30 minutes later
Underneath one of the Happy Bee branches in the Hellhole District.
Anyone connected to the dirty underbelly of the worlds most corrupt city must have their own secret underground office filled with the latest surveillance equip and an elite guard to provide security.
Naturally, the Lord of Vermilion has this in spades.
The heavily armed guards welcomed Theo into the office that he himself upgraded to high heavens.
From heavily armed and armored assault power armors, to the latest biometric scanners, Lord's hidden control center would not lose to the Common Wealth's Hexagon which housed the Bureau of Internal Security (BIS) AKA Spytopia.
Everyone he met gave him a hearty welcome. This was because he gave all of them cybernetics tailor made for each of them.
He kept going deeper and deeper until he reached the deepest part of the complex.
It was a large 1 square kilometer office with tons of monitors, staff and heavily armed guards roaming about.
In the center of that was a person in his mid teens and was of eastern descent.
This was the Lord of Vermilion in his latest body.
Upon seeing Theo, Lord beckoned him to the see through sound proof office.
Clearly the little monarch was pissed for reasons Theo could not comprehend.
Upon entering the room and closing the door, Lord spoke in a calm and cold voice that made Theo quite fearful for his life.
"Lorne. Do you know what's happening right now?" asked Lord.
"I swear on my wives and my children's life that I have absolutely no idea what is happening that would cause you to glare daggers at me." replied Theo.
He was not lying or had any scripts planned for this exchange.
He was genuinely confused WTF was happening.
Lord silently observed Theo for a couple of seconds before coming to a conclusion that the young one really did not know.
Lord may not be at the level of Ms. Samantha's bullshitery, but his multiple lifespans had taught him a thing or two about reading people.
"Very well. I'll trust you on this one." said Lord.
"Thanks, but can you please tell me what's all the hubhub about?" asked Theo.
"It's related to that report you gave me about Omegaman's visit, the mission you accepted and the potential plot against you."
"Okay.... And?"
"Before I answer that, I'd like to ask you something. Aside from leaving Vermilion City, what else are you doing right now?"
"Nothing I haven't to you about. I'm just packing up and heading to that secret port up north where Jabir's ships are waiting. Oh! I did plant a huge bomb in my factory to obliterate any potential info that could be left behind. But I guess that doesn't count huh?"
"Correct. Look at the screen please." said Lord as he turned on the large monitor.
It was a map of the city. It seemed to be getting updated in real time.
The main attraction of this map was the blue dots that were moving about.
Most of it was gathered at HAA but quite a few were moving as if there were no buildings in their way.
It took Theo a couple of seconds before he figured out what's what.
"Are these the locations of the Superheroes?" asked Theo.
"Good eye. It's not completely accurate, but it does show the heroes that spend most of their time here in Vermilion. As such, people like Omegaman and the Crow family are not on this list."
"I see. So the biggest headaches are invisible huh... That's worrying."
"Indeed. Anyways, can you see what's wrong with that picture?"
For the first 10 seconds, Theo couldnt figure it out.
Sure, there were at least 3 teams per location watching his home, factory and every non criminal friend he ever had. But those were the expected course of action from the superhero side.
They were trying to pin Theo with something after all.
With no answer at the top of his head, he mentally accessed the massive shared network he had with his Reformant Units.
There he saw the big picture and it was terrifying.
While there were indeed 3 teams per location, there was a significant increase in hardware and armed personnel. The amount of guns were nothing special, but the fact that the operatives had them was a clear sign of heightened alert.
The most shocking part was the superheroes themselves.
Initially the ones in guard duty were Rank C at best and they treated the assignment as a fairly safe OJT.
This time around, there were 3 superheroes per team with 2 Rank Cs and a Rank B.
There's way too much firepower pointed in Theo's direction.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" roared the surprised Theo.
"And now you understand why I'm angsty right now. From the looks of things, the good guys are expecting you to do something really big. Probably at the same level as that one time you fired the BFG prototype into the city." replied Lord.
"But why?! I haven't done anything! There's no reason to-...... oh shit.... no way...."
Realization hit Theo like the legendary Truck-kun. But unlike the great 4 wheeled Valkyrie, there was no isekai shenanegans at play.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Seems you have an idea what's happening. Enlighten me Lorne."
"I.... I'm not sure if it's possible.... but I think the superheroes are misunderstanding me."
"Ho? You mean the mission from Omegaman?"
"Yeah. I did say 'I'll do what needs to be done', so I think that the process of moving my base of operations is taken as 'mass mobilization'. They probably think I'll be starting a small war for the mission."
"Hmm.... That's actually a good hypothesis. Without the proper context, I'd probably misunderstand your actions too."
To express Theo's shock and exasperation, he performed the evolved version of the Face Palm.
He planted his face into a table and groaned in annoyance.
"Damn it! Is the world out to get me or something?! I just want GTFO without any conflict! Is that too much to ask?!"
"I want you to put your hand over your heart and ask yourself 'Have I ever solved anything peacefully?'."
"Ugh!"
"You reap what you sow. Anyways, I can see 2 possible ways for you to wade into this mess."
"Lay it on me."
"First: Tell them that you're moving away. This will be good in the short term since you'll be avoiding conflict. Sadly, this will allow them to track you and possibly discover your true military might and even the Norsca Genocide plans. Your long term plans will suffer greatly in this route."
"Yikes."
"Second: Don't tell them anything. By keeping them in the dark, they'll hesitate to move up to a certain point. Sadly, open conflict will be inevitable once they feel that your movements have become too suspicious."
"Yeah... I was afraid you'd say that."
"Those are the facts. I suggest you choose your course. The longer you dilly dally, the less room you have to maneuver."
"There's no need to ask which plan I'm going with. It has to be the second. The end of the Norscans has been long over due."
"Better get to it then. I'm hate to see you go but that's just how it is."
"You know the nuclear war is coming right? Not gonna evacuate?"
"Oh I've long been prepared for such a thing. The whole Nuclear Missile Crisis of 1962 scared me into the whole nuke bunker frenzy."
"I see. Well then, till we meet again."
"Remember, don't go dying in a ditch. Your soul stone is not ready yet. I cant resurrect you yet."
"Roger that."
The two did the bro handshake and parted ways.
-:-
2 hours later.
Theo's Hideout.
Theo couldnt help but realize how much he has change of the years.
Back in the starting days of his mass murdering career, his hideout was deathly silent and all he had for company were his drones.
A few days ago, the area was a bustling with life, construction and screams of pain.
Now, it was significantly less lively.
Aside from Theo, only a thousand of his Reformant units and about 500 unprocessed prisoners were left.
The Reformants were part of a recently established group that specialized in moving Theo's many equipment to his hidden port up north. They would then load these into cargo ships provided by Alial Milza.
As for the prisoners, they were left behind simply because there was no more space in the ships.
Near the cages was a massive 20 meter square box containing a powerful incendiary bomb. This was to erase any evidence of his wrong doings by unleashing a molten lava level firestorm.
The prisoners would get a front stage pass to hell on earth.
It's not as bad as it seems though.
Due to the intense level of heat the bomb was capable of, the prisoners would instantly be vaporized the moment it went off.
They'll feel no pain.
Theo couldnt help but feel sentimental.
This was a playground he built from the ground up. This was where he started and he hoped that he'd continue to return to it for many years to come.
With a heavy heart, Theo continued to work on the last project he'll ever make in this place.
In front of him was a heavily modified F-35 Lightning 2.
Using what he learned from the Terminator Armor and the BFG 1.0, this particular F-35's capabilities were above a normal fighter plane.
For one, it was 1.5 times larger compared to the original. This was to accommodate 2 powerful archon battery and a complex network of multi directional thrusters similar to that of the Terminator.
Why go through all that shit just for a bunch of thrusters?
This was because of his new found love for the Zifang made Eurobeat music.
It was a long an convoluted story, but the gist of it was that he associated Eurobeat with Drifting.
And since drifting with a car was too mainstream, Theo decided to do it with a fighter plane.
Why?
Because it's cool.
FYI: Theo knew that drifting on a plane was very much possible and was used by passenger pilots on a regular basis when landing amidst a strong crosswind.
What he wanted was pulling off car-like drifts on a plane.
Was it possible?
Who knows!
That wont stop him from trying though!
If it was time to leave Vermilion City, he'll go out with a freaking bang!
While using his drones to load questionable amounts of trick rockets, a cement machine gun and a directional shockwave cannon,Himiko Yagyu with Juno following closely behind, approached him.
"You called Theo?" asked Himiko the one eyed samurai girl.
Surprisingly, her demeanor was that of a close friend.
This was weird when you consider their violent first meeting.
He understood that Himiko and Nichola got along very well, but was that really enough to soften his sin of killing her fellow harem mates?
Something was afoot here and he had no clue what it was.
He ignored this worry for now and concentrated on what he needed to do.
"Himiko, do you want to go back to your boyfriend? I bet Makoto Tenjou misses you dearly." replied Theo.
"Eventually. But you know I cant do that. I'm suppose to learn from you about the fine art of killing. I cant leave until grandma is satisfied."
"And are you anywhere near your goal?"
"A bit I guess. I have less nightmares after killing criminals. I would have probably gone insane if it wasn't for that weird treatment Nichola gives me while I'm asleep."
"Treatment? First time I've heard of it. What is it by the way?"
"She told me it was a combination of a massage, aroma therapy and music. I don't remember it since I'm asleep."
"Huh... I'll ask her later. Anyways, what if I told you that you can go back to Makoto right this instant. Would you take the chance?"
Himiko was doubtful when Theo told her this.
He could see a clear hint of hesitation in her eyes.
She should have jumped at the opportunity to GTFO, yet she hasn't.
"C-can I ask why this all of the sudden?" asked Himiko who seemed clearly hurt of Theo's offer.
Weird.
"In all honesty, my group is in a collision course with the Superheroes and there's no way to avoid it. I may be your teacher in name only, but I sure hell cant drag you into a spat that could label you as a traitor for siding with me. I cannot in good conscience do that to you."
"Phew... I thought you're kicking me out because you hate me or something."
"Of course not. Though we have our differences, I do feel that we got a good thing going. This is also why I dont want you to get dragged in the mud along with me."
"Heheheh. Ah! Ahem. Anyways, the answer is no. Grandma will kill Makoto if I leave.... and I've grown to like this little band of misfit. I still despise the torture pit but I do understand its merit. I'll be heading out along with the next convoy. See you later Theo."
With a sweet smile and a slight blush, Himiko turned around and jogged towards the exit.
Once she was out of earshot, Theo finally expressed his confusion.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! She's acting so freaking weird! We've only been acquainted for a month, and she's already acting like a love struck maiden! WTF!" roared Theo.
Juno knelt in front of him in her usual knight/maid roleplay.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think this is Nichola's handiwork." replied Juno in a serious manner.
Theo was shocked for a couple of seconds, but he was able to instantly fill in the blanks.
"Don't tell me.... That treatment of hers is actually brainwashing?"
"I'm not sure. My ability to detect any form of internal power is probably the best in the world, though I need to be at most 3 meters away from the target. Based on what I saw, I can tell that no magecraft nor chi based hypnosis were used. I cant detect drugs, so it might be that."
"No way. Not even the MKUltra, the best known science based mind control project, was able to pull it off without severely harming the patient."
''If you cant figure out how she's doing it, I'm sure I know even less."
"She's already on the ships, so I'll chew her out on a later date. Anyways, why are you here? I thought you went to the ships with Nichola and the children yesterday."
"I did and I came back."
"Why?"
"I have a premonition that your conflict with the Superheroes might be more than you bargained for."
"I don't need some magical mumbo jumbo to figure that out. When the battle starts, my main object is to make as big of a scene as possible so that the Volsung Norscans can use their artifact and magic to imbue that ships with stealth. Once that's done, I'll do what I do best and sneak away after causing a massive explosion."
"That's exactly my point. You might be in over your head this time around. As such, I suggest a back up plan."
"Knowing you, it's something that will cause my great pain down the road."
"Hahaha! You know me well." said Juno as she shifted her gaze to the unprocessed prisoners. "I call it, Plan Eldorado 2.0"