August 25, 2005
Week 17 - Impossible Dreams 4
Episode 4
"Just kill it!" Lucy pleads. "I can't stand spiders! I don't want it in my house!"
Powell glances at the stove and reaches for the dirty frying pan. Donald Lamont watches him and nods. "Very good," he says. "You choose your weapon carefully."
The spider hurries toward a crack where the floor meets the wall. Just before it reaches it, Powell slams the pan down hard on its body. A thud echoes round the room.
"Did you... did you get it?" Lucy asks.
Powell lifts the pan, revealing a gooey mess.
Lucy lets out a long, slow breath. "Thank you," she says. "I'm sorry to go to pieces like that... it's just... I guess I have a phobia."
"Um... I understand," Powell says.
Lamont claps his hands together. "Bravo, my boy, bravo!" he says. He turns toward his daughter. "You were never in any danger, Lucille. I was standing by ready to act, if need be. I had a hunch there was more to Mr. Powell than meets the eye. Now that I've observed him in action, I see that my Coyote's intuition was correct."
Powell lays the pan in the sink. "Oh... uh... it was no big deal... it was a little large but... it was just a spider."
"That's where you're wrong, my young friend. Of my several arch foes, the Arachnid Queen is one of the most deadly. I've prevented her from exterminating the human race on three separate occasions. The creature that you just dispatched so skillfully was no ordinary spider. It was one of her deadly minions, sent here, no doubt, to extract vengeance upon me by attacking my beloved daughter."
Lucy shakes her head. "Daddy, please don't start..."
Lamont ignores her. "Mr. Powell," he says. "I have long felt the need for an ally in my never ending battle... Now I see that it is you who has been chosen by fate to play that roll. With your keen brain and your weapon, the mighty pan, you are worthy, both intellectually and physically." He looks at him. "Young friend... I invite you... Join me in my quest!"