Frankenstein.

It was a fitting name, I supposed. Frankenstein was a mad scientist, messing with forces he shouldn’t be. Once I saw Order, shrivelled, wrinkly and too similar to a corpse for a man that was able to move faster than I could see, it became clear to me.

He was weakened, defeated. The exact method used to defeat him was unknown to me. All I knew was that there were multiple plans in place. Some thought up by the Houses of Doom, some by other organizations that operated long before I was even conceived.

Which was why I had been spending the last week locked up in the secret room Rosita and I had uncovered, trying and failing to decrypt and restore the files. It was small, about the size of a walk-in closet, with one of the walls having been completely transformed into a touchscreen computer. I found myself barely fitting in the room, so much so that I had to leave the single box of my own stuff I’d brought outside.

I silently cursed whatever deity had brought me here. Still, my bitterness didn’t matter. I needed to find a way to defeat Order. I didn’t know much, but I knew that he was the key. The key to my achieving everything I ever wanted. Somewhere in these files was the way to defeat him.

The only issue was that I couldn’t decipher them.

As if on cue, my phone started ringing. I took it out, to see Rosita’s number on the caller’s side. “Rooter One?” I said as soon as I picked it up.

Rosita laughed from the other side. “You really are paranoid, you know that?”

I sighed in exasperation at her attitude. “You never know who’s listening.”

“Of course, of course,” she said offhandedly. “Now listen up, because I’ve actually got something. Have you ever heard of Crisis?”

It took everything in my power not to show some form of excitement. Crisis was one of the last remaining great villains of the world. He was a mercenary, thug, and/or advisor to many great personalities of the underworld.

Of course, that was before he created the Crisis suit and went rogue, killing everyone he worked for in the process becoming an assassin for hire, and making a name for himself. The man was chaos incarnate, quite difficult to find and possibly the perfect person to help me find the Houses’ secrets. I’d be damned if I let him get away.

“How did you find him? Are you with him?” I asked Rosita as I left the room, instantly reaching into my box for the vial with her blood.

“I might not have connections, but I can be very persuasive,” she said, and I felt my blood run cold at her words. Wherever Rosita went, a trail of bodies followed and I prayed every night that I wouldn’t become one of those bodies.

“You didn’t answer my question though, are you with him?”

“In a sense,” she said in a small voice.

While I didn’t like the sound of that, I drank the blood and prepared myself for the worst. Rosita was the only ally I had in this journey thus far, and I couldn’t afford to lose her. I locked the basement’s door, got back in the room, and closed my eyes.

When I opened them, I was standing on the roof of a skyscraper. Strong wind rushed past me, though me, but I couldn’t feel it. What I could feel though, was the horror and disbelief at seeing Rosita and what I assumed to be Crisis looking straight at me.

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Crisis was wearing a silver suit with a dark blue, almost black trenchcoat, a matching mask with pure white eyes and grey gloves and boots. And Rosita-he was holding her by the throat over the edge of the roof.

“Let her go,” I said slowly. I couldn’t lose my cool. I was at the most disadvantageous position imaginable. I was powerless, my only ally was literally one move away from certain death and I needed the help of the man who held her life in his hands.

“Your friend here attacked me,” said Crisis in a distorted voice. “She came up to me, fired lasers from her eyes, I barely survived. Not to mention she cost me a job worth three million American dollars.”

“Because we can offer you something greater,” I said instantly, trying to get his interest. “I can offer you the Houses of Doom.”

Crisis laughed. It was an ugly sound, the distorted laughter, so much so that I wanted to choke him till he stopped breathing. But I couldn’t. I needed him. I needed to get in his good graces, to get him on my side.

“Even if those bastards were still around, why would I help you find them? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I killed everyone who bossed me around the moment I was able to.”

Hearing him say those words, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. This man rose through the ranks of lord knows how many gangs, criminal empires and more. He took on the most prestigious roles someone like him could take, and yet it wasn’t enough for him. I didn’t know him, but if I were to wager a guess, I’d say that it still wasn’t.

“You hit the ceiling,” I said quietly. “I can help you get past it. I can help you achieve your life’s wildest dreams. I can help you finally be satisfied.”

As soon as I said those words, I felt the whole air around me change. Crisis tightened his hold over Rosita, but instead of throwing her to her death he threw her to the opposite side of the roof. He got close to me, too close, pointing his index finger to my face.

“Don’t presume to know anything about me,” he said loudly. “If you say anything like this again, I’ll find out where your body actually is–don’t think I didn’t notice that you aren’t a projection, you have no shadow–and I’ll rip your spine out of your ass. Are we clear?”

I held back a grimace. Crisis was clearly unstable, I didn’t need to get him any more upset than he already was. I needed to be calm. I needed to be in control. That was the only way my plan was going to work.

“I never would dream of it,” I said, smiling in a charming way. “But what I seek to create is a world where people like you–like us–will flourish. Together I believe we can bring an end to the heroes’ age. Think about it. A world with no limits. No ceilings. Where you’ll truly be a legend.”

My words seemed to do the trick, considering he stepped back and started pacing. I hoped he was thinking my offer through. Rosita came over and stood at my side, and we nodded at each other. I mouthed ‘be on guard’ to her. There was always the chance that Crisis was going to be adversarial.

And if that was the case, she’d need to run as far and as fast as she could.

“One condition,” said Crisis without looking at us.

“Which is?”

“We’ll put together a team. If we are to do something like this, then we need people on our side. You won’t be able to take over the largest network of criminal empires with just the three of us.”

I frowned at the man. I never intended to take over the Houses of Doom. My goal had always been to find them and spur them to action. The only thing I wanted to do myself–the thing I wouldn’t be willing to budge on–was the annihilation of Order. But that was different. I could lead something like that, but leading the entire villainous world? I couldn’t do something as grand as that.

It all came back to power. And as I stood then, I didn’t have the power needed for something like that. Only the legends of the underworld, the Houses of Doom, could bring forth the waves of change needed to bring us in a new age.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure the Age of Heroes comes to an end. But I do not seek to usurp anyone. Understood?”

Crisis’ ugly laughter rang through the air once more as he reached into his trenchcoat and threw a few marbles in front of him. “I’ll contact some people. Just in case. Also, you have more of a reputation than you give yourself credit for. See you later, Frankenstein.”