Chapter 4
By Joker's Specter

Nightfall... It was the perfect time for a devious master criminal to strike. It's also the perfect time for a certain super hero to patrol. Alchemy Man made it a point to bravely explore every nook and cranny to find any trouble! And also bravely scold kids who stay out past their curfew! They didn't like that, but it was for their own good.

And let's not forget how he masterfully saved the cat that was stuck in the tree earlier that night. The little kitten seemed absolutely frightened, and Kraden didn't have the heart to leave it there. After tightening his pants and giving himself words of encouragement, he scaled the tree to save the poor animal. He only had a few claw marks on his hands from that. All in all, a success! Yes, Alchemy Man was doing a world of good for Vale. He dared anybody to deny it, and he had a finger to be pulled for any person who did.

Prowling the roof tops proved the most difficult task that night. He had read it in some of the more popular comics and was intrigued by the act. Heroes would observe the city from above, ever-ready for a fight while they went through constant emotional brooding under the cover of darkness. Kraden decided to try it out, and discovered that, much to his surprise, just standing on a roof made him feel more heroic.

Kraden, in his Alchemy Man guise, crouched behind a chimney and observed the plaza before him with narrow eyes. His cape started moving slightly in the soft breeze. He decided this was as good a moment as any to practice his emotional brooding.

The hero lowered his head and closed his eyes slowly. "That turkey was so dry..." he reminisced of his dinner at the Inn earlier. "I should have sent it back."

He stopped himself from grinning; he was fitting in to this super hero business perfectly! Alchemy Man would soon be a household name. Maybe he'd start seeing Alchemy Man-themed products soon. He couldn't wait to see little kids running around with his image on their clothes. It would probably be a good idea to get a few in his size when they're made before they're all sold out, he decided.

Kraden yawned. The scholar decided it was time for a new rooftop. Very carefully walked to the edge of the roof. Seeing nobody around, he scaled down the side of the house on a ladder he had brought with him. Once he was safely on the ground he grabbed the ladder, dragged it to the Mayor's house, set it up as gently as he could, then ascended to the roof. He failed to notice the cat had climbed back up into the tree.

Yes, he thought. He was definitely fitting in perfectly.

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!-L-O-G-O-!

Kraden awoke the next morning with with a mouthful of straw.

"Oh dear..." he muttered to himself after spitting the straw out. He strained to get up, popping his back in the process. "Not again."

After mentally scolding himself for a short moment, Kraden decided to let himself off easy. The straw that made up the roofs in Vale was surprisingly comfortable.

He patted the straw and contemplated laying down to sleep for a little while longer. Before he could make a decision, he heard an ear-piercing scream.

"Sure she's the broad?" growled a rough voice nearby.

Whoever was speaking was answered by a softer voice. "Yes. This is her. Be careful."

"Agh! She bit me!"

"I said to be careful. Let us escape, quickly. Someone will have heard."

Kraden crawled forward to the edge of the roof and peered over. What he saw was so shocking that he nearly fell to the ground.

Beatrice was being kidnapped!

The Mayor's beautiful wife-a wonderful woman, if Kraden does say so himself-was being dragged out the window in her nightgown by two men. And to make things worse, they were using his ladder to commit the crime!

"Come on, woman! Quit struggling!" shouted the largest man, dressed in regular clothing that looked like it had been patched up more than once. He had Beatrice thrown over his shoulder and was trying to climb out the window. Beatrice, putting her strong spirit to use, was spreading out all four limbs and making it impossible for her to fit through the window.

Wearing a clean top hat and a fancy leather vest, the smaller man, who was already climbing down the ladder, cut in. "Don't hurt her. She is valuable."

The larger man put both his feet against the window frame and pulled on Beatrice using his arms. His entire body was hanging out the window as he struggled to get her out.

Suddenly, her grip gave out, and they both went flying out the second-story window. With a loud thud, they crashed onto the ground, Beatrice landing safely on top of the big man's stomach.

"Urgh..." he groaned.

Kraden had had enough of this! He picked the last bit of straw out of his hair and began to climb down the ladder, grumbling to himself about villains these days as he angrily (but carefully) descended. He was going to show them a thing or two.

Beatrice shook her head and stood up in a daze. Once her head cleared and she remembered what was going on, she kicked the big man.

"Oh dear. How troublesome. You are so clumsy, Dak" the smaller man said in a monotonous voice as he watched from a few feet away. He walked up to Beatrice and knocked her in the back of the head, causing her to pass out. His arms snatched her before she could hit the ground.

"Hold it right there!" Kraden shouted from halfway up the ladder. "Don't you dare lay another finger on her!"

The big guy-Dak-finally stood up, brushed himself off and said, "Who's this nut?"

Kraden pumped a fist in the air. "I am Alchemy Man! And you," he pointed to the men, "will be a smudge on the bottom of my shoe if you don't unhand her!" He resumed climbing down in his angry-but-slow manner.

Dak and the smaller man exchanged looks. Dak shrugged, walked up to the ladder, and pushed the bottom forward so that it teetered off-balance.

"Whoa-waah!" Kraden yelled as the ladder started tipping backward. Down below, the smaller man ordered Dak to pick up Beatrice, and they began to run away, taking a side path toward the Plaza.

Kraden held perfectly still. He managed to balance out just enough to keep the ladder standing perfectly straight up and down in the air. He didn't dare move a muscle for fear of tipping over. Just as he was working out the best solution to getting down safely, a perfect example of bad timing occurred.

"Aaaachoo!"

Following his rather loud sneeze, the ladder toppled backward, sending Kraden right into Kay's flower bed.

"Oh no!" Kraden exclaimed in pain. "If I know Kay...her sixth sense will be kicking in any moment now. I have to get out of here!"

He hastily pulled himself out from under the ladder and hauled butt out of there before Kay would become yet another arch-nemesis of his.

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!-L-O-G-O-!

Kraden was fuming. Never before had he seen such a mockery of justice! Well, except perhaps when he himself had been kidnapped along with Jenna. But that turned out beneficial in the end. What good would come of kidnapping Beatrice?

Having started to wheeze heavily, Kraden slowed down for a bit and pondered on the situation. Beatrice... He had quite the soft spot for her. Sure, she was married to the Mayor, and she was Garet's grandmother, but Kraden couldn't help it. She was sharp as a tack, and Kraden always seemed to feel a little giddy when speaking to her. The stories she could tell always grabbed his attention to the fullest, and nobody else in town could give him such interesting conversations.

Kraden used his own high intellect to deduce that the kidnappers went towards Vale's only exit. After all, that was the direction they ran. After finally making it out of Vale, he had to stop and rest for a bit. It pained him to do so, but the white spots he was seeing couldn't be a good sign.

While he was regaining his strength, he heard a familiar voice singing softly. Kraden turned to look down the road to see Piers approaching from the direction of Vault. Kraden seemed to remember that Piers had an errand to run in Vault, and he seemed to be returning to Vale.

"Perfect!" Kraden said, leaping to his feet.

The sudden outburst surprised Piers, who just now noticed Alchemy Man. "Oh, hello there," he said after he collected himself. He scratched his head and wondered how he had not seen the colorful man right away.

Kraden had no time to exchange pleasantries. "Piers, carry me!"

Piers reeled back as the fierce Alchemy Man approached him. He barely heard the demand. "What?" was all he could say.

Kraden let out an irritated sigh and tried to climb on Piers' back, who was turning around and keeping his back away from the super hero, as if his life depended on it. "We have to save Beatrice, the Mayor's wife! There's no time to talk-I'll explain on the way!"

"But why do you need me to carry you?" Piers asked, perplexed at the whole situation.

Alchemy Man jumped onto Piers. "No. Time!" he exclaimed, and he kicked his heels into Piers' sides like a horseman riding his steed. Except, instead of galloping off after the kidnappers, Piers grunted in pain and collapsed.

"Ow! Get off you crazy man!" Piers yelled.

Kraden forced himself to calm down. He decided to use his scholarly intelligence and super hero magnificence to try and correct the situation. Climbing off of Piers, he cleared his throat. "My dear man, we haven't much time. A damsel in distress awaits us, and I don't know what will happen if we don't save her quickly!"

Climbing to his feet, Piers brushed himself off and held his side. "Okay, I understand that part," he said with a hint of irritation. "And I'm willing to help. But why do I have to carry you?"

Clearing his throat again, this time out of hesitance to speak, Kraden fiddled with his cape in an embarrassed manner. "Well, you are quite strong. I'm afraid stamina isn't one of my abilities, and I don't have much hope of catching up to them," he explained, not meeting Piers' eyes. It ashamed him to say that, mostly because he knew that Piers was quite possibly older than himself.

Piers sighed, not knowing what he had walked into. "Well, okay... But no kicking."

Kraden allowed himself to smile and nodded. "It's a deal. For the time being, consider yourself Alchemy Man's sidekick!"

Raising an eyebrow, Piers said, "Sidekick?"

Acting oblivious, just in case Piers decided to challenge him for the role of leader, Kraden instead climbed on Piers' back. "Now, what shall I call you?"

Sighing again, Piers reached back to secure Alchemy Man and then ran off towards the kidnappers using Alchemy Man's guidance, wincing when the hero shouted, "Onward, Seabiscuit!"

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"Captain Planet it is, then!" Kraden announced.

Piers hadn't even heard the rest of the one-sided conversation that led to the nickname for him. He was too busy concentrating on running and not passing out. Carrying an old man was much harder than he thought.

Alchemy Man rubbed his hands with glee, causing Piers' head to shake in the process. "Yes, this is wonderful! Alchemy Man and Captain Planet, the Paragon Pair! Or maybe... Dauntless Duo!"

Piers moved his head. "Stop that."

As they burst out through some trees, they suddenly saw a small group up ahead in the field, heading towards Lunpa.

"Th...that's them!" Alchemy Man shouted in Piers' ear.

Flinching, Piers sighed in relief. A few quick moves to defeat the thieves then he could get out of there. The life of a super hero's sidekick wasn't meant for him. His back ached far too much. He felt more like a vehicle than a super hero.

"Increase speed and ride up beside them!" Alchemy Man demanded, gripping Piers tighter. "We must not let them get away!"

Piers gasped for air, but tried to pick up more speed anyway. Just a few more moments and he'd have the unwelcome company off of his back...

As they came within earshot of the group, Kraden observed the situation. The two men who had kidnapped Beatrice were jogging towards Lunpa. Beatrice was unconscious and slung over what Kraden understood to be Dak's shoulder.

Kraden didn't have time to figure out what Lunpa would want with Beatrice. "Halt, evildoers!" he shouted with a voice he rarely heard from himself. It sounded stronger than usual. He smiled inwardly-he felt more and more like a super hero ever moment.

The pair of villains turned around. The smaller man narrowed his eyes and said, "It looks like it couldn't be avoided."

"Jason, you want me to beat them up?" Dak asked, setting down Beatrice and flexing his muscles.

The man called Jason removed his top hat and ran his hand through his balding hair. "Would you two be willing to surrender Vale for this woman?" he asked loudly as he replaced the hat on his head. "That is the deal our employer intends to make. If you make it now, it will save us time."

Kraden grit his teeth together and jumped off Piers, much to the Lemurian's relief. "I have a better idea-you give us Beatrice, and we'll spare you from a particularly nasty beat-down!"

He said it with such fury that he wasn't even sure it came from himself. Once the moment passed, he turned to Piers and whispered, "I've always wanted to say something like that!"

"That is not acceptable," Jason said in his usual monotonous voice. He turned around and added, "Dak, you may deal with them as you like."

Kraden was upset. Not only did his speech not inspire the men to relent-he thought it was good-but it seemed like the smaller man didn't even think they were worth watching anymore! Everything was adding up to fuel the fires of Alchemy Man's rage. Beatrice being kidnapped, Kraden's exhaustion from running (though he did feel much better now), the men rejecting his deal, and now not even acknowledging him!

As young Garet would always say, it was on.

Kraden reached for one of his freezer pops, but Dak was already moving. He ran forward, yelling at the top of his lungs, threatening to barrel into Kraden. That was something Kraden would've rather avoided, so he was quite pleased when Piers jumped in between the two of them with his sword drawn.

Dak didn't have a weapon of his own, so he slowed down and stopped. That small moment of hesitation was all Piers needed.

"Frost!" Piers exclaimed, raising his hand. Kraden immediately recognized it as one of the Lemurian's lower-level spells. Still, he knew it would be quite effective. Chilly air rushed around them all, and soon crystals of ice began forming at Dak's feet.

The larger man's teeth began chattering as the ice climbed up his body, engulfing him. "H-hey! Stop th-this!" he pleaded.

Piers marched forward and gave a roundhouse kick to the frozen man's head, knocking him unconscious to the ground. He took a deep breath and ceased the spell, making the ice thaw rather rapidly into pools of water.

Jason turned around and raised an eyebrow. "I see. You have dispatched him," he said with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

While Piers had certainly done a good job, Kraden couldn't help but have mixed feelings. Beatrice was his damsel to save. So far he hadn't done anything that would warrant him getting the recognition as the hero. His eyes immediately glanced at her unconscious body.

"I suppose this is where I have to step in," Jason said, reverting back to his regular tone. He pulled off his top hat and reached into it.

Having seen his fair share of festivals featuring magicians, Kraden expected to see Jason pull out a vicious white rabbit. Instead, the skinny man revealed a contraption that actually looked like it shouldn't possibly fit in his hat. Kraden's mind was boggled-he thought he'd seen just about everything.

"This is my patent-pending Rapid Firing Sleep Bomb Gun. Or just The Sleep Gun," Jason said. The so called "sleep gun" looked to be quite intricate all around, but Kraden's focus was on the container that looked like it carried a lot of sleep bombs at the rear of the gun.

Piers stuck his hand out towards Jason, uttering the words for his next spell. However, before the Lemurian could finish, Jason pulled down on the trigger.

"Piers, look out!" Kraden shouted. He ran to push his sidekick out of the way, but he was too slow. Wave after wave of sleep bombs pelted Piers and the ground around him, sending up pink smoke everywhere. When the smoke cleared, everything within a few feet of Piers was covered in pink. Piers himself looked like he blew up some bubblegum in his face. Several times.

Kraden's fears came true when Piers yawned, wavered on his feet, then fell backward. The momentary silence in the field was then broken by the Lemurian snoring.

"Now for you," Jason said with no facial expression. He aimed the gun at Kraden and pulled the trigger. "Good night, 'Alchemy Man'."

Kraden was pelted with several sleep bombs. He made a point to cover a hand over his crotch, seeing as how it hurt a lot to be hit with sleep bombs and the man's aim seemed to be all over the place. The scholar also had to cover his eyes because, well, he had a hard enough time seeing without pink smoke in his eyes.

When the firing stopped and the smoke settled, Kraden blinked a few times and stared at Jason. "That was extremely rude of you," he said angrily. "And I believe it's my turn."

Feeling quite bold, Kraden whipped his cape behind him and walked right up to Jason, who looked stunned. Kraden took pleasure in the man's frightened and confused expression-he hadn't seen anything else make Jason's face change from its normal passive state.

"H-How?" Jason stuttered.

Kraden reached out and touched Jason's hand, zapping him until he fell over. Stepping on the man's chest, Kraden crossed his arms and revealed his secret for staying awake.

"When will you villains learn. I'm a non-playable character; Status Effects don't work on me!"

With that said, Kraden gave a grin of justice and reached down to zap Jason unconscious.

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Piers rubbed his head as he trailed behind Alchemy Man and Beatrice on the way back to Vale. He wasn't quite sure what happened after he had passed out. All Alchemy Man would say is that "Justice had been served, and the damsel is safe." He then told "Captain Planet" that he would have to work harder next time.

Clearly the old man was getting a kick out of this super hero thing.

"I must say, Beatrice, you sure gave those men quite a beating when you woke up," Kraden said as he turned to smile at the woman beside him.

Beatrice's eyes hardened. "I had to give them a reason to think twice before attempting that again."

Kraden squinted as he tried to take in all of the detail on Beatrice's cute face. "Haha, yes, I dare say they'll think twice before even mentioning your name again!"

"Alchemy Man... I must thank you again for saving me!" Beatrice said, practically swooning.

Piers suppressed a cough and turned his attention elsewhere.

"You're most welcome," Kraden responded with a bow.

"I just have to give you a reward!" she said immediately. "Anything at all, it's yours! I could be dead if it weren't for you."

Kraden thought hard about that. Would they have killed her? This super hero business was getting quite serious. He would have to do better next time, too.

"Anything, hmm?" he replied. Placing his hand on his chin, he pondered on what he wanted that she could give.

"Yes, of course. Well...within reason," Beatrice added. "I can't hand over the deed to Vale, after all," she joked.

Kraden smiled. He knew exactly what he wanted. "How about a date?"

Beatrice nearly fell over. "E-Excuse me? A date? Us?" she stammered.

"I would like nothing more than an evening with you," Kraden stated sincerely. "Just one date, and I will be a perfect gentlemen as well."

"But... I'm married!" said Beatrice. She blushed lightly.

"You have my word I will do nothing more than enjoy your wonderful company."

Beatrice stared at her feet. "Oh, I don't know... I suppose if...well, if it's just as friends..."

Kraden gave a warming smile. "If that's how you wish it to be, then that's how it will be."

Beatrice hesitated, but then returned his smile. "Oh, heck, it sounds like fun. It's not every night a woman gets to spend an evening talking to a super hero. If that's what you want as a reward for saving my life, then that's fine by me," she said with a renewed sense of excitement in her voice.

"Excellent!" Kraden said, grinning widely. She just made him the happiest super hero around. "How does tonight sound?"

Retaining her smile, Beatrice gave a quick nod. "That's perfectly fine. Can you pick me up at 7?"

Kraden had to hold back his excitement. He wanted to appear professional. Mature. Charming. "I'll be there right on time, my lady," he said as he gave another bow, causing Beatrice's blush to return.

Piers decided to take the long way to Vale.

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Later that day when they arrived in Vale, Kraden was happy to see a search party led by the Mayor. They had been searching for Beatrice frantically, and were overjoyed when the pair walked through the entrance. After accepting the the gratitude of the Mayor and several other villagers, Alchemy Man parted ways with Beatrice and headed home to prepare for his date. He figured he would have to wear his costume, and it needed to have all the pink washed out of it, so the scholar did his laundry first thing.

The Sleep Gun had taken up the rest of his attention before the date. Kraden almost lost track of time and had to rush to get ready. It actually was quite a fascinating device, and he was happy he brought it along with him. After studying it for a while, it made him realize that he had been missing a very important part of being a super hero.

Gadgets. He needed lots and lots of gadgets. Something for every situation. What would he do if he had to scale a cliff? Or how would he unlock a door he might need to get into? He wasn't the Master of Unlocking. He would probably need a utility belt of sorts, too. Or maybe just a bag to carry them in-he would work out the finer details some other time.

Despite losing track of time, he still managed to leave an hour early, as he intended. The pirate ship-on-wheels that served as his new home and lair had quite a few interesting things on it that Kraden had made use of. One of those things was a smaller boat-on-wheels that was lowered down the side. Earlier he decided it would be his temporary Super Hero Vehicle until he could find something better. He even painted it to match his costume's color scheme. It looked spectacular.

Grabbing the oars, he rowed the boat all the way to the Mayor's house. It took a while, and he had to get out at some points to pull the boat up some steps, but he managed to get there only fifteen minutes late. It ended up working out perfectly though, because Beatrice was old-fashioned and timed herself to be fifteen minutes late getting ready anyway. She had just stepped out of her room when a panting, wheezing, sweating Alchemy Man knocked at the front door to the house.

Garet shambled lazily toward the door to answer it, but Beatrice ran ahead of him and answered it instead. Garet shrugged and went back to sit down.

"Your...chariot...awaits...my lady," Kraden gasped when she greeted him. With a shaky hand he pointed back to the boat he had parked in front of her house.

Beatrice looked from Alchemy Man to the boat, and then back to Alchemy Man again. "It's a nice evening... How about we walk instead?"

Kraden was more than happy to comply. After spending a few moments catching his breath and admiring how beautiful Beatrice looked in her dress, he held out his arm for his date and the two of them walked down to the Plaza. The moonlight lit up the town of Vale brightly, and the temperature was absolutely perfect. It didn't take long for all of Kraden's energy to return in the peaceful setting.

The date that Kraden had planned wasn't anything unique. It was a simple, nice dinner at a restaurant, accompanied by a band. Ever since the Adepts' grand adventure, Vale had become quite the hot spot, and new buildings and businesses were appearing almost every month. The restaurant Kraden took Beatrice to was only recently built, and still quite popular. Still, he managed to secure a table in the front near the band after he promised the manager he'd do a patrol outside the restaurant a few times every night.

Being a super hero had wonderful benefits, Kraden mused.

The band was pretty good from what he heard when they walked in, but all of Kraden's attention was on his beautiful date once they sat down. He was engrossed in her stories. She knew much on the history of Vale, not to mention quite a bit about Weyard itself. Kraden even found himself delighted to hear tales of her youth. In return, Kraden told her stories that wouldn't give away his identity. She found some of them to be hilarious, and Kraden discovered that not only was her smile infectious, but her laugh was to die for. His cheeks were aching in no time.

As time passed and they ate their dinner, Kraden was starting to dread the end of the date. He was having so much fun. He began to wonder if he could convince her to go on another date. Possibly a picnic or a play. Beatrice seemed like the type who enjoyed a good show.

While he was formulating a plan to ask her for a second date, he couldn't help but catch the ending verse of the song the band was singing. It was so sudden that he almost missed it, but Kraden had trained himself to pay attention to the smallest of details. Adrenaline began to course through him as he realized what the singer was singing about.

"It's time for your downfall; time to put your cape away. Alchemy Man's life will end; it's time to start the fray!"

Kraden immediately turned in shock to look at the singer, and gasped when the man pointed at the super hero and made a cutting motion across his throat.

End: Chapter 4

What's going on? Is the band an enemy of Alchemy Man? What dangerous situation has Kraden walked into with Beatrice, his beautiful date? And just what is the band called, anyway?

Find out next time on Alchemy Man!