BookBeauty
02-26-2012, 09:59 PM
Gnat Man awoke with a start. His last memory was the vague flash of a boot upon his forehead.
Food deprivation caused his eyesight to blur, but he could make out the faded edges of the room. He blinked a few times. Windows. A long desk. Simple, elegant walls painted in royal red, framed in grey. Glittering lights from skyscrapers might have reflected the starry sky from the windows, if the stars weren't blotted out by rampant street lamps.
''So, we meet again, Gnat Man.'' A voice slithered along the walls of the large office. Gnat Man sat in a rather comfortable chair, hands tied and pressed into the cushion behind him. In front of him was a foe he knew all too well.
It was a balding man that sat in the large desk across from Gnat Man. Tufts of peppery hair grew out along the sides of his head. Tiny lenses with near-invisible frames perched at the end of a hawk's nose. The tag on the desk read, ''Dr. Jacob Munroe,'' There was the distinct smell of cognac in the air. Ice clinked into a glass, held by a firm, bony hand.
''You're something of an enigma to me, Gnat Man. I wonder: Why is it that you disrupt progress?''
''Mrrff!'' Gnat Man responded.
''Ah, of course. Judy, could you remove the mouth gag? Simple villain formalities, since you seem to think me one.''
The mouth gag was removed. Gnat Man might have bit the hand that removed it, if it were not so kind and soft-looking, fingernails lacquered to a perfect, cleanly shine. It would be a shame to ruin such a work of art.
''Same question,'' drawled Dr. Munroe, taking the cognac glass to his tight lips and sipping languidly, as if he had all the time in the world.
Gnat Man contemplated making a wry retort, about not having to answer to the likes of this man, but thought better of it. The doctor looked incredibly patient.
''People may be blind to your activities, Dr. Munroe, but not me. I cannot stand idly by, allowing you to destroy an entire city with your incredibly advanced scientific weapons.''
''Certainly not!'' Scoffed the doctor with a snort, rolling the glass in his hand.
''Have you any idea what I'm trying to do? Not simply a city. That's just a cancerous tumour. But, where is the source? Surely you can see that humanity is a waste. I think that we can all agree that nobody is going to agree to come together, and work together in peace, and proper progress. I am simply giving mother nature a hand. She deserves it, after the havoc we have caused.''
Gnat Man was silent for a few moments. What if he was right? What was the point of humanity, when most were cruel, and wrong? Most people did terrible things, acting like children with magnifying glasses, burning unsuspecting ants. The poor ants! The cognac glass slid to the table, and the older gentleman smiled slightly as he observed Gnat Man's reaction.
''Ah yes. You are considering it, are you not? It is a difficult point to argue with.''
''No!'' Gnat Man blurted out. Denial, and fear framed the tone. It was almost a plea.
''Yes, yes. You are tired of it too. Day by day, stopping the terrible acts committed. The cruelty to animals. The wretched ignorance, and insanity that lies rampant in the darkest corners of humanity. How could you not grow tired of it? But, I offer a simple solution.''
Gnat Man was beginning to agree. Fear crept in, and startling jabs of panic. No! This was wrong! This was not the way he was supposed to be... He was a Super Hero! He had to defend humanity. But, what was there to defend? What hope did they have? What was the point, when all they brought was suffering? Had Dr. Munroe drugged him? Yes, that must be it. He had drugged him.
''Gnat Man...'' Dr. Munroe chewed the words around in his mouth as if he was tasting something foul. He knew that he had won, chuckling softly to himself as he rose from his seat, strolling to look out upon the skyscrapers of the brilliant city. He was holding the trigger in his hand, of a bomb gone untested, but would certainly cause greater harm than a nuclear one. It was crafted with nanotechnology. Gnat Man could not even imagine the implications.
''Now, why on earth did you call yourself that, anyhow? Gnat Man, I mean? You've got no super human powers of flight. You don't even have abnormally large jowls. You're simply one of those Gadget-Heroes.''
And suddenly, it all came back to Gnat. His purpose as a Super Hero. His reason for being.
He had paused to consider Dr. Munroe's offer, but all along he had been prepared. A slicing sound from his Gnat-Knife was muffled by the clinking of the glass that Dr. Munroe again lifted from his desk.
He hadn't had much of a chance, but it would have to do.
He dove headlong across the desk, sliding along the smooth wood, sending glass shattering to the floor, and catching the evil doctor by surprise. The trigger-button went flying through the air, spinning, twirling. He watched in the same way as one would witness a traumatic event. It would be a blur in retrospect, but time was an inch worm then, crawling, both steady and slow. He was horrified.
And then a long, limber arm reached up with the grace of a thousand swans. She caught it. It was Drat Girl!
''You bought us just enough time!'' The blue-haired vixen beamed joyously, doing a little dance in her Lime-Green Spandex.
''Curses!'' The Doctor spouted venomously.
It wasn't long before the authorities arrived, snapping cuffs around the evil doctor's wrists. The doctor's only mistake, other than the usual monologue he would have given, was in reminding Gnat Man why he chose to don his Pink Suit.
Gnat Man had grown up in the country, in a land nestled between forests, river and farmland. He had been blessed by a loving family, and a small, tightly woven community.
It was there that he took his first steps, and learned what it truly meant to be a Hero. It was in living harmoniously with nature, and people alike.
He was very young when the gnat had bit him. He could not have been more than six. But, he withdrew his hand, and saw the blood upon it. It was there that he contemplated that small creature's death. He wondered, in a child's way, how being slapped into someone's neck must feel, being the size of a pebble.
He realized then that the creature was not so different from him. He was living. Breathing the same air. He probably got scared, when Gnat came tumbling through the garden. Maybe that's why he bit him. Maybe he bit him because he needed to drink his blood to survive. It didn't really matter, did it? They both needed to survive.
Gnat Man had started to cry, spouting apologies to the remnants of the gnat that decorated his hand in black and red mush.
Tears flowed. He vowed from that day forward, he would never harm a living creature again. Because, no matter what their status in life was, large, or small, he believed with a sudden clarity that they were all alike in dignity, and no one deserved to live, or die, any more or less. They all had to be given the chance to live.
Humanity was different, though. He grew to learn that very well. But, as long as one man, Gnat Man, still believed, then others might too. And maybe, just maybe... That could be enough hope for a future. One could be the small voice that echoed inside many.
Food deprivation caused his eyesight to blur, but he could make out the faded edges of the room. He blinked a few times. Windows. A long desk. Simple, elegant walls painted in royal red, framed in grey. Glittering lights from skyscrapers might have reflected the starry sky from the windows, if the stars weren't blotted out by rampant street lamps.
''So, we meet again, Gnat Man.'' A voice slithered along the walls of the large office. Gnat Man sat in a rather comfortable chair, hands tied and pressed into the cushion behind him. In front of him was a foe he knew all too well.
It was a balding man that sat in the large desk across from Gnat Man. Tufts of peppery hair grew out along the sides of his head. Tiny lenses with near-invisible frames perched at the end of a hawk's nose. The tag on the desk read, ''Dr. Jacob Munroe,'' There was the distinct smell of cognac in the air. Ice clinked into a glass, held by a firm, bony hand.
''You're something of an enigma to me, Gnat Man. I wonder: Why is it that you disrupt progress?''
''Mrrff!'' Gnat Man responded.
''Ah, of course. Judy, could you remove the mouth gag? Simple villain formalities, since you seem to think me one.''
The mouth gag was removed. Gnat Man might have bit the hand that removed it, if it were not so kind and soft-looking, fingernails lacquered to a perfect, cleanly shine. It would be a shame to ruin such a work of art.
''Same question,'' drawled Dr. Munroe, taking the cognac glass to his tight lips and sipping languidly, as if he had all the time in the world.
Gnat Man contemplated making a wry retort, about not having to answer to the likes of this man, but thought better of it. The doctor looked incredibly patient.
''People may be blind to your activities, Dr. Munroe, but not me. I cannot stand idly by, allowing you to destroy an entire city with your incredibly advanced scientific weapons.''
''Certainly not!'' Scoffed the doctor with a snort, rolling the glass in his hand.
''Have you any idea what I'm trying to do? Not simply a city. That's just a cancerous tumour. But, where is the source? Surely you can see that humanity is a waste. I think that we can all agree that nobody is going to agree to come together, and work together in peace, and proper progress. I am simply giving mother nature a hand. She deserves it, after the havoc we have caused.''
Gnat Man was silent for a few moments. What if he was right? What was the point of humanity, when most were cruel, and wrong? Most people did terrible things, acting like children with magnifying glasses, burning unsuspecting ants. The poor ants! The cognac glass slid to the table, and the older gentleman smiled slightly as he observed Gnat Man's reaction.
''Ah yes. You are considering it, are you not? It is a difficult point to argue with.''
''No!'' Gnat Man blurted out. Denial, and fear framed the tone. It was almost a plea.
''Yes, yes. You are tired of it too. Day by day, stopping the terrible acts committed. The cruelty to animals. The wretched ignorance, and insanity that lies rampant in the darkest corners of humanity. How could you not grow tired of it? But, I offer a simple solution.''
Gnat Man was beginning to agree. Fear crept in, and startling jabs of panic. No! This was wrong! This was not the way he was supposed to be... He was a Super Hero! He had to defend humanity. But, what was there to defend? What hope did they have? What was the point, when all they brought was suffering? Had Dr. Munroe drugged him? Yes, that must be it. He had drugged him.
''Gnat Man...'' Dr. Munroe chewed the words around in his mouth as if he was tasting something foul. He knew that he had won, chuckling softly to himself as he rose from his seat, strolling to look out upon the skyscrapers of the brilliant city. He was holding the trigger in his hand, of a bomb gone untested, but would certainly cause greater harm than a nuclear one. It was crafted with nanotechnology. Gnat Man could not even imagine the implications.
''Now, why on earth did you call yourself that, anyhow? Gnat Man, I mean? You've got no super human powers of flight. You don't even have abnormally large jowls. You're simply one of those Gadget-Heroes.''
And suddenly, it all came back to Gnat. His purpose as a Super Hero. His reason for being.
He had paused to consider Dr. Munroe's offer, but all along he had been prepared. A slicing sound from his Gnat-Knife was muffled by the clinking of the glass that Dr. Munroe again lifted from his desk.
He hadn't had much of a chance, but it would have to do.
He dove headlong across the desk, sliding along the smooth wood, sending glass shattering to the floor, and catching the evil doctor by surprise. The trigger-button went flying through the air, spinning, twirling. He watched in the same way as one would witness a traumatic event. It would be a blur in retrospect, but time was an inch worm then, crawling, both steady and slow. He was horrified.
And then a long, limber arm reached up with the grace of a thousand swans. She caught it. It was Drat Girl!
''You bought us just enough time!'' The blue-haired vixen beamed joyously, doing a little dance in her Lime-Green Spandex.
''Curses!'' The Doctor spouted venomously.
It wasn't long before the authorities arrived, snapping cuffs around the evil doctor's wrists. The doctor's only mistake, other than the usual monologue he would have given, was in reminding Gnat Man why he chose to don his Pink Suit.
Gnat Man had grown up in the country, in a land nestled between forests, river and farmland. He had been blessed by a loving family, and a small, tightly woven community.
It was there that he took his first steps, and learned what it truly meant to be a Hero. It was in living harmoniously with nature, and people alike.
He was very young when the gnat had bit him. He could not have been more than six. But, he withdrew his hand, and saw the blood upon it. It was there that he contemplated that small creature's death. He wondered, in a child's way, how being slapped into someone's neck must feel, being the size of a pebble.
He realized then that the creature was not so different from him. He was living. Breathing the same air. He probably got scared, when Gnat came tumbling through the garden. Maybe that's why he bit him. Maybe he bit him because he needed to drink his blood to survive. It didn't really matter, did it? They both needed to survive.
Gnat Man had started to cry, spouting apologies to the remnants of the gnat that decorated his hand in black and red mush.
Tears flowed. He vowed from that day forward, he would never harm a living creature again. Because, no matter what their status in life was, large, or small, he believed with a sudden clarity that they were all alike in dignity, and no one deserved to live, or die, any more or less. They all had to be given the chance to live.
Humanity was different, though. He grew to learn that very well. But, as long as one man, Gnat Man, still believed, then others might too. And maybe, just maybe... That could be enough hope for a future. One could be the small voice that echoed inside many.