I woke up with a pounding headache.
My first thought was that I'd been out drinking too late. Then I remembered that I'm 38 years old and have no friends. So that couldn't be it.
I resisted opening my eyes for a moment, sensing a bright light above my head. I realized the surface I was laying on was cold. Maybe I was sick and I'd fallen asleep in the bathroom or something?
When I finally did open my eyes, I realized I was not on the bathroom floor. I was not even in my house. I was in a white-tiled room with a metal cot in the corner, a florescent light fixture dangling from the roof. I was in a prison cell.
This was a very nice prison cell. No bars on the door - no, the whole door was just a sheet of plexi-glass which I assumed was also bullet proof. I knew there was only one person who could have a prison like this. Alixa Marshall, the infamous supervillain of Metroville.
Alixa had come to power about a year ago after kidnapping and ransomming the mayor's wife. Since then, she'd robbed three banks, stolen a statue from the Modern Art Museum, and installed a giant electro-magnet in the subway system so that it no longer ran properly. She called herself Doctor Panthera, and she went around wearing all-black leather jumpsuits like a proper supervillain. Besides the bank robbings, no one knew where her money came from. She just turned up one day and took over our city.
After I took a moment to get my bearings, I got up and started pacing. What would she want from me? I was just a lowly scientist, working in the chemical lab at Metroville University. Yes, I had gotten the highest-ever results on all examinations and I had an IQ that could not be measured by traditional tests, but that hadn't gotten me anywhere. I was told in my last job application rejection that I lacked "people skills." Whatever.
Steam hissed from the cracks around the doorway and Doctor Panthera made her dramatic entrance into my cell.
"Good evening, Doctor Massey," she said quite pleasantly. "I hope my sedative did not have too many ill effects on you?"
I looked at her guardedly. "Well, I've got one hell of a headache, but other than that I feel physically fine, unless you count being imprisoned against my will."
She smirked. "Yes, well, about that. You are a brilliant scientist, yes?"
"Yes," I replied. I'd never gotten the hang of the whole "modesty" thing that people are so obsessed with. The adjective described my abilities as a scientist perfectly.
"Good," Dr. Panthera declared. "I require you to build me a weapon, Dr. Massey."
I sighed. I hated taking on new projects.
"Or else what?" I asked.
Dr. Panthera grinned, an unsettling feline grin. "I do not wish to use fatal weapons, but I will. I'd really rather just knock everyone out rather than kill them. So much red tape and clean up involved. But if you'd rather I just return you to your miserable little apartment..."
"No, no, that's fine," I said quickly. I might not have "people skills" but I didn't like the idea of people dying, either. Besides, this did sound more interesting than the work I was doing at the lab. "Okay, what are the parameters?"
"I want something that will incapacitate a large number of people," she said. "It should work at a range of..." She continued to rattle off specifications and I stored them in my memory, wishing I had a notebook to write some of it down. My memory was good, but not perfect.
She finally finished her list of specs. It seemed nearly impossible. "Okay. Budget?"
She looked confused. "What do you mean, budget?"
"Like, how much money do I get to use to make this weapon of yours?" I was prepared to haggle up as much as I needed to. The last time I proposed a project to the board at the University it had taken two weeks for me to get even half of the funding I needed.
Dr. Panthera waved her hand. "Money is no object. Do what you must. My assistant, Perkins, will see to it that you have everything you need. Do you need an assistant? I could kidnap someone else..."
My head began to swim. "No...budget?"
She shook her head. "No budget. Whatever you need is yours. The faster you make this weapon, the faster I will release you."
No budget. No budget. I could just play around with science and not worry about budgets?!?!
"Is there anything else you need built?" I asked eagerly. "I am really quite good. I could work on a new lair for you, or a new suit, or whatever supervillains want these days! I would really love ...." I trailed off. She looked completely offended.
"You would what?" she demanded. "I kidnapped you and brought you here against your will to create a weapon that will harm the people of your city! Why do you sound excited? You are supposed to be miserable and uncooperative!"
"All I've ever wanted was to build new things and innovate," I said. "Money has always been an obstacle to that for me. That and no one likes me, but I don't care if you like me, and I don't think you care if I like you either. So it sounds like a good partnership, yes?"
Dr. Panthera just looked shocked for a long moment. Then her lips curled in an evil smile. "I think you've got yourself a deal, Dr. Massey."