"We're Not In Kansas Anymore"
Chapter 7
"Be Cruel To Your School"
It was a sunny fall Monday morning at Sky High. The place was filled with kids talking about what they had done over the weekend, complaining about homework assignments, and the general stuff teenagers did.
Suddenly over the loudspeaker system Principal Powers made an announcement that a special assembly was to be held in the gym in ten minutes, and that all students and faculty were required to attend. Everyone was surprised as such things were usually known in advance, and even the teachers were not aware of this assembly. Nonetheless everyone started filing into the gym.
Clark met up with Layla just before he entered the gym, and they stopped to talk for a moment. Clark noticed that Layla looked a little worried, and asked what was wrong.
"Will didn't get on the bus this morning," she said, "I'm worried because I couldn't get hold of him all weekend, and neither could the rest of the gang. If he was sick I'm sure he would have told me, and I know his parents were away on a mission all weekend but I don't think they took him with them."
"If we don't see or hear from him by this afternoon," said Clark, trying to reassure her, "I'll go with you to his house after school and see if we can find out what's going on."
"Thanks, but you don't need to do that. I don't want you to miss your bus and I know it's a long way to your home in Smallville."
"Don't worry about it," smiled Clark, "it's only a couple of hundred miles…I can run there about as fast as the bus flies anyway. Besides, you and Will are friends."
"Yo guys," said Zach as he ambled up with Magenta and Ethan, "what's the 411 on this big powwow?"
"Nobody seems to know what's going on," added Ethan, "nobody's even seen Principal Powers all morning either, so why would she make an announcement like that?"
"You don't think it might have something to do with Will, do you?" asked Layla with a worried look on her face.
"Nah," said Zach, "maybe they're going to make some announcement about Homecoming. It's coming up pretty soon."
"Yeah," said Magenta, "I'm sure the whole school has to turn out to hear about a lame dance where there's a lot of old music from the 1980's and the punch sucks."
"Somebody was sure looking forward to it the other day," said Zach, drawing a venomous glare from Magenta.
Clark smiled at the odd couple. They seemed such opposites, but they complimented each other perfectly. Out of all the couples he had seen at school, he was sure Zach and Magenta would end up the first one engaged.
But the thought of Homecoming made Clark realize that he had to give serious consideration to whom he was going to ask. He was wanting to ask Layla so much, but knew it wouldn't be right at this time with her so worried about Will.
Once inside the gym Clark sat with the sidekicks, avoiding the cliques that had formed even amongst the seating on the bleachers. He felt more comfortable around his friends anyway, and was soon joined by Wally and Warren, who still sat a little ways off by himself, but it was clear whose company he preferred.
On the floor of the gym was a podium with a microphone, along with several folding chairs that were empty save for the ones holding Coach Boomer, Mr. Boy and Gwen Grayson, who was wearing a strange looking small backpack.
Once it appeared that everyone was there, Coach Boomer stood up and used his sonic voice to still the crowd.
"ALRIGHT, QUIET DOWN," he bellowed, "WE'LL START AS SOON AS PRINCIPAL POWERS GETS HERE!"
A strange tune of "Disco Inferno" began playing, causing Coach Boomer to pull out his cell phone and answer it. He talked quietly for a moment than hung up.
"THAT WAS…" he started before Mr. Boy politely reminded him that there was a microphone handy and that he could use that and spare everyone's ears. Boomer shrugged his shoulders and used the mic.
"That was Principal Powers," he restated, "she said she will be a few minutes late and that we should start the assembly. So without any further ado, here's your student body president, Gwen Grayson."
Most of the crowd cheered as Gwen rose with a smile and approached the podium. Clark and Layla were both still busy looking around for Will, and Clark noticed Penny was standing next to one the doorways. Then he saw her next to another doorway. Then another. Apparently there was supposed to be some kind of spirit drive as well, why else would the one-girl cheerleading squad be scattered about like that?
"My fellow students," said Gwen, "I come before you today with news heralding a new day for all of us in the super hero community. A day that shall always be looked back on and never forgotten, for it is the beginning of a new age.
"I present to you someone that you all know…someone who has had a change of great significance in his life that will, in turn, bring about one in all of ours."
Suddenly a figure flew through one of the doorways, swooping and diving all over the gym before he descended next to Gwen with a perfect landing.
It was Will. He was dressed in a tight black bodysuit that showed he had somehow gained a good twenty pounds of solid muscle, and wore wraparound sunglasses that concealed his eyes. He stood there with his hair slicked back and was unsmiling, which made him look even more alien.
"What's with the Matrix outfit?" whispered Zach.
"You all remember Will Stronghold…formerly the powerless son of the Commander and Jetstream? I have found the means to unlock his full potential, and as a demonstration…"
Fast as lightning Will flew up into the air, then dived straight down…at Clark.
Before he could react, Will slammed into him with such force that they both smashed through the bleachers and into the gym equipment storage areas below, nearly going through the solid concrete floor.
"Don't panic," said Gwen, "it's just two boys blowing off some steam."
Below could be heard the sounds of impact, smashing wood, crunching concrete and shrieking metal. Even the senior students were getting nervous about the sounds of the fury going on underneath them.
Warren and Wally started to make their way through the kids to get to the hole and help Clark, but a blur knocked kids aside and slammed into Warren, sending him flying to fall to the gym floor. At the same time two hands stretched on the end of black and white striped arms to grab Wally and whip him around to slam into the floor next to Warren. Both lay stunned.
"Alright little lady," said Boomer, putting his hand on Gwen's shoulder, "you better get Stronghold back in line before…"
"Get your hand off me," snarled Gwen as an electrical shock from her backpack sent Boomer flying to impact with one of the concrete columns. He lay there dazed for a moment, then saw Gwen standing over him with a sneering smile on her face.
"Still playing the big man like when we first went here," she said, "all these years and you're still a big jerk, Tommy-Boy."
Tommy-Boy? Boomer hadn't heard that name in years, and the only one who ever called him that was a smart-mouthed little sidekick named…his eyes went wide as he remembered.
"Gee," said Gwen, going all pouty, "I guess the jig is up, eh? In that case…"
The backpack Gwen was wearing seemed to burst apart, and then it wrapped around and reformed onto her body as it became a suit of powered armor with a distinguished headpiece resembling a crown.
Mr. Boy went white as a sheet as he recognized the armored form standing before him. The suit was different colored and had a more feminine design to it than before, but there was no mistaking it.
"Royal Pain," he whispered as the form turned to regard him.
"That's right Johnny," said the armored girl in a synthesized voice that reeked of evil, "and I have one more announcement to make."
With that she turned to the stunned assembly as the doors to the gym suddenly slammed shut and were locked on the outside by the Pennys.
"Okay everyone, NOW you can panic!"
Then the hidden gas bombs started going off.
In the rooms below, Clark rose up after his descent had stopped thanks to the concrete floor. He started to get to his feet as Will hit him again, forcing him down and beating on him with his fists. Clark finally managed to throw Will off him, sending him flying to slam through a metal rack holding a series of iron weights.
Will rose up unharmed, but minus his dark glasses to reveal his eyes were now a deep green in color.
"Oh Will," said Clark, feeling horrible for his friend, "what did she DO to you?"
"She made me strong," said Will, glaring at Clark with his glowing green eyes, "strong enough to make you pay for what you've done!"
Will hurled a two hundred pound barbell plate at Clark like it was a frisbee, but Clark caught it.
"Will," said Clark, trying to get through, "I'm your friend. I don't want to fight you."
"YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND!" Will roared, "you took EVERYTHING from me! You took my friends…all everyone ever talks about is you becoming my dad's successor…EVEN HIM! And then…you're trying to take Layla from me!"
"Will," said Clark, trying to speak calmly, "I AM your friend. I'm sorry people keep saying that stuff about me…I hate it too. I don't want to take your place with anybody…Layla and I are just friends."
"LIAR! I see you two talking all the time…you want her for herself!"
Clark wondered if that was true. He was certainly attracted to Layla, and he had thought about her a lot, but he had not acted on any of it because he didn't want to jeopardize his friendship with either her or Will. But all Will saw was Clark trying to take Layla away from him.
"Will," said Clark, "most of the time we're talking about YOU. We're both…all your friends are worried about you. Let me help you."
"Only Gwen has helped me," said Will, "she's my only friend…she's the one I love…"
"Love?" said Clark, "Will, she's turned you against your friends and pumped you up with a radioactive isotope from another planet. I've seen what kryptonite can do to people…some it gives powers to but others it kills in horrible ways. Let me help you before it's too late."
"It's already too late…for you."
Will flew through the air at Clark again, but he dodged at super speed and hit Will with the iron plate with such impact it wrapped around his head. Will struggled for a second then tore the plate off like it was made of tin foil.
He actually snarled as he turned on Clark, hate filling his eyes as they started glowing even brighter, and Clark was frozen in place as if he were hypnotized. Then twin beams of green energy shot from Will's eyes, hitting Clark in the chest and causing him to cry out in agony.
Clark fell to his knees, his chest burning with fiery cold where the beams had hit him. He looked up to see Will standing over him, his boyish face twisted into an animal like snarl. More eye beams struck Clark, sending jagged shards of pain through him as he finally crumpled to the floor, soaked in sweat and barely able to breathe.
The entire gym was awash in a strange green gas, making everyone gasp and choke. Then something else happened. They all started laughing.
Safe in her sealed armor with her personal air supply, Gwen watched in smug glee as she saw the super powered students begin to succumb to the affects of the gas once used by her "dad's" infamous cousin Jack Napier. Of course his formula had been lethal, but Gwen had made changes so that it only incapacitated people, as she didn't want to kill anyone. For all her crimes, she was no killer.
Besides, there was no profit in it.
She turned to see that Wally had already succumbed to the gas, having been tied down by Lash who was wearing a gas mask and using his own stretchable arms and legs. Nearby Warren was unconscious, Speed having not taken any chances and again pulled his vacuum stunt on him before he had gotten a chance to get to his feet after being hurled to the floor from high up in the bleachers.
Now it was time for the coup de grace.
She pressed a button on the podium and it opened up to reveal a strange looking device the size of a crossbow. She easily lifted it with one hand, marveling at how all the advances in technology over the years had resulted in miniaturization of key components to the point that she no longer needed the bulky howitzer sized version of her pacifier weapon she had created literally a lifetime ago. She had forgotten so much of its creation due to her having been it's accidental victim so many years ago, so she had had Speed steal it from the Secret Sanctum while she distracted poor little distraught Will.
She then activated her weapon, zapping first Wally then Warren and watched as they grew younger and younger, finally becoming infants. She then turned her attention on the other students, some of whom were shaking off the affects of the weakening smilex gas. These she targeted first, and then went on to hit entire groups by flipping the setting of the ray to "wide angle", an improvement she had thought of at the last minute for maximum effect in a crowded area. Soon the gym was full of nothing but crying infants and the untouched sidekicks who were all lying around unconscious.
She saved the last blast for Boomer, relishing his now infantile cries as she remembered all the times he had made so many young sidekicks cry when they were going to this wretched school. The main door to the gym flew open, and her "dad" came bounding in, once again clad in the bright harlequin costume he had not worn in years. He laughed maniacally as he saw the results of the grand plan's fruition.
"I told you Cousin Jack's gas would work perfectly for this," he grinned at his "daughter", "See? Daddy knows best."
Royal Pain rolled her eyes behind her visor. She just wished the giggling buffoon who had been her sidekick all these years would quit rubbing all the father and daughter references in her face. She would do something to take care of that once this was all over.
"All right," she said to Stitches, Lash, Speed and the six Pennys, "you all know what to do, so move it! I want to be out of here in five minutes!"
Moving swiftly the villains began gathering up the crying babies and taking them to a specially prepared transport that Stitches had flown up to the school. While they did that, Royal Pain approached Mr. Boy as he slowly looked up and focused on her.
"You should really thank me for this, Johnny," said Gwen, "you can teach the next generation of heroes that I have left you. I never wanted the sidekicks to begin with…they have suffered enough for all the indignities heaped upon them by these so-called heroes.
With that the bleachers suddenly exploded as Will and Clark smashed up into the gym. Though he was on his last legs Clark was fighting valiantly, but stopped when he saw what had happened. His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the armored form of Royal Pain from his younger days of reading comic books and watching the special reports on television.
"Hello Clark," came the voice of Gwen as she deactivated her voice synthesizer, "I'm glad to see that Will was able to keep you busy while I completed my little assembly. And, just to make sure my collection is complete…"
She brought the barrel of her pacifier up, aiming at Clark.
"Will," gasped Clark, "don't you know who she is? She's your dad's old enemy Royal Pain…you've got to snap out of it and stop her before…"
That was as far as he got before the energies of the weapon hit him, working their way on him. At first there seemed some resistance as his alien body tried to fight off the effects, but eventually he too succumbed. In a moment a little black haired baby boy lay on the floor in a pile of clothes.
"Royal Pain?" Will was struggling to get his mind cleared. He knew that something had been wrong with his thinking for the past couple of days, like he was groggy from cold medicine or something. He focused on the baby that Clark had become, and then looked to see the last of the other babies being carried out by Lash and Speed. He also saw all of his friends lying scattered about, unconscious. When his eyes fell on Layla, his finally snapped out of it.
"You lied to me," he said as he turned towards Gwen, who had raised her visor to reveal her face. There was no longer any need for a disguise, after all.
"You tricked me. You turned me against my friends…pumped me up with...whatever that stuff is…but now I see. Royal Pain…you were my dad's worst enemy."
"News flash, Einstein," sneered Gwen, "I STILL AM!"
She then blasted Will, who tried to fight off the energies of the ray but succumbed like Clark. When the light vanished, another crying infant lay on the floor, ready to be taken away.
"I am SO glad I didn't waste all the kryptonite on Will," smiled Gwen as she checked the last reserves of the alien energy she had used to power her device. She had thought it wise to do so just to make sure the device would work on Clark.
"Yeah!" cheered Lash as he, Speed and Penny gathered around the last two babies, "That'll teach'em to mess with us!"
"Are all the others aboard and secured?" Royal Pain asked her minions.
"Yeah," said Penny, "I pulled all my duplicates back in, so let's get these last two and book."
"Actually," said Gwen, "it's five."
"Five?" said Speed, "but there's just these two ...hey, what are you…"
Still set on wide angle, the pacifier claimed its last three victims before any of them could move. Two more baby boys and a baby girl now lay crying amongst the piles of clothes.
"I told you I didn't like anyone that picked on sidekicks," she said to the pouting little villains, "besides, this way there's more profit on two fronts…I make even more with three extra super babies and I don't have to split it with you."
Stitches cackled like a mad hyena as he pushed in a stroller and loaded his former compatriots in as Gwen gently scooped up Clark and Will in her armored arms, holding them tenderly as if they were her own.
In a minute they were in the transport, with all the babies safely secured. Gwen sat in the front seat next to her first two victims; a pudgybaby girl formerly known as Principal Powers, and the still bigheaded and able to talk baby Mr. Medulla. It had been so easy to catch the two of them alone and unprepared for such a sneak attack. Once they were out of the way Gwen had used her voice synthesizer to mimic Principal Power's voice and first lure everyone to her assembly trap, then trick Boomer into keeping them there.
"I do love it when a plan comes together," Gwen smiled as she relaxed in her seat.
"You'll never get away with this, you fiend," squeaked Baby Medulla.
"Ever the traditionalist, eh Myron?" she replied. "Here, suck on this."
She then jammed a real pacifier into his mouth, and he squawked for a moment or two then began happily sucking on it.
"Mmmm, binky." He cooed.
"Attention passengers, this is your driver speaking," said Stitches as he put on a Ralph Kramden style bus driver hat, "please return your trays to their upright positions and make sure your restraints are fastened. Thank you for flying with Crazy Clown airlines where our motto is…"
"JUST GET US OUT OF HERE!" roared Gwen.
"Please do not talk to the driver while the vehicle is in motion," started Stitches before Gwen reached up and smacked him in the head. He then shut up and started the transport.
As quiet as a ghost, the vehicle rose straight up into the air, then took off at Mach 2 speed as the cloaking device activated. No one would see or hear them now.
Gwen sat back and activated the cell phone built into her helmet. She was so glad she had been "reborn" into this time period with all its wonderful gadgets she could never have dreamed of by herself. She had been ahead of her time, when no one knew what a technopath was, and was relegated to sidekick status where she experienced first hand the indignities heaped upon those the so-called "superiors" deemed as unworthy to be super heroes. Now they would have no choice…an entire generation of their precious perfect ones was about to vanish off the face of the earth, so they would have to embrace the "second stringers".
The one she was calling answered his phone, and she disposed of the usual pleasantries to get right to the point.
"It's Susan," she said, using her real name, "I've made the pickup and everything is set. I'll see you tonight at the agreed upon time and place."
She paused as she listened to his response.
"Yes, I've been looking forward to this for a long time too. I'll see you tonight Mr. L…" she paused again, then smiled at his statement, "very well, I'll see you tonight…Lionel."
To be continued
Next:
AAAHHHH! The villains have WON? Well, Royal Pain has anyway. And did you REALLY think we'd seen the last of Lionel Luthor? How could things get worse? How about TWO MORE villains getting involved…or maybe it's THREE? But don't worry kids; help is on the way from some very unlikely sources.