The screen flickered to life and there I was again. It looked like I was robbing some kind of an armored truck.
“This was about a year ago,” Para said.
It looked like everything was going smoothly. Dr. Portal disarmed the guards, using their own cuffs against them. Then he opened a portal that led inside the armored truck and stepped through. He left the portal open as he moved back and forth through the portal, each time Dr. Portal came back with a sack of money. When he had it all piled up and in public view, which made no sense to me, he crowed loudly in victory, scaring the citizens even further.
“Thanks for doing the heavy lifting, Dr. Portal,” a new voice said. It was a very large man wearing a black three-piece suit and dark sunglasses.
“What are you doing here, Fingers?” Dr. Portal asked, one of his hands moving toward his pistol.
“I think you know,” Fingers replied. “Hedge isn’t happy with the cut you’ve been paying to operate in New Haven. You’ve gotten a little too full of yourself. Hedge thinks a little time in the cooler might do you some good.”
Dr. Portal just grinned. “So, Hedge finally made a move. I’ve been waiting on this for months.”
Fingers didn’t like that reply. The bulky man seemed to become bulkier, growing both taller and wider, his suit stretching with him. “If you knew this was coming,” Finger said, his voice growing deeper. “Then you know, you can’t win.”
“I already have,” Dr. Portal said, falling backwards into a portal he opened on the ground behind him, vanishing from view.
Fingers looked around confused. That is until a hero wrapped in golden energy flew down from the sky, landing a single punch to Fingers’s face, knocking him to the ground and completely unconscious. When the light faded, Major Miracle remained standing and stated, “No Villain shall harm my people! Citizens, please return to your daily business.”
The footage cut out a moment later.
I got two things from that last video. First, Major Miracle was a major powerhouse. Second, Dr. Portal set Fingers and his boss up. “It was a setup,” I said, looking to Para for confirmation.
“It was,” Para nodded in agreement. “It was a powerplay by Dr. Portal. It wasn’t just catching Fingers like that either. In that footage, Fingers admitted that Hedge gave the orders. Hedge is now one of our most wanted. We’ll catch him, it’s just a matter of time.”
“What happened to Dr. Portal after that?” I asked. “Do you have more footage?”
“That was the last time he was seen until the event that brought you to this world,” Para answered. “Most likely, he was laying low until Hedge had been dealt with, either by us or another villain.”
“I see,” I said, nodding in understanding. If I had angered a boss, something I assumed Hedge was, then laying low was probably a good idea. “What about the cameraman? Did you ever find him or her?”
“No,” Para replied with a frown. “And yet, somehow, our cameraman was always in the perfect spot to film Dr. Portal. I think Dr. Portal had some kind of sidekick or partner. It’s the only flaw in this plan of ours. Anyway, let’s watch them all again. This time, I want you to start speaking the monologues. Stand up as well and start trying to imitate his movements.”
I stood and stretched a little after sitting for so long. Para slipped in one of the cubes and hit play. I had a lot of work to do.
21
Blake Avenue intersected with Rich Street in a seedy part of New Haven. And despite that area of town being considered a bad neighborhood, petty criminals and villains alike knew better than to start trouble. Not with the Joker’s Wild Club entrance hidden away there. It just wasn’t done unless you wanted to end up six feet under.
According to Para, all I needed to do was show up to meet with an information broker and let myself be seen. And being seen was apparently an art unto itself. I needed to be inconspicuous and suspicious at the same time. I needed to hide as much of myself from view while letting a few individuals catch a glimpse of something identifiable. And if the training for that wasn’t enough, part of the process to get me ready involved a less than reputable asset of Para’s. Someone that changed my appearance, aged me slightly, also added some scars, that kind of thing. Anyway, with my costume firmly in place, it was time to risk my life for a chance to go home.
I wore a dark long coat, with its hood up, I was covered from my head to just below my knees by the coat and thank goodness for that. I did not like bodysuits. They were far too tight and rode up in all the wrong places. And did I mention the color? What was Dr. Portal thinking wearing lavender? It just didn’t seem very villainous to me. I couldn’t wait until this was all over.
I looked around the neighborhood again and marveled at the state of the city. It didn’t occur to me that I hadn’t seen the city since I came to this world until Para started preparing me for this insane plan. Not a photo or an image or anything. Even the footage of Dr. Portal didn’t show much background. Looking around now, I was still amazed. Some buildings were new and nearly pristine, while others were crumbling from Nano-Rot. It was shocking when I first saw it. Para explained that the wild Nanos needed to feed, and what better food was there than buildings to provide inorganic materials and normal bio-waste to provide organic materials. The result was a city that was half crumbling and constantly being rebuilt, though the rebuilding was also partly due to property damage when heroes and villains fought. It gave off a feeling of a post-apocalyptic cityscape and a futuristic marvel at the same time, often right next to each other. The result was a booming economy built on construction and Nanotech engineering. Both of which were used to pay the heroes that protect the city.
I turned the corner, moving from Rich Street onto Blake Avenue, pulling my coat closer just as a gust of wind turned the same corner coming straight at me. About a hundred yards down, I took a right down an alley. It reminded me of the alleys back home. Dark, dirty, and poorly lit. Poorly lit that is, except for a single light that shined over an unmarked door. The door was a dark metal color with rivets framing the door, giving me the sense that it was both thick and heavy, probably armored as well for additional security. The look was finished off with an eye slat that was currently closed.
I pounded my fist on the door.
The slat opened with a clank. Someone on the other side peered out and with a deep baritone said, “Password.”
“Open the damn door,” I snapped back, snarling in irritation, trying not to show any nervousness. Part of me couldn’t believe I was actually doing this cloak and dagger craziness. Another part . . . well, I kind of liked it. Not getting a response or movement from the guard on the other side of the door, I opened a small portal, no bigger than my fist and threatened, “Or do you want to find out what happens if I pull your head inside this portal and close it with your body still on the other side of the door?”
The slat slammed shut and the sounds of locks being turned could be heard from the inside. When the door opened, I could faintly hear some music from far below.
“Don’t cause any trouble,” the beefy security guard ordered, though the way he looked at me told me he was clearly afraid of my threat. I felt kind of bad about that. Still, I didn’t react, just moved past him and down the first flight of stairs.
It was just like Para had told me. Apparently, there were several passwords and none of them were necessary. There was one for tourists, people that wanted to get a thrill. There was another for ‘delivery’ people, and while he didn’t exactly explain what was being delivered, I could have made several guesses. There were other passwords for different reasons, but they all changed regularly. The easiest method, especially for a villain, was always a threat. It helped that the guard was there more for show than as actual security.
It was five flights down to the actual club. I moved quickly, not checking my coat, not talking to the waitress that tried to take my drink order. I followed Para’s instructions and went straight to the bar. At the end of the bar sat a very small man in a
brown suit with a red and white polka dot bowtie, though man wasn’t exactly right. It was actually a puppet. The puppet was the ability of someone, somewhere at work. According to Para, the man behind the puppet was an information broker. And one that, because of his network of puppets, was impossible to catch, even for the heroes like Para. However, as a villain, he should have no qualms about giving Dr. Portal information.
I sat next to him and pulled my hood lower. “I need information,” I said just loud enough for the puppet to hear.
“Of course you do,” the puppet replied, its voice sounding like that of a child. “What information do you need?”
“I need to know who’s after me,” I replied, looking around nervously. It helped that I really was nervous.
One of the puppets wooden eyebrows raised in curiosity, then it asked, “I see, and who are you?”
“Dr. Portal,” I replied even more softly.
“Rumors say you’re dead,” the puppet replied.
“Tales of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” I said, trying not to smirk. I never thought I would ever get the chance to say something like that.
“I see,” the puppet replied. “It will cost, 1,000 Nano-chips and information.”
Nano-chips were this world’s currency. Chips of compressed Nanos, each one holding 1,000-Nanos. They were an interesting piece of technology. The small glass tile was about the size of the tip of my pinky. In the very center of the tile was a tiny glowing hollow that was filled with the Nanos.
“Done,” I said, placing my hand on a plate on the bar top. Part of my education with Para included some basic lessons in banking. A person could contribute their cultivated Nanos to form Nano-chips which could then be traded for goods and services. A person could then cultivate the chips or use them as currency. Part of that was the use of the metal plate I just set my hand on. It was a device that was able to withdraw the chips from Dr. Portal’s Stash. A Stash was what villains call their bank account with the Trust of Villainy. That’s right, villains had their own banking system. Who would have thought? Anyway, as Dr. Portal’s doppelganger, I was able to access his accounts. It made the 1,000,000 Nanos I just paid out hurt a lot less.
“And done,” the puppet replied, seeing the transaction completed. “Hedge is still after you for setting him up and getting Fingers caught by the heroes. Verdant Labs has initiated a contract on you after their engineers went missing.”
“And who’s backing Verdant?” I asked.
“Unknown,” the puppet replied. “If you want to find out, I suggest you start with the CEO of Verdant Labs, the man that issued the contract . . . Winston Bleak.”
“I have shared what I know. Your turn,” the puppet said, “What happened to you?”
“The device worked, at least at first it did. Then it malfunctioned. I ended up near Wu-Shan Fortress City. It took a while to work my way back here,” I replied.
The puppet followed up with the expected question. It asked, “And the device?”
“Self-destructed,” I answered.
The puppet remained silent for a moment before saying, “Transaction complete. Have a nice day.”
That was my signal to leave. I stepped back from the bar and the puppet. I turned, ready to leave before someone found me. Of course, when I turned, it was to see three men in matching black bodysuits and masks spread out before me.
The one in the middle spoke first, “Dr. Portal, we need you to come with us.”
“And who would you be?” I asked, mentally commanding a scan as I looked at each of them. The one on the left was 25th Milestone and the one on the right was 28th Milestone, which I thought I could handle. Then there was the one in the middle, he was 35th Milestone. And while it was great to find out their Milestones, it didn’t really tell me anything. That said, I felt like I should be able to handle all three, or I would if my only attack weren’t going to cause me even more trouble. Still, I had the pistol at my side that Dr. Portal was known to carry.
“Who we are does not matter,” the one in the middle replied. “What matters is that you will come with us.”
“No, I don’t think I will,” I said, pulling the pistol from my leg holster and aiming it at the head of the one in the middle. And yet, none of them reacted.
“Your weapon is useless,” the one in the middle said. “We were chosen for more than our uniforms.”
So, high energy and or physical resistances?
I smirked, “Who said I was going to shoot you?” I aimed slightly higher and pulled the trigger. The chandelier I aimed at exploded in a shower of glass, sparks, and Nanos. All three men jerked back in surprise from the flash of light and then from the swarm of cultivation attempts by the patrons of the club, some of which physically rushed the epicenter, knocking into the three wannabe kidnappers. It wasn’t going to buy me a lot of time, but it would be enough. Copying a move, one I had previously seen from Dr. Portal, I opened a portal on the floor behind me and fell back into it.
I emerged on the street outside the club. The portal opened vertically so the momentum of the fall continued to push me backward. I was forced to take an awkward step back, so I didn’t continue to fall. It was kind of awesome. I would have bet money it looked really cool. The portal closed in an instant. I counted to ten to see if anyone was able to follow me. But when no one appeared, I pulled my coat and hood tighter around myself and walked into the night.
An hour later I was meeting Para in an abandoned building that I required several portals to reach, all in an effort to ease the paranoid man’s paranoia.
“So, how did it go?” Para demanded as soon as I stepped out of the portal.
I told him what I had learned.
“Didn’t know about the contract. I’ll start working up a plan for you to grab and interrogate the CEO,” Para said.
“What about those three weirdoes?” I asked.
“Kidnap, And, and Ransom, they don’t kill, not that we know of anyway, but they have no problem handing you over to someone that will. Kidnap is the leader of that little trio. Ransom is the muscle, lots of resistances. The third is And, not much is known about him,” Para explained.
I wanted to ask more about the trio and their very strange names, but it was more important to ask, “So what do I do about them?”
“Nothing,” Para replied. “If they show up again, find a way to escape. Or, you’re a villain, you could just kill them.”
I glared at Para, not at all amused by the suggestion. “No, really, what do I do if they show up again? I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to escape like that again.”
“Then be a villain. Do what a villain would do. I’m not here to hold your hand. It’s bad enough I’m working logistical support for you. The sooner you start thinking and acting like a villain, the better,” Para complained. “For now, make your way back to the safehouse we set up for you. Meet me back here in two days. I’ll have a plan for you by then.”
I didn’t like that it would take so long, especially now that it was known that I, as in Dr. Portal, was still alive. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like there was much I could do about it.
22
“And you’re sure this will work?” I asked, looking at Para once again. I still wasn’t comfortable with playing the villain.
After two days of waiting in my safehouse, I had started to go a little stir crazy. So, when I finally got to meet with Para, I was excited. Then he told me the plan.
Para rolled his eyes and grunted, “Yes, this will work.”
I took a nervous look over the side of the skyscraper we were both standing on. Verdant Labs occupied four of the twenty-eight floors of the building including three subterranean floors where the actual labs were located. The other floor they occupied was an executive floor near the top, where they met with investors and ran the business side of things. This also included the office of the CEO, Winston Bleak.
“He just entered his office,” Para said softly before ghosting. And when I say �
��ghosting’ I mean it as in he literally turned into a ghost and then went invisible.
I gave it a ten count before I opened a portal just large enough to see through. The other end opened inside of Bleak’s office. I watched him move with purpose to his wet bar. He looked frazzled, nervous even. He kept looking around the room, checking the dark corners as if he expected to be attacked at a moment’s notice. Clearly, he heard I was still alive . . . Dr. Portal was still alive. Never mind, the point was he had a reason to be afraid.
Winston moved to his wet bar and poured himself a healthy amount of a brownish gold liquor before moving over to his desk and sitting heavily in his oversized luxurious executive office chair behind his massive desk. He pressed a button and the doors and windows were slowly covered by thick metal plates. They were obviously meant to keep everyone out. Unfortunately for Mr. Bleak, they wouldn’t be enough to keep me out.
Just as the man relaxed, I opened a portal under his chair, opening the other end a few feet above and in front of me. He dropped from the portal, still in his chair and now looking quite terrified to be sitting in front of me.
“Hello Winston, you don’t mind if I call you Winston, do you?” I asked, standing in front of the terrified CEO. I kept my posture relaxed but the black coat and hood kept me mostly covered from view.
“P-P-P-P-Portal,” Winston stuttered.
“Mind explaining why you decided to put out a contract on me?” I asked, nonchalantly.
Winston swallowed nervously, slowly starting to speak, “You . . . you stole the device. If I didn’t . . . he would know about our deal.”
That caught me off-guard. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “What deal?”
Winston looked confused. Then he started leaning closer to me, trying to look under my hood. Surprise evident in his voice, he said, “Our deal, you steal the device to keep it out of his hands. Don’t you . . . you don’t . . . remember?”
Uh oh. I needed to think quickly. Come up with something. Some reason I wouldn’t remember.
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