Allies and Rivals
Chapter 30
Secrets Revealed
The town of Citiesville was devastated, and the one ultimately responsible, Ferguson Ckracknow, was in his commandeered suite on the top of a high skyscraper. He was sitting on his chair behind a huge table, twisting in his fingers a large cylindrical metallic object. Besides him was the silent Epsilon, always guarding his master. Across the table was Harry Shippe.
It was the morning of December 15.
"It's funny really. This device outwitted Beta, Cychaela and Delta," Ckracknow said.
"Excuse me sir?" Harry said.
"Oh, you're not familiar with this decoy, eh?" Ckracknow then pressed a button, and a holographic image of Buttercup in flying form appeared.
"You see, this hologram is so realistic, that you won't know better by just looking at it. And this flies like a rocket, and is fast as a bullet! And all this! In fact it was so fast that those three finally caught two of them in the Rocky Mountains hundreds of miles away. The other two got lost."
"I think this is one of Dr. Edwards' inventions," suggested Shippe.
"Harry, the words, 'Decoy: Invented by Dr. William Edwards' gave it away, doesn't it? Well, this is proof enough that Dr. Edwards is a brilliant inventor and scientist. But when all is said and done, he pales in comparison to the brilliance of his friend, John Utonium. That is why it's so important that they are removed from the equation, don't you think, Harry?"
"Yes sir," the spy merely nodded.
"Pity that the riot the other day didn't succeed! I mean, who would've thought that Blossom and Brick are such good orators, who in their eloquence persuaded the dim Townies to act? And who would've have thought that the Townsville police are capable of being competent? Anyway, Harry, I think you should tip off Edwards and Utonium about Malakey's participation in the riot. He is no longer useful to us."
"But sir," Harry protested. "You promised that…"
"I don't give a hoot about my promises. Although I must commend him for his brilliance in organizing those riots, Malarkey, when all is said and done, failed! And therefore, I would like to get rid of him!"
"Yes sir," Shippe said, and left the room.
A few minutes later, Alpha arrived.
"You called for me sir?"
"Yes Alpha, come here," the short man beckoned, "and sit."
The silver haired teen-ager did as told and sat in a chair opposite Ckracknow.
"As you know, your siblings were on the verge of victory the other day when Bubbles and Buttercup came to rescue the people, as I predicted they would. But still, they were tricked by decoys, and so escaped."
"Sir, I would like to apologize for my siblings…"
"No need to apologize, Alpha. I don't blame them. Even I would have been fooled by the decoys the first time."
"Aye. Dr. Edwards must be one smart fellow to have invented such a device."
"Dr. Edwards is one smart guy. Very brilliant in many aspects indeed! But in terms of science, Utonium is far superior. Edwards is more of a businessman, Utonium a scientist. And they are friends, allies, so it doesn't matter to us. But funny thing is, twenty years prior, even a year ago, they were bitter enemies!"
"Enemies? How could they? I know they are our enemies, but sir! Come on! We know those two are close friends. You even told us about them when they were captured."
"Well, it happened when they were in college about twenty years ago. They had a falling out. They were best of friends before that, but the funny thing is, it's Morebucks who was ultimately responsible for their hating each other!"
"Morebucks? You mean Spencer Morebucks?" asked a curious Alpha.
"Yup. Anyway, just to let you know, don't you know that all my cloning abilities, the reason that One, Two, you, Beta, Cychaela, Delta, and you Epsilon, and of course, and most of my henchmen exists is because of Utonium? In his college years, Utonium discovered the secrets of cloning years before the other scientists cloned Dolly the sheep. Thanks to Edwards naivety, Morebucks got this information and gave it to me. Ah, you seemed confused, Alpha."
"Well, could you tell me the whole story? It's really confusing getting all this information piecemeal. It's like pieces of the puzzle. It only whets the appetite to know the actual picture, but you have only have bits and pieces and need more."
"Very well. It started a long time ago. Since it's founding two hundreds years ago, Townsville has been dominated by three families. The Morebuckses, the Edwardses, and the Utoniums. Generally, the Morebucks family concentrated on business, while the other two concentrated on politics. Don't you know that for the last two hundred years, two-thirds mayors of Townsville had either a surname of Edwards or Utonium, or were married to those two families? And those that weren't were controlled by members of either family? Members from those two families sent senators and congressmen to Washington, sent governors to the state capitol! Members of the three families were prominent scientists, mathematicians, engineers, architects and historians, were University Presidents, were cabinet members, were generals in almost every war this nation has fought. Those three families were dynasties in every sense of the word."
"The real conflict occurred when the present Edwards grandfather, Mortimer, set up a business selling typewriters. This caused bitter competition between the two families in business, and it's still existing. Soon, the two families not only were rivals, but loathed each other too."
"Percival Utonium, Mortimer's contemporary, got envious, and threw all his money into business. Unfortunately, unlike the others, he had horrible business sense, and as a result, lost everything in the 1929 stock market crash. He further lost his family's accumulated wealth when all the business he invested in failed during the Depression."
"Now, a more severe blow was dealt during World War II. Percival has eight sons, while Mortimer had seven. One son died at Pearl Harbor, one at Guadalcanal, another at Midway, one more at Kasserine Pass, three at Sicily, one at Anzio, one at New Guinea, another at a bomber raid over Germany, another at D-Day, another at the Battle of the Bulge, and another at Iwo Jima. Sounds like a history of the war! All died in glory, in sacrifice, in heroism, but in the end, they're still dead, and it struck a powerful blow at both men. At the end, each of them had only one son who survived the war."
"Those two were the fathers of John Utonium Jr. and William Edwards Sr., our adversaries. Charles Edwards and John Utonium Sr. were hard pressed by their fathers to excel at everything as the surviving heirs of the family name. And they lived up to it. Edwards made the family billionaires by expanding the family business to such great heights, while Utonium became a respected Professor at the University of Townsville, and later became its president. He was a great scientist whose name was attached to many discoveries and won Nobel Prizes in Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. Morebuck's father became jealous of Edwards and wanted to pull him down."
"Anyway, the tradition continued with the birth of John Utonium Jr., William K. Edwards Sr., and Spencer Morebucks. They were born in the same year. They were only sons, and had no sisters. And Utonium and Edwards became best friends. I was a child then, and I remember those two spent half their time in detention, and was always at the principal's office. They were the naughtiest and the most hard-headed boys in town, even more so than Spencer Morebucks. They were very close to each other. Anyway, probably, the only reason they weren't expelled was because of their high intelligence. Yes, from preschool until college, they were at the top and unchallenged. They won every school competition, won every school election, were always at the top two, and they had no grade lower than A. The only thing that disappointed their teachers was their rowdy behavior, and their tendency to do pranks, tricks, get into trouble, organized fights and such. But they still graduated with top honors. Maybe it was the result of the pressures to continue the family tradition of being always at the top because they are the sole male heirs of the great family traditions. Spencer Morebucks looked at them with envy and jealousy, with a desire to pull them down, because he himself cannot compete in any way with them. Besides, family competition still lingered on."
"He got his chance in college. I was a student at the same University with them. Utonium was in the lab, and was able to discover the secrets of cloning, while Edwards discovered, at the same time, the secrets of chemical X. Now, Morebucks saw his chance."
"Now when Utonium showed his results to Edwards, Edwards was furious. He told him that cloning is evil, especially if it fell in the wrong hands. Of course, Utonium doesn't want to destroy something that he had worked so hard on. Soon, they were shouting at each other. Edwards vowed to Utonium's face that he would destroy his discovery in cloning for the good of mankind, while Utonium dared him to do it. A few more angry words between them, and Edwards stormed off, vowing to save the world from cloning."
"Now comes the funny, or interesting part. Alpha, it seems that you're bored by my narrative."
Alpha, who, with Epsilon, was now listening intently, protested.
"No sir. It is just getting interesting. How did Morebucks destroy the friendship of Edwards and Utonium?"
"Okay. Morebucks and I were walking down at the lab corridor when he overheard the heated exchange between the two. He immediately saw an opportunity to break up the two's friendship. At first, we just shadowed Edwards. Edwards, the next night, went to the lab, carrying a baseball bat, still followed by Morebucks and me."
"What sir, you were in the plot too?" Alpha asked.
"Yes, I was Morebuck's henchmen during that time. Although I was very bright, I was a nobody compared to those three, and nobody knew I existed, but that was just fine for me. I was noticed by Morebucks during my highschool days, and our association continues till this day."
"To continue, we were following Edwards, when he suddenly had a change of heart. He immediately regretted his words, and decided not to do it and apologize to his friend. Now there was a crisis, as Morebucks' plans were nearly wrecked. But it was saved when Edwards, instead of going home, went to a bar—still holding his baseball bat and drank until he was dead drunk. We joined him, but since he was drunk, he didn't recognize us, and babbled away all his feelings and such. He then collapsed—too drunk to go home. Seeing an opportunity, we dragged him to the University lab where the work of Utonium on cloning was located. Morebucks and I immediately—using Edwards baseball bat—began smashing the various lab equipment. We then stole all of Utonium's notes, and all his calculations, then burned other pieces of paper to make it look like all of those were lost forever—and we used Edwards's lighter and matches doing it."
"After doing our work, we dragged the drunk Edwards into the lab, and placed the baseball bat in one hand and the lighter at the other end. And we left. We learned then that Edwards, after waking up, thought that he himself had done this while he was drunk, since all of us do things while drunk and not realize it until it was too late. Confronted by Utonium, Edwards, instead of apologizing and saying that he was drunk and had a change of heart, was too proud to say this, and freely admitted destroying it for the greater good, though if he ever knew the truth, he would know that it was Morebucks and I who did the dirty work. That led to the end of their friendship, as Utonium angrily promised vengeance upon his former friend."
"It was a masterpiece. Morebucks and I stole the secrets of cloning from Utonium, while making it look like Edwards destroyed it, and making Edwards think that he actually destroyed it!"
"Now the next phase of our plan concerns chemical Xymchermite, or Chemical X. It was researched both by Edwards and Utonium at the same time, but Utonium had his time divided between cloning and chemical X, while Edwards had his time solely focused on chemical X. It was no surprise that Edwards was the first one to complete it. Utonium was not far behind, but he kept getting stuck on some key components that Edwards independently discovered. The thing to remember was that both studies were conducted secretly from each other, meaning that they didn't know that they were researching the same thing at the same time. And it's just as well for us."
"Now, Morebucks and I knew all this because we have duplicate keys for both their dorm rooms, and during their class hours, Morebucks and I usually went to their rooms and check their notes."
"It was a few days after the last incident, when we decided to make our move. We went into Edwards' room when he was away, copied the crucial and missing notes that Utonium had not been able to figure out, then wrote the missing formulas in Utonium's notebook. Of course, Utonium thought that he had figured it out by himself when he saw those extra notes on the secrets of Chemical X. Unlike Edwards, who kept the notes to himself, Utonium immediately announced it to the world."
"Edwards was ticked off, as he thought that Utonium stole his chemical X, which in a way, he did. He accused Utonium of such. Utonium, to spite Edwards, admitted that he did, even though he thought he was lying when he said it, but he was nearer to the truth than he ever imagined. He said that it was his revenge for Edwards destroying his cloning work. Though he clearly thought at the time that he really discovered Chemical X, and Edwards was just bluffing."
"It all came to a head when Utonium was presenting it in the auditorium to an audience a month later. At the middle of his presentation, Edwards burst in and angrily announced to a startled audience that Utonium stole his work. He showed his own notes, but it backfired of him. He himself was accused of plagiarizing Utonium's notes, and since he had no proof that his was first, Edwards was expelled from the University of Townsville for plagiarism. And from then on, it was downhill for William Edwards."
"It became worse when his fragile mother heard about it. She was so upset that she had a heart attack and died. His father, in despair that his only son was expelled and blaming him for his mother's death, disowned him and withdrew financial support. Crushed, the proud Edwards, instead of apologizing, left Townsville, vowing never to return."
"Now, Morebucks and I kept Utonium's notes on cloning, though we failed in our endeavor to steal Chemical X. Indeed, we never thought Chemical X was of much significance then so we didn't try too much. What a mistake! But Morebucks was ecstatic. Not only had he broken up his two most dangerous rivals, he had effectively destroyed the only heir to the Edwards family. Now he had only to focus on Utonium. Plus, he had the secrets of cloning and he turned it over to me. I, of course, had no money to put any of it into fruition so we had to wait until Spence Morebucks' father died after he himself graduated with an MBA, and as an only son, he became the head of the entire family, along with it's wealth and power and the gigantic businesses. He then gave me the necessary money to build bases on two islands. I then used Utonium's notes, plus the money that Morebucks gave me, to create an army of clones. And the rest is history."
"Sir, how did Edwards come back from the dead?" asked Alpha. "I mean if he fell so much, how did he struggle back up?"
"It is the testament to his tenacity, his intelligence, and above all, his will that not only did he get back, he came back higher than any of us imagined in so short a time. It revealed qualities in his character that nobody ever thought he had, and it made him a harder, harsher, crueller, shrewder man that ultimately made him superior to Morebucks, and in my opinion, to Utonium."
"He went to Citiesville, where for three years, he waited on tables, washed dishes, swept floors so he can earn his way into college. Since his father absolutely refused to send a single cent to his son, it was hard. It was a great downfall, to live from a life of privilege and power, to what he was then, an outcast in his own city and family. With great difficulty did he earn enough money to enrol at Citiesville University, although he was nearly denied admission because of the plagiarism charges at Townsville University."
"Utonium, meanwhile, graduated from Townsville University with full honors. He became famous as a wonder, as a boy scientist, and he immediately got the respect of the entire scientific community as a result of the Chemical X discovery. He became known as the most intelligent man not only in Townsville, but in the state. He became a Professor without due difficulty, in spite of his young age, at Townsville University. He, along with Morebucks, and Charles Edwards became one of the most influential men in Townsville. He married a few years later at age 25, but his young wife died a year later in a plane crash. He never remarried."
"Anyway, back to Edwards. The young man, now in his twenties, desperate to win back the favor of his father and burning for revenge against Utonium, struggled to eat and study at the same time. Once he was enrolled, he managed to get a scholarship, which eased his financial burden. Still, living in an alien city that he was raised to despise was psychologically hard. He persevered, and after seven hard years, graduated with a degree in medicine at the top of his class, a summa cum laude. However, he didn't receive in Citiesville the commendation that Utonium received in Townsville, and that further embittered him against this city. One year later, he topped the board exams and became a fully fledged doctor. From that moment on, he became known as Dr. Edwards."
"However, he was able to practice medicine only for a year, because a friend recommended him to the government, and the government, looking for new scientists to work on its' secret projects, hired him. Edwards, eager to advance, accepted, and for a couple of years, worked for the government. During this time, he married a young woman whom he met in Citiesville, but died two years later without giving any children, from pneumonia."
"He became a star in government, rising in prominence because of his intelligence and personality, his past forgotten. He had a hefty salary, which combined with loans and shrewd investments, made him a wealthy man independent of his father's money. But since his work was secret, nobody else knew about his enhanced reputation. This was the time of the monster attacks in Townsville, and he was assigned to combat the threat."
"His father, now old, became concerned about what will happen to his wealth. So the next time that William went begging for his father's forgiveness, instead of turning him back as he usually did, Charles Edwards forgave him, and then made his will making him—his only son—his sole heir for all his property. He then secretly made him the Vice President of Edtech Corp. One thing, however, rankled the relationship. Charles insisted that his son marry again so he would provide a male heir, but his son—now in his thirties—faithful to the memory of his dead wife, refused. Still, the old man hoped that he would change his mind, but one year later, he died, and Dr. Edwards inherited nine hundred billion dollars in wealth, plus the presidency of the Edtech Corp. He was now richer than Spencer Morebucks ever was."
"Now, Edwards was still working for the government, mind you, and used one of his lands to build an underground lab just on the edge of the suburbs of Townsville to provide training facilities for fighters who would combat the epidemic of monsters. However, four years later, the Powerpuff Girls appeared, and to the government, seeing no use for it, cancelled the project. The lab was already complete, and Edwards decided to buy the lab from the government for twenty billion dollars. The government accepted. During these four years, he was concurrently President and CEO of Edtech Corp. and used his business skills to quadruple his wealth."
"Meanwhile, Professor Utonium led a respected life at Townsville. He bought a house at another part of the suburbs of Townsville, constructed an underground lab with city funds, and a house above it. After a few years, the city, in gratitude to his service to the city, in magnifying its reputation to the nation, gave the lab to him for free. For Utonium, like Edwards, had not been idle. He produced works upon works published in scientific journals, invented inventions, and made scientific treatises. And won several Nobel prizes. As such, his deserved reputation as a scientist increased, and he became a proud addition to the list of accomplished men in the Utonium Family. Unlike Edwards, he led a stable and peaceful life, which, aside from the early death of his wife, was happy, and joyous. And contrary to legend, Professor Utonium did not create the Powerpuff Girls to combat crime and the monsters infestation—rather he created them to fulfil his life and to make him complete—it's only an accident that Chemical X was mixed into the formula. And even though the girls became superheroes, his life can't be any happier—his girls giving him the companionship he so desired since his parents' and his wife's death. Nothing could breach their perfect world. He was beloved by Townsville, and the introduction of the Powerpuff Girls only increased his stature."
"Anyway, Edwards resigned from the government soon after, and now was solely focused on business. He still of course, conducts scientific experiments. Now, at the advent of the Powerpuff Girls, his desire for revenge on Utonium increased, and his way to do it was to prove that the Powerpuff Girls were not made up of sugar, spice and everything nice, plus chemical X, and thus, prove Utonium a liar. Midway into this, however, Edwards made a new enemy in Mayor Malarkey of Citiesville."
"As you know, the Professor and the girls visited Townsville, and during the time, earned the enmity of the city when they destroyed the bridge. And as a result, it led to a severe economic depression on the city. Edwards then saw the vulnerability on the Citiesville economy, and began transferring his money and property to Townsville. As events proved, it was a wise decision."
"Malarkey, in order to relieve the financial burden of his city, led a campaign to capture Edwards' wealth, but Edwards bitterly resisted. Malarkey even imprisoned Dr. Edwards on a false charge of tax evasion, but was freed after a couple of days after his numerous lawyers disproved it. Finally, Malarkey expropriated all of Dr. Edwards' property in Citiesville, which thanks to Dr. Edwards foresight, only amounted to about thirty million dollars or so, a tiny fraction, really."
"Dr. Edwards desire to discredit Utonium did not diminish as a result of Malarkey's persecution. He learned of the Rowdyruff Boys, and was determined to repeat the experiment to disprove Utonium's claims. He just can't believe that living super powered creatures could be developed from sugar, spice, and everything nice, or from snips and snails and a puppy dogs tail. To his utter amazement, he was wrong, and the Professor was right. He unwittingly recreated the Rowdyruff Boys."
"Anyway, the boys were then as evil as you and me, and were burning of desire for revenge on the Powerpuff Girls. Well, in what was the most amazing feat, Dr. Edwards let the boys have their revenge, and at the same time endeared himself to them shortly after he moved back to Townsville. He, using their loyalty, step by step removed the evil from them, though he could not remove their animosity for the Powerpuff Girls. In a short while, Dr. Edwards made them his perfect sons. And the boys weren't even aware of a conscious decision to do so. And Edwards solved his biggest worry—a male heir to his wealth, influence and property—in fact he has three heirs, without being unfaithful to the memory of his dead wife. He deeply loved them. His family line could continue—and the name Edwards, if they survive this, will dominate the scene in Townsville for decades even after his death."
"Didn't you know that at the Townsville records, Dr. Edwards listed as their mother his dead wife, since she died five years before the Rowdyruff boys were resurrected, and the boys were biologically six years of age? He, unlike the Professor and Morebucks, had sons and the direct line wouldn't end with him. Utonium and Morebucks, who, unless they have sons, their family name would fade into history as their grandchildren will bear the family name of the men their daughters will marry. And so, if that happens, then the ancient struggle for influence in Townsville will be lost by the two families—Utonium and Morebucks, and could only be continued by the Edwards against new families. That is, if they survive to see the new year."
"Sir, in a few days, we'll wipe those two families off the face of the earth!"
"Ah, it's so good to hear! However, the biggest surprise for me and Morebucks, was his rapid reconciliation with the Professor. Even I couldn't fathom how those two did it without knowing the truth. I don't know how their intense hatred for each other disappeared. It's truly baffling! Now they were friends like they were when they were kids, and without knowing the entire truth that Morebucks and I were responsible for their breaking up in the first place. Though I admit, by kidnapping them and keeping them in one place, I might have something to do with it."
"And what was more amazing, and more fantastic, was that the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys have allied. Never in a million years will I figure out how those two enemies worked together! It just isn't natural or even rational! I would have to ask Shippe for information on that one, if only to complete the story. Anyway, Alpha, you will not tell this to anyone, not even Beta, Cychaela and Delta! This is a secret me and Morebucks will take to the grave," Ckracknow said.
''Yes sir," both Alpha and Epsilon said.
"But how did you know all this?" asked Alpha.
"Well, there is a proverb known as 'Know thy enemy,' so I made my research," Ckracknow said.
"So can I go now?" Alpha asked.
"Not yet. Come here, I'm going to show you something," Ckracknow said. "By the way, are the three keeping the hourly killings?"
"Yup! Delta, I found out, has a special talent for cameras, so he operates it. Beta and Cychaela usually are the ones who get in front of the camera and kill our innocent victims. They are good at it sir, and I'm sure that those who are watching us are shaking in their boots!"
"That's good. Now we have to assume that they wouldn't be idle all this time. Now, I'll ask you, what would they be most likely be doing right now?"
"Well, they should be training!"
"Right on! Now, it isn't a stretch to think that they'd train until they might be able to defeat you?"
"Sir, no matter how much training they can do, they'll never be able to beat us!" Alpha boasted.
"That's the spirit! But mind you, you must never have hubris. People with superior advantages often lose to inferior forces due to overconfidence. You must never ever act reckless, or you might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!"
"Sorry sir," Alpha apologized as the three entered an elevator at one end of the floor. Ckracknow then made the elevator go to the basement.
"Now, most probably, after they were nearly killed in their foolish rescue attempt, they'd probably think twice before going back here to confront us. I think that despite our provocations, they won't attack us until they are ready, which, according to my calculations, would be on the first weeks of January the next year."
"But sir, you assured us that they'd be too concerned with the lives of the people that they would come here even though they'd have no chance against us—only if to save lives!"
"And they did, and we still failed to eliminate them and they escaped," Ckracknow said, "and it's a stretch that they would do the same thing twice. Fool me once, and shame on you, and fool me twice, and shame on me! Despite their concern, they won't do it a second time. And my second plan, you know, my plan to scare the people of Townsville into getting rid of Edwards and Utonium failed when Blossom and Brick rallied the people and they clamped on the rioters. So, now, my third plan will be set in motion. It is obvious that the next course of action for the heroes would be to train until they are ready then attack us here in Citiesville. So in the past few days, I made a device that would increase your overall power by a factor of ten, thus making any training of the kids useless."
After that, they were quiet, as the elevator reached the bottom floor. The doors parted, and the three villains stepped out and walked a long corridor. They then went to another room.
The room actually was a large laboratory, with men with white coats working in it. One thing that struck Alpha and Epsilon was that all the lab workers had only whites in their eyes.
At the middle of the room was a huge machine. On the center was a room with a chair, with glass doors. At the top were a meter, and the needle points to the number 17. At its sides were large containers with a green liquid. But what was really nerve wracking about it was that five dead bodies were suspended in the green liquid on each of the glass containers. And the acid was slowly eating the bodies.
"Now, you see, that is the device. As soon as the needle reaches fifty, you go in, and someone out here will pull the lever, and in five minutes, you will be ten times stronger than now!"
"And how would the needle reach fifty?" asked Alpha.
"Ah, that is when there is sufficient energy in the machine to increase your power. And the power comes from the dead bodies which are slowly eaten away by the green acid. As soon as it consumes enough human bodies, it would generate enough energy to give you overwhelming power."
"So how long would it take?" asked Alpha.
"Well, if we feed this machine ten fresh human bodies everyday, and I mean fresh—you must kill the victim one minute before you put it in the green acid—at the least, it would be ready by about December 21—four days before Christmas."
Meanwhile…
"Mr. Shippe, you're late!" Dr. Edwards playfully admonished his secretary-spy.
"Sorry sir, but I was held up and…"
"Forget it! Come on! We are waiting for the latest information you can give us," Dr. Edwards replied.
"Well sir, I have a gold mine for you!"
"Okay. Let's go to the adjacent room, where we can discuss in private," the eager doctor said as he ushered Shippe to the room
Inside the room was Professor Utonium, reading a newspaper while sitting on a couch.
"Hello, Mr. Shippe," the Professor greeted.
"Okay Mr. Shippe, what information could you give us? You told me you had a gold mine, so off with it!"
"Well sir, Mayor Malarkey of Citiesville organized the riot the other day. He was the real ringleader, but he himself didn't join it so he wouldn't be implicated," the young man said.
The room was quiet for a minute.
"You have proof of this, Mr. Shippe?" Prof Utonium asked.
"Of course. Ckracknow himself gave evidence…"
"What? Why would Ckracknow do such a thing? And how did he obtain evidence?" asked the Professor.
"Well, Malarkey just did Ckracknow's bidding. After the failure of the riot, Ckracknow decided that he had outlived his usefulness, so he betrayed him by supplying me with bugged phone calls." Shippe then took three tapes from his pocket. "These are three telephone conversations on tape. The first one was Malarkey and Ckracknow planning the attack, the second one was Malarkey reporting the progress of the riot, and the third was Malarkey apologizing for the failure of the riot."
They two older men played the tape on their recorders, and it confirmed what Harry Shippe told them. Both men were extremely shocked that the mayor of Citiesville collaborated with such a hated figure as Ckracknow.
"I think we better call the police," Utonium said.
"No John. No. We can use this to our advantage," William Edwards said.
"But we can't do that!" Professor Utonium said.
"And why not?" Dr. Edwards said.
"Because, well, it would be illegal!"
"Don't worry! Brick is the one who controls the police and the courts of this city at this time, so it won't be illegal," the doctor assuaged his friend.
"If you put it that way, I guess you're right. But what are you planning?"
"Just watch. Mr. Shippe, will you please go to Malarkey's hotel and tell the mayor that John and I would want to talk with him here?"
"Yes sir," Harry Shippe said before leaving.
"Now we wait," the doctor said.
The doctor and the professor then played a game of chess while they waited the arrival of the Mayor of Citiesville.
An hour later…
Harry Shippe and Julian Malarkey arrived at the house, and immediately went to the room. Malarkey went first, followed by Shippe, who closed the door behind him. The Mayor was dressed in a brown suit and black tie. At the room, waiting, was William Edwards and John Utonium.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" asked the Mayor.
"Oh yes!" Utonium said. "I think it's a little quiet. Don't you think it's a better if we have a little music?"
"Well, I suppose a little music won't hurt," the white haired Malarkey replied.
"Ah, what do you think shall we play, Wagner, Tchaikovsky perhaps, or maybe Beethoven or even George Gershwin?" Utonium asked, looking at a bunch of tapes. "How about the Beatles?"
"Whatever you want. Look, my time is precious and I don't want to waste it talking such trivialities!" Malarkey protested.
"Ah, such killjoy," Utonium sighed. "Guess I'll just get a random tape!"
Utonium got a tape and played it on a radio. But to the horror of Malarkey, instead of playing music, it played on his conversation with Ckracknow, and exposed his role in organizing the riot.
The white-haired mayor's face turned white. He attempted to run away, but the door was blocked by Shippe, who had a gun pointed at him.
"Seat down, you piece of malarkey, Malarkey," Edwards commanded. "And listen to the piece of shit, I mean malarkey, that you made."
The Mayor, with knees and arms shaking, sat on another couch.
After the playing of all the incriminating tapes were over, Edwards rose, his blood boiling. "I never knew you could go so low, Malarkey! Even for such a vile creature such as yourself. It sickens me to think that you and Ckacknoo are of the same species as myself. Imagine that, organizing a mob whose sole purpose is to torch the city and my house, and for chopping our heads? Have you gone mad? Why bargain with the devil? Why make a deal to the same man who practically destroyed your city?"
Malarkey was looking at the floor, his pride broken, unable to look at his adversary in the face.
"Have you no shame? What kind of man are you?" Edwards thundered. "Or is your hatred for me such that you'd work with a man whose idea for fun is to kill the citizens of the city that you govern, every hour and show it on television? Is your desire to destroy me, thwarted when I actually lived in that cesspool you call Citiesville, so great that you would sell your soul to Ckacknow? And now that I have escaped your clutches, you would still persecute me by making a deal with such an evil man as Ckracklow?"
"Okay Malarkey," Utonium intervened. "Tell us your side of the story."
"Well, Edwards, even though you won't believe it, and I won't blame you if you don't, it wasn't desire to get back at you that motivated my disgraceful actions—though I admit, I was peeved that you got away from me just before I could seize most of your wealth. Anyway, here is what happened. It was the afternoon on December 12, right after I left the Mayor of Townsville's office with you. I was in my hotel, when suddenly the phone rang. It was Ckracknow. He asked me if I can organize a riot for the express purpose of killing you two," Malarkey narrated, looking at Edwards and Utonium. "I said he can kiss my ass. He then threatened a mass slaughter of civilians, and I heard on the phone people screaming right before being killed. He said that the only way I can save about one million civilians from being killed on the spot was if I do his bidding. What choice do I have? I need to protect my people, so I reluctantly agreed. So I organized the refugees from Citiesville, and the rest is history. He made additional phone calls to check the progress of the riots, and that's what you heard on the tapes."
"You should've known better than to trust Ckracknow," Utonium admonished. "He would've killed them even if you did follow him."
"I'm afraid we have no choice but to tell the police about this," Edwards said.
Suddenly, Mayor Malarkey, swallowing his pride, threw himself at Edwards, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his feet. "Oh please don't call them. Please. I only did it for the good of the citizens of Citiesville! Please! My reputation would be ruined if this ever goes out! Think of my wife! Think of my children! It would destroy them! Please, don't. I'll do anything."
Edwards tried shaking off Malarkey from his foot, but was unsuccessful, so he just kicked the old man in the stomach, and the white haired mayor staggered back to the other side of the room. He coughed, and he looked pathetic. But the mayor got no sympathy from the other men in the room, not even from Utonium, who was the most compassionate among the men in the room. Not to mention Edwards, who, it was clear to all, hated the Mayor.
"You're pathetic, you know that? Being on your knees, begging me like a little girl not to spank you and send you to the slammer. Well, you're not the only one I've hated, but I forgave the other one and we're now friends, but I won't forgive you! You made my last years in Citiesville a living hell, and now, when you are in trouble, you beg for our help, and what's your response? You organized a riot for the specific purpose of killing me and John, right after we gave you our help in fighting Ckrackwow? Okay, so you don't want me to call the police and expose you as the liar you are? Well here's my answer."
Edwards then grabbed the mayor by his shirt, and punched him in the face. He staggered back, but Edwards punched him again. He fell to the floor. He then began kicking him in the stomach while he was down.
Utonium and Shippe, who had watched this for the first few minutes, jumped in and restrained Edwards.
"Easy William. I know you're angry, and I am too, but we don't want to accidentally kill him, do we?" Utonium said.
Edwards calmed down. "My answer is we won't call the police if you accept our terms."
The Mayor of Citiesville, in physical pain, still managed to stand up and stagger to a chair, where he sat. "I'll do anything."
"Shippe, jot this down and type this into a document. First. Your city will have to pay for all the property damage the riot caused."
"Agreed."
"Citiesville will pay all the medical expenses of the Townies who were injured and wounded by the riot."
"Agreed."
"One third of all the income of the city will be given to the Townsville treasury every year as penance to what you and the refugees did to our city. Officially of course, it would for the gratitude that you would show the city for accepting the refugees and for saving the city from Ckracknon so that it won't look like petty revenge."
"Agreed."
"Furthermore, if and when I, John Utonium, or any of our families go to Citiesville, everything would be free, even the hotdogs and the newspapers, for us. You will be the one paying them, not us."
"Okay."
"Finally, you would do our bidding whenever we want, because if you don't, we would send these tapes to the news media, and your reputation would be blown to pieces, and you'd be arrested for conspiracy."
"Agreed," the humiliated Mayor said.
"Mr. Shippe, you got it on paper?"
"Yes sir," the young man said.
"Okay. Malarkey, do any one else know of your participation?"
"A few of the ringleaders of the riots," the Mayor said.
"Well, John and I will swear that you were here with us the whole time discussing strategy, but if you go back on your word, I swear to God that I'll release the tapes to the public and I will see you fall!"
"I understand. And thanks," Malarkey said.
"Now get out of my sight, you piece of shit!" Edwards said. However, instead of waiting for the mayor to get out, he took him by the collar, and physically threw him out of the house.
"William, that was too much!" Utonium scolded his friend.
"He deserves it. After all that we did for him and his city—and this is how he repays us? Lucky for him I didn't just shoot him then and there!" Edwards said. "In fact, I showed a remarkable self-control."
Three days later, on December 18…
The kids trained during that time—the three days. With no riots to worry the mind of the kids, they were free to be as strong as they could be. They drove themselves hard, and in an amazing feat even for them—reached level twenty-nine—eight levels in three days—by six p.m. December 18.
Brick increased his prestige and unpopularity. His prestige increased because he held greater power over his fellow man than Blossom had ever dreamt of. He had the city under his command, and was pretty much above the law. He can order anyone arrested and held without bail, he could ignore the law for himself and for his colleagues, he could order the police to shoot anyone he pleases, he could fire anybody, confiscate anyone's possessions and he can kill anyone—all without fear of the law—as long as he can justify it as necessary for the good of Townsville. But of course, since he was training all this time, he didn't use his new powers at all. He delegated most of it to Chief of Police Alexander Grulp, who used the powers wisely. He, during the night of the riot, proved himself an orator that could hold his own against the magnificence of Blossom's eloquence, and could convince the people to do what he wanted them to do. And he became very popular with the people as the result of the victory over the rioters.
Perhaps the paradox was that he reached heights of popularity with the people of Townsville, but reached lows of unpopularity within the Ruff-Puff Alliance—he became as unpopular as Blossom was when she was the leader. He conducted the training of the team in an unbelievably arrogant and high-handed manner. He never cared for their comforts, as long as they were physically healthy and reached his goal. He listened to no one's opinion but his own, his father's, and Blossom's. He demanded—and got—absolute obedience, and he used the threats of punishments to whip them into line. Nobody ever crossed him again as they knew he meant business when he said that he was going to punish them. He had the slave-driver's zeal, and that perhaps, was the reason they advanced so fast. Behind his back, however, there were murmurs and complaints that might swamp Brick as it did with Blossom during her leadership tenure.
He had one overriding goal in mind—victory, and the safety of his family. And having total control, in his view, is just a means to that end. And if it means losing the goodwill of others, then so be it. He had absolute confidence in himself, and would like to drive that point to the others who had doubts.
Foremost among the complainants was Buttercup. She noticed that Brick was even bossier than Blossom ever was. She began to regret her vote in the last election. She resented his punishments, but she absolutely disliked the way Brick talked to his colleagues. By the third day, she disliked him so much that she avoided him whenever possible and never ever talked to him again unless it was following orders. Still, she was waiting for the main battle and see if Brick can deliver the victory over the five teens that all of them crave. If Brick can deliver, she reasoned, she would like him again. But for now, she disliked him very much.
Bubbles not surprisingly had no grudge whatsoever, and whatever dislike she had of Brick melted away after a few hours, and she cheerfully trained hard, knowing that Brick's heart was in the right place.
For Blossom, it was different. She had no objections to Brick's method of training and bossiness, for she was just as bossy when she was the leader. She supported all of Brick's orders and never openly defied him. Most of their arguments were in private. Brick after all, regularly consults her with his decisions, and she was the only one whom he regularly asks for advice at all among the six. What rankled her was Brick's new power over the city. It was a power she never had in her hands even at the direst of Townsville's crisis. Sure, she at times commanded the city. But it was through her strength of character, the ability to persuade them to do what she wanted them to do, but all the while, she was not above the law, and she could not do what she wanted to. She couldn't get away with the things that Brick could theoretically get away with. It depressed her to think that the city never gave her such powers. But what she didn't realize was that Dr. Edwards was a far different character from Professor Utonium. Plus the fact that she desired to be the leader of the alliance again, and was secretly plotting his downfall as leader. But that would come later, when Ckracknow will finally be defeated—just like when Brick waited for their fathers to be rescued and Ckracknow be defeated the first time before making his move on the leadership.
Butch didn't mind his brother's arrogance and bossiness. He was used to it and even expected it. What rankled him was his perceived subservience to Blossom. That's right—even thought Brick was the one giving the orders—he still thinks he acts as Blossom's lackey. Maybe the reason was that Brick neither asks Butch's advice nor listens to him on important matters. And it was Blossom whom Brick listens to now, and Butch's resents it—unlike before the alliance when it was Butch who Brick always consults with. Of course, he ignored the fact that Blossom's advice was better, she was more intelligent, and has more common sense than Butch ever had and she does not make decisions base on emotions. Still, Butch resents the fact that even when Brick was the leader, Blossom was in all but name a genuine second-in-command, a position he felt as Brick's brother, and a boy, should belong to him. So he resents Blossom for allegedly stealing his position, and for Brick for allegedly letting Blossom control him. He regularly, in private, lashed out at Brick for this, but Brick just ignored him. But still, he will follow his brother to the ends of the earth—such was the loyalty of the brothers to each other.
Boomer for one complains very much, but he doesn't hold anything against his brother. In fact, like Bubbles, he had absolute faith in Brick, thinks he can do no wrong now that he's the leader, and doesn't resent Blossom in any way at this stage. Like Butch, he will follow his brother to the ends of the earth, but with less complaining.
And so it was that Brick's position among his peers actually weakened as his unpopularity increased, but it in no way endangered his leadership at the moment.
They reached level 29 at the close of the day.
Meanwhile…
It is four in the afternoon, and Harry Shippe had entered the bottom floor of the skyscraper of Ckracknow's building. He glanced around, looking for somebody.
"Looking for Master Ckracknow, Harry? If you must know, he is on the top floor, as always," a teen-age girl said. It was Cychaela.
Harry Shippe smiled at he girl. "Cychaela! Hm, could you do me a favor?"
"It depends what kind of favor," Cychaela suspiciously said. "If you think I would…"
"No, no, no, it's not what you think," Harry assured, laughing at Cychaela's suspicious. "You see I'm a little busy and I can't go and see Mr. Ckracknow, so could you tell Mr. Ckracknow himself."
"Well, I don't have time to play messenger. Do it yourself," the girl replied.
"Oh well, guess I'll just have to give Mr. Ckracknow myself some sensitive top high level intelligence that no one else should know. After all, only a privileged elite few can know the information I would give!"
Cychaela raised her eyebrows and looked eagerly at the young man. "Okay Harry, you got my attention. I'll deliver the message for you."
"Thanks. Tell Mr. Ckracknow that I learned that Butch likes to go to a plain forty miles west of Townsville to meditate alone. He does this every night!"
"Okay, I'll tell him," Cychaela said.
"Thanks a million," Harry replied. "I owe you one."
'Well, that certainly is news!' Cychaela thought. 'If we knew that Butch goes out alone outside Townsville, then we could have easily have dispatched him long ago. Master Ckracknow's right. The information Harry gives us is worth a glass of water in a waterless desert.' She began snickering to herself.
Later, in a plain forty miles west of Townsville, at seven in the night…
It was a cold night. The sky was partially cloudy, allowing light from the moon to illuminate the plain. However, every minute increases the thickness of the clouds and threatened to envelop the moonlight. The plain itself was barren, but that's only because it was winter. The ground itself was covered with snow. It was cold, with the temperature about 15 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping.
The plain itself was punctuated by high rising cliffs with plateaus on top of it. A strong cold wind blew, so strong that it toppled the less steady boulders at the top of cliffs. It also rustles through branches of hibernating trees to produce a howling sound, as if there was a wolf.
There was a figure floating in the middle of it all. The figure was that of skinny teen-ager, about 17 years of age, about 5'9". His black hair was beneath his thick bonnet that covered his head. His yellow eyes were the only part of his face not covered. A thick scarf was wrapped around his neck and lower face up to the nose. He also wore earmuffs. On the lower part of his body was a thick black jacket, his hands wearing thick gloves, though concealed as they were tucked into his pockets. Finally there were his thick pants, with the inner parts lined with wool to keep him warm. Finally, boots that were designed to resist snow.
Ever so often, Beta would glance to his watch and looked around, as if he was waiting for something.
Finally, Butch arrived. He too was bundled up, wearing a cap with ear covers, and a thick jacket with collars reaching up to his nose. He wore a green jacket, gloves, thick pants, and shoes.
"So you're not late," Beta remarked. "Let's get this over with. You want to fight one on one? You got it!"
"I get it. Now we fight! One-on-one! To the death! Nobody leaves this field until one of us is a corpse!" Butch shouted.
"To the death!" shouted Beta, and the two warriors prepared for their clash.