Jane nodded, coming to terms with the direction her life was about to head.
Jane had followed every rule this place had ever placed upon her. Passed every test. Strove to be the ideal student.
But she was about to end all that. She stood straighter and tried to sound more sure of herself than she actually was. “I refuse.”
The woman looked at her in complete astonishment, her mouth literally falling open. “…Y-y-you what?”
“I won’t go.” Jane all but squeaked out. She wasn’t really used to standing up to Mrs. Lowood like this, no matter how mad she got. Generally, she found it easier to just go along with whatever her teachers wanted.
“You will go where we put you or you won’t go anywhere at all.” Mrs. Lowood smashed her fist down on the table. “We teach heroes here, not villains who refuse to listen to orders. You’ll be out on the street.”
“I already have my bags packed.” Jane bobbed her head smartly to show her determination. “I will just go find my own Caping arrangements.”
“I will bury you in this business if you disobey me, child.” The woman warned. “There won’t be a single Cape in the industry who will hire you!”
“I don’t care if I’m a crossing guard, at least I’ll be out of here.” Jane picked up her suitcase and nodded curtly. “Good day.” She walked through the door and out into the gray afternoon light.
Perhaps it was a day fit for flying after all.
****
True to her word, Mrs. Lowood had blackballed her with every super-team around. The Academy’s influence was great, and NO ONE would go against them it seemed. Jane had literally tried every group she could think of in the city, country, and world. And had come up totally empty.
Thus, her options were simple: get this job or starve.
She stepped from the boat onto the wet sandy beach and looked around “Skull-Splitter Island.” It was about what someone would expect, given its catchy moniker. Craggy volcanic rocks jutted out through the loose black sand, intermixing with the dying tangle of exotic trees. The ground was shadowy and hidden beneath an odd greenish fog which seemed to remain deathly still, despite the strange cold wind which ripped across the supposedly tropical island seemingly from several directions at once. Angry clouds filled the dark sky, and the dim light they allowed to pass through cast terrifying shadows from every rock and bush. Strange noises echoed from the impenetrable jungle of the island’s interior, hinting at horrors unseen and terrors unmatched.
The place had a haunted, otherworldly quality to it that was most disconcerting.
Which was entirely understandable, since it was the lair of a super-villain.
Sadly, Jane had exhausted all of her options on the right side of the law, so this was her last resort. Villains needed help too, after all, and so she was going to try her hand at evil. True, she’d never been evil before, but she understood the basic concept. When you came right down to it, doing bad things should actually be much easier than preventing bad things. And the fact that the Horizons Academy was telling all her potential employers that she was evil, might actually help her get this job. If the leading school on heroism said that she was the Devil, that was a heck of a job reference in her favor for landing a job in this hellish place.
Of course, she’d still have to perform the terrible acts themselves, but hopefully it wouldn’t be as distasteful as it seemed. And besides, no matter how bad it was, it sure beat the alternative.
She turned to thank the boatman for rowing her ashore, but found that the man had already fled the scene in terror, and was frantically paddling back to his cargo ship. He evidently knew what this place was and he wanted no part of it.
Jane could understand that. If this had been normal circumstances, she would have either run from this place as well or be leading the charge to bring the people who lived here to justice. But these were not normal circumstances.
She was desperate and desperate people were capable of anything.
Even super-villainy.
And when you really thought about it, perhaps it was a good sign that the citizens on the mainland were afraid of this place. At least it meant that her new employer was good at being bad. That showed a competence in his chosen craft, and perhaps the man could even help her better understand villainy, which in turn would aid her when she made her eventual return to Caping.
Being good at Bad would surely help her to not be bad at Good, right?
She began to pick her way across the rocky mist-shrouded pathway, up the hill towards the main house. Its dark shape loomed over the island like jagged bone jutting from an open wound. Made from native volcanic stone, the building looked like if Frank Lloyd Wright had designed an evil fairytale castle. Boxy geometric shapes, intermixed with creepy turrets and scary battlements. And skulls. Skulls were definitely a theme with the building.
At the base of the hill, a small area was set aside as what appeared to be a graveyard. Behind the bent and rusting iron fencing, several worn gravestones marked the names and dates of the dead, along with rather cryptic epitaphs, such as: “He never should have touched that.” And: “He’s raping the angels now.” And: “Gone too soon, it wasn’t safe yet.” And perhaps most curious of all: “The check cleared.”
She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that, but again, it wasn’t like she had a lot of choice in any of this. She was out of career options and her only transportation off of the island had left her behind. She was committed to this now. She had spent a decade enduring Horizon Academy, and she wasn’t afraid of pain or death anymore.
She could do this… no matter how much everything in her was screaming at her to run.
She cautiously worked her way across the drawbridge through the skull-shaped entryway, and tapped on the large rusted metal gates. A moment later, they swung open to reveal an elderly woman wearing a black wedding dress, complete with tattered veil.
“We do not need victims while the Master is away.” The woman slowly pointed one boney finger back down the pathway, as if in warning. “Run, child. Before it’s too late… Run while you still can.”
Jane instinctively took a step back, her heart in her throat, but then garnered her courage and remembered she had nowhere to run to. She was homeless, penniless and had no other job prospects. Essentially, it didn’t matter if this woman or ‘the Master’ killed her or not, because if they didn’t hire her, she was already dead.
She cleared her throat. “…I’m… I’m Jane Gateshead?” She stammered, taking another step back. “I… I found your job posting?”
The woman lowered her hand and frowned slightly. She pulled up her veil to get a better look at Jane. “You’re a villainess?” She asked quizzically, glancing up and down at Jane’s spotless sky-blue uniform and white cape. “You?”
Jane stood straighter, trying not to let her desperation show. “I can be whatever the job requires me to be. Within reason. I mean, I’m not… um…” She trailed off, then cleared her throat. “That is…”
“You don’t look like any villainess I’ve ever seen, girl.” The woman told her flatly, cutting off Jane’s stammering.
“Well… I am.” Jane declared, trying to sound sure of herself. “Yes, I am.”
The woman seemed to consider that for a moment, pursing her lips in consideration. “Do you know anything about the evil sciences?”
“Absolutely.” Jane immediately lied with as much conviction as she could manage. “Evil science is my favorite type of science.”
The woman made a “Hmmm” sound of consideration or disbelief, then flipped her veil down over her face again. “Very well.” She turned and started to glide back into the house, as if floating.
“I…I can show you my résumé, if that will help.” Jane said frantically, trying to convince her that she was in fact qualified for the position even though she wasn’t technically evil, if you wanted to get all nitpicky about it.
“That will not be necessary.” The old woman motio
ned with her bouquet of dead flowers for Jane to follow her. “You are the only surviving applicant. Follow me.”
“Oh.” Jane tried to process that. “Well… that’s good, I suppose.” She pointed back down the hill. “Are those all his former sidekicks, then?”
“Good heavens, no.” The woman laughed, as if that idea was ridiculous. “Those are just the ones whose bodies we could find.”
“Ah.” Jane stepped around an odd puddle of something on the stone floor. “Well, that… Umm…” She frowned down at the substance in shock, cutting off her thought. “Is that blood?”
“Welcome to Skull-Splitter Castle, child.” The old woman turned around to face her again, her voice filled with something close to pride. “I am Fairfax. I care for this castle while the Master is away.”
“And where is ‘the Master’ currently?”
“Away.”
“Yes, we’ve established that, but shouldn’t…”
Fairfax cut her off by turning around and seemingly floating up the darkened staircase behind her.
Jane raced to catch up. “Perhaps if you’d tell me who the Master is and where he might be, I would have a better idea of…”
“That is your room, Jane Gateshead.” The elderly woman utterly ignored Jane’s questions and instead pointed to a small room at the end of the hall. “That is where the Master’s sidekicks sleep.” Her voice took on a haunted quality, barely above a whisper. “…That is where they always sleep. …Till they don’t sleep anymore.”
Jane nodded, trying to ignore the sudden flash of lightning from outside. “Yes, I’m sure it’s lovely.”
The woman met her gaze with wide, unblinking eyes. “You won’t be able to leave it.”
Jane made an unconvinced sound and placed her bags down. “If I’m going to be working for ‘the Master’ as well, shouldn’t I know something about him?”
The woman frowned at her in confusion. “You applied for a job without knowing who you would be working for?”
“…I needed to get hired.” Jane defended after an awkward silence.
“You’re supposed to be a villainess, child, not stupid.” Fairfax shook her head sadly. “You poor girl. You remind me of my first husband. He was a trusting soul like that too.” She sighed wistfully at the memory. “In the end, I almost felt bad about it.” Her voice took on a haunted quality. “He lasted longer than the others, of course.” She looked down at the floor. “Sometimes….sometimes I still think I hear him scratching…”
Jane looked down at the floor as well and took a step back, just in case the man was about to burst through the stones and finally tunnel his way to freedom from wherever he was trapped. “…Yeeeeah.” She finally got out. “That’s… umm… wonderful.” She cleared her throat. “Being evil myself, I adore hearing appalling anecdotes like that.” She lied, trying to hide her discomfort. “I find other people’s pain… so so humorous.”
The woman blinked, as if coming out of a daze. “I’m sorry, child. What were we discussing?”
“You were about to tell me about my job here.”
“You will assist Professor Damascus Thornfield, of the Institute of Mad Science.”
Jane’s eyebrows rose. “I’m working for Damascus Thornfield?”
“Yes, Jane Gateshead.” She met her eyes. “Always read the fine print before applying, child. First rule of villainy.” She turned to leave, then looked back at her meaningfully. “Of course, I’m sure a villainess like you already knew that.”
Well, on the bright side, the graves outside made sense now.
She paled. “I’m not really going to be here long enough to unpack, am I?” She whispered.
“None of the others were, no.” The woman floated down the hall, her eerie voice echoing off the walls. “But sometimes people can surprise you. Just ask my fifth husband; he was sure surprised.”
****
One Week Later
Despite her early misgivings about the place, Jane was finding that the promise of a smooth career eased her concerns. Honestly, it wasn’t so bad once you got used to it.
Jane spent her days trying to memorize the layout of the sprawling castle, filled with rooms which seemed to move around on their own. For instance, some days the foyer led into the drawing room and some days it apparently led to the great hall. Fairfax didn’t seem at all put out by this strange occurrence, but it made Jane’s hair stand on end.
This whole place had a terrifying and unnatural quality to it which set shivers down her spine.
All in all, if she had been searching for the right kind of villainous hideout in which to live, this was certainly the most evil and ghastly place she could have found. Jane was rather thrilled that the place was so terrible, as it drove home the point that she was a villain and would doubtlessly be learning many exciting and depraved things from her new mentor.
For her part, Fairfax seemed to be confused by Jane’s enthusiasm for the castle. To her, it seemed merely a house and less an institute of learning. Fairfax was turning out to be exactly what she appeared, however. An eternally calm and scary woman who made frequent mention of some horrible crime or another, and who had a habit of speaking in a low wheezing monotone. Despite that however, she seemed a relatively kind-natured woman, of competent education and average intelligence.
Fairfax willingly answered whatever question Jane had and showed Jane around the castle with no major complaints. Everywhere but ‘the Master’s’ lab, anyway. And the tower. Those areas were off-limits to Jane for some reason, and all inquiries about them were met with silence from the housekeeper.
At the moment though, the old woman had grown irritated by Jane’s constant questions and her odd enthusiasm for the work. As such, Fairfax had told her to walk the circumference of the island to get a better understanding of her new home.
Personally, Jane thought it was merely an excuse Fairfax concocted to get Jane out of her hair, but Jane was still going to take advantage of the opportunity. The island was so frightfully interesting. Every tree and bush seemed like some new attacker reaching out to destroy Jane and it was all so exciting. She had lived her life in the hospital white corridors of the Academy, which were unadorned and smelled of antiseptic and bleach.
Now she was on a strange and mysterious island, and there seemed to be any number of things which could kill her at any moment. Jane had trained her entire life for an opportunity like this! True, she had technically trained to stop people from turning these types of places into horrible death fortresses, but the point was the same.
Jane would probably die at any moment, wandering around this horrible and inhospitable place.
And she had never felt more alive.
She stepped over a particularly pointy outcropping of rock, marveling at how interesting its razor-sharp edges were. If she were still a Cape, such a sight would have struck fear into her heart and convinced her to keep away. And now that she was a villain… kinda… she was so proud to be associated with something this dangerous and evil.
It was real.
The Academy had told her that she would never amount to anything, but now she was a sidekick to one of the world’s preeminent mad scientists, and she lived on an evil island so deadly that even the rocks could kill you here.
Jane was reasonably certain that no Cape could buy the kind of on-the-job training she was receiving right now. And once she proved to the Cape community just how capable she was, she’d heroically switch sides! She’d save the day and be welcomed into any group she wished.
She was so excited by her deadly discovery and all the new evil things she was learning during her exploration of the island, that she didn’t even see the boy running through the fog in front of her. He barreled straight into her, knocking her to the side. He faltered for a moment, reaching out a hand to make certain she didn’t fall onto the jagged rocks… then paused, as if stunned to see her in such a place.
Behind him, a new figure strolled through the thick greenish mist, obv
iously in pursuit of the boy.
This figure was enveloped in an old fashioned black doctor’s coat, accented with scarlet red and steel clasps. He was of middle height and considerable breadth of chest. He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow; his expression looked ireful and thwarted just now, partially hidden behind dark goggles. Above his left ear, a large section of his head was covered by what appeared to be a steel plate and several lights twinkled from it, as if a portion of his skull had been removed and replaced. He was past youth, but had not yet reached middle-age.
Jane’s breath caught in her throat and she instinctively took a step away from this stranger stalking through the emerald colored fog towards her.
There was something about the man that was… terrifying. Jane had been in the Horizons Academy for ten years, she’d seen plenty of things which should have frightened her, but they never had. She’d seen photos of unimaginable crimes and seen the burned wreckage of building, man, and beast. This person was different though. He wasn’t some picture in a book or a cackling madman in a news report; he was a villain. You didn’t even need to really look at him, you could feel it. It seemed to radiate off the man like some invisible force, warning the world around him to be on its guard because he was not a man to be trifled with.
And he was prowling towards her.
She swallowed, trying desperately to gather her courage. She had trained for this. She turned to look at the teenaged boy standing next to her.
“Run! I’ll handle this!” They chorused at once.
Jane and the boy then both frowned in unison, obviously surprised that the other thought themselves a match for the madman bearing down on them.
“You and your brother have interfered with my work for the last time, boy!” The stranger cried, bringing a scary looking weapon to bear. Filled with blinking lights and spinning doodads, Jane wasn’t entirely sure what the futuristic rifle could do, but she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be good.
Since she was older and undoubtedly the more experienced hero though, it fell to Jane to defend the boy.
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