Vaudevillain

Chapter 224: Old Friend, Same Enemy

Dr. Zlo commanded his dueling gloves to attack, flying down toward Lug and Egghead. As he flew, he called his hat drone back to him and started the process to cast his weakness spell.

The coins reacted, homing in on Dr. Zlo's movement and racing straight toward him. The villain turned in surprise, stopping his weakness spell and pulling out another button bomb as he fired his laser. The first few coins fell to the ground, but it was like shooting raindrops.

Dr. Zlo tossed his button bomb, diving toward his hat as the explosion went off. Coins scattered as the blast sent them around the museum, some moving so fast they embedded into the few columns left. The villain grabbed his hat, commanding it to protect him from the coins.

The hat drone activated its nanomachines, striking out in whiplike precision. Coins fell to the ground faster than Dr. Zlo could track as the hat drone protected him.

While this went on, Lug and Egghead were making their way to the last group of Jacques. The player's golem's had done in several Dr. Zlo's basic minions, even after the villain had helped with his disintegration. The Jacques just couldn't stand up against raw stone.

However, Lug could easily crush the golems to pieces with its large hands and wasted no time mopping up the remaining enemies. Once finished, Egghead directed the remnants of its army toward the player, letting Lug lead the charge to block possible attacks. Dr. Zlo was still preoccupied with the coins, and if Egghead could stop the caster, there was a good chance the coins would stop as well.

The player turned as he noticed the charge, a sneer of contempt on his face.

"As if an NPC is going to take me down," the player said.

The hero opened his inventory once more, taking out another group of golems and activating them. Once finished, the player removed a line of blue potions from his inventory and downed them, restoring his mana. Once finished, the player grabbed another handful of lightning coins and threw them at Lug. Egghead pulled the minion to the side, letting the coins sail past. But other Jacques weren't so lucky, hitting the coins by accident as they bounced erratically on the ground. Lighting coursed through them, shocking them to death and reducing Egghead's army even more.

But the minion reasoned that it was fine, as Lug was able to rush through the line of golems and grab the spellcaster. Eggehead commanded the minion to squeeze, and the commander watched as the enemy leader fell to the ground.

Only, the surrounding golems didn't fall, and the coins were still assaulting Dr. Zlo.

"I told you," the player said, another one stepping out from behind a wall. "I'm not about to lose to an NPC."

The player opened his inventory and threw out another group of golems, activating the minions and surrounding the duo. Lug and Egghead attempted to break free, but they were unable to deal with all the numbers. As a last-ditch effort, Lug threw Egghead away, leaving the minion to fall on its own. However, the player had another set of homing coins ready and sent them toward Egghead as the minion flew. Metal assaulted the weaker minion, striking it down and burying it into the ground.

With the special minions out of the way, the player sent his golems after the rest of the Jacques, Dr. Zlo seeing the aftermath as his hat drone finished with the coins.

"How dare you destroy my minions!" Dr. Zlo shouted.

"Hey, you're the one that commanded them to attack," the player taunted. "So, really, it's you that killed them. And now, you're next."

The player commanded his Golems toward Dr. Zlo, forcing the villain to take to the skies once more. Again, the player activated another group of homing coins, forcing the hat drone to defend its master. Dr. Zlo tried to shoot his laser whenever he could and attempted to lock down his enemy multiple times, but each time something protected the hero. His freeze object spell struck golems, his weakness spell bounced off his shield, and his disintegration spell was avoided every time.

Eventually, Dr. Zlo felt the last bit of fuel in his boots burn out, leaving the villain suspended in the air for a second before crashing down. He landed with a thud next to his gloves, which had tried to catch him. Earthen golems rushed at Dr. Zlo, forcing the villain to use the rest of his simple button bombs. Now all the villain had left were his self-destruct buttons and his inventions.

"I think it's time to try and make an escape," Dylan muttered. The villain commanded his hat drone to ready smoke bombs and turned to the enemy player.

"I'll admit, you seem to be a rather prepared foe. Tell me, what makes you so determined to win this battle? My minions have already escaped with the loot!"

The player stopped his assault for a moment, "You know what. I'll humor you. Since it seems you haven't figured it out yet."

Dr. Zlo watched as the player walked forward a few steps, putting his face in the light.

"Surprised?" the player said.

Dr. Zlo raised an eyebrow, "Am I supposed to know you?"

"What?" the player said. "You don't recognize this face?"

"Can't say that I do," Dr. Zlo replied.

"Ugh, Dylan, really?" the player said, and Dylan's eyes widened.

"John," the villain muttered.

"No sh*t Sherlock!" John exclaimed. "I modeled this character after my own face for f*ck's sake. How in the world did you miss that?"

"Well, I haven't seen your face since college," Dylan said. "And we didn't exactly hang out in person after I moved away. So how was I supposed to know what you looked like?"

"Fine, fine," John said. "I guess you get a pass. But really, Dylan. When are you going to stop with this joke of a character?"

"Is that was this is about?" Dylan asked. "You don't like me playing this character?"

John shook his head, "No. This is showing you that you need me."

Dylan paused at the absurd comment. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Vert, Dylan," John replied. "I'm talking about Vert. You need me to get noticed. Because otherwise, you're never going to get contacted."

Dylan scoffed. Oh, how wrong John was. Vert had already contacted him about using Dr. Zlo, something John would have known if he hadn't been an asshole and ruined their friendship. Yet the guy still thought Dylan needed him! Well, Dylan wasn't about to spoil anything. He didn't need his former friend to know how his life was going. John lost that privilege after all that toxic behavior.

"I've told you already that I don't care about getting chosen," Dylan said.

"That's bullsh*t, and you know it," John said. "That's the only reason anyone would want to play this stupid game!"

"No, it sounds like it's the only reason you're playing this stupid game," Dylan reasoned. "I'm here because playing as a silly cartoon villain is fun. And because I've made new friends who enjoy the same thing."

"Don't try to lie to me," John said. "I know I'm right."

Dylan shook his head, "You're always right, aren't you? Can you ever be wrong about something? Ever?"

"This isn't about me, Dylan," John said. "This is about showing you how to play this game."

"Don't try to turn this around," Dylan argued. "You just don't want to admit you're wrong. You don't want to admit that I'm playing this game for fun. You don't want to admit that you ruined our friendship with a childish outburst!"

Dylan's voice swelled to a yell at the end, unleashing all the frustration he'd held in his heart since John betrayed him.

"That's bullsh*t, and you know it!" John roared. "You just don't want to admit that I'm right! You want this sponsorship as much as anyone else!"

John stepped forward, his golems stepping with him, "But you won't see that until I prove to you that you need my help! You need me to think of all the different ways someone could attack you! Because people aren't nice, Dylan!"

"No, you aren't nice," Dylan seethed. "And it took me too long to realize that. I don't need you for anything anymore. So stay out of my life now. And don't bother with an apology. If you ever get around to realizing how wrong you are. I'm done dealing with your tantrums."

Dylan opened his menu and moved his finger toward the logout button.

"You press that, and I'll make sure you regret it," John threatened.

"Or what?" Dylan asked.

"Or I'll ruin you," John said.

Dylan scoffed, "Nice try, but we both know you can't chase me around all the time."

Dylan pressed the logout button, exiting World of Supers and his conversation with John.

"I don't have to follow you all the time," John said after Dylan left. The player looked up to Skyline, "I'm not the only one with a grudge."