Mastermind

by Steven Kelliher

  The bank manager didn’t resist my pull in the least. If anything, he leaned into it, his nose nearly poking me in the eye and making me wish I was still wearing the mask.

  “I have indeed triggered the silent alarm,” he said. “And it’s not ‘they’ who are coming, but ‘she.’ She’s quite punctual, and quite powerful. And I don’t think you’re going to like meeting her.”

  I released him and leaned back, trying to gauge whether or not he was bluffing.

  He adjusted his suit jacket and cracked his neck, which only made him look more rigid than he already was.

  “Here at Titan Dominion,” he said, “we pride ourselves on ensuring the safety and security of our customers’ assets. That is why we’ve recently decided to partner with some of the local heroes. They handle our security now. We’ve been very pleased with the change, and we think you’ll understand why soon enough.”

  “B?” I asked, nearly stumbling back.

  I couldn’t help but picture the faces of prominent female heroes I knew. Those Leviathan surrounded himself with. Powerful heroes. Deadly heroes. The sorts who wouldn’t hesitate in ’accidentally’ bringing a building down on my head.

  The big players on the heroic side of the aisle had figured out how to game the AI. If they put villains into desperate enough situations, they could often tilt circumstances into fatal territory without getting their hands bloody.

  “The Heroic Coalition,” B5 informed me. “Looks like a new startup jointly funded by Titan Dominion and Bastion Investments that heroes have been joining to gain experience on the job before graduating on to handling larger missions. Sort of a training program for new recruits. A way to get noticed by those on high.”

  I almost laughed. And then I did laugh. Sebastian laughed too, thinking it was part of the mission. The rest of my crew eyed one another and even the tellers and now-unarmed security guards, each looking for the other to provide answers.

  “I seem to have missed the joke,” Mr. Bank Manager said. He looked more annoyed than nervous, but there was a bit of that in there, too.

  “Here I was getting nervous,” I said, shaking my head. I reached into my coat, taking my time in doing it. “I thought you were calling one of the big guns. But now I know it’s just some recruit racing down the road, looking to earn her stripes. I’ve killed plenty of recruits,” I lied. “Quite enjoy it, actually.” I pulled the kabuki mask out and strapped it on. “I really must thank you,” I purred. “You’ve just made a good day grander still.”

  The effect on the bank manager was a hitching swallow. On the tellers behind him, it was an outright faint from one and some serious shakes for the other, the one I’d been dealing with. I focused on her, turning my black eyes her way.

  “Now, dear, I assume you know how to get into the safe as well?”

  She gulped and nodded, earning a furious glare from the bank manager.

  Alert: Helena, Titan Dominion Teller, has been Influenced.

  Sphere Update: 14/15 Slots Filled

  Well, that was easy. Seemed fear did go a long way with some NPCs.

  “Helena,” he said, “we have protocol to consid—”

  Sebastian reached across the counter and silenced him with a swift punch to the gut. The manager dropped to the floor, trying in vain to regain his breath.

  I patted Sebastian on the back and smiled at Helena. “Go on, then. Get my men access to the vaults. And give them some of those big money sacks if you’ve got them. You know, the kind they have in the movies.”

  She nodded, a firm white ‘I’ forming above her head, and rushed to do just that.

  “B5, send in the twins.”

  After a few tense moments, Axel and Alex entered the bank. They cut imposing figures, even if they weren’t quite as large or impressive as Sebastian.

  I turned to face Mickie, Kayde, and Sascha, who was keeping an eye on everyone else in the bank, security guards included. “I need two of you in there with our good friend Helena and I need the twins out here with Mickie minding our boys who didn’t make it all the way through the academy. Load up the van. Sebastian and I will see to our heroic friend, if she does decide to show.”

  She did decide to show, and she did so with all the pomp and circumstance I might expect out of a total newbie to Titan Online.

  It started as a keen, high-pitched whistling sound, like a siren with only one note. I motioned for Sascha and Kayde to take positions just inside the sliding doors, out of sight.

  Only, our heroic visitor didn’t enter through the front door. She came through the windows along the west-facing wall. I saw a yellow flash that I mistook for the late afternoon rays of the sun, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back, counting stars as bits of passing glass shimmered over my head.

  I hadn’t taken any direct damage, my health was still at 100%, but I’d certainly been caught unawares. I sat up groggily and looked to my right, seeing that Sascha and Kayde had also been knocked down. Sebastian grabbed my shoulder and hoisted me to my feet, brushing off errant bits of window like a mother cat minding her kitten.

  Apparently, the lackadaisical display rubbed the newcomer the wrong way. She even went so far as to clear her throat, and I shooed Sebastian out of the way to get a better look at her.

  Encounter Imminent

  Starshot

  Tier 6 Hero

  Threat Index: Minor

  I had to squint, even with the shade my mask provided.

  The hero floated just on the inside of the wall of glass she’d shattered. The color of her suit was difficult to place, but I guessed it to be white. She had long golden hair that floated like she was in water, and she was outlined in a bright sunny glow. It was quite impressive, all things considered. Even her eyes glowed with what I could only guess was some form of solar energy.

  Sascha and Kayde regained their feet and scrambled into the back room while the twins trained their guns on the floating golden hero, who didn’t so much as glance in their direction. I could see the effect it had on them. The icons above their heads went translucent for a moment before settling back. Tough, but not as loyal as Sebastian, whose icon never wavered. He stood in front of me like a silent guardian, his slicked-back blond hair overshadowed for the moment by the angelic creature in front of him.

  “Aren’t you going to ask who I am?” she asked. Axel and Alex glanced in my direction, their stares asking whether they should try pumping lead into her. I held up a hand to stay them, for the moment.

  “You look like the type who wants to tell me,” I said with a shrug, “even if the AI already did.” I heard a crash from the back room and gritted my teeth as the hero’s pupilless eyes responded, looking past me and over the counter.

  “Where are you planning to put the cash?”

  “It’s gold,” I said, nodding at her getup. “You’d probably like it. Might even be able to tempt me into giving you some in exchange for keeping things quiet.”

  “Do I look like I’m in the market for Infamy?”

  I shrugged again and then motioned to my own outfit. “Appearances can be deceiving.”

  She crossed her arms, not looking the least bit impressed.

  “So,” she said, “you’re going to tell me you’re not a villain, and that your men aren’t back there right now, robbing this bank, taking the good people’s hard-earned money?”

  I sighed.

  “NPC money, you mean,” I said, deadpan. I earned a few hateful, confused stares from the bank security guards, who soon went back to admiring their guardian angel.

  “Listen,” I said, leaning back against the counter and cringing as another loud crash and tinging of coins striking tile echoed from out back, “you’re clearly new at this. Fancy suit. Flashy powers. But you’re in over your head, and frankly, I don’t have time to deal with you today.”

  She looked as indignant as a petulant child, and I wondered how old the girl playing on the other side was.

  “What makes you think I’m i
n over my head?” she demanded, jutting her chin forward. “All I see is a mask-wearing freak, same as all the other freaks, and his lowly thugs, same as all the other thugs. Easy mark.”

  “I think you’re in over your head because you’ve been assigned to cover a bank on the south side of Titan City,” I said. “I also think that if your powers were anything to write home about, you’d have used them to do more than shatter the window of the very establishment you’re meant to be protecting.”

  That last one drew a blush.

  I raised my right hand to my ear, pressing down to alert B5 to my current predicament – well, to see if it was a predicament at all. If Starshot was a tier-six hero, then B5 could use the alien core to tell me her stats and the particulars of her superpower.

  The hero was cleverer than she looked, though. While I was distracted, she pointed a finger in my direction and sent a jolt of energy zipping toward my head. I ducked away from it, but the small blast seemed to short my transmitter.

  Ah, well. I suppose I’ll have to figure things out on the fly. I’d done it with Scale the first time. Of course, I’d fled that encounter like a whipped dog with his tail between his legs, but still, I felt my initial analysis was apt. If Starshot really had something, she’d have used it by now.

  Moreover, she was nervous. This might have been her first PvP situation, given her Minor threat index rating. Her first potential tangle with a true villain, and she didn’t have the stones for it.

  Or she was stalling for backup, which was all fine and good, since I’d been stalling too.

  “Boss?” Brooks poked his head out from the back room. I chanced a look back and saw his dumb, sweating mug overcome with awe at the sight of the golden hero floating in the lobby.

  “What is it?” I asked, impatient.

  “The, uh… the van’s not working.”

  I slapped a palm to my forehead. “What do you mean, the van’s not working?”

  “Well,” he actually steepled his fingers like a cartoon bozo would, “I mean to say, Despot, sir, that the van is, uh—”

  “I blasted it,” the hero said. When I turned back, slow and overcome with mounting frustration, I felt an acid anger at the self-satisfied look she wore. “And the goon who was sitting in the back.”

  “You killed Hobb?” I asked, more curious than horrified, though the effect on Sebastian, Sascha and Kayde leaned toward the latter. Of course, she couldn’t have killed him, otherwise I’d have received an alert.

  “No,” she said, looking truly appalled. “I zapped the van, not the driver.” She made a weird zapping motion with her fingers. I don’t know how to describe a zapping motion, necessarily, but that’s what it felt like she was going for.

  “Don’t have to explain yourself to me,” I said, holding up my hands in a mocking placating gesture. “I’m just a villain, after all. Besides, you wouldn’t be the first hero to accidentally kill in the line of duty. Some have become pretty adept at it.”

  She scoffed. “They’d get huge Fame penalties for killing, even if it’s NPCs.”

  “Plenty of ways to fool the AI,” I said, though I knew it wasn’t really the case. Deep down, I believed the AI knew exactly what these murderous heroes were doing, and was rewarding them for their creativity. In essence, they represented a third alignment in Titan Online. There were heroes and villains, black and white, and then there were vigilantes. Maybe Leviathan considered himself one.

  Maybe I did.

  “Anyway,” I said, “now that our dastardly plan has been thwarted, we’re going to go ahead and take our leave. We’ll spare you a fight. Looks like you might be running on fumes anyway—”

  Her smile interrupted me before her words did.

  “A minute ago, sure,” she said, starting to bring her hands out in a weird, vaguely yoga-like motion. “But the sun’s not down yet.” I glanced behind her, looking down 31st Street, and saw the red orb painting the sky the color of burnt blood and gold, with the hero as a bright yellow nugget at its core.

  “The name’s Starshot,” she said, tossing a wink in for good measure. There were a few viewers in the area, so Starshot was either practicing for her eventual move to the big time, or she truly had bought in to the cops and robbers aspect of the game world to an incurable degree.

  “So be it,” I said. I snapped my fingers, and the boys and girls from the docks filled the Titan Dominion Southside branch with a chorus of gun shots and a rapid brass sound of glass shattering. Whatever was left of it.

  Encounter Begins

  Despot vs. Starshot

  Starshot sent a beam of yellow energy toward the twins. It brought half the entryway down around them, but the two managed to scramble out of harm’s way, and Axel managed to keep his gun. He raised it and Starshot’s eyes widened, turning her graceful floating into an aerial backpedal. She streaked backward, leaving an orange trail in her wake, and zipped down the street as if she’d been shot out of a cannon.

  I almost laughed. “Now I see where she got the name.” I clapped Sebastian on the shoulder. He was tense, and I realized that he hadn’t even drawn his gun. Just stood there with his fists clenched and teeth bared like a loyal hound.

  “Sebastian,” I said. “I gave you that gun for a reason.”

  He frowned down at me in confusion. Then realization dawned, and he fished the black handgun out of his trousers and brandished it in a way that gave me less than no confidence he knew how to use it.

  “Grab the gold,” I called to Brooks. “Grab Hobb,” I called to Mickie, “then grab a car, and let’s get back hom—”

  The transmitter started screeching again, louder this time, and it brought me to my knees. I pressed my hand to my right ear, felt the wire beneath the hood and pinched it. There was a ghostly voice speaking over the crackle and static.

  “… suggest you flee, General. Starsh… potent abili…”

  The rest was lost to another fit of static, and I threw my hood back, ripped the transmitter free and whipped it to the ground, stomping it into the dust and plaster. The bank manager was still cowering on the ground next to me. I thought about stomping on him as well, but thought of a better use for my time.

  Getting the hell out of there.

  With Axel laying down covering fire, we made it out into the street with little fanfare. NPC citizens seemed to wait for us to emerge before fleeing in all directions – some right toward us, which made no sense.

  Alert: The Southside Sleeves have fled the scene in terror. Helena has gone into shock inside the bank. Influence broken.

  Sphere Update: 8/15 Slots Filled

  “Apparently it’s not enough for people in this town to hear gunshots,” I said. “They need to see if the one responsible for them is wearing a mask. As if it makes a difference. A bullet is a bullet.”

  “Have to agree with you on that one.”

  I froze, as did my crew members, four of whom carried burlap sacks that jingled with every step. When I turned, I saw Starshot floating in the middle of the intersection, her golden back to the setting sun, which was now little more than a crescent over the sea. Her palms were turned down, and now that I looked more closely, it appeared that she was keeping herself afloat by emitting a constant, rapid burst of that same yellow energy from them.

  It wasn’t so much that I was afraid of her. It was more that I’d been caught doing villain-speak, which really made me look no better than her.

  "What's your name?" she asked me.

  I knew the game had already notified her. Really playing it up for the cameras, this one. I could hear the buzzing viewer bot lurking among the scattering pigeons, red camera light looking down over our exchange.

  I was spending more time in Titan than I was in the real world of late. And while I still wasn’t too keen on my current build, I couldn’t deny the affection – the connection, even – that I still felt with Streak. Losing him had felt like losing a part of myself, another self, in some ways.

  “Despot,” I said, f
eeling like I meant it for the first time. “My name is Despot.”

  Starshot smiled down at me. She couldn’t see me smiling back through my mask, but I wondered if she could tell by my eyes.

  “Well met, Despot,” she said, sweeping into a mocking, floating bow. She straightened. “But I’m afraid your fun today has come to an end.”

  “Waste her,” I said, tossing my head toward Sascha and Mickie, who finally had guns drawn and leveled. Sebastian just stood there, shoulders squared, as if he might punch the hero out of the sky.

  Starshot seemed to shimmer a little brighter for a moment, and then she brought her palms together. The resulting flash was blinding. I shielded my eyes, my mask doing most of the work in cutting through the glare, and saw that Sebastian had been brought to his knees, clawing at his eyes. For a moment, I thought he was blind, but when he looked at me, his face colored in shame and he struggled back to his feet.

  An explosion of gunfire to my right had my teeth chattering as Mickie and Sascha fired the finest cheap stock from Madam Post’s armory. The guns shook violently, and Mickie’s actually cracked and sputtered in his hand, jamming and releasing a gray cloud of smoke. As for Sascha’s bullets, they whizzed under, above and beside Starshot, but she was too fast and nimble – and my NPC’s aim and weapon too poor – for Sascha to put her down.

  But one bullet did nick her. It was fired from Axel’s gun.

  Starshot yelped in pain, clutched her shoulder, and when she shimmered again, she seemed to go a little dimmer for a moment, as if she’d lost something. Her suit was indeed white beneath all that shine, and when she pulled her hand away from her arm, it came away red.