Vaudevillain

Chapter 163: Engine Troubles

Once he finished ordering what he needed for Brunhilde, Dylan went to work on his new transportation. The Zlomobile had to scream style; it needed the type of pizzaz that made everyone stop and stare as Dr. Zlo rolled into the area. At the same time, Dylan needed the car to withstand assaults from hero attacks.

Dylan wanted the Zloppelin to be that, but it fell much quicker than the man wanted. That probably meant his power wouldn't give him what he needed unless he got extensively specific in the description. And while Dylan wouldn't mind spending time on doing that, Dr. Zlo wouldn't sit around.

Dylan opened his power tab, going back to view the Zloppelin. His power had linked his levitation engines to the Zloppelin, which made Dylan think of what else he could link together. The player spent the next hour or so trying to figure out how to replicate the idea. He gave up after failing multiple times, his last attempt a detailed description of what he wanted that ended in failure.

Dylan tried to use his power to create an engine for the car, then attempted to link the creation to his Zlomobile. All he got in the description was a requirement for a generic motor, no matter how Dr. Zlo worded the attempt. Frustrated, Dylan stomped out of the garage, complaining as he walked into the lab.

"I made the description as blatantly obvious as possible, and it still didn't work. How did it use the levitation engines then?"

"What's that, boss?" Cass asked.

"Nothing, Cass," Dr. Zlo answered. "Just trying to work on my new transportation."

"You need help?" Cass asked innocently.

"Cass, what could you possibly do that might help?"

"I could make you drinks that help you think," Cass answered.

"As tempting as that is," Dr. Zlo answered, walking past Cass and up the stairs, "I'm going to take a walk instead. Perhaps some wandering will help my mindset."

"Alright, boss," Cass said, a bit disappointed.

Dylan made his way up the stairs, opening up the message system to contact Jack. He needed the help of someone who knew how to think through all of the game's mechanics.

Superfan93526:

Hey, you free? Got a problem I think you can help with.

JackOLeen:

Lay it on me bb

Superfan:

So the Zloppelin used my levitation engines in the parts list when I made it.

I'm trying to recreate the idea, but I'm running into trouble.

JackOLeen:

Ooh yeah come on over to the crafting area and we'll workshop it.

Dylan made his way back to the aboveground portion of Skyline, taking another hidden alley to arrive in front of the crafting building. The Skyline City Market resembled the bazaars of ancient times, with a modern twist added in to match the rest of the city. A large open atrium covered by a glass roof brought natural light inside, and the insulated walls made sure to keep out any bad weather. Modern paneling adorned the sides, minimalist designs of heroic symbols to mark the area for heroes.

Dr. Zlo stepped out of the alley to make his way inside, groups of players taking notice once he made himself known. Dr. Zlo took the attention in stride, walking with confidence and ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention. After all, true villains didn't have time for the rabble.

Of course, that didn't stop a few overzealous gamers from walking in front of Dr. Zlo and trying to get his attention. The villain didn't bother to address the ones appearing, instead firing his new weapon.

Due to the increasing popularity of Dr. Zlo, heroes and villains alike have come to bother the criminal mastermind, interrupting his plans and ruining his day. To combat this, Dr. Zlo created the Airblaster, a way to blast the pesky interlopers out of his way. The device works by encasing the target in a bubble, which is then accelerated to send the offender away from Dr. Zlo.

Bubble Wand (1)

Dish Soap (1 bottle)

Slingshot (1)

Rubber Bands (50)

Model Airplane (1)

Sciencium (5g)

The first interloper stood in front of Dr. Zlo, walking forward with purpose.

"I have"

Dr. Zlo pulled his invention from his inventory and fired, not letting the player finish. The strange device appeared in Dr. Zlo's hand, resembling a barrel with a pistol grip stuck onto the bottom. In one motion, Dr. Zlo reached into the barrel and pulled on the rubber bands holding the bubble wand inside. A shimmering bubble appeared, enveloping the enemy player. The player inside tried to break free, but the bubble jerked away before he could move.

"Not interested," Dr. Zlo said.

A couple of other players appeared, and Dr. Zlo immediately fired off two more bubbles. These two were waiting for it, however, and jumped into the bubbles.

"Thanks for the ride!" They yelled.

Dr. Zlo shook his fist at them, finally making his way inside the crafting building. The area resembled an open market. Crafters of all kinds peddled their wares on all manner of tables, carpets, and other furniture.

Dylan nodded in appreciation. His design looked to be working well. He hadn't been too confident in the open-air market idea when he created it, but the players were taking to it like a fish to water.

It was Riptide of all people who sold Dylan on the open-air design.

"Dude, if you give them stalls, everyone will make their bases a shop," the surfer had said. "No one wants to have the same store as the next guy."

"There's also the issue of space," Sweet Dream added. "If you make a stall, you limit the number of players that can fit. An open-air market doesn't have that limit."

The argument convinced him, and the Skyline City Market became a bazaar. That wasn't to say there weren't established areas inside the building. In fact, Dr. Zlo's destination was at one such location. Dylan had made sure crafters of all kinds could come together inside the building. Flanking the atrium were multiple workrooms, each one with an occupied and open lock so others couldn't interfere in planning. Past the workrooms was the forge, the place to be for a crafter looking to work with any kind of tools. Here, one could also find a terminal that showed who reserved which workrooms for the day. Finally, behind the forge sat personal offices, places for a few essential crafters to sit and oversee the market.

Dylan walked past the forge and into the furthest room on the left, making his way into Jack's office. The woman was sitting in front of a work desk; her brow squinted as she carefully maneuvered a small sliver of metal with a pair of tweezers. Dylan chose not to interrupt, not wanting to halt his friend's concentration.

"Be with you in a second," Jack said, not turning his way. "I'm testing the durability of this new alloy I made."

Dylan watched as Jack brought the metal over to a small beaker, the contents inside green and bubbling. Jack let go of the metal, dropping the sliver into the liquid with a soft plop. Immediately, the liquid started to hiss and glow, the bubbles churning like boiling water. Jack frowned, making a note onto a notebook sitting near her.

"Alloy, tentatively named 'incredium,' is extremely reactive to acid. However, it makes an excellent superconductor."

Once finished, Jack looked up to see Dr. Zlo leaning on the door of her office.

"Well, that was quick," she said.

"I was in my base," Dylan answered. "Only had to make a short walk."

"Anyone bother you?"

Dylan shrugged, "No one too crazy today. Just a couple of players who were looking for a ride or something."

"I'm telling you," Jack said. "You need to get more Zlobots out. Confuse the players."

"It's a lot harder now that they cost Sciencium," Dylan sighed. "And I have so much else I want to do."

"Speaking of," Jack said, sliding the materials on her workbench into her inventory. "You were bringing me a question."

"I'm trying to make some new transportation," Dylan said. "But unless I describe every little component, the invention isn't going to use the best materials for the job."

"I gotcha," Jack said.

"So," Dylan said, taking a seat, "I was thinking I could use my power to link inventions together. It worked before with the Zloppelin, so it should work with the new idea."

"But it isn't," Jack answered.

"Not at all. I've entered a lot into my creation history, but it won't link together."

"Nothing at all in your history, or just the new ideas?" Jack asked.

"Just the new ones," Dylan answered.

Jack nodded, "See if you can link something with an older design. Like link a factory with another factory or something."

Dylan did as told, creating a new factory and describing his disassembler as a component.

"God, I'm an idiot," Dylan said.

Jack smirked, "Gotta make the invention first?"

"Gotta make the invention first."

"Well, now you know," the woman said. "And better that it's a quick fix and not something crazy. Like some of these stupid materials."

"Good thing you like working on that then."

Jack snorted, "No kidding. Oh, you're still on for session uno of our tabletop this weekend?"

"Yep," Dylan said. "Thanks for going through character creation with me."

"No problem," Jack answered. "The rules can be a bit overwhelming to anyone who hasn't done it before."

"Good thing I've got the resident rule-breaker here to help then," Dylan joked.

"See, you say that," Jack said. "But you haven't seen real crazy until you get into some older systems. Once you get about ten different rulebooks, things can get a bit unbalanced. I made this character once that couldn't get hit unless someone crit. The DM pulled his hair out every time I got into combat."

"Guess I'm in good hands then," Dylan replied.

"The best," Jack said.

"Alright, thanks for the help," Dylan said. "I'm going to get started buying everything I need."

"Why buy when you can steal?" Jack joked.

"You know," Dylan said, stopping at the door. "That's not a bad idea."