6: A Trap Set
Captain Happily Married: The Serial
Previously, after Captain Happily Married lost his powers with the cracking of the Sacred Kneecap of St. Gengulphus, he was suddenly attacked by Sunflower, who wanted vengeance for her brother Commander Shadow! Will the Captain survive?
The Professor was in a helicopter now, not wanting to remain behind on a building as it was being exploded by the Kaboominator. In flight safely above the city, the Professor checked the tablet showing the positions of everyone in play. Meg Atomic was at the building site: check. Super Soccer Mom was leaving the vault site: check. Sunflower was on target. Excellent. Only one final piece needed to be set in motion, and then the endgame would begin.
It wasn’t time yet for the maniacal laugh; doing it too early would’ve been gauche, and the Professor was on a tight schedule anyway. All the same, given how well things were going so far, the Professor decided an evil little giggle wasn’t inappropriate, under the circumstances.
The helicopter pilot overheard the slightly manic hee he hee heee from the rear of the chopper and decided, prudently, not to ask. One learned quickly when working for Professor Irreconcilable Differences.
The Scarlet Shapeshifter hadn’t wanted in on this. But like others on the Professor’s contact list, she felt like she had no choice. Unlike the billionaire self-financing types like Titanium-Alloy Guy, she was a working stiff with limited resources and killer student debt. She’d tried to work legit. There weren’t all that many legitimate ways someone with the ability to change into someone else could use their powers for profit, however. Her best run had been as an actor in a B-list movie before she’d been found out and summarily fired by a director who felt that using shapeshifters instead of “human actors” was cheating somehow. She could see his point, maybe, but even so.
Now here she was, waiting for her cue in a part she really didn’t want. You didn’t say no to the Professor, though. The cue had come when she heard the first S.O.S., and now the next signal as she heard Sunflower yelling “That seems fair, don’t you think?”
She changed up and let loose with the gravitic pulse she’d been practicing for weeks. Even the most gifted shapeshifters had trouble adapting to someone else’s powers, which was why she’d practiced. It paid off. Sunflower’s energy blast hadn’t even left her hand before she was knocked sideways and halfway across the clothing store.
“Meg!” Captain Happily Married said, staggering to his feet. “Thank heavens it’s you! I lost my powers! I sent out a Mayday but-”
“I know, I received it, I should’ve told you I was en route!” she said, injecting a relieved laugh for authenticity. The training she’d had as an actress helped here. “I’m sorry, but Mom said she buzzed you and she was on the way and all was fine, not to worry. Something seemed off, I don’t know, the variables didn’t add up, so I came anyway, and…what’s wrong?”
“I didn’t…” the Captain began, confused. “She didn’t…” He looked down at his utility belt. “My communicator’s missing!”
The Scarlet Shapeshifter winced inwardly. This was the part she needed to sell, the part the Professor was paying for. Somehow she managed to keep her voice bright and her eyes on the Captain’s. “Oh, hey, I found it coming in! It must’ve fallen off earlier! Looks like Mom might’ve sent out an alert or something, there’s a button flashing on there, see?”
The Captain snatched the communicator from her hand and quick-tapped the button. A staticky voice that sounded just enough like Super Soccer Mom came through. This is a general call to everyone, calling off the Mayday, sorry about that. The Captain just got a little excited, that’s all. You know how it is. Thanks anyway, carry on!
“I don’t understand,” Captain Happily Married said, his face pale.
Before anyone could say anything else, Seymour came buzzing in through the smashed-open windows of the clothing store, Super Soccer Mom right behind him on a grappling-line.
“Oh, Justin,” Tasha gasped, anxiety washing out of her as she saw him, “You’re safe. Thank heaven.”
“Tasha,” the Captain rumbled, and even without his powers he could still manage a pretty good rumble, “What’s going on?”
“What?” Tasha said, confused in her turn. “What do you mean?”
“You called everyone off. Why?”
“What’re you talking about?” Tasha said. “I didn’t call everyone off, I called Meg to come and help!”
“She helped,” the Captain said bitterly. “She brought me this.” He held up the communicator. “I know your voice, Tasha. I know you. I thought I did.”
The Scarlet Shapeshifter, meanwhile, had backed away quietly into the shadows. Her part was done. She didn’t want to stay and watch Captain Happily Married and Super Soccer Mom tearing themselves apart.
Outside the clothing store, she contacted the Professor. “Excellent,” the Professor said. “On the way.” She heard the helicopter blades over her head and almost laughed. Of course. They always wanted to be in on the kill.
Thank you for reading! For prior episodes and other stories in the world of Edison City, check out the Edison City Index below. Stay tuned for next week as the adventure continues!