Saving Supervillains 1 Chapter 32 (Patreon)

I stepped up to the office that Mindfuck had been given in the North Point prison and gave it a knock.

“Make an appointment.” She said through the door.

“It’s Miles. I came to talk.” I said loud enough for her to hear through the door.

There was a flutter of paper behind the door as she cursed loudly. “One moment.”

The door flew open even as papers rustled, landing down on the floor. Angelina stood before me, appearing human.

In her haste, it appeared that she’d knocked off her tray of papers from the corner of the desk.

I looked around. The rest of the room was divided into a cramped desk area and a couch that looked perfect for sessions.

“Sorry about that. Please come in. Stupid bureaucracy still uses hard copies for everything; it’s like they are making this hard on purpose.”.

I stepped in, letting the door close behind me before I lifted each and every single piece of paper on its own, righting the tray and having them neatly lay in it.

A few days ago, there was no way that I’d have been able to be that precise with that number of targets.

My mind really felt so much more free after talking with Kim and getting my past off my chest with the girls.

“Oh. That works.” Mindfuck, or Angelina as I should call her, tried her best to be human.

She wore a casual but tight dress that was nearly criminally tempting. Over it, she wore a lab coat that muffled some of the appeal, but barely.

Angelina sat back down at her desk. There was a carefulness to her movement that seemed odd. Then, I realized she was struggling to hold her human looking form.

“You can relax; I don’t mind your other form.” I sat down on the other side of her desk. “Send me what documents you need automated, and I’ll see if I can’t lean on someone to at least make them digital.”

“That would be… great.” She blinked, surprised at me as she shifted back to the green and purple liquid woman I had met before. She alternated the colors this time to style them the same as the outfit she was wearing.

And it matched right down to the lacy bra peeking out of her top. I had to wonder why she’d wear something so revealing here, but then, knowing that she could change her form and her outfit, I wondered if she had done it when she realized it was me at the door.

“So how are you?” I asked, breaking the ice.

“The program is going well, I ha—” She stopped. “Wait, you asked me how I am?”

“That’s sort of how you start a conversation. You haven’t been a villain so long you’ve forgotten that, have you?” I smirked in amusement.

Angelina shook her head. “That’s not what’s happening. I’m a criminal, and you have all the power. You are supposed to step in here demanding for progress updates.”

Ignoring that. “Anyway, how are you? The prison is treating you fairly?” I relaxed in the chair.

She glowered at me for a moment, as if trying to figure out if I was doing this on purpose before she released that tension.

“Prison guards are being prison guards, but they don’t touch me. Nor have they prevented me from seeing a patient. However…” She hesitated.

I gestured for her to continue.

“An old contact came to visit me quietly.” She rubbed her head. “They already know I’m here and made me an offer.”

“Of course you didn’t take it or you wouldn’t be telling me. Any temptation?”

She scoffed. “It was one of those crazy ideas that gets floated around the villain community. I wouldn’t have done it even if I weren’t here.”

I nodded, understanding that more than most. “There are always the crazies. I never understood the desire to blow up the world.”

Angelina laughed. “Right? Fucking psychopaths, always trying to blow up all your hard earned work.”

She relaxed significantly. Even with her fluid body, it was obvious.

“So you’ve told me how the prison is and how an old colleague is, but you still haven't told me how you are. Are you settling into this? How’s the new place?”

From what I’d read on Kate’s report, Angelina had bought an apartment close to the office. And they’d designated it as her place for the tracking anklet.

I got curious about what the anklet looked like, but she was behind the desk.

“It’s only day 2. I’m not really settled. Frankly, it feels very odd to be back on this side of the law.” She stopped again, searching for the right words.

I knew what she was talking about. “It feels wrong to do something ‘right’. Your whole perspective on society shifts when you are a villain.”

“Yeah. Something like that. I’ve been starting to write again. If nothing else, I have a unique experience that might make for some good publications.” A little quirk of her lip made me realize she was seeking validation.

I nodded along with her. “You’ve experienced what you have tried to help people with for a long time. Now I hope you have enough knowledge to help them more than before.”

“I certainly understand them more. It makes this easier in some ways, harder in others. But you asked about my place. It’s nice, smaller than I’m used to.”

Laughing, I had a feeling that she used to live the high life. “I’ll bet. No gold inlay making the new place feel small?”

She wrinkled her face. “Gold inlay is so tacky. I hate that it is a supervillain mainstay for decor.” She was quickly relaxing as I kept the conversation rolling and related with her on villain things.

“Just keep all that tucked away for now. One of these days, you’ll be able to use your stash. I’m not going to take it from you. Banks and corporations could stand to lose a few pennies, and I’m sure it was all insured.”

Angelina’s mouth dropped open. “I must admit, I’m really not sure how to deal with you. You don’t act like a cop or even a hero.”

Letting out a little of my power, I blocked any receiver or prying ear. “Let’s just say I understand you.” I’d already hinted at knowing more about villainy.

I turned my power back off. “Besides, you are still human. I should at least treat you with basic decency. It isn’t like you were a mass murderer.”

“If only I hadn’t met you like this.” She gestured at herself. “Maybe we could have hit it off.”

“You are beautiful like that. You’ve seen Stella and her mutations.”

“The succubus looking one? She’s your…?” Angelina asked. While I wasn’t sure Stella and Melody were right about all the women, I was getting quite a few hints that Angelina might be interested. Or she was just trying to butter me up.

But I didn’t want to push her away. She was in a precarious place, just starting her journey back from villiany. I wanted to give her thoughts of a happy future. And she would certainly make any team far more badass if she joined it.

I realized Angelina was waiting for me to finish her statement, letting her know what Stella and I were. And we hadn’t really put a label on it. We just were.

I decided to have a little fun with Angelina. “She’s my little succubus. She’s bound to me for life. At least, that’s what she likes to say.”

Angelina’s cheeks turned a darker shade of purple.

Reaching out with my power, I searched for a hidden recording device in her room.

I found it almost immediately. I could tell it was the prison’s and not the bureau’s.

Annoyed, I fried it on the spot.

Then I stood up and walked around the desk. I pushed my power out, making sure to prevent any other eavesdrops.

“You know, she keeps wondering what you feel like.” I let my voice go deeper, letting her get my full meaning as I stood over her chair.

She froze like a deer in headlights. There was an awe and anticipation in her face that couldn’t be faked.

Angelina was already showing an incredible amount of loyalty, but I wanted to make sure she was mine when this was all done.

I grabbed her head and tilted it back for a kiss. My lips brushed hers. They were plump and full, a touch too firm to be skin, but then they melted.

In actuality, Angelina melted slightly. It was like like holding chocolate on a hot summer day.

She molded to me as her lips gave way to a sticky sweetness beyond them.

I didn’t linger long, even though it was tempting. “When you finish this, I would like to bring you into the Bureau, either as one of my heroes or in some other capacity.”

Angelina nodded dumbly, still staring back at me with wide eyes. “If you need anything, just ask.”

“Will do. For now, be a good girl.” I brushed her lips with my thumb.

She tried to suck it into her mouth, but she was too slow. Her face flickered with regret. “I will be.”

“Good. Now where is that anklet tracker?”

“Oh.” She came back to herself and a little black ankle tracker came out of her chest, blinking green. “I worried about something happening with it on my ankle, so I’m keeping it safe.”

It seemed she was more committed to this than I realized. “Good. I’ll be leaving now and check back in a bit.”

She grabbed my arm before I could leave, then drew back her hand quickly. “You didn’t ask how the program was going.”

I shrugged. “It’s only been two days, Angelina. I don’t expect miracles.”

With that, I left a very stunned slime girl sitting in her office.

Closing the door behind me, I licked my lips. She really was quite sweet underneath her exterior. But if I told Stella that, she’d be in our bed by the week’s end.

***

As soon as I turned on my tablet again, I was bombarded with messages from Kim.

It was a long taxi ride as Kim pestered me about how far away I was.

When I finally reached the Bureau, I hurried into The Spine. Kim was already walking back and forth, asking the analysts a myriad of questions.

“Sit. We have a situation.”

There was a map of the city spread across all three screens with dozens of pings across it. The analysts were working away, typing on their keyboards.

“What does this mean?” The pattern emerging meant nothing to me.

“Signs of organization.” Kim nodded at the screen. “See the red pings? Those are high-profile, violent attacks. Time wise, they are being shadowed by a number of the yellow pings, which are reported robberies and thefts.”

Now I realized what she was worried about. “You think a group of villains are working together?”

She nodded. “Beatrix is running a deeper analysis. But for the last week, we’ve noticed a steady increase of these violent incidents, even those involving monsters. And they came about a minute before a robbery spree. It’s been growing each day.”

“They are working together. A smoke screen violent attack to get the big superheroes out of the way, followed by lower priority attacks.” I summarized. “Is it working?”

Kim sighed. “Yes. We haven’t been able to respond quickly enough. Most of the challenge comes in the distance between robberies. They are happening around the same time, but in very different areas of the city.”

“More evidence that it is coordinated.” I concluded. “That’s what Beatrix is doing?”

“No, we are fairly confident it is coordinated. She’s looking for a pattern.” Kim rolled a small fireball in her hand.

I knew there was more. Something had her extra worked up. “Why are you really worried about this?”

She squeezed the little fireball, making it pop. “The power required to make this many villains work together, I’m worried it’s Void.”

“Void?”

“What I’ve been calling the super that set off the titan sensors.” Kim explained. “I had a run in with him the other night.”

“Did Void try to hurt you? How did that conversation go?” I asked, curious about what she’d thought.

“It was good. I think. He seemed… tired? Not really a problem, but then there’s this.” She gestured at the screen. “I can’t imagine what super has the power to organize at least forty other villains into a group.”

She was right. Her own issues with my alter ego aside, I knew that villains worked poorly together.

The only times they stayed organized for very long was when there was someone much stronger behind them, cracking the whip.

“Let’s not put a kill order out on Void until we know he’s the problem. There could be a group of S grade supers leading this.” I tried to protect my alter ego.

Kim rolled her eyes. “If Void is really behind this, then we are fucked. He’s a walking weapon of mass destruction; we don’t poke him no matter what.”

I chose to take that as a compliment.

“I’m rescheduling a few people. We’ll have a team dealing with the big attack and then several teams trying to clean up the little guys.” Kim explained her plan.

It wasn’t a bad idea. It stopped the immediate part of their plan that had been working and would hopefully deter them.

“My team will take the biggest target we can find.” I agreed with her plan. “Send Rocksolid or some of the other less mobile heroes after the monsters used for distractions.”

The screen flashed, new outputs showing up on the screen.

Beatrix swiveled around in her chair. “I think we have the pattern analyzed. One hour and twenty minutes from now, we can expect another crime spree.”

Kim turned to me. “Good luck. I’ll need to get things ready for this.”

Realizing she may need help, and I was the deputy director, I asked, “Do you want me on any of that?”

“No, just be my eyes and ears in the field.” Kim moved over to her desk, pulling out her phone and calling another manager.

Taking that as a sign that the conversation was over, I turned, noticing Ben waving me down. I headed over to the analyst pit.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“While they were looking at timing, I was looking at what we thought they might steal. Look at this. There have been three crime sprees today.”

He pointed at a list of things that had been stolen, but I didn’t have time to read through it.

“Summarize for me.”

Mary cleared her throat. “Sorry, he’s a little excitable with all of this. The two items from the first two were significantly higher value.” She pointed at two items on the list. A black diamond valued over a hundred million on display at an art museum and a sixty million dollar necklace stolen from the home of a local politician.

I nodded, not worrying much about the pricey artifacts, but it helped to get a sense of what was being targeted.

“Good work. Do we have a third?”

Mary shook her head, turning Ben back around to get him to work. “He’s working on it, but we are still getting reports.”

“Now the hardest question; where do we think they’ll hit next?” I asked.

“Thankfully, there’s a limit on the number of high priced jewelry floating around the city.” Kate handed Mary a sheet of paper hot off the printer.

The list was short, but not short enough. There were still eleven items on it.

I nodded. At least it was a start.

“Okay, keep a close eye on these locations. Send out a few low tier resources if we have them, and I want us in their security systems.”

I smiled, proud my team was already doing so much for the bureau. “Great job. This is exactly what we need.” I folded up the piece of paper, tucking it into my back pocket.

With all crime organizations, it was difficult to flush out the top leader. They’d have many levels between the actual crimes and them. But it would take a stronger villain to pull off the big heists occurring and it would be someone the ringleader trusted with a hundred million dollar jewel. That was our best shot at cracking this one wide open.

I was almost tempted to go out as Void, if only to clear my name.

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