View source for 2012-03-19 - He Has A PhD In... Something...

{{Logsummary|
Title=He Has A PhD In... Something...
|Summary=A drunken supervillain's latest attempt at making a comeback goes awry.
|Who=[[Kinetic]] and [[Doctor Light]] (emitted by [[Amethyst]])
|Date=2012-03-19
|Where=Metropolis Mall, Metropolis
|}}

"H-hey--" a trembling boutique clerk murmurs. Across from her, Doctor Light - who nearly tripped over his own cape on the way into the store - quickly whips his head around, eyes darting manically for signs of cops or superheroes; the sudden movement leaves him dizzied, and the glowing hand he's using to keep the clerk obedient falls to the counter so that he can steady himself.

They're a few stores in on the first floor of the Metropolis Mall, and before Light arrived, business was a little on the slow side--enough so that the clerk was engrossed in a magazine when the villain first tried to hold her up.

"--aren't-aren't you the guy," she mumbles while mashing the little button hidden beneath her counter, "those shape--shapeshifting twins caught robbing a laser tag--"

"/Shut./ /Up,/" Light growls as he snaps his head up to glare at the woman, who starts a little at the sharp rise in his voice. "Money. Bag--"

"Freeze!"

The clerk lets out a small sigh of relief as taser-armed mall security guards gather on the shop's threshhold, and Light half-scowls, half stares at the woman in shock; his head is soon whipping between she and they as he tries to decide how best to avoid another term in Belle Reve.

He doesn't even want to /think/ of what the Monocle'll do to him if they cross paths in the yard again.



Ethan didn't often come to the mall but since he needed some new supplies, he was there. Of course when he noticed a super villain in one of the stores, it took him a moment to register that it was a threat and he should do something about it. So he ducked back outside the mall and found a place to get changed. Now, Kinetic is flying his way back into the mall. Back in his usual red costume, the blond teen blinks when he sees a security guard has beaten him to the scene. Landing in the opening to the store as well, he looks to the guard and then the villainous doctor. "Uhh...yeah. You'll probably want to give up whoever you are."



"How--*hic*--/dare/--" the Doctor sputters, whirling to fix bloodshot eyes on the offending lawkeeper; after doing a double-take to confirm that there really /is/ a spandex-clad teenager there now, he scowls at the boy.

As much as anything else, he scowls to keep up an appearance of strength in spite of the nauseating waves of deja vu washing over him. /Another/ teenager in a costume. Of /course/ it had to be that; why, oh why did he have to come /here/ of all places?

He sucks in a deep, bracing breath and steels himself; as he exhales, he extends shaking, warmly glowing hands out before himself.

"I," he snarls, the booze on his breath wafting throughout the store, "am Doctor Light!" He punctuates this firing a golden beam from his fingertips, and while it seems at first to be headed for the young superhero's chest--

--it veers wildly off course and winds up careening through the store instead. The clerk shrieks and ducks down as clothing racks are knocked aside in the errant blast's wake, and a very surprised Doctor Light is already backing away from the entryway.



Kinetic stares at the Doctor for a moment then sighs. The scent of alcohol and the man's appearance are enough to confirm the guy's drunk. And really, Kinetic's had enough with drunks after the whole St. Patrick's day thing. He strengthens his bodyfield to take the blast when it looks like its coming his way but just ends up staring again when it veers off. "Crudmuffins!" he yelps. "Hey, you get the clerk out of here and I'll deal with Dr. Drinky over there, okay?" he says to the security guard. Not waiting for a response, Kinentic starts walking towards Dr. Light. "Seriously, dude. You're in no condition to fight so you should probably give up before you get hurt."



As the guards hustle to take advantage of the villain's pulled focus, Doctor Light points his index finger at the telekinetic hero; a slim, tightly focused beam slices through the air, only to dissipate harmlessly against Kinetic's field.

"Hells," the Doctor growls. He shuffles further backwards, bumping up against the counter as guards lead the clerk along the store's wall to the entryway; with a blurry line of heroes trying to goad him into a surrender, he doesn't even notice the evacuation.

"Who the hell're you even supposed to be, huh?" he slurs as colourful motes of light swirl and crackle around his hands. "Telling /me/ what to do? /You/?" His voice rises anger as he continues, until he's actually spitting foamy flecks of rage with each word. "A /child/?" The neon sign of the store across the way explodes into a shower of sparks; it is, thankfully, a harmless, if dramatic display.

"/Who do you think you are/?!" he screams as the sign above /this/ store explodes and rains sparks down.



Kinetic grunts slightly when the beam hits his field, the attack slightly stronger than anticipated. He shakes it off and takes another step forward. "I'm just making a suggestion, Doctor," he says, trying to stay calm. There's a frown at being called a child and the explosions make him jump. "DUDE! Cut it out!" he yelps. "I'm Kinetic."



"Kinetic," Doctor Light mutters beneath his breath as he takes a step towards the hero. "Some comeback /this/ is--" He plants his foot on a fallen headband, slips, and flails for a moment before managing to wrap his arms around a sturdily rooted mannequin.

Once steadied, he loudly exhales, lifts his gaze - and still glowing hand - to the teenager; the former burns with cloudy rage, while the latter just burns when a sizzling solar ray lances from his palm, slicing a path along the store floor as it advances on Kinetic.

"I'm going to tell everyone you were someone /famous/ when I get out of here!" he promises. "Somebody they've at least /heard/ of!"



Kinetic winces as Doctor Light stumbles. "Man..." he trails off. "why do I run into the weird super villains?" he asks no one in particular. When that blast comes his way, Kinetic yelps. He lifts his hands and projects a telekinetic barrier to try defending against the burning ray. "I'm still new, of course I'm not famous!"



The beam cascades off of Kinetic's shield in hot, bright waves for several seconds--until the effort of maintaining it while keeping his footing and maintaining his one-armed grip on the mannequin gets to be too much for him; something has to give, and this time - for the nonce - it won't be his balance.

"Whose /sidekick/ are you?" he hisses before pushing off of the mannequin to charge at the telekinetic hero.

To his credit, he doesn't step on any debris on the way--in fact, he doesn't have to worry about aborting a fall of any kind; his flailing, wobbly-limbed stride is, of course, ridiculous.

"Tell me you're at least /that/ much!" he demands, curling his glowing hands into fists. He manages all of one wild haymaker in the telekinetic's general direction, and while his accuracy may leave something to be desired, the scintillating energies swirling around his fist could prove dangerous should contact be made.



Kinetic grits his teeth as the beam presses against his shield, putting effort into maintaining it. He ends up needing to close his eyes to shield against the brightness. When he can't feel the beam pressing against his shield anymore, he drops it and lets out a breath. 

"Sorry, no one's sidekick," he replies. "Superman and Batman were real jerks to me once if that makes you feel better," he says. He's still seeing spots but thankfully, Kinetic doesn't need his eyes to know the Doctor's coming. He dodges back and swings an awkward punch of his own at Dr. Light.


*KRAK!*

Awkward though it may be, Kinetic's one punch is all it takes to set off a catastrophic chain of events for the unbalanced Doctor. His body reels back with the impact, sending his left arm flailing out wildly; his arm winds up tangled in a hanging display of shirts, and in his haste to try and free himself he jerks back a little /too/ hard, tumbles backwards, and bangs his head against an already damaged shelf.

"Ooogh..." he groans, stars in his eyes. He tries to get a grip on the shelf to pull himself up, but the wood gives way beneath him; he winds up on his back with a wee pile of balsa wood splinters sprinkled around him.

"Urrrgh..."

He does not try to get up again.

"Alright, kid!" one of the security guards hollers as he sprints back onto the scene; he's got his taser at the ready in one hand, and his other is resting on a canister of mace. "Read--"

He skids to a halt in the entryway, looks at Light, then looks at Kinetic.

"/Really/?" he quizzically murmurs with an arching brow.



"Okay, ow," Kinetic mutters, shaking his fist. He needs more practice punching things. He blinks when he gets a look at what happened to Dr. Light. "Oh wow! One punch!" he laughs a little, surprised. He jumps when the guard hollers, glancng over his shoulder. "Yeah, sorry but I took care of it," he says, taking some zip ties out of his belt. "Might want to call the cops."



"Huh." He stares at Doctor Light for a few moments more before shaking his head, turning away, and grabbing his cell phone.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need a couple of Sci-Police at the Metropolis Mall," he quietly tells the person on the other end of the line. "Some..." He glances over his shoulder at Light one last time. "... I don't know, I guess supervillain? Tried to hold one of the salespeople up..."

Between the blows to the head and the alcohol, Light has already slipped into a semi-conscious fog; he does little more than lie there groaning as he's tied down.



Kinetic uses his TK to fasten the zip-ties. He even props the Doctor up gently so that he won't drown if he vomits while out cold. He makes sure the guard has things in hand after that before starting for the exit. "Right, take care now. Oh yeah...I'm Kinetic. Forgot to introduce myself last time I helped people," he chuckles, giving a quick mock-salute as he flies his way back out of the mall.