World Domination

by Steve Beaulieu

  Frank saw someone appear out of the corner of his eye. He jerked his head around to see Hawkshaw standing a few feet away. He wore a mask that covered the top half of his head, flowing down into a large cape that dragged on the ground. Frank knew him well. The famous superhero detective wrote four books and three manuals on crime fighting, all of which were required reading for police detectives.

  “From my findings in the hotel, we are dealing with one killer. He is a supervillain with the power to somehow conjure up knives and blades. His physical abilities are also superhuman. I believe him to be somewhere in the range of 5’11” to 6’1.” Weighing approximately 190 pounds,” Hawkshaw said flatly.

  Frank stood with his mouth wide open and shook his head.

  “How the heck can you know all of that just by looking at the scene for forty-five minutes? It takes at least three to five days for crime scene to get that much info.”

  Hawkshaw shook his head before replying.

  “Let me briefly explain. I knew that it was only one killer because I found the same tracks in the blood and carpet throughout the entire hotel. The method of killing is the same on all victims, knives, and swords. I counted forty-seven dead bodies and thirty-six of those had different types of blades used to kill them. It is highly unlikely he could carry thirty-six different swords and knives on his person. Thus the super power to make or summon blades I figure his height because the first slice he took on thirty-one of the bodies was perfectly level at the neck as if his arm was straight out,” Hawkshaw explained, acting out the motion.

  “Yeah, but wouldn’t that mean the guy was taller than them?”

  Hawkshaw shook his head.

  “No, all the tracks show him wearing heavy combat boots that would give him an extra two to three inches on his real height. So now you can see how I have derived my information,” Hawkshaw said.

  Frank nodded his head, piecing together what he had seen at the hotel and everything Hawkshaw had said. It all fit and made perfect sense. Power House stepped forward and placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder.

  “Listen, Detective, if this supervillain is crazy enough to cut up a hotel filled with killers, dealers, and worse, then he won’t think twice about harming civilians or anyone else that gets in his way. Hawkshaw has agreed to hang around the city and see what he can come up with. You just make sure your men know he’ll be prowling around the area at night,” Power House said. “Oh and Detective, no more drinking on the job. You’ve got to sober up so you can soldier on.”

  “Okay. Thanks for your help, I suppose,” Frank said.

  He turned to shake hands with Hawkshaw but he was gone. When he turned back to Power House he was gone as well. Frank scratched his head.

  “No one is gonna believe that I got to meet the two biggest superheroes in the world, and they’re both schmucks,” Frank said.

  • • •

  Johnny sat on the edge of his bed and finished the last drink of whiskey. He dropped the bottle on the floor among stacks of trash, clothes, and other debris. He could barely keep his eyes open, but smiled, looking at the three large duffel bags on the table across the room. One held two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the others were filled with enough C-4 explosives to level a city block. He lay back on the bed and laughed. After a few moments, he tried to retrieve a photograph from the nightstand but instead found his Black Razor mask. He held it up, staring at the unique fabric. Finally, he tossed it across the room, then grabbed the photo and stared at it for a long moment.

  “I may not have taken the path you wanted me to, but I never stopped loving you, Mom. Tonight I completed step two of my plan to get revenge on the Guardians of Earth, soon your’s and Dad’s souls can rest, and maybe mine can too. Goodnight, Mom.”

  He dropped the picture on the nightstand and drifted off into a drunken sleep.

  • • •

  Hawkshaw stopped in an alley seven blocks from the Harrison Hotel. He had made slow progress tracking the villain. He used the optical scanners built into his mask to follow traces of blood that had been on the assailant’s boots. They led to this darkened alley. Immediately he could smell death and readied himself for anything. He plunged into the darkness. He cautiously approached a brand new SUV parked creatively against the wall. Blood dripped from the driver’s side. Hawkshaw opened the door and out fell a man who had been killed the same as all the others at the Harrison.

  He inspected the vehicle and determined that the man had come from the Harrison to get a container with heavy contents from the backseat but was attacked from behind. Whatever had been in the SUV was gone now. The only luck Hawkshaw had was that the killer had tracked through this victim’s blood, refreshing the trail. He looked up at the sky and could tell by the lightening of it that dawn was coming soon. He knew that he couldn’t do much during the daylight hours, so he headed back for the time being.

  “Justice can wait one more night,” Hawkshaw said as he disappeared back into the shadows.

  • • •

  Johnny was up and frantically rushing around his apartment.

  “Where is that dang mask?” he yelled. “I have to have it.”

  He continued tearing through piles of old clothes and trash. He was already in full Black Razor get up and only needed the mask. He found it near the bed and pulled it on. It smelled of day-old pizza and liquor, but he didn’t have time to do anything about it now. He held up his wrist, but there was no watch there. He cursed to himself about not getting a watch that would go with this outfit. He knew he had overslept as he walked by the TV and saw the eleven o’clock news. He watched as the newscaster talked of the massacre at the Harrison Hotel the night before. They switched to a reporter talking with Power House. Johnny listened as the reporter praised the Black Razor for wiping out the Stranglers. Power House spoke of justice for everyone, including the South Rockhaven Stranglers. Johnny kicked the TV and screamed.

  “Justice! You’ll get yours soon enough.”

  He stormed to the table and swung the two bags of C-4 over his shoulder, then walked to the door. He paused for a moment, hand on the handle, sensing something wasn’t right. He couldn’t really put his finger on it, just a bad feeling. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the empty hallway, turning to lock the door to his apartment. He slid the key into one of his hidden pockets, then stopped and listened, but heard nothing. He sprinted down the hall to the stairs. He had a date with the Rockhaven Police Department that he intended to keep.

  • • •

  Hawkshaw found himself standing outside of an old apartment building. He had followed the nearly invisible trail from the alley and ended up here. He entered the building and moved from room to room, finding nothing but corpses. Each floor was the same until he finally picked up the trail again on the fifth floor. He moved slowly down the hall toward a door on his right. As he approached, he heard another door open from behind. He quickly turned, ready to fight, but he was staring at an elderly woman.

  “Hey, you!” the old woman shouted. “Stay away from Johnny’s apartment.”

  Hawkshaw lowered his fists and walked toward the woman.

  “Ma’am you are in grave danger here. I need you to evacuate the building now,” Hawkshaw commanded.

  “I’m not going anywhere. Say, aren’t you that bird guy from the news? Yeah, you are him! Wow, a real live superhero,” she said.

  Hawkshaw approached her slowly, trying not to startle the old woman.

  “Yes ma’am, I am Hawkshaw from the Guardians of Earth. I need you to come with me,” the hero said calmly.

  “Why should I leave my home “

  “Can’t you smell the horrible stench? Everyone in this apartment building is dead,” Hawkshaw said.

  “Well, I can’t smell very much with these sinuses and the medicine I take—wait. Did you say everyone is dead?” she asked, terrified.

  Hawkshaw nodded, then watched as the old woman’s eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out. He wa
s quick enough to catch her and lift her up. He turned to carry her down the hall but found himself staring directly into the blank face of the Black Razor. He held a giant, black broadsword raised high.

  “Here let me help lighten that load!” Black Razor whispered through clenched teeth.

  He swung down, cleaving the elderly woman in two. Blood sprayed in Hawkshaw’s face, but he instinctively jumped away from his attacker. The move saved his life as Black Razor moved in for the killing blow. Hawkshaw sprinted into the old woman’s open doorway. Black Razor looked down at the body of his neighbor.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Garner. You were the only person who was ever nice to me here. Hawkshaw will pay for this,” he said before running into the apartment.

  Black Razor rounded the corner and stepped right into a left jab followed by a right hook from Hawkshaw. He stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing and refocused his power into a black katana. Hawkshaw turned and ran into the kitchen.

  “Come back here and die!” Black Razor screamed.

  He sprinted into the kitchen and attacked, but Hawkshaw was ready for him, holding a butcher knife from the table. Black Razor’s overhead strike was easily blocked. The two danced a deadly ballet of strikes, feints, and parries. Black Razor pressed his attack, but Hawkshaw’s superior training and skill outmatched him easily.

  “Why don’t you just give up?” Hawkshaw asked.

  Black Razor was angered by the taunt and struck from an off balance stance. Hawkshaw used the opening to grab Black Razor, knee him the stomach, then throw him head first into the wall. The wall gave way and Black Razor tumbled into the bedroom of the next apartment. Dazed, he lost concentration and the black katana disappeared from his hand. He stood, shaking his head and tasting blood in his mouth. He saw Hawkshaw come through the large hole holding a small taser.

  Black Razor began to concentrate his power to form a knife when Hawkshaw fired. A single wire shot out and stuck into his shoulder. It sent wave after wave of high voltage shocks into Black Razor. He tried to fight it but ended up on the floor; screaming out in pain. Hawkshaw let up for a moment, then squeezed the trigger again. Another scream erupted from Black Razor.

  “I could easily kill you but that would make me like you, and I’m not a murderer,” Hawkshaw said.

  Something came over Black Razor and he stopped screaming. Hawkshaw pulled the trigger, but Black Razor fought through the pain and came up to his knees. He shook from the electricity coursing through him, but his eyes flashed with a black energy.

  “Murderer? You dare to call me a murderer? What about the countless innocents you and all the other so-called ‘heroes’ murder every day?” Black Razor struggled to stand, shouting now. “What about them?”

  Hawkshaw continued pumping the voltage, but took a step back into Mrs. Garner’s apartment and replied.

  “If it weren’t for villains like you then we wouldn’t have to...”

  “Shut up!” Black Razor raged, then stood to his feet. “You were there the day Power House picked up my parents’ car and used it to smash Elephant Man to death. Did you or any other damned ‘hero’ stop and think about my parents who were in that car?” Black Razor asked as he grabbed the wire in his shoulder.

  “I didn’t know, but that doesn’t justify—“

  “No, you didn’t know, and neither did Power House, or Lightning, or Lady Terra, and that’s why every last one of you is going to die!”

  Fueled by a deep rage, Black Razor’s entire body became encased in a glowing black energy. He walked toward Hawkshaw and everything he touched disintegrated.

  Hawkshaw dropped the taser, pulled several capsules from his belt, and threw them toward Black Razor, only to watch them disintegrate. Finally realizing the futility of attack, he threw down a smoke capsule. The apartment filled with thick white smoke. Black Razor heard a window smash at the back of the apartment and knew that Hawkshaw had made his escape.

  As the smoke cleared, Black Razor’s rage drained from him and the radiating energy with it. He ran back into the hallway and retrieved the two bags of C-4 he’d stashed. He smiled knowing he had made one of the Guardians of Earth turn tail and run. Now he was on to phase three of his plan.

  • • •

  “I’m Gloria Escamilla, and this is a Channel 9 Action News emergency broadcast. We are cutting into your regularly scheduled program to bring you tragic news. Tonight in downtown Rockhaven, an explosion ripped through the city’s main police station. It’s unclear at this time if this was a terrorist attack. We’re taking you live to Mitch Bradley, downtown outside the remains of the RPD building. Mitch, what can you tell us?”

  “Well Gloria, the fires are still burning, and as you can see behind me here, the entire four-story police headquarters is gone. The speculation that I’m hearing from the first responders is this had to be a terrorist attack. It seems there were multiple explosions set at key structural points that brought the entire building down in seconds. This has caused massive casualties and as you can see, the rescue teams can’t get near the ruins to even check for survivors with the fire still burning out of control,” Mitch paused for a moment, looking off camera. “Wait, I’m being told there is a survivor who is coming over to speak with us. Detective Frank Carmon here made it out alive. Detective, how did you survive and who would carry out such a heinous attack?”

  Frank looked quite disheveled as he came on camera.

  “I was out back behind the station on a break. That’s the only reason I survived. As far as who, it was Black Razor. While I was out there, I saw him running from the fire exit on the West side. I started to take after him but fell down, and that’s when the whole place went up. When I woke up, Power House was there, and I told him what I’d seen. He said that he and Hawkshaw would stay in the city until Black Razor is finished,” Frank said.

  “There you have it, we have an eyewitness stating that supervillain, Black Razor is responsible for the bombing. He is officially the most monstrous villain Rockhaven has ever had. Lucky for us, the Guardians of Earth are here and have vowed to stay until he is brought to justice. I’ll turn it back over to you Gloria.”

  • • •

  “This is pretty messed up stuff, Hawkshaw,” Power House said as he took a swig of a mini bottle of liquor.

  Hawkshaw sat staring at a table littered with dozens of high-quality pictures of Black Razor he had taken with the camera built into his suit during the fight.

  “Why just photos, Hawkshaw? Where’s the video?” Power House asked.

  He finished the mini bottle of liquor and tossed it across the room into the wastebasket.

  “Nothing but net!” Power House yelled.

  Hawkshaw rubbed his temples and waited for his counterpart to bring his attention back to their discussion.

  “No video because you said you had the equipment when we left, and you didn’t,” Hawkshaw said in an annoyed tone.

  “Oh yeah. Sorry about that, man. You always want to bring all of this stuff and we usually don’t need it,” Power House replied.

  There was a knock at the door. Power House zipped over and opened it. A blur sped past him, but he already knew before he turned around who it was.

  “Hey there, Lightning! Did you get everything?” Power House asked, shutting the door.

  Lightning was sitting in a chair drinking a soda. He held up the large laptop.

  “Yup, one super laptop linked to the Guardians universal database right here for old Hawkie boy.”

  “Come on Lightning, don’t mess with me,” Power House said.

  In the blink of an eye, the laptop was in front of Hawkshaw, opened and turned on and Lightning was back sitting in the same chair holding up a bag of greasy tacos from a fast food chain a few states over. Power House used his own super speed to snatch the bag and grab another small bottle of liquor from the mini-bar. Hawkshaw shook his head, then pulled up files and info on the laptop.

  “Thanks for bringing the laptop,” Hawkshaw s
aid. “So here...”

  “And thanks for the tacos!”

  Hawkshaw took a deep breath then continued on, ignoring Power House’s interruption.

  “Okay, here it is. Black Razor is actually Jonathan Norris Goldman, born September 13, 1977, to Robert and Cheryl Goldman. He dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. Started dealing drugs and ran away from home. He got busted a few times but didn’t do much time behind bars. Then it looks like he joined the South Rockhaven Stranglers.”

  “Isn’t that the name of the gang that Black Razor slaughtered a few nights ago?” Power House asked with a mouth full of taco.

  “Yes. Now according to some sketchy info here, it looks like he left the Stranglers about five years ago after having some medical issues. Let me check medical records. Okay, looks like he saw a lot of doctors, but no one could figure out what was wrong with him. The final records are from a Dr. Slovack, and state he thought Jonathan was developing some type of energy based super power. There was supposed to be a follow-up visit, but it never happened because the day it was scheduled, Dr. Slovack was killed in a fire that burned his entire medical practice to the ground,” Hawkshaw said.

  “Wow, what are the odds the doctor’s office burns down the day this guy is supposed to go back for a check-up?” Power House asked. “Craziness,”

  “The odds are beyond calculating. Which leads me to believe he was murdered by Jonathan to try and cover up his new super powers. One year to the day, a small time supervillain shows up in Rockhaven called Black Razor. He’s been operating in Rockhaven for the past four years,” Hawkshaw said.

  “Why didn’t we ever hear about this guy?” Lightning asked.

  “Because he did just enough to stay off our villain list. He had to have known the exact criteria to get on that list because his robberies stopped once he got within five of our limit. Then his killings stopped at exactly five below our limit as well,” Hawkshaw stated, then trailed off in thought.

  “How could he have known our exact criteria?” Power House asked. “Only members of the Guardians of Earth know those numbers.”