On a small island in the middle of the Atlantic stood a mighty fortress of concrete and steel, flanked by air defense towers. Smoke could be seen rising above its walls, the sounds of explosions and shouts could be heard even at a distance.
And within the site itself…
Men in black military uniforms, helmets, and gas masks took up positions and opened fire with assault rifles and flamethrowers. With them were drone tanks with silver hulls, golf-cart sized robotic war machines that launched fireballs from their cannons. The men ducked as the broken turret of a tank flew through the air, smashing the drone tank beside them.
And then their foes set upon them.
A mighty triceratops made of pink light roared as it bounded through the facility, knocking over men and trampling on drone tanks. Three figures sat upon its back. In the front, there was a teenage girl in a pink combat suit, her eyes moving in sync with the dinosaur as her hands glowed with pink light. In the middle sat a teenage girl in a blue and yellow latex suit, holding out her hands. She froze the approaching bullets and fireballs midair, the projectiles vibrating in place until the trio moved out of their path. In the back, there was a teenage boy in black and purple robes, firing beams of black light from his hands. The beam swept across automated turrets and drone tanks, leaving them disabled and motionless. And to the side of the triceratops, a teenage boy in a red suit and a blue cape kicked men into walls and ripped the turrets off of tanks with his bare hands. Bullets struck him head on…and bounced right off his chest.
For this place was the lair of a supervillain.
And the heroes had just arrived.
The trio leapt off the dinosaur as it faded, joining up with the caped boy on the ground. All around them were burning metal husks and groaning minions. They walked past the battlefield and entered the large, cylindrical building in the center of the facility. They heard a loud roaring noise as they approached that sounded like a rocket launching into the sky.
The inside of the building was mostly hollow, with a large device held on three metal beams in the center of the room. The device was the source of the roaring noise, for it was shaped like a giant jet engine and firing a massive torrent of light into the Earth. Standing in front of the device was a man wearing a red cape over his shoulders and a black mask over his face. He turned to face them, showing off the volcano painted on his black armor.
He grinned at the heroes and started cackling.
“The Aurora Legion themselves! Here for humble old me, I am truly flattered! But you are too late! Even you cannot stop the Herald of Ashes!”
The boy in a cape stepped forward, pointing at the villain ahead.
“It’s over, Herald of Ashes! Surrender now!”
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The Herald of Ashes grinned and spread out his arms. The device behind him quieted as the torrent of light died down. The drill moved out of the way and a glowing, metal sphere lowered from a crane on the roof, positioned right above the giant hole in the ground.
“Over? Yes, it is truly over! My drill has already penetrated deep into the core! Once I drop my Geo-Oscillator into the Earth’s interior it will excite the magma across the globe! On every landmass, every continent lava surges will breach the mantle, wherever and whenever I command! And the Herald of Ashes shall rule the world, reshaped in my image! Minions, release the Oscillator!”
And nothing happened.
Silence hung in the air. The Herald of Ashes cleared his throat.
“Ahem, I said, minions! Release the Oscillator!”
Still nothing happened. Aurora Legion exchanged glances with each other. The Herald of Ashes turned his head to glance at the control panel.
“Minions?”
There was nobody there.
“Um, is something supposed to happen?”
“There’s no one else here.”
“You ok, bro? You might be seeing things.”
The Herald of Ashes turned forward, his eyes shrinking into their sockets.
“Oh.”
And then the Herald of Ashes and the heroes each broke out running towards the control panel, a race with the fate of the world at stake.
This…is the supervillain, and the heroes that rose against him.
And this…is not their tale.
So whose tale is it then, you ask?
Well...
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On a boat sailing away from the island sat one of the Herald of Ashes’ minions. A nondescript man of average size and weight, perhaps a bit more muscular than the norm, wearing a set of black armor, a helmet, and a gas mask hiding his face.
This is one of the faceless minions in the supervillain’s employ, indistinguishable from any other.
His name is Bob.
Bob shook his head as another explosion rang out.
“Cutting it real close, aren’t you? You just had to show up at the last minute, didn't you? Heroes are so annoying.”
Bob took out his cell phone and made a call.
“Bob!”
“Markus.”
“Did you get it?”
“The Herald’s blueprints are secure, I’m sending them to Kanna now. How are we looking on funding?”
“The money’s not a problem. You know there’s going to be interference though? A lot of people stand to lose a lot of money if this does what you think it will.”
“Can’t you do something about that?”
“Well I could but I’d have to actually talk with my dad, so no.”
“You probably should some day.”
“But Boooobbbbb, if I deal with my issues and become emotionally healthy, who will run the Bank of Evil?”
“Ivan.”
“Ivan? Really Bob? You think he’s the type to handle paperwork?”
“Doesn’t he already?”
“What, you think I dump my work on him or something?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha you’re right. But seriously, my dad’s just one player. Takes more than one player to overturn the game.”
“Let me think.”
“I can't wait to see what you come up with.”
Bob took out a notepad and flipped through it, rubbing his chin as he scanned the pages.
“I have an idea.”
“That's what I love to hear.”
“Approve funding for applicants 151805, 165091, and 173892.”
“165091? Seriously? YES! FINALLY! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for that one? I was afraid he was going to give up.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased.”
“Come on, Bob, live a little. You can’t tell me you’re not even a little excited to see that go down.”
“...I have to make another call.”
“Hahaha I knew…”
And then Bob hung up on him and got to work.
This is Bob.
To most people, he’s just another faceless minion.
To some, he's a hero, who saved their lives and gave them meaning.
To others, he’s the greatest supervillain to have ever lived. The man who manipulated heroes and villains alike, who held the world in the palm of his hand.
This is his story.