The prison cafeteria opened at noon, releasing its familiar cacophony of clattering trays and shuffled footsteps. Nearly every inmate filed through the corridors toward the promise of whatever passed for food in this place.
But two prisoners remained motionless in their cells.
Dr. Animo sat perfectly still on his bunk, white hair falling across his face as he stared at nothing. Beside him, in the adjacent cell, Clancy slouched against the wall, his bluish-green skin almost luminescent in the dim light, his overgrown black fingernails tapping an irregular rhythm against the concrete.
Neither one moved when the lunch bell rang.
"Hey! You two!" A guard approached, nightstick bouncing against his thigh. "Cafeteria's open. Get moving."
No response.
The guard exchanged glances with his partner. "Listen, I don't care if you're crazy or whatever, but you gotta eat. Move it."
Dr. Animo didn't even blink. Clancy's lips twitched into something that might've been a smile, but his eyes stayed distant, unfocused.
The second guard shrugged. "Forget it, man. They're both certifiable anyway. Let 'em starve if they want."
"Yeah, you're right." The first guard checked his watch. "Our lunch break's coming up anyway, and I'm not missing it for a couple of nutjobs. Jenkins brought ham sandwiches today."
"Those better not be cold by the time we get there."
The guards' voices faded as they headed down the corridor, leaving the cell block eerily silent.
The moment their footsteps disappeared, Clancy's eyes snapped into sharp focus. His lips curved into a genuine grin as he raised one hand and gestured to the shadows.
The walls came alive.
Ants poured from every crack and crevice, thousands of them moving in perfect synchronization, each one carrying tiny metal components. They flowed across the floor like a living river of black, converging on both cells with clockwork precision.
The surveillance cameras never captured a single frame.
Dr. Animo had spent weeks mapping every blind spot, every angle, every microscopic flaw in the security system. For someone with his intellect, it had been child's play. And now, with Clancy's insects doing the work, they were invisible.
"Perfect execution," Animo murmured, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction. "Right on schedule."
Clancy's grin widened. "We make a good team, Doc."
Meanwhile, in the break room, the prison guards and surveillance officers settled in for lunch. One guard bit into his sandwich with enthusiasm.
"Man, that's good. Jenkins, your wife makes the best, "
He paused mid-chew, his face suddenly contorting.
"You okay?" another guard asked.
"My stomach..." The first guard clutched his abdomen. "Something's not right."
Within seconds, the entire break room erupted into chaos as every single person doubled over, groaning in agony. They scrambled toward the bathrooms, shoving each other aside in desperation.
Not one of them noticed the tiny wasps that had visited their food earlier that morning, depositing their microscopic payload of industrial-strength laxative.
Back in the cells, the ant colony had completed its task. Electronic parts littered the floor in organized piles, circuit boards, wiring, microchips, all sorted by type and function.
Dr. Animo dropped to his knees and reached under his bunk, retrieving two objects wrapped in cloth. His hands trembled slightly as he unwrapped them.
The Transmodulator helmet. His belt.
When they'd locked him up, the idiots had let him keep these as "personal effects," never bothering to check what they actually were. They'd assumed the helmet was just an eccentric accessory, the belt nothing more than a fashion statement.
Fools.
His fingers flew across the components with practiced precision, installing each piece into the helmet and belt according to the schematics burned into his memory. The work took only minutes, he'd done this so many times before that his hands moved on pure instinct.
Click. Click. Click.
Each component slotted into place.
Zzzzzt!
The helmet sparked to life, its red indicators pulsing with unstable energy. The button on his belt blazed with matching crimson light, thrumming with power.
"Finished!" Dr. Animo's voice cracked with excitement as he placed the Transmodulator on his head and fastened the belt around his waist. Energy coursed through the devices, and for the first time in months, he felt complete again. "The brilliance of Dr. Animo, restored!"
Clancy approached the bars separating their cells. "Nice hardware. But how's that gonna bust us out? You planning to zap the walls?"
"Better." Animo's eyes gleamed behind the helmet's red glow. "I'm going to enhance one of your little friends."
He aimed the Transmodulator at a wasp hovering near Clancy's shoulder.
ZZZZAP!
Red energy enveloped the insect in a crackling sphere of light. The wasp's body began to expand, its exoskeleton groaning as it grew from finger-sized to fist-sized to half-human-height in seconds.
"BZZZZZZZZT!"
The sound was deafening, like helicopter blades spinning at full speed. The wasp's wings created gusts of wind that rattled the cell bars. Its stinger, now the size of a spear, gleamed with venom that could drop an elephant.
Clancy's eyes widened with genuine delight. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Doc, you're a genius!"
"Of course I am." Animo adjusted his hippie-style glasses, another item they'd foolishly let him keep. "Your insects already possess extraordinary abilities compared to regular animals. Enhanced by my Transmodulator, they become apex predators."
The giant wasp hovered before them, its compound eyes reflecting the red glow of Animo's equipment. It was easily as powerful as one of Vilgax's drones, maybe even stronger.
"Now then." Animo straightened, his voice taking on a commanding tone. "Mr. Clancy, I believe it's time for us to leave. Would you kindly instruct your friend to remove our... accommodations?"
Clancy's grin turned feral. His eyes blazed with that eerie greenish-yellow glow, the telltale sign of his telepathic link activating. He raised one hand toward the giant wasp.
"You heard the man. Tear this cage apart!"
SHRIIIIIEK!
The wasp darted forward with terrifying speed, its massive stinger aimed directly at the cell door lock.
SKREEEE, CRASH!
The lock shattered like glass. The stinger punched clean through, then the wasp yanked backward with enough force to rip the entire door from its hinges.
CLANG!
The heavy steel door hit the concrete floor with a thunderous boom that echoed through the entire cell block.
For a moment, silence.
Then Dr. Animo stepped through the empty doorway, breathing in the corridor air like it was the finest wine. He reached up and tore off his prison uniform shirt with a theatrical flourish, revealing the black vest he'd been wearing underneath.
"Freedom," he whispered, then louder, "Freedom! Oh, how I've missed you!"
Clancy followed, his movements less refined but no less eager. His prison clothes were already stained dark, whether from dirt, blood, or something worse was anyone's guess. His sharp teeth gleamed in a manic grin as he flexed his clawed fingers.
"About damn time," Clancy growled. "These insects can't stand walls. Neither can I."
The commotion drew attention. Prisoners from the cafeteria began filtering back into the corridor, their eyes widening at the impossible sight before them.
"Holy shit, Animo and that bug freak got out!"
"How the hell, ?"
"Look at that thing! Is that a giant wasp?!"
The prisoners pressed against the corridor walls, faces pale with shock and fear. The giant wasp hovered protectively near Clancy, its wings creating a constant thrumming that vibrated in everyone's chest.
Dr. Animo turned to face them, his expression cold and sharp as a scalpel. The hippie glasses caught the light, making his eyes unreadable.
One of the prisoners, braver or stupider than the rest, laughed nervously. "You guys are dead meat. Guards'll be here any second."
Clancy's grin widened impossibly far. "Will they now?"
He tilted his head, and his eyes flared that sickly green-yellow again.
The floor came alive with ants. Thousands upon thousands of them, swarming up from every drain and crack, covering the prisoners' feet and legs in a writhing black mass.
The screaming started immediately.
"GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!"
"AAAAAHHH!"
The prisoners thrashed and flailed, trying to shake off the insects, but for every ant they crushed, ten more took its place. The bites were relentless, small individually, but collectively agonizing.
SHRIIIEK!
The giant wasp dove into the crowd, its spear-like stinger flashing. Prisoners scattered in every direction, some tripping over each other in blind panic.
"Please! We didn't do anything!"
"Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"
But Clancy just laughed, a high, manic sound that echoed off the concrete walls. "You mocked us, didn't you? Called us crazy? Well, my children need their snacks."
The carnage continued for several minutes. By the time it ended, the corridor was painted in shades of red, and the surviving prisoners had barricaded themselves in their cells, too terrified to even breathe loud enough to draw attention.
Dr. Animo surveyed the scene with detached interest, then turned toward the exit. "Efficient. Perhaps a bit excessive, but I won't complain."
"They deserved it," Clancy muttered, dark stains covering his arms and clothes. His green skin looked almost black in the dim light.
The two villains walked down the corridor like it was a casual stroll, the giant wasp and its smaller brethren forming a protective swarm around them. They reached the main gate, the final barrier between them and freedom.
WOOOOOOOO~
The prison alarm finally kicked in, its shrill wail splitting the air. Red emergency lights flooded the corridors, casting everything in a hellish glow.
A guard tower near the outer wall spotted them immediately. The officer inside grabbed his radio, shouting into it with barely controlled panic.
"Two prisoners escaping! I repeat, two prisoners escaping! It's Animo and the bug guy! They've got some kind of... I don't even know! Giant insects! Send backup NOW!"
The alarm spread throughout the facility. Armed guards began pouring out of various buildings, taking up defensive positions along the outer wall. Rifles were loaded, spotlights swiveled to track the escapees.
Dr. Animo paused just outside the main gate, tilting his head back to feel the breeze on his face. He reached up and adjusted his hippie glasses, then casually discarded the last remnants of his prison uniform.
Now he stood in just his black vest and pants, a far cry from the white coat he used to wear, but it would do.
"It feels wonderful to be free," he said softly. Then, louder, "Don't you agree, Mr. Clancy?"
Clancy emerged behind him, his grotesque appearance made even more disturbing by the afternoon sunlight. "Hell yeah. Now let's get out of here before, "
"HALT! Do not move!"
At least a dozen guards had taken positions along the outer wall, their weapons aimed directly at the two escapees. More were arriving by the second, forming a semicircle around the prison entrance.
"Surrender immediately or we will open fire!"
Dr. Animo didn't even turn around. Instead, he gently pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled, a cold, calculating expression that never reached his eyes.
"Ah, a welcoming committee. How thoughtful."
Clancy cracked his knuckles. "Want me to handle this, Doc?"
"By all means." Animo gestured lazily toward the guards. "Please, create more of your lovely creatures to... greet them properly."
Clancy's eyes blazed green-yellow again. He raised both arms toward the sky, and his voice dropped to a guttural growl.
"Come to me, my children. Come and feast."
The air filled with buzzing.
From every direction, the trees, the grass, the cracks in the walls, insects emerged. Wasps, ants, beetles, spiders, mosquitoes. They formed a black cloud that darkened the sky, swirling around Clancy like a living tornado.
Dr. Animo aimed his Transmodulator into the swarm.
ZZZZAP! ZZZZAP! ZZZZAP!
Red light flashed again and again, each burst enhancing another insect. The wasps grew to the size of dogs. The beetles became as large as wolves. Even the ants swelled to the size of rats, their mandibles sharp enough to shear through steel.
The guards' faces drained of color.
"Oh my God..."
"What the hell are those things?!"
"OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!"
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Gunfire erupted from the wall, but the enhanced insects were too fast, too numerous. They swarmed the guards in waves, overwhelming defensive positions one by one.
Screams echoed across the prison yard.
Dr. Animo walked through it all with perfect calm, hands clasped behind his back like he was taking a leisurely stroll through a park. The insects instinctively avoided him, parting like water around a stone.
"Such magnificent creatures," he mused. "Enhanced biology truly is the future of warfare. Much more elegant than robots or explosives."
Clancy followed close behind, his expression a mixture of glee and hunger. "Told you we'd make a good team!"
They reached the outer wall. The final barrier stood before them, thirty feet of reinforced concrete topped with electrified barbed wire.
Not that it mattered.
A swarm of enhanced beetles attacked the base of the wall, their mandibles tearing through concrete like it was cardboard. Within minutes, they'd carved a hole large enough for two men to walk through side by side.
Dr. Animo stepped through the breach first, emerging onto the dirt road beyond the prison grounds. He paused, looking back at the facility one last time.
Smoke rose from several guard towers. The alarm continued its endless wail. More sirens approached in the distance, police, probably, or maybe the military.
"Farewell, unpleasant accommodations." Animo adjusted his glasses a final time. "I do hope they improve their security before my next visit. Though knowing them, they won't."
Clancy emerged from the hole, his insect swarm following like obedient pets. The giant wasp landed on his shoulder, and he scratched its head affectionately.
"Where to now, Doc?"
"First, we need proper equipment. Then..." Animo's smile turned dangerous. "Then, we remind the world why they should fear Dr. Animo."
The two villains walked down the dirt road as the sun began its descent toward the horizon. Behind them, the prison erupted into further chaos, more screams, more gunfire, more panic.
But they didn't look back.
Freedom tasted too sweet.