Chapter 1 - Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Attention:  Generation X and their villains,as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of MarvelComics.  The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copyrighted is a chance happening.
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If I Had a...Delirium
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
                Richard Cale was nervous.  This was the first time he had ever hadthe chance at doing this, but then again, he dreamed about it in his youth. Before he had been ushered to his spot, Sean, Yvette, Monet, and Everetthad wished him the best of luck.  He also knew that they were in thestands watching.  This was a special show, and he knew that of allthe money he might win, only a quarter of it he would keep.  Now thecameras were rolling, and his eyes were on the two people in the centerof the stage.  The man was on his 10th question, but it was the firstquestion of the day.  Richard listened intently as the man choosehis answer.  He noticed the upset look on the other man’s face ashe said, “I’m sorry, but the correct answer was D.  However you doleave with $1,000.”  They stood and shook hands.  It was uponhim, the moment of truth.
               He watched as they prepped the stage and the man went to the main entranceonto the stage and said, “Well, now we have ten new faces ready to seeif they can reach that hot seat and they are...”  Richard listen asthe names were listed off, one by one, each making a motion to the camera. He was last on the list, as the list approached completion, he noticedthe lady next to him smiled at the camera as the man said, “Clare Mulroy,Riverview, New Brunswick,  and Richard Cale, Easton, Pa.”  Richsmiled and nodded at the camera.  The man then said, “Now let me tellyou all how this works.  In front of you is a computer with four buttons. In a minute, a question and four answers will appear on the screen. The one who puts them in the correct order in the fastest time get to goto Hot Seat today on this hour long show.  Now here’s our first FastestFinger Question.”
               Rich focused his eyes on the screen as the question appeared in front ofhim, and the host read it aloud.  “Put the following Presidents inorder of length of term, from shortest to longest.   A: FDR, B: Harrison, C: Truman,  D: Bush.”  Rich knew enough about presidentsto know the answer to that question.  His fingers were a blur as hehit the buttons, B, D, C, and A.  He saw the time clock stop on hispodium.  It read 3 seconds. In what had to be a minute the host wassaying “Ok, now let’s see who had the correct answer in the fastest time.” The screen changed and names lit up, one was flashing.  “And witha time of 3 seconds, Richard Cale is our next contestant.”  He stoodup and went over to the host.  As he shook hands, the host said, “Congratulations. When we come back, Richard Cale will be going for $1,000,000.00. Don’t go away.”  He heard as the show went into a break, and theyset the stage.  During that time, the host said, “Fast answers there.  Hope you do well in the Hot Seat.”
               Richard Cale turned and faced the man and said, “Thank you, Mr. Philbin. I hope so too.  Most of the winnings will go to charities.”
               The man just said, “Call me Regis.  You mean to say you’re givingit to charity?”
               “I don’t need the money.  I did this on a dare, but I always swore,if I won anything, I’d give most of it away.  75% of the cash is alreadypromised to charity.”
               Regis smiled and said, “That’s one of the nobelist things we had someonedo on this show.  Well, good luck.”  Regis then led him overto the Hot Seat.  Rich sat in his chair as Regis got into his chair. The show started up again and Regis began, “Welcome back to Who Wants ToBe A Millionaire?  I’m here with Richard Cale, who got here todaybecause of a dare.  Now who dared you to do this?”
               Rich laughed and said, “A few friends of mine where I’m going to school. They said I should try, and here I am.”
               “Any of your school friends in the audience?”
               “Yep, 3 of them and one of the teachers.”
               “Well, I wish you the best of luck.  Now I’ll go over the rules foryou.  I’m going to ask you fifteen questions.  There are twoguarenteed money levels at 5 and 10.  If you get stuck on any question,there are three lifelines available to you.  There’s 50:50 where thecomputer removes 2 answers leaving one right one and one wrong one. There’sAsk the Audience where they vote on the answer.  Finally, there isPhone A Friend, where AT&T will phone anyone in the country for youfor 30 seconds.  You got that?”  Rich nodded.  It wasn’thard to understand.  “Ok, let’s play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Rich, here’s your first question for $100.  What animal did Hannibaluse to cross the Alps?  A: Rhinoceri, B: Elephants, C: Llamas, D:Chihuahuas.”
               Rich smiled.  He knew the answer, but he’d be a bit jovial about it. “Well, I don’t remember history saying Hannibal arrived in Rome saying‘Yo quero Taco Bell.’” Everyone in the audience chucked, and Rich said,“And it wasn’t La Llama, so I’d say my final answer is B: Elephants.”
               Regis smiled and said, “You’re right, you have $100.  Now, for $200,On what show would you find Fox Mulder?  A: ER,  B: Law &Order, C: X-Files, D: Unsolved Mysteries.”
               It was another easy one.  “Well, I know the top two are wrong, andunless I’m mistaken, Duchovny doesn’t look like he’s eighty so I’ll sayC is my final answer.”
               Regis chuckled a bit and finally said, “You’re right for $200.  Hopeyou’re ready, now for $300, which of these states was last inducted intothe United States?   A: Utah, B: Alaska, C: Hawaii, D: Delaware.”
               Rich felt the look of shock cross his face.  He couldn’t think ofthe answer.  He knew it was B or C, but he didn’t want to waste alifeline.  He looked a Regis and said, “Do you have a coin I can flip?”
               Laughter echoed through the room, and Regis said, “No, but you do haveall your life lines.”
               Rich shook his head and said, “No, I’d like to save those for the harderquestions.  I’ll take a guess and say its C.”
               Regis looked at him.  “Final Answer?”
               Rich nodded and said, “Yep, I just pray it’s right.”  Rich crossedhis fingers as his choice lit up.
               Regis just sat back and said, “Well, Rich, your guess is right.” Rich let out a sigh of relief.  Now Regis said, “Now, for $500, Whichof these hands in poker, cannot beat a Full House?  A: Four of a Kind,B: Striaght Flush, C: Three of a Kind, D: Royal Flush.”
               Rich knew poker, from playing it on computer games.  He looked atRegis and said jokingly, “I thought a Royal Flush was found in BuchinhamPalace.”  Another set of giggles went through the rooms, and thenhe said, “Seriously, my final answer is C: Three of a Kind.”
               Regis had a calm look as he said, “Well, you now have $500 for your nextpoker game.”  Cheers went through the audience.  Then Regis said,“Now for a guarenteed $1,000, Which movie series debut in May 1979, andcelebrated it’s 20th year?  A: Star Wars, B: Star Trek, C: Alien,D: Predator”
               Rich chuckled.  “Oh, that’s the one with the cute critter in it. My final answer is C: Alien.”
               The pressure would have gotten to him, but he knew he was right, and Regisfinally said, “Congratulations, you’ve reached the $1,000 level.” Regis then said, “We’ll be right back as Richard Cale tries to get the$1,000,000.”  When the camera stopped, Regis looked at him and said,“Need a drink, or something, you look like you could use it.”
               Rich had felt a bit fatiqued, but he brushed it off to nerves.  “Justwater.  This is enough to make one pass out from worry.”  Regishanded him the glass that was brought over and he drank it down. Something was bothering him in his gut, but he couldn’t place it.
               He saw Regis sit up again, and he knew the camera were back on.  “Welcomeback, we’re here with Richard Cale who has reached the $1,000 level. You ready to continue on, Richard.”
               Rich swallowed and said, “As ready as ever.”  He noticed his throatfelt a bit raw.  He started to worry more.
               Regis then said, “Then let’s play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Rich noticed that the lights focused on the floor.  It was the nextlevel of suspence.  Regis then asked him, “Now if you get this wrong,you don’t lose anything.  For $2,000, The movie Ravenous was basedin part, off what monster legend?  Is it A: Bigfoot, B: Wendigo, C:The Jersey Devil, D: El Chupacabra.”
               Rich looked over his choices, as he said, “Well, if I remember right fromthe commercials, it was out west and in a forest, so C and D are out. So its a toss up between A and B, and last time Bigfoot was on film itwas a walk by, so I’ll go with B as my final answer.”
               Regis looked at his screen and said, “You don’t wait for me to ask finalanswer, you just say it.  Well, you’re right again.”  There wascheering all around.  Rich glanced up to the section he saw Sean,Yvette and the rest were sitting.  He smiled.  The light returnedto the floor and Regis said, “Ok, now Rich, here’s the $4,000 question. Which of these British Shows doesn’t star Rowan Atkinson?  A: ThinBlue Line,  B: Mr. Bean, C: Black Adder, D: Absolutely Fabulous.”
               Rich smiled and said, “I think this final answer will be Absolutely Fabulous.”There was a chuckle through out the audience as he finished the line. It was good timing, cause he felt a quiet cough coming.
               He watched as Regis said, “Well, I don’t how to say this, but that punis worth $4,000.”  Cheers were going aroung the room.  Soon thelighting returned and Regis said, “For $8,000, who was know as the SleepingProphet?  Was it, A: Nostradamus, B: Edgar Casey, C: Joan Of Arc,D: Mother Teresa.”
               Rich looked a him and said, “I thought they were suppose to get harder. It’s Edgar Casey, and that’s my final answer.”
               Regis sat back at that, and said, “Rich, let me say Final Answer once ina while, I’m getting paid to.  But, you are right.”  Rich sighedand felt another cough stiring. Regis then said, “Well, you’ve reached$8,000, you can leave with that, or for $16,000 you can answer this question. Who attempted to kill President Reagan?  A: Haley, B: Haney, C: Hinkly,D: Hillary.”
               Rich put his hand to his mouth and let out a little cough.  He thensaid, “That’s a tuffy.  Although I think it was the same as the maincharacter of a show until it happened. So I’ll say C, cause I think theguy on the show was Hinkly.”
               Regis looked at him and said, “Final Answer?”
               Rich just looked at him and said, “Final answer.”
               A hush fell over the room. Rich heard a cough and realized it was him. Regis looked at him and said, “Well Rich, that answer just got you $16,000.” Rich took a deep breath and Regis said, “Now, for $32,000, the next guarenteedlevel, here’s your question. Which of these Henson movie didn’t have asingle human actor?  A: Muppet Treasure Island, B: Muppets Take Manhatten,C: Labyrinth, D: The Dark Crystal.”
               Rich smiled and said, “That’s one of my favorite movies.  My finalanswer is the Dark Crystal.”  Rich coughed again.  This timehe couldn’t cover it.
               Regis looked at him, and Rich could see the worry in his eyes.  Registhen said the words, “Congratulations, Richard, you now have $32,000.”There was a fanfare, as Rich let out a sigh of relief.  Regis thenfaced the camera and said, “We’ll be right back as Richard Cale goes for$1,000,000 with 3 lifelines still intact.”  Rich noticed as thingswent into a relaxed state for the commercial break.  Regis lookedat him and said, “Are you ok? If you want, we can do the rest at a laterdate.”
               Rich looked at him and said, “No.  If this is what I think it is,I might not get better until after your run time is done.  If we keepthis moving, I’ll make it through, just inform my friends over there tobe ready.”
               He watched as Regis called a person over and told them to inform his friends.He could see even before he said anything to Regis that Yvette knew somethingwas wrong.  He could see it in her eyes.  Soon,  the lightingwas back.  He heard Regis say, “Welcome back, we’re here with RichardCale, and Richard, here’s a check for $32,000, yours no matter what. Now, no risk, but for $64,000.”  Rich noticed that the lights werenow focused on them.  Regis then gave him the question.  “Whatdid Samuel Clemen’s Pen name mean?  A: 2 Weeks, B: 2 Miles, C: 2 Years,D: 2 Fathoms.”
               Rich looked at the question as he coughed again.  “Pardon.  Isaw a film on him a couple of years ago.  It meant D: 2 Fathoms, andthat’s my final Answer.”
               There was a hush as every watched the two of them.  It ended whenRegis said, “Let me present you with check for $64,000.”  The fanfareplayed again.  Regis then said, “4 to go and still three lifelines.” The light were dead center as Regis said, now, if you want to go for $125,000. The question is, What celebrity made the 100,000,000,000 Crayola crayon? A: Big Bird, B: Fred Rogers, C: Levar Burton, D: Macuallay Culkin.”
               Rich smiled, it was a home town question.  He smiled and said, “Iknow this one.  It’s B: Fred Rogers, and that’s my Final answer.” He coughed again.  This had to go faster.
               Regis looked at him and said, “You did it again, You now have a check for$125,000.”  Everyone was cheering.  He would have cheered to,but it might knock him out.  It felt like what he thought it was. The only way to confirm it was to contact home. If he was the only one,it would be mild.  Regis then said, “Now you have 3 lifelines stillat your disposal, so lets see if they help you.  For $250,000,” Rich noticed the lights were on them again.  “How many labors wasHercules originally sentenced to preform?  A: 8, B: 10, C: 12, D:14.”
               Rich looked at the question and saw the key word.  He looked at Regisand said, “I see, trying to trick me.”  He looked over the answers. He knew the valid one, and he thought he’d have a little fun.  “I’dlike to ask for the audience’s opinion on this one, Regis.”
               The light flashed up and Regis said, “Ok, audience, you’ve heard the man. He would like your help on this question so use your key pad to pick theanswer.”  In no, time all the votes were in and Rich saw what he expected,as Regis stated, “Well, 90% of them say C, 8% say B, and the other 2% saidD.  You know the audience has a good track record.”
               Rich nodded and said, “True, but the audience didn’t listen to the question,but I’ll agree with 8% of them and say B for my final answer.”
               Regis leaned back, with a grim look on his face, and said, “You know, youcould be losing $93,000.”  Rich nodded, but he smiled.  Regislooked at him and said, “But you know that you got the $250,000.” Rich heard the cheers, loudest from his friends.  Regis showed thecheck to him.  “Here’s the check, you can take it, or try and answerthis question for $500,000.”  The question appeared on the screenas the lights were focused on them again.  “Which of these movie’swas a ficticious movie?  A: The Exorcist, B: The Amityville Horror,C: Poltergeist, D: The Entity.”
               Rich swallowed, and coughed.  He wasn’t too sure.  He knew Band D were real, but he couldn’t pick the third film.  He looked atRegis and said, “I’d like to phone my cousin, Godiva Cale.”
               Regis said, “Ok, our friends at AT&T will get her on the line for you.” Rich waited.  He also needed to find out how much time he had untilhe’d be out of it.
               The line picked up.  There was a cough, followed by a raspy “Hello.” He might not make it.
               Regis said, “Hello, is this Godiva?”
               “Yes.”
               “This is Regis Philbin, from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?  I’m herewith your cousin, Richard, and he needs you help on a question.” There was a cough again on the line.
               “If I’m right, he’ll need more than help on a question.”  He knewwhat she meant.
               “Ok, the next voice you hear will be that of your cousin.”  Regisnodded to him, he was on the 30 second count down.
               Rich swallowed and said, “Godiva, Which of these movie’s was a ficticiousmovie?  A: The Exorsist, or C: Poltergeist?  I ruled out twoof them.”
               There was a slight pause followed by two simultanious coughs.  “It’sC, Rich. Now hurry.”  The phone hung up quick.  He didn’t havelong.
               He looked at Regis with urgency in his eyes.  “C’s the final answer.”
               He noticed Regis understood, and said, “Well, that help gave you $500,000.”Cheers came from all around the room.  Rich started to feel faint,but he held on.  He had to hold on.  Regis then said, “Richard,here you are at the last question.  1 lifeline.  For $1,000,000,How many different presidents have been elected into office?  A:42,B:41, C: 39, D:40.”
               Rich looked them over.  He couldn’t focus on the numbers.  Hejust said, “50:50 please”  He knew one wasn’t elected, and anotherserved two non consecutive terms.  He just couldn’t focus on the rightnumber, was it 40 or 41.
               He heard Regis say, “Computer, remove two of the wrong answers, leave theright answer and one wrong one.”  Rich could tell by position thatB and C disappeared. It helped him.
               The room was filled with a hush, but he couldn’t tell if there was a sound. He bearly heard his own voice as he said, “D’s the final answer.” He couldn’t feel the chair, he was losing consiousness.

               Regis looked quickly at the screen, amazed.  The screen told him theone thing he had been hoping to see.  Then he looked at Richard Cale. This amazing boy managed to do this, and at the key moment, he was on thefloor, ill.  Regis jumped out of his chair and yelled, “We need helphere.  Cut the cameras.”  He turned to see Richard Cale’s friendsrunning out to the center.
               The one man said in an Irish accent.  “He fell ill, but with what?”
               Regis was dumbfounded but said, “I don’t know, but he said he knew it wascoming.  He said he was giving the money to charity.”  Regisnoticed that the one girl went over to Rich’s side.  She was holdinghim, like she was his girlfriend.
               “I know.  His family’s very wealthy, but he didn’t want any of it. Only uses it to fund for the betterment of people.  He told me hewas donating 1/4 of his winnings to the National Epilepsy Foundation.” Regis was impressed.  Most of his contestants spent the money on themselves,but not this boy.
               He then noticed the girl was excited as she said, “He’s talking.” They all gathered around as Regis looked at the boy.  The boy wasn’twith it, but he was talking.
               He listened as Richard Cale just muttered, but a few words were understandable.“Black...  Tom..   Killed...”
               Regis looked at the man and said, “What did he mean by that?”
               The man sighed and said, “A terrorist, Black Tom Cassidy attacked our school.Rich stopped him, using lethal force.  It shook the lad up, but ifhe didn’t, God only knows what that maniac would have done.”
               Regis didn’t know what to say.  He looked at the man and said, “Itake it he didn’t want to use that kind of force.”  The man noddedand Regis said, “I won’t tell a soul.”  Regis turned to see a manrun off.  “Damn.  The news people are here every day, waitingfor something like this.  I’m sorry.”
               The man had a worried look on his face, until it turned to a calm look. “Don’t worry.  Hopefully, no one will try anything.  We’ll takecare of Rich, I’ll give a call to his home and find out what happened.” Regis watched as the man turned to the others in his group and said, “Monet,Everett, Yvette, get Rich out of here.  We need to get him back tothe school, pronto.”
               Regis stopped the man just as the kids left.  “Listen....”
               “Sean.”
               “Thank you.  Before Rich fainted, he gave the right answer. I want to give you the check, in his name.”  The man nodded, and Regisdirected him to the stop where he had to be for the next fast finger round. “When the camera’s go on, I’ll tell them what happened and give you thecheck.”
               Sean looked at him and said, “Thanks, again.”
               Regis stopped him from saying anything else as the camera’s came to life. Regis looked at the camera and said, “Welcome back, sorry for the abruptbreak, but Richard fell ill just as he answered the last question. Ironically enough, he answered it correctly and is our first $1,000,000winner.  Now since Richard is ill, his friend, Sean, will be acceptingthe check.  Sean, here is Richard’s check for $1,000,000.  Ihope he uses it wisely.”
               Sean shook his hand and said, “Thank you.  I know he will.”
               Regis then said, “If he gets better before the end of our run, I do hopehe will stop by and thank us in person.”
               Sean smiled and said, “I hope he can do that.”
               Regis watched as the man walked off stage and said, “Well, that got usoff on the right step, accept at the end, now, let see who’s next for achance at $1,000,000”
 

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