“Should I go resume work on--” the android began.
“Shh,” I interrupted as I felt my eyelids grow heavy. “I think we’ve more than earned some sleep by now.”
“But I do not need sleep,” Aileen said.
“No, but you can do everything that you need to from right here,” I said and reached over to tuck my arm around her waist. “If you’re starting to feel human emotions like jealousy, you might as well get the full human experience of sex, and right now, that means you can stay here with me until morning.”
“As you wish, Creator,” Aileen purred, “but only if we have another round of sex before the morning.”
“I think that can be arranged,” I laughed.
The next morning, after a third round of sex with Aileen, I woke up and led her down to join the others around the kitchen table. Penumbra and Beacon were talking at the table, Norma was moving back and forth between the fridge and the stovetop, and Elizabeth had just sat down at the table when Aileen and I walked in.
“I’ve been banished from the stove,” my girlfriend told me when I walked in with Aileen. “Norma says I can’t be trusted around food that isn’t microwaveable.”
“I’m also skeptical of your ability with the microwave,” Norma called out from behind the refrigerator door. “You might be a badass when it comes to superhero stuff, but you just burned two batches of waffles in a row.”
“It’s true,” Elizabeth sighed.
“Not everyone can be an omni-average superhero,” I said with a smile at Norma.
My mousy assistant, of course, instantly turned pink.
“So, what’s next?” Beacon asked as he took a sip of coffee.
“Next?” Penumbra laughed. “Maybe we should all take a minute to appreciate the fact that Miles just took down Grayville’s most, like, fearsome supervillain, you know?”
“It was impressive,” I said with a smirk.
“I can’t decide which one was more impressive,” Elizabeth said.
“The fact that you were able to kill the Maniac, or the fact that you created Aileen, who was the key to helping you kill him.”
“It can be both,” I said with a shrug. “Is there more coffee, Norma?”
“Of course!” my assistant said from beside the stove now. “I can bring--”
“I’ll get my own, thanks,” I said and then moved toward her to grab a mug. “Nice work with the choppers last night, by the way. You took them out faster than I expected.”
“Well, I had help,” Norma said as her cheeks turned even more pink.
“I know,” I said, “but I reviewed the news footage of everything this morning, and you were really amazing up there.”
“Thanks, boss,” my mousy assistant said and then swallowed.
“Um… Miles?”
“Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe later, I could talk to you about…” Norma hesitated. “See, there’s kind of this thing that I wanted to talk to you about, and now that the Maniac is out of the way, I thought--”
“What’s that burning smell?” Elizabeth asked from the table.
“Oh, drats!” Norma said. “I forgot about the bacon!”
She hurried toward the stove to take off the extra-crispy bacon, so I poured my coffee and moved back toward the table to join the others.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked as I passed behind Norma.
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter!” my assistant blurted.
I had my doubts about that, but she would talk to me whenever she was ready, and she was so flustered at the moment that clearly, now was not quite the right time.
“So, what do you think?” Beacon asked. “What’s next for you, Miles?”
I sat down between Penumbra and Aileen, and I was pleased to see that even though my beautiful android didn’t need to eat anything, she still sat at the table with the rest of my team so we could discuss our plans.
“Well, I haven’t told any of you this yet,” I sighed, “but now that the Maniac is dead, along with a bunch of other supervillains in town, I want to
leave Grayville.”
“Oh!” Penumbra said. “Then you…”
“You’re welcome to come with me, Veronica,” I said with a smile. “If you still want to leave Grayville, that is.”
“If it means that I get to stay with you, then hell, yes!” the blonde superheroine said immediately.
“And what about you?” I asked Beacon. “Do you think you can handle the supervillains left in Grayville on your own?”
“Well, you did take out all the worst ones,” Beacon laughed, “so I think I can take care of the rest. It’s like a different city now than it was when the Shadow Knight ran things. The police feel more confident, and the heavy oppression on the citizens’ shoulders is much lighter.”
“That’s because Slade let the bad guys run all over him,” I said,
“instead of putting them down like they deserved.”
“But, yeah, I think I can take care of Grayville from here on out,”
Beacon said, “and I can always ask you guys to come back if I run into anything really bad.”
“And Slade Industries?” I asked.
“Well, I’m starting to get the hang of things there,” Beacon replied,
“and plus, I’ve got Julien to help me.”
“I’m sure he can also help you design any weapons and vehicles that you want to use, too,” Norma said as she brought in waffles and bacon for everyone.
“Yeah, and he can also help me invest more in Grayville’s development,” Beacon said. “I really want to make Grayville a nice place to live. Somewhere that supervillains don’t want to ever come set up shop in, you know?”
“Community investment is all well and good,” I said, “but don’t turn yourself into a martyr. Maybe get yourself a yacht or something.”
“I can do that, too,” Beacon chuckled.
“Will you still use the name Beacon?” Penumbra asked. “I know Slade gave that name to you, so…”
“He might have given it to me, but I’ve made it my own now,”
Beacon said with a shrug. “It’ll be like the Shadow Knight’s lair. It might have been his idea first, but I plan to make it my own, too. It’ll just take a little… okay, a lot… of redecorating.”
“Good luck getting rid of all those feathers,” Norma said with a smirk.
“Where are we going next?” Aileen asked. “Can we return to Pinnacle City yet?”
“As much as I’d like to, I don’t think that’s the smartest move at the moment,” I said. “I’d love to go up against Optimo and the rest of the Wardens, but I think we’ll probably need a little more practice first, so we can pick another test city like Grayville.”
“I understand what you mean,” Elizabeth said, “even though I’m ready to get rid of Optimo, too. But even though Optimo might underestimate his opponents, you never do, Miles.”
“Exactly,” I said with a nod, “so I want to make sure that we can plan for every possibility, and that means we probably should get in some more practice somewhere else first.”
“Actually,” Aileen said, “there is something that I wanted to--”
My public phone suddenly rang from the coffee table in the living room, so Elizabeth hurried over to grab it. When she looked at the number, her turquoise eyes flashed with anger, and she tossed it to me almost hard enough to punch a hole in the wall.
“It’s fucking Optimo,” Elizabeth said. “That asshole really has some kind of timing, doesn’t he?”
“It’s a beautiful morning in Grayville,” I told Optimo when I answered the phone. “What can I do for you, Optimo?”
“You must think you’re really something,” Optimo spat. “You think you’re so tough because you took out the Maniac?”
“Well… yeah,” I said with a smirk. “Now, I know you’re disappointed because you weren’t fast enough to take care of him yourself, but--”
&nb
sp; “I am fast enough!” Optimo screeched.
“Of course, you are,” I said as I rolled my eyes, “even though most men don’t brag about how fast they are.”
“The mayor wouldn’t agree to give us the funds,” Optimo said, “but when the Maniac’s second message came through, I was gathering my team to come after him anyway, and--”
“Maybe you’ll be a little quicker on the draw next time,” I snickered.
“Next time, I won’t let a bunch of fucking politicians get in my way,”
Optimo growled.
“I never do,” I said and then took a sip of black coffee. “So is this call just to congratulate me for my good work, or did you have something else on your mind?”
“I will hunt you down, Miles,” Optimo said. “Wherever you go, I will find you, and I’ll put you down just like you did to the Shadow Knight.”
“Better be careful, Optimo,” I said. “You’re starting to sound an awful lot like that Evil Genius character. What happened to a good old-fashioned arrest?”
“Jail is too good for you,” the superhero said, “but maybe I’ll spare Dynamo and that little blonde who’s fallen under your spell. I have plans for them, and as soon as you’re out of the picture, no one can stop me.”
“Well, good luck with that,” I said, “but if you don’t mind, I’d really like to finish my breakfast now.”
I hung up before Optimo could get in the final word.
“He wasn’t going to tell us anything that we didn’t already know,” I said with a shrug.
“Well, just in case there was any question about it, Optimo is definitely still an asshole,” Elizabeth sighed.
“I don’t think anybody had any doubts about that,” Norma chuckled.
“Should we be worried about him?” Penumbra asked. “Or about the rest of the Wardens?”
“You can always stay here in Grayville a little longer,” Beacon offered. “I’m sure Julien would be happy to help you design any weapons or vehicles that you need to protect yourself against the Wardens, and there are still plenty of small-time supervillains left for you to practice on.”
“No, Grayville is all yours now,” I said. “We’ll find some other place to practice, and Aileen and I can handle any weapons and vehicles that we need to create. Julien just works for you now.”
Beacon’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at the alarm.
“Shit, I’ve gotta go,” he said. “I have a meeting with the investors about some new nanotechnology, and I can’t be late.”
“Go ahead,” I told him. “You’ve got a company to run and a whole city to protect, so you’ve got your hands full.”
As Beacon pushed himself back from the table, Penumbra stood up next to him and flung her arms around his neck.
“God, you know I hate it when you do that,” Beacon said and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, well… too bad,” the blonde superheroine said. “You’re like my brother, and since I’m going with Miles, I might… you know, not see you for a while.”
“Take care of yourself,” Beacon said with a smile, “and try to stay out of trouble.”
“Oh, I have a feeling we’ll do nothing but get into trouble,”
Penumbra said with a wink at me, “but I’ll do my best.”
After everyone else told Beacon goodbye, I walked him to the door and shook his hand.
“You’re a good kid, Adrian,” I said. “Look after yourself, and call me if you ever need anything. I’m here for you.”
“You, too, Miles,” Beacon said, “and thanks for… well, everything.
You’ve really changed my life. Hell, you’ve changed everyone’s lives.”
I stayed in the doorway until I watched Beacon drive away. I wasn’t sure exactly where we would head next, even though I had a few ideas in mind. But wherever I thought that we might end up, I couldn’t help but imagine that Optimo would just show up there anyway, and then we’d still have to face him and however many Wardens he brought with him.
Maybe I’d have Aileen run an algorithm to figure out which city Optimo would be least likely to go to, like some place that politics would be a hurdle for him to overcome before he could actually show up and try to arrest us.
After Beacon left, I exhaled and then went back to the kitchen to finish my coffee with the others.
“So, any votes on where we’re headed next?” I asked.
“I believe I have something that may impact your decision of where we go next,” Aileen said. “I have continued to analyze all the files in the
Shadow Knight’s system, and I believe that I have a surprise for you.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “First, you tell me that you can be jealous, and now you want to surprise me? You’re becoming more and more human by the day.”
“I am merely evolving to better please you, Creator,” Aileen said.
“So what’s your surprise?” Elizabeth asked.
“I found a DNA sequence that the Shadow Knight had hidden under layers and layers of encryption in a file labeled ‘Contingency Plans’,” the beautiful android replied, “and I have been working to analyze it to determine whose DNA it is.”
“It wasn’t the Maniac’s?” Norma asked. “It would make sense if it was, since they probably traded locks of hair with each other and little friendship bracelets and shit.”
“No, it was not the Maniac’s,” Aileen said. “I just finished my analysis, and it appears to belong to Optimo.”
All four of us turned toward my robotic assistant.
“Excuse me?” Norma demanded. “Did you just say, uh, that we have Optimo’s DNA?”
“We have his DNA sequence, not an actual sample,” Aileen said,
“but yes.”
“Holy shit,” Elizabeth said. “Holy shit!”
“Damn, Aileen,” I said with a grin. “You’re really something, you know that?”
“Um, could somebody please tell me what that means?” Penumbra asked.
“It means we’re going the fuck back to Pinnacle City,” I said with a grin.
“But I thought…” Penumbra hesitated.
“If we have Optimo’s DNA sequence, then we can figure out how all of his powers work,” I explained, “and we can figure out his weaknesses and how best to attack him.”
“Basically, it means that Optimo is toast,” Norma said, “or at least, he will be by the time Miles finishes all his analysis and everything.”
“Oh!” The blonde levitation specialist clapped her hands. “Oh, then that’s wonderful! And we get to go to Pinnacle City!”
“You’ll love it there, I promise,” Elizabeth said.
“And that means we get to go back to the Cellar,” Norma sighed.
“Oh, I’ve missed that place.”
“What’s the Cellar?” Penumbra asked.
“It’s where I do… everything,” I said. “If you think the basement workshop here is something, then just wait until you see what I have underneath my house in Pinnacle City.”
“I can’t wait,” Penumbra giggled.
“And I can’t wait to wipe that smug look off Optimo’s face,”
Elizabeth said. “Especially if we get to do it on our home turf.”
“It might still take a little bit of time to get everything ready to go head-to-head with him,” I said, “but now we’ll have Aileen’s analysis of his DNA and the full resources of my Cellar to help us out.”
“And you have us,” Norma piped up and then pushed her oversized glasses up on her face again.
“Yes, I do,” I said with a smile at all my women. “So, yeah, I’d say you’re right, Norma. It’s only a matter of time before this motherfucker is toast.”
I drained the last of my black coffee and looked around the table at all four of my women. Aileen looked deep in concentration, so she was probably already deep into her analysis of Optimo’s possible weaknesses, and Elizabeth’s turquoise eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought that we would return to Pi
nnacle City and face Optimo sooner than we first
thought. Penumbra bit her lip and smiled back at me, but even though she seemed nervous, she looked every bit as excited as my girlfriend.
And Norma… Norma looked like she had just found some sort of new confidence. Maybe it was the fact that we were going back home, or maybe it was something else completely, like whatever she had wanted to talk to me about privately, but she looked… different.
Her hair was still mousy brown, and she still wore her usual frumpy clothes, but she sat up straighter in her chair so her posture made it seem like her figure was more of an hourglass shape. She even adjusted her oversized glasses less than she usually did, and when she met my gaze now, her cheeks only turned slightly pink, but she smiled and didn’t look away.
I had this strange feeling that Norma would really start to come into her powers when we went back to Pinnacle City. As much as she enjoyed blood and violence, she also liked to feel safe and secure, and that meant she might need to feel at home before she explored all her powers.
Sure, Optimo and the rest of the Wardens were just waiting for us in Pinnacle City, but once we were ready for them, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the five of us together. And when they were out of the picture, then shit could finally start to go back to the way it was supposed to be, where the good guys killed the bad guys, and the scum of the earth didn’t get a second chance.
Yeah.
It was time to go home.
End of book 5
End Notes
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Evil Genius 5 Page 28
