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#14
DEC 13 |
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“Dueling with Banjos”
Curt Filpots was not having a good day. After slaving away at the local Big Belly Burger, he’d returned to his shabby apartment. He fought the lock and opened the door, then stepped inside. He flipped on the lights and discovered that he wasn’t alone. A man sat in the threadbare chair beside the room’s cracked (and only) window.
“Welcome home,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Filpots demanded.
The man smiled. “A friend with a gift.” He handed Filpots a banjo.
“What’s this?” Filpots asked.
The man steepled his fingers. “I would think that you would know. Your great-grandfather was a man named Kurt Filpots. During the 1930’s and 1940’s he hosted a hit radio show called `The Mr. Banjo Hour,’ or at least he did until it came to light that he was transmitting sensitive information to the Axis through his program. He died in prison after he was convicted of treason, didn’t he?”
“What do you want?” Filpots demanded.
The man smiled again. “To see you take up your family’s heritage. Join me and leave your pathetic existence behind.”
Filpots didn’t even pause before he shook the man’s hand.
Freddy Freeman shook his head as Ryan Choi pulled up beside him in his golf cart. “They gave it back?” he asked as he climbed inside.
Ryan smiled. “Campus security has more to worry about these days than the Choimobile, what with that nutjob trying to blow the place up last month.”
Freddy fastened his seat belt before Ryan pushed the accelerator. “I’m just glad we stopped him before he leveled the place,” he said. “And he was doing all of it to get back at Professor Palmer.” Freddy turned to look at Ryan, who’d donned pilot’s goggles. “You still sure you want to get into this superhero game?”
Ryan’s face split in an enormous smile. “More than ever,” he replied. “This is epic! Before that accident, I might have been a Nobel prize winner. Now I’m going to win my Nobel and I could be part of the Justice League someday! How can it get any better than that?”
Freddy smiled at Ryan’s enthusiasm. “Hopefully I’ll be there with you.”
Ryan looked over at him and grinned. “I’ll sponsor you for membership,” he promised.
Freddy looked back behind them. “Looks like security’s not ignoring you anymore.” Campus security was chasing them in another golf cart, this one with flashing lights mounted on the top.
Ryan returned his attention to the front of the cart. “Watch this,” he said. He pressed a button and the chassis leaned back as wings deployed. Another button fired a rocket that launched the cart upward, leaving campus security to stare at a burn mark on the sidewalk.
“Yeah!” Ryan yelled. “Choimobile away!”
Freddy gripped the seat and looked down to see students pointing at them and talking. “Not very inconspicuous, is it?” he asked.
“What’s the point in that?” Ryan replied.
Freddy kept looking down and saw something odd. He grabbed Ryan’s arm and pointed. “Can you circle over there?” he asked.
“Sure,” Ryan said as he steered the cart. “What’s wrong?”
Freddy shook his head. “A bunch of people just standing around staring…looks like it might be something.” He unbuckled his seat belt. “You might want to land.” He jumped out of the cart and said, “Captain Marvel.” The lightning struck and when the smoke cleared CM3 was flying.
Ray Palmer walked out of the Ward Fox building while scribbling on a notepad. His mind was racing after conferring with his colleague. He sighed. It looked like Fiona was going to have to get more involved.
He walked into his office and walked past Fiona. “You look rough,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“Close the door,” Ray said. “We need to talk. I’ve got a job I need you to take care of.”
A confused Fiona closed the door.
CM3 landed and found himself surrounded by college students who appeared to be in a trance. “What’s going on?” he asked.
A man in a green suit and straw hat stepped forward. He smirked. “I thought you’d show up.”
“Who are you?” CM3 asked.
“Just call me Mr. Banjo,” he said as he raised his banjo to playing position. “And now I think it’s time to play a little bluegrass number called ‘Time to Die’.” Banjo began playing and the crowd turned as one to face CM3. The hero took a step back as their faces filled with rage and they charged him. Banjo laughed as CM3 tried to fight back the crowd without hurting anyone.
“Come in, Professor,” Dean Mayland invited. Ray Palmer walked inside and closed the door.
“You said you needed to see me,” Ray said.
“Please sit down,” Mayland said. As Ray sat, Mayland stood and looked out the window. His eyes narrowed as he saw a crowd of students a far distance away, but he dismissed them as simply another rally of some sort. “Professor, I know you are the Atom. You advised me of that when I took this position. However, things have escalated recently. The appearances of CM3 and this mysterious giant Asian man who helped with the recent evacuation coupled with the near-destruction of this campus have me concerned. It seems as if things are spiraling out of your control.”
“Dean Mayland, that is far from the case,” Ray said as leaned forward in the wood and leather chair. “I assure you that Ivy is better protected than I ever could by myself. Thanks to CM3 and the other man, the bomber has been neutralized. CM3 is an experienced hero. He spent time working with both the east and west coast branches of the Teen Titans. The other man is a novice, but he is training with members of the Justice League and is under my personal supervision.”
Mayland rubbed his eyes. “I want to believe you.” He squinted as something else caught his eye. “It’s not bad enough that this Choi student may blow up the campus himself, but now we have supervillains to worry about.”
“Dean Mayland,” Ray said, “I can assure you that everything is under control. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I hope you’re right,” Mayland conceded. “I’ve trusted your judgment this far. I just hope that this isn’t a mistake.” Mayland turned back to the window, looked out over the campus, and continued worrying.
Across campus, CM3 lifted off to stay out of the grips of the controlled students. Filpots grinned wider as he kept playing.
It didn’t take the wisdom of Solomon to figure out what was going on. CM3 flew upwards and Filpots’s smile grew wider.
“I did it,” he murmured. “I beat a superhero.”
An instant later his arms were empty and CM3 hovered above him holding his banjo. “Give that back!” Filpots yelled.
“Don’t think so,” CM3 replied as he smashed the banjo on the ground. The students shook their heads and began trying to figure out what had happened to them.
CM3 grabbed Banjo by the collar and lifted him up easily. “And that’s the end of this song,” CM3 said as Banjo fumed.
Across campus, Jonny Peril knocked on a familiar door. It opened and he walked into Kid Eternity’s room.
“Have you found Mr. Keeper yet?” Eternity asked.
“Not yet,” Peril admitted. “But I’ve got something good for you. You know that CM3 guy who’s been flying around campus?”
“Yes,” Eternity replied.
Peril smiled. “He lives here in this dorm. His real name is Freddy Freeman.”
Eternity nodded. “A Marvel would be useful. I need to think about this. This could change everything.”
CM3 was talking to an officer as the Ivy Town police took Banjo into custody. The car with him in the back took off as CM3 kept explaining the battle and handed the smashed banjo over to evidence.
Filpots was seething in the back of the car when suddenly it turned onto a dirt road. After bouncing along for a mile, the helmeted police in the front stopped the car and got out. One of them opened his door. “Get out,” he ordered.
Filpots obeyed and backed away from the officers. “You don’t have to kill me,” he said. “You don’t understand! This wasn’t my idea!”
The officers smiled as they removed their helmets. “We know,” they said in unison. Filpots blinked as he realized the two men were identical. An instant later one of them vanished and the other walked up and unlocked his handcuffs.
“My name is Multiplex,” the man said. “Come with me. Our boss is looking forward to talking to you.”
“But I didn’t kill CM3,” Filpots said as he rubbed his wrists.
“That wasn’t our boss’s intention,” Multiplex said. “He just wanted him tested. And you succeeded to the highest expectations, Mr. Banjo.” Multiplex pulled what looked to be a remote control from his pocket and a hovering platform lowered silently.
Filpots climbed on beside Multiplex, ready to see what the next stage of the plan was.
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Next Issue: In CM3 #15: A certain STAR Labs administrator goes on a Rampage! Plus, Kid Eternity makes a discovery, and Ryan gets a letter that could change his life forever!
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