Vaudevillain

With the wolf creatures now behind him, Dr. Zlo took off running back towards the elevator. He took a quick look back to see if the experiments had recovered. The wolves at the end of the pack had recovered, being the last to land meant they hadn't collided with any of the others. The recovered creatures turned and again charged at the doctor, leaping over the frictionless covering with their powerful legs.

Dr. Zlo wasted no time in turning the corner and booking it towards the elevator. Reaching the hallway, Dr. Zlo turned and raised his cane. He turned the knob and fired out the last of his sticky adhesive. The front wolves tangled together with the elastic glue, changing from deadly pursuers into a sculpture of abstract art.

Cass rushed past Dr. Zlo and into the hallway. The portly butler rounded the corner and into the elevator hallway. Dr. Zlo followed behind only to stop as the elevator dinged and four guardsmen charged out with guns held high. The doctor dropped to the ground and twisted the knob on his cane to the last compartment. As he hit the floor he pressed down on the knob and a grey liquid shot out.

In a flash the grey substance diffused into the air, creating an impenetrable smokescreen. Dr. Zlo rolled to the side, just in time to escape a burst of bullets aimed at his last location. The smokescreen billowed outward to cover the entire hallway, giving Dr. Zlo and Cass and chance.

"Charge forwards Cass!" Taking his own advice the villain dropped his shoulders and sprinted as fast as he could towards the elevator. A black figure emerged in front of him, only to get shoulder checked as Dr. Zlo ran past. The figure dropped to the ground and Dr. Zlo stumbled to his right.

Another figure appeared before him. The butt of an assault rifle bucked out at Dr. Zlo's head, cracking the villain's nose and dislodging his monocle. Dr. Zlo responded with an uppercut using his cane and his foe crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The shock from the blow pressed down on his knob again and more of the smokescreen shot out.

The guard behind the doctor had recovered and made their way over to the villain's location. Dr. Zlo felt a pinch of pain in his back and watched as his health dropped considerably. He turned around to find the guard with a smoking pistol. Angry, Dr. Zlo pulled off his hat and flicked it. Razor blades connected with the guard's fingers, causing them to recoil in pain and drop the weapon.

With no time to grab his hat, Dr. Zlo placed his monocle back over his eye and fired a laser at the guard. They went down in a flash of red and the villain turned towards the elevator doors. A third guard appeared from the smoke, gun pointed straight at Dr. Zlo. The villain prepared to fire another laser, only to hear a soft pinging. The rim of the monocle glowed red with power and then dimmed. The guard made to pull the trigger.

And then out of the smoke came Cass, assault rifle in hand. He clocked the guard over the head with the stock. "You alright boss?"

The two rushed out of the smoke and into the elevator, closing the doors behind them as the howls of wolf-men echoed across the hall. Once the doors closed there was a thud! Followed by the elevator door denting. Both Cass and the doctor jumped back. Dr. Zlo held his cane in front of him, ready to fire a round of liquid fire if needed.

Two more thuds impacted the door and a snarling snout pushed through the gap created in the middle. Cass whacked it with his gun. The wolf-man retreated and Dr. Zlo mashed the button leading to the top floor. The elevator ascended even as the monsters clawed at the door.

Dylan took the chance to rest. He sat down on the floor of the elevator, resting his back against the wall. That fight had been intense. But at least he'd gotten the phlebotinium, even if it was only two grams.

It was possible there was more of the material somewhere in the base. But Dylan was nowhere near prepared to take on monsters like those wolf-men. That one fight had cost him all the glue-gel he'd made, all the power in his monocle, and his razor top hat. "And I liked that top hat too."

"Eh don't sweat it boss. You can build another one, maybe with a remote function."

Dylan slipped back into Dr. Zlo's persona. "You're right Cass, but it pains me to know that I've left a piece of my villainous technology for these neophytes to study."

"You could always blow up the base boss."

"Don't be silly Cass, where would we even find the self-destruct button. No, better to escape while we can. I'll get my revenge some other day!"

"Sure thing then boss."

The elevator zipped up through the solid stone tube and back out into the ocean waters. The scuba-divers were still hard at work transporting seaweed and other underwater flora. Dylan wondered if they were robots, or scripted in some way. None of them had reacted at all to the attack.

The elevator dinged open and Dylan was greeted by a Jacques who had tied their necktie around their head like an action hero. Their suit had been torn off at the shoulders and the pants had been ripped at the ends. The Jacques saluted as Dylan walked by. He chose to ignore the minion's odd attire in favor of leaving.

"Let's go, we have what we came for."

The Jacques nodded and mimed to its brethren hunched behind the sandbags. They fell into step behind Dr. Zlo and the group marched down the hall towards their giant crab. As they passed by the rooms branching off the corridor, more Jacques fell into place behind Dr. Zlo. Of the hundred or so minions that had come with, only around a third were left.

Dr. Zlo passed through the last door between him and his giant crab bot. He sloshed through the puddles of water on the floor, caused by the crab's pincers piercing the complex walls, and made his way into his giant robot. The Jacques followed behind and turned off towards their quarters. Dr. Zlo and Cass climbed the ladder to the control room.

As Dr. Zlo unscrewed the hatch a torrent of water splashed down on his face. He spluttered and almost slipped but managed to hold on. Frowning in confusion, the villain climbed the last few rungs into the control room.

Harpoons had struck the reinforced window, creating small holes for water to leak through. Dr. Zlo turned to Cass as he made his way up. "Cass, we did destroy all of the enemy's submarines. Right?"

"Uh, no boss. I don't think we did."

"I see. This might be a problem."

Another harpoon punctured the window, causing more water to leak. "To the controls!" Dr. Zlo yelled. He rushed forwards to grab the various knobs and levers that controlled the robot. Inwardly, Dylan berated himself. He had been so eager to grab what he needed he had completely forgotten about the other enemies around him!

Dr. Zlo quickly dislodged the two pincers and rotated the crab to make its way away from the secret base. The enemy submarines chased after, shooting harpoon after harpoon into the top hat window. After the third harpoon connected and punched through hairline fractures appeared on the window. Dr. Zlo's eyes widened. "Activate emergency escape pods!"

He slammed his hand down on the self destruct button as Cass pulled a lever. Klaxons blared and the melodic voice once again started counting down from thirty. Dr. Zlo and Dylan made their way out of the top hat and down the ladder, the butler closing the hatch behind them.

And not a moment too soon. Once the hatch closed the window burst open and flooded the entire control room. Knobs and levers broke off from the force of the blow and equipment shorted out. Outside of the control panel, the crab twitched erratically as the electric signals activated all manner of routines and subroutines. By sheer luck one of the claws swiped a submarine and dashed it against the rocks.

Dr. Zlo and Cass made their way to the back of the giant crab. The Jacques met up with the two a few seconds later. At the back of the crab sat a squid-shaped submarine large enough to carry everyone if they squeezed together. Dr. Zlo and Cass entered first, jumping into the cockpit and starting up the sub. The Jacques behind closed the door and sealed it tight by turning the wheel in the center.

Dr. Zlo flipped a row of switches on the dashboard in front of him and the squid shuttle came to life. Luminescent lights flickered to life on the outside and the craft hummed with power. Cass pressed a button on his dashboard and a door in the back of the crab fell open, flooding the area and lifting the sub up above its docking station. Dr. Zlo pushed a lever forwards and the submarine jerked to life. The turbines spun and the squid cruised out into the open ocean.

The enemy submarines continued their assault on the giant crab, ignoring the fleeing squid-sub. Harpoons pierced the chassis of the great machine, turning it from crab to sea urchin. Then all at once, the crab bot stopped its electrical spasms. The submarines continued to shoot, moving in closer for a better shot.

The robot exploded in a ball of fire, ripping its chassis and sending its limbs flying across the ocean floor. As an added effect, the harpoons were ripped out of the robot and returned to their sender. The wall of spikes collided with the submarines, too close to take evasive action. Soon every submarine that had surrounded the crab sank to the ground.

The explosion continued onward through the subs and collided with the secret base. The wave of force rocked the complex but could not bend the reinforced steel beams holding it to the ground. What the explosion did do was break the strange glass domes under the base. Thousands of tiny sea turtles no bigger than a finger escaped out of the pod.

The little animals swarmed over the scuba geared workers, devouring every bit of seaweed they could find. As they did the animals rapidly grew in size. Now the size of small fish the turtles turned as one towards the seagrass farm. In seconds the farm was gone and the turtles were the size of small dogs.

The animals took off towards the shore in search of more seagrasses, munching down on whatever they could as they did. A few made their way behind Dr. Zlo's squid vessel, nipping at the bubbles from the turbine engine. The doctor paid the creatures no mind as he directed his craft to the shore. The sub crashed onto the beach like a whale, scaring off the few tourists brave enough to come back.

The door at the back of the quid opened and Dr. Zlo stepped out onto the shore. Cass and the Jacques followed behind. "Right," said the doctor, "everyone split up and make your way back to the hideout. Make sure you aren't followed. I'm going to start the self-destruct sequence on my invention."

The Jacques saluted and marched out in a straight line. Dylan wasn't confident the minions would make it back to the hideout in one piece. But having the minions cause some general chaos around the city would distract any heroes looking around. He turned back to the sub as Cass nonchalantly sidled away.

The center of Haven City was known to all as the government district. To be more precise, the district had been named the Mayorsson District, after the popular Mayor Mayorsson and his son Tyler Mayorsson. The two had been running the city as a father and son duo for some time now and many were happy with the policy changes put in place now that supers had arrived in town.

Of course, not everyone was happy with the new laws. While most heroes were forced to adhere to a moral code by the overseeing AI located at the super's moon base, the actual minutiae of the law left a lot of wiggle room. Heroes could damage property and accidentally harm others if it meant stopping the villains. Game-wise this was a great lore excuse for the wanton destruction any gamer causes when playing.

But Vert had been trying for a more authentic open-world experience. Which meant factions of all kinds appearing and disappearing organically as heroes and villains alike upset the status quo. The leader of one such villainous faction was currently meeting with the Amans, or heads of the Khaum gang. This new faction was calling itself the Black Syndicate, and its sole leader sat facing the three Amans.

The three heads of the Khaum family sat dressed in formal suits, sipping glasses of fine wine as they eyed the one across the table. As they drank the sleeves of their suit jackets retreated showing sleeves of tattoos. If one looked close they could see the continuation of the tattoo sleeve under the Amans' collars. The group sat in silence for some time until a waiter approached their table.

"Gentleman, lady. Are we ready to order?"

The woman at the other end of the table nodded. "I'll have the shrimp scampi, and a glass of Pinot Grigio. Your oldest vintage if you please."

"Certainly madam. And for you gentlemen?"

"Surf and turf. Three orders. Rare."

"Of course, anything to drink?"

"The darkest red wine you have."

The waiter nodded and collected the menus, stepping past the woman's butler/bodyguard as he did. The protector looked unassuming, short, and pasty white with wide-rimmed glasses. The woman was a knockout, with curves in all the right places and a smile that could kill. This was further accentuated by shoulder-length black hair.

"Now that our orders are out of the way," the woman started, "shall we discuss business?"

The Aman in the middle spoke. "Of course miss. But… we were under the assumption we'd be speaking to a Mr. Dex Black?"

"You're speaking to her. Dextra Black at your service. I find Dex makes it easier to get my foot in the door."

The three Amans looked at each other. "Ms. Black. It doesn't give us a good impression that you hid your identity."

Dextra raised an eyebrow. "Oh? When did I ever say I was male?"

The three Amans frowned, trying to recall the previous conversations they held with the syndicate leader. Unable to come up with anything, they turned back to Dextra and nodded. "Our mistake then. Shall we continue onto business?"

"Let's."

Dextra and the three Amans straightened. Dextra spoke first. "Rumor around the street is that your group is looking for ways to combat superheroes."

"Rumors can get out of hand. All we look for is a way to deter the aggression of these so-called 'protectors of justice.'"

"Of course. Over the past few weeks, my group and I have been working on a solution to the problem."

"Oh? And what is it you offer?"

The waiter chose that point to arrive with the four's food. "Here we are, three surf and turfs and a shrimp scampi. Be careful, the plate's hot."

Dextra looked over at the waiter. "You know what, I think it's better if I just show you. Hans?"

The bodyguard behind Dex nodded and produced a syringe from their pocket. In one fluid motion, the man stabbed the needle into the waiter's neck and injected it. The waiter fell to the ground convulsing. The three Amans stood in surprise and fury.

"What is this!"

Before their very eyes the waiter was changing. As he convulsed his back hunched over and expanded. The arms and legs bulged, ripping through the man's clothes. Long hairs started to protrude out of his skin, covering the man in shaggy fur. The waiter's nails elongated and formed into long, sharp claws. Finally, the man's face elongated into a snout and teeth like small knives formed.

A few seconds later the waiter stopped convulsing and sat. "Aroo?" He barked. He had been changed into one of the wolf monsters Dr. Zlo had found in the secret base. The other diners in the restaurant screamed and scrambled towards the door. The wait staff followed behind, leaving only the four faction leaders, the bodyguard, and the transformed waiter.

"W-what is this!" An Aman demanded.

Dextra smiled. "This, gentlemen, is the future. I've been working with a prominent underground laboratory to produce this serum. When injected into a non-powered individual it changes them into the creature you see before you. They are stronger, smarter, and more durable than any normal minion. And as an added bonus they are completely loyal. Aren't you? Aren't you, you big ball of fluff."

Dextra scratched behind the monster's ears. It leaned into the affection.

"I will not stand for this!" The middle Aman shouted. The other two nodded in agreement. "We will not subject our people to monstrous changes such as this! It is a perversion of the natural order of things!"

Dextra picked at her nails. "Who says you have to use your people? The general populace is a much better target don't you think?"

The Aman slammed the table. "I will not have it! I came here with the expectation you would sell us weapons, not a chemical terrorist weapon! Leave now! And take your pet with you."

Dextra sighed. "That is such a shame. Here I was thinking we could have a wonderful partnership together. Oh well. If you aren't cooperating we're enemies." Dextra looked down at the mutant wolf and pointed to the Amans. "Sick 'em."

The monster jumped forwards and the Amans screamed. Dextra turned back towards Hans, who held a coat out for her. As she donned it he spoke. "We've gotten word from our contact that the underground base was hit."

Dextra paused. "Oh? Was it a hero? Someone who's reached B or higher in reputation?"

"The only description we have is that of a man dressed in a suit and top hat. He apparently had a curly mustache and a butler."

"There's no one with that description in the higher rankings."

"That's not all," Hans paused, wary.

"What is it?"

"Projects Alpha and Omega have been destroyed. Apparently, the man detonated some kind of bomb outside the facility. I've also been told the phlebotinium for project Omega was taken."

Dextra paused, taking three seconds to retain control of her emotions. In the background, the Amans screamed in agony as the wolf monster tore them apart.

"I want you to ask around about this man. When you find him, capture him alive and bring him to me. I'm going to make him pay for ruining my plans."

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