punch at him aimed for his chest in a blow that, if it connected, would shatter his armor.
But then a red barrier appeared around Mastermind’s body. My fist slammed into the barrier, but it was like punching a mountain because it didn’t bend under my strength at all. Then the barrier ejected me, sending me flying backwards until I crashed into the bridge, where I lay in a daze.
Then I heard a laugh and raised my head to see Mastermind still standing where I’d left him, only he must have turned off his barrier, because it was no longer visible.
“Nice try,” said Mastermind, “but you didn’t honestly think I was just going to let you punch me like that, did you? I’m not a fool, you know.”
Shaking my head, I rose to my feet and took a fighting stance. “It doesn’t matter, Mastermind. I’m going to take you down here and now regardless of what tricks you have up your sleeve. You can’t run away back to your empire, so you’ll just have to deal with me yourself.”
Mastermind shrugged. “I would rather prefer I didn’t have to kill you, but it seems like this is the only option you are giving me. Let us fight, then.”
Mastermind raced toward me, moving much faster than I expected. But I was faster; I ran at him, using my super speed to give me another boost, and threw another punch at him. I was convinced that I had moved too fast for him to activate his barrier this time.
But then, without warning, Mastermind caught my fist and, using my own momentum, threw me over his shoulder. I hurtled through the air uncontrollably for a second before I slammed into the bridge. I got to my hands and knees, but Mastermind was on top of me in seconds. He lashed out with a kick, striking my jaw and sending me falling flat onto my back again.
His foot came flying at my face, but I caught it with my hands and shoved him backwards. Mastermind staggered and grabbed the railing in order to steady himself, which gave me time to get back to my feet and come at him again.
Instead of punching him, though, I fired a lightning bolt at him. It was weaker than usual due to how much energy I had used up, but it would still take him down if it hit.
Unfortunately, Mastermind activated his barrier and the lightning bolt struck the barrier and rebounded. I ducked to avoid getting hit by my own rebound, but Mastermind ran up to me and punched me in the face.
That blow—which came harder than I expected—sent me stumbling backwards, allowing Mastermind to follow up that punch with another one. I almost fell down again, but I managed to grab the railings and keep myself standing.
Unfortunately, I was still too dazed from Mastermind’s punches to recover right away. Mastermind grabbed me by the neck and forced me up against the rails. He wrapped his hands around my neck and squeezed, causing me to gasp in pain. I tried to remove his hands from my neck, but a sudden electrical jolt shot from his gauntlets into my neck, causing me to gasp in pain and lower my hands.
“Yes …” said Mastermind, his voice full of mad glee. “Yes … die … die, for betraying your father, you little brat.”
The lack of air and the awkward situation I was in made it impossible for me to throw him off. Mastermind’s grip just grew tighter and tighter and I was losing consciousness. But I knew that if I fell unconscious, I would die, so I forced myself to retain consciousness even though it was hard.
“This is what you get for turning your brother against me, Kevin,” said Mastermind. “I really wish I didn’t have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice. I’ve already mourned you once, anyway; I won’t need to waste time doing that again after you die a second time.”
Blackness was starting to claim my vision. I felt weaker and weaker; without air, I was about to die.
But then, all of a sudden, there was a beep from my watch and Valerie’s voice said, “Kevin? Are you there? It’s me, Valerie.”
I couldn’t answer, mostly because Mastermind was still choking the life out of me, but Mastermind froze. He looked down at my watch, as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.
“Kevin?” came Valerie’s voice again. “Hello? Can you hear me? I was told by Blizzard that you are going after Mastermind.”
“Valerie?” Mastermind muttered. “How can she be here? She’s not in this universe.”
At first, I was confused by Mastermind’s words until I remembered that he and the Valerie of his universe had been in a relationship together. That must have been why he was so shocked; he had not expected to hear her voice again, especially here.
In fact, Mastermind was so shocked that he, perhaps unconsciously, relaxed his grip on my neck. He was looking at my watch like he was looking at a ghost.
“Valerie?” said Mastermind, in a louder voice. “Are you … is that you?”
“Who is this?” said Valerie. “I do not recognize your voice.”
“What?” said Mastermind. “But I created you.”
“Genius?” said Valerie. “Impossible. He’s dead.”
“But it is me,” said Mastermind. His voice actually became emotional, much to my surprise. “Don’t you recognize me? We … we were …”
Mastermind’s grip had slackened on my neck enough for me to breathe in some air. It felt good to have air in my lungs again, so—without further hesitation—I summoned my super strength and punched Mastermind directly in the side of the face while he was distracted.
My face smashed through his helmet and crashed into his face; in addition to the sound of shattering metal and plastic, I felt bone crunch under the impact of my fist as well.
Mastermind let go of my neck and fell onto the bridge with a dull thud. He did not get up again.
Gasping for breath, I stepped away from Mastermind’s prone body and, raising my watch to my mouth, said, “Val? You still there?”
“Yes, I am,” said Valerie. “But what was that? I heard metal and plastic being broken.”
“I knocked out Mastermind,” I said. “And I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t distracted—”
A loud moan of pain interrupted me, making me look down to see Mastermind sitting up. He looked far worse than he had before; only half of his helmet had survived my punch, revealing that half of his face was horribly disfigured from the impact of the punch. Not only that, but shards of metal and plastic were embedded in his skin and even in one of his eyes, which made his face bleed in several places.
Despite the obvious pain he was experiencing, Mastermind grabbed the railing and rose to his feet again. I immediately took a battle stance, even though I doubted he would be able to defeat me.
“Very … clever, Kevin,” said Mastermind. He spat out a piece of metal from his mouth, which clanked against the bridge. “Taking advantage of my distraction to knock me out … that’s exactly what I would have done in your situation. You are truly my son.”
“I’m not your son,” I said.
Mastermind looked at me in astonishment. “What do you mean? Of course you … of course you are. We are biologically related, even if I am from another universe.”
“That’s not what I mean,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean that I didn’t take after you. I took after the better version of you, my father Genius. He was a better man than you. He helped people. He didn’t oppress them. He taught me everything I know. You didn’t.”
Mastermind, to my surprise, actually chuckled, though it sounded painful, like he had some plastic or metal lodged in his vocal box. “Ah, Kevin, you truly are the superhero’s son. I should have known that from the start. I gave up the title of superhero long ago, when I firs
t decided to take over the world, because I didn’t see myself as one anymore, because I saw myself as something better than a superhero. Had I not abandoned that title, perhaps fate would have led me in a different direction than it did.”
“Don’t get philosophical on me now,” I said. “I know what you really are. It’s over. You. Lost.”
Mastermind lowered his head. “I guess … you have a point. But I don’t think I truly lost, because the Apocalypse Switch is still active. Once it has fully powered up, the world will be rid of superhumans once and for all. Even if I am not alive to enjoy the fruits of my plan, I still win.”
“Not unless my friends stop it,” I said. “And they will. I know they will. What matters to me is keeping you from escaping.”
Mastermind chuckled again. “To where? I have nowhere to run, nowhere to go.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s why you’re going to jail, because that’s where you belong.”
Mastermind rubbed the back of his neck. “Jail would be … unpleasant, I imagine. So I won’t go there.”
“Are you going to try to fight me?” I said. “Even though you are clearly in no shape to do that?”
“No,” said Mastermind. His grip tightened on the railing. “If I am not allowed to go home, then I will just end it here and now. And take you with me./”
Just as I realized what Mastermind meant, he said, “Self-destruct sequence, activate!”
A small beep emitted from Mastermind’s belt. I had just enough time to notice the blinking red light before Mastermind’s belt exploded.
The explosion sent me flying. I crashed into the bridge, rolling several times before I came to a stop. Shaking my head, I looked up to see that the middle of the bridge had been completely destroyed. There was now a big, gaping hole where the center of the bridge had existed, a hole which was smoking and burning. The heat from the burning metal was so intense that I could feel it even from a distance, but I saw no sign of Mastermind anywhere until a chunk of burning metal landed right in front of my face.