Vaudevillain

Chapter 55: A Nasty Surprise

Getting the mothership moving wasn't difficult. One of the consoles in the control room solely focused on driving the spaceship around. Dylan pressed the large button labeled drive and noted the map that appeared in his vision.  It was almost like Vert expected someone to use the giant flying machine at some point.

He maneuvered the machine over to the rubble building where his minions had holed up. Riptide activated the tractor beam to pull the group into their new prize.

"Cass, go and welcome our minions inside," Dr. Zlo said.

"Right, boss."

Cass made his way down to the tractor beam room to welcome their minions.

"Now! Time to take this marvelous machine back to our secret base, where we'll outfit it with a gigantic death cannon and use it to ransom all the cities for their cash!"

"And candy," Sweet Dream said.

"And some choice surfboards," Riptide said.

Laughing maniacally, Dr. Zlo input the address of his secret base into the auto-drive function on the mothership and sat back to enjoy the journey.

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Down below the mothership, in the mosh pit of heroes and aliens, heroes worked together to mop up the last of the alien reinforcements. The initial assault of guild heroes had expanded to include most freelancer hero players and a few villains. With the increase in numbers, the Quli around the district were pressed back to the town hall, where the commander sat waiting.

The players fought their way to the area, dismantling mechs and aliens alike in their assault. But they had to halt their advance to the town hall when a giant forcefield hummed to life, separating the area.

Wonderman struck the wall with a mighty fist, "Hmm, it seems these Quivering Quli locked us out, Boy Wonder."

The players tried similar attacks. None were able to pierce through the forcefield that appeared around the town hall.

"Wonderman," said another hero, "I've analyzed this field. If we combine our powers with the other seniors in the guild, we should be able to create an opening. But only for a small group of combatants."

"I see," Wonderman turned to address the crowd of players. "Fine people! It may seem this wall of light is halting us, but your senior heroes have a plan! By combining our powers, we shall make an opening to allow the rest inside. However, by our calculations, only eight of you can enter at a time. But do not worry! With the friendship of your fine companions, even the greatest foe will fall."

Then, the NPC heroes all stepped forward. The NPCs surrounding Wonderman activated their powers and held hands, channeling their essence through each other. Two in the middle reached out for Wonderman, who grabbed the outstretched appendages. Energy surged through his body, and he shouted, "Wonder beam!"

A rainbow of energy lanced out from the hero's chest, impacting against the forcefield and carving a door-sized hole in the side. A few impatient heroes and villains rushed forward for the first chance to fight the commander. Cooler heads held back, searching for party members to take on the boss. Those less interested in waiting turned back to try and eliminate more aliens. They were the few who saw the mothership leave.

Speculation rose throughout the ranks of players. Many believed the mothership left to bring more reinforcements. Others thought the retreat was a scripted event, and that the ship would appear later on. No one realized that a group of players had snuck aboard to steal the spacecraft.

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Matt was a bit bored. It had been thirty minutes since he'd arrived at the troll's mansion, and the player in question still hadn't appeared. His fanbase was starting to get bored as well, now that Matt had run out of ideas.

At first, the player had entertained himself by carving graffiti into the mansion's gate. He could fine-tune the destructiveness of his disintegrator by using a finger instead of his whole hand. So Matt had polled his chat for ideas. Now, Dr. Zlo was the new owner of a new gamer-inspired art piece masquerading as a front gate. After that, he and chat went around the area, looking to see if there were any other villains to assault.

There weren't any. Which Matt somewhat suspected to be the case. There wasn't much of a reason for a villain to visit a residential district. In fact, no one Matt knew even bothered entering a residential area unless a quest took them through it. Everyone wanted to perform the big crimes, like robbing banks or destroying buildings.

"Chat, I don't think this guy's going to show up."

Agreement scrolled down Matt-att's chat window.

"So, do we come back later or start wrecking his stuff?"

His chat filled up as watchers picked between both options. From what Matt saw, his fanbase had split relatively evenly. Some wanted to watch the destruction, while others wanted to see more fighting.

But Matt didn't have to make a decision. As he stood there, the wind whipped up around him, carrying bits of dust from the ground into the air. The streamer looked up to see a gigantic disk come to a stop above the mansion and lower itself down.

"What the f*ck!" Matt exclaimed. His chat mirrored the sentiment.

"That's the alien mothership, what the f*ck is that doing here?"

Matt received his answer as Dr. Zlo, and his minions were beamed down.

The streamer stared, "Chat, did that troll somehow steal the alien mothership?"

Matt-att's chat answered with uncertainty and disbelief. The streamer kept staring as the villain walked into his mansion, and the mothership rose into the air again. He watched as the mothership moved near the estate in small jerks as if someone was tapping on a directional pad to edge a character closer.

After a second, Matt-att smiled, "Chat, I think today is my lucky day. We're about to get a new mode of transportation."

The streamer began his assault by pushing open the gate and walking up to the fountain. The figure of Dr. Zlo once again stepped down, "Dr. Zlo is--"

Matt-att didn't let it finish, the streamer dashed in an placed a palm on the statue's chest. A quick activation of his power broke down the stone and gears, crumbling the figure to pieces.

At the act of aggression, gargoyles on top of the mansion activated. Wings flapped, and limbs stretched as the mechanical constructs leaped off the roof. The statues plummeted to the ground, creating a small depression in the dirt as they landed. The monsters rushed forward on four legs, ready to shatter Matt-att to pieces.

The streamer brought up his left hand in a stopping gesture. A transparent shield appeared in the direction, stretching out to cover the player's entire front side. The first gargoyle slammed into the bulwark, fully expecting their foe to collapse under its mighty charge. But instead, the machine halted, and Matt-att drained all the energy from the charge.

Matt-att extended his right hand and touched the gargoyle as it came close. He activated his power. The energy drained from his pool and ripped into the monster. It fell to pieces in mere seconds.

Taking the initiative, Matt-att charged into another gargoyle, shield up to absorb any attack. The mechanized construct tried to swipe over the shield, but the streamer shifted his hand, turning it up to receive the blow. He countered with a touch, erasing the next gargoyle from existence. The last fell a few moments later, unable to penetrate the streamer's defenses.

As the last gargoyle crumbled, a voice boomed, "You dare invade the base of the great Dr. Zlo?"

Matt-att turned toward the lanky villain, "Remember me f*cker? I'm here to ruin what you've created the same way you did to me."

"Ha! I've ruined many lives over the years. I can't be bothered to remember every ant I step on. Now, die!"

Dr. Zlo fired his monocle laser, only for Matt-att to raise his hand and absorb the blow. "Nice try, but you won't be able to beat me with kid's toys."

"Fine then," Dr. Zlo twisted his cane and aimed it at the streamer, "Taste fire!"

Liquid fire poured out from the villain's cane, striking Matt-att's shield. It fell to the ground, stopping just before it could hit the hero. But Matt-att's guard only stopped the momentum, meaning the grass still ignited when it touched the ground. The streamer stepped back, careful to avoid the encroaching flames.

"Jacques!" Dr. Zlo cried. "Attack!"

But nothing happened. No swarm of suited minions stepped out to strike the streamer.

Dr. Zlo frowned, "Hold on one second."

The villain turned back inside and shouted, "Jacques! Get out here, or I'll feed you to the disassembler!"

Three Jacques rushed out of the mansion. The first stopped abruptly as it saw Dr. Zlo, causing the other two to crash into him and send all three to the ground.

"Are you it?" Dr. Zlo asked incredulously.

The Jacques all nodded, colliding heads as they did. Matt took the chance to absorb the fire, then started making their way to Dr. Zlo.

"Oh, get up." Dr. Zlo demanded.

The Jacques scrambled to their feet.

"Where are the rest of you?"

The three minions turned to look at each other, then turned back to Dr. Zlo and shrugged.

Dr. Zlo pinched the bridge of his nose, "Didn't I tell you to make more of you?"

The Jacques nodded.

"Then, where are the rest!"

The Jacques shrugged.

"Useless!" Shouted Dr. Zlo.

Matt-att stomped onto the front step, "You know, you shouldn't f*cking ignore me." He reached out a hand.

Dr. Zlo shoved a Jacques in front of him, "At least do your job!"

Matt-att grabbed the minion. Dr. Zlo watched as the man's power activated, reducing the Jacques to a fine powder. A suit plopped onto the ground where he had stood. The two Jacques panicked, throwing their arms into the air and running in a circle. Matt-att ignored them, moving towards Dr. Zlo.

The villain activated his rocket shoes and jumped to the side. The engines in the boots ignited, whisking away Dr. Zlo before Matt-att could reach him.

"Get back here!" yelled the streamer.

"Never! Eat laser!" Dr. Zlo shot another two bursts from his monocle.

Matt-att switched to his left hand, blocking each shot as it arrived. A Jacques tried to take the opportunity to tackle him. Matt-att grabbed the minion's arm and activated his power. The Jacques dissolved into smoke, a plastic mannequin appearing on the ground. The last Jacques bolted, arms in the air as it ran away panicked.

"If you won't come down, I'll make you!" Matt-att shouted. He grabbed the mansion's doorframe and activated his power, holding it for less than a second. The wood around his hand melted to sawdust. Matt-att waved with the dust in his hand, taunting the villain.

"You will pay for that!" Dr. Zlo said.

Matt-att rested his hand on the doorframe, "Come down and fight me then."

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