by Skyler Grant
I gave Lady Justice directions to where she could find Disaster’s territory, and after picking up Constitution the two of them vanished.
49
It had been a week since we cut off Patriot, and so far there were no signs that it hadn’t been a successful strategy. No doubt the AI was still underground and plotting a return, but with depleted energy reserves it would be slow.
In the meantime we reclaimed our home, and Lair for Rent, now partially owned by Mastermind Enterprises, was having a grand opening party.
Mastermind himself was in attendance, surrounded by a small army of the wealthy and powerful. British Invasion, Wicked, the Green Death—all A-Classers—were somewhere in his vicinity.
We even had one other S-Class in attendance, Disaster had paid a visit. Uma was very busy staying on the other side of the party from her and one could frequently catch glimpses of a teddy bear hiding behind the legs and capes of party-goers.
Jules was forcing smiles, spending some time in an unexpected family reunion, Nemesis and Erato trapping her in one corner.
Ox was barbecuing. He had a real talent behind the grill and there was already quite a line waiting for food. The Hogfather was glaring—pork was one of the things on the menu.
“This is good. Not what I expected when I awakened you, but good. Soon we’re going to reclaim this whole building,” Niles said.
“Your ambitions were too small then and they’re too small now. Do you know how much real estate there is available nearby? Do you realize how much influence being aligned with Mastermind brings in this town?” I asked.
“You really want to do it, don’t you? Get big, as big as some of the others in this room,” Niles said.
“There are going to be buildings with our names on them. Statues built to honor us. And most important of all, whole vaults filled with our MONEY,” I said.
A woman approached, her slinky dress cut low, and Niles stared at her entirely too much. It took me a moment to recognize her—Deanna, we’d met her briefly at Emmatech. She wasn’t on the guest list, but as far as I could tell anyone associated with Emmatech went wherever they wanted to go.
“You’re to be congratulated. When you first came to see us we thought you had possibilities. You are proving a worthwhile investment,” Deanna said.
“You look nice. Stunning. Nice and stunning, I mean,” Niles said.
He really needed to use his temporal slowdown systems to think of better lines. This was embarrassing.
“I believe what he is trying to say is that he’d very much like to mate you, or date you. Probably both, but perhaps not in that order,” I said.
Deanna arched a brow and looked at Niles.
“No? Yes? Is there a way I can avoid any acknowledgment of that statement? I guess not, not now,” Niles said.
Amy’s cheerful voice came from Deanna’s wrist-comm. “You’ve got a real awkward and nerdy thing going on, she totally digs that. Next Saturday, you are picking her up at five. I forwarded you the details.”
“Hey!” Deanna said. “I told you not to do that.”
Niles looked crestfallen.
Deanna hastily said, “Don’t worry, we’re keeping it. She’s right, you do, she just knows not do that without asking.”
“Just because you're a clone doesn’t mean you have to be alone. You got paired with the smart, likable sister,” Amy chirped.
This was quite enough flirting. There were far more entertaining things, like business, to do.
“Were you calling in a favor, then?” I asked.
Deanna shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m doing you one. We sensed … something unexpected from here. A presence we hadn’t expected to detect. Heard any unusual voices? Felt anything unusual in your operating system?”
“There was this voice. Rude, and supposedly an amazing cookie,” I said.
“That confirms it,” Amy said far too happily.
“You touched a cosmic power, and if she is interfering, it means that someone else is too. Keep an eye out, and if you get in too far over your head, you know who to call,” Deanna said.
Cosmic powers. Perhaps I should have been afraid, but instead I was only hopeful. Where there was power there was profit, and as I watched Niles sneak looks at Deanna, Jules edge away from her family, Uma hide from Disaster, and Ox work a grill like a mastermind, I was more convinced than ever of the strength of what I’d built.
With a team like this you could do anything. With a team like this, it was time for business.
The End
Afterword
Author's Note
Hi to all of you who have made it this far and thanks for reading. If you are a fan of my other books you know this is longer than I usually go between releases, a cross-country move takes up a lot of energy and I just made one from the west coast of the US almost to the east. I’m settling into a beautiful new home though and you should see a lot more books over the next few months.
I hope that you enjoyed this one. When I first wrote the Laboratory I tried a different take to dungeon core than I’d seen anyone else do before. I was curious to try it in a more science fiction setting. The idea of trying one with a super hero twist was something I’ve had in my head for awhile.
If there are subsequent books you are going to see a lot more of a traditional dungeon core sort of grind. Defense of various super-villain lairs along with the planning of crime jobs that generate heat. There was a bit of that in this book, but you’d see more in future ones now that the main characters have been introduced. I also brought in some characters that may be familiar if you read my other dungeon core outing.
Next on my writing list is my take on cultivation. I’ve loved reading them and I think I’ve got something really unique that folks haven’t seen before, and I’m excited to write it. I’ll also be doing a new LitRPG with a unique take on that genre too. Sometime this year I want to do a sequel to Glitch Hunter.
If you want this to become a series, please, write reviews, tell people you enjoyed it, tell me you enjoyed it. This is true of anything really. Between LitRPG, Harem, Space-Opera, Superhero, Comedy, Dungeon Core, and Fantasy, I’ve written in a lot of genres and sub-genres. You can reach me at [email protected] and I’d love to hear what more of you want.
Also by Skyler Grant
I write a lot of books, seriously, so many. Check out my whole catalog on Amazon here.
Skyler Grant Catalog
The Laboratory
My first dungeon core series. If you loved this one you’ll love it. Emma is an AI that loves nothing more than SCIENCE, cookies, and victory at all cost.
Starting with..
The Laboratory
The Crucible Shard
Liam lives in a world where gamers are held up on a pedestal and their competitions are high entertainment where only the elite get to complaint. When he enters the virtual world himself he finds reality is far weirder than he could ever have anticipated, and when sometimes you think you are the hero you really wind up being the villain. Brutal action, real character development over the series, and many plot-twists.
Book 1: Dungeon Crawl
Book 2: Spawn Campers
Book 3: Corpse Run
Book 4: Gank
Book 5: Area of Effect
Book 6: DLC
Book 7: Endgame
Audio
Book 1: Dungeon Crawl
Book 2: Spawn Campers
Book 3: Corpse Run
Book 4: Gank
Book 5: Area of Effect
Book 6: DLC
Cyberpunk with a heroine who kicks tail and a world that is brutal. Corporations fill the role as culture and the Network is a vast virtual landscape people use to escape the horrors of a decaying Earth. Unfortunately humans bring their horrors with them.
The Persephone Saga
Book 1: Persephone Falling
Book 2: Persephone Rising
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