Vaudevillain

Chapter 232: Re-Arming

Dylan went to work adding materials into his disassembler while thinking about Cass's new arm. The butler needed something that fit his servile image but also something that would keep him safe in a fight. Dylan didn't want a repeat of the fear he felt when Skyline fell. He couldn't bear to lose Cass after losing Mabel.

While he worked, Dylan thought about how to rebuild Cass's arm. It wouldn't do to replace the component with a replica of the old one. No, Cass needed a new arm that would let him be a powerhouse like Mabel. That way, the butler could fight back against stronger opponents.

Of course, a powerful arm would also require powerful materials. Which in turn would require phlebotinium and other MacGuffins. And at the moment, Dylan had only what his power generated. Losing Skyline meant losing all of his stored Sciencium. As the storage boxes weren't indestructible.

Dylan still had funds, as money was easy to come by when you were a villain of Dr. Zlo's reknown. Players had been asking if he could make them items, which Dylan agreed to as long as they sounded interesting. He left it to Saul to sort everything out, leaving Dr. Zlo free to plan more crimes. Plus, stealing from banks and shops added up.

So Dylan knew he could probably purchase everything he needed for Cass's new arm, now that Vert had fixed their money problems, but it would eat into his savings. Not to mention Phlebotinium would cost an arm and a leg.

"Heh," Dylan chuckled. "An arm and a leg."

"What's that, boss?" Cass asked, lugging over another wooden beam.

"Just thinking about your new arm," Dr. Zlo said. "It needs to be strong enough to fight off anything. Especially right now."

"I'm fine with any old arm, boss," Cass said.

"Nonsense, Cass!" Dr. Zlo exclaimed. "You're my most trusted minion! If I lose you, I'll lose more than just a butler."

Cass's jaw dropped, "You mean that, boss?"

Dr. Zlo whirled, "Cass, I have meant every word I've ever said. Now, don't make me repeat myself."

"No, no!" Cass said. "I'd never!"

The minion fed the wooden beam into the disassembler, smiling from ear to ear the whole time. Dylan turned away so Cass couldn't see his face. It wouldn't do for the butler to see Dr. Zlo smiling. The villain had an image to keep.

"Getting you a powerful arm won't be easy," Dr. Zlo said. "I'll need more materials than ever."

"I'm sure you can do it, boss," Cass said. "After all, there's loads of fancy gizmos just sitting around. I even found some depleted Phlebotinium in the corner."

Dylan turned, "That's it, Cass!"

"What's it, boss?"

"We'll use the depleted Phlebotinium! I'm sure that someone of my genius will be able to charge the material!"

Dr. Zlo stomped over to his butler, "Where did you see it last?"

"Oh, I made sure to pick it up," Cass said, pulling the piece out of his pocket, "Here you are."

"Yes!" Dr. Zlo cheered. "Quickly, see if there's more!"

Cass dropped the piece of debris he was holding and saluted,

"Yes, boss!"

The butler rushed off to find more of the depleted substance while Dylan selected the Phlebotinium from his inventory.

"Now, how to charge you," Dylan said. He turned the dull stone in his hands, "I suppose I should look to see if I can make a charger for you."

Dylan stored the item and opened up his power, typing in the gadget he wanted.

This device, built by the brilliant Dr. Zlo, is his way of reusing any depleted Phlebotinium. Just stick the rock into the chamber and watch it do its magic!

Microwave (1)

Laser Pointer (3)

Diamond Ring (1)

Sciencium (1g)

"Well, that's less Sciencium than I expected," Dylan said. "At least that makes it easy."

Dylan navigated over to the trading menu and ordered the other pieces the charger needed. While he waited, Dylan went through his inventory, recreating as many items as possible and ordering anything he needed that wasn't Phlebotinium. Soon the villain replaced his rocket shoes, protective suit, and monocle. Sadly, his top hat drone and dueling gloves would require more parts, but Dylan could wait.

When his items arrived, Dylan went to work. He piled everything together and started the creation process. The player watched as all the materials were shoved into the microwave by an invisible hand, followed by the telltale bright light of a completed item. A chrome box now sat where the microwave used to be, the item glinting in the surrounding light.

"My genius has no limits!" Dr. Zlo exclaimed. With a short cackle, the villain added the depleted Phlebotinium into the machine. A box appeared in his vision.

10g of Sciencium required for a full charge.

"So that's why it cost so little Sciencium," Dylan said. Of course, ten grams of the Mad Scientists resource wasn't that much either, and Dylan happily shoved the amount into the charger.

Once the door closed, the box lit up and a timer appeared above the lid.

"So one gram of Phlebotinium requires ten grams of Sciencium and ten minutes to charge," Dylan said. "Not the worst, all things considered."

"Boss!" Cass called. "I found another two pieces!"

"Excellent work, Cass!" Dylan said. "Bring them to me when you get the chance!"

Cass dutifully obeyed, placing the items in question into Dr. Zlo's waiting hand.

"Alright, let's see about that arm," Dr. Zlo said. "Tell me, Cass. What would you want installed inside it?"

"The arm?" Cass asked.

Dr. Zlo sighed, "Yes, the arm."

"Oh. A coffee maker?"

Dr. Zlo looked at his minion, "You're telling me--that out of everything you could possibly think of--a coffee maker is the item you want more than anything? Cass! You could request a death ray installed in the machine! The sky's the limit!"

Cass shrugged, "I just figured you might like some coffee to go with your drinks sometimes is all, boss."

Dr. Zlo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cass, this new arm is so you don't get destroyed when some hero with a vendetta comes after us. A coffee maker isn't going to help you with that!"

"I dunno, boss," Cass said. "Coffee can get pretty hot. I could splash it on them."

"I doubt that would work against superpowers," Dr. Zlo said.

"Well then, what you think is best, boss," Cass answered.

"Death ray it is!" Dr. Zlo exclaimed. "Your enemies will kneel before you! And you shall hear the lamentations of their women!"

"I'm not sure I want to laminate women, boss," Cass answered with a look.

"One of these days, Cass," Dr. Zlo said. "I'm going to fix that hearing problem of yours."

"What hearing problem?" Cass asked.

"Exactly," Dr. Zlo answered.

The villain turned from his butler, "Now go. I have work to do! An arm won't plan itself!"

"You got it, boss," Cass answered. "I'll just go help Mabel, I guess. Make sure she isn't getting up to something."

"I expect you'll find her sitting with a gaggle of Jacques around her," Dr. Zlo said idly. "A cup of tea in her hands and a leering glare on her face."

Cass chose not to reply.

As the butler walked away, Dr. Zlo opened up his power. A death ray installed in Cass's arm was all well and good, but the villain wanted something more than that. Cass needed some utility to go along with the power, which gave Dylan a great idea. Quickly, the villain typed what he wanted into the description.

A marvel of engineering crafted for Cass by the wildly intelligent Dr. Zlo! The Swiss-Army Arm can do it all! Open doors, make coffee, shoot death rays, you name it, it does it! Nanomachines inside the arm link with the user's mind to determine what the owner needs at any time, crafting the item on the fly. Once finished, the nanomachines flow back into the arm, awaiting the next order.

Nanomachines (3 jars)

Coffee Maker (1)

Skull (1)

Poisonous Mushroom (1)

Cobra Venom (1 vial)

Lockpicks (1)

3D Printer (1)

Prosthetic Arm (1)

Sciencium (300g) or Phlebotinium (3g)

Dr. Zlo stood and cackled. It was the perfect item for his butler! Cass could create whatever he needed with this new arm, making him better at butlering than ever before! Plus, the object would form to his thoughts, giving him the protection he needed against stronger heroes.

"I'll need to upgrade it a bit, of course," Dr. Zlo said. "We can't have Cass's new arm falling off from an EMP blast."

He ordered the parts he needed, then threw two more grams of depleted Phlebotinium into the charger with his Sciencium and settled in to wait. While he waited, Dylan messaged Dextra, deciding that it would be an excellent time to start planning out Menagerie's revenge against the heroes.

Superfan39526:

Yo. You think about Menagerie's revenge any?

D.Black:

Yes.

I think it would be good if we timed it with your expansion release.

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

Superfan39526:

Why's that?

D.Black:

Partly because I think it will take a while to set things up.

And partly because I think it would be a bit of poetic justice.

And finally, it would make for a good story.

It was actually a Zlobot performing all your wacky tasks while the real Dr. Zlo planned his revenge against the heroes guild.

Dylan nodded. He liked that idea, and it felt like something Dr. Zlo would do.

Superfan39526:

I love it.

And we can reveal the new Skyline at the same time! Make it a giant battle between the heroes guild and our faction.

D.Black:

It'll be hard, but I think we can do it.

We'll need a ton of Phlebotinium, but I think I've got that covered.