After alerting the hospital to Dr. Reid’s disappearance Solo and Borne decided to take action of their own. Solo knew that the police would work on the assumption that Reid had been kidnapped. Solo thought that this was possible, but first he wanted to check on an assumption of his own.
The first place they arrived at was Reid’s house. This place not only served as his dwelling but he also carried out some of his experiments in his laboratory, which was in his basement. When they arrived they found that the front door was slightly ajar, so quietly they entered. While Solo searched the living room Borne went down to the basement. He saw that the light had been left on. Opening the door he soon found something of interest.
“Solo! Come down here!”
A few minutes later Solo went down to the basement. The first thing he saw was Borne holding an unconscious Reid in his arms.
“How the hell did he get here?” asked Solo.
Then Reid began to stir. Slowly his eyes opened and he looked up at Borne.
“Charles! What…what are you doing here?”
Borne helped Reid to his feet and then led him over to a chair.
“The question should be what are you doing here?” said Borne. “How did you get out of the hospital?”
“Out of the window.” said Reid.
Solo walked around the lab. He was surprised at the amount of equipment there was. Some of it was very sophisticated.
“How did you managed to pay for all of this?” asked Solo.
“By saving, and having an astute financial adviser.” Borne replied.
“You’ve got to go back to the hospital.” said Solo. “There’s no way you can stay here.”
“No, I must stay here.” said Reid. “I must find a way of counter-acting any weapon that can be made with those plans.”
“Solo’s right.” said Borne. “The hospital is the best place for you now.”
“Will you stop fussing boy?” snapped Reid.
Solo began to pace up and down the room.
“Well what do we do now?” he asked.
“You do what you want.” said Borne. “Dr. Reid is in no condition to go anywhere. I’m staying here with him.”
It had been thirty eight hours since Oswald had received the visit from the man with black hair, and in that time he had finished working on the cannon which was powered with Dr. Reid’s power source. Oswald named the weapon the “neutron cannon”, and now he set out to test it.
The preliminary tests for the canon were very promising. It was two days after these initial tests that Oswald made his way to Heathrow Airport. After checking the information desk he found that the light from New York was arriving on time. So he took up a remote position on one of the nearby fields. The airliner was right on time. Oswald lay on his stomach, and with the sophisticated aiming mechanism, aimed at the aircraft. As it was about to land Oswald fired, and a blast of neutron energy ripped into the tail section of the aircraft. There was a mighty explosion as the plane crashed into the ground. Another blast ripped into the nose cone, and there was another mighty explosion. The plane was completely covered in flames. A smile appeared on Oswald’s face. The test was a complete success. Casually, Oswald got to his feet, put the cannon back in his car, and drove away.
In the few days that he had spent at home since he left the hospital Reid spent most of his time recovering from his injuries. Also, Borne had stayed at the house to keep an eye on Reid. Then news got through to them that Oswald had appeared at Heathrow Airport. Solo had an inkling that something might happen in London, so it was a good job that he had returned there a few days earlier.
It was while he was recuperating at his house that Reid began to feel strange. He had an uneasy feeling that something was happening to him. It was then that he ventured into his lab, against his doctor’s orders. After switching the light on he walked over to a piece of equipment that was situated on a large table. The equipment was a molecular analyser. He used this piece of equipment to analyze bone and fossil material. As he started to operate this he got a strange feeling in his hand. His hand felt as if it were about to explode. Then, by instinct, he placed his hand under the analyser and switched the machine on. A minute passed as the machine scanned the molecules in his hand. Then when the process was complete he removed his hand. It was then that he began to feel faint, and he had to grab onto the table to prevent himself from falling. It was a few seconds later that Borne entered. He rushed over to Reid and helped him to his feet. He then helped him over to a nearby armchair.
“What are you doing down here?” said Borne. “You know what the doctor said. You’ve got to rest.”
“I just had to check on something.” said Reid. “The analyser should be making a print out any time now.”
Borne walked over to the analyser, and a few seconds later the printout came out. Borne studied the printout.
“Strange.” said Borne. “You didn’t tell me you were studying old tissue samples.”
“The tissue samples weren’t old.” said Reid. “I put my own hand in the machine.”
“This can’t be.” said Borne. “This scan shows extensive change to the molecules, as if they were altering to take account of physical changes caused by radiation.”
“What does the final analysis say?”
“You may not believe this, but it says, in layman’s terms, that your cells and molecules can now ‘stretch and bend’! I haven’t got a clue what that means!”
Reid looked down at his hand, and then concentrated. His hand began to shiver, and then after a few seconds his arm began to stretch out towards Borne. He then took the printout from Born, and his arm returned to it’s normal shape. An amazed look appeared on Borne’s face. Reid smiled.
“With a little practice I can soon get the hang of it.” he said. “And don’t look so horrified. If you can fly then why can’t I stretch?”
Runway Four at Heathrow Airport had been sealed off since the crash. The place resembled wartime London during the Blitz. Because of the explosions recovering the bodies was hard work.
Even though the runway had been sealed off Solo still managed to get onto the airfield, thanks to some of his old contacts within the police force. As he arrived he saw the horror of the crash. He also saw three men holding Geiger counters to the air. Solo approached them.
“How could there be radiation here?” he asked. “This plane looks like it was just shot down with a rocket launcher.”
“That is not so.” said one. “These counters, and our other equipment, show that some sort of atomic weapon was used to destroy this aircraft.”
Solo then knew what they were talking about. He then left the two men to their work and continued to look at the remains of the aircraft. As he looked at the wreckage his telepathic powers told him that someone was alive in the wreck. Then metal began to shake, and a few seconds later a large piece of debris flew into the air and crashed to the ground some twenty feet away. Solo then went closer to the aircraft. Then from under the dust he saw a man appear from seemingly out of nowhere. Getting to his feet the man dusted himself off. Solo then looked at his face and recognised him.
“Supercop? What are you doing here?”
Supercop coughed loudly to get the dust out of his lungs.
“I was meant to be coming here with some information on the Mafia and one of their new associates, Peter Oswald.”
“It seems like he got to you first. But maybe if you’re after Oswald then maybe my associates and I can help you.
Peter Oswald drove his car calmly through the countryside. He was pleased that the first test of the neutron cannon had gone the way he hoped. He knew that his new prospective employers would be pleased with his efforts, but he had no idea what was about to happen.
While he was driving along he heard a strange buzzing noise from the boot of his car. Then, a few seconds later and without warning there was a huge explosion as the boot of the car flew into the air. The car spun out of control for a few seconds until it came to rest up against a tree. Quickly, Oswald got out of the car and ran a few hundred yards before turning back to look at what was left of his transport. It was in a right mess. After his attack at Heathrow he had put the cannon in the boot, and it was obviously that which had exploded. Oswald had not taken into account any flaws in the design of the cannon, and now, with only Reid’s plans to work with, he had to start from scratch, and that would not please his new possible employers.
It was a few hours later when Solo and Supercop arrived at Reid’s house. It was than that Borne informed them of Reid’s ‘condition’.
“Are you pulling my leg?” Solo asked. “Are you saying that your physics teacher now has super-powers?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” replied Borne. “Anyway, what’s he doing here?”
“I have information that can help you guys.” said Supercop. “Concerning your friend the Gunner.”
“What’s your interest in him?” snapped Borne.
“My interest goes further than some stolen plans for a nuclear power source.” replied Supercop. “Gunner isn’t in this business for himself. He didn’t build that cannon for his own use. He’s being paid a very high price by some very high up figures in the organised crime world. Namely figures with ‘Italian’ connections!”
“The Mafia?” said Solo. “Are you certain? Their operations were wiped out by the Black Squadron more than a year ago.”
“That’s all about to change.” said Supercop. “A heavy-hitter by the name of Giovanni DiMambro is soon to take control in London, and he’s hired Oswald to create new weapons for him. And his first target will be those who wiped out their business in the past.
“If another war between the Black Squadron and the Mafia breaks out it could bring the country to it’s knees.” said Solo. “London, and a few other cities, would be totally destroyed!”
“Which is why I’m here.” said Supercop. “You need me, and at the same time, I need you.”
Then they heard a sound begin them as Reid appeared in the doorway. He had a small device in his hand.
“You need me as well.”
“You’re not up to it.” said Borne. “The changes in your molecular structure may not be complete. You may still suffer some side-effects.”
“And how long will these changes take?” asked Reid. “There isn’t a doctor alive who could tell me that. And with this device I can trace the power source used in the neutron cannon. After all, I invented the damn thing!”
“We can’t just jump into this thing head first.” said Solo. “We have to have a plan.”
“I will need some time anyway.” said Reid. “I have some minor adjustments to make to this thing, and then we’ll be able to find Oswald anytime he uses his new cannon.
Little did Reid know that Oswald would soon find him.
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