It took several more weeks to perfect the solution. Now more than ever, I was grateful to have a secret lab with my henchmen in the submarine which basically doubled the work being done. When I brought new findings and ideas to the humans the next day, they were just under the impression that I'd worked late each night. That wasn't entirely untrue. And then I brought the findings that the humans made back to the sub in the evenings for my henchmen to work with. It was a perfect system that made things move twice as quickly.

It was in the human lab where it was perfected. I watched in fascination as we successfully mutated the genes of a chimp to make them grow a sixth finger on each hand. Back in the submarine lab, we managed to turn several more pigeons into monsters. I did have it reversed which was tricky, and released the pigeons back into New York. I had no quarrel with them. Well, except for that one that pooped on my head in London years ago.

I had also received an amazing opportunity to continue my work in Italy. I got a call from a scientist in Venice who offered to have a building refurbished in my name – a building much bigger than what I currently had – where we could continue the work on my solution. It would also offer the opportunity to allow biology students to come and observe what real science looks like. I wasn't 100% sure if that's what I wanted at first, but I had to admit that the "Brine Marine Research Institute" had a nice ring to it. Several of my employees wanted to join, but others had to sadly quit because they were unable to move out of the country for one reason or another. I gave them a final paycheck and sent them on their way while the rest of us packed up our work and shipped it over to Venice.

Last I had heard of the penguins, they were actually back in America with the circus they had run off with in Europe. They were on a full American tour now, hopping state to state by train to entertain humans. It was a couple of weeks ago when my henchmen informed me that they were heading back to the US. New York, to be specific.

On one of my last nights in New York, I decided to stroll through Manhattan once more for old time's sake. It was a good reminder of why I was doing what I was doing. As I walked around I remembered places where the penguins and I had ventured into the city together. That seemed like a lifetime ago. I breathed in the smog and studied the humans as they bustled about, chattering on their phones and going about their business. As I passed Central Park, I noticed a hot air balloon hovering over the Central Park Zoo. On it was written "Afro Circus." Intrigued, I decided to go check it out.

By the time I walked over there, a large crowd had formed and there was a lot going on and I had to take a few moments to try to figure out what specifically was happening. I had assumed that the flying circus was just here to entertain, and the humans even seemed to believe that with as gullible as they are, but it was clear to me that something more was happening here.

By the time I arrived, I could just barely see the outline of what looked like Alex the lion, my old zoomate, struggling midair with a red-haired woman, and freefalling. I watched curiously as two . . . dogs? . . . on rocket skates dove down from the flying circus and caught Alex and the woman just before they hit the water in my old habitat, which was currently teeming with cobras. Then he dropped her into his – what I assume was now his former – habitat. The woman climbed his former rock and screamed in frustration and anger, almost seeming feral. The crowd continued to cheer but I rolled my eyes. They were clearly too naive to realize this wasn't just a show.

Then the woman suddenly fell forward and rolled off the rock as if she'd been tranqued, and balloons rained from the sky as the flying circus began to float away. From my position, I could see a number of animals aboard the floating circus. Among them were four small black and white figures. I grinned. Whatever they'd been through in the past – around eight or so years, was it? – they had gotten pretty good at their little commando gig.

When my solution was ready, this was going to be fun.

— § —

On my last day in New York, several of my employees had already taken the private jet to Venice to start work on setting up the new lab. All that was left was me, Brent, and a couple other employees. We decided to go ahead and fly on a commercial plane instead of waiting for our private jet to return. First class, of course.

My employees and I made our way through airport security and toward the waiting area. My team and I found a place to sit together.

"Octavius?"

I jumped at the familiar voice to my right. There, in one of the airport seats – wouldn't you know it? – was Rod.

"Oh, hey, Rod," I said with a smile, reaching out a hand. He shook it and I sat down next to him. "How've you and the family been?"

Rod looked at me with a sad smile. "We're doing the best we can. I threw my back out and lost my job. I came here to New York to pursue a job prospect, but it didn't work out."

I frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Isn't there anything the doctors can do?"

Rod laughed slightly. "Oh, there's plenty they can do. But I lost my health insurance with my job. All I can do is get by the best I can with my pain medication."

I looked down for a moment, then looked back up. "I'm really sorry to hear you're going through all of that. Is your family taking it okay?"

Rod smiled. "They're the only ones getting me through this. They're my everything. It kills me that I can't do what I used to. I've gotta find a job soon, though, or I won't be able to pay the mortgage and we'll be homeless."

I winced as I imagined Rod and his family out on the streets. Things may not have worked out how I'd wanted them to, but Rod still helped me out of the goodness of his heart. He was, in my opinion, one of the few good humans out there.

"Hey, now," Rod said, "don't go taking pity on me. I've heard about you on the radio. Renowned geneticist, huh? Tell me about that."

I briefly explained my work to him and how close we were getting, and how I was about to take my work to a new laboratory in Venice, Italy.

Rod whistled. "Wow, that's amazing. Really moving up, then. How's Melissa? Is she going with you? And what about your four boys?"

I internally panicked, but tried not to show it. I glanced over at my team, who thankfully weren't listening. "Well," I started, "Melissa and the boys are already in Venice," I lied. "They went ahead of us so they could move into our new house while I finished cleaning up the old lab here."

I still impressed myself with how quickly I could think up lies.

Rod nodded. "Gotcha," he responded. "I'm glad you all are doing well."

I smiled, but quickly frowned again as he winced in pain. I remembered he said he'd hurt his back.

"How did you hurt your back?" I asked.

"Ah, I was unloading a truck. Did a little more than these old bones could handle," he responded. "But, you just keep moving forward you know? There's nothing more important to me than making sure my family's taken care of. Nothing will stop me from that."

I nodded. "That's very commendable of you, Rod," I told him. "I hope things start looking up for you soon."

Rod smiled back at me. "Thanks, Octavius. I wish you luck with your work in Venice."

Gate D47: Departing for Italy.

The electronic voice reverberated through the airport. My team and I stood and I reached my hand back out to Rod.

"Well, Rod, I'm off to Europe. Have a safe flight home," I said.

Rod shook my hand. "Have a safe flight to Europe."

My team and I started heading toward our gate when I started to think about Rod's situation. I hadn't realized I'd slowed down.

"Everything all right, Dr. Brine?" Brent asked, slowing his pace to meet mine.

I nodded. "Yes," I responded as I came to a stop. "Tell the rest of the team to go ahead to their seats. I'll be along shortly."

Brent looked puzzled but didn't ask questions and proceeded forward. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my checkbook, writing a check for ten thousand dollars. Ripping the check from the book and returning the book to my pocket, I turned back to wear Rod was sitting, but he was already up and moving toward his own gate.

I darted forward quickly until I had come up right behind him, then I reached down and slipped the check into his rolling carryon bag. Once it was safely inside, I slowed to a stop and smiled.

I had a lot of hatred built up for a lot of creatures on this planet. But Rod was a good man.

Even a monster could see that.

— § —

I noticed I was being stalked a couple of weeks ago.

A flash of white here. Gray ducking behind corners there.

I came to realize that someone was onto me. Someone knew that I wasn't who I said I was. We'd been in Venice for a few months now, and I had to increase the security of my submarine and the Brine Marine Research Institute. I also had to be careful about which way I returned to my sub each night. I had to ensure no one was following me. I could keep up my identity at the institute, but once it was discovered that I had my submarine, sneaking around as Dr. Octavius Brine would become more difficult.

And whomever it was, they weren't human. Which also complicated things if my true identity was uncovered.

"Mariah, carry this message to our security team," I started. "We are being spied on by someone who knows we aren't who we say we are. Divert their attention elsewhere. And . . . find out who they are. Don't report back to me until you have answers."

Mariah saluted me and hurried off to deliver my message while I began to weld pieces of metal together. A team of henchmen and I were working diligently on a ray that would distribute the solution I'd created equally to all the penguins I had yet to begin kidnapping. Of course, I was going to start with the four that started it all. But it had to be at the right time.

I still hadn't thought of what to call my solution.

— § —

"Bruce, Will is in charge of working on the ray while I go on my business trip to Florence," I said to one of my henchmen. Bruce nodded and assured me Will would get the message.

I had a scientist contact me about my work in Florence. I'm always looking for more opportunities to teach others about my breakthroughs, as well as hear insight into what could further my work, so I never turn down an opportunity to speak with fellow people of science. Besides, it had become a guilty pleasure of mine anyway. Science rules.

We had agreed to meet in the Piazza della Signoria. She wanted to have an opportunity to show me around the city as we spoke, and felt this was a wonderful place to begin.

"Ciao, Dr. Brine," said Vittoria Ricci, a famous biologist here in Italy. "It is pleasing to meet you," she continued in her thick Italian accent.

"And same to you, Dr. Ricci," I returned, shaking her hand. "What brings you to want to meet with me?"

We had a very long conversation about my work with genetics, and intermittently she explained the meaning behind a lot of the statues that were around the Piazza. She explained the story behind each and how they related to the history of Florence and mythology. Most of the conversation is irrelevant to this story, so I won't bore you with too many details. But there was a pivotal moment in the conversation that helped me make a very important decision.

"And this is the statue of Perseus with the Head of Medusa," Dr. Ricci began, referring to a statue of a man holding the head of a woman who had snakes for hair, "sculpted by Benvenuto Cellini. The story goes that Medusa and the god of sea and waters, Poseidon, had relations in Athena's temple, the goddess of wisdom and military victory. Athena was outraged, and turned Medusa into a horrible monster, her head of hair replaced with serpents and her gaze made to turn men to stone. One day, Perseus conquered her by removing her head by seeing her in the reflection of his shield. When her head was removed, a Pegasus emerged, representing the birth of beauty."

I studied the statue carefully, my mind processing the story. "That's a really interesting story," I told her. "Thank you for this experience. It's been very educational."

Dr. Ricci smiled. "And the same to you, Dr. Brine. I hope you will come again to Florence sometime. We can talk over the lunch."

I nodded gratefully toward Dr. Ricci, but frowned as I looked behind her. A flash of gray ducked into an alley.

"Dr. Brine?" Dr. Ricci asked, pulling my attention back.

I shook my head and smiled. "That would be lovely. Until then, I must return to my lab."

Dr. Ricci reached out her hand. "Until next time, Dr. Brine."

I took her hand and shook it. "Until next time. Ciao, Dr. Ricci."

"Ciao, Dr. Brine."

After we parted ways, I took the train back to Venice, looking over my shoulder the whole way back. Once back in my submarine, I smiled at the progress my henchmen had made on the ray. It was nearly complete.

"Excellent work, everyone," I commended them.

A trio of henchmen came forward pushing a cart covered with a sheet.

"Joe, Kevin, Nick," I greeted, "what do we have here?"

Joe pulled the sheet from the cart to reveal a glass canister bound by metal. Inside flowed a green liquid. They explained proudly that they had managed to create the first real batch of my solution. It was a lovely surprise.

"Ah," I said as I took the canister in my arms. "Would you look at that? Great work, boys."

One of them asked me if we knew what to call it yet. I studied the canister and thought for a moment.

Suddenly, I remembered the story that Dr. Ricci told me about the mythical woman named Medusa. She had been turned into a monster that everyone hated so much, that a man named Perseus had to decapitate her. The thought made me grin.

"I think I know exactly what to call it."

— § —

Eventually, I discovered who had been stalking me. It definitely spiced things up a bit.

One of my henchmen approached me one day with a tablet. "Ah, Kamala. Harris told me you wanted to see me. Apologies for not getting to you sooner. What's the news?"

I assumed it was going to be more news about the penguins, but they were still touring the US with the circus. No, this news was different.

Kamala held up the tablet and gave me my glasses. She told me to watch some security footage from a few days back, security footage from the Brine Marine Research Institute.

For context, since the building was so massive, I was able to close off the top floor of it for high security clearance personnel only. Namely, me. I always stayed in my human disguise while I was there, just in case. And that seemed to have come in handy. Soon after I had received my lovely gift from my henchmen, I had brought the Medusa Serum to the Brine Marine Research Institute so I could study it further using the fancier equipment I was gifted with the building. I wanted to mass produce it so that I could have a batch large enough for hundreds of penguins.

Various CCTV recordings showed spies of various animal species around my building. Never inside of it as I had high security measures in place. But it was clear they were taking pictures of me, my building, and even leaning into the windows – some of which were looking into the top floor – the restricted area. CCTV footage from the inside showed one in particular, a wolf, ziplined down the side of my building peeking in through the window, taking a picture of me and my Medusa Serum sitting on the table next to me, all with my back turned to them.

I grimaced. "Who are they?" I asked.

Kamala told me that they were known as the North Wind, an elite undercover interspecies task force, dedicated to helping animals who can't help themselves.

Barf.

"Well," I responded, "that certainly does complicate things. Any evidence that they know about the submarine?"

Kamala nodded, but explained that they had thrown their trail off with a sheep and covered all the windows to the sub. I laughed.

"Good work. Send out a team to keep throwing them off our trail. Keep them busy. I'll buy some curtains to put up in the Institute first thing tomorrow."

Kamala saluted and took the tablet, hurrying off to carry out my orders. At the end of the day, I knew this so-called "North Wind" would be nothing more than an inconvenience. There would be nothing stopping me from achieving happiness.

No, breaking the Wind wouldn't be difficult at all. Not for me.

— § —

Avoiding the North Wind became easier with time. It was clear they had no idea who I really was. Not only did my henchmen confirm they had apprehended the sheep they had used as a diversion, but the North Wind was never seen around my submarine much. They were mostly seen anywhere around my institute, not even inside of it. If they knew more information, they would've done something by now.

My henchmen were able to confirm four regulars who frequented my institute most often: a polar bear, a white owl, a wolf, and a seal. I think they also knew I was onto them, as their visits became less frequent and more discreet. I always knew they were there though. I had my henchmen set up more CCTV in the surrounding areas of my institute. My henchmen also managed to hack the city grid, and we could see everything happening on the street CCTV cameras. They had become quite talented at hacking into things. I was impressed, and I had a feeling that would come in handy one day considering I was more into genetics, not computers.

Nonetheless, my henchmen took care of most of that dirty work so that I could focus on the task at hand.

It was long, tedious work, but little by little we managed to create more of the Medusa Serum. You like that name? I thought it was pretty clever. The ray had been completed, and we worked to fill it up. The anticipation around the sub grew as we all watched the fill line in the giant canister we had created for the ray grow higher and higher each day. Of course, we tested each batch before putting it in to ensure that no inactive batches mixed in with the rest, which is part of why it took so long.

But all good things come to those who wait.

As some of my henchmen filled the ray with Medusa Serum, others of us began working on action plans for kidnapping the penguins in all the world's zoos and aquariums. Oh yeah, we were going big. We needed to make sure it was done as quickly as possible, especially with North Wind in our tracks. So the easiest and most efficient way to initiate the kidnapping of as many penguins as possible as quickly as possible would be to station my henchmen around the world whenever we got close, waiting for the go ahead to begin.

Other henchmen prepared the holding room for all the penguins, stacks and stacks of cages beginning to fill one big room in my submarine.

Oh yeah, it's all coming together.

— § —

While the North Wind fumbled about interrogating an innocent sheep, my team and I continued with our work until the canister for the ray was filled to the top with Medusa Serum.

All of my henchmen stopped what they were doing and met me in the control room, where the ray was stationed, the giant canister sitting next to it. In my arm, I held a smaller canister full of Medusa Serum, the last batch we needed to fill the ray.

Ceremoniously, I unscrewed the lid to the canister and held it up for everyone to see.

"Well, everyone," I said loudly, my voice echoing through the silent room as all the henchmen held their breaths, watching intently, "we did it. After months of research and development, we have finally perfected the Medusa Serum and produced the amount we will need for our mission of turning all the penguins into mutants that the humans will absolutely hate and fear. We are so close to beginning the next phase of our operation."

The henchmen cheered, their blubbering excitedly reverberating around the room. Once they quieted again, I held the small canister higher as if in toast.

"Here's to us, and to our glorious future moving forward."

Slowly, I dumped the canister's contents into the ray, and it filled to the brim. Some other henchmen helped close it up.

"And now, for the final reveal," I said as I moved around to the front of the giant canister to admire our handiwork. "Billy, Joel, power it on, please."

Billy and Joel pulled the necessary switches, which raised the giant canister and lowered it into the ray, which closed shut with a hiss. Then it roared to life with a whine and we all watched in amazement as it began to glow an even more intense green and lift into position. One henchman asked me if I was going to test it.

I shook my head. "No, not yet. I'm confident it will work, and I know exactly when I want to test it."

I couldn't stop grinning or take my eyes off of the glorious masterpiece. Ironically, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"Everyone," I called over the electrical sounds as the canister reflected its green glow off my skin, "take the day off. Use it to rest up, and to celebrate. Tomorrow, we get to work."

— § —

I moved into the holding room while many of my henchmen turned in for the night, the night security team beginning their rounds about the submarine.

All around me were cages stacked so high they were halfway to the ceiling. All were empty, but I could just barely imagine them filled with penguins from all over the world. I had the sudden realization that I would be reuniting with penguins that had actually taken the spotlight from me over the years.

Realization hit harder when I realized that they would be arriving sooner rather than later.

A strange emptiness came over me that I couldn't describe. My eyes passed over the room again, and I remembered when I'd first entered this room after the submarine was built. I had it custom built, and this room was made specially for this reason. I had spent hours deliberating with my henchmen on how many cages would be enough for so many penguins.

I once again imagined the penguins filling the empty spaces between the bars of the cage, waiting for the excitement to take over me. But it never came. This was everything I wanted. Why wasn't I happy? I was on the edge of making all of my dreams come true.

I shook my head. Of course I wasn't happy yet. I wouldn't be happy until my dreams actually did come true. And that wouldn't happen until I actually executed my plan. I smiled and exhaled, turning and leaving the room.

Happiness was only just beyond my reach, and soon I would reach out and grasp it.

— § —

Note: Celebrity puns in this chapter were: Mariah Carrey, Bruce Willis, Joe/Kevin/Nick (The Jonas Brothers), and Kamala Harris, Billy Joel.

The quotes in this chapter were: "Science rules" was a subtle reference to Bill Nye the Science Guy; obviously, Dave's comment on how easy it would be for him to break the Wind was a reference to Agent Classified when he stated that no one breaks the Wind in the movie; "Oh yeah, it's all coming together," spoken by Kronk (portrayed by Patrick Warburton) in The Emperor's New Groove (2000). The "glorious future" Dave referenced was in reference to the penguins in the movie talking about their own glorious future in the beginning of the movie.

Also, when the North Wind interrogated the penguins in the movie, Agent Classified briefly showed an image of a building called the "Brine Marine Research Institute," so this was a real reference to the movie.