Vaudevillain

As Easy As... (12)

The Imp opened another portal at Dr. Zlo's words, letting another line of addicted NPCs through.

"How many do you think we have?" Sweet Dream asked.

"Thralls?" Dr. Zlo asked.

Sweet Dream nodded.

"Unsure," the villain answered. "But since we know the masses aren't the brightest bunch, I'd assume a steadily growing group."

The three villains looked down at their makeshift army, watching as the mob swarmed the various heroes. The Imp hovered above them, flitting around like a hummingbird and encouraging the NPCs.

"Yes, that's it! Take them out so I can rule the city!"

"Why does he think I sound like that?" Dr. Zlo complained.

"Probably because you do, dude," Riptide said jokingly.

Dr. Zlo sniffed, "Your attempts at mockery won't upset me today, Riptide. Not since we're this close to winning."

"Now we just have to wait for it to go wrong," Sweet Dream muttered.

"Nothing will go wrong!" Dr. Zlo exclaimed, thrusting his cane downward. "This army is under our control! And the heroes won't kill civilians. Not if they want to keep their status as heroes! It's a foolproof plan!"

"That's what worries me," Sweet Dream said. "We both know that your foolproof plans never work out."

"Bah, you're just jealous of my intelligence."

Sweet Dream poked him in the ribs, "Don't forget that you needed my power to make this work."

Dr. Zlo sucked in a breath, pretending to nurse the spot Sweet Dream poked.

"Uh, dudes?" Riptide said. "I don't think our army is making a dent."

"What!" Dr. Zlo shouted.

The villains looked down at the battlefield. Sure enough, groups of addicted NPCs lay sprawled on the ground, some groaning in pain, but most of them snoring. The heroes still stood in a ring around the officials, easily repelling the few NPCs left.

"Zlo-Mite!" Dr. Zlo shouted. "You're being too slow! They're stopping our army!"

"They have some kind of sleeping drug!" The Imp countered.

"So stop it!" Dr. Zlo commanded.

"Do you want portals or not?" The Imp argued. "Searching for all your experiments isn't easy!"

"Bah, save the excuses," Dr. Zlo argued. "It seems that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

The villain descended from his place in the sky, landing in front of Psy-Ops. Ever the showman, Dr. Zlo slow clapped as he came down, landing with a bow in front of the heroes.

"Gentlemen! It seems you've found a way to counter my genius! I applaud your work. It's too bad it won't be enough to stop me!"

"Your serum was surprisingly easy to dismantle," Yuppie said behind Psy-Ops. "You should work on it next time."

Dr. Zlo narrowed his eyes and turned the knob on his cane. Nanobots spilled out of the opening at the bottom, pooling in front of the villain like sand. "Bold words coming from a dead man."

"Please, you couldn't stop me before, and you won't stop me now," Yuppie taunted.

Growling, Dr. Zlo launched a whip of nanobots at the hero. Yuppie twisted out of the way, but he needn't have worried. Psy-Ops stepped in front of the attack, activating his EMP shield and short-circuiting the nanobots.

"We still have unfinished business," Psy-Ops said to the villain.

"Don't get in the way!" Dr. Zlo roared.

The villain unlinked one of his button bombs, hefting it at Psy-Ops. The hero's eyes widened in surprise, and this time it was Yuppie's turn to save his friend. The hero's armored arm expanded into a dome, snagging the bomb midair. From there, the villain slammed his transformed fist into the ground. The explosion went off a second later, the force blocked by Yuppie's blast shield.

A trail of smoke wafted up from under the armor as Dr. Zlo narrowed his eyes. Psy-Ops and Yuppie looked at the villain.

"We know all your tricks, Dr. Zlo," Psy-Ops said. "Give it up."

"Never!" Dr. Zlo shouted. "And you'll never learn all of my tricks! Riptide, Sweet Dream! Get them!"

"Not your minions, dude," Riptide said.

"Ugh, fine," Dr. Zlo said. "Please get them?"

"Hell yeah!" Riptide shouted. "Time for a fight!"

The surfer blasted forward, making a beeline for Psy-Ops. The hero pulled out his sword, swinging it in an arc toward Riptide's surfboard. The villain answered by twisting his board midair, surfing up and over Psy-Ops while conjuring a wave of water. The blast struck Psy-Ops in the chest, sending him flying out of the ring of heroes.

Yuppie twisted to aim at Psy-Ops but was forced to divert his attention when Dr. Zlo launched another whip of nanobots. The hero activated his own EMP shield, shorting the attack. Nanobots clattered to the ground, Yuppie smirking.

"Who do you think built the EMP device?" Yuppie said.

"Certainly someone with more class than you," Dr. Zlo taunted.

Sweet Dream rolled her eyes, transforming as she turned to Fursation.

"Don't forget, these aren't the only heroes," the villainess said.

"That's what Zlo-Mite's toys are for!" Dr. Zlo shouted. "Sir Destructo, Lady Dynamite, Greeney! Get them!"

"Yeah, get them!" The Imp echoed.

At the reality warper's words, Sir Destructo and Lady Dynamite jumped into the fray. Greeney followed behind, hard light projections of sharp teeth forming around her. They charged into the enemy heroes, blasting lasers and throwing metal punches. The heroes answered in kind, their focus on the new threats. A stream of addicted NPCs jumped into the fray as The Imp opened more portals.

Dr. Zlo pulled off his dueling gloves, making sure to keep an eye on Yuppie in case the armored technician did anything. The hero's armor transformed as the dueling gloves fell, forming laser cannons on the shoulders. They fired at Dr. Zlo, and the villain dodged the blow with his rocket boots. Dr. Zlo responded with a laser blast of his own, hitting Yuppie's armor.

"Nice try," the hero taunted.

Dr. Zlo's dueling gloves activated then, punching Yuppie in the torso. A flash of light erupted, followed by an explosion from the gloves. Yuppie flew back, crashing through the building's wall and sending rubble tumbling down.

"The gloves have come off," Dr. Zlo quipped.

"Haven't you made that pun, dude?" Riptide said as he surfed around Psy-Ops.

"I'm allowed to say it more than once!" Dr. Zlo argued.

"Pretty sure it would get old," Riptide teased.

"Bah, you don't understand my genius," Dr. Zlo said.

"Nobody understands your genius," Sweet Dream said. "Not even you."

"You know, I don't have to take this kind of abuse," Dr. Zlo said. "I could leave right now."

"But we know you won't," Riptide said. "You're having too much fun."

"I hate it when you're right," Dr. Zlo answered.

Yuppie chose that moment to blast back into the room, rockets firing straight at Dr. Zlo.

"Send me into a wall, will you!" the hero shouted.

Dr. Zlo reacted, pushing his rocket boots to the max and weaving around the missiles. The dueling gloves followed, making a beeline toward Yuppie as he came to meet Dr. Zlo. The two supers clashed, Dr. Zlo's cane meeting Yuppie's fist before the two rebounded. Both wanted to come in for another strike, but both had to deal with the gadgets chasing them.

Dr. Zlo spun in place, aiming his nanobots at the two missiles. Two razor-thin sawblades appeared in the explosives paths, slicing the attack to bits. Yuppie turned to the dueling gloves, again forming a blast shield on his arm. With a broad swipe, the hero knocked the gloves away. The gadgets landed amid some NPCs, the explosion sending the mud flying.

Both supers turned back to each other, flying forward to strike. Dr. Zlo's cane met Yuppie's blast shield as the two clashed again. This time, Dr. Zlo attempted to spray the hero in adhesive. Yuppie reacted quickly, spinning in place to move around the blow. He followed up with a punch of his own, backed by his blast shield. Dr. Zlo launched himself over the strike, taking off his hat to activate the drone inside.

The top hat made a beeline toward Yuppie, razor arms appearing to slice him up. The hero answered the attack with more missiles, busying Dr. Zlo while the hero dealt with the drone. Dr. Zlo made quick work of the rockets, copying his earlier tactic with the nanobots. He continued to direct the bots at Yuppie, hoping to overwhelm the hero with a myriad of attacks.

For good measure, the villain launched his lasers as well, despite their inability to pierce armor. Dr. Zlo aimed at gaps in the hero's armor, trying to sneak damage in wherever he could. Yuppie responded with another EMP blast, taking out the nanobots so he could focus on the drone. A few lasers got through the outer workings of his armor, but it wasn't enough to stop the hero. The hat drone tried to slice into Yuppie, but he held up his blast shield, protecting him from the drone's claws.

"Go down already!" Dr. Zlo complained.

"You won't get me that easy!" Yuppie shouted.

Impatient, Dr. Zlo unhooked more button bombs, tossing them straight at Yuppie in quick succession. The hero ducked out of the way, avoiding the strikes and letting them fall to the ground.

Dr. Zlo smiled wickedly, "You fool! Look what's behind you!"

Yuppie glanced over to see the bombs falling right at the cowering officials.

"Oh, you dick!" the hero shouted.

Yuppie blasted away from Dr. Zlo, chasing the falling bombs. He overtook them quickly, placing himself between them and the officials. With a grunt of effort, the hero expanded his blast shield, moving more armor pieces off his body to reinforce the defense. Dr. Zlo cackled, maneuvering behind the hero as he gave chase.

The bombs went off a moment later, all blocked by Yuppie. But all the hero's protection was in the shield, and he couldn't stop Dr. Zlo's lasers from striking him. Yuppie grunted as a wince of pain went through him, his health bar depleting to zero.

Dr. Zlo cackled as Yuppie went down, turning to the officials. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes. You were about to give me the city."