Vaudevillain

"Triage," Dextra said over the communicator. "Anyone not part of Dr. Zlo's original crew should go all out. Do whatever you can to stop this hero. Shizuka, save your movements for Mabel and Dr. Zlo. The Professor, it might be a good time to use some of those other powers of yours."

"And I thought I had hidden those perfectly," The Professor responded over the communicator.

"Roger Doger, Dex," Shizuka said.

The rest of the villains followed orders. Jack and Bubble prepared themselves, the former activating a berserker mode she'd installed for desperate situations. It would overheat her armor past its usefulness, but it might give her a shot at keeping up with this Gary Stu power fantasy. Bubble prepared to use all her stamina at once in an area around the hero. Hopefully, that would stall him for a moment.

During that time, Deadman, Killswitch, and Immolate finally appeared on the rooftop.

"Who thought it was a good idea to break the elevators," Killswitch complained.

"Don't complain. You heard what Dextra said over the comms," Deadman said. "We gotta stop whoever's going after the death ray."

"That won't be easy," Immolate said, pointing at the hero.

Bubble had unleashed her attack on the NPC. The world around the hero dented like an old soda can as her power formed around him. A moment later, the bubbles burst, the shockwaves striking the hero. The players watched as the NPC bounced back and forth for half a second, the final blast knocking the hero towards Bubble.

"Now that ain't fair," Bubble complained as a fist took her out of the fight.

"Holy sh*t," Deadman exclaimed. "We gotta go up against that?"

"For thirty seconds or so, yeah," Immolate answered.

"F*********ck," Killswitch complained. "I'm useless here."

"Go deal with the two heroes on the other side of the rooftop, Killswitch," Dextra said. "And The Professor. I think it's about time you use your powers."

"It seems I have no choice," The Professor answered.

The villain angled the spaceship he was driving away from the roof before he leaped out, making sure that the object wouldn't explode and take the death ray with it.

"Class is in session!" the villain shouted as he fell. A ring appeared around the hero as The Professor fell, though nothing of note seemed to happen.

He landed on both feet right as Jack finished charging her berserker mode. The two players then rushed at the hero, attempting to take him out while Dr. Zlo kept his cane at the ready. Jack was suddenly a whirlwind of power, her armored suit attacking faster than anyone could see. Surprisingly, The Professor stood back, observing the fight as it went on.

"Impressive," the hero said under Jack's flurry of blows. "Not many can move as fast as you can."

"Don't patronize me," Jack complained. "You aren't even breaking a sweat."

It was true. The NPC hero was holding Jack off with one hand and keeping half his attention on Mabel. Whenever the woman tried to speak, the hero would snap his fingers, blocking her words. Sweet Dream and Riptide took a moment to recover, the former reforming bits of chocolate that had been frozen in the fight.

The seconds ticked down from thirty to twenty-five, then to twenty as Jack continued her assault. But it was evident that she couldn't keep up. Steam was erupting from her suit, the cooling systems unable to keep up with the demand. Finally, the woman's defenses broke, and the hero knocked her aside, where she landed next to Dr. Zlo.

The Professor jumped in at that moment, moving almost as fast as the hero. The NPC's eyes widened slightly at the movement, bringing up both his hands to deflect the incoming strikes.

"Now, this is a surprise," the hero said. "I didn't expect to find anyone who could match me."

"I learn from my opponents," The Professor answered.

Deadman and Immolate rushed in at that moment, attempting to help The Professor. Infection and fire joined the flurry of fists, yet still, the hero didn't fall. A blast of laser fire was all it took to disable Deadman's disease, and a puff of cold breath doused the fire. A quick backhand followed. The wind pressure knocking Immolate off the rooftop. Deadman only held on because he dropped to the ground in time.

The Professor continued fighting, suddenly using a laser blast of his own to strike at the hero. The NPC answered with a matching shot, the two lasers canceling each other out and sending both parties flying backward. The Professor landed on his back, grunting as his health dropped. The villain stood, but the hero recovered faster than the player and flew over to the man in a blink of an eye.

The Professor's conjured ring from before was still over by Deadman, and neither The Professor nor the hero was inside it any longer.

"A pity," The Professor said. "I had hoped to keep you in class for longer."

"Hey, you gave me the best fight I've ever had," the hero answered. And then he finished The Professor off with a punch. The villain vanished as the reset button activated.

Fifteen seconds were left.

"Quartet, get in there!" Dr. Zlo shouted.

Dr. Zlo's most treacherous minion attacked, his powers swirling around the hero like a typhoon. But being the coward he was, Quartet made sure to stay as far away from the fight as he could. That meant hanging out around Mabel and Cass, who were standing in the stairwell leading down.

For a second, it seemed that the hero was trapped, then suddenly Quartet's power burst like a balloon, sending blasts of sound every which way. By some stroke of luck, none of it hit the death ray, though that wasn't the case for Deadman. Still recovering from the previous attack, the villain was suddenly struck by sound blades, taking him out of the fight.

"Aw man," Deadman said as he respawned. "I wanted a rematch against Valiant."

The hero flew over toward Quartet, using his ice breath to barrage the stairwell. Shizuka reacted, teleporting Mabel away at the last moment but leaving Quartet and Cass. Both minions withstood the blow, Cass using his arm as a flamethrower and Quartet humming a hot tune that melted the ice. But then the hero followed up with an attack, his fist breaking one of Quartet's bodies in two. The other three bodies panicked, splitting up and running from the hero while taking potshots.

The hero followed, blasting one Quartet with his laser vision, then picking up the second and tossing him into the third. The NPC chased after his throw, finishing off the last two Quartets with a single punch.

Ten seconds were left.

"Don't think you've won yet!" Dr. Zlo shouted, attempting to distract the man from Mabel's speech.

But not, the hero countered Mabel again, snapping his fingers and flying toward Shizuka. The ninja hopped around for a few more seconds, taking Mabel as far away as she could. However, the ninja finally ran out of teleports, her stored power all used up. The villainess made one last attempt to fight the hero, throwing her entire inventory of knives as she cloned herself.

The knives bounced harmlessly, and the ones with explosion charms tied to them only slowed the hero by a millisecond.

But it did slow.

By the time Shizuka fell to the hero, seven seconds had passed, leaving three left.

Dr. Zlo figured it was finally time to act and unleashed his weakness spell even if it didn't have a chance. The beam traveled toward the hero as he flew at Mabel. Mabel again opened her mouth to speak, but another snap from the hero drowned out her words.

Dylan grit his teeth. It seemed he was about to lose Mabel again. At least it meant that the weakness spell would hit.

But not, the hero dodged at the last second, stopping his assault to roll out of the way. The purple beam of weakness struck the stone below, and the hero turned to Dr. Zlo.

"You're too late, hero!" Dr. Zlo shouted as the timer hit one second. "I've won!"

Dextra activated the death ray, aiming it exactly where his power said to for maximum effect. An ominous red glow appeared at the end of the barrel, and the hero whipped his head around in alarm.

"Not if I can help it," the hero said.

Dr. Zlo's eyes widened as the hero flew right in front of the beam, preparing to absorb the blow and protect the moon.

"Don't you dare try that self-sacrificing nonsense here!" Dr. Zlo shouted. "Not when I'm about to win!"

"Don't worry, boss!" Cass said. "I got him!"

Dr. Zlo turned toward Cass, who was sprinting at the hero as his nano arm started to grow. The hero turned at the words just as Dr. Zlo did, and with horror, Dylan realized what was about to happen.

Cass would fall to this Superiorman knockoff, and Dr. Zlo would be left alone. But, the villain would win! Isn't that what Dr. Zlo wanted?

"Screw character," Dylan whispered. "Jack! Shield boost me!"

Jack, who had only just recovered, nodded. She readied herself, Dr. Zlo flying down to land on her shield.

"Right at Cass, got it?" Dylan confirmed.

Jack didn't bother to answer, heaving with all her might towards Cass. Dylan activated his rocket shoes at that moment, granting him another burst of speed. The villain collided in place with the hero, knocking him slightly off course but getting caught in his grasp.

The hero grabbed Dr. Zlo by the neck, "Call off your laser."

"In my moment of triumph? Never!" Dr. Zlo said.

"So be it," the hero answered and tossed Dr. Zlo toward the beam.

"Boss!" Cass shouted.

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