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"Give my regards to Saint Peter," Captain Hammer smirked. "Or whoever has his job, but in hell."
Terrified, Dr. Horrible looked up into the barrel of his own death ray. Then he saw it - a jammer was stuck between the trigger and the unobtainium source. Someone must have tampered with it before the event! He shook his head, trying to warn the captain, but it was too late. Captain Hammer pulled the trigger, and -
Bang! The gun emitted an omnidirectional force field. Captain Hammer was thrown backwards. Furniture flew across the room and splintered against walls. A woman shrieked.
It was Penny. How is she still here? Billy thought. "Help, I'm hit, I'm hurt!" she cried as she stumbled to her feet, clutching her side.
"P-Penny? Oh, no no no, please, no," he mumbled, pushing past debris to get to her.
"Billy? Billy, help me!" She was bent almost double, her face a mask of pain.
"It's okay, you'll be okay, we can fix it," he soothed, not knowing if that was true. "Just let me see it..." He gently peeled her hands open. But there was no wound - she was cupping a flat green disc that was sparking with electricity.
Confused, Billy raised his eyes to meet hers. "Huh?"
A wicked grin spread across Penny's face. She slammed the disc against the doctor's chest, and his world went black.
Dr. Horrible awoke to find a police officer standing over him. "Doctor? Good, you're awake," he said. He pulled out a notebook and began to read. "Dr. Horrible, you are under arrest for reckless public endangerment, unlicensed villainy, negligent - "
"Where's Penny?" the doctor cut him off.
"Who?"
"She's - " the doctor swallowed hard, "Captain Hammer's girlfriend."
"You and him were the only ones caught in the blast, pal," he gestured with his chin to where another officer was questioning a handcuffed Captain Hammer. "Witnesses say he was the one who pulled the trigger," he explained.
Captain Hammer's expression darkened when he saw that Dr. Horrible was awake. "What happened to Penny?" he demanded angrily.
"I should be asking you that," the doctor spat back.
"What have you done with her?"
"Me? Nothing." Dr. Horrible strode towards the captain, accusing. "You've been using her as a shield. You gave her a zap sticker!"
"I don't know about any zap sticker!" Captain Hammer insisted.
"Did you jam my death-ray?" Dr. Horrible pointed angrily at the place where the captain had dropped the weapon. They both looked towards it, but the death-ray wasn't there, only a small envelope bearing a seal that Dr. Horrible recognized as belonging to the Evil League of Evil. Dr. Horrible bent to pick it up. With shaking hands, he unsealed it, and held it up so he and Captain Hammer could both read.
Bad Horse's bold, blocky handwriting was unmistakable. The words jumped off the page, as if three mustachioed cowboys were singing in harmony -
I guess this is goodbye boys, it surely has been fun.
My do-gooder persona had a real good run!
The cops are on their way now, they have to blame someone.
You'll do some time, it could be worse.
Thanks for the death-ray! Signed, Bad Horse
Captain Hammer's brow furrowed. "Why does Bad Horse have Penny's handwriting?"
Dr. Horrible was quicker on the uptake. He raised his hand to massage his temples. "Because she is him, idiot."
"That was all an act?" Captain Hammer cried, horror-stricken. "But... we had sex!"
"She goaded me into making that." A grin of realization crept across his face. Looking back, he could see how Penny and her evil alter-ego had perfectly coordinated to manipulate him into building the weapon, and bringing it here.
"She's been playing us both this whole time!" Captain Hammer fumed.
"Yes!" Dr. Horrible threw back his head and laughed. "Isn't she wonderful?"