Chapter 38
Tex felt intensely sorry for that poor Officer Marvel. He could see the guy was embarrassed to be receiving a reprimand from the boss in front of the entire family, and he felt an urgent wish to alleviate some of the bad sentiments this must have stirred in the officer’s bosom.
As Officer Marvel made to exit the scene stage left, he waylaid him and said, “I’m so sorry this happened to you, officer.”
“Oh, that’s all right, Doctor Poole,” said the officer politely. “I made a bad call, and it won’t happen again, I can assure you.”
“No, actually, I think that you made the right call,” said Tex as he drew him into the next backyard. “You see, I’m also very curious about this mysterious superhero. This Germinator. So you really believe that my mother-in-law is in touch with him?”
“Oh, I’m absolutely convinced that she is,” said the officer. “She was seen associating with the Germinator on the terrain of the police academy today, and I have reason to believe that he rode with her in her BearCat vehicle while she pursued her mission.”
“Oh, my God,” said Tex as he clasped a hand to his face. “But if that is true, this is big, Officer Marvel.”
“You can call me Bill, Doctor Poole.”
“Tex,” said Tex as he held out his hand.
Bill shook it warmly.
“Say, why don’t we work together to find this guy?” Tex suggested.
The other man’s surprise was immediately apparent, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. Tex had been fascinated by superheroes all his life. He’d collected Marvel comics as a boy, sparking an obsession with caped crusaders that had endured ever since.
“Work together… Tex?”
“Yeah, you know. Just like Vesta and her crew have formed a Neighborhood Watch, we could do the same thing. Form a Neighborhood Watch of our own. But one that is specifically aimed at capturing the Germinator, if you see what I mean.”
“I do see what you mean, Doctor Tex,” said the cop.
“Just Tex is fine,” he assured the man.
“The thing is… well, the thing is that my boss doesn’t like neighborhood watches. He dislikes them on principle. And since I’m an officer, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to join one.”
“Oh, because Alec might reprimand you?”
“Or even worse. Suspend me. You see, he has voiced his objections to the Neighborhood Watch that his mother has formed many times, and very loudly. He hates the phenomenon. Figures it interferes with ordinary police work and demeans what he and his team are trying to do.”
“Look, all I want is the opportunity to have a one-on-one with the Germinator,” said Tex, placing all of his cards on the table. “I want to express my gratitude for what he does for our community, and I want to tell him to keep fighting the good fight. I may even…”
“Yes?” said Officer Marvel—Bill.
“Well, this may sound a little silly,” said Tex, starting to regret now that he had engaged this man in conversation in the first place. “But I would like to get his autograph.”
“You also believe that he is real, don’t you?” the officer suddenly burst out.
His eyes were sparkling, Tex saw, and immediately he perked up to a great extent. Looked like he had found a believer. A fellow superhero aficionado!
“Yes,” he said fervently. “Yes, I do believe that the Germinator is a real superhero. You also?”
“Yes, I also believe,” said Bill as he pressed a fist to his chest. “Even as a little boy, I was fascinated by the phenomenon of the superhero, and I have never stopped hoping and dreaming that one day I would meet one in the flesh. And now that my chance has finally come, I really want to grab hold of it with both hands and not mess this up.” He gestured to the backyard of Odelia and Chase, on the other side of the hedge.
“Like I did just now. Allowing myself to be caught by a bunch of cats and dogs.”
“Those cats are always spying on people,” said Tex. “It was inevitable that you would get caught if you came anywhere near the house. No, the thing to do is to handle this with caution and cunning.”
“What do you suggest, sir—I mean, Tex?” said the officer eagerly.
“I suggest that tonight you and I patrol the streets of Hampton Cove. And that we do this every single night until we catch the Germinator in action. And when that happens, we will…”
“Yes?”
“We will ask him for a one-on-one. A unique chance to pick his brain. To find out what makes him tick. And to get his autograph. Maybe even a selfie, if he is so inclined.”
“What I would like to know first and foremost,” said Bill eagerly, “is whether he knows any other superheroes. You know, like Batman or Superman, or any of that crowd.”
“Same here,” said Tex. “And I think there is a good chance that he is in touch with these remarkable people. I mean, don’t they all work together in some way?”
“I believe they do,” said Bill. “Like in those Avengers movies. They all know one another and they hang out together in their superhero compound.”
They shared a look of extreme excitement, he and this fellow fan of superheroes. “Imagine if he introduces us to the others,” said Tex as he could barely contain his glee.
“Oh, my God. That would only be the best day of my life!”
“Maybe they can even impart some of their superhero powers upon us,” said Tex. “Like… maybe they can turn us into superheroes ourselves.”
“I have always wanted to fly,” Bill confessed.
“Same here.” Though the notion of being able to lift stuff with simply the power of his mind wouldn’t be a bad superpower to possess either.
Or to heal people simply by placing his hands on them.
It would make him the best doctor who had ever lived.
He might be able to cure all of his patients.
He might even be able to cure cancer! And liver spots!
“Let’s do it,” said Bill as he grasped Tex’s arm. “Let’s go out tonight and find the Germinator!”
“Oh, my God, Bill,” said Tex. “This is going to be so good!”
Just then, Marge emerged through the opening in the hedge. “Your dinner is getting cold, Tex,” she said. She glanced at Bill and gave the man a nod. “If you want, you could join us for dinner, Officer Marvel. There’s plenty of food.”
“Oh, no, that’s all right, Mrs. Poole,” said Bill politely. “I need to get home. My mom will be worried about me. She doesn’t like it when I stay out late.”
He and Tex exchanged a look of understanding, and as they shook hands, they did so like the blood brothers that they were, not the casual acquaintances that they had been mere minutes before.