Dr. Maximum was out of control. He had hit bottom. It was common knowledge among superheroes and super-villains, but the public wasn’t really aware of it yet. That was where I came in; I’m Jack Riley, reporter for the Neon Dispatch, in Neon City, home for many costumed and caped super-humans. I know things about them most people don’t, so I usually end up covering the less public, less wholesome side of their exploits.
I met a contact at Ground Zero, a teenager who liked to talk and had an interesting power. He called himself Komet Kid, spelling it that way because he was just a dumb kid and thought it was “clever.†He had the power to form and hurl balls of fire, little comets as it were, from his hands, and having this internal combustion power, he could fly using the lighter-than-air state of fire to do so. He was actually too young to be in a bar, which GZ was, but who was going to bounce a flame-tossing hothead? He was sitting in the back, in the booth I usually used to get the lowdown on strange doings among the super-set, juggling a tiny fireball to amuse himself.
We exchanged pleasantries, and then I jumped right into it. “What’s the deal with Dr. Maximum?â€
Komet Kid shook his head and extinguished the fireball. “Big problem. You know how he gets his super-powers?â€
“Yeah,†I nodded, “he created a kind of . . . energy pharmaceutical that gives him super-strength, super-speed, super-endurance and makes him almost invulnerable. But it only lasts for 99 minutes, and then he’s back to normal again.â€
Komet Kid leaned back in his chair. “You say pharmaceutical, but we all know it’s a drug. And like any drug, it has harmful effects. But they weren’t really an issue until Dr. M started increasing the dosage.â€
The bartender brought me my regular. Komet Kid was drinking a coke. “Why did he increase the Powr-X dosage?†I knew the name of Dr. Maximum’s secret formula; Komet Kid was surprised, but played it cool.
“Because like any drug, you build up a tolerance to it after a while. Then you need more each time to try and get the same old feeling, or in Dr. M’s case, the same super-powers. You may have noticed that he is not as powerful as he once was.†Komet Kid twirled the coke’s straw.
I had. Other people had too. Particularly super-villains. Dr. Maximum’s last few battles were not his best efforts, and then there was his … emotional state. I’m being kind. He exhibited a dangerous rage. He was losing his grip. Someone was going to get seriously hurt. Or killed. “I noticed the out-of-control rage.â€
“Uh-huh. That didn’t start until he reached Powr-9X.â€
“9X! Holy crap, what’s he taking now?â€
Komet Kid smiled sadly. “Powr-13X. He’s doing real damage to himself. Maybe permanent.â€
“I’m worried he may hurt an innocent bystander or end up killing somebody.â€
Komet Kid popped a marble-size fireball from his index finger and balanced it. “He came really close three nights ago with the Prism Master; if Lightning Bolt hadn’t pulled Dr. Maximum away … well, things would have ended differently.â€
I nodded and toyed with my drink. “What can be done to stop him?â€
Komet Kid leaned forward, confidentially. “It’s already been handled.â€
“How?â€
“Last night, Dr. M showed up just as we were taking Madcap down.†Komet Kid shook his head. “Dr. Maximum was completely out of control, in a vicious rage so strong that he tried to knock us out of the way so he could tear into Madcap and his goons. It was . . . well, none of us liked doing it, but we had no choice.â€
“What happened?â€
“The Mentalist was there. He immediately put Dr. M into a deep trance and planted post-hypnotic suggestions in his mind to break the Powr-X addiction. As we had planned the next time Dr. Maximum showed up.â€
I sat back in my chair and considered what had been revealed. “So, in essence, to end Dr. Maximum’s career as a superhero?â€
Komet Kid nodded. “Yeah. We took him to a private sanitarium under an assumed name so he could recover his health and sanity. I don’t think Dr. Maximum will ever be seen again.â€
“People will wonder what became of him.â€
Komet Kid snuffed out his little ball of flame. He smiled, “That’s where you come in. Make up a good story about Dr. Maximum; sent him off with dignity, make his last adventure memorable. You’re a writer.â€
I hated to make up a story for the Neon Dispatch, but when dealing with superheroes, sometimes you had to.
Rod Drake lives and writes in Las Vegas, and often wishes his life were as exciting as his fiction. Check out Rod’s other stories on Six Sentences, Fictional Musings, MicroHorror, Flash Forward and AcmeShorts.
I love the concept behind this story. Very nice.