Continued from Part One:

“Ah-ha!” Fournier’s voice came from a box with a picture of a Wookie costume on it. “You are one of the most evil incarnations of Powerhouse. Kill him.”

“Fournier? I killed you last year. Is this some alternate universe?” He rubbed his hands together. “Excellent! I get to have my revenge twice. Where are you?”

Powerhouse glared. “Hold it, chum. No one kills people in my universe.”

“Who are you to stand in the way of justice? He’s a mad scientist who has worked for so many mobsters and even spies. He doesn’t deserve to live.”

“That’s not for you to say.”

“Please, Mr. Goody Two Shoes, take a walk on the darker side of justice.”

“I did and sorely regret it.”

“There was no error in becoming the Emerald Avenger. Only in getting weak about it.” The Emerald Avenger pointed to Evil Dave. “I suppose you’re going to turn that insult to my face over to the authorities?”

Evil Dave cursed.

Powerhouse sighed. “That is what we’d be like if we’d grown up in his terrible circumstances. You know, my pastor once said, ‘If but for the Grace of God, that’d be me.’ Or something like that. Does it make you think?”

Emerald Avenger laughed. “Yeah, it makes me think you’re a lame Christian weakling. I know the truth. Grandpa was wrong about everything, Powerhouse.”

“You’re being manipulated by Zolgron. He wants to control the world.”

“You know nothing.” The Emerald Avenger laughed. “He’s been no trouble to me since I killed Night Lord. He probably talked you out of killing that pathetic drug dealer.”

Powerhouse nodded.

“The thing with not killing Night Lord was like the Garden of Eden. Zolgron wanted to keep us from becoming like God, with the ability to destroy life and be the judge.” He laughed. “I saw Zolgron’s little plan and made it my own. I am the most powerful being on Earth, and I decide who lives and who dies, and all the people who are guilty die and never hurt anyone again. Not a Reverend Jones and not a Jimmy Olsen.”

“How many people have you killed?”

“There are more guilty than I would have thought. Now stand aside and let me deal with Fournier.”

Powerhouse shook his head. “Fournier, you better help me get rid of him.”

Fournier’s hologram appeared as an anthropomorphic reptile. “I can’t right now. I’m going to get you some back up.”
Emerald Avenger sneered. “Won’t be in time. I’ll find you first, Fournier.”

Powerhouse imagined the Emerald Avenger tied up.

“Please!” He snapped the ropes.

Powerhouse dived at the Emerald Avenger and swung his fist. The Emerald Avenger caught it, knocked Powerhouse to the ground, and held him down with a knee in the back. “Yield, fool. I’m as powerful as you and willing to kill.”

Powerhouse tried to get up, but he was nailed to the floor. He had one hope. “You have to do it with dignity, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

Powerhouse visualized the Emerald Avenger changed into a clown with big shoes and oversized pants.

The Emerald Avenger pounded Powerhouse’s back. “What have you done?”

Powerhouse imagined a mirror appearing.

“The dark spirit of Justice can’t be seen like this.” The Emerald Avenger let Powerhouse up as he changed his costume.
Powerhouse ran away at a blinding speed.

“You can’t fight what you can’t see.”

“I don’t need to see you. I’ll still kill you.”

A vortex had opened. Two voices said, “Not if we have anything to say about it.”

Out of the vortex came two more heroes in costumes identical to Powerhouse’s.

The three Powerhouses said, “You cannot defeat all of us.”

“No, I will never give up,” The Emerald Avenger said as he was tied up with three sets of ropes and surrounded with three separate force fields.

He vanished.

All three of the Powerhouses gasped. “We killed him.”

Powerhouse Prime looked around. “The others are gone, too. I don’t think my Universe can support more than two extras.”

His extras both said, “Ah. That makes sense. I’ll have to let the writers know.”

Powerhouse Prime cocked his head. “How are you different from me? Let’s see what choices might have created you. Did you have pizza and watch a movie tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you patrol the city today and catch two burglars and a car thief?”

The two nodded.

“Did you take Naomi to Olive Garden last night?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you get the Fettuccine Alfredo with breadsticks?”

“Right,” Powerhouse three said.

“Nah.” Powerhouse two waved. “Naomi was on a kick about bread.”

Powerhouse Prime and Three said, “I had the breadsticks anyway.”

So what else? Powerhouse Prime eyed Powerhouse Three. “Did you have Salad?”

“Who passes up that at the Olive Garden?”

“True.” Powerhouse Prime rubbed his chin.

“Did you let the waitress put cheese on your salad?”

Sighing, Powerhouse Two shook his head. “I decided to go to the restroom right then, and Naomi didn’t have her do it.”

“Yeah, I suspected she might and decided to hold it.” Powerhouse scratched his helmet. “So, based on how I ordered at Olive Garden, that created two
universes.”

Fournier’s hologram reappeared this time in a wizard costume against the backdrop of a medieval castle. “Every decision creates a universe. There could even be universes where Olive Garden doesn’t serve breadsticks or doesn’t exist.”

“No!” The Three Powerhouses gasped.
“That’s not possible!”

Powerhouse Two said, “Shouldn’t we go after the Emerald Avenger to free his universe from his evil?”

“That’s a good idea.” Powerhouse Prime smiled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Powerhouse Three pumped his fist in the air. “You did!”

The three Powerhouses laughed.

Fournier said, “That’d be silly. If you don’t go after him, there’s an alternate universe where you will. It’s easier to be the ones that don’t.”

Powerhouse Prime frowned. “There’s something wrong with that logic. I think.”

“Yeah.” Powerhouse Two and Three sighed. “James has a soccer game tomorrow, though. We can’t miss that, if another three Powerhouses will handle it.”

“True.” Powerhouse Prime sighed. He didn’t want to miss another one.
“Fournier, get them back to their dimension.”

Fournier’s hologram changed to Fournier in a Good Humor man outfit in a desolate wasteland. “Okay, I will help you, but only because I don’t want three Powerhouses running around. I will set it up so if you return in forty-five minutes, they’ll return to their own universe. If you try to catch me now, they’ll be stranded here.”

“This isn’t over, Fournier.” Powerhouse Prime shook his fist. “Guys, let’s go get Pizza. At least we won’t fight about toppings.”

The world shook and began to dissolve. Dave Johnson opened his eyes as he sat in his living room.

Naomi leaned down over him. “Honey, you fell asleep watching the movie.”

Huh? He glanced at the DVD case beside him and moaned. “I should never go to sleep after eating pizza and watching Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.”

“I saw some of it. That was an interesting concept about all the alternate universes and how every choice creates one. Kind of like in Star Trek with ‘Mirror Mirror.’ Neat.”

“You can keep it.” Dave groaned.

Naomi frowned. “Are you okay? You want some antacid.”

“Depends.” Dave grinned. “Will my choice create another universe?”

Naomi laughed. “Don’t be silly. That’s not real.”

“Yeah, but it’s fun to imagine how things might be different if one or two things changed, and it also makes you grateful that God created reality and cares about you and looked out for you, so you didn’t come a Mama’s Boy Billionaire who ruined Spider-man, a thug with ugly tattoos, a murdering psychopath vigilante, or somebody who didn’t eat breadsticks or have cheese on your salad at Olive Garden last night.”

Books featuring Powerhouse:

Tales of the Dim Knight
Fly Another Day
Powerhouse: Hard Pressed