The room was a total disaster, complete with clothes and what substituted for toys strewn about. A single table set up in a corner was the only sign of order, an eye in the tornado so to speak. No music, no night sounds penetrated the still vigil as the man hunched over his work deep into the night. He was a man possessed, not by demons, but by the equally tormenting thoughts that chased him from his bed. To elude the unwanted worries, doubts, and most disturbing of all, the visions, he threw himself into the work before him. The pain he burried had been disturbed, stirred to constant memory, by the unavoidable needs of his only son. He needed to face the loss, he knew, but old habits died hard and instead he threw himself into his work. Besides, this night was different. Tomorrow KAGED would have to be working at peak performance, and that involved working out the gravitational anomoly mathmatics and implementation. He could have quit triumphantly hours ago, but the quest for a little more power and a little more efficiency kept him away from his bed, the only excuse he needed. Eventually the head nodded once, twice, and fell still, the visions and the man finding refuge in sleep.

Day broke finding its lead from Abe’s mood, dismal and wet. Jonny was out already, his homework neatly stacked on the kitchen table. Somehow a bowl of Cream of Wheat found it’s way to his table and down his throat as he perused the stack. The work was adequate but not up to Jonnys usual standards. It seemed that the boy was spending so much time at the dojo he had little time for the three R’s. He would have liked to march into the dojo and send him home to do a better job, but that was impossible. It was still important that Jonny keep his secret identity and besides, he was not sure that approach would accomplish much anyway. He was not looking forward to yet another uncomfotable discussion with his son. He remembered how much easier it had been with Eleanor. At that moment the phone rang and Abe answered.

Hello.

Hello, Abe. It’s me, Kevin. I need you to meet me downtown near a warehouse at 1435 Pine Ave at 8:00. Bring your device.

I’ll be there. Care to tell me what this is all about?

I am not sure myself. But I suspect you are going to have to deal with a real nasty character. I’m sorry about having to use you like this, but I’ll explain when we meet tonight.

I’ll be there. Do you have any leads on my situation.

Afraid not. But I get the feeling that I am getting closer.

At 7:30 Abe was there waiting. It was still a gloomy day, grey and rainy, with sunset approaching. He had thought the neighborhood he currently lived it was pretty bad. But this one was really ugly. There wasn’t a man, woman, or child wandering about that he would have trusted a rusty penny with. At 8:00 Kline showed up.

"Thanks for coming, Abe," Kline said. He glanced at his watch. "We've got about half an hour, so I'd better fill you in on what's happening." Kline adjusted his hat to keep the rain out of his eyes, and continued.

"Some time back, the Carver was making a mess of this city. People were dying horribly, day after day, and the police and the costumes were all helpless. The Carver was a true psycopath; he killed without guilt, just for the sheer joy of it. No pattern to it, other than geographical."

"Costumes staked out this neighborhood every night, but the killings continued. Turns out the Carver had a couple of powers that gave him an edge. First, he could transform any portion of his body into a wickedly sharp blade." Kline shook his head.

"What he did to some of his victims never made the papers. He killed some of them in the middle of...well, never mind. Let's just say he was one sick supervillain."

"When the Mortician was seen around here, and the killings stopped, everyone breathed a real sigh of relief. I'm one of two people who knows the truth. The Mortician came here to kill the Carver, but he was too late." Kline paused.

"I was hired to find the Carver; just find him, nothing more. It took all the skill and luch I had, but I finally managed to piece together a pattern to his killings. Turns out the first initial of every victim was spelling out the lyrics to 'Its a Small World', and the middle initials were the notes. Don't ask me why...like I said, he was one sick supervillain."

"Anyway, that, coupled with his geographical pattern, let me figure out who his next victim would be. I came down to this very alley with my client, and we waited. The prospective victim walked in, her shadow small against the wall in the light from a street lamp."

"That was when we discovered the Carver's other power. The woman's shadow suddenly loomed, the hands turning into knife blades. The Carver himself stepped off that wall and would have killed the woman if it hadn't been for my client."

"I'd been hired by Captain Infinity. Why he needed me to find the Carver, I still don't know. But he stepped into the light, and with a wave of his hand caught the Carver up in some sort of ball of light. The ball suddenly contracted and winked out, taking the Carver with it."

"I thought that was it, but before he left, Infinity told me to be back in this alley on this day, at this time, and to bring some powerful help."

Kline checks his watch again. "You'd better get suited up."

Abe thought for a moment then responded. "If the Carver wins this one it will appear that I am paralyzed. KAGED will continue to hold me in stasis even if I die. If that occurs I want you to open this envelope and read the letter inside. If I am indeed killed, please see what you can do for Jonny. If my idea works I am going to need to have someone on the scene to take over in about 15 minutes, someone who can fly and take a conscious but partially immobile Carver custody. You try to contact QUARTZ or the police while I get geared up. "

Abe started the process of hooking up to KAGED. Fifteen minutes later, everything was connected and working. Strapped to his back was a transmitter/receiver to allow him to communicate. He saw the alley in terms of the denseness of the walls, the light fog of trash in the corner. Kline tested out the walkie talkie he brought, and finds he can communicate with Abe just fine, just in case the transmitter is demolished in the fight..

Abe didn't see it, but Kline suddenly came over the walkie talkie. "It's starting, Abe. A pinpoint of light just appeared, and is expanding."

Abruptly, another body appeared within Abe's sensory range, in mid-air and dropping to the ground. The body was strangely shaped, as if malleable. It's arms reshaped into long blades and advanced on Abe and Kline. Kline backed off while Abe prepared for the enslaught. He had been afraid he might have to pursue the psychotic or taunt him into attacking, but such was not the case. As Carver approached Abe parcelled out his precious energies. 2/3 went to a shell designed to block physical penetration. The barrier was quickly errected to enclose Abe in a globe to augment his already powerful force field. The double layer should be able to keep out just about any attack. The other 1/3 he used to latch on to Carvers mass signature. Once the battle began and Carver was preoocupied, Abe would lift them both to a height from which Carver could not escape once he was placed in a gravity well. When the mass lock occured, Carver briefly attempted to escape, but when Abe did not resist his movements and allowed him to come closer, Carver ignored it’s presense.

The first blow was a bit of a surprise. Carver was able to not only penetrate the shell, but also Abes forcefield. The filiments that penetrated after passing through the two layers were extremely small and did little damage, but the shells integrity was violated and the shell collapsed. Abe knew that if he took a blow without the additional protection of the shell it would most likely be his last. The next minute was one of the scariest of his life as Carver kept lashing out and beating down the shell while Abe kept bringing it back up while carrying Carver ever higher and higher. He felt something like the magician's assistant inside the wicker basket as the swords were inserted. Finally he acchieved a height he thought was adequate and moved Carver a safe distance away. Carver looked momentarily puzzled and started to panic as he realized his dilemna. Abe took that opportunity to release the mass signature and pour most of his remaining power into a gravity well that would hold him until help arrived. But when he dropped the shell and channeled his energies into the gravity well, Carver exloded into action again and stretched his claws an amazing distance to slice through Abes force field. Battling unconciousness, Abe thought furiously. One more blow, even with his shell up, and he would be at Carvers mercy. Inspiration struck and the transmitter on his back began playing "It’s a Small World"... As he’d hoped, the Carver quieted and was distracted sufficiently for Abe to get out of range.

"Kevin. The Carver is pinned in place up here for about 7 minutes. Get a SWAT or QUARTZ team here to deal with him."

"They’re already on the way Abe."

Abe extended his senses and found a ‘copter headed his way. He found their communications channel and sent, "Your right on target. Carver is still highly dangerous. Although unable to move from his position he is still able to attack and his range is surprising. Be careful."

The ‘copter flew withing firing range and a sniper shot Carver with a tranquilizer dart. Carver, already strangely drugged looking from the endless tinny repitition of "It’s a Small World" fell into a deep slumber. Abe stayed around just long enough to make sure the men were able to load and contain Carver before he left.

When he got home he unhooked his device and waited for Jonny, still not home, though it was already 10:00 and his son had lots of homework to do before tomorrow. But age and fatigue took it’s toll and Abe fell into a slumber earlier than he had done so for weeks.