Vaudevillain

Chapter 178: Crime's Over, Go Home

Waves splashed the deck as Constantine stepped toward Dr. Zlo, the robot's movements rocking the boat fiercer than any storm. Cass swallowed as he aimed his flamethrower, lamenting that he had to be the primary decoy. Quartet stood the furthest away, his body split into four and beatboxing a tune. Small whirlwinds were forming around the minion, but they wouldn't reach the needed level of power for a bit.

Dr. Zlo and Mabel stood next to Cass, their respective weapons at the ready. Dr. Zlo brandished his cane, holding it out like a swordsman, while Mabel swung her purse around like a flail, building energy for her sonic boom.

"You think you can stop my might?" Constantine taunted.

"Oh, please," Dr. Zlo scoffed. "I did it once already, didn't I?"

"A fluke!" Constantine growled. The robot lunged at Dr. Zlo, both arms outstretched to grab the villain in a vice grip. Electricity crackled on his palms, the blue lightning traveling across the man's hands like wriggling caterpillars.

"Cass!" Dr. Zlo shouted.

The minion unleashed a gout of flame, making sure he fed the flamethrower the strongest alcohol he could, a ninety-six percent per volume vodka. Heat washed over the minion's face as the weapon unleashed its attack, the gout of flame a dragon searching for its prey. Constantine recoiled from the heat, parts of his body singing from the fire.

It didn't stop him for long. The robot made another attempt at Dr. Zlo, this time taking care to watch Cass's flamethrower.

Mabel stepped forward this time, swinging her purse around and hitting Constantine on the leg. The attack did nothing; Mabel's heavy bag no match for the armor plating on Constantine's legs. The minion frowned, grabbing the purse as it bounced back and pulling the clasp that was the sonic cannon's trigger. A wave of sound erupted from Mabel's position, sending Constantine stumbling a few steps.

Dr. Zlo took the opportunity, firing his laser and following up with a slash from his nanites. The laser burned Constatine's chest armor, leaving a black scorch mark in its wake. However, the nanites weren't so lucky. Constantine's electric field short-circuited the microscopic machines, splitting the razor-sharp disk into dust that flew up Constantine's nostrils. The robot sneezed from the attack, shaking his head a few times to dislodge the odd feeling in his nose.

"That electric field is a problem," Dr. Zlo complained. "Most of my tech requires electricity. I'll have to remedy that in the future."

Cass fired another gout of flame, doing his best to keep Constantine occupied.

"It's no use!" Constantine shouted. "You can't hurt me with such paltry heat. Just give me the reactor, and I might spare you."

"You won't steal what I've already stolen!" Dr. Zlo shouted back. "I took it fair and square!"

Dylan smiled at the look of annoyance on Constantine's face. Taunting was fast becoming the best part of Dr. Zlo's antics. Well, only if you didn't count the mad heists, the zany minions, or the incomprehensible gadgets. Really, all of Dr. Zlo was fun for Dylan.

Constantine roared, an electronic screeching joining in as Mabel's sonic purse connecting with the robot's head. This time the attack seemed to do a bit of damage, but Dr. Zlo couldn't tell how much. The constant bursts of electricity coming from Constantine made it hard to see what was damaged and what wasn't. But Mabel's attack did curl Constantine's lip at an odd angle, giving the robot a lopsided sneer.

"What happened to all that composure!" Dr. Zlo taunted.

Constantine whipped his head around at Dr. Zlo and glared. However, the man's taunt didn't focus the robot's attention on him. Constantine brought his large foot up, stomping on the boat to send it rocking. The yacht reeled, forcing Cass and Mabel to grab ahold of nearby railings while Dr. Zlo activated his rocket boots and leaped into the air. Constantine took advantage of the opening he created, moving toward Cass and Mabel. The robot swung, bringing his tree-trunk arms around in large swipes to clip both minions. The damage from his fists was superficial, both Cass and Mabel adept enough to dodge out of the way. However, electricity arced out of Constantine's arms, sending blue electricity through the minions.

The two spasmed, the electricity sending them to the ground. Smoke rose from their position a moment later, Dr. Zlo unable to see their condition due to Constantine's large body.

"Cass! Mabel!" Dr. Zlo shouted out of concern. He turned to Constantine, "How dare you do that to my minions!"

Dr. Zlo swooped, pointing his cane and launching a gout of his frictionless liquid. It landed at Constantine's feet, causing the robot to slip when the next wave shifted the boat. He landed on the yacht with a crash, denting the floor inward as he scrambled to stand.

Dr. Zlo didn't give him a chance, firing his monocle continuously at Constantine's head and forcing the robot to use his arms to block. Black scorch ran up and down the automaton's arms like tattoo sleeves, adding on the earlier damage from Cass's flamethrower.

"Quartet! Are you ready yet?" Dr. Zlo shouted to his last minion.

"Almost," one of the bodies said.

Dr. Zlo turned back, determination on his face as he repeatedly fired his monocle into Constantine until the weapon could no longer take the rapid use and faltered. Dr. Zlo winced from the popping noise that came, and he saw white smoke trailing upward out of the corner of his eye.

"You better be ready now, Quartet!" Dr. Zlo shouted. "I'm running out of options!"

"Blow him away!" Quartet sang, his four bodies harmonizing to send his created whirlwinds at Constantine. Four twisters raced toward the robot, each one latching onto a limb and pulling. Constantine groaned, struggling against the twisters as they pulled him in every direction.

"Don't. Think. This is. The last. Of me!" Constantine shouted through his grunts. Then, with a sudden snap! Constantine's arms flew off into the waters below, followed by the man's legs and torso. They landed with a splash in the distance, the waves covering the robot as it sank to the bottom of the sea.

"And that's how it's done," Quartet said, giving himself a high five with his various bodies.

"Yes, great job, Quartet," Dr. Zlo said. "Now, get this boat moving while I check up on Cass and Mabel. We need to get out of here before Constantine comes back. I expect he has more than one of those robots."

Quartet gulped and nodded, "Right, boss." The minion wasn't about to argue that driving the boat wasn't his job. Dealing with one of those robots was enough of a pain already. If Constantine brought two? Well, Quartet might be the one at the bottom of the ocean this time.

Dr. Zlo landed on the yacht's deck next to Mabel and Cass. Constantine's electrical assault had damaged the two minions, but they were still alive. Both were eking white smoke from their joints, the result of Constantine's electrical attack. It looked like their plastic base had insulated them from the worst, but it couldn't stop everything.

Cass groaned as he stood up to meet his boss.

"Did anyone get the number of that cab?" He asked.

"Good to see you're okay, Cass," Dr. Zlo said.

He looked over to Mabel. The woman was shaking her head, clearing it as she stood. Her hair, generally styled with impeccable curls, had become a poofy afro, and Mabel's face soured as she felt the new style.

"It's going to take ages to get my hair just right," she complained. "And just look at my dress!"

Dr. Zlo took a look, seeing that her floral print dress was now pockmarked with black stains, the result of electricity running through her body. Again, Dylan marveled at World of Supers' realism, wondering how much processing power had to go into rendering scorch marks like that. He looked over to Cass. Sure enough, the butler had similar scorch marks on his suit.

Dylan resolved to craft something to keep his essential minions safe in the future. That way, he wouldn't have to rebuild them if something happened. Cass had grown something of a personality during his time with Dylan, and the man didn't want to lose them due to a botched crime. Honestly, it was a wonder one of them hadn't fallen yet, considering players' average skill had risen considerably.

"Well, it's good to see you both moving," Dr. Zlo said. "Now, we don't have a moment to waste. I'm sure Constantine will be hot on our heels. We need to get away from Tractus as quick as we can."

"No problem, hon," Mabel said. She called out the hero from before, the man skating over the waves like an Olympic athlete.

"Pearl, be a dear and give us the speedy treatment for our yacht here."

The hero nodded, touching the yacht and activating his power. Instantly the boat started to skip over the waves like a stone, growing in speed as friction disappeared.

"Excellent, Mabel," Dr. Zlo said. "We should be back home in no time if we keep this up."

Mabel waved a hand, "Aw, hon, you're such a flatterer."

The minions went on to perform other tasks, Cass taking over the driving from Quartet and Mabel sticking close to Pearl to make sure he didn't get any new ideas. Quartet, everything now safe, merged his bodies together and made his way down to the yacht's kitchen, where he prepared a sandwich and some other food for himself. All that power use made him hungry. A Jacques poked its head out from under the table, the only one who stayed behind to guard the boat.

Dylan walked to the front of the boat, imposingly standing as the waves splashed mists of saltwater over his face. All in all, this heist had been successful. Dr. Zlo now had the reactor he needed for his engine, bringing the Zlomobile one step closer to completion.

"Next up, a diesel engine, a suit of armor, and some polycarbonate," Dr. Zlo announced. "Then my vehicle will be complete!"

A message appeared in his vision, forcing Dylan to stop his rant.

For failing to complete the quest, Assist Constantine with the destruction of the space elevator, you have lost reputation! Your current reputation rank is A, you will reach S rank after 80 more escapade(s)!

Dylan laughed at the message, then noticed a second appearing a moment later.

For completing your crime, you have gained reputation! Your current reputation rank is A, you will reach S rank after 77 more escapade(s)!

Dylan laughed again, his minions looking on as their leader announced his victory to the world.