Dr. Zlo growled at his foe's laughter. "How dare this hack mock me! Me!"

The villain looked at his dinosaur going toe-to-toe with the giant robot. Mr. T had again ripped a piece off the large contraption, only to have it reassemble before Dr. Zlo's eyes. The villain's dinosaur roared angrily, and Dr. Zlo mimicked the sentiment. Maximillian's power could hold Mr. T off indefinitely and had the benefit of never tiring.

Dr. Zlo took stock of the room. The collapsed ballroom floor led to a series of catacombs, a possible escape route for Dr. Zlo. However, Mr. T wouldn't fit in such a small space unless folded up with The Folderizer. Plus, running would mean admitting Maximillian got the better of him, and Dr. Zlo was not about to accept that. The villain had a reputation to uphold!

Surprisingly, Brunhilde and her trained thugs had held up well against all the police robots. The silver serving trays in the thug's hands were now used to deflect the steam cannons while the minions retaliated with their powerful firearms. In fact, the attacks were enough to easily put the robots out of commission. Dr. Zlo furrowed his brow at the sight. Why wasn't Maximillian restoring these robots?

The power obviously had a limit to it, but what that was, Dr. Zlo couldn't say with certainty. The simplest answer stated that his foe could only focus his power on one area at a time. Of course, there could also be a range to the ability or a limit to the number of uses. Whatever the case, it gave Dr. Zlo an idea.

"Brunhilde!" the villain shouted. "Clean up the rest of these bots! Mr. T! Let's take this outside!"

"Yes, Herr Zlo!" Brunhilde saluted.

Mr, T roared and headbutted the giant robot, sending it stumbling backward. The various nobles still around -- possibly out of morbid curiosity -- gasped in horror as mechanical feet came stumbling their way. Dr. Zlo cackled as the overdressed NPCs scrambled to escape the path of the fight.

"Running away then?" Maximillian's voice echoed.

Dr. Zlo whirled in place, shouting into the air. "You dare assume?!"

"I assume nothing," Maximillian answered. "I know your animated antique is no match for my mechanical masterpiece."

"Only with your help," Dr. Zlo retorted. "What? Too scared to let our monsters duke it out on their own?"

"Hardly," Maximillian answered dismissively. "But why remove an advantage?"

"Fine, if you won't, I will," Dr. Zlo muttered.

The villain opened up his power, typing in what he wanted and searching through his vast inventory for the pieces.

The Echolocator!

Dr. Zlo made this device to detect specific presences around him. Nothing can hide when the Echolocator starts looking!

Earbuds 1

Hearing aid 1

Air Horn 1

Picture of a canyon 1

Sciencium 5g

The villain quickly slapped the pieces together, forming a bat-eared gun with a looping nose. A pair of earbuds settled into Dr. Zlo's ears as he pulled the trigger. A high-pitched squeal rang through the area, returning to the gun. Soundwaves appeared in Dr. Zlo's HUD, bouncing off everything the villain could see.

"There you are!" Dr. Zlo shouted as his device caught a body hiding under some rubble near the catacombs. The villain pulled off a button bomb, laughing as the explosion blasted away Maximillian's cover.

"Take that you sorry excuse for a malcontent!" Dr. Zlo taunted.

"How crass," Maximillian answered, brushing the dust off.

"You're just jealous," Dr. Zlo answered. "As you can see, my genius is superior! My minions are taking yours down with ease!"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The villain gestured to Brunhilde, who was dispatching her fourth police robot in a row. She grabbed the steam tube on the robot's back, ignoring the heat pouring off it as she twisted it free. Superheated steam billowed from the pipe as the robot collapsed onto the ground.

Brunhilde quickly turned, pulling a pistol from her holster and firing at another robot. Her attack hit the steam valve, again disconnecting the robot from its power source.

"You see! You don't stand a chance against my mighty minions!" Dr. Zlo gloated.

"We'll see about that," Maximillian said. The NPC retreated down into the catacombs.

"Now who's running away!" Dr. Zlo laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon," Maximillian answered.

Dr. Zlo rocketed toward the catacombs. "Oh no you don't! Brunhilde, Mr. T! Clean up here while I deal with our nuisance."

"Underztood!" Brunhilde answered as she shot another robot.

Dr. Zlo rocketed down into the catacombs, chasing after Maximillian. The natural light vanished a few meters into the hallway, plunging everything into blackness. Dr. Zlo landed, knowing that reckless flying would do more harm than good. The villain pulled out The Echolocator, watching as the soundwaves bounced across the walls.

"Don't think you can hide," Dr. Zlo whispered as the soundwaves traveled.

Every few feet of the hallway opened up into a small square room, each uniform in shape and size. Maximillian's body pinged ahead, the NPC turning a corner. Dr. Zlo followed, using his machine every time the waves subsided.

After a bit of travel, Dr. Zlo's Echolocator revealed more people in the catacombs, separated by the uniform rooms. Dr. Zlo deduced that these were captives of some sort, as the Echolocator showed chains connecting them to the walls.

Finally, Maximillian stopped ahead.

"Got you," Dr. Zlo whispered.

The villain crept forward, noticing a strip of light illuminating the hallway ahead. Dr. Zlo emerged into a small chamber, Maximillian standing near an electric torch and peering into the final room.

"Ah, how nice of you to join," Maximillian answered as Dr. Zlo stepped in. "I'm sure you're curious about all the captives."

Dr. Zlo opened his mouth, but another voice interrupted. "The kidnapped scientists. So they were right under our noses the whole time."

The new voice was pompous, and Dr. Zlo had heard it before. He whirled to see Gilderoy Gildentstein standing behind him. The man stood dressed in a dark purple suit with a flowing mask covering his face. Patterned flowers ran down the suit, spiraling around the pant's legs like vines.

"Wait, how come you're here? And why are you dressed like that?" Dr. Zlo asked.

"Why, to stop this evil injustice wrought by Maximillian," Gilderoy answered as he removed the mask. The NPC ignored the second remark.

"Gilderoy, what a strange surprise," Maximillian said. "I never expected you were the face behind the great Purple Petunia, savior of landed gentry everywhere."

"Yes, I had to mask myself as a simple party-lover to confound your dastardly spies!" Gilderoy answered.

Dr. Zlo was starting to think that maybe something else was going on here. "Excuse me. I believe I was here first."

The two NPCs ignored him.

"Why Maximillian?" Gilderoy asked. "Why kidnap these scientists?"

"You mean the pompous gentlemen's board of philosophers? For my grand vision!" Maximillian stated. "You know as well as I do that steam power is obsolete! We're living in a bygone age while the rest of the world pushes forward. If we want to thrive, we must adapt! These so-called scientists got in the way of progress! With them out of the way, I can lead others into a new age! No longer will we be bound by the simplistic rules of the old codgers."

"I'm sorry, but we were in the middle of something!" Dr. Zlo complained.

"You even went as far as to kidnap the son of the queen, Maximillian!" Gilderoy shouted.

"The biggest fool of them all!" the NPC shouted back. "I went to him with my plans to revolutionize our city, and he threw the plans in the bin! Well, I won't let them get away with it! I will drag this world to the future kicking and screaming if I have to!"

"At the cost of thousands of innocents!" Gilderoy shouted back.

Dr. Zlo rolled his eyes. Sure, he could interfere in this conversation with a few laser blasts, but he felt that Maximillian wouldn't remember such a defeat. Plus, the whole spurned scientist bent on revenge was a cliché the player behind the villain loved. Dylan kind of wanted to see where this went.

"You were always blind to progress, Gilderoy," Maximillian seethed. "But now, I have the upper hand!"

As he spoke, Maximillian's hand transformed, becoming a fantastical gun. An arc of electricity ripped through the air, striking Gilderoy in the chest. The man spasmed, falling to the ground in shock.

"Really?" Dr. Zlo complained. "All that, and it ends with a transforming hand? How droll."

"Now, sit there quietly as I unleash my vision on this city!" Maximillian's eyes were crazed now.

Dr. Zlo frowned. "Hey, only I'm allowed to gloat like that!"

Gilderoy coughed, turning to the villain. "It's up to you now. Soon he'll unleash a terror on this city the likes no one has seen."

"And I don't care," Dr. Zlo answered.

"Please, hero," Gilderoy said weakly. "You're our only hope."

"Hope schmope," Dr. Zlo answered. "There's only one reason I'm stopping this hack. It's because he thinks he's better than me. Me! Dr. Zlo! I'll show him who's the greatest criminal mastermind!"

Dr. Zlo rocketed forward, his boots scorching the ground as he moved. Maximillian turned, his impeccable hair now out of place with sweat. "You won't stop me!"