There was a high-pitched sound, and he opened his eyes suddenly.

"Now what...?" Lawrence grunted, only half-awake and only half of his brain working. It took him a couple of minutes of the constant beeping to remember the alarm clock, the way he put it and the pain it was to turn it off again.

"Fuck me, I'm such a genius" he growled, rolling out of the sheet sushi he made out of himself and slipping his feet in the characteristic set of mules. This time it was panda-themed. He put a "Cats RULE" shirt and dragged his feet over to the mirror, taking a look at his sorry state.

His eyebags grew an awful lot since yesterday. He looked like a bear woken in the middle of hibernation. Not only that: there was no trace of the two block haircut he had gotten yesterday. His pitch-black hair was all messy and frankly, a mentally unstable cuckoo bird wouldn't dare making a nest out of it. The worst part was his eyes. Right now they were the darkest shadow of purple, but every time he got excited about anything the flashed like a goddamn flashlight.

"Curse magical eyes."

Seriously, who'd thought having ocular powers would be such a pain? Nobody talked about this in N*ruto. Or K*kkai Sensen.

He shook his head. "That's what you get from upgrading the skill that looks the more dangerous. But really? 'Devil's Eye of Redemption'? Sounds straight out of a shonen."

A little voice in his head began telling him that maybe that was the reason why he chose to upgrade Evileye, but he shushed it faster than it could say a thing.

"Nevermind that. Ugh, working until three and a half AM wasn't the best idea..." Especially not with pizza-ed omelet as his only snack.

Lawrence found that the villain part of his life was getting... well, it was turning into the only part of his life. That wasn't his goal. As attractive as world domination sounded, it wasn't worth it if he wasn't having fun. His main goal was to entertain himself. "That's why I picked this slow pace, right?" Well, that and the fact he had near-zero chances of succeeding in the short run, but nobody had to say that now did they?

Slapping his cheeks, he headed for his wardrobe and took out a scarf and a jacket. "It's getting colder again. Man, I hate chilly drafts."

The minute someone knocked on his door, he tensed. He assumed his dignifying stance, practiced his menacing glance with the mirror for a second and tucked the sleeves of his shirt. The fact the words "Cats RULE" were printed on it was probably way off the impression his 'charismatic villain' act was supposed to give though.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Mr. Lakewood."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Ah Christiane. To be honest, being around her was tiring. It was just the kind of person she was. He had to keep up his guard constantly, and make sure not to let her misunderstand any of his words. Which was kinda rough, given the fact she was the female version of Demiurge.

Come to think off, that was the kind of relationship he had with her. Acting all high and mighty, making sure she believes he is some kind of God amongst mortals, and letting her devise magnificent plans that she somehow claims are only a rough understanding of Lawrence's. Yep, 'alarmed' was the word describe how he felt.

Even so, she made for an excellent minion. She was capable of making the greatest strategies out of thin air. And she was the best at interrogations. Although Lawrence wondered what the drill was for. He wanted to find out.

Or maybe he didn't. A shiver running down his spine, he fixed his hair with a quick brush (nevermind his hand was the only brush he had) and opened up the door.

"Ah, Christiane. You're late." To be honest, he didn't even tell her to come, but he was sure she would somehow understand he knew she was coming. Even if it wasn't true.

"Are you here to discuss the idea I told to you earlier?" As a matter of fact, that wasn't a blind guessing. It had been three to four days since he spoke to her about recruiting heroes from the LHU. Knowing the girl, she probably had it cracked up already.

"I am. May I come in?"

"I'd rather coming out myself" he said. The truth was his room was far too messy to invite someone in. He coughed. "It's this a formal strategic meeting will you simply say what's on your mind?"

"The later, I'm afraid. While I do have an interesting idea, It's still not nearly developed enough to make a viable plan of it."

"And yet you came. Must be an excellent idea, then."

Christiane couldn't help but smile. "I believe it is." She fixed her glasses. "Although I'm sure Mr. Lakewood had already considered it" she added. "It does seem like something you would do."

Lawrence perked up an eyebrow at this? "Ohoh...? How so...? No, hold on to your words. Let us discuss this over milk and toasts. I woke up with quite the appetite, I'm afraid" he patted his belly, holding back a gurgling sound from his stomach.

"Very well" Christiane nodded and disappeared in the stairs. Lawrence followed suit, leading her to the dinning room as he pointed a sit with his finger. "Wait here while prepare us a decent snack. Meanwhile, talk to me about this 'excellent idea', would you? I have to admit you pinched my curiosity."

"Yes, well, it's actually quite simple. And it wouldn't present much of a bother for you, Mr. Lakewood."

"Uhum" Lawrence ducked under the counter, taking out a pot of jam and a jar of sugar cubes.

"It would also draw people's attention and increase your popularity, making it easier to recruit others."

'I see..." He took a box of milk and a bar of bread out of the fridge, slicing it into neat squares and putting some in the toaster as he pulled down the trigger.

"As for other heroes, I believe it would make it far easier to approach them."

"Continue" he poured the milk in two jars, just in time for the toasts to shoot out of the toaster. He spread some jam into them, then dropped the sugar cubes in the milk and blended with a little spoon.

"Then, Mr. Lakewood" Christiane took off her glasses, staring at him with her sapphire-blue eyes as he brought everything in chromed tray to the table.

"Have you considered it?"

"Considered what?" He asked innocently as he took a sip of his milk. It could use some more sugar.

"Have you considered turning into a Vigilante?"

Lawrence would later on ask himself how he managed to to herniate himself from the effort of not spilling milk all over the place.

He grinned, only to make sure Christiane wouldn't get him by surprise.

"Oh, my. That sounds like an excellent idea..."

Oh my. That sounded like he was in deep shit...