“Here.” Jennifer pressed the screen of the tablet again and showed Victor a new page. It was a forum of some sort.

Villain ‘Signet’ available for fights in Forket City for the next ten days. Please signed in if interested.

New hero ‘Magic Girl Victoria’ looking for fights in Firecreek Town. Please check with company, Hero Express, if interested.

Villain ‘Cane Man’ available for fights in Lantern City. Please check with local information broker, Mesh, for more information.

Victor didn’t click on any of the post and skimmed through the page. There were fifty entries on the forum, and this was just the first page.

“This is legit?”

“Totally. This is a private forum only known to heroes and villains. Only they, and their associates, can enter. Some villains don’t even commit any crimes anymore. They find it easier to make a living just fighting heroes.”

“What if I had lost?”

“Then the cheque you gained from Power Entertainment would cover your hospital bills, and then some.”

Victor placed a hand over his eyes and rubbed his temples.

“I came out of prison and enter Planet Entertainment.” Then, he realized something. “Wait a minute. How did you get in that forum?”

Jennifer tried to stifle a laugh. “As the assistant of the Sweet Fist, I get access.”

“MY WHAT?”

Everyone turned to look at the duo. It was clear that the father-and-daughter duo wanted some privacy, but the shout got everyone’s attention. Jennifer looked back at the staring staff and customers. Everyone turned back to what they were doing. Jennifer then turned to her father and took on the elephant in the room.

“Your assistant. ‘Everyone’ knows that the Sweet Fist is making a play for the Kings, and ‘everyone’ knows that every villain needs an assistant. As his daughter, and a long-time resident of the Kings, it only makes sense that I get the position.”

“Since when did I say I was making a play for the Kings.”

“Candice said you didn’t object when she mentioned it to you.”

“Candice? My agent from H.A.V.E? I don’t even know what she does. She was here?”

“She, along with every other D-list villain in the city. Some were looking to join your new organization, but most just came to enquire. I think they want to see what you are going to do before jumping in. Some local groups also came to establish relations, and to express interest in doing business.”

“Like whom?”

“The Righteous Sons. The Hacking Circle. The Velocity Thieves. The-”

“I have no idea who they are?”

“I’m not surprised. The Righteous Sons is a biker gang with some small chapters in the surrounding area. The Hacking Circle are a small group of hackers looking to make a name for themselves, and the Velocity Thieves are a bunch of pickpockets. They are all local groups in Velocity City, but they will be useful. The Sons can handle transport and logistics. The Circle can be your intelligence branch, and the Thieves … well, there must be some use for them in a villainous organization.”

Victor looked at his daughter in shock. “Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?”

Jennifer just laughed. “Consider this payback for not telling me about your powers?”

“You never asked.” Victor defended himself. “Hey Victor, what ability do you have? That question never came up.”

“It never came up because I thought I knew what powers you had. I thought you were a martial artist.”

“I am a marital artist.”

“YOU ARE A MYSTICAL MARTIAL ARTIST!” The diner turned to look at the duo again, and this turn Jennifer turned her anger at them. “WHAT?”

Everyone quickly turned away. Seeing their reactions, Jennifer took a deep breath and tried to calm down. After a few more seconds, she turned back to her father.

“Look, see it from my perspective. All these years, I thought you were nothing but a joke. Just a guy in a silly costume pretending to be a villain. Then you show up in my life, and I saw you fight. I figured; ‘Okay Jennifer, you were wrong. He is a lot better than the reports make him out to be.’ Then, I had to find out from the INTERNET that you are a mystical martial artist! One of those rare guys who can smash boulders with a punch and create mirror images of yourself!”

“To be fair, I can’t do any of that.”

“No, you can just create a layer of bark over you. You know how many people have been calling me since that video went on air? Hundreds!”

“Now you are just exaggerating. It’s only been half an hour since the fight.”

“Just look at the numbers of views of the video.”

Jennifer point out the number of views on the screen, and then to the number of gifts that were given. Both numbers were still rising.

“There are almost eight thousand dollars already, and this is in less than an hour. By the end of the day, I wouldn’t be surprise if the total reach twenty thousand. You are entitled to thirty percentage of that.”

“You are joking.”

“Your favourite three words of the day.”

“Hey, there’s no need to mock me. I just had a life-and-death fight with a hero, and now I discover that this is commonplace. What the hell is the world coming to?”

“Oh, now who is exaggerating? The Leaper wasn’t trying to kill you.”

“Her spit melt bricks!”

Jennifer pressed the screen of her tablet a few times and then turned the tablet around to show her father the screen again. “Read here if you don’t believe me. It says here the Green Leaper’s spit is very effective against non-organic matter. Against people, it has a strong stinging effect. It is very painful, but not life threatening.”

Victor looked at the screen and saw a picture of the Green Leaper. It was a webpage showing her power set, her brief history as a hero, and even her alleged height, weight, and age. He then remembered that he was hit by one of the Leaper’s spits. It was painful, but he didn’t melt.

“What is this?”