Vaudevillain

Dr. Zlo hovered in front of Matt-att now, taunting the hero. "The best part is that the taffy can either adhere to surfaces or turn into a dense ball, which is perfect for smashing in hero's heads."

Matt-att continued to struggle as Dr. Zlo leisurely brought out more of his new invention, twisting his cane. This gas clumped into a ball above Dr. Zlo's shoulder, and Matt-att felt the substance around him still. The villain hummed a tune as he increased the size from a ping-pong ball to a tennis ball, to finally the softball size. Done, Dr. Zlo flicked his cane and cackled as the ball rotated around his head like a planet.

"Now, I do apologize for the slapdash look of the weapon," the villain said as the ball picked up speed. "Using something in the prototype stages doesn't sit well with me, but I knew I would need all the surprises I could get when facing you."

"That supposed to be a compliment?" Matt-att asked.

"Of course," Dr. Zlo said. "It means I see you as an equal, of sorts. No one can ever reach my level. But many can come close."

With that, Dr. Zlo flicked his cane, sending the speeding ball directly for Matt-att's head.

"I win," the villain said.

At that moment, Matt-att placed his shield hand over the nanite web. Suddenly, the webbing melted away, freeing the hero from Dr. Zlo's bindings. Taken by surprise, the villain forgot to maneuver his nanite ball and could only watch as Matt-att stopped it in his hand and disintegrated it.

"Impossible!" Dr. Zlo roared.

"No! You haven't seen the last of me!" Dr. Zlo shouted as he struggled against Matt-att.

"I'm sure," the hero answered. "But right now, it's my win."

Matt-att activated his power, sending his disintegration into Dr. Zlo and wiping out the villain's health bar. Dr. Zlo disappeared, leaving the hero the sole player in the air. The message for victory appeared a moment later, solidifying Matt-att's victory.

"F*ck yeah! That's how it's done!" Matt-att cheered. His stream echoed the sentiment, replying to the chat with every manner of emote and slang.

His fight finished, Matt-att made his way back down to the coast, landing amidst the chaos. The player saw Ixzay off to the side, facing off against four players dressed in steampunk fashion. Matt-att rocketed his way over to the group, joining the fight in full force.

"How we looking?" The streamer asked his friend. He grabbed at the attacking robot woman and sent his power through her. Surprisingly, she didn't vanish. Instead, Matt-att saw her detach her arm and send it flying straight at Ixzay.

"We secured the bomb!" Ixzay said as he dodged the arm. "But it's still active, and we haven't found someone who can outright destroy it. The General has it right now, but the villains are making an offensive."

"Got it. Let's finish this then," Matt-att said.

The hero rushed toward the foe in front of him, shield at the ready to block any punches coming his way. Ixzay supported him, shooting at the other villains around to keep them back.

"Oho, someone who wants to dance!" the woman said. "Victoria, at your service. Do entertain me, please."

"What is it with you all and tacky characters," Matt-att muttered under his breath.

Victoria looked offended, "Tacky! I'll have you know this dress is the finest of designs from the best dressmaker in Dinium."

"I don't f*cking care," Matt-att argued.

"Well," Victoria said, extending her arm into a blade. "It seems someone doesn't care about fashion!"

Matt-att stopped the banter with a punch, extending it at the last moment to grab at Victoria's arm. The villainess waltzed away, spinning in place and attempting to kick with her heel. She transformed her foot at the last second, creating a knife-like stiletto to puncture Matt-att.

The hero conjured his shield, stopping the blow dead in its tracks. Victoria danced away, her flowing dress billowing out as she retreated.

"My, what a nasty power you hold," the villainess said.

"I try," Matt-att replied.

"I think it best I leave you to someone else then," Victoria said. "Chemster! As loathe as I am to admit it, you would do better against this moral citizen."

"Just keep the flyer off me!" Chemster said.

The villain was currently hiding in a foxhole, peeking out every so often to fire a gas grenade into a group of enemies. Victoria shapeshifted her arm into a shield, running over to stand between Ixzay and Chemster.

"Leave it to me," Victoria said. "As much as I hate dancing with those who think they're above us, I'll make an exception this time."

"You're so gracious," Chemster said sarcastically.

"And don't you forget it," Victoria said.

"Sh*t!" Ixzay exclaimed. "Valiant! The guy uses poison and a lot of it. Your shield won't work."

"F*ck," Matt-att cursed. Large AOE was this character's worst matchup. Either the player would have to gamble on taking out Chemster, or Matt-att would have to run, leaving Ixzay on his own again.

The hero quickly scanned the battlefield, looking for any advantage possible. The chaos around him slowed as he took in the fight. It seemed Gen was moving toward the city, fending off a group of villains. Other pockets of Trollstompers continued their assault against Menagerie, all moving to join up with Gen. A flash of copper caught Matt-att's eye, and he saw Dr. Zlo's surviving minions making their way through the fight.

"You need me here?" Matt-att asked Ixzay after he finished.

"Nah, I got it," Ixzay said.

"Alright, I'm heading to Gen. Don't lose, you hear?"

"Please. Who do you think I am?"

"A good friend but a sh*t gamer," Matt-att joked as he turned to run.

"F*ck you too!" Ixzay shouted at him.

Dextra Black scrolled through screen after screen in an attempt to get an accurate look at the battlefield. Menagerie needed to get the bomb back and place it into the water, and the fact that Dextra lost it in the first place irked the player behind the character. And it came by surprise as well, which was the worst part. The Trollstompers had sent someone around Menagerie's line to sneak in underwater, who then threw the bomb onto the coast like it was a football.

In truth, Thomas knew he didn't have to keep up this fight. With the bomb out of the water, they could call the event and go home. Jack could tally up points, and Menagerie could start assigning positions to people. But losing the bomb to a surprise, Dextra should have seen coming wounded Thomas's pride.

Dextra wouldn't let something like a surprise attack lie and immediately launched an assault to grab the bomb. It seemed the rest of Menagerie agreed, eagerly charging into the enemy to take back their explosive. Unfortunately for them, there was a strategist of some kind with the enemy team. Dextra's moves were getting read.

This was a true battle of wits now—General versus general as they fought for territory. The only issue was that the Trollstompers had infinite reinforcements. That put Dextra on a timer. Thomas would need to win the fight before the waves of respawned players reappeared.

Lucky for him the sticky traps they set up before were still in effect, and there was a good chance a few players would respawn in those areas. Of course, that was the case for both parties. Thomas needed to think of something quick.

His first assault, using Dextra's power, was a simple spear push. The goal was the bomb, and as long as Menagerie reached it, they could send it back into the water. But the enemy general saw through the tactic and dispatched the bomb to a flank. All Dextra could do was push through to split the forces. So Dextra tried again, this time splitting groups up to whittle down the separated group. The enemy countered with a focused charge of their own at Dextra, forcing Menagerie back into one group.

Now, Dextra was gambling, leaving tactics to teams to try and overwhelm the general. The villain still controlled the army's general position, but when to assault and where was left up to others. It was only partially working. The general simply reinforced the area around the bomb, losing stragglers but keeping the core of the Trollstompers secure.

"What's the next step?" Rampart asked Dextra.

"I'm not sure yet," Dextra said. "We need something to punch through their main force, but we don't have anyone with that kind of power here."

"Well, hon, I think it's your lucky day," a voice said.

Dextra looked back to see Mabel and Cass, both slightly beat up, followed by two Jacques and Suitor.

"Ah, Dr. Zlo's followers. What brings you here?" Dextra asked.

"We had a bit of a rough landing while fighting someone," Mabel answered.

"A bit!" Cass exclaimed. "We fell out of the sky! And we left boss alone with that hero! I hope he's okay."

"He'll be fine, hon," Mabel said. "Right now, we have bigger things to chew on." She turned to Dextra, "I hear you need some muscle?"

"Dr. Zlo's Wave Widget is active, but the heroes have taken it from the water," Dextra explained. "It's in that mass over there, but we don't have someone strong enough to last in a charge against him, and there are supers with perception powers keeping us from making surprise attacks."

"Sounds like a pickle," Mabel said. "Good thing I have Suitor here. Isn't that right?"

The hulking NPC stepped forward, his muscular body shining.

"Suitor here is practically invulnerable to most attacks," Mabel said. "If you have him lead the charge, he'll get you in that group."

"Are you certain?" Dextra said, looking over the NPC. "He already looks rather beat up."

"It's only skin deep," Mabel answered.

"Alright," Dextra answered. "We'll leave the charge to you."

"You heard 'em, dear," Mabel said to Suitor. "Get that fine rear of yours up front where we can all see it. And make sure to go give the enemy a big hello."

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