Bob heaved a sigh, the only sound other than the rhythmic clank of his boots on the metal floor. Gray metallic floors with gray metallic walls and, you guessed it, a gray metallic ceiling, lit by occasional incandescent bulbs. Bob swore those might be gray too, but he didn't know if that was the lights themselves or the tinted visor of his helmet.

But at least he understood the rationale of the full-body armor at all times policy. Mutagen experimentation could be very dangerous.

Bob opened the door to the main laboratory. Inside was a one-armed young man with brown skin and a white lab coat and safety goggles, pouring over a set of vials and beakers.

“Ah, minion, what’s the word on our production?”

Bob nodded and checked the tablet in his hand.

“Everything is on schedule, production of the serum has reached its peak.”

The man smiled, lifting a stoppered vial filled with blue liquid.

“Excellent…finally…it’s time to begin.”

He looked up at Bob.

“You know, I was a minion like yourself once, working under a man far smarter than myself. But deep down, I always looked up to the heroes. The capes, the smiles, the bravery. Facing down evil, protecting the weak.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Then I learned the truth. A so-called hero, the most famous in my country, tore through our facility. Our work was going to change the world, bring an end to disease and suffering. Yes, we were funded by…less than savory backers, but still, the good our work would produce would far outweigh anything we did to achieve it.”

He reached up and clutched his empty shoulder.

“The hero was not satisfied with defeating us, with justice. He did not stop until everything was gone. He cut us down with no remorse or hesitation. Even the janitor who knew nothing of what we did. And he tried to destroy our work, render all the sacrifices we made for nothing. It was a miracle I survived, thank goodness we coincidentally hired his little sidekick’s friend. That’s when I realized…heroes are the problem. That’s when I realized…heroes are the problem. A handful of people hoarding power, parading about on top of a pedestal, free to do as they please without any concern for who they step on in the process.”

He lifted the vial.

“A problem I now have a solution for! With this refinement to Professor Mutant’s process, we can now mass produce a super serum at a fraction of the cost and time, without any connections to the drug trade! The compatibility is a bit low for now, but that will come with time! First we will distribute to those who have both compatibility and ability to pay, and use the profits to refine the process and improve our reach. One day, we will be able to distribute this to all the masses! We will raise all of humanity to godhood, together! And once everyone is super…”

His mouth curled into a wide grin.

“No one will be.”

He turned to Bob again, and held out the vial.

“Here, minion. Take this. Those who helped me on this journey should be the first to enjoy the benefits.”

Bob nodded and took the vial, storing it in a safe compartment in his armor.

“Thanks Boss.”

Just then an explosion rocked the facility. The young man let out a curse.

“No! We cannot fail now! Come, minion, we must defend the factory at all costs!”

“Right behind you, Boss.”

Bob reached into his pocket as the young man passed him by. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at the man.

He squeezed the trigger.

Bob let out a sigh as he looked down at the corpse.

He could sympathize, being at the mercy of a super was not a pleasant experience. But a world full of supers...would be even more annoying. This serum could not be unleashed upon the wider world.

But it could be a potent tool, should something unspeakable occur.

With that, Bob left the room.

Bob sat on a log back at the rendezvous point. He was on a cliff overlooking the coastal facility. Explosions and smoke filled the air as Nemesis tore their way through. Fortunately the young man did not have much in the way of staff and relied heavily on automation, so the kids wouldn’t need to get their hands bloody. To Kiyosuke’s disappointment, he was sure.

Just then five figures lifted from the facility, Elise and Saydaa carrying the group through the air. They landed in front of him.

“Mission Report: Mission accomplished, Commander Bob. All facility defenses neutralized, serum data downloaded and facility servers wiped. No personnel remain onsite, no data transfers detected.”

Bob stood to his feet and gave them a nod, patting Elise on the shoulder.

“Good work team. Keep watch while I bring in the demolition team, and then we’ll get out of here.”

Bob turned around and took out his phone, giving Chris the green light to start heading over. After the call he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

It was a tough choice, between the super serum and the other troublesome villain. But the ILS was closing in and he hadn't had time to take on both. So he made a choice. He could trust Londyn to keep the other guy's tech under wraps...but the super serum was a game changer no matter who it was who held it. So he made his choice.

And now...it was all over.

This was it.

After hunting down many troublesome villains...this was the last one.

Londyn could handle everything else, and was going to regardless of what he did.

After that?

Well…there wasn’t an after that.

The pool of villains had largely dried up. Oh sure, EL Bank always got new applicants, but they had slowed to a trickle. The ILS’s flying fortress and rapid reactions had spooked a lot of would-be’s, a half-hearted attempt at villainy was just a fast ticket to jail these days. With the field now clear, anyone EL Bank approved would be caught within days, not least of all because Londyn was surely investigating the connection between EL and Midnight. And anyone who didn’t go through EL wouldn’t have the resources to challenge the ILS, not truly.

Bob’s options had dried up and he had lost his biggest handles on the system. Even Nemesis would have to take a break, less the ILS decide to round them up.

But…that was ok.

The world was at peace now. The ILS had grown larger than he wanted…but they had a clear standard of behavior and strict enforcement. Londyn would keep the heroes in line. And the heroes would keep the world in line. Xiong Huang was the only question mark, off resolving her cultivation, but he trusted she would come to a better answer this time. Or at least, would be fueled by more than raw hate. The ILS and Eternal Night could co-exist, if uncomfortably.

There was nothing left for Bob to do. Which meant there was no reason to delay training with Xiong Huang.

But until then…

He could take a moment.

He could take a breath.

He could…

BOOM!

He whirled around as he heard it. The facility had gone up in a massive explosion, a tower of smoke surging into the air, pieces of debris now floating in the ocean. His eyes widened.

“What happened?”

“Hehe.”

Bob whirled around. Saydaa stood up tall, arms crossed, a smug look on her face.

“You can thank me now.”

“Sayda…what did you do?”

“What do you think? I knew you wanted this place gone, right? But like, breaking it apart is a lot of work. So I planted a bomb to save everyone the trouble! See? Easy peasy!”

“...why didn’t you say anything?”

“And let someone else take the credit for my idea? Screw that, I wanted it to be a surprise! That way you would know this was all me! That I’m the best member of the team and I did it all on my own! No help required!”

Bob fell to his knees, clutching his head.

“Huh? Boss-man, why aren’t you praising me? Come on, I was definitely the most useful member of the team here, I went above and beyond you know?”

“...Elise…”

“Acknowledgement: Yes, Commander Bob?”

“Run and display a simulation. Minimum effective serum dose dispersion, factoring in serum decomposition in the open ocean.”

Elise’s robotic eye began to shine blue and a holographic projection of the Earth appeared, colored blue. A red dot highlighted the location of the facility. The red color then began to spread across the ocean, until the entire ocean was covered. And it kept going…

Saydaa’s smile dropped.

“Um…what am I looking at, boss-man?”

Bob heaved a huge sigh, his head pounding.

“The spread of the serum you just dumped into the ocean. The serum that will randomly mutate and empower both people and animals. The serum I specifically wanted to keep from leaving this place.”

Saydaa started to sweat. She looked back at the projection and gulped. She turned and ran towards the cliff, eyes glowing and hair flying about.

“W-Wait! I can fix this!”

Bob froze and looked up. Saydaa began to float in the air as she drew on her power.

“Saydaa, no!”

But it was too late.

A massive cyclone appeared in the distance, covering over the facility. Saydaa grunted as she pushed with all her might. The cyclone picked up the remains of the facility, then moved over to the ocean. Smoke mixed with water in the cyclone and Saydaa thrust her hands up, sending the spiral high into the sky. She dropped to the ground, a weary smile on her face.

“T-There, I got it! Sent it up and away, n-no problem, see? I picked up the water too…just in case some of it got in there.”

Bob closed his eyes as the pounding in his head grew worse.

“Elise.”

“Acknowledgement: Updating simulation for spread of aerosolized serum across upper atmosphere. Simulation also predicts stimulation of serum molecules by friendly Saydaa's energy will increase overall potency. Updating minimum effective dosage parameter.”

The projection reset back to a single red dot, and started up again. This time a lighter shade of red started to spread.

But it spread much, much quicker.

And in every direction.

Until the entire world was shaded red.

Saydaa’s face was drenched in sweat.

“W-Wait…I can…”

“Saydaa.”

“Y-Yes, B-Boss-man?”

“Stop trying to help.”

"...ok."

Saydaa looked away and trembled. Bob took a deep breath.

And then he screamed.

Half an hour later he turned to Elise and held out his phone.

“Can you upload the data on the serum and the spread projections?”

“...affirmative.”

Elise’s finger transformed into a plug and connected to Bob’s phone. A few minutes later she handed the phone back to him. Bob held his head and heaved a massive sigh.

“Bob? What is it?”

“Londyn…we have a problem.”

“B-Bob…don’t you dare. The Atomic Herald, the Necrosaurus, even that Xiong Huang girl, not once have you ever told me we have a problem. I just finished up expanding the League, Bob. I haven’t been to my apartment in weeks, Bob. Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it. Don’t you dare say anything!”

“...”

Bob just uploaded the data to her.

Silence reigned for a few minutes.

Then Bob winced as he heard the screams.

“WHAT THE CRAP, BOB?! WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?! SERIOUSLY, BOB?! JUST, SERIOUSLY?! YOU COULDN’T LET ME HAVE THIS?! JUST ONE MOMENT WHERE I THOUGHT I HAD THINGS UNDER CONTROL?! WHERE THINGS WERE GOING WELL?! EVER SINCE I MET YOU, IT’S BEEN GETTING ATTACKED BY ANGRY HEROES, OR FINDING OUT THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END, OR GETTING KIDNAPPED BY THAT CRAZY GIRLFRIEND YOU NEVER MENTIONED TO ME! CAN’T YOU LET ME HAVE JUST ONE MOMENT OF PEACE?! I FINALLY, FINALLY THOUGHT THINGS WOULD EASE UP, AND NOW YOU TELL ME I’M GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH NEW SUPERS FALLING OUT OF THE SKY EVERY DAY?! YOU COULDN’T JUST, LET ME LIVE IN BLISSFUL IGNORANCE FOR A WEEK?! WHAT AM I EVEN SUPPOSED TO DO, BOB?! YOU WANT ME TO GO AND TELL EVERYONE THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO TURN UPSIDE DOWN?! YOU’RE PUTTING THAT ON ME, NOW?! JUST, HAVEN’T I DONE ENOUGH FOR YOU BOB?! OR ARE YOU NOT SATISFIED THAT I’M BREAKING MY BACK HERE ON A JOB YOU GAVE ME WHILE YOU GO PLAY AROUND WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!”

Bob winced and stood in silence as Londyn screamed at him until her voice gave out. He held his head, groaning. Saydaa just sat on the ground, trembling.

Things were about to get very, incredibly, extremely annoying.