Vaudevillain

CEOverlord, or Tanner to his closest friends, looked out of his skyscraper in a mix of annoyance and excitement. The annoyance came from his plans getting interrupted in one of the strangest ways possible. The excitement came because someone had exploited the game to pit him against Dr. Zlo, or at least a version of him.

Tanner fully admitted to others that he joined World of Supers to experience playing with Dr. Zlo firsthand. He hadn’t gotten invited to Menagerie, at least not yet, but he was certainly hoping for someone to reach out soon.

“Status report,” CEOverlord said to his minion.

Three secretaries in pressed suits walked forward. “Asset purchases are stalling due to the chaos outside, however, our hostile takeover has progressed at the predicted pace.”

“And the chances it stalls due to Dr. Zlo interfering?” he asked.

“One hundred percent sir,” the secretary answered.

CEOverlord sighed. “Very well, I authorize use of project skyscraper.”

“Understood, sir,” the secretaries said.

The three moved as one out of the room, notifying the correct people of the incoming changes. Honestly, when Tanner had asked for his power to be Big Business he certainly hadn’t expected anything grand. Mostly he’d thought he’d get a money creation power. Instead, his newfound powers had been strange and incredibly useful.

Turn any task into a profitable venture! By reserving a portion of your power, you may accelerate the growth of anything you manage!

Somehow, he’d gotten exactly what he needed to be the villainous CEO he’d imagined playing. In all truth, he was something of a combination of Dextra and Dr. Zlo, one part cunning businessman and one part unhinged inventor.

Tanner sat in his chair as the skyscraper around him activated, transforming into the large robot he’d always intended for it to be. His minions behind him shuffled around as their open floor plan became a cramped office space, demanding thousands of calculations a second to move the new robot. A whip cracked somewhere behind him.

Tanner pressed the call button on his personal office phone.

“Yes?” A secretary answered.

“Get me the office of Dr. Zlo,” CEOverlord said.

“At once,” the secretary answered.

A screen descended from the ceiling above. It sparked on, revealing the face of Dr. Zlo.

“What? Who is this?” the villain demanded.

“Dr. Zlo, your actions are interfering with my business operations,” CEOverlord said. “I demand you cease immediately or else I shall be forced to call security.”

“Ha!” Dr. Zlo laughed. “You think your paltry defenses will protect you? No! I am Dr. Zlo, the greatest criminal mastermind! You shall not stop me from taking everything in Aeterna if I so choose!”

“Ninety percent of Aeterna is currently the property of E.V.I.L. holdings,” CEOverlord said. “Your act against the city is an act against me. As such, I shall be enforcing the law as I see fit. Prepare yourself.”

“I am always prepared!” Dr. Zlo said.

A laser from the villain’s zeppelin shot toward the skyscraper mech.

“Shields,” CEOverlord said.

“Powering shields!” a minion answered.

A shimmering blue orb appeared over the mech, completely blocking the incoming laser.

“Ah, protections! How trivial!” Dr. Zlo laughed. “Minions, get them!”

Swarms of Jacques fell from the zeppelin, jumping in ones and twos with various poses. Tanner swore he saw one of them flapping its arms so hard it flew. They landed in piles below the skyscraper before turning as one and dashing for the doors at the feet.

“Prepare for unruly guests,” CEOverlord said.

“Preparing!” a minion shouted.

Security guards, much better equipped than the roving interns, moved in front of the doors. CEOverlord branded stun batons beat the Jacques back, creating a pile of unconscious bodies with every step the mech took. Dr. Zlo was not one to give up though. He quickly dispersed more of his Jacques toward the interns performing their tasks outside in an obvious attempt to poach CEOverlord’s clients.

“Leave the interns to the Jacques,” CEOverlord said. “Full speed toward the zeppelin. If Dr. Zlo falls his army falls with him.”

“Understood, sir!” a minion shouted.

Tanner rolled his shoulders, checking his power reserves. He always made sure to keep a bit held back in case he needed some rapid restructuring, but he always kept most of it invested. A large portion of his power stayed with the R&D groups building his gadgets. What were once cheap engineers were now mad scientists in their own right, churning out gadgets left and right for company use.

Other portions were scattered across various acquisitions agents. These were NPCs that Tanner found to have minor buff powers who came to work for CEOverlord after they signed some dubious contracts and NDA agreements. Now they used their buffs to grow the company, whether that be through giving Tanner more power or by ‘acquiring’ new talent.

“Ready the agents for sales,” CEOverlord said. “I want them knocking on the door of Dr. Zlo’s zeppelin ASAP.”

“We need some kind of connection before we can do that, sir,” a minion said.

“Authorize use of the sword,” CEOverlord said. “I’ll handle the paperwork.”

Tanner wouldn’t, one of his secretaries would, but it sounded like something a callous CEO villain might say.

The skyscraper mech whirred, its arm moving to grab a long pillar from its back. CEOverlord looked on as the pillar sparked to life, activating a holographic sword that shimmered in the light. Dr. Zlo’s face on the screen in front looked at the sword with shock before settling their face into a sneer.

“I see you are also a fan of large weapons! It is too bad that my powers of foresight precede even my genius! Behold, my shrink ray! With it, your sword will be nothing more than a toothpick before me!”

Dr. Zlo grabbed his signature device, firing it at the incoming sword. It struck the weapon, instantly shrinking it. Or it would have, if Tanner didn’t have a trick up his sleeve.

“Transferring power,” CEOverlord said.

As the shrink ray hit, Tanner used his power of Big Business, selecting the sword. His power activated, growing the sword in a very literal sense as the shrink ray hit it. The result was a completely unchanged sword that smashed into the side of the zeppelin. Tanner wasn’t quite sure why sometimes his power would grow one thing over another, but he’d long since learned to adapt to its quirks.

Except instead of sticking in the flying contraption, the mech’s attack sent the zeppelin across the sky like a spiked volleyball.

“Curse you!” Dr. Zlo shouted as his figure shrunk in the distance.

It took Tanner a moment to recover from the shock before he turned to his secretaries.

“Status?”

“Dr. Zlo still active, now outside city limits and likely expected to return and finish the job,” the secretary said.

“Then let us finish preparing for him,” CEOverlord said with an evil smile. “Ready buyout tactics.”

The secretaries turned to him along with his minions. “Sir, is that wise? Most of our assets are tied up in the purchase of the city. Buyout tactics will—“

“You must spend money to make money,” CEOverlord said.

“Yes, sir!” the secretaries said on his interruption.

The minions around him started frantically typing as CEOverlord stood and walked out of his office. He made his way down the skyscraper to the R&D department, giddy on the inside. He often chose to use ‘Buyout Tactics’ when things got too chaotic. He couldn’t help himself, there was something almost cathartic about the act. A feeling that only came to Tanner when breaking something he’d spent hours crafting.

He stepped into the R&D room, waving to the various engineers and scientists before stopping in front of a sealed container. He gingerly grabbed it after pulling it free from the locks holding it in place. Fingerprint scanners and other security measures unlocked as he did, ensuring that only CEOverlord could use what was inside.

“Evacuate the skyscraper,” CEOverlord said.

Those around him nodded, pressing buttons somewhere on their person and teleporting out. Once everyone was gone, Tanner pulled the item out of its container, a simple wristband to the ordinary eye.

In fact, the item was a strange relic he’d found in the last expansion. At its base, it increased a user’s power by a small amount. However, by investing in the bracelet, Tanner had created a feedback loop that he was sure the developers never intended. It was why he kept it for special occasions, to keep someone from noticing.

“Time to get some work done,” he said with a smile.

The bracelet glowed as CEOverlord used his power. He slipped the bracelet on, watching as his the meter for his power shot up drastically. His base abilities increased as well, giving him more strength a durability.

CEOverlord grabbed a series of weapons from the department as he walked back toward his office. He had to be ready when Dr. Zlo came back.

“You dare try to swat me like some fly!” Dr. Zlo shouted as the zeppelin flew back. “For that, you shall face my full-focused wrath!”

The various robotic animals that had been rampaging across Aeterna converged on Dr. Zlo’s location. They moved as one, jumping at the skyscraper and knocking it to the ground. CEOverlord ran forward as the skyscraper fell, jumping at the last moment and putting some power into the gadgets at his feet.

Tanner smashed through the window, his body making a beeline for Dr. Zlo. The villain growled, firing a laser in his direction. CEOverlord pulled out his gun and invested some of his power into it. The barrel and magazine grew in size, a physical representation of the damage increase.

A wide laser engulfed Dr. Zlo’s paltry monocle beam and chomped its way toward the villain. Dr. Zlo yelped in surprise, ducking just in time to avoid the blow. The laser randomly bounced off the zeppelin, striking the ground below. The nearby buildings collapsed from the force as CEOverlord landed next to Dr. Zlo.

“Good evening, Dr. Zlo,” CEOverlord said in a calm tone.

“Die, interloper!” Dr. Zlo shouted.