Vaudevillain

Chapter 243: Behold!

"Oh my god, get a load of this little guy!" Ixzay cooed.

Matt had to agree, this expansion's rewards were a lot better than material components or another power.

The small hatbot sitting on Ixzay's wrist beeped at the player's words. A few other players inside the city sported similar drones, each one wearing a different hat. There were other drones as well, but Ixzay and Matt both preferred the flying drone over the others.

The two friends were enjoying the beginning of Dr. Zlo's event, hanging around in Mutatholis with a few other Trollstompers to take out the remaining stragglers from the first assault. The first wave was a simple squad of camouflaged enemies, though Matt snorted a laugh when the camouflage turned out to be a group of robots in mailboxes and trash cans. Only Dr. Zlo would come up with something like that.

A television screen nearby flickered and changed to show Dr. Zlo sitting in front of a large screen. At first, Matt paid it no mind, assuming it was just another part of the event. At least that was the case until Dr. Zlo spoke.

"Good evening, heroes! It is I! Dr. Zlo! I'm sure you're all very busy, what with my robotic assault and all, but I must distract you from your petty lives to give you an announcement! In ten minutes' time, I shall destroy the heroes guild headquarters on the moon!"

Matt halted in his tracks, turning toward the screen. "Ixzay, did he just say what I think he said?"

"I think he did," Ixzay answered.

Matt's chat agreed. His feed scrolling through messages of memes and emotes associated with the villain.

"You must be wondering how I will succeed!" Dr. Zlo continued. "Well, I'll show you!"

The villain stood from his seat, the screen pulling away to reveal an elongated syringe-shaped structure behind him. The device glowed a deadly purple at one end, the other holding host to a myriad of triggers and dials.

"This!" Dr. Zlo gestured. "Is my death ray!"

Ominous music played in the background.

"With it! I shall strike the heroes guild headquarters on the moon, destroying the heroes' chain of command! Then I! Dr. Zlo!"

"And friends!" someone interjected.

"And friends," Dr. Zlo answered begrudgingly. "Shall rule the world with an iron fist!"

The villain turned back to the camera nonchalantly. "Now, don't worry. I still plan to let you all live your simple little lives. But only under the rule of the great Dr. Zlo! And then, all shall acknowledge my presence as the greatest criminal mastermind in the world! I shall be, Overlord Zlo!"

Dr. Zlo laughed low and evilly, the music around him swelling to match the tone.

"Remember!" Dr. Zlo said before turning off the television. "You have ten minutes! Less now!"

Matt didn't hear the words. He was already sprinting towards the closest teleporter and calling his guild.

"Trollstompers! Drop what you're doing and get ready! Dr. Zlo's attacked the moon, and we're not about to let him get away with it!"

A beam of light crossed the hero's path, stopping Matt in his tracks as he pulled up his shield. A man dressed in dark leathers stepped out from behind an alley.

"Now, don't think you can just go and stop the good doctor," the man said in a gravelly voice. "I've got a lot riding on his success, you know."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Oh look, another villain who thinks he's hot sh*t."

The streamer crouched low, getting ready to launch himself at the enemy. The villain did the same, preparing himself for a fight.

Similar fights between heroes and villains were breaking out across all of World of Supers, the result of Dextra's planning over the long months. The villain had made sure to secretly contact several villain guilds, promising each one a cut of the pie when the heroes guild was destroyed. After the negotiations, Menagerie had a whole new web of alliances to stop any hero guilds from interfering. The fighting got so bad that it even pulled in the NPC supers, turning many cities into lengthy brawls for control.

Isaac shook his head at the craziness, logging off to go find his supervisor. Once again, Dr. Zlo and his faction were causing more chaos than usual, something the IT worker had come to expect from the player. It was too bad that none of the villain's plans could succeed. The heroes guild was too important for the world's story.

"Chris, you see what's going on in the game?" Isaac asked as he walked into his bosses' office.

"Yep," Chris answered, a bit too nonchalantly.

"Are we going to do something about it?" Isaac asked. "This has a chance to break a lot of stuff."

Chris put on an evil grin, "Is there a ticket for it?"

Isaac's eyes widened in understanding. "No, I don't think there is."

"Well then." Chris leaned back in his chair. "We aren't allowed to do anything until there are enough tickets for the AI to flag it. Therefore, it isn't a problem."

Isaac shook his head, a smile on his face. It looked like his boss had finally had enough and was practicing the tried and true act of malicious compliance.

"You know this will probably be more work for us later," Isaac said.

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Chris said. "But when I get asked why it got this bad, I have a very lengthy paper trail leading to our good old boss. Let's see him weasel his way out of this when I have emails repeatedly stating that his change will cause problems."

"Well," Isaac said. "I'll leave you to it, I guess. If we don't have to do anything, I'm going to watch all of this craziness. I can't believe someone actually got a death ray."

Chris shrugged. "I expected something like it eventually. All that free material generation was going to bite us at some point."

Isaac nodded, "Tell that to the balance team, I guess."

"Just a case of pulling one string and unraveling five others," Chris said.

Dr. Zlo turned to his group of villains after the broadcast finished, "Alright. Places everyone. We've got a moon assault to perform and a guild to destroy!"

Dextra walked past the villain and stepped onto the death ray's platform. "Shizuka, make sure that no one comes up the stairs."

"You got it, Dex," Shizuka answered. The ninja split in multiple copies, sending clones running down the steps to control chokepoints and secure doors.

"Killswitch, break the elevators," Dr. Zlo commanded. "Professor, your team is on guard duty."

"The Professor," The Professor answered. "And I will do as you command."

"The rest of you!" Dr. Zlo announced, activating his rocket boots. "Let's go!"

The villain flew over to the skyscraper's edge, where a line of ships had arrived to hover nearby. Various NPC drivers opened the doors for the villains, letting them file in. The villains filled up four vehicles, each one holding a different group. Bart, Leatherface, and Fleshgrabber made up the first ship, Bart already grabbing the controls and activating his power. Their job was to be the vanguard, taking out any preemptive defenses while the rest of the group came behind.

Oro, Rampart, Merla, and Titan, all playing their villain characters, took the next ship. They, along with Psy-Ops, Yuppie, and Fursation, would take the flanks, ensuring that no one snuck into Skyline on their watch. To help with this, Dr. Zlo gifted the two groups with some Jacques, and Jack had prepared various platforms around Skyline for the villains to stand guard.

Finally, Dr. Zlo jumped onto the last ship with Sweet Dream and Riptide. The final vehicle held a folded contraption in the back, Dr. Zlo and Jack's biggest surprise. Mabel and Cass followed behind, the two lifted into the air by Quartet's control. Brunhilde was already inside the ship, having been the one to drive it up to the skyscraper's roof. She now sat in the passenger seat, her favorite Jacques in her lap.

"Riptide, you're driving!" Dr. Zlo announced.

Riptide didn't even bother moving to the driver's seat, jumping onto the roof of the vehicle instead. "Surfs up, dudes!" the villain shouted.

"Quite," Dr. Zlo answered softly. In a louder voice, he shouted, "All troops! Attack!"

Bart's vehicle took off, making a beeline for the moon in the distance. Dr. Zlo smiled as his vehicle followed after. It was time to let off some steam.

"Are you sure we'll be okay, boss?" Cass asked.

"Obviously, Cass," Dr. Zlo answered. "What do you think the teleporters are for?"

Cass looked down at the emblem buttoned onto his suit coat, a silver Z that shone in the light.

A device made by Dr. Zlo to protect his more important minions. When taking fatal damage, this machine activates to send the minion back to Dr. Zlo's hideout, safe from harm but a little singed. After all, who said teleporter technology had to be safe?

Button Pin (1)

Teleporter (1)

Transponder Token (1)

Sciencium (20g)

"I know you think we'll be fine, boss," Cass answered. "But what if"

Dr. Zlo placed a finger over Cass's lip to shush him. "There's no use worrying about what-ifs, Cass. It distracts from the now. Such as the glory of our assault! Take a look!"

The villain gestured out the cockpit window, revealing the beginning of his grand plan.