The Scientist arises from the dust. (New Champion)

About two years ago it happened. I was sitting quietly in my living room, reading the newspaper when came a swift knock at the door. Being the optimist I am, thinking it would be good news at the door... oh I was wrong. I arose slowly as my knees were sore, and went to answer it wondering to myself who it could be.

I opened the door to be greeted by an older gentleman in a white dusty lab coat reaching down to his knees. Pockets filled with various gadgets, a couple writing utensils in the upper right chest pocket. Under the lab coat a collared shirt unbuttoned and tucked into his dark brown khaki pants, fit snugly to his waist by a black belt. His shoes simple black loafers, worn down by long travel. He had apparently owned them for awhile. Perhaps the most striking feature of this gentleman was the large bright green goggles tightly hugging his face covering his eyes. The vicious wild smile on his face, every wrinkle etched deeply into the skin of his face, he was quite old you see. Hair completely white and blown back by the wind.

"uhh yes?" I said.

"Hello! I'm Doctor Normand Christov but you can call me Chris! I'm here to evacuate you from your city."

"What? Why!?"

He reached into his pocket and took out a peculiar gadget, a simple remote with one red button in the center of it and an antennae sticking out of the end.

"Well sir, as you can see by this remote I'm holding here, I'm about to blow up this city you're living in, but seeing as you're the only intelligent person in it, I could commandeer your assistance in studying the affects of high levels of radiation on lifeforms in your vicinity."

By intelligent he was referring to my extensive studies in Zauian sciences. I had in my youth been quite ambitious, being well acquainted with all fields of science and research I had at one time been on the brink of discovering new technologies, however due to my unfortunate accident I resigned to teaching locally in this small town and gave up my work. I wondered to myself how this man knew that... or perhaps I should've been wondering if he was actually serious about blowing up the town, such a statement seemed completely ridiculous.

I paused for a moment looking at the man stupidly. After awhile I opened my mouth and said in a dry voice

"Sir, I'm going to call the police."

"Well... You can go ahead and do that, truth is by the time you reach your phone and call them I'll have already been in a safe place unleashing beeauutiful radiation on this lovely little town of yours."

"What do you mean.. Doctor... Christov was it?"

"Please! Call me Chris! haha, I meant this of course!"

The doctor reached into his left coat pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a Geiger Counter. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a simple device that uses electromagnetic pulses to measure radiation levels. He waved it around a little as it beeped slowly.

"You see." As he continued to wave the Geiger Counter through the air

"The backround level of Radiation here is about 0.1 milirem per hour. I plan on raising that to about justttt over 1000 rem per minute. Something that will probably kill you in well- a minute. That is IF you survive the initial blast. Which you won't."

"Get off my property sir. I'm calling the police."

"hahahhhh suit yourself son. It's a shame to see you perish with the rest."

He turned around and began to walk away as I closed my door and locked it. I then looked out my curtains to make sure he left. He walked towards the end of my yard and stopped for a moment as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be another remote, this time more buttons. He then pointed it into the air in front of him and out of nowhere what looked like a cylindrical hole in the middle of the air with an electrical storm and a pulsing purple light in the center appeared. The hole was about 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide just tall enough to fit the doctor. He put the remote back into his pocket and started to walk towards it.

"A portal!? Holy Shfffff!"

He really is going to blow up the town! I thought to myself as I unlocked my door flung it open and ran full speed towards him as he stepped into the cloud of energy. I ran directly into his back as the portal closed behind us. I directly fell on the ground. Dust rose up and I breathed it in, I looked up and we were in the sand flats miles outside my town. Approximately 50 feet in the distance I saw a blast shield, a couple benches and a barrel of ice with Graggy Brews peaking out the top of it.

"Well that was awfully rude boy! Damn you nearly scared the hell out of me!"

"What the hell!! You're actually going to blow up the town!?"

"I thought I made that clear... ah well I'm glad you did decide to come with me, now you can watch the show and kick back a couple brews too!"

"Doctor you can't do this."

"Are you going to try to stop me?"

I paused for a moment, wondering how I would. He was an old man but he was quite strong and apparently fit. I suppose if I were to try I could beat him in a straight up brawl.

Without saying a word He reached to his watch and pointed it at a nearby cactus. Then after pressing a button a concentrated beam of energy shot forth from his wrist and straight through the cactus. My eyes burned and I had to turn away.

"That was a warning, You will not stop me, if you do try I won't hesistate to end your life. My work MUST be completed."

My eyes had a dark shadow in a line across them as the beam was extremely bright. No.. I can't stop him.

"Doctor.. please don't do this." I began to beg. Even in desperation I couldn't let him end all those lives. But I hadn't the power to stop him. Feeling my helplessness I began to cry as the initial shock of what was happening began to wear off.

"Oh man up! It's SCIENCE! Look! It's fun boy. After the town is gone we'll have so much work ahead of us, anddd we can hang back and drink some brewskis, hell that's what I look foward to after a long day of work don't you?"

A weakness came over me, The portal and laser beam was demonstration enough that he was capable and ready to blow up my home. Thank God I don't have family in town atleast. Still, all those lives, for what? I looked at the old man blankly. What kind of monster would do this? Who would do this to people!?

"I'm not working with you.." I said in a weak listless voice.

"Oh you'll change your mind after the show. Truth is You're a lot weaker than I am boy. So much radiation exposure goes to your head. I wish I could say I wasn't immune to it, but... Mostly I am. You ever have a 100000 Rem beam shot through your head? It does things to you. My face swelled up, my skin peeled away. But it didn't kill me. That was a high enough dose to kill 100 men. But it changed me on a cellular level. That's why i need soft squishy non immune humans to experiment the effects of radiation on. But, Hey! Maybe it might make them immune like me? That's why I'm doing this you know?"

"To create others like yourself?" I asked.

"Hell no. I love myself, and truth is, What happened to me was a miracle, science can't recreate it. I'm doing this to study other more... devastating effects of radiation."

"You're mad, what happened to your humanity!?" As I began to get angry. I got up and walked towards him fist cocked back.

The doctor touched his belt buckle and a huge flash of light exploded from him and blinded me. I fell backwards unable to see.

"Now now, I won't be having any of that, It's funny my fingers are coated with a fine powder that has a unique light chemical reaction when touching brass. Quite fascinating I'd say. Now if you'll stop with all the unnecessary emotions and attachments to your home You'll probably have your sight back in time to see the explosion. Won't that be fun?"

I looked about panic stricken by my loss of sight, unable to see anything but white followed by intense darkness. Then the doctor faded into my vision slowly and I could see him holding a pair of goggles.

"You'll need these." As he tossed them at me.

"Lets begin our little experiment shall we?" As the doctor motioned me to get behind the blast shield. I strapped the goggles on and watched reluctantly unable to figure out if I was able to stop him. Asking myself if I should sit idly by as this man destroyed hundreds of lives in an instant. Should I do something? Can I do anything?

"Doctor, aren't you going to get behind the blast shield?"

"The Blast shield's for you boy, I'm immune remember?"

"Hold on to your ass boy. It's about to get hot."

He pulled out the remote with a single red button and pointed it towards the city, decisively he pressed it with his thumb.

A brief pause.

Then..

A bright flash. The entire sky above us faded to black.

"noo... "I said.

Tears streamed down my face, as a bright white mushroom cloud rose into the stratosphere over my former town and home. The cloud faded from white to purple to red.

"Wait for it!" Yelled the scientist.

A thunderous roar and a powerful shock-wave rushed over our area. A deafening sound and a cloud of dust and energy surrounded the doctor as his white labcoat blew upwards and his white hair clung to his scalp as the shockwave forced it flat against the back of his head.

That's why his labcoat was covered in dust. That's why his hair is blown back. This isn't his first time doing this... today!?

"Doctor how could you!?"

The shockwave settled and the white hot explosion of pure energy faded outwards over the town.

"Boy. If you're gonna keep asking stupid questions I'm going to kick you off the project."

"I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PROJECT YOU PSYCHO!" Anger began to consume me.

"Really? That's what you've decided?" Asked the doctor.

"YOU DESTROYED MY HOME YOU DESTROYED ALL THOSE PEO-"

"Shut up!" The Doctor said in an authoritative tone. He breathed deeply as if disappointed.

"I'm sick of you do-gooders forcing your moral quandaries on my science. I wont be having it!"

He reached into his pocket picked out his portal gun and shot open a hole behind me. Lifted his foot swiftly and gave me a hard kick right to the chest. I fell backwards into the portal.

"I'll just have to study the after effects on my own. What a buzz kill you turned out to be."

I fell into a dark room about 10 feet onto some crates.(The portal exit was in the middle of the air) I climbed slowly upwards until I found a window, and examined my surroundings. A ship... Salty air. Nasty smell.

Yep there was no mistaking it. That bastard portal-ed me to a warehouse in Bildgewater of all places. A sharp pain in my knees burst forth. "ARGH DAMNIT!" As I thought back to the accident that got me to quit science all together...

All those years ago as I studied radiation.

The laser..

The explosion... My lab partner.

How the doctor knew I was a scientist...

"Wait!.. Nor!?"

I heard a faint echo.

"Don't forget this."

Boom! A sharp strike to my left temple as something hit me. I picked it up and examined it in the dim light. A brown Glass bottle "Graggy Ice" read across the label.

edit: excuse the silly picture as I do not own any drawing software other than microsoft paint.