THE ELEMENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 12: Grossman

For relaxation, and for the purpose of pondering how to create more evil in the universe, Grossman occasionally enjoyed returning to Dark Sky, the place she considered to be her real home. During her most recent visit, she read an article regarding the existence of a deadly weapon whose implementation would destroy an entire planet. This weapon has never been used nor even tested before, because the destruction of a planet would be catastrophic, not only for the planet that was struck but for the surrounding galaxy as well. Intrigued, she further investigated the weapon’s existence and its potential for termination of all life on any planet. Although it had never been used, she was assured one hundred percent that its destructive power was real.

Reading that, Grossman’s heart stared pounding thinking of Element. Accessing all possible information relating to this weapon, she was enthusiastically pleased to find out that, yes, the weapon existed but could not be legally built. Wow! she screamed internally, So it is doable.

Money was not an issue. She was a master in the field of buying people. The only thing left to do was to locate an astrophysicist, whom she would compensate very well, that was capable of designing and building such a monster. When she found the right person, she would make them an offer that they couldn’t refuse. Thus, getting her weapon would not be a problem. The goal was for this weapon to cause a planetary electrical grid blackout that would cause the death of all life there. It would make her enemies defenseless. This could be done by bombing the grid itself or by deploying the power of twenty hydrogen bombs in the stratosphere, thus causing the destruction of the grid anyway. Communications would be cut off; hospitals and other essential services would be rendered useless. No transportation of any kind would be possible. No food would be available at the stores because there would be no delivery of any kind, neither by trains nor by trucks. In time, there would be no water available because the generators provided the energy for the pumps to operate. There would be no telephones or internet available, and soon, there would be no one left to call. All human and animal life would be terminated within months.

Just the thought of her sister, relatives, and the Guardians, especially Dan, suffering before they all perished made Grossman smile. Calming down, she realized that her destructive, inhumane plan needed to be kept secret from everybody, because the prize of success was too great to let her scheme be known by weak or mediocre minds. She was going to have to figure out how to hide the details of this project, because from then on, it would be her only project until Element had been destroyed.

Immediately, her brain started to penetrate the complexity of the defense mechanisms that Element could deploy to avoid destruction. She couldn’t locate any, and that made her even happier. For a brief moment, however, a dark thought came into her mind: the enemy had on their side the greatest scientist of all galaxies, and he may interfere with her plan. Her mind revisited the suspicious thoughts about such an interference, and a smile covered her lips again.

“No!” she said loudly. “Not even you, great Master Ribbit, nor your weak-minded Guardians will be able to save Element. As a matter of fact, by thinking about you, I remember how much your lifetime adversary hates you. Well, well, well, perhaps the thought of you is worth more than one could have hoped. Thank you.”

Oh yes, Grossman was evil, but she was also very smart. She remembered Professor Reptilious, Master Ribbit’s lifetime enemy, who was a comparable genius himself. He was also very wealthy, because he was always dealing with the underworlds of various planets and supporting their illegal and dangerous projects. Didn’t she say that money could buy anything and anyone, if she made an offer that couldn’t be refused?

“Thank you, Satan, king of Hell, for giving me the idea of causing an electrical grid blackout, and revealing to me the mortal weapon that can execute such an immoral act!” Grossman exclaimed, screaming into the winds of Dark Sky. “Thank you, my evil lord! I’m your slave, and if you wish me to, it would be an honor to become your mistress. Blessed be the demon.”

Grossman chuckled to herself, though she knew she had to choose her next moves carefully. Her new plan must be kept secret, known only to her. To maintain this secret for herself, she had to devise various devious strategies:

First—she would not tell her husband of her intentions. This would be hard because he was the highest authority of Dark Sky’s intelligence service. She would have to lie to him when discussing the invasion of Element—because if Grossman had her way, there would be no planet left to invade. A physical invasion could not be carried out because she wanted to destroy only Element’s population, not her army. Also, she would have to justify, lying to Sax-a-Lar, the presence and expenses of the scientist.

Second—she would stop recruiting Volga’s inhabitants and justify this move as a reduction of training expenses. Another lie.

Third—she would approve the use of Trigger Finger’s inept weapons.

Fourth—she would make plans to become the queen of Dark Sky after the destruction of Element. To obtain this rank, she would use some of Volga’s money to pay off high-ranking officials for support.

Fifth—she would kill Reptilious immediately after he provided to her a final product that would cause the global blackout she desired.

Sixth—she would kill her husband, because even he could not stand sleeping with her anymore, and she could tell.

Seventh—she would not destroy Volga, because she considered her control of that planet’s economy an investment towards her retirement.

It’s so good to be me, said Grossman out loud, talking to no one but her evil self. “I’m so evil and loving every minute of it!”