System Supervillain, Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Chapter 25 – Considerations

“So, Brother, what are we going to do tonight?”

“The same thing we do every night, Sister. Try to take over the world!” I grinned as I quoted an old cartoon. The rodent mastermind in the show was always a good laugh, even if his plans were always too overcomplicated. But I knew villains in real life who were the same way. They let their intellect and ego get in the way of actually getting things done.

“So, what are you doing, really?” Crystal asked, as she leaned over the top of my chair. “Playing on the computer? I thought that was my thing?”

I chuckled. “Well, you do much more than ‘play’, sister. And, no, I’m not just playing. It has been a while since I’ve gone out and just enjoyed a night out. Now that we’ve got the ring set up so that I am not driven to screw any woman I touch, going out is less problematic than it was before.”

“Oh, I see. So, what were you planning on doing, then?”

“Well apparently, they are opening up a new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the museum is hosting some kind of gala to celebrate. Lots of big-name movers and shakers are expected to attend. Could be a lot of fun.”

“Chicago, huh. Isn’t that where the Squadron Supreme is based? The same Squadron Supreme that flew over to Japan just because our activities there were reported, and then helped clean up the mess after the China job? The same ones who publicly said that they were going to do their best to hunt you down, and bring you to justice?”

“Yes, well, I’ve fought them before.”

“You told me yourself that you got lucky! And that was before the System! We both know that, without surprise attacks or being able to control the environment, things are a lot more dangerous. I analyzed the System Logs after our battle with the SDI goons. If they’d had a bit better luck, they could have taken us down. The System does not mess around, brother, and it doesn’t pick favorites! We need to prepare more before we pick that fight!”

I leaned back in my chair, considering. “So, shore up some weaknesses? Make sure we’re better able to take hits without getting stunned?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “But also, compensating for things like Endurance. We are both capable of acting far more quickly than a normal human. However, that means we blow through our END faster, if we use any of our more powerful abilities. And neither of us has enough Recovery to easily get that back passively, meaning that we have to limit ourselves in a fight.”

“So, which do you recommend? Increasing our END, or our REC? Both would be best, obviously, but that’s likely more expensive than we can afford with our available XP, right?”

“Well, small boosts to CON and REC, with a more substantial boost to END would all be possible, if there were sufficiently limiting factors put on, and it was created as some form of device, rather than an innate part of ourselves. Ideally, something that could be worn in and out of costume. That way, we would be able to defend ourselves, even without the other nastiness.”

“That makes sense. Anything else we should do, before we take on heavy hitters like the Squadron?”

“Well, I was theory-crafting with the numbers, and our access levels. If we could spare a few points, I could make a fork of our System Administrator access allowing us to teleport anywhere between one and a million kilometers. That would take us to the moon, easily, as well as all the Earth-Moon LaGrange points.”

I nodded, considering. There wasn’t much reason to hit a LaGrange point if you weren’t parking a satellite there, and I didn’t exactly have much in the way of mobility in deep space, but it was helpful to know that I’d be able to teleport back to safety if I was on a deep space job and shit went sideways. “So, pretty much anywhere we’d need to go. What kind of cost did you manage to get that down to?”

“Well, that got down to two points, actually. Surprisingly cheap, I know, but you’d have to be careful using it, since it does not cancel out your relative velocity.”

“So, if I teleport to the moon, I’ll go flying off? Since I’m basically being held down by gravity as I go spinning through space right now?”

“No, that’s actual velocity, not relative velocity. So, if you took a header off a building like that Green Ranger did, and teleported before you hit the ground, you’d want to make sure you teleported someplace that would negate the damage, or at least give you time to slow yourself, since you’d still be falling at the same speed. Which, as the ranger showed us, is bad for your health.”

“Yes, that would be a rather unfortunate way to end my supervillain career. I’ve found I’m actually quite fond of having my brains inside my head, rather than spread across the pavement. So, other than making sure I’m either standing still, or have someplace to slow down, any other restrictions?”

Crystal just shrugged at me. “It will take a little time and concentration to pull off, so, like I said, using it in the middle of combat is not a good idea, unless you can break contact for a moment. And you wouldn’t be able to carry much with you, just what you can normally carry in your arms. So, out of costume, you could carry me, for instance, but the enhancers on your suit would let you carry a few people, or something big, like a bear.”

“Right, that doesn’t sound too bad. And all of that for just two points?”

Crystal blushed slightly, and nodded. “Well, I may have min-maxed things to an absurd degree, but you know how I enjoy playing with the numbers like that!”

“Hmm. So, we could arrange the teleports now, since we have XP built up from our recent Asian adventures. But what about the rest? Since you’re talking about something that we can wear in and out of costume, I’m guessing a ring, or something like that?”

“Yes, brother. If I combine my Inventor skill with my System access, I can create rings, or bracelets, or other things. Also, by using the System, I can ‘cheat’ things a bit, drawing from different situations. For instance, one of my theory-crafts involved a ring that was ‘powered up’ by tongue-kissing someone every six hours. Those kinds of requirements can be found in magic items, but I’m able to replicate them.”

“So, in other words, you’re going to cheat the System for all its worth until someone from higher comes around and tells us to stop it?” I laughed. “Perfect. So, what do we need to do?”

“Well, to make these devices work, and get the System Teleport, we would need to get two more XP, each. Which means we need to figure out a couple jobs. Preferably ones that don’t have us taking on the most powerful superteam in the world. Jinlong would have been a devastating fight if you hadn’t assassinated him the way you did. We can’t always count on that, you know.”

I sighed, and nodded. “Yes, I’m aware that I can’t always assassinate a foe by incapacitating them in a single hit and then finishing them off before they have a hope of responding. So, did you have anything in mind, or should I go looking on the job boards, and see if there is anything interesting out there?”

“Wellll…”

“All right, you clearly have something in mind. Out with it!”

“Well, there is a little something. You know that gypsy settlement out in Montana, the one you had scripts bought off the dark net checking on? The ones I took over supervising, since I’m a literal tech goddess?”

“Yeah, I remember them, oh tech goddess,” I smirked. “They’re good people. Helped me get my head on straight after I had my breakdown as a kid. Didn’t know which way was up or down, and they set me straight. Well, best they could with me being a supervillain in the making. Why, is someone messing with them?”

“As it just so happens, yes, someone is starting to mess with them, though they don’t know about it, yet. Industrial outfit is trying to get rights to the mountains there. They want to set up mining operations.”

“Mining? What for? There shouldn’t be anything valuable in those mountains.”

“That’s the thing. There aren’t any of the typical things mining companies are interested in. No gold, silver, platinum. Not even iron, at least not in lodes big enough to be worth the hassle.”

I frowned, leaning back in my chair. “Well, that has all kinds of red flags going up all over the place. If the company isn’t actually interested in mining, then what are they up to? And who is this concern, anyways?”

“The company is Axis Industries. As for what they’re up to? Well, while Axis does have a strong mining division, they’re better known for their biochemical science division. Their most famous little invention is a tailored pathogen, that can go after specific gene sequences. They got a lot of government funding for it. Officially, that was because it could be used as a cure for cancer. Infect someone with the tailored virus, especially at early stages, and the virus will go around killing the cancer, but leaving the normal cells alone. At least in theory. It hasn’t been completely worked out, yet.”

“Officially, huh? Let me guess, unofficially, that grant money traces back to Department of Defense slush funds, doesn’t it?”

“Aw, brother, it is almost like you’re a complete cynic! But, yes, you are correct. The money came out of a DoD slush fund, specifically, the ones for weapons research and development. The government is looking at the virus as a tailored bioweapon.”

My blood ran cold. “And, let me guess, Axis needs both a secure, isolated testing facility that won’t draw any attention, as well as test subjects to conduct trials on. While the Montana mountains aren’t exactly convenient as a place to put a facility, they would be nice and out of the way, so restricting access would be easy. And as for test subjects…”

Crystal nodded. “The government does not seem to be aware of your friends, but Axis is. A whole settlement of people that won’t be missed? With common genetic markers due to a shared ethnicity? That makes them a perfect focus group to test their weapon on, and they can always bring in more test subjects later.”

I frowned. “There’s corporate lack of concern for ethics and morality, and then there’s this. This seems… really extreme, even for a company making bioweapons. There has to be more to it than just trying to pick on the gypsies.”

“Well, that brings us to the last bit. I did some digging, and found that the owner and CEO of Axis, Bryce Johnson, has been using a fake name. His real name is Berndt Johner, and Herr Johner has been on a few lists for quite some time.”

“Ugh. Let me guess, another Nazi rat that escaped Germany before it collapsed, and has been spending the last seventy years setting up his new empire? Still, he’d have to be pretty old by now.”

“Yes, he’s a former Nazi. He’s actually quite high on the list of names the Israelis have been searching for but haven’t managed to ‘speak to’, yet. More importantly, he was the star of the German Ubermensch program, Ultrahuman.”

“Wait, really?” I was shocked. “I thought Ultrahuman died when he and Major Britain had their final fight on the outskirts of Frankfurt! The end of that battle blew up half the city, according to reports. Britain went nuclear to end it, right?”

“That’s what the history books say, at least. But Ultrahuman is alive, and he’s obviously picked your friends as the first test subjects to satisfy his asshole beliefs.”

“Well, I guess it is time we pay a visit to Axis Industries, then.”