Adventures in Parodyverse - Special Election, Part 4


    Greg Zuniga grew up in the slums of Paradopolis.  He was always depressed, and it angered him that his parents always seemed so happy, even though they were dirt poor and constantly had bad things happen to them.  

    They were forced into a homeless shelter once after a Lair Legion fight with super-villains destroyed their home.  There was no insurance and no city fund to help them get back on their feet.  It was only with the help of Mac Fleetwood that they survived at all.

    His father and mother were audited by the tax service...twice.  And all of that was after the underlying cause of it all, a work related accident that left his father permanently disabled and unemployed, from a company that denied him any benefits.

    But there was a light to all this darkness.  As Greg started to focus more and more on strangers, he started to realize that he had the ability to shape their mood and their perceptions.  He then figured out the reason why his parents were so happy in the face of so much adversity - because he unconsciously willed it so.

    He was fortunate that someone took notice of his abilities, only in the most surreal manner.

    One day walking past the Zero Street Mission he practiced his abilities, looking at a bum panhandling on the street.  The sad looking bum suddenly smiled, and offered Greg the contents of his collection plate.  Greg politely declined.

    Just as he walked away, he nearly ran right into a man dressed in hunting garb, in the middle of the city.  The man introduced himself as only Mark, and said that he could use a very special kind of public relations agent.  

    Mark held out a wad of cash, and promised not only much more of that, but plenty of references for future work.  Super heroes, super villains, politicians, anyone who might have public image troubles.

    Greg leaned back in the leather chair of his penthouse office, taking up half the top floor of one of the largest office buildings in Paradopolis.  

    What was wrong with bringing himself a little happiness after giving so much to so many others?  Nothing, that’s what.  He broke no laws, hurt nobody.  Politicians and super-types would lie even without his help - he just made it much more believable to the public.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Phone call.”  his secretary announced.  “It’s your new boss.”

    This time the job turned out to be easy.  Most of the Lair Legion was at Phatomhawk Memorial Hospital.  The Baronness wished them to become ‘convinced’ of Marvin Zimmermann’s cause.  Or in his words...’It is time the Lair Legion became ours.’


---


    Tom Black’s Khaos Energy enveloped the Lair Legion in a bubble.  Lara Night tried to react to it quickly, but Tom firmly but not violently grabbed her wrist.  He was trying to warn her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t.”  Tom Black said.  “It’s protecting you.  Us.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“From what?”  Hatman asked insistently.

    Chiaki answered him by nodding slowly toward the dark, think man standing next to the Baronness.  “Without this tinted bubble around us, the Spin would be polluting our minds.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tom was looking for power.”  Con Johnstantine filled in as he filled the dark bubble with smoke.  “The Spin was going to give it to him, once Marv was done with him.  At least till the hot blonde here sent him off to the Pacific Coast.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She is hot.”  CrazySugarFreakBoy! agreed.  He and Con then spent a moment nodding, Con smoking as he did.

    Liu Xi frowned in Con’s direction and waved in the air, rendering his cigarette useless.  “You’re suffocating us all.”  she noted.

    Con ignored her and threw his cigarette on the previously clean floor.  “Anyway, I convinced him that ol’ Marv wasn’t the most reliable with his promises.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Fortunately that won’t matter.”  The Baroness had interrupted their conversation quite handily, as she was now brandishing a pistol.  “Because Mr. Black here won’t survive this meeting.  By the time he dies, and your shield drops, you’ll all be too eager to tell the police that it was self--”

    Beth Zemo never finished that sentence - she crumpled to the floor instead.  While the Lair Legion was carefully considering what to do about the armed Baroness, Nurse Grace O’Mercy came out of the elevator and hit her over the head with a bed pan.

    Just before it happened, the Psychic Samurai saw the elevator doors open and Grace step out with a bedpan and quickly assess the situation.  She tried to see if she could wave off the nurse without the Baroness seeing, but it was too late.

    Chiaki knew what would happen as soon as Beth lost consciousness.  Her emergency teleport evacuation activated, and she was gone.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s really going to kill Baroness Largebutt later is that it was a bed pan.”  CSFB! pointed out, trying to break the tension.

    There wasn’t much time to gloat, as the Spin realized he had no backup, and raced past a still stunned Grace to the elevator.  With half the Lair Legion and one of Tom Black’s Khaos Energy orbs coming toward him, he sighed with relief as the doors closed.

    Inside the elevator with him was a young woman with dark blue hair and eyes.  He reached out with his mind and convinced her that some people upstairs were trying to kill them both, and they had to escape.

    The elevator stopped, and enveloped in dark energy.  The light went out, plunging the car into darkness.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I didn’t do anything wrong.”  he whispered to nobody in particular.  “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m Anna.”  the woman spoke calmly, as if the darkness made no difference to her.  “We may be stuck here for a short while, so I thought I would introduce myself.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hi...Anna.  I’m...Greg.”  he stammered, trying to keep his nervousness under control.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’re right.”  Anna said.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  They just want to talk to you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Huh?”  He backed away, starting to worry about how she knew.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“One of Tom’s Khaos Orbs spoke to me.”  she explained.  “I think it tried to take command of me at first...but it changed tactics as it began to understand me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No...”  he protested.  “Stay away from me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tom, I could have chosen to force you...to hurt you.”  she said.  “But that doesn’t seem right to me.  It doesn’t seem right to the Lair Legion either.  They just want to talk to you about Marvin Zimmerman.”

    He looked down.  She was offering him a small hand.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You promise I won’t be hurt?”  He usually didn’t have to ask questions like that - he could usually tell if someone was lying.  It wasn’t working with her, for some reason.

    She took his hand gently, and the Khaos Orb waiting for that answer left her and switched the elevator and light back on, as it ascended through the roof.  The car moved back to its originating floor, and the doors opened.


---


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nice job, Tom.”  Lara Night quietly congratulated him as the Lair Legion mobbed Anna and the Spin.  “I...guess I shouldn’t have been so hasty to think you were a bad guy.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, I am.”  he replied chillingly and almost boastfully.  But then softer, “I have my own destiny though...and it’s not here.  It’s nothing to do with you.  I’m sure I’ll have to face the Lair Legion in time...but I’m not ready just yet.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Fair enough.”  Lara agreed with a slight nod.  “Then again if you follow a better path...maybe you’ll never need to.”  She then crossed her arms and asked, “I guess this is where you disappear with no explanation.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...can’t really do that yet on my own.”  he admitted sheepishly.  “Would you...?”

    Lara looked around.  The Lair Legion was still occupied.  “You have some things to answer for still.”

    Tom looked a little dejected.  He worried he might have to fight his way out after all.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But now’s not the time, and a hospital isn’t the place.”  she relented.

    She then reached for him hesitantly, not really sure if she was supposed to do what she thought she needed to do.  Then, however, the decision was made for her.

    Marvellous Marv stepped out of the elevator.  He glanced directly at Tom, giving him a look of anger and disappointment.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t like the look of this, mate.”  Con grumbled.

    And as darkness descended upon that floor of the hospital, it became clear that Con was right.

TO BE CONTINUED?


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin