The Great Powers Outage (30 page)

MagnoBox was another of the original members of the League of Goodness, along with the Bee Lady, my two hosts, and Zephyr, who died several years ago. MagnoBox could broadcast real-time events on the TV that sat atop his shoulders.

“We took a page right out of the Red Menace's playbook,” Lord Pincushion explained. “In the same way that he had used Captain Radio to spread his message to all Superopolis, MagnoBox did him one better. Television was a new technology in those days, and not one the Red Menace fully understood.”

“It proved his downfall,” the Animator commented.

“Indeed,” agreed Pincushion. “We let the Menace capture us, and in the process he fell right into our trap. Not understanding MagnoBox's power, he told us everything he truly thought about the people of Superopolis and explained exactly how he planned to manipulate them. MagnoBox broadcast the whole thing, and the whole city finally saw the truth.”

“That broke his spell and the Red Menace was finished,” the Animator concluded.

“I don't suppose it would work again?” I asked. It was a long shot, but I needed some way to get my message out now that the mayor wasn't an option.

“Unlikely.” Lord Pincushion shook his head. “MagnoBox is too old and has most likely lost his power as well. And the Red Menace would never fall for the same trick again anyway.”

“I wasn't thinking of MagnoBox,” I said as I pulled out my copy of the
Li'l Hero's Handbook
. “I was thinking of Captain Radio.”

I flipped to his entry, but then quickly realized how impossible that idea would be.

LI'L HERO'S HANDBOOK

PEOPLE

NAME:
Captain Radio.
POWER:
Possessing all the powers of radio waves, the Captain could broadcast over them, pick up their transmissions, and travel instantaneously by way of them.
LIMITATIONS:
A failure to understand the full reach of his abilities.
CAREER:
The greatest hero of his generation, his reputation was destroyed when he became the unwitting accomplice of the Red Menace.
CLASSIFICATION:
Riding the airwaves from supreme arrogance to utter humiliation left Captain Radio a broken man till the day he died.

“I'm afraid he's been dead for decades,” the Animator explained. “He never did recover from the humiliation of having aided the Red Menace. He lived for quite some time after that event, but his career and reputation were destroyed. He died a very bitter man.”

“Of course, that doesn't mean he can't still help us,” Lord Pincushion said to my complete shock as he rose from his seat. “I think it's time we paid him a visit.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Cold Storage

The sun had set and the moon was sitting high in the sky as I followed close behind the Animator and Lord Pincushion. They both moved slowly as we made our way to the industrial park in the southern part of town.

What they had in mind was a complete mystery to me. One minute they were talking about how Captain Radio was dead, and the next they were discussing what he may be able to do to bring down the Red Menace. Had senility caught up with the two elderly heroes? That suspicion grew stronger as we came to a halt in front of the Corpsicle Coolant Corporation.

“My mom works here!” I exclaimed.

“Does she?” the Animator asked in surprise. “Do you know what she does?”

“She freezes things.” I shrugged. “That's her power.”

The two heroes exchanged a knowing glance before turning and heading up the main sidewalk toward the entrance. When we got to the front door, it was obvious the building was closed for the evening. That didn't stop Lord Pincushion though, who rolled up his sleeve to reveal that he still had one sharp item stuck in his forearm—a thin, delicate pick.

“This should do the trick,” he said. With lightning-like speed he inserted the pick in the lock of the door and in only a second had it opened. “Quick, let's get inside.”

The three of us entered and found ourselves in a dark lobby. I had never actually been inside the place where my mother worked. I looked around, but it was difficult to make out my surroundings in the dimly lit space. As best I could tell, it looked about as warm and inviting as a dentist's office. My two coconspirators quickly headed for another door and I hurried to stay with them.

“The Corpsicle Coolant Corporation is involved in a number of businesses. I fear it may be a bit of a surprise to you as to what one of them actually is,” Lord Pincushion explained as we made our way down a long, sterile-looking corridor and stopped in front of a large, thick door. “But it really isn't so strange if you think about it.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, and my curiosity only grew as he pulled open the door and a blast of chilled air hit us head-on. Without additional comment, Lord Pincushion entered the room, and I followed him. The Animator brought up the rear. We were now standing in another long corridor, this one lined with glass doors, not unlike the frozen foods section of the Mighty Mart.

As I looked through the first of the glass doors, I realized this was no grocery store. The case held the body of a man—and he was completely frozen. What's more, I recognized him. It was Zephyr. Only he had died fifteen years ago.

“W-what's going on here?” I asked in alarm. “Is that really Zephyr?”

“It is.” Lord Pincushion nodded somberly. “Shortly before he died, he made the decision to be frozen. As did all these other heroes and even a few villains.”

He waved his arm down the extensive row of glass coolers, and my jaw dropped.

“But why?” was all I was able to say. “And how?”

“For an opportunity to live again, of course,” the Animator explained.

“At some point a hero will come along who has the ability to cure the incurable,” Lord Pincushion explained. “Or, more amazingly, restore life.”

“The Zombie Master was able to do that—sort of,” the Animator interjected.

“Well, yes, but that was a rather unfortunate incident,” Lord Pincushion said, dismissing the comment. “We're talking true life. And that's what these individuals are all patiently awaiting.”

He hadn't answered the “how” part of my question, but he didn't need to. I couldn't believe my mother did something so
cool
and had never told me about it! The two older heroes led me down the central corridor of the chamber. As I rubbed my bare arms in an attempt to stay warm, I glanced at the frozen figures. I didn't recognize any of them after Zephyr—until we reached a specific case and my tour guides came to a halt. The hero behind the glass may have been frozen solid, but I recognized him immediately. It was Captain Radio.

For a moment, I wondered again why we were here. And then I remembered the Animator's power and what he had done with that vase of wilted roses. An instant later, the frozen corpse of Captain Radio slowly began to open its eyes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Dead Giveaway

There was a light morning fog all around me as I stood below Stench's window and tossed pebbles at it. It only took three before his head appeared at the window. From the way he was rubbing his eyes, I could tell that I had woken him up.

“What's going on?” he said, partly curious and partly annoyed. “You know it's seven A.M., don't you?”

I knew. My parents had been up even earlier. They, the rest of the New New Crusaders, and now the laid-off members of the League of Ultimate Goodness were getting an early start at Dr. Telomere's Potato Chip Factory.

“It's an emergency,” I said, whispering as loudly as I could. “Get dressed and meet me at headquarters.”

Ten minutes later as I sat in our tree house base of operations, Stench's head popped through the entrance in the floor, his hair still a rumpled mess.

“This better be good,” he said as he stifled a yawn.

“It's incredibly important,” I explained. “I've found out that the Red Menace is definitely behind everybody's stolen powers, and we're the only ones who can stop him.”

“It's AI's chips.” Stench smacked a fist into his hand. “I knew it.”

“Right,” I said. That was the story I needed everybody to believe. “And this morning he's planning on getting AI to sign the chip business over to him altogether. Once that happens, it might be impossible to stop him.”

“Can't we just tell everybody the chips are taking away their powers?” he asked.

“You saw how difficult it's been to get people to stop eating them even when we tell them face-to-face,” I said. “I even tried to find Mayor Whitewash, so he could convince everyone, but the Red Menace still has him under his power.”

“I see the problem,” Stench said, deep in thought, as he turned for the first time toward the club's couch. It was only then that he noticed the figure seated there covered with a sheet.

“What the heck is this?!” he said in alarm.

“This is how we're going to destroy the PseudoChip business once and for all,” I grinned. I probably should have explained in more detail, but before I could Stench lifted up a corner of the sheet.

“Aaahhh!” he practically screamed as he leaped away from the couch. “There's a dead guy under here!”

The noise he made had to be audible for at least four square blocks. I probably would have laughed if I hadn't been concerned about attracting unwanted attention.

“Well, yeah,” I admitted, “I guess you could look at it that way.”

“Who is he?” he asked as he stayed safely away from the couch.

“This is Captain Radio,” I explained as I removed the sheet entirely. The corpse had thawed and was creating a puddle on the floor and a big wet spot on the couch. “He's the last person the Red Menace will expect.”

“Obviously,” Stench said, still horrified. “He's dead! Have you gone insane? And what is he even doing here?”

“He walked here last night,” I replied, knowing that I sounded completely nuts. “The Animator revived him. He was frozen, though, so he wasn't moving very fast. By the time we got to our neighborhood, we decided it was best to stash him here for the night and let him thaw out. Despite the difficulty of getting him up here.”