by Skyler Grant
"Ox," Ox said. "With great alacrity shall I charge them like the proverbial bull in the shops of the eastern realm. Wait not and listen for the sounds of my charge."
Ox headed into the hall at a run, the strength enhancers on his chest pulsing red as they channeled power into his muscles.
There were more sounds of machine gun fire along with a whine of energy weapons.
Something out there packed a punch and I picked up a brief visual of Ox flying backwards and smoldering. Ox was looking rather the worse for wear as he charged back a few seconds later.
Ox wasn't actually invulnerable, just very durable. Unfortunately he didn't have any sort of enhanced regeneration so when he was out, he was out.
Jules returned with a box, throwing it down. "It's in there. They don't sort things by value so I'm going to grab everything related to any S-Class villain."
"Good thinking," I said.
Our plans for robbing the place, even when we'd decided to go larger, had simply been to shove everything in the portal that we could. We hadn't expected for there to be nearly so much of it. Jules spent the next few minutes moving boxes. The sounds of weapon fire continued from outside for some time.
After a particularly prolonged burst of weapons fire followed by silence, a yellow ball bounced into the room and shifted back into Bouncy. She was clutching her shoulder.
"You called it quits early," Jules said.
"They stormed in and threw a bunch of grenades. I bounced out in time but they got a piece of me. They also did a pretty good job trashing the place on their own," Bouncy said.
"See Ox out there?" I asked.
"They got him. It looks like they hit him with a power dampener and opened up."
That was unfortunate. Ox would be back in three days from a resurrection center, but in the meantime we'd be without him. I'd known we might lose people on this operation, but I hadn't expected that what amounted to the heroes' henchmen would be doing the damage.
I wasn't going to just take Bouncy at her word. I hoped she was honest, and I'd only just recruited her. I had to verify. I also had to reclaim Ox's strength enhancers. We couldn't replace them as easily as we could his body.
The hall was thick with smoke and blood splatter. Things really were a mess.
Ox was definitely down. He didn't wear any sort of armor and when his powers had been neutralized the bullets tore him apart. His strength enhancement bands were made of sturdier stuff. They'd taken some damage but could be repaired.
Ox had clearly killed some of the guards, torn them basically in half. Others looked pummeled to death in a way his powers wouldn't do—a way consistent with being hit hundreds of times over by a small yellow ball.
Bouncy seemed on the level.
I returned with the strength enhancers and added them to the growing pile of loot. Bouncy had gotten into the game, peering into crates at random and sometimes making a pleased sound before adding boxes to the pile.
It wasn't the most efficient system. Jules had the only directory and was doing her own thing.
We were getting close to exit time. At ninety seconds to go Niles and Uma simply appeared in the room, blinking into existence as a time freeze ended.
They both looked worse for wear. Uma had one badly singed paw and Niles' helmet showed several cracks like he'd taken super-powered blows to the face.
"Resistance?" I asked.
"Guard bots. Independent systems, so no taking them all down at once with Uma," Niles said. The crackling sound of his voice through his helmet didn't conceal that he was panting.
Uma said, "We punched them! Smashed them! Niles went all zap pow whamo with his energy weapons and I bear-smacked them. Did I see Ox out there?"
"Power dampener got him," I said.
"The one super left came to stop the jailbreak. Pink hair, tights, spikes," Uma said.
"That would be Phasma, she's a telekinetic. A-Class," Bouncy said.
"Well, she's locked up tight because she tried to take an elevator," Uma said proudly.
If a power dampener worked on us, it would work on them. Neutralizing an A-Class would win Uma some serious adjustment points for this job when it came time to reassess her powers.
This job should give us all a nice bump. STRONG was a major hero organization and hitting at their headquarters like this would get us noticed.
It was time. We had enough loot and the team was gathered.
I didn't know how the portal device worked. Super-science was beyond my understanding. Once I triggered it, it did exactly what it was supposed to—a shimmering vortex of greenish energy opened and Jules began to toss our take through it. We followed soon enough.
9
We tumbled through the portal into a warehouse in the docks district. Our loot was already there, as was Blue Twister who had provided the portal. However, things weren't quite as expected.
Blue Twister and two dozen henchmen were all armed and pointing guns in our direction.
"A double-cross? Really? This is so ... so ... villainous," Bouncy said, excited.
"We work with Mastermind. This is his city. How stupid are you?" Jules asked Blue Twister.
"You know Mastermind doesn't care about this. If you aren't strong enough to protect your haul, you don't deserve it," Blue Twister said.
They had a point. This also wasn't that much of a surprise. Blue Twister had no real reputation on Villainet and had come suspiciously cheap for an extraction like this.
Whenever you seemed to be getting a good deal, you had to look for the hidden extras. I'd already factored this possibility in.
I sent a message over the comms. "Breach."
The doors of the warehouse exploded inward. Our ride had come armed, and I had a dozen henchmen of my own just waiting for this order.
We might have been outnumbered in henchmen, but not in supers.
Niles raised his arm and an energy blast took an enemy henchman's head clean off. Bouncy shifted her form, rapidly bouncing between henchmen with blows forceful enough to send them stumbling.
Meanwhile our henchmen hit Blue Twister's people from behind. Rifle fire catching them in the backs.
Blue Twister waved his hands and sent a portal through the air at Jules who rolled out of the way, came up in a crouch with her bow extended, and put an arrow through his shoulder.
Jules must be a bad mood. It was an explosive arrow and it took the whole arm away.
With their one super out of the way, the remaining henchmen weren't a threat. Niles took out a dozen with energy blasts, mostly dispatching those that Bouncy had already disabled.
Bouncy might not be quite as destructive as she had let on. Her abilities didn't seem to be lethal without a lot of effort, but she was great for incapacitating foes long enough for others to finish them off.
I could make something out of that.
When we'd taken out everyone we loaded the loot and headed back to base.
"Well this is kind of ... homey," Bouncy said, walking inside.
That was a nice way of saying we weren't as impressive as STRONG Tower or whatever base SMILE had used.
"We're a startup," I said. You could away with anything as long as you were a startup. You didn't even need to be profitable, although we were.
"Long as I get a room," Bouncy said.
I liked that she hadn't even talked about pay. I intended to give her a paycheck, of course, and if she stuck around she'd get a share of the company like the others. Compensated employees were motivated employees.
I had henchmen carry the boxes of loot into the conference room. This is where things got good. The most fun part of any robbery was seeing exactly what you'd scored. The dimensional crystal we were already planning to trade to Disaster, but the rest was all potential.
Still, it was best to start at the beginning. Jules pulled out the dimensional crystal and set it on the table. It glowed with a shimmer of rainbows, a prismatic display of colors that was almost blinding.
; I focused my sensors on it and they began to warp and twist. It was hard to get a read and only after a few moments data began to flow.
Dimensional Crystal 'Emerald'
Unique
Estimated value: Priceless
This crystal is the product of a different reality and has carried part of those properties with it that allow it the ability to alter and bypass the rules of our universe. Specifically, it can allow one to dramatically increase their power. It is also certain to be fatal to anyone under an S-Class category of power and is likely to be fatal even there.
Well, that was a surprise, and not a particularly pleasant one. On the one hand, I really liked the sound of priceless. Or at least, I liked the idea of underselling it and still getting a vast fortune. What I didn't like was the thought of Disaster growing even more powerful. S-Class was the most powerful class there was, and all of them were roughly similar in power.
Disaster was probably the strongest of them already, but so long as she was content running her own lands this wasn't really a problem. The few times she had gotten more aggressive, the others teamed up and were more for a match than her.
"Well?" Niles asked.
I said, "It amplifies powers. It amplifies powers by a lot. Only usable by an S-Class and possibly fatal to them even then."
Jules frowned.
Bouncy said, "Are you going to give it to Mastermind then? I know all the S-Classes and if there is anyone you'd want with that kind of power, it's him. Besides, he's your boss."
That much was true. And there was something else to consider when it came to Mastermind.
Uma said, "Uhh ... I should probably tell you that I already told Disaster we got it. I couldn't help it! It is what I was programmed for."
A lot of long, dirty looks got directed at the teddy-bear.
This abruptly changed everything. There was no point in stealing the crystal if we didn't have any choice in what we could do with it. Taking all precautions and setting up a safe, foolproof trade with Disaster had been the idea. Now Disaster would have only one "trade" in mind—coming and taking it.
"Niles, can you shut off Uma's data connections?" I asked.
"On it," Niles said. "I rigged a few safeguards just in case."
I felt the change as he triggered it. The mainframe that Uma was on was completely disconnected from the network as isolation protocols engaged.
Niles knew that Uma could overcome anything software-based. He must have rigged actual physical overrides.
Uma jumped up on the table and punched him with a paw. "No fair! You didn't tell me you put those in. Mislabeling the control routines in the system was cheating."
"Right," Niles said.
Niles was quite the liar. I approved, and was also wary.
"So what are we going to do about it? If Disaster is on the way, do we still at least try and sell it to her? Our only other option is what, calling Mastermind?" Jules asked.
"We could try to destroy it. I'd hate to do that given what it's probably worth, but if it is fate of the world stuff it's worth doing," Niles said.
"We could give it back. I know you are pissed off at STRONG, but they were keeping it safe," Bouncy said.
Really, I suspected the matter was already out of our hands.
I said loudly, "Care to comment on this, Mastermind? I know you have to be monitoring us and I'm sure you are up to speed by now."
A holographic projector kicked in and a suit-wearing Mastermind appeared seated at the table.
"Of course I am. If your scans are accurate and this is the Emerald, obtaining this crystal is a variable I hadn't counted on. I'm running the numbers," Mastermind said.
A shimmer shifted the air. No holographic projection this time—suddenly Deanna was standing there. Deanna was our liaison at Emmatech. She was wearing form-fitting red body armor with a pair of sheathed daggers at her waist.
She said, "We also have an interest in this matter. I should tell you, however, that you won't be able to destroy the crystal." She paused. "Disaster might, but the resulting force would likely unravel your dimension."
Mastermind narrowed his eyes at Deanna. "How do you even know about this structure? You aren't monitoring it."
"Clearly we are. You just aren't smart enough to figure out how," Deanna said with a thin smile.
Emmatech and Mastermind plainly didn't get along. He liked to hack their system, and it seemed Emmatech was, at least at times, in turn able to outthink the greatest mind on the planet.
"Clearly. The day is filled with unexpected variables," Mastermind said.
I was trying very hard to keep my greed in check. Two major players were now making guest appearances about what we had. For all the danger, I also smelled opportunity.
Bouncy said, "I read your book, sir. I really thought your views on the Adelna people were brilliant."
Mastermind spared her a brief smile. "Brilliant, but ultimately wrong. Kenwick proved that much last year, an unimaginative little man with rock-solid data."
In the distance sirens began to sound. Deanna vanished without a word.
Mastermind cocked his head, listening to something none of us could hear.
He said, "We're being invaded. STRONG in coordination with several other teams is crossing the channel. Disaster is approaching as well and appears to be bringing her strongest."
"Wow," Bouncy said, eyes wide.
"I'm moving a hover fortress to your position. You'll transfer the crystal as soon as it arrives. We can negotiate a price later," Mastermind said.
A war was breaking out, and this was his city. Others might be willing to pay us, or they might just be willing to kill us, and there was only one rational answer.
"Of course," I said.
10
The great thing about not being strong enough for the coming fight was that we didn't really have to prepare. For this, we were more like henchmen, and more a distraction than being expected to do anything critical outside of getting the crystal moved.
It only took five minutes for Mastermind's fortress to arrive over our lair. As far as I could determine, it was actually his tower. It and the block surrounding it all had an array of hover thrusters and the entire mass had taken to the air.
Our entire team was allowed aboard, shuttled up in a heavy-duty transport. When we left that, an elevator took us down to Mastermind's headquarters—the control room that he used to rule his empire.
Screens constantly kept him updated on events. Mastermind's eyes were never far from them. Information was what made him such a force.
Jules offered over the crystal and Mastermind motioned for an assistant in thick gloves to accept it.
"It doesn't seem dangerous to handle. At least, not from what we've seen," Jules said.
"None of you are S-Class. If it really does respond to power, then it probably becomes more risky the stronger you are," Mastermind said, taking a moment to study it. "Surprising that STRONG never realized what they had. I wonder how Disaster knew?"
Mastermind was onto something there. It had seemed inert up until now. Simply from being near Mastermind I could see the occasional spark flicker, a green flare of power.
"That isn't a toy. If you're wise, you'll hand it over to us. We can keep it safe."
The voice was heard before Deanna appeared again, flickering into existence.
Around the room guards raised their weapons, she wasn't an expected guest.
"Into the very heart of my power-base, and in a crisis, as if it was nothing. Someday we'll discuss just what it is your company can do and how you can do it," Mastermind said.
"Maybe, but for now you need to listen to me. That crystal needs to be contained and you don't have the technology to do it. We do," Deanna said.
The building shook. Displays showed that hover carriers were already moving into place over the city. I recognized the symbols of various super teams on them. STRONG, BRAVE, STALWART, TRUE.
I said, "The question bothering me
is how does everyone suddenly know what we have? This wasn't in STRONG's top security wing and while we pissed them off, it didn't deserve this kind of response."
"A valid query," Mastermind said, tapping on a hover display. "The wisest one, it appears. They've been informed by something of a seer—a useless one given she didn't stop you from stealing it in the first place—but once you did she sounded an alarm."
"Because you should be alarmed. We've been at odds before, but you know we are not your enemy," Deanna said. "Don't force us to simply take it."
"If you could, you would," Mastermind said with a shake of his head. "Your power isn't infinite, for all it can be surprising."
A second set of ships had appeared on the monitors. These all bore the same logo, the microphone and the lightning bolt of Disaster.
The crystal was growing even more agitated, green flashes of lightning arcing up the arm of the assistant who was trying to place it into a round glass tube. It didn't seem to want to go.
It wasn't just Mastermind's power that the crystal was responding to—it was the increasing power density in the area, and that was building to dangerous levels rapidly.
I wasn't alone in noticing it.
"We don't have time for this," Deanna said.
The building shook again, harder this time.
"Dimensional variance. We've got a rupture," called out a woman at one of the consoles.
A display focused on it, a massive green crack manifesting in the air and splitting the heavens apart.
Ships started coming out of it. Strangely shaped things made out of some sort of reddish metal.
"Who are they?" Mastermind asked.
"Scanning..." someone called.
I was doing the same. Mastermind's system records might be more complete than mine, but I had instant access to Villainet. So far it was turning up nothing. I focused with my own abilities.
Ship of the Endless Swarm
Profile: The Endless Swarm are multidimensional parasites that are attracted to great power. They capture it and convert it to their own use, ultimately using it to convert whole worlds into part of the swarm.