5.x.
Professor
Inflation circled, his flickering image jittering in a wide arc. Franklin Buck instinctively backed away,
fearing that every flash of light would reveal a charging adversary. The floor and ceiling were still converging
but it was doubtful that he’d survive long enough for it to be a real concern.
“Pathetic,”
said Professor Inflation. “Your father
never backed away. Not once. You’re not worthy to wear his tacky green
suit.”
Franklin Buck
stopped, his shoulders slumping slightly with shame. Then, slowly, he raised his fists up in front
of his face.
“Oh, that’s
rich,” Professor Inflation said.
“Priceless even. You’re ‘the dollar man.’ That might have meant something a long time
ago. When the dollar had more
value. Maybe if you were the One Hundred
Dollar Man, or even the Ten Dollar Man, I might hesitate, might not do what I’m
about to do. But the Dollar Man?”
Professor
Inflation moved with a slow deliberateness, making sure his actions could be seen
in the strobing light. He pressed a
large button on his wrist gauntlet.
Marquee lights surged up and down the piping of the Professor’s pink
suit and cape.
“Wow! What a show huh? You can see me now can’t you, Dollar
Boy. Are you ready? You ready for what’s coming?”
Professor
Inflation cocked his head and said, “Really?
Even with…” he gestured to the limp forms of the other Union members
strewn about them.
“Well…
Yeah. I’ve been thinking,” the Dollar
Man said. “My name’s Franklin . So why can’t
I be the One Hundred Dollar Man?”
“Because
that’s absurd,” said Professor Inflation.
“You can’t just suddenly declare that you have more value. And change you name.”
Franklin Buck
shrugged.
Professor
Inflation charged. A flicker image of
the caped menace strobed through the dark, the marquee lights visible
throughout the attack with the professor’s body disappearing into the black as
the fluorescents blinked.
A snap kick
flashed toward Franklin Buck’s head. The
image frozen in light one moment, gone in the following black; marquee piping
continuing to trace the maneuver. In the
next burst of light Franklin Buck gripped Professor Inflation’s ankle, the
kicking foot only four inches away from the Dollar Man’s face. There was no change in the next few after
images. The two men remained locked in
this stance for an eon of a heartbeat.
Then Franklin raised his
free hand, elbow brushing against the ceiling, and called out, “Feel the
crushing weight of ten thousand pennies!”
He hammered his
fist across Professor Inflation's chest, driving the doctor of malign economics
to the ever rising floor. In the
flickering light, Franklin Buck raised his hand again and said, “Fell the
purchasing power of the One Hundred Dollar Man!”
The next
hammering blow pounded the remaining wind from Professor Inflation’s
lungs. A third knocked all conscious
thought from his brain.
