Victor smiled at the memory of that young, angry, headstrong man. He would have thought that the current Victor was living the life. Victor had been in the Game for over ten years before he went to prison. In that time, he was involved in two Gap Events, and one Nexus Emergency. Three mobilizations in over ten years. Victor was now heading towards his second one in less than a year of coming out. It could just be bad luck, but Victor decided to check if threats were more common nowadays.

No matter what, Victor had no right to prevent Jason from joining the fight. He could only try his best to keep his son-in-law safe.

The marshalling point was in Downtown, at the base of Velocity Tower. Everyone in the city knows the way to the famous landmark, but the city authorities had put up signs on the streets leading to the tower in case there were visiting heroes and villains who wished to response.

There was also a roadblock on the street leading to Velocity Tower.

Victor was surprised by that. He wound down his window and stopped at the road. He was recognized immediately by the police officer.

“Master Fist, sorry for stopping you. You can go through. Just turn right at the junction there, and you will reach the marshalling point.”

“What’s this?” Victor pointed to the roadblock. “Why is there a roadblock here?”

The police officer looked surprised by the question, but quickly replied. “We are here to stop the news crew and bloggers from reaching the marshalling point.”

“Why? Anyone who want to help can go to the point.”

“They are not there to help, sir.” The police officer said with a wince. “Those vultures are there to report on who is going, and who is ignoring the mobilization.”

“Is that a problem?”

“They are shaming heroes…and villains who decide not to get involved before hearing the reason why they were not responding to the mobilization. Some of the heroes may have good reasons why they are not available. Even if they don’t have good reasons, this is still a volunteer effort.”

Victor nodded at that. There were many reasons why someone might not respond to a Nexus Emergency. They could be injured, their equipment could be under repair, some may even be out-of-town. Villains may not care about it that much, but shaming heroes without hearing their reasons would be bad for their brand. In modern Nexus, that could be disastrous to their career.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Victor drove on and when he arrived at Velocity Tower, he noticed that there were traffic officers. They directed Victor to a parking lot, and Victor couldn’t help but smirk at them for that. In his day, people parked wherever they want when responding to a Nexus Emergency. Now, they had traffic officers!

Victor shook his head as he came out of the car. He had to stop to take in the sight. He had passed by the building before in the day, but at night, the V-shaped Velocity Tower was a wonder. Brightly lit, the strangely shaped tower was a marvel in architecture, mixing the best in science and magic. There was a big square in front of Velocity Tower that usually act as an open space for the heroes to make public announcements but today, it has been converted to a holding area for the heroes and villains.

There was a raised stage at one end of the square with three flagpoles behind it. The flags of the Alliance of Heroes, Velocity City, and Velocity Tower hang from them. There were also some holograms floating in the air showing the logos and names of various hero companies. Victor saw the logo of H.A.V.E and walked towards it.

He was soon recognized.

There was already a crowd in the square, but the heroes and villains parted as Victor walked by. Victor fought to keep a smile off his face. He loves the respect, but this was a serious occasion and smiling now would just make him look like an arrogant fool.

He soon reached the H.A.V.E contingent. Eight villains from H.A.V.E had responded, and they were all milling around the area the company had claimed. Victor did not see anyone taking a leading role among the group. He was about to ask if anyone knows the situation when a villain in a traditional supervillain costume step forward. He was wearing a hood over his head and had a big pair of goggles on. Black gloves over his hands, and he was wearing a black bodysuit with a brown trench coat. There was a single icon in the chest area. A white circle with red border and a dagger dripping with blood pointing downwards. It wasn’t obvious from his looks, but Victor knew who the villain immediately. The invisible red glow around the villain’s body told him.

“D…what are you wearing?”

Even through the hood, Victor could see Deion’s surprise. To his credit, his son quickly rallied. “Well, if I am going to be a villain after today, I thought this would be the best time to bring out the new look. What do you think?”

Victor thought his son looks good but was not about to admit it in front of everyone. Having a big head was a great way to get a young villain killed.

“It looks all right. Isn’t it a bit old fashioned and traditional though.”

“If I am going to play the part, I might as well look it.” Deion said with a chuckle. “Besides, I think this is a dapper look.”

True, but Victor just gave him a small shake of his head. “What are you called?”

“I was thinking of using Groovy Dagger.”

“Groovy…wait, you don’t use a dagger.”

“I do now.” Deion, or Groovy Dagger, turned to his side and lifted his trench coat. Victor saw the weapon hanging from his belt.

“We are going to an Emergency. This is not a joke. Do you even know how to use that thing?” Victor asked.

“I was trained by the best.”

Victor frowned. New look, new name, new weapon; Victor finally understood where his son was coming from, and he was not pleased.