Bachman raised an eyebrow and put his hand up. “You claim that Powerhouse is making our city look bad by not having his comic book portray us as a hellhole?”
“His portrayal of Seattle is so Leave it to Beaver, other cities won’t take us seriously.” Mitch stared into the camera and spread his hands out as if to show he had no weapons. “Tell you what, Powerhouse, if you’re not about the money, call my office. I’ll take over the rights to the whole Powerhouse biz and donate 100 percent of the profits to my personal charitable trust to help causes in the greater Seattle area.”
Doug cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, thank you for your time. And thank you for watching, I hope you enjoyed this special: Powerhouse: One Year Later. Join us tonight and every night for the news at eleven. Good night from your news station. “
A production assistant held up three fingers, then two, and one. “You’re out.”
Doug slapped Mitch on the back. “That’s the old muckraker. Who would’ve thought the anniversary of Powerhouse’s departure could become controversial?”
Bachman glowered. “Yeah, who would’ve thunk it?” He stomped away, stopped, sighed, and spun back. “You ready to go?”
Mitch scowled. “We didn’t come as couple.”
Bachman folded his arms. “Mr. Farrow, you have insulted Powerhouse on live television. This studio is surrounded by rabid fans who saw it on the monitor outside the station. I would not want to be responsible for what happens if they get their hands on you. Now, would you like me to walk you to your car, or would you rather wait for the ACLU to send someone?”
Help from the evil system’s enforcers? Guess he had no choice. Mitch strode toward the back entrance. “I think we can avoid the crowd by going this way.”
“You sure? The crew went out there to smoke after the show.”
“Why would that bother me?”
Bachman blinked. “Isn’t second hand smoke bad for people with AIDS?”
Mitch swallowed. He’d have to answer a lot of questions from this guy if he wasn’t careful. “No, it’s not a big deal.” Mitch pointed to the door. “After you.”
###
Zolgron stood over Dave and Naomi in the living room with a plate of Waffle shaped cookies. “Want another stroopwafel?”
“No, I lost my appetite.” Frowning, Dave leaped up and paced. He clinched his fist. “How can that jerk say that?”
Naomi stood and patted his back. “Ignore him. Everyone else loves Powerhouse.”
“Well, the city still needs Powerhouse!” Or did they? Dave sighed. “Or maybe not. Farrow said everything’s just as bad as if I’d never been there.”
“You helped a lot of people. You can’t help it if new criminals move in.”
“I wish I still had powers. Then I could get things cleaned up,” Dave sighed. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Zolgron put the plate of stroopwafels on the coffee table.“Why not?”
Huh? Dave peered at Zolgron. “Duh, the source of my powers learned his lesson, is no longer a symbiote, and is now the world’s next top chef.”
“Dave, I didn’t know you wanted powers. I thought you were all done with that after James’ accident.”
Was he hearing right? Dave gaped up at Zolgron. “I can get superpowers?”
“Of course.” Zolgron took another Stroopwafel. “When I was planning to take over my world, I realized I couldn’t manage the whole planet by myself. While I hoped to get an army of loyal sycophants together, I needed some stronger people. I created a cylinder that allowed me to transfer a portion of my powers to its wearer.”
“So that’s why you were a cylinder?”
Zolgron nodded. “Precisely. So, any time you want powers, I can, in the vernacular, hook you up.”
Dave stared at Naomi. “What do you think?”
Naomi closed her eyes and opened them. She smiled. “If you’re going to keep putting yourself in danger, I’d rather you have superpowers. Before you do it, though, I think we should pray about it and meet with Dr. Rose.”
Why couldn’t he just leap at the chance and start right now? Dave sighed. Naomi was probably right. “I’ve been waiting months for this. What’s another day of people dying rather than me saving them?”
“Very subtle, Dave.” Zolgron laughed. “Still, it’d better not be much more than that. I have to fly to Tahiti to break up a ring of pickpockets on Friday.”
What? That was rather small potatoes for Zolgron. Dave blinked. “You’re going to waste superpowers on pick pockets?”
“Dave, Dave, Dave.” Zolgron tsked and put a hand on Dave’s shoulder. “If it involves going to Tahiti, nothing is wasted.”
Chapter 6: Building a Better Powerhouse
Naomi sat in her red, mesh fabric office chair at work staring at the sales report for the branch office, as Martina McBride sang in her ear. “Let freedom ring. Let the righteous say—”
The door opened and Carmela crossed the grey blue carpeting. “Hey, Naomi.”
“One sec.” Naomi turned off her computer monitor and pressed pause on her Ipod. “Yeah?”
Carmela dropped a file on the marble top desk. “Unfortunately, the underwriter said no on Mr. Figueroa’s refinance. Appraisal came back underwater.”
“And I get to tell him.” Naomi sighed. “There are days I love this job. Why couldn’t today be one of them?”
“I hear you.”
Naomi snapped her fingers. “Oh, we’re going to have to go to the salon another night.” She smiled. “We have an emergency counseling session tonight.”
Carmela raised an eyebrow. “Why is a counseling session making you smile?”
Naomi played with a pen on her desk. “Oh it’s a little unexpected surprise.”
Carmela gasped and beamed. “Congratulations! When did you find out?”
Huh? “Uh, Zolgron promised to hook us up last night.”
Carmela scratched her head. “Zolgron does adoptions, too?”
Oh, duh. Naomi laughed. “Sorry, not that kind of little surprise. No, you’re not going to get to be a godmother again. Zolgron’s going to give Dave back his powers.”
“He can do that?”
“Apparently.”
“That had you smiling?” Carmela scrunched her nose. “You guys almost got divorced last time he had super powers.”
Naomi waved it away. “That’s only because he was being secretive. Now I know what’s going on. This is exactly what he needed. If the dope had just told me the truth to start with, I would’ve been proud of him. This time I will be.”
Carmela sighed. “I hope it works out. I’ll be praying for you guys.”
###
Dave sat with his arm around Naomi on the leather couch in Dr. Rose’s office.
Dr. Rose doodled on his notepad. “I don’t usually do career counseling, let alone superhero career counseling, but let’s try. So, what do you think about this, Dave?”
Naomi beamed. “He’s really excited. You should’ve seen his face.”
The doctor smiled and looked at Dave.
Dave swallowed as his stomach churned a bit. “I’m a little scared. Lass time, I made mistakes as Powerhouse. People got hurt. I’m afraid of making more mistakes.”
Dr. Rose nodded and tapped his fingers together. “That’s normal, but the only way to stop making mistakes is to stop living. Do your best and leave the results in God’s hands. If you make a mistake, admit and move on. Another thing, understand that even though you have all these powers, you’re not God.”
Duh. Dave laughed and waved. “Zolgron and I learned that. That’s how he got out of being a symbiote.”
“What I mean is that you’re not responsible for everything that goes wrong in the world or even in the city. Don’t let guilt weigh you down.”
“I also want to make a difference. The guy on TV claimed I didn’t.”
“You’d be surprised.” Dr. Rose pointed to his Powerhouse poster. “If nothing else, you’ve inspired a lot of
people.”
That was part of the problem. Dave squirmed. “I was uncomfortable watching those Powerhouse fans on TV. It’s like they were obsessed. I felt almost like they were worshipping me. It was weird and uh . . . ” Why did this sound familiar? “Pathetic.”
Naomi elbowed him. “Don’t be so hard on your fans, Dave. They’re doing what you do with Spider-man, Superman, and Batman.”
No, what I did do. Shudder. “If I ever sound like them in your opinion ever again, slap me. I mean, some of those guys are giving me praise that only God should get.”
Dr. Rose beamed at him like a proud father. “It seems like you need to find a way to redirect some of the glory to God.”
“Yeah. It won’t weird God out.”
Dr Rose cleared his throat. “Let’s go back to your concern about how effective Powerhouse has been. Maybe the best way to explain it is like this. Did you ever watch Lois and Clark when it was on the air?”
“Only about a dozen times for each episode.”
“Then may I assume that you remember what happened after the first season when Lex Luthor was killed off?”
“Intergang moved in, as did new villains.”
“Why was that?”
Dave shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been much of a show without villains.”
“It’s more than that. In Matthew 12, Jesus talks about a man who had an evil spirit and it was cast out. The evil spirit wanders around and decides to come back, and finds everything cleaned up. But the house was empty and so he comes back and brings seven spirits even more wicked than himself.”
Dave blinked. “What does that have to do with crime fighting?”
“You can throw the criminals in jail and get them off the street, but if all the conditions remain the same, and nothing good replaces the bad, you end up with the same problems. Particularly with big problems like fatherlessness. There are a lot of churches and organizations that are really trying to help, and they could use a hand.”
“I could Super Imagine some new youth centers into existence for them.”
“If you want to get away from people worshipping you, then you can’t simply do everything for them. People would start depending on Powerhouse for everything. You want to help and inspire people to get involved, not get them dependent on you to solve all their problems. Remember, not everything you do has to involve a flashy superhero entrance. You can provide food or clothing to people secretly and leave a simple note. When that gets around, it’ll inspire imitators of the good sort.”
Dave smiled. “Superman should’ve come to you.”
Dr. Rose shrugged and glance to Naomi. “What are your concerns?”
Naomi bit her lip. “I have only one, really.” She took Dave’s hands. “Honey, when you rescue women, could you not carry them in your arms?”
Dave rolled his eyes. “Should I carry them upside down by their ankles?”
She giggled. “Tempting, but no. Try carrying them over your shoulder.”
“Like a sack of potatoes?”
“Exactly!” Naomi squeezed his hands and kissed his cheek.
Dave rubbed his forehead. What was he supposed to say to that?
Dr. Rose cleared his throat. “Naomi, we’ve talked about healthy jealousy versus insecurity. Do you remember what constitutes healthy jealousy?”
Naomi slid down on the couch a few inches. “When something threatens a covenant relationship.”
“Exactly, even God is jealous in that way. Does Dave carrying a woman from a burning building in his arms pose a serious threat to your marriage?”
“I guess not.” Naomi sighed, yanked her hands back from Dave, and slapped her lap. “Okay, fine. Just don’t carry women for fun.”
Dr. Rose pressed out of his chair and stood beside them. “You know this is going to be a big change for both of you and it’ll require patience and prayer. It’s also very important to make time for each other and the kids.”
“I intend to.” Dave nodded and he and Naomi stood, too.
“I hope I’ve helped. I didn’t get a certificate in Superhero Counseling in college.”
“Would you pray for us before we go?”
“Sure.”
###
Dave opened the front door and entered the living room with Naomi. Zolgron sat on their couch watching Nineteen Kids and Counting while munching on stroopwafel.
Zolgron looked up. “You ready?”
“Let’s do this.” Dave swallowed and grinned.
Zolgron pressed pause on the remote and led Dave and Naomi back to their bedroom. Zolgron lifted the bed frame and moved it to the side. He stared at the floor and something that looked like a metal tackle box appeared with a scanner on it. “Dave, put your hand on the box.”
Dave did. A light passed over it and beeped. Dave removed his hand from the box. “Now what?”
Zolgron pointed to Naomi. “It’s your turn.”
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need my handprint?”
“Dave may someday need access to the box, but not be able to come. In such an emergency, it’s helpful to have a back up.”
Naomi shrugged and placed her hand on the box. The light scanned it and beeped.
Zolgron spoke in an alien language and then in English. “The box is now sealed, so only the two of you can access it.”
“Great, what’s in it?”
“Your cylinder, of course. Use your hand to unlock the box and reach inside.”
Dave placed his hand on the scanner thingy and the box popped open. He reached inside and pulled out a cylinder only four inches long and three inches across, much too small to slide up his arm like before. “Is this one a ring?”
“Put it by the spot on your arm that you want it to fit onto.”
Okay, that was weird, but if Zolgron said so. Dave unbuttoned his outer shirt and remove it and his t-shirt. He put the cylinder next to his bicep. The cylinder expanded so it was big enough to encompass the area and disappeared into his skin.
Dave’s head exploded in pulsating pain. Clutching his head, he screamed and collapsed to the carpet. The world fell out from under him and the lights went out.
Chapter 7: Powerhouse 2.0
Dave’s head throbbed as he opened his eyes. He lay shirtless on his bedroom carpet next to the electronic box. Naomi hovered over him. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” Dave rubbed his head and looked up at Zolgron. “What happened?”
Zolgron smiled. “Nothing to worry about, folks. Dave, have you ever had to restart your computer after installing new hardware?”
“Yeah.” Too many times.
“The cylinder represents a major change to your body’s mental and physical capabilities. So it had to reboot you once we installed the hardware.”
“Hopefully, I don’t start freezing up.” Dave laughed, climbed to his feet, and rubbed his hands together. “So, let’s see what this upgrade can do.”
Dave super imagined the bed moving itself back into place above the metal box.
The bed lifted along the path he’d pictured and settled back where it belonged.
Naomi whistled. “Wow.”
Dave tapped his bicep. “Why do we need that box if I’ve got this on my arm?”
“I originally planned on ten helpers on my home world, so the box contains nine more cylinders. Use them as spares in case something happens to the first.”
Huh? They could break? Dave scratched his head. “What could happen?”
Zolgron shrugged. “I never got a chance to test these out. I doubt there’s an actual ‘need’ for them, but they come in sets of ten”
“As long as no one but Naomi or me can open that box, that’s fine I guess.” Dave super imagined the Powerhouse suit on.
He stood there in gray body armor, a space motorcycle helmet with bulletproof visor, and a rocket pack on his back. “Any changes in powers?”
Zolgron flinched and bit his lip. “Instead of having the strength of one hundred men,
you only have the strength of seventy-five. You can’t run quite as fast, but you never used that power much. You also can’t go inside computers anymore.”
Powerhouse smirked. Going inside computers made him sick. “That’s a big loss. Can I still absorb books by touching them?”
“Yes, all your other powers are intact, but only at three quarters strength. Sorry, when I made these, I thought it prudent to be more powerful than my cronies.”
“So I’m the Silver Age Powerhouse?”
“An apt comparison.”
Beat being retired anyway. Dave glanced to Naomi. “We need to tell the kids.”
Naomi’s eyes widened. “We can’t! What if they tell their friends?”
“Um, Derrick figured it out last time, honey, on the silly basis that he named me. As far as I know, he kept my secret. Besides, they both remember Diablo. I’m sure they’d rather be avoid getting kidnapped by bad guys.” Powerhouse marched into the hall and headed toward James’s and Derrick’s room. “Besides, no one will suspect Dave Johnson is a Superhero. I’ll be a little goofy with a wild imagination and not exactly bright.”
Zolgron chuckled. “I don’t know how you’ll pull it off.”
“I’ll manage it.” Powerhouse shrugged. He’d simply have to pretend that he’d never gotten a brain-power boost from becoming Powerhouse as well.
Naomi rubbed the back of her neck. “This may seem silly request, but could you take me for a ride?” She touched Powerhouse’s helmet. “It’s the only way to fly.”
Powerhouse hugged her. “I’ll take everyone in the family on flights.”
He entered the kids room and strode through the toys, clothes, and junk on the floor up to their oak bunk bed. Derrick sat on the top bunk reading an issue of the kid-friendly Spider-Man comic book. On the bottom bunk, James was typing on a laptop.
James looked up. “Did you b-b-buy a costume?”
Powerhouse puffed out his chest. “This is real son. I’ve got my powers back.”
Derrick closed the comic book and his eyes lit up. “Cool, Dad! You’re going to be Powerhouse again?”
“I am Powerhouse.”
Derrick shook his finger at him. “Dad, you need to train first. It’s been a long time.” He got out of bed and circled around Powerhouse. “Does this suit get hot?”