Ignatius Alistair Isaiah Smith
IAIS: I Am Ignatius What started off as a simple way to document my life as a law student and budding attorney, my blog, lais2008.com, has given me a fresh look on life. I am Ignatius Alistair Isaiah Smith and I am proud to say I’m no longer a lawyer. There’s nothing wrong with the legal profession as a whole, in fact, I’m still amazed at the ways the law can heavily influence a person’s life. But the aggression you need in the courtroom is something I lacked. The judge and jury staring at me while I attempted to plead my client’s case intimidated me and I always found myself frozen on the spot. Ashamed, I would come home every night and think of all the different things I would have changed about my day in court. I began to channel that energy into my blog—turning myself into this superhero of the courtroom and always ensuring that my clients got the happy ending they came to me for. Needless to say, I didn’t even make it through my first year as an attorney before I left the profession for good. I might not have been a good lawyer, but the creative drive I got from writing about my superhero alter ego lit a fire inside of me, and I’ve continued his story since. Meet Captain Quantum.
Captain Quantum Captain Quantum wasn’t always the brave superhero he is today. It all began ten years ago, when Professor Q. was working on an experiment that would be the breakthrough he needed in his scientific research when he tripped over a broken beaker one of his students dropped.
Professor Q. fell into his particle accelerator, absorbing the chemicals it contained. When he emerged, he wasn’t Professor Q. anymore . . . he was Captain Quantum. With the ability to breathe fire when someone lies, see into the future, and read minds, Captain Quantum had to learn to master his powers and lead a simpler life. He eventually got his superpowers (mostly) under control, but not without years of training. Now practicing as a general lawyer who is licensed to practice in all fifty states, Captain Quantum fights to protect the rights of the citizens of the United States in court. Here, you’ll find Quantum’s courtroom battles and watch him overcome his biggest strength and weakness: his superpowers.
The State vs. Tony Cappuccino Captain Quantum goes by Attorney Q. in court. His first major court case after he became a superhero was against Tony Cappuccino, a member of the mob in New York who had been arrested on a double homicide charge. Captain Quantum always knows when someone is lying and when someone tells a lie, Quantum has an overwhelming urge to breathe fire at them. When mobster Tony Cappuccino took the stand, it was all Quantum could do to keep his flames under control. He had to take his mind off of the blatant lies somehow! Captain Quantum mustered all the strength he had in him and focused all of his attention on the Macarena to divert his mind. Then, Attorney Q. stood before the jury and showed the undeniable DNA evidence of the defendant’s DNA under the nails of the victim
and the jury convicted him within thirty minutes of deliberating. In that moment, Captain Quantum knew that he had found his calling.
Captain Quantum and the Crackdown in the Courtroom Attorney Q had been under a lot of stress lately following the neardrowning of his niece, relationship troubles with Sasha, and a huge caseload. He had heard through the grapevine that he might be going up against a powerhouse Chicago criminal defense lawyer and was feeling concerned with the strength of that particular case. After work one night, before it was announced by his firm who would be representing this case, Q went home, alone, got some work done, and turned in early. Q has been known to let his emotions get away from him, so he shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he had one of the worst nightmares of his entire life. Not long after falling asleep, Q found himself dreaming he now had a secret identity, and that he was Captain Quantum all the time. This in itself would have been a nightmare for Q, who enjoys living his day-today life among all the chaos of his superhero world. Things begin to worsen in the dream when Captain Quantum finds out that his girlfriend, Sasha, had been kidnapped by a super villain, known Doctor Jellyfish, who had long, jellyfish-like tentacles for hands and wanted to take down Captain Quantum once and for all so he could take over the world. Captain Quantum is led on a scavenger hunt of sorts to find Sasha, who has been incapacitated by her captors and can therefore not use
her own superpowers as Supersonic Sapphire. He finds himself being terrorized in a corn maze, forced to battle a terrifying monster guarding a tower that held the final clue to Sasha’s location. Once Captain Quantum finally finds his way to Sasha and saves her from the evil Dr. Jellyfish, he is even more surprised to learn that Sasha herself has facilitated the entire kidnapping before she shoves him off of the building to his death! Q awoke with a scream, not only at the thought of his life ending, but of Sasha really being evil. Was she even a superhero? Q wasn’t one to look too much into his dreams, but he couldn’t help but think to himself that he wouldn’t have dreamed such a thing if Sasha didn’t have something up her sleeve. . . But, how would Q approach this situation? Would he discuss his fears with her? Embark on a mission for answers? Would he end the relationship and move on?
Captain Quantum Goes to the Dark Side As we all know, Captain Quantum wasn’t always the man he is today. He had to keep his identity as a superhero secret from everyone in his family, which was especially painful for Q as he was always quite close to his sister, Rachel. She was just completely confused when he suddenly started to distance himself from her when he first became aware of his superpowers. When she moved to Louisiana to start her own family, Q didn’t even say goodbye to her.
Q has always regretted his decision not to fill his sister in on such a major life change. Rachel knows all about Sasha, but she had no idea about their double lives. All of that changed the day that a drunk driver struck Rachel, leaving her with a serious brain injury and in a coma. Q was completely distraught over what happened to his beloved sister, and even though Captain Quantum is supposed to be one of the good guys, the absolute rage and vengeance he felt thinking about how reckless that drunk driver was sent him over the edge. In a blind rage, he prepared to take the ultimate revenge against the driver who hurt his sister. Sasha did everything she could to stop him; begged and pleaded with him to see reasons and let the law obtain justice for Rachel, but Captain Quantum knew all too well that sometimes, the good guy loses in court, and he wasn’t about to let this drunk get away with taking his sister from him. He went down to the police station to talk to the police officer who arrested the drunk. It turned out the vermin had already made bail and was sleeping off his drunken stupor. Captain Quantum used his ability to read minds on the police officer to find out where the drunk lived. Once he heard the address, he made an excuse to leave and immediately set out to kill the man who put Rachel in a coma. He hopped in his car, ready to do what had to be done when all of a sudden, a catchy jingle on the radio caught his attention, very briefly. It was a commercial for a law firm that helps TBI victims and as he listened, his eyes welled up with tears. He pulled over to the side of the road and sobbed, believing this was a sign from Rachel that he needed to take a minute to calm down before he ruined more than just his life. Instead of going to the drunk driver’s house, Q made his way back to the hospital where he could be close to Rachel. He held her hand and quietly cried at the thought of losing her, when suddenly she began to wake up! Q hugged his sister so tightly and apologized over and over again for letting her down. She was shocked to awaken to see her big
brother, and simply hugged him back. They would never have to worry about losing each other again.
Captain Quantum Meets His Match Captain Quantum doesn’t live a life of solitude outside of the courtroom; in fact, he’s quite the social butterfly. In the years following his transformation and acclimation to becoming a superhero, Q found himself feeling quite lonely. After all, he didn’t have anyone he could share his secret with, and his friends had no idea the pressure he was under to always be on his A game. Q’s friends, in an attempt to help him find someone to share his life with, created a profile for him on an online dating website so he could meet someone. Q was shocked at how many replies he received over the next couple of weeks, and after a couple of pretty horrible first dates, he was not looking forward to the next date he had lined up: lunch at Fairfax Farmer’s Market in The Grove. When Q first saw Sasha, he was wowed—to say the least. It wasn’t so much her looks that drew him in, rather, her free spirit and milliondollar smile. What he didn’t know, however, was that Sasha had a lot more in common with him than he thought.
Supersonic Sapphire Although Sasha and Q matched on a dating website because they both work as attorneys, Q had no idea that Sasha was actually a superhero, as well. Prior to becoming an attorney, Sasha worked as a chemical engineer at a nuclear power plant, but when she was doused with a uranium mixture in an accident, her life was forever changed.
Sasha became Supersonic Sapphire, an energy vampire who has the ability to drain the energy of those around her, preferably those who are up to no good. Not only does she have the ability to fly through the air at supersonic speeds, allowing her to travel long distances quickly, but she also has mind control powers that she uses to compel defendants into telling the truth when she is in court. The legal field seemed to be her best option for keeping her identity a secret and using her powers for good, and she has continued working as an attorney ever since she recovered from the chemical spill that brought on her powers.
Attorneys Q. and Sasha Take on Joey Borracho There are plenty of stories about Captain Quantum and Supersonic Sapphire taking on the law, as well as the story of how Q and Sasha discovered each other’s superhero status, but this one is about their first experience working together to bring down a drunk driver who couldn’t care less. Q was prosecuting Joey Borracho, who was backed by a renowned car accident lawyer in LA, while Sasha was representing the family of the person who Borracho killed after a night of heavy drinking. Borracho’s lack of remorse or empathy for the situation made things much more devastating than they should have been. Q and Sasha combined his ability to read minds and her ability to control minds to ensure that Borracho wasn’t able to hide behind his rough exterior. Instead, he was compelled to tell the truth about what happened the night his drunkenness cost another their life.
After Borracho accepted responsibility for his actions, he was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter and ordered to pay restitution of $100,000 over a period of 10 years in order to repay the family of the person he killed.
Captain Quantum vs. The Scheming Spouse As a general lawyer, Attorney Q’s work takes him all over the country. He has several clients in Indiana, and happened to find himself in Terre Haute after he received a desperate call from one woman in particular. This is the story of Captain Quantum versus the scheming spouse.
Attorney Q’s Divorce Client Mrs. Lindsay Walrus has had Attorney Q on retainer ever since she had her suspicions that her husband of more than thirty years was having an affair. She never thought their marriage would come to an end, and she didn’t believe in divorce. However, Mrs. Walrus also is one smart lady, and she knew well enough to protect herself in case her husband wasn’t all he appeared to be. Unfortunately, her marriage came to an end one night when Mrs. Walrus came home to find her husband’s mistress moved in, and her belongings moved out. In tears, she called Attorney Q to come and help her figure out what her next step would be.
He arrived in Brazil, Indiana the following night after booking her a hotel in nearby Terre Haute for the evening, where he consulted with a family law attorney in Milwaukee to ensure there weren’t any local laws that could get in his way. Q is a compassionate attorney, and in charge of Mrs. Walrus’s estate as well, so he helped Mrs. Walrus get set up into an apartment while they attempted to work through the terms of the divorce settlement with Mr. Walrus’s divorce attorney. Unfortunately, they were unable to come to an arrangement, as Mr. Walrus felt like Mrs. Walrus shouldn’t be entitled to spousal support— he claimed he didn’t have any money to financially support her and himself (and his new bride-to-be). They were set to appear in court for a hearing, and Attorney Q wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to win if there wasn’t any money, but Captain Quantum had an inkling that there may be more to the story than Mr. Walrus was willing to admit.
What Happened in Court Attorney Q does his best not to let his superhero alter ego take control, but when he goes up against people who are doing wrong, he often can’t help himself despite his efforts. Sure enough, as the hearing began, Captain Quantum emerged. While Mr. Walrus took the stand to explain that he didn’t have any more money, claiming he had gambled it all away, Captain Quantum read his mind and discovered that he had placed the money in an international bank account so Mrs. Walrus couldn’t touch it. Once he knew this piece of information, during cross-examination he was able to get Mr. Walrus to admit that he had hidden the money during a series of rapid-fire questions. In the end, the judge turned
over the total amount in the bank account, a total of $3,675,000, to Mrs. Walrus! Though Captain Quantum had to use his powers to gain the advantage in court, he’ll do whatever he must to ensure that justice is served for his clients.
Captain Quantum and the Tears of Time Spencer Chapman and Attorney Q go way back. They met on the first day of their freshman year in college when they became roommates of their shared dorm. Spencer was unaware, as most people are, of Q’s secret identity as a superhero, but all of that was about to change in the aftermath of the worst day of his life. It was a beautiful Fourth of July in Spencer’s hometown of Lancaster, and Q and Sasha came to celebrate Independence Day with the family after dropping off some legal documents for a Los Angeles car accident attorney. The guys were barbecuing when suddenly Sasha and Spencer’s wife, Jamie, came running towards them with Spencer’s daughter, Hailey, in his arms. Hailey was just three years old and had snuck into the pool at some point during the cookout. An ambulance was called, but despite their efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Spencer and Jamie were completely distraught, as any parent would be, and Q thought desperately of what he could do to help. Unfortunately, Q’s superpowers were completely useless in this situation, as were Sasha’s.
Sasha asked to speak with Q privately and told him of a compound she had been working on at her lab that might be able to help. She had been trying to increase the strength of her powers when she discovered that the makeup of the chemicals could not only increase her current powers, but create new ones just by thinking them. She never told Captain Quantum what she had discovered for ethical reasons, but she now knew that, sometimes, the rules must be bent. Hailey’s death was something Sasha couldn’t live with when she knew she could save her. With Spencer and Jamie in mourning, Q and Sasha headed back to her lab in Miami overnight using Sasha’s supersonic speed. Once there, Q showered in the chemical mixture, thinking that he wished he could have the power to turn back time. With no time to waste, they hurried back to Vestavia Hills to be with Spencer and Jamie. Once they arrived, Captain Quantum went out to the pool where Hailey had drowned and dipped his fingers in the water. As he did, he stood frozen in time as the last 24 hours reversed in slow motion. He watched himself and Spencer laughing over the grill… Sasha and Jamie playing Red Rover with the kids… and finally, the moment Hailey quietly slipped away to the pool. He saw her start to get in and trip over the ladder. It was then that he took his hand out of the pool and hurriedly pulled Hailey out while she coughed up pool water. Everyone came rushing towards Hailey, concerned for what had just happened. With two Q’s there and no reasonable explanation, Q had to explain to the group about what had just happened. Spencer and Jamie were stunned, incredulous, but grateful that their daughter was safe. The two Captain Quantum’s now had to figure out what consequences there would be for changing the past, and what the original Q was going to do next. Stay in this time, or go back to the future.
Risking It All Helping put criminals away and get justice for families in need isn’t just what Captain Quantum does, it’s who he is. In his early days, he used to uncover some pretty serious crimes. . . like the time he discovered his brother, Jimbo, had become involved with a gang that was successful in a string of bank robberies. These days, Captain Quantum understands the seriousness of those types of crimes, and without having superhuman strength and a lack of empathy, he’s not a violent guy. With that being said, nothing heats Q up more than injustice, which brings us to his recent investigation into a potential Ponzi scheme. His victim? Q’s own mother. Things first came to light during Thanksgiving, as many family issues do. The family was seated around the large table and his mother had spent the entire day cooking their Thanksgiving feast. Inevitably, the dinner conversation turned into an inquisition on when Q was going to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend (and fellow superhero) Sasha. Q’s mom was getting desperate for grandchildren, and the more people joked, the more uncomfortable Q became. He quickly changed the topic of conversation to his success in the stock market. Q’s mom mentioned that she had also recently begun investing. This piqued Q’s interest, as he knew his mother had zero experience in investing. She began to tell them about how a stockbroker by the name of Kendrick Henderson had called her on the phone one day and mentioned this incredible investment opportunity he had for her. She went on to describe what was essentially an electric toothbrush for dentures, and Q outwardly winced. He immediately knew this had to be a scam, but before he broke his mother’s heart, he had to find out more. While his mother chatted on
excitedly about how she was going to make a ton of money, he began taking notes. The following day, Q went to work to find out more about this Kendrick Henderson. As it turns out, he had been previously investigated by the Department of Justice after an SEC whistleblower reported that he was involved in insider trading. Q knew he wouldn’t even need his powers to bring this guy down. Q made an anonymous tip to the SEC after that, with concerns that Henderson was operating a Ponzi scheme. Months later, his mother called him, telling him angrily about how the stockbroker she was working with was just arrested for investment fraud! Fortunately, his mother was able to obtain her return before his arrest, after some gentle prodding from her son, Q.
Three Reasons Why Captain Quantum Is a Better Superhero Than Batman Whenever you were asked who your favorite superhero was growing up, you probably said Spiderman, Superman, or Batman. While Spiderman and Superman are incredible superheroes, there are issues to address with Batman. With Captain Quantum growing in popularity, it merits reviewing the top three reasons why Captain Quantum is a better superhero than the Caped Crusader.
Batman Breaks the Law First of all, Captain Quantum isn’t a law breaker. They don’t call Batman a vigilante for nothing. He is always destroying public property and turning to violence to get justice. Captain Quantum not only never hurts people or property, but he also quite literally holds criminals and bad guys accountable in a court of law; killing two birds with one stone, figuratively speaking.
Captain Quantum Doesn’t Need Fancy Gadgets and Equipment Bruce Wayne is the wealthiest man in Gotham and has all of the best gadgets, not to mention his luxurious batmobile. If Batman really wanted to do right by Gotham, he would have used some of his wealth to make the city a better place . . . maybe donate some money or build homeless shelters. Instead, he uses his wealth to build outrageous devices that he might use once before it gets destroyed. All Captain Quantum needs to get the job done is himself. He never turns to violence and only uses his powers when it becomes absolutely necessary. Q isn’t wealthy like Bruce Wayne, but if he was, there is no way he would hoard all of that money to himself.
Batman Has a Superiority Complex Batman claims to have this rule about not killing people, but he has no problem seriously injuring civilians and even killed everyone in the League of Shadows to save one criminal. Let’s be honest here, the injuries these people have suffered are probably worse than if they had been killed in many cases. Setting aside the fact that Captain Quantum has never been known to be violent with the bad guys, Captain Quantum understands that his ability to read minds is an invasion of personal privacy, and he does everything he can to avoid using this power just for that reason. However, he isn’t above doing so when it means justice for those who have been wronged. Honestly, Batman is an overrated superhero who gets way too much credit. Seriously, Mr. Freeze is a better superhero than him, and that guy was supposed to be a villain, but that’s a whole other story. Captain Quantum may not be the only superhero the people need, but they certainly need him more than they need Batman.