Grounded

The anti-origin story of Megavolt

Part One

In the scheme of the high school popularity pool, even Elmo Sputterspark was not as low as Drake Mallard.

"Hey Science Boy." Ham String, the star quarterback, knocked the back of Elmo’s head.

Elmo panicked "Ham."

"Look at me I’m Mr. Science."

"Leave me alone Porky." Elmo shouted.

"Make me." Ham said.

"Stupid jacka-"

Elmo turned around to a teacher, who looked disapprovingly at Elmo’s choice of words.

"Jacket wearing ne’er do well." Elmo smiled.

Ham sauntered off to meet up with his girlfriend.

Someone should teach that moron a lesson.

In fact the only reason he was leaving Elmo alone, was to pick on the new kid, Drakey Mallard. Elmo snuck past them both, to head home.

"Hey Drakey." Ham poked Drakey.

"Cut it out Ham." Trying to pass to class

"That’s Mr. String to you." The dirty porker snorted.

"Mr. String, That’s a good one Hammy." Preena Lot, his obnoxious girlfriend rubbed against Porker.

"Can I please get to class now?" Drakey asked pathetically.

"I’ll say when you can go."

"Yeah."

The crowd laughed as Ham pushed Drakey to the ground.

Elmo should have walked home. He was already late. But he couldn’t help noticing Drake out of the corner of his eye.

Struggling to reach his back pack out of Ham’s hands. Even an intellect as devoid as Ham couldn’t really enjoy that for long. He threw the back pack in the air scattering Drakey’s books all over the floor and trounced off.

Drakey sighed and picked up his books.

Elmo could be a little later, since he already was.

He looked at the frustrated young duck.

"Here let me help you." He groaned condescendingly.

"Thanks Elmo. Or do you want me to call you Mr. Sputterspark." Drake said timidly.

"Funny." Elmo said sarcastically.

"I’m sorry Elmo." Drakey apologized again.

"You know Drakey maybe if you showed a little back bone, people wouldn’t pick on you as much."

"That’s an easy thing to say."

This had been a mistake. Elmo was already late, and one pep talk wasn’t going to fix all of this kid’s problems. Besides he had so much work to do, if he was going to fix his science project today.

"See you around Drakey."

"Okay Elmo. See you at the prom."

"The Prom?" Elmo snorted.

"Why would I waste my time with all those idiot jocks? Boy, I wish I were big enough than I’d show them whose boss…" Elmo whined.

"But you couldn’t pay me enough to go to that thing with those snooty obnoxious sons of-"

The teacher walked out into the hall.

"Of carpenters." Elmo finished.

Drake followed him home.

"So what do you normally do after school?"

"I go to my- None of your business." Elmo said.

"Well it’s just everybody says that you have a really weird basement and I just wanted to see if it was true." Drakey said

"You really want to see?"

"Well I don’t got anything better to do." Drakey said trying to sound cool, but his enthusiasm was evident.

"Okay."

Elmo looked around over each shoulder and opened the door.

"It just looks like an ordinary cellar." Drakey said.

"After you Mr. Mallard." Elmo said caustically.

"Why thank you."

Drakey stepped down into the stairs, and was sucked into a tube.

Elmo smiled. "Watch that first step it’s a humdinger."

Elmo followed Drakey elegantly down through the hydraulic tube and landed on his feet.

Drakey stared in awed amazement.

Huge glittering electrical machines loomed over head. Color streamed from all over the place, from the diodes and resistors and fancy beakers of colored liquids. The lab glittered and whirred and murmured all at once.

"Welcome to my Laboratory." Elmo said.

"My home away from home…only it’s you know downstairs of my home."

"Wowie this is like Dr. Daphnia’s lab in Dark Avenger 17. Even with the Jacob’s Ladders."

Drakey immediately took out his sketch pad and began drawing.

"This is so cool."

Elmo gasped.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed the note pad away from him "This is a top secret facility."

"Sorry Elmo force of habit."

"Do you know what would happen if even the schematics of this place were to end up in the wrong hands. The Russians, the communists, industrial spies or God forbid…my Mom."

Elmo sat down, and handed him back his sketch book.

"I’m already bribing my sister 3 bucks a week not to tell my Mom about this place."

"I’m really sorry Elmo. I won’t tell anyone about your lab."

"Thank you Drakey."

"Don’t call me Drakey please."

"Well was there anything else you wanted to say. Cause I got work to do."

"No." Drakey said hound doggishly, staring at his feet. "I guess I’ll go home."

"Goodbye Drakey."

Drakey went upstairs.

Elmo had more important things to worry about. His static electricity experiment for one thing. This thing would knock the teacher’s socks off at school. He switched on the machine and it began whir.

It was an A+ for sure. Its design was aero-dynamic; its structure was efficient. It was a Marvelous Megawatt Machine. It would probably also get him beat up. It was so unfair. The big dumb mean kids always were in charge. Elmo had been thinking about this problem. He started to daydream again.

He dreamed he was big and tough and passed Ham picking on Drakey in the hall.

"Hey" said dream Elmo. He was so big and tough it was all that was needed.

"Sorry Science Boy, I mean err Sparky."

"What did I tell you about picking on people?" Dream Elmo put his giant hand on Ham’s collar.

"Sorry Sparky. It won’t happen again, sir" Ham in his dream cowered at his height.

"Say that to Drakey." Elmo said.

"Sorry Drakey. Can I carry your books?"

"Thanks Elmo Elmo Elmo Elmo Elmo."

He broke out of his reverie. The machine was whirring strangely; it almost seemed to say his name. Like something was stuck in it.

He looked around and felt a tug on his shirt.

He was caught in the machine.

He gasped.

He tried to pull himself out, but it only made it worse.

He was going to get crushed by his own machine.

"Drakey, are you there help. I’m stuck!"

He called out.

"Somebody get me out."

He was really desperate at this point

"Andre-Marie!"

Elmo smacked his head in frustration. All these years he had told everyone to keep out.

He stared at the machine slowly pulling him into the treadmill.

Elmo woke up in a daze.

He didn’t even have rug burn. He felt his limbs, nothing broken, nothing bleeding. He wiped his forehead in relief. He yanked his shirt out of the machine.

His shirt promptly set on fire.

He panicked and rolled around on the ground.

"Whoa. That was-"

He put his hand on the table. A huge bolt of blue lightning jumped from his hand and lit the table on fire.

"Ahh."

Did he just see what he thought he saw? Lightning in his fingers? No he must have hit his head or something.

He grabbed the metal door knob.

"See I’m just imagining-" He leaned against the wall and felt a huge current flow into the wall.

"Things." He shuddered.

Lightning from his hands? He smiled.

This was extraordinary. He looked around at the machine for some explanation. A huge scorched hole in the ceiling.

He had only tried his MMM machine for seconds at a time. This had probably been going for an hour or maybe more. That could create a current large enough to burn a whole in the roof, or to do anything.

Magnetize and Charge flesh? He was a walking magnet. He looked straight at a potted plastic fern. He pointed at it. If he was right…

He felt the energy course through him like blood. A shiny blue bolt hit the plant melting it into oblivion.

He laughed.

Who needed to be big and strong if they could do that? Yeah, no one would ever mess with Elmo Sputterspark again. He would go show that Hamstring a thing or three, now: for picking on poor Drakey, for picking on him too. He would off rolled up his sleeves but that would probably light them on fire again.

His afro blew in the wind

Yes with these powers he’d be invincible. Those chumps at school shall suffer at the wrath of Megawatt.

Elmo Sputterspark transfigured into a pure energy being began laughing maniacally as his hair stood on end.

"Elmo, I’m home."

The laughing stopped.

Elmo almost froze; okay he was shivering in complete fear, so that counts.

"Well I couldn’t pick up your electrical doo dads, but I did go to the grocery store and get that kind of pudding in cans. Yummy"

It couldn’t be. He started picking up the mess as fast as he could.

Mom came home early.

He dashed to the other side of the room to grab a broom. He had to hurry; his Mom was going to kill him if she saw this mess. Unfortunately the mop lit on fire with his new electrical powers. He stomped it out with his boots.

"Stupid stupid stupid. Rubber rubber rubber. Rubber can’t conduct electricity. What’s rubber?"

He frantically searched around for anything he could touch without it bursting into flames. He grabbed his mother’s new blue rubber dish gloves hanging out of the bucket.

"These things will have to do for now." He whispered to himself

He began picking up all the tipped beakers that had been struck by the ray.

"Elmo? Have you seen your sister? I bought her some-"

"NO!" He struggled under the huge broken TV that the lightning bolt had dashed to the ground.

"Elmo where are you?"

He had a stroke of genius.

"Upstairs?" he said hesitantly as he threw the tarp over his plasma accelerator.

He was panting. He had bought himself a few more seconds. He began to look for the spare broom. No where in sight. It was in the upstairs closet. Why did these things always happen to him? Andre-Marie could sneak out with her friends at 3 o’clock in the morning and skipped school and Mom wouldn’t bat an eyelash. But if he ever made a little mess or played his music too loud or changed his molecular composition a little by blasting himself with a bolt of indoor lightning, she’d make a big stink for some reason.

"Elmo you should come out of the basement, bunny cakes. I hope you haven’t wasted there the day in there."

Well this was the best he could do he tried to look inconspicuous, smiling.

Mom came down stairs.

"Hi Mom!" he said over zealously, waving, standing to hide the huge parabolic dish he had installed. "Let me give you a hug."

He hugged her and spun her around so she wouldn’t see anything else.

Mrs. Sputterspark nearly dropped the groceries.

"Gee you don’t look so good. How about you go upstairs and lock your door and sleep and not try to listen to anything. And you can just stay in your room and not come out."

"Elmo what is going on down here?"

"NOTHING!" he shrieked "I mean… why do you ask my beloved and dearest mother?" he smiled.

"Elmo, don’t think you can pull one over on your old mother. You’re afraid that I’ll get mad at what you did with your hair."

"What, I mean. Yeah. I-"

"Well I can’t say I like it, but hey if it’s what you want... You want to look your best for the prom, I suppose."

Elmo gasped for air.

"Oh, You’re mad about this?" he sighed, patting his newly acquired afro.

"Well I don’t want to turn into my parents. I remember when I put my hair in a bouffant my parents were furious…"

"Yeah well…"

"Just you remember to clean off those gloves afterwards. I need them to clean up the floors."

"Okay Mom."

"And why is it so dusty?"

"Mom, I’m so sorry."

"Well it’s not your fault it’s dusty. I’ll clean it all up."

If she spent anymore time around him she might find out too much.

"It’s okay. I’ll do it myself. He grabbed a dust cloth, and began dusting and whistling.

"Well don’t mind me Elmo, it’s just that you do spend so much time here. I’m curious. Like what did you put in that old closet?"

An adamantium core of a nuclear reactor, a dexterian surge emitter, nuclear materials, a plasma core generator

"A potters wheel. Nothing big. Why don’t you just go upstairs and wait for Andre-marie to call?"

"Elmo, Why are you are so secretive."

His mother went back upstairs.

He did it. Elmo sat and dropped his head on his desk. It was all over now he could plan his vengeance against all those who had mocked him at-

"Elmo Julius Sputter-Spark! What in God’s name did you do to my living room?"

Elmo sat straight up.

Maybe he should have found some reason for the huge scorched hole in the ceiling. He knew he had forgotten to clean up something.

"Wait till your father gets home young man."

"He’s been gone since Andre-Marie was born." Elmo reminded her.

"You are grounded Mr."

"But Mom I actually had something to do this weekend. I was going to go to the prom-"

"No you’re not. You are staying here in the house, and not in that lab either. With any luck you’d probably build a time machine and escape. No phone calls, no going out, no TV, no visitors…"

Elmo wasn’t really phased by this; he could just spend the weekend perfecting-

"And no more experiments!"

Elmo panicked.

"No more experiments?"

She turned her back.

"But Mom. I am on the verge of a huge scientific breakthrough. What I am-"

"What you were doing, You were on the verge of a scientific breakthrough. Now you are only going to clean up this mess."

"I hate this place. I can’t even blow up the living room without getting hassled. It’s such a dungeon." Elmo sparkled along the edges a little. He had to control his temper or he might zap something.

At this Andre-Marie came in, wearing her ripped sweatshirt over one sleeve and tight black pants, her hair was feathered.

"Elmo! Whaddya do with the living room? How am I supposed to have that kegger with a big hole in the roof? I mean we’ll never be able to fit a big enough keg in my bedroom. You knew this is the only room that would fit all those people…" she realized her mother was there.

"Mom."

"Young lady I told you, you could not wear that to school. Why aren’t you in school? It’s only 2:30."
"We’ll talk about this later. Right now I- What was that about a keg of beer? In your room…"

Elmo sighed gratefully; he wasn’t going to get all the heat this weekend.

Andre-Marie sat at the window.

"My life is ruined. I was supposed to go to that party at Jackie’s house. Our Mom is so so… I hate her."

"It’s not like you didn’t deserve it." Elmo said turning the page in the book.

"Well if someone hadn’t blown up the living room." She pointed at the visible scorch marks on the wall. "Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain before Mom can get the roof fixed."

Elmo was still trying to turn the same page. It was impossible to turn the pages with these gloves.

She stared at him "It’s bad enough I’m stuck at home reading on a Friday night, but why do you have to wear those stupid gloves. Why are you wearing those stupid gloves?"

"Why are you wearing a four ripped sweat shirt?" He said childishly "I like gloves." He licked his thumb and tried to turn another page.

"Come on, Elmo. I’m not Mom. You can’t gas me. Did you get a tattoo of a naked lady or something? Why are you wearing those gloves?"

"I guess you’re never going to find out." He finally turned the page.

"Oh look at mister tough guy." She smacked him over the head and was jolted. Her hair stuck up.

"Static cling. That’s weird." She ruffled back her hair.

"Don’t touch me." Elmo said like he always did, covering his face with a book.

"What’s a matter? Baby Bunny Cakes got a problem" she gave him a purple nurple. But shrunk back. "Ow. What the-"

"Please don’t touch me. I mean I am serious-"

She brushed up against him. She got zapped again

"Ow. It’s like your doing that on purpose."

"I’m not."

Andre-Marie decided not to test touching him again "All right what’s going on Elmo?"

"You have to swear not to tell Mom."

"What you didn’t create some kind of death ray did you? Like in that Derek Blunt Movie?"

Elmo related the events to his sister…

"So you see when I get mad I zap people."

"Wow. Could you do that to me? Yeah we’ll be like brother sister team. Yeah we could take over St. Canard High. Yeah!" Andre-Marie shouted.

"Will you keep your voice down?" Elmo was in enough trouble with his Mom already.

"Yeah I can see it now Sparky and Lightning Marie, or something like that. It’ll be so tubular."

"Actually I was thinking Megawatt."

"That’s not for me. I don’t like that name." Andre said.

"It’s for me. Megawatt."

"Okay call yourself whatever you like. Now what am I gonna wear…"

"Wait." Elmo paused. "When did I say I was going to do this to you?"

"Come on Bunny Cakes. I’m your sister. Don’t you love me?"

"I’m not using the MMM on you."

"You better or I’ll kick your butt." Andre-Marie stood up "Come on."

"Forget it." Elmo crossed his arms. "I don’t even know if I could do it again. I passed out before I saw what was happening"

"Come on. I’ll pay you." Andre-Marie whined.

"What?"

"I’ll give you eleven bucks."

"You expect me to completely horrifically alter your molecular structure with no consideration of the possible side effects or consequences, for eleven bucks?"

"Okay I’ll make it 15."

Elmo shook his head

"If you don’t make me all cool and zappy like you, maybe I should just I don’t know…tell MOM MOM-"

Elmo grabbed her mouth. It gave her another nasty jolt of static electricity.

"You wouldn’t." Elmo rasped.

"Come on, this is too cool. You can’t expect me to keep my mouth shut. Like my brother has been changed into a lightning powered mutant freak."

"Andre please don’t-"

"I can’t wait to tell all of my friends."

Elmo moaned.

"I should call the police, the DIA, the Secret Service, the National Guard…"

"I’ll give you 50 dollars."

"Like I said I’ll keep my mouth shut."

Mrs. Sputterspark walked into the living room. She hadn’t seen Elmo and Andre-Marie sleeping like that since they were toddlers.

"Elmo, honey are you asleep."

He had fallen asleep drooling on his book.

She thought to herself, "I shouldn’t have yelled at him, he’s a good boy. Just don’t make such a big mess. You’ll be a great scientist someday. I hope not today. I’ll miss my little bunny cakes when he’s gone."

Elmo’s mother kissed him on the forehead. Andre-Marie fluttered awake. He woke up

"No Mom don’t." Andre-Marie shouted.

Mrs. Sputterspark was knocked back to the other side of the room.

"Mom!"

He had zapped his mom.

Andre-Marie rushed over to her.

"Mom. Oh no what have I done… Mom wake up." Elmo ran and rushed to his mother’s side.

"Don’t touch her Elmo. You could kill her." Andre-Marie shielded her mother.

His hands instinctively reached to touch her and pick her up.

"What have I done?"

He wanted to reach out and touch her but who knows what that would do. What if he shocked her again?

"Does she have a pulse?"

"I don’t know. I’m not a doctor." Andre-Marie panicked

"What if I stopped her heart?" He panicked.

"Elmo calm down. She’s waking up."

"I have no idea how to control these powers. What was I thinking?" Elmo cried.

Mrs. Sputterspark sat up. Elmo had never been happier in his life.

"Mom."

He held her so carefully in his arms. He couldn’t imagine ever shocking another human being for the rest of his life.

"Oh my how did I get in here?"

"You were sleep walking." Andre told her. Elmo sat in the corner.

"Well then good. I feel kind of funny." Mrs. Sputterspark said woosily "I’m going to sleep."

"Can I go out tonight?"

"Sure Andre sure. Just be back by midnight."

"Okay." It had already passed midnight, but knowing Andre-Marie she probably wouldn’t be back until next midnight, tomorrow.

His mother was quite unaware of her surroundings. Elmo led her up the stairs with his gloves. When she finally fell asleep, Elmo sat up in the corner of her bedroom thinking about what had happened to him that night.

Elmo quite happily took apart his ray. At least no one else would be hurt. He would have to wear gloves all the time now. Apparently his fingers were direct conductors of electricity. He could find doctor’s gloves, for that. The rest of his skin wasn’t as bad, but he decided that he should wear a scarf and some kind of hat. He found a tacky old bowler that he lined in latex so his hair wouldn’t spark. Strangely his nose was completely electricity free. He couldn’t get past the static electricity problem

He constructed his outfit all that weekend.

He arrived at school sporting this new look.

No one was talking in the halls. The surprising thing was no one even made fun of the ugly blue gloves he was wearing. No one even noticed him.

The locker next to his was empty.

"Hey Elmo, wow, you’re looking sharp. Nice Fro." Deirdre said obviously upset about something else.

Elmo blushed "Thank you Deirdre." Not used to genuine compliment. He looked around. Usually at this time Drake would be at his locker too. "Where’s Drakey Mallard?"

"Oh Drake. Oh my god didn’t you see the news."

"No, I was grounded."

A policeman came between them.

"Hi, this is a locker check."

"Locker Check? What’s going on?"

The policeman opened his locker and rifled through his comics and science books.

"This guys clean. Let’s move on."

There was a voice on the loudspeaker

"In light of what happened at the Junior Prom this weekend, all students are asked to report to a very special assembly in the auditorium about Gun violence."

"Oh yeah right. A little late for that…" an angry voice said bitterly and quietly.

"What happened?" Elmo asked.

Deirdre sounded as if she had said this a thousand times.

"Well you know Drakey. He came to the prom and we all thought it was really funny because he was wearing a purple tux. And Ham and Preena started laughing at him. And we didn’t know. We should have known…"

"What happened?"

"Drake pulled out a gun. And everyone started screaming and Preena started stepping back. And I don’t think that anyone was as scared as Drake, he was shaking so much. And when Ham tried to take it away…" she broke down into tears, collapsing into his arms.

"It went off." Elmo finished for her.

"He didn’t even mean to shoot anybody. He just was so pissed. He wanted to scare us."

"How’s Porker? Is he-"

"They don’t know. I mean Drake hit him in the shoulder. And the doctors… they all said that it was touch and go."

"Oh my God." Elmo held his head. Drakey Mallard shot someone. Drakey was the sweetest and most friendly guy in school. He was the only one who even talked to him. He never even raised his voice. Once when Ham threw his comic book in the mud, he didn’t even try to fight back. Elmo was overcome by a sense of dread and relief.

That could have been him.

With these new powers he would have come to the Prom and probably killed Ham. Just as easily as if he shot him through the heart. Now seeing it all so clearly. How everyone was so frightened, how everyone padded so silently along the halls, afraid of everything. He would have done the same thing. He adjusted his glasses.

This was a strange world. Drake Mallard the sweetest guy in the world could pull out a gun and nearly kill someone. Crime and war were going on everywhere. Couldn’t there be anyplace that was safe? If people had to rely on violence to solve everything what hope was there?

Elmo Sputterspark had an awakening at the moment, In that quiet hall in St. Canard High, on that dark day. He had found his destiny, to become a crime fighter.

TBC

Grounded

Part 2