“Keep your enemies close and your enemies closer. And those you trust keep them the closest.”

-Popular proverb

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Lawrence had found himself in a handful of situations scaling from mildly strange to extremely bizarre throughout his life. Most of said situations had happened after he awakened, although they were not the only ones. From fighting a sledgehammer-wielding modern day warrior, to carrying an old lady’s inhumanly heavy grocery bags, going through prophesizing nightmares, pulling a girl out of couch, and other, less noteworthy doses of oddness.

He once took one of his brother, Laurent’s ‘special pills’ (meta-inhibitors) out of curiosity and ended up sprouting a third eye and having what should have been his arm replaced by a handful of writhing tentacles.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

But this? Right now? It was on a whole new level.

The smartest person I know thinks I have a plan to take over the world involving dairy products prices.

Alright, I have to write this down. I’ll contact the Guinness Records people. There has to be one for ‘The Most Ridiculous Situation Ever’.

If anything, at least he was going to make some good out of this.

Lawrence remained silent, still processing Christiane’s words. So this is what being overestimated feels like, huh? No, this is too much to be called overestimation. Is there a word for that?

I have to look up a word for that.

Christiane’s supposed ‘insight’ on Lawrence’s plan was so off-track he didn’t even want to know what lead her to those conclusions. And what was worse, he didn’t even have a plan to start with, so he couldn’t correct her about it…!

She had been right on one thing, however. He did plan to eventually collect the favor Mia owed him. But if he had planned the whole thing to work as she said, he wouldn’t have had nearly as much trouble as he did. Chase’s men, Keanu or… whatever their names were, wouldn’t have nearly-escaped. And it also put him as some kind of cold blooded calculator that had used Mika as a bait to get another resource he could work with.

I… Don’t want to ask about it.

Let’s just hear her out until the end and see what we can use from there.

“If I did plan to have Miangella owe me a favor, what do you believe I will use it for? A baker is not of much use in fighting or politics. Not even a powered one.”

“True, but you don’t think of immediate use, do you? She will be useful later on, when you have established your headquarters and obtained the sufficient amount of employees. After all, even if small, a buff can make the difference between victory and defeat in any circumstance, and Miangella’s food grants boosts to whoever eats it if she so wishes.”

So, you are saying…?

It… did make sense, in a bizarre way, now that she talked about it. In the future, when… if he amassed a big enough amount of minions, he could see her power getting a lot of use. Something like… Special food before an important mission, with hidden power-ups. If I can set up something like that… And taking in consideration her power also let her transform any type of food into anything edible, he could make a real profit of mass-purchasing disgusting, barely-edible rations at low prices and have the baker turn them into empowering delicacies.

The way to a man’s heart is through their stomach. It would also improve morale…

So her reasoning wasn’t actually bad?

No, just extremely off the point.

Maybe what she was saying did make sense, in a bizarre way.

“Continue.”

“Very well. Mr. Lawrence had now gained the favor of a powerful ally, and secured a useful resource for the not-so-distant future. With the help of his trustful minion, few things stopped him from starting to take over the city. These few things were, and still remain, the local mafia, and Law-enforcing Heroes Union. On the second, I presume he plans to gain over the useful members and sweeping the rest away, one way or another. On the first, we have seen what he’s trying to do already. Taking a more direct approach wouldn’t be my usual recommendation, but leaving a powerful enough statement would keep the rest of the city crime at bay, at least until he secures his position.”

That part was actually quite accurate, although he was forced to take the path of direct confrontation rather than being presented with a choice. What with a sledgehammer swinging above his head threatening to turn it into minced meat substitute. Literally. He did plan to scout some heroes of his own, since more hands couldn’t do much harm. Unless said hands could make metal pretzels out of streetlights.

Which they probably did.

“If I were to put you in charge of hero recruitment… How would you deal with it?”

Christiane tapped her chin and closed her eyes, focusing on whatever she thought at the moment. After a couple of seconds of meditation, she finally answered.

“I can come with several ways, but the most quick and efficient one… Would require the combined effort of all people present.”

Christiane, Mikaella, and himself.

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“And that would be?”

“Mr. Lawrence and Mikaella both act as a duo of independent heroes and earn renown. By my side I would approach the more susceptible heroes and convince them to join the ‘agency’. After a certain amount of time, bind them to silence via enforced contracts and reveal the sugar-coated truth. ‘Mr. Lawrence’s status has labeled him a Villain, and as such he is forced from time to time to commit acts of villainy in the sake of progression. His goal is controlling the darker part of the city to maintain the balance.’ Give them a choice to leave subtly hinting that being in good terms with him could prove advantageous in the future.”

Oh wow, that sounds exactly like what I was thinking… With some improvements. If he could pain the whole situation as if he was the one suffering from being branded a Villain, it was less likely heroes would freak out and run away just because he was one. Or worse, put him behind bars. Or kill him.

Yeah, let’s try not dying for now.

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For the rest of the day, Lawrence kept hearing Christiane’s theories about his plans for the future, after both things stopping him from ruling the city behind the shadows were gone. Unfortunately, there was nothing conclusive and it only served him to make himself an idea of the woman’s thoughts about the matter.

To be honest, he hadn’t thought it that far. Once he had a solid hold on the power in the city… What was he supposed to do?

Take over the rest of the SU. And then, the world. That was what the childish part of him was telling him.

But he couldn’t do that, at least not as he was now. He would most likely not do any of it directly. It didn’t even make sense, having so much power (hypothetically, to have control over a whole state did mean having a lot of power).

So, let others do it for him?

Yes, that sounded like something he should do. Conquering city by city would take an ungodly amount of time, even if they weren’t as big as Worne YK.

But there was one, little problem to that.

He couldn’t send subordinates to every place. Some he would have to deal with himself. Places he couldn’t trust anyone else but himself to handle, or… Too dangerous to send someone but him.

And the first in that list was…

“Metro, City of Undying Lights.”

“Hmm?” Mika turned her head at him. She was, once again, sprawled in the sofa eating popcorns. He couldn’t really blame her for it, as long as she kept herself sharp for the upcoming fight, she would need as much rest as possible.

“It’s nothing” Lawrence said.

Metro was, in almost every way, the cradle of Meta civilization. Unlike Worne YK, the awakening rate by population was insane. The city was crawling with heroes and villains, to the point where supers swinging sky-scrapers at each other was a daily occurrence. That meant a lot of competence. And more importantly…

It was the home of the strongest known Hero.

Justice Man’s city.

He hadn’t really thought of the implications of becoming a Villain, nor aiming for world domination. But, would he at some point have to fight him? The legend that had put a world-wrecking menace to rest? The one who stopped the whole SU from sinking after the Clamor’s aftermaths, twice?

…Maybe not. Maybe, there is a chance we could negotiate…

Somehow, Lawrence was sure that wouldn’t work even before he finished the thoughts.

I have to fight him. Defeat him. It is my fate as a villain.

As an aspirant to world domination. As the bearer of the Conqueror’s Spark. Something deep within him told him Justice Man was the final enemy to defeat, the last boss before world domination…

Am I sure this isn’t the Root messing with me?

… But what if it is? It doesn’t change the fact I have to do it.

Yes, he would. It wasn’t a doubt. Somewhere in the distant future, he would clash with his childhood idol. Everyone’s childhood idol. Justice Man had been there long before him, and unless Lawrence managed to best him, probably would keep on after he was gone.

But that was in the distant future.

Right now, he wasn’t even close to controlling this city.

It was something to think about later.

Lawrence’s frown relaxed. He hadn’t even noticed he had been frowning to begin with.

Something tapped him in the shoulder. He held back an urge to jolt, and turned back. Mika had walked over him and was looking at him with a… strangely serious expression for her airheaded personality.

“Hey Chief?”

“Yes, Mikaella?”

Her face was slightly reddened, and she was tapping the tip of her fingers. She looked… flustered. Like she wanted to say something, but was afraid to say it out loud.

“You can say whatever it is you are thinking” he said, turning off the villain switch and talking in a tone he supposed could pass by gentle. He hoped.

“It’s just…” Mika sighed. “Your plans are awesome, but… At some point you will need other minions, right? What… What is going to happen to me then?”

… What?

“What do you mean?”

Is she worried I won’t pay her as much? Or I will start to rely more on her and drop her as second-in-charge… She wouldn’t like that, right? Managing people is awful. I of all people should know… Of course, I would keep Mika for something like espionage more than human resources management or something like that, which would fit better in Christiane’s bag, and-

“Are… Are you going to abandon me if someone else is stronger than me?”

Oh.

He twitched.

Right.

She thinks I only have her around because she is useful.

Well that wasn’t a complete lie. It was like that at first, or else he wouldn’t have bothered to cover for her with the police officer. But…

Things had changed. He had come to rely on her a lot. And Mika was, at the end of the day, just an orphan with an awful past. Abandoning her after offering her a house and acting as a (terrible) substitute father/older brother was… cruel. Morally wrong at a twisted level. Lawrence was a Villain in name. His goal was to take over the world. Not being petty.

He felt obliged to her. And even if he did find someone better than her in her field, why would he dump her because of that? Looking at it from a soulless, robotic point of view, it would be a waste of resources.

I feel like a shitty person now.

“Please. Why would I do that?” He smiled to her, trying to reassure her. She didn’t look afraid, more like… resigned?

“I’ve been thinking and… I’m not really smart like the pretty blonde lady. And I’m not as strong as Hammer Man so… There’s probably someone that’s better than me in hiding and spying too. Then what am I really useful for? Am I just a waste of space? I don’t want to be a bother to you Chief… So…”

Okay, there’s no right way of dealing with this.

So let’s go with the truth then.

“Listen… You’re not a bother.” She looked like she wanted to protest. He stopped her. “You’re not a bother. You are the opposite of that. You are great. You’re strong, and smart, even if you say stupid things at times. And you have an awesome power that could one day turn you into a much stronger person. But, most importantly…”

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes.

“You are someone I can trust. That’s valuable enough for me.”

She wasn’t quite family, yet. But, to compare, he felt the same way about her than he did with Dean, love-hate relationship aside. She wasn’t his little sister, but she wasn’t just a subordinate either.

If he had to define it, it would be something between both.

“Besides” he said, in case sentimentalism wasn’t good enough for her. “Why would I throw away an old axe just because I found a new one? I can still chop trees with it.”

She smiled. Some of her concern went away. “That’s a weird metaphor.”

“It’s a simile.”

“No it’s not!”

“Darest thou disobey mine words, foolish minion?” He laughed. “Go away and eat your popcorns before I murderize you with my dreadful gaze!”

“I’m so scared! I’m running!”

Mika disappeared with a smile on her face, surely running for the unfinished bowl of popcorns.

Dean and her are a more similar than what I thought…

Speaking of which, he hadn’t heard of Dean and in some time. Nor his family. He hadn’t heard of anyone, really, since the end of Wakening Season. He would have to schedule a few visits after the Yakuza incident ended.