Captain Eracer: Chapter Two

1 Two weeks. That’s how long it had been. But to Cap Eracer, it seemed like only yesterday that he’d taken on the mantle of justice and defeated the evil menace of Dr. Vileson. Two weeks. Now he sat in his living room, staring at the wedding invitation. It was black, the letters embossed in gold. It was Snap’s wedding; his little brother was finally tying the knot. He and Tina had been dating on and off for years, but Snap was so busy with all of his scientific work that marriage had been put on hold. The date was set for three months from now. Cap was happy for him. Marriage was a wonderful thing. Yeah, until it’s ripped away from you…It was that voice. The one inside his head that had been haunting him since the night of his own wife’s death. It had been there at the museum that fateful night; it had been there when he was fighting Vileson. It was there at the funeral, stronger than ever. Always there. Always reminding him of what he’d lost. Stop it, he commanded himself. Stop thinking like that. No amount of bitterness can ever bring Marie back. Move on. Support your brother. It’s the only thing you can do. Cap sighed. He was arguing with himself more and more these days. He needed to take his mind off the subject of…well, that subject. He switched on the TV and lost himself in Good Times reruns. It was his favorite show. J.J.’s antics always cheered him up. After a few minutes, there was a commercial break. Just before he got up to grab a Coke, a new ad caught his eye. “Hey, pool owners! Is your water too filthy? Do you slip on slime every time you walk by the edge? Well, I’m Wacky Bill, and I’ve got your solution!” “Wacky Bill” was an eraser all decked out in beach clothes. Cap couldn’t help but smile. He looked like a tourist in Florida! The ad continued, “My innovative ClearPool formula will fix you right up! It uses space age chemical engineering to bring out the best in your pool. Use my product every three months and you’ll have the most beautiful pool in town! Go ahead: make the neighbors jealous! This stuff sells itself! So come on down to Wacky Bill’s Pool Emporium—you won’t be disappointed!” The screen paused for a moment, focusing on an image of a bottle of the ClearPool formula, along with a phone number and address for the store. Cap focused intently on the address, memorizing it: 1223 9th Street. The next commercial came on, and he lost interest. Why did that intrigue me so much? he wondered to himself. Whatever the reason, I have a bad feeling that it may be important later…

2 Bill Waters was living on air. His pool business was exploding, and with his new product, ClearPool, another sales explosion was inevitable. He had just bought a new house, one of his favorite pool models installed in the back yard. His boy, Sheldon, was just learning to walk, and he and his wife had never had a better relationship.

There was just one problem in his life: government agencies. He had just begun the manufacturing process, when those busybodies from the FDA showed up. They had flashed their badges, nagged him about federal regulations, and halted production. With the FDA it was always health this, public safety that. Blah, blah, blah, he had thought. You’re just upset that I make more money than you do. He knew the ClearPool formula was safe. In fact, he had tested it himself. He had used it on his pool for nearly six months, and dumped a large dose of it into his new pool as soon as they had moved in. With him, pool care was number two on his list of things most important, right behind his family. He hated murky water. Even when his son had had an “accident” in the bathtub, he had cleaned up the mess with his formula. The chemistry was sound. But it was the government: what can you do? So now he was a couple thousand units behind going into the first week of sales, and he was agitated. He had orders being shipped out to customers all over the world, not to mention the several hundred pool owners in Eraserville. He would have to— He was snapped out of his self-counseling by the piercing ring of his office phone. He glanced at the clock; it was five. Nearly time to leave. He swung his feet off the top of his desk and swiveled his chair around to face the blaring phone. He picked up the receiver. “Wacky Bill’s Pool Emporium, Wacky Bill speaking. How can I help you,” he said. “Oh, Bill!” It was his wife. She sounded panicked. “Honey, what’s the matter?” he asked uneasily. “Bill, it’s Sheldon. He’s—you’d better come to the emergency room.” “The emergency room…?” “Now! Hurry!” The phone dial tone sounded. She had hung up. Bill sat in shock for a moment. The emergency room? Why? Then the adrenaline kicked in and he surged into action. He jumped out of his chair, catching his shin on the wooden corner. He howled in pain but quickly limped out of the office. No sooner had he regained feeling in his leg than he began to run, straight across the showroom floor and out the door of the warehouse on 9th Street. He fumbled for his keys as he approached the car. He speedily found the right one, but he dropped the keys onto the ground straight into a muddy puddle. He hadn’t even noticed it was raining; it didn’t really matter anyway. All that mattered was his son. He cursed and then crouched down to pick up the keys. He shivered in disgust as he reached his hand into the puddle, mud gathering between his fingers. I hate dirty water! he screamed mentally. Finally he found them, hastily wiping them off on his shirt. He unlocked the door and climbed in, switching on the ignition. The car rumbled to life and he sped out of the parking lot, desperate to reach Eraserville General.

3 Rain splattered the windshield as he drove; he didn’t notice. Thunder rumbled nearby, rattling the windows of his car; he couldn’t have cared less. Lightning flashed brilliantly and the storm worsened; it was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered to Bill Waters was his son, his son in the emergency room. Finally he pulled in to the parking lot of the hospital. Luckily, it was at the same time as the ambulance bearing his son pulled up. The warehouse was much closer to Eraserville General than his house was. The back doors swung open and two medics hopped out, carrying with them little Sheldon Waters on a stretcher. He was wearing an oxygen mask; the situation didn’t look good. Right in the middle of the lane, Bill stopped, switching off the car. He dashed to the side of his panic-stricken wife, who stood over their boy’s limp form. Her face was streaked with tears, and, looking at the boy, it was easy to see why. Much of Sheldon’s hair had been burned away, and there were burns all over his body. His eyes rolled back lazily in his head, and he did not appear to be breathing. Bill felt his heart sink. He turned to his wife. “Honey, what…what happened?” It was hard to understand her through the tears, but it seemed that she had left Sheldon alone in the bathtub to go grab the ringing phone. The curious toddler had climbed out of the tub and dragged Bill’s electric razor into the water. The resulting shock was enough to nearly kill the poor boy. In fact, his heart had stopped. The medics had been able to resuscitate him, but now he needed to have oxygen pumped into his lungs. He was in critical condition; he might not live. Bill’s heart sank even further. This was going to be a rough night.

The hospital waiting room was as silent as a graveyard. The loudest noise in the room besides the incessant flopping of his wife’s flip-flops as she paced was the low hum of the Coke machine. Bill leaned back in the plastic chair, leaning his head up against the wall. How long had it been? Two hours? Three? He had no idea. It didn’t really matter; the night had been torture for him. He picked up the Eraserville Tribune sitting on the low table next to him and tried for the hundredth time to read it. Once again, it was useless. He just couldn’t concentrate. The emergency room doors swung open, the creaking sound so unexpected that both Bill and his wife jumped, sitting straight up. Seeing the doctor striding towards them, shoes squeaking on the tile floor, they ran to meet him. “Bill and Terri Waters?” the doctor asked. Bill nodded anxiously. “Yeah, Doc. That’s us. Please tell me you’ve got some good news.” The doctor smiled an uneasy smile. “I do. Young Sheldon will be just fine.” Bill sighed with relief, his stress-releasing laugh barely drowning out Terri’s happy sobs. The couple embraced, her tears drenching the collar of Bill’s shirt. He didn’t care. She had the right to cry enough to fill a dozen swimming pools.

They finally released, Terri pulling a Kleenex out of her purse and wiping her eyes. Bill turned to the doctor and shook his hand. “Thanks, Doc. That’s the best news I’ve heard in years.” “I’m sure,” replied the doctor. “However, your son will have to stay here for a week to recover.” Bill’s wife turned to him. “Honey, could you go home and grab us some stuff? Sounds like we’ll be staying here for a while.” “Yeah, sure, anything. I’ll be right back.” He dashed out of the door, the great weight lifted off his heart now that his boy was safe.

4 The car pulled into the driveway, splashing water out of a giant puddle on the edge of the pavement. Bill climbed out, not even bothering to shut off the headlights. He ran inside the house, out of the storm, packing a pair of duffel bags for his wife and himself before heading into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out his “World’s Best Dad” mug. The coffee maker was full, and somehow still hot. Good old Terri always knew when and how he liked it, and must have switched the machine on when she left the bathroom… A wave of pent-up stress hit him like a ton of bricks. He felt hyped up, and he hadn’t even taken a sip of coffee yet! He wavered on his feet feeling dazed, when he looked out the window and saw his new swimming pool. That’s it! he thought. I’ll take a quick soak. That always cheers me up! He chugged the coffee in his mug and set it down in the sink before going back to he and his wife’s bedroom and changing into his bathing suit. He almost grabbed a towel, but realized that it would be useless in the torrent outside. As he opened the back door and felt the wind tug at it, a massive roll of thunder shook the window panes. For a moment, he heard a voice in his head urge him to reconsider. It’s too dangerous, the voice said. You know the risks of being hit by lightning in a pool. Your family’s already experienced one electrocution tonight. Don’t make it two… He shook the thought out of his head as he stepped out into the rain. He would only be a minute, and besides: he needed to relax after the night’s anxiety. Another huge thunderclap rang out, making him jump, but still he marched on. As he approached the edge of the pool, he crouched down to check on his supply of ClearPool. Two bottles. Four gallons. Enough for two years. The sight of the bottles brought back memories of the FDA agents. “Dangerous”? Please. ClearPool was as benign as a butterfly. Ka-POW! The noise was deafening as a bolt of lightning struck less than a mile behind him. He was so startled that he lost his balance and fell headlong into the water, inadvertently dragging the bottles with him. The chemicals contained in them spilt out into the water, forming a murky cloud around Bill’s body. He reached the surface, sputtering as he tried to catch his

breath. Rubbing his eyes, he looked down and saw the purple water around him, as well as the two completely empty bottles floating nearby. This can’t be good, Bill thought. Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up… The strike came quickly. Bill was blinded by the brilliant light as the bolt hit him, feeling his ears pop just before he blacked out.

5 Two months later… Cap flipped through the pages of a Sports Illustrated magazine, sitting on a bench in a men’s store. He could hear the grunts from inside the dressing room: those slacks would have to be refitted again. A few minutes passed, and the dressing room door swung open, his brother Snap emerging. Snap was all spiffed up in a brand new tuxedo, a red bow tie completing the outfit. “Well, how do I look?” Snap asked. Cap stood up. “You like fine. For the tenth time, the outfit’s perfect.” “Y’think Tina will like it?” Cap sighed. “I’m sure she will. Look, you need to make up your mind. We’ve been here for two hours. I’ve read the story about Larry Bird fifteen times.” “It’s a good story. Sorry, Cap, it’s just…I’m nervous. Tina is everything to me, and this wedding means the world. I want to make sure everything’s perfect. For her.” Cap zoned out, his mind going back to ten years earlier. He had said the same things. He had been in Snap’s position once, wanting to please Marie so much. Oh, no! Marie! The images from the funeral invaded his mind, his eyes going wide. A tear ran down his face. He saw that night at the museum; he heard the sirens, saw the Chief’s pitying expression. Everything he had was— “Cap! You still with me?” Snap’s voice yanked him back to reality. He blinked, shaking his head. “Yeah, yeah. Of course. Now, what were you saying?” “I was saying that I’m done. This is the one I’m getting. Call the salesperson over here while I change.” Cap smiled as he waved for the girl to come over. It had taken thirty-five years, but his older brother was finally getting married. Just two more weeks…

6

The water on the top of the Waters’ pool was still. No one had entered it in two months; no one had dared. Sheldon was fully recovered, but Terri still worried. She had not seen Bill since the accident. She knew something had happened to him. That night…he had gone home to get some things, a simple errand, and then he was coming back to the hospital. She waited for hours and hours for him to come, but he never came. Finally she called the police, and they went back to the house. Bill had clearly been there—the car was in the driveway, the coffee mug was on the counter —but he was nowhere to be found. They had looked everywhere, but no one in the city had seen him. Two days later, she filed a missing person report. But she never gave up hope. One day her husband would come back, and everything would be normal again, she knew it.

The pool water stirred. A mayfly perched on the surface was startled away. For a few minutes, nothing else happened, and then the water on the surface began to glow purple. The purple glow began to concentrate in one area, and then gradually rose up into the shape of—a man! The purple glow subsided, and Bill Waters lay on the top of the water, sputtering. How long had he been out? How was his wife? How was Sheldon? He had so many questions, and “Where the heck am I?” was not the least of them. He sat up and looked around. Well, at least now he knew where he was. He was in his pool. That was a start. Wait—in his pool? But he was sitting up! Realization dawned on him, and he gasped as he stopped sitting and started sinking. I must still be unconscious, he thought, completely underwater. Yeah, that’s it: I’m dreaming. He opened his mouth, and a rush of bubbles raced each other to the surface as he inhaled water. And then the strangest thing happened: Bill found that he was able to breathe the water! He climbed back up to the surface, and then, wobbling, he stood up, balancing on the water. Delicately at first he took a step, and then, building confidence, he strode over to the edge and stepped up onto land. He smirked; he wasn’t sure what had happened, or maybe when he would wake up, but he didn’t entirely dislike his new…abilities. Recovering from a minor case of been-in-a-coma-for-two-months sea legs, he walked over to the back door. He tried the handle: locked. Bill cursed to himself. Terri must be out. If only there was some way to get in… He suddenly got an idea. It sounded stupid at first, but the more he thought about it, the better it sounded. So he tried it. In an instant Bill was transformed into a small puddle of water. Cool, he thought. The puddle slowly moved forward, under the door and into the house.

Several hours later Terri returned, bag of groceries in hand. As she unlocked and opened the door, she was alarmed to hear the TV on. She snuck into the kitchen and set the bag carefully on the counter. Quietly unzipping her purse, she pulled out a can of pepper spray, then headed out into the living room. She was shocked to see someone on the couch, reclined like he owned the place. She creeped up behind him and shouted, “Hey! Why are you in my house?” The intruder jumped up and turned around, and she struck, pointing the can directly at his face. “Take that, you jer—Bill!” The can dropped to the floor and rolled away, but it went unnoticed by Terri as she locked Bill in a firm embrace. She released her husband and stepped back to get a look at him. “Honey, you look… different. What happened to you?” Bill explained what had happened on the night of the accident. Terri took in every detail, a tear running down her cheek. “So then I woke up a couple of hours ago and—honey something amazing may have happened!” He noted the look of surprise on her face and then continued. “When I woke up, I could walk on water! The ClearPool must’ve had a reaction with the lightning and it…mutated me or somethin’!” His wife clearly did not believe him. Bill’s eyes widened as he tried to convince her. “Honey, it’s true! I swear! Watch this…” She took a step closer, a worried look on her face. “Sweetie, you’re just tired. You’ve been through quite an ordeal. Why don’t you just rest…” Her voice trailed off as she stared into a cloud of mist where Bill had stood just a second before. The mist dispersed, when all of a sudden a voice from behind her caused her to turn around—“See, honey.”—but when she turned around all she saw was a puddle on the floor. Right before her eyes, the puddle glowed purple and rose up, transforming back into Bill. Wide eyed, she stammered, “O-okay, you have me convinced.”

“So what happened while I was…away?” Bill asked moments later as he and his wife sat in the living room, sipping cokes. “How’s my boy?” “He’s good. He’s better than good, actually: following a full recovery, he’s been running at 110%. The doctors have never seen anything like it. Right now he’s at daycare.” Bill nodded. “Anything else?” Terri looked unsure, as if she didn’t know how to tell him something. “Well…” He sat forward in his seat. “Honey, what is it? What’s the matter?”

She sighed. “It’s the FDA. You see, while you were gone, they came back—with the results of a government-funded lab test and an order from their head office. They said that your ClearPool was radioactive and that they were going to shut you down. “With you gone, there was no one to stop them. They came with a team, and locked up the factory. It was set to be cleared and repossessed next week.” The can in Bill’s hands never stood a chance. With super-strength he crushed it, Coke dripping on the floor. “That FDA…I’ll have to pay their office a little visit. Where’s the closest one? Over in Clipsburg?” “Yeah, I think so. Why? What are you planning on doing?” Bill stood up and tossed the can into the nearest trash bin: perfect shot. “Oh, nothing. I’m just gonna have a little chat with that agent. What was his name? Oh, yeah, Agent Richards.” He left the room, headed back to their bedroom. Terri called back to him. “What, you’re going now?” “Yeah.” “Why?” “The sooner I take care of this, the better,” Bill said, tying on a black mask made from a scrap of clothing he had been wearing the night of the accident. He was wearing a diving suit that he had been wearing that night, too, his lucky dive suit that he always wore under his clothes. He figured that the clothes that had survived the lightning had probably been transformed, too; they could change with his body. He felt the top of his head; it was very odd. What had once been a thick head of black hair was now three blue “waves” that swayed and rocked just like the waves of the sea. He was amazed to notice for the first time that his hands and feet were webbed, like a frog’s. What else has this stuff done to me? he wondered, kissing his wife and stepping out the door.

7 The Clipsburg skyline was clearly visible across Tri-City Lake, miles of blue water away. Bill stood on the top of one of Eraserville’s levies, gearing up for his swim. With a grim determination, he stepped forward out onto the water. Seagulls scattered as he walked into their midst; a fish tickled the bottom of his foot. When he was out well above head height he dove in, bound for the other shore. Bill immediately noticed the speed of his swimming. He flew through the water swiftly and gracefully, like a pristine dolphin. I must be going thirty-five! he thought, amazed.

He mentally formulated his plan as he swam. The FDA office was only a mile from the lake; he had the directions, so finding it would be easy. Then he just had to get in. No problem. Who can keep water out of a building if it wants to get in? Dealing with that agent jerk…Well, he would worry about that when the time came. Lost in his thoughts, he hardly noticed that he had reached the other side of the lake. His hand scraped through sand on a stroke, waking him up from his musings. He stood up on the lake bottom, the water up to his chest, and walked towards the sandy lake shore. Amazingly, the water provided no resistance to him; he walked just as easily as he would through air on land. Bill didn’t notice, or care; the light of revenge was in his eyes. He unzipped a small side pocket on his dive suit and removed the laminated map. “FDA, here I come,” he muttered to himself. Clipsburg was a bustling big city: horns blared constantly, newspaper salesmen shouted headlines for all to hear, and pigeons cooed as passersby shooed them away. The FDA building was not the biggest building around; the brooding skyscrapers towered above it, their heads in the clouds. Bill paused beside a small hotdog stand across the street to use a payphone. The hotdog salesman in the greasy apron and the bearded homeless man leaning up against the wall eyed him funnily, obviously curious of his choice of clothing. Bill sneered at them and turned his back, inserting his coins. He dialed the number he had found for the agency. “Food and Drug Administration,” the receptionist answered. Bill cleared his throat and replied, “Yes, I have a special concern. I must speak to Agent Richards about it. Is he in?” “Yes he is. Should I tell him you’re on?” “No, no. That won’t be necessary. He ought to be expecting me. I’ll just come along in a little while and speak to him face-to-face. Thank you very much.” He hung up without waiting for her response. He knew Richards was in. Now all he had to do was get in. But how… He peered around, when suddenly he noticed a storm drain. Perfect, he thought, with an evil grin. The pipes.

The door to the men’s bathroom swung open and Agent Richards stormed in, an uncomfortable look on his face. Shouldn’t have had all that coffee, he thought. Goes right through me. The bathroom was empty, and completely silent except for the constant drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet. He was headed for the urinal across the room when he stepped in a puddle in the middle of the floor. Disgusting, he thought. I sure hope that’s faucet water.

Ripples still ran across the puddles surface as he sidled up to the urinal and did his business. Oddly, the ripples didn’t stop. In fact, they continued rapidly and the water glowed purple. Within seconds Bill Waters stood there in the bathroom, the puddle gone, a fiendish look on his face. Richards didn’t notice the company as he nonchalantly flushed with his elbow. “Never get your hands dirty,” he had been told by his mentor, the late Agent Labowski. He did notice when the pipe exploded and toilet water sprayed all over him. “Phthwaw! Gross!” he sputtered. “What the…” He stopped, seeing Bill for the first time. “Who are you?” Bill mocked offense. “Really, Richards? You don’t recognize me? I’m hurt. I thought we were so close, with you ruining my life and all.” A wave of recognition flowed across Richards’ face. “Bill Waters? Is that you?” It was soon followed by a look of fright. “B-but…you’re supposed to be dead!” “Yeah and I’m also supposed to be a millionaire by now because of my ClearPool formula. Funny how things work out.” Water was still spraying from the pipe, drenching Richards even more. “Here, let me get that for you,” Bill said. He clenched his fist, and the water shut off. “What the…how…how did you do that!?” Richards stammered. “Well, the night I disappeared, there was a bit of an accident with the ClearPool…” “The ClearPool…” “…and I became a mutant with control over water. It happens.” “Bill, I told you that stuff was dangerous. Look what it’s done to you! You need help! Is that why you came?” Bill stepped towards him. “No, no—I came for revenge. You took advantage of my disappearance to play your little bureaucratic games and ruin my enterprise. Now you’re gonna pay—one way or another!” Richards backed up. “Wh-what are you going to do?” Bill stopped his advance and looked thoughtful for a minute. “I dunno. I haven’t figured that out yet.” He stepped forward again, a wicked gleam in his eye. “I guess I’ll just have to roll with the tides…hehheh. Pun intended.” Richards’ eyes got wide with fright. He slipped backwards and fell on the cold linoleum floor, his back against the tile wall. “Bill, please, don’t…Waters, I’m begging you…”

Bill grabbed him by the necktie and lifted him up to stare eye-to-eye. “Bill Waters is dead. He died two months ago,” he hissed. “I am now Submersabill—the last name you’ll ever hear!”

8 “His name was Ernest Richards, Captain Eracer,” the Clipsburg police chief said. “He was a government employee. FDA inspector.” “When was he found?” Captain Eracer inquired, ducking under the police tape and into the FDA restroom. The body lay in the middle of the tile floor, arms and legs splayed apart as if it was trying to make a snow angel. The mouth was open, and the eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, as if mesmerized by the air conditioning vent. The sight sent shivers down Captain Eracer’s spine, and he turned toward the police chief for an answer. “Earlier this afternoon. Around four.” He glanced at his watch. “Two hours ago. Some poor guy came in, wanting to do his business, and all he gets is a body in the potty.” He gave a grim chuckle. Captain Eracer didn’t return the laugh. To him, death wasn’t funny. But maybe he just wasn’t jaded enough yet. “Cause of death?” “Death by drowning.” “Well, he’s in a bathroom. Could be suicide. Why am I here?” “Because it’s not suicide. There are bruises on the neck. Signs of struggle. And none of the sinks were filled.” “And the toilet’s too far away. So: we’ve got a homicide.” “Looks like it. Only one problem.” “What’s that?” “Nobody was in the bathroom except him, until the other guy walked in and found him. He was there for over an hour. We’ve got security footage.” Captain Eracer began to look perplexed. “Any way somebody could’ve snuck in?” “I doubt it.” The chief gestured toward the wall—“No windows.”—then towards the ceiling—“Nobody could fit through that vent.” “So we’ve got a homicide where a homicide could not have possibly occurred.” “Right. That’s why I called Jim. He said that he had a superhero buddy who might be able to help us solve this restroom riddle.” “You’re sure nobody entered the room from the building—” “Security footage proves it.” “—and nobody could possibly have entered any other way?”

“Yeah. Totally sure.” The chief grinned and pushed open a stall door, motioning towards the toilet inside. “Unless, you know, they let themselves in through the sink and out through the john. But that’s ridiculous.” “And impossible,” Cap added. He was growing tired of the potty jokes. “Look, Chief. I’m gonna take off, but if I discover anything, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

9 The chief was right about two out of three things: He was right that Submersabill had let himself in through the sink faucet before posing as an innocent puddle and drowning Richards. The chief was also right that escape through a toilet was ridiculous. And disgusting. If there was one thing in the world that Submersabill hated more than the blasted, life-ruining FDA, it was dirty water (and door-to-door salesmen, but nobody likes them). And in his mind toilet water was the EPITOME of dirty water. No, he had taken a one-way trip out of Murder-Scene-Ville on the Sink-Drain-Express. He now surged like a bullet through the water Tri-City Lake, the water thick and dark in the twilight. He had stuck around in Clipsburg for a few hours after his “appointment” with Agent Richards having a bit of fun: blowing up fire hydrants, spraying people in the face when they leaned over to get a drink from a water fountain—you know, pranks anyone with a masterful control over water would do. He now sped home, eager to see his wife and son, and sleep in his own bed again. He made a note to himself to cover the mattress in plastic wrap first, at least for one night. Who knew whether or not he might “wet the bed”, considering the changes made to his body? But as he went on his mind focused not only on the things he had missed most while being in what can only be called a two-month coma, like television, coffee, his bed and, most importantly, his family, but also on a plan he was formulating, the evil scheme to end all schemes (at least in his mind). He hadn’t quite mapped out all of the details; he would do that tomorrow. But for now he only hoped that it would satisfy this growing need for revenge, the one he thought would have been satisfied by murdering Agent Richards but that had not. He was so deep in thought and was travelling so fast that he didn’t even notice the figure of Captain Eracer flying low above the water as he passed beneath him. Captain Eracer was also headed home, and was lost in thought as well: “How do you solve an impossible murder?” was the question of the day in his mind. Suddenly he saw a figure pass beneath him. Fast. He had never seen anything move that fast in water before. “Good grief! What was that?” That bad feeling passed through him again, just like it had when…When was it? He struggled to remember. Finally he did. He had last had that premonition when he saw that commercial for…Zany Steve? Crazy Carl? No, Wacky Bill! That was it! I remember now, Captain Eracer thought. 1223 9th Street. I don’t know why I remember that, but I’d best go check it out tomorrow. My gut’s telling me that something’s not right with this Wacky Bill guy.

10

If Terri Waters could’ve read Captain Eracer’s mind, she would’ve agreed wholeheartedly. Something was definitely not right with her husband. He had seemed normal at first, sure; he had come home in that ridiculous outfit, seen Sheldon, and immediately run over and hugged him, tears streaming down his face. Or was that just the water his body was made of dripping? She couldn’t be sure. Was it something in his eyes? Or maybe a too-wide grin? She couldn’t be sure, but something wasn’t right with Bill. He seemed a little…crazy. Maybe she was just being paranoid. …But what if she wasn’t?

11 It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Eraserville. The birds were singing, the sun was shining. There was not a cloud in the sky. Cap slept peacefully, snoring gently, with not a care in the world. He was planning on sleeping in today, maybe getting up in time for a quick brunch. He hadn’t slept this well since Marie’s death. Then the phone rang. Cap rolled over, awaking with a groan. My, how he hated that phone. His hand slammed down on it, and he picked it up with a yawn. “Y’ello?” “Cap?” It was the Chief. “What’s up, Jim?” “You gotta get down here. NOW!” Cap sat bolt upright in bed, his sleep forgotten. “Where? What’s going on?” “Y’know that old construction company? Bright Brothers? Well, some nut’s holed up in there, apparently stealin’ enough TNT to level a mountain!” “Be right there, Chief.” Cap hung up the phone and blazed over to the cabinet where he kept his Eracersuit and helmet. He had that bad feeling again, and it was telling him that whatever it was he had seen moving through Tri-City Lake so fast was somehow related to this robbery. Finally ready, he left the house in a flash, using a device Snap had installed to lock the door remotely. He turned his sights towards downtown Eraserville and took off with a rigid sense of urgency.

He arrived just as a massive explosion rocked the whole city block around the Bright Brothers warehouse. Cap landed on an adjacent building and watched in awe as the entire warehouse, surrounded by cops, began to sway. Bits of stone fell from its roof as it began to crumble. A huge cloud of smoke rose up above it. The police officers scurried for cover. Within seconds, the whole building was nothing but a pile of rubble, framed by dust and smoke.

Cap flew down to street level, searching for the chief. As his eyes scanned the area through the dust cloud, he saw a van drive from around the back of the wreckage, unnoticed by the police officers as they regrouped. Cap followed the vehicle and watched as it backed up to—a storm drain? That’s odd, he thought. A shady figure hopped out of the driver’s side and Cap saw that it was an eraser, dressed in a black divesuit and mask. The back of the van was open, and the eraser stood by it and ushered towards the drain, making a “Come on!” gesture. Cap watched in fascination as a stream of water that looked and behaved oddly like a hand rose up out of the drain and into the van. It emerged moments later with a large bubble containing what Cap recognized as the stolen explosives. The water-hand, at the eraser’s bidding, deposited the bubble into the storm drain. It did this several more times until the van was empty, then simply collapsed into a puddle. As Cap crept closer, the eraser turned to face him. The eraser’s face showed shock for a moment, then relaxed, as he saw Cap. He laughed a short, hearty victory laugh, and waved arrogantly. Cap watched, amazed, as the eraser dove headfirst towards the storm drain. As he fell, his body quickly turned into water and streamed down into the pipes below. Gone. Captain Eracer could barely believe what he had just seen. This guy wasn’t just some nut; he was a super nut. A real life supervillain. Wow. And where had he seen that face? The guy was just about the right build… He strode down to the drain, and stood, hands akimbo, staring into the dark opening. Whoever it was, his intuition told him that he would find the villain—and the explosives—at 1223 9th Street. Wacky Bill’s warehouse. So that’s where he went.

Wow. I gotta listen to my intuition more often! Captain Eracer thought as he arrived at Wacky Bill’s Pool Emporium, 1223 9th Street. Looking below, he saw an open manhole with the same eraser from before standing over it and the same watery “hand” maneuvering in and out of it. The “hand” was removing the explosives from the hole, loading them in yet another van (this one bearing a Wacky Bill’s Pool Emporium logo on the side) backed up to the hole in the empty parking lot behind the warehouse. Lighting down on the roof of the building, Cap watched as the “hand” removed the last of the explosives and descended back into the hole, replacing the metal lid behind it. The eraser didn’t bother to close the van doors; he simply climbed behind the wheel and drove twenty yards across the lot and into the warehouse. As stealthily as possible, he followed close behind. The Pool Emporium warehouse was nice inside, if not a little creepy. After all, the power was out, the building was deserted—except for him and the guy he was following—and who knew what that mad man could—

“So…you followed me, eh, Captain Eracer?” The voice came so suddenly in the silence of the warehouse that it made Cap jump. He concealed his shock well. “You know me? I’m flattered!” “Of course I know you! Everyone knows you, after what you did to Vileson. I’m a big fan, really. That was very impressive.” “Thanks. And yes, I did follow you. I’m just a little curious what you might be doing with all that firepower—and I’m sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name…” “Submersabill.” I knew it, Cap thought. “Oh, Bill Waters. Wacky Bill. I thought I recognized you from your commercial.” “No, not Bill Waters. There is no Bill Waters. He’s dead. The name’s Submersabill, Supreme Master of water and future ruler of the world! “And would you really like to know what I’m planning? I might have to kill you afterwards, y’know.” “I’ll take my chances.” “Cool. Well, y’know how Eraserville sits so far below the level of the lake? Twenty feet, actually. Well, all that’s holding that water back is those levies. That’s where the explosives come in. I’ll blow up the levies, and turn Eraserville into my own personal watery kingdom. “Sure, thousands of people will die, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. As for the survivors, I’ll offer them a choice: use my ClearPool formula to mutate themselves into more perfect aquatic beings like myself and serve me, or die.” Captain Eracer grimaced. “That’s crazy!” Submersabill frowned as if offended. “No, no…not crazy. I’m not crazy, Eracer, I’m a visionary.” “Well I’m visioning myself stopping you!” Submersabill burst into laughter. “Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t stop me!” He got serious. “And I may be a big fan, Captain Eracer, but if you—or anyone else—gets in my way, I’ll destroy you. Don’t you see? This is Eraserville’s destiny!” This guy’s out of his mind! Cap thought. Wacky Bill? Ha! More like Psychotic Sammy! I’ve gotta stop him! “That’s enough, waters!” Captain Eracer exclaimed, pulling two small metal throwing boomerangs from a compartment in his suit. “Take this!” He threw them, and the weapons whirred through the air, hitting his foe directly…but Submersabill was unaffected! The weapons passed right through his body as if it were…water! “Hahahaha! You’ll have to do better than that, Eracer!” the villain cackled.

Unfazed, Captain Eracer leapt forward and delivered a fierce punch directly to Submersabill’s stomach—but his hand went right into the villain’s body. “No!” he cried. “Yes!” replied his foe, beginning to squeeze his arm with his watery mass. Captain Eracer cried out in pain as he felt his arm being crushed, his bones broken. He tried to pull out, but the villain’s hold on him was too great. Reacting instinctively, he swung his back around and pointed his jetpack directly at Submersabill. He pressed the activator switch and a huge burst of flame blasted the villain straight in the face. Submersabill screamed in agony, and released his hold on the hero. Captain Eracer hit the ground and rolled on his shoulder. He looked at his arm. Wet, but not broken. He turned and gasped as he looked at his foe. A huge chunk of Submersabill’s face had been blasted off, but was slowly growing back, a purplish mist from the air bonding to the villain’s head, creating a spooky halo. However much that blast had hurt Waters, it wouldn’t take him long to regenerate. He had to act fast. Captain Eracer made a lunge at the explosives, desperate to destroy them. But Submersabill wasn’t through with tricks yet. Captain Eracer was hit from behind by a powerful stream of water that knocked him clear across the room. He hit the wall hard, but shook it off. The villain was almost completely healed now, and was coming after him. Cap looked around, desperate for some means to fight back…and then he saw it. A thick piece of plywood lay on the floor in the corner. He ran for it, grabbing it and diving just in time as another huge blast of water destroyed a stack of crates just above him. He rolled over and looked up…but Bill was gone! Impossible, Cap thought as he put his back up against the wall. Better not to be caught by surprise… Water rushed underneath his feet and Cap fell down hard, stunned, but only for a second. He hopped up and swiveled around, staring directly at a glowing pink mass of water growing up from the floor and shaping itself like Submersabill. “Give it up, Eracer!” the villain snarled. “Nothing you can do can hurt me. You got lucky once, but never again. I’m invincible!” “Nonsense, Bill,” Captain Eracer shot back. “Haven’t you ever done a belly flop?” “Wha—” Submersabill tried to say, but that’s all he got out. Captain Eracer delivered a massive blow to the villain’s head with the plywood. The smack was sickening. Bill fell to the floor, losing consciousness fast. “Hurts, don’t it?” Cap quipped. “H-how,” Bill said weekly, “did you do this?” “A little bit of science: surface tension and surface area. Look it up while you’re in prison.” “Never,” the villain said as he began to glow purple and melt down into a puddle on the floor. The puddle turned into a stream, and within moments had run down into a nearby drain, Captain Eracer powerless to stop it.

As the last drop of his foe drained away, Cap cursed himself for letting him get away. He knew one thing was for sure: this wasn’t the last time he’d hear from Submersabill. Next time, he’d be ready.

12 “A water villain, eh?” Snap said as he and Cap stood in his underground lab. “I may have a few tricks for you to use.” “Anything, brother,” Cap said, shaking his head. “Last time I got lucky. This time, I want to be prepared.” “Well, let’s see what we’ve got.”

The cop parked the truck on the side of the road across from the house. He checked the address. Yes, this was it. He looked over at his dead partner. Sorry, buddy, he thought. Can’t let you get in the way of this job, though. The poison had done the trick, just as he knew it would. He had no idea who had hired him. All he knew is that the voice on the phone had told him to make sure he was assigned to move the explosives from the pool warehouse, and then to take a simple detour, just to make a special delivery, and he’d get twenty five thousand dollars. Times were hard, and it wasn’t easy keeping food on the table. He accepted the offer. When Chief Stewart called for a couple guys to transport the explosives, why, he was the first to volunteer. Then he’d slipped a little something into the other escort’s coffee, killed the police radio, and that’s where he was now. The truck was parked and he was walking towards the suburban house with the huge pool out back, towards the biggest payday of his life. He rang the doorbell and waited. He waited for nearly a minute before the door finally opened, revealing Submersabill, an angry (and quite crazy) look on his face. “Yeah, whadda you want?” Bill growled. The cop flinched, but just barely. “I’ve got a delivery here for you. The package is just across the street.” The villain’s eyes lit up. “Ah, yeah, you’re the dirty cop—” “—I prefer the term ‘freelance opportunist’.” “Whatever. Come on in. I’ve got your reward just over here.” The cop obliged, stepping inside and taking a look around. The house wasn’t much: just your typical quaint little cookie-cutter suburb residence. “So…where’s my money?” the cop asked, deciding it was time to push the envelope a little. Whoever this creep in the dive suit was, he was at least half the cop’s size. He felt pretty good about his odds if this turned dirty.

“How many people know you’re here?” “No one. My partner’s in the car—dead. I haven’t talked to any other cops since I left the warehouse. No one knows I’m here.” “Fantastic,” Submersabill said with a glimmer in his eye that the cop wasn’t sure he liked. “That’s just the way I like it. Incidentally, how long can you hold your breath?” The cop felt a little nervous. He backed off as the villain approached, grinning wildly. The cop fumbled for the door knob. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he answered feebly. “Why don’t we see?” No one heard the cop’s screams.

13 Within the space of a few hours, the new equipment was done. Snap outfitted Cap with a long, wide titanium blade that would come out from an automatic holster on his forearm. A small flamethrower was mounted onto his other wrist, and he was given a shock mechanism built into his suit that could be activated with the press of a button. As he left Snap’s lab, his car phone rang. “Hello?” he answered. “Cap.” It was the chief, his voice blurry behind the phones static. “We came and got the bombs from Waters’ warehouse and were transporting them to a secure location when we lost contact with the cops moving them. We think something may have happened, and that Waters’ is somehow behind it.” Cap sighed. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Waters is psychotic and obsessed. I didn’t think he’d give up that easily. I’ll be right on it.” He hung up. Submersabill was back for round two, but this time Cap was ready.

The explosives were his again. His body was fully recovered from the fight earlier that afternoon. All was well in Submersabill’s little world. He was back for round two with Captain Eracer, and this time he was ready. No way could that annoying hero stop his plans now. No way. Because he was ready.

Terri Waters drove on, just as she had all afternoon. Sheldon slept soundly in the backseat, his favorite stuffed animal, a large orange fish, clutched like a lifeline to his tiny body. She had had to leave. She had no longer felt safe around Bill. He was crazy. She recognized this. He was no longer the man she loved, and she didn’t want him to hurt her or Sheldon. So she left when he went out earlier that afternoon. The note had said she was going to the grocery store, but she was really headed to her parents’ house in Virginia. He would catch on before the day was over, but she hoped she was far enough away before then.

In the backseat, Sheldon squirmed in his car seat, a small nightmare rocking his peaceful sleep. His brow furrowed, and, as if by magic, the water in his sippycup raised up in a steady stream and seemed to snake around for a few moments before he relaxed and it splashed down on the seat. Sheldon was his father’s son, all right.

14 Captain Eracer knew where Submersabill would be. He had the explosives, and had certainly not given up on that psycho plot of his. So he flew towards the levies.

Captain Eracer was right. Bill was at the levies. The explosives were set. He was ready. Through his binoculars, he could see the hero’s shape on the horizon, above the buildings, flying towards him, growing ever closer. Let the games begin.

As he set down on the concrete top of the levies, Captain Eracer was greeted by Submersabill. “Hiya, Cap’n,” the villain said in a smarmy pirate impression. “Welcome to the grand finale of Eraserville, where the tune of the day is ‘Things That Make You Go BOOM.’” Cap shook his head. “This is no one’s finale but your own, Waters. I’ll give you one more chance: surrender, or face the consequences.” “Hahahahahahahaha! Me? Surrender to you? Don’t be a fool! You should surrender to me!” “Well, I guess since neither of us is going to surrender, the only choice is to fight.” Cap extended the wide, flat titanium blade on his arm and crouched in a ready position. “Why fight? Why not just get on with the show?” Submersabill asked, producing a small box from behind his back. The detonation pack. He popped open the cover on the front and fingered the red switch. “These levies are lined with all those explosives that the police so kindly returned to me. Within seconds Eraserville and Tricity Lake will be one and the same. Any final words before she goes ‘BOOM’?” “Don’t do it, Bill!” Cap exclaimed, and launched himself at Submersabill, only to get blasted backwards by a huge burst of water. “TOO LATE, ERACER!” Bill yelled, and flipped the switch. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Captain Eracer bellowed, but his cries were drowned out by the sound of…

Nothing.

15 “WH-WHAAAAAT!?” Submersabill cried, bewildered. “What happened!?” Captain Eracer chuckled. “They were duds, Bill. All part of the plan. Do you really think we would trust just anybody with the transfer of that much explosives? We transferred the real thing in a completely different truck and planted the first truck as bait. And you fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.” Submersabill let out a primal scream. His eyes turned blood red with fury at being duped as he hurled himself at Cap. “You’ll pay for that, Eracer!” He threw a wild punch at the hero’s face, but Captain Eracer was ready. He blocked the blow and countered quickly with a powerful smack with the flat of his forearm blade. The attack worked like a charm. Instead of going through Submersabill’s watery body, it stopped at the surface, delivering a punishing blow. The villain screamed in pain, and attacked with a forceful kick to Cap’s torso. Captain Eracer was knocked backwards and skidded across the concrete. Submersabill was hot on his heels, his hand glowing purple. Cap watched in awe as a stream of water leapt from the lake and bonded to the villain’s arm, shaping into a giant fist. “Dodge this, Eracer!” Submersabill roared, bringing the fist down for a fierce, crushing hit. As it connected, Cap grunted in pain. The only thing that kept him from being killed was his Eracersuit. He hopped to his feet and ran right at his foe, delivering a strong haymaker punch to the villain’s stomach. As expected, his fist and arm went straight through and got stuck as the villain tightened his molecules around them. “Don’t you ever learn, Eracer?” Submersabill mocked. Cap smiled wryly as he shot back, “Yup!” He flipped the switch on his suit that activated the electric shock and watched as his quarry lit up like a lightbulb. Submersabill screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through him. He released his grip but Cap refused to remove his hand, sustaining the shock. Finally Bill collapsed into a puddle and was free as he slithered away. At a distance of twenty feet he reformed, panting. Wow, Cap thought. He looks exhausted. If a charge that weak could weaken him that much…what could a big charge do? He didn’t have time to ponder as Submersabill spoke. “You…may…think you’ve won… Eracer…but…you don’t yet…know…the extent of my powers!” At that, the villain dove into the lake and disappeared. I don’t like this, Cap thought. Something doesn’t feel right. He crouched, aware and ready. Several minutes passed, eerie and quiet. There were no waves, and all the birds had cleared out of the area. Something big was definitely going to happen.

All of a sudden, Cap heard laughter. It was an evil sort of laugh, and it boomed and echoed around. It was Submersabill’s laughter. Cap stepped over to the levy’s edge and gazed down at the surface of the lake. It glowed purple. Very purple. Captain Eracer watched in shock as the water rose up into an all too familiar shape. Only this time, the shape was supersized. Cap stepped back a few paces and steeled himself for the biggest foe he’d ever faced.

16 The police cars rolled up to the levy base, sirens wailing. All ten of them screeched to a halt and two dozen officers jumped out, hands on their weapons. The chief was among them. He hoped Cap had already subdued Submersabill, but somehow he didn’t believe it would be that easy. He was busy barking orders when a massive shadow fell over the whole area. His back was to the levy, and as he turned around, his jaw dropped. Impossible. Standing above the levy was the Submersabill they all knew and loathed, except for one thing: now he was fifty feet tall. The villain towered over the gigantic stone wall, and his maniacal laughter shook the squad car windows. Suddenly the Chief found himself praying for a miracle.

17 “Submersabill…you’ve put on some weight, haven’t you?” Cap quipped confidently, even though his heart thudded like bass drum inside his chest. He felt like a miniscule ant compared to Submersabill now, and for good reason. The villain now stood fifty feet tall and twenty feet wide, his body below the waist replaced by a giant watery tail that streamed down into the lake like some nightmarish mermaid. His fists were the size of cars, and Cap didn’t doubt that his strength had grown exponentially, too. “Eracer, if I can’t use explosives to destroy this dam, I’ll just have to do it bare handed,” Submersabill roared. “But first, I’d like to kill you!” “Try it!” Captain Eracer retorted as he desperately searched for a way to defeat this giant adversary. He knew his usual tricks wouldn’t be sufficient, but…wait! His eyes caught a bright yellow sign just fifteen feet away, stuck to a metal box mounted onto the wall of a small operating office: HIGH VOLTAGE. He had barely turned back to his foe when he was hit by a burst of water carrying the force of a Greyhound bus and sent flying through the air, busting through the wall of another operator’s room. He shook off the dizziness amid a pile of bricks and rubble and launched himself back through the hole to fight again. No sooner had he made his exit than he was seized in Submersabill’s massive fist and crushed as he was brought close to the villain’s face for a quick monologue.

“So, my little hero, still think you can stop me? I’d like to know before I kill you.” “I don’t think I can stop you, Waters: I know it!” Cap simultaneously flipped two switches on his suit and two huge blasts of heat blew gaping holes in the watery body of his foe, one from his jetpack and one from the wrist flamethrower pointed at Bill’s face. The villain cried out in pain and released his grip for just a second. A second was all Captain Eracer needed. He launched himself from his hoes hand and landed nearby, right in front of the HIGH VOLTAGE box. Submersabill was too preoccupied with healing to notice Cap rip the cover off the box, and too blinded by fury to notice him attach two cables from the box to his suit as he approached, looming over the hero like a great, angry Colossus. “Any last words, Eracer?” “Sure,” Captain Eracer shot back. “Four of ‘em: Come and get me.” He flipped on the electric charge and braced himself. This was going to be ugly. Submersabill roared with anger and wrapped his gargantuan fist around Captain Eracer— the last thing he would ever do. Submersabill’s eyes went wide with shock and intense pain as thirty five thousand volts surged through his body and lit him up not like a lightbulb but like a spotlight. The purple glow was unbearably bright. He was frozen in place as his very body channeled the electricity and made it more powerful. Within seconds his body chemistry had mutated yet again—into plain old water, the effects of the lightning storm accident two months earlier undone and reversed. Despite the insulation his suit provided, the immense shock caused Captain Eracer to black out. He fell from Submersabill’s hand and landed face down on the concrete. The electrocution stopped when the hero fell, but the damage was done. With no control over his watery cells left, Submersabill began to melt down into the lake. His body glowed bright purple for a moment, then faded into a dimmer glow. He slowly shrank down until nothing was left, his molecules scattered by the slow churning of the waves.

18 “…and do you, Snap Eracer, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” “I do.” “Then, by the powers invested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” Cap stood and clapped along with the rest of the wedding crowd as his brother removed Tina’s veil and gave her a long kiss. He was happy. Really he was. But he still couldn’t help but feel the pain, the pain that had arrived the night his wife had died. The pain that had arrived that night, its arms full of baggage and a toothbrush, ready to move in for good. Nothing could take that pain away.

It was nearly a month since the fight with Submersabill. No one had heard anything about Bill Waters or his evil alter ego since. It was easy enough to say that he was dead. No one could have survived that much electricity, especially not if they were made of water. Plus, that bad feeling was gone. So now, as Cap walked up to the front of the church to congratulate his brother and new sister-in-law, he tried to relax, to get some happiness in before the next threat arrived. Because there would be others. A hero’s work is never done.