AS I sat in my living room, ready to embark on my career of evil, I realized I had no idea what to do first. Most supervillains just seemed to come out of nowhere with a costume, tons of money, a supervillain name, and powers to match. I had nothing. Even my bank account was overdrawn.

First, I needed to understand my new power. I knew I had a better understanding of engineering and technology. What else?

I took a quiz on my phone and did great on science, technology, and mathematics. I failed at history, English, music, art, geography, and drama. It seemed like my newfound intelligence had limits.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the sun shining through my battered shades. For a moment, I thought the night before had been a dream. Had I really gotten superpowers? When I focused on a pencil and made it float, I knew it was real.

Morning had come and I usually slept during the day because I worked the night shift. I had big plans though, and I had no intention of working the janitor's job any longer but I wanted to screw with Luis before I left.

I took a shower, got dressed, and sat down to glue some random junk onto my TV remote to make it look like something scary. I had an idea on what to do with it.

I knelt down to scratch Brutus on the chin and whisper, "It's gonna be a good day."

He wagged his tail as if he agreed.

After that, I went downstairs and headed out of my apartment building. The morning sun felt good on my skin and I had a smile on my face for once. It seemed like I had the city in hand like a tiger by the tail. It had no idea what was coming for it. The possibilities seemed endless.

As I walked down Elm Street, I started wondering what else I could do with my powers. I'd seen lots of comics, movies, and TV shows about guys who could read minds. That would come in really handy. I wanted to try it out.

I passed by a short and skinny guy with a crew cut and ripped jeans. His head bobbed from music playing in headphones stuck in his ears. I focused on him as he went by, trying to listen to see if I could hear his voice in my head. I didn't hear anything but the people and cars in the background.

A tall and willowy woman came out of a CVS drugstore. She had shoulder-length brown hair and a long yellow dress that hugged her curves nicely. I tried again, focusing on her as hard as I could. I didn't get anything except an unpleasant glare from her. I didn't need to read minds to know she thought I was creepy.

Unless I missed something, it didn't seem like I could read minds.

If I couldn't read minds, I thought I should try to control minds. As I passed by the Midtown Park, I saw this lanky guy with long brown hair bouncing on his shoulders. He wore no shirt to show off his rock-hard abs, and only red shorts and shoes as he jogged down the street. I'd seen him a few times on my way to work. One time, he almost ran right into me so I had to jump out of the way, and another time he clipped me with his shoulder and didn't even slow down or say sorry.

I focused my eyes on him and thought, "Jump into traffic."

I know it was a pretty awful thing to think of doing but it's the first thing that came to mind.

The jogger kept running. He ignored me as usual so I tried to see if visualizing him turning and jumping in front of a passing bus would do anything. It didn't.

So far, it seemed like my mental powers came to me as just being smart and moving things with my mind. Not a bad deal but I admit to being a little disappointed. I hoped I would find something else later on.

I walked to the nearest Motherboard Madness, got a shopping cart, and loaded it up with a bunch of electronic components. They weren't the heavy-duty components I needed for my real projects but they would do.

Once again, I couldn't believe it all made sense to me. I didn't know a circuit from a transistor before the accident. Now it seemed so obvious, I wondered why I had a problem with it before.

When I had what I needed, I headed for the front door. As I expected, the security sensors by the exit set off an alarm and a security guard walked up to me.

"Excuse me, sir," the guard said. "I'll need to see your receipt."

I gave him my most evil-looking smile. "I don't have a receipt. I'm stealing this."

The guard put his hand on the walkie-talkie at his side while pointing his other hand at me. "Sir, you'll need to leave this stuff here or pay for it."

I pulled my remote control out of my pocket and pointed it at him. "No, you'll need to let me steal this. I'm a supervillain and this is a magnetronic polarization ray. Touch me and it will turn you into soup."

Of course, it wasn't any kind of ray at all, just a remote with junk glued onto it. In any other city, I probably wouldn't have gotten away with it but in a city like St. Newton, it didn't seem too implausible.

His eyes grew to the size of saucers as he backed away from me. "O-okay, j-just take it easy."

I nodded and kept the remote pointed at him while I hurried out the door.

I pushed the grocery cart all the way back to my apartment building and carried the stuff up to my place. Once I had the parts, I could really start building things.

I made a couple of new devices. First, I turned my remote control into a working weapon. I had no material to fire laser beams but I did manage to create a beam that would lower the temperature of whatever object it touched. A freeze ray, if you will. I also hooked up some parts to my cell phone, allowing it to hack into other phones. I had an idea what to do with Luis and it involved that iPhone he was always carrying.

After it was finished, I sat in amazement. Brutus came up and sniffed the devices I made, as I said, "Can you believe it, boy? It seems like all I have to do is think about something I want to build and it pops into my head how to do it."

Brutus whimpered a little and tilted his head to one side.

I scratched his ears. "Yeah, it kinda freaks me out, too."

Of course, I knew Brutus didn't really understand me or my new situation. Brutus gave me another idea but I shook my head. It seemed to be taking it too far.

I changed into my overalls, put my new creations into my pockets and took the train to work. I usually worked at night, and the laboratory seemed much busier during the day.

I went straight to Luis's office and walked right in without bothering to knock. He sat behind his desk, doing something on his computer like he always did when I came in.

His eyebrows went up. "Morning, Carlton. You're here early."

I dropped into a chair across from his desk. "I sure am."

"How are you feeling? I was worried about your accident last night."

"No problem. In fact, I feel better than ever."

Luis gave me a big smile, probably glad I wasn't planning a lawsuit. "Well, that's good. I do need you to sign some forms about last night's accident. Just absolving the company of any liability."

"Absolutely." He handed me a stack of papers and I signed them, knowing I didn't plan on suing the company, anyway. Pretty soon it wouldn't matter.

I heard a beep on my phone, and checked it to confirm the remote scanner had done its work. The device let me scan the memory of his phone and make a copy of his contents. I scrolled through his text messages until I found what I knew I'd find.

I stood up. "Well, thanks. You mind if I pick up a couple of extra hours this morning?"

Luis' face lit up, as I thought it would. He'd been trying to get me to work mornings and evenings ever since I started. "Sure you can, Carter. Sure you're not too tired, though?"

"Not at all. Like I said, I feel better than ever." I walked out with a stride in my step and whistling a jaunty tune.

When I got to the janitor's closet, I took out a mop and bucket and headed straight for the hydrogen research facility at the Department for Materials Science and Engineering. The lab stood empty because Doctor Hoshijima was out of town attending a conference, and had given his assistants the week off.

I used my keycard to unlock the lab, and looked over the prototype hydrogen reactor he had been working on. I know I've said it before but I'll say it again; before the accident, it would have looked like just a bunch of wires, tubes, and gizmos. Now I could easily understand what he'd been working on. I even saw ways to improve it a thousandfold.

More importantly, I knew how to sabotage it. It took just a few minutes to rig the reactor to my remote control and loosen enough parts to get it primed to explode. Steam started pouring out of vents, and the instruments began flashing warnings. I also tossed some paper into a trash can and lit it on fire, just to make it a more immediate danger.

Once I'd done that, I used my freeze gun to crack open the security lock, and yanked the wires allowing it to accept the keycard scanner. My work complete, I walked out of the laboratory, and pushed the door shut so it locked again. Then I smashed a nearby alarm and pulled the lever.

The whole lab immediately went up in sirens and flashing red lights. Doors opened everywhere as scientists looked around in confusion. The smart ones ran for the exits. The rest of them just stood there, looking at each other and their phones.

I needed to get things moving so I pointed through the glass window at the inside of the hydrogen research lab. "Fire! Fire! I think it's gonna blow!"

One of the scientists ran over to look through the window. His lower lip trembled at the sight of the flames and steam. "My God, it's the prototype. What happened?"

I scratched my head. "Gee, I dunno. It just went up like that. I couldn't even get in."

He swiped his keycard in the lock, once, twice, three times. It didn't respond, of course.

"It's broken." He stumbled back. "It's a fucking meltdown. We need to get out of here."

The scientist took off running, yelling, "Everybody out! Everybody out! Call security! It's gonna blow!"

I pretended to keep swiping and fiddling with the keycard scanner as people ran past me, headed for the exits. The public address system called out in a woman's voice, "Please head for the emergency exits immediately. This is not a drill. Please exit the building immediately."

The scientists from the brain lab where I had been hit ran by and Lily-Ann noticed me first, skidding to a halt.

"Carter, what are you doing here?"

I shook my head while I kept struggling with the door. "Just getting in a little overtime. And then I spotted this."

Jared put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, you gotta get out of here."

I shook my head. "No, I think I can get this door open. See if I can put it out."

"Don't be crazy," Quentin snapped. "You don't know how to shut this thing down."

I locked eyes with him. "I can try."

Lily-Ann took my arm. "Come on, Carter, let's just go."

I shook her off. "Just go. I'll be right behind you."

She hesitated but the others just ran for the exit. After a few seconds, she ran, too.

When she had bolted out of the door, I stopped pretending to unlock the door. I used my freeze gun on the wall behind me until I could smash through it like it was glass. That let me run through the cafeteria to the back of the building, where I froze another wall and kicked through it. That let me out into the southeastern corner.

I ran out into a back alley with dumpsters and discarded equipment. The emergency exits all led to the front of the building so I didn't expect anyone to be in this remote area. Sure enough, the coast was clear. I ran as fast as I could to the back fence, unlocked the gate, and dove for a ditch as I pushed a button on the remote.

The whole building went up in an explosion that shook my teeth. A cloud of smoke and flames rose over the laboratory and I ducked and covered while wood, plaster, and metal rained down on me and the parking lot around it.

I only waited a few minutes before I got up and kept running. I could already hear sirens from fire trucks headed for the building.

I made my way through a back alley behind a warehouse while stripping off my overalls. I knew they would do a headcount and discover I wasn't among those who escaped the blast. I wanted everyone to believe I had been killed.

When I began my reign of terror, I didn't want anyone to put the pieces together and realize who I was, especially given my lab accident. Carter would have to disappear. There wouldn't be a body but I figured there wouldn't be much of a debate about it, since everyone had seen me standing next to the blast and no one would really miss me except maybe my brother and Luis and that was a big "maybe."

I hoped Luis would be killed in the blast, but it didn't matter. My device had scanned his phone and copied the dirty text messages he had been exchanging with his babysitter. If he tried to open his mouth about me, I could blackmail him by threatening to report him to the police about his underage girlfriend.

My next step would be to make sure I wasn't home. I headed back to my apartment building wearing a hat low over my face, and snuck in through the back entrance. Climbing the stairs, I managed to get to my place and inside without anyone noticing.

Brutus looked up at me, curious and happy to see me home early.

"Let's roll," I said as I I grabbed his food, water, and favorite toy, and climbed out the back fire escape. After one last look at my crappy apartment, I took off running.

Carter Cain was dead.

When I got far enough away, I ducked into a train station to put some more distance between me and my place.

Fortunately, the St. Newton subway system allows dogs as long they're on a leash.

After a few stops, I got off and stopped in at a drugstore. I didn't think there would be a lot of people looking for me since people hardly noticed me when I was supposed to be alive but figured it would be smart to disguise myself, anyway. I bought some hair dye, sunglasses, and a bandana, and went to the gas station bathroom across the street. In a few minutes, I'd dyed my hair black, and walked out with the sunglasses on my eyes and bandana around my mouth.

I looked down at Brutus who looked at me with his head cocked to one side.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But it'll do for now."

Back on the train, Brutus laid in my lap and I scratched behind his ears while I whispered, "I need to find out the limits of my mental powers. For that, I'll need more open space."

I took the train again, this time to a junkyard. Once I got there, I decided to sneak in by using my new powers. I focused until my feet left the ground. My breathing came hard and Brutus whined in my arms as I floated into the air, over the fence, and onto the dirt on the other side.

That worked. I could lift myself into the air, so flying was on the table.

I waited to see if a junkyard dog would attack me or something but I stayed safe.

My next test would be to find out how much I could lift with my mind.

I started with an old washing machine. It kind of wobbled at first but with more concentration, I could move it around easily.

I kept going, picking up larger and larger objects. When I tried to pick up a small Honda, it took more concentration to get it to rise and drift around me. I tried an SUV and that barely left the ground. An abandoned semi-truck didn't even budge. It seemed like my upper limit was around four tons. Still pretty good and useful.

I moved on to the next test, accuracy. I focused on a chunk of metal to make it float, and turned towards an old tire sitting on a mound of scrap next to me. I made the chunk go flying at the tire. It missed the tire entirely.

I tried again. And again. For hours, I picked pieces of scrap metal to throw them at the tire. By the time I managed to get the metal to fly through the tire, I had sweat pouring down my face.

On the train ride, I went to my phone and typed "how to be a supervillain" into Google. That showed me a bunch of joke articles but nothing serious. There was a supervillain forum but it required registration and I couldn't figure out how to register. Maybe it was a forum where only supervillains knew how to register.

I did the next best thing. I looked up the biographies of real supervillains like Doctor Darkness and Lady Thunder. For hours, I studied how they got started and what they all had in common. It didn't take long before a pattern emerged.

It seemed like supervillains would get their start by petty crimes like bank robbery. That would give them the cash they needed to fund larger operations.

As for the name, it seemed like it would be up to me. I toyed around with names like Genius Man or Professor Genius but they all seemed either lame or taken. I finally settled on Professor Pain. That sounded scary and rhymed with my last name, Cain. I wasn't really a professor but it had a nice ring to it. Nobody cared that Doctor Darkness wasn't a real doctor.

As for the costume, I went to a costume shop and went through their selection until I settled on a classic "mad scientist" look; a white lab coat with black rubber gloves, and black pants. I'd wear a white wig and a black domino mask over my face with goggles to hide my identity. I also got a fancy cane. If I had to limp, I wanted to make it look kind of cool. I also bought a backpack.

The cashier smirked at me as I brought it up to the register. "Planning a costume party?"

I grinned. "Nope. Gonna be a supervillain."

I thought he'd be scared or think I was joking but he seemed unfazed. "Yeah? My cousin is a supervillain. The Black Bison. Ever heard of him?"

I shrugged. "Can't say I have."

The cashier finished ringing up my costume. "Yeah, he's just starting out. But we expect big things from him."

I just nodded, thinking how St. Newton had hundreds of supervillains but most of them never amounted to anything. They committed a lot of petty crimes because they were afraid to do anything major enough to get the attention of the City's Saviors. Well, I was going to take Captain Maximum and his team head-on.

I knew I couldn't keep walking around with a dog so I rode a few more stops and got off to take Brutus to a dog groomer. I used the last of my money to pay for a trim, shampoo, and everything else I could add on. That would take them a few hours which would keep him safe and is all I would need. I felt bad leaving him but I couldn't exactly run around as a supervillain with a dog. At least, not yet.

When I had my costume, I limped into a nearby alley to change into it. It didn't really fit too well but I figured I'd take it in later. I took a picture of myself on my phone to see and it looked quite good.

I put my regular clothes in the backpack, pulled the backpack over my shoulder, took a deep breath, and walked out of the alley on the opposite side so people wouldn't see me come in as myself and out as Professor Pain. I expected people to notice me right away and even get afraid but I barely got a glance out of them. The people of St. Newton have seen quite a lot and are hard to disturb.

I needed a car if I planned to make quick getaways so I watched the traffic going by until I found one I liked. A Chevy Corvette waited at a stoplight so I limped up to the driver, pointed my weapon at him, and said, "Get out."

Just like the cashier at Motherboard Madness, the driver quickly got out.

I climbed in, tossing my cane in the back seat, and yelled, "Remember my name, Professor Pain!"

I drove through the red light, ignoring the screeching tires and honking horns while laughing maniacally.

I already knew it was easy to steal things but I'd never stolen cars before. Knowing I stole a car as a supervillain made it even more fun.

When I got a few blocks away, I made sure no one followed me, slowed down, and set the radio to my favorite hip-hop station. Kanye thumped through the car and I yelled out the window along with it. I felt good and ready.

Time to commit my first crime.

Well, my first real crime. I felt like the carjacking and blowing up the lab didn't count.