Vaudevillain

Chapter 122: You Should Have Thought it Through

Riptide lay flat on his board, dodging another lance of rainbow light heading for his torso. Tendrils of light chased after him, Merla's capture spell still on the chase. He escaped another attempt at capture by rolling on his board and diving behind a support pillar. The villain dropped another seanade as he did, hoping that this attack would reveal some heroes.

The explosion of water washed over the blocky protrusions on the ground, their saltwater spray seeping through the metal covering. Riptide kept his ears open for any noise, but none of the heroes were revealing themselves. Grunting, he pulled his board to surf up the pillar. He needed a vantage point to see which direction the attacks were coming. It didn't help that the engine room was larger than he expected.

The entire engine room ran at least a third of the length of the ship and was filled with all sorts of mechanical contraptions he'd never seen. Rows of blocky boxes surrounded by railing connected to another series of cylinders, which went to an enormous trapezoid with a metal rod coming out from under it. Seawater from Riptide's wanton use of explosives had created a small covering over the floor, slowly draining over time from some unknown opening.

The villain knew he needed to grab an engine but was utterly lost on what that was. Was it the giant rod that looked like it ran through the whole ship? Or was it one of the other boxes? Riptide was starting to think he maybe should have put a bit more thought into his whole portion of the scheme. He should have let Caroline help him out when she offered. Instead, he'd tried to look cool in front of his girlfriend, and now he was paying for it.

Another flurry of ice came Riptide's way, and the villain was forced out of his hiding spot. But, it also gave the villain a glimpse of the attacking hero. She was in a small side room up some stairs, and Riptide saw her silvery body duck back inside.

"Got you, dude!" Riptide cheered as he surged forward.

A rainbow entered his field of vision, forcing the surfer to dive down. Riptide jerked his head to the right to catch a glimpse of a hero in a brown tunic dodging between the equipment below. Merla's capture spell came moments later, and Riptide was once again put on the back foot.

But now the villain knew where his enemies were, and he wasted no time charging at the ice hero. He surfed over one of the ensnaring tendrils and shifted his focus over to the railing that led up to the side room. A volley of rainbow energy followed after him, but Riptide's unpredictable movements kept him safe.

As the villain neared the room, he pulled out his disintegrator and aimed it in front of him. A blue beam connected with the door's hinges, unsteadying the entryway. Riptide jumped off his surfboard, dive kicking at the door. The villain stored his surfboard with his free hand while the other aimed the gun ahead of him.

Riptide slammed into the entrance, knocking it off its hinges. He activated his power as the hero attacked, surfing the door to the left. The surprise on the hero's face was clearly visible, as they hadn't expected him to move in any direction but straight.

"Gotcha, dude!" Riptide said as he blasted the ice woman with his disintegrator. The blue beam connected with the hero's chest, causing her to wince and dive to the side. It was the wrong course of action. With nothing to stop him, Riptide kept the focused beam trained on the player, reducing them to zero hitpoints after a short time.

Unfortunately, Riptide's charge put him in the perfect spot for Merla. Her capture spell rushed in through the door, blocking off Riptide's avenue of escape. Light wrapped around the villain, binding his hands and legs in a cocoon. Riptide fell to the ground, helpless.

"Oh, not cool, dude! Fight fair!"

"Says the villain," Merla shouted back. She kept an eye on Riptide and his companion, using the natural cover of the engine room to her advantage. Once Riptide charged in, Merla sent the other hero to deal with the villain. With any luck, she could finish off Riptide before things got out of hand.

Bubble sneaked around the edge of a protruding engine, searching for anything that would give a hint to what they needed for the wave widget. Knowing Dr. Zlo, it would be something fantastical. But, the middle of a firefight was the worst place to slow down and search, which was why Bubble resolved to finish the fight as soon as possible.

An arc of rainbow struck Bubble from behind, draining the woman's health by fifty percent.

"Jesus!" she yelled. Immediately, the woman dove behind the contraption in front of her. And not a moment too soon, another blast of energy followed behind a bit later. Bubble barely made it behind cover before something strange happened to her screen.

The resource she used for her power warped and shrank, becoming a fat blue bar and not the green stamina bar she knew. The hero's attack changed her resource bar! Could she even use her power now?

Bubble had to test it out. From behind her box of cover, she pointed a hand and aimed in the hero's general direction. A circle appeared on her screen, slowly growing. Two bars appeared inside her new resource box, one red and stationary, the other white and bouncing up and down.

Bubble groaned. Just her luck, she got something like a rhythm game. She released her hold on her power when the white bar overlapped the red. The area near the hero bulged outward and exploded, sending shrapnel and debris whizzing across the room. Bubble peeked around her corner of cover, looking to see if she got a hit in.

A booming hiss of air distracted the villain, drowning out all other noise. It turned out Bubble's attack popped one of the many air compressors and was now in the process of spilling its contents. Bubble took advantage of the sound, using it to sprint across the room. With the extra secrecy, an attack didn't come until she was already behind another pillar.

Bubble caught the direction of the hero's attack, and she retaliated with her power. The next compressor bulged and exploded, this time catching the hero on the arm. Bubble pumped a fist in triumph at the hit; she could take this guy!

A crack of gunfire sounded as she finished her silent cheer, and Bubble winced as something struck her in the back. She tried to move out of the way, but several other attacks followed, taking her down before she could retaliate. At the last second, she turned to see the twins from before, their halos firing full-force.

The game over screen appeared, and Bubble found herself standing outside a bait and tackle shop, the docks now far in the distance.

"Ugh, that's the last time I do something without an actual plan," she complained.

Riptide struggled against Merla's bindings, trying to find a way to free a hand. If he could reach into his inventory, a seanade would reset the entire fight.

"Don't bother," Merla said. "You won't be able to escape that easily. I made this spell for people like you, after all."

"Dude, I'm flattered," Riptide said.

"You should be. It takes a long time to find new spells. I have to go through a lot of random stuff to get it."

"Like the quests?"

"Yeah. And sometimes I have to find local witches or wizards. It's not bad, but it would be cool to have a power like Dr. Zlo's, where I can make what I want."

The hero in the brown tunic walked into the room. "Did we get him?" he asked.

The twins came in a moment later, asking the same question.

"We got him," Merla said.

"H*ll yeah!" one of the twins said. "How many points does that give?"

"We'll hand them out after the event," Merla answered. "This still isn't over."

She turned to Riptide, "Where's the bomb, Riptide?"

Riptide squirmed in his cocoon. Merla grabbed him and propped him against the wall. "This will be easier if you tell us."

"And betray Dr. Zlo? Never, dude!"

Merla turned to the other heroes, "How about you guys? You want to take a shot at it?"

The twins nodded, and Merla stepped back to give them some room. The twin on the left walked forward first, "Why the cruise ship?"

"I was going to surf it," Riptide replied.

"Bullsh*t," the second twin answered.

"Okay, dudes. You got me. The engine here would speed up the bomb. And then I was going to surf it."

"Is everything about surfing with you?" the first twin asked Riptide.

"Nothing else matters, dude."

"Sounds a bit lame for a villain," the second twin said.

"He put us all through the wringer," the tunic hero commented. "I don't think his motive makes a difference."

"How about this," the first twin said. "If you tell us where the bomb is, we'll let you surf a cruise ship."

"Dude! You serious?"

The twins looked at each other, then at Merla.

"Don't look at me. I'm not about to promise him anything. That's all up to you."

The twins looked back at each other, then nodded. "It's a deal. Tell us where the bomb is, and we'll let you surf a cruise ship later."

Riptide struggled in his bonds one more time, then relented and nodded. "Deal, dude."

"Alright, where is it?" the twins asked.

"Where else would you put a bomb that makes waves, dude? In the sea, of course."

"Where, in the sea?" Merla demanded.

"Oh, that's easy, dude. Just look for the blinking red light."

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