August 17th 2015
Pontius Portcullis stepped outside of his secret base, far out in the hills of northern Montana. He carefully observed the landscape waiting, watching for any sign of movement. When he was sure there was none to be found, he made his way slowly out to the post box and retrieved the mail and paper. Then slinked back into his lair.

The post had brought 3 bills from credit cards, an advertisement for a new cologne from Donna Karin, and the latest Victoria's secret catalogue. The bills and ad went into the trash, the catalogue found its place on the table for later perusing. The elastic slid off of the rolled paper and shot halfway across the room where it was intercepted by a tracking laser and vaporized in a red flash. Pontius smiled.

He opened the paper to the front page and nearly dropped it in horror. The words in bold-faced print read, "Who will protect us now? MegaPower Man and the Liberty squad defeated by Jurassic Pain." In the picture he could see a helicopter with a death-ray, almost an exact replica of the one he was currently building, mounted to its side. The article went on to describe how Jurassic Pain appeared at the U.N. and demanded the surrender of the world's countries to his rule. Well of course the Liberty league had arrived shortly, but apparently they had bit off more than they could chew.

Pontius hurled the paper to the floor. The league had been his archenemies. JP should have known that. He flew up in a rage, storming into the tower of devastation and began throwing switches, powering up his large death-ray turret, and setting the sight onto Washington DC. 'They would all pay!' That is if he had finished the subneutronic power core. The villain fell back into the cushioned leather chair, built into the turret. They would have to wait until tomorrow to feel his wraith. With no other place to direct his fury, Pontius walked back down to flip through the lingerie catalogue.

August 28th 2015
The last bolt tightened into place. Pontius stood up gleaming and cast his head back as he let out an evil chuckle. "The world will soon be mine." He shouted, to no one in particular.

Newspaper clippings were stuck up along the silver chrome dome enclosing the death ray. Headlines spoke of 4 different super teams that went up against Jurassic Pain and his trouncing of them all. The world seemed to be running short of the powered heroic types. The military had two failed attempts to destroy the villain as well. There were also a few of personal interviews. Pontius took special care not to look directly at those ones. They always lead to long staring matches against the photos of Jurassic Pain and his stupid Dino head costume and right now he had not the time to waste.

"Only one thing remains." The devilish man spoke. "I need refined plutonium." He pulled up the ordering site on his net-capable wristwatch and with a few quick points and clicks. "Curses! Backorder!" Pontius placed the order just the same. His revenge could wait the 2 weeks stated for new supplies and delivery.

November 16th 2015
Pontius's titanium boot clanged into the wall for the third time. "No it hasn't arrived yet. Yes I'm sure. Yes I know what it looks like." The phone call was going nowhere. "I've been waiting for almost 3 months now. Is this how your company conducts its business? It takes people's money then doesn't deliver? No, I don't want a refund. I want my damn plutonium." He slammed the mini-receiver down on the hook and began to frantically pace around the once shiny dome.

All of the chrome within easy reach was now filled with black ink on off white recycled paper. "Are there no hero's left?" "Governments of the world surrender after failed nuclear attack.." "Jurassic Pain, People's man of the year." That one was in color.

Pontius rounded the dome twice more. 'What's a super villain to do?' There were no hero's to fight, no governments to over throw, no civilization to topple. He turned form the room, his pace slowing. Decelerating he made his way into the viewer room and turned on the giant picture screen, then flopped down on the couch.

"Robot, bring me some chunky monkey." As the android butler brought in the pint-sized pleasure, the super genius turned on the monitor and began to watch.

Janurary 1st 2017
"Welcome folks, this is Susan Drumber bringing you the first news of the year." Pontius wasn't sure how long he had been watching now. His days were a routing of monotony: rise, turn on viewer, call for breakfast, observe, call for lunch, observe, 1 hour fitness time, return to couch, observe, retire for the night, repeat. At first he had taken notes on how JP was doing things, but soon it seemed an exercise in futility. The man had so far removed the monetary system, legalized and regulated all pleasurable activities: narcotics, sex, violence, alcohol, gambling. He removed all religions and with them their bigotry, their derelict laws and rules, their fear of the unknown, and their work to halt the progress of man. All former forms of government were also gone. What existed now was almost indescribable. There were regulations: everyone worked, everyone ate, everyone had shelter, everyone enjoyed. Pontius hardly even put on his costume anymore.

A knock at the door brought him out to see who it was. Smiling well-wishers saw him back. "Hello sir we've come to share the good news. The magnanimous Jurassic Pain has removed all ownership of land."

Pontius Portcullis stared at them blankly.

"We're going to be neighbors." The man said grinning. Behind him Pontius could see construction crews driving in ready to lay pastel condos and puppy-doghouses.

"That's wonderful, why don't you come in," the Villain spoke. As the man stepped forward Pontius slammed the door as had as he could, laughing at the screams of "My face, my face," that ensued. The Villain raced from the front door and up the stairs to his home defense station. The energy cannons powered up in seconds, just in time to see one of the tractors hit the minefield. He let loose a volley of shots into the truck behind the tractor. Both went up in a smoking cloud of flames and debris.

"Take that you cranium inhibited cronies." He screamed out as energy blasts, made to penetrate men of steel, mowed down anything moving. The house shook as it was struck by the pulse lasers from Jurasic's orbital satellites, but it had been created to withstand that and more. When the smoke cleared from the massive barrage not a creature was left moving. Pontius slid out of the control chair and went to change into his costume. It wouldn't be long before a second wave came.

Five minutes passed, then eight, and then you could just begin to hear it. A mechanical tromp, tromp of a thousand robots built to enforce orders and police the world. They came in sinister synchronicity, shiny sharp steel soldiers of enslavement. More than one hero had fallen to them in the early days. Pontius fired a salvo into their ranks, leaving molten slag and some nifty robot feet where mechanized terror once stood. He got eight more shots off before the cannon ran out of juice. It wasn't doing much good anyway. Even on its widest beam it couldn't get more than eight or nine of them at a time.

The super villain made his way down to the control center. From the view screen he watched them hit with mine field with scapegoat sweeper techniques. Their proximity progression allowed each mine to pulverize 10 or more. Then they struck the house.

Micro lasers in the walls burned them down as they came, but they kept coming. Batteries drained, capacitors blew, and before long this defense was also defeated. The rest of the house was filled with poison gas and knock out beams, not much of a threat to the unbreathing unsleeping. He had only one play left to make.

Pontius began to charge the drive. It would take 30 seconds to reach full capacity. He released the gas and KO beams just in case they might slow the lethal legions. He could hear his robo-servants being cut down as they attempted to serve these new guests. That was all the time he needed. At the first bang on the control room door the drive light went green and Pontius turned the switch. A burst of electromagnetic energy expanded out from the room shocking everything in its path into submission. It would disable anything computer aided within a three-mile radius.

Pontius Portcullis, the man who did what no other could, strode from the ruin of his once diabolical fortress. For a few moments he reveled in the silence of unnatural noise. Then from the distance he could hear the helicopter coming, it's whup, whup, whup, as it cleared the tree line. The black bird turned to the side and the death ray let out an array of sparks. Pontius touched a button on his armor and laughed as the near invisible beam collided with his personal shield in a warm glow.

"If you want me you're going to have to come down here and do it the old fashion way." He shouted to his neo-nemesis. The chopper made one more overhead pass than came to rest on the grassy hill. A man dressed as a dinosaur came forth.

"I would have thought you'd have given up by now," it roared.

"I had one last thing to do, kick your ass!" Pontius screamed as he charged the last thing he hated. The dino-man responded in kind.

There it was, the clash heard round the world. The final stand of one man and all he believed in.

There were no hero's now, no one who thought they were doing more good than the rest of the world. There was no true crime; nothing was really illegal any more. It was just mindless progress. People populating, houses housing, and mindless employment to meet the forced status quo. Without good in the world there could be no evil. Without right and wrong there was only the monotony of existence.

A tranquil, happy world is a truly uncivilized place.