It's not that Jim and Edwin weren't close; in fact, it was entirely the opposite. Ever since the team had disbanded, Ed had made a significant effort to stay in touch with his old friend. He didn't agree with everything he did, especially when he drug him along for his "one final go" back in '95, but Ed knew he was the only one that Jim really had anymore. Maybe it was the Canadian in him, but Ed felt sorry for the guy.
No, it wasn't talking to Jim that bothered Ed. It was the fact that the law needed them again. Ed shook his head to himself and sighed as he walked back into the house. Jim had a hard enough time getting out of fighting crime. The Gladiator had carried on beating up criminals for 2 years after Captain Incredible retired for good. That resulted in one of the worst ulcer's he'd ever seen. Now, Jim had one of those 7 day pill cartridges that he hated with a passion because it made him look old. The thought of Jim ranting about his pills again made Ed chuckle, then sigh again to himself. Should he even tell Jim? Would it be good for him?
Edwin opened up the door, stepped inside, and was greeted with the wonderful smell of bacon sizzling on the stove. He turned the corner and saw his wonderful wife of 37 years. She looked up just as she cracked an egg into the pan full of bacon and smiled. "How was the morning paper, Ed?"
"Oh, it was good. Same old stuff. I got a letter from the CIA, though."
She froze. The only sound that could be heard was the sizzling and popping of bacon and egg.
"What did it say?" She asked, without a trace of emotion on her face.
"Sara," he took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm needed again."
Sara sighed. "Well, you know what you gotta do." Though she didn't say it, Ed knew right away, that she was worried. In her head, he knew she was dying to say, "You're too old for that kind of stuff." He knew that she knew that this could be a disaster and she would never see him again. Almost 40 years of marriage helps with that.
Ed looked at Sara. She was staring at the eggs, lost in a plethora of thoughts. He walked up behind her, embraced her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Everything will be fine. Trust me." Even as he said the words, though, he didn't know how true they were. Memories of their last battle still flooded through his mind. It was then he knew he was too old for crime fighting. And now, 20 years later, he was going back at it.
Why didn't he think of that before?
Of course it would be Zimmerman. Every problem they had in the last few years was connected to him. He was a genius, once escaping so stealthily from prison that no one noticed his absence for 11 months. When they finally figured out he had escaped, the man had secured himself so perfectly that he was nearly untouchable by even the President. At one time he was a particle physicist, committed to discovering the secrets of the universe, but then he discovered there was more beneficial uses for profession than theoretical discovery. By understanding the smallest parts of the world, you could control the largest and most complex. His fellow scientists scoffed at this, though. Thought he had been working too hard and too long. When he didn't quit his research in this field, though, they banished his from the academy. That just made him incredibly bitter, but free to do whatever he wanted. He just needed the manpower.
However, Zimmerman was cheap. He never hired anyone more than street gangs to do his dirty work and he did so through intimidation rather than money. His biggest weakness, along with his cheapness, was his arrogance. He could outsmart any of his minions and most of his enemies without much effort, which led to a largely inflated head. Zimmerman was dangerous, but not unbeatable.
Though, maybe that's why he didn't think of Zimmerman. He could never let anyone have power over him. Yet these jobs...and the huge connections between them all...that was far bigger than Zimmerman was known for.
A car horn bared and Ed jerked the steering wheel to the right. He looked around quickly and suddenly realized that he had been zoned out for the last 10 minutes. The Captain looked over to his passenger in the golden armor. Jim's fingers were imbedded in the dashboard and his eyes stared out onto the road. Edwin smiled. "Oh, suck it up, you big baby. We didn't hit anything."
Jim glared at his friend in the blue cape, which was much more intimidating through his roman-style helmet. "Just drive" he growled.
The white van sped along the highway towards the Spencer Electronics headquarters, owned by Douglas Spencer and controlled by his son, David, where Harold Zimmerman was a researcher. Doug Spencer had revolutionized the electronics industry, making him a very rich man, but he could not have done it without the help of Zimmerman. Zimmerman never told Spencer of his deranged ideas of control, and Spencer, in need of a good engineer, didn't ask. He knew of his time in prison, but hey, people change, right? Now they were both millionaires. Spencer protected Zimmerman, and Zimmerman secretly ran his crime organization from this factory. He was a genius.
The two heroes drove in silence until the large building was in sight on the horizon. Then, the Gladiator broke the silence.
"What's the plan? Are we just gonna march in there and beat the snot out of people? Cause I can do that."
"No, we have to be a bit smarter than that. We're going to have to go undercover."
"I hate undercover."
Captain Incredible pulled the van over onto an off road entrance and then slipped into the back to remove his bright blue costume. He emerged moments later in a dark blue pinstripe suit that seemed to accentuate his pencil mustache. The Gladiator sniffed as if to say, "You're an idiot," but still slipped back into the depths of the van to change. He emerged with a similar suit in black. Edwin smiled at him as he slipped into the passenger seat, but only received a glare in return.
"You know I hate suits."
"You hate all undercover work."
Again, the Captain's comment received a glare from the Gladiator. He popped the van into drive, pulled out onto the busy highway and proceeded to drive towards to the large, silver building growing in the distance.
