Vaudevillain

Cass was waiting for Dr. Zlo as the player entered the game, a drink tray resting in the minion's hands.

"Hey boss, welcome back," Cass said. "You enjoy your trip? Get a new cane?"

"That I did, Cass," Dr. Zlo answered, brandishing his new weapon. "It's vastly stronger than my last invention and will ensure our victory in the days to come."

"Oh, swell," Cass answered. "Anyway, the Jacques are still in line, but Brunhilde keeps coming up with odd jobs for us to do together. You think you can do something about that?"

Dr. Zlo raised an eyebrow, "Better her than Mabel, yes?"

"I mean sure," Cass admitted. "But it's getting in the way of the work I do for you. You know, just last night she tried to help me with all my alcohol. Ended up breaking a few of the expensive glasses."

"So, tell her off?" Dr. Zlo said amusedly.

Dylan was enjoying the interactions between his NPCs. It made the game feel all the more real. Plus, it gave him something to do in the downtime between crimes.

"Well, I mean I would, " Cass blustered. "But she's twice as big as I am, boss! What if she decides to break me in half!"

Dr. Zlo chuckled, "I feel like that would be the least of your worries. Aren't you always joining me on crimes?"

"Yeah, but that's not the same," Cass explained, offering Dr. Zlo his signature drink.

Dr. Zlo waved the drink away.

"When I'm with you, I know I'll be safe," Cass continued. "Brunhilde is like a loaded gun with no safety. And I'm not about to pull that trigger."

"I think you're vastly misjudging my minioness maid," Dr. Zlo said with a shake of his head. "Brunhilde would never forget proper trigger discipline."

"I mean, I trust you, boss," Cass said. "But I'm still leery."

Dr. Zlo patted his butler on the shoulder. "Trust me, Brunhilde is a lot softer than she lets on. Perhaps you should try having a conversation with her."

Cass narrowed his eyes. "This better not be a prank, boss."

Dr. Zlo placed a hand over his heart, "I wouldn't dream of it. You are my most loyal minion. If I broke that trust, what kind of leader would I be?"

"A villainous one," Cass pointed out.

Dr. Zlo smiled warmly, "Ah, Cass. I'm glad to see you're learning the finer points of ne'er-do-well and larceny. Perhaps in the future, you'll be performing your own big crimes."

Cass shook his head, the gesture moving to his arms, "I could never, boss! What would you do without me?"

"What indeed," Dr. Zlo muttered.

"Anyway!"The villain continued. "With my new cane comes new inventions, and I must work on them."

"Got it, boss," Cass answered with a salute.

Dr. Zlo spun and marched down to his laboratory, stopping at the stairs.

"Oh, Cass."

"Yeah, boss?"

"Find those two Jacques with medals. It's time for them to receive a few changes."

Cass nodded, "You got it, boss!"

Dr. Zlo marched down the stairs, leaving Cass to sort out the Jacques. Dylan wanted to start on his new equipment. The hat drone wasn't going to build itself.

"Thought, that's an idea," Dr. Zlo mused.

The thought of a self-assembling hat drone seemed right up Dr. Zlo's alley. Maybe he could try it out some other time.

Dylan reached the bottom of the stairs a moment later, his bare head feeling the minor temperature changes throughout the room. It still amazed Dylan how accurate everything was in World of Supers. It hadn't even occurred to him that he would feel a difference with the loss of his top hat.

"Best get to it, then," Dr. Zlo murmured.

The villain spread his hands out on a table, leaning forward a bit to clear off the clutter the Jacques created. Brunhilde and her Jacques maids hadn't cleaned the laboratory yet today, meaning the Jacques' toys (random pieces of junk Dr. Zlo collected for his inventions) lay scattered around the room.

"I'll need to keep a few cleaners down here in the future," Dr. Zlo said. "My laboratory should look dark, dank, and somehow pristine. Not cluttered like Jack's. She can get away with it because messy genius is part of her character."

Dylan resolved to put the task on his to-do list. But first, he had new gadgets to build.

"Let's see about upgrading these button bombs," Dr. Zlo pulled a group of the explosives out of his inventory, setting them onto the table.

He picked one up, gazing at the simplistic brass covering.

"Now, how do I go about this?" Dylan asked.

A moment later, the player spied a small icon sitting next to the bomb. Pressing it opened up the item's material list and description.

Button Pin

100/100

Dynamite (1 stick)

Brass tack (1)

Sewing Needle (1)

Underneath the item sat three boxes, each with the word "additions" sitting at the top. Dr. Zlo tapped one of the boxes, watching as another box opened up in front of him.

Additions:

Description:

Dylan filled in what he wanted under description. These bombs would be his go-to self-destruct items now.

Additions:

Description:

The Button Pin no longer explodes after a set time but starts a countdown once the player initiates it. Afterward, the explosion destroys everything in a 10ft radius around it.

Dylan figured anything bigger than a 10-foot radius was pushing it. If he needed to destroy something bigger, he could always use more buttons. Once Dylan finished typing, he confirmed his selection and watched his power go to work. It came back a moment later with a list of materials.

Additions:

Description:

The Button Pin no longer explodes after a set time but starts a countdown once the player initiates it. Afterward, the explosion destroys everything in a 10ft radius around it.

C4 (1 package)

TV remote (1)

Sciencium (1g)

Dylan nodded. He thought he saw a remote in the pile of junk the Jacques used. And he knew for a fact that there was some spare C4 in one of his closets. Brunhilde made sure the Jacques couldn't touch that substance. She knew that one accident would mean the loss of the entire building.

After fishing out the items he needed, Dylan sat them next to his button bomb and started the crafting process. The components whirled around for a moment, washing the area in white light before clattering onto the table. There were two items now instead of the one, a brass button and a small detonator. Dylan grabbed both, storing them in his inventory. He then selected another button, opening the upgrade panel up to see if anything changed.

As he expected, each button was unique in its upgrades.

"That makes this good for versatility but terrible for mass production," Dylan said. He shrugged, "Oh well, I can always craft a new button bomb that works the same way. No skin off my back."

Now that he knew item upgrades were unique, Dylan decided to focus on his hat drone. He opened up his power and started typing.

Top Hat Drone

100/100

This powerful robot made of Zlonium doubles as a stylish fashion accessory, sitting motionless on the owner's head until removed. When activated, the Top Hat will listen to the owner's commands and seek out its enemies, using nanomachines to craft manipulators. The lining is also insulated against electrical strikes, keeping the drone's internals safe.

Top Hat (1)

Zlonium (10g)

Nanomachines (1 jar)

Rubber tire (1)

Laptop (15)

Copper wire (1 spool)

Sciencium (15g)

Dylan nodded at the description, grabbing the random materials he needed from around him. He cannibalized his old cane for the nanomachines, placing the tiny robots into a nearby jar. Once everything was set on the table, Dr. Zlo started the combination process. The top hat unfurled, its lining twisting into a flat square before Dylan's eyes. The Zlonium melted down, forming around the wireframe of the top hat while the laptops shrunk to the size of pennies. The copper wire wrapped around all of it, followed by the rubber. Once done, the lining rewound around the frame, the nanomachines sinking into the small gap between. Finally, the Sciencium rolled into the hat, and everything flashed white.

Dr. Zlo blinked spots out of his eyes as he grabbed his new invention. He cackled as he spun it in his hands, "Yes! You're perfect! Of course, I can always improve upon perfection."

Dylan opened up the upgrades panel and selected the first upgrade box. He added a compartment to store his button bombs and then added a space for his frictionless gel. When he finished, Dylan looked at the last upgrade box.

"I wonder…"

The villain opened the last box, typing in a description of the idea he'd just had. He recalled his concept for a self-assembling hat and then remembered the hat drones he used to use for surveillance. Would it be possible to combine the two into one? And make the mind control a bit more powerful.

Additions:

Description:

The Top Hat drone can split into smaller drones and reassemble itself. These smaller drones can control NPC targets when placed onto the target's head.

Dylan nodded at the description and started the process. The item listed the materials needed a moment later.

Additions:

Description:

The Top Hat drone can split into smaller drones and reassemble itself. These smaller drones can control NPC targets when placed onto the target's head.

Bowler hat (2)

Coin on a string (1)

Spiral image (1)

3D printer (1)

"Yes!" Dylan cheered. "World domination, here we come!"

Dr. Zlo placed the new drone on his head, the item sitting comfortably on top after a slight adjustment. The villain posed for a moment, thrusting his cane out like a sword. He nodded to himself after a moment, "Good. Now, onto my monocle."

Dylan removed the accessory from his eye, pressing the upgrade icon before stopping.

"No, it's probably better if I make a new one entirely. Make the weakness function the main beam and use upgrades on the last few items."

Tumbling from the stairs took Dr. Zlo away from his train of thought. He turned to see the two Jacques he'd requested falling, Brunhilde at the top of the stairs dusting off her hands. She slammed the door behind them, leaving Dr. Zlo with the two minions.

The Jacques finished their tumble a second later, the first one recovering and coming up like a gymnast after a routine. Dr. Zlo rolled his eyes at the show. The second Jacques landed on the ground, then flopped around like a fish for a moment.

"Oh, get up," Dr. Zlo commanded. "You aren't about to get sympathy from me. I'm sure you decided to ignore Cass, and he was forced to get some help. Help I'm sure Brunhilde was happy to offer."

The two Jacques looked at each other as if trying to confirm their story. Then, the first one nodded while the second shook his head. The two then gave each other glares, trying to blame the other for the mess.

"Calm down," Dr. Zlo stated. "I'm not about to punish you."

The two Jacques slumped in relief, the second wiping sweat off its brow.

"You're both getting upgrades!" Dr. Zlo cheered.

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