by Skyler Grant
"I've got nothing," the console operator reported.
"Extra-dimensional invaders. They destroy worlds," I said.
Mastermind closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh. "You have no idea how much I wish you hadn't told me that. You're sure?"
Deanna said, "They're called the Endless Swarm. They're bad news. You should have listened."
"I need lines to the Council and Disaster. Omega Priority," Mastermind said.
It took a few moments before two holograms rippled into place. One was of an older man in a suit and tie, the other a proud-looking blonde in a black dress who I recognized from her brief appearance at our grand opening—Disaster.
"Me invading your city is not Omega Priority," Disaster said.
"I agree," said the man. A search of records turned up that he was Lorekeeper, founder of NOBLE and current assistant head of the hero council.
Mastermind said wryly, "I can't be the only one with sensors detecting the giant fleet appearing out of a hole in reality. I know you both came for a fight, but that qualifies as a planet-wide Omega."
Disaster let out a wary sigh and rubbed her eyes, "Ugh. A team-up."
"A team-up," Lorekeeper agreed, not sounding any happier about it.
This was what it was like when a bunch of people that really didn't like each other had to work together.
"I'm going to move on the breach itself. I've never tried to disintegrate a hole in reality. This should be good," Disaster said.
"We'll work to contain the fleet. We could use assistance there," Lorekeeper said.
Mastermind told them, "I'm sending tactical planning that will coordinate you with my forces."
Lorekeeper didn't even protest. Everybody knew how good Mastermind was at what he did.
Mastermind looked to Deanna. "Can you assist?"
Deanna shook her head. "We're kind of, sort of, dimensional invaders ourselves. We go head-to-head with them and we'll tear this place apart. Good luck—and you should have listened."
Deanna blinked out of existence as if she'd never been.
"Useless," Mastermind said.
I was feeling pretty much the same way. My whole team was, occupying our little section of the command center.
The assistant holding the crystal cried out as a bolt of green lightning sprang from the surface, hitting her in the chest and tearing the woman apart in a cascade of light. The crystal fell to the floor, sparking violently.
"Get that thing under control," Mastermind said.
"You could absorb it. That is what it's meant for, to make someone like you stronger," Jules said.
"With a fair chance of death, and I suspect not the sort I'd be coming back from. I'm not that interested in more power," Mastermind said.
"You always were a coward. Get it to me and I'll do it," Disaster said.
Lorekeeper said, "Wisdom isn't cowardice. If he finally has learned the limits of his own power this is for the best."
Disaster screamed in pain, her hologram dropping to its knees. A moment later the same thing happened to Mastermind, and then Lorekeeper.
Bands of energy seemed to be holding Mastermind, wrapping along his flesh through fresh breaches in reality. The same happened to quite a few in the command center, his powered assistants.
"Massive dimensional activity worldwide. What do we do, sir?" asked one of the men at a console and sounding panicked.
"Walter and team. Here, now," Mastermind said through gritted teeth.
I didn't have an answer for this. I wasn't sure what he wanted.
What could we do though? We got closer. Mastermind's eyes were glazed with pain, although he was holding up better than the hologram of Disaster.
"Sir?" Jules asked.
"I'll make this quick. They're seizing all the most powerful supers on the planet at one go. S-Class and A-Class from looking at the readings. This is probably going to be a one-time sweep. When I'm ... out of play ... my daughter is going to get an upgrade and go evil," Mastermind said.
It seemed best to not ask many questions, although of course I had them.
"What do you want with us?" I asked.
"There is going to be a power struggle. My organization will tear itself apart. You've met my daughter, she knows you, and she knows I trusted you. Support her, keep her safe. Take out Patriot. There are no dimensional rifts in the oceans—you know what that means. Resolve this mess if you can. If not, I will get free of whatever plans they have and I'll be displeased with failure," Mastermind said.
The hologram of Disaster flickered out, or rather, Disaster disappeared from it. With a quiet plop Mastermind did the same, just vanishing, and the same happened with the dimensional crystal and around half the staff of the control room.
11
"Boss, how do you want to handle this?" Jules asked in a whisper as she stepped up to my drone.
That was a good question. If I understood what had just happened correctly, every S-Class and A-Class on the planet might have just popped off to dimensions unknown. If the population at large understood that, it could only result in one thing—an abrupt struggle for power.
Territories would be upended, power structures would fall, everyone would be trying to get ahead and take control of the organizations and resources that powered this world. And we were right in the middle of one of the strongest of them.
I said, "Uma, hit the systems. Do everything you can to open us up an exit route. Bonus points on your annual review if you can keep the channel open after we're done. Niles and Jules, shoot anyone in the face that gets in our way."
"On it," said several different voices simultaneously.
We had this going for us, I'd put together a good team. So had Mastermind, and unfortunately those people were well aware of exactly who their coworkers and competition were—who represented the greatest obstacles to them filling the sudden vacuums in the command hierarchy.
A woman at one of the consoles threw an energy blast that drove the man beside her backward, a smoking crater in his chest. One of Mastermind's surviving assistants blinked out of existence, appearing a moment later with a machine gun and she began to blink around the room laying down fire each time she appeared.
Uma had made a beeline for Mastermind's chair, a paw pressing against the controls there for a long moment before she was diving out of the way as a fireball flew over her head to take out a man on the way to claim the seat for himself.
"Emergency exit, this room. Sending details into our system," Uma said.
I reviewed schematics as they came in, the floor diagrams.
Mastermind really did have a ridiculous number of defenses, and all particularly well placed. Power suppression turrets were popular choices, usually paired with teleportation rounds designed to send one straight to a power-dampening prison.
It was a smart setup, and an absurdly expensive one. But like Uma had said, he still had an exit plan in case things went wrong. It required human hands, which put me and Uma out of contention. I sent the information to Niles' tactical display.
Niles didn't so much move as blink to the required console as he froze time, punching in a ten-key code on a keypad. The console didn't move—it dissolved, becoming a metallic pad where it had stood.
We'd only get one shot at this. With a last flicker Niles moved all of us onto the pad in one sustained time burst.
The pad was automatic once we were detected, a one-time teleportation circuit activating. We blinked elsewhere. Behind us, I had no doubt the control room would be exploding into fiery debris. If Mastermind ever had felt the need to flee from his own command center, it would be his opinion that everyone he was leaving behind was either a traitor or incompetent.
We'd left behind total chaos for eerie calm. We were in a small room with screens lining every wall, most of them showing data from around the city. Mastermind hated to be disconnected even for a moment. The only thing missing was an obvious exit.
Uma wasted no time in moving to one of the
walls and pressing a paw against it.
A voice came over speakers. " If you are hoping to take over the systems of this facility, that will not help you."
"Whatever or whoever you were, if you were Mastermind's emergency backup plan, then you were probably monitoring events in the control center. You know who we are," I said.
"Indeed. Low-powered associates, although ones that Mastermind thought had potential. Charged to protect his daughter and rescue him. Making use of the emergency system was clever."
One section of the screens peeled away to reveal a doorway.
We had no better options. Jules stepped through and the rest of us followed.
The room we came into was a lot like the control room we had just left, although smaller and with a lot more controls around a central chair rather than being distributed to various consoles. Everything also looked dated. Mastermind had used the most cutting-edge technology, but this looked years earlier—although that still put it far ahead of much of our hardware.
There was a hologram waiting for us, a recognizable one for all that she was a few years younger than when we'd last seen her. Glimmerdust, his daughter.
"Hi, I'm the Genius Level Emergency Nullification and Destruction Administrator, but you can call me Glenda," the hologram said cheerfully. "I'm not actually sentient like you are, because the boss is kind of a suspicious jerk, but I give a good imitation."
"Did he name you after his daughter, or his daughter after you?" I asked.
"The latter. Mastermind always figured if he screwed up badly enough to lose control of his city he'd require a good dose of guilt and wow, you have no idea the levels of guilt just looking at me can bring him," Glenda said, that tone still unerringly cheerful.
"I know! The rift between Mastermind and his daughter is kind of legendary and so dreamy," Bouncy said, looking around with wide eyes.
"Exactly. So, you're sort of a weird case, but the boss still does have a contingency to suit because ... well, you know, he's him," Glenda said, the hologram bouncing on the balls of her illusionary feet. "Mastermind Incorporated has countless resources, but most of them are probably about to be turned on other parts of itself in a deranged power struggle."
"Didn't have a plan for that too?" Jules asked.
"Please," Glenda scoffed. "Power struggles are good for winnowing out the weak. Whenever he returns from wherever he happens to be, he is going to have a much better idea where to allocate resources. But before we get into any of that, he gave you a mission. Do you intend to honor it?"
Mastermind might appreciate a good bit of disobedience and any power struggle. I didn't think he'd appreciate disobedience where his daughter was concerned.
"We do," I said.
Glenda beamed a smile. "I thought so. You're weak on power but expectedly high on loyalty. I've read your files."
"Can we read our files?" Jules asked.
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course not. So, a dimensional invasion force has stolen the world's powerful, but for now that seems to have been a one-time sweep. They haven't left, however, and there are multiple new structures around the world where they seem to be operating from," Glenda said in a rush.
"How does this involve Mastermind's daughter?" I asked.
"Most of the really powerful heroes and villains have some sort of legacy they can pass on. That is why so many people over time can wear the mantle. They aren't always reliable, but his is. Without Mastermind materially on this world his legacy will have shifted to his daughter. It carries a big power boost and a major shift towards evil. If Glimmerdust isn't an S-Class villain yet, she will be within hours," Glenda said.
I really, really, hadn't liked Glimmerdust. I also couldn't help but to think that this was good news.
"Good," Jules said.
I should have expected her to see it too.
Glenda said, "It is. Villains are vastly outnumbered and the only thing that manages to keep places like Mastermind Isle from being conquered is the presence of an S-Class. If this place is to maintain its independence, it is going to need her."
"But that isn't the reason he wants you to keep her safe. Mastermind just really loves his daughter, right?" Bouncy asked.
"Just because there is sentiment behind it doesn't mean there isn't also a plan. Mastermind could never help himself from having plans," Glenda said.
That had to make things tough for those around him. Still, I could empathize. I cared about the people of the corporation, but I couldn't help always seeing how they could all be used to generate profits. Profits were what we did, and what I was there for. CAPITALISM was the most wonderful thing in the world and it didn't preclude friendship, it just put a price on it.
"What assistance can you offer?" I asked.
"So long as you continue to adhere to the mission you were assigned I can offer you the resources I still have access to. Teleportation portals and safe-houses around the world. Supplies of materials and equipment. Those are limited, Mastermind's greatest asset was always his mind. You don't need the biggest gun, when you can win a fight with a bent spoon and the right plan," Glenda said.
"Information?" Jules asked.
"Of course. That more than anything. My systems are completely isolated from the main industrial servers. I truly am a secondary network that, while more limited, should be free of the power struggles consuming the company."
That was good, that was a start. We'd need every edge we could get.
"I need a location on Glimmerdust," I said.
The screens flickered and brought up maps and camera displays.
At first I thought they were broken. The screens were dark. But there was data there. Sort of. A whole city block had been shrouded in darkness, one that affected cameras and satellites.
"This is the last location of the STRONG transport she was on. As you can see, there may be no hours about it until her new abilities manifest," Glenda said.
As a hero Glimmerdust had controlled light, and now her villain alter ego manipulated darkness? It made sense. We had to get to her, fast.
12
Glenda provided us with transport close to the mist of darkness. A small hover ship that cost more than our base. I wondered if Mastermind would mind if I resold it.
Unfortunately, to the edge was about as far as we could get. And my drone couldn't effectively make out anything from within except for the sounds of battle.
All visual light really was being consumed inside. Echo reconstruction only went so far without specific software designed for it. It might give me some vague idea what was happening in area, but wouldn't paint a clean picture.
Niles engaged his suit lights, but they too were swallowed by the darkness when he stepped inside and he quickly had to retreat.
"Huh," Jules said.
"I could up the lumens, but I don't think it would help. I've never seen—not seen? Whatever—anything like this," Niles said.
"You wouldn't, if she really is an S-Class now. It means that her shroud of darkness breaks levels unlike any power before could do," Jules said.
That may be, and I really was very impressed with it. That didn't make any easier being so inconvenienced. It was hard to play rescuer, babysitter, or whatever else we were supposed to be doing, when we couldn't even see the brat we were supposed to retrieve.
I hated to do it, I did, but there was an organization that seemed always poised to handle even S-Class super challenges. I opened a comm line to Emmatech.
"Hihi!" came the cheerful voice almost at once. "This is Amy! Deanna is kind of busy ripping the heads off and revoking the life insurance policies of people thinking it is smart to attack our tower. She is probably doing it in the other order though, because she's really smart!"
Right, the Emmatech AI. You really think they would have named it Emma, but no, the head of Emmatech was probably some human named Emma. Humans always seemed to be in charge, a terribly inefficient state of affairs.
I said, "We're trying to reach a
spawning S-Class with darkness abilities and our lights won't cut through. I know you're not exactly in the business of doing favors, but I was hoping you might be able to assist. She's the ... ah, daughter of Mastermind, and so a friend of ours."
"We get owed favors, not the other way around. We can add another to your total though! We always collect," Amy chirped. "Let me scan the area. Ohh ... neat. You wouldn't believe the physics on this. Materializing direct to you a short and longer term solution."
On the ground at Jules' feet two items materialized. One was an antique-looking gas lantern and the other a sleek metallic bracelet that looked a lot like a life insurance band.
"That was fast," Jules said.
"You are so nice! I used to have a brain the size of the planet. Literally. Then I became a multi-dimensional computer and wow, now planets are kind of like circuits. I like to say my sister is omnipotent and I'm just omniscient, but that is only mostly true," Amy said.
The lantern was already working. Just with the light spilling off it near the edge of the darkness shroud we could already see inside, although only a short distance.
"What is the bracelet?" I asked.
"Power dampener, to assist your spawning S-Class control herself. She'll be able to manipulate the settings. Lots of aspiring great powers can't control them at first. The bracelet is going to help keep them manageable, but you'll want to wean her off it in time. They can be a crutch, although I am sure given her pedigree she'll have no problem!" Amy said.
"Do I sound that happy all the time? I hope I don't sound that happy all the time," Bouncy said.
Amy said, "You are a bundle of cheer and delight, and just what those villains need in their midst. Don't let anyone tell you differently!"
Right.
I killed the feed to Emmatech. Another bit more in debt to that very strange company.
With Jules holding the lantern we advanced into the darkness.
We weren't alone, of course, this had been a normal city block just a short time ago. But with the alien invasion most civilians had either gone home already or found shelter of some kind.
