Dr. Doomsday
"So he just broke both of your wrists?" I asked, as I put the finishing touches on a bio-mechanical prosthetic forearm. "On a wellness check?"
The man winced as I attached his new arm, cringing more at the imagined pain than any actual stimuli. "Yeah, he just knocked down mah' door an' broke mah arms. Real fuckin' prick, that WalkMan."
I took a step back, giving Hadron some space as he tested out his new pair of metallic forearms. "Nice work, Doc" he said, catching the reflection of the Fortress of Doomitude's overhead lights in the polished metal.
I bowed slightly. "I always strive for perfection."
Hadron shot out a hand faster than I thought he was capable of, and grabbed me around the throat. I remained still, confident that the former hero wouldn't try to actually kill me without a discussion first. Just like how a Villain was prone to monologuing about his grand scheme, a Hero would always try to justify their actions beforehand.
Plus, those new arms of his were programmed to not allow harm to come to me. But Hadron didn't know that quite yet.
"You killed mah boy Electron." Hadron growled at me. His eyes began to glow an electric blue as he charged his particle acceleration power internally.
I shook my head as far as Hadron's grip allowed, which wasn't very far at all. "I did not touch the boy, or any of the sidekicks. I merely sued your Union to rescue those child laborers. I deeply regret the deaths of the poor sidekicks over the past few weeks, but neither I nor my Doomsquad had anything to do with those murders."
Hadron narrowed his eyes at me, forming two tiny brilliant blue dots of super-powered rage. "Whadda ya' mean, that wasn' your boys that's been killin' the sidekicks?"
"I only filed a lawsuit. Someone else has been picking the kids off. And you, Hadron, can help me find out who." I said.
Hadron kept both his menacing glare and metallic hand locked on me. "An' why should I believe you?"
The door to the operating room opened with a slight chime, breaking Hadron's attention. A pair stepped into the room, a boy and a girl around 17 years old. The girl had vibrant pink hair that seemed to swirl faintly, and the boy was a spitting image of WalkMan.
"Because we believe him." The boy said.
Hadron looked between the two kids, then back to me. "That's WalkMan's boy, yeah?" he asked, with a wicked grin.
Before I could react, Hadron released my neck and aimed his hands towards Steven, WalkMan's son and my henchman... But nothing happened.
Hadron stared down at his hands, and tried again. Nothing.
"DOOMSDAY!" He bellowed, twisting back towards me with malicious intent. "WHAT DID YA' DO"
"It wasn't him", Steven said, taking a step forwards. "It was me. I can temporarily disable people's powers."
Hadron took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Ah, yer' a special one there, Steven. Thats a 'ell of a power."
I smiled. "And that's why the three of you are going to team up, and find the person that keeps killing sidekicks."
Hadron spun at me once more. "I may not be a'hero anymore, but I ain't joinin' you, Doomsday." He snapped.
I raised my hands in imitation of a defensive pose. "I'm not signing you up for dental insurance on the company plan, Hadron. I only want to find the person who keeps killing sidekicks. Don't you want to avenge young Electron?"
Hadron seethed. If Steven wasn't dampening his powers, I had no doubt he would have tried to attack me again just then. Instead, Hadron gritted his teeth, and grunted out one word: "Fine."
I smiled. I told the truth when I said I wasn't recruiting Hadron now, but at the end of all this... Hadron would make a fine addition to my team.
"Your current identity is well known, Hadron." I said, striding across the room towards the door. "You'll need a disguise. An alternate superhero identity, for you and your sidekick here." I clasped Steve on the shoulder with one of my own metallic arms. "And she will follow you both, waiting to catch the sidekick killer in the act."
Stacey, Steve's girlfriend and fellow Doomsquad minion, gave a brief demonstration of her power. Her hair faded from its vibrant pink to the color of the wall behind her, and the rest of her body followed suit. Soon, she was virtually indistinguishable from the room around her, camouflaged like a chameleon.
Hadron nodded. "Aye, he'll make a fine spy. I'll do yer plan, Doomsday."
Steven took a step forwards, glaring at Hadron. "Stacey is a woman. You need to respect her choice, or this whole thing is off."
The young man and Hadron locked gazes, neither one backing down initially. Finally, Hadron relaxed, and gave Steven and Stacey a smile.
"Aye, She can be a sheila if she wan's. Now, Let's go kick some sidekick killin' ass."
I held up one hand in a 'wait a moment' gesture. "One moment, Hadron. We still need to create your fake hero identities. Now, your particle powers are well known, so we'll need to disguise that as well."
Hadron gave me a puzzled look, cocking his head slightly to the side. "How are ya' gonna do that? I cain't 'xactly use a different power."
I smiled. It was time to reveal what those new arms of his were capable of.
"You'll notice a small dial on the side of your arm, here" I said, pointing to a spot on my own arm. "When switched, it uses your raw power to produce other elements. Currently, it can make ice, fire, and electricity, and it has room for additional upgrades."
Hadron looked at his hands, examining them anew. He whistled appreciatively.
"And you'll need a new cover name, can't go calling yourself Hadron anymore. How about..."
Steven perked up. "What about 'Avatar'? Mastering different elemental powers and all that."
Hadron shrugged. "Don' matter to me, it's only for this one mission."
I spoke up next. "And you'll need to be posing as a member of my Doomsquad. For cover, of course." I added hastily, warding off any objection.
Hadron, now under the new alias Avatar, nodded. "Aye. NOW can we go kick some sidekick kickin' ass?"
I nodded. "Welcome to the Doomsquad, Avatar."
