Evil Genius 4: Becoming the Apex Supervillain

by Logan Jacobs

  I would make sure of that.

  Chapter 19

  Well, Penumbra had definitely done a good job of crushing the Shadow Knight’s tanks.

  When Elizabeth and I arrived back at the mansion, we found three separate hunks of metal, and only two of them resembled any kind of vehicle. They were both the two tanks that she’d technically only half-destroyed. The back halves of both tanks were completely flattened, but it looked like the cockpits were still intact enough that I might be able to salvage some of the tech if I was able to pry apart the crushed metal that had collapsed in on the driver’s seat.

  As far as the two smaller vehicles that the blonde had crushed, they were now just completely unrecognizable hunks of metal.

  I could probably re-use the metal compounds for more armor, if nothing else, but I would deal with that later. First, I wanted to play around with the Shadow Knight’s latest, most upgraded version of his armored car, and I also wanted to go through his utility belt to see what else he had been working with right before his death, including the gas that he’d used against Elizabeth.

  But after I inspected all of the vehicles, I decided all of my experiments would have to wait until another day because I needed to finally get some sleep.

  For the first time in quite a while, I didn’t have any lingering anxiety about the Shadow Knight.

  The next morning, I woke up after Elizabeth for the first time since we’d started living together, but I wasn’t surprised to see that the bed was empty. After all, I’d fought harder and longer than anyone else last night against the Shadow Knight, but I had more than earned it.

  “They have prepared breakfast for you downstairs,” Aileen announced as she strode into my bedroom.

  “Were you waiting outside until I woke up?” I teased.

  “For several hours, yes,” Aileen said. “I intended to wake you in approximately thirty minutes so you would not be late for the meeting at Slade Tower, but you woke up on your own.”

  “Oh, right--we’ve got to visit Slade Tower this morning,” I groaned. “You bought up the rest of the shares, right? That’s all squared away?”

  “Indeed.” My android assistant nodded with what appeared to be a confident smile. “As soon as word of Slade’s death broke, I completed our plan, so you are now in control of fifty-one percent of Slade Industries.”

  “So now there’s no one to contest me,” I laughed. “Good job.”

  “I doubt they would anyway,” Aileen replied. “The disastrous exploits of Slade Industries has made all the investors want a change in management anyway. I’m sure they will be glad once you are in charge.”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged and slid over to the side of the bed to get up and dressed for the day. “Even though I don’t actually intend to run the whole company myself.”

  “Naturally,” Aileen agreed. “We don’t plan to stick around Grayville much longer, do we?”

  “Nah,” I said as I slipped into a neatly pressed suit, since I had to look presentable for the meeting at Slade Tower. “But I want the city to be left in good shape when I give it over to Beacon.”

  That was my plan, anyway. I didn’t want to remain in Grayville, but he probably did, and there was no one better that I could think of to run Grayville.

  Beacon had started off a little bit on the wrong foot with me, but that was only because he was so used to dealing with Slade that he didn’t know how to act around someone like me. He’d actually grown into someone I respected, and I’d certainly been impressed by the way he handled Electronica, so I thought he was the best choice to leave in charge of Grayville.

  Still, I didn’t exactly think we’d be able to leave Grayville any time soon. The Shadow Knight’s death was already being broadcasted all over the city, and that was definitely going to bring out the worst of Grayville’s supervillains.

  I was a little worried about the Maniac’s retaliation in particular, since I already knew that he’d taken what we’d done very personally. After all, as soon as the news outlets had started to report the Shadow Knight’s death, they’d immediately blamed the Maniac because only the city’s worst supervillain could have been so inhumane in his attack.

  Of course, even I was surprised when the reporters said how completely the Shadow Knight’s body had been bashed in, sliced up, and beaten to a pulp with his own missing arm, to the point where the feathers of his cape were just about the only thing that could identify him as the crow-caped superhero. Someone had even taken the remains of Slade’s skull from the scene, except for a few teeth and a broken shard of his jaw, and I knew that the Maniac was the only person in town who was capable of that kind of brutality.

  And even if the Maniac was only halfway as obsessed with the Shadow Knight as the Shadow Knight had been with him, he would become a problem for us in the very near future.

  But I wouldn’t worry about that just yet.

  “Everyone else is already gathered downstairs,” Aileen said. “Well, Beacon plans to meet us there. He informed Norma that he needed some time alone after last night.”

  The death of his mentor must have hit him pretty hard, despite how prepared we were for it. I cared very little about Dan Slade as a person and the Shadow Knight as a hero, so I mostly just felt relieved that it was over and done with.

  Well, I also felt pretty accomplished. Slade had been my most difficult adversary yet, but he was dead and I was still here.

  It was impossible not to feel smug about it.

  “That’s fine, thank you.” I nodded and exited the master bedroom to head downstairs to breakfast.

  The three girls were gathered around the table, but as soon as I stepped foot into the kitchen, all of them immediately turned toward me.

  “Miles!” Penumbra grinned. “Elizabeth just finished telling us the details of what happened. You fought against the Shadow Knight all on your own?”

  “I sure did.” I laughed as I approached and admired the breakfast spread laid out over the table. “But it’s not something I’d like to do again any time soon.”

  “Well, we can relax a little bit now,” Norma said with a small smile. “I mean, now that we don’t have to worry about the Shadow Knight running into the side of the mansion with an armored tank or anything.”

  “Or interrupting us from stopping a supervillain,” Elizabeth pointed out. “Grayville is still a mess, so don’t get too cozy.”

  “I wasn’t!” Norma huffed as she took a bite out of a bagel. “But we can sleep a little easier now that we’re just up against normal supervillains again.”

  “There’s also no more risk that he can reveal your identity anymore,” Penumbra added. “There is a lot less to worry about, Dynamo.”

  “I know, I know,” the dark-haired superheroine sighed. “I just think maybe we’re celebrating a little too early.”

  “This isn’t a celebration,” I laughed as I speared a pancake with a fork. “It’s just breakfast.”

  “You know what I mean,” she said with a roll of her lagoon-colored eyes.

  “We’re allowed to enjoy our victory,” I said. “We worked hard for this.”

  “Yeah,” Norma agreed. “So let’s enjoy the peace while we can.”

  “It’s pretty hard to believe he’s gone,” Penumbra admitted as she speared a pancake of her own and doused it with syrup. “But… I feel lighter? Like I don’t feel so worried about it anymore. He was always kind of like this huge weight hanging over my head, and now he’s gone. I feel free.”

  I was glad to see that Penumbra didn’t seem bothered by the Shadow Knight’s death, but then again, she’d never been very close to him, and he’d only ever abused her.

  “Good to hear,” Elizabeth told her. “What will you do now, Penumbra?”

  “Um…” the blonde trailed off. “I was hoping… maybe I could, like, stay with you guys?”

  “Really?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” she said a little more confidently. “I really feel like I’m part of
a team with you, Miles. I feel like I can be a real hero.”

  “Well, we don’t intend to leave Grayville just yet,” I replied, since I would have to talk it over with Elizabeth and Norma before I let Penumbra come join us even after we left. “So you’re welcome to stick around for now.”

  “Okay!” she chirped. “I’ll prove to you that I can be a worthwhile addition to your team.”

  “You can help us clean up Grayville, for a start,” Norma said with a smile.

  “What happened to relaxing and sleeping a little easier?” I teased.

  “Well, I just meant--” my assistant started as her cheeks turned pink.

  “No, you’re right,” I laughed. “There will still be plenty of supervillains around for us to clean up before we leave town.”

  “Like the Maniac,” Elizabeth sighed. “We’ll need to be ready for his retaliation.”

  “Yeah,” Penumbra said. “He’ll definitely come after us.”

  “The media thinks he did it, especially since it sounds like he went to the warehouse after you and Elizabeth left, just to mess up the body even more,” Norma said. “Or maybe he was just there to take what was left of his skull as a trophy?”

  “Ugh, that’s so gross,” Penumbra said. “Do you think the Maniac knows that you killed his, like, archenemy?”

  “If he suspects us right away, that’s fine.” I shrugged. “Unlike Slade, he doesn’t know where we live.”

  “Besides, the security system would catch him if he did,” Norma replied with a wicked grin.

  “Exactly right,” I said. “And that means we can enjoy our breakfast.”

  I did enjoy the rest of my breakfast in the company of three beautiful women, and even Aileen eventually joined us, although she claimed it was only to make sure that we stayed on schedule.

  The meeting at Slade Tower was probably going to be short since it was just to ensure the investors knew it would be under new management, but I still needed to discuss things with Beacon before I got there.

  He probably wasn’t expecting to inherit anything, since the Shadow Knight had made it clear he’d never really trusted him.

  But I had no need to run two companies, anyway.

  After Aileen insisted it was time for us to go, the three human girls and I left for Slade Tower. It was all the way downtown, so it was pretty far away from the mansion, but it was in one of the nicest parts of the city. When we arrived, we looked up to see a tall, thin tower that stood much higher than the surrounding skyscrapers, and there was a massive sign that read SLADE INDUSTRIES at the very top that was definitely going to need to change.

  But I guessed I’d leave that up to Beacon, for whatever he wanted the new name to be.

  Norma, Elizabeth, and Penumbra all went up to check out what was left of Slade’s penthouse apartment, while I headed to the ground floor to go over everything in a basic meeting with the Slade Industries higher-ups. I would join the girls as soon as I finished, but first I had to take care of the tedious work of dealing with the assets of the company.

  The meeting didn’t actually last that long since I didn’t intend to run the company myself. I made it clear what I planned to do and how my management team was going to begin taking over, and they weren’t really in a place to disagree with me. I doubted they would even want to, since it was clear that Slade Industries really needed a change.

  As I exited the meeting, I found the very man I’d been waiting for.

  Beacon looked nervous as he tugged at the collar of his suit, but I was glad that I’d instructed Aileen to supply him with one, even though I hadn’t told him why. He looked like a young professional, but he was still far from CEO material.

  But he had plenty of time to learn.

  “Adrian,” I greeted him by his civilian name since we were still in the main lobby of Slade Tower.

  “Mr. Nelson,” he replied with a little nervous jump.

  “Join me upstairs in the penthouse?” I asked.

  “Sure.” Beacon gave me a hesitant smile and then followed me onto the elevator.

  “So, Adrian,” I started as I pushed the button for the top floor and the doors closed in front of us. “I’d like you to eventually take over as CEO of Slade Industries.”

  “What?” he asked as his dark brown eyes went wide. “Why? I mean, really?”

  “I don’t want to run two giant companies in two different cities,” I replied. “I have plenty of money and whenever I finally leave Grayville, I don’t really want to have to come here often. But… you want to stay here, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” the younger superhero said. “This is my home, and someone has to stick around to protect it.”

  “Then you’re the best person for the job,” I said.

  “But I don’t know anything about running a company,” Beacon protested. “Slade never taught me anything like that.”

  “I’ll teach you,” I replied. “We’re not going to leave right away, so don’t worry. We’ll stick around to help clean up Grayville, and then I’ll leave some great managers with you, so you won’t be on your own until you’re ready.”

  “I guess, if you really think I can do it,” he said as he rubbed at the back of his neck, “then I’ll accept it. Thanks, Miles.”

  “Don’t thank me.” I shrugged. “You’re the only person around who could take over for Slade, and for the Shadow Knight.”

  “I just want Grayville to be a nicer place to live in,” he replied. “So whatever I can do to help make that happen, I will.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “We can talk about it more later.”

  The elevator dinged as we reached the penthouse, but before we could even open the front door, Penumbra opened the door for us.

  “Miles!” the blonde chirped. “Oh, and Adrian!”

  “Nice to see you, too,” Beacon laughed.

  “Well, we just saw each other yesterday,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Oh, Miles, I hope you didn’t mind, but we let someone else in.”

  “Someone else?” I raised an eyebrow as we entered Slade’s penthouse.

  It was a huge penthouse, even bigger than the one where I’d killed Arachne. The floors were polished marble, and a crystal chandelier hung in the entryway. Everything was themed black and white, with the occasional obsidian siding or accent piece. It was an elegantly furnished penthouse apartment with several bedrooms and a lavish living room that didn’t seem like it had ever been used before.

  But now it was fully populated with my entire team, plus one old man with long silver hair. Julien’s hand was no longer bandaged, but his index finger was, of course, still missing.

  Oh well. It could have been worse.

  “Julien, you’re back already?” Beacon grinned as he approached the old inventor.

  “Miles called me and offered me a job,” he explained with a grateful glance at me.

  “Not to work for me,” I said with a shrug. “But to work for the new Slade Industries, or whatever you want to rebrand it into, Beacon.”

  “That’s what I assumed,” Julien replied. “I know how Slade ran his business, so I can help out as an advisor.”

  “Don’t run it too much like Slade,” Norma piped up. “At least, not how he was running it recently, anyway.”

  “He’s really gone?” the old inventor asked.

  “He is,” I said. “So Grayville is under our control now.”

  “Finally,” Penumbra sighed. “So what are your first plans going to be, Beacon?”

  “Uh,” he trailed off with a glance at me. “I’m not really sure.”

  “Well, we can go downstairs to one of the meeting rooms and work out a plan,” Norma suggested.

  I suddenly noticed that Elizabeth had wandered away from the rest of the group and disappeared, but then I saw that one of the doors into the next room was slightly open. I glanced at Norma, but she just turned pink and nodded toward the door.

  “Good idea, Norma,” I said with a smile. “Beacon, you really shou
ld work out what your plan for Slade Industries is going to be, and maybe they can help you.”

  “Right,” he said. “Uh, yeah. Alright. Let’s go to one of the meeting rooms, then. Where is it?”

  “Follow me,” Norma said and headed for the door.

  “Aren’t you coming with us?” Penumbra asked.

  “I’ll join you soon,” I said as the others began to leave. “I have some stuff I want to check on first.”

  “Okay Miles,” Penumbra replied with a wink. “You take all the time you need to relax.”

  The blonde followed the others, and then the door clicked shut behind them to leave me alone in the quiet living room of my dead nemesis.

  It looked like Slade hadn’t used any of the rooms very much, but he must have lived here. He probably had more information scattered around here in hidden computers plus some extra technology, and since it was protected by the security of Slade Industries, it probably didn’t have any real self-destruct mechanisms.

  It felt good to be the owner of Slade Industries.

  Well, temporarily, anyway. I couldn’t wait to change the name and remove all traces of Dan Slade’s legacy from the world, just like he’d threatened to do to me.

  “Miles,” a sultry voice called out from past the open door.

  I grinned and pushed open the door into the master bedroom. At first, I only saw gray walls, darker gray carpeting, and black sheets on the bed. Slade’s clothes were scattered across a black dresser, and an open laptop sat on a dark wooden desk.

  “Miles,” Elizabeth called again, and this time, she emerged from the ensuite bathroom.

  My gorgeous girlfriend was dressed in a slinky, entirely see-through black set of lingerie that revealed every soft, supple curve of her body. The nipples of her full breasts were already hard, as if she’d teased herself a little bit before I’d arrived. She approached me with a slow, sexy walk that let me appreciate the creamy white smoothness of her thighs. She wore a pair of tall black kitten heels, but her legs were otherwise bare.

  And the see-through thong she wore covered absolutely nothing, so her ample ass was on full display.

  “I want you to fuck me in here,” she purred as she wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her lips against mine.