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James Cross awoke, eyes slowly opening. The first thing he felt when he woke up was pain. His entire body ached like he had been hit a dozen times with a truck. "Hey. You're awake. That's good."

James turned to his left and saw Laura Listerine. She was a beauty, especially out of the uniform. Her golden blonde hair was tied into a pony tail and she was wearing a nice buttoned down shirt, the first two buttons down, teasing any man that would see her in his outfit and she also wore a pink skirt that went down to her knees. James forced his aching body to sit up in the bed he had been lying down in. He cringed as he felt pain shoot through his body. Before talking to Laura, James looked around and noticed he didn't recognize the room he was in. He was in a beautiful room that had a sun room and the walls seemed to be mad entirely from glass. He saw the house this room was connected to and the view from this room was fantastic. He saw a huge mansion close by and a couple of villa styled houses. It looked like he was in paradise.

Before James could say anything Laura said, "Welcome to Listerine Estates. My father owns all of this property. I am sure you have heard of Larry Listerine, owner of Listerine Labs and..."

James stared at her in awe. "Larry Listerine is your father?"

Laura laughed a blushed a little. "Well yes. I try not to make a big deal about it."

James liked Laura in this casual environment. She was not assertive of aggressive like she could be when on duty. Laura seemed like a woman who knew how to balance her work and home life pretty well. "How long have I been out?" James asked.

"Three days." Laura answered casually.

"Three days!" James yelled. "Why didn't anyone try to wake me?"

"Well the doctor said you definitely needed rest."

"There was a doctor here?"

"Well yeah. You were out for some time and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Oual was even over for a breeze by check up on you. It wasn’t anything bad. Speaking of which, Oual wants you down at the station immediately.”

James Cross groaned. “Why?” he asked. “What did I do now?”

Laura laughed that charming laugh of hers and then replied. “Nothing… but today is prom day, remember? Prom is tonight. You and Oual are on security.”

James Cross looked like a deer in the headlights and then his memory was brought back to life like Frankenstein’s monster… very suddenly. “Oh crap! Today is prom!”

JAMES CROSS

"Drew Dubberberry?" James Cross said as he shook the strangers hand. Security was very hard to get past at Listerine Estates, yet here this man was. James tried to rack his brain around whether or not Laura had ever mentioned anything about Drew before, but he didn't seem to think she ever had.

Drew straightened up and said, "Yes. My name is Drew Dubberberry. I am a... friend... of Laura's. She wanted me to stop by at some point today. Is she home? I have very important and exciting news for her!"

James shook his head. "No... I am sorry. She's out on duty right now. She should be home really soon though."

"Ah! I should have known. The life of a cop... it is risky." Drew said this in a nervous way. It seemed to James like he disapproved of cop work. "I worry about her a lot when she's doing her work. But it's her passion so what can you do?"

James took a full look at Drew and tried to measure up this fellow standing before him. Drew seemed to genuinely care about Laura... a lot... so what did this all mean? Drew seemed very much like Laura's boyfriend, though she had never mentioned him before; not that it mattered much to James if Drew was actually Laura's boyfriend. Just by the way Drew talked about her and paused before he said "I am a friend" made James suspect that maybe Drew was more than just friends with Laura.

"Okay..." Drew continued. "Well I am going to leave and... you must be James Cross."

James nodded, answering, "Yes I am."

"I could tell. Laura talks about you a lot. So you're living with her huh?" Drew said and James thought he may have detected some jealousy in Drew's voice. "She told me you got injured in an accident at prom and she was very surprised by this. She calls you "Man of Steel." Did you know that? She says you always manage to get away with just a scratch. Until now I guess huh?" Drew chuckled at his bad joke.

"Okay... what's your point?" James asked crossly.

"Oh... sorry my man. Well there was a tall, black man standing outside the Listerine Estate and he gave me something to give you. He said he'd give it to you himself but he said it was impossible for him to get it to you... whatever that means. He left a message for me to tell you too. He said, 'Something went wrong.' Does that make sense to you? I think his name was Spalding? Spaltwig?"

"Spaldwin..." James said with a slight shutter in his voice. "It was Spaldwin."

"Yeah!" Drew said. "That's it... well here's the gift he told me to give you. Hope you feel better and heal all nice and dandy partner! Gotta go!" Drew handed James the small vital and went striding as fast as he could to the gate, leaving James standing alone, holding the small vital. Attached to it was a small letter and it didn't look open, meaning that this Drew fellow at least knew something about privacy.

James opened the letter and it said, "James- I hope you receive this vital. Something has gone terribly wrong. As you may have noticed your 'powers' as we call them may be draining away from you. Do not lose hope. This is a minor set-back. Drink this and you should feel better in no time. -Wyong."

<<

Huddled behind one of the many buildings of the Listerine Estates, a darker-skinned Asian in a very expensive suit sat massaging a cigar with his lips. His chest rose and fell at a steady pace, as though he were asleep. Except that he was awake, alert, and listening.

When Dubberbury had left, the Asian heard Cross say, “Bottoms up,” and he sprung off of the ground, hurrying towards the training cop. Cross brought the potion to his lips, but before he actually drank any of the liquid, the Asian intervened.

“Jangan!” He shouted in his native tongue. “Put down vial!” He ordered in a firm, thick Indonesian accent. “Is not safe for you.” He cracked a quick smile. “And tastes very bad.” He met Cross’ eyes with wide, pleading eyes. “Please, Mr. Cross.”

<<

The Asian gave a short laugh. “Calm, Mr. Cross. My name is Topan Joyo. I am Wyong’s partner in Jakarta, Indonesia. He and I have had – disagreements – lately over you. All I want is drink you have. Is not ready yet. If you give it to me, I can answer all of your questions… about Wyong, and what he does to you. I know how he works, and know he does not tell everything.”

Topan walked towards the cop with his hand outstretched. “You want know if can trust Wyong. Because he is suspicious. Please, he wants only to take you from self.” A sense of desperation grew with each new word of Topan’s. He repeated his earlier promise. “Anything you want know. I tell… Mr. Cross.”

<<

When Cross asked about Mitchell, Topan’s lips curled into a smile and he lowered his arm. “Then you see that we know all about you?” He paused. “Good. One question is fair for you to ask. In good faith.” Topan’s features did not change, even thought the question did surprise him. “Mitchell does very well, and he is here, in Delmor. At where exactly, I do not know. But know of place where he will go soon, and can take you there. What say to that, Mr. Cross?”

Topan raised his arm again, this time making it clear that no more questions would be answered until Cross handed over the vial.

<<

The Indonesian bit back a cry of anger. He closed his eyes and sighed when Cross drank the potion. “Why would you trust Wyong? Why would let him openly manipulate when don’t understand what it for? I’m not generally honest person, but let be completely honest with you.” Topan looked Cross in the eyes. “My abilities have made me fortune. Have allowed me to experience things no normal man ever could. But don’t know what normalcy is any more. And cause stress. Problems I never wanted to deal with. Even I – the smartest, richest criminal that town has seen – can swear that want to trade it all… to get rid of power. And don’t understand why you want trust Wyong, why powers that cause so many problems already – want to keep. Best student at Gilligan’s. And sophomore. Why act so stupid? Why drink unlabeled drink?”

Topan had been circling around James Cross slowly, and now, just inches from his face, he added, “I make mistake, Mr. Cross. Generally, good judge of situation. Generally, manipulate and get what want. Wanted that vial. But in business, have learned that to be best by never making mistakes is unrealistic. Have discovered the answer that most men never realize. A real mastermind must expect mistakes. Must have more plans. And must only make it look like plans went perfectly. I have more plans, James Cross.” Topan paused. “Have you figured me out yet? You who want be detective so bad.”

<<

The figure of Topan shifted and distorted. Seconds later, a figure dressed in contrasting grays, whites, and blacks with a full mask stared down at Cross, standing two inches taller than the training cop. “And yet,” he replied in an extremely deep voice. “I had to tell you who I was before you figured it out. You ruin the fun, James. And since you need things so clearly spelt out for you, your brother’s name is no longer Mitchell. It hasn’t been for many years, and he has forgotten his early childhood. If he were to see you right now, he would kill you. He has tried once before. In the years since you last saw him, I’ve raised him as a son, but treat him as nothing more than a pawn. He goes by the name of Mythos, and has long buried his human instincts, and now knows only my command. He is the strongest super being I’ve ever encountered, and has only failed to kill you because of the powers Wyong gave you. I believe that you are gaining them back as we speak? Don’t get your hopes up, James. I came here to kill you, and I intend to. Just as I intend to kill your brother, John. My work with him starts as soon as I leave these estates.”

The Mastermind peered at James Cross. “Do you believe me, yet? I have a picture of him, if you would like to see it. It makes me look more… paternal. It really is a shame, that your family is ruined, but if it makes you feel any better, I am only intent on killing you because I believe you and John to be the only threats that will stop Mythos from embracing his destiny. Let that settle in with you, and then we can start talking about Wyong – unless you well enough to attack me already. I can sense that you want to.”