Previously on Dr. Electro: Henry the Clockkeeper ventures out to investigate the power outage, Noah and Dr. Electro are also unsettled by it’s extent, and Mabel partakes in an increasingly subversive tea.
Dr. Electro, Episode XI - The Doctor In the House
The smoke from Noah’s cigarette sparked a thought in Dr. Electro’s brain. “Say - you don’t think your boys blew the breaker, do you?” Puff, puff…”nope”. “Something bigger?” “Perhaps.” “I’ll take a look at it. I’m good with things like this.” “Really? All I know is that you popped out of the floor, man.” Although it was dark, Rutherford’s sharp intake clearly painted the picture of indignation that his friend’s credibility was questioned, even if the manner of entrance was...unconventional. “Now look here, old chap! This is a first rate fellow - an expert, the creme de la creme! His genius flies among the rarified air that..” “Look, let me just take a look” Electro interrupted his friend’s indignantly effusive praise. Noah squinted, and relented. “OK, fine. This way.” There was a flashlight, a short journey through a ghost town of twisted metal and snaking wires, and there they were at the main hub.
High voltage applications have the same air as venomous snakes, in that one knows the poison is ready to strike with extreme prejudice, yet this understanding is felt more than thought. The main distribution box glared from the wall like an angry octopus or industrial medusa, inspiring a tingle of electricity in the spines of the onlookers, yet any voltmeter would have read zero. (That was, in fact, the problem.) Electro stepped up to soothe the troubled beast, a lightning whisperer in his element. The cares of the day, and even the chill of the sewer adventure, fell away as this sleeping panther seemed to crack an eye and stare back. Electro was in his zone. The only sound was his concentrated breathing, and he realized why his giant, deadly patient lay sleeping. “Noah, you’re right. This breaker is fine, sport. The problem is out there in the City. This puppy is fine.” To prove his point with his life, Electro reached out and patted the slumbering beast. Stepping back, he realized he was sweating profusely. Tingling danger will do that to a man.
Across Town: Henry excitedly lumbered out from the alley. Peering into the unnatural night with the scrunch of his earnest face, the barely discernible tread of muffled feet and shuffling cloaked figures met his attention. A bolt of adrenaline hit his massive frame, and his feet went into stealth mode as they began to follow the mysterious group. “Now that the power’s cut, we can install the Tower” he heard a sinister voice intone to a colleague. To be continued...
