I couldn't beat the City's Saviors by myself. I needed an army for that so I would need a lot more money to put my plans into action. I wanted to rob another bank. That said, I wanted the next robbery to go smoother than the first, and be more profitable. I needed to prepare for my inevitable conflict with a supervillain so I wanted armor and someone to fight with me. I needed help controlling the prisoners and wanted to get into the vault, not just grab some cash from the bank teller. For that, I needed more help.

The next morning, I searched online for a warehouse that would be my temporary laboratory and residence until I found something better. I intentionally chose warehouses in the most dangerous ghetto in St. Newton, Midtown Heights. Not only were there a lot of abandoned buildings there, with the amount of dangerous crime and gangs in the area, there would be few police and even fewer people willing to report any crimes they saw me committing. Honor among thieves, so to speak.

Most of the warehouses in the ghetto were abandoned by the owners so it wasn't hard to find one to move into. I bought some tools and drove to the warehouse, cut the rusted chain with a bolt cutter, and drove in.

Walking into the cavernous interior, it seemed a place fit only for dust and rats which suited my purposes quite nicely. I let Brutus wander around while I drove my van into a corner and set up a sleeping bag and the rest of my things in a corner. Once settled in, I got busy collecting materials.

The first thing I did involved money. I couldn't very well buy everything I needed in cash, mostly that would attract attention but also because much of what I needed had to be ordered online. I also needed to stay anonymous. I visited a local Anderson's store to purchase a prepaid card because I didn't want to open a bank account, and spent much of the morning going to several other stores, adding five hundred dollars each time, just to avoid suspicion.

Once I had enough on the card, I started buying what I needed for real. I went to the junkyard to buy as much scrap metal as I could fit into my van. I returned to drop my load off at the warehouse. From there, I went to a hardware store and bought tools, a generator, and some parts I needed. After that, I visited another electronics store to gather more parts, much more advanced than the ones I had bought the first time. Next, a drugstore provided me with the chemicals I would need. My final stop took me to a pet store.

I went through the store to the mice, and waved over an employee to pick one out.

The employee reached in to pull out the mouse while giving me a smile. "Looking for a friend for him to play with?" He nodded at Brutus who sat next to me.

I nodded. "Yes, I do believe they'll have fun together."

I bought the mouse and brought it back to my warehouse where I set up all my equipment. By the afternoon, I had everything in place to begin my work.

My first step was to create the enhancement machine for Brutus. I had bought the mouse as a test subject, not a friend to play with. Using the metal and machinery, I constructed a cruder version of the machine that had changed me with a few modifications to improve and make it more effective. I also built a maze out of pipes.

Once finished, I placed the mouse inside the machine and switched it on. From behind my console, I watched as the radiation emitters glowed and a nozzle sprayed the enhancement solution onto the mouse. It squeaked and ran around inside the containment pod but couldn't escape. I pushed a button.

The entire pod flashed in brilliant red light, and I saw the mouse wiggling inside. At first, I felt a pang of disappointment that it wouldn't work. Then the mouse began to grow. Its legs grew longer and thicker, followed by its body, and finally the head. The mouse grew bigger and bigger until I thought it would bust out of the containment. Fortunately, it stopped but it had still grown to the size of Brutus.

"Well," I said, "we know the physical enhancement worked. Let's try the mental enhancement."

I reached in with a pair of metal tongs that the mouse immediately tried to bite, and lifted it out of containment into the maze I had built. I put a piece of cheese at the other end. The mouse sniffed the air and immediately ran through the maze to the cheese.

I grinned at Brutus. "So far, so good. We'll wait a little while to make sure there's no aftereffects and then you're next."

Brutus tilted his head to one side and barked.

With that test out of the way, I put the mouse in a larger and stronger cage, and started work on the prototype robot. It took a long time to assemble the scrap metal into the shape I needed, and even longer to build the internal mechanisms. It took the rest of the day until night fell and I had to work by electric lights. Sweat dripped down my face as I made soldered wiring, welded metal, and made connections.

When I had finally finished it, I took a step back to observe my work. It was a ragtag effort with uneven machinery but something in the rough shape of a man stood in front of me with its head and arms hanging limp.

I grabbed my laptop, booted up some programs and started writing the code for the robot. I didn't actually know how to write software at that point but it took me only ten minutes to learn. A lot of it came from open source but I quickly ran into limits on that, and wrote new code for artificial intelligence. Just like the mechanical components, the code seemed obvious, almost writing itself. Within hours, I had it ready to go.

I punched the last of the keys, and switched the robot on.

It raised its head, focused the two camera lenses that served as its eyes on me, and spoke in a computerized monotone. "Unit One-A, online. What is your command?"

I smiled from ear to ear. "Hello, Unit One-A. I'll call you Adam since you're the first. We're gonna do a robbery tomorrow."

"By your command," the robot droned.

I laughed, looking at the giant growling mouse and robot soldier I had built in the space of a day. This would work.

I slept fitfully that night, restless for the next day. When the sun came up, I pulled up another bank on my phone, the St. Newton Federal Savings and Loan. That would be my next target.

I checked on the giant mouse. It seemed healthy, if a trifle angry. I decided to wait a little longer, though, to make sure there were no ill effects. I didn't want to risk Brutus in any way.

For the job, I made some quick modifications to the van. I needed to be able to disguise it quickly for the getaway so I hooked up the license plate to a motor and metal arm so I could fold it out of sight. I also coated the van in a special lacquer that looked transparent and allowed the black paint to show, but when charged with electricity, turned white. That would let me hide my license plate and change the van's color at the push of a button. I also needed to defend myself so I built two gun turrets in the front and rear of the van, also retractable.

I also rebuilt my freeze gun to add a laser gun option as well, made another gun for Adam, and created five chemical bombs. Now I was well-armed.

My robot Adam climbed into the back of the van at my command, and we headed out. This time, I felt much more prepared, and I had a better plan.

I drove to a nearby hospital, and parked in one of the parking spaces before waiting for the area to clear. When I didn't see anyone around, I hid one of my bombs inside a trash can next to the Emergency Room entrance. From there, I got back in the van and put on my costume. Putting on my mad scientist disguise made me feel ready for action.

When I came down the street to the bank, I pushed the button to fold up my license plate and turn the van white before pulling up to the curb. This time, I didn't just hop out and start shooting. I needed to make sure the City's Saviors didn't show up. That's why I pulled out my phone and set off the bomb I planted at the hospital.

Listening to the police radio, I could hear the chaos that followed. Police gathered at the scene, and it didn't take long before Captain Maximum and Kid Maximum showed up as well. The hospital bombing would keep them busy for a while.

After that, I climbed into the back with Adam.

I shoved the second pistol into Adam's hand. "All right, while we're in there, keep this gun pointed at the people in the bank. If anyone tries to attack me or escape, shoot them. Got it?"

"By your command," Adam droned.

"Good boy." I opened the back door, let Adam climb out, and climbed out after him.

When people on the street saw me in my costume and the robot soldier, they started walking away. A few (the smart ones) even ran.

I headed for the door of the bank and shoved it open. This time, I didn't fool around. I shot the first security guard in the chest, and the second guard in the head.

"Nobody move," I yelled as the bodies hit the floor. "Everyone stay right where you are. Get down on your knees and put your hands in the air!"

The customers screamed but obeyed, dropping to the floor. I kicked one man in paint-covered overalls who didn't get down fast enough. I wasn't playing around this time.

"I'm Professor Pain. Your money is insured by the federal government, so I'm here for the bank's money, not yours. Don't try to be a hero or I'll kill you."

I pointed my gun at the tellers while throwing my bag through the divider to them. "Fill it up. Set off the alarm, put in a dye pack, and I'll kill everybody in here."

The tellers hurried to start stuffing money into the bag. I didn't really worry about it because I had bigger plans.

While Adam swept his gun over the crowd, I walked over to the bank vault, which had its huge door open but metal gates in front of the entrance. Through it, I could see rows of safety deposit boxes and stacks of cash and coins. That's where the real money was.

I focused on the gate with my mind and pulled as hard as I could, mentally speaking. I saw the gate tremble and heard the groan of metal straining. It didn't break.

"Adam," I yelled while sweeping my gun across the room. "Pull this gate!"

"By your command," he droned while marching over to the gate. He reached out metal hands, took hold of the gate, and pulled.

With his superstrong arms and my telekinesis, the groaning of the metal grew louder until the hinges snapped and the gate popped off. Adam staggered back, and threw the gate to the floor with a loud bang.

While the bank customers gasped and yelled, I started floating bags of money out of the vault and into Adam's arms. If each bag held as much money as I thought it did, I'd be a millionaire in seconds. It seemed almost too easy.

Which of course, is why the front door banged open, and someone came charging in that changed everything.

When I looked at the door, I first thought Megan from my apartment had walked in. It didn't take long before I registered that she stood almost seven feet tall, had long and powerful legs, large breasts, and wore a red bodysuit with lightning bolts on it that hugged her muscular but still feminine body.

I knew who she was. Lady Thunder, the supervillain I'd been crushing on for years.

I almost smiled at the sight of her, and my first thought was to ask for an autograph. Then I saw the look on her face.

Her beautiful eyes, freckled cheeks, and full lips burned with rage as she yelled, "I knew it! You're that guy who calls himself Professor Pain, aren't you?"

I felt a thrill at the thought that she knew my name. I quickly forced myself to remain calm. I had to play this like we were equals in crime, and I wasn't just a fanboy geeking out over his dream girl.

I flashed her a cruel smile while raising my cane. "Why yes, I am. I am quite pleased to meet you, Lady Thunder. You're just in time--"

She cut me off, spitting, "Don't gimme that shit, Professor. This is my territory. I registered with the Kindred for this bank, and nobody's gonna come walking in here and take it from me."

Until that moment, it had not occurred to me that my biggest danger in robbing the bank would be another supervillain. I realized I had little knowledge of how the supervillain community actually worked. I definitely didn't want to get on Lady Thunder's bad side, if only because I hoped to work with her later if not go out on a date with her.

Yes, I was hopeful of that. If you met the woman of your dreams, you'd hold the faint hope of scoring with her, too.

I held up my hands while lowering the bags of cash. "All right, I apologize, my dear lady. I did not mean to make offense. I'll leave the money and go."

She clenched her hands into fists and I could hear the muscles creaking. "Oh, you'll go. Right after I kick your ass."

Not exactly the meeting I'd been dreaming of.