[SFX: Security Alarm]
"Come out and face me, Naysmith!" Alex screamed over the blaring sirens. He ran through the halls of the research facility. He was on the hunt for Riley. The underground complex the madman built was needlessly huge. Alex needed to act fast. Riley was a loose cannon with a plan to end the world. He could afford to let his nemesis out of his sight for much longer.
The sirens were starting to wear on Alex. They were giving him a headache. Coupled with the flashing red lights, he started to get a little motion sick. His pain didn't matter. He had to push through it. He had to keep going.
He ran up the stairs, pushing past Riley's scientists and security guards, who were attempting to evacuate the building.
Suddenly, the sirens shut off, and a silence fell over the facility. He stopped for a second to catch his breath. He leaned on the railing of the staircase. "Thank god."
Alex turned his head and looked down an empty hallway. The lights flickered, glaring against the stark walls. He had seen people running down this hallway. Or was it another one like it? They all bled into one another and looked the same after a while.
With a sigh, Alex stalked down the hallway. He was sure that he was close to Riley, regardless of how monotonous his search had become. At least there were no more monsters coming after him. For now.
The smartwatch on Alex's right wrist buzzed. He stopped in his tracks, confused. He stood there for a moment, listening to the vibration.
It could be Riley, he hoped. He could trace an incoming call from Riley using his smartwatch. He might even be able to hack into the mainframe of Riley's entire computer.
The watch buzzed insistently until Alex finally answered it.
[SFX: Ding]
"Long time no see, Master Ambrose," said SCOT, Alex's trusted AI. His cheerful computer-generated face appeared on the small screen of Alex's watch. He was overcome with relief to see that his artificial intelligence had made it through. "I was able to disable the alarms and flashing lights. I know how sensitive you are to such things.
"SCOT! Oh, thank god." Alex blurted out. "This is a miracle!"
"Miracle, wonder," SCOT said. "It's all the same. Apologies for taking so long to sync up with your watch, sir. However, I see you've been able to handle yourself. I'm not surprised, but I am glad that you are still alive. I'm using your watch to check your vital signs. It appears you are as healthy as a horse."
"Well, that might be due to sheer luck," Alex said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm happy you were able to connect to the watch. Now, you can help me out. I'm just trying to find Riley. Can you scan for him?"
"On it, sir!" SCOT said. Then, the small screen of Alex's watch faded into a radar-type scanner. It showed a few red dots collected throughout the building.
"I have good news and concerning news," he said. "Which would you like to receive first?"
"Let's start with the concerning news," Alex said right away.
"There's another artificial intelligence program," SCOT said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, Riley already bragged to me about her. He called her HALLE," Alex replied.
Although SCOT was a robot, his voice was laced with concern. "I'm sensing she's highly sophisticated, a little farther along than I, even with all of the security updates I have installed in your absence."
"Security updates? In my absence?" Alex asked, fearing his artificial intelligence was getting too smart for its own good. "You know what, we'll focus on that when we get back home. For now, let's get Riley." Alex paused for a moment, remembering where he was. "Wait, can you block HALLE from hacking my watch?"
After a moment, the watch beeped. "All taken care of. We should be secure."
"Perfect," Alex said firmly. "Let's take down a psychopath."
"Okay," Alex's watch responded. "The good news is I can sens–"
The watch went black. Alex tapped the screen. The watch shut down, and he couldn't get it running again.
Then, the lights shut off, and the air was filled with an electrical buzzing. Alex positioned himself in a defensive stance. He whirled around, ready for an attack. Something brushed past his left ear. He ducked, drove his shoulder into somebody's pelvis, and heaved them back into a wall.
Alex heard panting, then a familiar voice. "Lights!"
It was Riley. He smiled wickedly at Alex and rubbed his hands together.
"God," Alex said. "You always had a flair for the dramatics, didn't you?"
Alex's sly remarks didn't faze Riley in the slightest. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. He rehearsed it several times. "Alexander Ambrose, are you ready to meet your doom?"
Alex rolled his eyes. "How many times am I going to have to meet my doom?"
"This time, it's different. I realize why all my previous attempts failed. Sure, it would have been convenient to have a super soldier take you down, and yes, I would have loved to watch a cyborg rip you to shreds, but that's not the way it's meant to be. I have to be the one to take you down myself," Riley taunted with a huge grin on his face.
He raised a hand behind his back and pulled out a massive, sharp, and spotless Japanese style sword. He swung it around his body in a theatrical, unskilled fashion. "Ha! I've got you now, Ambrose! I bet you didn't know that I am a master swordsman!"
Riley wielding a blade didn't alarm Alex. In a flash, he knew he could knock the blade out of Riley's hands and call it a day. But then, a light bulb went off in Alex's head. He could just take Riley down, right here, right now, but he needed to clear his name, and he needed to prove to the city of Baltimore that Riley was terrorizing them from the start. The people deserved to know the truth. He needed to lure Riley outside and put him on display for everyone to see.
So, Alex made a decision: he ran. He booked it toward the staircase.
Riley watched him and scoffed. He knew he could never run as fast as Alex. "Great, just great. You spent hours searching for me, and now you're running away from me? God, you're infuriating."
Alex ran up the staircase, and as he did, he tapped his watch. "SCOT, come on, SCOT! I need to get out of here."
The watch didn't reply.
With an upset sigh, he continued to run. But then, Riley jumped in front of him, seemingly leaping down from a high flight of stairs, wielding his weapon.
Where did he get that thing? I doubt he even knows how to use it, Alex thought. No time for questions. Survive first, and ask questions later.
Riley trapped Alex in the stairwell. If he kept running, he would be a sitting duck for Riley to slice up. Alex had to fight him.
He stepped forward, and Riley brought the katana down. Alex stepped to the side, grabbing the handrail and dodging the strike. Riley swiped the katana again, and Alex ducked.
Riley groaned in disappointment. "Stay still! I can't hit you when you move like that!"
Alex did not follow the lunatic's orders. He pressed his hands against the handrail and launched himself up like a master gymnast. With one swift kick, he struck Riley's right wrist, causing the katana to miss its mark and drop out of Riley's hand.
The katana spun in the air, then plummeted down the stairs. Alex and Riley watched in disbelief as it disappeared from view.
Riley reached out. "No! Not my favorite katana!"
However, Riley did not let the loss of the weapon deter him for too long. As adrenaline pulsed through his veins, he put Alex in a headlock. Alex used Riley's strength as leverage. He grounded himself, grabbed Riley's arms, and fell backward.
Riley landed on top of Alex. He pinned him to the ground.
"I was this close!" Riley said. "So close to getting you out of the way so you could die a pathetic mortal death along with the rest of the world. Well, unfortunately, you're going to have to die a hero's death. By my hands. I don't know whether I should be pleased with the irony or upset that you're going out the way you want. I suppose it doesn't matter. Either way, you are going to die."
After Alex let Riley rehearse his monologue, he threw the man off of him with ease. He glanced up the stairs. Now was the time. Alex needed to make a run for it. He needed to lure Riley outside and get him to confess.
Alex booked it up the stairs, and Riley followed after.
Sweat poured off of Riley's forehead. He couldn't keep up. "Get back here! God, it's not my fault you're in better shape than me! It isn't fair."
Alex burst through the door that led to the pharmacy, and he ran outside.
Yvonne, Debbie, Christopher and Louis all stood around Gary, the super soldier horse, waiting for Alex with bated breath.
Yvonne pointed toward him as he ran out of the building. "Alex! Thank god!"
A crowd began to form on the street. A young woman rushed onto the road outside of the pharmacy. "Wait! That's Alex Ambrose! He caused all this mess!"
Alex waved to his friends and the civilians to back off. "Run, get out of here. Riley's right behind me."
Yvonne looked around Alex. "I don't see him."
Alex turned to glance over his shoulder. "Okay, he's slow, but he's coming."
Like clockwork, Riley burst through the door. He looked like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. "Stop running, Alex Ambrose."
Another person from the crowd of onlookers pointed at Alex. "He made the super soldiers!"
Someone else spoke up. "Yeah, Alex made the scary robot! Got to admit, it was a pretty genius creation. Terrifying, but I respect it."
When Riley heard that remark, he turned to the crowd. His expression dropped. He furrowed his eyebrows as rage built up inside of him. Alex's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he hoped would happen.
"Alex? You think ALEX made all of those things?" he shouted at the crowd.
"Yes," said another civilian. "That's what you told us."
Riley clenched his fists. "You IDIOT! I LIED! I'm the mastermind behind this. It's all ME! I'm the genius!" He pointed at Alex. "This guy? This moronic golden boy? He's just a little do-gooder. He isn't an innovator or a visionary. That's ME! I made the super soldiers. I made the cyborgs. I sent them all after Alex to kill him. I have the plan to rule the world. I will be the one to destroy it all and lead us into a new age! It's me! All by myself!"
When Riley finished his tyrannical speech, he realized everyone was recording him. All the people in the crowd had their phones out, and all the phones were pointed toward Riley. Alex stood between the crowd and Riley. He held a hand out toward his nemesis.
Calmly, he tried to approach Riley. "Okay, let's just calm down for a second. Don't do anything you'll regret, Riley. They all have the proof now. We all have the proof."
Riley's face grew pale, realizing what he had done. Riley froze where he stood, standing as still as a statue. "No, no, no, no, no, no."
Riley slowly backed away from the crowd and closer to the pharmacy that led to his underground lair. "I'm an expert planner. How come all of my plans never go to, well, plan?"
"It's alright," Alex said in an attempt to reason with the man. "We can make it right now. You can make it right now."
Still backing up, Riley shook his head. "I should be a success. Everything I have ever done was to become a success, but everything I touch crumbles to dust. I think I know the reason why."
Alex held up his hand. "No, Riley, don't go there. You can't keep blaming me."
Riley threw his hands up in the air. "I can, and I will. You always have to be the hero. Look at you right now! Everyone in the city of Baltimore will cherish you for this! You could never let anyone else come in and take the mantle. It has to be you. It can't be anyone else. Alex Ambrose is always the hero, and he always wins."
Riley subtly fiddled with his wristwatch, but Alex noticed.
He raised a concerned eyebrow. "Riley, what are you doing with the watch?"
A tear formed in the man's eye. "I control my own destiny, Alex Ambrose, and now, the only thing I could do is destroy it."
Riley turned at the drop of a dime. He sprinted into the building with no warning. Alex tried to follow after him, but Riley acted too fast. He closed the door to the pharmacy behind him. He rested up against the door, using himself as a barricade.
"HALLE," Riley said into his watch. "Launch Project Detonation."
The watch lit up. HALLE responded. "Excuse me, sir? There are still experiments, scientists, researchers–"
"You heard me. I said do it," Riley said firmly.
After a moment of silence, the AI responded. "Yes, sir."
Riley breathed a sigh of relief. "It's the only way to go. It's the only way to win." He smiled to himself. "It's the end of the world."
Deep in the lowest reaches of the underground tower, a ball of flames began to emerge. It climbed up the edges of the tower, swallowing everything in its wake. It kept climbing, higher and higher, until it broke the surface, swallowing everything and everyone who had been inside.
The Naysmith Pharmacy Building on Learner Avenue was about to explode.
Outside the building, Alex felt a rumbling beneath his feet. He turned around. "EVERYBODY RUN! Back up! Back up!"
Everyone rushed back as far as they could, but they stopped as they witnessed the building in front of them go up in flames.