Epilogue
Getting up the next morning without waking Psyren wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do, but I had a feeling I needed to get moving as soon as possible. Last night was a nice capper to everything, but the fallout from taking on the Heroes of Earth wasn’t going to wait long.
I stood at the window of the chalet’s second story, looking out onto the grounds, a cup of hot coffee in hand. I’d thrown on pants and a dress shirt on after my shower, and was now watching the drive. I had a feeling we were going to get an unexpected guest quite soon. I wasn’t sure who it would be, but I knew it would be someone.
Ah, right on time.
I watched the dark car cruise smoothly up the road and halt at the gate. I reached over, grabbing my transmitter and fitting it in my ear.
“Dolly?”
“Hey, Victor! Was just going let you know about-“
“I see it. Let it up.”
“Sure thing.”
I downed the rest of my coffee as the front gate swung open and the dark car glided up the drive. I made my way downstairs, opening the doors and stepping out onto the porch just as the vehicle arrived, coming to a halt with the soft crunch of gravel.
I took my time admiring the car. The sleek black of it shone in the morning light, the chrome rims gleaming in that way you only got by having someone whose whole job was to polish them. It was all quite impressive. As was the woman who got out of it.
Carter smiled broadly as she swept up towards me, her tinted glasses catching the glare of the sun. “Well well! If it isn’t mister big shot villain. How are you, Victor?”
“I’m alright. Doing better than yesterday.”
“I bet you are!” Carter said, coming up to me and swinging her arm around mine. “Come. Walk with me. Talk with me! We’ve got a lot to go over, you and I.”
That we did. I set off with Carter around the chalet’s ground, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
“So-“ I began.
“You want to know the feeling down on the ground?” Carter said.
“The thought had crossed my mind,” I said.
“It’s confused, Victor. Very confused! But not to worry. That’s to be expected. It’s not often a villain group comes out of the blue, trounces one of the biggest hero societies in the world, and then gets away with it. That’s big news, Victor. Big news! Your little organization is all over the air waves. In every newspaper. Everyone is talking about you, Victor. And what a performance! A hell of an introduction.”
“Any problems?”
“No legal ones. Valkyria has been very forthcoming about what really happened, but even if the Heroes of Earth were being manipulated, you still smashed them. Nothing’s going to change that, Victor. You couldn’t have had a better intro for your evil organization if you’d planned it. Now, all the world knows about you. And the offers are going to start rolling in!”
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked shrewdly.
Carter grinned, tilting her head coyly towards me, her hair bouncing around her face. “One of a few reasons, Victor. You would not believe the amount of requests I’ve been getting in. My phone was ringing all night with heroes just desperate for me to arrange a defeat of your evil schemes. If someone fights your organization, they’ll have it made! Everyone is going to want to watch it, Victor. And that’s not all.”
“What’s not?” I asked, suddenly nervous again.
Carter chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh Victor. You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not just heroes. Villains are going to want a piece of you too.”
“Villains want to fight me?”
She laughed outright as we walked through a forest of Glacia’s abandoned ice projects. “Of course not! They want to join you!”
What?
“Join me?” I said blankly as we passed a pile of my half-melted heads.
“Victor! Do try and understand. You’re not just an impressive specimen of walking man meat. You’re running a premier evil organization now. Do you have any idea how popular that will be? Villains are going to be all over you. You’ll be a launch pad for their evil careers! You could end up leading a whole army of supervillains.”
Dear God. She was right. I hadn’t really considered the possibility, but forget just having Glacia and Psyren around. I’d probably be dealing with every bad guy and girl who was looking to become the next Doctor Dementor. It was hard starting off your evil career from scratch. But having an evil org to springboard would be a godsend for so many villains!
And those were the good ones. But the flipside of that was I’d be seen as a major rival. Just like many villains would be looking to make their names by joining me, just as many would see destroying me as a way up. And not just dumbasses in bars, but real villains with real heft behind them.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned.
Carter smiled sympathetically, patting me on the back. “Not to worry, Victor. Razer Industries will be delighted to work with you to help make your organization as menacing as can be. And first among those is this!”
We’d rounded the chalet by now and were back at the driveway. Carter gestured grandly at the car she came in, and I looked at it blankly.
“What?” I said.
“You new evil vehicle! A great sponsorship, Victor. Razer Industries has partnered with Oni Automotives to promote their new brand of electric cars. And they would just be delighted if you would choose them to showcase their product in any of your villainous endeavours.”
“They want me to drive one their cars?” I said. “But… I’m the bad guy!”
Carter patted my back again. “Victor, evil always has plenty of style. And from personal experience, I assure you evil is very sexy. And nothing sells like sex.”
Well, she got me there. I looked at the shining new car, admiring the sleek hood and hubcaps. Black. Brand new. Stylish and with a sharpness to the design that felt instinctively menacing. And… oh. Oh they didn’t. They did. The hood ornament was a skull topping a big M.
“Nice,” I breathed, resting my hands on the chrome skull, stroking the shining silver metal.
I heard a jangle and looked over to find Carter holding a pair of keys, the chain a red M with sharp points. “All yours,” she said.
Like I was in a trance I held out my hand and she dropped the keys into my waiting palm. My fingers closed on them, feeling the sharp edges digging into my skin.
“The first of many new perks, Victor,” Carter said. “Or should I say, the Mighty Magneron.”
I exhaled in amazement, looking back to the car, running my hand along the warm metal of the hood. Flawless. Unblemished. So new it could have just rolled off the assembly line. The first new car I’d ever owned.
Maybe this whole ‘evil overlord’ thing wouldn’t be so bad after all…
End