Chapter 21: Heartstopper

My name is Christian ‘Chris’ Holt, and I wasn’t feeling so well. I had taken critical steps to secure my criminal empire, and just recently, I had begun my expansion into the other City-States. This bank robbery had been unwarranted and unwanted, throwing a wrench in my carefully laid plans.

After bidding Mr. Nobody farewell, I was immediately quick at work, analyzing the fallout from the heist that almost stole a third of my money. The money wasn’t the problem, but my loss of reputation.

Stephanie, my wife, clung to my arm as we walked through the shadowy parts of Masters of Steel, or MOS for short. MOS had been a rising rival gang within Kane City, led by a stray villain from the south. The South was said to have bred the kind of superhumans who wouldn’t bat an eyelid if their kin and lovers were killed. They paraded their brutality and had brawns for brains.

Me? I was different.

Stephanie’s voice broke the silence. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

“It would have been better if the orc-masked normie had something,” I replied, frustration lacing my tone. “Our new friend took great trouble in sparing one of the attackers.”

As I spoke, I couldn’t help but notice the tension in the air. MOS was a dangerous gang, one that I had to deal with carefully. Their leader was ruthless, a stray villain with no regard for human life. But I was no stranger to danger. I had built my empire on intelligence and strategy, not brute force. My mind was my greatest weapon, and I knew how to use it.

Stephanie squeezed my arm, her grip comforting. “We’ll handle it, Chris. We always do.”

I nodded, appreciating her unwavering support. She had been by my side through thick and thin, and together, we had faced challenges that would have broken lesser people. But this was different. MOS was a new breed of threat, one that required a different approach.

Thus, I have decided to have a demonstration.

We continued our walk through the darkened streets, while I thought about the future. The Mol City-States were ripe for the taking, but I had to be careful. One wrong move could cost me everything I had worked so hard to build. But I wasn’t about to let that happen. I had come too far to back down now.

“Ah~ they are making my job harder.”

As my wife and I continued walking down the alleys, bodies kept dropping like flies. The sound of their lifeless forms hitting the ground echoed through the thin doors around us. Anyone who met my gaze fell dead, their hearts abruptly stopped, and the mere sound of my boots against the pavement sent others scrambling away in fear.

I wore a disambiguation holographic mask to obscure my face, showing a more Western feature. My attire was composed of my usual work uniform: a tuxedo, a cane, and a top hat. Stephanie, by my side, was dressed in a striking red gown, her appearance completed by a matching red wig and her own holographic mask.

In the entire criminal underworld of Planet Mol, I was likely the only villain ruthless enough to grace this world with such heartlessness: I imagined the dead bodies I’d dropped without looking a second time. I wondered beyond those doors how many children, women, elderlies, and innocents I have condemned to death. I was smart—viciously smart—unwilling to let anyone bar my way, no matter the cost.

Morality was as ephemeral as human life… and everything was merely a business deal to me.

Stephanie broke the silence. "What do you think about Mr. Nobody, dear?"

We reached a curve and decided to take a break. It seemed to be a tea shop, a quaint little place that had no idea of the terror it was about to host. I waved at a waitress, who approached us with a hesitant smile. With a snap of my power, I usurped control of her body, bending her to my will.

Unlike most mind controllers who targeted the brain to gain control, I had a different approach. While I lacked the mind-reading and mind-speaking abilities of typical telepaths, my method of hijacking a person’s nervous system was far more difficult to counter. I was even capable of electrokinesis, and the more thralls I had, the stronger I became. Usurping another superhuman’s body, however, was a different challenge altogether.

"Mr. Nobody, huh?" I mused as the waitress, now under my control, brought us tea. "Judging by his cheap choice of clothing, plain mask, and the… audacity of his introduction, I can’t really tell. At least, he wasn’t a reckless buffoon. He’s definitely a newbie, maybe in his early twenties or mid-twenties. I can tell his power is potent, though… it even affected you, my masterpiece."

Stephanie took a sip of her tea and smiled. "Oh, don’t be like that! A woman doesn’t like to be objectified."

Why was I busying myself in MOS territory? The answer was simple: it was a demonstration. The robbers who had dared to target my bank were armed with high-tech weapons, the kind that could only have come from the Masters of Steel.

Thanks to the World Order’s dictatorial democracy, many worlds were banned from accessing advanced technology. This gave superpowered inventors an edge I wouldn’t be able to surmount in a short amount of time. I wasn’t well-versed in history, but I knew that powers had existed since the 11th century, and they had been openly used ever since.

"We might as well make it even, huh? Let’s go, Steph," I said, releasing my control over the waitress. I thought of robbing the Masters of Steel’s weapon cache.

Stephanie, ever perceptive, noticed something before I did. "Oh, we have hostiles, sweetie…"

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"Are they being thrifty, or is that just how much they can muster?" I asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

Descending from above were three figures clad in power armor, each identical in make, with numbers sprayed across their helmets—three, seven, and eight. Number Seven seemed to be the leader as he stepped forward. The armor was bulky, with wide shoulders, and they towered over eight feet tall.

This was going to be interesting.

"Heartstopper! How dare you come to our territory!?" Seven's voice boomed through the streets, his tone laced with anger and perhaps a touch of fear.

The name ‘Heartstopper’ wasn’t just a title; it was a description of my most infamous ability. To be frank, for those who truly excelled with their powers, such a little trick was meaningless. I was disappointed with this era’s superhumans.

Sigh…

With just a thought, I could cause any organic creature to suffer a fatal heart attack. There were, of course, superhumans who had some resistance to this particular effect, but they were special, few, and far between. I decided to test these armored thugs and used my most basic power application, forcing heart attacks on all three of them.

Nothing happened.

I frowned, irritation prickling at the back of my mind.

"I see… It looks like your bosses have had a breakthrough: an armor that can resist me. Is that its idea? Cute," I said, a smirk playing at the corners of my lips. It was rare to find someone who could stand up to me in such a direct manner, and I had to admit, it piqued my interest.

Stephanie, always quick to analyze, chimed in, "Their small numbers either indicate confidence or a strategic assessment that having cannon fodder here would be more trouble than it's worth. After all, you could just hijack them."

Her words were on point. My ability to hijack others' nervous systems made large-scale assaults against me a liability for my enemies. It seemed the Masters of Steel had finally learned that lesson.

But oh my~ I’d love to get some exercise and throw a punch for real, but I was feeling incredibly lazy for today. I was feeling sleepy from having tea, I guessed.

"Attack!" Seven's voice rang out, commanding his comrades into action.

In a blink, Eight vanished from sight, only to reappear directly in front of me. Teleportation. I’d heard rumors that the Masters of Steel had a few middling supers under their employ, and it seemed they’d decided to boost their abilities by encasing them in power armor. But no matter how much you dressed up something middling, it would always remain just that—middling.

Eight wasted no time, drawing a laser sword and swinging it down toward us. Meanwhile, Three launched into the air, and Seven drove some kind of steel pillar into the concrete at his feet.

I remained calm, a slight smile tugging at my lips as I turned to Stephanie. "My lovely wife, Stephanie—please save this lazy husband of yours from our fearsome enemies, would you?"

Stephanie smiled back at me, a playful glint in her eyes. "Oh love, that’s why I’m here… aren’t I?"

It was rare for Stephanie to showcase her powers. Most people saw her as nothing more than the eye candy accompanying the infamous supervillain Heartstopper, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. Steph was far more than just a pretty face.

Electricity crackled around her as she unleashed a blast in a semi-circle, forcing the laser sword to bounce back, its energy dissipating harmlessly. With a graceful, almost casual motion, she swung her right hand as if it were a knife. But this was no ordinary hand—imbued with superheated lightning, it sliced through Eight's armor like a hot knife through butter. The result was instant. Blood, flesh, and charred meat clung to the remains of the power armor, a grotesque testament to Stephanie's lethal precision.

Three unleashed a barrage of laser fire, the searing beams cutting through the air with deadly precision. But it was a futile effort. Steph merely slapped them away as if they were nothing more than annoying insects. I yawned, wondering if it was time I finally took control of the Masters of Steel. The thought intrigued me, but I decided against making any overt moves for now—no need to alert the Union’s local branch to my intentions just yet.

"Fuck! They’ve got two supers here—" Three’s panicked voice was abruptly silenced as a bolt of lightning struck him mid-sentence. I looked over to see Steph, her index finger still crackling with residual energy, a wicked smile lighting up her face.

"Oh, she isn’t a superhuman by any means," I said, my tone laced with amusement.

Steph stretched her hand toward me, her voice sweet but tinged with that familiar dangerous edge. "I’m just built different," she said, then added, "I need more charge, my love."

"Take as much as you want," I replied, grabbing her palm.

I channeled a surge of energy into her, watching as the lightning around her intensified. Steph grinned and directed the enhanced current at the mid-air Three. At the last second, in a desperate move, Three attempted to hurl himself toward us in a blind kamikaze attack. But his power armor malfunctioned, and he exploded mid-flight, a spectacle of fire and twisted metal.

"That’s beautiful, love," I said, genuinely admiring the devastation she’d wrought.

"Thank you, love," Steph replied, her voice as warm and electrifying as the power she wielded.

And then there was Seven—gone without a trace. The only thing left behind was the steel pillar, standing ominously in the middle of the street. It looked mighty suspicious, a puzzle waiting to be solved. I wondered what kind of power Seven possessed. Powers were generally divided into three levels based on intensity: low, middle, and high. But the Order recognized a level beyond those—irregular.

As someone considered quite the irregular myself, I had more tricks up my sleeve than just stopping hearts. I focused, letting my hyper-awareness take over, and realized that Seven was under the effects of invisibility. Fortunately, Steph and I shared a mental connection, so I easily communicated my discovery to her.

"Oh, I see! We have a rat!" Steph exclaimed, her excitement palpable.

She kept hold of my hand as she unleashed a blast of lightning at the spot where Seven was sneaking. The air crackled with energy, but to my surprise, the lightning curved mid-flight and was absorbed by the steel pillar.

"So that’s what it’s for," I mused, understanding dawning on me. "But don’t you think it’s kind of late? Your comrades are already dead."

Steph squeezed my hand gently, her voice carrying a note of sympathy as she said, "Shush, honey. I feel bad for the other person."

Seven reappeared right where Steph had unleashed her lightning, his hands transforming into heavy-duty heat blasters—something Steph couldn’t simply brush aside. I knew we had to be quick. We released each other’s hands, repelling ourselves in opposite directions with my powers to smoothly dodge the incoming blasts. The air hummed with energy as we moved in unison, flanking Seven from both sides.

He looked flustered, clearly not expecting our powers to remain unaffected by the steel pillar. I bided my time, waiting for the right moment. Then, with a subtle pull, I used my power to pull the invisible neuron-based electrical strings connected to Steph, anchoring myself in place and giving Steph the full momentum of our maneuver.

And then Steph was mid-air.

Steph drew her legs together, hugging her gown as she aimed both feet directly at the center of Seven’s power armor. The impact was brutal and precise. Her heels dug into the metal, puncturing right through him. Blood splattered as she tore through the armor, leaving Seven a crumpled mess.

I caught Steph mid-air, holding her in a bridal carry before gently letting her go. We twirled together as if engaged in a macabre dance. I wiped the blood from her face, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Such a productive day," I remarked with a satisfied smile on my lips.

"I agree, husband," Steph replied, her voice as sweet as ever.