Heavy Metal Solo (IC, Solo)

[Supercape]

January 5th 2011

"Liebniz!"

"Quill!"

The two professors gave each other steely looks as they crossed paths outside the engineering institute. Quentin rarely ventured into this area. It was more Liebniz' field - and Liebniz' territory. And Quentin Quill always tried to avoid Liebniz whenever he could.

The two men had been, if not exactly mortal enemies, arch-academic-rivals ever since Quentin had arrived in Freedom City to take his chair in Physics two years ago. There only moment of relative serenity was when they had been forced to collaborate when an underwater excursion had almost ended in disaster.

However, there was some new laser powered fusion equipment, something that both of them wanted a look at. Quentin out of interest, Liebniz to milk some papers and prestige from. Both eyed each other up suspiciously.

The engineer, a Japanese scientist who had come to show off the engineering that had been developed in Tokyo, explained the workings of the device.

"Hands off this one, Quill! this is my department!" sneered Liebniz.

"Come on, Liebniz... its for the whole university...." replied Quill, as gently and calmly as he could.

Without hearing either of the two mumbling professors, the demonstration began.

As the laser's fired, and the controlled fusion reaction began, the lights reflected in Liebniz eye's... which had glazed over, hypnotised by the power they beheld...

[Supercape]

Many Months Later...

May 30th, Freedom City University...

Ring ring!

The phone in professor Quill's office rang nearly off its hook. Quentin nearly jumped. It hardly ever rang. It was all e mails and mobile phones these days.

"Professor Quill? Is that you? Could you come to the medical centre? Its Liebniz..."

Liebniz?

"Er...yes...but what's this about, I am no doctor?"

"I know professor" came the reply "but you probably no more about this than I do, it seems the old man has gone and irradiated himself. It's beyond me what he has done..."

What the?

"Stay away from him! I'll be right there!"

Thankful his tweed jacket and trousers were actually made from unstable quantum molecules, actually his supercape costume, and would therefore protect him from low level radiation, Professor Quentin Quill rushed as fast as he could to the medical bay, to be greeted by Doctor Vecht.

"He has vomited twice, looks a bit white... but not too ill. I don't know what to do, quarantine the place? he keeps saying he is fine, nothing to worry about... I need your help, professor..."

Quentin walked in, and took a look at Liebniz. The man looked pretty much as he always did, a little whiter, a little more frail, but not ill. However, Quentin's superhuman senses could quickly see that he was surrounded by a low level radioactive field, potentially lethal, if one was to be in contact with it too long.

Flicking through the man's medical records, and scientific notes, he remarked to Vecht. "Stay way from him, no touching or physical contact - you may get radiation poisoning otherwise..."

Turning to Liebniz, he spluttered out angrily.

"Liebniz you idiot! what have you done this time?"

[Supercape]

The next day...

"Liebniz, for pity's sake, this has gone far enough!"

Quentin Quill slammed his fist down on Liebniz desk. It took a lot to make him angry, and he had no love for Liebniz, but the whole situation was becoming insane. Liebniz wife had to be taken to hospital overnight with radiation poisoning. He had blamed himself.

Liebniz paused slightly.

"Rest assured, that will not happen again" he replied tight lipped.

"The. situation. Is. Totally. Under. Control. " He said firmly, with steel in his voice.

And the same radioactive glow... is that under control? asked Quentin to himself.

"What on earth did you do to yourself?"

Liebniz just gave the man a sneer.

"Atomic energy - atomic power! its the future, I would have thought even someone of your inferior calibre would understand that, Quill... have you seen what that ridiculous hero Supercape does? the man is clearly an idiot of the finest calibre, but he does hint at what is possible with biological constructs, if only we can harness it..."

He is half right, but on the wrong track... conceded Quill.

"And?" questioned Quentin.

"...and so, I decided to experiment... and here I am..." said Liebniz, drawing himself up to his full, rather limited height.

"...and before you get all high and mighty about it, it was my choice, my glory, and my genius. And its none of your business. And so, before you steal any more of my intellectual property, I bid you goodbye!"

And with that, Liebniz slammed the door.

[Supercape]

The day after...

Supercape was at the Lab, looking at research on biogenetic radioactivity. He was already pretty familiar with the research, but wanted to be sure. He had popped up to the medical bay and some of the research stations to run a few preliminary tests.

Something was wrong with Liebniz. Worse still, he had used Supercape as inspiration!

Vworp Vworp!

The alarm signalled through on the intercom. Supercape dashed to the nearest computer and touched the screen. Something was up! a disturbance at the fusion laser system at the university. This was a job for Supercape!

Even as he flew off, he felt a nagging horror that Liebniz could be involved. It was the very system that the odious professor had used to experiment on himself...

[Supercape]

Supercape landed at the University with an almighty swish of his cape.

"Supercape, thank goodness you are here!" shouted out Billy Dreck, the head porter of the campus.

"There is... something in the building... its turned on that new Japanese thing! sucking out all the power to the university, and for a few blocks around I don't wonder! it...looks real weird...real weird! any ways, I got all the kids and the geeks...I mean the scientists, outta there as fast as I could..."

"Thanks, Bil...I mean, thanks Citizen!" said Supercape, saluting the hard working porter. "Now stand back, and get these people as far as way as possible!"

With that, Supercape strode into the building. He could sense the energy pouring in from the city in vast levels, straight into the new laser system. He could sense, too, the controlled fusion reaction ahead.

And he could sense a familiar energy signature too.

"Liebniz!"

But it was not Liebniz.

Instead, he was faced with a being of pure metal, the same shape and size as LIebniz, and emitting the same radiation, drinking in the power emitted from the fusion reaction in front of him.

"Forgot that fool!" roared the thing. Supercape could sense the man's mass. He was heavy. Very heavy. Aproximatly the density of...uranium?

"I am something much greater! Behold!!! I am HEAVY METAL! HAHAHAHA!"

[Supercape]

Heavy Metal stomped towards a shocked Supercape, the ground cracking beneath his feet. Whilst he looked somewhat reluctant to drag himself away from his feast of radioactive energy, he looked extremely pleased to meet and great Supercape.

"So pleased to meet you, Supercape, isn't it? You pathetic idiot! Half baked fool! Dipping your toe into the forces of the atom with no idea of its potential... the potential being ME! hahahaha!"

"Now I really am sorry...I must destroy you for being so annoying, and getting it all wrong...because you see, your ridiculous powers must have slightly altered the calibration of my experiment... slight flaws in the process. Nothing that can't be corrected of course. But very vexing. I am afraid you have to die for that. "

He clumsily swung his fists into Supercape, who ducked under them.

My word! he means it!

Flicking a few key atoms this way and that, Supercape unleashed a powerful bath of radiation onto the man, hoping to blast him back to his senses.

The man merely looked at the green glow that surrounded him.

"That should keep me going a little longer, my thanks!" he chuckled.

Oh dear... thought Supercape.

He lives off radiation...

That will make things a little...difficult...

[Supercape]

No sooner had that depressing thought hit Supercape, than the mighty fists of Heavy Metal followed suit.

The quantum force field that shielded Supercape laughed at bullets, and shrugged off explosions. It barely functioned at all when faced with the condensed mass of Heavy Metal's fists that tore through it like butter and knocked the wind out of Supercape.

Acting on pure adrenaline, shocked at the force behind Heavy Metal, Supercape stood his ground and formed a huge sphere of Crystal matter around Heavy Metal.

The strength! If he hits me again... I can't stand up to this! I have to give myself some breathing room... that should hold him... at least for a little while...

Laughing, Heavy Metal put one fist, then another, straight through the quantum matter, that promptly shattered than vanished into non-existence.

"That won't hold me! its like paper!" laughed the creature of pure uranium.

Supercape gulped. He wasn't a coward by nature. But this looked hopeless.

For now... I need a plan!

Paper it may have been, but it had bought him a few seconds time, enough to connect the dots in the time-space continuum. Enough to entangle them. Enough to pass through them.

Enough to escape.

It wasn't his finest moment, running away. He was no coward. But... he needed to work out away to neutralise whatever Liebniz had become. And radiation had no effect!