Read Origins of a D-List Supervillain Online
Authors: Jim Bernheimer
The powercell bomb bounced to where several of the Olympians were positioned at the entrance to the pharmacy. Ares didn’t hesitate to pounce on it as the weapon detonated.
The others were scattered like bowling pins by the force of the explosion. I didn’t linger to see if I’d done any lasting damage to the Olympian and turned on the afterburners. They’d be after me in moments. Apollo was already heading for his chariot. Aphrodite and Zeus were mounting the hoversleds.
All I’d have to do is make it to the waterfront and do my swim to freedom. Just a few more miles.
“Energy signature closing rapidly,” the suit warned.
I tried to evade, but I only managed to avoid a direct hit from Apollo. It was enough to send me crashing into a warehouse. Silencing the master alarm and looking at my depleted energy levels, I didn’t like my odds, but was kind of in shock that I’d held on this long. Of course they weren’t in full control of their faculties, so it wasn’t exactly like I was getting them at the top of their game.
I fired my blasters and opened a hole in the wall, intending to go through it and stopped. Instead, I shot a hole into the next one as well and squeezed into a janitor’s closet and hid, hoping they would think I went out the hole and chase me that way. The minimal shielding I had left should keep Aphrodite from detecting me. Zeus was another matter, but my power levels were so low that he might also miss me.
Doing a quick diagnostic, I heard a death knell in my mind. There was a breech in the armor on the back of my leg that I only now noticed. If I went into the Gulf, the suit would flood and short out. I wouldn’t be coming out alive. I stuffed a wad of rags into the crack in my armor that would hopefully prevent one of those bugs from crawling inside and taking me over.
I heard movement outside, and peeked through the crack in the door. Hermes was rushing around the room and searching in a random manner. I gently shut the door and tried to figure out an option that got me out of here intact.
Nothing came to mind. I couldn’t even locate any power to recharge my suit. I didn’t want to go out like this, but even my self-destruct was gone.
I’m so screwed.
Cal Stringel’s adventure continues in the already released, smash hit,
Confessions of a D-List Supervillain.
Look for the third installment of the series in the fall of 2014.
About the Author
Jim Bernheimer is the author of several novels and the publisher and editor of three anthologies. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with his wife and two daughters while writing whatever four out of the five voices in his head agree on. Visit his website at
www.jimbernheimer.com
Other Books by the Author
Horror, Humor, and Heroes Volume I
Horror, Humor, and Heroes Volume II
Horror, Humor, and Heroes Volume III
Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman
Dead Eye 2: The Skinwalker Conspiracies
Spirals of Destiny Book One: Rider
Spirals of Destiny Book Two: Sorceress
Prime Suspects: A Clone Detective Mystery
and
Confessions of a D-List Supervillain
The best is yet to come!
Table of Contents
Object Lessons in the Mirror are Closer than They Appear
ManaCALes is Not a Stupid Name
ManaCALes Versus the Biloxi Bugler
Crappy Escape Plans For the Win
Of Better Guns and High Performance Vibrators
My Mouth Tends to Get Me in Trouble
She Who Hesitates
The Kansas City Caper
Stops on the Cal Stringel Revenge Tour
A Familiar, Yet Unfamiliar Face
Love and Other Clever Ambushes
The False Promise of a Better Tomorrow
Banned from Vegas Through No Fault of my Own
A Pain in My ASH
HORDES Spelled Backwards is FAIL
Maybe the End of the World isn’t Such a Good Idea