Vaudevillain

In the garden of Dr. Zlo's mansion, behind the trees and inside the bushes, crouched a woman. While Dr. Zlo and his companions collected their scattered materials, this woman scanned the mansion entrance. Her striking green eyes saw the slightest of openings when the group turned away from the mansion. She left her pocket dimension in the bushes and, with a silent dash, entered through the front door.

Inside, the ninja woman kept to the shadows. She darted around the stairs to the kitchen, placing a minuscule listening device in the microwave vent. The ninja went around from room to room, placing the same mechanism in every nook and cranny. Once finished, she moved on to the basement.

A sound downstairs made her pause.

"Oh, I hope boss gets back soon. I'm not built to handle aliens."

The ninja peeked around the corner to see a silver butler pacing around the room. He was wringing his hands in nervous time to his steps. Something akin to sweat trickled down his brow.

"It'll be fine," Cass reassured himself. "Mabel and boss's friends will stop the aliens, and I won't have to do a thing."

The ninja crept by, ducking under the bar to place a few more listening devices.

"But what if they do need my help? Ohh, I'm not built for that kind of fighting. I'm a butler for Pete's sake! I make drinks!"

The ninja started the creep back towards the stairs.

A spark of determination lit Cass's brow. "That's right; I make drinks. So that's what I should be doing." He strode over to the bar, right in the path of the ninja. She backpedaled in a frenzy and ducked under a cupboard.

Cass went to work rummaging through cupboards above the sink, grabbing glasses of every kind. "That's right; I make drinks," he repeated. He continued the mantra until an alcoholic glass of every type sat on the counter. Cass grabbed the liquor bottles sitting at the back, and went to work.

The ninja waited patiently inside the cupboard while Cass made cocktails of all kinds. Moscow Mules, Margaritas, Rum and Coke, and other basic mixed drinks filled the counter. Cass then went on to more difficult beverages, increasing the complexity over time. He got stuck on the Bloody Mary. "Where's the hot sauce?"

The ninja thought she remembered seeing a bottle of hot sauce in front of her when she hid. Cracking open the cupboard door ever so slightly, the woman watched as Cass rummaged from drawer to drawer. When he turned away, she leaped, rolling out of the cupboard and into Cass's blind spot. She kept to his back as Cass spun around in his search for hot sauce. Once he stopped looking at the stairs, the ninja dashed up, leaving Cass to search alone.

"Aha!" She heard him yell.

The ninja finished up the rest of her mission inside, placing a few more listening devices around the upstairs. She made sure to avoid the room with walking fedoras. Task finished, the ninja opened a window and jumped down. A kite of some sort billowed out and caught the wind, sending her soaring away from the mansion.

After landing, the ninja made her way over to the financial district of Haven City. Once there, she made her way over to a tall skyscraper, still sticking to the shadows whenever she could. Once inside, the ninja strode over to the reception desk.

A receptionist walked over with a smile. "Welcome to Heyward Tower, how can I help you?"

The ninja leaned forward and whispered in a soft voice. "Black queen takes checkmate."

Nothing changed on the receptionist's face. "You'll want the thirtieth floor. DB associates." They handed over a guest badge. "Elevator is to your left."

Nodding, the ninja walked past the turnstile gates and to the elevator on the left. She selected the thirtieth floor and waited while soft jazz filled the air. She stepped out onto subdued grey tiles. On her left, office workers milled about behind glass doors. On the glass, in frosty letters, were the words, "DB Associates."

On her right sat another office—the name, "Utilizely," in bold green letters. Looking over to make sure no one was paying attention, the ninja made her way to DB Associates. A keypad sat on the door. With practiced ease, the ninja entered the ten-digit password and walked inside.

"Excuse me," a woman said. "May I see your badge?"

The ninja handed their badge over. The woman took it and scanned it through a card reader with practiced ease.

"Everything seems to be in order, Miss Shizuka. Dextra is currently in a meeting with the others, shall I take you to her office?"

Shizuka shook her head and strode towards the large conference room down the hall. The woman moved with her. "Please, Miss Shizuka. Dextra is in a crucial meeting and should not be disturbed!"

Shizuka ignored the woman and pushed open the double doors. Dextra black lounged in an office chair at the front of a large oval table. Six others sat with her, spread out evenly along each side. An office worker stood at the end of the table, a graph projected onto a screen behind.

Dextra turned to look at the intruder. "Ah, Shizuka. Welcome back. I'm sure your mission was a success?"

The ninja nodded. She walked over in front of Dextra and kneeled. "I have completed my infiltration of Dr. Zlo's manor and have determined his next plan."

Dextra smiled, "excellent. Tell us, what does he plan to do next?"

"He has gathered a group of villains together and aims to steal the Quli mothership hovering over the sky."

One of the others at the table scoffed. "Who does this man think he is? Even the heroes are unable to do anything about that monstrosity."

Dextra snapped the man a look. "Someone dangerous. Dr. Zlo might not be as polished a villain as you or I, Nikola. But he makes up for it with deranged ambition. Don't forget he has thwarted two of my plans to control the city."

"Bah, sheer luck. Anyone could have found that underwater laboratory."

"But not anyone did," spoke another.

Another at the table spoke up. "Quite right, and this Dr. Zlo unleashed the Omega experiment, which gave him the chance to enact his plan while many of the heroes were out quelling that threat. It was unfortunate all he asked for was petty cash. That gun of his was a marvel of technology."

"Well, it seems his next venture won't be anything as mundane," Dextra mused. "I believe we must alter our current plans to accommodate the possibility of his success."

Nikola turned to Dextra. "You truly think this lunatic has a chance?"

"If it were any other man, I would say no. However, this Dr. Zlo has beaten me twice. I'm not about to underestimate him a third time."

"Ha, well, maybe the great Dextra Black isn't all she's cracked up to be."

Hans was behind the man in an instant with a knife pressed to Nikola's throat.

"Nikola, do remember. This group is called the Black syndicate for a reason."

Nikola scoffed again. An arc of lightning formed and leaped from Nikola's neck to Hans' knife, forcing the bodyguard to drop the weapon. "And you best remember you aren't the only villain here. We were each promised part of the city when you took it over. You best not renege on that deal."

"I would never, Nikola. Despite my more underhanded means, I am a woman of my word."

"We'll see," Nikola grumbled.

Dextra turned to Shizuka. "Thank you for the information; you are dismissed."

Shizuka bowed her head and stood from her kneeling position. Once outside the conference room, she stepped into the shadows and made her way to Dextra's office. Inside, another Shizuka stood waiting, her posture relaxed against the oak desk inside.

"How did it go? No, I better just do this."

The other Shizuka activated her power with a quick hand sign and watched as her clone dissolved into air. A video file appeared in her power tab. The real Shizuka spent the time waiting for the end of the meeting playing the video file. She watched as her clone performed her duties and even summoned a demon to possess one of those suited lackeys. The video continued as Shizuka's clone caught sight of another of Dr. Zlo's followers. "Hmm, it seems like this Zlo has a pretty powerful minion at his command. Not many can dominate a demon."

She watched until Dextra walked into the office. "How'd it go, Dex?"

Dextra sighed and sat down in her oversized office chair. "Well enough, the others are on board with the plan. Or as on board as a bunch of villains can be."

"Don't sweat it, Dex. The syndicate has your back."

Dextra smiled. "I'm always amazed at the difference between you and your clones."

"Can't have the clones getting ideas of their own, you know. If they thought like me, they'd want to be me. And wouldn't that be messy."

It was an excellent way to roleplay the difference between the NPC clones and Shizuka herself. Dextra liked it. "Smart."

"So, are we actually changing the plan to work around this Zlo guy?"

"Dr. Zlo. And yes. I expect he'll be planning something so extravagant we'll have to work around it. Best to plan for the eventuality now instead of getting surprised later."

"Well, you're the superintelligent mastermind. I guess you'd know best. Oh, something I didn't tell you. The clone left a few listening devices around the guy's manor. Here's the speaker for it." Shizuka produced a small box with a dial numbering on to twenty. "Numbers one through eleven are placed in the guy's manor. But I'm not sure where which number is which."

"That's alright." Dextra spun the dial, trying to find any hint of a conversation. After a second, she heard the unmistakable voice of Dr. Zlo. She listened for a while, turning the dial whenever the man moved rooms. Once she heard enough, Dextra turned off the speaker and smiled. "Shizuka, get ready. I think we'll be able to do a bit more than amend our plans to accommodate Dr. Zlo. He could become a significant distraction for us."

Dextra pulled a communicator out of her inventory. "Hans?"

"Yes, Ms. Black?"

"Is the tracker on our doctor friend still active?"

"Yes, Ms. Black."

"Good. Prepare the car. We're going to do some shopping."

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