Chapter 14: Stereotypical Villainy
The problem with plans for world domination is all the time you need to invest in them. The dozens of little things you needed to take care of. I was in both a better and worse state than Eggman had been.
Eggman was essentially free to do what he wanted. For all intents and purposes, in the dozens of multiverses, he was the closest thing to a government that those Earths had. He could dig, build, and control as he wished, as long as he was strong enough.
Julian Ivo, on the other hand, had to be more subtle. I had to be careful how much I did, where I did it, and who knew about it. My plans were all about the build up, slowly intergrating myself into a variety of organizations.
On the other hand, I didn't have to deal with Sonic. Homelander was powerful. But Sonic and his meddling ilk were as far above the heroes of this universe as deities above ants. So long as I was careful, I'd one day have machines that could match and surpass them.
For now, I had to be sneaky.
Thus why I stole the sample of Translucent on the downlow. Vought knew Eggman was dangerous. But they had yet to realize howdangerous. Eggman could make a splash or two, but only to distract from the tidal wave coming after him.
"This material is fascinating," I mumbled, looking at a chunk of Translucent under a microscope. I had a few more scanners going over the small piece on the table, but getting actual eyes on it was valuable. "'Carbon metamaterial' seems like such a rudimentary explanation for this. This material doesn't just not let light through, it perfectly forces light to bend around it. I can do so much with that."
"And of course," I took a scalpel out and poked at the piece of meat that used to be a portion of Translucent's neck, with bits of carotid artery flapping around. With the right touch, the outer skin turned from flesh to invisible carbon. Then I ran the scalpel across it.
I couldn't see it, but I could still feel the skin repelling the blade. When I took the scalpel away, it was dull. "Nearly invulnerable."
'Nearly' being the key word. Nothing is truly invulnerable of course. Still, this stuff was verytough. In fact, considering everything, his punches might have had more strength because his own body didn't absorb the kinetic energy of his blows. When you hit someone, some of that force comes back to you. That's physics. But Translucent didn't have that problem.
I took notes on the composition of the material, some theories on just what I could replicate, and how useful it might be for some of my badniks.
Still, there was one big thing.
Two different displays nearby displayed a pair of samples. One was Translucent. The other was Gordon, my favorite EMP producing patient.
They were similar. The changes that Compound-V applied had some very clear markers. Like two paintings by the same artist. The paint, canvas, and the image depicted were different, but the brushstrokes were the same.
To continue that analogy, Translucent was a far more refined artwork than Gordon was. Gordon's body had a copper rich nervous system, filling every part of his body with the material and acting as a capacitor of sorts. But it was completely garbage in terms of insulation, had no way to release it safely… It was a shitshow.
Whereas Translucent's changes were so clean. Elegant. A true masterwork. Not rampant mutation, but focused evolution. Almost beautiful in its form.
I looked between the two displays thoughtfully. There was potential here. A way to perfectly replicate V. And maybe even go further. This compound wasn't being used to its fullest, not yet.
Still, nothing V could do would ever outshine the potential of machinery. I'd always be able to make something better eventually. But hey, if no one else is making the most of Compound-V, it was my responsibility to show them up.
"Shame these samples aren't going to be pristine for long," I mused. "Maybe I can get some more?"
Hm. No. I couldn't simply kill any Compound-V user to get more samples of brain or heart. Even if I went for the more 'despicable' ones, Vought would notice. Best to let this happen organically.
Translation: Follow Butcher around and wait.
For now, I put in an order for some lab rats.
As I was finishing that up, Mechelle entered the room. "Julian. We have a problem."
I blinked. "A problem? What is it?"
"Someone is trying to claim we've stolen their patented technology for use in one of our computers."
That was bullshit. I scowled. What a waste of time. "I assume Destiny is looking into it?"
"Yes." Mechelle adjusted her glasses briefly. "Of course, they have nothing to stand on, but it will still take some time."
"I doubt they really think we stole from them," I snapped out, brushing at my lab coat. "This company is trying to get a look at our specs. How annoying. I have better things to waste time with than idiots attempting to steal what is mine."
"They will not be able to." Mechelle said. She had a stern look on her face. "I will make sure the courts shut them out."
"I know you will. I trust you." Mechelle didn't respond, but I could feel her glowing with happiness at that. She was adorable that way. "Let me know one you've finished up."
No need to explain further. Mechelle simply smiled.
How lovely to know I'd created such competent help.
"I need to break something." I grumbled. "Hm. Well, it has been a bit. What's a good place to rob in New York City?"
"Someplace with diamonds." Mechelle said. "Those are simpler to pawn."
I hadn't expected a real answer, but that was helpful. "Alrighty then. The Eggman is going diamond shopping!"
"In the middle of the day?"
"He's a beautiful man, he deserves some sunlight."
More cheered at the prospect of some classic villainy, I went off towards the booth that held my other persona.
For the job, I wanted to go with a variety of bots. However, after some thought, I went with my Egg Pawns. They'd work for multiple reasons. One of them being that I could market more toys of them later. The Egg Pawns were adorable.
They were also useful. I equipped them each with a weapon. The Badniks based on animals were great, but there was something to be said for opposable thumbs that could grip weaponry and pick up loot.
Then we piled into a rental van and zipped off. Yes, a rental van. I had my own Eggman vehicles, but I was still going with the idea of slowlyescalating. Rental vans, then a custom vehicle, then an Eggmobile, until one day I could finish processing Mercury into the new Death Egg.
Well, that wouldn't be an endpoint, but it was something for the future.
So yeah, we piled into the van and sped off into the city.
New York City had a small army of jewelry stores. Of course it did. Any big city did, but New York was an old hub of culture, with plenty of stores to supply a ravenous populace. It was the third biggest industry in New York. 90 percent of diamonds passed through NYC, and the Diamond District was home to over 2600 jewelers.
Two thousand, six hundred. A ridiculous number. Hell, the GIA, or Gemological Institute of America, was mere blocks away from my target. Truly, the industry of rocks was alive and well.
In truth, I was not a fan of the jewelry industry. Treating a potential resource like diamonds and gold as big shiny baubles to be worn, rather than making useful technology from them? What a waste!
In a way, I was doing the world a service!
After fighting through a full thirty minutes of New York traffic (thank god I could watch youtube videos in my base while controlling the Eggman body), my van full of Egg folk pulled up to the front of the jewelry store in question. An upscale place near the center of town by the name of Egon Olsen Diamonds.
"Well that's an ironic name," I mumbled. I turned to the Eggpawns, one in the passenger seat and the others in back, all giving me wide grins. "All right boys! Let's head out there and steal some stuff. Make daddy proud, huh?"
"Beep-beep!" they intoned cheerily. Then one kicked the back doors open. I stepped out of the driver's door and watched the Eggpawns step out onto the sidewalk. A fancy looking woman in a black dress looked up in time to almost run over one of my boys. She screamed in shock, nearly falling over.
I caught her, spun her around with a twirl, and gently guided her to stand straight once more. "Apologies, my lady. They're eager boys," I looked at the one who had almost tripped her. "Apologize to her, 5009!"
The Eggpawn in question somehow managed to look embarrassed. He held up a sign. On it were the words, Sorry miss, I'll be more careful!
"Awwww, now isn't that sweet!" I turned back to the lady. "Now, you have a wonderful day."
I turned back to the store, jauntily walking forward with one of my boys holding the door open for me. As I did, the woman stuttered out.
"W-Where did the sign come from?"
I entered the store and panned my eyes around. I'd already infiltrated the security and gotten some blueprints, but having fresh robotic eyes on things was helpful. The Egon Olsen Diamondslayout was very simple. A cashier on the wall, podiums displaying different forms of useless baubles, necklaces, and jewelry.
"S-Sir, you-" a poor employee said, the man looking around at the Eggpawns strolling in with shock.
"Ah, my good man! Congratulations!" I grabbed him around the neck. "Hahaha! You are my hostage! Don't worry, you'll get interviewed after this."
Pulling the horrified man along, I ignored the sounds of people screaming and glass shattering as the Eggpawns broke the glass podiums open and began pouring diamonds, silver, gold, and platinum into their mouths.
A security guard finally got over his shock and raised a gun.
He was instantly tazed by three different Eggpawns, one of them running over and jumping to land elbow first on the security guard as he fell. A sign flipped through the air with the word 'Piledriver!' emblazoned on it.
"Be gentle boys, he's a 9-5 worker. The backbone of our world!" I clutched my new friend close. "Now, Dave-"
"How do you know my name?" he asked, more terror in his voice.
"Why, Dave, we're friends! Friends at least know each other's names!"
"Wha-We've never met!"
"And yet, I feel like we've known each other our entire lives. Now, Dave, while all these useless baubles may interest a more pedestrian sort of person, no offense Miss," the woman in question squeaked when an Eggpawn jammed a gun into her back, moving her to join the other customers. "You and I? We are men of culture! Even back when you went to the GIA Institute, professors praised your eye for the art of grading gems of all kinds!"
Every word from me seemed to drop Dave deeper and deeper into horror. It paid to do research on the store and its employees before doing this.
While we walked towards the back, a bigger male customer decided to try grabbing and throwing an Eggpawn.
He couldn't have known they weighed around three-hundred pounds. The unimpressed Eggpawn grabbed his arms and casually Judo threw the man back to the other customers. He flipped a sign around. 'Hehehehe!'
Dave and I reached the back door. I kicked it open, revealing a fancy looking office. A fat man with a shotgun in a business suit roared, ready to fire. He was hit by a taser shot that sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Luke!" Dave shouted in concern.
"He'll be fine. Thank you," I said to the Eggpawn who had shot him.
'Yer welcome boss man,' his sign replied.
"Where do they get the signs?" Dave asked, his voice weak.
"Dave, Dave! These questions aren't interesting! Focus on the fun ones. Like what is in that safe!?"
I pulled him over, stepping over 'Luke' and bringing Dave along. "Now, Dave my friend. What you need to think on is what is of value to a jeweler? True value. Not the stuff in the front, no! This. THIS is gold."
A safe. A Franz Jäger safe. One of the finest in the world. "Ahhhh, look at you."
I ran my gloved hands across her. "The engineering of this. A mark 25. People have tried to break into these for years. They have a contest for it! To date, only six people have succeeded. Classic construction, made with modern sensibilities. A true model of innovation!"
"You can break into it?" Dave asked, looking as harried as ever.
"B-Break into it!?" I stared at him, horrified. "Dave! You think I'm a madman!?"
"You have robot versions of you…" he said weakly.
"I'm not breaking this beauty. I want the whole thing!"
I snapped my fingers. A pair of Eggpawns walked in and lifted the safe together, moving in perfect unison together. Dave hiccuped. "Oh man. I'm so fired."
"If you are, you can complain to the labor board. What were you supposed to do, fight me to the death?"
I laughed, the thought genuinely tickling me. "Ah, Dave. In all the time we've known each other, I forget how you make me laugh."
He gave me an exasperated look that only made me more amused. Dave was fun to tease.
We left the store, ignoring the sound of sirens in the distance. Please. As though mere police could stop me. The Eggpawns loaded the safe into a metal sphere in the back of the van, others tossing jewelry into the same sphere. The orb in question took up most of the back, being about a foot taller than the Eggpawns.
"Huahahahaha!" I laughed proudly, flanked by my small army of Eggpawns, their red coats shining in the sunlight. "What a gorgeous day for crime!"
I looked over at Dave. "Too much, you think? Should I tone it back?"
Dave swallowed, sighing just a bit. As I held him, my eyes caught the glint in the distance. I reached past him.
When the rifle round landed in my palm, it was with a sound of metal exploding against metal, like a car smashing into a pipe factory.
"EEEEEEE-" Dave reeled, staring at my hand. His scream cut off when I opened my fist to reveal the intact rifle bullet resting in my gloved palm, scorch marks surrounding the point of impact.
Dave crumbled, passing out.
"Ahhhh, Dave. You really need thicker skin. He aimed for your shoulder," I was moving even while talking, hopping into the back. "Load up boys, we got a real threat on us!"
One of the Eggpawns was shot in the face, his eye cracking. He stuttered, before the redundancies kicked in to keep him moving. We piled in, one of the Eggpawns moving into the driver's seat, and the van burst forward. The sound of rubber popping was followed by the whole vehicle shuddering, the distinct sound of metal on asphalt following.
"Seriously, what kind of crack shot is this guy?" I mumbled. I knew from the show he had good aim, but this was ridiculous. "Eggy, step on it!"
A sign with the words 'Already on it!' went flying past me. The rest of the Eggs cocked their weapons. I grabbed a big laser pistol, one I'd designed to look like the raygun from Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies. The Eggpawns held more boxy style weapons, designed to be generic looking so that one couldn't track where they'd been made.
I kicked the back doors open. "Rattle em boys!"
The target was leaping off of a roof, holding his rifle to his eye. The Eggpawns and I opened fire, unleashing a storm of green energy bolts.
"MUAHAHAHA!" I laughed as the van swerved through the streets, firing wildly. One of my shots smashed into the black figure aiming at us. He responded by hitting me in the sternum.
"Carbonweave, you fool!" I crowed even as I was sent back on my ass. I couldn't help the wide grin on my face.
Black Noir didn't respond to that. Instead, he landed from his five story drop, hopped on a motorcycle, and pursued us.
"Well, look at that!" I got to my feet and brushed off my shirt. "Guess we're making things interesting!"
Black Noir closed in, zipping back and forth through traffic. He pulled out a submachine gun and began firing while approaching. His bullets slammed into the van, bouncing off the metal sphere, shooting out another Eggpawn's eyes while destroying a different one's laser rifle.
"What boring weaponry!" I taunted. "Show him something interesting, boys!"
'Mecha-shifting!' A sign bounced off of Black Noir's head, followed by the Eggpawns pressing buttons on their guns. The boxy looking lasers shifted and moved around, stopping into a variety of configurations.
As if I'd be so boring as to stick to lasers alone.
One Eggpawn fired his new gun, now shaped like a cannon. A giant set of cords came fluttering out, snapping together to form a net. Black Noir twisted aside, the net wrapping around a man on the street and sending him into a storefront with a scream. The Eggpawn kept firing nets, Black Noir pulling out a katana from a sheath on his bike to begin slicing them out of the air.
Another Eggpawn fired a gun now shaped like a hose, the blast coming out as thick green goop. Black Noir moved his motorcycle aside, then leaped over a car with it, allowing the stuff to flow over the asphalt. A car behind him ran into the stuff, and came to a squealing halt as the thick material wrapped around the tires, gumming up the works. More cars slammed into that one, causing an immediate pileup.
Black Noir dived around the cars, hopped on top of another one, zipped to his left, and sliced another tent out of the air.
I had to admit, I was impressed.
"It's a shame you don't talk, cause I would love to get thoughts from a hero who actually works hard at their job!"
Granted, his job was assassination most of the time, but he worked hard at it.
"Well, maybe I need to change things up a bit more," I turned and walked over to the metal sphere. "I am, after all, a student of the Art of War."
The metal sphere opened up. I entered, adjusting my collar as I sat down. The sphere closed, Black Noir's bullets bouncing off it just before I lost sight of him. For just a moment, I sat alone in darkness. Then lights shone across the inside, showing the wide array of buttons, switches, and levers, a single screen in front of me.
"Time to rock!" I pulled the lever in front of me. The sound of engines roaring filled the air, before the sphere rose up, smashing through the roof of the van. The top of the sphere slid open, revealing me to the world.
The sphere finished transforming, a single glowing light on the front, a windshield just tall enough for me to duck behind. A series of rockets burned under it, lifting me into the air, with two wings on either side.
"Well Black Noir! Time for you to face the first ever EGG MOBILE!"
I turned my vessel to face him and started firing. The bottom of the Egg Mobile opened. Unseen, 3D printers and stores of chemicals formed large black orbs within, then dropped them out of the bottom. They exploded on the street, erupting into green goo, white foam, and smoke grenades.
Black Noir stopped shooting, and instead focused entirely on his driving. The black clad mad lad dived through smoke, zipped around patches of green goo. He almost went into the foam, but ended up seeing a minivan enter the foam first.
The minivan came out the other side with large portions of it getting eaten away, the foam creating holes as it chewed through the non-organic material. Black Noir leaped over the foam, ignoring the stunned family inside the van that was becoming swiss cheese.
"Hmm," I stopped laughing for a moment.
He wasn't stopping. I'd assumed this was going to be somewhat easier. But Black Noir was going to become an issue. If I wasn't careful, things would go from fun to problematic.
"Very well, Black Noir. Follow me then! Let's see how far you'll go!"
I spun the Egg Mobile around and headed deeper into New York City, bringing up a map. We didn't have too long before we'd end up crossing my escape route. Just a few blocks.
A bullet bounced off the Egg Mobile. I sped forward just a bit and led Black Noir along by the masked nose. This would be great.
Chapter 15: Gifts From Strangers
Escaping the scene of the crime is usually not fun. Having to 'escape' rather than slip away means something went wrong. In a perfect world, no law enforcement would interfere, and you would walk off into the sunset, cigar and cool soundtrack optional.
Running from a superhero on a motorcycle was not optimal, for those who are wondering.
I was driving from the Diamond District, further from where more superheroes might be. Homelander and A-Train should have been far away based on their public schedule, so I wouldn't need to deal with them, and no other heroes were truly fast enough to reach me in time.
Unfortunately, the hero chasing me was an Energizer bunny.
I flew over the streets, diving into alleyways, buzzing just over the heads of the populace. Black Noir drove his motorcycle to its engineering limits. A Suzuki Hayabusa, with some custom work done.
"You really just don't give up, do you!?" I half-complimented Black Noir, twisting the Eggmobile to start shooting at him again with both my raygun and the Eggmobile's weaponry.
For a moment, I got dizzy. This whole experience. Racing backwards, shooting at a speeding enemy that dodged my shots. For a moment, it overlapped with my memories. Across thousands of realities, in the bodies of men, women, and robots, all variants of Eggman, all who had sat in Egg Mobiles doing exactly what I was.
"Blast it!" I pushed through the flashing memories, focusing on Black Noir. "I'm glad it's you, to be honest!"
I shot Black Noir in the shoulder, his armor exploding off that section. Thank god it was Black Noir chasing me. It helped keep me centered in the moment, rather than focusing on what was. If it had been a speedster, especially a blue one like A-Train, I might have had a harder time.
Still, I was distracted enough. We careened into an alleyway, at top speed. Black Noir took advantage of the heartbeat where I wasn't shooting to hop his motorcycle onto a dumpster, then jumped off of it. He hung in the air for a moment.
In that second, I mentally ran through my options. This area was near… hmm. Two birds with one stone then.
Black Noir landed on the Egg Mobile. I pretended to panic, twisting the controls. We shot out of the alleyway, Black Noir punching at me. I barely dodged a superhuman fist, only for a katana to slide against my red coat, a long tear revealing the armor beneath the cloth.
The Egg Mobile smashed into the side of a glass building, entering an office space. I pulled on the controls, forcing us to avoid the now screaming workers. I punched Black Noir in the helmet. He fell back but grabbed onto the edge of my cockpit, hanging on while I forced my vessel upwards, smashing through the ceiling.
Floor by floor, we careened upwards, blasting through the building and leaving holes in our wake.
"Let go, damn you!" I yelled, internally praying he'd hold on.
Black Noir pulled himself up and swung his katana again, aiming to decapitate me. Even with my robotic reflexes I just barely ducked it, twisting the controls again. We shot to the side, out one building and towards an old brick one. I forced us towards the correct floor, smashing through the wall.
We ended up in a living room.
"Bloody fuck, what!?" A British accented voice roared in shock. I raised my ray gun and fired at Black Noir, sending his katana flying when he blocked the shot with it. I fired another shot, blasting the mouth portion of his mask off.
Black Noir swiped his hand out, sending my raygun flying to land on the nearby couch. I spun the Egg Mobile around and blasted out the room, the sound of a loud angry British man roaring after us.
"You made me lose my raygun," I said with a wide grin at Black Noir. "So I'll need to end this."
Noir, as always, didn't reply. He did reach out for my nose, trying to grab the protruding point. I drove the ship towards the ground.
We flew dozens of feet in seconds, aiming for the asphalt below. Black Noir had enough time to give me a look. I grinned, pushing the thrusters as hard as I could. "Should have worn your seatbelt!"
Then we crashed into the ground, cratering it. Bits of stone flew around, cars came to a halt around us. The Egg Mobile wheezed weakly, and Black Noir stared up at me from the bloody crater he made in the ground. I grinned.
"When you recover, just remember to drink plenty of fluids, okay?"
Black Noir nodded slowly, then laid back against the cracked asphalt. On my console, the screen depicting his condition displayed that he was, for a superhuman, unconscious. Interestly, even passed out his body showed a level of activity usually seen in high school athletes while exercising.
Which was a lot when you're knocked out.
I brought the Egg Mobile up, my poor vessel wheezing weakly as it floated upwards. People were filming me, and I jauntily waved at them as they pointed their phones at me. Higher up, I reached the level of the apartment we'd crashed into. Staring out at me from the second hole blasted into his apartment was a man in a black trenchcoat, Aloha shirt, with a short beard and spiked hair.
"You blew up my fucking apartment!" Butcher roared at me, looking annoyed rather than scared.
"Ah. My apologies!" I reached into a compartment in my cockpit. Within the Egg Mobile, a set of machinery shifted about, picking up the contents within. I pulled out a handful of the raw uncut diamonds my Eggpawns had placed within the Egg Mobile, now in a sack with a yellow minimalist image of my face on it. I tossed the marble bag sized package to Butcher, who grabbed it out of the air.
"That should cover the damage to your apartment. And keep my toy if you like!"
"What toy-!?" I ignored the angry Brit, instead turning the Egg Mobile around and driving outwards.
I checked my display. A-Train and Homelander were still busy. No other speedy or flying types were on their way. Police were on the way, but that could be ignored.
"Come on, sweetie," I patted my poor Egg Mobile, hands tracing over a long slit in the metal where Black Noir had ripped into her with his katana. "Just a bit longer."
The Egg Mobile didn't answer, only sputtering weakly and leaking smoke as we left the scene. I worked as fast as I could to repair it mid-flight. Just a few miles, and we'd be over the ocean. There was a boat waiting there, ready to take the Eggman body, Eggmobile, and the stolen safe. The Eggpawns were already driving home.
All in all, a very successful heist.
Billy 'Fucking' Butcher
"Fucking supe cunts!" Butcher half-hissed, half-yelled, looking around. His apartment, technically, was just a shithole he was bunkering down in while working, but it was his shithole. There were two massive holes in the walls, debris everywhere, and soot covered the walls from where that flying thing had smashed into them.
Oh, and Black Noir's blood. Of course.
Butcher kicked aside the remains of a crappy coffee table, glaring around, then remembering he was still holding the bag that omelette fuck had tossed him. Still pissed, he opened the bag-
Diamonds. There were diamonds in the bag. Shiny fucking rocks.
"...Fuckin hell," Butcher lifted one and looked at it closely. "Holy fuck!"
Behind the diamond, on the remains of his couch, something glowed green. He lowered the diamond and placed it in the bag, hiding the package away in his trench coat as he approached the couch slowly. He cocked his head to the side, inspecting what lay there.
A ray gun… Eggman's ray gun.
'And keep my toy if you like!'
"No fucking way," Butcher grabbed the gun and inspected it. It looked like a children's toy resized for an adult. The whole thing was constructed of metal though, the grip well made. When he pointed at his kitchen, the sights were perfectly set.
He pulled the trigger. The recoil sent his arm back like he'd fired a revolver. And his fucking refrigerator blew up.
"Oh that is fucking diabolical!" Butcher crowed, staring at the raygun. "You fuckin' beauty!"
Now this leveled the goddamn playing field.
Julian Ivo
"Are you sure about this?" Mechelle asked me as I finished setting up the boat to head towards its destination. "According to your memories, Butcher doesn't historically do well with receiving power."
"Hey, we don't know that. I never watched season 3, maybe he became well-adjusted later."
Mechelle, her face unmoving, simply eyed me. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "Yeah, definitely not. I'll admit, giving Butcher a laser gun is iffy. But I'm hoping the fact it's an actual gun, not a power, will help keep him from going all murdery on people. It's an equalizer, but he's not about to beat Homelander with it."
"It's still very reckless." Mechelle said emotionlessly.
"Ah, not truly! You see, I've got a plan for that. Butcher needs to begin seeing Eggman and his technology as a boon, rather than a curse." I wagged a finger at her, rising from my seat and walking off, Mechelle following me. "If this world needs some villains, then they will need a weapons manufacturer they trust."
"But can you trust Butcher?"
"I can trust Butcher to act as he always does. I have absolute faith in Butcher, because I know his path of least resistance."
If you know people well enough, you never have to worry about being betrayed. You simply place them into positions where they will always take one of two positions. The first, where they don't betray you, and thus end up aiding you. Or the second, where they do betray you, but you capitalize on that betrayal and they end up aiding you anyways.
I didn't need trust if I could predict people.
Pushing aside that thought, I grabbed a tablet off a table as we walked, flipping through the pages to reach my classified works. So far, so good. Project Duo was on track. The myomer polymers had been improved, as had the programming software.
"I'm going to upgrade you soon," I told Mechelle. "You've been doing excellently, far better than I ever dreamed, and I want to make sure your body keeps up to the standards you've been setting."
Mechelle didn't respond, but I felt like she seemed to glow at my praise. She really was excellent.
I pulled out an earpiece and placed it in, calling Colin. As soon as he picked up, I spoke. "Colin, would you like me to upgrade you in any way, or would you rather do it yourself?"
"What a question," Colin said, sounding wry as always on the other end of the phone. "Are you sure there is no danger to letting me upgrade myself?"
"I told you, I wanted a scientific partner. That means accepting you might want to do illicit experimentation on yourself," I chuckled.
"Hmm. Well, I'll simply be upgrading my programming and memory storage then."
"No laser eyes?"
Colin chuckled. "No, no. As you said, I am a scientist. I'm running out of capacity for my current ideas as it is."
Just like Mechelle then. Both had exploded in terms of how intelligent they were, if in different ways.
"Very well. Contact me if you need materials."
I hung up at the same time as Colin, stroking my chin. I almost reached to tug at my long mustache before remembering I didn't have one in my human form. Not one as long as Eggman's at least, just some fuzz on my lip.
Pushing the odd sensation of not feeling right in my own body, I focused. What was next now? Things were going smoothly, in some ways, rough in others. But what could I do?
Pondering that question, I idly switched my tablet to display the island Ahti had purchased, now named Theogonia Island. From a camera, I could see a foreman watching teams of people working on the beach. I tapped a button and a loud beeping on the other end drew the foreman's attention. He looked around, finally noticing me on screen.
"Hey Hammond," I said to the foreman. "How goes things?"
"Smooth as glass, bossman," the large Samoan man approached the camera, placing his hands on his belly. "The dock is getting set up right now. We'll follow up with the roads and all that next."
"Can I-"
"Get a look? Sure thing, bossman." Hammond picked up the screen and camera, walking forth.
On screen, I could see the massive forms of cranes moving material out to the ocean, building a sea barrier. A large compound of temporary shelter made from dozens of modular buildings was further inland, forming a 'village' of sorts.
Men, women, and machinery moved about quickly. I'd hired everyone I could, getting anyone with skill and experience out to the island. Ivotech was making lots of money nowadays. And yet, most of it went to the island.
The machinery was a mixture of conventional machines and my own mecha. Nothing crazy like Badniks, but some simple large suits designed to resemble the Power Loader from Aliens.
I fucking love the Power Loader from Aliens.
The advanced mechs had a variety of attachments on the arms, but their biggest job was lifting heavy objects over uneven terrain.
The dock, the village, the sea break, and the roads were being set up with wonderful efficiency.
"Thank you Hammond. Do you need anything else?"
"You're too free with money, boyo," the Samoan scoffed. "We're doing alright. Supplies are comin in quicklike. You'll have your base."
"I hope so. There's a lot going into this. Spare no expense." That joke was lost in a world without Jurassic Park.
"Thank you for the sitrep, Hammond. Make sure your people are being taken care of."
"I always do," Hammond chuckled.
Good. I may be a villain, but I'd promised to treat everyone under me with respect. It wasn't just nice, it was logical. I wasn't trying to make money, I was trying to make progress. And happy employees was one way to achieve that.
Once we disconnected, I checked in on an island again. But this time, from my other workers. At another island, far from the first.
Julian had Theogonia Island. Eggman had Sage's Hollow.
It was volcanic, with a few sandy beaches, including one Gordon had met Eggman on. Underneath the island, badniks were at work. Burrobot, vaguely mole shaped Badniks with drill noses, were digging out a massive expansive space under the island far from the construction workers. Working with them were Eggpawns, Snowy's and more of my stronger Badkiks, building out the cave. Above, Batbrains flew, while Caterkillers set up wiring for lights on the ceiling. Still, it didn't need too many lights.
The lava pool underneath everything was a light source of its own. I could see Fireworms and Rexon's swimming there, widening out the pool and working on the geothermal engines.
A Drill Worm poked out of one side wall, completing another massive tunnel.
It was uninhabited Heroes wouldn't be roaming it, and it was volcanic so no one would ever be digging neararound it. Dig far under it, and start work on the tunnels, and you had a perfect place to have an underground lair. It was fantastic.
Except for one thing. Sage's Hollow. I hadn't named it.
"Mechelle," I looked over at her. "Are you… sure about the name?"
"Yes," she said simply. "Sage is important."
"Because of Gordon?"
She gave me a look. Well, as much as one as she ever did, which was somehow very expressive.
I pretended to think about it, but I knew why she really picked it. "I haven't even said I'm making her."
Mechelle didn't answer, which was sort of an answer in itself. I looked for excellence in my allies. Mechelle and Colin were proof of that. And no one could argue Sage had been anything but exemplary.
It didn't help that the Eggman memories tied to her were so emotionally powerful. They appealed too much to the person I had been before I became Julian. And now Mechelle had pushed hard to name the Eggman base Sage's Hollow.
"I'll leave it aside, then," I sighed, putting away the tablet. We entered my office. Bradley, my military liason, was eyeing a table I'd installed in the center. It was basically a touch screen the size of a kitchen table. He had pulled up a file on the Power Loaders.
"When the hell did you start building these?" Bradley asked, sipping at a cappuccino he must have made himself from the kitchen.
"The Power Loaders? I don't know, about a week ago? Mechelle?"
"They have begun mass production as of two weeks ago," she answered brightly, switching from her usual stoicness to her more cheery false businesswoman side.
"We need these for the military."
"You do?" I asked, moving to stand next to him. "Well, I suppose I can see them being used for combat-"
Bradley scoffed. "Boy, do you know how useful these would be for our boys in warehouses and bases? I don't want more guns, I want more support for our supplies and logistics."
Oh. Right. I felt a little sheepish. "Very well."
With a few taps on the table, the files on the power loaders were sent directly to Bradley, his phone dinging a notification. He nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you."
"So, did you come just for my exo-suits?" I asked.
"Not at all. I came to tell you that your Bradley Fighting Vehicle improvements were approved for prototyping."
I stared at him. "...holy shit."
He nodded back, the corner of his lip rising into a half-smile. "That's right. The boys were very impressed, especially when they got a look at the materials you recommended. I think DARPA is going to start sweating if you keep it up."
That was fantastic news. The profits for that project were going to be worth staggering amounts of money. I… I needed more people. Another factory, workers, materials.
Detroit. I'd build factories in Detroit.
"Now, I did have a question," Bradley ignored my racing thoughts to bring another file up on the table. "What is this?"
I looked at it as well. "Oh. That's a fast food court."
"A what?" he asked with a look on his face like I'd hit him with a pie.
"A food court. I want to serve food in New York."
Bradley stared at me. Sighed. "Well, I guess you're allowed to be eccentric."
"It's not a rule, but it helps with stress relief," I admitted.
On the table, the image of the first Ivo Food Center shone brightly. There were statistics on the employee rate in the area I'd chosen, ideas on improving it, and cultural information about the people who would eat there.
And also, the designs for the assistants and security I would provide. What fun it would be.
Author's Note:
Butcher: Now I have a ray gun. Ho ho ho.
The chapter was fun to write. Hopefully it makes sense that a head on collision, combined with getting shot a bunch by the ray gun, makes sense to knock out Black Noir, if only for a minute.
Next chapter will have a bit more interference from the regular plot, while more building shenanigans push in. That will be on my Patreon, but the next story I update will be Monsters of My Own. Until next time, stay safe folks.
Chapter 16: Rumored To Be
Vought News Network
"-Continuing development on the heist pulled by Eggman. Black Noir, who heroically fought to try and bring him in, is currently recovering in the hospital. Reports tell us he is healing well, and a fundraiser in his name is trending online."
A very pretty Hispanic woman sat behind a desk, speaking earnestly to the camera, as video of the bloody crater Eggman had crashed Black Noir into played next to her, followed by shaky phone camera footage of the actual event.
"The store, Egon Olsen Diamonds, is currently investigating reports that one employee, Dave Mallory, may have been working with Eggman, as well as looking into why the stolen safe wasn't attached to the floor in any way."
Another image, this of Dave crestfallen as mics and cameras were shoved into his face. "I don't know the guy! Seriously, it was creepy! Can someone please help, I think he knows where I live!"
"You invited him to your home? Are you in a sexual relationship with him!?" A man with a mic carrying a familiar 'TMZ' symbol asked eagerly.
"What the fuc-!" Dave squeaked before the news returned to the anchor.
"Damage done from the chase is still being tallied, with some estimates in the millions. Motorists' vehicles were destroyed or left stranded for hours in the streets, buildings had windows and walls destroyed, and some form of acid that melts metal has left large portions of the city damaged. Vought Industries Senior Vice President of Hero Management, Madelyn Stillwell, spoke today on the attack."
Madelyn appeared, a confident smile on her face as she faced the camera. "While this 'Eggman' and his recent attacks have left many surprised, rest assured that the Seven and our resources are putting everything we have to prevent him from escaping again. While his weaponry and machinery make him a threat, our Heroes have faced worse. Together, they can take him down, long before the premiere of our latest movie."
She smiled that confident, brilliant smile.
Madelyn Stillwell
"No, we haven't been able to track him," Madelyn said, her smile nowhere to be seen. She stood in Crime Analytics. The nerve center of Vought's hero operation. Where dozens of people worked to track down media worthy criminals and made strategic plans to have them taken down.
Except, for some reason, they couldn't find the one bad guy who made the most over the top displays they'd ever seen.
Homelander stood beside Madelyn, his eyes tracking everything in the room as the pair watched over the group of analysts like hawks. She wondered, for a moment, what else he was seeing, hearing, smelling… What he saw that she missed. Or would rather he never noticed at all?
Pushing the thought down, she continued.
"They've been at it for hours. He has a near impossible ability to simply appear and disappear on our network. We think he might have hacked it."
"I thought that was impossible."
Madelyn looked over at Homelander. He was smirking. She didn't like that. He'd been so damn angry before. Why did he look so smug now?
"Clearly it isn't. We've had our best looking into this, but whoever Eggman is, he's better at this than we are. Vought's looking into pulling in supes with technological skill to help."
"Sounds like he's a real problem," Homelander said happily.
Madelyn looked over at him, frowning. "And yet, you couldn't be more smug about it if you tried."
"Oh come on, Madelyn!" Homelander turned to face her fully, leaning in. "Think about it! Vought's been pumping out heroes for years. Hell, I've stopped remembering their names decades ago. They might as well be numbers. But we've never had villains. Not real ones."
"Real ones causing real damage," Madelyn pointed out.
"Exactly! I can't remember the last guy I took down who wasn't some random gangster or idiot with a gun! But now we have something real. Flamboyant, over-the-top, just the guy to make the public remember why we're needed! To make the military remember why we're needed, eh?"
Homelander's smile was brilliant. "And the best part is, he's free! We let him roam around, stop him from doing anything serious, and we'll be raking in the money. Hell, we can sell merchandise. Those robots are perfect for the kiddies."
Madelyn's eye twitched. Idiot. Such a massive idiot. Did he think he was the first person to think of this?
Vought was one of the most powerful organizations on Earth. They had more analysts, media managers, and strategists than Madelyn could count. Of course they'd thought about this.
But Stan Edgar had laid it out simply. They needed confidence in their heroes. Confidence was a currency. When people believed in heroes, they paid for them. There was a cold calculus to it all. And Eggman was an unknown. He had somehow hurt Maeve, someone who could stand in front of a train and come out the winner. He had gotten away from Black Noir, one of the most effective assets they had.
Funny enough, Homelander was partially right. Starlight and The Deep were more popular than ever since their fight. The Deep had shown more balls than she thought the insecure man had, especially after listening to his company provided therapy sessions.
That was all out of their control though. Who knew what this crazy fat bastard would come up with? Black Noir's numbers rose out of sympathy, but Queen Maeve, A-Train, and Homelander had somehow lost points.
Of all heroes, the second most popular was Translucent, going by numbers alone. Because he had died in the line of duty, as Vought had explained to the public.
The point was, Eggman wasn't some sort of controllable asset. He was a real danger. One dead hero was a tragedy. A wounded one was sad.
Dozens of them were a pattern. They had to nip this in the bud. Early.
Madelyn kept those thoughts inside. Homelander was happy. Proud. Lean on that. "I suppose that is a silver liningling to all this," she said. "We can market it that way for a while. Make a campaign about our battles against him. Then, once you take him out, we make a movie series about your triumph. Maybe add it to Homelander: Brightest Night."
His face froze a bit, but he hid it. "Exactly. We turn this idiot into our cash cow!"
Madelyn hid her thoughts. Idiot. Right. Patting Homelander and giving him her most seductive smile, she nodded slowly, drawing him in.
Keep him calm, relaxed. Don't let him see the truth. Homelander was perfect.
Or else.
Julian Ivo
At the desk in my office I signed another digital bit of paperwork, finalizing the purchase of land in Detroit. It was one of many purchases I'd had to make, usually land in places that were hungry for work and had skilled folk. The Appalachian Mountains, ghettos, cities and towns left behind by time.
I'd even started selling affordable gear in places like that. Things like coolsuits. I'd gotten the idea from a friend of mine that told me about them from Starcraft. Sealed clothing that was designed for absolute temperature comfort, with nasal oxygen tubes for the environments within.
And there were uses for coal. Less boring ones than burning for fuel.
Point was, I needed workers and land. Plenty of places needed work and had land. Still, it all signified another dip in my finances.
I did not have a limitless budget. Unlike Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark, my profits were modest. Of course they were. My business was new. While my products were incredible, and I'd created a series of bots that made sure my company's advertisements were widespread, it took time to establish a name in the tech industry.
My Ivotech phones blew any other out of the water, but the IPhone and its competitors had a stranglehold on the market that was tough to grab. Same with things like Intel, Nvidia, and other tech companies. Even my guns had to fight for attention.
It didn't help that I was branching out so much. My genius was immense, but I was a master of all, and thus was aggressively dominating any one industry. Couldn't do that either. I had to branch out as much as possible.
A single badnik required software, material, weaponry, and cameras. Despite how goofy they looked, each one was a complex system. And in order to purchase that stuff without the IRS freaking out, I had to have reasons.
Hell, I bought into the food industry for the same reason. Certain badniks and more advanced technology required material that came from certain foods. Including the Bigfoots and Bradleys I'd been commissioned to build.
Point was, I was signing papers to continue my rise in the technological power structure. I looked at the screen to my right briefly.
Code was compiling there. Five sets of it, each with a dedicated set of servers for making the required information. When I'd made Colin and Mechelle I hadn't been able to put this much work into them. They'd become too advanced for their shells, a problem Colin was fixing himself while Mechelle was scheduled for an update later that day. These new sets of code would be in better shape, with my built-up infrastructure.
A new body with the most advanced false musculature I'd ever created, another one with every bit of stealth tech I could feasibly create.
In my factory, a single room had been set aside for a piece of machinery shaped like an eye attached to a large arm. Someone, a random worker, said it looked like a bound woman.
One body was a smaller one with every possible tech I had made to interact with technology, including something I called 'Ghost 1.0'.
The last one, I had to look up lagomorphs for. Embarrassing. But necessary. The website and app meant for that body were ready to go up any day.
And yes, they all had bodies. Technically, three didn't need them. But I'd decided that giving them the option was fair. I was unsure if they would even want them.
Lastly, of the AI I was making, I was worried at least four would be liabilities in different ways. Two were based on a pair that had their idiotic moments. One had killed her creators. The last might be, funny enough, TOO nice.
But you don't hire people without possible issues. The first two had been effective, the third had been effective, the last was perfect to help this world.
As for the one who wouldn't be a liability, I trusted her. Completely. Like Mechelle, she would never betray me. With both of them, I could face anything.
But that was for later. For now I had more paperwork.
Turning back, I put a portion of my mind to reading the paperwork on the screen before me while the rest of my mind continued designing. How strange, in retrospect, that I was so brilliant. I'd like to think I wasn't a moron before, but I wasn't even a percentage compared to how amazingly smart I was now.
Memories didn't do that. If you shove the memories of a thousand people into one mind, you don't get a genius, you get a vegetable. Or at least a very insane person.
And yet, I was categorically smarter. Only growing in intelligence in fact. Likely something that Ahti had accounted for, that enigmatic old man/Finnish god. If I ever did upload my mind, I'd need to wait until I developed quantum computing followed by emerald computation, something I'd- ugh, something Eggman had figured out after extensive study of the Chaos Emeralds.
For now, I was feeling rather good about the amount of progress I was making on the technological front. Recruitment was going well too. My skills in engineering and science were beyond anyone else, but I needed experts to help me with those avenues I simply wasn't interested in.
I'd been headhunting for that. Scientists, engineers, skilled workers, folk who knew a good deal. The nice thing about not giving a real fuck about money was that I offered great pay. As well as medical and dental.
Currently a man by the name of Tom Yang was heading up research into vacuum microwave MRE's, to make more delicious foods for soldiers in a small package that still kept for quite some time.
I had convinced him after some tips on improving his process, and he was developing the idea for me while also helping with a snack division for the gamers and general public. MRE packs, sure, but also nutrient rich bars of food.
Tom Yang was a goddamn genius, and that was me saying that. Bradley was happy with his results thus far, and a happy Bradley was more work for me. At least his food tasted good, rather than just being the barely edible Bradley was used to from his own soldier days.
Although apparently the people from the Combat Feeding Division were pissed I'd sniped him. Sucks to be them, do better holding onto your people.
With all the tech and inventions I was making, I had to advertise it. So I had appointments set up for important media figures to take tours of my factory, try out my tech, and even drive my latest Big Foot designs.
No, not the news. Streamers. Gamers, Youtubers, even some Vtubers. People of the internet. I'd deliberately ignored several media outlets in favor of my own kind of folk. The first ones would be coming in soon enough. Mark Rober was one, Electroboom down the road, a few more.
I'd also bring in folk interested in one of my recent creations, the nuclear waste scrubber. It would take time to send those out across the world, but it would be good for the future.
Recruiting folk to work for me, whether directly or by advertising for me with their influence, was a big deal. Mechelle, for example, was getting me one more recruit before she'd have her update installed.
A specific one.
Mesmer
The man known as Mesmer had seen better days. The Mesmerizer tv show had been incredibly popular, he was a household name, the kind of person who was treated like a rockstar since he was a kid.
Nowadays he was signing copies of DVD's while Tara Reid was giggling in the corner, sometimes sleeping with slutty fangirls. For some insider trading. Martha Stewart did the same thing and she was still freaking popular! Granted, he'd made a lot more money than she saved, but it was the principle of the thing.
He couldn't even visit his daughter. Just staring at her playing in the park like some creepy asshole. Foster care. She must have missed him as much as he missed her. What was he supposed to do though?
Maybe he could find a way back. If he got his shot, if he could reenter Vought. Then maybe he could get his life back. It had been a while since he'd used, he could still use his powers. Just one chance.
Someone sat at the park bench he was brooding on, to his right. He looked over at her, then double-taked.
Hot. Ridiculously so. She wore an elegant dress suit, had short cropped hair, and a pair of sunglasses. She looked like she'd walked out of a magazine. She looked over at him through her glasses.
"Hello, Mesmer."
He stiffened. Shit. Hopefully this was good. "Uh, hi. You uh, looking for an autograph or something?"
"In a way," she leaned back, smirking sexily. "My name is Mechelle Ivo. I work for Ivotech."
Mesmer blinked, slowly. "Never heard of them."
"We're a relatively recent company. We work for the military, though we have some branches in the pharmaceutical, entertainment, and computer electronics industries, as well as a few others."
"And I guess you want me to do some insider trading for you?" Mesmer chuckled. "Guess you haven't heard. I don't do that anymore. Can't, really. Any stocks I'd try to touch? Fucking poison."
Mechelle raised an eyebrow. "We don't want you for insider trading. In fact, my employer does not care about money."
"Bad way to run a business."
"Depends on what the business is," she said with a brilliant smile. "For example. We are willing to offer you six figures to work on our security team."
Mesmer stilled. "Uh, like, per year or-"
"Monthly," Mechelle said with just a hint of smugness. For some reason, he felt drawn in. Like it was just the right amount of smugness. "We want you to become the face of our security division. Someone who can make sure we aren't flooded by corporate spies who somehow get through our background checks."
He swallowed at the thought. "The face. Like, you what, put me on posters around the office?"
"Or you star in advertisements, have your face on our security products, that sort of thing."
That was way too far. No way this was happening. "I uh, might need to see a-"
"Contract?" She took a manilla folder he hadn't seen earlier out for him to take a hold of. "All right there. You can, of course, look us up as well, speak to our lawyers. All above board."
He glanced at her hands. Gloved. Damnit. And she wasn't likely to let him touch her face, though he really wanted to. "Are you sure about this? Not a lot of people would hire me."
"My employer is not most people," Mechelle rose from her seat, smiling down at him. "He believes in second chances. Even third ones, depending on things. Just take a look at those, and when you get a moment, give us a call."
She walked off, leaving Mesmer to sit there, stunned. He opened up the folder, pouring through the contract.
He never noticed his daughter being picked up in the distance.
As she left him behind, Mechelle raised a hand to her ear. "He's in."
"Didn't hear a yes, there," Julian's voice said through her internal radio.
"Didn't need one. I could tell. How about you?"
"Your upgrades are ready to go as soon as you get back."
Mechelle smiled just a bit. "Wonderful. And the Eggman?"
Julian chuckled. "Well. I think it's best I not keep his appearances too brief. I have some ideas for that."
Mechelle smiled at the excitement in her creator's voice as she got into a limo. Things would be moving again soon.
Author's Note: Points for those who can guess which AI is which.
Beyond that, Dave's life is getting complicated, Homelander's Ego is getting massaged, Julian builds more things, and Mechelle recruits a man dumb enough to betray Butcher. So what else is new?
Next chapter, we drop in on the Boys and see what they're up to, followed by Robocop. Have a good one ya'll!