6 Episode 6: Divine Deception

"I'm inside," Director Hush told Microchip. Microchip was too busy on his end to respond. "Hey," Director Hush growled. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes. My system received the updates and now we can talk with over two thousand miles of Earth between us."

"What about Super Dick," Hush asked as he moved carefully though the darkened room.

"I can piggy back an update package off your line of site once you get in range. What do you see?"

"I think I'm inside a mosque. There's a wall marked with a mihrab, indicating the direction of Mecca."

"How can you know that, you're blind."

"I felt it with my fingers."

"Oh."

"But I can also see it. Odd thing. When I lost my eye sight I did go blind, but it's as if my mind makes up the difference for me, and I can still see things. Images. Outlines mostly of all colors."

"Any indication of your mole, Agent Hannah?"

"Not yet."

Director Hush glanced upward. The lines his mind created for him told him that he was inside a large dome.

"I'm in the prayer hall right now, a huge prayer hall at that."

"Is that odd…or odder than a mosque located two thousand feet underground?"

"Large mosques are built for towns and cities. It just makes we wonder who Divine built this for if it's not for a large group of people?"

Doctor Divine built this for a very special person, director. You'll see.

Hush walked through an open doorway and entered another room, this one just as grand, dark, and majestic as the prayer hall. At the center stood a magnificent fountain, spouting water out of the mouth of babies.

"I must be in the ablutions area, now. It's where Muslim's perform wudu before prayer. This place is amazing. It's built for a city. I can't even imagine the technology that did all this and I'm the director of UNCLE SAM. Any luck on finding Chronologicus? In case something goes sideways, it sure would be nice to have a reset button."

"Nothing yet. I have every satellite we own combined, scanning the globe."

"Well, we can't wait for him. What is that sound?"

Now we are getting to the good stuff. Keep exploring, Hush...I dare you.

Director Hush continued walking until he slid walked right through a wall. He emerged inside a pristine white laboratory decked out with equipment he had never seen before. Confused, he walked back through the wall and entered the ablutions area. He turned back around and entered the lab once again.

"The wall is a hologram divider," Director Hush said, amazed.

"What did you say," Microchip asked. You can hear the imp pecking away at his keyboard.

"Never mind. I'm in a lab, now. Cutting edge and beyond. What do we have here?"

I know you're blind, director, but it took it long enough. Hush placed his hand on the glass of the ten foot tall pod. The air bubbles roiling inside vibrated his hand. The glass was warm, almost too hot to touch. Inside, a man floated in fluids with wires and tubes connected all over his body.

"Divine has someone in a stasis pod. Male, not my…not Agent Hannah."

The ground rumbled underfoot. You better hold on to something, Hush, we're going for a ride, destination, topside.

It felt like an earthquake. Shelves filled with books emptied themselves. Chairs rolled across the floor and tables rammed into others. Millions of dollars, maybe billions of dollars' worth of scientific equipment crashed and toppled over.

The man inside the pod awakened and his one cybernetic eye glowed red.

I will go ahead and describe the pod man for you since the loser in the point of view is blind.

Most of his face was still bone and skull with strands of muscle, tendons, and skin connecting in random places leaving massive areas of bone exposed. He was missing most of his teeth and his left hand had been replaced with a cybernetic one. The right hand is nearly nonexistent. His body had been reinforced with a cybernetic implants which were protected by a special metal. The body was nearly complete in regrowth.

Doctor Divine's initial plan was to rejuvenate his patient by growing skin, replacing bone with cybernetic enhancements, and more…the job was done mostly. But thanks to Super Dick and Director Hush, plans had to change. Let's take this outside to see what's happening.

The ground fractured like a bone and widened. Cloud City shook under the force of what was happening to Cinder Forest. Skyscrapers swayed, children and their parents at nearby Cinder Park scurried like headless chickens. Were their deaths? Sure, mainly the fatty's. One guy in a wheelchair, but what was he doing at the park anyway?

The green dome emerged out of the chasm first. The mosque was a massive four million square feet, or ninety-one acres. No need to check with SIRI, I already did.

Helicopters brandishing their news channels logo on the side were circling the structure within minutes. Let's go back inside the mosque. I think you have enough detail on what's taking place outside. Do I need to explain in detail the towers of gold and emerald and the lines of ruby in the walls so you understand the majesty? I just want to get to the deaths of the old blind man and the super dick. Sue me!

Look at this, I was so busy giving you needless details that the man inside the pod had escaped and is holding Director Hush in the air by his throat.

When did Captain North America arrive? Super Dick is laying on the ground, looking as close to death one can without being dead.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Captain North America shouted. He must be speaking to Microchip through his very own hidden ear device.

"I'm scanning him," Microchip replied. A short moment later he said, "I don't know how Super Dick is alive. If anyone else had this much blood drained from them they would be dead."

"Come on, Micro…tell me something. What can I do?"

"I…don't know how to help him."

"Well you gotta think of something!"

A moment of silence here because the imp is thinking.

"I think I know what to do."

"Good! What?"

"When Super Dick hired me, he made me sign a contract. It held every conceivable situation you could think of. He said he had thought of every possible scenario in which I would be needed to rescue him. I had to sign it. That was me agreeing that if those scenarios ever happened I would save him, and the contract explained how to do it. Even this one. I remember what it says! All we have to do is give him time."

"Time?"

"I have to make a call. Captain? Did you hear me? Give him time."

It was too late, Doctor Divine had engaged the star spangled clown from the air atop his hover disk.

The platform the mad scientist flew on was even bigger than the last one.

Divine blasted chaotic electrified beams but they missed their target. I didn't realize how nimble Captain North America is. Look at him, back flipping and vaulting off walls to avoid being hit. Huh, who knew. Well, I suppose you didn't know because I didn't tell you. Captain North America is a powerhouse. I just hate to admit it.

Captain North America flipped around, twisting in the air and landed on one hand, continuing his momentum away from Super Dick, most likely so he wouldn't get hit. The captain knew Super Dick was invulnerable, but in the state he's in, he thought anything could be possible.

Hey, what are you doing, Divine? Kill Super Dick!

Doctor Divine paused in mid glide, targets were locked on Captain North America, hovering in the air midway between the two superheroes.

"What was that sound," Doctor Divine said, convinced that he had heard something. And you did, you imbecile! Me!

Yes! Doctor Divine is turning to Super Dick. Look at him laying there, helpless. He looks pale and dead already. Might as well make it official, again…Chronologicus won't be coming to the rescue this time.

Doctor Divine hovered above Super Dick and aimed his most powerful weapon on board, his dark matter torpedo.

Captain North America landed on the platform and punched the doctor in the gut. The floor of the hover disk electrified, sending muscle spasms up the captain's legs and body all the way to his fingertips. Divine pulled a small gun from his lower back and shot the captain with a blinding blue bolt, sending him flying across the room…then the mad scientist turned his full attention to our main character.

"Ten years, Super Dick. Ten years I plotted and studied and expanded my brain power tenfold."

What are you doing? Don't talk. Kill the bastard!

"You were my greatest foe, Super Dick. You were strong, fast, and I admit, brave. But you always had one quality that vexed me. Luck. Which is why I spent the last decade preparing for this singular day. Your luck has run out."

Orange sparks popped all around Super Dick and Doctor Divine, then the portals opened.

Who do we have here trying to crash the party? ManWolf, the werewolf gun toting madman. The rocket launcher he came in with mounted on his shoulder fired its rocket, sending a single shot that split into a dozen smaller ones. Doctor Divine disengaged Super Dick and moved to evade the explosions.

Tokyo Drift, the tiny Asian speedster came forth from his portal at a hundred miles an hour with the magical bow of the Asian God, Hou Yi, whom the superhero is descended from, already aimed at Doctor Divine. The bolt Tokyo Drift let loose slammed into the bottom of Doctor Divine's Hover Disk. Sparks fly, and flame and smoke followed.

An Eagle emerged from another portal. An Eagle…that could only be the animal shifting Twitter king himself, @totemdaddy69. That is his actual superhero name, by the way. And I will continue to call him by his full name because I don't want you to forget how stupid he is.

The Eagle morphed into the most dangerous of his incarnations, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. @totemdaddy69's t-rex form clamped down on the platform and bit it in two. The dinosaur ignored the explosion and spat the large piece in his mouth away. Doctor Divine fell to the floor, unconscious. What happened next would give Steven Spielberg wet dreams…a furious roar straight from Jurassic Park ensued.

And Microchip. It's not often you see the little goblin out and about. What are you doing?

The midget knelt beside the nearly dead Super Dick and cupped the back of his head in his left hand as he administered a liquid from a…Mountain Dew bottle? Super Dick's lips came back with color, then the corners turned in a smile.

"The nectar of the Gods," Super Dick said, sounding more like an old man than the greatest superhero in the world.

"You remembered the contract?"

"I did, you weirdo. Sometimes you need to tell me why this works."

"Will do, little buddy. Will do."

@totemdaddy69, in bear form, sauntered up with an unconscious Doctor Divine draped over his massive back. Tokyo Drift and ManWolf were on either side.

Super Dick stood and greeted his old friends. All of them, except for Microchip that is, grew up on the street when they were kids. Childhood friends, all of which are now superheroes…this is my nightmare.

"Thanks for coming," Super Dick said to all of them.

"We had to," Tokyo Drift said. "You made us all sign contracts."

"Damn that TV show," @totemdaddy69 laughed, still in bear form.

Super Dick chuckled, "Big Bang Theory is awesome. Well, let's open a portal and get Divine to UNCLE SAM and his new home for the foreseeable future."

"Not yet," Microchip told him. "Director Hush teleported in earlier to find you and Agent Hannah. We need to locate them first."

Tokyo Drift pointed up and said, "that must be the director."

All their heads turned at once. Floating high in the air was Director Hush hung from the massive robot hand around the back of his neck.

"Who the hell is that," @totemdaddy69 growled.

For the first time since the year 632, he spoke. In Arabic, of course. Use your imagination, what little you have.

"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained his desire. And what is the life of this world except for enjoyment of delusion."

"What was all that," @totemdaddy69 asked, still in his bear form. "What language was it?"

"Arabic," Doctor Divine replied. He had gotten off the back of @totemdaddy69 and stood next to Tokyo Drift. "With the blood of Super Dick, the blood of a modern day God and my technology, he has risen as a God himself…The Prophet Muhammad."

"More like Cyborg Zombie Prophet Muhammad," @totemdaddy69 countered.

"He coined it," Super Dick said. "That's his name now, no matter what."

Uh oh…cliffhanger!