In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 9:

With his mind finally made up Jimmy waited for the opportune time to confront Ernest with the terrible truth. Since Ernest had indicated that he would be protecting Retroville, Jimmy reasoned that if he waited near Ernest's house he would return sooner or later as Dyno Lad. It would be the only way fast enough for Ernest to return from whatever he might have to deal with as Dyno Lad in the farther reaches of Retroville and still reliably maintain his secret identity. The one question that troubled him was how long it would be before he would be able to catch him. Since he had no answer he could only set Goddard to scan for anything travelling over 300 miles per hour and wait near Ernest's house for his eventual return.

It was just getting dark when Goddard barked, notifying him that his scanners had detected a rapidly approaching object. Jimmy quickly confirmed that it was heading his way and not some type of aircraft, and he put aside his work on the general expansion of Fermat's Theorem to take refuge behind a tree. Moments later he heard the sound of something slicing through the air followed by a faint thudding noise from behind Ernest's house and he moved quickly to the rear of the structure. In the dim light he recognized the form of Dyno Lad, who was busy removing his costume.

"Hello, Ernest," Jimmy said.

Startled, the figure quickly pulled the cowl down over his face and turned to face him. "What's that?" Jimmy heard an unnaturally deep voice ask. "Did you say 'Ernest'? Sorry, old chum. I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else."

Jimmy wasn't fooled for a second by the feeble pretense. "I know it's you Ernest. Unless, of course, there's some earthshaking threat that just happens to demand Dyno Lad's attention at the Parker resident at this very moment."

"I'm…I'm accepting a dinner invitation," the voice faltered.

Jimmy gestured at the dimly light house. "Right. With no one else home right now?"

The masked form hesitated for a moment before Jimmy saw the squared shoulders slump in resignation. A hand pulled back the cowl, revealing Ernest's familiar face, and Ernest smiled ruefully. "You win," he said. "How did you know it was me?"

Jimmy stared curiously at Ernest's head. "What's with the helmet?"

"Oh, that." Ernest removed the headgear and balanced it easily in one hand as he removed the rest of his Dyno Boy costume. "When I first discovered my powers I pinched myself to see if I could feel anything. I did, so I figured I might need some sort of protection – just in case I couldn't stop as fast as I could start."

"Smart move. I'm glad you're thinking about your safety."

Ernset shrugged. "Someone has to." He looked at Jimmy and smiled. "So how'd you guess?"

"A clue here and there and a little research helped me figure out what happened. I know all about your powers. Even more," he added, "than you do."

Something in Jimmy's tone made Ernest peer closely at him, as though trying to see through more than the gathering gloom. "You say that as if it were a bad thing."

"It is."

Ernest considered it. "How bad?"

"The worst." Jimmy paused to collect his thoughts before pressing on. "Last night my telemonitor accidently ruptured the Van Allen radiation belt, releasing a burst of high-energy and channeling it to Earth. You were at the telemonitor when the radiation hit, and the radiation changed you. It's causing your body to produce massive amounts of a substance called ultradrenaline. That's what's giving you your fantastic abilities." Jimmy hesitated trying to determine the best way to tell Ernest the rest.

Ernest was intelligent enough to realize the bomb had yet to fall. "So that's the good news. What's the bad?"

"The bad," Jimmy said slowly, "is that it also acts like some drugs. They don't really make people stronger, but they keep them from realizing that they're pushing themselves beyond their physical limits. With pain eliminated they can do incredible things, but it's like trying to run a go-cart on jet fuel. Eventually the engine will explode. Every time you use your powers, you're literally killing yourself." After another awkward pause Jimmy said quietly, "You have to stop being Dyno Lad."

It was too dark for Jimmy to see Ernest's expression but he could sense the other boy considering what Jimmy had said. After a long silence Ernest finally said the perhaps last thing Jimmy had expected to hear. "Okay," was all Ernest said, but his tone clearly indicated that he had no intention of stopping.

"What?"

"Look, Jimmy, you're a nice guy, but even if you're telling me the truth –"

Despite the situation Jimmy took umbrage at the remark. "If I'm telling the truth? Are you saying that I'm lying?"

Ernest shifted uncomfortably. "Not exactly. All I'm saying is that maybe Cindy was right about what she said today."

Jimmy blinked. "Right? Right about what?"

"About how you always need to be the one in the spotlight."

"She said 'limelight', not 'spotlight'," Jimmy blurted out without thinking, and then mentally kicked himself for the gaffe.

Ernest nodded. "You see? You have a strong competitive streak. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe you do take it too far. Maybe you are afraid that Dyno Lad will take some away some of the glory you get from being Retroville's kid celebrity. And maybe that's why you're trying to get me to stop being Dyno Lad. I mean, do I look like I'm dying? Why should I give up the best thing that ever happened to me just because of what you say?"

Jimmy was both hurt and offended at Ernest reading selfish intent into his purely selfless motives. "Because if you don't stop using your powers, you are going to die. It's not a question of 'if'. It's a matter of 'when'. Even if I weren't absolutely certain, is it worth risking your life to see if I'm right?"

Although Jimmy couldn't see Ernest's expression he recognized the sharp tone as one of dismissal. "I think I can take care of myself." There was a pause, and then Ernest asked more quietly, "What are you going to do about my secret?"

Jimmy had almost forgotten about that. "I 'm not sure. I guess it wouldn't make any difference, would it?"

There was another pause. "No. It wouldn't."

"It's not really my secret to tell. I guess that's something you'll have to reveal if the time comes."

"Thanks," Ernest responded, sounding truly grateful. "I appreciate that. Really. I guess you really are a friend."

"Yeah," Jimmy answered, turning to leave. Then he stopped and turned back. "Just promise me to think about something. You are my friend, and it was my fault that what happened to you happened. If anything bad happened to you because of that, how do you think I'd feel about it?"

With that Jimmy turned again, called for Goddard, and began heading for home. As he walked away he heard Ernest call after him, "Okay, Jimmy. I'll think abou that." There was no mistaking the tone in these words either, but this time Jimmy knew that Ernest meant what he said.

End of Part 9.

Author's Notes:

Some people may have been somewhat confused by the totally incongruous previous chapter which didn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story. The simple truth is that I wrote it the day before Father's Day and I thought it would be nice to acknowledge the men who play such an important part in our lives. In addition, as at least one reader has noted, it also served to lighten the tone of the story somewhat, and the fun of writing Hugh Neutron gave me a much needed lift as well.

Another reader has asked whether there will be anything between Jimmy and Cindy in this story. There always is in my stories, but this one will be somewhat different and more poignant. Some will love it, and some will hate it, but everyone will have to wait to see what happens.