Chapter 26: Master Plan

The current menu fades and a new one appears under the header "The Plan Unfolds."

"The day Gravitate finally acquired licensed hero status, I set my grand plans into motion," Veta's holo-3D image announces. "Let us peruse, shall we?"

"When I learned that Gravitate had set out to find The Gravitas, I immediately discovered who possessed the artifact—I do have the best villainous clients from The Artillery sales, so it was a breeze, really."

"Once I knew it was Smyther who had the darned thing, I thought it would be absolutely delightful to crash the party and kill the old fool—he was a rather pesky competitor in the arms-dealing business, after all. Of course, the real goal was to destroy The Gravitas and then frame Gravitate for all of this, which went off without a hitch."

"'Twas but a small first move, child's play really. I wanted to test Gravitate's limits, see how he would handle a little bit of adversity."

Travis think back to that first night—Veta had already been tracking him, ensuring that he'd fail….

"Once I saw that the scrappy little do-gooder was ready to bounce back from The Gravitas debacle, I decided it was time to embed a sidekick in Gravitate's life. And good, old Grandma Fade wanted her little Travis to have one so badly, I didn't really have to do very much."

"After I saw that Gravitate had chosen Tarana Rain, it was rather easy to blackmail her into being my pet by threatening her parents."

"Of course, I didn't need Tarana Rain to serve as a mole—I already had all the surveillance on the Fades I needed. No, what I really wanted was a way to make Gravitate squirm, to have him know what it's like not to be able to trust a soul in this world."

"Killing a hero is easy, folks," Veta's image says with a twisted grin. "But grinding down their will—now there's the real challenge.

"Once Tarana Rain was in place, things went off without a hitch. Together they broke up the Ani-gang rumble and then Tarana Rain saved Gravitate's life, creating a rather instantaneous bond of trust. It was simply marvelous to behold."

"Once I saw that Gravitate was doubling back to take on The Splice Circle, I wanted that to go smashingly for him. After all, if Gravitate remained such a no-name loser, no one would appreciate my grand schemes.

"So I made sure to send Black Magic in Gravitate's direction with an anonymous tip. And seeing the two hit it off like gangbusters was quite a treat, considering I had watched Travis night after endless night, drooling over that Black Magic poster on his wall."

A flush of embarrassed rage passes through Travis—how long has Veta been watching his every move? Nothing he ever done has been private. He turn to Jenny, who, as his PFPP agent, looks equally floored by this information.

"The pool-killers I gave to Madame Vice as a peace offering for murdering Smyther came in rather handy, drawing Gravitate into The Hoshi Group. And what a golden opportunity that was! It appeared as if my plan to make Gravitate a superstar was working even faster than expected. A team-up with Black Magic was one thing, but a real live Minterview? Pure gold!"

"The only hitch was when Smyther reappeared and murdered Madame Vice—such a shame, that old broad and I got along quite well. I really must track Smyther down and make him pay…but that's a task for another day!"

"Riding a new wave of fame from his Minterview, it seemed that Gravitate had forgotten all about little, old me. So I slapped my name on a warehouse deed and filled it with pool-killer robots, even going so far as to put up a nice, big The Artillery sign. Of course, Tarana Rain helped Gravitate find the right place and I made sure it was painfully easy to break into."

"But the poor simpleton still couldn't figure out quite who I was.…"

"Then that ghastly Wisp character showed up, which was quite a surprise to me. It would have been a stroke of genius to hire the assassin and pin it on Jury, but sadly, I can't take credit for that—it seems that honor would belong solely to Madame Vice, who had it out for our little heroes before she passed. Quite the posthumous feat, don't you think? Ordering a hit from beyond the grave—how deliciously treacherous!"

So it wasn't Jury who tried to have him killed after all—it was Madame Vice? For once in his miserable life, it seems Jury was telling him the truth….

"The Wisp attack did wonders for dear Tarana Rain though, who would now be embraced with open arms after a second life-saving showing."

"Somewhere in the midst of all this, I learned that Karla Yuu was being considered on the short list of potential authors for the HC HoT profile. She was still looking for a suitable hero subject to pitch, so right before the Gravitas case, I tipped Karla off about Gravitate. After Karla got the case-breaking scoop on The Gravitas and reported your debut, I knew she'd be hooked."

"So it was only a matter of time before Gravitate would finally get a dose of the Legend he craved so badly…and only a matter of time before it would be my moment to shine."

"Though there was a small hiccup. The HoT board actually went with some fool named Tumbleweave at first, so I made sure to cripple the poor dear before the party, thus ensuring that the grant would go to Gravitate instead. Really now, did anyone think such a pathetic, little brat could achieve this level of notoriety in such a short time, all on his own? Preposterous."

Hearing this, hisheart sinks. He were named HoT because of Veta? That's…unbelievable.

"Then it came time for my beautiful endgame, the climax to this glorious web I had been weaving. Seeing how Gravitate struggled with walking the line between fame and justice, I arranged for a tidy, little moral choice, one that would publicly ruin him, of course.

"So on the eve of the big HoT award, I kidnapped Karla and Tarana Rain. The stage was set for Gravitate to choose: Save the reporter that would bring him fame? Or the sidekick who stood for justice?"

"I really had no idea which way he would go, so I was rather pleased when Gravitate chose to save Tarana Rain, knowing that betraying Karla would truly break his spirit."

"I tried to killed that meddlesome, little Karla during the surely-now-infamous HoT video feed. But our little famous hero Retribution stop me and ruin some of my minor plans. You know, the one where I proceeded to out Gravitate as Travis Sterling-Fade, the murderous child of The Sound and The Fury."

As the interactive holo-video ends, the real Veta beams with pride, tears forming.

"Riveting stuff, is it not?" Veta says, wiping her eyes. "It's a true masterpiece, one that I will release to the public to launch my villainous career and mark the start of my terror-reigning empire. I can just see the movie version now. They'll call it something grand like 'Veta Children.' I'll have to clear room on my mantle for the Oscars…."

As Veta continues to pontificate, Travis can hardly gather his thoughts. She has been pulling the strings since the day he got his Hero License—would anything have happened in his career without her meddling?

Veta has been behind every one of his major successes—there's no way to know where he might be in his career without her influence….

"And now, it is time to film the pièce de résistance,"

Veta exclaims. "The final chapter in the story of my villainous rise!"

Travis stare at Veta, wondering what possibly could have turned her into this twisted person. Despite her penchant for explaining things, she hasn't said much about her life before this ridiculous plot….

What's most chilling, however, is how much Travis and Veta seem to have in common….

Veta is so blinded by her twisted ambition, she doesn't see anything else. Is that what Travis like, focusing only on his career and avenging his fallen parents? In his quest to become a Legend, have he forgotten how to be a real person, just like Veta?

"Ah, good, Grandma Fade is back with us," Veta says as Grandma begins to stir at Travis side. "She will want to hear what's coming next."

Travis immediately squat down and help Grandma sit up. She nods at him, indicating that she's all right…for now.

Meanwhile Veta has begun to pace, filmed on all sides by her floating cameras.

"And now, the time has finally come to break Gravitate's spirit. First, I shall make the Fades watch as I murder their beloved agent, Jenny."

Jenny balls up her fists—she's clearly not going down without a fight. Still, cold fear creeps its way into his chest. He have to find a way to escape….

"Then I'll make Gravitate watch as I kill sweet Grandma Fade," Veta says. "I think strangling her with some dead vines will do quite nicely…such poetic symmetry, don't you think?"

This sends Travis over the edge—Veta isn't coming near Grandma. Ever again.

He's about to attack when he see that Jenny holds out a slip of paper through the bars of her cell. Where the slugger did Jenny get a pen and paper? What is this, the twenty-first century?

Travis glance at Veta but she's too busy with her monologue performance to notice Jenny's note.

"Then I shall commit the ultimate act of my career—I shall finally murder Gravitate. It's rather silly that I haven't done so already but the narrative arc demanded some dramatic pause. For when he finally does die, I want him to be truly alone, without hope or trust left in this world."

But he already stopped listening to Veta, instead deciding whether to risk grabbing the note from Jenny….

Travis wait for a few seconds, until Veta turns her back to the cages. But she could turn around and catch him at any moment. He knows if he grab the note, Veta will just kill Jenny immediately.

Forget the note, he think. It's best to keep Veta talking, try to stall her so he can come up with a plan.

"Then I'll send this little interactive video right to The Devoid," Veta continues, in her own world, "ensuring The Sound and The Fury will suffer the way I have suffered. They will be served the ultimate justice, as I take away their family the way they took away mine. Then it will be off to the presses with my little video project, so everyone can marvel at my evil genius!"

Veta pauses, evidently winding up for some final, unhinged announcement.

"Of course, by then I'll have decimated all of Hoshi City with a nuclear holocaust, so people will be very interested in who I am."

Just when Travis thought things couldn't get any worse, Veta plunges to a new depth of hell.

This must be why they're under the Fusion Plant—she's going to somehow cause a nuclear event….

That is not something he can allow to happen.

Veta lets out a ridiculous fake laugh—she's really playing at this villainess thing pretty hard. Which isn't all that stupid, he think—the more convincing her performance, the more people she will probably get to tune in to her little video project, no doubt.

"Only then will I be the most Legendary villainess of all time!" Veta yells. "After I achieve the greatest act of terrorism ever committed on American soil, Gravitate will be known as the most useless hero of all time. And I will become a living Legend."

Veta finally stops pacing and takes a massive breath, immensely pleased with herself.

"Now then. Let's do some killing, shall we?"