Vaudevillain

Chapter 237: Swish and Flick

"Nothing that we can't handle, Dr. Zlo," the mouse answered.

Dr. Zlo's eyes widened in surprise at his minion's eloquent speech. Sure, the voice was still mechanical, but the mouse spoke like a native speaker.

"I'm impressed," Dr. Zlo said. "To think you've advanced this far."

"Thanks to your guidance," the mouse answered. "Leader Faraday learned much from you."

"As he should!" Dr. Zlo boasted. "But enough talk! Tell me where to find a magical locus."

"A simple task," the mouse answered.

The mouse's hat buzzed and whirred, ending with a light ding.

"The closest locus is here, lord."

Dr. Zlo's map opened and placed a marker on the screen. Dylan blinked in surprise. How did the mice interact with his system?

"Yes, excellent!" the villain cheered. "Time to set off! Cass! Get Mabel and the Jacques! I'm going to get my cane back!"

"You got it, boss," Cass answered.

"Great one," the mouse said as Dr. Zlo turned.

"Hm? Yes? What is it?"

"This humble Fermi requests a boon."

Dr. Zlo turned back to his minion, "Yes, I suppose I should reward you for a job well done. Especially after such a quick answer. Very well. What do you wish?"

"Some of the rare metal, if you please," Fermi asked.

"Zlonium?" Dr. Zlo asked.

The mouse shook his head, "No, the one used to create powers."

Dr. Zlo twirled his mustache, "Ah. Yes. Phlebotinium. A rather expensive request, don't you think?"

"I promise to never ask for anything more," Fermi bowed.

Dylan chuckled at the sight of a bowing mouse. "Very well!" Dr. Zlo answered.

The villain pulled a single gram of Phlebotinium out of his inventory and placed it in front of Fermi.

"Don't spend it all in one place," Dr. Zlo joked.

"Thank you, Great One," Fermi answered. The mouse scurried off with the material, but not before the other mouse recovered to chase him down.

Dylan watched them leave, "At some point, I should check how far they've advanced. Maybe they'll have a whole underground city or something."

Cass came jogging up, "Boss! I got the car ready."

Dr. Zlo whirled, "Perfect! Let us set off!"

According to the map, the closest magical locus sat a few miles away in a small lake, something the Zlomobile could easily reach in a few minutes. Or it could if Dylan had thought to attach some kind of saw blade to the vehicle. Instead, Dr. Zlo was forced to slowly meander around trees and other greenery, or else the ride got too bumpy. So the group arrived at the lake almost thirty minutes later, enough time for the Jacques to get bored and attempt to draw a mustache on Cass.

"Get off me!" Cass shouted. The butler's new arm activated, splitting and grabbing the few Jacques in the car.

Mabel whistled in appreciation as the nanomachines locked the Jacques in place. "Well now, isn't that a fun toy. Maybe you should let me take it for a spin sometime?"

Cass shuddered at Mabel's suggestive eyebrows.

"Unfortunately, Mabel," Dr. Zlo replied. "You would have to lose an arm for this particular invention."

"A shame," Mabel answered.

Dr. Zlo didn't reply, parking the Zlomobile at the lakeside. Mabel sounded exactly like she always did, which made her memory loss all the worse for Dylan. Brooding, the player stepped out of the car and toward the water.

"Now, if I were a magical locus, where would I be?"

Cass opened his mouth to answer, but Dr. Zlo waved him off.

"The question was rhetorical, Cass. No need to worry about thinking of an answer."

"That's not it, boss," Cass said. "There's something in the trees."

Dr. Zlo turned to look in Cass's direction, his eyes widening at what he saw. In the treetops sat a brightly colored bird of gigantic proportions.

"Boss, it's so heavy the branches are sagging," Cass pointed out.

It was true. The bird's weight was almost too much for the tree to bear. Dylan chuckled at the sight, the bird reminding him of an old cartoon. A few Jacques agreed with their leader's sentiment, though most of the minions had pulled out kitchen knives and forks. They brandished the items like starving dinner guests banging on an unseen table.

"Ignore it, " Dr. Zlo said. "I'm sure it won't bother us if we don't bother it. Now, help me find this magic locus. I have an invention to rebuild."

The Jacques obeyed Dr. Zlo's words but made sure to keep the bird in their sights. The minions still harbored the idea that a job well done might mean a colorful reward. Dr. Zlo shook his head at the scene and set off toward the lake.

Truthfully, Dylan didn't know why he started his search at the lakeshore. It just felt like the appropriate area for something magical. Plus, his map icon hovered directly over the lake's center.

"Hmm," Dr. Zlo said, activating his rocket shoes.

The villain took to the skies, hovering over the lake's center and looking down. As soon as he arrived at the icon, a pop-up appeared.

Yes

No

"Obviously, I'll activate my powers," Dylan said, pressing yes.

A quarter of Dr. Zlo's mana bar drained, and the lake rumbled. Cass, Mabel, and the Jacques all rocked back and forth on their feet as the lake waters surged outward. With a cry, the rainbow bird leaped from its perch and took to the skies. But Dylan wasn't paying attention to the bird.

A moss-covered spire pierced the surging waters, rising into the sky above. The structure continued to ascend, revealing twisting vines covering an old temple. Waters fell from the building, trickling down the cobblestones as if the building was an artistic fountain.

The rainbow bird landed on the spire as the structure finished its ascent. The animal shouted at Dr. Zlo with a piercing cry as if beckoning the villain inside.

"A bit overdramatic," Dr. Zlo said. "But I'd expect nothing less from something magical."

The villain rocketed into the temple, landing on the wet cobblestone and lasering away a few protruding vines. As he stepped inside, the outside quieted, leaving only the sound of trickling water. A bright light pulled Dr. Zlo's attention, and the villain saw a floating pedestal of water in front of him. Again, a pop-up message appeared.

Reforge what was lost?

"Of course," Dr. Zlo said out loud, pressing the yes button at the same time.

The villain watched as his entire mana bar drained, then his stamina bar in tiny motes of blue and green light. The light traveled into the pedestal, swirling around in place until it formed Dr. Zlo's spellcane.

"Hahaha!" the villain laughed. "Excellent!"

Dr. Zlo snatched the cane once it finished, re-adding his freeze object, weakness, and disintegration spells. Once finished, a map appeared onscreen.

Upon activating this magical nexus, an eery presence descends. You see

"No thanks," Dr. Zlo said, closing the message. "I'm not interested in some shadowy villain's plans. Besides, he'll just be another victim of Dr. Zlo's death ray once finished!"

Dr. Zlo cackled as he walked outside. Cass and Mabel stood waiting as Dr. Zlo flew down while the Jacques had abandoned their vigil against the bird and were now picking reeds out of the lake. Despite having no mouths, the various minions still attempted to blow on the reeds for entertainment.

"Come, everyone!" Dr. Zlo shouted, thrusting his reforged cane to the sky. "We have crimes to plan and villainy to commit!"

"You got it, boss!" Cass cheered.

"A rather boring outing, wouldn't you say?" Mabel asked.

Dr. Zlo shook his head, "Mabel, I do believe you just jinxed us."

"Why's that, hon?" the minion replied.

"Because," Dr. Zlo pointed his cane, "that looks anything but boring."

Mabel turned to look at the multicolored bird, now a glistening purple-black with fiery red eyes. The bird turned, looking down at the villains and cawing a screeching cry that scratched at Dr. Zlo's eardrums.

"Oh, fiddlesticks," Mabel said. "You're right."

The bird swooped, lunging at Dr. Zlo.

"Ha!" Dr. Zlo laughed. "Do you think your paltry attempt at an assault will stop me?"

The villain prepared his cane, only for Cass to step in front.

"I got this, boss," the butler said with grim determination.

Dylan stepped back, watching as Cass's new arm transformed into a flamethrower, spewing liquid fire at the diving bird. The animal screeched in surprise, swerving to the side and circling around. Cass's arm changed, becoming a silver disk that he launched at the attacker like a discus.

Dr. Zlo whistled in surprise as the tray struck the bird, slicing straight through its wing and sending it spiraling down. "Cass, I do believe you've become something of a powerhouse."

"Aw, gee, boss. You mean it?"

"Cass, I never lie about things unless it's convenient," Dr. Zlo answered. "Now, let's be off before the animal recovers! I don't wish to deal with magical attackers today."

The villains filed back into the Zlomobile, speeding off and leaving the dark bird behind them. Dylan laughed at the escape, enjoying Mabel's antics even if her presence was still a bit of a sore spot. At least her personality hadn't changed, which meant it would only be a matter of time for him to get used to his minion again. Though that didn't mean he was about to stop his assault on the moon.

A part of Dylan thought he might be going too far for revenge. It had already been a while since Mabel's "death," and Dylan had gotten over the majority of it. Plus, he was never the kind of person who would destroy everything just because he wanted to get back at someone. That was John's territory.

But Dylan also knew that Dr. Zlo wouldn't leave things alone. As far as the villain was concerned, a hero in the heroes guild attacked Skyline, destroying all of Dr. Zlo's work and declaring all-out war. That meant Dr. Zlo would pull out all the stops, becoming the grand criminal he was always going to be.

Maybe it was because Dylan thought it a bit scummy to perform the moon assault when his expansion came out. Vert might be asking for it, but was it fair to everyone who worked on the expansion with him? Some of the developers were decent people.

Of course, once everything was said and done, it wasn't like Dylan's moon assault would take away from the expansion. The attack would only be one day, while the entire expansion would last the rest of the year. Plus, it was like Dextra said. Getting revenge in the game meant there weren't any real consequences. Vert could always just reset the world if needed, considering they had backups.

No, Dylan reasoned that it wasn't an issue for Dr. Zlo to get his revenge. In fact, it might make World of Supers more memorable than ever.