I grab my glass and swirl the brandy in it before savouring a sip. It diverts my attention from the world domination plans in front of me and gives me a moment to stare out at the sunset. World domination can wait a few minutes.

It has been three weeks since I've encountered my Nemesis in a heist... or any of my plans really. Have I even seen him out and about? I know he thinks he keeps his true identity a secret, but we've been doing this dance for five years, I know who he is.

I turn to my computer and google him. Both his super hero name and his true identity.

Nothing.

At least, nothing that isn't three or four weeks old.

Don't get me wrong, life has been much easier without him; but I worry. People, especially superheros, don't just disappear like that. I pick up the phone and call the network. Maybe one of the other villans have seen him?

No. He is just gone.

I stare at my phone bewildered. Should I call the cops and report a missing person?

The sun has long set before I decide it is probably the right thing to do. 9-1-

"I'm a survivor… not gonna give up…"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

My ringtone blasts, startling me out of my trance. I don't know the number…

"Hello?"

"I…I… I didn't know who else to call... Are you… Can you… I think I need help" This is unexpected. I would tease my wayward hero, but I've never heard him sound quite so scared, so instead I start a trace.

"Where are you?" There is yelling in the background, I hear the phone click, but the line isn't dead. Smart.

Muffled screaming, things sound bad. Trace comes back. Warehouse district, warehouse 6. I'm out the door and on my way without conscious thought. Normally for a heist gone wrong, I'd send a minion. But for this—my Nemesis begging me for help—this I will do myself.

It takes fifteen minutes to get to the warehouse. A veritable eternity. Locked and loaded, I head in. It isn't long before I pick up their trail. They aren't trying to be quiet. I climb to the catwalk, and silently make my way over. Sniper training really comes in handy. His attackers are down before they even know I am there.

I take a second to clear the area before dropping into the makeshift torture chamber. My hero is tied to a bed. There may have been sheets on him. It's hard to say through the blood. I use my foot to flip one of his assailants. Military. Disgusting, he is one of theirs.

I wheel my unconscious Nemesis in his gurney to my car. He his heavier than I thought, but then all that muscle would be. On the way home, I call my doctor. He meets us at the house.

I can't fully parse the words the doctor is saying to me. I catch snippets like "blinded" and "medical experimentation." He says he will be back tomorrow to check on him.

I may be a mad scientist set on world domination, but even I wouldn't do this to someone. They did this to an ally.

Why?

I pick up the phone to engage the network. It is time for us villains to band together. If they can do this to an ally, things are about to get very bad for us. Looks like my world domination plans are going to be more important than ever before.