The Vespidian

Arc 12 Villainy 101

Chapter 11

For the second time in a month, Bronson City had been devastated by an explosion. Luckily it mostly overlapped with the already cratered area merely making a more extensive one. My vantage point above the city gave me the wasp's eye view of the place. Skyscrapers toppled in a line leading off to where we had just come from, the Gorge. Below, the city was reeling to the say the least. Blackened figures scurrying about like ants, Kraken reinforcements taking over buildings to use for the coming battles.

Thick black columns of smoke choked the air. Distance gunfire, sirens, screams, honking, and the rumble of buildings still collapsing. A final booming salvo from the Citadel echoed as it chased off the last of the dropships. The titanic weapons fell quiet, allowing the lesser noises to rise back up to the peripheral. A steady humming noise came from that behemoth as it hovered over the ruins of the east side of Bronson. It was unnerving.

What few civilians there were had hunkered down or were still stuck in jammed roadways to the North going through the mountain tunnel to escape the city.

“You know why Molotov is letting the civilians escape?” I asked my current passengers.

Xava mulled it over, sparking as she attempted to process my request even though she was broken and mangled.

My most recent addition, Nitro, just as mangled and bit more incomprehensible, answered, “Civis are useless in a Free Fire Zone. Waste of resources to keep alive and hard to keep watch over. Best to either exterminate them or let them get out.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Heroes don’t give two shits about saving the Masses once the FFZ comes down. Restrictions are gone. It is kill or be killed. All out, no holds barred, anything goes, down and dirty, super on super violence. In other words, the survival of the fittest. The law of the jungle. Either they kill us and take what is left of the city, or we kill them and take all their goodies. Well, assuming neither breaks and runs. Of course, that is cowardly, unsightly, and unprofessional, but sometimes necessary.”

“Won’t the hostages make the Heroes flinch or hold back?” I asked.

Nitro hauked a yellow blood-filled glob of spit down below as she cleared her throat, “Might get the rookies to blink, but the main teams? Nah. They know better. Used to work, but those that flinched got killed. Learn real quick when death is what you get for having compassion. Normal every day sure, you can hostage meat shield it up, FFZ? Nope. Gloves are off. They out for blood and don’t care who bleeds.”

Below the distant rumble of a small explosion came up from where her spat had hit. From the looks of the blast, it was about as powerful as a grenade. A drop of her blood was that Strong, maybe even stronger we were somewhat high up, so it was hard to see how big the blast had been.

“Seems a bit brutal, doesn’t it? Never thought the Hero League would resort to that sort of stuff, Chimera sure but not the League.” I said, looking out over the ruined eastern section of the city.

Nitro nodded a little, “Not so surprising. FFZ is only declared when they desperate. Usually, it only when the city already going to shit and burning. It's the last resort to do anything and everything they can to restore order. If it fails, that is when the Hammer Strikes start. Here though, they did it preemptive since the Hero League Headquarters was destroyed and the local teams were all wiped out.”

My giant finger tapped at the black, yellow spurting woman, “You seem oddly informed of the happenings here.”

“Of course, I know. Molotov has been bitching and nagging me for over a month to come up here and kept me updated. Speaking of which, where is my Lair?”

Xava chimed in, sparking a bit, “We are en route. Vesper, do you remember the hospital in which you were kidnapped by the Mad Dogs?”

“I do, why?”

“Take us to the basement of that building.”

“Wait, that place is really a lair?”

Xava winked at me, well maybe her eyes were just short-circuiting since she blinked, and her whole face twitched up like she was having a seizure.

“You, eh, you ok?”

“I require repairs, but it is operable damage. Self-diagnostic still shows 40% functionality, more than enough to guide you.”

It didn’t take long for me to see the boarded up and abandoned bear-themed dining restaurant down the street from my old station. Across the street from the Fire Station, which had been taken over by the Cyber Swat, the somewhat familiar sight of the vast and expansive hospital complex loomed. At first glance, it was abandoned, but the influx of black-armored soldiers and cyber swat members, as well as robos like those I had seen in Xava’s Lair, made it quite clear that it was occupied at the moment.

Though the city was currently crawling with black-clad super-soldiers, this didn’t particularly look too out of place. It seemed as good a time as any, and we descended. Nitro being greeted by her soldiers as they saluted her. She pulled herself from my hand, standing up straight.

She was tall and lanky, gangly almost. Emaciated from how scrawny she looked. Her armor was in tatters; however, the huge tank on her back was only mildly damaged, still sputtering and thumping like an artificial heart.

“So it's here then?” Asked Nitro, ponderously observing the surroundings. She motioned up and down the street, “Secure the perimeter and set up deterrents. There are spooks in the city, and I don’t want any bumps in the night.”

“Yes, Sir!” replied the varied soldiers rushing off to obey her command.

“Spooks?” I asked.

“Chimera.”

“Ah come to think of it we did have a run-in with Mantia,” said thinking back to earlier in the day.

“Did you now?” The red lenses glinted slightly as the diminutive, in comparison to me, woman was looking me from head to toe, “Impressive. Most do not survive a run in with that mantis.”

“Well, we didn’t actually fight her. Molotov scared her off.”

“I see, I see. I will have to test you later to see what you are capable of. Very well, let us see what sort of set up I have to play with.”

Nitro led the way up the polished concrete stairs into the greeting area of the hospital. The floor matched the stairs, glossy and polished. The place didn’t seem abandoned. Even though the world outside had gone to hell in a handbasket. It was like an oasis of civilization. Power still kept the reception hall lit. The reason why this place was so well maintained became apparent as soon as I looked over the counter. One of Xava’s robo nurses greeted us.

Others began to file out of the rest of the hospital along with their guards, the dangerous-looking robots. Multi-armed death robots with enough armaments to make most wary. Xava must have sent these over to secure the place before we had even left on our mission.

The broken Xava was taken from me, and the fully functional one from behind the counter became our guide. “Welcome Vesper and Nitro, we have taken the liberty of establishing the lair in advance.”

“That is a pleasant change of pace. Usually, on deployment, I have to make do with less than adequate arrangements. Show me the lay of the land, and then we will begin the planning for our offensive operations.”

Xava nodded, leading the way. The clack of her heels resounding with my claws scraping the floor. My footfalls were much more substantial, even on my hands and feet. Out of the main lobby, the corridors became much smaller. I had to hunch over and crawl to fit. Clearly, this building was not zoned for a woman of my magnitude.

The whitewashed sterile walls expanded out to the end of the hallway before diverging to the left. Oddly, there were no doors in this corridor. With only one place to go, we followed Xava, as usual, she walked with a somewhat seductive sway to her hips. Or perhaps that is normal, and my mind is simply perpetually in the gutter. Could be the case. Though her short skirt that barely covered her ass certainly didn’t help.

We turned the corner, a tight fit for myself. There was an elevator at the end of a small alcove. It dinged and arrived just as Xava approached it. The doors opened, revealing several more Neon Nurses that filed out in their black and red uniforms. They stood to the side.

The Neon Nurses and Nitro entered the elevator. I stared at it. Yeah, it too smol. It was like a quarter of my size. The elevator door closed and descended.

Seeing my dilemma, Xava led me back to where we had come from. We circled around to the back of the building to the parking garage where the ambulances were stored. Most were not here. They must have been out during the Twilight incident. Those that were here were veritable tanks. They were armored and could take a fair beating. Not that that would help too much against the current caliber of foes.

We arrived at my entrance. It was a cargo lift. We could access the roof to load one of the Dropships, or as I discovered when Xava punched in a combination of floor buttons, a new panel appeared giving access to the Lair below. I paid attention to memorize that.

With a press of a button, the lift shifted, and we descended deep underground. After the elevator had reached roughly ten feet down above us closed, cutting off access to the shaft from above. Lights all around flickered to life. It was a proper villainous lair.

It didn’t take long reach to the floor that Xava wished to take me to. Though from the closed blast doors, it was clear that there were more floors to be accessed.

I was getting deja vu. This was undoubtedly Dr. Tesla’s MO. Flashes of memories were jolting through my brain as I saw the dull corridors. Bad memories. Like the finger in brain bad. My eyes narrowed, and I grumbled.

Xava pat at my side, “There, there love. For a little while, this place is home.”

“How much of the installation have you inspected?” I asked.

“Most of it. Overseer has already taken over the systems and assimilated all the computers. We are running structural scans and have discovered many traps to be used at our disposal when the time comes. They are inert until needed.”

“Good. Dr. Tesla likes his death dungeons. Hopefully, we don’t need to deal with it.”

“We will continue our thorough examination for any hidden aspects of this base.”

“Good, something tells me there is more to this place than what we have been told.”

“Likely.”

We proceeded down the tight, well tight for me corridors. Human structures are certainly annoying. Not to self when I get my own lair ceiling height will be fifteen feet tall, at minimum.

It didn’t take long to arrive where Nitro and the gathered Captains of her mercenaries had been brought. There were five of them. They all had black serpents on their gear.

Thankfully this room was more significant than the corridors, and I could sit up without my head smashing through the ceiling. I sat across from Nitro with Neon Nurses flanking my sides.

In the center of the room, two holograms lit up. One being the scowling Molotov. The other, the familiar mask that sent a primordial dread scurrying down my spine, appeared. It was the Sanguine Puppeteer. The eyes on the mask shifted unnaturally, as though it were alive. They looked in different directions like a chameleon. Those bulging eyes suddenly aligned, gazing straight through us.

“My minions~ I see you have found your appropriate Lairs. I assume they are to your liking? Yes, yes~ Ahh what fun, fun~ It has been years so many years since last my villainy tingled. Hopefully, this will prove to be entertaining.”

Molotov bowed, “Of course Master. Let us proceed.”

Nitro bowed exaggeratedly, “But of course my Master. It is good to see the passion burning in you once more. Tell your loyal subjects what we must do. What atrocities shall we commit in your name to appease your whims? We are yours to command, and we will die at your hand.”

I gave Xava a glance and returned my view to the Master of all evil, “Is this a cult?”

To my question, the mask tilted to one side and kept leaning until it was upside down, “I suppose it is a cult? Perhaps? Maybe? I don’t recall. I have made so many over the years they all blend together. Mmm Likely. After all, I am God. Why wouldn’t I be worshiped as such?”

I rubbed my chin, sweating coldly, “You know, when you put it that way… fair point. What must we do?”

The frown that the upside downed smile had formed into quickly returned to being a grin as the mask snapped back into what would be considered a “normal” placement… definitely something wrong with that person. That sort of motion would tear the head off and or at the very least, snap the spine.

Yeah, I am not fucking with that level of crazy.

The Puppeteer seemed thoughtful, calculative, and maniacal. It took a moment to gather the insane thoughts swirling through that mad mind.

“It appears the heroes are… reeling. We have leeway. Be wary of the Mantis and Centipede… odd… intriguing.”

“What is?” asked Nitro.

The Puppeteer wiggled its fingers madly, babbling until it slammed its hands down in anger, “Their minds are shadows. Slippery. Darting between my finger escaping my strings! HOW DARE THEY!”

The Puppeteer seemed to calm down after a moment, collecting its cool so to speak, “Oh Seems this level of power is not enough. No, no, no. I must not use more power. Too easy, no fun. Now they have my attention. Interested. I wonder I wonder who did that to them? Find them. Torture them. Pick their minds open. I must know who shielded their minds to this extent. I will flay their souls and shatter their minds.”

“Where are they?” asked Nitro.

“MMmmm I lost them. They are in the city, last was near the ruins of the old Hero League Head Quarters. They felt my touch, they won’t be there long. It is obvious what they desire. Vesper. They have come for their little sister.”

“Mantia will be troublesome to find. At least we know what they want,” said Nitro gazing upon me.

I grumbled, “Yes, yes. I know Mantia told me as such already. Ah…”

All eyes fell on me. I had remembered what Mantia had said. She wanted to meet tonight. Should I tell them? Although she did say to come alone. And she is invisible, so I doubt if others came, she would even reveal herself. Just as I was starting to worry about what to say. I felt something.

I felt slight discomfort, a wiggly sort of itching sensation from my abdomen. I feel as though I had forgotten something? I scratched at the hard carapace to abate the itch. The clacking of my claws seemed to only agitate it. The tingling became a sort of wiggle. A struggling of some sort of worm…

“Where am I?! What is this!? OH GOD! IT IS EVERYWHERE!” screamed out from my abdomen.

I lifted up the plate seeing the squished and very angry Light Fly stuck to my soft flesh much as a fly in the sticky paper. All the various grime and moisture caking her with gooey slime, build up from my most recent exertions. Oh. I thought I had forgotten something. Quickly I closed it back up even as her mouth opened to start screaming again. I pat the slightly raised armor plate that compressed my new host flat.

The other gathered villains stared at me, and I looked down embarrassed, but thankful for an excuse to leave the room, “Eh excuse me for a bit. I have a personal issue to take care of.”

I stood and left the meeting room—the pestered and desperate noises, not stopping at all. If anything, they had doubled, and the visible vibrations of my captive made the carapace push out slightly. Acha, so embarrassing. Definitely not cool. I bet all the villains are gonna think I am a weirdo.

***

Nitro stared at Vesper, leaving, the desperate and crazed screams of someone tortured emanating from the thick abdomen that followed in her wake. The room was still, save the doors closing. Slowly the sounds were muffled and faded away with the lumbering footsteps of the giant wasp woman.

“Molotov, I thought you said the Wasp was green behind the ears?” said Nitro looking between the hologram on the table and the door.

“She is, she has only been a Super for a couple of months.”

“Is that so? I must say she has potential. I get the feeling she has a predisposition for evil. I will take her under my wing.”

“Of course you will, why else would I send her under your command?”

Nitro chuckled, “Thought you were giving me all the dead weight.”

“Hardly.”

“Neon Nurse.”

“Yes?” replied the robo nurse from her place at the table.

“You would know. What does Vespidian do with them?”

“Those that are useful are, breeding stock.”

“Ohhoho~ Now that is proper evil.”

“It is~” chimed in the Puppeteer.

“Not so much evil as a natural behavior of hers.” Retorted Xava

“I would call that torture,” pointedly replied the Puppeteer. “Torture is fun~ it is one of my favorite pass times.”

“Her species is rather predatory and parasitic in nature. As such, it is natural. Normal. At least the hosts are not killed.”

“You do not deny it, then?” The smile on that mask seemed more unhinged than usual.

“Things are difficult for her as is, if it helps her cope, then I don’t particularly care about her methods, though as far as I know, there has only been one that was not fully consensual of the act. Though that one broke and is now-” she paused, considering the correct words, “Most enthusiastic of her new purpose in life.”

The Puppeteer wiggled its fingers happily humming, “I do enjoy watching them break. Nightmare was delectable. Ah, her screams and her pitiful cries of pain and suffering were music to my ears. Vesper is a natural. I can’t wait to see what wondrous things she will do. Definitely one of my favorite toys.”

Nitro let out a dry sort of laugh balling her hands together and setting her chin on the top, “I wonder why you are so dead set on letting her breed? If I were weaker, it might be concerning.”

Xava didn’t seem ruffled despite being before some of the evilest people in the world, “Why would I not support my significant other? I find this inquiry to be hypocritical in nature from one such as you, responsible for mass murder, pillage, and a list of war crimes that would make the Geneva Convention blush. I don’t even know where to start with you, Puppeteer. Your hands are not merely stained with blood. They are made of it. Are you attempting to take some sort of moral high ground? I find your thought processes to be illogical and flawed.”

The Puppeteer seemed rather playful, “That is because I am unfathomable little robot. I know I am insane, and therefore I am perfectly sane.”

“Morals? Ahaha. Good one. I am approving of her actions. Those that have the power can do as they please. Though you should be careful that her eccentric activity does not become a liability,” replied Nitro.

Xava tilted her head, “Explain.”

“If the heroes find out about her hobby, shall we call it, they might use it against us. If say someone were to be taken and subsequently escape, they could do a good amount of damage to the installation.”

“Oh, here I thought you were insightful. Yes, we have already made many containment protocols to keep those that are brought in secured. That particular security issue has already been nullified. There are many fail-safes and contingencies in place for dealing with escaped hosts.”

Nitro seemed impressed and nodded, “It appears my worries were already taken into consideration.”

“Indeed.” Replied the mechanical smile of Xava.