IT TOOK all day to build the twenty-five robots I decided I needed to start my robot army. While we waited, I bought Burger King for us, and hashed out my plan.

Pointing at my laptop, I explained, "I've equipped my robots with high-powered sensors to scan Captain Maximum for weaknesses. I want to draw Captain Maximum out to study him, and that will require something special. Captain Maximum doesn't just show up every time a cat gets stuck in a tree. Usually, it would be the other members of the Saviors who make their appearance unless it's something they can't handle. I don't have the resources yet to do something cataclysmic like move the Earth out of orbit so I say we go right for his girlfriend, Alexandra Andrews."

"Are you sure they're dating?" Lady Thunder asked as she plucked French fries out of the box.

"Well, I don't know for sure but I know she gets a lot of exclusives with him, which means there must be something between them. That is what I intend to exploit." I flipped to the St. Newton mayor's schedule on the official website. "Mayor Holloway will be attending the opening of the newly-renovated Athena's Bow Women's Domestic Violence Shelter tomorrow. Andrews will be there as well to cover the event so it will be the perfect time to strike."

"Sounds good." Lady Thunder looked over at the row of machines lined up against one wall. "I guess you got it all covered. I cannot believe you did all this in one day."

I chuckled. "When one has motivation and resources, one can accomplish anything."

"This is gonna be so awesome." Lady Thunder stood up and stretched in front of a window casting the orange glow of the sunset. "Well, seems like we're done for the day. I'm gonna head out. Is that okay?"

I wanted to ask her to stay with me, spend the night, and never leave me. Instead, I just nodded. "Of course. Good night, Lady Thunder."

"You can call me Roxanne when we're alone." She sat down again, holding up her hands. "Hold up. We gotta work on this name of yours, Carter."

We got to work.

After an hour, we had made a list of random names: Professor Prometheus, The Thinker, Mark of Cain, Mastermind, Doctor Robotix, Brainwave, Seven Fold, Neurotron, Doctor Infamous, King Horde, Psybertech, Adversary, Professor Karma, Headcase, Chessmaster, Dominion, The Engineer, Lord of Revenge, and Doctor Octagonapus.

I went down the list. "I'm going to cross off Lord of Revenge. It sounds nice but I don't plan on pursuing revenge forever. Psybertech is interesting but the press will find it hard to spell, and it sounds like a videogame character. Mark of Cain is a pun on my actual name so scratch that because I don't want to give away my identity."

I decided to stick with Mastermind, which seemed like a nice, general name for a genius, my telekinesis, and my planning skills.

She got up. "Great, be seeing you, Mastermind."

"Can I drop you off?" I asked, desperate to keep her with me.

She waved a hand at me. "Nah, it's cool. I told you I lived in a crappy apartment. It's, like, just a couple of blocks from here. I'll walk."

"But it could be dangerous walking alone--"

She laughed. "Carter, I'm seven feet tall and bulletproof. I'll be fine."

"Oh, all right." I swallowed. "Good night, Roxanne."

"Good night, Carter." She scratched Brutus behind the ears, gave me a wave, and she walked out.

I went to the window to watch her stroll up the driveway, through the front gate, and down the sidewalk, whistling a tune.

I looked at Brutus who stood next to me, and was now so tall he stood at eye-level with me. His red eyes turned to me, and he licked his lips.

"What do you think, boy? You like her?"

His tail wagged as he barked twice.

"I like her, too." I watched her walk out of sight and heaved a sigh. "I really have fallen for her, my faithful friend. Do you think I have a shot?"

Brutus tilted his head to one side while continuing to wag his tail.

I grunted. "I don't blame you for not weighing in on that one, my boy."

I had also bought a small bed and had the gang set it up in one corner. It certainly beat sleeping on the floor but I dreamed of sleeping in a mansion on fine linens, preferably with Lady Thunder. Brutus normally slept on the bed with me, but when he jumped on, there was no room for me, so I made him sleep on the floor.

The next morning, I felt refreshed and renewed. I also faced rows of robots that filled the warehouse, standing at attention. I counted thirty of them, more than enough, so I shut down the factory.

"Good morning," I called out to them.

The robots all droned, "Good morning, Master."

I rubbed my hands together, thrilled by how their obedient programming had already kicked in. "Excellent."

I had my plan worked out and went to my workbench to begin preparations. I took some metal, shaped it into a circular collar, and installed rows of laser emitters on the inside. From there, I connected a tripwire to it, and hooked it up remotely to the button on my cane.

When I finished, I put on my mad scientist costume.

Just as I fitted the wig on my head, Lady Thunder knocked on the front door and walked in. "Wakey-wakey! Wow, they really did make all those robots."

"Indeed. This should be enough to get us going."

She leaned over my shoulder to look at the collar in my hands, and I tried not to think about how close her breasts were to my arm. "So what's the plan?"

I tapped a button on a nearby console that threw a hologram of the city into the air for me to point to. "The women's center is here. The opening ceremony will be held here. I will bring half my robots in from the south down Sierra Street while you lead the other half from the north on Copper Boulevard, boxing them in. We will hold the mayor and the reporter hostage, giving Captain Maximum thirty minutes to show himself."

I held up the collar I had made. "Just to show I'm not bluffing, we will put this on Andrews. This collar is equipped with lasers on the inside, and it will be set to slice off her head in thirty minutes."

Lady Thunder winced. "Yikes."

"I'm sure it won't come to that." I set the laser collar down. "When Captain Maximum shows up, we will demand that he remove his mask and reveal his true identity. Of course, I don't care about his identity, but that will make me seem like a run-of-the-mill villain and he might try to negotiate with me. He will most likely refuse but we only need to stall for five minutes so my robots can gather enough data on him to find his weakness."

Lady Thunder giggled and (for a moment) seemed like a little girl instead of a powerhouse Amazon. "Oh, boy, I don't believe this. When you said you wanted to kill Captain Maximum, I thought you were just having delusions of grandeur but I think this could really work."

I tucked the collar into my backpack. "Of course. Come, we must get into position. Robots, attention!"

The robots stood up straighter and faced me.

I pointed to a group of them. "You fifteen come with me. The rest of you go with her."

She pointed. "I brought my bike. You taking the van?"

I nodded. "Let's do it."

She headed out of the warehouse and I followed her to an enlarged motorcycle she climbed onto, one I recognized as her Thundercycle. That reminded me of my Painmobile idea, and I made a mental note to make that idea of a customized vehicle happen. I opened the back of my van and let Brutus climb in before jumping behind the wheel.

As we rolled out, the robots marched out of the warehouse, took off on jets in their hands and feet, and trailed after us. The sight of a swarm of robots flying over the city drew people to look out of their windows or look up at the skies, and I enjoyed the look of shock on their faces. As the robots flew higher, they faded from view until it seemed like I travelled alone, but could see them in the clouds.

I breathed faster as I drove to the women's center, thinking of how I planned to hold the mayor and a reporter hostage. Bank robberies were one thing. This would be my first real act as a supervillain, the time when the world would discover the name of Mastermind.

I pushed a button on my cane to communicate with my robots. "All right, when I give the signal, you will all scan Captain Maximum and get all the data you can before sending it to me."

"Yes, Master," the robots droned through a speaker.

Lady Thunder and I split up as we drove nearer to the center, and as I continued down Sierra Street, I heard the cheer of a crowd in the distance, along with an echoing voice on a loudspeaker. Eventually, wooden horses formed barriers, manned by police officers who held up their hands to stop me.

One officer looked bored as he approached the van's window. "Sir, there's an event going on. You'll need to park and walk back if--"

I shot him in the face with my freeze gun. I could see his eyes look wide and shocked through the ice as he collapsed. Before the second police officer could bring up his gun, a hail of laser bolts rained down on him from the robots that flew in.

As the robots landed on the street in a row, I climbed out of the van and let Brutus out of the back. He leaped out with a growl and chomped down on one of the wooden horses, biting it in half.

"Good boy," I said as I limped forward.

With him trotting by my side, and the robots marching along behind me, we made our way to the building further down the street that read, "Athena's Bow Women's Domestic Violence Center." A statue of a proud Grecian-styled woman drawing a bow stood next to the entrance, and Mayor Holloway stood in front of it before a small crowd of reporters and citizens.

His voice carried down the street as he said, "--proud of our city and this building, a sign of Saint Newton's commitment to women and women's right to have a safe place to--"

He stopped as his eyes fell on me. A look of confusion came over him, followed by horror. That look, along with the clang of the robot feet hitting the ground, drew the attention of the rest of the crowd. As they turned towards me, I immediately focused on the beautiful face of Alexandra Andrews.

She stood in the front row with a mike in her hand and a cameraman behind her. While the others looked confused or frightened at me, she actually smiled a little, probably thinking about how she had an exclusive story. That would change soon enough.

On the other end of the street, Lady Thunder charged in with an escort of robots behind her.

Men in black suits rushed the stage to surround the mayor, but I pointed at Holloway and yelled, "Seize him, my robots! Let no one stop you!"

The crowds screamed and ran in all directions as my robots opened fire. The security guards shot back, but their gunfire just bounced off my machines. Lady Thunder charged the stage, shrugging off the bullets like mosquitoes, and punching anyone who got in her way. Her blows sent people flying.

Some of them aimed at me, and Brutus roared as he charged them. The guards went down screaming as Brutus tore through them.

In all the chaos, I kept walking up to the stage and calmly climbed the steps. By then, Lady Thunder had knocked out all the security guards, and the robots had the mayor surrounded with weapons drawn.

I tapped the microphone, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please."

The screaming and yelling continued until Lady Thunder came up behind me and yelled, "Everybody shut up!"

I smiled up at her. "Thank you."

She winked.

I looked down at Alexandra Andrews who still stood at the base of the stage with her cameraman, yelling a running narrative, "The man is on the stage now, calling for calm. We don't know who this is or what he wants but--"

I pointed to Andrews. "Robots, bring her onto the stage."

She screamed as some of my robots circled and forced her up onto the stage with me. The cameraman tried to fight them but one of my robots pointed its lasers at him and ended his resistance.

With Andrews beside me, I pulled the metal collar out of my backpack and slid it around her neck. She screamed and started twisting to get out of my reach, but Lady Thunder grabbed her head and held it still until I could lock the collar around her throat.

I pointed to it. "This is a laser collar. It is equipped with ten lasers that will cut off her head. In thirty minutes, it will detonate. It will also detonate if my finger comes off this button." I held up my cane with my thumb on the button.

"Who are you?" the mayor yelled. "What do you want?"

I straightened. "I am Mastermind. And I want Captain Maximum here before the collar goes off. I have a favor to ask of him in exchange for her life."

I turned to bellow at the camera. "Do you hear me, Captain Maximum! You will come to me within ten minutes or Andrews and the mayor die!"

I looked up at the sky. I could see Sunflower, one of the City's Saviors, hovering over the scene. She had the power to absorb and use the sun's energy in the form of flames but she didn't attack. It seemed like she watched but didn't intervene, probably so Captain Maximum could take over.

Tears streamed down Andrews' face as she yelled, "You won't get away with this, Mastermind!"

I flicked a hand at her. "Oh, hush."

A roar grew louder until I saw two streaks coming down from the sky, Captain Maximum and Kid Maximum on their jetpacks. The crowds cheered as the two of them dropped to land in front of me on the stage.

Andrews reached for him. "Captain!"

I held out a hand to keep her back, and the robots pushed her behind them.

Captain Maximum clenched his hands into fists. "All right, Mastermind. I'm here. Let the woman go and let's work this out."

I nodded. "Of course, Captain. All I ask is that you take off your mask and tell us who you really are."

Kid Maximum gasped while Captain Maximum just narrowed his eyes.

While the crowd yelled and murmured, I pressed the other button on my cane to get my robots to start the scan. Their eyes turned red while they let the light play over him.

"Is that all you want?" Captain Maximum reached for his mask. "Of course, my identity is not worth a--"

He suddenly held up his hands. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"What?" I stepped back, unsure what he was planning. "I don't--

Captain Maximum lunged at me. "I said, I'll give you what you want!"

He grabbed me by my lab coat and violently twisted me, like we were fighting, but I heard him whisper, "You can't blackmail me, you little shit."

His hand closed over mine and made my thumb push the button on my cane.

The laser collar went off with a loud crackle and pop. Andrews' scream cut short as the collar flashed at her neck. After a split-second, her body collapsed and her head fell off.

The crowd screamed while Captain Maximum staggered back, flailing his arms, and making a show of loss. "No! No, I'll kill you for this! I'll kill you, Mastermind!"

I admit to being frozen with shock but I recovered quickly when I realized he was serious. "Robots, attack!"

My robots attacked Captain Maximum and Kid Maximum with their laser guns and their bodies while Lady Thunder grabbed me by the waist and leaped off the stage. The heroes smashed their way through my robots which didn't concern me. I could always make more, but they managed to slow the heroes down and keep them from following me.

Lady Thunder carried me to her Thundercycle and I didn't resist the humiliation of being tucked under her arm like a loaf of bread. With my bad leg, I would never have made it in time. Brutus ran alongside me, snarling back at the people who got in our way. She climbed onto her motorcycle, dropped me onto the backseat, and roared away from the scene. Brutus ran along with us, easily.

A loud roar came over me as Sunflower soared on a jet of fire. "You won't get away with this!"

She fired a beam from her hands that hit the front tire of the Thundercycle, causing it to melt, skid, and flip over. I went flying, tumbling through the air.

I landed on the back of Brutus who kept on running and I scrambled to sit on him like a horse.

As he ran, I focused on a nearby store window until it shattered. The pieces of glass went flying and I made them soar up into the air like rain, showering Sunflower until she screamed and fell out of the sky.

Lady Thunder ran along with us, yelling, "Down this way!"

We ducked into an alley and I knew what she planned when she came to a manhole cover. She sank her fingers into the metal lid and ripped it open. I didn't wait, but climbed down the ladder into the depths.

I climbed down into the sewer and Brutus jumped down after me. As I climbed, I used the flashlight on my phone to shine into the darkness. When Lady Thunder followed, she pulled the manhole cover down hard enough to crack the bricks around it, locking it into place.

"You killed her," she yelled. "I thought you were gonna wait! Why did you kill her?"

I climbed down to the water as I yelled back, "I didn't. He pushed the button."

Lady Thunder climbed down alongside me. "Who?"

I threw up my hands. "Captain Maximum! Captain Maximum pushed the button!"

We stood in silence for a moment before she gasped, "I can't believe he did that. Why would he do that? I guess they weren't really dating?"

I began to walk through the muck. "Or perhaps they were dating but Captain Maximum just didn't care."

Lady Thunder shivered. "That's a scary thought."

"Indeed. I underestimated him. I won't do that again."

We walked through the tunnels to avoid going back to the surface and getting spotted. I had no doubt that the City's Saviors were hunting for me, but with the maze of tunnels, it would take them hours or days to find us so I felt we were safe. Lady Thunder and I traveled in silence, both in shock from what we had witnessed. I knew I had been right all along, that Captain Maximum was a murderer who had killed his enemies before. Yet killing Alexandra Andrews shocked even me.

At one point, I turned to her. "Roxanne, I just want to say thank you. You saved my life."

She smiled. "No biggie, Carter. I mean, I tried to kill you earlier so I guess we're even."

"No. I appreciate it. You didn't have to protect me. You could have left me behind. There haven't been that many people in my life who cared about me so I want to know I care about you, too, and I will protect you as much as I can."

Her smile widened. "Thanks, it's nice to have someone who cares about me, too. We'll look out for each other, Carter."

"Absolutely, Roxanne." In that moment, as we smiled at each other, I felt a connection. I hoped maybe my dreams of being with Lady Thunder could be more than just dreams.

When we arrived at my warehouse, Lady Thunder climbed up first to look around to make sure the coast was clear, and we quickly climbed out and stumbled inside.

While Lady Thunder washed herself and Brutus off with a hose, I turned on the TV to Channel 14, where Andrews had worked.

The news anchor showed a picture of Alexandra beside him with her birthdate and the day's date. He looked grimly at the camera as he said, "If you're just joining us, Alexandra Andrews is dead. She was killed earlier by a new supervillain, Mastermind, when he placed a collar around her neck with lasers that went off. We go now to a live news conference conducted by Captain Maximum."

Captain Maximum stood in front of the courthouse with cameras and microphones pointed at him. Kid Maximum cried, and the captain's eyes were red and swollen as he growled, "Alexandra Andrews is dead, and I want to say something. As many of you may have already guessed, Alexandra was more than just a reporter to me. We've been dating for about eight months. We were planning to get married. And...and she was pregnant with my child."

Lady Thunder gasped. I said nothing but went to my computer. It still had the data that the robots had scanned and uploaded. I went through it quickly to confirm my suspicions.

As I worked, Captain Maximum said, "She meant more to me than anything in the world, and MasterMind killed her for nothing. He didn't really want my identity. If he had given me the chance, I would have gladly given it to save her. Mastermind just wanted to kill her, to hurt me. And he did too good a job."

Captain Maximum looked at the camera. "I will avenge her death. If you're out there, Mastermind, I will make you pay. And it won't be quick and easy. You will wish you had left her alive."

Lady Thunder blurted, "Oh my God, what's happening? She was pregnant and he killed her?"

I shook my head. "No. My scans show she wasn't pregnant."

"He lied? He killed her and then lied about her being pregnant? Why?"

"So it would justify his actions." I stood up. "He's going to kill me. No doubt about it. This is no longer about revenge but survival. It's either him or me now and I must defend myself. I mean, us. He saw you with me, and I don't doubt that he'll kill you too."

Lady Thunder ran her fingers down her face. "This is crazy. I mean, I knew he was a jerk, but I didn't think he would do something like this. I wonder if she was even his girlfriend."

I slumped into a chair, exhausted. Brutus laid his head on my lap and I scratched his ears. "I don't know and it doesn't matter. If she wasn't his girlfriend, he's willing to kill an innocent woman just to get an opportunity to kill me. If she was his girlfriend, the same thing applies. What matters is that I need to know how to kill him."

"Right, right." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I mean, that's really what it was all about, right? Did you find his weakness with the information you got?"

I shook my head. "No. There's something in his costume that blocked the signal. I couldn't find anything."

She slumped against a wall. "Ugh. So that was all for nothing?"

"I wouldn't say that. Now I know what Captain Maximum is capable of so I won't be surprised again. I also let him know I'm out there. He wants me dead, which means he fears me. That's what I wanted. I'm Captain Maximum's nemesis."

She winced. "Uh, yay? I guess?"

I turned to my workbench. "I can still find out his secrets. I need to find out more about him in a different way, and there's no one who knows more than his partner."

"You don't mean--"

"Yes. I need to get information from the source, Kid Maximum." I broke into a smile. "He'll give it to me, one way or the other."