Breaking into the prison was unsurprisingly difficult.

On top of the seemingly endless array of guards, there was a large amount of automated weaponry mounted on the walls, and hidden on the floors and ceilings. Thankfully, Rosita seemed to know where they were hidden, using the beams from her eyes and hands to destroy them before they were a problem.

I found myself either sitting sitting back and enjoying the show, or gleefully murdering whoever was lucky enough to escape her wrath–and they were the lucky ones, having escaped torture even I wouldn’t think of.

She was going in like she was a beast. If I were to wager a guess, I’d say that whatever they were doing here had affected her personally. Information that might prove useful in the future. Unleashed like this, she might even be able to fight against Crisis or Alpha Surge!

As we made our way through the endless maze of corridors and empty medical rooms–which I suspected had other uses based on Rosita’s reactions whenever we ran into one.

Eventually, after a lot of carnage and bloodshed, we reached our endpoint.

The last door we entered led to a large open area with a seemingly endless wall of cells. Their residents, ranging from regular looking humans to plain monsters looked at us through the holographic door, almost like we were their saviours.

But they weren’t the only ones waiting for us. A swarm of heavily armoured guards had their guns pointed at us, and I could also make a few snipers that looked like they were hanging from the walls.

In front of everyone however, dressed in a dark business suit stood a green haired man with a metal jaw. And he was laughing.

“My dear Rosita,” he said casually. “Did you really think that you and your friend could get in here and do as you please? I didn’t become a warden because of my looks.”

“I will rip out both your eyes and make you eat them,” said Rosita, and I could see her veins glow with power at the edge of my vision. I could also hear our opponents’ gun safeties being turned off.

I put my hand on Rosita’s shoulder. “I don’t think any hostilities are necessary. After all, there’s always a deal to be had.”

“Is there?” chuckled the warden. “I built a criminal empire out of such deals. And narrowly avoided prison due to one. Of course, I’m still in one, but running is a whole different thing.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A criminal empire? Judging from his look and general demeanour…could he be Iron Jaw? He was a major player of the underworld before Crisis came along and took everything he had from him. The police didn’t even need the heroes’ help to capture him after that.

I barely suppressed my smile. Everyone had a weakness, a desire that only pure villainy could offer them. And, if I was right, he had just given me his.

“Shall I hazard a guess and say you were Iron Jaw, sir?” I asked, pumping up any respect I had for the man to the extreme.

“Everyone here, down to the janitors, were villains once. I was Iron Jaw yes, but you can drop the act. No deal to be made, as I said.”

“This is no act, be sure of it. I can offer you your lost glory. I can offer you Crisis.”

Iron Jaw chuckled again. “And how do you intend to do that?”

“What do you know about the Houses of Doom?”

And now he was laughing. I wanted to rip his head out but I held myself back. This was a delicate situation. One I was currently on top of, even if no one else could see it. With me I had a flash drive, hidden even from Rosita. The one that had all the information we had on the Houses.

The blueprint for the creation of a weapon–of a being–so powerful it would smash the heroes to bits was there, although any files, even the encrypted ones, mentioning Order were carefully removed.

I raised my hands before I carefully slid my hand in my own suit, taking it out.

“Some of the information in here is restricted, but I’m sure you’ll get the gist of it. I know for a fact that the Houses of Doom are still around, but even if you don’t believe that, in here I have the blueprints of something even Alpha Surge won’t be able to fight. Some of the information is encrypted, but not unsolvable.”

“And why exactly would I check this out?”

“Because it’s the only way you can stop being the heroes’ lapdog?” I said as I threw the drive at him.

He grabbed with a grumble before he whispered something to the guard closest to him. He left after that, but returned not too long after.

“I’m willing to bet my right arm that you’re hiding a lot. But I also know that everything in the flashdrive is true. Not because of idealism or something equally foolish, but because I have seen parts of it before.”

Now this I did not expect. I thought the drive would serve to ensure the loyalty of Rosita’s cousin if all else failed. It was meant to be a tool of control, not a way for me to have another person to worry about. Iron Jaw was just as likely to try and take me out to further himself as Crisis was.

“So?” I asked, trying my best to remain calm. These situations were delicate, but I could still hold the high ground. “Will you join us?”

“Of course I will. On the condition that we work together. Our goals aren’t mutually exclusive, and we have a common thorn in Crisis.”

“Of course.” I nodded at him.

“In order to get what we need however, a lot of arrangements will need to be made. It is in a…precarious place. To say the least.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Where is it exactly?”

“In order to build your monster, we’ll need to get to Atlantis Academy.”