Vaudevillain

Suitor started to lumber forward at Mabel's words, pushing past Menagerie to stand in front. With Dextra's order, Menagerie piled behind the hulking janitor. Another comment from Mabel had Suitor charging, and the assault was on.

"Now, Cass. Let's say you and I go find Zlo," Mabel stated.

"Shouldn't we help?" Cass asked. "Boss would want this to succeed."

Mabel shook her head, "Mabel's got this covered. And I don't want to be around when the bomb goes off. I didn't bring a swimsuit for the occasion."

Cass's eyes widened, only now realizing the danger he was in. The butler had already used up all his luck surviving the fall. Who knows what could happen if he stuck around for the fight.

"Got it," Cass said.

The butler turned and started marching. Somehow, he knew precisely where Dr. Zlo would be. Mabel sauntered behind, getting one last look at Suitor before going. As much as she liked the man's muscles, she was starting to get bored of the man. Next time, Mabel would look for someone who could make conversation.

Dylan respawned on the outskirts of the city, a smile plastered on his face. He'd done it! A climactic boss fight ending with Dr. Zlo losing due to hubris. It was exactly like Dylan imagined.

At first, the man didn't think it would happen. He knew his foe was strong, both good at combat and using his power, which was why Dr. Zlo didn't go easy on him. At least not until the end.

Dylan fully expected to lose the fight, just not in the way it happened. He figured the enemy player would use his disintegration laser to shoot from his position. In his moment of triumph, Dr. Zlo wouldn't have seen it coming and would have fallen to the strike. But who would have known the hero had even more surprises in him! Dr. Zlo's foe could use his power in either hand the entire time and kept it hidden for the perfect moment!

Dylan still felt giddy about it. It made him want to do more with the hero. Too bad the player never announced his name. But maybe Dextra or one of the others knew who he was. Then, Dr. Zlo would offer an invitation to thwart him once again, and the villain would have a true nemesis!

While Dylan celebrated his defeat, the player danced his way through the sky toward an airstrip he'd searched for on the GPS. He wasn't about to get back into the fight. Dr. Zlo had lost and therefore wouldn't show his face in the city for at least a week. After all, there were rules the cartoonish villain had to observe after a loss. No, Dr. Zlo would steal a plane and make his way back up to Skyline.

"Boss!" a voice called out to the villain.

Dr. Zlo looked down to see Mabel and Cass running after him, the latter waving his hands wildly to get his attention. Behind those two were two beat-up Jacques, limping along like beleaguered war veterans.

"Cass! I see you survived," Dr. Zlo said as he landed in front of them.

"Yeah, boss. It was real hairy for a second. I can't fly, you know."

"I know," Dr. Zlo said. "So, how did you survive?"

"I had Suitor keep me safe," Mabel said. "Though I'm not sure how Cass made it through."

"I landed in the water," Cass said.

"At that height?" Dr. Zlo said. "You'd get crushed by the force alone."

"Well, I grabbed onto a piece of canvas nearby," Cass explained. "I figured I could use it as a parachute. Except it didn't let me float down. But I did start falling at an angle. I think I skipped over the waves for a bit, boss."

Dr. Zlo laughed, "It seems you've invented a new extreme sport, Cass! But enough about the hows. We need to find a plane and make our grand escape!"

"You got it, boss!" Cass saluted. The Jacques behind him did as well, their arms shaking wearily.

The villain led the way to the airstrip, using Mabel to take out the already sparse number of guards around the commercial liners.

"If we're traveling, it has to be done in style," Dr. Zlo explained to no one as he walked in.

For good measure, the villain had the Jacques check the surrounding area, just in case an NPC hero was still lurking around. Saluting, the Jacques started acting like commandos, making silent gestures to each other as they snuck through doors. While they performed that task, Dr. Zlo had his butler check the contents of their stolen plane. Mabel made herself comfortable, taking an offered drink from Cass once the butler found a stash of alcohol.

The Jacques returned a moment later, showing no sign of enemies.

Dr. Zlo clapped his hands together at the message, "Then, off we go!"

The plane took off, the auto-drive sending the vehicle into the sky toward Skyline's last known location. As Dr. Zlo soared above Haven City, he looked down one last time. His attempted assault had done a number on the buildings. Still, it was nowhere near the amount of destruction the Wave Widget at Thenapolis caused.

"Mark my words, Haven City," Dr. Zlo said, shaking a fist. "You haven't seen the last of Dr. Zlo!"

As if waiting for those words, the waters around Haven City receded, shrinking back to expose more of the coastline. A second later, the waves came in, crashing down over the city slums, then the financial district. Dr. Zlo blinked in surprise as the waves receded again, then crashed down on the Factory and Harbor districts before making their way into the very heart of Haven.

A stream of alerts scrolled through Dr. Zlo's vision, bringing more surprise to the defeated villain. It stopped a few seconds later.

For beating another player in combat and completing your crime, you have been granted reputation! Your current reputation is now A. Your reputation will increase to S after 79 more escapade(s).

"You alright, boss?" Cass asked after a moment.

Dr. Zlo had a strange look on his face as if he couldn't decide between joy or anger.

"The bomb went off," Dr. Zlo said, a touch of surprise in his voice.

"Of course it did, boss," Cass said. "You're the greatest criminal mastermind, remember?"

Dr. Zlo stood up from his seat, directing Cass to take over for a moment. The villain strode to the back of the plane, using the bathroom as a means of escape from his minions. He opened the door to two Jacques knocking their heads together in the bathroom as if imitating a kiss. Rolling his eyes, Dr. Zlo kicked them out then locked the door.

Dylan slumped onto the toilet, his brain in a whirl. This wasn't what he had in mind! Dr. Zlo lost the fight! That meant the bomb shouldn't go off at all! Dylan was entirely prepared for that fact and had even uttered mark my words!

Instead, Dr. Zlo's companions down below had completed the task, taking out Haven City as intended. But Dylan didn't know how Dr. Zlo would feel about this. On the one hand, the villain had successfully directed a crime against the city. On the other, Dr. Zlo wasn't the one who completed the success.

Would Dr. Zlo's ego make it so that he took credit for distracting the heroes long enough for the bomb to go off? Or would his ego make him upset that he was only the distraction? Dylan couldn't decide. Both options were valid in his head, but both would mean entirely different things for his character.

Groaning softly, Dylan thumped his head against the bathroom wall. At least he knew what Cass thought. The loyal butler never even considered Dr. Zlo losing.

Dylan chuckled a bit. Cass was right, though. Dr. Zlo never lost. Any loss was only a small setback that unveiled even greater schemes. That meant it didn't matter which direction Dr. Zlo took. Either way, he'd won in the end, and the man would gloat about that fact.

No, Dylan knew he was upset because his plan didn't match the shining image he had in his head. He'd imagined that joining up with others to perform a gigantic crime would feel like comic book collaborations. And it did, for a bit. It was just, things didn't have the ending Dylan wanted for Dr. Zlo. His Zloppelin fell in the first act, and the bomb still went off even though he got defeated.

That was why he had a sour taste in his mouth, Dylan realized. He'd wanted everything to go exactly like he imagined, even though he knew from the start that it wouldn't. There was never going to be a way where Dr. Zlo foresaw every action taken against him.

A knock came from the bathroom door.

"You okay, boss?" Cass asked.

"Just thinking, Cass," Dylan said.

"Okay. We're coming up on Skyline. Thought you'd want to know."

"Got it," Dylan answered.

He stood from his seat, rolling his shoulders to shake out some of the funk in his head. Dylan couldn't have Dr. Zlo looked defeated after his moment of triumph. The villain stepped out of the bathroom confidently, his face aglow with excitement.

"Well, minions, we've done it! Haven City sank under the water! Now, all will know to comply with my demands or be destroyed!"

"Woo! Go boss!" Cass cheered, clapping his hands.

Mabel took a sip of her cocktail and nodded, acting like a proper lady for once. The two Jacques linked arms and started dancing in circles around the plane's cabin, throwing their other arms into the air in joy.

"Yes, yes. I know, it's a time to celebrate!" Dr. Zlo said. "But we mustn't get complacent. I have in mind my next scheme already!"

"Ooh! Tell us boss!" Cass cheered.

"Well, Cass. It goes a little something like this…"

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