Chapter 31

The Lord of Vermilion’s Test Epilogue

-:-

2 days later

Midday

Every television station in the Commonwealth was hacked without warning

The screen was black with the logo for the ‘Eye of Providence’ at the center.

An obviously robotic voice suddenly began speaking

“We are the Illuminati and we are here to express our gratitude

We thank the FNN starting the stigmatization of Superheroes.

By chaining the Superheroes down, they became reluctant to move out of the fear of backlash.

This allowed our organization to attack FNN without fear of being hounded by beings we cannot beat.

We have Eliza Fraskith, wife Jerome Fraskith, in our ‘custody’ and will begin negotiations for her release.

How much of the taxpayers money they have to steal to meet our unreasonable demands should be interesting

We thank the lawmakers pushing through strict regulations against Superheroes.

This has made crime much easier to perpetrate.

To show our appreciation, you will be blackmailed by the information we have gain from the FNN servers.

Your names will be tarnished, your careers will be ruined and your names will be forever branded as traitors to humanity.

At least you get to retire at a young age.

Last but not the least, we like to thank the foolish masses who believed FNN’s news reports and rallied in the streets in response.

You have just successfully removed the strongest shield you had and have made yourself painfully defenseless.

Crime rate will shoot up in the coming days and this is all thanks to you, the foolish masses of Commonwealth.

For every murder, every robbery and every evil dead that go unpunished, remember that all of these are testaments to your ‘victory’ against the Superheroes.

Once again, we are the Illuminati, and we thank you for making our dreams of world domination that much easier.”

The video cuts off and the screen was filled static

-:-

On the same day

Cathrige Private Ski Resort

On top of a mountain one 1 hour flight from Vermilion City was Cathrige Private Ski Resort.

Due to its target market of the middle class, Cathrige was an affordable Ski Resort with lots of employees, lots of guests and occupied a large area.

It wasn’t the best Ski Resort in the world, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was a popular tourist destination.

In the outskirts of Cathrige was a secret 10 story building that was carved into the mountain.

In the highest floor of said building was a circular room with 5 fancy thrones.

Only 3 of which was occupied.

After watching the Illuminati video, the 3 began talking to themselves.

“Really? ‘Illuminati’? That’s sooooo original. Note my sarcasm.” Said the frog faced doctor.

“It’s just a name. Don’t be so nitpicky about it.” Replied Miss Samantha.

The last person was an out of place 6 year old boy with black hair and sharp eyes.

“I think Illuminati is much better than the unimaginative names you give out. ‘Lord’? ‘Boss’? My grandmother could think of more impressive titles than that.” Said the child.

“That’s bullshit Johann and you know it. Your grandma died in the 1700s. Back then, creativity was still at its infantile stage.” Countered the doctor

“Unfortunately for you, grandma had a very ‘colorful’ vocabulary, especially when she’s angry or drunk”

The young child was named Johann Weishaupt, or at least that was his original name.

He often went by another name every time he moved to a different body

“That’s enough about stupid names. Why call this meeting Mr. Weishaupt? I assume it’s about the FNN fiasco, right?” asked Miss Samantha.

“That’s part of it. Let’s get the minor business out of the way first.” Said Johann

Miss Samantha and the doctor gave Johann their undivided attention.

“First and foremost, the body for our good doctor has been prepared. Once your current body nears its expiration date, we can go ahead with the ‘Metempsychosis Ritual’.” Said Johann.

“*sigh*… so its time huh… I know it’s my second time to do this Reincarnation crap, but I still cant get used to it” said the doctor

“Don’t worry. I’ve done it 5 times now and I still get squeamish” replied Johann as he gripped his 6 year old hand.

“Does it really feel uncomfortable?” asked the worried Miss Samantha.

“Yup. Let’s just say that it took me 6 months to remember who I was in my first time. I call it the ‘Disconnected State’.” said Johann. “It gets shorter with each subsequent reincarnation, but being in that state is still uncomfortable.”

“I see….” Replied Miss Samantha

“Well then, the next point. The FNN fiasco. Truth be told there’s nothing to talk about it. It was a resounding success” said Johann

“Indeed. This crap will make people think twice of stigmatizing Superheroes for a while” said the Doctor

“A shame we wont follow through with our threats and actually blackmail people. The control we’ll have on the Commonwealth would be impressive” replied Samantha

“While that is tempting, we cant do it right now. If we squeeze too tightly, the Superheroes might actively hunt us down. After what Hitler did to us back in World War 2, we’re simply no shape to deal with powerful enemies.” Said Johann

Both Miss Samantha and the doctor nodded in understanding

“Anyways, let’s move to main point: Theodore Lorne’s potential to occupy the ‘Inquisitor’ seat” said Johann as all 3 turned an eye towards the seat beside Miss Samantha.

The 5 seats as follows:

The Creator= Johann Weishaupt – business and industry

The Lector= Miss Samantha – politics and public relations

The Savior= The Doctor- medicine

The Dominator= None= military and defense

The Inquisitor= None= intelligence and espionage

“Samantha nominated him and thanks to the unexpected Black Bible incident, we didn’t need to kill his parents to get him into an avenger mindset. My concern is the Mind Slave Rune our doctor implanted in him during the brain operation. Based on my observations, it’s wearing out really really fast.” Said Johann

Despite its name, the Mind Slave Rune was much less sinister.

Its primary effect was to make to make the person more susceptible to suggestions from the one that applied the rune.

This was the main reason why Theo and Diego became such close friends with the doctor so quickly.

The only way to apply this rune was directly into the brain with a fresh drop of blood from the one that applied the rune.

Theo was showing signs of doubt of the doctor’s words by making investigations into Johann/Lord’s identity despite the dorctor’s insistence that Lord was trustworthy.

“I did exactly like how you taught me and in the same manner as I did with Diego. I cant really tell what’s happening since it’s magic based, but my guess is that Omni Gel of his might have some effect on the rune” hypothesized the doctor

“I see… that is possible. We know next to nothing about that concoction of his and we cant force him to hand it over.” replied Johann. “For now, we must keep Theo from discovering our connection. At the same time, you must forge true bonds of friendship with him. Hopefully we can maintain a friendly relation with him even after the rune wears off.” Said Johann

“No prob. I actually like Theo quite a bit.” Replied the doctor

“That’s good to hear.” Johann turned to Miss Samantha. ”Train him well Samantha. Tell him to lay low for a while. Also, get him allies and guide them towards us.”

“I’ll do my best. I’m a bit worried about that Juno Saiga girl though. I’d like some help in digging up some info on her. My men are drawing blanks” replied Miss Samantha.

“Very well. I’ll see what I can do. Let’s do this right, okay? Theo is the first one that fits the Inquisitor’s seat since World War 2. I prefer if he’s an ally than an enemy” said Johann

And thus, the meeting of this mysterious nameless society came to an end.

As to what these schemes meant for the world, no one knows.

-:-