Unfinished Business part 5 (finale)

Caspian DuPont was born to a wealthy family in Vermont and was recognized as being highly intelligent at a young age. He went to a private school where he was consistently at the top of his class, he could play both the piano and the violin by the age of three, and when he got older, he simultaneously earned five different degrees in various sciences: bio-technology, nuclear physics, chemistry, mechanical-engineering, and quantum physics. He had a strong interest in political theory and often wrote essays that were published in a variety of magazines internationally. He often engaged in a variety of public and private debates, capable of delivering logical arguments that were always well-researched and reasoned. He also had interests in the arts, technology, and high-society. He had a lucrative job at IBM and had aspirations to own the company eventually. He was called many things by the public: Renaissance Man, Modern-day Prometheus, Arrogant, Unhinged, … a Potential Terrorist Threat.

Just as he was known for his vast intellect and talents, he was also known to be anti-social and temperamental. When his theories were questioned, it was not uncommon for him to immediately lose his temper and, in a few instances, become violent. He had no friends and needed no friends. Co-workers and classmates hated him. His earlier political statements were initially considered valid, but as he got older, his views became more extreme and only underground zines were bold enough to publish his works after a time. It didn’t matter. He knew he was right. He considered himself the pinnacle of human potential. Superior. The absolute zenith of what man could be capable of. He lost his job at IBM, but it didn’t matter as he was still independently wealthy and had the means of starting his own software company.

Then came the day of the Venice Technological Expo.

DuPont spoke at the expo to showcase his new computer innovations. He was insulted when few people were in attendance. His software developments were years ahead of every other company and it enraged him that he had been ignored. What’s more, Rex Robinson spoke at the same expo, offering his own software to interested investors. Most attendees made it a point to listen to his presentation. This wasn’t entirely what sent DuPont over the edge. It was the Il Gazzettino article that did it.

A Venetian reporter said that two American presenters impressed him the most: DuPont and Robinson. He made it a point to say that DuPont’s ideas would be more palatable if he were more pleasant. That didn’t bother him as he never had a desire to be pleasant to begin with. The reporter went on to say that “DuPont’s software is too rigid and difficult to upgrade, as if computer science would never progress past his ideas, which illustrates arrogance that gets in the way of innovation. By comparison, Robinson’s software is more adaptable and thus, superior.” That was what set him off.

DuPont re-christened himself Zenith, the Superior Man and used his vast intellect and wealth to create weapons and armor for himself. He killed the reporter in Italy and set out to destroy Rex Robinson, proving he was always the superior man. They fought for many years until Zenith placed himself in a comatose state in order to implant most of the world’s knowledge into his brain and finally defeat Robinson. When he woke up, the Resurgence had transpired and Robinson was given up to the U’ntari due to orchestrating an intergalactic war. Ryan Bennings was the one to put Zenith in prison where he eventually passed away. His final act was to send his brainwaves into a younger clone, one who had his skills and memories, but was physically stronger. Zenith decided to go after Ryan Bennings as well as Farrell Creed and the Cavalier. He reasoned that those three men were ultimately responsible for defeating Rex Robinson, so killing them would be an acceptable alternative to killing Robinson.

He kidnapped the three men and sent them on a series of quests. After being given a teleportation platform, they were sent to Belfast, London, and Strasbourg in order to solve a series of puzzles with escalating threats. It was Zenith’s hope that he would inevitably outsmart and kill them. That way, he would finally prove his superiority. Using a GPS device, he learned that they had passed the first three tests and were now ready for the final challenge. He suspected they would be coming to him soon.

He had a hidden base in Venice – fitting that his last act against his enemies would be the place where his start of darkness began. The underground bunker was also the place where his contest began. He walked past the cell he previously used to hold his enemies and moved through the sliding doors to a room containing an intricate series of pipes running through the walls and ceiling. In the center of a room, there was a large container with a hazard sticker on it and a set of multi-colored wires. Once his enemies arrived, the rules of the game would be simple: the device was programmed to release hazardous chemicals into the water supply of Venice. Considering the city was mostly canals, the device could easily poison millions of people in a short amount of time. Moreover, the moment the contest started, the device was set to go off in 24 hours. The room had patches of various colors along the pipes with corresponding numbers, indicating the proper order of removing the wires to shut off the machine. In the meantime, he would try to kill them. It was the perfect way to prove both physical and intellectual superiority. His life’s work would be complete.

There was a sudden, yet expected crackling in the air and Zenith turned at attention as if being called-in for an appointment. His teleportation platform appeared in a flash, coming to a rest in the center of the room as expected. What was curious was that the teleporter arrived empty. The device was capable of being sent to different locations without the need of a pilot, so that part wasn’t alarming. It was alarming that his enemies clearly deciphered the clues leading up to that moment and knew where to go. So why weren’t they present?

For a moment, he wondered if it was a mistake on their part. He found some satisfaction at knowing he understood the teleporter better than they did and was ready to declare victory by destroying Venice. But he knew better. They obviously mastered the teleporter well enough that they wouldn’t mistakingly send it to the correct location by itself. Were they attempting to escape? But why wouldn’t they use the teleporter for that? Furthermore, why bother sending it back to him? Clearly, they were sending a message.

He checked the teleporter’s console screen. It was previously used to provide clues during the contest. He wondered if they left a message for him. Sure enough, they did:

“Come find us if you’re not a coward.”

He thought about allowing the destruction of Venice in retaliation but that would be a hollow victory. The entire point of the contest was that it prove his superiority. They knew where to go, but refusing to take part in the final round was an insult. He now knew he had to find them and kill them. He knew they were provoking him, but backing down from their challenge would not prove his superiority. If anything, killing them while they had a tactical advantage was exciting. What better way to prove himself?

First, he went to the large device connected to the water supply. He casually began removing the wires in a particular order, then he stepped confidently onto the teleporter. He disappeared in a flash after typing in a set of coordinates and when he reappeared, he was in a forested area surrounding an old, abandoned mansion in Strasbourg, France. His armor picked up a signal from a GPS device nearby and he stomped trough the bushes until he came to a grassy cliffside overlooking the European city. The device lay neatly among some stones.

“The contest hasn’t stopped,” Zenith called out, “You know very well where you’re meant to be right now!”

“Yeah, Venice,” Ryan Benning’s voice came from the trees somewhere, “You made it too obvious. Once I realized we had to go there, I remembered hearing your little villian origin story from Rex years ago. You were embarrassed at an expo in Venice and then you decided to be an asshole… or a bigger asshole than you already were anyway.”

“We knew you’d be waiting there to fight us out of some sense of closure,” the Cavalier’s voice came from another direction, “I’m surprised you weren’t more clever.”

Zenith grit his teeth, “You realize I plan to poison the canals of Venice if you don’t return.”

“Pretty sure that’s bullshit,” Farrell Creed’s voice was in yet another area of the woods.

“How did you come to that conclusion, Mr. Creed?”

“You’re crazy, but that ain’t your MO. You want us to die try’n to stop ya because it strokes your ego. It ain’t fun for you to just start kill’n.”

“Very well, gentlemen. I have decided on another challenge,” sections of Zenith’s gauntlets began to glow along with his belt, “You must survive me!”

Zenith was lifted off the ground by his belt and he zipped back toward the trees. He caught a glimpse of black armor ducking behind a log, so he stopped and hovered, blowing the leaves beneath him. His palm lit up and he took aim at the Cavalier’s hiding spot. Then came laser blasts from far away. Ryan Bennings fired his energy pistol, each bolt bouncing off Zenith’s force field. Zenith turned and angrily released a beam of energy. Ryan’s own personal forcefield allowed him to take the explosion but he was still sent rolling along the underbrush. With Zenith’s back turned, Creed dropped down from a tree, armed with the large blade he took from the villain Mirth. The tip bounced off the forcefield and Zenith spun, slapping the blade from his grip before slamming a fist against his chest. Creed was sent past the trees and disappeared. Cavalier finally emerged from behind the log with a hard-light shield. The shield deflected an energy beam and then shifted into a quarter staff that hit the forcefield, sweeping Zenith’s legs out from under him.

In another section of the forest, Ryan Bennings crouched by Zenith’s teleporter near the old mansion. He used a magnetic screwdriver to pop the console open and began plucking at the platform’s insides. Creed joined him.

“Sure you know what to do with that thing?” he asked.

“I’ve had plenty of time to study it. If I can’t hot-wire it now, we deserve to lose.”

“Listen, I lost the sword and I don’t have my gun. I need a weapon.”

Without looking back, Ryan tossed his energy pistol to Creed, “Have fun, kiddo.”

Not far away, Cavalier summoned a double bladed battle axe and swung it across Zenith’s chest. The forcefield deflected it, but it still pushed him back. Zenith’s tried to fire a blast, but Cavalier slammed the axe against his gauntlet, forcing him to send a beam into the rocky cliff nearby. Zenith back-fisted the knight across his helmet, throwing him against a tree trunk. The Cavalier rolled out of the way as a second blast was released, which blew the tree in half. Creed raced to their location, firing the energy pistol. Zenith gave him an annoyed glare as the bolts bounced off his defenses and he raised his palm to fire another beam. Creed threw the weapon directly at the gauntlet just in time and the next blast hit it. The small but powerful explosion that followed threw Zenith on his back. Creed helped Cavalier to his feet and they both raced back toward the mansion with Zenith hot on their heels.

Zenith briefly lost sight of them, but the disturbed plants and the sound of crunching branches told him everything he needed to know. Moments later, he flew through the bushes and came to a stop. There, he found Ryan standing next to the teleporter but there were no signs of his allies.

“I know you men lured me out here for a direct confrontation,” he told Ryan.

“And yet, you couldn’t help yourself,” Ryan responded, “Ego is such a fragile thing.”

“Step away from my teleporter.”

Zenith paced to the opposite side of the platform and raised a single, glowing palm. Before he could fire, Creed and the Cavalier appeared from behind a tree. Cavalier’s long shield materialized across his forearm. Creed, meanwhile, held on to his shoulders, clearly reading himself for something. Zenith turned his attention to the two men just as Creed threw Cavalier into the air. Catapulted by Creed’s great strength, Cavalier held his shield firm; soon, the surface of the shield slammed into Zenith, knocking him down. Zenith fell onto the platform and before he could get up, Ryan pulled a lever. Zenith gasped as the platform lit up. He tried to escape, but it was too late. Both he and the teleporter disappeared in a flash.

Less than a second later, another flash emerged in the Gobi Desert. Sand was blown by a sudden wind and the hot sun beat down on Zenith as he took in his surroundings. Besides the twin dunes on either side of him, he saw little else but sand. He checked the console of his teleporter to determine his location, but was horrified to see a black screen. He frantically began pressing buttons and pulling the lever but the device was unresponsive. Quickly removing a panel, he checked the wiring and a whiff of smoke escaped. The teleporter platform had been crudely rewired in such a way that the device would likely overheat and cause a complete systemic failure with the next teleportation. Ryan Bennings sabotaged the machine and being in a desert, he had no way to repair it. Zenith angrily raised a hand and fired a bolt that blasted the platform in several pieces. He removed the cape from his armor and wrapped it around his bald head to protect him from the sun. Then, he slowly turned and began his trek across a barren landscape.

Back in Europe, Ryan Bennings and his allies waited for a ship. Hyperion’s Light was summoned via autopilot. Now that Zenith was no longer forcing them into a contest, they had plenty of time to wait for the aircraft. Once inside, Ryan Bennings alerted authorities in Venice to Zenith’s underground base so that they can disarm his weapon. After that, he flew the Cavalier and Creed back to their homes.

“We should do this again sometime,” Ryan told them sarcastically.

“Yeah, good times,” Creed sneered.

Cavalier smiled under his helmet, “I’ll see you guys when I see you.”

When Ryan returned to his home, it was night time and he was exhausted after not having any sleep for 24 hours. When he got there, he noticed a car waiting on the private road leading up to the front forcefield gate. The ship’s scanners identified the license plate as a rental car belonging to Mackenzie Fellows, which intrigued him since, a day earlier, he sent Labrat to her offices to keep him out of harm’s way. He deactivated the field and landed the ship next to his house while she drove her car the rest of the way. She got out alongside Labrat and the two entered the metal gate to speak to Ryan on the lawn.

Labrat greeted him with a worried expression, “Ryan, you look like you were in a fight.”

“I was,” he answered tiredly, then addressed Mackenzie, “Hey.”

“Hi,” she responded but was cut off before she could speak further.

“Before we begin, I’d like to point out that I sent Labrat to your office because I thought we were moments away from an attack and he had just gotten out of the hospital that day. We were talking about a movie and your name came up, so that was my go-to.”

“I figured as much,” she answered, “I’m not mad. Are you okay?”

“I’ve spent the past 24 hours being tested both mentally and physically because some megalomaniac decided to make his insecurities a global crisis instead of going to therapy… So I’ve had better days. How’re you?”

“I’m glad you and Labrat are alive. And I’ll be honest, making a movie was an interesting prospect to me once Labrat and I got to talking.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we talked all day,” Labrat informed him happily.

Mackenzie gave Ryan a cheeky smile, “You realize half of what you get away with is because of Labrat, don’t you?”

“His lovability is the reason many of my relationships lasted as long as they did, it’s true.”

“Labrat told me about his worldview and I was intrigued.”

“… And so you decided to make a Brain Boy movie?”

“No,” She shook her head, “I decided to make a Labrat movie.”

Ryan blinked a few times, “You did what now?”

Labrat spoke helpfully, “She liked what I had to say so we’re gonna make a movie together.”

Ryan couldn’t make up his mind on who to look at so he kept looking back and forth at them, “So a Labrat movie is in the works.”

“We’re officially in post-production,” Mackenzie told him.

He decided to look at Labrat, “And you’re okay with this?”

“Yep.”

Ryan shrugged, “Well, I guess we got a movie.”

“We sure do.”

Mackenzie took hold of Ryan’s arm and led him to his house, “I would go over particulars of the contract but it looks like you’re about to fall over.”

“It certainly feels that way.”

“Get some rest. We’ll negotiate in the morning.”

“Okay, we can do that…,” Ryan gave her a wry smile, “… But just so ya know, it doesn’t mean we’re getting back together.”

Mackenzie laughed, “I’ll try to contain my disappointment. Good night, Ryan.”

Next: The Canary returns… and he’s not alone!